Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - Day Fourteen... My Home
Dear Father,
Thank You for my home. As I pack our things to get ready for what You have next for us, I'm grateful for the memories from each room...
Thank You for our living room. It was there Mike played guitar and sang me a song he'd written. It was also there he said he would never play in front of anyone or sing in front of anyone. I smile with that thought as he is now leading worship music in our church. Thank You for me being the one to hear him play his guitar first Lord. Without knowing it, You were giving me a glance into the future, for I knew there would be music in my life with him... but only You could have orchestrated a symphony. Our living room is also where there's been so many moments shared by the warmth of the wood stove. I will always remember how beautiful it looked at Christmas with the tree lit up with MANY lights and the nativity scene on the mantle. I also remember the time when Mike was gone on a business trip for five days and my family came an helped me paint the walls tan and all the old woodwork (including doors) white. We hung new curtains and stuffed new pillows. My parents bought the clock that hangs above the mantle as well. Mike was so surprised and it was so beautiful. It was wonderful my dad, mom and sister, Kari did that.
Thank You for our kitchen. Laying down "sticky tiles" was Mike and my first project together. We still have that floor, and while it's not shiny as it once was, I will never forget working through the night to get it done, or how beautiful it was. It was the "first fruits of our labor". I also remember the small round table that seated four as I look at the 6 foot long resin table that seats six, along with the highchair and a tall chair at one end of the table. Lord, thank You for filling our table with so many precious lives, and thank You for always providing food to fill their bellies. Thank You for the birthday parties celebrated with cake and ice cream in there and the gathering of friends and family.
Thank You for our childrens' rooms. While there are only two, we are so glad they are full instead of empty. I remember when one was Mike's music room painted with music notes all over the walls. Between the two rooms, each child has been in one or the other. With two girls in one and the four boys in the other, we never would have thought years ago that we would walk into these rooms one night and see so many peaceful children in their beds. Thank You for filling the rooms with such treasures.
Thank You for our bedroom Lord. There are so many memories there, but the thing that hits me the most is how You took a relationship built on such short-term qualities... and made a life-long commitment. Thank You for the gift of love making Lord and how special it truly is when You are at the center of the marriage. Thank You for the mornings our children have come to our bed to cuddle. Our queen size bed certainly shrinks more and more each year! Thank You for the cradle that has held each newborn babe.
Thank You for our bathroom. I remember how I used to take bubble baths by candlelight (before children) or once when Mike and I squeezed into the tub when I was pregnant. I also remember a time when I had prepared a special night for him and put sand on the bathroom floor along with a palm plant and floating candles in the tub. What a romantic night that was, and I'll never forget the look on Mike's face when he walked in to see all that sand! Oh, and how could I forget all the haircuts I've given in there?... Not to mention my own HUGE mistake of grabbing the scissors instead of the thinning scissors and cutting the whole front of my LONG hair off! Mike has said he will never forget walking into the bathroom seeing me holding a HUGE hunk of hair in one hand with the scissors in the other.
Thank You for the laundry room. Lord, while I'm not sure that it's ever been completely clean for more than a few days, but I'm so thankful for the clothes that have filled it, meaning we have been clothed. I also thank You for the extra toilet in there for our large family in those "emergencies" while potty training!
Thank You for Joe's room. It was nothing more than storage until he decided to come and live with us and I thank You for him filling that room.
Thank You for our basement. I especially thank You for the times that others have come to help me clean and organize it. I'm thankful for the time my sister-in-law, Kirsten and mother-in-law, Sharyn came. Kirsten helped me go through EVERYTHING while Sharyn cooked meals for three days. It truly was an answer to prayer and for the first time, we were able to use our basement for more than storage. Thank You for the movie nights spent cuddling kids on the couch, eating popcorn and candy. While we couldn't afford to take the kids to the theater, it was so nice (and better) to be able to sit and watch the big screen and have our own little movie theater at home.
Thank You for the storage closet that was "found" a couple of years ago. It had never been used for anything before we cleaned it out and made it the school supply closet. It has been so wonderful to have everything so organized and neat... it was a little "treasure" found in our home after years of being here. I know I will miss that space.
Lord, thank You for our fenced in backyard and the men that helped with that. It's been so wonderful over the past couple of years to know the little kids were safe and could play when momma had to be inside with another. I remember when I first got here, we couldn't even walk without socks and shoes because the sand burrs were so bad and now after years of work, our children run barefoot through the thick green grass. Thank You for the summer Bar-B-Qs and swimming parties and the stamped concrete patio that MIke's business made. Thank You for the beautiful willow tree that the boys have enjoyed climbing and the girls have loved playing dolls under. Thank You for the hot tub that has helped Mike's back, or being able to labor in it on my last pregnancy, but especially for the nights Mike and I were able to sit in the hot tub and look up at the stars. I will never forget the time I tried to have another "special night" for Valentine's Day and spread sand out to the tub, along with an inflatable cactus. It was so cold, the cactus wouldn't stay inflated and the sand actually froze! The floating candles wouldn't stay lit and it was so cold that we only were in the tub for moments!
It's funny how I've wanted to move for so many years and looked forward to leaving... but as I think about this house, I realize how many memories Mike and I hold here. It's the only home the kids have ever known. We've brought every baby here... and I can't help but wonder where the next one will be brought. Thank You for these memories and so many more Lord. Thank You for taking this house and making it a home... I pray that whatever is awaiting for us to live in next that You would bless that place and many good memories would be created there as well.
Memories of our homes are really so special when we stop to think about them! It is strange how even the bricks and morter actually become part of the family after awhile. My parents sold the family home at Christmas, and it is so strange to think of others in that house now! I still love to drive by our first home and show McGee where we brought him home from the hospital.
and a woman seeking the Lord's Will (daily), a wife (striv- ing to keep the romance alive), a "Smamma" (Step- mother) of one and a homeschooling mom of seven (I was never going to have child- ren), who starts every day over (after messing SOME thing up the day before), knowing God's grace is overflowing (just like my laundry), and so thankful He's blessed me more than I'll ever deserve.
Thursday, November 15, 2007 - AMEN!!