Jul. 9, 2007 - Waiting....
I know that many, many women go past their due dates and still proceed to give birth to a baby, but I am convinced I am the exception and that, in fact, I will be pregnant with Baby Sarah forever! Yesterday was my due date, it has come and gone and Baby has not seemed to realize that! And so I twiddle my thumbs, rearrange birth supplies, mop my floors, mop my floors again, refold receiving blankets, twiddle my thumbs so more and .... wait. "A watched pot never boils" so I try NOT to watch my body like a hawk for any remote sign that labor is around the corner but to no avail. Baby Sarah is happy as can be, tucked away in my womb where it is warm, safe, relatively quiet and all her needs are met without so much as a wimper. She really doesn't appear to have any desire to reckon with the forces of nature and make her entrance and I have been unsuccessful at convincing her otherwise. And so I wait... what more can I do? Guess I'll go mop the floor again!
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Jul. 1, 2007 - Entry Lost (AGAIN!!!!!)
Once again, I typed up an entry, pressed the "add entry" button only to have my new entry tossed into the far reaches of cyberspace, never to be found again. I don't have the energy or patience today to try to remember what I had written so suffice it to say: we are doing well and waiting (however impatiently) for Baby to arrive. Its hard to focus on much else, though staying busy seems to be the best remedy for impatience. We appreciate all the prayers you might be willing to offer for a safe and healthy birth for our little one. Thank you!
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Jun. 22, 2007 - Does God think?
Noah, our 7 year old, asked me if God ever has to think. Hmmmm.... one of those questions you just wish you'd had some forewarning about. While I contemplated my answer, he said, "Because it seems like God is so smart, He wouldn't ever have to think about anything!"
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Jun. 13, 2007 - The Construction Zone in the Nesting House
I'm a little torn as to how to best present the occurances as of late. I can't decide whether to introduce our house as the Construction Zone or the Nesting House so I'll combine the two and summarize our dwelling place as "The Construction Zone in the Nesting House". Would you like some further explanation, not only to my title but also to my absence? Well, here it is, complete with pictures:
So what do you get when a family of 5 is expecting Family Member #6 in a few short weeks and they discover water seeping up between the vinyl tiles in their only bathroom? You get a port-a-pottie in Mom and Dad's bedroom, baths/showers at their WONDERFUL neighbor's, a Daddy who works his tail-end off from the moment he wakes up to the moment his head hits the pillow and a Mommy who occasionally just has to cry. Introducing...... our bathroom:
And a view of our bathroom... from the dining room (yes, we are missing a wall and yes, that is a piano in the middle of my dining room):
Now, because my husband is actually my Knight-in-Shining-Armor, it will not be long before I will get to post pictures of a BEAUTIFUL bathroom, free of any and all water damage and the evil villians that caused it (aka: leaky pipes that were hidden from sight and previously covered up dry rot). Stay tuned...
So why The Nesting House? Well, you see, I am not the only one around here that is nesting! Three weeks ago, one of our Rhode Island Reds started getting broody. She did this last year and we had a tough time getting her off her nest. We don't have a rooster so her 'setting' was quite pointless but we saw in her some pretty intense mothering instincts and told ourselves that if she ever did it again, we'd snag some fertile eggs from our friends, and let her have at it. Well, spring was in the air, I guess, because there she was again, sitting on her nesting box, squaking loudly at anyone who dared to come near. So we let her have at it. We put her in the other side of our double rabbit hutch, made her a nice, cozy nesting box and put 6 fertile (so we hoped!!) eggs underneath her. Boy, she settled right down and has faithfully sat on them ever since. This afternoon, look what we found:
In this last picture, you can see a damp little head peeking out from underneath the hen. We actually got to watch this little one hatch; it was incredible!!!!! So far we have 3 chicks that we know of (she keeps them so well-protected underneath her wings that its hard to actually see them unless they poke their littlle heads out) and three more eggs. It has been such a very fun experience and makes me very excited for my only little 'chick' to hatch. We are in awe at how God designed and created chickens with such an intense instinct to nurture and protect their young. Its been so sweet to watch.
So, that's what's been going on at "The Construction Zone in the Nesting House"!!!! Even though we are done with school until after Baby Sarah is born, you can't imagine all the learning that has gone on for the boys with a complete rebuilding of a bathroom, including plumbing and electricity, and a hen hatching her eggs. The best kind of learning certainly does not need to come from a book, that's for sure:).
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May. 22, 2007 - A Quick Report!
Just a quick entry to say we're still alive and kicking, just very busy and tired!!!! By the time evening rolls around and I have a minute to blog, I'm tucked into bed and fast asleep before the thought of blogging even reaches my placenta brain
. We're wrapping up school and are hoping to be done the first week of June. Other than that, we've been busy planting our garden and doing some nesting. We're getting excited to meet our littlest one in about 6 weeks. I have no idea where I'm going to put six more weeks of growth as surely my belly is as full as it can get. A little bum tucked under my ribs and a little head resting on my bladder; oh, how I can't wait to SEE that little head and that little bum!!!!!! So, that's the scoop on my absence: just being busy living life with little time to write about it!!!!!
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May. 5, 2007 - Sturgeon Revisited
Well, guess who brought home the bacon- er, Sturgeon today?!?!?!
Craig and I had a chance to go fishing together today, one of the very few times I've been able to go fishing for months. It was a perfect day, complete with smooth water, nice weather and a fish to boot!!!!! There are many things that bring my husband delight but one of them is watching his wife catch a fish. Perhaps it's because I CANNOT do it without squealing! It's truly physically impossible and this one was no different. Anyway, just had to share!
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May. 3, 2007 - Our found friend, the Frog
Yesterday we finished up a wonderful visit with my mom, which kept me much too busy to blog! We enjoyed the Olympia Farmer's Market, a trip to the 'homeschool store' (its really an education store, but we call it the 'homeschool store'!), a fun time at the park, a picnic in the backyard, a worm-diggin' party in the chicken yard, and lots of good chats. It was a lovely visit, indeed. But now she is home, my house is void of "Grahms-iddy", and I'm not too busy to blog for a minute! I enjoy blogging, but its not nearly as fun as having a grandma in the house!!!!
We found this little guy this morning in the garden:
Noah enjoyed him:
Then Kaleb enjoyed him:
And then Hannah enjoyed him (with her hands safely tucked up to her chest!!!):
Such fun God's creatures bring to us, both the frog and the kiddos who marvelled at him!
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Apr. 27, 2007 - Bringing Home the Bacon...er, Sturgeon
It's Sturgeon season here in the Pacific Northwest so if you live near the Colombia River and you've got a boat, this is what you are sure to be doing in your spare time! Sturgeon is a boneless fish with white meat and they are often referred to as 'prehistoric'. They are very interesting fish, actually, and uglier than the dickens! But they are yummy, yummy, yummy and lots of fun to catch (so I hear!).
This particular sturgeon was about as long as our 5 year old is tall. He thought that was pretty funny, as did his brother!
Hannah was fascinated, and perhaps a tad leary, about this prehistoric lookin' thing!
A proud Daddy, his doting fan club, and his catch!
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Apr. 24, 2007 - Today's Thoughts from the Diaper Pail
This evening I was washing out the diaper pail. I started contemplating whether other cloth diaper mommas use this type of diaper pail, whether they use a dry pail or a wet pail,what they clean their pail out with, etc, etc. All of these wonderings were born of a "I'm sure there's a better way that I haven't thought of" mentality and my mind began to wander. Here I am pregnant with my fourth baby; I've been using a diaper pail, collectively, for about 6 years now. Why is it that I don't yet feel like an expert on diaper pails or anything else related to mothering? Why is it that I still question my methods, even though I know them to work marvelously FOR ME? When is it that I will begin to feel like I know what I'm doing? I started analyzing why it is that a mother of three, going on four, sometimes still feels as shaky on her feet as if she were expecting her first? Is it noble humility that keeps me questioning? Is it a virtuously teachable spirit that provokes me to contemplate other mothers and their ways? Hmmmm.... those sure would be nice reasons, and perhaps there is some truth to them for me. But I think what truly undermines my confidence in mothering and my ability to feel even remotely like an expert on my own children is more than likely the society that surrounds me rather than an inward attribute. Voices all around proclaim to be the experts on my children. Pick up any secular parenting magazine, and even a select few of the Christian ones, and they will soon convince you that actually you have no clue what you're doing, even if you've been doing it for years. Should you still doubt your lack of expertise, they'll hand-feed you study after study proving your inability to parent without their input. If that doesn't have you convinced, come along with me to some of the doctors' appts. I've had the pleasure of going to. I actually had a pediatric nurse tell me that I should not nurse my son, who was quite ill with an upper-respiratory cold, because "dairy will only increase the mucous". WHAT?!?!?!?! I thought momma's milk was good for a sick baby. Silly me! I guess she thought I was nothing short of a cow! This particular pediatrician did not believe that anyone was an expert on my child except him! Thankfully, I have since met pediatricians who believe that parents are, in fact, experts on their children, but I have also heard many cases of doctors undermining parental knowledge, intuition, and judgement, all in the name of 'good medicine'. If the parenting magazines don't do it, and your well-child check ups can't shake you, go to your local bookstore and view all of the books written by "experts" in the child-rearing and child-training and child-development section. There you surely will be convinced that you actually have no clue how to parent, that perhaps you should just hand over the reigns to the nearest matronly-looking figure and run for your life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, guess what? I'm not letting go of these reigns, not even a smidgen! I AM an expert! I can tell you by simply looking at my child if they have a headache, if they are about to spout off an angry word, if they are feeling lonely, if they don't like dinner, etc, etc. I can even tell you by the way my child walks into the bathroom what they are going to do once they get there! I can sense when my child is about to make a confession by the way they hold their mouth. I can forsee tears before their little brain has even activated a single tear duct. Simply by the way my child gets out of bed in the morning tells me which side of the bed they woke up on! I can tell by the sound of their cry whether they are hurt, scared, angry or sorrowful without even knowing the situation. I know with certainty when my child needs a stern talking to or when they need gentle words and a hug. I know when their motive is pure but childish or when it is hurtful and full of revenge. I can even catch puke in a bucket simply by watching the way my child moves!!!!!!! I do not need a parenting magazine, a doctor or a 200 page book to make me an expert. I spend hours upon hours upon hours with these little beings, training them, loving them, observing them, listening to them, and watching them. Furthermore, my Creator, and the Creator of my children, hand-picked ME to be their momma. When He did that, He also equipped me with the skills and abilities to raise MY children. That's what makes me the expert!
Now I will say, with much gratitude, that the Lord has placed before me many wise people, a few wise books and even a wise magazine or two. Those people and things have served to add tools to my parenting tool box, so to speak, and I am so very thankful for them. However, none of them have dared to profess that they are the experts on MY children, thus separating them from the undermining current I am refering to. I also will say that there are appropriate times for individuals to intervene, in love, and suggest 'a better way' when one might see dangerous shortcomings in parenting abilities. I would hope that those who know and love me would do such a thing, not because they are experts on my children, but because they want ME to succeed at being the expert on my children.
So, for what it's worth, I really like my diaper pail system! I've been using it for a number of years, it works well for me, and I have yet to find a better way. In fact, I guess you could say I'm an 'Expert Diaper Pail Manager'. Perhaps I should use my expertise to write a book about the subject! Do ya think it would sell?
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Apr. 22, 2007 - And We Have a Winner!!!
We have a winner.... well, sort of! My 'friends from the spud state' were the closest! I was 'harvesting' worms as well as seperating my worms from my vermicompost. Here is the result of the joint labor between man (or woman, in my case) and worm:
This is a bin of vermicompost, or 'black gold', as it is often know. What is vermicompost? Plain and simple: worm poop! Yep, you got it! Originally, this black compost you see was nothing more than shredded newspaper and food scrapes. My favorite critters in the whole wide world went to work and left me with this reward. My plants and garden say thank you, as do I.
Not only did my worms do a marvelous job, but they procreated in the process, exponentially growing my colony of composters. What started out as about 20 or 30 worms is now the following picture times 5!!!!!!
So that's the activity that was occuring on my dining room table. If you haven't tried vermicomposting, you really ought to. Of course some people would never in a million years find delight in worm poop. Furthermore, others, like my dear friend Leslie (Hi, Les!!!!) may never eat at my dining room table again but I promise I thoroughly wiped it down when I was finished! Thanks for guessing and make friends with your worms; you'll be glad you did!
P.S. Hi, Idahodians!!!! Squeeze your little boys for me and the girly still in hiding!
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Apr. 21, 2007 - Just for Fun: A Guessing Game
Wanna take a stab at the activity occuring on my dining room table????
Stumped??? Here's a close up:
Give me your best guess!!!
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Apr. 17, 2007 - Baby Sarah and the Safe Zone
Noah, our firstborn, has always been a pretty analytical little guy. He is a thinker and a communicator, a very fun combination. He also has a keen awareness of things; very perceptive. When little Hannah was in the womb, he first became aware of the sad truth that sometimes babies die while in their momma's tummy and that some mommas purpose to cause their babies' death. Even at 5, he struggled to understand this. Now he is 7 and there is another baby in my womb. Noah is not as innocent as he was when he was five. Since then, his aunt and uncle, along with a couple of good friends, had to say goodbye to their babies before they ever got to say hello due to miscarriages. His baby cousin had to spend several weeks in the NICU, hooked up to machines, fighting for his little life. He has heard of babies who have gotten sick and died or who died shortly after being born. He has asked often if Baby Sarah is alive. Before each prenatal appointment he, at some point, has verbalized worry that the baby has died. He was delighted to be there for her ultrasound and seemed very relieved to SEE that she had a heartbeat, that she was wiggling around, that she was alive. But tonight as I tucked the boys into bed, he asked me a very difficult question: "Mom, is Baby Sarah in the 'safe zone'?" I knew what he meant right away but asked for clarification merely as a means to get my thoughts together before having to answer. "Is Baby Sarah in the safe zone? Is she for sure going to live? Is she out of that stage where she might die?"
This was one of those times that I was going to have to answer a question that I myself struggle to find peace with. I have three beautiful, healthy children who are my delight. When is the shoe going to drop? When is it going to be my turn to have my heart wrenched with sorrow, my arms left empty and hollow, my faith tried and tested like never before. My answer was as much for Noah as it was for me. "There is no 'safe zone', Noah, this side of Heaven. Baby Sarah's life is in God's hands, just as all of our lives are. He is our Creator and He decides how many days, months and years each of us gets to live. He is so smart, so very wise, and He knows EVERYTHING!!!!!!! He knows the past, the present, and the future. He does not want us to worry about Baby Sarah dying. He wants us to love and cherish her for the days that we have with her and trust Him with her life. And Noah, that's the beauty of Heaven: Heaven is our Safe Zone. God promises that there will be no tears in Heaven; no death, no sorrow, no sickness, no miscarriages, and no worries. Let's praise Him for Baby Sarah and the chance to know and love her now. Let's praise Him for her life, for her strong little kicks, for the sound of her little heart beating. Its okay to ask Him to let us keep her for a long time. We can trust Him with her life, though, and know that He has picked the perfect time for her to be born and to die. Noah, God is good; He is completely and entirely good. God is good."
It's a hard truth to fathom sometimes. But it is just that: TRUTH. God is good, when our arms are empty and our hearts are aching, and when our arms are full and our hearts are dancing. If I can't stand on this truth, I have absolutely nothing to stand on. And there does exist a Safe Zone, it is true. I can't wait to be there!
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Apr. 16, 2007 - The Warm Home-life
Yesterday I started reading "Home-Making" by J.R. Miller for the second time. Truly, I cannot recommend this book enough. I am blessed, challenged, compelled, convicted, encouraged and affirmed by nearly every single sentence. The first time I read it, I ate it! This time, I'm digesting it! Good books are like that, aren't they? There's a difference between reading them and READING them. This time, I'm READING it!!!
The first chapter is entitled "The Wedded Life" and though there are many quotables in it, this one especially struck a chord within me: "Is the home-life losing a little of its warmth? Ask not for the cause nor where the blame lies, but hasten to get back the old fervor at any cost." Had I written this sentence in my early years of marriage, this is what it would have said: "Is the home-life losing a little of its warmth? Scrutinize your husband for the cause and know, with certainty, that the blame lies fully on him. Hasten, at any cost, to reveal to him all his faults and how he can fix them so the marriage can get back its old fervor". I look back, with shame and embarrassment, at the ways I behaved in our first few years of marriage. I do not cease to be so very grateful that my wonderful husband did not throw me out of his house or his life but instead stayed devoted and faithful to me while I grew up (mind you, I am not a finished product yet but boy, the progress the Lord has made!!!)
If I could give any bit of advice to a newly married (or unhappily married) wife, it would absolutely be along the lines of the above quote from Mr. Miller. I might tweak it a bit and suggest that the struggling wife look to herself for the cause and the blame, for I am most certain she will find some. It is our flesh that diverts our attention from our own wickedness to dissect another in hopes of finding faults worthy of discord. There is no room for flesh in a marriage; simply no room. Furthermore, I don't know about you but my own faults keep me busy enough, leaving no time to dwell on my husband's.
How is the warmth in your home-life? If its feeling a little cool, ask the Lord to divert your attention away from fault-finding in your mate. Then, hold on tight and ask Him to reveal to you the ways you have been cooling your house down and how you can 'heat' it back up! May your marriages be richly blessed and may they truly be a testimony of God's love and faithfulness to a world in desperate need!
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Apr. 14, 2007 - Enough Hours for Washing Gum!
A older and wiser woman than myself once told me that there will always be enough hours in my day to accomplish the LORD's 'to-do' list for me. I was thinking on that this morning. Craig left early to try to catch a spring Chinook and I had plans to accomplish a great deal while he was gone, thus freeing up the rest of the day to spend with him. Well, the day got under way, and though I did get several things accomplished, they were accomplished in spurts. EVERY mom who ever took a breath must know what I'm talking about: breakfast preparations were interupted by a poopy diaper, a request for a glass of milk, a sibling squable, etc. The laundry was interupted by a little girl who wanted to nurse, 8 pieces of gum that found their way into the washer but were halted on their way to the dryer (mental note: ALWAYS check pockets! I know this!!!!!! I don't know what I was thinking this morning but I have made a new commitment to myself to check those pockets!!!!), a telephone call, etc. Often times I must admit that I am inclined to get grouchy on the inside when my family gets in the way of serving my family. Did you catch that: my FAMILY gets in the way of serving my FAMILY!!! Hmmmmm.... wonder who I'm really serving when resentment rises up within me because a child needs some help or my husband wants to chat or the gum is plastered onto every article of clothing in a 'super' load? Wonder whose agenda I'm really striving to accomplish when that voice within me shouts: "Lord, I don't have TIME for this today!!!!!!!" I happen to know, based on experience and on those words of that wise woman, that there will always be enough hours in my day to accomplish the LORD's agenda for me and there will always be enough time and energy to serve MY FAMILY. However, there will not be enough time to accomplish my agenda AND the Lord's and there will not be enough time to serve my family AND myself and to that I say, "Praise the Lord!!!". Deep within me is a genuine passion to serve the Lord and to serve my family. When my hours seem too few, I guarantee its because I'm trying to serve two masters. This morning, the Lord reminded me of this, so.... while picking little tiny fragments of gum out of an entire load of laundry, I plopped the sweetest 1 year old and the most delicious 5 year old onto the dryer and we had a nice chat about chickens! I can't think of anything else I would have rather done with my time right then. In fact, it made me feel kinda grateful for those 8 pieces of gum in a pocket. I'm still going to be checking pockets though!
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Apr. 13, 2007 - Smile Lines
The other day as I was sitting in my living room with my three children playing and laughing around me, I realized that I was smiling. I'm most certain this is not the first time I have unknowingly smiled while my children played, but it was the first time I discovered that I was. My children make me smile! I smile more because I have children! Its true! If I think about what my life would be like if the Lord had not led my husband and I down the path of family, and we had not followed, I bet a billion dollars I would find myself in the corporate world in my fashionable pinstripped suit or perhaps donning nursing scrubs or possibly even the casual attire of a schoolteacher. You know what? I would not have reason to smile like I do now. I am a stay at home mom, a domestic engineer, a trainer of the future and I am so cotton pickin' happy that often I have a smile smeered all over my face and I don't even know it!!!!!! When all is said and done, I will not have plaques lining my home office touting my great accomplishments, I will not have a seperate bank account with plenty of cash-ola, and I won't have much to talk about at cocktail parties if the subject moves too far from Legos and cloth diapers. But I'll tell you what? I will have smile lines that run so deep you may never see the bottom of them. I dare you, double dog dare you, to ask me where I got 'em and I'll pull out my wallet, packed full of pictures of my grown smile-makers and what do you know? Here comes that smile again! Lord, thank You more than I can ever express for giving me such precious reasons to smile!
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Apr. 9, 2007 - In three months!!!!!!
I realized this morning while taking a shower (have I mentioned how much thinking I get done in there?) that chances are good that I will get to meet this little one in my belly within three months. THAT is exciting!!! We know that this baby is a little girl (she gave us solid proof of that when we had a ultrasound to rule out TWINS!!!!!!) and that her name is Sarah Grace. It's very interesting being pregnant with #4. It is true that love for children grows exponentially because this baby is anticipated not only by Mom and Dad, but also by three siblings. Those three siblings, in their own unique ways, are so very excited for Baby Sarah to come. Noah counts the days and anticipates the prenatals and the birth. He loved being at the birth of Hannah! In fact, he has expessed concern that we will forget to wake him up or, for some other reason, not allow him to be there. Kaleb can't wait to love on her and play with her. He is a tremendous big brother to Hannah, so sweet and loving and inclusive. He looks forward to having another little baby to snuggle. And Hannah, in her wise old 20 months, babbles so sweetly to my tummy any time "Baby Sarah" is mentioned. She is going to be beside herself with joy at having a real, live baby in this house! Do you know what a pleasure it is to not only be delighted yourself with a new addition, but also to witness that same delight in your children? What a blessing! I praise the Lord for each of our children individually and for our children as a whole for both are such gifts!
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Apr. 7, 2007 - A day in the life....
Yesterday, we spent a glorious day enjoying the sun!!!! Oh, it felt so good to be surrounded by light and hear birds singing and feel the warm air, inviting my hands to plant and tend and PLAY! We spent the first part of the day tidying up the house, then headed for the park. What fun we had! The boys immediately found a friend from church and off they went, instantly transformed into secret agents and the such. Miss Hannah 'mastered' the slide, which required multiple ascents and descents, making her ripe and ready for a good, hearty nap. After the kids were played-out, we headed home, ate some lunch and then I made the executive decision (I get to do that, you know!), that all children would rest today. Hannah was delighted, the boys were reluctant, but soon the house was quiet and still. I headed outside to tend to my worm bins, observe our 'Hoppin' Hen' (one of our little Bard Rocks with a bum leg) to further hypothesize where her injury originated, and to plant a small patch of lettuce. Soon, my Dad and Craig returned home from a great morning of fishing with nothing to show for it but smiles and sunburns. The boys were allowed to be done with resting and welcome them home. Dad headed home and we headed to the local home improvement store and grocery store once Hannah woke up. A new shovel, a packet of peas, hot dogs and marshmallows.... We spent the evening cleaning up the garden, planting peas and then enjoying a campfire (thus the hotdogs and marshmallows) with our neighbors. When the last flames fizzled out, we were all tuckered and our beds felt so good! As if our day had not been delightful enough, God treated me to the sound of raindrops outside our open bedroom window during the night. It is one of my favorite things! To snuggle down deeper next to my warm husband while hearing the steady drop of rain outside.... YUMMY!!!!! Such a wonderful day!
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Mar. 26, 2007 - Play
I have some strengths when it comes to being a mom. Some of these strengths are gifts, really, that the Lord has blessed me with. For example, I am, by nature, a pretty patient and tolerant person. Other strengths are the results of lessons the Lord has taught me, such as my ability to multi-task. Unfortunately, I still have many weaknesses. In fact, I was telling my mom just the other day that I hope I get the chance to mother in Heaven, to really get to be the mom I WANT to be, free of my humanity and all its entailing weaknesses.
One weakness that I've been thinking about lately is what little time I spend PLAYING with my children, laughing and having fun with them, enjoying their childhood as a participant rather than an observer. I lean toward the practical type. I have my 'to do' list and I often make it the focus of my day. I leave little time for playing and this is the weakness that has been bothering me the most lately. Grandparents really make me aware of this weakness. Fortunately for our children, they are blessed with grandparents who love to PLAY with them, whether it be at the park or in the garden or right in the middle of the living room floor. When grandparents are around, I see lots of smiles and hear lots of laughter. There's more imagination, more creativity, even more rough-housing in our home. It's delightful!
Now I know that the role of a parent cannot be compared to the role of a grandparent. I cannot spend all day playing with my children. We live in a home that must be maintained and this, in and of itself, is a full-time job. Add to that the privilege of teaching and training and any momma has her hands nice and full. But the Lord did not give my children the ability to laugh and giggle and smile just for kicks! He gave them those things on purpose.
By God's grace and power at work in me, I want to change that weakness to a strength. I want to PLAY more with my children. When they grow up, I want them to have many happy memories of playing together, of giggling and laughing, of pretending and romping and building and smiling. I want to provide them with a home that is safe and secure and certain and solid. But I also want to provide them with a home that is filled to the brim with joy and laughter and smiles.
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Mar. 13, 2007 - Just two little words
I read a very disturbing and perhaps enlightening article in the latest issue of "Making It Home" (www.makingithomemagazine.com). Unfortunately, you cannot read the article on line but if you can get your hands on the March/April issue, its worth reading. I'm not going to try to summarize it because, to be honest, I'm still trying to digest it. However, it drew my attention to something very alarming to me. In this article, Blaine Staat, the author, talks about "Real ID", which is essentially an all-in-one ID card that will contain all your personal information and will be required of every US citizen beginning in 2008 (if you are not familiar with this, PLEASE become familiar with this because its about to take the US and perhaps the world, by storm). Mr. Staat feels that the next logical step will then be the microchip which some countries and even some companies here in the US have begun implementing. This leads me to my alarming discovery. Do you know that in Revelations 13: 15-16 in the KJV, it says that he (the beast) will cause all to receive ' a mark in their right hand, or in their forehead' but in other translations it says that the mark will be on the right hand or on the forehead. When suddenly the prospect of a required implanted microchip becomes a too-close-for-comfort possibility, the difference in two little words is huge!!!! Will we recognize the beast? Either I am a rarity or most Christians invision the mark of the beast being like a stamp on your forehead. That's not what Scripture says! Scripture says it will be IN your forehead! Do you see why I was somewhat alarmed by this? Just something to think about.
If any of you have read this article, I would love to hear from you and hear your thoughts on it. Like I said, I'm still chewing on it, still digesting it. I would love to hear the 'digestive juices' of other Sisters in Christ.
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Mar. 10, 2007 - Toothless Hags and other wonders!
When I was growing up, if we lost a tooth my mother lovingly labelled us "The Toothless Hag". I can't remember ever losing a tooth when this wasn't the case. If another child that my mother felt fondly of lost a tooth, they, too, were privileged enough to receive such a title. Well, guess who the newest and cutest Toothless Hag is? My Noah....
Now I consider Noah quite exceptional (and I'm not the least bit biased!!!) because this is his third tooth that he has 'lost' and truly LOST. The first tooth he swallowed while eating an apple, the second tooth he swallowed while sleeping. This tooth he did not swallow, much to our surprise and his delight. Instead, he proudly toted it around for about 30 minutes and then misplaced it. We have looked high and low (I even rummaged through the vacuum cleaner bag with my bare hands lookin' for that tooth to no avail!!!) but the tooth has not surfaced. He was heart-broken and I was a bit grossed out at the thought of a tooth being somewhere in our home
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In other news, Kaleb is a loyal and faithful Star Wars fan (IV, V, and VI, that is!) and the other day I found him commanding the Millenium Falcon (or whatever it's called!) from the comfort of his living room.... 
And last but not least, I sewed up a little skirt the other day and stumbled upon the cutest model I've ever seen to show it to you!
Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday!!!
