December Pictures

Callie modeling her new birthday dress from her Great-grandparents

Nathan didn't have a part in the Christmas play at church this year. He didn't seem to care, but I thought it would be special for him to at least dress up. (I know that's Pink talking, but Blue seemed to enjoy it:)). Isaiah wore this suite in my cousins wedding. Back then he had a nice tie to wear with it, but sadly the tie is no longer wearable. Probably because I allowed Isaiah to play with it. Hmmm. Anyway, Nate still looked very handsome indeed. :)

Isaiah was a shepherd in the play. It does funny things to my heart to see my oldest son in a Christmas play. He was more into it this year than last year and kept reminding me not to forget about the play! Take a good look at that camel -talk about stealing the show! Those two humps are actually the heads of two of my good friends. My friends only have one head each, just wanted to clarify that...

That look right there is what makes my heart hurt. He was just a little nervous, you could see it, but he did very well. He even waved to us about 5 times. He still thinks we're cool!

Here's another picture from Callie's birthday party. Four of Callie's cousins made it to the party (with parents). Natalie had already gone home and I guess Rylee just wasn't into singing & dancing in her pj's. What a crew!

Callie in Pictures

The Pink Raggedy Anne Cake. Usually when I tint red icing it gets really dark so I decided I was not going to let that happen this time. I certainly did not let that happen. :( The cake pan came from my Grandma. It's from Wilton and I think it was made in the 70's sometime.

She LOVED eating her cake. This is her crying after I took it away from her.

Her Great-Grandma Esther gave her her first taste of ice cream. They now share the same love.

"But Mom, she looks so cute in there!" I think the idea was to keep her out of his stuff. Isaiah really does love her.

Playing Peek-a-boo. Notice the Duplo tree ornaments. Surly I should get some kind of Good-mother points for hanging Legos on my Christmas tree! What Isaiah, Nate and Jeremy don't know is that next years theme is going to be pink, pink, pink!

Behind

• I promised my mom last weekend that I would post pictures of Callie's birthday party, but I still haven't done it. Since they are all on the computer upstairs I guess it will have to wait at least another day.
• I took all three children to the dollar store today to buy gifts. I picked that store partly because I'm cheap, but mostly because it was just easier than constantly telling them what they couldn't and couldn't afford. I probably should buy Jeremy a gift certificate to the dentist to go with the gifts they picked for him. Callie is getting some cars that look like police cars because Isaiah says he always needs those when he's playing with his cars. Hmmm, I don't think the better to give than to receive concept is getting through very well. He also picked out a baby doll bottle for her so I guess it's not too bad.
• Tonight Jeremy and I are going to see the new Narnia movie. I hope it's good. We very rarely go see any movie in the theater (way too much money to have to watch a movie with a pile of strangers), however, watching a movie like this one on the large screen is hard to beat.
• Nathan asked me the other day what he was getting for Christmas. I told him it was a surprise. His response: "But I don't want fries!" Poor child. I wouldn't mind fries for Christmas, especially if they came from Dodies.
• I'm getting hungry

This and That and Nathan

I think Christmas is here. The tree is up and decorated. Christmas music is playing and believe it or not, most of our shopping is finished. I am proud of myself and I don't mind saying so. I always hope to have it done early, but rarely get it done. I haven't done any Christmas baking yet. I usually love doing it, but for some reason this year I'm not very motivated to do it. Probably because I'll end up eating it. :(

I'm taking the kids to our local Christmas bookstore in a little while to meet Bob and Larry. Callie will probably cry, but the boys should enjoy it -I hope. Otherwise dragging three children to a busy store on a Saturday morning will have been a complete waste of time and energy.

There's a new question posted on the Among Women blog. What question do you wish someone would ask you in order to understand you better? We would love your involvement.

I've posted pictures of Callie and Isaiah. Here are a couple of Nate. He is really growing up. This year Christmas is sinking in and he's getting it. He is very tuned into what is happening around him. He's quick to hear words on the radio that he recognizes like the word Christmas. I'm amazed at what he picks up on.

Nate showing Callie how to dream.

He is very determined.

Isaiah is 5

Isaiah is now 5. He had his birthday on Nov. 12. I'm always late. He shares his birthday with his Pappy and with his cousin Moriah. We didn't see Riah close to his birthday so we don't have a picture of her, but here is one of him with Pappy. I was so pleased with how well it turned out.

The birthday cake. Probably the easies cake I've ever done, but it sure wasn't the tastiest. Let's just say that black sugar just tastes black.

I didn't tell him to pose like this...I'd say he's a pretty blessed child. :)

11 Months

In a week and half Callie will be one. Amazing. Here are a few pictures from the last month. They are of course backward from how I wanted to post them, but oh well. Breaking with tradition I'll post a caption above each picture. It feels so good to be different.

Watching Uncle Hans fly his helicopter.

She loves to sit here while I cook. It doesn't happen often because it makes me nervous. I'd sure like to know why that rolling pin is in my electric skillet. The maid must have done it.

Another favorite pass time. Playing in this cupboard. Yes, I do watch her and I do not let her eat beans...

And now the November 8th, 11th month pictures.

"I'm not touching those leaves. Not even my toes will touch them"

"OK, maybe just once"

She smiles and I loose focus. Sounds like a country song.

I throw leaves at her to try to make her smile

And here should be the picture that is the top of this post, but of course it is at the top and will not move, this is so frustrating. Anyway, Callie is 11 months!

Monday, or it's Tuesday Isn't it...

I wish someone would show up and update this blog for me. I keep meaning to post pictures, but it hasn't happened. Obviously.

Last week I had one of those weeks that just felt really good. We (as in I and the children) were home every morning but one and that was just to get a few groceries. I had more patience for my children and they were pretty well behaved for the most part. I actually had a few moments where I felt like the mother I've always wanted to be. Oh so patient and kind.

So, yesterday Monday came again. I was ready to start my week because after all things were going well and I had figured out how to be the perfect mother. Then Monday came. Yes, dear Monday.

I don't know what changed. Well, I have some ideas. I am busy this week and have more on my mind, but really, I did spend time with them, sort of, they colored and I paid bills... and I did smile (ok, so my teeth my have been clenched, but they saw a smile!). I do know that when I allow myself to get busy with other stuff I have a hard time connecting with my kids. It's just a hard and not very fun lesson to learn. Maybe tomorrow I'll do better.

These are some of the responses I've been getting from Isaiah and Nathan when I scolded them: "You're doing bad!" (Isaiah) and "I still love you!" (Nathan). Like I didn't already feel guilty enough. :(

On a lighter note. I had coffee with two great friends last night. So good to connect and learn that I'm not alone in my struggles.

Best thing I've read this week: You can't tell me worrying doesn't help. I've worried about millions of things and not one of them has come true.

I took Nate to the bathroom the other day. He didn't "produce" much. He seemed quite upset about this. He then asked me "Will God fill up my butt again?" One of the moments that make the hard days easier.

Among Women

Several weeks ago I was privileged and very blessed to be part of a group of women from CMC that got together to share about the joys and trials of our different spheres of life. Here is the "promotion" for the blog that has been created as a result of this time together:

In preparation for the women's program at Conservative Mennonite Conference's annual conference in 2011, a small group of women have agreed to talk with each other about what it’s like to be them. Some are single; others are divorced, married, or widowed. Some work outside the home; others work at home. All of these women love Jesus and try to follow him. They will be part of a yearlong conversation about God, the Bible, and their various spheres. You are invited to join the conversation at amongwomencmc.wordpress.com. Please visit the blog, post your comments, ask questions and talk about your experiences. We look forward to hearing from you!

I had a lot of misgivings when I agreed to join this panel. Part of the reason I agreed to it was because I recognized some of the other women that were going to be involved and I knew that I would be able to rub shoulder's with them and learn from them. They were Godly woman that I had admired from afar. I did not know all of the woman, but quickly came to appreciate each of them. They were an incredible blessing to me.

Another reason I agreed to do this was because I have a heart for women. We're such complex people. Very emotional and very talkative. Both can be a blessing and both can cause great pain. We've all been called to do different things, walk different roads. We're all called by the same God, but some times these callings look different. I am guilty of spending too much time comparing myself to other woman instead of focusing on what God has called me to or how to reach out to those in a different calling. Am I alone? I long to be validated in my calling.

On this panel I represented mother's of preschoolers. I do feel this is my calling for this phase of my life. I struggle daily with the stresses that come with being home with small children. I struggle with the lack of appreciation for what I do. (Jeremy is very affirming!) Where's the paycheck or the yearly review?? :)

Through this blog you will meet other women representing other spheres of life. See their pain. Learn how to relate to friends you know in the same place of life as these women.

Part of me is fighting even wanting to tell anyone about this because as I read the blog and saw the pictures (I never like to see pictures of myself!) it was rather hard for me. It was a very emotional, raw weekend. At times it was hard for me to see in writing things I had said. However, we were encouraged to remember that we are doing this for all the other woman out there. So, for all the other woman (even the perfect ones. :)) I share this and hope you will get involved and hopefully learn a lot and hopefully we as woman can can find healing together and learn to walk with each other through this life.

Please read the blog, leave comments, tell your friends about it and stay tuned for more through out the year. P.S. While this started with CMC it was open to everyone.

Getting to the Point

• It's Sunday. The past week has been full. I have much on my mind. Much to be thankful for. Much room to grow
• Several weeks ago we had a visiting speaker at our church for several meetings. I was greatly convicted that I am afraid to reach out to the lost in my neighborhood.
• I had a dream this week that confirmed the message God had laid on my heart about reaching the lost. I don't think every dream is a message, but I'm pretty sure this one was. Now, what will I do about it?
• Jeremy and I are aunt and uncle again and this time to nephews! Brandon and Cindy welcomed Adam and Ashton early Tuesday morning. Callie had a rough night that night. Maybe she was thinking of her new cousins. While awake with her God prompted me to pray for Cindy not even knowing that she was in labor. When God tells you to pray. Pray.
• Isaiah turned 5 on Friday. I can hardly believe it. He is no longer a baby, no longer a toddler, he's a boy. Five, but well on his way to 10 I'm sure. He really is growing up and he is a lot of fun too.
• Jeremy was away from Thursday to Saturday night. It's so good to have him home. I am blessed.
• I'm drinking tea. I've recently been liberated from thinking I have to enjoy tea. I'd much rather drink coffee. However, I've also realized that I do like good old regular black tea. I recently found some bags of Red Rose in my cupboard. I think my mom gave them to me. Can you buy Red Rose tea in the states? It tasted great.
• Yesterday while the children slept I was catching up on some Revive our Hearts programs I had missed, but wanted to hear. The subject was on Stewardship of your Fertility (Nov. 8,9,10). I believe half of you were just about to sign off of this blog.... The guests were Steve and Candice Watters.
• And so I begin another week. Another shot at trying to keep my priorities straight. Keeping what's important, well, important. Realizing that I can not raise children to be adults or be the wife I want to be and know I should be without a lot of grace.

Whoopie Cakes

Why is that when I ever I make whoopie pies they turn out as flat as pancakes? I've tried two recipes now, added flour, increased the oven temperature and chilled the dough, and still they are flat! Any suggestions? Rhonda, I might try the pumpkin recipe you posted about. This is so frustrating. I'm wondering if is my gas oven.

The Hunt

"How long have we been out here?"

"I don't know. He has to come out sooner or later"

"Stay ready!"

Sadly, George the groundhog decided to stay in his home under the shed. I think the cardboard shields really scared him off. (if you click on the last picture you'll be able to see it better. Their faces crack me up)

Food for Thought

I love online recipe sites. allrecipes.com is a favorite. I enjoy reading what other people have to say about a recipe. I enjoy cooking and baking, but I like to know that something is going to taste good before I use a bunch of time and ingredients to make it. Remember that I just said I like reading the comments when you read the rest of this post. I'm not complaining or making fun of them, not really anyway.

I recently made split pea soup. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com. Lots and lots of comments. Some of them went something like this. Sort of.

"This is the best soup I've ever had!! My husband ate 46 bowls of it and he hates split pea soup! I followed the recipe with just a few small changes. Instead of soaking the peas all night I boiled them for one hour. I didn't have chicken broth on hand so I used ham bouillon. My butcher shop didn't have any ham hocks so I threw in a pound of hamburger. I don't like rosemary so I left it out and added a bay leaf. I also don't care for celery so I left it out and added green peppers. I can't wait to make this soup again. It's the best soup I've ever had!"

What cracks me up is that they change half the ingredients and call it the best recipe ever. If they take note they may realize that instead of split pea soup they now have clam chowder. Maybe I'm just jealous because I'm not real good at just throwing stuff together when I'm cooking.

Like I said, I love the comments and I do read them and will continue to do so.

In other food thoughts. I love food photography. I always get a kick out of the different dishes and containers they put the food in. I also look at the stuff sitting around the dish they are promoting.

I wonder who gets to buy all those dishes and where they keep them and how they organize them so they can find them again. "Hey, I need an iron skillet for corn bread and a crystal bowl for chocolate covered strawberries! Check warehouse #3."

I find it amusing how there is often a spoon or fork in the picture. It's usually half full or upside down or arranged neatly on a napkin. Several months ago Taste of Home shared a recipe for potato salad. The recipe looked great, however the picture was odd. The picture showed a half empty bowl of potato salad. You could see the mayonnaise smeared up the side of the dish. It looked like something you would find at the end of a three hour 4th of July picnic. I liked that it was a different view point, but I'm still kind of bothered by it.

Here are my recent attempts at food photography:

Sales

I love sales. I had never heard of Modnique.com before today, but if you sign up they give you a $5.00 credit to your account. You can then use coupon code star and they'll take another $10 off. I'm a sucker for this stuff. If you scroll down you'll see the Kidorable store. I ordered a couple cute things that will hopefully make a Christmas gift for someone. They have some cute stuff on sale for $5-$12 and the coupon code and credit apply to shipping also -not bad.

I tell you this for two reasons: 1 -I love sales and 2-if you order something from them using the link above I get a credit in my account. So I tell you for two reason 1 -I'm greedy and 2 -I love sales!

Dream Big

It doesn't matter what I say, Isaiah and Nathan are drawn to all weapons and anything that is powerful. It goes without saying, but I'll say it, David and Goliath is a BIG favorite at our house. I can think of at least 4, maybe 5 books that we have that include this Biblical account. As interesting as Goliath may be I pray they have hearts more like David's.

Craving

If I had the ingredients, the time and the energy and if I liked blue cheese and rare meat I think I'd make this salad.

Good Mornings

I often pray for grace for my day. I'm not always sure what that looks like. Sometimes I think it comes in the form of something that makes me smile. Moments when stress takes a backseat and I'm able to focus on the "beauty" around me. One of those times is when I hear my boys running down the stairs in the morning. Nate often will run to find me and give me a hug. I love it. He has the best "just rolled out of bed" look. P.S. He did get a hair cut since these pictures were taken.

Callie -10 months, part 2

After I posted last night I realized I forgot some of the pictures I wanted to post. So, mostly for Mom, here are a few more. :)

Cousin Natalie loaned Callie some very cool headbands. Callie loves them!

I love this picture

She loves the strap on our camera and often looks down when her picture is being taken because she sees it hanging from the camera.

Playing in the "children allowed" drawer (like the table cloth?!)

Callie -10 Months

I started this blog when Isaiah was about 8 months old. I have lots of posts about Isaiah. Nathan has received his fair share also. I feel I have done a very poor job of giving Callie her chunk of blog room so tonight I dedicate one to her.

She is a blast to have around. She squeals a lot and "talks" much more than the boys did. She loves her Daddy and will make all kinds of noises until she gets his attention when he comes home from work. She's into EVERYTHING. She's not our best sleeper, but she's learning...:)

I have taken a picture on the day of the month on which they were born for one year for each of our children. (I know that sentence doesn't make any sense, but I couldn't think of a better way to explain myself, so just be confused. It's my blog...:)) I always wondered how far I would make it until I forgot one. I didn't actually forget Callie's 10 month "birthday" I just had my days mixed up. I thought the 8th was on Saturday and didn't realize I was wrong until Saturday. I was very sad. I do have a few pictures from that day of her with Isaiah. I guess that will have to do.

Taken on October 8th. She loves her brothers. She also loves her bear which was a gift to Isaiah before he was born from Auntie Angela before she was his aunt. It makes sense to me...

She likes Duplos. :( I've already bought a doll for her birthday or Christmas gift. This green outfit is a hand me down from her friend Marin. I love it. It's different and very cute. Thanks Jo and Marin!

She's a little spoiled. By this age the boys were only allowed to have their nuk while sleeping or at church. She also sucks her thumb while sleeping if she can't find her nuk.

She loves her brothers!

I bought 10 headbands on ebay for $5.50. I like them, but they need a bow or flower or something. Any suggestions on what I can do to dress them up a little? Sorry, this picture is a little dark.

This makes me laugh each time I see it.

Psalm 66:16-20

Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.

I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;

but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love for me!

The words "cherished sin" in this passage always make me stop and think. Do I really cherish sin? My friend, Webster, says that cherish is a verb: to hold dear; treat with care and affection; to keep deeply in my mind.

Why does it feel good sometimes to dwell on some hurt done to me instead of forgiving. I hold that hurt feeling dear to my heart and enjoy the way it allows me to feel better than the person that hurt me, cherished sin.

Or the wonderful "I'm something important" sort of feeling I get when I can pass on a bit of "information". I probably should repent of that bit of gossip, but it really was just so she could pray about it. And it felt so good to be able to be the one in the know and to make sure someone else knew that I was in the know. Cherishing...

Or how many times have I spent half my day talking to myself and telling myself just how justified I am at being upset with my husband for something he did or said. Something that probably wasn't that big of a deal, but the more I treat that thought with much care and affection something very small grows into a monster.

I thinking about cherished sin in my heart today. If it's there will God still hear my prayers?

Today

Good things about my day:
-Rain, lots of it
-Applesauce
-Piano lessons to two great little girls
-Home all day
-Talked to my mom who hasn't been home for over 2 weeks -I miss our talks
-Jeremy was home today
-Ate fairly decent today because I was too busy to look for junk

Not so good things about my day:
-Broken garbage disposal. It's fried. I'm very sad. I love that thing.
-Leaking roof
-Filthy kitchen floor -thanks to the applesauce

Odd things about life:
-Pioneer Woman puts flour and rice crispies in her Monster Cookies
-Callie is picky about when she wants to nurse, stinker
-Recently my house seems to be much dustier than usual. I'm wondering if it's because of the dry weather we had all summer. Please tell me it is.
-The book that I started that was written in 1944 is still unfinished. The plane crashed, they went to the hospital, they are still there. The stewardess seems to be the hero.
-The book review I started on here 3 weeks ago is still being worked on and may find it's way here sometime.
-Someone stole 2 inches off the bottom of all of Nate's pants during the summer.
-I can tell you when each of my 3 children pooped. And who is due...Sorry.

This is My 400th Post

I'm not sure how in the world I have 400 posts on here, but I do.

I used to talk to myself. I talked about supper plans and parenting and frustrations. Now I post facebook status updates in my head that never make it to facebook. I think I liked talking to myself better. I got a lot more feedback that way.

Tidbits

Tidbit: A choice morsel (according to Webster)

We just had cinnamon rolls and orange Julius's for supper. I made everyone eat cucumbers too so I wouldn't feel so guilty.

I had a yard sale this week with my grandma. I made about $70. I figure that works out to about $.13 per hour that I put into it, but getting junk out of the house was well worth it.

I was without a kitchen faucet for exactly 8 days last week. I ran out of patience for it after 2 days. The part finally came yesterday. I have never been so happy to see running water. It just seems impossible to really get anything clean without hot running water. I do have a dishwasher that got used ALOT. I guess I'm spoiled.

Callie had her 9 month check up this week. She weighs 17lb something. She's now in the 26th percentile for her weight and the 89th for her height. She is crawling everywhere and pulls herself up on things. She's starting to crawl faster when I go after her and tonight she almost laughed. :( She reminds us a lot of Isaiah at this age. She does a lot of talking that sounds like singing. This is new for us. I guess it's a girl thing. As I type she's headed for the steps for the 157th time tonight.

Isaiah told Jeremy tonight that it would be ok if Jeremy said he liked Callie more than him. While he was saying it he was almost crying. Where did that come from?? Nearly broke my heart. It was a good time to reaffirm our love for all three children.

I was looking at old pictures the other night. My heart hurt.

I am reading a book I stole from my grandma how was trying to sell it at our yard sale. It was published in 1944. It's called "Listen, Bells Ring". The word "gay" meant something different back then.

Shopping with Kids

I'd like to know how many mothers shop with their children. There are about 50 people out there today that I wish I didn't. I like to leave at least 2 of them with Jeremy, but that usually means I have to go in the evening and this week we already have 3 evenings filled up so I took them with me this morning. They did great and I have wonderfully behaved children.

Right! OK so they aren't the children on the floor kicking and screaming and crying, but almost. Our first stop was Aldie's. Callie always gets to sit in the actual child's seat. The boys still both like to at least start in the big part of the cart. Isaiah is too big for it, but I always wrongly think it will be better to have them both in one place than chasing them outside of the cart.

Wrong. They hardly both fit so there is often fighting over who should put what where. Today they weren't fighting. They were playing together. They were "shooting" salad dressing and hot dogs all over the store. (nothing came out of the package, just pretend) I was grateful that they weren't crying, but loud, oh my. (I'm not giving all the details...) Then one of them saw my grandma. "Great-Grandma!" I'm sure half the store heard them. It was nice to see a familiar, understanding face. We finally made it to the check out. I love Aldies, but I do not like how they load your groceries into another cart. It works fine if you're by yourself, but with kids is crazy. I accidentally squished Isaiah between the cart and the counter. We almost had a melt down. Then I had to transport kids and purse to the new cart only to see that the cashier put stuff in the child's seat so there was no place for Callie. Thankfully my grandma was right in front of me and was able to hold Callie while I paid and got kids out of the cart.

In the van I almost decided to just go home and give up going to Wal-Mart, but I really didn't want to have to run out again. I had a talk with the boys and told them how disappointed I was in their behaviour at Aldies and I expected better at Wal-Mart. I told Isaiah he was going to walk instead of being in the cart. He told me he didn't have enough energy. I told him if he had energy to act like he just did he had energy to walk. Oh.

The talk didn't do a lot, but we did make it to the check-out. I'll spare the details, but it wasn't pretty. I was embarrassed and not happy at all. So what am I supposed to do? I had my options:

1. Tell them they are going to get it when we get home. However, that means I have to deal with it when we get home. Plus that's what all those "awful" mothers scream at their children in Wal-Mart.

2. Tell them they will be talking to Daddy when he gets home. This always get their attention and really makes life easy for me. Oh the fear of Daddy! However, I do not like to do that to Jeremy. He's always fine with it, but it's just not the way I like to welcome him home from work. Plus, the boy's always look forward to him coming home.

3. This option came to me and I liked it so I did it. I loaded everyone into the van and drove to Wendy's. The boys figured out where we were and started asking for nuggets. Eating out is a big treat that doesn't happen often. I almost stopped my plan because my mother's heart was starting to melt, but it didn't melt enough. I simply explained to the boys that the behaviour I had just dealt with while shopping didn't deserve any nuggets. I then ordered myself a pack of nuggets. It was a silent drive home. The nuggets were bittersweet.

When we got home I unbuckled car seats and started to take Callie inside. I turned around to see Isaiah and Nathan both coming out of the van with grocery bags. I was amazed because I don't usually have them help me and because I hadn't asked them to help this time. Plus, I hadn't bought them nuggets. The helped unload all the groceries.

I was so pleased and told them so. Isaiah said something along the line that this was a lot better than how he acted at the grocery store. For one brief moment I thought I had arrived as the perfect mother. This one simply lesson was going to make them perfect obedient children and responsible adults. I sure was something! Than I told them to pick up their Duplos before lunch and my big bubble popped. Oh well. It was fun for 30 seconds.

Thunder Bay

I just posted a bunch of picture from our trip to my facebook account. Try clicking here to see them. If it doesn't work let me know. I'm not sure if you can see them if you're not on fb??

Friends

I remember the first time a friend of mine started a blog and emailed me the link. I thought it was a bit weird. Then I couldn't stop reading it. That was probably 5 years ago. My world has shrunk several sizes since then.


Through blogging and facebook I have reconnected with friends that I grew up with or met at Rosedale. People that at one point in time I thought I'd always stay in touch with because we connected so well. Then we'd move apart and except for the odd letter or phone call did not stay in touch.


There are a lot of bad things about the internet, but connecting with old friends is not one of them. Faces I haven't seen in years now feel like next door neighbors because I just saw on facebook that it's raining at their house or they are really in the mood to bake bread. I've watched them fall in love, get married, change jobs, take trips, have children, potty train those children, move to other countries, plant gardens, try new recipes, seek God. I feel very connected with them.


This week one of those friends suffered the lose of a beautiful baby girl. Suddenly typing messages like "I'm sorry" or "I'm praying for you" and seeing the words on a cold computer screen doesn't express what I'm trying to say. I guess there are some words only eyes and hands and arms can speak. I am thankful for prayer. Even though at times like this I don't understand my God or His ways I have to trust that He will be faithful.

True Woman

Several months ago I received this book. The understanding was that I would read it and blog about it before September. I'm feeling very guilty that it is now September 9th and I still haven't blogged about it. :( Please do not expect to read a professional book review. This will simply be my thought on this book. Here goes.

The very title of the book "Voices of the True Woman Movement; A Call to the Counter-Revolution" grabbed my attention. How do I as a woman be a Christ follower in the culture that I live in? The fact that the book comes with Nancy Leigh DeMoss's name on it was the main reason I wanted to read it.

I've never met Nancy, but she has definitely been a mentor to me through her books and radio programs. I appreciate her Biblical based teaching. She backs up what she says with Scripture.

In October 2008, Revive Our Hearts hosted the first True Woman Conference in Chicago. This book is a collection of the messages from that conference. Contributors include DeMoss, John Piper, Mary Kassian, Joni Eareckson Tada and Janet Parshall.

I realize that the very title of this book will make some cringe and may have stopped reading already. I was drawn to it.

I plan to (hope to) blog more about this book in the days to come. If you are interested in reading the book let me know.

Pictures

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks...

Sunday afternoon water balloon fun.
Sibling fun

8 months. She is now doing the army crawl at amazing speeds and is also almost crawling on all fours. I've seen her do it, but then she drops to her belly again. She now pulls herself to standing. She loves it, but it causes us to run when she starts crying because she can't get down or because she falls down. She has several bruises and scrapes on her face from her tumbles.

Callie and Pappy. Like the hair? :)

Flower of the Family

Note: the following has been rolling around in my head for a few days. I finally just typed it out. If I don't write these things down I'm afraid I'll forget them.

In the summer of 2006 my mom gave me this African Violet. It had almost constant blooms on it for a year and a half. Then we went to Rosedale for 6 weeks and when we came back it was no longer blooming and refused to bloom again. It was suggested to me that I should replant it in a bigger pot, but I didn't feel like bothering with it so I just kept it on the window sill above my sink and kept watering it.


This spring I bought a bag of potting soil so I could plant flowers in hanging baskets for outside. I had plenty of soil left over so I dug out a large pot from the basement and replanted the violet that wouldn't die, but wouldn't bloom. I had little hope for blooms, but figured it was worth a try.


I kept watering and what do you know, it started to bloom! Not just one here or there, but lots of beautiful flowers. This picture was taken soon after it started blooming. There are so many more blooms now.


I guess I'm a PK or something because I see teaching moments in things like this. As I was washing dishes one day and marveling at the beautiful violets I was struck with the realization that I am sometimes like this violet.


I may not be dead, but I'm not bearing much fruit. For whatever reason God will let me sit like this for a season. I'm sure he doesn't want me there, but he lets me choose to be there. Then a time comes when He seems to say that's enough sitting around girl and He starts to replant me.


I feel like I am in a season of replanting right now. I feel like my roots have been tugged out of their comfort zone. My comfortable pot has been replaced with too much room to wonder where I am and where the comfortable walls are that I love so much.


There's new dirt around me that I don't know and I don't like. I'm sure it's good for me, but I'm not used to it.


Slowly I'm recognizing that all this is good for me. I've often prayed for humility, God is giving it to me, in abundance. I hate being repotted and pruned, but it is allowing me to experience God in a depth I haven't known before.


Jeremy and I were blessed to attend the Conservative Mennonite Conference this past weekend in Ohio. I missed some of the worship times because I was often getting Callie settled in childcare, but the times I was able to attend were so good. Sure the musicians and worship leaders were very gifted, and I enjoyed listening to them. They were doing their part. However, it was the sweet attendance of the Holy Spirit that caught my attention. Each time I stood to worship I found myself weeping.


I have wept before from fear, from disappointment, from deep conviction, from frustration, but to weep while in worship of a Holy God that is so close and so real to me is indescribable. Even as I write this I wonder why I'm trying to tell you about it. I hope you have experienced this so you can understand the sweet moments I experienced. So safe, so precious. I take no pride at being able to say I was moved during these times. This is not something that I can create or work hard enough to obtain. It is only birthed out of a loving God uprooting and rearranging my heart to realize once again that I am nothing, can do nothing, nor can I ever produce fruit aside from His working.


Other's must have wondered what my problem was. Have you heard the joke about the girl that was the flower of the family? She was the blooming idiot. Maybe I'm a blooming idiot. If that means all this replanting is someday going to produce some kind of fruit, then bring it on!

Callie Laughing

Style and Class

Some would say we're rednecks. We like to call it class. We have a rule at our house that gets followed sometimes. It's this: if we're staying home you can decide what to wear, if we're going away Mommy decides what you wear. Sadly this does not include our backyard. Poor neighbors.It's been so hot around here that I finally let the boys play in the rain one morning. I guess you can't really tell it's raining, but it was.
I have no idea

Robinwood and Little John (little John's bow broke just before I took this picture)

I told them to empty the pool. I gave Nate a bucket and told him to poor the water on my flowers. The rest is history. He had shorts on when he went out. I haven't found them yet.