December Memories

December has been a very full month for us. It went flying by as well. I have a rare moment of down time today. We are on Christmas break and enjoying Leon's family, especially the ones from the South, and while the older grandkids went bowling, I stayed back to be w/ the ones who are a bit sick-ish. Then we all plan to end up at Pizza Hut later. Pizza Hut has a long standing place in this family, mind you. Don't mess w/ the Pizza Hut tradition. :) As long as I don't have to cook, I'm not complaining.

So here are a few of my favorite memories from the past month...

• cutting and tying 6 fleece blankets with the help of my children and my Mom  for the youth Christmas gift exchange
• baking cut-out cookies and decorating them with Brooke
• getting frustrated over chocolate that wouldn't cooperate for turtles and mocha truffles (that's not exactly a favorite memory..)
• watching Logan's basketball games which they both lost, then missing the one where they won!:(
• coffee shop date with my special friend, Lori
• church Christmas banquet
• youth Christmas banquet and gift exchange
• sewing a dress for my little 9 mon. old niece
• Christmas shopping
• letting the children plan how we want to 'do' our family Christmas this year (more on that later)
• decorating the house
• enjoying the Christmas lights in our house at night and the cozy feelings it provides
• helping my Mom with Christmas meals
• watching the Live Animal Christmas Play, a yearly tradition
• singing 'He is the Lord' at church
• Christmas caroling with the church and the youth
• giving gifts
• receiving Christmas letters and pictures in the mail
• being reminded of the great sacrifice God made to come to earth as a baby in order to fulfill His Father's plan
• singing carols with my sometimes naughty Sunday School class last Sunday up front at church and hoping and praying that the love they feel from me makes them want to know True Love
• watching my 4 year old play with our manger scene and re-enact the Story over and over
• getting snow
• sending Jamison to SC for several days with his uncle to surprise his cousins

One of the things that has been impressed on me so much this year is that less is more, especially if the heart is right. Simple acts and gifts are priceless when we feel genuine love from the giver. Large gifts feel 'small' when given out of obligation or to impress. Oh, that I could get that in my children's heads, for it truly is 'more blessed to give than to receive'. I think I have to live it,  if I want to give it. The responsibility lies not in my knowing, but in my showing and doing and acting. oh, that my heart could be filled with genuine agape love and that it could flow through all that I do.

random {that very overused word of the day}

I feel like I must write. I haven't really blogged in so long. It's very theraputic for me.  I have an extremely busy week and it seems like this is perhaps the last thing I should do. I'm forgetting the to-do list for just a minute and giving myself 10 minutes to rant about random things in my life.

The timer just went for the pie crust I'm baking. I love, love having frozen pie crusts in the freezer for desserts at busy times. Tonight the pie will become a peanut butter cream pie and hopefully grace the table of one of our pastor's family's for a belated Pastor Appreciation meal that was supposed to happen back in October.

I want to do some Christmas baking. I have to make cut-out cookies. It's a family tradition around here and I know better than to mess with those. I also want to make party mix and those Peanut Butter Blossom cookies.

Logan's basketball consumes way more of my time than I like. Running him to practice 4x a week is so NOT my cup of tea. But watching him get to play last week made up for it. (sort of) It's been a dream of his for a very long time and I love the good things he can learn in sports.

We had steaik fajitas for lunch and if I ever overeat, you can blame Mexican food.....or steak and potatoes...or salad..or grilled chicken....or fresh homemade bread....Sometimes I wish for no appetite, but then I remind myself that only the sick people have no appetite so maybe it's not a bad thing, as long as I control it.

Thursday looms before me like a giant monster stalking me...coming closer and closer. Yes, a dentist appointment is on the schedule for the afternoon. I never had a cavity until a year ago, of course if you didn't go to the dentist for 8 years before that you don't know what you have, :) but suddenly I learned about cavities and root canals and I do not like it. Not one little bit.

Why do some people have such a hard time being okay with their past and where they've come from? It's all part of our story and most of us can find at least a  little bit of good in how we were raised. I feel sad for people who spend their whole life running away from it and missing the good parts along the way.

Relationships can be tricky no matter where you are at in life. Getting along w/ people is not an art you learn overnight. Usually honesty is the best policy, but then that's the way I roll. For you, that may be totally offensive. I just don't like when I feel your frustrations toward me but to my face you are all friendly and sweet.

Last night I poured out all my woes of my busy week to my kind husband. He listened, and offered a bit of advice, but I felt so much better afterwards. He has been so helpful when I get overwhelmed and he is my solid rock more times than I can count.

It's really hard for me to admit when I am busy or overwhelmed. I am a firm believer that people choose the life they live and for some people being insanely busy is their status symbol, the way they are known. Count me out. I want to enjoy life. But having said that, sometimes life happens and things come up that are not in our control and that's okay too. Sometimes.

There is nothing worse than a whiney, fussy girl on a Sunday morning unless you make that two whiny fussy girls. For real. I think Satan just walks in here on Sunday mornings and tries so hard to rule the roost and too many times I'm too dumb to notice it was him until it's all over.

Watching people interact with my children is the coolest thing. I hope my children grow up to take an interest in other people's children. What a blessing and example youth can be to younger children! We are so, so blessed with a youth group that loves our kids and not just in a crazy, 'I'll have fun with you ' kind of way, but 'I'm reallyt interested in you and your life'.

My 10 minutes are up, my brain is a little de-fuzzed and I'm off to tackle the next project.

My Thanksgiving Post

Blogging has not been a priority around here lately, but that doesn't mean I've been sitting around doing nothing. :)

Being grateful has been on my mind a lot lately and rightfully so with the holiday we enjoyed yesterday. When I take my eyes off of my blessings I become cynical, discouraged and just plain grouchy. I know that Ann Voskamp is onto something. Often it's being thankful for the little things, the ordinary things, that helps my attitude the most. Seeing God move in little ways in my everyday life is a huge gift. I may never even tell you about it, but it strengthens my relationship with Him so much. I deeply regret all the years I missed seeing God in the little things.

Here are a few photos of a few of my favorite things:

Our 1905 farmhouse

(I have such a love/hate relationship with it but most days I am truly grateful!)

My 'sleeping' garden

Spinach from my 'sleeping' garden :)

Chocolate Crinkle cookies 

My 4 healthy, creative children

Our funny chickens that finally started laying eggs

My Bible and devotional book

my washline

My wonderful husband- who encourages me to go Black Friday shopping at midnight, because people are more important than sleep, and then laughs good naturedly at me all day long for making so many mistakes due to a fuzzy brain, and even surprises me by folding all the laundry when I'm out getting groceries. He's a keeper, and I don't know if they make any more like him.

Thanksgiving Day memories with my family

Happy weekend!

What Our Country Really Needs Is...

This was the beginning sentence for my children's writing assignment in their journals this morning. I thought it was a very appropriate one for Election Day 2012. Here are my children's responses to this:

Logan, 5th grade-
"What our country really needs is a good leader. Our country needs God. Our country needs to be a Godly country. Our country needs revival. Our country needs lots of love."

Jamison, 4th grade-
"What our country really needs is God. I say it is not a Godly country. It used to be a Godly country but now it has wicked leaders. Our country needs a revivil. Our country needs Godly leaders. It needs help from God."

Annika, 1st grade-
"What our country really needs is God. God could help so that the people that don't love God could come to Him. Our country also needs love. Love would change people's hearts. Love would heal people's hurts."

What can I add to this? Nothing more needs to be said.

My Happy List

• the Farmer is finished with harvest!! Yay!


• happy 6 year old girl who 'made' breakfast with Mom

• fall pretties outside my window

• lots of school work being accomplished
• pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting
• friends who encourage my relationship with God
• a date night with dear husband
• funny, healthy children who love having Nerf gun fights

(This is only allowed for short periods of time, because it always gets out of hand!)




• a clean house, thanks to me hosting ladies Bible study last night
• laundry all finished for the week
• an empty fridge (which means I get to cook fresh food)
• our special youth group, that we are enjoying so much
• a cleared garden
• a skirt that I re-made for Annika that turned out great
•           family pictures that are ordered for Christmas
• kind brothers who 'dance' with their princess sisters

• memories of the whole family being in the pig barn- Leon & the boys vaccinating, the girls just playing
• 
• 
• the goodness of God
• the weekend ahead of me
• 'someone' unknown bringing supper in tonight.....???????

My Title-less Post

So my title could be:

Stuff I've Learned in The Past Week
or
God Is Always Enough
or
Why Don't my Leaves Blow Away Before I Have To Rake Them?
or
I Love/Hate Harvest
or
Why Mom's Must Get Up Before Their Children
or
Just How Crazy is a Home School Mom
or
The Work It Takes To Run a House
or
Why Don't These Mice Change Their Address?
or
My Over-Due Brain Dump

but...
none of these titles seemed quite right so I crossed them off one by one and left my post title-less. Don't say you weren't warned.

This has been an incredibly beautiful fall with lovely weather. Leon has been busy harvesting. I am so tired of packing lunches. He says he's more tired of eating them. Is that even possible? He has never enjoyed sandwiches and altho' I think I've been pretty creative, he still prefers sitting down at the kitchen table for lunch. Here are some of this year's options: ham and cheese, ham wraps, burritos, grilled hamburgers, hot ham and cheese, quesadillas, philly cheese steak, and BLT's. Add some fresh from the garden peppers or radishes, chips, an apple, maybe a granola bar......and well, it's still a packed lunch. That's alright. I love my meat-and-potato-man.

I helped my mom with a group today again. It takes a lot of effort to race out the door before lunch and hope that my students can take their work along and finish it there. I love to help her, but I really love to stay at home. Today I mopped all her hardwood floors and cleaned her bathrooms. My girls love using her feather duster and dust mop. Annika asked her if she would pay them. I was horrified. I don't want my children to expect pay from Grandma for doing stuff for her, but she nearly always pays them something so I'm having a hard time getting this across. I discovered one son took his wallet along today so he would have a safe place for his money when Grandma pays him! HELP! But all that cleaning and working away makes me come home tired and not wanting to do even one thing in my own house. It's raining and so when my farmer husband came home, I said to him, "The kids are watching a movie, I'm exhausted, there's nothing made or planned for supper, and welcome home."  Yes, those were my exact words. Judge me, if you will. He said, "Why don't I run to town and get pizza for supper and pick up that contact solution that you need so desperately?" I couldn't say yes fast enough. This is very uncharacteristic of him, but I'm just lovin' it!

I let the girls pick out knit fabric at Jo-Ann's last week. Annika picked out a fruity/flowery summer print. Would you or would you not make this into a long sleeved winter dress? Sigh. She has her heart set on it so I'll probably go ahead. Note to self: Do not let girls pick fabric unless you are really going to be okay with whatever they choose.

We have a mouse problem in our house like never before. I hate mice! Leon uses the BB gun on them if they dare stick their heads out. So far, he's killed 2 that way and it's been mess-free. I won't mention how many he just gave a severe headache to in his quest to kill but not to splatter. All I can say is, if we have mice, we don't have snakes. Oh, old house, how I love thee!

I deep cleaned my house the middle of July. I had several young girls come and help me for a few days. That works best for this home school mama. But now it's starting to look and feel dirty again and everyone else is cleaning and I almost feel like I should clean again but I remind myself that it's all done already. You cannot make me feel guilty, you cobwebs in the corner.

We were commissioned last month as youth pastors. We are actually part of a youth pastor team. It's been quite a journey....God has an amazing way of working. I would never in my wildest imaginations have dreamt we would do something like this. But the way God leads doesn't always make sense. After the initial overwhelming feelings of this job being bigger than us, (which it is) and questioning our own capabilities, (still do) we are actually starting to enjoy this opportunity a lot. We are still getting to know the youth group which has it's pro's and con's. They are still getting to know us as well. But it feels so good to be used by God and to hear His voice. Unless you've walked with us through the past number of years, that may not make a lot of sense to you.

My oldest son cooked our evening meal  one night this week. His menu was: Little Cheddar Meat loaves, Baked Potato Slices, and Cheesy Green Beans. He labored long over that meal and totally regretted having chosen such a detailed menu. At the table he said, "Wow, Mom, I didn't know you have to work that hard to make a meal for us." I'm thinking, "And that wasn't even hard. That's why I have you cook, so you learn how AND so you appreciate what others do for you."

If I'm growing in my relationship with God, and feeling His presence in my life every day, not to mention having prayers answered in amazing{little}ways, then how come certain relationships are just plain hard? A lot of thoughts like these went through my head recently. And it seemed like I heard God say, "Do you think these things are too hard for Me? " And I felt chastised. Really, God wants to be involved with every detail of my life. He cares about my relationships even more than I do.

Surrender. Been thinking a lot about surrender. Giving up. Leaving my agenda for God's agenda. Not surrendering so I get what I want in the end. Total surrender. Ouch.

Could it be that when I am the most judgemental is when I am taking my eyes off of the Grace I've been given? I cannot give something I don't have.

This seems like enough of a brain dump for one day. Boy, do I feel better. Even if nobody reads this, I sat down and put some of my thoughts into sentences. That is therapy for me.

Fall Goodness {Nature Hike}

I checked the forecast last evening and discovered that today is our last really warm day for awhile. So I brainstormed, cleared it with the principal, and put a plan in place. Now there are all kinds of homeschool mom's out there, some who are much more spontaneous than me. I usually fall in the category of being too rigid and too scheduled. So an impromptu outing like this is really taking me off of my normal path.

I announced before morning devotions that at 10 AM school would cease for the day and we would head to the woods. Spelling and Math were on the agenda for the boys and Annika had to do her Learning To Read lesson. We met our goals, grabbed a snack and a water bottle and we were off.

About 6 miles from here, right next to where Leon's parents live, is a 95 acre area of woods that belongs to the county. It is a public conservation area. Way back, Leon's grandparents owned that piece of timber. When his grandpa died, and left his grandma a widow after only 10 short years of marriage, with 4 children and 7 months pregnant with #5 (Leon's mother), and a farm to manage, Grandma did the only thing that made sense. She sold those 95 acres to the county. Leon and his siblings grew up in those woods and still like to think they kinda belong to them.;) That's where we were headed. (Excuse the family history bunny trail.)

The children and I spent a delightful hour and a half there this morning. The leaves are spectacular right now. Every so often as we walked along, it would suddenly begin 'raining' down leaves on our heads. Peaceful, beautiful, and totally refreshing. We brought some pretties home with us and now have a special centerpiece on the table designed by Jamison and Annika.

And I'm so glad this homeschool mom deviated from the schedule today!

Fall Goodness {Apple Fritters}

There aren't many foods that spell a-u-t-u-m-n quite like the apple. Recently I spoiled my family by making Apple Fritters and I thought I really should share the recipe here.

Apple Fritters

2 eggs
Beat with mixer.

2 T. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
Add and mix well.

1 c. apples, shredded
Fold in.

Heat oil to 375 degrees. Using a small cookie scoop, drop dough into oil. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, roll in cinnamon/sugar and eat!!!! It's hard to stop eating them after you start, so don't say I didn't warn you.

To Read Or Not To Read

One of my sons absolutely loves books. The other one only reads the first day home from the library or for Book-it. The non-reader gets sOOO frustrated at the reader for always having his nose in a book. Well, he came by it honestly. My husband and I are both readers. I remember whiling away the hours at home with reading. I was always sneaking in a chapter here or there, especially after lunch in the bathroom, when the dishes needed to be done. Leon remembers his just-younger-than-him brother getting so annoyed at him reading so much. Today that brother is a pilot and mechanic, while Leon excels in farming and dirt work. Neither one turned out to be a 'loser'. ;0

I hear so many moms say that they wish they could get their children to read. I have the 'other' problem.

I love to see my children read. But like anything else, it needs to have a balance. Our one son, an avid reader, is often told to do something many times, while his nose is in a book, only to have him say later he never heard you even once. I am almost convinced the house could fall down around his ears without him finding out. The other son skip reads, picks out random chapters, and calls a book 'done'. The reader remembers everything he reads and spouts off all that information at the strangest times, whether you wanted to hear it or not.

This morning we had yet another discussion with the non-reader chastising the reader because of an episode at Grandma's house yesterday in which Grandma repeatedly asked the reader to do something; but his nose was in a book and he never heard her. The reader admitted that it was especially wrong because Grandma deserves more respect.

I told the boys that neither of them is right or wrong. The non-reader has other passions and interests that consume a lot of his time, too much sometimes. We are all different. One of the best things about a family is that God puts the most unusual combinations together and you have to learn to get along...or die trying.;) I am learning that to be the right Mom to each unique personality is a job way bigger than me, and I often mess up. God does give me strength and many times after administering some kind of creative consequence, I think to myself, "Now where did I come up with that?" And I know it was inspiration from God. He likes mothers a lot I think.

I'm learning to make my reader put his book down and look me in the eye when I have something to say. I'm also learning that sometimes it's okay to make him put his book down and go outside and play football with his brother. It's also okay to tell my non-reader that the next hour is quiet time and you may spend it however you like. If your brother wants to read the whole time instead of playing Leogs with you, it's okay. I tell my non-reader in the Book-it season, that while the prize for reaching the goal is just a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut, the things we learn from pushing ourselves and reaching for a goal are very important.

Speaking of pushing ourselves and reaching for a goal, the ironing pile and messy office are enough to get me off my seat and get motivated. Even if there isn't even as much as a personal pan pizza for my reward.

Another Birthday Girl

6 years ago I became the mother of a little girl....mother/daughter relationships are unique, and I was thrilled to get the chance to 'mother' a little girl. I thought she would grow up to be like me, with similar interests and hobbies. She's only 6, but it has been so much fun to watch her develop her own unique personality. We have our similarities-we both 'fly off the handle' when our brother's tease us, (although hopefully I'm past that stage!), we love books, and cooking and keeping house. She's much more creative than me, and much more adventurous. She begs for a pink BB gun and loves to hold worms, which is very different from me. She is more reserved in a crowd and can actually be called shy at times. Somehow, that term never applied to me. She is a delight. A sweet little princess all wrapped up with lots of tears and giggles and drama and spunk. She's learning to read this year- almost effortlessly. What a blessing she is to our family!

Happy 6th birthday, Annika!

Breakfast in bed:



Birthday Party:

She planned the party. She invited her cousins Autumn and Alicia, their family, and her grandparents. She ordered spaghetti, breadsticks, peas, garden tea, chocolate cake, and ice cream.

Life is never boring with this little lady-in-the-making around!

Birthday Girl

She's my sunshine, she's my hugger, she's the one we all laugh at right now. She loves books, and dolls, and her sister, and simple clothing and hair-do's. She loves candy, sweet tea, and strawberries, and ice cream. She loves pink, and carousel rides, and her new pink scooter. She loves Daddy, cooking with Mommy, and watching Gigi movies. She's my baby, and she just turned 4.

She loved her breakfast in bed!

Her birthday menu of choice was:

broccoli soup

hotdogs

strawberry shortcake

sweet tea

Happy 4th birthday, Brooke!

We love you so much!