Just Stuff

 How Many Times A Day Do I........
-shut off lights
-sigh
-laugh at some hilarious child
-put someone's shoes away
-say "Please close your mouth while you're eating."
-close the inside door
-clean up a mess
-empty the farmer's chore clothes hamper only to see it full again. (slight exaggeration)
-cry out to God for help
-say "no"
-thank God for health, my family, my LIFE
-say  "Put your things away."
-dwell on Heaven
-complain
-say "Treat your sister {brother} the way you want to be treated."
-spread joy when I feel grumpy
-compliment someone
-dwell on less than perfect situations
-praise God
*******************************************************************************

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins baked this week- 28
Beautiful spring days- 1
Piano lessons- 4
Loads of laundry-8
Breakfast cooked- 3
Gallons of milk consumed- 1.5
Walks I took- 1
Kissed my husband- oops, forgot to count (aren't you glad?)
Fractions explained-7
red x's made in my children's books- 30?
Science lessons taught- 2
Chapters read to my children- 8
Memory verses reviewed- 13 verses, 3 x each= 39
Floor swept- 2
AND IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY!

Here are some pictures of our first glorious spring-like day-

The first fire of the year, they roasted and ate a whole pack of hot dogs at 2 PM, and I had just fed them lunch.

Meet our dear caterpillar friend. Today is probably the first time all week that he/she has gone for an hour without being fed or held or sang to or carried around exuberantly in circles through the house. I think I hear sighs of relief coming from her/his direction. The insecurity it is feeling due to having it's name changed at least 4 times already, well, I can't even imagine. Meet Fred/Speedy/Patch/Sophie- he is perched on the top of Brooklyn's stick.

Brooklyn- "Mom, why are you reading a magazine?"
Me- "Because it's for home school mom's"
Brooklyn- "Oh, I thought you were just being lazy."

Christ in Me and Other Common Ordinary Parts of Our Life

My 'word' or 'phrase' for 2014 is Christ In Me. I'm only entering the third month of this year, and I'm already seeing how fitting this is for me and my life presently. No, I cannot do what God has called me to, not on my own strength at least, but Christ in me- I can do all things through Him. Yes, I have felt Him give me strength so many times...when I was certain I would fall apart over what lay on my plate.....or the peace He gave me in the struggle of uncertainty...or the love He gave me for the hard-to-love....or the wisdom He gave at just the right moment for a difficult child....

God is so good, and while that may sound so cliche'.....it's so true. I am not a deeply philosophical person who can explain God to you. I'm just a simple needy woman in need of her Savior. And I have so many stories of God coming through for me at just the right time. You can choose to believe in God. But you can't convince me to stop believing in Him. He's proven Himself to me too many times for that.

We can't be 'grandfathered' into believing. There comes a point in our lives that it has to be real with us personally. I've been thinking about that a lot lately and praying specifically for that experience for some people in my life. How amazing to hear one of the people I was praying for share how God has been a Daddy/husband/lover to her. I was so awed that God had made Himself real to her. That's my Jesus.

But what about us...and those prayers we've prayed for months, years, maybe, and we still haven't seen God 'come through' for us? I don't have all the answers but I know that God hears our prayers. We have no idea of what may be happening behind the scenes. God is faithful and His promises are true. Keep trusting, keep believing.

*****************************************************************************
Today I am trying my hand at making lacto-fermented sauerkraut.  Thanks to Pinterest, I found just the recipe I needed. I had a big bowl full of shredded cabbage leftover from last weekend and I turned it into 2 quarts of sauerkraut. It is presently fermenting on my counter. We'll see how this works out. Next on the list to try is homemade yogurt. I've tried it multiple times but it rarely turns out. This time I want to try it without sugar and see if I can use it in place of sour cream. The amount of sour cream we go through around here is unbelievable!

The sun is shining today and I feel the hope of SPRING surging in my heart. Annika found a caterpillar today and I had a hard time convincing her that there are no green leaves or grass to feed poor Mr. Caterpillar. In fact, I think he'd be better off outside. Her 'rescue-every-living-thing' attitude rebelled at the thought, so we will see how he fares.

We survived another basketball season and had the pleasure of watching the Panthers win their last game! Logan scored 4 points at the last game and made us all proud! It was so fun to watch my boys play together and watch their skills improve as the season progressed.

Logan turned 12 last week. Seriously. Where has the time gone?

We celebrated his birthday with 5 of his friends/cousins.

It was a fun evening, complete with several games of Hide and Seek in the dark in the house. I love that boy, and I can't wait to see what God does in his life.

Happy weekend -just around the corner.