The Passing of Time...

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a good day. To begin the day, I was served breakfast in bed by my children and husband. I got lots of hugs and kisses and some wonderful cards & gift cards. My precious Mom made me a homemade Lemon Pie. (My fave!) Click on the picture to see the beautiful meringue mountains she puts on them. She's a genius! I felt very loved and pampered.

I had to go up to the school for a bit to test a prospective student and do some work in my classroom as well. It was all going quite well until one of my fellow teachers walked into the room and my daughter loudly announced..."Today is Mommas birthday! She's 44 years old!" Then, to top it off...she wrote it as big as she could on the chalkboard. "HAPPY 44TH BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!" Thanks a LOT Kiddo! I was hoping not to think so much about the passing of time and aging. I was hoping to breeze through the day without so-much-as a peep about my chronological age. I mean, I don't feel 44. Then again, I'm not so sure what 44 is supposed to feel like. Some days I feel 144. LOL!! Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter. It's just a number. As I told my husband about it, later in the evening, he reminded me of how proud my daughter is of me and, to her, that's a pretty major thing to be 44 yrs. old. I'm sure he's right...he usually is about those things. I'm proud of me, too. I remember thinking how old 44 used to be. Now...not so much.

Pray for Tim

This is my brother-in-law, Tim. He's in Iraq right now serving our country. No matter your views on this war, please pray for him. Pray for his safety (of course), but also for wisdom and insight that he's never experienced before. Pray for peace for him, the kind that passes all understanding. Pray, too, for his precious family, Regan (Bram's sister), Aria and baby Lily. They all miss their daddy.

The Art of Housekeeping

For those that know me, know, when it comes to housekeeping, I am NOT an artist. I was recently greeted (like a sledgehammer) with the realization that I have passed this unfortunate trait on to my children. My oldest daughter tries to outrun the monster, but alas, it consumes her as well. The other two don't even pretend. Each morning I wake with great intentions and then as the day wears on, I realize I've let it slip away without really accomplishing anything of real value in the area of housecleaning. My house in not dirty, so to speak...it's the clutter that seems to overwhelm us. I'm finding that if I don't de-clutter on a daily basis, we get buried in it. The counters are covered with it, the kitchen table is lost under it and my patience wears thin. How can a family of 5 generate so much paper clutter? (that's a rhetorical question) I won't even mention the closets. That's too painful... The truth is, I don't like to clean house. It's just not any fun. I suppose I'm a bit lazy as well. My mom graciously offers to help me on occasion, but who wants their mom to truly see how dirty their bathroom is. I mean, I'm a grown-up after all, I should be able to keep it clean.

It used to be extremely frustrating for me. And, to some degree, it still is. I love to have people over, but I really hate for them to see my messy house. Therein is my dilemma. I have come to believe I'm a neat and organized person; trapped in a messy, unorganized persons body. I'm sure I was in an episode of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". What a cruel joke. Flylady tells me to take baby-steps. I would, if I didn't keep stepping on toys with every one. Again...I prayerfully proceed and ask God to help me learn and to teach my children to be better than the example I have set for them.

Housekeeping...

I have been exasperated with my children lately. They have just not been able to keep their rooms clean or in order. I have encouraged them, fussed at them, disciplined them, taken privileges away, and even bribed them with treats and money...to no avail. Personally, I've been at whits end with the whole thing. I have even threatened to bulldoze their end of the house and start over. (they are not opposed to that, BTW...) I have not been able to figure out how to get them to clean their rooms and keep them in order. So, I went to my husband for input. He told me what I did not want to hear ~ "They have too much stuff", he said, "we need to get rid of some of it". "WHAT?!", I responded (with great love and respect). "What are you thinking? We got them that stuff, we can't just get rid of it...!" There, I'd made my point. "Now (I demanded), give me a real solution". Then he proceeds to tell me that we, as a family, have too much stuff. AND, in fact, I (me) have too many clothes and shoes to fit in my closet". NOW he's getting personal. I sat in my cluttered, unorganized bedroom and sulked. How could he? He knows how much I love shoes... Did I just hear myself say that? I LOVE shoes? Instantly it hit me, I could not expect my children to follow an example that had never been set for them. I have been expecting them to keep all their stuff in order without any kind of real example for them to follow. I have been living and unorganized, undisciplined and messy life, holding on to bits of paper and junk as if my life depends on it. I need to get my room in order (and keep it in order) before I can ever expect my children to follow. I need to get rid of, throw away and clean up the mess I've been living in.

Prayerfully, I proceed. It will be a long process (we have a LOT of stuff), but, I believe, it will be well worth it. Not long ago a girlfriend asked me, "If God called you to be a missionary in another country, how long would it take you to prepare for the trip?" I'm afraid the opportunity would pass before I was ready to go. We have some dear friends that are moving to Ethiopia for a year. They sold their business and most of their possessions. I remember her telling me how great it felt not to have the responsibility of all that "stuff" anymore. Oh that I could live that way here at home.

Little Miracles

Lord, help me to see the miracle of little things. I forget some days how to even see them. Help me to remember that my children are "little miracles". The way my husband looks at me and says I'm beautiful, when I'm up to my elbows in dishwater is a "little miracle". When my son says, "Mommy!" "Yes?", I reply. "I love, love you!", he answers!...is a "little miracle". They way the Cardinals play on the lawn outside my kitchen window, is a "little miracle". Help me, Jesus, to always be aware of these things.

MIA

I originally thought when I began this whole blogging "thing" that I'd be so consistent and that I'd have some really insightful things to write. It seems I was overconfident in my abilities to come up with anything on a daily basis. I think my problem is, I want to sound wise and look really smart to those who read this. I want to have great insights that will spur the reader on to great things. Not so sure that's going to happen.

I think vacation took a lot of steam out of me. Gone for a month in a car with my husband and three kids (see Lessons on a Family Vacation I & II) was fun but quite tiring. On the way home (could it not wait until we GOT home?...) we got news that our horse may have been bitten by a snake. One of her back legs was extremely swollen and she wasn't wanting to get up. Those of you that know horses, know that when they don't want to get up, it can be devastating. Thanks to some good friends and caretakers, she got up and a vet was able to see her right away. Turns out, prayer works! We began to pray that God would heal Daizy and take the swelling down. He did and she's doing well. Thank the LORD!

We got home late that Saturday night and fell into bed as soon as we could. Sunday morning Bram woke early to drive 45 minutes to lead worship at a church while their usual guy was gone for the day. I took the kids to our church and then we had lunch with my mom and grand-mom afterward. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry to get our oldest daughter ready to go to Camp the next day. Now she's back and the other two went for their week-end camp at the same encampment. All had a great time. It's exciting, to me, for them to be going to the same camp I went to as a child and teen. My prayer has been that they would come to know Him better there, as I did.

My mind is now turning to what I need to get done to get my classroom ready to start school in two weeks. I'm asking God for wisdom to lead the children. My prayer for the last two years has been that I can help my students to understand that God is so "taken" with them. That He loves them unconditionally; that He made them amazingly and miraculously. I will continue to pray that prayer and ask Him for new insights into each little life and their families. I have, more and more begun to realize the privilege God has given me to speak into the lives of these families and their children. I pray He continues to give me wisdom in that area.