Summer Pics

Two brothers at the library.
Jude enjoying his first ever popsicle. We were all at Grandma's for a family get-together when the ice cream truck drove by the house. My brother-in-law, who I'm sure has friends in every corner of the world, knew the gal driving the truck. She insisted on treating the whole tribe (fifteen of them) to popsicles, thus Jude got to try a few licks.
Pucker up, baby! The lemon part of the popsicle took Jude by surprise, but he couldn't resist going back for more.
Joel scraped up his face at the family get together. Typical boy, trying to ride on top of the Little Tykes car instead of in it.
Swimming lessons have commenced again. Joel begins each day by putting on his swim suit, optimistic that maybe "today will be the day" that he gets invited into the pool. Poor baby, he's only two and he'll need to wait until next summer to take lessons. In the meantime, I've purchased a small wading pool for our backyard and we have a couple of friends that have invited us to swim in their private pools throughout the summer, so Joel will get plenty of fun in the water.
Elizabeth made her version of the ark containing the jar of manna, the tablets on which the ten commandments were written and Aaron's budded staff as a gift for her Daddy on Father's Day.

My Christmas cactus in bloom. It didn't bloom at Christmas, but I tricked it into blooming (quite by accident) when I put it in a dark room for a couple of weeks recently.
We were blessed to get a visit from my cousin, his wife and their two kids. We haven't seen them in over a year. The kids played and laughed and the adults reminisced and laughed--what fun.

God's Still Working on Me

The following post has been read and approved by Matt, although he would like to make it clear he's not some sort of Third World dictator on a power trip. He's just a man and a sinner, being sanctified by grace, as is his wife.

I realized I haven't written much about what the Lord is doing in my life lately. It's not that He isn't working on me, He is. Some of the work has been joyful and some has been quite painful, but I trust that all, in time, will produce the fruit the Lord intends.

I believe I've read and studied the equivalent of thirty college credit hours on the subjects of God's view of marriage and femininity in the past six months. Some of what the Lord has taught me through the study of His Word and the books I've read is intensely personal. The Lord (and Matt) have listened patiently to both my questions and my "aha!" moments. I've also been blessed to have a few women in my life who desire God's will in becoming the women God wants them to be. I've been able to have some good conversations with these women, and as "iron sharpens iron," we've all benefited from the discourse.

I've learned that marriage is a reflection of Christ and His Church. The Church (Christ's bride), whom Jesus died for, would never presume to be the head. If this pattern is to be applied to my marriage, I'm not to "take the reigns" and try to control the direction of the whole thing. My husband is my head. I'm his help meet and follower (though I'm no less intelligent, capable or equal in Christ). He, in turn, is to love me as Christ loves the Church, being willing to die for me and not lording his position over me (Ephes. 5:22-33, Col. 3:18, 1Cor. 11:3). I realize this is all very controversial in this day and age, but I also realize that over half of marriages (including Christian ones) end in divorce. Maybe this is part of the problem. As my Grandpa Paul used to say, "There's too many chiefs around here and not enough Indians."

The last couple of months, I've been trying to discern what and how the Lord would have me apply what I've learned. I've been convicted of bad attitudes, including ingratitude toward my husband. I've also been convicted of how at times my body language and facial expressions display my displeasure with his behavior. These seemingly small things are not lost on my children. They pick up on the lack of respect Mommy has for Daddy. As a result of the Holy Spirit's conviction, I've been keeping my mouth shut a whole lot more, working on keeping my eyes from rolling and generally trying to express my thankfulness and love toward my husband more often.

I can say that applying the principles I've learned (which are too numerous to list here) has been the single greatest challenge I've ever faced in my marriage. It's just plain hard to trust God enough to know that He'll work all things for His good and glory and I don't need to control things in order for everything to turn out o.k. Truthfully, it was rocky going at first. Matt and I seemed to be at odds instead of growing closer. Our equilibrium was off. Normal operating procedure was no longer in place because I was acting so differently. I think we've turned a corner, though, and the Lord has been gracious and strengthened our bond.

Do I still mess up and say and do things I shouldn't? Oh yes, but now I'm quicker to recognize it and ask God and Matt for forgiveness. As I've said before, sanctification is a process, one that will continue until the day I see Jesus face to face. Yet, by applying God's principles to my marriage, I have been given a little piece of Heaven on earth. This is a true saying: Obedience to God's Word always brings blessing.

Up

We did something wild, crazy and spontaneous yesterday (at least for our family). I saw a couple of very favorable reviews for the movie "Up" online. I called Matt at work to tell him about it and he decided to take a bit of time in the middle of the work day so that we could go see a matinee.

We almost never go to movies, so the kids were really tickled with such an unlikely surprise in the middle of a "chore" day. Lydia kept wanting to take a bag full of toys so she would have something to do. I talked to her down to one toy, which she handed me "to put in my purse" five minutes after the movie started. Joel's jaw was on the floor and his eyes were bugged out as soon as the previews ran. Paul laughed his guts out. Even little Jude did very well. Matt splurged on the grande size popcorn and with our hungry brood we took full advantage of the free "big tub" refill.

The movie showcases a loving and committed marriage, which is very refreshing in this day and age. We all agreed that the movie "Up" deserves two thumbs up.

Another ER Visit

Paul stepped on a toothpick yesterday afternoon. Boy, was he 'a howlin'. I tried to grab the protruding end with the tweezers, but I just couldn't get a good enough grip on it. It became obvious to me that a little local anesthetic and small slit would be necessary to get the darned thing out.

I took Paul to urgent care, but because he's a child, they weren't comfortable treating him, so they sent us to the ER. Not my first choice, or even my tenth. I briefly considered letting Paul's wound site become infected so that the toothpick would come out on it's own, but Paul couldn't walk, so I figured I'd just better bite the bullet and head to the hospital. Instead of heading home after work, Matt met us in the ER.

When we arrived, a sonogram was ordered to determine which way the toothpick had entered. I found this all to be rather silly. I thought a country doctor (or even my dentist dad) could have had the thing out by that point, but I didn't feel I had any other options considering we were already past normal working hours.

The radiologist viewed the sonogram and thought the wound was "very superficial" and could easily be remedied. I commented that it was becoming a mighty expensive sliver. I guess the radiologist felt the procedure would be a cinch, so he started right in. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than he thought. When he finally produced the illusive toothpick about ten minutes later, it measured an inch in length. Ouch! The radiologist, a former Marine doc, told Paul that he handled the whole thing better than any soldier he'd ever seen. I wasn't sure about the truth of that statement, but Paul was flattered and Mommy and Daddy were glad to get home to enjoy a late dinner.

Out and About

This past weekend we traveled North to visit my Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna. We got the guest house all to ourselves and it was quite a luxury. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Jane joined us for dinner Friday night and fishing on Saturday. I was tickled that I got to go to an estate sale on Saturday as well.

We also traveled out of town Sunday night to attend our second family integrated worship service. It's been good for us to make connections with other homeschooling families. I particularly have enjoyed visiting with the other mothers. Their faces radiate the love of Christ and they're always quick to share words of encouragement.


I think Farmer Uncle Keith has an unfair advantage in the green thumb department. His raised vegetable beds are something to behold. (I do know that he had a little help from Ed and Aunt Leanna.)
All the kids (including niece Raphaella) around the scarecrow. There's even a toilet in the garden--classy. Matt thought it rather unclassy, however, to post the picture of me sitting on it and since he's the picture uploader, that picture didn't make the cut.

My Uncle and Dad, enjoying a quiet evening by the ranch's pond.

My newly acquired set of 1940's silver, purchased for the price of what it would cost to replace one spoon. I've been looking for another set of silverware to use at the Seder and I was glad to get this one.
Uncle Keith snapped this picture of my boy--the cutest fisherman this side of the Missouri, if you ask me.
My dad went to all the work in setting up the kids for their first ever time fishing. He had octopus arms--keeping all the lines untangled, baiting hooks, removing hooks from the fish and just being a great Grandpa.
Here's Grace with her first catch. The pond is stocked with Blue Gills. We fried them up for lunch--pretty tasty. Lydia really chowed down.

Still Unplugged

Yesterday Lydia asked me when we were going to get our t.v. fixed. We've had it off since Lent and have been amazed that we don't miss it. We do have a subscription to Netflix, so the kids watch episodes of the 1960's t.v. series, "Daniel Boone," documentaries on the Civil and Revolutionary Wars and "Leave it to Beaver," which never fails to elicit howls of laughter.

They've also been watching some old John Wayne movies. These movies have a little something for everyone--shoot 'em up for the boys and a bit of non-tawdry romance for the girls. Today as Paul watched another John Wayne flick I heard him say, "I have a feeling there's going to be a wedding at the end of this movie."

Climbing Mt. Everest

Tonight we celebrated the fact that Daddy finished his big test. He won't get his score until a couple of weeks from now, but we decided to celebrate anyway.

Mother's Day weekend, the girls and I had lunch at a fifties diner in town. I took note of the menu while we were there. One particular item, the Mt. Everest sundae, caught my attention. I put it in the memory bank and fortunately, it didn't leak out, because today I retrieved that bit of information and decided I would surprise Daddy and the kids after dinner.

We all piled in the van and headed to town. Daddy drove, while I navigated. When we got inside, I showed Matt the "Mt. Everest" on the menu. "Fifteen scoops of your choice of ice cream (they have fifty one flavors to choose from), Oreo cookies, chocolate shell, marshmallow topping, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry." Matt's eyes lit up with the possibilities. When we told the guy what we wanted he said, "Now you're talking!"
I had my doubts, but we polished her off. Everyone was really pushing it at the end, but not Joel. He just kept digging his spoon into the pile of ice cream and stuffing it into his mouth. "Yumm, yummm," he would say between bites.
As we were leaving, I was feeling a twinge of guilt for leading the entire family into the sin of gluttony, but then a man walked into the store. He said, "I have a need for a root beer float. Is it possible to have a need for a root beer float?"

"Oh yeah, it is," was the ice cream scooping employee's reply. Then I felt better. Besides, we took a walk afterwards, so that had to have negated any harmful effects, right?

Tired Boy

Home Sweet Home

The kids and I came home yesterday afternoon. We opened all the doors and windows and let the last of the fumes from the hardwood floor finish escape and then we all settled into our own beds for a good night's sleep. Even though Grandma and Grandpa gave us the royal treatment for five days, we were all glad to be HOME.

Matt stayed at his mom and dad's for one more night so that he could study for his six hour long test on computer security, which he is taking as I type. Basically, the course was the equivalent of a fifteen credit course squeezed into one week. The test is comprised of nothing but "right" answers, but only one answer to each of the questions is the "best" answer. The kids and I have been praying for Daddy at intervals throughout the morning.

Yesterday on the way to church, our resident "this day in history" person, Elizabeth, reminded all of us that exactly one year ago we moved into our house. When I look back over the year and all that the Lord has done in our family, I am awestruck. The Lord has taken our meager attempts of obedience and service to Him and transformed them into a tapestry of grace that He continues to weave. Someday, at the Big Reveal, we will see a beautiful work of art crafted by the Divine Weaver--and all for His glory.

To Grandmother's House We Go

The sleeping bags and pillows are packed, as are the swimming suits and towels. We're heading to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the next five days. It'll be a vacation of sorts--only we'll just be traveling across town. I do believe the Lord has blessed me with the best in-laws ever.

A month and a half ago, we discovered hardwood floors underneath the carpet in the living room (and down the hall and in the dining room). After several false alarms, the contractor who will be refinishing the floors says he will indeed start tomorrow morning. The whole family has to move out because the fumes are so noxious. My houseplants and our food have found a temporary home in the shed. We've got a refrigerator and freezer on our back porch to hold our perishables. (Yes, I've been told the fumes even penetrate into the food in your fridge and freezer.)

To complicate matters, Matt is taking a computer security training course this week. It goes from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. He gets a one hour break for lunch and several ten minute breaks throughout the day. He'll be tested on the course material a week from today. Matt thought he'd only have to be present to win, but it turns out the class is being taught by a former Green Beret and retired Brigadier General who has made it clear he takes no prisoners. Pretty intense.

Good thing Grandma and Grandpa will be available to help me on the parenting front this week. Hopefully our family won't drive them to the funny farm in the process.

Music to My Ears

Grace performed in her first piano recital last year. I was in my first trimester with Jude at the time, so I was really feeling sick. We barely arrived before the recital was to begin because I kept circling the building trying to figure out which door to go in, then there were no parking spots left, so I had to park across the street (and it was raining). Needless to say, we were both pretty harried by the time we got to the recital room.

When we walked into the room, there were about two hundred people there (we sure weren't counting on that). The girl who was supposed to be first to play didn't show up, so Grace got bumped to the first position. Grace had to announce her piece and its composer into the microphone (wasn't counting on that, either). To top it all off, she had to play on an electric instead of a traditional piano. All these factors contributed to Grace's shaky performance. When Grace returned to her seat after playing, she dissolved into tears. Not a fun experience.

This year I switched Grace to a different piano teacher who is closer to our new house. She's a bit more relaxed than Grace's previous teacher, which has been a blessing to both Grace and me. She asked Grace to perform in a little no pressure recital to be put on in front of a small, friendly audience. Grace didn't want to do it at first, but her teacher and I talked her into it.

This past Saturday, Grace played in that recital. We arrived in plenty of time and before we went in, we said a prayer and asked that Grace would only play for the Lord and not for anyone else. Needless to say, Grace did wonderfully well. She played "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" and "This Is My Father's World." I could feel pride swell up in my heart as she played, so I prayed "Lord, please don't let me be prideful," over and over again.

Anyway, Grace got back in the saddle again and I am proud of her for that. She is a joy to both her Daddy and me--a precious gift from the Lord.