God's Work in India

If you have any time this week, please read this blog. I have been following Angie's blog since near it's beginning and if you want a really good cry...and I mean a really good one...go back and read her entire story of losing their fourth daughter, Audrey Caroline.

I share Angie's blog with you today because she has taken a Compassion trip to India and her posts are wonderful! Don't begin with today's post...go back at least to Monday or Tuesday's posts and see ALL that GOD IS DOING! It's neat to see first hand how the Lord is providing for the children/families through Compassion in this country.

Several years ago Mark, Ashley and I decided to sponsor a Compassion child from Peru. Alexandra, our Peruvian daughter, is such a blessing and encouragement in our lives. For $32 a month we are changing the life of another person and giving her hope for a future. There really isn't a price you can put on that. Maybe $32 seems like a "large" amount out of your monthly budget. I can tell you that there hasn't been one month that I have regretted giving that money to Compassion on Alexandra's behalf. Our family has also given to her on her birthday and at Christmas and I am always amazed at how well-spent our gifts have been. We are clothing, feeding and educating a child that would not otherwise have had the opportunity for this quality of care and she has been introduced to Jesus Christ and she LOVES the LORD. She KNOWS that ALL GOOD THINGS comes from HIM...including, us, her sponsor family.

So, yes, if you do not already sponsor a Compassion Child, then I encourage you to do so. I can't tell you how nervous I was about starting this relationship, but when you look at the faces of the children, you can not help but be heart-tugged. It's well worth your investment.

Ok, so I've given my "pitch" - maybe I'll call it a plea for those less fortunate. Even if you can not or choose not to participate by sponsoring a Compassion child yourself, please go and read Angie's blog posts. It's a behind-the-curtain peek into the WORK of the Lord which is always worth taking time for. Hope you enjoy!

PS...If you have a sponsored child, or decide to sponsor one after seeing Angie's posts, please, let me know. We can rejoice together! Yay! and Thanks!

A Beat Yourself Up Monday!

**Update** Have you ever vented and then realized the spiritual truth after "marinating" on what you said/wrote.... Wow, my focus is so self-centered and my "strength" is birthed from SELF-reliance instead of reliance on the Lord. Yes, we've all had THOSE days, but who was I trying to please? Myself? Those around me?(Mainly my own unrealistic expectations.) Did I even once on Monday stop and ask the Lord, "What do YOU want me to do next?" Nope. What a shame. Often I don't even begin in the right place as I face the day. Oh, I'll have my devotions and then set my "spiritual stuff" aside and face the physical tasks that await, BUT I have a LONG WAY to go on abiding in Christ-leaning on Him through each moment of the day. I STRIVE so hard to DO instead of RELY...to, in a moment of uncertainty, need, confusion, fear or whatever the emotion...to stop (even if just mentally and not physically) and just ask for the guidance or clarity or whatever it is that HE knows I need. Yep, practicing the presence of the Lord in my life moment by moment...that's what I need most of all. Colossians 1:17 states it succinctly, "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." ALL THINGS...

I thought I'd double post today. Hope you don't mind. :)

All day today I've been mentally beating myself up because I just couldn't get accomplished all I had set out to do. Of course, the list was a mile long and would actually take me a week + to finish it, but my mind was shoving that little reality tidbit into the abyss of self-loathing. (Don't worry, I don't plan to be this depressing much longer.) It was like running in quick-sand. The more I would move the more I seemed to be drowning in the "to do's" of the day. We've all had days like this...my first choice - put on my "stack list" a book about life management. I know it's a good book; I've already read it a few times. Ha!

Anyway, I fussed, fumed, did a little yelling at innocent bystanders, almost had a good cry (that might have been more productive) and then ate. None of which seemed to rescue me from drowning, duh! In the few moments I had driving tonight, I realized that I was beating myself up for having given my time and energy away to a host of other people last week. Something I thoroughly enjoyed and wouldn't have changed. I cooked, entertained and chauffeured, but, no, I didn't iron, launder, clean, pay bills, plan the school week, buy groceries for this week or even purchase the items I needed for tonight's meeting in a timely fashion. I missed friend's birthdays - sorry, friends, if you are reading this - but I spent quality time with my sister-in-law who very soon will be moving literally half way around the world. I made the best choice last week and so this week I WILL NOT beat myself up for "being behind." Those daily/weekly chores will always be there, but the times to nurture our relationships may not.

So...when you are "behind" on things take a look around at the people you love and ask yourself, "Do they know by how I've spent my time that they mean the world to me?" Then just plug away at that endless list and someday...someday you will see light at the end of the tunnel.

In A Stack...Report # 3

First Mothers by Bonnie Angelo was a great read! The book covered each mother's influence of President's Franklin Delano Roosevelt to George W. Bush - all modern women of the 20th century. Although the book is 438 pages long, you can read the book one president at a time, about 40 pages long. This made it easy to read a little each night and enjoy the book for a couple of weeks.

The book looks at the "special mother-son relationships that nurtured and helped propel the last twelve American presidents to the pinnacle of power." There were good and bad examples. There were fabulous relationships and others that were quite strained within the context of these president's families.

One of my favorite passages of the book: p. 428 “Self-confidence…is fundamental to achieving success in any career, whatever the choice. Personalities may be unlike, motivations may differ, but the one who makes it to the top, the achiever, first believes in himself." And then a little further: "The boy whose mother made him feel that he was indeed very special usually had his head kept to its hat size by his unimpressed – sometimes resentful – siblings, by a critical father, and by the mother’s own instinctive balance of praise and discipline.” This book displays concretely how family dynamics play into a person's psyche...food for thought.

I kept thinking as I read the book that there were a lot of good things to remember while raising my own son...influences of faith, hard work, hope, vision. It encouraged me to believe, as a mother of a 15-year-old son, that my job wasn't actually finished and that I still could have a profound influence on my son, hopefully, for his success in life.

If you enjoy presidential history, you will love this book. If your mom loves presidential history, I suggest giving her this book for Mother's Day. The book gave me insight into those presidents I did not agree with politically (based upon their life experiences)and gave me a little perspective on the changing roles of motherhood when your son begins seeking a wife of his own. I found this book to be thought-provoking, but upbeat and hopeful at the same time.

Ten Things I Wish I'd Known - Before I Went Out into the Real World by Maria Shriver was a fun read too. The author wrote the 125 page book after giving a similar speech at a college commencement. She wrote about the 10 things she wished someone had said to her when she was about to embark on a career. I found Ms. Shriver to be self-effacing, humorous and humble about her place in the world.

This book has a lot of good common sense and is shared forth-rightly with her own life experiences to support her points. I found the book to be engaging and I found myself often thinking, "Yep, I hope my college-age daughter will realize these truths." Although the book is written by a woman, the lessons are applicable to both genders...the points she makes are universal.

I wasn't sure I was going to admit that I was reading a book by a Kennedy clan member and a friend of Oprah, but I'm also not afraid to admit that everyone in this world has something good to offer...this is a worthy read if you're interested in the subject of life lessons. There are a few words that may offend the most sensitive, but overall, her life lessons are sprinkled with a lot of Biblical truths.

Our Week

We have had a busy week. The posts you've seen this week were written last weekend so I could keep up with my blog while my house was overflowing with guests...it worked! All I had to do was come down to the computer, change the time stamp on the post and voilà I looked like I had spent time on the computer, when in actuality it was just a couple of minutes...so you ask, why give my secret away? Because I survived the week and have "lived to tell about it!"

Tuesday - dropped Rhett off at Art class, came home to pick up the house and make a grocery list, picked Rhett up from Art class and made a mad dash to Walmart to buy Tara some birthday presents. (yes, on her birthday - really thinking ahead, aren't I?) After Walmart I dropped Rhett off at home to greet our out-of-town family coming in, ran to the grocery store (gotta' feed everybody), came home to a house full of family, made lunch, made cupcakes for birthday, wrapped presents, visited with family, made dinner, ate cupcakes & watched Tara unwrap a couple of gifts. Then we relaxed in front of the tv for the evening.

Wednesday - made pull-apart bread & scrambled eggs for big breakfast, cleaned up and then went to the mall to play indoors (raining!) and shop at the candy store. Then it was back home for a quick lunch, ballet, playdate with ballet teacher and kids, dinner and then off to Bible study for the evening. After getting home about 9:30pm, my sister-in-law and I stayed up talking for 3 more hours...not smart, but wonderful!

Thursday - my morning started at 6am retching over the pottie because of a migraine (should have gotten more sleep), hubby got an ice pack and I got another hour of sleep and the headache abated. Then it was a quick get-ready so my kids and I could go visit a co-op that we'd like to join next fall. We were there from 9:30-noon. (& it was fun!!) Back home to feed the kid's lunch, a late lunch out with sis-in-law while kid's were napping, back home to prep dinner & eat, watch kid's ride bikes, and a phone call from Ashley saying that she and a friend were on their way home to spend the weekend - so cranked out some laundry to change sheets, cleaned up the playroom, and put together the air bed, collapsed into bed!

Friday - big pancake breakfast, off to an amazing children's park (lots of traffic), back home for lunch, NC family heads for home, took a nap, baked a chocolate cake and wrapped more presents, Dad comes for dinner (table still full with Dad, Ashley & Amber), have our official family birthday party for Tara, put together a week's worth of food for Dad (Mom's out-of-town), watched a movie that Tara chose, stayed up late with Ashley & Amber chatting and watching taped tv shows, collapsed into bed again!

Saturday - girls slept in while the boys took a 10 mile hike, caught up on some laundry, went to the library, more grocery shopping, talked to Mom on the phone, enjoyed general lethargy while being entertained by the college kids. The girls went back to school about 8pm, the little girls went to bed and Mark, Rhett and I disappeared onto our computers until the electricity went out due to lightening. It was off to read by candlelight and enjoy the dark/quiet of the night before falling asleep.

We had a fun and busy week...just having a 1 year-old, a 2 1/2 year-old, a 4 year-old, a 6 year-old, a 7 year-old, a 15.5 year-old, and two 18 year-olds under one roof was excitement all by itself! But we survived it and had a fun week we'll remember for a long time! Thanks for coming, Sis! We loved having you! (you too, Ashley & Amber!)

Fun at the park with cousins!

Crochet, Knit...What's Your Craft?

In the spring of 2006 I walked into my mother's house one day and saw a large box on the kitchen table. When I asked her about the box she seemed frustrated/annoyed and a little flustered. She told me about the contents of the box - skeins and skeins of blue and white yarn.

She said that my grandmother was working on an afghan for my brother, but never finished it before she died. That struck me as very sad, because from the time my brother was 8 years old my grandmother had lived on and off with our family until she died. She and my brother were probably the closest of any of us grandkids. She had completed afghans for each of her grandchildren, but since she had started with her eldest grandchild, she was just getting to my brother, the youngest one.

Mom continued to tell me that his blanket was about 2/3 done at the time of her death, but since she didn't know anyone who crocheted she had left it sit in the box for at least 10 years. She then learned that an elderly friend of the family who lived in FL knew how to crochet and she asked her if she would finish the blanket for my brother. The lady agreed. My mom shipped the blanket and the remaining yarn to this friend with the expectation of giving it to my brother right away. This dear elderly lady received the box and proceeded to "work." A short time later she called my mother and said that my grandmother had so many mistakes in the blanket that she had to rip it all out and start again. In doing that, it hurt her wrists too badly and she said she was shipping the yarn back to my mother. That was the box full of yarn on the table. She had begun crocheting a piece that was maybe 6 inches long, but it was a far cry from Grandma's own handiwork and a blanket 2/3 done. No wonder my mother was flustered. I burst out with, "I'll crochet it. It needs to be done by a family member." My mom looked at me with surprise and then asked, "Do YOU crochet?" I answered, "No, but I'll teach myself and get it done." I THEN got the Mommy look! We've all seen it...the look that says "Ok, dear, whatever you say!" (You may not remember it, Mom, but it's true!) I don't think she believed me. : )

I packed up my kids in the car and drove straight to the craft store and purchased a couple of books, needles, and practice yarn. Over the following weeks I poured over this book that taught me how to crochet lefthanded. (It has directions/illustrations for both lefties and righties.) At first I made coasters as practice. They about did me in...I've never hated coasters so much in my life! Then I made some practice swatches until I thought that I had a good basic understanding of crocheting. I had a feeling that I would learn a few more things if I made a blanket, but I didn't want to do the learning on my brother's blanket so I set out to make an intermediate skilled blanket. I wish I had a picture of that one...it was beautiful. It was a cream colored throw that had a beautiful alternating open pattern to it, but I didn't take a picture of it before sending it off to my grandmother (other side of the family) for Christmas of 2006. I hope to go visit her in the Midwest next month so I'll try and get a picture of it then.

Anyway, after completing that first blanket I felt confident I could complete my brother's blanket. I had just three months to get it done if we were going to surprise him for his birthday. I had to rip out all the yarn since I was crocheting with my left hand and the elderly friend had been right-handed, but it was much easier than the first blanket so I felt confident in what I was doing. Here's a picture of the completed blanket, as Grandma had envisioned it.

I think Grandma would have been proud. And yes, my brother liked it!

After completing that blanket my husband and two older kids suggested that I make a blanket for a special lady in Peru. The three of them had been to Peru the year before on a mission's trip and Mark had worked in the kitchen with several very sweet Peruvian ladies. They all took very good care of him and he enjoyed sitting during their breaks and having coffee together. My big kids were going again in the summer of 2007 and one of the kitchen ladies was getting her house renovated by our mission's team. Our family thought it would be special if I made her a blanket as a house-warming gift. What an honor it was for me to serve this dear woman. I asked the Peruvian pastor's wife what colors I should use and she said in Spanish, "All of them! The more the better." So this is what I came up with:

It was bright and durable and made my whole family smile when we saw it. We were very excited about giving it to her. (I did get some crazy looks when buying that yarn at the store though!) Here is Ashley giving her the blanket for her new home.

(Re: the face paint-Ashley was in a drama, cast as Satan-that's a whole other story.

Now I am working on two "baby" blankets for my little girls and a gorgeous tri-colored blanket for my son. I crochet in spurts so it takes me a while now to get something done, but Ashley mentioned that she'd like to learn to knit so that may be a new craft we take up together this summer.

I highly recommend the book that I learned to crochet with as a great place to start. If you're interested in knitting, then you should check out Sarah's blog here. She's so talented, this girl!

Feel free to leave a comment and share what your favorite craft/hobby is! It was fun sharing my stories/craft with you!

Sweet Sentiments

Today my girls went outside and picked me two handfuls of dandelions. I got to pull out my mini vases and put flowers on my windowsill...it truly is spring! My babies are 6 & 7 years old and I thought, "it won't be long before they stop picking me flowers, coloring me pictures, etc." It may last longer than it feels, but time goes so quickly, doesn't it? I just want to enjoy the journey and each little sweet sentiment they shower on me. Love you, girls! xx00

Circus Time!

I forgot that I didn't tell you about our surprise trip to the circus! On Easter Sunday we had my Dad and another family friend, Jim, over for Easter dinner. We ate a big meal about 2:30pm and just as we were finishing our meal, the phone rang. Some friends of ours had 8 free tickets to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The tickets were for the 5pm show and they wanted to know if we wanted to go. We quickly said "sure," cleaned up the dinner dishes and headed out to the circus. Not exactly your typical Easter celebration, but LOTS of fun!

The highlight for most of my family was the ball with the motorcyclists in it. They started with four cyclists, then added one more...really cool. Then they went over the top for a total of 7 cyclists. I thought Dad might go into cardiac arrest just watching. It was amazing!

The tigers are my favorite...they are HUGE! I'm a big cat fan! They are beautiful creatures. I'm looking forward to Heaven where I'll hopefully be able to walk right up and give a big cat a good rub behind the ears. That might be too much information, huh! Ha! This crazy man in the picture lines up at least 5 of these tigers side by side in a row and then turns his back to put his arms up to the crowd. Crazy, he is! I sure hope they're well-fed before going out there or he might look like a tasty snack.

Ringling Bros. has music, acrobats, high-wire stunts, motorcycles, horses, dogs, & elephants. They put on a spectacular show. Everyone who attended (several of our friends were seated around us) hadn't been in many years and they loved it! We had a great time by the surprise invitation and enjoyed an Easter circus performance. If Ringling Bros. comes to your area, take your kids. I think you'll be glad you did!

Girl's Weekend

We had fun visiting my sis-in-law, her family & my mom-in-law. It was just a quick 24 hour visit, but lots of fun! We arrived around lunchtime, ate a quick bite and then the girls went to a quaint little tea shop and had afternoon tea.

After entering the door of the tea shop there is a little dressing area where you can pick out hats, necklaces and gloves to wear while you are eating...yes, the obsessive compulsive in me grossed out, but I went along with it for the girl's sake and lived through it. :) We had a "lovely time," as Katie would say. I had the most delicious white chocolate raspberry scone! The chocolate could have been left out and it would have been even better. Sorry, off topic/wrong blog. Ha! Here's a pic of our time together.

(I look like a Bobbie!)

Then we went back to the house and tried to fly some kites. It was a little challenging, but loads of fun too.

After kite-flying we had a yummy dinner. I'll have to try the recipe and share it with you on my cooking blog. Then Grandma, my kids, and I went off to Walmart to do a little shopping while Steve & Kristi put their boys to bed. I had purchased a water bottle in Lynchburg that I LOVE and wanted to try and find another one. Our Walmart didn't carry the same design so I thought I'd give North Carolina a try and low and behold, I found a second one! Yay!!! So much effort for a $4 water bottle. After our little excursion, we went back to the house and enjoyed a night of chatting and laughing. After breakfast the next morning we headed back home so Rhett could make it back in time to go camping with his Dad and the Boy Scout troop this weekend. That's how we got a girl's Weekend!

The three of us got a stash of movies at Blockbuster, junk food at the grocery store and all camped out in my bedroom to sleep. After getting up late today, we've done a little picking up, but we're mainly keeping it low key and just having fun. There are lots of giggles while I write. It's always fun having a relaxing weekend. Maybe I'll get to a project or two...that bedside table is still waiting. :) Hope you have a great weekend too!

Blessed!

Have you ever just had a day where you felt blessed? Generally, I am more pessimistic than optimistic so when I have a day that I just feel like "bursting with joy" it surprises me. :)

Life is quiet at the moment (which usually means that something is just around the corner, right?), but I'm determined to enjoy it today. My house is clean, my kids are well, my husband is kind, my extended family is safe...Ha! I like how I put "my house is clean" right up there with all my family. It's just such an anomaly that the house is ALL THE WAY clean that I'm feeling blessed by it. Silly!

Tomorrow the kids and I travel to my sister-in-law's house for an overnight visit. My mom-in-law, who lives in CA, will be there visiting. I am SO looking forward to being with these women...two of my favorite in the world! I love being with them, because no matter what they are facing (and right now they are facing some big challenges) they face them head-on with grace and amazing faith. They are women I wish you all could know. Yes, we'll have a bunch of "monkey children" to look after while we visit, but the Lord has gifted us with some warm weather tomorrow so we'll put them outside and let them enjoy each other too!

Do you have a friend that you're thankful for? I received an email from a friend just telling me how much I encourage her. Why don't we tell those we are most thankful for how much they mean to us more often? I am so blessed to have friends who love me despite my flaws and forgive me when I have not been a good friend to them. Think about who blesses you with friendship and tell one of them how much they mean to you...and soon! You'll be blessed by sharing the love, I'm sure.

I'm so thankful for prayer. I love knowing that I don't have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have friends who are facing the death of loved ones, family facing financial struggles, illnesses and giant spiritual battles. I have concerns for my children, my family's future and my own spiritual life. In ALL THESE THINGS, God is faithful.

Psalm 108:4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 117:2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

We don't have to do life on our own! I can't imagine living without the knowledge that God has my life in His hands and if I entrust it to Him He will faithfully see it through to the end and beyond.

Well...as I write I have a daughter who decided to clean her ears with a q-tip and now has two bleeding ears. That quiet didn't last too long, but I hope you'll, also, be able to see the blessings of today somewhere along the way!

Corner Clean-up!

Sometime last year I went to the website of a well-known author and speaker. On her website she kept a journal, which was very much like a blog. I read through several of her entries and came across a list of her favorite blogs. One of them was Sarah's. I really enjoyed Sarah's postings and have been following her blog ever since.

When I decided to begin my own blog I looked at several others for design concepts and one of the ideas I borrowed was Sarah's "On My Nightstand." She keeps a running list of the books she is reading on her sidebar. I decided that I would make my own version of that idea and since my books are stacked beside my bed I called it "In A Stack By My Bed." ( so creative!)

Well, a few weeks ago Sarah made some design changes and added a beautiful picture of a night stand to her sidebar. I'm assuming it is her nightstand and it's just inviting! I immediately wanted to clean up my corner of the bedroom and make my "stacks" inviting, as well. (My husband thanks you, Sarah!) I kept thinking about the process and where I was going to move some things, but it wasn't until late last week that I actually starting assessing the damage and cleaning up the corner.

I pulled all the books and magazines out from the wall and vacuumed up the dust bunnies. I then began sorting the books. I had books from the library in one stack, books loaned to me by friends and family in another and the rest were my own that I've purchased (mostly at Green Valley Book Fair.) BTW, if you live in Virginia and you haven't discovered the Book Fair...oh, my! You MUST find a friend and go! Your life will never be the same - ha!

Anyway, here's a picture of what was beside my bed:

My first thought was that the picture doesn't do it justice. I don't know how many nightstands it would take to hold all of that reading material. I decided to count the books...just as a laugh, as my boys were watching the psychosis unfold. There were (drum roll, please...)

71 books, plus the green bin and blue bag full of magazines.

I'm telling you it's a sickness. I literally sat back and was speechless. That doesn't happen often. The boys asked me what I thought and I seriously squeaked out a little noise...I couldn't BELIEVE it! 71! 71! I couldn't even read that many in a year (I don't think!)

So...you know what I did...scooted them all back around the nightstand base and gave it the best Scarlet O'Hara drama I could..."tomorrow is another day!"

BTW, I did not fail to notice the irony of the top book on the left that is titled, "Take Time for Your Life." Funny!

Obviously, I need a little more "noodling" (using my noodle to come up with a plan) and then hopefully, there will be a good ending to the story...with a pretty corner to boot!