A Proclamation

I thought I'd share what I came up with for my facebook cover photo last night. 

 I had no idea what an impact it would have!

A Motherhood Conundrum

Do you ever get that nagging feeling that you were made for more than this?

Like, Yes, I know that all this Mommy stuff is super important and all, but isn't there something else I should be doing?

And I know that growing food, cooking food and cleaning up after the food is important and all but it feels so temporary.

And raising all these children is so meaningful and eternal and close to God's heart, but...

Rain and Rambling

I've been sitting here at my computer for over two blessed hours almost totally uninterrupted.  What a wonderful thing!  The rain has been raining for that long, too.  I can not tell you how happy I am about that rain.  Last night when it was on its way here, I just sat out on the deck and thanked the Lord for sending it.

Tip Tuesday: Let It Be

You know that old Beatle's song?  Yeah, now that's some good stuff!

I can get so stinkin' wrapped around the axle sometimes about the dumbest things.  And before I know it I missed out on a whole day of good things.  Or a week.  Or in my case right now... a month.  Just because I'm mulling over something that is really bothering me.  Alot.  And it shouldn't be that way at all.  Especially for a Christian!  It's pathetic.

Little Viney Things

Many of you know that I'm new to gardening.  I've grown lots of gardens in the past, but never very successfully.  And none that I truly cared about.  So I never really thought of myself as a gardener. This year is different.

This year I really care about my plants.  I've been babying them since February and I really want them to grow.  I actually go out into the garden at least once every day and check on everything.  And I'm learning so much.  About plants and also about life.  I'm learning how to be more patient.  And nurturing.  And I'm learning about these little viney things.

Busy and Thankful

This whole week has been VBS at our church.   It's been fun.  And different.  Eating in a big hurry before we leave each evening, leaving the dishes mostly undone.  Rushing out the door.  Getting home five hours later, tired and hungry.  And eating again, leaving the kitchen even messier.

The Weight of Words

 
When giving directions to a house here in Kentucky, we often say something like, "Pass the third liquor store and turn at the tobacco warehouse."  Sounds just great, doesn't it?  Of course there's plenty of horse and cow farms and other beautiful things along the way, but we usually mention the stores, for some reason.  Well, that might all be about to change.  Thanks to me.  And my words.

The Thrift Trap

So, I've been thinking a lot about thrift lately.  And money.  And things related to it.  And trying to get my philosophy straight in my head. This post is gonna be a little different, but it's just me working things out.  And I'd really like to hear from you guys on this topic, too.  It's constantly in our lives, so I think it's worth hashing out.

Here's some background...

Country Girls and Kitties

Got nothin' much to say today.

 So, here's Graci, Hailee, Ruth and Patience with the world's cutest kittens.

Hailee is our adopted daughter.  Not really.  She lives across the street but hangs out over here most of her waking hours.  It's cool that even though we live out in the middle of nowhere, God provided a buddy for our kids to play with.  Isn't that neat?

Help From the Blogosphere

Yes, God does work in mysterious ways.  He speaks that way, too.

I've heard him in his Word.  In a song.  In a sermon.  On a billboard....

Who knew that He spoke in blogs?

Here I am wondering, in the back of my mind, which vacuum I should buy.  Mine bit the dust several weeks ago and we've been using our tiny camper vacuum for our huge amount of very dirty floors and it's getting just a bit comical.  At least for me, since Jacob is the one who vacuums around here.  He finally said that enough is enough, we need a new vacuum.

A Little Miracle

Today is my baby boy's 5th birthday.  No more babies in the house.  Just little men.

You may or may not know Benjamin personally.  But his story is amazing, so I'll tell you a little bit of it.

Although all of our kids are roughly two years apart, there's four years, almost exactly, between Ben and his next oldest brother.  Those were really significant years.  Those years held the greatest sorrows and the happiest miracles of my life.

Benjamin's name means "Son of My Right Hand."  He's a miracle.

Let's Just Be Honest People

Have you ever seen the movie "Apollo 13"?  I'm not sure why, but I've seen it about 20 times.  Anyways, there's a scene where the astronauts were all buckled in their spaceship, getting ready to blast off to the moon, possibly into oblivion and the news reporters are interviewing their wives.  One of the wives had been through the whole ordeal before and the other one was brand new to the terrifying experience.  Right before the reporters arrived, the wise, older wife smiled confidently and said to the younger, "remember, you're proud, happy and thrilled."  Guess what the younger wife said when asked how she was feeling?  Yep.  She was proud, happy and THRILLED!

Really?? Why couldn't she just tell the truth?  "I'm pregnant, terrified and about to throw up... but I'm also very proud."

Castles and Crybabies

Some people who look like this:

Feel like this:

Let It Snow!

I was starting to get a little worried that there wasn't gonna be enough snow here in Kentucky.  So far we've had a ton of rain and then some Spring-like days in between.  Noah's been begging for the snow.  The kid hardly ever even wears a coat.  So, needless to say, he's been pretty happy the past few days.  All the kids have been sledding all over the place.  It's nice to have so many hills.  We've only got a few inches of snow, but that seems to be enough to make everybody happy.

Held; Finches

Here's where I'm at, right now.  Just glad to be held.

2012, The Year of ????

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I've been curious for quite a while about 2012.  I've heard that it was going to be "The Year of Woes."  Boy, that really makes you want to look forward to it.  There's been a massive amount of predictions and prophecies circulating for a few years now.  It's hard for me to be hopeful when I'm expecting the world to end.

But I'm not.

I'm definitely curious, though.  I'm glad that it's finally here so we can get on with it.  Remember Y2K?
Yeah.

Considering Santa

Benjamin informed me the other day that kids who believe in Santa are lucky because they get lots of stuff.  I'm not sure what kind of stuff he was referring to.  It seems to me that he has gotten more "stuff" than he knows what to do with.  I guess he means "magical" stuff.

I'm not sure when we decided that our kids weren't going to believe in Santa.  We just never really brought it up.  We also tell them that daddy is the tooth fairy.  Pretty unimaginative, huh.

Surviving Relatives

We've done almost all the shopping.  We've baked our cookies and decorated our tree.  We've planned our menus.  So, now that we're almost there...only a few days to go...it's time for a whole new Christmas challenge.

Relatives.

Yeah, all those people that you love and hate at the same time.

That you miss like crazy, but who drive you crazy when you're with them.

Humble Pride

Have you ever considered taking pride in your humble circumstances?
What does that even mean???

 

This Christmas is a good opportunity for many of us to practice.  When your income stays the same, but the price of groceries practically doubles, something's gotta give.

Thankful

Hold on Christmas!  I mean, I love ya and everything, but let's not skip Thanksgiving.

I absolutely love Thanksgiving.  It is one of my favorite holidays.  There are no presents to search for.  There's lots of food.  And the theme is being thankful.  How perfect!