Seven Pilgrims

Date Nights

2012-01-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

Date nights for Earl and I have always been something that he and I have looked forward to throughout our marriage, and our kids have too.

"Hey kids - we're going to go out tonight. Miss _______ will be coming to babysit."
"Whoooo Hoooooo!"

Our kids really loved all of their babysitters and had a fun time when we were gone.

Well, last year our family kind of turned a corner and we were able to leave all 5 of them alone while we went out . . . instead of having someone else come over to watch over things.

But, as a mother, I began to wonder if they would miss the fun they had when someone else would come over to spend time with them. I didn't want any "bitterness" or "resentment" to begin to stir the waters. So I prayed and thought through things a bit, and tried to put myself in their shoes.

I must say, that Earl and I think our kids our the GREATEST (what parent doesn't, right?) and their attitudes have been so good over the years. They truly have rejoiced with us in our new-found freedom and have encouraged us to go out.

But I wanted to make their time here at the house special too. So, I began to plan "missions" for them to accomplish that required them all working together to accomplish it and usually ended with a special "dessert" and movie. The kids know that this won't happen EVERY time we go out, but enough to make it special and fun.

Well, over the holidays, things had gotten so busy that I just didn't have the energy to plan something "fun" every time Earl and I had to go out alone. So, this past Friday night, as Earl and I were planning to go out for dinner and see a movie, I decided that I would plan something fun again.

We left them with a note:

"Ok.
So, we get to go out and it has been awhile since we've given you a "mission" to complete while home alone.
Well, tonight you have another mission!

* eat dinner (Earl got them pizza!)
* clean up the house (Emily & Molly - kitchen; David - dining room; Jonathan & Annie - living room and bedrooms)
* call Mom's cell phone" (the very first time we did this, I had them call me when they were all standing in the bathtub and then I went and left my cell phone in the van while we were in the restaurant. Thankfully I remembered after only 3 missed calls and a frantic voice mail. We still laugh over that one!)

When they called me, I told them to look under the keyboard, where they would find their next instructions:

"You must write a song to the tune of:
"How Much is That Doggie in the Window"
The song must include a line or phrase from each of you. When you have it written down, practice it a few times. Then, make up some hand motions and practice it a few more times. Then . .. videotape yourselves performing it all together.
When you have competed this mission . . . call Mom's cell.
(You're going to wish that I had gotten a nap and a cup of coffee before thinking this all up. Keep in mind . .. memories are being made. Hahahahahaha!)"

Here are the lyrics to the song they came up with:

"Do you have such parents as we have right now?
They make us do things that we may not know how.
They make us sing song that we may not like.
They feed us with nutmeg and vegetable oil.
They wash us with seaweed and camel fat.
They clothe us with goat skins and carpets that smell.
but we still will love them as best we know how, how, how."

When they called me after videoing themselves, I told them where they would find their next "mission". It was a series of clues that finally led them to their movie and dessert.

We didn't know that they would video the whole "mission" but we're so glad they did. It was really fun to watch them think it out!
Enjoy!

We love our kids.
We love this new season we are in.
We are looking forward to making lots of new memories in 2012!

A Restful Day

2012-01-21T20:59:00.001-08:00

This morning, I woke up to rain.
I also woke up remembering that since Earl and I had had a late night last night, we decided to forgo the exercise this morning and get a little extra sleep - since we've both been fighting fatigue lately.
I rolled over a little after eight and grabbed my biography of Ann Judson that I've been reading and read a little and dozed a little, read a little - you get the idea.
It was a wonderful morning.
Pretty soon I heard a knock on my door and in came David with breakfast on a tray!!
The Miles men had concocted this plan to serve the Miles ladies breakfast in bed this Saturday morning!
We were extremely blessed.

After getting ready for the day,
Molly and I tackled our planned project of covering our four blue pillows that went with the couch we just recently recovered.

Here's what they looked like before:

Molly worked very diligently and well on sewing straight seams. I did all of the cutting out and pinning together. Molly sewed the seams.

I also worked on sewing around the corners, since we rounded them.

And when we were done, they looked like this:

We only have two more to go!

A New Year!!

2012-01-04T21:39:00.001-08:00

We kicked the new year off last weekend by going to bed early and going to church in the morning. It was a beautiful morning!

Then we gathered with some good friends at their home for an evening of food, fun and fellowship!

We went on a Snipe Hunt, and the Miles Family took the champion status for the Minute to Win It Competition!

We played a couple rounds of Dutch Blitz . . .

and were entertained by a very comical version of “Cinderella”.

What a wonderful way to spend January 1, 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!

(I got a new light scoop for my Nikon and had fun taking indoor shots. Not all of them turned out, but it was fun to play around.)

Christmas! (Part 2)

2012-01-04T17:39:00.001-08:00

Christmas Day dawned glorious . . . as does every Sunday with the hope of going to gather with the Body of Christ and worship the One who has given us all things in Christ!

We stuck to our annual tradition of starting the morning off with our longed-for “Christmas Bread” and egg casserole. We wanted the day to be a celebration and so we invited some friends to come celebrate with us along with my mom who of course was coming to share the day with us. The morning was busy getting everyone ready and and setting the table for the lunch to be had when we got home – knowing that everyone was going to be “starving” after church.

Finally, we were all ready to go! We had been given some money for the kids and we spent some of it to get them some new “spiffy, dressy, clothes”. They were very excited to go to church in their “new look”.

The girls had done a very nice job decorating the table and we were able to eat fairly shortly after coming home. It was a nice day with friends and family.

After we ate, we had a Skype call with Earl’s mom and sister back in Louisiana. They had sent the kids some gifts and so we decided to try and Skype so they could see them open them. It was crazy but fun!

Some very generous friends of ours have loaned us their portable keyboard for the kids to use while their kids grow up. This way, we can get a better feel for what we may want to “buy” one day if the kids stick with the piano lessons (which we’re pretty confident they will). Anyway, we couldn’t just “give” it to them. We wrote clues and hid it in our closet and made them find it. It was a “gift” of sorts, and they LOVED it! (We’ve already got beautiful music wafting through our home!)

The rest of the day was spent enjoying each other and enjoying God’s blessings. After everyone went home, we all got ready for bed, cleaned up the house, popped some popcorn and watched our favorite Christmas movie . . .

“The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey”.

It was a long but very enjoyable day.

As I closed the day, I read in my devotional by C. H. Spurgeon the following quote:

“Amid the cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful levities and to forget our character as Christians. It should not be so. but our days of feasting are seldom days of sanctified enjoyment. They frequently degenerate into unholy mirth. There is joy that is as pure and sanctifying as though one bathed in the rivers of Eden. Holy gratitude should be just as purifying an emotion as grief. Unfortunately, the house of mourning often encourages spiritual growth more than the house of feasting. Believer, in what have you sinned today? Have you been forgetful of your high calling? Have you filled your conversation with idle words and loose speeches? Then confess the sin, and hurry to the sacrifice. . . . This is the best ending of Christmas day – to wash anew in the cleansing fountain. Believer, come to this sacrifice every night. to live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood. Sin, great as it is, is no reason for despair. If you draw near to Jesus and confess your faults, He will cleanse your conscience from dead works.”

I’m grateful that our family lives in the light of the Christmas truth every day, all year long. It’s not a new celebration for us. In fact, it’s a challenge to make the truth new and fresh and applicable each week and every day. How blessed we are. How rich we’ve been made. How much we have to rejoice in!

For unto us a Savior has been born who is Christ the Lord!

Christmas! (Part 1)

2012-01-03T21:33:00.001-08:00

This year, with Christmas being on Sunday . . . it kinda threw us off. Well, it threw ME off anyway. I was really looking forward to worshipping on Christmas morning with the Church, but due to my lack of planning and foresight, things got very busy and needless to say I was a bit too weary and pre-occupied to enjoy the morning as much as I had anticipated.

Christmas Eve we enjoyed going over to my sister’s house. We were a tad bit late getting out of the door due to some “surprise” carolers. How fun!! (Thank you, Bartosch family!)

I LOVE going to my sister’s house at Christmas time! She got all of the “fine taste” and “decorating” genes!

We had a wonderful time watching Christmas movies and eating a prime rib dinner and opening gifts together.

My mom and Gail bought Jonathan a real robot. He was thrilled! We’ve already programmed one “mission” and I’m thinking this will be a GREAT school activity as we program together more missions. He’ll be able to do it on his own in no time!

They bought David a really high-tech sound board of some sort. You’ll have to ask him what it’s called. But it is right up his alley^.

Here’s some photos I was saving for another post, but it will give you an idea of what it is (I think he wired it to record sounds when these photos were being taken):

My mom and sister bought the girls a REAL sewing machine and sewing baskets with supplies. And they’ve used them already (I WILL save those photos for another post).

We all went in and bought my mom a Kindle. She’d been wanting one and it was fun to be able to give her one this year.

My sister got a knife block and Jonathan was glad to help her fit in all of her knives.

Before we left, the kids each read their Christmas story or poem that they had written. We have begun to keep a folder of their “Christmas writings” each year. I give them an assignment (some years it’s more open-ended than others, it just depends.)

Since the next day was Christmas and we were going to church, we decided to just open up the rest of the presents from each other when we got home. We left my sister’s about 9:30 and had a sweet time of expressing our love and thankfulness to each other. Jonathan wrapped up some of his toys to give to Annie and Annie wrote poems for each of us. Those were some of the sweetest gifts to me!

We had some surprise guests stop by “for just a visit” and they bore gifts that blew our family away. The goodness of God to us through them rendered us speechless!

Hmmm . . .I hadn’t intended for this to be a post about “all we got”. To be honest, that is such a small part of our Christmas’s. But it is a part. We give to those in our lives who have blessed us and who have been used by God throughout the year to teach us about what it means to be a friend and about how to love. We give sometimes “big”, and sometimes it’s just a “love note” or handmade item. It flows out of a heart of gratefulness for all that we’ve been given in Christ and the love that has been poured out to us from a faithful heavenly Father.

Well, Christmas Eve ended late for us . . . but Sunday morning dawned glorious!

Part two coming . . .

Craft-making Molly

2011-12-31T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hi, this is Molly.
Last week I learned how to sew with my new machine I got for Christmas from my aunt and grandma. The first project my mom and I worked on were some small bags. They are very easy and fun to make! Lately I've been thinking about selling them. They would only be $1.00. Very inexpensive! :) If you want one, just let me know. You can pick the fabric or I can just make you one of any color/print.

Here is a picture of ones I've already made:

Thanks for looking!

A Slight Detour

2011-12-30T15:19:00.001-08:00

Well, during all of the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas, I, Jan, ended up taking a very unexpected trip back to Kansas. I was blessed with the undeserved privilege of accompanying my uncle and aunt to the funeral of my dad’s sister, who passed away at the age of 86 on December 13. My family sent me off with their blessings and Emily took on a huge load while still trying to get her own things done as well. Poor thing . . . she ended up getting sick in the midst of it all, however.

My dad had an older brother and an older sister who lived in Kansas. I got to see my “Kansas Aunt” during our summer vacations while growing up and when she and her husband came to CA for visits. (In the photo above, is my aunt in the middle holding my sister, Gail. Uncle Cliff is on the right behind me, and my grandmother is on the left. My aunt cared for my grandmother for many years since she suffered from Alzheimer’s.)

The flight back to Kansas by myself was very “weird”. I’m so not used to being alone. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t trying so hard to keep myself from “getting sick” on the plane –forgot my motion sickness medicine.

And then I had the luxury of having a wonderful room all to myself. It was quiet and wonderful . . . and quiet.

When I got to my Aunt and Uncle’s house in Newton, KS, their flag was flying at half-mast. Sigh . . I had been so busy getting ready to leave and for covering for my responsibilities at home, that I hadn’t had any real time to soak in the reality that she was really gone.

(The above photo is of Uncle Cliff and his 4 surviving sons.)

(This is of my Uncle Cliff, Dixie’s husband, and my Uncle Jack, my dad’s brother.)

The service on Saturday was beautiful and it was fun to be with so many of the family again.

There were lots of memories shared. Lots of laughing and looking at photos and enjoying one another, just like Aunt Dixie loved to do.

Some of MY favorite photos of her . . .

In 2009, we stopped in Newton for a few days’ visit:

We went shopping in a nearby Amish town. These two were real characters! (Hmmm . . . see any resemblance??)

We also toured the underground salt mines.

Uncle Cliff and Aunt Dixie wanted to take us for frozen custard at Freddy’s. They didn’t have to twist OUR arms.

In February of this past year, they called one morning to tell us they were in town and ended up stopping by for a visit. So wonderful to see them!!

We were able to offer them bananas for lunch (it’s all they wanted) and let them fight over the knife and peanut butter jar. They cracked us all up!

It was wonderful having this woman in my life.

I will miss her greatly and hope that much of her spunk and character have made its way down to me.

Christmas Preparations

2011-12-28T22:10:00.001-08:00

It’s funny . . . I’m writing this post 3 days AFTER Christmas. But things were so busy before Christmas that there just wasn’t the time. Why do I blog at all? It’s really so that our family will have a record of our year. We think we won’t forget, but we do. How often we’ve looked back over past blog posts from years ago and exclaimed, “Look how little you were!’ or “I remember when we built that.”

So, this Christmas was fun. Every year I try and keep things simple and low-key, but as usual the days just keep getting more and more busy. We filled our days with baking and shopping and decorating and playing. And we were able to fit in a few evenings to watch some Christmas shows.

David and Jonathan helped Earl get our house lights up.

The coveted Christmas job is to get to set up the nativity set. One must use extra care when unwrapping the figures and placing them on the piano. They were handmade by my great-Grandmother and were passed down to me.

This year, Emily and David put up the artificial tree all by themselves!

They even got the lights put on.

Then, it was time to go down memory lane and sort through all of the ornaments . . .

Jonathan got the job of climbing up on Earl’s shoulders to put the angel on the top of the tree. It was then we discovered he was afraid of heights. Ha! He was a good sport and everyone encouraged him on. They had a little trouble getting her straight and all, but eventually she was sitting pretty, as they say.

We did a lot of baking. We made two batches of “Crock Pot Candy”. We made 16 loaves of Christmas bread. We made about 6 pans of toffee. And we made 3 pans of fudge.

Yum!!

We then boxed it all up and handed them out to neighbors.

We also spent some time at my mom’s in Irvine. We helped her get her tree and the kids decorated it and all and we made her some pretty wreaths for her kitchen and just enjoyed a wonderful day together.

So . . . that is what kept us busy leading up to Christmas.

As we awaited the Day of Celebration, we busied ourselves in enjoying the relationships around us and surrounding ourselves with many reminders of the sweetness of the Lord’s faithfulness to us in keeping His promises.

We hope your days of preparation were enjoyable as well!

So Thankful . . .

2011-12-11T07:48:00.001-08:00

I have always enjoyed the fact that Thanksgiving is right before heading into the celebration of Christmas. Despite the fact that the retailers want to skip right over it, it helps me to begin focusing my heart before heading into the season of fighting the busy-ness that so easily distracts me from what I want to be doing.

This Thanksgiving, we had the joy of Earl’s mom and sister come and stay with us for a few days. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal together (Jan’s mom was also there, but Gail couldn’t make it), and then were blessed with lazy mornings and slow days.

(As usual, the kids all pitched in to help clean and then decorate the table. Jonathan enjoyed putting the homemade placemats out, and then made place cards for everyone.)

(Emily was a huge help in the kitchen and Earl documented all the preparatory activities, as Jan was busy.)

(The finished table. Just waiting for the food and for Earl to get back from the airport with Rita and Sonya.)

(We printed up a devotional from C. H. Spurgeon to read before the meal.)

(Jan’s mom, Nancy, making her famous gravy from the turkey drippings.)

(Rita just dove right into the preparations when she arrived and helped get that turkey ready for the table.)

(The meal was delicious, and David entertained us with some Thanksgiving jokes and a story he wrote for the day.)

(We ate early and everyone was pretty tired. We lit a fire in the fireplace and just hung out in the front room chatting. Here is Jonathan between Sonya and Rita, waiting for everyone to be ready for dessert.)

(Dessert and coffee time finally came and we enjoyed a restful evening.)

(On Friday, we were all dying for a walk, so we headed to the park for some fresh air and exercise. It was a beautiful day!)

(Saturday, we headed to Seal Beach and walked down the pier to get some delicious lunch.)

(After lunch, the sun was so glorious and it made the shadows perfect. This is one of my most favorite “shots” of the year!)

(On Monday, we took them down to Dana Point Harbor to walk around a bit. It was another beautiful day!)

(In search of some lunch . . .)

(We tried to catch a little of the LSU vs. Alabama game, but Rita couldn’t bear to watch it for long. But she couldn’t bear NOT to watch it either! This was the day we left and went to the park. She couldn’t get her mind off what the score was and was dying to get back home. So funny!)

(When we weren’t touring Southern California, the kids and Earl’s mom and sister shot a lot of hoops out front!)

It was a wonderful time having them here. It was nice for us all to be together since losing Earl’s father back in March. Life can be hard, but how good of our God to bless us with moments of joy through sharing in the lives of those around us.

Jesus was the “consolation of Israel”. Why did they need consoling? Because their sin was forever separating them from God, and their life in this world, tainted and stained by sin, was hard. They longed for relief. I too long for relief. I get frustrated when I expect this life to be what heaven has been promised to be. But when I look, during this season, at the message of Christmas, I am comforted . . . Jesus did come, as He promised. He IS my consolation. He came to take my place (and the place of everyone who trusts in Him) and to drink the cup of God’s wrath, so I wouldn’t have to. He came that I might be reconciled back into fellowship with my Creator and Lord. And now every day is filled with the knowledge that He Who was faithful in the past to keep His promises to send a Savior, will continue to be faithful to be with me and to give me all I need to walk in faith and joy and hope and love.

So thankful for the “Consolation of Israel”!

Are YOU consoled by the message of the manger?

Nothing But Jesus

2011-11-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

“As it began to dawn . . . came Mary Magdalene . . . to see the sepulchre.” (Matthew 28:1)

Let us learn from Mary Magdalene how to obtain fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Notice how she looked for Him. She sought the Savior very early in the morning. If you can wait for Christ and be patient in the hope of having fellowship with Him at some distant hour, you will never have fellowship at all. The heart that is prepared for communion is a hungering and thirsting heart. She sought Him with great boldness. Other disciples ran and hid, but Mary stood at the sepulcher. (See John 20:11) If you desire to have Christ with you, let nothing hold you back. Defy the world. Press on where others flee. She sought Christ faithfully – she stood at the sepulcher. Some find it hard to stand by a living Savior, but she stood by a dead one. Let us seek Christ in this way, remaining faithful though all others forsake Him. She sought Jesus earnestly. She stood weeping. Those tears led the Savior to come forth and show Himself to Her. If you desire Jesus’ presence, weep after it! If you cannot be happy unless He comes and says to you, “You are My beloved,” you will soon hear His voice. She sought the Savior only. She did not care for the angels. Her search was only for her Lord. If Christ is your one and only love, if your heart has cast out all rivals, you will not lack the comfort of His presence. Mary Magdalene sought Jesus because she loved much. Let us experience the same intensity of affection. Let our heart, like Mary’s, be full of Christ. Then our love, like hers, will be satisfied with nothing but Him.

Charles H. Spurgeon; Morning & Evening, July 14

The Emotional Roller-Coaster Continues

2011-11-13T07:49:00.001-08:00

I’m trying to trust.

I’m trying to rest in the promises of Christ.

But the fatigue I’ve been battling lately gives away the fact that my emotions have been struggling to do so. Or maybe it’s just battle-weariness and to be expected. I don’t know.

It’s hard to be a parent and “know in your gut” that something isn’t right with one of your children, yet be unable to pin-point it or figure it out so that you can fix it.

Annie was “released” from CHOC – “There are no further tests to be done. She doesn’t seem to have CF.” That was GREAT news to us. Yet as we left the hospital that day, while waiting for Earl, I noticed her color was pale again and she just looked “different”/tired. I can’t really describe it. But sure enough, the next day while doing school, she kept sinking further and further into the couch. When I asked her how she was doing and if she felt ok, she always answered, “fine”.

Does this look like the picture of “fine”?

I finally took her temperature and she had a low-grade fever (101). I gave her some Advil and had her read and rest on her bed. I fully thought she’d fall asleep, but she didn’t. Was this the beginning of the flu? I couldn’t tell. But by evening, she was fine – no fever – and was bouncing around with the others.

Thursday morning she said she felt fine and had no fever. She seemed a little tired maybe, but better than the day before. However, as we went to PE and I watched her during the class (I coach her class and we were doing soccer), she just wasn’t “on her game”. She fully participated but didn’t have the assertiveness that she normally has and she lacked that shine to her eyes. She looked like she didn’t feel well . . . that she was tired . . . her color was pale . . . but every time I tried to get information on how she DID feel, she’d say, “fine”. (You have NO IDEA how I’ve come to dread the word “fine”. I don’t know what to do with it. The visual and the verbal just don’t match up for me and the result is either incredible frustration or hopelessness . . . both of which I must fight.) By the time we got home, she was yawning, but had no fever. I had her in bed at the normal time.

Friday dawned with a normal temperature as well. Though she was yawning right after breakfast. We headed out for the morning for our Academy Day in Irvine. She seemed less perky than normal and her color still looked pale, but again, she was “fine” and there weren’t any real symptoms to treat. I gave her a protein smoothie before we left but she couldn’t finish it. When we got home though, about 1:30, I took her temperature and it was 102.0. Sigh. I had her rest on her bed, but decided to not give her any Advil and see what her temperature would do. Would it just go away on it’s own? However, by 3:30 pm it was up to 103.2. So, I put her in the bath, changed her into pjs and gave her some Advil, and sent her to read in bed. And guess what? By 6pm she was fine. Really FINE. No fever. Ate two pieces of pizza and bounced around with the others. I just don’t get it!

Am I over-reacting? Making something out of nothing? It doesn’t feel like it. Why doesn’t anything show up in all the tests we’ve had done? What are we to do next? These are the questions that swirl around in my head during my waking hours in addition to constantly making mental notes of how she “appears” and comparing and contrasting with 2 hours ago or with yesterday, etc.

I need wisdom to know how to balance living in the moment and fulfilling my responsibilities and yet trusting my Lord with the future. I can only deal with what is in front of me. And I can certainly trust my Lord to lead us in the direction we need to go – He has proven Himself faithful over and over again! He never promised me that my life would be pain-free, but He certainly promised to strengthen me for it and to be near me throughout it.

Yesterday, as our family was doing some painting, we were listening to an old Wayne Watson album and this line shouted out to me – “I’d rather walk in the dark with Jesus than in the light alone.” My whole being shouted, yes! Yet, the “darkness” is not dark to Him . . . only to me. He knows where we are going.

So, I begin this Sunday not knowing what the day will hold, anymore than I’ve known what any other day will hold. But I trust that my Lord knows where we are going. So, step by step, I will follow Him, come what may – laughter or tears, or both. (May God grant me the strength I lack!)

P.S. My sister has contacted a doctor she knows at Hoag Hospital who has agreed to look over Annie’s history and her test results and give us his opinion. So, our next step will be to send him our information.

Closing This Chapter

2011-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have been following our story about Annie's health,
fear not . . .this is not another go at a sweat test.
This was Annie being silly this past Sunday morning when it began raining and we had
a little time before church.

But speaking of sweat tests,
we had our follow-up appointment with CHOC today
and it went as Earl and I had hoped.
Annie just doesn't fit into the Cystic Fibrosis category
and without doing the expensive genetic testing
there is no way of proving if she indeed has a CF gene mutation.

When asked how she could test positive and then negative two weeks later,
the doctor said that they questioned the lab on this and that the lab said they've only had 2-3 other cases like this within the past year and they have no explanation.

Since Annie is not exhibiting any symptoms and is well, we were told that we do not need to pursue any further CF testing and that we should go back to our referring doctor and continue exploring other GI possibilities.
However, for now we are taking a breather.
Annie has a well-check this month (she turns 9 on the 19th!) with her pediatrician,
and assuming that no one gets sick,
we are hoping to be done with doctor appointments for this year.

How grateful we are that Annie seems healthy right now.
How grateful we are that we have not been asked to walk down that difficult road.
How grateful we are for family and friends who have stormed the gates of heaven on our behalf.
How grateful we are to know that our God has been and is and will be faithful to lead and guide us, no matter how difficult the roads may be in the future.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

P.S. Not to be left out, Jonathan got all "gussied" up too.

How Far We’ve Fallen!

2011-11-01T10:22:00.001-07:00

That was what Earl said when I showed him the photos I took of Jonathan yesterday. And we both laughed.

How often did we let our oldest, or 2nd born, or 3rd born or 4th born STAND on the kitchen counter?? (I didn’t even realize he was doing this until I turned around and saw how “into” his work he had gotten.)

Jonathan is definitely the “baby” and we have definitely “lightened up” a bit as parents. It has given us all much more to smile about and laugh over. What’s a little counter cleaner when it’s all done? No big deal, Jan, and it made for some sweet memories.

(I had cut the lid off of the pumpkin and Jonathan was given the job of scraping out the seeds so we could toast them yesterday. Yummm!)

Some Random Thoughts

2011-10-25T14:29:00.001-07:00

Last night marked another “momentous milestone” for Earl and I.

We had planned on using some money my mom gave us to go see a movie and have dinner. We thought since it was Earl’s day off and I was done with school by 2ish that we would leave at 4pm and catch the matinee and then go have dinner and talk over the movie (Courageous) and other things, and then get back home for an early night. But then we realized that morning that we couldn’t leave at 4pm because Molly and Annie had piano lessons at 4:45. As we were discussing this outloud, Emily chimed in that she would be glad to walk the girls over (the next street over from us) and stay with them and walk them home. Hmmmm . . .Earl and I looked at each other and silently questioned each other on whether we felt comfortable with this. We decided . . . “Why not?”

So, we ended up leaving about 3:45ish and Emily cooked dinner AND walked the girls to piano while David entertained Jonathan here at the house until the girls got back at 6:30. They ate dinner, cleaned up the house, popped popcorn and watched a little “Shaun the Sheep” and then got ready for bed. When we got home, the house was all cleaned up and everyone was in bed asleep. I still marvel at this! It seems unreal. But I am enjoying it and so grateful to the Lord for those whom He lovingly placed in our lives early on to give us a vision for this. And I’m grateful for the children He’s blessed us with . .. I love them “terribly so” and think they have all been the BEST GIFTS!

By the way . . . the movie was great too.

And the dinner was delicious.

And my man is also the most amazing. Sweet times!

*******************************************************************************

I love Sunday afternoons in the fall.

This past Sunday, it turned a little chilly as the sun got ready to set. I was in the kitchen fixing dinner and the rest of the family was just relaxing doing quiet activities and enjoying some down time or alone time. I noticed David sitting in the recliner reading and thought, “He looks so comfortable and cozy.” The next time I looked over, I noticed Jonathan had climbed up with him and had gotten David to read one of the Thanksgiving books to him that we had just put out, even though Jonathan can read it himself. Now they both looked so cozy. I couldn’t resist running for the camera!

************************************************************************************************

David and Jonathan have a very special relationship. I’m so grateful for it, and in awe of the God who has given it.

The other day, I noticed that Jonathan had gone over and asked David for help with his spelling lesson instead of asking me. Again, I had to run for the camera to capture the moment. They are so very comfortable with each other!

Strength to Strength

2011-10-15T20:42:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I read Psalm 84:5-7 and was meditating on it during my morning time alone.

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength. every one of them appears before God in Zion.

The phrase “strength to strength” caught my attention.

I had the thought of stepping from stepping stone to stepping stone.

What would the stones represent, Lord?

Christ. They’d be Christ. The Bible tells me that He is my Rock. He is my strength.

So, walking in Christ means standing on the promises that He has made me. His promises are founded in the life He lived, in the death He died, and in the fact that He has been given all things by His Father and ever lives to make intercession for me.

I pictured me, walking on stones spelling out the name of Jesus, upheld by His arms (pictured as dying for my life), and reading the Scriptures which remind me of the promises and give light to my path.

I drew a rough sketch and then gave it to David to see if he could do a better one for me. This turned into a really fun exercise for me! Here is what I gave him:

Here is what I ended up with from him. I’m so proud of him and incredibly blessed. It has really fueled my continued meditation of this verse!

At first, the person at the top looked like a man. I was thinking it would look more like a “mother” (me!). But then we got talking about it and decided that it was a fight to “keep walking” by faith and I asked him if he could put the guy in combat boots and camo pants. He did not disappoint me.

I just LOVE what this pictures for me! It is how I see my life right now. It is where I gain my courage and strength.

I have always loved trying to draw a visual of what I’m meditating on, and now it is super exciting to know that I have a “resident artist” who can help me with that now on occasion.

Any ideas of what else I can do with this artwork?

Say to the righteous . . .

2011-10-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

The other morning in my Bible reading, I came across this phrase in Isaiah 3 . . . “Say to the righteous that it will go well with them . . . “

I thought on that awhile.

“It will go well . . .”

What does that mean, Lord?

How would I define “well”?

Is “well” the same as “comfortable”?

I believe the Bible teaches that “well” means that I can depend on all of my needs being met and that I can trust my God who says He is the Good Shepherd and will have my best interest in mind at all times.

In my last post, I told how we were waiting to find out if Annie had something a little more serious than just “needing more calories”. We were facing possibly life-altering news.

That was the context in which I was pondering the above Scripture.

And yet, God has not asked of us, (at least at this time), to walk down that road of suffering.

Annie had a repeat test done this past Tuesday and it came back negative. Praise the Lord!

The test was a Sweat Chloride test, which is used to diagnose Cystic Fibrosis.

The patient is given some small electric stimulation to stimulate the sweat glands.

Then the arm is wrapped in plastic with some small pieces of testing strips on the skin to collect the sweat. The first time Annie had it done, she and Earl had to go sit out in the truck in the parking structure with the heater running so Annie could work up a sweat. This time, she and I were more fortunate. The nurse wrapped her arm and then Annie donned all the warm clothes we had brought (“Dress like you’re going to spend the day in Big Bear” they told us). We were then told to go walk around and keep her arms moving to work up the sweat.

Annie always has been a good “test taker”!

When it was all over, we high-fived each other and headed to the truck. We then stopped at Coffee Bean for a non-coffee blended drink to celebrate what we hoped and prayed would be the last of the testing.

Good to the last drop!

By 6pm that evening, we had spoken with the doctor who called to let us know that the test had come back negative. She said we did NOT need to continue with the genetic testing (very expensive – thank YOU, Lord!), or the echocardiogram or the pulmonary function test. We are going to complete one more easy test that has to do with the lower GI which is where Annie’s symptoms seem to stem around. We will go back to talk with the doctor in a few weeks.

Both Earl and I are confident that the next visit to the doctor will be but a formality to close this chapter. We still don’t know what Annie’s “episodes” were caused by, but she has not had another one since July and has seemed more healthy than ever lately. So we are at a point where we are ready to rest and resume life as “normal”.

“Say to the righteous that it will go well with them.”

In light of sickness . . . or in health.

The Lord who promises, doesn’t change.

Grace Lavishly Poured Out

2011-10-08T21:45:00.001-07:00

Our family’s testimony has been and continues to be, “Our heavenly Father delights to bless His children and withholds no good thing. He faithfully provides all they need without exception. We can trust Him.”

That testimony has not so much been tested as it has been proven time and time again. Though we know we are not exempt from difficulties and hardships, we have not really felt the incredible “fiery trials” that we have watched others go through.

That may be changing.

Though, our hope is secure in the LORD’s faithfulness to us through times past.

During 2010, our little Annie began having what we started calling “episodes” where she would become nauseous, extremely pale, and very tired. She sometimes would throw up and sometimes not. I would put her to bed and she would sleep awhile. Sometimes she developed a fever, sometimes not. She almost always had no appetite for awhile, but was usually back to normal by evening. And these “episodes” would almost always occur on a Sunday right after the worship service began. We explored all possible reasons . . . diet, rest, anxiety . . . you name it. And we prayed. And we sought counsel from others. We looked up symptoms on-line. And we prayed.

2011 began with various different illnesses for her . . . none out of the ordinary, but different than what any of our other children ever had (she had a kidney infection for one). Finally in June she had another episode and then another one a month later – both on a Sunday. That was the last straw for me. It was summer and something was definitely going on. I had already spoken with her pediatrician about this and so decided to pursue some testing while school was out. We tested for allergies (a blood draw), but all tests came back negative. Our pediatrician then referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist who took our history and ordered a complete workup of lab tests. We saw her again on September 14 and were told that all of Annie’s labs came back fine. It didn’t look like she had hypoglycemia issues or Celiac’s disease. The numbers that would have pointed to mal-absorption issues looked normal (Annie’s weight is below normal and she seems so small for her age . . .though not in height). The doctor told us to continue to supplement Annie’s diet with calorie-enriched smoothies and to come back in November and we would look at possibly running some more tests and see if they still came back negative. Oh, and just to rule out all possibilities, she ordered one more test, “Though I don’t think she has it.”

Well, we completed this “last test” on Wednesday, September 28th, and later that day got a call from the dr.’s office saying that they wanted to see Annie back at the next available. Earl and I both knew what that meant: she tested positive.

Sure enough, we saw the doctor two days later and were told that Annie’s test came back positive and we were being referred to another specialist. (I am refraining from naming the condition we are exploring until we have a positive and definitive diagnosis.) We saw the specialist and we are in the midst of getting further testing done to rule this out. It could go either way. Our visit this past week was encouraging in that Annie is not showing any of the classic symptoms and if her symptoms (lower GI) are related, she most likely will have a much more mild form, if it turns out that this is the cause of her “issues”. If it is not . . .than PRAISE THE LORD!!

My purpose in this post is to update and also to testify of how kind and gentle the Lord has been with me through this all. The Potter certainly knows the clay! He has given me much time to gradually grow in my understanding of the possibilities and to think through things instead of being overwhelmed with sorrowful news all at once. Whatever the future holds for our family, I have had sufficient time to make sure my feet our grounded in the truth of all that God is and in all that He has promised for us. I am confident I (and we) will be fine . .. .in fact, we will be better as I know my Father works all things according to the good that He has purposed for us. Even though there be tears.

Right now, life seems very normal and Annie seems very healthy. It almost tempts me to try and stop this whole process. We are spending our days doing school and keeping very busy with activities and ministry and normal running-a-household-of-seven routines. We are fitting in phone calls and visits for testing and flexing constantly to accommodate the ever-changing schedule. All the children have helped wonderfully and that has been a huge relief for Earl and I as we have found the freedom to run to make unplanned appointments without having the time to really make plans for the home front before leaving. But . . .oh how disappointed I am that this is such a busy season . . . I truly want to just have some cozy days and evenings with nothing to do. But THAT, dear reader . . . is a whole ‘nother post about what the Lord has been challenging me with . . .

Keep checking back . . .

He remains faithful to us!

Enjoy this song by Laura Story that has blessed me continually this past week:

Faithful God by Laura Story

No Greater Joy!

2011-09-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our family celebrated as we watched Emily and David and Molly make their public profession of faith and be baptized, along with 5 other youths from our church.

All were baptized by their fathers. It was a special time beyond words.

It was a beautiful day in every way!

Here was their testimony:

I believe that I am a sinner who has broken God's holy Law and deserve eternal punishment from God in hell.

I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day.

I believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, fully man and fully God, the Lord of all and the all-sufficient Savior for sinners.

I am not trusting in anything that I am doing or have done or will do for my salvation, including this baptism.

I am trusting Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins and for the gift of righteousness and for the promise of eternal life in heaven.

I am willing to turn from sin and selfish ambition and gladly submit to Jesus Christ as my Lord by seeking to obey His written Word.

As I am baptized today in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, my confession is . . .
Jesus is Lord!

We love you, Emily, David, and Molly!
And we will continue to pray for you . . . as always.

Our Main Summer Project–Whew!

2011-09-04T19:39:00.001-07:00

We moved into this house before Jonathan was born. That was 7 years ago. The white walls are filled with “scratches” and the clutter abounds. We needed some “newness” . . . some change. I personally felt like I needed it since we are home so often. I felt as if I needed it to help get the year off to a “fresh” start. So we began to talk among ourselves. We asked friends their opinions. We started to dream . . . then plan . . .

We thought we would start with the kitchen. We actually began taking off the wallpaper. But then we realized that we could accomplish a lot more if we started with the front rooms, especially the one we do school in every day.

So here is what our front room looked like before we started:

We took everything off the walls. We painted them with “Rincon Cove”. We got rid of the curtains and the valences and bought a new rod which we spray painted to match the color of the other metals we had. We bought new sheers to hang up. We bought and hung new wall lamps and rearranged the wall art. We are planning on covering the couches (chocolate) and accenting with pillows, etc. Here is what the room looked like after we got the furniture back after painting:

And here is what it looks like now after hanging a few things up. I still am going to spray paint the wall lamps to match the curtain rod and we are waiting for our slip covers to go on sale.

If you turn yourself 180 degrees around, you will see our dining room/school room. Here is what that room looked like before we started any work (really tight and cluttered!):

Ok . . . so in here, we emptied out the room and painted the walls. We spray painted the bookcases to match the color of the trim . We got rid of the old curtains and valence and rod and put up new ones like in the front room. I got rid of two carts (still trying to decide where to put all the stuff that was on/in the carts) and cleaned the clutter off the bookcases – nothing on top. We planned on hanging photo frames along the top of the wall.

Here’s what it looked like when we were done:

Notice that we took the leaf out of the table and turned it around. We liked that change better, but it was too squishy for all 7 of us, and there was still the problem of what to do when we had company. Hmmmm . . . We also got rid of the old chandelier and put in a ceiling fan. Yay!

Our entry way also got a new look:

We took down the iron divider and replaced the 70’s disco ball . . .

Lookin’ good!

So, here are just two more photos to show the changes . . .

Before:

After:

Then . . . then . . . just when I began to breathe again and recouperate from our long week of “renovations” . . . we decided to change it all. Well not all. But a lot!

We were still struggling over what to do about our large family and our small dining room. Then my sister-in-law suggested some re-purposing of rooms. Hmmm . . . so we began to think outside of our box.

See this room?

This was our computer/tv/family room. Well, no longer. It is now our dining/school room:

Now . . .doesn’t that look so much better? It’s perfect! We LOVE this new room. Not sure why we hadn’t thought of it way sooner! Boy, are we know looking forward to Thanksgiving!!

And remember that tiny dining area where all of this used to be?

It has now become an extended sitting area. Our tv is in that nice cabinet that we can close up. We LOVE this room too. So comfortable and quiet and relaxing.

So, there is much more to be done but this is where we are stopping for now. We will continue painting the rest of the house and will re-do the kitchen by next summer.

But, we are now ready for school to start.

Right after a week of camping at the beach!

Oil for my Light

2011-08-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

The summer has been a busy one for us. I have often found myself tired and just plain worn-out. So I have cherished my times of quiet in the mornings before the day takes off. This summer, I have been enjoying, in addition to my daily Bible reading, going through Morning & Evening by Charles Spurgeon.

This week (August 28) I read the following devotional:

“Oil for the light” (Exodus 25:6)

My soul, how much you need this! Your lamp will not continue to burn long without it. You have no oil well springing up in your human nature. Even the consecrated lamps could not give light without oil. Under the most happy circumstances you cannot give light for another hour unless fresh oil of grace is given you. Not every oil could be used in the Lord’s service. Neither the petroleum which exudes so plentifully from the earth nor the produce of fishes nor that extracted from nuts would be accepted. Only the best olive oil was selected. Pretended grace from natural goodness or imaginary grace from outward ceremonies will never serve the true saint of God. He knows that the Lord would not be pleased with these. He goes to the olive-press of Gethsemane and draws his supplies from Him who was crushed therein. The oil of gospel grace is pure, and hence the light which is fed thereon is clear and bright. Our churches are the Savior’s golden candelabra. If they are to be lights in this dark world, they must have much holy oil. Let us pray for ourselves, our ministers, and our churches, that they may never lack oil for the light. Truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, and love are all beams of the sacred light. But we cannot exemplify them unless we receive oil from God the Holy Spirit in private.

God is for us!

2011-08-30T19:15:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Earl preached a sermon that really encouraged and challenged me.

His text was Romans 8:31.

He described the following picture:

Picture the universe with billions and billions and billions and billions and billions of stars. Then picture an arrow pointing to just one of those teeny tiny specks with the words “You are here”. That is earth.

Many have speculated on the reason why the universe is so huge. Is it because there are many other worlds out there just like ours?

Earl raised the very probable reason (as argued by Paul early on in Romans) that it is huge because God is shouting to us,

“There is nothing more huge than I am.

(He created this huge universe)

And if I am for you ,

then you are in a very happy state.”

This brought peace and security to me.

God is for me.

God is for you, if you are known by Him in Christ.

God is for us!

Chew on that one awhile . . . I am.

Funky Dancing

2011-08-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll, this is David. And I'm posting a video of how Jonathan & I spend about half of our chore time. Jonathan has fun inventing cool moves and I was pretty stunned at one point (not in the video) at the moves he was executing. Whew! Go buddy, go!!

So if you have some advice to improve our fun just let us know in the form of a comment. We'd really appreciate anything. HeeHee. (the video quality isn't the best, but try to ignore it) :D

Mom's Note: Hmmmm . . .so THAT's what they do during their room cleaning time. (I had to ask what song this was and who sang it. It's called "Escape" by the Newsboys. Here are the lyrics:

You're being tempted by the same ol'
You say it's under control
Just remind me how you see so clearly
Face down in a hole

Press toward the light
And the light will ground you
Go with the flow
And the flow will drown you
Hey now, there's always an out

But if you get up, get up, get up

You can breakaway
And if you get out, get out, get out
Nothing can overtake
Don't wait, escape

We get beaten by the same sticks
Until we start to crack
We get deceived by the same tricks
That's why the devil's bringing 'em back
(He's bringing 'em back)

Don't believe the hype
It's such a letdown

Through the blood of Christ, we CAN escape the temptations!

Celebrating a Life, Legacy and Home-going

2011-08-06T21:02:00.001-07:00

This Friday, our family will celebrate the life and home-going of Joseph (“Jay”) Benjamin Phelps (October 26, 1917 – July 31, 2011). The tears I shed the day he passed away were not really from grief, as much as they were from great gratefulness at having had the privilege of having him influence my life.

I met Jay and his dear wife Beverly when I was in junior high and shortly after I was baptized at 11 years of age. They owned a big ranch-style house out in Twenty-nine Palms and my family had been invited to a big “family reunion”. I met cousins and aunts and uncles and all kinds of new people who were introduced as “family”. Jay had married into the family when he married my grandmother’s cousin. So, yeah . . . we were distantly related. It was a wonderful time and experience. One that I will treasure FOREVER. We lived in shorts and bathing suit tops. We slept on the patio on folding plastic chairs. We crashed inside on the floor. We slept in the back of trucks. We went “mining” and exploring during the day and sat around a campfire at night singing all the Christian camp songs anyone had ever learned. We prayed together. We shared stories together. The adults sat and played cards and games in the garage with the big fans blowing and laughed themselves silly. We kids indulged in water balloon fights.

Jay and Beverly encouraged me way back then as a young junior higher, and later as a high-schooler, and eventually as a college student and on through the various seasons of my life. They kept pointing me to Jesus and telling me how proud He was of me and how proud they were of me. They encouraged me to be who God had created me to be and to use the gifts and talents He had given to me. They really accepted everyone around them so graciously. I remember when my grandmother passed away. I was really struggling with some anger issues and wrestling through some hard things. My mom encouraged me to call Beverly and Jay. I did. And they shared things about my grandmother that they had experienced as they had traveled together with her and my grandpa over the years and they helped me to understand her a little more. That’s how Jay was. He and Beverly made it their life’s mission to “love people to Jesus”. Jay had a very soft voice. Very calming. I can still hear it. I loved hearing him talk. I don’t ever remember hearing him “yell” (though maybe he did), and I don’t recall ever hearing him say something mean or negative about anyone, no matter where they were in life or what they were struggling with. He would just sound “sad” and communicate so much love for them and hope that they would be all right. That encouraged me, challenged me and taught me. I saw many whom I know he prayed for come to know Jesus because of how much he sought to imitate Him.

Thank you, Lord, for the family you have blessed me with. All of them. And for how you have used them (and are still using them) in my life.

Thank you for Uncle Jay.

Thank you for the sweet spirit that you gave that man, for his gentle ways, and for how you loved me through him.

And thank you most of all, for calling me to Yourself . . . so that one day I will once again get to hear the stories and see that smile, unfaded by age and weariness.

Thank you that so many of this earthly family you’ve put me in will once again gather on those shores and rejoice around the throne, singing the songs of Zion again and worshiping together without having to leave.

Another Soldier's Coming Home,
Written/Composed by Janet Paschal

His back is bent and weary
His voice is tired and low
His sword is worn from battle
And his steps have gotten slow
But he used to walk on water
Or it seemed that way to me
I know he moved some mountains
And never left his knees
Chorus
Strike up the band
Assemble the choir
Another soldier's coming home
Another warrior hears the call he's waited for so long
He'll battle no more
But he's won his wars
Make sure Heaven's table has room for at least one more
Sing a welcome song
Another soldier's coming home
Verse 2
He faced the winds of sorrow
But his heart knew no retreat
He walked in narrow places
Knowing Christ knew no defeat
But now his steps turn homeward
So much closer to the prize
He's sounding kind of homesick
And there's a longing in his eyes.
Chorus
Strike up the band
Assemble the choir
Another soldier's coming home
Another warrior hears the call he's waited for so long
He'll battle no more
But he's won his wars
Make sure Heaven's table has room for at least one more
Sing a welcome song
Another soldier's coming home…

Optimism

2011-07-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

There is a lot that I could write about today’s sermon.

It was the 4th part of a series that Earl is doing on being an “Eternal Optimist”. (Based on Romans 8:28)

Today, as one of his illustrations, he used the testimony of Corrie TenBoom, one of my favorite heroes.

She lived through World War II and survived a Nazi concentration camp.

The following poem can be found in the museum in Holland, which was once her home.

Life is But a Weaving

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me.

I cannot choose the colors

He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I the underside.

Not ‘til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas

And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him.

Then he had someone flip it around to the front side:

A needful reminder.

Like I said, I could write a LOT about what God did in my mind and heart this morning,

but time does not allow.

May you be content, as I am praying to be,

to view life from the underside,

and trust Him to working for your good and His glory from the topside,

And maybe, just maybe,

if you train your eyes to view life and your circumstances through the lens of wisdom and discernment,

you can begin to see the faint outline of the final picture to be.

Under Construction

2011-07-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry.

I am so desperately wanting to do something different with our blog design. But usually have only a few moments of time to experiment and create.

Ugh.

I don't like the "girly" look right now.

I want to create a brand new header in PSE to upload.

It will come. It will.

Thanks for not commenting and saying how "geeky" it all looks.

I'm done.

For now.

(This was the result of my oldest daughter showing me how to make changes . . . since it has been too long since I created this and have made any real changes . . . my brain had forgotten how. Sigh.)

A Soul’s Cry

2011-07-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

O LORD, my heart IS proud, and my eyes ARE haughty;

I DO tend to involve myself in great matters, and in things too difficult for me.

But I want my soul to be composed and quieted.

I want it to be like a weaned child resting against its mother.

O Jan, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever.

(Take from Psalm 131)

Summer Wildlife

2011-07-08T10:17:00.001-07:00

For Molly’s birthday in March, she was given a butterfly pavilion and we sent away for her caterpillars a few months ago. They grew and formed their chrysalis's and we hung them up in her pavilion. And then they hatched. So exciting! We got 5 butterflies out of the 6 caterpillars. One didn’t make it out of it’s chrysalis.

Last week we took a trip to our local nursery and bought some mallow (that’s what we had been told the Painted Lady butterflies like). The plant wasn’t small enough to put into the butterfly cage, so we transplanted it in a big pot out back and brought in snippings for them.

Well, finally this week, we decided that it was time to let them go. (The bottle in the bottom of the cage is filled with a sugar water formula with a wick sticking out.)

You can see one of the butterflies here, along with the snippings of mallow. The colored stain on the bottom is actually “dye” from their wet wings as they hatched.

We opened the lid and encouraged them to fly away. One left very quickly and ended up landing on Molly. She really enjoyed that! (Our little animal lover)

We then took the snippings of mallow out of the cage and laid them in the soil around the larger plant. Can you see what we found on them? We were hoping we would. Look closely.

Here is the same picture enlarged. Can you find anything?

Do you see those little blue-green “balls”? Those are butterfly eggs!!

We are watching them to see if they will hatch and to find out if we can continue to perpetuate the process. Very exciting!

When we went to take down the one that didn’t make it, we discovered that it was tragically still alive. (!) Molly and I examined it and it was severely deformed. We tried to offer it food, but we knew it wouldn’t survive. We put it with the snippings to let nature take it’s course. Neither of us had the strength to end it’s suffering. (sniff . . . )

THEN . . .

this morning, I looked out my window, and there, sitting right in our grass like she owned it was this duck.

She did not like us out there to check on her and warned us with her bill and hissing noises.

We tried to feed her and offer her water, but she wasn’t interested. Hmmm . . .

Finally, I, being a mother of five, finally clued in to this poor duck. She was looking to make a nest and had chosen our backyard. She was getting ready to lay eggs.

Well, as exciting as that would have been to watch baby ducks hatch, it would not have been safe for our children, nor for our rabbit who desperately needs to get out of his hutch during this heat.

So, we called the wildlife people who confirmed what we were thinking. They said to just shoo her out of our yard. When asked if she could fly, I said I didn’t know because all she would do was waddle around the yard when we came near. They said that if she couldn’t fly, then we could throw a towel over her and bring her in. (At this point, I’m thinking my day could get very exciting!) I secretly prayed that that wouldn’t be the case. We all went out back and slowly shooed her away from where she was sitting again and lo and behold . . . she flew right out of our backyard. May she find the ideal place to lay her eggs!

And that is all the critter adventure for the week . . . I think!

A Summer of Change

2011-06-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

This summer is what I am calling our “Summer of Change”

This month, our oldest graduated eighth grade and is now a high schooler.

We have decided to do a few “home improvements” to spruce up the place. In addition to giving the walls a fresh coat of paint and adding some color, we have also taken down the wallpaper in the kitchen (think 80’s) and are going to add some fresh paint instead. Next summer will be the cabinets (I just don’t have the time this summer to do it all).

We’re also trying to get a “garden area” ready for some fall planting. Earl and David have built us a retaining wall.

Emily has started a babysitting job down the street four mornings a week.

Emily and David have volunteered to work at the library this summer, two hours a week, helping with the summer reading program. I dropped them off for their first day this morning.

Earl and I left the kids alone this past Saturday for 5 hours during the day while we went out with friends.

Yes, the seasons are changing. Our children are growing up. There are “new things” on our plates . . . and it’s all good.

I’m enjoying the ride!

My Son Challenged Me

2011-06-30T09:56:00.001-07:00

No. Not in a negative way.

In the BEST of ways.

For the past two mornings, David has gone walking with me in the mornings. He keeps me moving, I tell you. He doesn’t cut me any slack! And our conversations have been so enjoyable. I’m learning things about him that I never knew before.

This morning, I asked him what books he’s been reading lately. (He has a habit of perusing Earl’s office shelves and some shelves we have in our bedroom and asking if he can read this devotional or this doctrinal book, etc.) He told me that he recently finished a book by John MacArthur entitled Twelve Ordinary Men. Without me having to probe further, he told me that it was really interesting and that there was something that he had never thought of before. He then went on to tell me that Matthew (the tax collector) and Simon (the Zealot) were “enemies”. “Mom, the tax collectors worked with the Romans and were hated by the Zealots who were working AGAINST the Romans. And here they were both called by Jesus and following Him. And when Jesus sent them out in groups, Simon and Matthew are recorded as often being grouped together.”

I wanted to stop in my tracks right there and think that one through. The Holy Spirit used my 12 year old son to convict and challenge me with a very simple truth. I asked David if John MacArthur applied that insight to the Church and us “getting along”. He said he didn’t remember him doing that, but boy was that where MY mind was going.

The Church is made up of sinners. Myself, mixed in with a lot of others. There are many with whom I “click” and get along with. And there are those who I really don’t. I tend to excuse myself from having to work through those difficult relationships and instead focus on the ones that are easy. But I now can’t get out of my mind the picture of Matthew and Simon, as opposite as can be, co-followers of Jesus and now working for Him to accomplish His purposes . . . and the Scriptures don’t record any difficult situations between the two of them, that I can remember.

Do I really think it is “impossible” to work with so-and-so? Do I really think that God doesn’t expect that of me? Could it be that that detail is the very thing that will bring Him most glory, not the accomplishment of a certain task or event, but the actual working out of love between two people who are both following Jesus and desire to accomplish His purposes despite their radical differences? Oh . . . I am going to need to think more on this and pray for grace to apply what the Spirit is leading me to see.

And, thank you, my son, for being diligent to pursue wisdom from those who have gone before you and watering the seeds of truth that have been planted, and for sharing with me this morning. I am delighting in the young man that you are becoming!

Sick Sundays

2011-06-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

How do you handle those Sundays when you have to stay home from church?
Do you complain?
Do you rejoice?
How do you train your children to think about "sick Sundays"?

Today was a "Sick Sunday" for me.
Except I wasn't sick.
And my kids were sick enough to be kept away from others but not sick enough to be kept in bed. That means they had energy and with that came the temptation to think that they could stay home and play. Sometimes, I inwardly rejoice that I "have" to stay home because then I can rest or work on "stuff". But I fight it with the knowledge that it is still Sunday and a day that our family has set aside to worship the Lord in ways that we don't have time for during the week. So, knowing that we all did need rest, but wanting to also feed ourselves spiritually in ways that we don't on other days, we made our plan for the morning.

After we sent off Earl and Emily and David, we turned on the TV to see if there were any "approved" pastors on.
We found one.
So while Jonathan and I ate breakfast (he had just gotten up), we listened to a sermon on Ephesians 5:15-16 . . . "Take care how you walk . . .".
We were challenged to be alert to the opportunities that filled our days.
We are to be alert to
the opportunity to give (John 6:1-14),
the opportunity to serve (Matthew 4:18-22),
the opportunity to learn (Luke 10:38-42),
the opportunity to help others (Luke 5:18-20),
the opportunity to witness (Paul in Athens),
the opportunity to understand who Jesus is (Luke 19:2-4),
and the opportunity to be saved (Mark 10:17).

When it was over, I did let them play a little bit while I cleaned up the kitchen and planned my next move.
"Father, how do we walk out what we've heard? How do we work towards bearing fruit from these seeds of truth that we've heard today? How do we apply this? What do we do with the remaining time this morning?"
About 11 am, I called them all out to the front room and we read through our church's prayer list. Each of us picked one person to write an encouraging note to, as a means of trying to make the most of the opportunity we had this morning to help others, give of our time and energy, and to serve someone else.
Then, while we worked on our cards, we listened to a children's program (which actually ended up to be very moral but had no scriptural reference or spiritual foundation at all).

After lunch, we had an hour of rest.
Now they are up playing quietly, waiting for the others to come home.

"Sick Sundays" can last forever, and the day seems so long, when I'm not allowed to do what my flesh wants to do. But I'm thankful for the vision God granted. And I'm thankful for the many years of building up habits which help me to ward off the temptation to waste the opportunity of "adding to my faith".
Besides, I now have young ones watching me and learning from me. They will take these "attitudes" and "habits" into their own homes in some form or fashion (either following some form of them or abandoning them completely).

Although I would have much preferred to hear my husband preach this morning, I was grateful for what was gleaned anyway (though I didn't agree with everything the pastor said, I did come away with some things I need to think on and pray through for sure).

So, my encouragement to myself and to you . . .
let us pray for much grace
when we can't gather with the Body for one reason or another,
to make the most of the morning,
by giving our time to the Lord,
dying to self,
and seeking to nourish our souls by feasting on His Word
and seeking to apply it in our lives.

May we continue to bear much fruit
for His glory!

A Book Review: Daniel's Duck

2011-06-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of our family's favorite authors. His writing for the older crowd can be a bit "ify" as he deals with social issues at times, but we absolutely have loved what he has written for the young folk.

This is a sweet story about a boy named Daniel who lives in the mountains of Tennessee with his mom and dad and older brother. During the long winters, they spend their evenings making things to take to the annual spring fair in town. Daniel is making something for the very first time. His brother is not encouraging to him, but Daniel is proud of what he has made and doesn't hesitate to take it to the fair. He is having a good time looking at all of the other fair items until he realizes that everyone is laughing at what he made. He responds as any normal 7 year old boy would and winds up interacting with a wise adult who helps him to look at the situation a little differently.

Our Jonathan is 6 years old and finished the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" earlier this school year. Since then, he has worked his way through a first grade reader and is now in a second grade reader. He read this book with ease . . . and thoroughly enjoyed it. (I cried the first time I read it.)

You can find this at your library easily. I hope your family enjoys it as much as we have.

A Time to Celebrate

2011-05-18T07:01:00.001-07:00

And we are enjoying watching them unfold.

Happy 14th birthday, Emily!

We love you!

“He who walks in integrity walks securely” Prov.10:9

“He is on the path of life who heeds instruction” Prov. 10:17

“The righteous has an everlasting foundation” Prov. 10:25

“The fear of the LORD prolongs life” Prov. 10:27

“The hope of the righteous is gladness” Prov. 10:28

“The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright” Prov. 10:29

“The righteous will never be shaken” Prov. 10:30

Date Night Idea

2011-05-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

Earl and I got to go out together last night. It was kind of spontaneous. In “spontaneous” I mean, we decided yesterday morning that we would try and go out that night. So, that afternoon I brainstormed some fun ideas that we could pick from to spice up our night, and bounced them off the kids as we drove home from PE.

Here is my favorite. We didn’t end up doing it last night, but are going to save it for a warm summer evening when we can go to a nearby park.

My idea:

Pack a picnic dinner or pick up some food to go. Find a nice scenic place outdoors. Bring some paper (or sketch pads) and some pencils. Give yourselves a specific time limit to separately draw a memory from your marriage/dating history. Then switch drawings and see if you can guess what the other person was drawing. (This will most likely be hilarious on OUR date night! Earl is definitely the artist in our marriage. Just ask my sister about MY ability.) Our kids made me promise that when we do this, we will save the drawings and write the memory on them for them to see.

So, if you do this before we do, I’d love to hear about it.

What did we DO end up doing last night? Well, we sat in Wendy’s and ate off of their dollar menu and played Gin Rummy (It would be boasting if I mentioned that I won 4 out of 6 hands, huh? Ok. I won’t write that part.). Then we drove over to a park and sat in our warm van and drank coffee we brought from home in a thermos and talked and planned. It was nice. Very nice. And when we got home, the house was quiet and clean and all the kids were in bed asleep. (I’ll write sometime about our latest parenting adventure of going out without hiring a babysitter.)

Our Foster Boys

2011-05-13T22:04:00.001-07:00

Well.

We did it.

We brought home two foster boys yesterday.

Meet Jeff . . .

And Jesse . . .

They are two Pekingese dogs who we are fostering until they can be permanently adopted. We are good friends with a family from our church who volunteers with a local dog rescue organization. They have been keeping their eyes out for a dog that would be good for our family to take in and help our two youngest get over their fears (especially after our last experience with Scout). And after just one day, everyone is adjusting well and we have had lots of play time.

During the morning, while we are doing school and it is still cool yet outside, we keep them inside in our family room where they can maybe pick up their math facts or learn some spelling rules or listen to fascinating history stories. We want them to be really smart when they go to their forever homes.

When it warms up a bit outside, and they are ready for some play time, we move them out back onto the patio under the canopy to give them some fresh air and lots of room to wrestle. And the kids join them during a quick break here and there. These boys are very quiet, and are very polite, and love to be petted and loved on . . . which we are glad to do.

Did I mention that these guys like to wrestle? It’s been fun having TWO dogs. They really like to play together. Jeff is the dominant one and he has already reduced Jesse’s nicely groomed ears to wet, stringy ears. Jeff chews on his ears, and bites his tail, and climbs all over him . . .but Jesse can give it right back. The girls and I were just giggling over watching them play tonight.

Just look at those ears!!

These guys are VERY furry. Very. We are vacuuming daily and confining them to the family room when inside. Care for them has already increased my laundry load. But they are not permanent pets, and it has been helpful to be able to cross “very furry” off of our list of things we want in a forever pet. By the end of the day, my eyes are itchy and all I can smell is dog. But they are so stinkin’ cute and we already have begun to see their personalities.

We’ve been told that Jeff is 2 years old. He likes to wrestle, as I mentioned, but he tires quickly. He likes to sleep and lounge. If he doesn’t want to walk, he doesn’t. He wants you to know that he is boss dog, and wants to be petted as much as Jesse gets petted (the kids have kind of favored Jesse). He’s not real interested in playing with anything other than Jesse. That’s ok.

We’ve been told that Jesse is 1 year old. He seems to have a lot of puppy in him still. Today he started jumping up on us to be petted. We dealt with that and by tonight, he had stopped that behavior. He must be very smart! He LOVES to be petted and he also LOVES to mouth/chew on our fingers. Jesse has shown more interest in playing with toys, but not much. They both really prefer each other when they aren’t being petted or brushed.

So . . . here we go on our next adventure.

I’m so proud of the kids for stepping up and helping to shoulder all the extra responsibilities. This is going to be a good experience for our family, in many ways.

P.S. . . Did I mention that these dogs snore? Well, Jeff does at least. Loudly. Again, the girls and I were giggling tonight as we were quietly working on things before bed and were listening to this guy just snoozing away. It’s very funny.

An Open Letter

2011-04-28T21:22:00.001-07:00

Thoughts on the Annual Women’s Retreat: An Open Letter to My Eldest Daughter

Emily, we have walked and talked together for almost 14 years now, and it has been a joy. I am a “teacher” not only through education, but by nature (God’s gifting) and so it has been fun to talk you through life’s experiences so far. This weekend, you will get to attend your first annual women’s retreat away from home for two nights. I can not tell you how pleased I am to finally get to have you along. I have been waiting for this day since I found out I had a daughter, and my joy will only become more complete as your sisters join us one by one.

“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates . . . Deuteronomy 11:18-20

We’ve been talking a lot lately about what the weekend will look like for us. It has been a blessing to see your heart willing to submit to your daddy and I. Let me also just take a minute here to lay out some more of the reasons behind the vision that your daddy and I have operated under since we both were young.

Since I was in 5th grade, I have attended summer camps, youth retreats, and then women’s retreats, seldom missing a year . . . and the purpose in each of them has been the same:

(1) – to get away from the busy-ness of life and spend some concentrated time meditating on and fellowshipping with the Lord through the Word and prayer.

(2) – to minister to those in need.

(3) – to spend time with friends, making memories through crazy times.

(Some of these things you have heard before, but it’s on my mind to write it all down together for you.)

It has been nice that your dad grew up and still holds very similar views. So, you all get “double-whammied”!!

Ok. So, what do those priorities look like practically?

Well, first, let’s set some biblical premise for them.

(1) – Why must we make the teaching of the Word and personal meditation the highest priority, when we only get to do this once a year?

Exactly. I only get to do this once a year! At home, my routine distracts me from desiring to sit and read and think. My “toys” distract me. My “to do” list distracts me. Other people distract me. My music distracts me. The “noise” of everyday life distracts me. Over the years, I have endeavored to leave as much of “everyday life” at home, and have enjoyed the “new scenery” in finding a quiet place by a stream, or in a meadow, or over-looking the ocean . . . or something else that helps take my mind off of the people around me and helps me focus on the Scripture and taking my burdens, questions, struggles, requests, praises, thoughts, etc. to the Lord. There have been sweet memories stored over the years, many recorded in my journal. Yes, I do this in the mornings at home, but I can’t escape the house and the “to do” list that it constantly reminds me of. Getting away gives me extended time to focus.

Psalm 1 . . . "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted y streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”

I want to be like that. I want to be “firmly planted”. I want to yield fruit, and I don’t want to wither. I want to prosper. I want to be a good testimony of how God cares for His people . . . I want to be use-able by God . . . I want to play a part in His big plan. If I say I love God and desire Him above all else, yet not choose to get to know Him better or spend time with Him or talk with Him when I have extra chances, then maybe I don’t really love Him and desire Him as much as I say I do. Yes, life is a fight . . . a fight to really walk out what I believe, as well as a fight to believe what I need/want to.

When you were young . . . you preferred the “sweets” to the “regular” food. What child doesn’t? What would have happened if I had decided as your parent, “She really doesn’t prefer the regular food, but likes the sweets, so that is what I will feed her”.? Would you have ever learned to like foods besides the sweet stuff? Not easily. But, oh how difficult it was to endure that “training” phase as a parent. It would have been much easier to just let you eat what you preferred, believe me!

We see the ridiculousness in that, and yet, we tend to do the very thing with ourselves when it comes to other “appetites”. We somehow think it would be hypocritical to cultivate something that isn’t there.

But, what if that truly isn’t your desire? What if you don’t feel like being “spiritual” all weekend? (Those really aren’t the words I would choose, but words I have had others use with me.) Paul tells Timothy to “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7), which implies making our bodies do that which we naturally don’t want to do. That is the picture of life, my dear.

Emily, your daddy and I have operated under this strategy for years: decide what your priorities will be before you get there. Because I can guarantee you that there will be many choices that you will have to make and if your vision isn’t set and clear, then those decisions will be harder to make and you may not look back on them with joy.

So, our number one priority will be to spend time hearing the Word taught, spending time alone meditating on the Scriptures and in prayer. We will attend all the sessions. We will work through all of the questions that have been prepared for us. We will take advantage of the quiet times that have been scheduled and we will attend the prayer times. This retreat has been prayed over by dedicated women and the elders of our church that we might grow spiritually and be refreshed . . . may they see the fruit of their labors in our lives!

Then . . . when the schedule that has been carefully crafted tells us that it is time to play . . . Whooo Hoooo! I’m looking forward to spending time with you and enjoying all there is to experience up there this weekend. I anticipate doing a lot of laughing and taking some fun pictures and enjoying developing some new friendships. It’s always so much fun to see who the Lord puts me with and who I get to know a little bit better each year. We will stay up and fellowship at night as late as we think we can and still be able to get up for the prayer time in the morning and focus during the sessions. We will squeeze as much fun as we can into the free time allowed, deal? :-)

My second priority is also to minister to others while I’m up there. That has always been a huge part of your daddy’s and my vision . . . “Who does the Lord want us to spend time with and minister to this weekend?” This may start out as your 3rd priority, but I pray that as you grow it too will become your 2nd priority. I pray that you too will develop eyes for those around you who may need a friend, or who may need to talk, etc. As you learn more about the person of Jesus and as you learn more and more about what it is to be loved by Him, that same love will begin to flow from you to others. And I’ll tell you . . . those moments have been the highlights of my retreats.

But Em, be careful. We women can fall into the trap of ministering to others at the expense of sacrificing our first priority of listening to the Word and spending alone time with Him. I have seen this happen so many times . . . a friend is really struggling and needs to talk, and it’s right before the session starts, so we skip the session to help our friend. Or it’s right after the session and we skip our quiet time to help our friend. All in the name of love and ministry. But to be honest, there is nothing wrong with giving a hug, expressing our concern and making plans to meet at the next break. Here’s where Satan tempts us though . . . “What if someone else comes along who is willing to listen now and I look like I don’t care?” Our pride wants to be the one to listen and give counsel sometimes, and it takes strength and maturity to keep our priorities in place and trust the Lord to meet our friend’s needs in His time. There are no coincidences. You know that. Your friend, and you, are at this retreat, listening to this topic, dealing with these struggles because that is what God has ordained for you both. Encourage your friend to listen to what God may want to say to her through the speaker and encourage her to pray about it and then plan on getting together to talk later.

So . . . there you go. I think this is the longest post I’ve posted, but it’s really for you and Molly and Annie . . . and it is much of what is in my heart for you three. You will make your own choices in the near future. You may set your priorities differently than mine. So be it. But, my responsibility (and joy) is to teach you about mine and why I do the things I do. I have enjoyed these years we’ve had to walk together and talk together. It has been nice to know that you are comfortable being you in the ways we are similar as well as in the ways we are different. Your differences are refreshing to me and I am excited to see all that the Lord has in store for you!

Alrighty then. We’re all packed and ready to head out tomorrow.

Let the adventure begin!

(I love you, Emily!)

A Helpful Boy . . .

2011-04-16T18:15:00.001-07:00

A helpful boy, who can find?

His worth is far above Starbucks Frappacinos.

He riseth early, while his siblings are still hungry

and fixeth them pancakes that they might feasteth themselves there upon.

More to be desired than naps in the afternoons

is a boy with a servant’s heart . .

who loveth pancakes himself.

Louisiana Trip–Part 4

2011-04-13T17:53:00.001-07:00

Picture yourself out in a body of water. Someone is holding your head under water. Just when you think you can last no longer, they release their hold, you come up gasping for air, breathing deeply over and over, and then back under the water you go. That is how the past month has felt for me.

Ok. maybe that is a little too dramatic . . . but it’s not far off.

Our trip to LA came during a very overwhelming time for me (not emotionally necessarily, but just the “to do” list of life). Our unexpected vacation, though filled with a sadness and a grief, was like a breath of fresh air . . . time together away from the school books, and chore lists. It was a break from menu planning and meal preparations and dishes (dishes don’t seem so “bad” when they aren’t your own). It was a slower pace, free from standing obligations, the opportunity to wake up each morning with no clear agenda. It was vacation.

One of the days we were in LA, Earl and David took care of Rita’s yard for her. This is always enjoyable for the kids, ‘cause they get to hopefully ride on PaPa’s riding lawn mower. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working well this time, but Jonathan got to sit on it while they pushed it back up into the shed. Once it did get running, Earl and David took turns push mowing and riding the mower.

I LOVE Rita and Earl’s back yard. I always have. It’s so green (when I see it), and there are no fences (well, one chain-link fence to the north of them), and the kids have so much space to run and play. This picture below is now the desktop photo of my laptop:

Jonathan found a little friend next door named Gavin who he enjoyed running around with one day. It was cute to hear Gavin at the kitchen door, “Hey, can your little boy come out to play?” It was just a different world for me. One that I’ve not wanted to leave this time.

Speaking of the kitchen door, that’s another thing that I love about Rita’s house. As long as I have known them they have not used their “front” door. In fact, I didn’t even recognize where it was for the longest time. Anyone who wants to come over just comes to the side door which opens into the kitchen and hollers their greeting. Of course, you can see anyone before they come because the kitchen window looks right out onto the driveway. I like that. It just seems a little more friendly to me . . .

Here is Jonathan showing Gavin the grave where the baby birds were buried (notice the plastic spoon as a grave marker which was used to spoon them back into the nest the day before). We had to give the very specific direction NOT to dig them up. Jonathan wanted so badly to REALLY show him the birds!

Rita and Earl Sr. have always been very diligent to keep the “fire ants” at bay by pouring gasoline on their mounds. Emily had the joy of being bit when she was two, but we haven’t had any trouble with them since then. However, the kids were all fascinated and wanted to know all about them . . . how big are they? what does it feel like to be bit? how do you get them off? etc. etc. One of our children preferred to stay inside instead of risking getting bit.

Well . . . it has been a good break today . . . remembering our time in LA (This is for you, Sonya!). But lest you think that I am “barely making it” over here in CA, feeling like I’m drowning, let me assure you that the Lord is faithful to not give me more than I can handle. My body is adjusting quickly again to those early mornings spent in the Word, and I’m back to exercising. And my gracious Lord surprises me often with a kind word of encouragement here and there, or an unexpected visit with a friend, or a phone call, or an evening out with my man, or a quiet evening just relaxing. I’m slowing learning what it means to live life wisely during this season and it means earlier bed times, earlier mornings, and taking time to get my head up and out of the daily duties . . . focusing on others and laughing with my family.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm

(So good to know that the world does not rest on MY shoulders!)

Louisiana Trip–Part 3

2011-04-09T08:47:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Louisiana about 9:45 PM Tuesday night and quickly unloaded and showered and got the kids to bed. The service for Earl’s father was to start at the church at 8 AM in the morning. (My mantra was, “We can do this!”)

There were 8 of us in Earl’s mom’s house and one bathroom. We have it down to a system and thankfully it kicked in quickly and the process ran smoothly the next morning. Earl showered the night before and Rita got up early and was out of the bathroom by 6 AM. I got a shower and then set up shop in our bedroom, sitting on the floor in front of a mirror to do my hair and make-up. Rita helped iron the clothes for that morning that were wrinkled from the trip. Once Earl and I were ready we got the kids up and got them ready. Miracle of miracles, we were all at the church by 8 AM (I already posted about the service earlier).

Mornings at Earl’s mom’s house are very memorable. One lies in bed in the morning smelling breakfast and hearing the coffee pot brewing. Rita has always gotten up early and since we are usually tired from travelling we sleep a little later than usual. This trip, the girls all slept in the living room on a hide-a-bed and the boys slept together in Sonya’s old room on a mattress on the floor. Rita would get up early and fix pancakes or eggs and toast. Oh, the smells wafting back to the bedrooms was so “homey”! She cooks her pancakes and eggs in a cast iron skillet that she uses with great skill. I don’t ever think she has burned anything while we’ve been there in the past 15 years! The toast is white bread with streaks of butter spread down the middle that we all just devour. And of course, she always has juice. Yep, the best part of waking up in Denham Springs is MaMa’s cooking!

Thursday was our first free day and we started it off by doing some laundry. Unfortunately, Rita’s washer was having some difficulty and wouldn’t spin out the water from the clothes. We hung them up on the line but they were still dripping wet. So, we popped them into the dryer for a bit. However, when we went to get them out, we discovered that Jonathan had locked the storeroom door (where the dryer is) and the key was in the storeroom. So, I slept in my clothes (again!) that night since my pjs were in the dryer and the next morning, the door was taken off, the key retrieved, and the clothes rescued.

One day, the kids were playing out back and found a bird’s nest in an old barrel. There were birds in it, but they got accidently dumped out when Jonathan picked up the nest not knowing what it was. Emily scooped the babies back into the nest with a plastic spoon and we prayed that the mother bird would come back and take care of the babies. We’re not sure why or how the nest got into the barrel (the kids discovered it when they were taking twigs out to build something), but the next morning they were dead. We’re not sure if the mother came back or not or if the birds died of exposure, or what. The kids buried the nest under a tree (I’ve lost my photos of it somehow) and laid flowers on top.

Louisiana Trip–Part 2

2011-04-07T12:37:00.001-07:00

Well, it’s Sunday here. We’ve been to church and feasted on those good ‘ol southern leftovers that have kept us in a constant state of “satiation”. There is always food out and the temptation to constantly graze is ever present. I’ve had to give the kids those “silent signals” all of us parents are so good at, telling them that “that is quite enough, Bucky”. (Of course, they are very close to figuring out that if they just make the slightest stink over the forced boundary, someone will come to their rescue and tell Mom and Dad to “let the kids have their pleasure”.) I don’t like being inside, so I’m sitting outside on a chair, watching Earl trying to work on his mom’s car and enjoying the last bit of fresh air before the mosquitoes come out. I was eaten alive last night trying to enjoy the twilight hours. The breeze feels good and doesn’t make the humidity feel quite so bad. There is a cloud cover and it feels like it might be wanting to start to rain a bit, but then the sun will shine through and you feel that humidity again. But the breeze feels good . . .

We have spent the days planning our day, only to have someone stop by and then we sit and visit for a bit . . . up to a few hours. It is more like that in the south than in southern CA, but it is especially noticeable when someone is sick or has passed away. It sure makes one feel like they have a lot of friends who care about them (one of those southern hospitalities that I wish we had more of where we live), and it also proves to be good training ground for holding all things with an open hand and realizing that the Lord certainly ordains the day. Perhaps this is one of those dynamics that cause the south to feel so “slower” in pace.

Well, one such visitor came by and we visited for a few hours. Never got back to the quiet time outside (one always seems to visit around the kitchen table here . . . especially the older generation). It is now Monday morning, and I’m sitting at the local Laundromat (“Cleaning World”) doing another load of laundry. Rita’s poor machine isn’t working at the house and when 7 people descend upon you in force, you must do laundry. The owner of this “washeteria” (spell check has no recommendations for this one. Did I spell it right, you southern readers?) is named Shirley and she is from Taiwan. She is very sweet and greeted me by name the second day I walked in. She told Molly and I about how she grew up doing laundry in the river and how she learned to sew when she was 7 years old. She has been in Denham Springs about 20 years and lives in a little house behind the cleaners. In addition to running a cleaning business, she also does alterations and was able to hem 3 pairs of pants for Molly that I tried to hem Sunday night before we left but my machine broke (NO!!!!!).

It looks like we’re going to get a storm tonight. It is VERY humid and breezy. My clothes are sticking to me and I don’t dare touch my hair. We have a full day planned when I get back to the house and then we plan on leaving out early in the morning (Tuesday). Not sure my back is ready for the ride home yet, but it will be good to get back home. However, it is always enjoyable being “home” here in LA. I wish I had more time to blog all of my thoughts and impressions and lessons . . .

Louisiana Trip–Part 1

2011-04-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

We are in Louisiana and don’t have any internet access. But I do have the laptop. So I’ve decided to go ahead and blog and then post them when I can get the internet again. Right now, I’m sitting in Earl’s old bedroom, the one we have stayed in every time we’ve come “home”. The floor is strewn with duffel bags, school bags, shoes, dirty clothes, toiletries, books, back packs, groceries, etc. etc. The kids are out front with Earl and his mom watching a movie. The clothes for church in the morning have all been ironed and I’m taking a quick break to have some alone time. It has been a whirlwind past few days. But I want to journal our trip, and I know I most likely won’t have the time when we get home. So, I’m writing now . . .

We got the news Saturday morning that Earl’s father had passed away and we needed to get back to Louisiana as soon as we could. We looked into flying, hoping to use some of our free tickets that we’ve earned. But without giving them 3 weeks notice, we could only get 2 tickets. But Earl wanted all of us to be there so the decision was made to leave Monday morning and drive out there in two days.

We hurried through our Saturday (Molly had her 10th birthday party!) and Sunday morning, then came home to do laundry and pack. As I had my quiet time Sunday morning, I confessed to the Lord of being a little apprehensive about how we could afford to go back to LA at this time. It seemed more wise to just send Earl, but I knew that he really wanted all of us to be there with him. We’ve never been in debt and have always lived within our means. I knew that we had plenty of credit available to use and so was praying for peace to trust my husband’s decision and to trust the Lord to provide as He saw fit. After church that morning, two couples put cash in my hand for gas and expenses. I drove home humbled before the Lord and confessing my lack of faith. Then, another couple called and specifically asked about our finances. We told them we were trusting the Lord to provide. They wired us money. The door bell rang and a friend from church came by to drop off a card and a monetary donation for our trip – a sacrificial gift which again humbled me. Again, the door bell rang and another friend from church came and dropped off snacks for the road that his wife had put together as well as some “emergency cash”. My mom also gave us cash to help with expenses. The kindness of the Lord just completely overwhelmed me and I had to confess my lack of faith. He always takes care of those who are His! (Two days on the road cost us about $660 including one hotel stay, gas and food. And all has been provided for.)

Earl had the oil changed in the van and gassed it up and we left about 5:20 Monday morning. The kids did great in the car and we drove for several hours before needing to stop. While driving through the CA desert we played the ABC game . . .you know, the one where you have to look out the window and name things you see that start with A . . . B . . . C . . . . Here is the list we came up with:

A – Ant (I claimed to have seen an antelope, but since no one else saw it, we couldn’t count it)

B – bush

C – cloud

D – dirt (lots of it!)

E – electrical wires

F – flowers

G – grass (the deserty type)

H – highway

I – Interstate (I-10)

J – jet

K – “konstruction Kones” (We were really stumped on this one and Jonathan kept yelling out “Cones!”, so we gave it to him.)

L – land, line, lane

M – mountains

N – nettles

O – overpass

P – poles

Q – quail . . . well, we actually didn’t see one, but we were sure they were out there somewhere.

R – rocks

S – sky . . . lots of it!

T – trucks

U – UFO, universe, unicycle . . . ok, we were getting a little desperate and punchy at this point.

V – vans

W – wheels

X – “poison” bottles littering the highway

Y – hitchhiking yoddler (no comment)

Z – zebra . . . . really, there he goes, did you see him? Right back there. Look really hard. Oh, he’s gone. Too bad.

(We played this game again after entering Louisiana and our answers were quite different. It was interesting.)

We crossed into AZ about 9 AM and stopped at Chic-fil-A for lunch about noon. We all needed to desperately get out of the van for an extended time. The kids were doing great though! We crossed into NM about 4 PM and then lost an hour due to the time change. We crossed the Continental Divide about 6 PM and stopped at our traditional Cracker Barrel for dinner about an hour later in Las Cruces. We crossed over into TX about 9 PM and stopped for the night in Van Horn about 12:45 (we had lost another hour so it was 10:45 CA time . . . a 17 hour day!). We turned out the lights about 1:30 AM . . .only to turn them on again 3 hours later. (We slept in our clothes and just got up to brush teeth and hair and put on make-up so as not to terrify the poor other passengers on the highway.)

Tuesday morning found us heading out onto the interstate again about 5:30 after filling up with gas and getting some good strong coffee. It took awhile for the sun to rise, but it was glorious. The kids slept and Earl and I talked quietly. Seemed like forever since we had spent a quiet morning talking like that. We both really enjoyed it. After everyone was fully awake, we stopped for gas and for some homemade muffins we had brought. We had some lunch in San Antonio (fast food) and I weasled a much-needed-hair-cut-run out of Earl. (I actually got my hair cut while the rest of them ate lunch. Ah . .. so needed!) We stopped about 6:30 just passed Houston for one more quick and small meal (drive-thru fast food) and then crossed over into Louisiana about 7 PM!! Oh the cheering! As the sun set, we could see a thunderstorm off in the distance ahead of us and the National Weather Service came over the radio and issued a “severe thunderstorm warning” along with a “tornado watch” as we headed into Baton Rouge. We got a few sprinkles that day, but nothing to sneeze at, and we drove up to Earl’s mom’s home about 9:45 PM. It was good to be home!

We got the kids bathed and bedded down. I put together a slide show for Earl’s dad’s service the next day, and once all was in order, Earl and I turned out the light about 12:30, in the room where he grew up. (Twice we were awakened by huge thunder and lightning shows directly over the house. But we were grateful to be off the road and in a warm bed.)

Next up . . . our days here in Denham Springs . . . baby birds, a locked store room, mosquitoes, puppies, oil leaks . . .

Earl James Miles, Sr.

2011-04-03T14:55:00.001-07:00

Earl’s father passed away Saturday, March 26, 2011. It was sudden, but not unexpected. He had been in the hospital due to some pain and swelling in his legs and then was being treated for congestive heart failure. He also was having some digestion difficulty and when they ran an upper GI test, they discovered that he had a condition of the stomach which was basically rendering his stomach muscles useless. But they were able to put him on some medication and they sent him Friday to a “skilled nursing facility” to regain his strength so he could come home. He spent Friday night there, ate some breakfast Saturday morning and took his medicine and then was having some difficulty breathing. He never made it to the ER.

The service was held on Wednesday, March 30th and we were grateful to be able to attend as a family. It was a bitter-sweet day. There was a “family viewing” at Earl’s parents’ church (Don Avenue Baptist) from 8 – 9 AM. Earl Sr.’s casket was at the front of the church, surrounded by many beautiful flowers and plants that had been sent to the family. He was laid out in a baby blue casket with the most gorgeous red roses on top. Everyone said he looked very good for being as sick as he had been. Earl and I gave the children the option of viewing “PaPa” or not, but they all opted to “see” him. I think it was a good thing all in all. He looked peaceful, but you could definitely tell that his spirit wasn’t there. The body was just a shell. It was a good time to talk about this “earthly tent” that we dwell in and to be reminded that this is not “the end”. There is something much more than just our bodies that make up “us” and when our bodies are done, our spirit continues on. We are glad to know that PaPa’s spirit is in heaven with Jesus. It was also healthy, I think, because the rest of the the morning was spent visiting with people and the kids played in the church (as much as we would let them). Death wasn’t something to be afraid of. They watched people cry. They heard the stories and saw people laugh.

At 9 AM, friends and extended family began to arrive to pay their respects. Then at 1 PM the funeral service was held there in the church. Rita, Sonya, Earl, I and the children sat on the front row. Three different pastors spoke and there were a few special songs . . . Amazing Grace being one that Earl Sr. specifically had requested. A lot of funny stories were told. A lot of laughing was heard. Tears were shed. Memories recalled. A dear man missed.

At the end of the service, the guests filed past the casket and then greeted each of us (the family) . . . {couldn’t stop those tears . . . }. Then the family was left alone to say our “last good-byes”. The children all cried, except for Jonathan (I hadn’t stopped), and it was a sweet time. We walked out of the church and got into the van where we followed behind the hearse which was escorted by police to the cemetery on Range Road. Earl Sr.’s body was laid to rest in a beautiful mausoleum after a brief internment ceremony. (The pall bearers all wore red suspenders in honor of Earl. Very fun!)

Then it was back to the church to partake in a reception full of food that only the south knows how to cook! It was a foretaste of that glorious feast that those of us trusting in Jesus will partake in one day.

Earl Sr. has shed his mortal body and has put on immortality. No longer is he constrained by a body with severe limitations. longer is he hindered by sight that sees not the whole picture and plan. No longer does he exist full of unmet expectations and unfulfilled hopes. His soul has been completely satisfied. He knows what it is to be perfectly loved. He is in the presence of the Lord and his soul is at rest.

Those of us left behind . . .will miss him greatly.

“Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up on victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Spelling Word Stories

2011-03-25T11:55:00.001-07:00

My kids begin their spelling curriculum in Kindergarten and have a new book every year. Sometimes it can get a little monotonous doing the same thing every week and I don’t always have the time to come up with amazingly creative assignments for them to practice their words with. So, spelling is just one of those subjects that we do, but not necessarily get really excited about always. But I will say, that all my kids are GREAT spellers and actually enjoy their spelling curriculum and lessons.

Each week they complete the lesson in their spelling book, write their words 5 times each each (we use this as penmanship practice as well), and either write the definition or put the word in a sentence, depending on what has been assigned for that week. Last year, David began linking all of his sentences together and making a “story” that would usually keep us all in stitches and involved characters that we all came to know . . . “Sherlock Holmes” and “Barb” (a 90 year old woman who always foiled Holmes.) Well, this year, I decided to actually assign a “spelling word story” every few weeks for everyone and I have gotten some fun ones. Here are two of them:

Jett is a juvenile who’s life goal is to become an opulent architect, but whose name remains anonymous. He enjoys walking about incognito around his school and engaging random kids in conversations on theology and aeronautics. His father has an exorbitant amount of enthusiasm when it comes to discussing the negligence of our country’s democracy, and Jett takes after his father. The street that Jett lives on runs parallel with a street that sports an archaic biological institution where Jett likes to hang out when he’s not taking care of his mother who has a chronic disease, and suffers from paralysis.

(By Emily)

The strange figure darted this way and that beneath the foliage of Poison Forest. Chalkar, head of Personal Investigations, was busy at work using his prized calculator to find out the mysterious man’s identity. Meanwhile the figure was drawing a diagram for his next mission. He would start a rebellion among the cities around the nuclear plant. Then he would himself steal precious nuclear material for his Perfect Project. So, Mysterious Man sent fake salary deductions to people all around the plant. After that was complete, he snuck up to the base with a minimum of noise. Mysterious Man used a piece of metal shaped like a trapezoid to pick the small door lock and the big door lock. As the guard neared, Mysterious Man flattened himself into a gray vertical wall. The Mysterious Man had recorded the frequency of the guards in a notebook and used this info to skip past and infiltrate the storage room. Using the statistics in his notebook he figured out what he needed and gathered it together. As Mysterious Man stepped out he tripped an alarm which blazed over the base alerting the aerial helicopters to keep an eye out for intruders. Running out, Mysterious Man bashed into a guard patrol who began jabbering in a strange dialect at him while pointing their guns at him. Mysterious Man simply pulled out rocket boots – one of his inventions - turned them up to a specific speed and got out at the speed of light . . . with a slight concussion. Once back at his own base, Mysterious Man realized how crucial it was to complete the Perfect Project.

(by David)

These can be very silly, and I usually overlook some content errors, but I think it is one way to get their enthusiasm notched up a bit, as well as to stimulate those brain cells in being creative and using new vocabulary words in a coherent way. We sometimes will enjoy hearing these around the dinner table and it has become a fun and enjoyable experience for all of us. It is fun to see how each story is so characteristic of it’s author and we enjoy celebrating the differences among our children.

Catching Midnight

2011-03-16T20:33:00.001-07:00

We are really enjoying our adopted bunny “Midnight”. The kids each have their day to make sure Midnight is fed and watered and we let him out of his cage to run and play. He seems to love being out in the fresh air . . .and he truly seems to enjoy the “game” of trying to catch him again in the evening. Molly is the best at catching him and getting him back in his cage.

Victory again!

Sharing makes you smarter!

2011-02-20T12:13:00.001-08:00

Ever have one of those moments when you hear yourself talking to your children about their “wrong behavior” and you find yourself amazed at what you hear yourself saying? “Where did THAT come from?” “I don’t ever remember thinking through THAT one before.” And then you realize that it is God answering your prayers to make you wise through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

I had one such moment this morning as I stayed home from church with a sick child. My Annie has been contending with a fever and I just kept Jonathan home to keep her company (he’s much more fun to play with than me) and because it would make things easier for Earl. Well, there arose an “issue” over a huge pile of Lincoln logs and I ended up having one of those talks with Annie back on her bed.

Here’s what I found myself saying:

When we are playing with others then we are called to share. It looks different than if we were playing all by ourselves. When we are by ourselves, then we can build whatever we want and use whatever blocks we want or need. But when we are sharing those blocks with others, we may not be able to use all the blocks we think we need because our friend may also need to use some of them.

“Hmmmm . . .I think I’ll build this idea. Uh oh . . . I don’t have enough of this type of block because my friend is using some too. Oh well, let’s see. What can I do instead? Oh, I can do THIS!”

That’s what it sounds like when we are called upon to share our resources.

The child who has no brothers or sisters or who never gets the opportunity to play with friends, doesn’t get challenged to use their brain to think of more than one idea. They just think about what they want to build and they build it. Period. No challenge. No brain cells being developed.

BUT . . . the child who gets the opportunity to share with others, is growing much smarter as they are called upon to think up one, two, maybe even three good ideas. They are having to THINK . . . to problem solve (“How can I make this differently?”).

So, God was pretty wise when He said it is good for us to think of others and to learn to share and not be selfish . . . He knew it would make us smarter. That’s pretty cool, huh?

God is so good to give us parents these opportunities with our children. And it was very rewarding as I sat later working on my Sunday School lessons and hearing Jonathan and Annie playing so well together and truly enjoying the joy of sharing . . . and realizing that God was indeed answering my prayer to also make my children wise.

“Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul. Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:17-18

Note: I do believe that we as parents need to give our children opportunities to play alone with toys they enjoy, especially those of us who have lots of children. We all need “alone” time, whether we are wired that way or not. The Apostle Paul challenged us to learn how to get along in all kinds of circumstances (playing with friends and playing alone). I want my children to see the benefits and joys of BOTH situations . . .despite their momentary preferences.

Joshua Tree Camping Trip–Part 1

2011-02-13T16:27:00.001-08:00

I'm always looking for something new to do to break up the monotony of our school days. However, camping was not exactly what Earl would approve of as a family outing. He's really not the "camping" type (and truth be told . . . in my old age, I'm beginning to question the "fun" in it all myself). And yet, the first week of February, we found ourselves loading up our van AND the truck and heading out to Joshua Tree National Park to go camping with some friends from church. We knew it was going to be very cold (50’s during the day and into the 30’s at night), so we brought what we hoped would be warm enough clothes.

We had a hard time scavenging thermals and beanies for everyone, but God provided. We thought we could maybe get by without having to buy mittens for everyone, but I panicked at the last minute and we ended up stopping at a Walmart where we found them on sale: 2 pairs for $ .70!! God was so good . . . Emily and I almost ran out of the store shouting our good fortune to the others waiting in the vehicles!

It was another Miles Family Adventure begun . . .

This was the first real camping trip Jonathan could remember ever being on (he was about 1 year old on our last camping trip).

Needless to say, he was very excited!

David and Earl got us all set up with a little help. Our friends had picked out a good spot for us and we began making ourselves feel very at home (This is where Earl and I look at each other and say, “Right!”). There were about 8 other families besides ours camping with us from our church. Our kids were LOVING it!

The jumbo rocks (thus the name of the campground) were a natural playground for the kids and they found all kinds of “hide outs” and “forts”. So, after we set boundaries for them, off they went with their friends . . .

I tried to make our two days and two nights as simple as possible, by preparing as much food ahead of time as I could. The first night we warmed up homemade beef stew and tried to cook biscuits on a stick over the fire. It wasn’t perfect, but it was warm and tasted delicious. We kept the pot full of hot water for coffee and hot chocolate.

That first night, we thought we might try sleeping two of the kids in the back of the van, but decided to keep us all together in the tent. So, we slept side-by-side, all 7 of us in our tent, cozied down in sleeping bags and piled under and over with blankets and more blankets. We were definitely warm, but few of us slept (except for Jonathan and maybe Annie) as the wind was whipping the tent around and was very noisy and my arms kept going to sleep, etc. It felt as if I layed there ALL night awake . . .but I'm sure I dozed some. I thought of that verse in Psalms that talks about the watchman waiting for the dawn . . . when was it going to start getting light?? As I was laying there somewhere during the middle of the night, I thought, "Now THIS is why we come camping. Because it's FUN. This is fun, isn't it? How is this fun?"

Seriously though, parts of camping ARE fun, and we go because we want to make memories for our kids and give them experiences and toughen us all up and make us appreciate our warm beds and comfortable life.

On Friday, our first (and only) full day there, we all went on a hike together to find the “hall of horrors”. Not sure if any of us actually found it, but it was a beautiful day for a hike!

Some of us attempted to climb up and through some “tunnel”, but the rest of us took “the old lady route” that stayed on level ground. We made our own fun exploring.

More to come . . . .

Susannah Spurgeon: The Gift of God

2011-01-31T07:30:00.000-08:00

The Gift of God

If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. (John 4:10)

O weary Man, footsore and sorrowful, sitting thus on the well, asking for a draught of water at the hands of a poor sinful woman – you are my Lord and my Redeemer; I believe in you, I love you, I worship you!

Nearly two thousand years have passed since you spoke the sweet words which are now comforting my heart, yet with what power and solace, and blessing, do they come to me at this moment!

‘If thou knewest’. Lord, you have told me who you are, you have in mercy revealed yourself to me, I know you to be that blessed ‘gift of God’’ which alone can save and satisfy my soul. The depth and compass of heavenly love are manifested in you, and you have shown me, not my need only, but the sufficiency of your grace and power to meet it.

I am an empty sinner, you are a full Christ!

‘Thou wouldest have asked’. This, too, O blessed One, you have taught me and enabled me to do; and my heart’s constant cry, ‘Lord, give me this living water’, is familiar to your listening ears! It is yourself I want; Lord, ‘My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land.’

Not your gifts, nor your grace nor even your glory, could satisfy the desire of a soul which you have made to long for yourself. You, the giver of all other precious things, are yourself the choicest, the ‘unspeakable’ gift! Lord, into the thirst of my empty heart pour the full stream of your living love! Give me yourself, or I die!

And having asked, I believe you do give, for your own lips have said it, ‘He would have given’, and I whisper softly to myself the blessed words, ‘Who loved me, and gave himself for me’, realizing the sacred, overflowing joy of pardoned sin, and peace with God, filling and satisfying my soul.

So, dear Lord, my spirit, like a weary bird, folds her wings beside this sweet well-spring of comfort, creeps into this blessed ‘cleft of the rock’, and is at rest.

From “Morning Devotions by Susannah Spurgeon: Free Grace and Dying Love”

I don't know what your day will be like today. I don't even know what my day will be like yet today (here on the west coast, it is only just 7:15 am). But I'm confident that all of us will find in our paths today lots of longings . . . longing for quiet, longing for noise, longing for health, longing for friends and activity, diversion or time to sit and breathe, longing for love or acceptance or praise, longing for help or relief or strengthening. Whatever longings you find your heart chasing after today, may you also find the grace to remember the One who satisfies all of our longings . . . completely. Won't you stand humbly with me, before that mirror of grace? And as we do, may we find much joy and peace in believing and may we find rest for our souls in the midst of our day, whatever it will hold.

We are empty sinners, but He is a full Christ. Amen!

Mt. Baldy Video

2011-01-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Here is some video that we took last Friday during our time up at Mt. Baldy. It was very windy, so you'll hear background noise. I began the video, but soon turned the job over to Emily so I could take photos.
ENJOY!

He will not withhold . . .

2011-01-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

any good thing.
We are trusting God for that promise and for His timing.

This past Saturday,
our family had to say goodbye to Scout,
our puppy that we had come to love over the last 3 months.
We had invested much time, energy, and finances,
and our hearts were fully embedded in this dog.

But she began to exhibit some aggressive tendencies that Earl and I had been on the watch for from the beginning and had agreed that no matter how much we had grown to love her, if we ever at any time felt like she was a danger to our children or anyone, we would take her back
(we signed a contract saying that we would return her if we decided not to keep her).

We hired a trainer and tried to diligently and consistently work with Scout.
But her issues began to escalate this past week.
We returned her Saturday morning,
after a very emotional Friday evening.

We were all heart-broken,
but even the children realized that it was not safe
to have her in the home any longer.

We are not giving up on finding the perfect dog for our family.
We are trusting the Lord to bring him/her to us in His timing.
Right now, we are enjoying the freedom from the intense work that Scout required and we are thinking and talking about all that we've learned.

This has been a learning time for all of us.
Earl and I couldn't be more proud of the children and of how
well they shouldered much of the responsibility for Scout's care.
And they worked with her in training, both practical and for fun.
They really "stepped up to the plate" so to speak,
and we are so proud of them.
We have all cried more tears than we knew we had,
and it has been good to have that freedom to do so.

Now we are moving on,
and are stronger for the experience.

We have seen God's hand of protection,
and we have continued to find Him faithful throughout these last 3 months.
When things don't go our way or according to our desires,
it doesn't mean that God has failed us.
It just serves to remind us that we live in a "fallen" world,
and that this isn't heaven.
But . . .
but . . ..
one day,
we shall live in a redeemed and renewed world,
where the dog will lie down with the child . . .

and neither shall be afraid.

Mount Baldy

2011-01-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

On Friday,
Earl turned 49 years old!
We just had to celebrate and do something FUN.
So . . .
he worked that morning,
the kids and I did school,
and then we loaded up everyone in the van and headed north toward Mount Baldy - supposedly only an hour from our home!

We stopped for lunch and it was sooooo hot.
(Nice for a change!)
20 minutes later and we were up in the mountains
with the wind blowing wildly
and the air frigid.

But we found snow!
We weren't holding our breath, just looking for whatever we could find -
even if it was only a beautiful day of driving and getting out of the house (We did listen to some Lamplighter Theater and that was a treat too).

We brought heavy jackets, just in case, and some dry socks, but that was all.
So we bundled up and headed over to play.

Earl and I enjoyed watching all of our kids who have not yet really gotten to play in the snow, but it was especially fun watching Jonathan who just had no fear,
and obviously was not bothered by the FREEZING COLD.

We even brought Scout with us, but since she has not yet had her rabies shot,
we kept her close by.

David found a broken sled-thing and we gave him the go-ahead to use it.
That proved to be great fun!
He'll tell you though that I did not give very sound advice.
He found what he thought looked like a good place to give it a go
and when he asked me how to stop, I told him, just dig in your feet (I think that's what I remember doing . . . hahaha . . . it's been sooooo long . . . . too long . . . . )
Well, he followed my advice,
and flew right over a stump,
unhurt,
but considerably "rumpled in spirit". Hahaha!

Even Jonathan gave it a go,
and Earl caught him before he flew over the stump.

Then we found a better spot, and Jonathan, Molly and David all had several runs.
Here is Earl trying to ski in his shoes.
Silly guy.

We finally headed back to the warm van,
and were just full of thankfulness for such an unexpectedly fun time!

As I said, it was VERY windy,
but here is one last shot.

We had a lovely drive back down the mountain,
and our hearts and spirits were full of thanksgiving!

Susannah Spurgeon

2011-01-03T19:31:00.001-08:00

Earl bought me this book for Christmas
(I've been asking for it).
It includes a biography of Susannah Spurgeon that I read years ago but was out of print.
And it also contains
"Morning Devotions by Susannah Spurgeon".
It has been wonderful!
Not one reading has yet left me unaffected.

So, I want to share.

I will be posting periodic quotes from my reading.

"What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe
(Ephesians 1:19)"

"Come, my heart, satisfy and delight yourself, this morning, with the thought of what your mighty God can do for you - the grace he is able to give you now - the glory he is reserving for you - the uplifting, upholding, strengthening, and preserving power which is all invested in his loving hands on your behalf. Here is a storehouse of riches on which your largest demands can make no perceptible diminishment, and all this is yours!"

Oh, dear Christian,
may your heart,
as mine has,
be refreshed and encouraged!

Scout's Dog House - Finished!

2011-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well, David learned so much being able to work with Scott on this project.
He enjoyed the fun parts - getting to use the power tools,
and he learned that the tedious parts - like sanding -
are just part of the process of creating something you can really be proud of.

When I picked David up each time, I had to refrain from asking,
"So . . . when do you think it will be done?"
(I was DYING to see the final product! It was just looking better and better
each time I saw it.)

After "Day 4", I walked away figuring that it would be sometime in January.
No problem.
I could wait.
I was a big girl.

Then . . .

Christmas day there was a knock on our front door.

Scott and Linda came by and delivered the finished crate!
It was beautiful!
Stunning!
I couldn't have been more pleased and excited and overwhelmed, etc. etc.

And now Scout loves it too!
It is big and roomy for her and gives her a nice place to go and hide from the craziness this family has to offer all day.

Scout's Dog House - Day 2, 3, and 4

2010-12-23T09:28:00.001-08:00

On "Day 2" of David getting to help on Scout's new dog house,
they finished the sides.
Scott did some beautiful work on adding some embellishment!

On "Day 3" they were able to put the sides together and made the door.

On "Day 4", the rain drove them inside the garage and Scott had done a lot of work constructing the floor piece which acts as a pedestal for the walls to sit upon.

David donned an apron and got ready to do some staining.

When I came back to pick him up, the wood was stained this beautiful honey color!

Who Are You Worshipping This Christmas?

2010-12-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard S. M. Lockridge preach this message
then you have to take the time to listen.
This is the King that the Miles family is celebrating this Christmas and all year long!

Merry Christmas from the Miles Family!

Just because . . .

2010-12-16T09:46:00.001-08:00

There is no wordy post.
Just a photo that speaks volumes for me.
It warms my heart and makes me smile.
It was captured "by mistake" as I was setting my camera settings for a "group shot".
They were watching Scout.

The lighting was great . . .
it was in focus . . .
and it was sweet.

Just wanted to share.

A Peek into our Home

2010-12-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

Jonathan has been doing so well in his reading,
and has been participating so well in our family devotions each morning, by taking his turn in reading the Bible passage, that I decided that I needed to get it on film.
Of course, I'm always amazed at how tired and "blah" everyone looks on the days that I choose to video or take photos.
This morning was no different.
Usually, our family times can get pretty silly and loud.

This morning, things started out slow . . .
but ended with a bang.
(Jonathan was not feeling well this morning . . . )

Scout's Dog house - DAY 1

2010-11-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

David is working with a gentleman in our church to build Scout an inside dog crate/end table.

Here are some photos from their first day together.

Do I need to state that David had a blast getting to work on this project?
Despite the fact that he forgot his jacket and it got freezing,
the joy was written all over his face when we got in the car.
(happy mommy sigh . . . )

A Fall Poem by Molly

2010-11-12T12:29:00.001-08:00

Fall
by Molly (age 9)

Red, yellow, brown and orange,
Dancing 'cross the street.

Rakes, rakes, oh where are the rakes?
Oh we need the rakes!

Turkeys, cider, pies and seeds,
Fires, candles, warmth.

Books, blankets, with hot chocolate,
by the fire warm.

A Fall Poem by Annie

2010-11-12T11:50:00.000-08:00

Fall
by Annie Miles (age . . . almost 8!)

Red, yellow, orange, and green
Dancing down the road.

Crunchy leaves and waving trees,
Crackling fires and more.

Chilly air and raining skies,
Warm apple cider.

So, sit by the fire and rest
Fall has come again.

Our New Addition!

2010-11-08T17:48:00.001-08:00

We have been thinking about getting a dog for about a year now. Actually, Earl has brought it up ever since we got married. I kept putting it off as long as I could. But over the past year, we have talked about things, and looked at dogs, and talked about things, and looked at dogs . . .
One day last month, we found a sweet dog named "Summer" who was about an hour and a half away. We all fell in love with her photo and description. She seemed to be exactly the dog we were looking for! She was
house broken and crate-trained.
She was low maintenance,
a small dog,
and would be great to snuggle on the couch with during school hours.
So, we traveled down to see "Summer". But alas! "Summer" was not the dog for us.

However, while we were at this "shelter home" this adorable puppy was thrust into my arms and our family instantly fell in love with her. She just lay with her head on my shoulder and was so sweet!
We drove the hour and a half home and talked and debated, and talked, and debated, and called my sister for counsel and talked and debated. This lasted the whole week. Every chance we were together . . . "So. What do you think about the dog? Do we really want a puppy?!? What will this mean for our family? Can we do it? Is it wise?" and on and on it went.
Until finally we drove back down the next Saturday and picked up OUR puppy . . . the very one we had seen the week before.

The adoptive "mom" asked us if we had a name picked out. We all answered, "Scout!" and she said that was the PERFECT name for this little girl.

Scout's mom was rescued from a "high kill" shelter and fostered at a home in Poway, CA, which was about an hour and a half drive from our house. Scout was about 8 weeks old when we met her. We had to drive up into the hills. It was a beautiful place!

This was the turn-off into the group of homes where Scout lived with her mom and 7 other brothers and sisters. We would be getting pick of the litter!

We parked the van and hiked down the now-familiar driveway. We had just been here the week before to look at "Summer", but this time we were sure we would be coming home with our dog!

All the puppies were out on the drive-way and we had a good opportunity to watch them and talk about them and ask questions.

We ended up falling in love all over again with the same dog we had seen the week before! Even Annie and Jonathan weren't afraid of her.

How can you not love this face? (It's funny to see this photo now, because her ears have perked up and she has so much more personality shining through!)

She passed the submission test and just snuggled up in Molly's arms.

We brought her home and began training right away. We kept her in the play yard that we used with the kids. We would get in to play with her, or take her out to play supervised. She enjoyed being where the family was.

The kids all take turns feeding her and taking her outside to go potty. Everyone has their own day during the week and we all share responsibility on the weekends. She is doing VERY well on going outside and not having accidents inside.

My sister, Gail, came over the day after we got her and gave her her first bath. She looked so pitiful!

I didn't realize just how tiny she was until I saw her next to Earl's legs one day when she was outside.

Now this is what the girls were looking forward to.
But this hasn't happened for quite awhile. Scout was very sleepy and mellow for the first few days, and then all of a sudden she just woke up and turned on her puppiness full speed!

She started biting everything she could get her teeth on . . . human or not!

So now, when we hold her, she looks like THIS:

Then, she will mellow out and look like this:

She sleeps a lot and is so fun to play with when we are brave enough.
Tomorrow she will have the rest of her vaccines and will be ready to begin socializing with other dogs, which means we will be free to take her out front and begin to train her to walk on a leash with us. We've been working in the back yard with her, but it will be nice to see some new scenery. We'll see how she does . . . .
We're also going to look into dog obedience classes . .. . soon! (They won't take dogs until they've had all of their shots.)

Molly's 4th (and LAST!) Surgery

2010-11-06T21:56:00.001-07:00

You can read about the beginning of this journey here.
You can read here about her first surgery.
And I've blogged about her third surgery here.

Molly had her 4th surgery on October 15th.
This one was a little later in the morning @ 11am.
We didn't have to be there as early, but that meant that Molly had to very consciously skip breakfast. Before, when we had to be there at 6am, skipping breakfast was no big deal. We were barely awake anyway. But this time, we all felt it.

(Here is Molly walking into the surgery entrance one last time.)

Molly has usually always been in good spirits before her surgeries.
This time we all brought books to read, which was a good thing because it seemed we had to wait a little longer.
I knew Molly was relaxed because she was complaining about the cold bathroom and the short hospital gown.

So, this is what Molly's scar looked like after her 3rd surgery. It was already starting to pale in color and blend in more with her normal skin tones.

(The markings are her doctor's initials.)

Before the last surgery, Molly was given the Versed early enough that she didn't remember Dr. Zeineh coming in at all or being wheeled into the surgery room. She and Earl and I liked that. We tried to request that she be given it early again, but we had to wait for the anesthesiologist and he was running late. They didn't want to give it to her too early and then have it wear off. As it turned out, she was fully aware of everything and we once again had some tears as they wheeled her back to surgery. (So hard for me!! I'm fine until I see my Molly tear up . . . ). But our trust is in a kind and good God who promises to not "withhold any good thing", so we didn't grumble or complain, and as it turned out Molly was fine with it all in the end.

Earl and I only had to wait for a little over an hour before Dr. Zeineh came out and led us back to where Molly was in recovery.
Molly's recovery nurse was so nice (they really all have been!) and even brought Earl and I the most delicious coffee. Molly was having a very difficult time waking up and keeping her eyes open, and the recovery room was at a lull, so we had a nice visit with the nurse who also happens to be a Christian and homeschooled her boys and whose husband works for a Christian ministry (she had remembered us from a previous surgery, so it was like meeting up with an old friend).

Molly's recovery has always been so good and quick and incident/pain free. We were told by the nurse that that has a lot to do with the surgeon (we really had the BEST!). Dr. Zeineh is known for taking her time and making sure the patient is completely relaxed (muscles) and the result is little to no pain in the recovery process. However, we were admonished to be on guard and prepared as no two recoveries are the same. But, Molly continued to amaze us and needed no pain meds at all. She came home about 2pm, had a little bit to drink, a little yogurt and then it was time for the house to shut down for a few quiet hours anyway, so we all rested (I was absolutely SPENT after we got home. I'm sure much of it was the emotional drain).

About 10 days later, we headed back to the dr's office to have the dressing changed and the sutures removed.

(Here is what the bandage looked like after the surgery.)

(Here is what the incision looked like after removing the bandage.)

The pathology report showed that the margins are finally clear and there will be no more surgeries needed. Hooray!!
All of Molly's bandages are off now and she has been ok'd to resume normal activities. She is healing nicely and to celebrate, she and I headed to Starbucks for a treat after her last visit with Dr. Zeineh. (I will miss those special times out with Molly.)

So, we have MUCH to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
We are thankful for Molly.
We are thankful for 4 successful surgeries.
We are thankful for Dr. Zeineh and her wonderful bedside manner and skill.
We are thankful for the staff who all treated us as friends.
And we are thankful for a kind and loving heavenly Father who had it all planned out from the beginning!

"Yet but for God!"

2010-10-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday at church, I met Nancy. She saw our signs and decided to come. Her and I sat over at the picnic tables and talked between services after I had been introduced to her by another woman. She attends another Baptist church, but it relocated to Irvine. She shared easily with me about where she had been - experiences/trials that I most likely will never have to experience, praise the Lord. She told of how her grandmother had taken her to church and she seems to have had a faith that has kept her going all these years. She told me that she had seen hell. And heaven. I didn't dispute her, but listened. She kept repeating, getting more and more passionate, "Yet, but for God!" and describing herself as a walking testimony. I had no doubt she was.

As I sat there and listened to her, I was aware of a desire to just quietly weep (though tears didn't really seem to fit the circumstances, it was an emotion that was welling up regardless). I saw a simple, yet tenacious faith, in the midst of incredible suffering and hardship - especially in comparison to my life of relative ease filled with blessings innumerable. Was this what it feels like to have "a heart like Jesus"? I invited her to sit with our family during the worship service which she did - ill-smelling, noisy & fidgety somewhat, though not disrespectful or disruptive in any way. I was keenly aware that we were standing before the same throne, professing relationship and looking to the same God, coming to the same fountain to drink and I was overwhelmed with God's heart for sinners (including myself) and His ability to save, and comfort, and fill, and satisfy. I pictured Nancy as the "woman at the well" and as the one who anointed Jesus with perfume and dried his feet with her hair, and as the woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter, reminding Him that "even the dogs eat the crumbs from the master's table". I was humbled by her simple, yet tenacious faith . . . "yet but for God!" My heart knew that He was filled with compassion for her and was honored by/through her faith and my heart swelled with compassion as well. I begged God on her behalf to meet her where she was that morning and to give her above and beyond what she could ask or think of Himself.

I have been brought to tears before during the singing portion of our worship time as I see my own sin and again understand all that Christ has accomplished for me and feel the amazing privilege of standing together with the Redeemed before the throne of the Almighty, but the words of the songs that morning took on a whole new meaning as I understood them from where she stood. They were true for me, but she had lived them in ways more vivid than I ever will. After singing some Sovereign Grace songs, we sang "Amazing Grace". She leaned over to me and said, "These are the old songs that I really love". She sang heartily next to me, but without matching any note that the rest of us were singing. It made me smile all the more! Again, what a picture of coming with all she had and laying it at the feet of Jesus . . .

So, struggling Christian, surrounded by God's blessings and held by His promises . . . take courage. Look to God and all He has done for you in Christ and say with the Redeemed, "yet but for God" I'd be lost! Look to Him to find strength to bear up under your trials in this life and say with those who truly know, "yet but for God".

I don't know why she came. Was she sent just for me? I'll never know, but I'm glad she came. Will she come back? Will the Lord use her further to challenge my ability to love outside of my comfort zone and to express the heart of Jesus to someone so incredibly different from me and yet not different much at all in the ways that really matter? I'm glad I had the privilege of talking with her and sitting with her in worship. She changed my thinking. She stirred me up to see what it feels like to love like Jesus. She left in the middle of the last song, but not before dumping a handful of change in my hand and telling me it was "for the children". She then whispered "God bless you" and was gone.

Father, thank you for Nancy. Thank you for crossing our paths. Thank you for the encouragement of her simple faith "yet but for God!" May I not forget . . . .

A Story by Molly

2010-09-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

We do a lot of creative writing in our home.

It just happens.

Not sure exactly how it all began . . . I didn't really assign things, Emily just began writing stories, then David, then Molly and Annie and even today Jonathan has asked me to help him write a story (which sounds strangely familiar to one of his siblings current stories).

All I know is that our kids LOVE to hear stories. They have since they were very little. And they love to read and they read a lot. I think their reading shows through in their writing, which is just another reason to make sure that our kids are reading a good variety of good literature and not just filling their minds and imaginations with "less than quality" writing.

Right now, all 4 of our older kids are involved in writing books. I have promised them that if they will stick to them and finish them (editing and all), that I will have them self-published. I also am wanting to encourage them by publishing a little of their stories here on our blog and seeing if they get any encouraging feedback.

So, to start . . . here are the first two chapters of Molly's current book.

It is the 2nd in a series (the first one had a Christmas theme).

Enjoy!
(And leave an encouraging comment for her if you have the time . . . )

The Missing Dog

By Molly Miles

“The News”

Andrew and Lilly were staying at their Grandma Mary’s house that summer. Andrew was now 14 and Lilly was 12. They were just finishing a project for their home school when they heard their Grandma on the phone and listened.

“Yes, . . . yes they are here, . . . oh no! I’ll tell them that . . . okay . . . . good bye.”

“What was that about, Grandma?” asked Lilly coming down the stairs with Andrew coming behind.

“Oh, um, that was Mrs. Beatle. She said that her dog Sarah was missing,” said Grandma.

“Missing! Sarah missing!” shouted Andrew and Lilly together.

“Yes, missing. But please don’t take the job,” said Grandma. “What do you mean ‘don’t take the job’?” asked Lilly. “Well, she asked you to help find her,” said Grandma.

“The Threat!”

“Well, we do help the town detectives, so . . . I guess we could help Mrs. Beatle,” said Andrew.

“Oh dear. I just don’t like it. Every free moment you have you run into some kind of mystery”, said Grandma.

“Well we will spend time with you, Grandma,” said Lilly hurriedly.

“Well, . . . okay. Go along. Take the mystery,” she said and walked away to make dinner.

Now the days were spent looking for Sarah. And in their spare time, Andrew and Lilly spent time with their grandma.

One morning, Andrew went to get the mail and saw an envelope with no return address on it. He took a look and then opened it. (Since their grandma couldn’t read because of bad eye sight, they always read the mail to her). His eyes opened wide at what he saw. Lilly came in the room, took a look at Andrew, and knew something was wrong.

“Andrew, come with me into the next room right now!” she said. Andrew, still looking at the paper, followed her. When they got to the next room Lilly said, “What is going on? What does the paper say? Why aren’t you reading it to Grandma? Tell ME THAT!”

Andrew handed the paper to Lilly and said quietly, “You want Grandma to hear THAT?”

Lilly looked at the paper, and her eyes grew round. The letter said,

DON’T TAKE THE JOB, OR ELSE!

The. Last. One

2010-09-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, here he is.

My fifth born.
My baby.

Last month, he finished his reading book.
It was the same exact one that his older brother and 3 older sisters learned to read from (and believe me, it is ready to be retired! No way it is in any kind of shape to be passed on.)

In our home, we have the tradition that when anyone finishes a school book, they get to celebrate the next morning with a big cinnamon roll all to themselves. (Actually, they grow out of this when their finished school books coincide with the end of the year.)

We also have a tradition in our home that when you finish "The Reading Book" (usually around 5 years old), you get to go with the family to the Christian Bookstore and get your first real Bible with your name imprinted on it.

Since most of the stores in our area have closed, we made time to go to the store in Louisiana and there Jonathan was able to get his first Bible.

It was a fun time!

(Now, based on the two above photos you may be tempted to think that Jonathan was MORE excited over the cinnamon roll than he was over the Bible, but remember . . . it was very hot and sticky in Louisiana. Yeah, that's right. It isn't that my kids love sugar that much . . . But oh, for the day when all of them will have "tasted and seen how good the Lord is" for themselves!)

It has been really fun (and so rewarding) to see Jonathan so excited about getting to participate fully in our family times each morning (as it has with each one of our children). He no longer needs to just repeat after Mommy when it comes time for him to read his verse, but now he has his own Bible and he is reading very well when his turn comes around. I help him with sounding out the big words. The really fun part is hearing all of his siblings clap and cheer for him when he is finished. (Now, this happened for all of the others as well, but when you are the fifth born, you have the largest cheering crowd of all.) It's fun to see, and we are all enjoying it.

Yes, I'm enjoying it. But I will admit that my enjoyment is mingled with bittersweetness. I will miss not teaching my children to read. I will miss snuggling with them on the couch and helping them struggle through sounding out words. I will miss the uninhibited look of joy when they see themselves doing something that they didn't know they could do. I will miss these family times shared with beginning readers. I will miss this season. I will. I have loved it every time it came around in our home but with the other ones I always knew there was another one coming behind. I just had to wait. But now I'm done.

Yes, there may be grandchildren in my future. And I may have the joy of watching them from a distance learn to read. But it won't be the same. It isn't meant to be the same. And that's ok.

Thank you , Lord, for the amazing gift of children and for the absolute joy of being able to teach them at home. Thank you for the hard days when they are in tears and I am on the verge and yet we find our way through to the other side and are stronger for the "lesson" we learned of Your faithfulness and strength. Thank you for the laughter in our homeschool and the joy you've given us over learning. Thank you for the days when laughter is hard to find and we have to rely on plain discipline and diligence that come from looking to You for all we need.

You have been more than gracious to me.

Again, I thank you for the privilege of being able to teach my children to read and to get to know them each better in the process.

Catching Up

2010-07-31T16:34:00.000-07:00

I have tried unsuccessfully for the past two days to burn a DVD to send back to Earl's family in Louisiana. Since I haven't been updating much on here of late, I thought I would go ahead and try and post it here instead.

This was a very simple project that Emily and I literally threw together. No fancy touches. But it shows a little of what the Miles family has been up to this year so far.

Enjoy!

Before & After - Edited!

2010-07-12T19:11:00.001-07:00

Ok . . . couldn't live with those other photos up here. HAD to take some different ones . . . but still . . . grrr . . .now there is a greenish/yellowish tint that I thought I had fixed but is still showing up when I post these. Sigh. Perfection is a curse . . .

This is what Molly looked like last May (2009) before her first surgery on July 10.
(I LOVE the lighting of this photo . . . the ones to follow don't even compare. Sorry!)

This is what she looks like now after 3 surgeries. You can hardly see the scar!

Oh, wait! That's the wrong side. So sorry.
Here is the right side. But still . . . barely noticeable.
(There is some slight puckering when viewed from certain angles . . . )

I actually had to have her tilt her head to the side so you could see the scar better.

We are so grateful for all of the words of encouragement and prayers along the way.
Molly is doing very well.
She will have one more surgery in October due to the fact that the margins were not yet clear after the last surgery.
Again, thank you.

We are so grateful!!

Holding it all with . . .

2010-07-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

open hands.
It's the lesson of my life.

It is now summer time and we are in full-force of enjoying it! The school assessments have been finished and the school books put away.

But as expected . . . I am realizing that my "to do" list and my "want to do" list are way beyond the days and hours available.

I must trust that what He has planned for my days is good and sufficient. I must trust Him when He tells me that no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. I must bow to His will and rejoice in it . . .knowing that it is good and perfect.

Law?
Bondage?
No, gentle reader . . . FREEDOM!!

The last two weeks have been spent battling strep throat and extreme fatigue.
Not my plans.
In fact . . . my plans were greatly hindered as I just couldn't concentrate on writing up those assessments when I finally had a moment to sit down.
But now they are done.
And two weeks of swim lessons are behind us.
And four weeks of summer are still ahead (with a week away as a family squished in there!)

I'm trusting that what needs to get done will get done.
I'm looking around my house at all the clutter and projects,
and desperately wanting it ALL to be in order by the time school starts again,
and yet trusting Him to give me the grace to love my family (in actions and tones), when it isn't getting done.
I'm praying for grace to take the time to play Chutes and Ladders with a sweet 5 year old while looking at a table full of stuff to be tossed or stowed.
I'm praying for grace to fix the bikes and take some bike rides to the park (or even the beach!) when I could be home planning or painting.
I'm praying for grace, because it doesn't come to me naturally.

And that's the freedom.
When I submit my will to His, He abundantly gives me the grace (that which I need but don't have) to enjoy His will,
and see the good in His will,
and trust Him with my own desires . . . knowing that He delights to bless me!

And so,
I'm holding my summer,
and my plans,
my dreams,
and desires,

with . . .
Open Hands.