Perfect Imperfection...

This is the sign that hangs above my stove.  It's a reminder that truly, outside of my relationship with the Lord, my relationship with my family, those individuals with whom I spend all my days, is the only thing that will make a lasting impact.

Things like dresser drawers, broken from the strain of too many clothes and too much use by boys always in a hurry.

Dishes (always) piled high either clean and waiting to be put away, or dirty and waiting to be washed, but always asking for my attention (whether I choose to take care of it myself or delegate, then inspect).

A key on the piano they got me for my birthday a few years ago, broken by small hands playing happily, but a bit (or maybe a lot) too rough.

Permanent marker on my (gorgeous, and much-loved because it was given to me by Mom & Dad AND because it draws us all close at every meal) table.

The tine on one of my forks that is part of the set we received as a wedding gift, bent by brothers working on a project together and needing "just the right tool."

 A nice greasy smudge on my front door, courtesy of a curious, albeit messy, little one .

Baskets and bins of homeschooling materials, in my living room, in my kitchen, under my piano bench...just about everywhere.

Laundry, like the dishes, always piled high either wanting to be washed or folded or put away.  Usually taking up either my kitchen floor or my kitchen table.

All of these represent choices for me.   I can remember that these things, while potentially frustrating, are truly only temporal.  None of these things will matter in the long run.  Remembering that *in the moment* is the challenge, though.

I can get angry that the dresser drawer was broken, or I can be thankful for all those clothes that my busy boys hurriedly put away because they were so eager to get on to their next adventure.

I can get frustrated that those dishes never stop calling my name, or I can choose to be thankful that those dishes represent many meals, mostly eaten together with my family. 

I can get mad about that broken piano key, or I can choose to remember the happy "music" that was played by a child eager to create and to learn.

I can throw a fit because there is a permanent mark on the table I love, or I can remember that I love the person who (accidentally) wrote on it infinitely more and cherish the time he spent in our family.

I can be disappointed that the fork tine is bent, or I can purposely try to put that particular fork at my place every time I set the table just so I can remember how precious it is to me that my children find projects to do and work together to make their ideas work.

I can be irritated about the smudged window, or so very thankful that it was made by a little boy who never used to care about his environment at all, and is now curious and engaged.

I can complain that there are books everywhere, or I can be grateful for the fact that I have been blessed to be able to spend my days homeschooling my children, learning right along with them from all those books.

I can gripe about the clothes that never seem to stay in their closets and drawers, or I can thank the Lord for the family members who wear the clothes and thank God for His provision.  (I almost never have to buy clothes at full price.) 

Do I always make the right choice?  HA!  Not a chance!  But always in hindsight, I know the blessings that all of the imperfections represent, so I am thankful for them.  If my life were "perfect," imagine how much I would be missing out on!  Today, I choose to thank God for my perfectly imperfect life! 

My brand-new(est) TEENager!

William's present, waiting on the table for him when he woke up the day he turned 13, wrapped in his comic papers.

I've never met a 13 year old who requested a meat grinder for his birthday.  A foodie he is.

He's much beloved by his faithful companions, Anna and Izzi.  If he spends the night away from home, they don't know what to do with themselves.

This is his usual pose.  He hates for me to take his picture.

I don't know why--he is so handsome!!!  Of course, I'm a bit biased.

He picked an ice cream cake, which was almost a no-brainer, considering his addiction and all...

I think Anna's a great judge of character.  She knows that William is "good people."  I love his sweet, honest, tender heart and I pray it stays that way always.  How blessed I am to be William's momma--and how SHORT he makes me feel!  He's already a head taller than I.  Could we just slow this growing thing down a bit????

The abundant life...

At the end of an already long, but good and blessed day, I'm getting ready for another. 

I'm putting together a lasagna for tomorrow's after-church Haiti mission trip benefit dinner.  In true multi-tasking momma fashion, I'm also simultaneously (while browning the meat) blogging AND putting the finishing touches on my 1st - 3rd grader's Sunday School class lesson for tomorrow morning.

Multi-tasking is the one ability God seems to grant to each woman as she becomes a mother...sort of a right-of-passage, I'd say.

I'm also waiting for a certain 12 year old to fall asleep so I can wrap his birthday present without his nosey (inquisitive) presence!  I can't believe this is the last night I will look at his sweet face before he wakes up as a teenager.  Where DOES the time go? 

Life is abundant and it is good--but it's flying by at warp speed!!!  And I better get...I've got (a few)miles to go before I sleep.

Rabbit Babies????

This is Bella, Lena's Dutch girl. She has her own apartment, but sometimes we let her husband, Buddy, visit her. We have let them visit several times. But we didn't think they had really "visited" -- if you get my drift.

Evidently they did, indeed, "visit." Lena came running into the house this afternoon yelling, "Bella had babies!!! Bella had babies!!!"

We had had a bit of a clue that she *MIGHT* be expecting just a few days ago because she had been pulling her belly hairs making a nest. But we also read that often rabbits do this when they're experiencing a false pregnancy, so we weren't sure...until today.

This is Buddy, the proud papa. He's evidently a stealthy "visitor." So...anybody interested in a pure bred Dutch baby rabbit in a few weeks?  We'll be selling them at Trade Days if not...

Mario & Luigi: On Parenting...

Several weeks ago, we (ahem, rather--someone who shall remain nameless) misplaced our BRAND NEW Super Mario Bros. for Wii game that we had only played a couple of times.

Today, in looking for our "Unreached People Groups" DVD for our Bible/Missions reading unit during school, we came across the game!  It had been put in a DVD case for a completely different movie. 

During lunch, we got out the Wii and I took a shot at it.  Oh.My.Goodness!!!  To say I stink at the game would be a gross understatement.  It was laughable.  The kids (including Lena) were trying to talk me through the moves I should make, telling me which direction to go, which buttons to push, which characters and areas to avoid.

I just COULD NOT make Mario do what I wanted him to do.  No matter how well they coached me.  No matter how great and spot on their instructions were.

They huffed and puffed.  They told me I was pitiful (which I knew--so it didn't hurt my feelings.)  They hollered.  Finally, at one point, William walked outside, unable to watch anymore.  Lena offered to just do it for me to get me through the level.

And it occurred to me...they were getting a glimpse of what it is to be a parent. 

We know how to navigate the things they are dealing with.  We see the pitfalls and the traps, and the shady characters that are lying in wait to do them harm.  We tell them, plead with them, to avoid all of those things.  But they won't/can't just let us "do this level" for them...they have to do it on their own.  And that's as it should be. 

Like them, I sometimes have to huff and puff and holler as I see them getting ready to run into obstacles; sometimes even cover my eyes 'cause it's just too doggone painful to watch them make mistakes I KNOW are coming up. 

In the end, I know...it's only this process of learning (mostly by experience...sometimes by listening and observing) where the "bad guys" are waiting and which features of the game (opportunities in real life) they can use for their advantage that will teach them and prepare them to someday slay the dragon and conquer the castle.  And that will be a day that will make me so proud.  (and relieved....)  

Morning On The Farm...

Last Saturday morning, we just KNEW that Flip was going to finally have her kids.  Alas...we spent about 4 hours outside and no kids...  However, we did get to enjoy the absolutely FABULOUS spring weather!  So, all was not lost.   Here are a few snippets of our morning.

 Baby goats doing what all babies do...wallering their momma to death!

 Quack quack!

 Don't all 9 year old girls nap on their 4-wheeler while waiting for their goat to give birth????

 Are you scared yet?

 You should be now!

 I'm just sharing this one cause I love the pattern of this chicken's feathers.  Her name is "Party."

 Guineas are strange-looking creatures aren't they?

 Yes, as a matter of fact, those sunglasses ARE pink.  You gotta problem with that?  I didn't think so!

 Sharing...

 NOT sharing...  This little chick got her first juicy worm today.  YUM!

 Takin' her babies out for a stroll...

Matthew lovin' on the new baby... 

 They call him eagle eye...

 The guys...

 Jared not squeezing the chick to death!

 Kenzie (and the chicken) visiting the new momma...

 What a handsome dude!

 My sweet little farm girl.

My sweet farm BOY helping his sister across the boards to see the goats.

So...as it turns out...this WAS the day Flip had her kid.  Only one.  But she waited until we were all engrossed in other activities.  I was on the phone when one of the kids ran in and told us all to come quick.  Sure enough.  We all got settled in to our chairs outside the goat pen (and some of us INSIDE the goat pen) just in time to tune into our favorite channel, Farm TV.  Today's special was a documentary on "birthing kids."  It doesn't get much more educational than that!  That'll be the next post...maybe.

"G" is for Grain...

School with Jared and MaKenzie is so much fun! Homeschooling my kids, in general, has always been fun for me, but, with Jared and MaKenzie it's a bit different than it has been with the others. With the other kids, because they are mostly "typical" learners (at least close enough within the realm to be called so), I have been able to buy curricula ready-made that will work for them in each subject area. Not so with Jared and MaKenzie.

With Jared and MaKenzie, I get to make up the lessons in large part. Certainly, I have curricula that I use with them, but if I used it as intended (followed the lesson plans as prescribed), it would be much too fast-paced for them. The curriculum covers a letter every day or so. My kids need at least a week or so between letters. So, I "fill-in" using my own ideas, or with ideas I find online or from the suggestions of therapists.

 

The pictures on this post are from a fill-in day.  On this day, as I was thinking about what we could do, I was looking over the Bible story we were going to read. It happened to be about Joseph and his job helping to collect, store, and distribute food (grain) during the years of feast and famine in Egypt. The top picture is of Jared's coloring page. See the bags of grain? They reminded me of the buckets of grain I have in my pantry.  That sparked the idea to create a worksheet with the letter "G" and let the kids use glue to stick wheat berries (grain) to the glue in the shape of the letter to form a "G." 

Besides reviewing the letter "G" for the millionth day (not really, it only seems that way...) we also practiced writing (pre-writing/tracing/air-writing), counted items, played a letter matching game, reviewed all of our other letters by finger-tracing our sand paper letters, talked about the color blue (colors are still a little iffy on some days for them), and, of course, we read the story about Joseph distributing the "GRAIN" and being reunited with his family.  I think Jared only interrupted me about 15 times to ask about the pictures today!  Seriously, though, what a privilege for me!  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend these times with my kids.  It's definitely a huge responsibility--one that keeps me on my knees--but that's a good thing, right?