The Beacon

Her love is like an island
In life's ovean, vast and wide.
A peaceful quiet shelter
From the wind and rain, and tide.
'Tis bound on the north by Hope,
By Patience on the west.
By tender Counsel on the south,
And on the east by Rest.
Above is like a beacon light,
Shining Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;
And through the changing scenes of life,
I find a haven there.
~Author Unknown
(from Being a Great Mom, Raising Great Kids by Sharon Jaynes)

*I hope my children see these things in me all throughout their lives.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

To Do

I am surrounded by baskets full of laundry and the thoughts of what I should be doing. I really need to put the comforter that I washed today back on the bed . I need to go downstairs and clean/mop the kitchen. I could also vacuum. Lord knows the carpet is so filthy from three days of play and crumbs. I need to make a cake and icing for my dad's birthday cake. We are having family over for a get together here tomorrow. Oh, and then I should reorganize my homeschooling books and papers the kids have worked on this week. Oops, the rugs are still outside. I need to bring those in from shaking them. You know, I noticed at supper that Brayden's booster seat was getting kind of yucky. I ought to wash it down. I really need to call my mother-in-law and check on her. I know she has had a busy week. Wait a minute . . . I am gonna choose to sit here and enjoy the fact that my children are all tucked away and I can have this peaceful moment.

God has blessed me so richly to have so many people and things to tend to. I often lose sight of the blessing. I am a planner and I anticipate so much that sometimes I worry more than I should. All the things that I mentioned above may get done tonight, but more than likely they won't. I may freak out a little in the morning, but that is okay. I know they will get done, because I am a disciplined person.

I want to count my blessings tonight instead of continuing my To-Do List. I wonder which one would be longer.

I thank the Lord that I have five living breathing people in the house to love and be near each day. I am thankful that I have a home that gives us all space to grow, learn and laugh in. I am thankful for a man that is crazy about me and I am falling more for everyday. So thankful that he is a thinker and aspires to be a better person daily. I am grateful for the toothpaste leftovers in the sink that my children have left after a hard day of play and learning. I am thankful that I have music that surrounds me daily and lifts me up when my spirit may be drifting. I adore the sweet voices that call me to just check in and encourage me with stories and an "i love you". I am thankful for the chatter that encircles the dining room table at mealtime, as every child is eager to express themselves in one way or another. I am thankful for my extended family and how we all yearn to be with one another. I am thankful for the way my children come to me when something is wrong. I am thankful that serious Julian allowed himself to make silly faces today. I am thankful for new friends and neighbors. I am grateful for the way we eat and how it makes me feel. I am most thankful for a God whose love is undying. I am in awe of all He has done in my life and continues to do. I am thankful for the Spirit's gentle tugs at my heart each hour of every day. I am amazed and ever grateful for Jesus and what a radical He was. How could I live without His influence on my life? Oh, how he is shaping me to be a better wife and mother.

My, my, how a thankful heart does sweeten the soul.

Worms

Last week, I asked each kid what animal they would like to study this week. We have been doing Science three days a week, so each of them would get a day for their animal that they picked. Julian picked weasels. Madelyn picked whales and Kalen picked worms. Coincidentally, they all started with W.

Today, we read up on worms and then ventured out into the front yard to find some and create a little habitat for them. I use the Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia for some of our animal studies and there happened to be a suggested activity to do with worms.

We were hunting for worms and our neighbor, Lan, walked over and joined us. She said she had plenty of worms in her garden, so she would go get one. She is so sweet and indeed she came back with a rubber glove on her hand and a wiggly worm in it. We ended up finding more worms and made layers of sand, soil, and leaves in a glass jar to watch our little friends up close. The book suggested putting black paper around the jar and in a few days we can unveil it to see all the different little pathways they have dug/eaten through.

Of course, the kids really enjoyed this activity, Kalen especially.

From Tigger to Rabbit

I started my day out like Tigger and ended up like Rabbit. My circumstances changed throughout the day and I transformed. I felt so energized, fun loving, and compassionate this morning as I was getting my kids ready for their day. As the day unfolded, I was caught up in my expectations and not concerned with the heart of a child I was dealing with. I was only thinking about how I was being disrespected and what I wanted to happen. Conviction has set in. There has to be a happy medium between these two temperaments. I'll let you know when I get there.

Please pardon the reoccurring mentioning of cartoon characters. As they are very much a part of this season of life for me, I tend to find myself relating to certain ones. :)

Fall Party

Brayden with a new friend.




This was the little special vegan cake that Susann brough today for our little families to enjoy.


We made some of our favorite chocolate chip and banana muffins to take to the party.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't think I have posted much about joining a homeschool group here in Durham. This summer we found out about a group called Christian Home Educators Association of Greater Durham or CHEAGD. I went to a kick off meeting and found that it would be very beneficial for our family to tap into this network of people to get to know some families in our area.

Today, our homeschool group had a fall party. It was full of games, crafts and snacks. It was very well organized. I coordinated the snack part of the party and felt good about getting involved and communicating with members over email to plan for our time together today. One mom let me know that her family had a special diet. I think she was delighted to hear about our eating habits and ordered a special vegan chocolate cake for us to enjoy today. I thought that was so kind and sweet of her. This homeschooling mom, Susann, also brought vegan brownies, chips, pretzels, veggies, and dip. My kids aren't use to having a plate full of goodies at these types of gatherings. They could hardly believe it when Susann told them that the cake was vegan and they could have some. What a treat!

The kids had a lot of fun. It was so nice to be surrounded by other homeschooling families. It was simply refreshing. I was tickled to get to know some of the moms that were there with their kids. I actually walked away with some of their numbers and email addresses. Hooray!! I may have made some friends today!!

Our Words

*Words matter! They have the power mysteriously to enter our hearts and minds and lift us beyond the present moment into the presence of God himself. How important it is, then, that we mothers, shepherds of our children’s lives and hearts, choose our words to them carefully. We must deliberately aim our words at their hearts in such a way as to give our children hope, faith, strength and also to point them toward the redeeming love of Christ. We can become the affirming voice of God to our children just as we become a picture of His redeeming reality in their everyday lives. In this way we extend the gift of grace. Our words go deeply into their heart and memory as a reflection of Him.*

~Sally Clarkson, The Ministry of Motherhood

Back In The Saddle

Yesterday, I dusted off the ol' juicer and spent a great bit of time prepping for a little juicing. Our juicer was still all packed up from our move. It has been several months since I have attempted to get into the practice of juicing again. When I say juicing, I juice carrots, oranges, kale, celery or whatever we have in the fridge. I have gone through many periods of time within the last 6 or so years, when I have juiced daily or weekly. I believe it was my father-in-law that got Scott and I interested. At least I think that is how we turned towards this. We have been highly influenced to value juicing and eating a more raw diet by Dr. George Malkmus and Hallelujah Acres. There have been times that I have tried to do the whole raw diet. It would last a while but, I just love food too much. I love baking and just the whole art of cooking. Do I think a raw diet is the most healthy way to eat? Absolutely yes! Are we living that? Absolutely no.

I say all that to say that I still highly recommend juicing and I hope to make it a priority to get as much natural juice, straight from our veggies and fruit, into our bodies. Yesterday, after I had prepped the carrots and oranges, Julian actually did all the juicing. This is something that his is very familiar with. I think he started helping when he was three. He has developed a taste for carrot juice. My other kiddos have been much slower at developing a taste for it. I do put it in smoothies, as well. This is a good way to hide "the bite" of the carrots.

Clueless

Scott and I stayed up late last night finishing up a movie after spending some time reading. It was a wonderful evening. It was even better to not be woken up until 8am. This is a very rare occurrence.

We leisurely enjoyed our breakfast together and started getting ready to go to church. As I was cleaning up breakfast, I realized we only had like thirty minutes till we had to leave. I went into a semi-panic mode and scurried around the house trying to get six people ready for a morning at our church.

We left a little later than usual, but we were off. The first thing we do at church is take Kalen and Brayden to the Nursery. There is a wonderful system that they have established at Blacknall and we were cruising through it this morning with no problem. I did notice a difference in the amount of workers in Brayden's class and the fact that Kalen's class was joining in with another to do some singing, but I pressed on towards the sanctuary. I was amazed to find the sanctuary totally empty. It was really weird. I turned and walked back towards the nursery in hopes of finding Scott, Madelyn and Julian. I did find someone I knew and asked her what was going on this morning. As soon as I said that, I realized I forgot to change our clocks!!! We were at church during the Sunday School hour. I felt so embarrassed and sorry for my family. Beth and I had a good laugh and she helped me find Scott and the kids. Needless to say, we got a good laugh and the kids were able to enjoy Sunday School. Our day seemed so long and just plain weird. It was a good one, just weird.

Cracking Up

Today was a wonderful day. We enjoyed being home. After lunch, I tried to capture Brayden showing me his body parts. This is a new and super cute skill he has and I wanted to get it on tape. Well, of course, he didn't perform while I was filming but he and his brother did give their mom a good laugh. My Mom and girlfriends will appreciate this clip (possibly) more so. They all will be able to picture me doing this. Sometimes, it is just fun to laugh till you can't talk. It felt so good. As Moms (eh-hem, Anna), we must remember to laugh and enjoy the silliness that is woven throughout our days.


It was so funny, I just had to share. Brayden's expressions are still making me laugh out loud just sitting here.