Our Summer Project:)

by admin on July 15, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Four Little Eggs In My Nest with No comments
My four and I where looking for a summer adventure,
a project,
to keep us going during the week,
you know,
jumping out of bed with enthusiasm and not wasting a single summer day!

There are over 50 kiddy pools in our city, I believe. So we stuck to spray parks! Our summer project for 2010 is to explore and rate (just for fun) all the spray parks in the city. We have done 6 so far, not counting the large puddle we swam in at a small park near by. It has been a lot of fun!Each day we get up and I tell the kids we are going to explore another new park and they grab our beach bag and are ready to go in no time. We all look forward to the next park and are finding it a great way to familiarize ourselves with more of our city. It is a lovely way to get us talking; working out our likes and dislikes about parks, picking the next one, deciding when to revisit one.
We rate the play grounds as well and feel like we have found some real gems.Here’s to many more days packing the van with towels, drinks, snacks, the camera and four excited kids! Here’s to our summer adventures!

TTFN

Road Trip (anew an Auntie)

by admin on July 14, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, People In My Heart with 1 Comment

Road trip! South on a two hour drive to meet my nephew. He is my first! It has been raining nieces for some time. Needless to say, my oldest boy is thrilled to have some more guys in the family! My two little men have been the only boy cousins till now.

A brand new little bundle was handed to me right away. Photos where snapped and a big grin came effortlessly to my face. There is an instant joy that envelopes a person every time you meet a new life. I held him and he snuggled so sweetly. Before I knew it I was slumped into the couch with him on my chest and we where both completely at peace with the world. Ahhh, another part about new babies I remember so fondly, the way they can just slow you right down and make you want to stair at them endlessly… it is all so very calming.

I don’t think my heart will ever stop loving, longing for babies. Forever embracing the memories of my own precious four helps…

TTFN

Hold Lightly

by admin on July 12, 2010 in My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with 1 Comment
Learning to hold lightly. An image of hands comes to mind.

Picture hands out stretched, slightly reaching up, palms open and held out with ease.
An image of trust, of expectation and of focus beyond ones self. Hands open speak of freedom.Now picture hands clenched, held to ones chest or wrapped around ones body firmly.
An image of lack of trust, fear, and self focus. Hands clutched speak of captivity.We can’t receive from Christ unless we put our hands out there, put our focus on him. With our hands lifted up we WILL receive… at this point we must continue to hold our hands out, not loosing trust or holding tightly to what we are given because once the hands are clenched and drawn near to ones self nothing more can be put in. We might prevent loosing but we also loose great gain, we prevent him putting more into our lives. Yes with them open perhaps he will take out of them as he put in but this is where trust in him comes into play. We must trust his motives. Christ Jesus gives and he takes and he wants us to only cling to him.

Freedom in Christ is found when we are not captive to our self image, our possessions, our people. All that is good has been given and given by Jesus. The call is to hold lightly to every thing and everyone. The call is to cling to Jesus.

P.s. Thanks so much for our talk Sheryl. It really helped sharpen the image that I have been receiving and the gift/lesson that I have been learning.

TTFN

Long-Distance Grand-parenting: What Works for Us

by admin on July 12, 2010 in Marriage Monday, People In My Heart with 8 Comments
Marriage Monday!
Long distance Grand-parenting was NEVER my hope or plan. To this day it is NOT my ideal. For the first five years of being parents we had no grandparents close by. One set was 6 hours north and the other 4 hours south. Everyone needs support and naturally grandparents often fill that role but we became very good at finding and building family relationships with friends in our community so we had physical support. That is what is really missing when grand folks aren’t near by, physical support… thanks to phones and prayer they can still be spiritual and emotional support. We watched other families with their parents involved often daily and we wished for it terribly. We saw the benefits and they who had it often just shared the negatives… the risk of being too involved in one anothers lives I guess was the big one.

We are in a different place now and have grand folks very very close by (blocks away). My husbands mom and dad are readily available and we see the difference it makes in our kids (all good) and the security it adds to our families life.

We have both situations… My parents are still long distance grand parents and that can be hard since parents are very important to a daughter who is now a mom. Seeing this as the way it shall be we have worked at finding things that work. Husband and wife have to get on the same page and decide to make LOTS of effort where the distant grandparents are concerned.

1.

We try to always have our doors open for them. We might not have a perfect set up for guests but we try really really hard to make it work when they need us because we wanted to seize every opportunity of time together with them.
2.
Try to find the money to visit them! Going their way is a good idea! The kids find it magical to visit their far off grandparents and so planning trips well in advance to make it happen is important (even if not easy).
3.
Find a regular story telling service. I BLOG! I have a private family newsletter where I try to put lots of pictures up and lots of info on us as we grow and change as a family. It is excellent for my folks. Phone plans help too! This way the kids can talk with their grandparents and build relationship that way!
4.
Find the time to tell your kids stories about the long distant grand folks. Talk about visits past and future and just tell them about their grandparents lots.
5.
Pray. Prayer bridges the gap a lot. When lonely, when impatient… when ever you need you can pray for your folks and knowing mine pray for us regularly too is a big deal.

I still feel that distance with family really does mean everyone misses out but like many non-ideal parts of this life you have to make it work.

First Monday of every month at Chrysalis

TTFN

July’s Hymn!

by admin on July 7, 2010 in Better Check Out Links, The Hymn Project with No comments

I hit a wall this month. Just feeling so much in the Spirit lately and yet not able to find a hymn that is new to me that really felt like this months hymn. I decided to then go with another by last months author. Check the link on the song’s name to get the lyrics and music. Check the link on the authors name to lead you to last months write up that has a link to a mini autobiography about her.

I think I hit the wall this month because I have been so excited about some old hymns that I have rediscovered. Ones I know well but haven’t sang for years are coming to my attention and I am spending all my cleaning time singing them… it was hard to find something new that was capable of moving me as the old belting out ones are right now. I am looking for some more up beat ones but I know most of those and so here is one that I will try to make my own and turn it up beat if I can:)

You Have Longed For Sweet Peace by Elisha Albright Hoffman.

Here’s to summer and joyful song and peace in my heart and changes!

TTFN

Favorite Verse From June’s Hymn

by admin on July 7, 2010 in My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME, The Hymn Project with No comments

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.

All the verses are good really. Simply sweet music about our need for Jesus and our need to be humble enough to give him our bad as well as our good:)

TTFN

To Take The Plunge

by admin on July 6, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with 2 Comments

I became a Christian for many reasons. One was this constant feeling, this nudge, that there was more to it all. After having been a Christian for many years now I again feel this nudge that there is more to it all… more to this Christian life I took up in my youth. It is a feeling that I shouldn’t be afraid to grow and mature in the faith and move on from what is now normal or what now comes natural. It wasn’t normal or natural for me to take the initial plunge into Jesus and yet I did it…

The way I live now comes naturally. We are normal middle class north Americans… and yet… I want to fearlessly take another plunge into living for the kingdom of Christ now and not spend all my time working on my kingdom, on forming my identity, on shaping everything around me to reflect bits of me…

All this stuff, all I possess was given to me anyhow! I don’t want to be like the Ezekiel 16 woman and take the gifts, specifically the gift of life and use it for my own selfish gain and walk right into my own destruction.

It doesn’t sound normal… but if you take a look at C.S. Lewis‘s ‘THE THREE PERSONAL GOD’ you might get an idea of what I am chewing on. As Lewis puts it “human souls can be taken into the life of God and yet remain themselves- in fact, be very much more themselves than they were before.” Ah I really enjoy his mind blowing ability with simple explanations.

Bits and pieces here, fragmented thoughts… as I said before, it is a nudge right now… however, I do have the urge to plunge in even with just a driving nudge in my heart! No more prancing and dancing on the shore of the issue:)TTFN

PROVERBS 8:22-31

by admin on July 2, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with 2 Comments

Read this in my study time yesterday and it moved me. I am an admirer of thing old fashioned, I am drawn to things ancient, I am happy as a student of history so this portion of Proverbs struck true to my heart.

Think about it and let me know what you come up with… I understand this is WISDOM crying out in the streets and yet so much of it felt like a sweet prophetic kiss from my Lord…secrets about love seem to lurk here…

v.22 The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before his works of old.
v.23 I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was even an earth.v.24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.v.25 Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
v.26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
v.27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,v.28When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
v.29 When He assigned to the sea its limits,
So that the waters would not transgress His command
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
v.30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
v.31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And my delight was with the sons of men.

Blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ to you all:)
TTFN

Rock Climbing

by admin on July 1, 2010 in Adventure and Me, Better Check Out Blogs, Better Check Out Links, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Mama Heart Mushings with 1 Comment
I can’t decide if she faced a giant or not!

My girl has many things she is too cautious about. I wonder if it is being the first born that will often make her very standoffish and mistrusting? She has many things that get her easily worked up and even afraid and so way back we started encouraging her to fan the flame of the areas in life she was brave about.

Like every little woman, she is braver then she thinks.

When she started standing up in class (randomly) and sharing songs and poems she had written we knew she had a spark of bravery and thankfully she is now in a fine arts school where she is encouraged in those areas.

When she was almost two she started climbing everything in sight. She could shimmy up her bunk bed no problem and started sleeping on the top at a very young age. She worked on the monkey bars, starting in kindergarten, so determinedly that she had callouses and raw patches on her hands and had to be forced to take a few days off of them to let the raw spots heal.Yesterday night was family adventure night. We had ice cream and burgers then watched Big Girl try something she has been dreaming about for a while, rock climbing! Lynn Hill has entered into conversation a lot lately. Check the link to her blog, she is a well known climber and my girl thinks she is pretty great. Well Big Girl got a little bit of a taste of Lynn’s world last night and she LIKED IT! It was wonderful to see her impressed with her own abilities and not holding back but getting up there.

(The other three sat at the bottom JUST MESMERIZED!
Baby Boy kept pointing and saying ‘Uh Oh!’)

TTFN

Iced Tea

by admin on June 30, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Little Things, My Romance with 1 Comment

This is not a picture of what I am up to right now… I am drinking an iced tea, however. The similarities stop there. That day I was on the patio with my feet up watching the kids play. Tonight I am baking bread, in the evening, with a big old fan working hard to pull the cool evening air into my killer hot kitchen.

My man made me a creamy iced cold roobois tea tonight! That sweetness from my man deserves a blog nod! Thank you honey! It is making it easier to get my 8 loaves through!

Bread day doesn’t stop for the summer. I still have to get my weekly batch through… so I mix it before the heat of the day, pound it down the majority of the day and then cook it once the sun goes down in an attempt to not get too hot in this unairconditioned old house of ours.

I am working hard wearing my fav cowgirl hat and thinking about the wonderful summer day that has just fallen asleep. All four of babies are playing down stairs where it is cool… too hot to sleep in their rooms yet and they napped all afternoon (FOUR HOURS) so they deserve a late night. They are on storm watch! Any minute now a storm is going to roll in. The clouds have been coming all day and the thunder is starting to make itself heard. I plan to pop another couple loaves in the oven and sit at the big window with the kids while we watch the lightning.

What is this post about? Love of course:)

P.s. BOY did we get a storm! Wind whipping our pine trees around, rain coming down in sheets and then hail, constant lightening and every now and then a boom of thunder that send shivers down every one’s spine. There was one crack right over our house that made my husband jump back from the window (he loves storms) and sent Baby Boy screaming madly and running blindly across the house… we think he meant to find Daddy who was in the kitchen but he really seemed to just go off like a rocket with no specific target in mind… he was just SCARED! Baby Boy didn’t let Daddy put him down, after that one, till the storm was over. We all stayed up late till it had passed. It was an amazing storm!

TTFN

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →