The smell of wet cat.....

I woke up with the best intentions of accomplishing much today.  I made a cup of coffee and warmed up a piece of Apple pie for breakfast.  Of course the kids decided to sleep in, so I started researching how to publish onto a kindle, I payed a few bills, then the kids started getting up and eating when I realized it was inching closer to time for lunch and naps.  I decided to let them all play outside for a bit, I mean why start now? We went out on the deck to pretend to play the guitar and found a super cool praying mantis in the gazebo! We stopped and stared at it for a while......

David asked if he could pick some veggies from the garden and then as we were relaxing in the sunlight soaking up vitamin D our neighbors cat jumped the fence and started harassing our dog.  It was pretty scary at first and I wasn't sure if one of our pets were going to get hurt, but it quickly fled over the fence.  We all started to settle down a bit when it stalked our dog and jumped over the fence AGAIN!  

Next thing you know my kids started working together developing a plan to stalk it back and spray it with the hose.  The lonely cat loved the attention in this game (she comes running when she hears our kids playing).  She kept darting through the woods and jumping out to be sprayed by the kids.  I am a sucker for teamwork so I let them go.  This all went on until our dog was tired of barking and the kids and cat were thoroughly soaked.  Now it really is nap time, time to regain control, assemble the troops and get to work!  

 

In all the chaos and mess we make memories and my kids get to be kids.  We will get everything accomplished during nap time and will call today a success, eventually. 

I do love days like today when we stop and smell the roses (today they smell like wet cat :)

The 'Mystery' squash...

It was a quiet morning.  Babies were up and then back down before the other 5 woke up.  I had about an hour to myself to sit on the deck with my cup of coffee alone with God.  I treasure these moments. 


The wind was still, my world calm and my mind open.  Today as I sat and stared at the garden a very interesting thought popped into my head.  I looked at the half of the garden being taken up by plants that we didn't plant.  We have been watching them for a while now; trying to figure out what they are, and hoping it is something good.  As I stared at the 'mystery plant' it was like the Lord was teaching me that even though something is pretty, or strong, has potential or might be worth keeping that doesn't always mean we should keep it.  By letting something grow with the 'hope' that it will be good or that we might need it someday isn't exactly taking control of the garden.  We should only hold onto what we KNOW to be good.  We must plant seeds intentionally and calculate the benefits versus the costs to make the best use of our resources.  We need to be on the defense and ready to pull out weeds or remove things that compete with what is truly good fruit.


So how does this translate to my life or yours?  Well just as every garden is different this will look different as well.  For me it means I need to declutter the basement, turn off the TV, read good books that help me be a better parent, and spend more time in prayer than on the phone with friends.  It means organizing a home that functions better and requires less attention so I can pour that precious time back into my kids and husband. 


What does it mean for you?  Can you relate?


(oh and I did a quick search on the Internet and it appears that it is a 'mystery squash'.  It has over a hundred blooms on it and considering I am the only one that eats squash if we leave it what in the world would I do with 100 squash????)  http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/mystery-squash-a-backyard-garden-favorite/


1 Corinthians 10:23  “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.
 
Matthew 13:23,  "But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."


Luke 8:14-16, "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.  But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

Never a dull moment....

We decided to bring the Little Tikes slide and Jungle Gym outside today.  It is huge and heavy and a pain to take apart/put together.  Every Spring we put it out on the deck and every Fall we drag it back down to the basement.  Each time we complain about how hard it is we vow to never do it again!!!  Today was no different.  I directed the kids to take up the pieces one by one, we reassembled them and began the arduous task of trying to pop the last piece in place. 

Three of us pushing, two pulling...straining...readjusting...
groaning.....gasping....then the glorious SNAP!!!!

REJOICING...jumping....squealing....
giggling as Gabe and Shelby quickly started playing on it and for a split second it felt like Christmas all over again. 

Then, what was that?   A raindrop?  Really, is this a joke?  No big deal, a little rain....here you go kids a plastic table cloth to keep you safe and dry.  More squealing...."Mommy you're so fun, letting us play in the rain!" 

Next, a chair blew across the deck with a HUGE gust!!!  Uh oh!!!  The heavens opened and dumped a bucketful of rain right on our heads!  Scrambling, more squealing, running and screaming for the back door!  Safe and sound (and very wet inside :) 

As soon as everyone settled down...what's that?  The downpour stopped.  Oh look the sun is out....hey kids, there is the RAINBOW!  Seriously?  You've got to be kidding me!

In the car this morning I heard them say that every storm has been hand crafted by God perfectly for your life and sometimes it takes a hurricane or tornado to get our attention.

Well, I think this one was just for the sheer entertainment of the occupants of heaven by God who just had to chuckle at the sight of us :)

Truly Beautiful Tea Party

At the beginning of summer Lindsey asked me what God's idea of beauty was. She knew it wasn't what the world saw as beautiful and she felt like she wasn't measuring up to it anyway. I told her the first place to look is the Bible.

I started writing Lindsey a daily Bible study that would help answer her questions and address a bunch more that would help her at this critical point in her development. Around the same time our church announced a father/son Bible study that would go on over the summer. The question immediately followed, "Well, what about the moms and daughters?"

I instantly saw an opportunity to minister to more families than our own. I finished the 4 week study, we self published it in workbook form and and promised a beautiful tea at the end of summer. (The boys got to go on a father/son camp out to finish theirs).

So here are the pics from our event. We had a beautiful time, turnout, and I presented a short message on inner beauty. The girls were lovely, the food was nothing short of incredible and the fellowship was sweet. The teapot cake was a hit and a special touch to a special day. I can now breathe a sigh of relief that the summer went as planned and families are studying the Word of God together. All things that put a smile on my face as I walk forward, ready for the next project! To HIM be all the GLORY!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Shelby Lyn

We are celebrating Shelby's third birthday today and it has sent me down memory lane! She has filled our life with smiles and joy, tears and tantrums, Princesses and ponies, and laughter from her winning personality. Shelby is quick to call you a "Mr. Potatohead" if you call her a ham, which she very much is! Never the less, her entrance into this world was as attention getting as her smile is today. I went back and found the letter I wrote to put in her birth announcement.....here it is.

"Shelby's story is especially remarkable and I wanted to share fully with our loved ones the journey our family has been on the past few months. Around Valentines Day we knew we were pregnant by the clammy complexion on my face and lack of appetite. Our first 12 weeks were pretty normal, and by now we just expect for me to be super sick! At 16 weeks we breathed a sigh of relief thinking we were past the worst of it...how wrong we were!

I got up one morning to make the kids breakfast and was stunned with blood that ran down my legs. I called immediately and the doctor sent me right up to the hospital. I called Mike at work and tried to prepare him and the girls for the worst. I remember thinking that there was NO WAY a baby could survive with the amount of blood I was losing. To my shock, (and everyone else's as well) all the tests and ultrasound showed a happy and thriving baby. My doctor said she could see the blood pouring from the placenta and she was sure it was an abruption. She prepared us that we would not know if the baby could survive or it the placenta would start unraveling for at least 2 weeks.

I was put on complete bed rest and stayed in bed until the bleeding slowed and finally stopped 6 weeks later. It would occasionally come back for a few days at a time, off and on the rest of the pregnancy. When I was doing well, I felt confident. When I had a bad bleeding day or week I worried that I would lose her. I had weekly appointments, stress tests, and ultrasounds to watch Shelby's progress. Every time to my amazement, she looked great and even seemed to be developing at a faster rate than normal! I spent most of my days in bed praying, for Shelby, everyone and everything I could think of. I had a lot of time to think, wonder, and wait. (It was a time of depending completely on God and looking back on it all now, it was a precious time.)

At 35 weeks and 5 days my doctors decided that she was ready and they didn't want to risk it anymore. They sent me up to the hospital around 2:30pm, broke my water and I was holding her at 8:50pm. My delivery was normal, calm, and a joyous end to a very long journey. All are things we prayed for faithfully and hoped on daily."

So here I am in 2010 and we know now that I have a blood clotting disorder. We think that Shelby's abruption was caused by a clot that burst a vein in the placenta, and because the placenta cannot heal it stayed an opening that bled off and on the entire pregnancy. God used that journey to draw us closer and closer to Him. She is here in all her glory and is a constant reminder to me and all who know her story that miracles really do happen.

Happy Birthday Shelby Lyn.....you are an AMAZING gift!!!!

Part 3 "Cut to a Stump"

People often ask how can I be so strong and confident in my faith? I have just had another personal tragedy, my 4th miscarriage at the 3 month mark. Knowing that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever gives me the strength to carry on. I wake up each morning and open my Bible and remind myself that He is my Rock and will never leave me. I have walked away from Him in the past, but He never left me. I have learned over my life that God doesn't change...people do. I have made a conscience choice to follow Him and allow the growth I need to mature and become more like His Son everyday.

Something amazing happened to King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 of Daniel. It was 30 years after Daniel's buddies were saved from the burning furnace. The king had another dream and he asked Daniel to tell him what it meant. "The tree you saw, which was strong , with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air--you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground." Daniel 4:20-23

God allows tragedy to strike us that is undeniable. But why? Well, it is impossible to live in this world and not face hardships. Life without pain and sin is Heaven not earth. God uses everything that happens in our lives to grow us and He helps us to overcome whatever we face if we let Him. I love the example of the tree being cut to a stump. King Nebuchadnezzar had an amazing and flourishing kingdom. Historians tell us that Babylon was the richest and most luxuriant Empire of all time. God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to be cut back to a stump, for the purpose of being stripped of disease and grown back into a glorious sight. "The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules." Daniel 4:26 That is exactly what happened. The king was stripped of almost everything. He finally acknowledged God and praised Him alone. (verse 37)

I have a tree in our yard. This is my favorite tree, a magnolia right outside my bedroom window. Every year we have lived here I have watched it grow and bloom. I take a picture of it in each of the 4 seasons, because it is so beautiful in each one. This is it above when it was in full bloom one spring. We noticed that it was looking sick last year and called the tree guy. He gave me the worst diagnosis, our tree had a soil born virus. The remedy? Cut it down, burn it, and never plant anything there again. I was crushed. I couldn't believe something so beautiful was going to be nothing but a memory. Mike lovingly cut away every branch with the vascular disease. All that was left was a stump and a few branches. It looked dead all fall and winter. Then an amazing thing happened. A few weeks ago we noticed some green growing from the stump!

Little by little we are watching healthy green leaves emerge from the stump and slowly climb up the few branches left. I look forward to the day when I look out my bedroom window again and see my magnolia in its' full and splendid bloom. I have confidence, because I know firsthand that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Nothing is impossible with Him. He wants to grow us all back into the splendor and glory in which we were created.

Mike's Graduation

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12

It was a wonderful day for us. We were ALL so proud of Mike and his achievement. He graduated with honors and was even given a special award for excellence in family law. Mike was relaxed and was beaming with joy. He asked me to take his picture with each of the kids individually. He thanked each of us for supporting him as he completed law school. I know I feel blessed beyond all reason to be married to such an incredible person, wonderful husband, and loving daddy.

Mike and Briana

Mike and Lindsey

Mike and David

Mike and Gabe

Mike and Shelby

George, Mike, and Jan

Mike and Grandma Dubs

Mom, Mike, Mike, Shelby, and Me

Don, Mike, and Joan

Greg and Mike, double attorney trouble!

RECIPE: Homemade Crackers

Shelby loved our crackers made with honey, cinnamon, & sugar.

I have been making everything I can from scratch these days and asked Mike for a noodle press for Mother's Day. Briana had a sleepover with her friend Renee and we made some homemade crackers by rolling the dough through it and then slicing it with a pizza cutter into squares and triangles. They were awesome and the girls had so much fun. We even let the boys put the dough through the extruder and they were busy for hours.

Homemade Wheat Thins RECIPE:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup milled flax seed

1/4 cup wheat germ

2 tsp. sugar

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. Oregano

Mix the dough until it forms a sticky ball. Split the dough into 4 pieces and press each piece through the lasagna noodle press form. Fold in half and roll through again. Fold in the sides and edges and keep rolling it through the press until you have a shape you like. Sprinkle with garlic salt and gently press the salt into the dough. Taking a pizza cutter or cookie cutters make your shapes, put onto a cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes at 395 degrees.

For sweet crackers use the same dough, omitting the olive oil and oregano. Add 2 Tbsp. of honey and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar after each pass in the press to keep the dough from becoming to sticky. Cut the same way with a pizza cutter and bake at 395 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Cool all crackers on a cooling rack and store in ziplock bags or canisters.

Mike's last day of Law School...

Today was a celebration for our family. Mike took his "final" final exam this afternoon. He has worked very hard the past 8 semesters and has officially completed Law School. He has cleaned out his locker and all that is left is to walk the stage and receive his diploma May 23rd. If we look back to Aug of 2005 when he began this journey it was a very different picture.

Mike was adjusting to the lay off at American Airlines and was settling in to his job with the law firm. He looked ahead and saw to really get ahead would take a degree in law. He put one foot in front of the other and we focused on one 13 week semester at a time. When we discussed the future of our family and the needs in the present we weighed the pros and cons. Mike asked me for 4 years of firm support and we decided to proceed together. I was worried, about the workload and ability to balance a full time job with higher education. I was 37 weeks pregnant with Gabe when he started his first day of class. I was worried about being able to personally handle and homeschool four children with a very overloaded husband. It wasn't all rosey and sweet. I had my meltdown moments and at times Mike was easily irritated by toys on the floor and dished piled in the sink. We also endured 3 very difficult pregnancies (2 ending in miscarriage) during this season. And don't forget for Shelby's pregnancy I was on bedrest from 16 weeks till I delivered her. Talk about stress.

We have really persevered as a family. Mike's accomplishment swells up pride in my heart for his determination, and it also brings me joy for our family unity. Mike and I have claimed several scriptures from the book of James in the past few years. This is one that is especially dear to me today:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

It is hard to consider it pure joy when you are going through it, but I promise you when you are on the other side...it is PURE JOY!

Mike's Dad and Brother bought him a new riding lawnmower for a Graduation present!

Good thing too, because our old one blew out the transmission on Sunday!

Mike was excited that he was able to cut the entire 2.3 acres in 1 hour 45 minutes (half the time of our old mower)!

Lindsey & Briana hostessed a Mother's Day Tea

They set a gorgeous table, prepared tea sandwiches, fruit salad, and a selection of teas.

Caroline brought yummy brownies and Renee made us her famous apple cheesecake.
Shelby felt like a big girl and loved sipping tea from her own china teacup.
Shelli's girls: Lindsey, Shelby, and Briana

Katie's girls: Caroline, Adeline, and Clementine

Donna's girls: Renee, Ecaterina, and Aunt Geneva

The girls did all the work, clean up, and even made us each a card. Lindsey choose a Bible verse dedicated to mothers and prayed for our meal. They cleaned the house before the event, made place cards for each guest, personal menus, and Briana even made a music playlist for us to listen to while we had tea. Katie, Donna, and I felt very appreciated and are looking forward to next year's tea :)

I did help a little bit....I made scones for the first time ever. After living in England for 3 years I have always been afraid to make them. Most people I have talked to who have tried them say they turn out like frisbees. I did want to try it and I got really luckywith my first recipe! I adapted the recipe by adding yogurt instead of sour cream and half & half instead of milk. They were the best scones EVER!!! So you will be as sucessful as I was the first time, I will share my secrets with you!

The BEST ENGLISH SCONES EVER...Recipe:

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries and raisins
1/2 cup half and half
1/4 cup plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the cranberries and raisins. Mix together 1/2 cup half and half and 1/4 cup yogurt in a measuring cup. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until well blended. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!
With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. Place onto a greased baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Let the scones barely touch each other. Sprinkle the scones with crystal sugar. Let them rest for about 10 minutes.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Break each scone apart, or slice in half. Serve with butter or clotted cream and a selection of jams - or even plain.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

The kids have been sick....and sick...and sick. I am quite tired of the constant sneezing, whining, coughing, and waking up at night. I feel like I can whip up a batch of Chicken Noodle Soup in my sleep! I was complaining the other day while I was on the phone with Bobbi in FL and I noticed that it was eerily quite in the house. I went in the kitchen to check on Shelby and found her quite content IN a bowl of soup. Problem was, there was more on her than in her tummy! It did make a great photo op, though. And I was able to focus on the task at hand...comforting my precious ones!!!

HE IS RISEN!!! Easter 2009

We celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord this year with our church family and then with our loved ones. Grandma Jan and Grandpa Georgie hosted the first egg hunt and brunch.

Shelby was more interested in Eddie the cat than the Easter Egg Hunt!!!

Sweet Cousins:
Lexi, Elizabeth, Briana, Shelby, David, Colum, Gabriel, and Lindsey


Our second stop was to Papa Cake & Grandma Joan's for egg hunt #2 and more fun with cousins! It was a long day, but was so worth it.


We treasure the gift Christ freely gave us and have every reason to praise Him and celebrate. He is RISEN...He is RISEN indeed!