So proud!

I have a lot to be proud of after this weekend.
Hannah graduated from 8th grade, and was one of the speakers at the ceremony. She had written a poem about the crucifixion from the point of view of Peter the disciple and was asked to read that as part of the festivities. It was beautiful, and as several people commented to me, the reading was both beautifully written and beautifully recited.
Here's a picture:



And...the next day, Leah had testing for Taekwondo. During her form testing she was placed in a group that was to follow a leader, after that was over, the judge in charge asked if anyone would like to do their form without help. Leah raised her hand! Here's what she did:



AND! I'm proud of Peter, this could have been a really difficult past few days for him but he persevered and had a great weekend!



Here he is digging through our driveway rocks for "buried treasure"--don't worry, we're intentionally removing the rock to replace it with concrete.

theories of cleaning

Okay, I've come to the conclusion that at my house there are three types of cleaning: kid clean, which is everything jammed into the closet, in a bin, or under the bed with no sense of rhyme or reason and is good enough for them; mom clean, which takes the time to actually put things in their place and allows the occasional luxury of sitting down without feeling guilt; then there's mother-in-law clean, in which every nook and cranny is explored and scrubbed and everywhere one turns there is another corner to expunge of filth! I got to do a bit of the last one yesterday, and now that Mark's mom is here, I'm turning every which way and seeing something that I should clean better.

Luke 15:9--My version

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'

Okay, so maybe her story really went something like this:

We've had to get in the habit of locking our bedroom door when we're out of the house & there are children home alone here (don't worry, they're "old enough" to be on their own...). So last night, I had to bring one child away to Taekwondo class; since I was going to be away and someone was going to be "home" I locked the door and slipped the skeleton key into my pocket to take with me. I then came home, picked up another child and went off to the BJ Haan for Ascension Day worship services. (Mark was on his way back from a day in DesMoines for work.) While at church, I was asked to watch three young children, since their parents were both on praise team. No problem, I can do that!

Church was okay--but I was shot back to the reality of small kids in worship and how I don't really get or contribute much to said service. So after church, I gathered up my own children and headed home.

Mark arrived soon after we did, so timing was perfect. However, I had forgotten to give the youngest a check for Taekwondo class--off Mark went to drop off the check, just what he wanted to do after a long day on the road and in meetings! While he was gone, I realized with a sinking feeling that I had succeeded in LOSING THE KEY TO OUR SAFE HAVEN, aka our bedroom! As my kids are beginning to wonder where dad and I will be bunking out for the night (and so am I), I thought hopefully that the key might have slipped out of my pocket in the van (which Mark currently had) so waited until he got home, in the meanwhile cleverly thinking that I can just remove the pins from the hinges on the door and gain access that way. So I did. I couldn't get the door off, though. Oh well, again, I'll just wait for my muscle man to get home. When he did, I sheepishly admitted what I had done, and went to look in the van for the stray key. No dice.

Mark started working on the de-hinged door with various and sundry tools. Meanwhile also making a discovery: the hinges on the jamb side were blocking the removal of the door! We were stuck!

I got on the phone to a friend who gave me campus security's phone number to see if I could get into the BJ Haan after hours as it was getting to be. I called, yes, the young man could meet me there. So here I am, in the dark, with a young man I've never met who's armed with a flashlight, skulking around the BJ Haan hoping against hope that I correctly remember where I sat and that the key is wedged between the cushion and the back of the seat. The first bench I tried yielded nothing, so I CLIMBED over the back of it to the bench behind (remember, I'm in the dark with a stranger holding a flashlight, not much help, really) and FOUND THE KEY!!!! YAY!!!! I called Mark at home with the joyous news, and by the time I got home, he had the door reassembled to the point of trying the key. IT WOULDN'T TURN!!!! Ack! Did Mark manage to mess up the old tumblers of the locks in his attempt to jimmy the lock? We both tried a few times unsuccessfully, until finally Mark triumphed and we were able to laugh together about the whole thing for the first time--I'd been laughing about it all along, Mark failed to see the humor after a long sojourning day. Fancy that!

I don't think I'll be allowed to be in charge of the key for a long while...

Psalm 108

A song. A psalm of David.
1 My heart, O God, is steadfast;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

3 I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

6 Save us and help us with your right hand,
that those you love may be delivered.

7 God has spoken from his sanctuary:
"In triumph I will parcel out Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.

8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah is my scepter.

9 Moab is my washbasin,
on Edom I toss my sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph."

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?

11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?

12 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.

13 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.

Wow. I heard a devotional on this passage this morning, especially verse 12. How true, so many times (and often as a last resort, unfortunately) I turn to God for help in my battles--within myself, with others, with situations--because in the end, He is the only one who can do anything about them!
What a comfort to know that the Lord & creator of the universe is also handling my troubles for me. Now for the courage to let him do it!

Mother's Day & me

Okay, for a while now, Mother's Day and I have had something of a love-hate relationship. It has been in the past a horrific day that drove me to tears and a fabulous day that made my heart soar. Today is somewhere in between the two. So I guess that makes it a good one. Right now my family is all off and away visiting a farm with various & sundry animals to pet and gaze at, so we'll see what their reaction is when they get home. I would have gone along, but I managed to get myself sunburned at a soccer game & a track meet yesterday, and though it would be best to give my skin a rest. Besides, a little peace & quiet is a welcome event, especially on Mother's Day!
So I'm looking forward to my "foot facial" that I received a gift certificate for today--my precious hubby is the absolute best at pampering me once in a while--and I'm relishing the peaceful breakfast in bed that the above said husband also brought me. Coffee, orange juice, and a warm bagel, I can't get much better than that! I try to delight in the simple things...and I never realized how beautiful a dandelion could be until I began to receive bunches & bunches from the sweaty little hands of my children. Their scent mixed with the sweet sweaty aroma of a little head is intoxicating! (Yes, Carey, I DO think you went a little far to "get rid" of your dandelions! LOL!)
So there's my wisdom for the day...take it or leave it...and go in peace to love & serve the Lord!

Mark Harris - Find Your Wings

From the album The Line Between The Two



It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do







But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And If I never told you
I want you to know
As I watch you grow




I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings






May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories


I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings




It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly


Label: INO Records

Two weeks?!?!?!

Can it really be true that in only 2 weeks my firstborn will be finished with grade school? You always hear from others how fast time goes with kids and to enjoy them every step of the way, but did I really do that? Did I truly relish every moment? Often I was impatient to be finished with "this" stage, whatever it may have been...
"I'll be so glad when she can crawl..."
"I'll be so glad when she can talk..."
"I'll be so glad when she's potty-trained..."
"I'll be so glad when..."
Now I realize that 8th grade graduation is a slippery slope to me letting her go... in four short years she'll graduate high school and be off to college (I hope college is in her future at least!) and we'll have a son and a daughter "left" at home.
It's been quite a ride so far, and really, for the most part I wouldn't trade it for the world. I pray that she continues to grow in Jesus and become all He intends her to be. She's so beautiful in so many ways. I love her.

Now I know...

After today, I do know that the fact that I didn't yawn once last week Monday was truly a miracle and a "God thing." Today, the yawning almost never stopped! (at least it seemed that way) It's amazing to be loved so extravagantly by God in the everyday mundane things. All I am is because of who He is...often I display his love so poorly in my life, in my daily routine. What a ungrateful wretch I am!
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

More bragging, sorry!

I'm also pretty proud of my husband who designed and built this colonnade to help support a sagging beam in our living room.

On the "music room" side he included storage for instruments and sheet music. (Okay, so some of my rocking horse collection made it in there, too, what can I say?)

We have a bit more cosmetic things (painting the beam for instance) to do to it, but I still think it's a smashing success!

Bragging time!

Peter made this clock in Cadets. Didn't he do an awesome job?

Oh, and here are two of my cutie-patootie nephews, aren't they sweet?

Getting to know you...

One thing I have discovered over the past year is how sensitive one's mouth is to the slightest irritation or change. It reminds me again of what is written in Psalm 139-- "I praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are awesome (including the inside of my mouth and its sensitivities) I know that full well." Now that my tooth has been temporarily crowned, I can't keep my tongue off of it, and it sure feels strange to be "normal" again. Of course I put normal in quotes, because I know that on the normal scale, I'm pretty off normal--besides, it's only a setting on your dryer anyway, right?
God is good, He's been faithful, and I continue to rely on Him, though not as much as I should!

I can't believe I'm posting this...

Here it is for all posterity to remember forever!
Heavens, I can't believe I'm doing this!!!

Make your own | Click to play

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I can't wait for Tomorrow...!

It's only a day away! Why am I so excited for tomorrow you ask? Well it's because I get to have my tooth back again, FOUR DAYS early!!!!!!!!! This is my last toothless night! Hooray, hooray, its my last day!
On another note, there's a "spirit of lying" running rampant in my household, and it is costing us all dearly. I pray against that spirit, but the grip is tight. I pray that the grip will be loosed and the "Spirit of TRUTH" will take over. Practicing truth will help.

Acceptance

I've done it. I said yes. Now comes the trusting part, but I do have peace about it, anxiety about what it means, but peace about accepting the call.
God is indeed good, who am I that he should care about me so much?