My Life on The Prairie

"So how is home school going?"

2012-01-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

I get this question a lot. It is like anything else - we have our really good days and our not as great days. For the most part thus far the pros have far outweighed the cons. We enjoy taking advantage of a flexible schedule (taking a morning off when we are up late with student friends), doing things that we can't normally do (sledding on Wed. morning with friends...err..PE on Wed. morning), and using everyday things at home to make learning fun and interesting (counting out change with REAL money, the boys get to keep a penny if they do a good job). Here are some pics of what we have been up to and our first field trip with our local home school group to a Living History Fair.


Making Patterns is Fun!

What could get the full attention of so many boys?

The History of the colt revolver of course!

The pirate presentation was Thing 2s favorite!

Back in the Saddle Again - Post Sabbatical

2012-01-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

We were super excited to have students back in our home. This is our first Oaks (leadership team) mtg about a week ago.

Some of our awesome guy leaders!

Thing 3 liked coming out to say "goodnight"

Amazing women leaders!

What does a giant roaster of chili at the Grafs mean? Sledfest...err, due to technical error we were forced to host...SLUSHFEST 2012!

Hangin Out at Slushfest 2012

"I want YOU to play Don't Break the Ice!"

He was rather convincing.

Thing 1 is old enough now to play Carcazan with the big boys! Very exciting!

Woman vs. Child: A Parody of “Man vs. Wild”

2012-01-19T14:18:00.001-08:00

(Based on the show with Bear Grylls in which he strands himself in remote locations to demonstrate localized survival techniques. To be read with a British accent.)
This article depicts real life experiences. The views and experiences are real, but should not be attempted to be duplicated. When necessary Sher receives support from her Heavenly Father for emergency supplies of patience and grace. Only if circumstances become life threatening will she receive intervention from her husband, as required by health and safety regulations. On some occasions, situations are presented to Sher so he can demonstrate survival techniques. Professional advice should always be sought before entering any dangerous environment.

It is 8 degrees below zero and Sher Grafylls has been dropped via Providence into a populated but wild part of the American plains. She has minimal supplies and must get through her day despite the freezing temps and wiley man-cubs that are in her care. At the moment Sher is attempting to bundle up all three man-cubs with what she has on hand, finish making her bread, warm up the van and get out the door within a ten minute window. But circumstances are working against her, as well as nature. Luckily her husband has opened the garage door that would normally be frozen shut under these bitter temps. He has also plugged in her van – what a man!

After ensuring her cubs to remain inside she exits the house to start the van. Upon returning she instructs her man-cubs to all cooperate in exiting the house and entering the van. This is a dicey situation as they are known to fight and fool around in general instead of getting their seat belts fastened. Still she bravely sends them out while kneading down her dough to put into the pans – food that the man-cubs will need later to survive. A few minutes pass and she hears screaming from outside, her middle charge re-enters the house wailing. He explains the tussle between him and his brother and the resulting injury to his knee. She is running out of time and patience, she must get her eldest cub to his art lesson with less than 5 minutes to spare. Clear thinking and quick action are needed to ensure success.
Upon careful examination of the injury and some basic first aid, she bravely wills away the nausea produced by removing gravel from his bloody knee. She uses what is commonly observed in caring for such wiley creatures – her angry mom voice – to recall the offending brother into the house for a cross-examination. Patiently she leads them through apologies, trying but not entirely successfully to hold back her "I told you" so's. Arrangements are made to appease each other. Rules for entering the van are reassessed together as a group. They are once again sent out.
Upon completion of her last minute chores she heads out into the bitter cold and successfully makes it to the van. There she learns that while waiting on the two oldest man-cubs the youngest has taken this opportunity to poop in his Batman underwear. This is an emergency like none other. She breathes out her frustration, laughs at the irony of their current memory verse (the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience….ya-da, ya-da), looks at the clock – art class is beginning now. Upon discussing the situation with her charges and assessing the disappointment in her oldest cub's eyes at missing class entirely, she makes a last minute attempt to rescue the mission. After a quick clean up and review with the youngest once again of where we do and do not poop, they are back in the van and off to art class.
When they arrive at their first destination she has to decide if she wants to drag them all out in the cold or leave the youngest two restrained…errr…safely seat belted in…the van. Using the resources around her are key to survival in this bitter environment. She employs the two key method to avoid further delays – locking the children in the van with it running and the distract-a-tron (video) playing. She is back within 60 seconds and then must decide if they will go to the local grocery store with their 25 mins to kill or to the library. One cub votes grocery, the other the library. What's a mom to do? Eventually she chooses neither remembering another errand they need to run. Luckily the newspaper doesn't charge for their remnant rolls (which she will use later as art paper) bc upon arriving their she realizes she has her purse but no wallet. This actually comes in handy when they visit the library after all and her toddler asks to get Elmo Fire Station for the zillionth time. Rescued from having to watch it again, alas she has no wallet and no library card.
Later in the day they all arrive safely home including her husband close behind. Everyone is in tack and will be fed…eventually. Ongoing survival is dependent upon regular refreshment for this mom. So after filing a brief report with hubby she gathers her things and happily heads off to her lunch appointment. Her weekly half-day-out couldn't have come at a better time. At the last minute she remembers an important step she missed – she quickly brushes her teeth before leaving the house! Her husband once again is her hero and is left at home to manage the man-cubs… and hopefully remember to take the bread out of the oven before it burns.

Why We Chose Home School – For real this time, I promise!

2012-01-12T15:04:00.001-08:00

Home schooling was never really on my radar before last August. I started thinking about it as a possibility for our family honestly for no particular reason, probably a combination of them. The thought of Thing 1 being gone all day again did make me a little sad. And then he and Thing 2 would have their 20^th brother-brawl of the day and I would start counting down the days for school to start! Fast forward a bit and home schooling remained on my mind, in fact I couldn't seem to get away from it. It seemed to be popping up everywhere I looked. I decided to pay more attention to this random thought floating around and start praying about it.

I picked up a few books from the library and liked what I read. The flexible schedule seemed like a great fit for our random ministry hours. I also loved the idea of my boys having more time together and becoming better friends. And the opportunity to integrate our faith into everyday learning appealed to me. At this point I thought I'd better mention the idea to hubby who had already raised his eyebrows at my nighttime reading selection. He calmly told me he would pray about it and hid very well his true feelings that I was completely nuts. Fast forward a couple more months whilst I kept my mouth shut on the subject to him(hubby) and open to Him(God) about as much as I could stand. Meanwhile God changed hubby's heart on the idea as well – not a complete turnaround like mine – he wasn't super-de-dupery excited to start it – but the flexibility it would allow our family interested him enough to give it a try. And that is what we are doing – giving it a try.

As it turns out Thing 1's classroom wasn't the ideal situation – which I observed a few hours a week as I volunteered in it. His teacher is amazing and the principal supportive, there are just too many VERY troubled kids thrown into one class. Even with an Aide in the class the environment was often very difficult to teach in and sometimes unsafe. This did not really affect our decision to home school as much as it affirmed it.

Once we made the decision to give it a try everything fell into place pretty smoothly, just the way I like it. His teacher helped me get me textbooks and showed me tons of helpful websites. She has tirelessly answered my endless questions and even agreed to copy me weekly spelling lists. What a gem! The principal agreed to let him come back once a week for Art class, lunch and recess. The Christian home school group I joined offers Art and Science twice a month for both the boys as well as field trips. Our schedule is filling up quickly!

I definitely have had my moments of panic at the thought of being solely responsible for their education. Yet somehow "mysteriously" I happen upon an encouraging verse or devotional in my daily reading on the exact days that I need an extra Word of encouragement. God is so good and gracious to hold my hand in this transition. Trust me I need a lot of hand-holding to make big life changes and hubby needs to actually get his work done so he can't always be the one to do it!

So why are we home schooling – I don't know if I can tell you exactly why. Perhaps it is God's leading – I'm hesitant to say anything for sure and for certain is God's will. I do know that it isn't outside of His will for us right now though and that is reason enough for me to follow that little persistent nudge. I can tell you what I love and don't love about home schooling…but since it is getting close to dinner time I'd better save that for later!

A Dozen Reasons why I chose Home School - NOT

2012-01-06T13:08:00.001-08:00

Okay – I've received quite a few requests regarding the "why" we chose to home school this semester. Since I'm feeling a little bit sassy today here are not the reasons
we opted to home school.
    1. I know more than the teachers who actually have a degree in education.
    2. Public schools are evil.
    3. If you are really a Christian you will home school your child(ren).
    4. I like spending every second of every day with these amazing, wonderful, brilliant little bundles of joy that I call my children.
    5. My kids are so extra super smart that they need an extra challenge that public school just can't provide.
6. Unlike most mom's who have told me "they just couldn't home school" (and I admit I have said in the past to other h.s. moms) I know that I am far better equipped with super home school      teaching abilities – my secret is in my new multivitamin.
7. I don't ever really need a break from my kids because they are so well behaved and never wear me out.
8. I love it when people stare at me blankly with that "why would you ever want to do that?" look in their eyes after I tell them I home school.
9. I want my kids to never interact with other children so I'm keeping them under lock-and-key.
10. I'm not ready to detach from them.
11. I just can't keep up on the household chores so I decided to make them do them all day and call it "real life skills"….actually…hmm…that is a pretty good idea!
12. There is nothing else I can think of to do with my time.

Now that we have that cleared up - I'll post on the reasons we DID choose h.s. soon.

First Day of Home School

2012-01-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

Well, technically today was our second day, but since all we did yesterday was Bible and library I'm not counting that as a full day. All in all I'm not ready to re-enroll them in public school yet, so I'd say so-far-so-good. I'm taking this experiment one day at a time though.
I admit I lay in bed this morning not wanting to get up and face the day - maybe it was because hubby is out of town - maybe it was the fear of our first "full" day of home school. Either way, I got up, got a cup of coffee, some encouragement from Upstairs and got over my lazy mood. After that and a second cup of coffee things went pretty well (have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE our new Keurig? Seriously, how did I ever parent before this wonderful machine entered my life?!). And the beautiful weather (if you consider sunny skies, no snow and upper 30s beautiful) made recess a lot more fun!

Here are a few pics of our first day:

Camo Verse Packs makes scripture memory fun! Thing 3 needs to learn to read first though, maybe we will save that for tomorrow!

Sorting out all the critters in our house into animal groups. This took longer than I expected, they have A LOT of stuffed animals!

My favorite part of home schooling - reading books on the couch with my Things (Hubby took this pic a couple days ago so it wasn't tech. "school" but I'm finding real life and home school are pretty interchangeable!).

Chocolate Doughnuts

2011-12-20T14:44:00.001-08:00

December 20, 2011

Dear Mrs. Thing 3,

An important event happened in your husband's life yesterday. He went poop on the potty for the very first time (and hopefully not the last or you probably would not be married today). Of all the Things he held out the longest on going #2 in its proper location. Of course he also potty trained the earliest so I guess you can decide if that makes him the smartest Thing or not.

After over a month of bribing, nagging and praying last night it finally happened! While riveted to Peek-A-Boo with Big Bird on the computer he announced he needed to go. I immediately stopped cooking dinner and encouraged his endeavor. Thing 2 even wandered in to read him a book to help him along. But as it turns out Thing 3 likes to do his business alone (for which I'm sure you appreciate about him) so alas Thing 2 got kicked out after one story.

After a few minutes time – which I think is a record for males of all ages – he announced his success. Thing 2 could not contain his excitement as this meant everyone could finally go out for chocolate doughnuts for dessert. Many friends sent texts of congratulations wishing him well and general thoughts of encouragement for the future of mankind.

Some people probably think it strange to write about such uncouth matters – but the more children that I raise the more I realize the true importance of the basic things in life. It is all these little steps of independence that will someday lead him out of my front door as a man and into your life. So don't forget to reward all my efforts with lots of little grandbabies – girl ones! And when it comes time to potty train them I have two words of advice "chocolate doughnuts."

It is Always Easier to ask for Forgiveness than Permission

2011-12-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Today:

Thing 1: Mom, can I put stickers all over my kids computer (toy)?
Me: Ummm...sure, why not.
Thing 1: Great, you wanna see it? I already put them on.

Girlfriends

2011-12-09T19:06:00.001-08:00

This morning I could just feel it, I needed some good time with a friend. It didn't have to last for hours, just a last minute coffee date would do. Too many days in a row of my normal chores at home had left me lacking luster for another day with my precocious toddler. Luckily another friend had the same need and also a willing husband to take his lunch hour at home with a napping toddler.

As I returned home I felt grateful for that hour. Friendship feeds my heart, refreshes my soul and helps me remember there really is a grown-up behind those mounds of laundry, board books and Elmo videos. Don't get me wrong – I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I get to be home with my kids. I wouldn't change a thing. But I know that in order to do all of that well, I need my girlfriend time too.

It is all too easy to not send that last minute text or reach out to a friend with a quick phone call. I can easily talk myself out of it some days with my looming to-do list nagging my conscience. But on the days that I go ahead and make that call – even if it is only a few times a month- I'm always glad that I did.

So today I just want to give a shout out to my girlfriends – Thank YOU! We may grow up- but we never outgrow our need for each other. Thank you, friends, for sharing your lives, love and laughter – it truly feeds my soul and is a gift from above.

Occupy Potty Chairs

2011-11-29T12:45:00.001-08:00

All across the U.S. tents are pitched in protest of big business. The international protest phenomenon "Occupy Wall Street" has now reached stay at home moms (SAHM) in the mid-west. Mothers of toddlers all across the mid-west are gathering in protest of toddlers who refuse to occupy their potty chairs and these moms mean big business! The mothers are demanding that their toddlers stop going "wee-wee" and "poo-poo" in their "big boy" and "big girl" pants and do their "business" in the potty like big boys and girls. Protesters grew alarmed when one toddler defiantly went poo-poo in his underwear during the protest. Police were called to the scene before any more pants were soiled.

Mothers carried protest signs and extra back-up pairs of undies while demanding free pumpkin-spice-soy-decaf-lattes, extra hot, be delivered daily at 3pm. They also demand the right to no longer watch Elmo Potty Time a dozen times a day. And furthermore require that all "big business" be done in private by both parties. Toddlers everywhere are encouraged to occupy their potty chairs immediately so that mothers can return home.

"Please. Please. Please. Go poo poo for mommy on the potty! And don't forget to flush and wash!" said local Brookings SAHM, when asked by reporters what the main message was that the Occupy Potty Chairs movement is trying to send.

The occupy movement's next big protest is in Sioux Falls, SD on Wednesday.

Mothers of potty-training toddlers are asked to not play Elmo Potty Time on the computer for the day but join the movement instead. Let's encourage toddlers everywhere to occupy our potty chairs and push for real success!

Cute Things

2011-11-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

The Things have said some pretty cute things lately. I wish I could write them all down as they happen so that I could remember them all. But I can at least capture a few.

Yesterday morning Thing 1 was memorizing a verse for his Good News club at school. The verse talked about loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. Later as we drove to school he told me that he had prayed that morning for a fellow classmate to learn to be a better kid. Apparently this kid isn't very nice. I don't want to sound like I'm patting myself on the back. In reality we didn't spend more than a few moments even talking about the verse. But I was really glad he happened to mention his little prayer to me. It gave me hope that we are making inroads into the Kingdom in his heart. I might still be pulling my hair out at mealtimes to get them to sit still and stop goofing off, but it is moments like these that let me know at least a little of what we are trying to teach are kids is getting through.

Tonight at dinner Thing 2 was commenting how much he looooveeesss spinach. And lest you get a false impression of my parenting abilities when it comes to getting my kids to eat healthy foods don't let it fool you. It is just a strange anomaly with him who is by far my pickiest eater. The kid doesn't even like cheese even though he was born in WI! Or peanut butter! You get the picture. But anyways, he then pipes up with, "I hope there is spinach in heaven!"

Later as I was tucking them into bed Thing 1 prayed, "Thank you that Daddy can get time alone with you and that he will come home tomorrow." (Hubby is on a personal retreat for some extended time alone with God). And Thing 2 asked if he can have his Nee-Nee (blankie) in heaven. I said "no" but he quickly devised a plan that if his Nee-Nee dies then it will go to heaven and be there for him.

Thing 2 is also still planning on building a rainbow house in our backyard to live in with Thing 1 and their wives. Thing 3 is now welcome to join them. But it should be noted that Thing 1 told me today he doesn't ever want to learn to drive so his future wife will need to be willing to drive him every where in addition to the aforementioned accommodations. And Thing 2 thinks that possibly the girl he marries someday will have the same color hair as him. This all remains to be seen...but I thought I'd better write it all down now so some day when they want to move far far far away from their sweet mama I can remind them of the original plan.

The only sort of funny thing Thing 3 said to me lately that I can recall is, "I'm gonna kick you in the b___" Ummmm, Excuse me?!? Why, yes, he does repeat EVERY
THING he hears and it often times isn't appropriate but almost always hard to keep a straight face while I correct him.

A few Pics from FL

2011-11-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

We are spending 6 amazing days sans kids in FL. This trip is partly due to our sabbatical and partly a delayed big trip for our 10th anniversary last year. It is definitely the longest we have been away without the kiddos. And though I miss them every day it is a treat to be footloose and fancy free!

Things I love:
Warm weather in Nov!
Extended time alone with hubby and God.
Amazing friends who keep our Things making this trip possible.
Yummy, yummy,yummy food!
Good times "playing" tennis with good friends. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

Halloween Pics

2011-11-02T06:29:00.001-07:00

I love living in a small town. And I love our awesome children's museum. This year they hosted a Halloween carnival complete with games, tickets to be redeemed for prizes, face painting and ice cream. The kids had a blast. We arrived after the major crowds so the lines weren't too long. Every had a good time!

Carving pumpkins at the very last minute! I wish I could have gotten a pic of the squirrel inside T1'a jack-o-lantern happily munching away yesterday!

Thing 2 is an off the charts ENFP, everything in his life is a party. Despite my best efforts I gave into his constant petitioning for a party. When he started inventing games for it before I had even agreed to one I knew I was in for it. Luckily I got away with just inviting one favorite neighborhood playmate and her folks over for a short dinner before trick-or-treating. And bc the Eye-Ball-Race and Spin the Gourd games were included along with a few Halloween shaped jello molds T2 was satisfied.

This year we tried something new. We went to campus to do trick-or-treating in the dorms. The college gals all thought the Things were "SO CUTE" and they made a haul in a short amount of time! I liked seeing the students, being inside where it was warm and eating a few chocolate candies along the way (just to keep up my stamina, of course! There are a lot of stairs in dorms!).

Seeking

2011-10-28T10:02:00.001-07:00

“What does it mean for me as a stay-at-home-mom to ‘seek first the kingdom of God?’” I asked hubby this question not too many weeks ago. Matt. 6:31 is one of those reoccurring verses in my life during this sabbatical season. It popped up again in my devotional this morning and I was brought back to this basic question, How do I seek Him first in all that I do? More importantly, How am I not seeking Him first and what do I need to do to change that? Certainly not worrying about everyday things like food and clothing is a good place to start, as Jesus suggests in that passage (Matt.6:31-34).
I wonder if learning to seek His kingdom first and see all the hours of my day through His eyes is one key to inner renewal. Ringa writes that the challenge in serving without being depleted is, “…not only to learn to pace ourselves, to set limits,…it is a matter of creatively using time for ourselves…(for)inner renewal…gaining new directions and insights, lest we constantly make the same mistakes and fail to establish patterns that facilitate growth” (#54).
As we talked through our sabbatical with a counselor last week she encouraged us to nail down and do the things that keep our tanks full and healthy. She suggested that if we learn nothing else during this season but how to better self-care during regular life then we have accomplished much. AHA, so that is what this season is all about! Finally a tangible goal I can focus on! 

“Phase Two of our Sabbatical…already?!"

2011-10-18T11:41:00.001-07:00

Jeff recently informed me that we are technically out of our "Rest" period and entering into the second phase. I felt a little panicked by this revelation. I don't feel rested yet; perhaps our early bird toddler has something to do with that!

Early this morning I reflected on my promise verse for our sabbatical, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength…" (Is. 40:28-31). I paused to ask myself, Am I hoping in the Lord? Or am I hoping in my sabbatical? I found myself wondering yesterday how I will handle it if our sabbatical ends before I feel ready. As I think back to my attitude lately regarding our sabbatical I see I have misplaced my hope.

This morning I realized that I've had my eyes on the calendar instead of on the Lord. I've looked to our sabbatical in itself to restore me and not the Restorer. In reality we could have the longest sabbatical in the history of mankind and still walk away empty. Or we could have the shortest sabbatical on the planet and return entirely renewed. It all depends on what we look to for our hope and renewal, self-help books and a set amount of time, or the Lord. I sense Him gently leading me through this unknown territory as only He can. Truly He faithfully guides me (Ps. 23).

Our sabbatical isn't entirely about renewal though. In an earlier post I mentioned a great devotional, "Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen," by Charles Ringa. This morning he challenged me to not give up after reaping the "first fruits" of our sabbatical but to reach "deeper changes still." (#48). He explains that the disciplines of stillness should help renew us but it shouldn't end there.

When others ask me about our sabbatical I tend to tell them how I feel empty and really need this time of refreshment. Today's entry reminded me that the end goal goes beyond renewal and drawing closer to God. Our sabbatical should also equip us to "serve more generously and purposefully. If (I) forget to maintain this important purpose, the fruit that springs from our inner life will be unripe. It will not only be tasteless for others, but it will have a sour and bitter taste in our own mouths."

Should this time renew me, draw me closer to God and refocus my vision for ministry? Absolutely! But if I stop there I will produce bitter fruit. Ringa directs his readers to 1 Cor.13 reminding us that if we leave out love, no matter how well we train ourselves in our craft, we will only irritate others with our noisy clanging.

Please keep praying for us to keep our hope in the Lord, be renewed, and be better equipped on the other side of this sabbatical to love others well. Thanks! J And please feel free to share with us how we can be praying for you as you come to mind.

Fun Fall Fotos

2011-10-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

We took a last minute trip to WI last week. A true perk of being on sabbatical to be able to drop everything and go just bc we can. Normally this time of year we would already be traveling quite a bit to regional meetings and fall conf. so it was a real treat to enjoy time with family and watch the leaves all show off a bit. Speaking of leaves the things had a great time heaping up piles to destroy. Trees are in short supply in our neck of the woods, and especially on our newer lot. The only casualty of their leaf fun being Thing 2's flip flops lost somewhere in that yard. You can see below that it wouldn't be hard to do. Oh well, it is almost tennis shoe weather anyways!

Fall Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's

Getting a bit crafty at home. It is too early to carve the pumpkins but no one said you can't put chocolate eyeballs in them - that is if you can keep from eating them all!

Having fun with the glass insulators my MIL gave me. Thanks for sharing!

Thing 1 called me out into the yard yesterday to show me he can throw a spiral now (well, some of the time). Look out Aaron Rogers! I'd be okay if he doesn't pursue his love of football though, it looks like getting sacked really hurts!

Cool Scripture Memory Websites

2011-10-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of MemVerse? It is a pretty handy tool for scripture memory. I admit I'm not as faithful to it as I'd like, but when I get a chance to use my computer without three little boys lining up for their turn I do like to use it to review. The makers came out with a new memory game just for kids - but I have to say it is fun for adults too! Check it out here:

Play Verse Hero - John 15:5-8 (NIV)

My guys are a little young for it but it won't be long before they will be begging me to use the computer and I'll be pointing them to this website before they play their other games. :)

5x7 Folded Card

2011-09-25T20:12:00.001-07:00

Birthday Colors Blue Birthday Card

Browse our selection of modern graduation announcements.

View the entire collection of cards.

Butterflies, Koopa's and Pre-K

2011-09-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been full of many different things. Thing 2 started Pre-K three afternoons a week and would love to move right onto college if I'd let him! He is very social and is always very anxious to get into the mix of things outside of home. He didn't even turn around and wave goodbye to hubby on his first day of school...ok then, confident and self assured, check! Yet still able to keep himself from jumping off the furniture - uncheck! Note the broken arm, the result of flying a bit too high off the couch two weeks ago. Thankfully he is a fast healer and just got his splint off yesterday.

The Things have also been busy catching butterflies and caterpillars, frogs and toads in our backyard. It is pretty fun raising them in a little bit of country. Eating copious amounts of raspberries and soaking up the last warm days of fall has also consumed their time.
Why, yes, Thing 2 does have a duct taped spiky box on his back...when he sees a box he sees his next project. This was his Koopa outfit that he made almost entirely by himself. (yay for independent projects!). It is amazing how many weapons and costumes can be made out of cardboard and duct tape. I had no idea!

Thing 3 is learning about a few important things in life - but just warming up to the idea really. Nothing major is underway in those departments.

After nearly 11 years of marriage and one month on sabbatical Hubby was finally able to finish off our bed frame that he started when we were engaged. It is absolutely beautiful and makes me want to sleep even more than chasing 3 boys does! Not sure if that is a good side effect but I'm not complaining.

A friend offered us some tickets to a football game and we had a great time! The Things mostly scurried around putting the cushions on the bleachers up and down but we did get to watch some of the game! It was not too cold yet to enjoy and fun to just be out as a family. Though admittedly after half-time I'd had my fill of squirrely boys and longed for that nice warm bed, so hubby got to take in the second half with his friends without us. All parties were happy with this arrangement.

Last week we were very blessed by some very good friends to go to CO last week without our kiddos. I'm somewhat proud (or should I be embarrassed) to say that it took a tribe to replace me for 3 1/2 days but it was really quite easy to line up all the volunteers to keep Things in order while we were away. Hubby and I attended an intense 3 day workshop assessing our giftings, values and personality types. We left having processed a lot individually and together and with a clearer picture of what we bring to the table and how to best apply it in our ministry. Thanks again to all the brave souls - esp. the two who stayed the nights with our boys - we couldn't have done it without you! And we hope all that time with our precious Things doesn't delay too much any parenting plans of your own! :)

Dinosaurs and Hypotheses

2011-09-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Thing 1 starts first grade last week! Sigh, sniff, sigh...that was me. "It's MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!"...that was him when I woke him up.

His teacher is super great! We scored two years in a row now with wonderful teachers! Which is making it hard for me to build my case that he should stay home all day with me...more sighing.

He get's his own desk - no more round tables. Very exciting!

It was hard to be sad with that face beaming up at me!

I asked him if he liked his teacher. "Yes."
I dug further, "What do you like about her?"
Pause. Silence. "Umm, I don't have any observations about her yet!"

Okay then. Last week he correctly used the word "hypothesis" so I was curious.
"Where did you learn the words 'hypothesis' and 'observation'?"
"From Dinosaur Train."
Proof that letting your kids watch a little TV can really be educational!

In Search of my Sense of Humor

2011-09-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

We are back from our trek out west with my folks and everyone had a GREAT time! Thanks again Mom and Dad! I considered leaving town the last week of August the "christening" of our sabbatical as this would never be possible in a "normal" school year.

The house my folks rented for us was perfect including a great big porch overlooking the pastures and mountains. It lived up to it's name of "ranch" in the smallest sense by having live cattle and horses for the boys to feed. They spent hours picking grass to feed the horses and we spent hours watching the owners chase one obstinate little calf that kept escaping back into the pasture. We named him "Houdini", the rancher had a few other names for him that I can't post here.

I spent many early mornings on that porch watching the sun peak up over the hills and enjoying time in the Word. God used that time to give me a bit more insight into what a sabbatical is all about (I think!). Below are a few verses I came across that I want to pray often for this season and I'd love it if you would pray them for us as well when we come to mind.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

I'm reading through a new devotional that I honestly can't remember if our supervisors gave us or if it came from our sabbatical training - it was all a blur, but to WHOMEVER - THANKS SO MUCH. It is GREAT! "Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen," by Charles Ringa, shares many great quotes from one of my favorite authors along with some key thoughts on times of solitude. I'll share just one with you now - and maybe more to come...
"In our much doing we lose perspective, lose our energy, and more importantly, lose our creativity and sense of humor..." (To an ENFP losing my sense of humor seems close to a death sentence! Say it isn't so?!!!) Ringa explains that solitude, "is not simply a withdrawal from the world in order to be renewed and refreshed. It is also finding a new center of inner quietness and certitude from which we act in the midst of a busy and demanding world." Then we can can "again enter our world with purposeful engagement and joyful detachment."

My hope for this season is that by putting myself in a place where I have nothing to do but listen (outside of normal home-life of course) I can then again re-enter ministry with more "purposeful engagement" and be better equipped to serve Him.

Here are a few photos from our time in the Black Hills:

The Train Ride was a highlight for everyone - esp. the boys!

Gold Panning with Grandpa

Life Stages of the "Average" Boy

2011-08-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

We are finally home from our CO and NM tour and it has only taken me an entire week to somewhat get our lives put back in order. Well, as much order as is possible with a 2-yr-old trailing behind undoing all you have just done.
Hubby has one last trip to the Dells to wrap things up there and then we will officially start our sabbatical on the 15th. Can I hear a "whoot! whoot!" (or whatever the cool thing to say is these days).
Lately I have been thinking about stages and seasons of life. For your own entertainment here are a few along with a cute pic of Thing 3 in Grandma Graf's kitchen:

After having three of my own boys to observe up close I have divided and labeled their stages into my own categories.
0-12 months - Eat-Sleep-Poop-Drool Stage
12-18 months- Hunter and Gatherer Stage (as named by hubby)- when they see how many matchbox cars, etc. they can carry at once and keep from any other little people within the vicinity.
18-24 months - Seek and Destroy (self explanatory) Actually given my older boys' (and husband's) affinity for watching things fall down and blow up I'm pretty sure this stage lasts a lifetime.
24-36 months - All the Ability and NONE of the Common-Sense Stage. Case in point just the other day Thing 3 took a screw driver, walked over to an outlet and tried to insert it! Arghhhhh! Just trying to keep him alive is taking up most of my time!
Mixed in there somewhere and beyond are the lovely "Why?" stage and the "Watch Me!" stage that continue on for many fun filled years to come! :)

Questions I've heard lately

2011-07-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Q:How was the Dells?

A:New friends, fellowship, new believers, growing believers, woods, water-slides, games, ticks, God's provision, God showing up, tons of great memories.....let's do it again!

Q: Are you on sabbatical now?

A: No. We leave today for CO for 2 weeks after being "home" for less than 48 hours. Amazingly, I'm okay with this. I'm looking forward to the great fellowship to be had...err, exceptional training ahead. :) We will officially start our sabbatical Aug. 15th.

Q: Does Hubby still have Jury Duty this fall?

A: NO! Praise God!

Q: What are you looking forward to in you sabbatical?

A: Focusing more time on God, each other, our kids and in general being refreshed. I have a picture in my mind from a recent QT - it was a gentle rain washing all the dirt and grime away leaving a world of bright green newness. I think God wants to get to that dirt that I've been too busy to deal with for awhile. Thanks for praying for me in this!

What I am to be About

2011-07-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

Recently as we returned home from church (which btw this church has been amazing, welcoming us, providing for us cribs, toys and trikes, not to mention great worship and teaching for our whole family - thank you, Lord) anyways, as soon as we pulled in from church hubby turned to me and told me to pack a lunch and don't come back until dinner. I protested a bit (when will I learn to just let him lead?) that I was going to have study time the next day, but he convinced me that I need this extended time alone with God in addition to my normal study time. He was right of course, my soul was so thirsty to just sit and read and be quiet and listen. All things I don't usually do during my half-day a week when I prep my BS and meet with women. During this extended TAWG I read another chapter from "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership", by Ruth Barton, and gleaned a few choice quotes.

"(we) need to be very clear about what we are to be about in any given moment and say no to everything else." (p.182) Barton notes that when we try and take on too much we are trying to be like God who is unlimited in His capacity. It always hurts a bit to have your pride pointed out so blatantly. The outcome, she explains, is that we become worn out and compromise our relationships with each other and God and are not as effective as we could be at anything (p.182).

Journaling about this idea, I made a list of my various roles in this life and how those play out in my time. What I came up with is nothing brilliantly new but desperately needed to be dusted off and examined in my heart. I am a child of God, a wife, a mom, a minister, a writer. The amount of time and attention these roles take are never evenly distributed (and probably never will be) and the lines are often blurred.

As I examined them I felt partly overwhelmed, partly confused by the question - "what am I to be about?" I left that processing time with two clear conclusions - my quiet times had been greatly lacking lately and that needed to change. Until that happened nothing else was going to fall into proper place. Secondly, having a 2-yr-old is at times exhausting (except when they are sleeping!) I need to be okay with the limits this plays on my other roles and recognize the value in just being about being a mom of a toddler (and his brothers of course!).

These aren't new thoughts, but as I left my time of reflection I did feel refreshed adn strengthed...and a little bit more confident what I am to be about...at least in this age and stage.

Family, Friends and Making Memories

2011-07-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

When we returned to our little house in the woods on Thursday after a week of vacation I remember thinking "it will feel good to sleep in our own bed." That is when I realized that our little house has begun to feel like home no matter how temporary.
We had a great visit with hubby's side of the family enjoying time with everyone together, celebrating birthdays and our nephew's HS graduation. The weather was perfect and the time sweet. Then we headed up to another little cabin in the woods, this one sitting right on Clark lake for a few days RnR. We enjoyed great fellowship with old friends in the area and just exploring and playing in Door County. My only regret is that I didn't locate our camera until we returned; there it lay in the kitchen drawer! The mental pictures of sunsets on the lake, little boy legs dangling from trees and tire swings and collapsing in sleep heaps at the end of long summer days of fun will have to do. I wish I could make an online album from my brain!
I do, however, have pictures from our very fun reunion with friends during Rythm and Booms (Madison's firework celebration) that we enjoyed two nights ago! I will post those soon!
Upon our return I felt mixed emotions that we have only 3 short weeks left here in the Dells. There is still so much more I want to do and have to do before we leave. There is that house full of Turkish women just up the road - I really need to make some brownies and introduce myself. There are two weeks of swim lessons starting today, t-ball, lots of ministry events, two precious women I mentor, the list goes on and on.
Guide my steps, Father, show me each day what I am to "be about" and what I am to say "no" to.
More on that later...

Rejoicing in Her Gain

2011-06-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Two days ago marked the anniversary of Heather's death and entrance into a new life. With the busyness of life I haven't had the time to write out my thoughts and feelings until now. It feels good to sit down and start writing, bringing clarity for myself and in some small way honoring the incredible woman that she was...is.

The morning of her passing anniversary (why don't we have a word for that in our language?) I read from a devotional that was recently given to me. The dated entry challenged the reader to thank God for our trials. I pondered this through my tears for a few minutes that early morning at my kitchen table. Would God really ask me to thank Him for Heather's death and all the grief it caused? Knowing that the author of that devotional could never know each and every situation the reader was encountering on a particular day I did not want to read into what is not there. Does scripture ask that of us?

From what I know of Him, He chooses to weep with us when we weep (John 11). From what I know of heaven, it is an amazing awesome place beyond words of anyone who has seen it can accurately describe (Rev.). From what I know of Heather, she is there right now (John 5:24). I grieve my loss but rejoice in her gain. I also grieve not as one who has no hope of seeing her again, but as one who has the hope of heaven. And I look forward to hearing her laugh once again on the other side of heaven.

Two years ago I was not at this place. The pain is still acute but I'm able to see more clearly past my loss into her gain. I can't understand God's economy in these things nor will I try to defend Him and His ways. All I can do is look to the hope set before us and do my best to honor her life by living each day I receive to the fullest just as she did.

John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Planting Seeds and Picking Fruit

2011-06-10T13:16:00.001-07:00

It is so exciting to see God at work here in the Dells!!! For months (years, even!) many have been dreaming, hoping and praying for this STP to come together. One of the things that excited me the most when I first heard of this opportunity was the possibility to reach many nations from this one little town in the middle of WI. Already students and staff have been able to share the Gospel with people from the Ukraine, Russia, China, Columbia and more! Two women from Asia prayed to accept Christ yesterday and one man from Russia just this morning! Two other women from UW-Madison indicated they desired a relationship with God after hearing of His love for them. Hubby got to share the Bridge along with another staff guy, with one of these gals on Tuesday when our entire program went to Madison for a day of training and initiative evangelism. Please be praying for the three new believers and the other two who may or may not still be "on the fence"! I was just praying through Colossians 1:9:10 (as I was attempting to memorize it) this morning for them. Won't you join me in prayer right now for them?

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,"

So far I personally have not had (or taken?) the opportunity to go out and share with our students; but I hope to soon! In many ways I feel like being a mom has taken me off of the "front lines" of the battle. I'm still in the army, just farther back in the lineup. This is true in some ways and not in others (see Ministry from my couch entry). Either way I'm learning to be content no matter my position, knowing that we all play a part.

Pictured above: Two lovely ladies that I have the pleasure of spending extra time with (AKA discipling) this summer. We are taking in the Memorial Day Parade with three rowdy little boys who loved the firetrucks but were disappointed that no candy was handed out!.

This morning I sat in our van with one of these ladies talking about life, God and praying together. She had to meet me at the dentist instead of a coffee shop b/c apparently Thing 1 is growing in teeth faster than he is losing them. That is just how discipleship and motherhood goes sometimes! Anyways we were having a QT together and the devotional (that a dear friend and mentor had just given me) seemed to be written just for her today. I love it when that happens. I listened to her dreams and challenges for the summer. I shared with her some of the blessings and challenges of being a mom at an STP. Later she texted me some verses from 1 Cor. 12 about all the members of the body being arranged by God and even the weaker parts are indispensable. This is an encouraging reminder that even though my heart is there to be spreading the seeds and picking fruit, my supportive role in helping these things happens is just as important. We all play a part. Your prayers and partnership are vital as well and we so appreciate you! Thanks you!!!

Two Beautiful Days

2011-06-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

Most mornings in my new life here I wake up and wonder, "what are we going to do today?" Sometimes it is with a bit of dread and goes more like "What am I going to do with 3 active boys all day in a town I don't know very well. I can't call MOAOF every day -or I won't even have her!" But every day God surprises me (when do you think my faith will be big enough for it to NOT be a surprise?) with a wonderful day and things to do with the Things. Like today as I had a couple boys piled on top of me and I was trying to convince my body to get out of bed (yesterday I ran the stairs 8 times not really thinking about the fact that we were going rock climbing later that afternoon! Duh!). One of them asked when they were going to be able to ride their bike. We decided today was a good day to explore Mirror lake state park, just a few minutes down the road from us. The sun was shining, the ducks waddling away from 3 Things all as fast as they could go, and the place was deserted; our own private state park - Thanks God! The bikes never made it out of the van but the sand toys did - there was too much fun to be had with water, mud, sand and playgrounds to explore.

Yesterday was our first "Program Day" where everyone comes together to do something. Some weeks it will be an outing, other weeks it will be doing evangelism (look out UW -Madison, we are headed your way!). God blessed us with a gorgeous day at Devil's Lake state park and some really awesome Madisonites blessed us by setting up and running a climbing wall for us to enjoy all day. The Things ran around in a frenzy from student friend to friend playing volleyball, rock climbing, swimming, eating tons of chips and watermelon, hiking, etc. We all had a wonderful day together and that 100% chance of downpour at 1pm didn't happen just as I asked Him (yay God). For many students it was their first day off of work and a much needed time to kick back and have fun.

Finally some Pics!

2011-05-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

Thing One whispered in my ear the other day, "I've found the woman I'm going to marry when I grow up." It was too cute! He is smitten with our neighbor that I'm sure he is responsible for waking up more than once already this summer pounding through the house above her. She is 7 mos, big blue eyes and all around adorable. I'd be pleased to have her as my DIL some day! T1 has already brought her gifts of leaves, sticks and maybe a flower?

Girl's night out - this was the only man allowed to be with us!

They have the same name, same shirt and almost the same glasses - weird! I was a little offended that hubby didn't go change his shirt, he always does whenever we are accidentally matchy! What's up with that?!

Random "bubbler" (we are in WI now!) in the woods near our house.

Our awesome student team leaders and staff gather for training in our house last week. Notice the awesome retro-furniture, we are so hip!

Our front door.

Steps leading down to deck and lower apartment where our future DIL lives.

Reaching the World from the Dells

2011-05-27T09:17:00.001-07:00

A single unplugged guitar and amped keyboard led about fifty of us in worship at our the first ever Nav Nite of the Wisconsin Dells. A small and humble beginning for what we hope to be a foundational summer for the lives of the students here and generations to come. Mike, a lifetime Dells native and father of a current Navigator student, shared about his experiences in helping make this STP possible. He put his reputation on the line networking with employers lining up jobs and housing for our students. Listening to him share reminded me of the privilege we have in being a part of something new and foundational. He shared this verse, "because a great door for effective work has opened to me,"(1 Corinthians 16:9a),
explaining that it described what God was doing in brining all of us here to impact the Dells, a historically very secular region. With about 5000 residents, an almost equal number of internationals in the summers and about 2 million tourists, the possibilities to reach many regions of this country and world with the Good News are breathtaking. Amazing that they are all living and coming here – all we need to do is be ready and willing to share!

Of course our ability to do anything rests solely on our willingness to Abide in Christ, and that is what hubby encouraged us to do in his message last night. He reminded us that abiding is surrendering our heart, mind and will to God continually. If we just simply go through the motions but don't engage God with our hearts, we are in danger of being destroyed. To illustrate he shared about some homes that were needlessly destroyed in a tornado; the homes hadn't been properly built. The builders were just going through the motions using staples instead of nails, rendering the buildings useless. Secondly, if we just simply take in the Word but don't let us change our thinking we are more like a pipe with water flowing through us rather than like the tree described in Psalm 1, that yields fruit and does not wither. We have to engage His Word with our minds or we will just end up being a rusty pipe instead of a flourishing tree. Lastly, we must be willing to let God prune us, surrendering our will to Him. Only as we fully abide in Him will we grow and be allowed to bear fruit. Truly, the harvest here is plentiful; please pray for us that we will be ready, abiding and willing to be reapers this summer.

The Dirtier the Happier - that is the way with boys.

2011-05-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured out to Holiday Shores, the 150+ acre campground that 10 of our students will be working at for the summer. We were all delighted to sample their still warm famous homemade doughnuts and fresh coffee. The boys and I headed outside once the job training started since our presence would only be good training for the one lucky guy or gal who will be hired as the campground babysitter. I plan on spending lots of time with her (if it is a her) and the owner's grand kids that I'm told will be chauffeured around in a golf cart all summer from playground to playground around the camp. The 4-year-old grandson that we were hoping to meet wasn't there today but we still stayed all morning to wade in the water, slide down the big sand pile and play on the playground. The boys were filthy and happy and I was grateful to be outside after it rained all day yesterday. The property is beautiful, full of mature trees providing plenty of shady spots leading up to the boat docks. As we played near the water T1 said, "The tights are coming in! The water is getting wild." :) Well T3 is awake and the other two bickering...time for baths!

My Not-So-Exciting Day in One Sentence AND Ministry from My Couch

2011-05-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

This morning I made my bed, assembled the new vacuum our landlord dropped off, picked up all the boys clothes off the floor and put them away in the dresser in the living room (their room is only big enough for bunk beds/ aka jungle gym), remade my bed (three Things happened to it), surprisingly kept my cool at Walmart and Home Depot with the boys, handled out Skittles before heading back to the van (they were mostly good and I use bribery to my advantage whenever possible), ran up and down the 110 steps 5 times BY MYSELF (I was needing some serious "I" time after shopping with 3 boys and a frustrating encounter with our plumber), walked up the road to get our mail that still has not arrived, drove 3 boys home after dinner out at Culvers with Dad and the team leaders we get to disciple (good thing I ran those stairs!), got every one's teeth brushed, diapers changed, pajamas on, then diapered again (why does he always wait to poop in a clean one?), read stories and Bible and then kissed three little heads goodnight which I knew by their not very sleepy eyes I would be seeing them again shortly for this and that.

After all this it was right around 7ish which is when I knew that our team was going out to do evangelism. I called hubby to see if another woman was needed and he wanted to switch out. They were already all en-route and had even numbers without me. A few years ago it would have been a lot harder to be home and not out "doing ministry." But now-a-days some nights I'm just too tired to mind. Tonight I could have rallied and gone, but I wasn't needed with the team. But I was needed at home. And as I snuggled up next to my boys and read them their Bible story I knew I was still "doing ministry." It wasn't on the street talking with strangers it was from my couch with three very familiar faces. And I'm okay with that. And I'm okay with my not so exciting day. I'm learning with motherhood that sometimes ministry looks like that.

110 Steps

2011-05-21T12:43:00.001-07:00

Today we walked down the 110 steps to throw rocks into the river again. If the Things have their way this will become part of our daily routine. Wake up way too early (Things), drink lots of coffee (mommy), eat breakfast(mommy and Things) , walk down to the river (Mommy and Things) and back up again (Mommy carrying Things).

Of course the boys were picking up logs their full body length and seeing who could make the biggest splash - why is it everything is a competition with brothers? It is fun having new nature landscapes for the boys to be boys in. Last night as we enjoyed a bbq with our staff team at a local home the boys climbed higher than I thought was reasonable again and again in a real live tree (which isn't a feature of our home on the prairie).

Today we ventured to the library which looked to be brand new. They were having a kids activity which my one and only friend in town (OAOFIT) mentioned to me on the phone. We don't have any mail yet so we couldn't get a library card - but my OAOFIT was kind enough to call the library and ask them to let us use her card. The boys enjoyed the crafts, Thing 3 enjoyed the mints and pretzels and lemonade and I enjoyed the adult conversation with all the retired senior ladies who were running the event.

Four times in the last couple days the Lord has protected us from near disaster. Twice when Thing 3 got ahead of me and out those pesky automatic doors (they should have a minimum height limit for opening and closing if you ask me). The first time was at Wal Mart when with a fully loaded cart I had to let him walk to have room for them all, I was leaving the store and a water jug fell out of the bottom - T3 took that opportunity to run ahead and luckily the greeter employee was there to usher him back into the store or he would have run right into the parking lot. I'm considering getting a leash for him...any votes on a color? Yesterday T2 came in with a wooden board attached to his flip flop by a two inch nail. The nail had gone clear through of course and was just milimeters above his toes. Yikes! Thankfully he was not hurt. I'm currently trying to recall when his last tetnus shot was just in case this happens again.

We are having a few plumbing issues in our new cottage in the woods but the bright side is that all I have to do is call someone and they come and attempt to fix it. Hubby doesn't have to take time out of his busy schedule to do all the maitenance, a nice change of pace for him. Right now one out of the three issues is resolved and we might have to go without a kitchen sink (but hopefully not the one and only toilet) for the weekend!

Our New Pad

2011-05-20T12:23:00.001-07:00

I took some pictures of our house to post but have no idea how to do that with our borrowed computer...sorry! I hope to get internet on my laptop eventually and will get them up soon. In the meantime I'll describe it to you -
It is white with blue trim, a stone chimney on the side, outdoor deck and steps that lead down to a second level apartment that our friends are living in. Unfortunately for them they live below three loud boys for the summer - I apologize now to their adorable six month old daughter who might be an only child as a result of their living situation this summer. I'm doing my best to keep the boys from jumping off the beds before 7am but I'm not always successful.
Our house is surrounded by trees and on the edge of a ravine with LOTS of steps down to a river (which I consider my free stair-master). So far the boys have been pretty good about staying within the boundaries we give them and are enamored enough with living in a forest. I try not to be too grossed out when the climb under the porch to retrieve a lost ball and have faithfully placed all soil ridden wildflowers picked for me into a vase on our wobbly drop-leaf kitchen table.
We have already explored one park in the area and inspected the Culvers - the frozen custard is defiantly up to par. Later we hope to take a hike and are anxiously awaiting the opening of the pool down the road - May 27th can't come fast enough for three little boys even though we have yet to get above 75 degree weather.
That's all for now as thing 1 just disconnected the dvd player (aka my only sanity) and now I must figure out how to get it functioning again -( add electrical engineering training to the required reading for a mom!).

Little House in the Big Woods

2011-05-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

Well our van is packed and we are ready to head out on another adventure! Thanks to many helping hands we even have a clean house for our houseguest to live in this summer! In case you didn't know, we are heading to the Dells for the summer. If you want to know more about what we are doing, check out this link.
We are very excited to live in our little house in the woods for a summer, even though we will miss our house on the prairie! (Yes, I did always want to be Laura Ingles growing up). Having already experienced two summer long programs I know that there are many surprises and blessings in store. I'm especially excited about the opportunities to reach the nations and pour into the lives of the women around me (that is, between t-ball and swim lessons!). If you find yourself with the urge to hit the water-slides give us a call!

Exchanging High-heels for House-slippers

2011-05-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

The morning of his seventh birthday I woke him up for school. As he stretched and raised his eyebrows, eyelids still shut, I could see the same face he used to make all the time as a tiny baby. Was it really seven years ago that I welcomed that cuddly swaddled bundle into my arms, full of dark hair and the cutest little dimple on his tiny right cheek? Was it really only seven years ago that I became a mom, because with three boys in seven years, my life has changed so dramatically it seems like way too much to have crammed into seven short years?

Eight years ago I remember sitting across the table from my husband in a nice restaurant discussing whether we were "ready" to start this journey called parenthood. (By the way we were soooo oblivious then to what a treat it was to go out to eat sans sippy cups, dropped crayons and impatient toddlers!) I had been convinced for about two years that I was ready to start parenting – but my hubby not so much. So that night when I expected him to say, "we just can't afford it yet" or "I'm not ready" instead he surprised me by saying, "I'm ready, but it is going to change your life much more than mine, are you sure you are ready?" This gave me pause for a few days, but in the end couldn't suppress that internal clock that was tick-tick-ticking! Today I realize that he was spot on – though I knew it only vaguely then, I could never have imagined how much my life would change with the new title of "mom."

For the first few years I wrestled with the change, loving it at times, struggling with it at others. In just a few years I had gone from a single woman in full-time ministry, to married and part time in ministry, and then – poof, a mommy not knowing what my ministry involvement should look like at all! Some days I loved the freedom of my schedule and being there to meet all my baby's needs. Other days I jealously guarded any "me-time" I could etch out and discontentedly compared my upside down schedule with my husband's who still seemed free to live life as usual. As I've grown into mommy-hood while my sons have grown before my eyes, I've learned to not fight against the changes, but embrace them as part of God's plans for me. I couldn't have put it in so many words at the time, but looking back this is definitely where I've come from.

Ruth Barton encourages me with her words about living within our limits in her book, "Strengthening the Soul of your Leadership." She says, "Living within limits is not in any way an acquiescence that is despairing, passive or fatalistic. Rather it honors the deepest realities of the life God has given us….Life in my family at its age and stage."(p.112,113). It has taken me seven years to slowly settle into this place. Ruth helps me see that my withdrawal from before-mommy-hood activities (like a regular eight hours of sleep) less like a regression in my identity and more like a progression.

The limits that mothering puts on my other activities, like our campus ministry and my writing, don't have to be negative or constricting as feminism would have me believe. Instead if I view them as Ruth does, and honor them as God given, I find myself embracing rather than comparing, enjoying rather than begrudging, and flexing rather than screaming at yet another roadblock in my day. I still have my days of frustration, but instead of begrudging my children of this time, or my husband of his, I'm trying to welcome these changes and take what lessons I can from them.

Feminism tells me to fight against this change, that I will surely lose my identity in exchanging my heels for house slippers. Yet I find that my identity is far from lost, if anything mother-hood is helping my uncover layers of my personality I was never required to draw upon before. My skill-set is only improving with each passing year of multi-tasking (reading to my four-year-old while tickling my two-year-old), budgeting (how many groceries can I get for the best price?), flexing (with the 2-yr-old tide), constant decision making (yes, you can flood the sandbox, no you can't put legos down the vent), (toy) negotiating and planning for the unexpected (poopy diaper)!

After seven years and several pairs of slippers I can say that my heels will always be there when I'm ready to put them back on but my children will not. This is my one chance to imprint on them all that they will need to succeed in this world and I'm happy to take on the job. It may be full-time now, but as I now know, six years can fly by in a blur and before I know it my "baby" is gone all day long. I'm no longer the one putting band-aids on his cuts and teaching him to share, sit still and follow directions. Other adults are pouring their time and energy into the bulk of his day and I'm left holding my breath and praying he has good experiences with them. He needs to learn to do this, to be on his own, this is what I tell myself as my heart constricts with each cutting of the apron strings. I'm sure he has no idea he carries part of my heart with him as he hops out of the van, with his bigger-than-him backpack bouncing along behind as he races up to play before the bell rings. I wouldn't exchange all that time with him for any amount of investment I could have made in others, or articles and novels written. Those will come in due season – for now I'm living within the "age and stage" of my family and loving it (most days); and my house-slippers are way more comfortable than my heels ever were!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

My all time favorite mother's day video. Enjoy!

150 Cupcakes, Navigator-Jackrabbitus, and a crash course of Dave Ramsey!

2011-05-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had our second annual End-of-the-year-"picnic" (which in SD must be held indoors of course)/ Parent's Dinner. This year over 150 students and parents attended and a great time was had by all (myself included as a babysitter was on hand!). :)

Okay I know the pic isn't the best but our student emcees were! They were dressed in "crocodile hunter" garb and led us on an evening of observing the "Navigatus Jackrabbitus" and all their quirky eating and studying habits.

A couple crazy girls wanted to make all 150ish cupcakes for the event - they were delicious and all filled with yummy fillings! Amazing! Thanks again, Kirstin!

Group photo of students who attended.

We also had our some-what annual senior dinner at our place not to long ago. This year it was a whole flock of women and just a few guys graduating. They came out for dinner and training in helpful topics for transitioning into the "real world" (i.e. How to find a church and plug in, How to make a budget, How to reach out to co-workers...to name a few). We will miss each one and appreciated all they brought to the ministry!

And our last leadership team meeting for quite awhile!

Just for Laughs

2011-05-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Not long ago hubby was getting on a "tea cup" ride with Thing 2 and teasingly told him that he sometimes throws up on these rides. T2 immediately slid into his seat and folded his hands in prayer. When hubby asked what he was doing he replied, "I'm praying that you don't throw up!"

He Is Risen!

2011-04-24T05:59:00.000-07:00

I've been saving this one for today!

The Middle Ground - My thoughts on heaven, hell, and Mr. Bell

2011-04-20T11:08:00.002-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to listen to two authors talk about their experiences in the next life. One shared about heaven ("90 Minutes in Heaven") and the other about hell ("23 Min. in Hell"). I haven't read their books yet so I'm not going to say I endorse everything written in them, but I do encourage you to read them and decide yourself.

Ever since that night I've noticed two changes in how I view things:
1) Hell is a lot scarier place than I ever imagined (not that I'd ever spent much
time thinking on it)
2) Heaven is all the more sweeter bc of #1.

My kids have a "Jesus Storybook" Bible that is amazing and everyone should have one! I love it just as much (and maybe more) than they do. In it the author refers to Jesus as "the Rescuer". All this time I've read these stories and thought about all the things He has rescued me from, my sin (past, present and future), eternal death, etc. But I've never taken much time to think about the realities of hell and the anguish, hopelessness and suffering that He rescued me from. This makes His Rescue Plan all the more precious and valuable to me.

For years now I've prayed and shared about Jesus' free gift of life to others only considering how I don't want them to miss out on His love for them. But my perspective was lacking an important factor, which is that I should be equally concerned they don't go to hell. Even as I write those words I know how "preachy" and "fire and brimstone" they sound and yet I don't know how else to say it.

Another book, "Love Wins" questions all of the above and is featured on the cover of Time magazine this week. It is by a guy named Rob Bell who is a popular pastor among other things. It isn't based on any new theology, maybe just new to our generation. It is clear that Mr. Bell struggles with the idea of hell, it doesn't fit into his idea of a loving God. He isn't the only one who struggles with this concept, yet just deciding it doesn't exist is not only dangerous, it doesn't hold up to his own logic. If God is too loving to let anyone go to hell, how is forcing them into an eternity in His Presence when they openly acknowledge that they don't believe in Him, don't want anything to do with Him, and even hate Him - any more loving? That doesn't sound like much of a choice to me and it doesn't sound much like love winning out.

Don't get me wrong, I'm just as uncomfortable with the reality of eternal suffering and punishment for anyone as the next guy - but that makes me all the more motivated to pray and share His love with others so they don't end up there. It is unfortunate that instead of using his influence to join in God's Rescue mission, pointing them to the One Path to heaven he doesn't even deny, which is Jesus, Mr. Bell has just made the path to hell all the more appealing to others by encouraging them to reject the idea of it's existence all together, and in so doing condemning them to it.

There really isn't a comfortable middle ground with this issue, though "Love Wins" would try to convince you otherwise. We have to decide here and now during our time in the middle here on earth where we will go in the next life. And what better time to consider what is next than during this Easter season.

Fruits of Suffering

2011-04-12T12:05:00.001-07:00

This morning my Bible study wrapped up our inductive study of 1 Peter. This book is full of great promises and challenges to trust God with. Is it really possible to thank God in the midst of suffering? Is all suffering from Him? Is there hope in the midst of suffering? If you wrestle with any of these questions you might benefit from a peruse through this letter from a famous guy named Peter to a group of people undergoing persecution. The study we used is here and it is free to download.

My conclusive statement after several months of study was:
Our Enemy says, "You suffer therefore God: Must hate you. Must not be good. Must not be in control. Must be evil."
BUT
God says, "You suffer...and so do I with you. AND I can bring good out of this if you will trust me with it."
We wrapped up our time by listening to a sermon on this topic by another smart fellow named Mark Driscoll. Here is the link if you have time to listen it is a good one with some great thoughts to chew on.

As much as we hate to accept it suffering comes to us all, to live in this world is to suffer. Many much more than others but none-the-less none of us are immune to the fall-out of that rebellious bite in the Garden. (I'm not trying to sounds depressing here - in fact I'm in a great place today, enjoying the balmy 67 degree weather here! It is just the topic at hand I guess.) BUT the good news is the GOOD NEWS. This isn't the end. Things do get better. And until then He can and does use these hard things for good.

Mark challenges his listeners to suffer with a purpose, don't waste the opportunity to grow. He quotes E. Stanley Jones, "Don't bear trouble, use it." Turn it into a testimony. Not my first thought when trouble comes, but a good challenge to remember. For now my suffering isn't so much personal as it is watching those I love suffer. This is the worst! And it is also driving me to my knees in prayer more than ever before - and I'd like to think that is one of the fruits of their suffering. It is bitter-sweet that I would benefit from their trials, but I'm thankful that at least some good is coming from it, better than nothing good at all.

Darth Vader vrs. Blue's Clues, in other words, we've had a couple birthdays around here recently!

2011-04-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Thing 2 turns 5 and Thing 3 turns 2....I think I got that right!

Thing 2's Bday Dinner - MMMM corn dogs!

Our Little Storm Trooper

Thing 2 at Preschool - he got to bring cupcakes on his actual b-day. I think that is pretty cool having a summer bday myself, I NEVER got to do this. Perhaps this is what inspired me to make the coolest cupcakes I could think of...what was I thinking!

These tie-dye cupcakes looked really cool but they were a lot of work!

T2 helping me prepare the batter.

Star Wars Party for T2

Jedi Training had lots of levels to it - this was the "anti-gravity" training.

Agility Jedi Training

T3 even talks like Yoda!

T2's self-made costume for his Star Wars party.

Even the adults dressed in character!

T3's Bday

I always have plenty of willing helpers when it comes to cleaning up the frosting beaters!

"Moving"

2011-04-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Could it be? A post from me? I'm sure you have all given up on this blog and for all I know these words will go unread but I'm okay with that. I've missed my writing time. I've missed processing with the tips of my fingers tapping along all 26 letters (it is 26, right?). And of course I've missed all your little notes back encouraging and praying when appropriate.

Let me tell you I haven't completely forgotten about this space in my life, I just haven't had room for it lately. I've written a hundred posts in my mind since we last met here, I just never got them out. But now I'm clearing things out and moving things around and hope to be here more often - and whether you show or not I'll never know!

Sometimes that "moving" is hard work though. That wonderful conference that I sooooo enjoyed directing left me pretty wiped out - emotionally and physically. And then I went straight from that into crisis mode with a dear friend. And then I had another conference to think about planning for the fall which left me completely immobilized!

Sometimes that "moving" is just painful. Painful to my pride - like just a few minutes ago when I had to back out of a commitment I'd made. That was really hard. My people-pleasing nature does not like to disappoint. Thankfully though they were gracious in my backing down. God was good to give me wise counsel and ears to hear (though they were a bit slow to listen I admit).

Well - it is time to wake up two sleepy boys (no, I didn't drug them just so I could actually sit down and write for once, thought that is an idea...) - they were just both tired at the same time for a change! And then I'm off to get the third.

And you know, I think I'm liking the moves. Even though they are tiring and painful and times, they are helping me grow...hopefully to be more like Him and less like me.

Praising Him!

2011-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying for our conference! These are pictures of the mugs that each woman received after the Sat. morning session. It was really fun to surprise and spoil them with lots of great giveaways but this one was one of my favorites. Sat. morning we had a guest speaker/potter from The Potter's Heart ministry. She had the whole room in tears as she poured out her story and demonstrated God's love for us through Potter/Clay verses while throwing a pot! I commissioned her to make a mug for each woman to take home and she agreed! What a labor of love!

I don’t know how to begin to describe all the work He did. I’m so humbled He allowed me to be a part of it. Over 200 women were there including staff. One of the speakers was my roommate (and good friend :)) and I know she personally talked with 20 – 30 women who came to confess and seek healing from past sins, addictions etc. and/or sexual abuse. HUGE strides were taken and the women are just beginning the healing work. Praise God for all He did and will continue to do!!! It was truly amazing to watch God at work! Thank you for your prayers – I needed them as well as everyone else involved – esp. with the logistics of adding an unexpected day due to weather.

I came home to tell hubby I have a new appreciation for all he does when directing a conference – and he in turn related a new respect for life with Thing 3 (who developed the art of climbing out of his pack and play while I was gone).

Please continue to pray for all the women involved and that the work won’t stop there but that they will share all they learned and spread God’s message of healing and redemption to many lives around them.

Wonderfully Made

2011-02-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I know it has been a long and lonely silence and for that I am sorry. And I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Tomorrow I leave for our Upper Midwest Navigator Women's Conf. The theme is "Wonderfully Made" from Psalm 139:14. Over 50 jackrabbits will be coming to join over 200 women from all over our region in Rochester, MN. Would you please pray right now for our time? I have been working with a great team of folks long and hard to put this conference together (ergo the lack of blog posts). It is my greatest wish that God will eternally impact in the hearts of the women attending. The talks will center around the fact that we are Made By Him, Redeemed By Him and Empowered By Him. We will also have an incredible guest potter/speaker sharing with us. Thanks for partnering with us in prayer! And pray for Hubby too as he is on his own with all 3 Things the next few days!!!

Seasons Ingredients

2010-12-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

We live in what some would consider a quaint little town, which compared to many other places it is little and it is definitely quaint. Every Christmas season our quaint little town decorates Main Ave. and it is called Main Ave. for a good reason (remember "little). Upon entering town on Main they have strung up a huge red tinselly sign that says "Seasons Greetings" and every time I drive under this sign my 4-yr-old asks what it says. After about a week and rereading it to him a zillion times, always with a cheerful patient tone of course, ahem, he finally remembered for himself...sort of. As we drove under as a family on route to church T2 proudly shouted from the back "Seasons Ingredients!!!" Hubby and I chuckled in the front and I let him do the correcting.

Later as we drove under the sign again I got to thinking about T2's mistaken pronunciation and wondered to myself, "what are the ingredients to this season?" If someone were to look at my life right now they might list them as:
1) 1 Overtired shopped-out mommy
2) 3 busy boys who can't get the decorations up fast enough, or throw them far enough in T3's case (I can see the confusion, those round ornaments do look a lot like balls!)
3) 1 stretched-in-many-directions Daddy (who is doing a WONDERFUL job BTW)
4) 1 somewhat enjoyable cooking baking experience with middle son
5) 1 not so enjoyable with several starts and stops for broken lights, dropped and shattered ornaments, loud mommy sighing and some yelling "No"...okay repeated raised voices... tree trimming event
6) 7 chocolates consumed per child thus far from advent calendar
7) 1 somewhat successful reading of "What God wants for Christmas" complete with broken angel from years past (WHY WHY WHY DO THEY MAKE A CHILD'S NATIVITY OUT OF CERAMANIC...REALLY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING PEOPLE?)
8) 1 really enjoyable Bible study I'm doing with some great friends found here that is somewhat keeping me centered on the real reason for the season. It's only four short chapters and well worth it!
9) too many to count Christmas play practices, both the ones we made it too and the ones we were too tired and busy to attend.
10) 1 frozen Daddy who lovingly obliged his Holiday minded sons by missing the first 60 mins of the Packer game on Sunday to string up outdoor lights

Add all together, mix and stir and you have the Ingredients for Christmas in our house. They probably aren't all the ones I would choose to put in there, but they are there none the less. Some of them may make the taste a little bitter, some make the taste sweet. I'm doing my best to add more of the latter.

What about you? What are you ingredients this year?

Merry Christmas from us...oh and "Seasons Ingredients!" :)

What's A mUmmy to do?

2010-11-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

I love each of my three sons but for reasons that are as different as they are. My middle son's wild and loud presence can sometimes drive me up the wall, but it is that same zest for life that often leaves me laughing for hours. Part of it is just his uninhibited love of fun (ahem, I have NO idea where he got that from). Part of it is his 4-year-old perspective on life. Case in point:

A couple weeks ago my friend returned from a long trip to Peru. We looked through her pictures and took time to explain to T2 where Peru is and what we were looking at along the way. Well later that evening we were getting ready to go out and T2 comments, "Mom, some day you are going to be buried."
Me- "What? did you say 'married'?"
T2- "No. Buried."
Me still utterly confused, "What? What did you say?"
T2- exclaiming now like I'm the dumbest mom on the planet, "BURIED! SOME DAY YOU ARE GOING TO BE BURIED IN THE GROUND! You know in Peru with the Mommies."
Me - (light bulb) "Ohhh" chuckle chuckle "Those were pictures of MUMMIES honey NOT MOMMIES. Not all the mommies go to Peru to be buried. I won't end up there."
T2 - thoughtful pause - "Oh. Well some day when you are old you will be buried though, right?"
Me- sigh, not really liking the point of this conversation anymore and realizing those were some pretty gross pictures of mUmmies and he doesn't seem in the least concerned at all that this was my fate - "I don't know, let's get going."

Seeing Us Through

2010-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

I've been reading through Paul's letter to the Romans lately. It is a bit heady for me if I haven't had at least one cup of coffee but I think I'm still picking up the gist of things here and there. :)

Today in one of my most favorite chapters of the entire Bible my mind hovered over a verse I usually just read on by, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." (12:15). Lately I've been rejoicing over new babies, groaning over lack of sleep with those same babies, praising with recovery from illness, and weeping over uncertain futures - all with my friends. In one verse Paul summed up the essence of the heart of a woman (or man) engaged in true fellowship with other women...and he just thought he was listing off instructions for godly living to the Christians in Rome! :) My heart full of joys and burdens once again confirms that life is such a mixed bag of blessings and trials. I'm so grateful I have His loving Presence and friends to see us through...until it all gets way way better on the other side of heaven that is!

The Advantage of Older Siblings

2010-11-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

The advantages of older siblings is quite extensive and full of injustices suffered by the oldest child. The list is too extensive for me to cover today but I wanted to focus on just one in this post. CANDY. I'm pretty sure my older two boys had no idea what it was for many years - maybe a vague awareness around holidays and potty training (which are both equally celebrated around here). But enter the third boy and whallah (sp help please???) all previous attempts to protect and prolong the onslaught of sugar are almost entirely ignored...frankly I'm just too worn out to care anymore. Is that awful or what?! Also I'm more prone to spoil knowing he is our last. Whatever...I don't need to offer excuses, that isn't the topic of the post. It is what it is. And T3 LOVES LOVES LOVES his candy. In fact all three boys had a wonderful sugar filled Halloween. The funniest part was when anyone tried to take T3s bucket away he would absolutely throw a huge fit. So what did I do...what any other loving caring mother would do...I grabbed a video camera and proceeded to take it away several times to document the cause and effect. Another time when hubby tried to take away an empty MMs wrapper, T3 had a fit until he was allowed to inspect it and make sure there weren't any left.

And now for some pics:

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T3 is saying "Don't even think about touching my candy!"

T1 at the last minute switched from Transformer to Race car driver...whatever, we have them all on hand so "easy peasy, lemon squeezy" or is it "easy cheesy..." hmmm, I need to practice my new K lingo.

T2 went as a black widow spider. this was NOT one of the zillion costumes we owned so I transformed the ninja costume into a spider. amazing what some pantyhose (Hey, if finally got some use around here!) and a felt square can do.

This last pic is of the three sweater vests my mom made. soo cute! Thanks again, mom. And Thanks for the great visit Mom and Dad! We miss you already!

The Weekender 2010

2010-10-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there - we are headed to our Regional Fall Conference this weekend. Right now 268 students are registered - 48 of which are from our campus. Would you read through the following prayer requests for the weekend. My friend/co-laborer put it together for us to help us pray! Thank you!!!

Can I ask you, my friends and supporters, to pray specifically this Saturday morning? In addition to overall prayer requests,
• the health of all those in attendance
• the many, many details of a conference this size (there’s about 340 registered)
• camaraderie among students from each campus
• staff as they prepare many seminars and workshops
• Matt Letourneau, The Navigators campus director at University of Alabama, is our main speaker
• this year’s theme is “Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus”

Saturday morning holds some specific needs for prayer,
• attendees waking up refreshed and eager to learn
• Saturday morning is filled with workshops and seminars. Students attend those that interest them the most and they include:
‘Leadership Lessons from the Life of David’
‘How to Become a Spiritually Powerful Man of God’
‘The Legacies Left by Women’
‘Apologetics: Tactics on Defending the Faith’
‘Heartbeat of the Navs: Why Discipleship?’
‘Evangelism Training’
‘The Bible 411’
‘Freedom from Performance’
‘God’s Heart for the Nations’

God bless you richly as you pray for us and the students we love!

Tape recorders, 5ks and Wedgies.

2010-10-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the awesome new Kid's Museum in our town!

Welcoming home Daddy after he traveled early last week. The door was full of signs by the time it was all said and done! This is one that T1 drew for him.

I wish I could carry around a little tape recorder to record all the funny things I hear each day. For example the other day as I drove T1 and T2 home for school I listened to a ten minute conversation on wedgies. T1 leaned over and "whispered" "Don't tell mom" and continued to define wedgie for his 4 year old brother. They proceeded to make up a mile long list of different kinds of wedgies while throwing a jacket back and forth at each other with each new wedgie. "How about a spider wedgie?!!!" Much laughter. "How about a backpack wedgie." More laughter. Well, you get the idea.

Another thing I would record is T3s sweet little voice coming out with new words every day. His latest is "ball" which is usually accompanied by his chubby little arms throwing a ball half his size as far as he can (which thankfully is all of 12inches). He also loves to say "poopy", he is a boy after all, and "Daddy" and "Doggy" which are sometimes hard to distinguish (the later two, that is).

A couple weeks ago T2 explained to my friend that she is NOT old. "Why not?" she replied. "Because, old people have bumpy skin and YOURS is FLAT!"

Just last night as T2 gave me a tour of all the pictures (hundreds of them) taped to his bed he literally said, "And this is a picture of the monster pooping on (something...I'm not sure what he said after that I was laughing too hard).

Well, besides listening to my boys antics we have been keeping busy, thus the lack of blog updates. I ran in my first (and possibly last) race - it was a 15 mile relay and thankfully I only had to run 3 miles of it. I was happy with my time - just under 30 minutes - not bad for an old lady (yes, my skin is slightly bumpy).

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend away sans kids thanks to some pretty awesome people who wanted to watch our boys for 3 days. They had raised 4 of their own so they came qualified and had to of known what they were getting into.

State park where we did some geocaching. The colors were beautiful and the weather warm enough for shorts! Quite possibly our warmest anniversary ever.

We took a dinner cruise in Stillwater, MN - it was really fun and very pretty.

A couple weeks ago I had another article "published" on SAGE's website, here is the link.

Hubby is busy getting all the pieces in place for our regional Fall Conference coming up next weekend. This is his second year directing. So far we have 46 students signed up from our campus, if we get 50 he has agreed to dye his head blond! I'm really hoping we make 50!

I'm enjoying putting together a regional women's conference for the spring. We only offer this every four years. It is fun coming up with the theme, speakers, etc. and working closely with my friend and co-worker who is doing all the program details!

T2 continues to LOVE preschool and has surprised us by starting to write all on his own. He is becoming quite the little student.

T3 is starting to read and mastering writing with his LEFT hand as he still has a brace on his right. I'm curious to see if he switches back when it is all said and done. He actually could use his right hand now but chooses not to.

T1 is busy keeping up with his brothers climbing slides and chairs and whatever else he can manage to defy gravity with. Life is busy and full and wonderful! That's all for now...and probably for awhile again! Sorry. :)

10 Years!!!

2010-10-06T04:58:00.000-07:00

From my journal this morning...

Ten years ago today I married my knight in shining armor, except he wore a handsome black tux. Thank you, Abba, for ten wonderful years together. For a happy and healthy relationship that brings more gain than harm. For three wonderful little boys that sometimes do the same. :) For a place to call home with friends and family. For a calling and purpose we love and are passionate about. Surely our boundary lines have fallen in wide places and our cup overflows, all blessings from Your hand. Amen

Roses are red...

2010-10-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hubby surprised me with a dozen red roses this morning in celebration of 9 years and 363 days of marriage. Thanks, sweetie - I love you!!!

Right Now

2010-09-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Right Now:
Hubby is making a whole lotta ribs for the Viking (not football) Dinner here tomorrow night. I was relieved to hear they will be eating outside since no plates or silverware are allowed.

I'm catching up on my friend's blogs - it is fun to know what is going on in their lives. You should write one too so I can read it!

T123 are all asleep. Blissful quiet. T1 is getting really good at being a lefty and developing some good self-esteem overcoming new challenges. T2 is thriving at preschool - at least I assume so since he can't wait to go every week and I haven't gotten any notes sent home yet. Well, I got one, but was relieved when it was because someone else bit HIM. Ironic...yes, I know. Knowing his history...if I believed in karma, I'd say "what goes around comes around," but I don't so I won't say it. T3 had a pretty rough afternoon. We spent two hours at the doctors office after he spiked a 104 fever. We left after lab work, two shots of antibiotics and a prescription for even more. Poor kid. I'm thankful for modern medicine and will wait as long as needed for it any day (esp. when my other kids are happily occupied elsewhere...once again, hubby is my hero!).

Quick Update

2010-09-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

(Here is a recent photo in our Sunflower patch...formerly known as our garden)

I'm so grateful for all the prayers and support we have received regarding T1's broken arm. Thanks for caring and thinking of us. I wanted to give you a quick update since so many have been asking. We went back to the doctor today and had it re-x-rayed and everything looked good. It is healing well and so we don't need to have surgery (as long as things cont. this way). He will have it splinted and in a sling for two more weeks and then we can move to a different kind of brace. In the meantime he is working hard in his "right mind" learning to be a lefty!

Joy - Not Just my Dish Soap Anymore

2010-09-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

You know when you hear the same message or scripture a few times in a row that God is trying to get your attention. That happened this past week...not so coincidentally aligning with several little challenges that have come our way. Most of these aren't big things but you know those weeks when all the many little things start to add up. Yet in the midst of it all I kept running into the message of the resurrection and our source for joy. I literally heard three different messages and read it in my regular daily reading all in a matter of days. God, graciously reminding me that despite the little and big hard things we face, I can choose joy. Why? Because I know how the story ends, the victory is already won. I admit some days it is a physical struggle to choose joy over focusing on the whiny teething toddler wrapped around my knees, the attention deprived middle child jumping on the couch AGAIN, and the oldest who can't understand why I won't let him go down the slide backwards at school with a broken arm. And knowing some of the enormous struggles others face these all seem tiny and I feel like a big whiner for even struggling. BUT God is gracious. And in all these little reminders I sense His love and care and am reminded of one of my favorite verses, Isa 40:11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young." I'm feeling gently led to choose Joy and make it more than just my dish soap today and every day.

Feelin Kinda...not so SNAZZY

2010-09-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

For weeks now we have all (well, the boys and I at least) been psyched up to see Go Fish in concert. And to add to the hype the church hosting them put on a carnival complete with inflatables, cotton candy and snow cones to enjoy before the concert.

We were all having a great time and in the words of Go Fish "feelin kinda snazzy" and then...with two hot dogs in my hand I heard T1 screaming across the lawn in the inflatable bouncy thing. I scooped him up as he was screaming that his arm hurt. In hindsight had I known I was going to have to recount all the junkfood I allowed him to consume to go down on his medical record I think I would have at least fed him a banana or something in there...not one of my shining mommy moments. But oh well! Sooo instead of rockin the night away we ended it like this:

He ended up with some dislocation in his elbow I think and two breaks right above the elbow. Lots of drugs, some gruesome doctoring to get things back in place and way too much pain for my little guy (before the drugs) and we were on our way home.

Thankfully some great friends were on hand to keep T2 with them at the concert and they thoughtfully bought him his own glow stick, cd and dvd which he enjoyed when he got home.

And when you are down and out you might as well have a neb treatment or two for that darn asthma. Poor guys...some days are just like this. Thankfully most of them aren't.

We are praying that all stays in place the way it should so we don't have to do the surgery thing. Thanks for praying with us. And while you are praying here are some praises: We are thankful for good medical care, drugs, friends in place to take care of the other Things, the 30+ college friends who were at our house for a meeting when we got home that were praying for him, our staff team that stepped in place to lead the meeting at the last minute...the list goes on and on.

As I look at that list I'm reminded once again that God never fails to meet our every need in times of need - despite our distance from family that we would normally rely on in times like these. He is good and faithful.

My little faith is trying to shrug off feelings of guilt that if I had been praying more for my kids protection this wouldn't have happened...I know, crazy thoughts, but there they are. Thankfully with a curious, climbing toddler, an active 4 year old and an injured six year old trying to figure out life without his dominant hand, there isn't much time for thoughts like those anyways...just quick prayers for more hands and lots of patience!

The Almost 13th Disciple

2010-09-02T10:56:00.001-07:00

Mark 10 describes what we commonly refer to the rich young ruler. You know, the guy whom Jesus invited to come follow Him, or as the amplified says, "walk the road that I walk." But as the story goes this man loved his life as it was too much – he was very wealthy and didn't want to give up all he had to be with Jesus. This begs the question in my own heart, what is it that I love too much that keeps me from walking the same road that Jesus is walking? Is it the comfort of having similar friends, all with the same interests and political points of view that keeps me from walking across the room with Jesus to the woman who very different than me and extending a hand of friendship? Or do I love my "downtime" too much – those few precious hours when the boys are all in bed – that I don't want to put down my novel and read something a bit more mind shaping?

Don't get me wrong, we all need our downtime, but do I want to it too much to heed Him when He does call? And there is nothing wrong with nurturing friendships with women that are like me….but do I do it to the exclusion of the woman that Jesus really wants me to get to know and love on? This man loved all he had…just a bit too much. It literally kept him from walking where Jesus walked.

Change my heart, Abba, so I don't miss the chance to walk with You wherever you are going.

Too cool for school...and back to it!

2010-09-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hubby calls this his Chief Shakazooloo outfit.

For a kid who won't keep a hat on for me - he seems to have found a compromise. Good thing the helmet came with a built in pacifier window.

Of course they each wanted a picture of their new backpacks which took up 3/4s of their bodies.

Thing 2 - the big day finally came and he was the very first into the door at preschool...as he zoomed past the director said, this must be "Thing2". Hmmm, now how did she know?

Thing 1 on his first day of K. He loves it and hasn't looked back...to see me sniffling behind him. sigh...

Counting My Blessings

2010-08-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

A new year is a good time to stop and count my blessings...so here it goes in no particular order - 35 things I'm thankful for:
1)God's love
2) Hubby's love
3) Thing 1
4) Thing 2
5) Thing 3
6) Mom and Dad
7) Brother and family
8) Mother in law, FIL and the rest of my crazy family
9) A ministry I can be a part of
10) The opportunity to stay home with my boys
11) T1 is liking K so far and I'm getting used to him liking it
12) T2 will fulfill his lifelong dream next week and start preschool
13) The UPS truck just stopped in front of our house...hmmm
14) It was a box full of Nav tshirts - I guess I can be thankful for that even
though the color is all wrong - black and white! (sorry - inside joke) Brad your design has been re-birthed!
15) The giant - and I mean GIANT - sunflowers in our garden, I finally planted something that will outgrow the weeds! And they are really fun and pretty.
16) Watching my boys wander out to the backyard and eat all the raspberries
17) Enjoying a few when they remember to share...
18) My new ipod touch - very spoiled
19) Making some progress on the TMS - again - so far it has taken 35 years, hopefully it won't take 35 more for me to get all the way through it without forgetting the beginning.
20) Living the dream - even if there are some unexpected storms - He Holds me even closer on then
21) Pandora
22) One Place - how did I ever get time in the Word before this?
23) Hymns
24) Friends!!! Oh- I can't make it without them!
25) My Bible study - you ladies rock my life!
26) The sunrise this morning - it was even better when I went outside to watch it.
27) Making cookies
28) NAPS - theirs and mine!
29) Writing
30) Pictures of those I love
31) Generosity - toward us and from us
32) Good books
33) Chocolate
34) Running
35) Wrapping up my baby after a bath and smelling his head

Capturing their Hearts

2010-08-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

If someone were to make an action/ adventure film about Jesus' life, they would probably use Mark as the script. It is full of action, always something happening and told in a dramatic way, capturing my attention the past few days as I spend time in this book.

"And passing along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea, for they were fisherman. And Jesus said to them, Come after Me and I will make you to become fishers of men." Mark 1:16, 17

Here they are, two brothers out fishing just like they do every day, day in and day out. And then on this ordinary afternoon something extraordinary happens, Jesus appears. They had probably heard Him speak before, teaching about God and repentance. But this time He speaks directly to them! And not only does He speak to them, He invites them to come follow Him. And not only does He invite them to come follow Him, He even promises them a new identity in their following.

Jesus spoke to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew in a word picture that would grip their hearts. They were fishermen through and through, it was who they were and how they lived. When Jesus recruits them to be His followers He paints a picture that they can immediately identify with, casting a vision for them that they can grasp and get excited about. He asks them to leave their nets behind and learn to become fishers of men.

Jesus didn't have to promise them anything, didn't have to tell them why He was calling them or what they would be able to gain from leaving all they knew behind. But Jesus did. And I love that about Him. He doesn't owe us any explanation but gives it anyways. He gives us just enough information to help us surrender to Him and enter into a whole new life beyond our wildest imaginations.

This encounter with Jesus challenges me as I seek to lead others to Him. Do I call to them in a way that they can identify with? Do I describe…or even more convicting, do I model being a disciple of Jesus in a way that grips their hearts just as Jesus' word-picture of becoming a "fisher of men" must have struck Simon and Andrew? Or do I just blithely quote Romans 6:23, draw out a little picture of their depravity and expect them to sign up immediately? I don't really want to confess right here and now how many times I've miserably failed in this area….so I won't!

From Mark's description of Jesus' calling I am challenged and motivated to do a better job next time – starting with today. And I'm praying for inspiration – insight and knowledge into each heart that will help me paint word pictures that will capture them for the LOVE of a Lifetime.

Reflections on Suffering

2010-08-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

I wrote this article about suffering...and about Heather, of course, for SAGE. Check it out here along with a lot of other great articles and resources:

http://www.sageministries.org/sunshine-in-a-dark-room

Just for Laughs

2010-07-31T06:19:00.001-07:00

The other morning I informed Thing 1 that he was going to the doctor for his Kindergarten check up. We reviewed things that the Dr. might look at, i.e., his eyes and ears, etc. to which T1 replied, "Is he going to look at my butt?!!!" hmmm, 6 yr olds.

T2 came upstairs that same evening after taking longer than usual to get his pjs on. I called down once to see how things were going and got no reply. A few minutes later he emerged and saying, "I got dressed....but don't check!" Hmmmm...
"Don't check what?"
"Don't check my underwear."
"Okay." without checking I could tell he had on enough underwear to last a good week and a half. Upon further inspection it was 12 pairs exactly. Why is it that he either wants to wear none or a dozen? There is no in between in anything with that kid.

Hellos and the lingering Goodbyes

2010-07-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we had the privilege to host a going away party for some dear friends. I got off pretty easy as all the planning was done while we were on the road - I just had to open our home.

It was bittersweet of course watching everyone chat and have a great time knowing the whole point of the evening was to say goodbye. The kids bounced and splashed and sprayed the night away in the backyard...and it seemed totally normal to look out at one point and see spider-man (T2) spraying a group of kids on the trampoline to every one's delight (well except maybe for the one mom who wasn't planning on her son getting wet that evening...sorry Julie!).

As I contemplated saying goodbye to a close friend and confidant for three out of our four years here, I of course spent time remembering our first encounters and steps into a growing friendship. It all started with a hello. You never really know with that first hello what will follow. Will the final goodbye be just minutes behind, a one time encounter...or will it become a periphery friendship or maybe mature into a trusted inner-circle friend. With these dear friends I'm thankful that our final goodbye (at least to this season of friendship...it won't end, just change) was three years down the line from our first hello.

I can't help being sad. I know it wouldn't be normal if I wasn't but I put it off as long as possible anyways. In fact I refused to even say my goodbye last night knowing they aren't really leaving until Friday so I can stop by one last time today or tomorrow....probably tomorrow. :)

Again I'm faced with the reality that this world isn't all that God originally intended. A goodbye to a friend who is moving is a lighter shade of the separation that sickness and death bring. The separation that sin ushered in giving free reign to death in this world.

It is good to ache with goodbyes, and awaken my heart once again to the pain that God feels with His separation from us. We were created for relationship. Relationship with each other. Relationship with Him. And with each goodbye that I say this side of heaven I long even more for the next life when there will be no more goodbyes lingering behind the hellos.

And yet His grace ever present in my life is the presence of love and friendship. Even amidst a broken system, there is joy and life and relationship. Each a gift from Him. I'm thankful for these dear friends who have been another extension of His love and care in our lives. God be with you my friends, and I look forward to our next hello.

Home Again, Home Again.

2010-07-20T19:01:00.001-07:00

Today I: heard the words, "get the frog out of the house" leave my lips, discovered all the grasshoppers my boys busily collected all afternoon had been stashed in my mudroom (thankfully all still the bug cage (I hope), rescued above said frog from kiddie pool in backyard. Ahhh - life is pretty much back to normal around here. It IS good to be home.

Thing 3's One Year Pictures

2010-06-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, since T3 turned one 2 months ago I've been meaning to get his picture taken. It finally happened last night - of course in my usual last minute fashion I was knitting the last rows of his leg warmers while the photo session began! But it was worth it because the pics turned out great thanks to one amazing photographer and one adorable baby (if I may say so myself, and I just did).

He isn't acting much like a baby anymore, in just the last few days our world has gotten a lot crazier with a new walker and expert climber and trash can obsessed toddler! Where did my baby go?! And he looks so innocent in these pictures...

Every last Drop

2010-05-22T06:37:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in 2 Timothy chapter 4, maybe verse 7? (Phillips) "As for me I feel that the last drops of my life are being poured out for God. The glorious fight that God gave me I have fought, the course that I was set I have finished, and I have kept the faith."

What a beautiful picture of a man fully dedicated to God to the end of his days and the beginning of Paradise. To the end of himself and the beginning of Him. To the end of aimlessness, wasted days and years and to the beinning of making every day dedicated to Him for His eternal purposes.

This verse reminds me to take on the routine tasks of daily living with the same heart and passion for God that Paul expresses here...till every ounce of me is poured out in dedication to Him. It starts each day with the end of me and the beinning of Him. Making myself open to God putting His stamp of eternal value on that day. I often can't see the long-term worth of another load of laundry done (there probably isn't any!) but if my heart is dedicated, my mind is focused and my spirit is committed to Him - then I've done my part (by His grace alone) and will be out of the way for Him to do His...to the end.

Months of Milestones!

2010-05-18T09:17:00.001-07:00

Lately I've just been trying to keep up with all the celebrations! I don't know who's idea it was to have all spring bdays - but it sure makes for a hectic time of year for us!

At the end of March Thing 2 turned four. He requested a knight party and can't wait to start preschool in the fall...sigh...

In the begining of April Thing 3 turned one despite my pleadings that he stay a baby a little longer. He is getting really close to walking on his own and can clean out my kitchen cabinets almost as fast as he can crawl when he knows you are after him.

T1 turned 6 just this last week. He requested a Batman party and the silly kids all just wanted to jump on the trampoline in lieu of eating cake and ice cream.

T1 also just graduated from Pre-K last night. Goodbye preschool, lunches at home with mom every day, and life as we know it...hello all-day Kindergarten. Sigh...again...
The highlights of the ceremony included T1 being annoyed with the kid standing behind him because his cap kept getting knocked off...luckily it didn't come to blows. He also decided to leap off the middle bench to receive his diploma...of course. Why walk calmly when you can jump from "up high". I'm sure he will be doing the same thing 13 years from now at his HS graduation.

Is it really possible to get a family shot with everyone looking? As we walked up to the building for the ceremony, T1 and T2 were in a footrace to the door as usual and I turned to hubby and said, "Why do I have a feeling they will still be doing that 20 years from now?" To which he replied, "Try 30 years!"

Five Dollar Fountain of Youth

2010-05-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

For just five bucks I feel fourteen again. Since it doesn't seem like it is ever going to get above the 40s again here (those two weeks of summer in the 70s last month were great while they lasted) I broke down and bought some leggings yesterday. All my spring and summer skirts were sadly hanging in my closet pressed (ahem, okay, fluffed in the dryer with a damp rag) and ready to be worn. But with the chilly weather I just couldn't bring myself to wear them. Sooooo, enter the 80s and my new leggings and the freedom to wear a skirt while building a fort with my four-year-old, crawling after my one-year-old and playing geo-trax with my six-year-old. Thankfully no urgings have arisen to bust out the scrunchies I'm sure are waiting to be unearthed in my caboodle. Though I am thinking that a couple of pairs of thick socks in coordinating colors with my shirt and skirt would really keep my feet nice and warm on this chilly "spring" day!

Spiritual Gifts Devotional

2010-04-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Recently I went away for a glorious 3 days sans kids. It was hardest to leave T3 since he is still so little - but not so hard that I didn't enjoy myself. I attended a wonderful staff retreat for all the women laborers in our region. AND - bonus - I got to write a devotional for our time and share it with them. Funny how when you are going to teach on something God ends up teaching you a lot more on it than you ever thought possible.

The devotion was on spiritual gifts and this is what I shared (sorry it is in "speaking" form so just imagine my voice in your head reading it to you):

The Treasure that You Are – how God has gifted each of us.

I.
Recently my middle son Ben turned 4 and he had his first friend party. Four or five little people came over each with their gift just for Ben. Incidentally his older brother Gabe watched longingly with green eyes as Ben opened each gift that was given just to him. Well, unlike trinkets and toys that we can give each other for special occasions like birthdays that are intended “just for us”, our spiritual gifts are really for the benefit of others. Lets read Romans 12:4 -8 and Eph. 4:11-13 to see what I mean.

As we read Romans and Ephesians the first thing that I notice about the gifts God has given us is that it isn’t a gift for us! These gifts that we have been given aren’t just for our own benefit so we can feel special or have a little piece of Jesus in each of us. They are there to help those around us. Each of these listed really benefits those around us more than it benefits the gifted one.

Let’s look at the list of the different gifts God has given us: serving, prophesying, teaching, encouraging, generosity, leadership, mercy, apostles, evangelists, and pastors. Serving – Outward focus. Prophesying – how many of you prophesy to yourself? Outward focus. Encourage – outward focus.

Whenever gifts are mentioned they are for the benefit of the body of believers, not just a blessing to one individual. When we keep this in mind we don’t need to be shy about them. We also don’t need to look with “green eyes” when our sisters develop and grow them because that gift she has it isn’t really for her anyways – it is for me! And we all have a gift – and we are all in the process of figuring them out and fine tuning them. As we do that we need to use them as they were intended, to bless others around us.

II.
Just a few days ago I was so blessed to hear a speaker share Jesus’ heart for all of us. She used her unique talent for pottery along with her hard earned intimate knowledge of God’s love to bless and propel us toward Jesus. I left that time feeling closer to Jesus, more aware of His Intense love for me, and lighter in spirit in heart. I couldn’t help but bubble over His love on others for the rest of the day.
That is the effect we want to have with our gifts! We want to bless those around us but not just so they will like us or tell us how wonderful we are though let’s face it we all like that side-effect! We need to keep in mind the end goal is unity and maturity as we grow in our knowledge of God. We should aim to PROMOTE growth with our gifts.

Eph 4:12 (our gifts are there) to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Eph 4:13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

So this is what we are aiming for when we use our gifts. We are to “prepare” others for His work. Other versions say: equip, perfect, and train God’s people. When I use my gifting I should be focusing on equipping my sister with it. Be it through encouraging her. Helping her get organized with my gift of administration (this is not MY gifting btw). Taking her with me to share the Gospel because God has gifted me in evangelism. Drawing out nuggets of truth from His Word to bless someone else in the body.

Those are all examples of “preparing” God’s people around us.
I like how the MSG puts 4:13: MSG - 13 until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.
I’m sure we have all experienced a time or two of working on a team that was just going nowhere. Discord and miscommunication were the hallmarks. In the end nothing is accomplished. This verse casts the vision of what can be achieved when everyone brings their best to the table for the purpose of promoting the growth of the body. It reminds me of one of those wonderful “Jane Austin dances.” Everyone moving in rhythm with the music and knowing their part. It all flows perfectly and everyone is blessed by the beauty that is achieved. (not to mention the really cool outfits they all wore!).

Ladies, when we are working within our sweet spot – our gifting which is just pouring through us, we will empower our sisters and brothers to move more gracefully in response to Jesus.

But sometimes we hold back, don’t we. Different things keep us from using our gifting to our full potential. I want to end our time talking about that.

III.
I have always loved to write. As a young girl my friends and I would often write short stories to amuse ourselves and pass the time. Words have always come easily to me but only in the last 4 or 5 years have I given myself permission to explore and grow this talent. I had to work through fears of vulnerability, rejection and even seeing the worthiness of this pursuit. After all the world is filled with writers – and writing is just a talent, not even mentioned in the list of spiritual gifts.

The turning point for me was when I began to see that I truly could benefit the body with my writing craft. I became more confident and gave myself more permission to develop this skill. I also felt more confident to offer my help to others with their writing and in turn am blessed to know I’m helping them grow their God-given gift of teaching.

When we let our fears hold us back from trying out our gifts and talents, it reminds me of the parable of the talents in Matt. 25 – when the master gave three servants money to invest. The third servant was afraid and hid the talent and gave back to his master only exactly what he was given. The master was not pleased. Mat 25:29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

I hope I’m not making too much of a stretch in applying this to our gifting and what we do with them. Obviously Jesus is talking here about the kingdom of heaven. But I think the same principle can apply. We can’t let fear stand in our way of investing our gifts in people around us and reaping a harvest with them.
So often we can get tripped up – comparing our gifts or who is better at what, we think well she is soooo good at that and I’m on her team. That is my gifting too according to this test but obviously it isn’t needed. Shoot – even when I got an email yesterday that said Ronni and Marcia were the other two ladies sharing devotionals I had a small panic attack in my heart. What could I possible share that would even slightly measure up to the wisdom they will bring to us. See, I’m still learning to move past this one myself. Well, God uses multiples of things all the time doesn’t he? We have two hands, two eyes, two feet. Etc. This weekend will provide plenty of opportunity to watch each other with “green eyes” if we let it, just like Gabe watched Ben open his gifts. But lets move past that, shall we?!

Or maybe you are stuck in fear of failing yourself or Him. When I first came on EDGE that first “E” in EDGE really scared the heck out of me. I wasn’t sure what I even felt about evangelism, nor had I ever shared the gospel with a complete stranger before. But as I moved passed my fears of failure I discovered it is really pretty fun. And I even got to see gobs of women come to know Jesus that first year. I’m actually – this is a little embarrassing to admit – but I’m a little disappointed when I make an new friend and she already knows Jesus. I think, darn! I’d have loved to lead her to the Lord!

One last fear that trips us up is appearing self promoting. This was something I struggled with with my writing. How do I put my writing out there for all the world to see without appearing proud, etc. I’ve discovered that when I stop worrying about how I will come across and focus more on blessing that sister or brother next to me, I am free to use my gift how God intended – and it is all to His glory.
If we stay stranded in our fears of failure or rejection we will never use the gifts for what they were intended. Let’s use this weekend to let Jesus move us past whatever hinders us and lets encourage one another as we grow closer in unity and service to Him.

I pray we will all leave here more confident of His incredible love for us, more confident in the special gifts and talents He’s entrusted to us, and better prepared to bless others with those gifts and talents.

4:13: MSG - 13 until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

Proper Order

2010-04-23T13:15:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't win that writing contest. Shucks - no free writing conference for me. I knew it was a long shot but hey, you gotta try, right? I'm not trying to gloss over any disappointment here - it would have been fun to win and all - but I feel like I realized a few things about myself from not winning.

When I read the email saying I wasn't selected as the winner my very first reaction was shame. Whoa - where did that come from??? Why am I ashamed that I didn't win? It was fleeting but it was still there. What is it about failure that is so hard? Could it be that even after walking with God all these years, memorizing verses on my identity in Christ, spending countless hours studying and meditating on my value in Him - after all this my self-value is still wrapped up in my performance? When will I get it?! The feeling was fleeting - but it was still there.

I think I'm growing up out of this though...to "my" credit (really, Who is in charge of the Growing here, we all know it isn't me) - a few years ago it would have taken me a week to even tell Jeff I didn't win...I told him within a few minutes. A year ago I wouldn't have even entered. And if I did, I wouldn't have told ANYONE about it, much less posted it for all the world to see. Much less encouraged anyone else to join in bc after all they will probably send in something way more impressive than I could ever write. After I read through the "rejection email", digested it, I looked around (literally at all my Things and hubby) at how abundantly blessed I am and I thought - "oh well. my life is pretty darn good."

I think I'm getting a little more used to rejection - which from what I here is essential to surviving in this world of writing. Partly, I'm just more confident that writing is something I should be doing and rejection is just part of the deal. Partly I'm realizing that the world's acceptance and praise isn't quite as important to me as it once was - things have fallen a little more into their proper order. I look around and see all the THINGs that are most precious to me and I feel a lot better about the day. Even more importantly, when I focus on who He is and what He has asked of me I'm not so worried about being accepted by everyone else. This frees me up to write, put myself out there, and keep on doing whatever He asks of me.

What has He asked of you? Do you have things in Proper Order so you are free to do it? I'd love to hear from you...and not just so you'll praise me (though that would be nice too! ;) )

65 degrees - that is swimsuit weather here on the prairie

2010-04-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

We have so been enjoying the spring weather the past few days - actually, in the mid 70s it is pretty much like a cool summer day. I've been ignoring the housework and just enjoying our patio view of the boys running from the sprinkler to the trampoline to the sandbox and back again. I'm surprised they haven't worn a path in the grass between the three. The great thing about being outside soaking up the sun and blowing bubbles with your one-year-old is that you can't see all the dishes you haven't down yet from out there in paradise!
Happy spring!
p.s. - I'm holding off packing up the winter coats just yet - just to make sure spring stays (you know as soon as I do it will snow again!).

Please Pray Right Now

2010-04-19T11:36:00.001-07:00

"On April 19th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments to decide whether groups like The Navigators, InterVarsity, Campus Crusade and others can be removed from college campuses because they require their officers and voting members to share their core religious commitments. According to some universities these core religious beliefs violate their affirmative action policy.

Seventeen organizations and 13 state attorney generals are working together on this case. Pray for the justices to rule on the side of religious freedom. For more information on how to pray, go to http://www.intervarsity.org/news/campus-faith-freedom-alert. This case has far reaching implications for religious freedom in all areas.

Let’s pray,

Bill Tell
Chief of Staff"

Funny Things

2010-04-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

T1 - Mom, when you don't have that stuff coming out of your chest that T3 eats any more, you can have these (fruity Cheerios) for breakfast too! (I have no idea where that came from, seriously!).

T2 - Maw-ahm, T3 is spitting.
Me- He isn't spitting, hon, he is just drooling. Babies do that and they don't know what they are doing.
T3 - Yeah, and dogs and cats drool too.

T1 - while running on the treadmill tells me, "I can run as fast as a jet and a rocket."
Me - hmmm.
T1- yeah, I only do it when no one is looking.
Me - I see.

T2 - while doing crafts at the Earth Day thingy we went to, T2 says to the lady, "I want to make weapons. Can you help me make a sword and a spikey ball?" I can only imagine what was going through her "Earth Day" mind. But she smiled graciously and T2 came home with a foam sword - this is SD after all!

Writing contest opportunity

2010-04-14T14:49:00.001-07:00

I just submitted an article to this contest and if you like to write - YOU SHOULD TOO! :)

Happy Birthday Thing 3!

2010-04-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm having a hard time keeping up with the pace of events here - one birthday after another 3 boys in a row - whose idea was that anyways?! But alas, last week Thing 3 turned ONE! I can hardly believe my baby is entering the toddler years. Here are a few snapshots from our celebration.

Traditional birthday pancake breakfast.

Traditional...ahem...birthday baseball cake.

Reminds me of his Uncle Scott who wouldn't wear his birthday hat either.

Looking at his new Peter Rabbit book from Gramma.

Another successful birthday celebration - only one more boy-oh to go.

Guess it is time to study up on Proverbs

2010-04-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago I took a spiritual gifts test. It has been a good ten years since I've taken one of these. I think a few things have changed and some have stayed the same. As I read through the results it all made sense though. And it encouraged me to keep on doing what I'm doing, I'm on the right path. One thing I did learn is that I'm not nearly as WISE as I thought I was. Hmm, must be a flaw in the test...:)

It is funny how those tests get in your head though. This morning as I read through the first three (okay, the 40 day challenge said to do 3, but I only made it through 2 chapters before the boys appeared) chapters of Romans - I couldn't help but speculate what Paul's spiritual gifts were. Teacher - that one was easy. Evangelist - another give away. Exhortation. Not sure where he would fall on mercy...or any of the rest, like I said, the boys awoke, as they always do.

If you think you might want to take one - I ordered it from here. Though I'll warn you the shipping is pricey so order with a friend. And they don't take credit cards - just paypal and checks. I've been told if it has been more than 3 years it is helpful to retake it.

What Up with Egypt?

2010-04-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the 40ish day challenge I talked about awhile back? Well today I finally finished Genesis. Part of me felt like it ended a bit on a downer. Joseph dies and knowing my OT history the Israelites who came to Egypt to escape death by famine were about to enter into 400(?) years of captivity. I couldn't help but wonder, why would God lead Jacob to the Promised land only to send him (and his people) packing to Egypt for centuries of slavery?
Sure I could speculate from my comfortable couch that the years of enslavement helped prepare them to really appreciate the land they were to take over. Or that were some great lessons God wanted to teach them in the process. But really - I have no idea why God does things they way He does. I know I trust Him. I know He is loving and faithful. But I don't always understand Him.
Often in the midst of those periods of "enslavement" that feel centuries long - I'm still left wondering, what the heck am I doing in Egypt??? I'm not in one of those periods right now - at least not all the time in my head. But the next time I am I know just how I'm going to pray - "Lord, what up with Egypt?" Are you with me?

Today I'm:

2010-04-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today I'm:
Thankful for spring. Birds chirping, boys bouncing (outside finally!), tulips popping through bit by bit. It all makes me happy.

Wondering if we are making the right choice selling our house. Actually, I wonder that a lot. Then I talk it over with God again. And Jeff again. And then clean my house again for another showing, and start wondering all over again!

Wanting to find a time, way, topic to write more but am also hiding from this idea. Knowing full well what it really takes to write overwhelms me. I don't want to lose myself or my life as it is in the process.

Looking forward to Easter service tomorrow. And an egg hunt with my kids today.

Hoping I bought a ham big enough to feed 19 people. Thank goodness there will be plenty of sides and I told everyone ahead of time it will be casual - paper plates for sure!

Feeling content.

What about you???

Cardboard Testimonies

2010-03-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hey there,

Tonight we are having a very special Nav Nite. In preparation and celebration of Easter we are devoting the night to praise, prayer and worship. In addition some of our student leaders and staff will be doing cardboard testimonies. It looks so cool - check out this video of a church doing them to see what I mean (or go to you tube and type in "cardboard testimonies").

Please pray for every one's hearts to be touched and better prepared to celebrate Easter through our time together tonight.

Thanks!

March Madness - not the basketball kind!

2010-03-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

Last week in the middle of March birthday madness (we have a family birthday every day from the 23rd to the 27th, plus a few others earlier in the month) T2 turned 4! I have mixed emotions watching him turn from toddler (long ago already) to full on little boy. He recently transitioned from the resident "Army Guy" (a position he held for quite awhile - 2 years maybe- with his love for everything camo and army) to the resident Knight. I'm not sure what made the switch but he happily runs around the house in his knight armor - when he isn't wearing his Buzz Lightyear pj's that is. Here are a few snapshots of our week of celebrating - which included a very fun visit from some of our WI clan.

We have been thoroughly enjoying the wonderful spring temps here with long bike-rides and lots of time outside. Hope you are too!

Sights and Sounds of Spring

2010-03-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

Thing 3s favorite "toys" are my kitchen cabinets, the toilet (lid down thank you) and the trashcan in the bathroom with the spinny lid. I'm seriously thinking about installing cabinets in his room and getting him a trashcan for his 1st bday next month.

As soon as the first snowflake began to melt I started asking...okay nagging...hubby to set up the trampoline we got on Black Friday. It has been a long hard wait for me. but the day finally arrived this past week. And none too soon! I was the first to jump to which hubby questioned who we really got the tramp for. Me! Of course! I NEEDED it...not to jump on per say, though I enjoy that...I think 3 boys in any house constitutes a trampoline.

Sounds of spring - hubby happily working away in his "refuge"...aka...his garage/ woodworking shop thing. Whatever. I'm guessing my refuge is when the trampoline is in use and I'm still inside.

Sights of spring - my tulips are popping up1 Yippee! One of my favorite things!

I am so grateful for my mom! There is NO WAY I would have survived Chicago week if she hadn't been here to help me! I miss her already and am counting down the weeks till we will be together again. Thanks again, Mom, for spoiling us so much.

T1 has met his match and this is a photo of him showing her the ring! I grabbed my camera thinking I was witnessing the proposal but alas he didn't seal the deal. He just said, "this is the ring I will give you when I grow up." and then kept the ring. She has awhile to wait but I like his taste! T2 has his bride picked out too - again she is a bit older than he - but I'm all for older marrying younger, after all I'm three years older than hubby! She too is an excellent choice! But no ring pictures yet, T2 has currently misplaced the ring he intended to give her - guess we have to go back to the red vending machines at Wal Mart for another one!

T1 - had a sesame street moment and got creative with his wooden blocks. I thought it was pretty cute.

Isn't March funny - you start off like this and end up with Tulips. Hubby built this fort with the boys one day - okay - they watched and he built.

Chicago - How did it go?

2010-03-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

I got this email last week from my co-laborer and friend Emilie. Since I wasn't in Chicago she can better sum up the week than I! Thanks Em, for letting me share this.

Last week at our large group gathering, NavNite, in 'the Rotunda' on campus, students had the chance to share at the microphone what God taught them over spring break or is teaching them now in life. One girl stood up and said, "I learned so much in Chicago, I could keep you here all night..." I like this. It sums up what a lot of us 30 participants left Chicago feeling...

Some Windy City snapshots:
making an assembly line up 5 flights of stairs to throw hundreds of garbage bags of donated clothing to their desired destination.
listening to Joseph, a resident at the shelter, preach his heart for God and for us on Thursday afternoon.
scrubbing walls, building bunk beds, & removing bed-bug-infested mattresses in the part of the shelter where families stay.
studying what the Bible has to say about the dignity & worth of every individual, justice, and poverty.
worshipping & praying in the sanctuary of the church we stayed at.
watching God grow servant hearts and visions of all that's in the world.
sharing Jesus with a few diverse people on the "L" and public buses.
learning what community in the body is all about - how wonderful and healthy it can be.
humbled by so many lessons.

Your prayers were answered - thank you, thank you, thank you. How powerful and invaluable.

Not quite sure what The Navigators are all about? Here's a YouTube video for the work of The Navs in 2009. I'm honored to be a small chunk of what's going on. PLEASE check it out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_KbuVQsAu8

"Spring" "Break"

2010-03-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

One of our super talented students did the above image just for fun...where was she when we were scratching our heads over a t-shirt in our staff meeting??? This is great!

Is it still "spring" break when there are several feet of snow outside? Is it still a "break" when you are going to serve? Or left to fend for yourself with 3 little men? Yes - to all the above...I think (I'll tell you my opinion on the last category in a few days...).

Hubby just left this morning with 31 other students and staff for the windy city of Chicago. This is the second year our group has headed there to serve in homeless shelters. This year they are helping out for three days with a Christian run shelter called Cornerstone. But it isn't all work and no play - they will spend a day sightseeing as well and I'm sure squeeze in a lot of fun and games.

And before you start feeling sorry for me (though I never turn down sympathy - esp. in the forms of chocolate and coffee) I'm especially thankful that my mom flew in yesterday to help me man the troops while hubby is away.

So please pray for our students to be impacted and also have a huge impact as they serve. Pray for a spirit of unity on our team and all the fun bonding that tends to happen and knit hearts together on these adventures. And pray for an extra measure and a half of patience for me - all the boys sleeping through the night would really help this (lately T-1 has been up with asthma and T-3 with his first tooth). Thanks so much!!!

15 seconds of fame...well "fame" might be a bit of an overstatement. :)

2010-03-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

Last week I got a fun email in my inbox informing me that an article I wrote for another ministry was posted on their website. Check it out here and be sure to browse around their sight as well if you have any young ladies in your life or ministry!

Minoring in Geo Trax

2010-02-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is how I spent a good part of my morning, after running T1 to pre-K and putting T-3 down for a nap. If I could have seen 10 years into my future while in college I would have minored in train track design. I would be getting more use out of that degree than my sociology - though I do consider my children quite their own people-group worthy of study and publishing.

This is what I thought about doing while I was doing the above. I did finally get to it while T2 was immersed in the land of Geo-Trax.

The following are snapshots of our Valentine's day. Note the shirts I made for the Things to wear - mine said "My husband is my hero." We all wore them to church that morning. Hubby had already surprised me with a date night Sat. night - sitter arranged and all! And I got a tulip from each of my men. And some special ones made by T1. Monday marked our 10th Likeaversary - the day hubby told me he first liked me...time flies!

We all went sledding on Sunday.

And we got to go snowmobiling thanks to some generous friends who came to give us rides. There are advantages to living in the country as we just stepped out our back door to a world of fun. It was my first time and I had a blast!

40ish Day Challenge

2010-02-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Currently all of our student friends that are in a Bible study are working through the 40 Day Challenge. Basically it is a reading plan for the next 40 days that takes about 30 minutes a day - though it always takes me longer. Sometimes it is due to my lack of caffeine and subsequent ability to focus. Sometimes it is because I grabbed my Amplified Bible and it has a lot more words in it than others (but I just LOVE words so the more the merrier). Sometimes it is just that I have the whole morning to pick it apart and get something more meaningful than a cursory glance and check off the to-do list allows. Like this morning thanks to my wonderful husband who has taken the kids as he does for a few hours each week so I can get on campus, work on BS, have a quiet time, do things that recharge me (like writing!).

This morning it took me about an hour and I know with my busy schedule (and when I say "busy" I'm referring more to the three little men in my life than anything I actually accomplish) it will take far more than 40 days to accomplish.

As you read through the passage you are supposed to answer two questions:
1) Who is Jesus? 2) What does He want me to do? Simple enough.
So without further ado (adu - no - adieu - nope...sorry my spelling is failing me)...
Mark 10- 12
Who is Jesus? (my limited lens, not necessarily theologically accurate)
- Popular teacher among the common people like you and me
- Unpopular teacher among the teachers
- Cuts to the heart of the issue ("'because you know so little of the meaning of love...'"(10:5 - Phillips)
- Loves little children more than "important" people who think He is important (10:14)
- Son of Man sent to suffer, die, rise again (10:34)
- Came to "serve and give His life to set many others free" (10:45)
- Even He got a little cranky when He missed His afternoon snack - this is someone I can relate to! (11:14)
- Zealous over keeping holy things/places holy (11:15)
- Encourager to men to have faith and believe and act on our belief (11:21)
- Wise in dealing with the opposition(11:29)
- Saw through the hypocrisy of others (12:15)
- Patient Teacher and corrector of the Truth (12:24)
- Doesn't tolerate religious hypocrites (12:43)
- Notices the sacrifices of others (12:43)

What does He want me to do?- Really LOVE those around me, beginning with my husband (this LOVE has nothing to do with my roller coaster emotions)
- Love and bless the children in my life in His name - welcome them into "busy and important" life by choosing them over the busy and important adults in my life
- Love Him more than any possession
- Understand who He is - the Son of God - and why He came - to save me(10:32)
- Become a servant rather than demanding to be served
- If it is Holy, keep it Holy (11:17)
- Have faith, pray big, and believe it will happen (11:22)
- Love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength (12:30)
- And my neighbor as well as I love myself (12:31)
- Don't use religion for my own social gain (12:38)
- Give generously remembering generosity is measured by sacrifice, not by dollar amount.
- Praise others when they do the above rather than myself.

Most of our students are really enjoying the 40 Day Challenge. It is a great tool for helping us all get back in the habit of spending time with Him every day. What about you? What have you been reading lately? I'd love to learn from you.

Hot Cocoa, Please - hold the mushrooms

2010-02-18T13:19:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting on my livingroom floor with clean laundry all around me. the older two things are finishing up their hot cocoa, T2 told me he wanted his without "mushrooms". I just got a text from hubby doing evangelism with students telling me that someone accepted Christ today. Yippee! Even though I felt a bit envious with my less than glamorous to-do list here - I still felt a part of it knowing I had just prayed for someone to come to know His love today. Since I have sat down to write this I have gotten one phone call, searched for a pair of dry gloves for T1 to wear outside, T3 has woken up and T2 is chattering on with 1/5th of my attention. Sigh - this is probably why I don't blog more - but is an accurate glimpse of my day. Best get to that laundry - guess T3 will be "helping" me instead of me getting it done real quick before he wakes up.

c-ya

Things!

2010-02-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

Thing 3 loves to watch brothers play outside and can't wait for his turn!

No this isn't our newest pet!!! But it was hubby's highlight from our family day last week - watching T1 hold it without being afraid. After all the chaos of getting the house ready to sell on top of a busy ministry schedule - we took a day just to be together. We had tons of fun at the 3 story kids science museum. The water room was the most popular of all.

Thing 1 actually fell asleep on the floor while warming up after a bath...I came down to see what was taking him so long and found him snuggled in for a nap!

Now that I'm 10 months old I don't really want to sit still and smile for a photo! So big so fast! He has been doing some signs for about 2 months now I think - it is all a blur. With the first bite of veggies he frantically signs "all done!" Hmmm, I think we taught him to "talk" a little too early!

Perfectly Perfect

2010-02-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago an unexpected package came in the mail. The return address warned me to not open it with abandon on the spur of the moment but to wait until I had time to privately engage with whatever lay inside. When I finally did sit alone in our office and slit open the envelope from Heather's mom I felt a mixture of emotions over the recipe book lovingly compiled by Heather's friends.

When I knew Heather the most - and by "the most" I mean comparatively to all the years of our friendship - hat would be the year that Hubby and I lived with her and her hubby. Heather was not the gourmet chef that she had become while living in NM. She could cook delicious meals, there was no denying, yet with our busy schedules we both reveled in sharing those duties, planning our weekly menu together and each only cooking a few times a week. At the time they were in the process of adopting their first child and she was working more than full-time as a therapist. When we moved in and I started cooking her husband was grateful to be off his steady diet of frozen pizzas as Heather often worked late. So it was with a little bit of a smile that I read these cherished recipes (some of which I was honored to recognize from my own recipe box) and imagined her throwing herself into them with the same zest and abandon she did any project she put her mind too.

I think I made it to the chick peas before the first tears started to fall. They were in the listed ingredients for basil hummus - the first recipe of the book. Her friends thoughfully filled in little side stories with each recipe and precious, precious photos of Heather with her children and friends. I sat weeping and reading it cover to cover before I could somewhat move forward with life and the rest of the scheduled activities for the day.

Lately I've noticed that when I revisit that place of grief with abandon, not just sideways glances as I distract my heart with the busyness of the day, it subconsciously puts me in an insecure and fearful place in my heart. I'm faced with the frailty of my own life and those I hold dear. I can't ignore how very little control I hold over keeping all that I love alive and well. The words from I novel I recently read echo in the background of my heart, something along the lines of, "...life is about change, it is like a river always moving forward, you can't stop it, you just have to change and bend with it." But what if life is so perfectly perfect you don't want it to change? And yet you know the futility of trying to stop it?

I know I must daily surrender my fear for the health and safety of my loved ones and consciously move forward to a place of peaceful abandon. And I know that even if I don't agree on what their number of days on this earth should be, God's Word says He already knows them. And I know that because of Jesus' death and resurrection the next life will be so so so much more perfectly perfect with no sickness, no death to interrupt and snatch away at our happiness. Yet here we are presently living in a state of flux, grasping at all the joy and happiness we can squeeze out of this life and yet living for the Day when we will strain no longer and enter into His Paradise.

I smile knowing she is already there, reveling in it. And I'm so grateful for all the time I did have with her that year that I knew her "the most" of all our years of friendship, though I hardly appreciated them then as I do now. As I look through the beautiful stories and pictures I'm so thankful for those who lovingly put this book together. And if I can stop crying over the chick peas I might actually get dinner made...or we might just have a frozen pizza. Either way, I think I'm honoring her memory. :)

Why? Why? Why?

2010-01-26T19:38:00.001-08:00

Why haven't I blogged in over a month?
- ohhhh, just little THINGS like - the holidays, traveling, Thing 3 getting into everything all day long, getting our house ready to sell (and my closets look awesome BTW and I actually drag my friends into my bedroom these days to show them and one actually asked if I redecorated - no I just cleaned HA!), hosting, hosting, hosting ministry, friends, Bible studies...no reason really!

Why don't I work out more?
- ohhh, just that this is what happens when I was on my treadmill this morning and Thing 1 was home for a snow day and apparently decided he was missing art class at Pre-K so he made his little brother into his art project.

Why do I LOVE Crayola?
- ohhhhh, just Because they invented washable markers. And why am I patting myself on the back - somehow I didn't lose my cool, just let them clean it up and I had the foresight to purge my house of almost all permanent markers awhile ago. Must have been the Holy Spirit that made me do that so I didn't ring their little necks today!

Why do I LOVE LOVE LOVE my husband?
- ohhh, just because after I texted him a pic of Thing 2 with the caption of "And how is YOUR day going?" he called me and asked to take us all to Culvers for lunch. YAY for husbands who love their wives so well - and I could go guilt free b/c I worked out! :)

We crammed tons of students into our house once again for the annual sled-fest last monday. A good time, many games and only two knee injuries were had by all!

Funny "Things"

2009-12-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

It's all over now - Thing 3 pulled himself up to the coffee table this morning...and what did he grab just before falling on his little rear? The remote control of course!

Yesterday T1 told me that I need to go get my hair done so I can look pretty again. HMMM. In his defence I had just cut his and hubby's hair and told him how handsome he looked. I think spending a few hours at the beauty salon sitting around reading magazines sounds just fine!

When we were leaving to go see Santa at the local Lewis store T2 exclaimed, "But Mom, why are we going to the North Pole?"

I've been reading Jigsaw Jones mystery books to the Things lately. As we drove by our church they noticed that the sign was painted brown. T2 said, "We have a mystery to solve!" T1 "Yeah, we need to find out who has brown paint!"

They recently requested to put out carrots for the reindeer along with cookies for Santa - I'm going to race hubby for the cookies!

Speaking of cookies, Rose, here is the Molasses Cookie Recipe you asked for. Have fun!
1/2 c softened butter
1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c sugar, plus more for garnish
1/2 c dark molasses
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix butter and shortening ( or just use butter flavored Crisco like I did). Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy - about 3 min. Mix in molasses and eggs. In another bowl mix dry ingredients and then mix all together. Roll 1 1/2" balls and dip tops in sugar. Place on greased (I never grease mine) sheets and bake at 350 for 11 min. DON'T OVERBAKE or they won't be chewy inside. Makes about 4 dozen.

Some Fun Pics

2009-11-29T15:34:00.000-08:00

Finally an update! We spent a week around Halloween with my best friend in MO and then she and her family came up to stay with us for Thanksgiving. Along with a last minute addition of some new -to - town friends from NY. We had 6 adults and 7 kids! It was pretty wild but lots of fun. Needless to say there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging. And even as I write this T3 is crying to be picked up, T2 is running around mostly naked and playing the bongo and T1 is zooming things across the laminate floor. Sigh...never a dull moment. So here are some pics of our life lately. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

The running joke is that hubby and my best friend's hubby look a lot alike so when we were black friday shopping (is it called black friday b/c it is still dark out when your best friend drags you out of bed to go?) anyways, we picked out matching shirts for them. How cute!!! J/K we know they will never ever wear them at the same time again, they just put them on as a joke to humor us.

Best friend's hubby making the all important snicker apple salad -a last minute addition to our Thanksgiving feast and yet another way to ruin something perfectly healthy but oh-so-good. This will forever be remembered as the Thanksgiving of the massive amount of mashed potatoes. I just threw out the last 20 cups of it today!

Thing 1 at his annual Thanksgiving performance with his Pre-K class.

Sitting up in the bath now - soooo much fun!

Taking the kiddos to the park to run off some turkey.

Rub a dub dub, 3 Things in the tub!

Thing 3 sporting his new sweater that my mom made - thanks Grandma!

And the new hat I finally finished!

Visiting Santa at Lewis also means seeing our friend and local pharmacist! Thing 1 wanted to know why her husband wasn't there at work with her.

A VERY quick stop outside in the freezing cold to see Santa's reindeer.

Making molasses cookies with the Things. I only make these at Christmas time and the boys helped roll the balls this year - a new skill for Thing 2. I was very proud of him. They also remind me of the great throw up Christmas Eve two years ago with T2....but we will save that story for another day.

The Tilling Years

2009-11-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

Once a month I get an alumni magazine from Westmont College. The first thing I do is flip to the back where it lists who has gotten married to who(m?)(so now you know, I wasn't an English major), and who has had a baby etc. for each graduating class. Even with such a small college I rarely recognize the names. It also lists where my fellow alumni are working and highlights some of the outstanding things some of them are doing.
Yesterday afternoon as I sat on a little patch of sun in my living room floor for the blessed "nap/video/little bit of sanity" period of the day - for some reason I thought about all those incredible things people my age are accomplishing. Then I looked at myself with my Bible and journal in my lap and still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes from my 20 winks, and couldn't help but ask, "What am I doing?". Feeling like I'm not accomplishing much with my domestic duties I closed my eyes in prayer and sensed Him say, "These are the tilling years." The picture I got was that the soil has to be prepared before it can reap a harvest.
I'm not only being tilled myself through the character it takes to discipline and train three little men - I'm tilling the soil of their hearts as well. It is my great aspiration that God reaps a great harvest in their lives when they grow up to serve Him.
So right now, even though my job is at it's best "low profile" and seems unimpressive, it was good to remember that it is NOT unimportant. I won't make the cover of any alumni magazine - probably not even a little blip - after all, how exciting would it be to read, "Housewife made white chili soup (Thanks, Jess for the fab recipe)for dinner, folded three loads of laundry and read two chapters of Jigsaw Jones Mysteries to 3 and 5 year old"? - Not very.
At times my job seems monotonous - just as I'm sure a farmer feels plowing up row after row. But its simplicity lends itself to the peaceful rhythm that fills my day (ha! what planet am I on - what peace? what rhythm? with three boys?). Okay - so it might not appear that way on the surface, but in my heart I'm at peace - not stressed or rushed unless I make myself be by cramming too much in for one day. After all, what is stressful about pressing, "cold, heavy cycle, no extra rinse"?
It is the very simplicity of my role that I think will plow the deepest furrows in the souls of these three little men I've been entrusted to raise. They can rely on me to do what I need to give them a healthy home life - including, food, clean clothing and a stable, loving marriage to raise them up under.
The season for other pursuits outside my home will come all too quickly. In fact just today as I ate lunch with Thing 1 while eyeing up my novel, it occurred to me, I don't have many lunches left with him. Next year he will be at school all day and will be eating with his friends. The novel can wait (until he's tucked in bed at least) for now, I'm tilling the soil. "So, did anything silly happen today at Pre-K?"

Would somebody please...

2009-11-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

Would somebody please invent a washer that washes and drys all in one? I long for the day that I can start my laundry in the morning and come home to it already dry? I've wanted one of these for years!

After five years of parenting under my belt I'm adding one important improvement to my already great idea (if I can say so myself, and I just did). This super washer and dryer in one also needs to be able to magically remove things. No, I'm not talking stains - that is too easy. I want it to remove things that I didn't know were there like pea rocks, gum, candy, and stickers stuck on soccer shirts that leave a sticky residue for a decade or two. Even more importantly it should remove the things I know are there but cross my fingers and select "Super Plus Super Dee Duper Wash" as I throw it in and hope I don't see it again like: big chunks of throw up all over my 3-year-old's comforter, or the latest causality from a diaper that didn't live up to the manufacturer's promise.

I'm willing to pay big money for such an item. So all those engineer's out there looking for a great idea here is your golden ticket - free of charge. And I'll be your first customer!

Things that Bless Me

2009-11-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

My Bible study. These ladies faithfully dig into the Word and come prepared to share what they learned and their lives as well every time we meet. I'm so blessed to be privy to their praises, new-found knowledge from His Word, and prayer requests. I'm doubly blessed to get to share all of the above with them as well. And I'm triply blessed by the college ladies who faithfully come and watch all our wiggly, fussy, energetic kiddos in a basement for 2 hours with little or no escape!

How every time T2 takes off his socks he has to "get the gunkies out" from between his toes. He can't settle in for some good thumb and blankie time without doing that first.

How my boys love to eat almonds - and fruit - and whole wheat pancakes! With all the other junk I feed them it is nice to know they will eat healthy things too.

How my husband hasn't said anything about the 6 loads of laundry that have been waiting to be folded in the mudroom all week.

The steak I was able to pull out of our freezer when I realized at noon I had nothing planned for dinner - some friends of our blessed us with a gift of a LOT of meat over a year ago and we are just now getting to the end of it.

How my boys like to wear their clothes backwards - why not?!

T3 smiling up at me - any time, day or middle of the night.

My best friend taking cute pics of my kiddos.

Now it's your turn - what blesses you?!

Peace

2009-11-11T05:10:00.000-08:00

AS I mentioned in my last post, I've been working my way through John. This morning as I read through Jesus' first encounters with those He loved after His resurrection a few things stood out to me.
Here the disciples are "hiding out" so to speak for fear of the Jews, even though just that morning Mary saw Jesus and told them that He had risen. They were still trapped in their fear probably wondering what to do with this astonishing news. And that is where Jesus comes to them, right where they are "stuck". And that is where Jesus comes to all of us, right where to where our fears and sorrows, regrets and whatever else have driven us into hiding.
And His first words to them in that fearful secluded place? "PEACE". Perhaps that was another way of just saying "Hello" in those days, I haven't read up on my Jewish history. But nonetheless, He knows just what they need to hear. And then after showing them His pierced Hands and Side, He gives them a new purpose and vision, "Just as the Father Has sent Me forth, so I am sending you." And He gives them the gift of His Spirit.
I love how Jesus appears in our lives in our darkest hours. He calms our fears with words of Peace. He sets us on a new course with vision and purpose. And He enables us to fulfill that purpose with His Holy Spirit. Thank You, Abba, for Your Amazing ways!

Finding a "Healthy Whole"

2009-11-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

"Simply being alive became holy to me." Jerry Sittser (A Grace Disguised, How the Soul Grows Through Loss).

A friend and mentor recommended this book after Heather passed away. I've been slowly working my way through it as I have felt able. It is not a topic that I look forward to digesting, but it is necessary all the same. So far his book has been full of great insights that make me pause and nod and help me put words to what I'm experiencing, whether consciously or unconsciously.

I've written before about how much more sacred the little things of life have become, just stopping to appreciate life itself. This continues to be true. I find myself lingering a little longer over my baby's crib, just enjoying watching him smile (or cry in protest of the impending nap) up at me. I snuggle my boys a little bit more when I can manage to slow them down (or slow myself down) long enough to do so. I'm truly grateful, and I mean GRATEFUL, when we have safely traveled home after a long trip.

Every day is a gift. It seems so glib and cliche to write, but it is truly how I feel. And just as Sittser explains, the everyday things of life become truly meaningful.

I'm slowly making my way through another book, the account of Jesus' life from a man who knew Him personally, the Apostle John. John's account reminds me of another truth that Sittser touches on. Chapter nineteen of John's book describes the gory and unjust murder of Jesus as John and His loved ones looked on. And Chapter 20 reveals the astonishing joy they then subsequently experienced upon His Resurrection. What strikes me is that those who rejoiced in chapter 20 could have never experienced that same joy had they not endured the agony of chapter 19.

Sittser describes how our sorrows give birth to greater joys when he writes, "The soul is elastic, like a balloon. It can grow larger through suffering...once enlarged, the soul is also capable of experiencing greater joy, strength, peace, and love." (p.54) He also explains the sad irony that those who we would want to share our growth from these devastations with the most are the ones that we lost.

Even as I write this I'm afraid that it will sound like in some sick sort of way I'm benefiting from Heather's death or that I'm experiencing joy out of it. Far from it. I still HATE HATE HATE that she died. I still want to wake up and have it all be a bad dream. I still want to call her on the phone for one of our monthly hour long chats and catch up on all that we can before our kids totally lose it in the background. But since I can't go back to those days I have to somehow move forward. And as I move forward I'm finding that my soul which is raw from her loss is now so much more sensitive to the joys of life as well.

Sittser describes how he has moved forward after the loss of his wife, mother and young daughter to a drunk driver, "Loss requires that we live in a delicate tension. We must mourn, but we must go on living...The sorrow I feel has not disappeared but it has integrated into my life as a painful part of a healthy whole." (p.57).

I'm trying to find that "healthy whole" one day at a time. And I'm so grateful to have the gift of friends who knew and loved Heather, and those who didn't, to process through this unwanted, unexpected, but nonetheless soul changing loss with.

Human Trafficking, Fall Conf. and FL

2009-11-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

Highlights from the last few weeks:

We completed a week of Human Trafficking awareness with a few other ministries on campus. This included display tables in the Union, a guest speaker, a movie showing, and some evangelism training.
Before this event I knew very little about human trafficking. It seemed like something that happened on the other side of the world. I was shocked to learn that it happens in our very own state, maybe even in our own quaint little town. It is estimated that 200 women are bussed in every year and forced into prostitution at the various hunting lodges during pheasant hunting season.
The Mall of America is considered "the factory" where many disadvantaged youth are lured in with the promise of help. Another way they get girls is by posing as a modeling agency and then forcing them into the porn industry. America is the biggest importer of porn which more often than not uses women and children who are there against their will.
I was left with the question, what can I do? This problem is so big and it is hard to come up with tangible things that one stay-at-home mom can actually do to make a difference. One small thing we decided we can do is no longer purchase coffee or chocolate that is not Fair Trade (for a list of companies click on highlighted words). Most of the coffee and cocoa beans imported are harvested by enslaved children. These children aren't just forced to work, they are often abused, molested and raped.
I used to think that fair trade just meant the workers were paid a fare wage, now I know there is much more to it. My favorite coffee stop, Starbucks, isn't 100% fair trade but from what I gather I think they are at least working on it which is more than many companies are willing to do.

The Gang from SDSU

Getting ready for the annual Ultimate Frisbee Tourney
Oct. 23 - 25 was our annual fall conference. It was at a new location this year to accommodate the growing number of students. I think (but my mommy brain is fuzzy so don't hold me to it) that about 400 people were there. Maybe more? It is always interesting having kids at a conference, waiting in lines for meals, late bedtimes, sleeping together (when they actually did sleep), etc. On the whole I was glad for a few good conversations that I had with some people, but that is about all I think I can expect to get out of a conference in this season of life. And I'm okay with that. I wonder what my kids will remember from these times. I hope they have fond memories as they look back on these experiences. I worry that they feel looked over or I'm too tired and stretched to really be meeting all their needs the way I "should". I don't really think that is the case, that is just what I get anxious about when my guard is down. It was a lot of fun housing with some good friends and their kids and we had extra hands helping us with the kiddos which was a real blessing! I was especially encouraged to hear from one woman that she is considering going overseas next summer after hearing about opportunities at our conference.

Once we returned home we had about 2 days and 10 loads of laundry (seriously, where does it all come from?) before heading off to MO. Hubby was going to be at another conference out of state so he was kind enough to drop me off at my best friends for a visit and fly out from there. Single parenting is so much easier when you have other kids and adults around! We had a wonderful time and I think hubby did too (how could you not in FL?).

Alas, it is always soooo good to be home again. I'm so thankful for safe travels, a van that got us there and back, and a cozy home of our own. I feel really out of touch with my everyday life and things on campus but that will all come back into focus soon enough.