Humbled to be her mom!

My children never cease to humble me.  This one humbles me the most.  

Many times I have said "No one loves Jesus the way Emme loves Jesus!"  Her life... Her spirit... Her example... have convicted me over and over and over again.  

Last week, she and her brother went to 4H camp for 3 days.  They had a wonderful time and were tripping over each other's stories all the way home Friday night.  Both kids were excited and equally exhausted... though many stories were told, one was forgotten for the evening.

On Saturday, I heard Emme and Chad talking but I was busy working on VBS and cleaning up the house and so I didn't stop to listen.  She told her Daddy a beautiful story from camp....

Today in church, I heard my friend and pastor say "We're thankful that those of our kids that went to 4H camp had a safe and wonderful time.  Emily even took a golden opportunity to tell the kids around her about Jesus."

WHAT?!?!?

How did I miss this?  In my busy-ness... my hurry to prepare for VBS... my desire to clean my house, I didn't take the opportunity to listen to a beautiful 11 year old tell her Daddy a story that started with "Daddy, I have to tell you what happened one time with the kids in my line at camp...."

Rest assured that I took the first opportunity I had after church to pull Emme aside and ask her to tell me the story!  

I pray often that I am preparing my kids to have an answer for those who ask about the hope that is in them.  I pray often that I am preparing my children to not be ashamed of the Gospel.  I pray often that I am preparing my children to love the LORD their God with all their heart, their mind, their soul and their strength and to love their neighbor as themselves.  

I realized anew that I can pray this but it is really God who is preparing them... not me.  He may chose to use me or not.  This is His thing with each one of my kids, not mine.

For those of you who subscribe to Emme's blog, she is working on a post with the entire story.  It's best in her words.  However, the synopsis is that while the kids at camp were working on their craft, in the camp chapel, one boy spoke up and said "I don't believe in God!"  Soon, Emme was defending her God to several boys and giving answers for all of their questions.  

Emme said to me, "Mom, it made me mad that he would say he doesn't believe in God while we were in the chapel!"

With tears in my eyes and a mile-wide smile on my face, I am humbled to be her mom!

Sabbath rest

Tonight will mark our 8th family Sabbath Celebration, and I'm not sure I've needed one more than I need tonight.  

I'm tired... plain ol' worn out... seems like we've had more crazy days than normal around here.

I'm drained... I put the finishing touches on VBS late this morning.  In two days, we will embark on 5 day Journey to the Promised Land.  Writing always drains me.  There is something incredible about leaving it all on paper and walking away completely drained.

I'm spent... emotionally this has been a tough week in more ways than one... an emotionally charged week with high peaks and low dips.

I'm craving rest.  I'm starving for some quiet time at His feet where He will faithfully refresh and renew my soul, my spirit, my heart... through some Sabbath rest.

My treasure...

It's been a while since I blogged a post bragging on my man.  


He works hard for us.  Often I take my status as a stay-at-home-mom for granted.  I forget that this privilege wouldn't be possible if he weren't willing to work hard for us. He's worked in our local ER for over 11 years (6 as a Paramedic and 5 as a nurse).  Not only does he work hard, but he is really good at what he does.  


I was reminded of this yesterday when I got the following message from my friend, Kelly, on facebook.  I met Kelly years ago before either of us were married.  She just realized, this week, that the paramedic that helped her infant son in our local ER 8 years ago is my man.  


Her message was a great reminder to me that my man is amazing and I am blessed beyond measure to be walking this path of life with him.  My heart always knows this... sometimes my brain needs a reminder!




We think he is wonderful! When my son who is 8 now was a month and a half old we were at the ER with a high fever. The person attending the ER tried to do a spinal tap, which we were not able to be in the room, but your husband was. The person doing the tap was not nice to us at all. Your husband kept apologizing because the guy was really rude and didn't get the spinal tap done after sticking our baby several times. They admitted our son and Dr. K came in later in the evening to do the tap and your husband came up from the ER to be with our son while they did the tap and then came and talked to my husband & I. He was awesome! He told us that he was doing his round in the ER for Multi that evening. We knew that God had placed him there to reassure us during that difficult time! 
You've got a special guy there! Just wanted to let you know we appreciate him!


I love that not only does my man work hard, he plays hard with us too.  This picture is from our 4H Fair last summer.  He saves his vacation days to take the week of Fair off to help with 4H animals, to watch the kids show their various projects and to camp at the Fair with us.  


My brain needed the reminder this week of the treasure that I call MY MAN!

life...

Life is a gift from the Creator.... so often taken for granted... those living assuming that they are indeed entitled to life... abundant life.   In child-like immaturity, assuming they alone are most important and most entitled to this thing called life...


Life is pain... a deep stain left by sin.  Though there are seasons of joy and moments of laughter, life hurts.  Often, the lie is purchased... the  lie that says life would hurt less if only.....  and the search begins for the one thing that will make all of the pain worth it.  To often, the searching leads farther away from the One who comforts.... the One who heals... the One who offers the anecdote of eternal life with Him...


Life is grace...  the very definition of life reveals grace.... sin demands a payment of death... separation from The Holy One... eternal damnation...  and yet the Author of Grace gives life...  gifts life.... graces life...


...down through the ages... throughout the millenniums... from the beginning... He alone gifts life....

oh to see what she sees and hear what she hears...

Monday night, God ushered my friend into her eternal reward.  I doubt there are many people who have lived the way she lived.  She embraced life.  She embraced marriage and motherhood.  She embraced cancer.  She lived.


Which makes me think... when you embrace the life God gives you and truly live each day for His glory, perhaps the reward is sweeter.... To hear your Savior say, "well done, good and faithful servant, welcome to your reward"... there can be no sweeter words to hear.


...To see Him face to face... to gaze into His eyes... to bow at His feet... to see His throne... to drink in His city... to hear His voice...


...oh to see and hear what Tracey can see and hear today... my heart is envious and thrilled all at the same time because I know no one who has lived giving God the glory more than her.   I can only imagine that her reward has been sweeter than she ever hoped or imagined!

8 isn't enough...

This cousin's weekend has been a blast!  We've made a super slide, friendship bracelets and paper bag puppets.  We've had NERF wars, wii wars, Air Soft wars and water balloon fights.  We've dealt with allergic reactions, sunburn, rashes and scrapes and bruises.  We even managed to kill a patch of grass under the super slide.  


Cousin's Court, Cousin's Church and Cousin's Awards all began with these five days over this holiday weekend.  


It's been full....  and it's been fun but it hasn't been complete.  


You see, 8 isn't enough.  We're actually missing three of our cousins.  So this weekend hasn't been a complete Cousin's weekend.  While Clayton and Truman, who are both 1 year old, could probably care less about this cousin time, we have definitely missed 7 year old Jenna!


Next time, we'll plan a time when we can get Jenna too!!

a quieter day...

After a couple of intense days of cousin fun and late night giggling, today has been a naturally slower day.  The kids all pitched in and helped clean the house this morning.  After lunch, they have seemed to gravitate to slower things to do...


...like making paper bag puppets for a puppet show after supper...

...or working with beads...

...or yet another game on the wii...

... and, even homework that isn't due until Friday (Good Boy Drew!).

... and for the really worn out...

Grandma Lois is treating us to dinner at her house tonight and then we have our Cousin's Awards to pass out.  And, sadly, tomorrow another cousin's time comes to an end....

really?

The following account is completely, 100% true... all names have been kept...

Aunt Heidi... "Lydia, you wear me out."

Lydia... "Why?"

Aunt Heidi... "Just keepin' up with you wears me out."

Lydia... "I give my mom a headache."

Aunt Heidi...  "Really?!?"

all worn out....

After another day of great cousin time, jumping on the trampoline, building volcanoes in the sandbox, sliding on the super slide, throwing water balloons, practicing baseball and just going non-stop, this is what this house of eight kids currently looks like....

Five tired girls watching cartoons and...

three worn out boys watching Worst Case Scenario....


The greatest part of having 8 kids play so hard all day is that bed time happens without many arguments.  They are all wiped out!

Driving to church...

About a month ago, I was talking to my sister about this weekend.  As I was thinking through the dynamics of five days with eight kids (and at the time, I thought I would be flying solo...), I asked Gabe if she minded if we didn't go to church.  Graciously, she said "do whatever works!"

While driving up here on Thursday, I mentioned to Mom that I really didn't want the stress of getting all the kids ready and to church on Sunday.  Her response, "why don't we do a church service with the kids?"  Brilliant!


So on this Lord's Day, the ten of gathered our Bibles and some chairs in the living room. 

Soon, two of the boys drove to church.

They are even dressed in sport coats and carrying their Bibles... and, yes, they are 12 and 13!  


Cousin's Church consisted of prayer, sword drills, a discussion on the Fruit of the Spirit and a closing song.  Not fancy... but funny!  Church should always be as joyful as it is when you have a congregation full of fun kids!!


After church, they graciously gave a ride "home" to another gentleman from the congregation...

water slide... or super slide?

A water slide purchased by Grandma is a lot of fun on a hot summer day...

... but creating your own super slide is WAY more fun!

...especially when there is an "infirmary" for the injured...

Cousin's Court is now in session....

I love it when God directly answers my prayers in ways that are above and beyond what I could ask or think!  (He does this daily and yet I still doubt Him... but that is a post for another day...).


Thursday night, my nephew had a late baseball game.  His game started late because the game before went over and it lasted late.  So, I had plenty of time to pray.  While Drew was playing catcher and his brother and cousin were watching the game, I sat in my truck where I could see the game.  In the semi-privacy of my truck, I prayed out loud for my children, my nieces and nephews.  I asked for safety for the kids and for wisdom for my Mom and I this weekend.


One of my prayers was this... "God, please help me know how to handle arguments, disputes, complaints, etc."  It's one thing to handle your own children's arguing, complaining and disputing but it's entirely another thing to handle someone else's children's.  


Friday, after school, God answered with "Cousin's Court".  I gathered everyone around to settle the dispute of which group (boys vs girls) got the front yard hose and which group got the back yard hose.  Before I knew it, we were in a session of Cousin's Court with the Honorable Aunt Heidi and Special Magistrate Grandma.  Each side was given 3 minutes to prepare their argument to be presented before the bench.  Amazingly, both sides prepared well organized arguments.  Both sides were also very receptive to idea and they had fun with it.  


The Cousin's Court idea has now carried over to other disputes and arguments and is working great.  There is a Cousin's Court list on the fridge and when someone has a dispute they want settled, they write their complaint down and when the judge can get to it we have another session of Cousin's Court.  While I'm not sure everyone is happy with the judge's decisions, I think they all feel like they at least get a chance to state their argument, complaint or dispute.


Thanks LORD for supplying me with another supernatural idea!

Friday's fave five at my sister's house...

In honor of spending five days watching my sister's five kids at her house, I'm doing my Friday's Fave Five from her house.  


Here are my five favorite things at my sister's house.... I'm trying hard to keep from coveting...

1) her washer and dryer...  It should go without saying that any mom that does laundry for seven people would have an incredible system but I am in awe of this!  Absolutely amazing the amount of laundry I can get done in a few hours!!

2) her deck... does this not just beckon?  I keep thinking I'm going to take a book to this spot and enjoy it for a few minutes... maybe tomorrow!  Somehow, my minutes keep flying by...

3) her backyard... I tried to take a picture that best shows this incredible haven but it doesn't all fit in one picture.  It is awesome and has endless opportunities for 8 children... a trampoline, a swing set, a fire pit and coming tomorrow... a water slide!!

4) her living room... again pictures can't do it justice, as this is just half of the room.  There is something peaceful about this room.  I love it any time of day.  

5) her basement... this is the absolutely best place for three teen boys to hang!  Love it!!  I don't hear much or see much and they get their own space away from five girls.  

wordless Wednesday... friends...

... friends through thick and thin...

looking forward...

Lately, I feel like life is running me over... there's always someone to take... somewhere to go... something to do....  Some things more important than others but always, always lots and lots of things.


So, I've been doing some soul searching and I am looking to doing some more soul searching this weekend.  Something or more than one something in my life needs to give and I'm not sure what it is.  


In two days, I'm going to WI for 5 days to be Mom to 8 kids.  Honestly, I can hardly wait!  My kids and my nieces and nephews have a blast together.  There will be lots of fun, little sleep and some grumpy kids when it is all said and done but there will also be beautiful memories made.


I'm looking forward to beautiful memories but I'm also looking forward to leaving "life" behind and having a few days where I have nothing to do but be Mom.  


Maybe that is my answer... maybe I just need to return to being Mom and absorbing the beautiful memories that are made.

spring pics...

One of the things I wish I were better at is taking pictures.  When Eric and Emily were little, I took pictures all of the time.  However, as soon as I added one kid into the mix... well, the camera got laid aside.


I've also been bad about having family pictures taken.  Chad's step mom has to nag me to send an updated picture.  I have two excuses reasons for letting family pictures slide.  One is the cost and the other is getting it scheduled.  


My friend, Marah, is a photographer.  This winter I was watching her new posts on facebook and was wowed with her talent and her creativity.   I scheduled a time for her to come do pictures of us in our yard in the snow.  It was so much fun and I loved the result!  And, Marah, took away my excuses reasons... she's reasonably priced and very accommodating to Chad's weird work schedule.


I loved her work enough that I've asked her to do pictures of our family each season of this year.  I can't exactly tell you why I decided to do that.  It could be that I think Eric's looks are changing as fast this year at 13 as they did his first year of life.  When Marah took our pictures last week, I still was slightly taller than Eric.  Last night, he was taller than me! (check out the one of he and I and the 13 year old eye roll!)  Maybe I wanted pictures because I'm fickle and change my hair with the wind (today it went from what you see in the pics to short short).  Maybe it's just because I'm looking at my kids these days and realizing that time is going so fast and I need to preserve some memories.  For whatever the reason,  I'm looking forward to decorating with new pictures after the fall.  


Here is a link to our spring pictures.  

hot...Hot...HOT!!!!

Here in Northern Indiana it is a hot one today!  Heat index reached 90 degrees around Noon and it's still hot four hours later.  


One of the biggest issues I have after having my hysterectomy 4 years ago is heat.  It's not that I have hot flashes (which I sometimes have).  It's more like someone turns up my internal thermostat about 50 degrees.  The best way I can think of to describe it is that I literally feel like I am roasting from the inside out!  


It's hard for me to remember that all of these post-menopausal issues are my new norm and I have to learn to live with them.   I just realized I need to be praying to my Creator, my Master Teacher to teach me ways to deal with a variety of these post-surgery issues... this one being the one foremost in my mind on this hot day.


While I am praying... is there anyone in my bloggy world who is on this path with me and can give me some ideas on dealing with the internal heat when the outside thermostat goes up?


I've done the bioidentical hormone route and  have NO desire to do that again!  Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!!

with a thankful heart...

It is with a thankful heart, today, that I post more of my 1000 things for which to be thankful.  I know it's not Monday and so I'm not really calling this my Multitude Monday post.  Instead, this is just where my heart is now....


...picking up where I left off...

#7 - #20
~ HIS faithfulness every single time!
~ Friends that are friends forever
~ PRAYER
~ the privilege to pray for others
~ HIS work in the life of my children
~ the incredible sweetness of a child's prayer
~ that sweet T is going home from the hospital today!
~ Eric
~ Emily
~ Ellen
~ the blessing to be able to teach them at home, all the while, watching them learn and grow
~ friends helping friends this week
~ watching my children give up something of their own (time, energy, toys, etc.) for someone else

trust... intense, supernatural trust

Trust.... so fragile and yet so tenacious.  Trusting God sometimes takes every ounce of my being and other times it is the only thing I can do.

At times trust is quiet, peaceful, tranquil.... and other times it is chaotic, tumultuous, rowdy.

Another lesson learned on a field trip... no, perhaps, not...

Perhaps this time is my time to walk alongside... to pray for and to comfort... to share lessons learned on trust and trusting God when it is too scary to do anything else... lessons learned on previous field trips with my Master Teacher...

And while I am praying... I will pray for intense, supernatural trust... the kind of trust that is given by and upheld by the One who holds everything... the One who never changes though the earth give way and the mountains quake.

For it is the intense, supernatural trust that carries us through the unknowns that shake us to our core...

today...

I feel like I've been out of the blogging loop lately.   I love to blog and to write but I've barely even had time to read a few blogs and comment on them before running off to the next thing... usually when I return to my computer, I'm too tired to put two thoughts together.

Today was one of those days.... full and satisfying, as well as tiring and dirty...  here's a synopsis....

First thing this morning, our beautiful Emme opened her birthday gifts.  I told Emme that eleven years ago I was experiencing joyful agony ("Is that an oxymoron, Mom?")... joyful because a beautiful and healthy 10# 10 oz baby girl joined our family... agony 'cuz said beautiful baby joined our family via c-section.

Eleven is a big age around here.  Our local library allows students to volunteer when they are eleven.  Eric's volunteer career began on his eleventh birthday and today, Emily's volunteer career began.  She loved it!  She dressed up in her new birthday clothes to go work for an hour at the library after she had birthday breakfast out with Dad.

Emily agreed to spend her birthday helping friends prepare for their daughter's graduation open house on Sunday.  Four families of moms and kids joined with another friend from church to weed, mow, rake, and mulch... as well as share a picnic lunch and birthday cake.  With that many hands, the work was soon done and so we all traveled over to one of the family's homes to help weed and mow.

On the way home, we stopped for mulch for our house and for some burgers and fries.

This is what the mulch was for....

my grapes!  My arbor isn't fancy but I'm so excited about the possibility of grapes, grape juice and grape jam in a few years!!  Eric and I put the trellis in tonight, fertilized and mulched.  Tomorrow we need a little more mulch and the grapes will be ready to grow, grow, grow!!

While Emily was mowing here at home tonight look what came out to wish her a Happy Birthday?

Does anyone know what kind of turtle/tortise this is?  It has a long tail and doesn't hide in its shell.

I am tired and dirty and looking forward to a shower and my book tonight... another full and satisfying day!