Toothy Grin

Dan lost one of his top front teeth yesterday. He has lost a few on the bottom, but this is his first top tooth. He was so pleased with himself for working on it all day and getting it out. I think he will look so different once those big boy teeth start coming.

40 Days - Day 4

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I've been thinking a lot today about this passage. How important it is to surround myself with fellow believers, to share the journey.

How often have I failed in being there for others when they needed a companion to lift them up after they have failed? Life can get so hectic, so busy, but to what end? What is all the busyness about? Is my life bearing fruit of substance or just busyness for the sack of being busy?

Jesus surrounded himself with a select group of companions. He was teaching, but he could have accomplished this totally alone, he needed no one. I like to think he enjoyed the companionship of others as much as we do and I can think of him eating, laughing, talking and instructing.

We were created to need others, to gain strength and security in companionship with others. The Bible instructs believers to gather together in fellowship.

I am going to strive to be more purposeful in my relationships and more accessible to my fellow travelers, more willing to walk along beside and share the road and any burdens that come along.

40 Days - Day 3

In response to today's tragedy, the earthquake in Japan and subsequent tsunami, I found myself praying and praying some more, for friends in Japan and Hawaii and for strangers whose lives will be forever changed.

The earth seems to be groaning, shifting and moving. So much activity from this world we live on. Many are screaming end times and I suppose we are, but God's timing is not our timing and no one knows the day, but as a woman in travail, these are all symptoms of the inevitable. Jesus will return and there will be great tribulation.

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows." Mark 13:8

All of this gives me a sense of urgency, to be right and ready, to repent and pray, to seek God's face more diligently and purposefully, to make my actions and decisions count for eternity and not just for this temporal life I'm in right now.

Project Simplify: Master Closet

Trish at Simple Mom is hosting a blog project to focus on decluttering and simplifying. I am reading Trish's book, Organized Simplicity and it goes along well with the blog projects.

The first area to tackle was the master closet. I have to chuckle at the idea of a master closet as we have a very old home and only have a few closets. There is certainly nothing masterly about our closet, (long and narrow and slanted ceiling) but it is the closet that Brian and I use.

After working on and off this week, I was able to get the closet done. We were also suppose to tackle dressers and anywhere else our clothes were stored. I did not finish it all. I did most of my drawers, but I have clothes stored for off season, so those will wait. This will definitely be an ongoing project.

Without further ado...

Before....here is the closet door, which happens to be where I hang the half dozen outfits I rotate for church. The closet was too cramped and I did not like having to dig for my clothes each week.

After...no clothes, wiped clean and looking so much nicer.

Before...my end of the closet. The clothes were packed in there and so many of them I hadn't worn in years.

After...about half the amount. Things are easy to see and there is room for everything to hang nicely so they don't wrinkle so much. There is still a mish-mash of hangers and I will be replacing them with new hangers. I'll ask Brian to go through his end of the closet when he returns for his latest trip.

This is the pile of clothes that will be going away. My parent's church holds a monthly clothing sale and all the proceeds go to their missions program, so these will be donated there.

This is the colorful pile of hangers that I didn't need. These will get sorted with most going in the trash.


Ah, it is feeling good already to be lightening the load and paring down.

40 Days - Day 2

Deciding to participate in this meme was easy. I liked the idea of taking the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter to direct my thoughts toward the cross and the sacrifice Christ made for me. But what will that look like for the next 40 days. I'd like to think my focus is on Christ most days, so how can I magnify that into a deeper experience?

As I posted yesterday, we started reading Amon's Adventure. This will be a fun way to include the children. They enjoy read alouds and we have found the books by Arnold Ytreeide to be fun and exciting and also offer plenty of opportunities for discussion.

I've also have a Lenten devotional and have ordered Bread and Light: Readings for Lent and Easter. I plan on doing some hands-on activities with the children.

The devotional states that Lent should direct our attention toward human sin and God's gracious solution. Realizing my sinfulness and the need for a Savior.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Psalm 51:17

So, for today, my focus is on how very much I need a Savior and just how high a price was paid for my sinfulness.

40 Days - Day 1

I'm participating in 40 Days of Seeking Him, hosted at A House Upon the Rock. I am hoping this will help me keep my focus on Christ during the days leading up to Resurrection Day.

I was not raised in a liturgical church and we do not attend one now, but we have enjoyed activities for Advent and I am hoping that we can make Lent equally meaningful. Whereas neither Advent or Lent are Biblical, I feel they are worthwhile traditions if carried out with the purpose of making Christ the focus of the season.

I have no big plans yet, except we will be reading Amon's Adventure by Arnold Ytreeide. He is the same author who wrote Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage and Tabitha's Travels. We have enjoyed these stories during Advent and look forward to reading this newest book about the days leading up to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

I would love to hear about your plans for Lent.

Weekly Daybook

For Today...March 8, 2011

Outside my window...The trees are coated with a thick layer of ice from the storm Sunday and yesterday. The sun is shining so bright and the sky so blue. It looks like a million diamonds sparkling. The snow is fresh and white and the ice is slowly dripping under the warmth of the sun. The birds flit back and forth from the feeders to the trees.

I am thinking...about being a better momma and what that would look like and how to get there. A change is in order, but making those changes might be more difficult that I think.

I am grateful for...random blogs that encourage and uplift. I found a few today that made me cry (in a good way) and warmed my heart with ideas for change and renewal.

From the learning rooms...basics today after a snow day yesterday. Gabe is making good progress and working well this year.

From the kitchen...all quiet today. The kitchen needed a lot of clean up after the power outage. Probably one of our comfort foods for dinner...Velveeta mac n' cheese with ham.

On my mind...how to make our home run better. Things are always so cluttered and chaotic. Working on scaling down and simplifying. I know that seems like a fad word these days, but simple would work much better for this family.

I am creating...finishing my latest cross-stitch block, a very colorful train, for my stitching group.

I am wearing...black wind pants and a pretty light blue fleece pull-over.

I am reading...Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

I am hoping...that I can really bring about some change and not just think about it. I have the best intentions and ideas, but often stumble on the follow through of implementing them.

I am hearing...the computer fan, the sump pump, Gracie the dog snoring and Gabe chewing ice.

I am Pondering...simplicity. What will that look like for this family with all our likes and dislikes. How can we scale back without sacrificing the things we enjoy.

One of my favorite things...a simple text, "I love you."

A week plans for the week...the usual activities...exercise class and Zumba, choir, praise and worship, mid-week club for the kids, youth group and Bible study...and a few extras, meetings at the school, a jewelry party and missions meeting at church. And best of all, on Sunday we'll pick Bri up at the airport.

Go to The Simple Woman to read more entries.

Here is a picture I'd like to share...the trees after the ice storm.

Off Again

We are accustomed to Brian's trips, which happen on a fairly regular basis. The past several years have seen an increase in the number of trips and the length of those trips.

He was away for six weeks this fall, home for about a month over Christmas and now has gone again. We feel his absences greatly. We know his trips are short compared to many we know, but it is still hard on all of us. This time of year can be especially hard as winter seems to cause more problems with the house, vehicles, storms, etc. and we don't spend as much time outside, so all feel the cabin fever a bit.

He said goodbye to Rachel, Hannah and Dan as they got on the bus. Bess, Gabe and I took him to the airport. It was a beautiful winter day. He checked in and then we hung out in the observation room. Eventually we have to say goodbye. We have learned to be a good military family, no tears until after he leaves us. We gave hugs and kisses, smiled and sent him on his way.

We watch him pass through the security area. It is fun to watch the people go through here. They allow military families to go all the way through if we like, but we find it is harder on all and just prolongs the inevitable.


When he finally passes through and we can't see him anymore, then we sometimes cry. We are fine. We manage. We miss him. His homecoming will be sweet and much anticipated. The cycle repeats.

New Year's Day Walk

The weather the last few days has been quite warm. After a very lazy morning, Brian and I decided to take a walk.

We pass the same river several times as we walk along our road and each bend has it's own character. Even though it has been warm, there is still a lot of snow and most of the river is frozen.

I love the sound and sights of the water. It swirls under, over and around the ice, making interesting patterns.


We took a detour over to the falls as it is always lovely. Most of it was still frozen over, but there was a nice splash of water at the bottom.

We appreciate the opportunity to get out, just the two of us, to walk and talk without the bustle of the children. It was a splendid walk.

New Year's Eve

This year we decided to try and let the younger guys stay up until midnight. My online friend Michele has this great tradition of revealing a new activity each hour as her family celebrates New Year's Eve. We decided to give this a try.

We set up nine bags with clocks on them and set them in front of the Christmas tree. We started at 4pm and went until midnight.

The kids were very excited by the idea of this added to the fact that we were going to let them stay up so late.

Bag #1 was a new Wii game. This was a lot of fun and got everyone up and moving to start the night.

Bag #2 was make your own pizzas. We used canned biscuit dough, sauce and many toppings. We had cake for dessert.

The pizzas were a big hit and everyone enjoyed picking out their own toppings.

Bag #3 was a new movie. We watched for the hour and then stopped to open the next bag. Part way through, Bess went to a friends to spend some time there. It is hard to realize that she will not always be with us for family times any more.

Bag #4 was a scavenger hunt. We split the kids into teams and gave them copies of the list. We made the items small enough to fit in a bag and I knew that there were at least two of each item on the first floor of the house. What a mad dash. It was fun to watch them search for things.

Gabe and Dan were the winners but everyone got some chocolate for their effort.

Bag #5 was decorating party hats. We had pom-poms, feathers, glitter glue, and stickers. What a wild assortment of creations. The girls were careful and wanted to make their hats pretty. The boys went wild and came up with the craziest hats.

Ready to ring in the new year.

Bag #6 was going sledding. The kids really loved this one as they do not usually go sledding after dark. Brian set up his work light to shine on the hill and away we went. Brian and I even got a few runs down the hill.

We followed up with hot cocoa and cookies.

Shortly after the sledding, Bess came back home. She wanted to finish out the evening with us. I was pleased.

Bag #7 was new containers of Play Doh. This helped calm things down a bit after the sledding. Everyone got into their pjs and we had a nice relaxing time of making dough creation.

Bag #8 was a game called Guesstures. This is a great Charade type game. I must admit that by now Hannah and Dan especially were getting quite tired and the game probably would have been better earlier, but the kids did great and we had fun.

We opened the last bag about 15 minutes before midnight. The bag contained noise makers, Champagne glasses with paper umbrellas and silly glasses. We opened our sparkling grape juice, put on our hats and watched the clock.

After a countdown, we blew our horns loudly and raised a toast to the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011.

I think this will become a new tradition for us as everyone enjoyed the hourly activities. It kept the evening fresh and interesting and helped the younger guys stay awake.

I hope you all have a terrific 2011.