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Wednesday, 09 July 2008

My daughter was oohing and ahhing over her freshly blow-dried hair and admired, "It's like smoke coming out of a chimney, puffy like a cloud." Oh, what poetry! Who new a 5 year old could wax so poetic... Music to this homeschool mom's soul.
What a beauty!

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Artistic or Delusional?

The other day I was at a homeschool workshop in OKC where they were directing us on how to help our kids keep a nature book with sketches and notes. Watercolors were recommended because they are easy to transport and you can mix colors to get the right shades of what you are capturing. So at one point, we were directed to use water colors to paint an apple which had been set on the table. This was my result: !!! (Huh?! Did I do that??)
Today I tried sidewalk chalk and dry erase markers on the kids' easel. Here's what turned out:
Sidewalk chalk... Dry erase markers...
I dunno. I'm kinda liking it. What do you think? If I'm totally foolin' myself, please forgive me. I may just need a reality check.

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

Random Thoughts Found in a Messy House

Living in the midwest, I've always said I have my own personal tornado alley right here in my house. Like the hurricanes, mine have names. They circle through multiple times a day, wrecking everything in their wide path and burying all my attempts at salvage under the relentless storm of movement. I'm testing a hypothesis of mine regarding bodies at rest. That the only way to get my two bodies at rest is to wait until their sibling joins the ranks of "tornadohood", requiring them to balance the forces of constant movement with no movement at all. Ahh #3, just a cloud now... yet I've observed funneling tendencies which appear to be proportional to motility. All I can say is, the Lord is my Rock, my hair is a wind-blown mess, the storm knocks me on my butt too much these days, but sitting or standing, I wouldn't be anywhere else.

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Currently Reading
Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind
By Joyce Meyer
see related
Lessons From a 5 Year Old

I haven't blogged in so long that most of you are probably convinced I don't exist anymore. Rest assured I am still here and I still read blogs. I have just had a severe case of "third baby-itis" for the past 6 months and my symptoms grow more and more severe every day. Coherent thoughts are fleeting and when I happen to have an occasional one, it is quickly chased away by sister and brother of third baby if not by third baby herself.
Today, however, was a good day as the weather permitted the kids and I to picnic in our new "treehouse" (minus the tree). I managed to haul the blanket, mac n cheese (x3), drinks (x2), baby food, bumbo and baby up the ladder and into the fort before my 3 year old finished his now cold noodles. My oldest excitedly eyed the bowl before her and gushed in a way that only a 5 year old girl can, "Wow! Macaroni and cheese! My favorite!!" I caught myself shrugging off her enthusiasm thinking, 'Yeah, yeah, at this moment that's your favorite.' I flashed to all the many, many times I've heard her say, "This is my favorite color!" ... "This is my favorite candy!" ... "This is my favorite dinner!" ... "This is my favorite <fill in the blank>" ... and in my cynical adult mind I thought, "Yeah, that's your favorite because that's the one in front of you right now." And in my spirit I felt a tug that made me stop short...a feeling that I needed to take in this moment... that something important had just happened and I was gonna miss it if I didn't. As I paused, I slowly realized that my little girl was not sitting there compiling a list of all the foods she's had before, nor was she thinking about what foods she really wished I would make. She was really enjoying her mac n cheese, enjoying our picnic, enjoying the moment. And God really laid on my heart that she was a perfect example of what living in the present looks like: ...living free from the memories of the past... living free from the expectations of the future. Pure pleasure ...pure joy.

Monday, 25 September 2006

Aren't we all Superheroes?

(Caroline, is this kinda like how you picture my "spirit man"? )
I watched the premiere of the new series called "Heroes" where some ordinary people find out they are each endowed with a certain "super power." You know, I just love all that superhero stuff and shows like X-Men, Batman, Smallville, etc because that's how I picture our spiritual walk. Before we know God, we're just walking around feeling like nobody special, just another face in the crowd, self-contained in our own little world. Then we find God and we realize that we are special, that there's something more to us, and not only that but we have this greater destiny on our lives that's so much bigger than us. And then as we go deeper with God and grow in truth and faith and grace, it's as if we have powers beyond ourselves (which we do, Halleluia!) to overcome crises and obstacles in miraculous ways. And our faith walk is all about reconciling ourselves to the fact that our lives are not our own anymore but they serve a greater purpose now and really always have. God is so cool! And the fact that He has written us, each with our own part, into His bigger story with destinies so extraordinary that we can't even fathom... Now that's exciting. Wow! So pumped up for the women's retreat this weekend. Can't wait.