We're off...

to a rocky, but determined start to a new school year. My goal over the next few weeks is to stop hurrying all the time. Everything I do is rushed, it seems. I will accomplish less, this I know...but I will feel less stressed and maybe even enjoy a thing or two along the way! I will take reading breaks during the day with Matt and Sarah, I will go outside at LEAST once a day to breathe the fresh air and throw a ball, I will look up from time to time to gaze at the blue sky, I will pray when I feel overwhelmed....and I will come back to read this post about 10 times a day to remind myself that I said these words.

Discipline looks like...

An alarm clock, newly set. I'm in training mode and need to acclimate my system to rising at the same time. Dressed and eager I head out for a walk which turns to a jog from time to time. New ambition, fresh inspiration, in need of self-discipline I jump in and take a few steps. Desperate need for order has birthed vision for routines and schedules, which sounds so rigid but there's freedom in those boundaries set by time.

So thankful today for

*new routines

*grace to face the failed routines of yesterday

*mercies that are new every morning

*the people who inspire me

*tomato, cucumber and cheddar sandwiches

*banana blueberry muffins

*seasons

*moments of quiet in a whirlwind of children

*gray hairs--the Bible says they come from Godly living!

:>)

11 years ago

We told Andrew he was going to be a big brother on Christmas Day, 1998. He was 4 years old. He jumped up, pointed his finger at me, and shouted, "It's a boy! And we're naming him Samson!" To say he was excited is an understatement. Why he picked the name Samson, I'll never know. But the following August, 1999, Jonathan Alex was born after a short, but painful back labor. And he had a will to rival the strength of Samson to be sure.

From the time he was a little newborn, Jon knew what he wanted and how he wanted it. So determined to keep up with Andrew, he was pushing himself around in a walker by 4 months and started practicing his walking long before he was able to catch himself well with his hands, leading to many a bump on his head.

Thankfully, God provided him with a nice, hard skull as it has born the brunt of many a bump over the years, including a face-off with a brick wall, and most recently, the abuse he can't get enough of during football practice!

He is strong and confident but tender hearted. The kiss of a younger sibling can bring tears to his eyes, and I love watching my favorite movies with him because he just "gets it" and we tear up at the same scenes. He's a leader by nature with a great sense of humor and the most fabulous smile. Can you tell I just love him?

So thankful are we for JonnyB! Happy Birthday!

Short and Sweet

Thanking God this Monday evening for:

*Daughters. 2 of them!

*Sleep.

*The clearance rack at Old Navy

*A date night with Ken to look forward to

*Wisdom and creativity

*Healthy kids

The Day the Butterfly Came to Visit

We played with a butterfly the other night, Andrew and I. Or rather, the butterfly played with us. Fluttering ever so close, landing on our arms, our heads, my neck! It came and stayed for over an hour. I felt like a little girl again, giddy with the anticipation that it might just land on me one. more. time. So much fun!

We like to grow things

There is a bit of the farmer in Ken, a desire to see things grow, to help things grow....to grow things. And this is what it looks like here on our almost farm...

Wheat! Our farming friend grew wheat in our fields! I hope to bake some bread with it soon!

A rock garden that I finally paid some attention to this spring. And Ken stands guard against the weeds....

Pigs to be taken to the butcher in the fall.....

He likes to grow other things, too. We both do.

Children...Minds...Spirits...Vision...Dreams...

We may not always be able to measure their growth, but I know our efforts are not in vain. God will complete the work begun in each one!

Somehow it's been a week since I last sat to write. Time flies and yet stands still for me. My day flurries by and the sun goes down and I realize I never did make it outside to smell the fresh cut grass, or watch the hawk that flies overhead, crying for some unseen companion. And yet, there are things like diapers and sleepless nights and laundry piles and meals to be cooked...endless work that's never done even though I may be "done" and it all seems to be going so slowly. But today, as I sat and nursed Little B, a delicious breeze of summer drifted in through the window beside me, and I looked out to see the most beautiful green field and barn and thought, "My life is perfect." And I know you know it's really not. But for that moment, with babe in arms, smell of summer drifting in...it really was.

So I'm thankful today for

*a new co-worker to brainstorm with

*26 chickens in my freezer

*Delicious summer breezes

*6 blessings

*a football league for two rough and tumble young men

*the coaches who spend so much time teaching them how to be rough and tumble the safe way!

And that's all...for now.