Monday.
6:15 am. I push the snooze on my Iphone. 6:25 am. I'm up and head to the kitchen to start the coffee. Wake Asher up.
8:45 am. The kids are all in school. I head out for a 3-mile run. Wow. It's HOT!
9:20 am. Back home. Hit the shower. Eat my 10 o'clock banana. Start the first load of laundry. Read a few paragraphs in "The Road to Serfdom." Ponder government. Ponder the ignorant masses.
Schedule two family photo shoots. Load the dishwasher.
Make a little lunch. Read the opinion section and the editorials. Empty the dryer. Fold a load of laundry. Start another load.
Clean my closet. Start the ironing. Search Netflix. Watch a film (while ironing) about a Palestinian suicide bomber who spends a weekend with Israelis (because he has a faulty switch that doesn't detonate the bomb) and struggles with his mission. All in Arabic and Hebrew. (With English subtitles.)
Make chocolate chip cookies for the kids' after-school snack.
Greet the children. "How was your day?" Take Asher to get his haircut at Becky's. Girls get lost in the woods. (Slight panic on my part even though they were with the two brown Labradors that would lead them home...)
6:00 pm soccer meeting. Dyron volunteers to be Lilli's soccer coach in addition to Eden's coach...despite knowing very little about the game. (No one else is "stepping up.")
Get Eden's alternative "Sight Word" list from her first-grade teacher. This list includes "scientist", "language", "noun"...
Asher brings home his percussion set. He plays his new instruments for an hour. I love to hear him making music.
We eat at Razorback Pizza. The family is oblivious to the homeless woman snitching from the salad bar until I point her out. I decided to go offer her our extra pizza. Funny. She seems to prefer the pickled okra...
Monday, August 22, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Raising a Gentleman
My only son is a young man. He will turn twelve in a few months. I can see his childhood cocoon starting to split as his wings of adulthood finish their growth and get ready for flight. I only hope I have given him the best nourishment of discipline, values, and love needed for strong wings to carry him safely on his journey. I pray he will continue to seek his Creator and his Savior when he needs guidance.
I know he will encounter turbulent winds. Thankfully, he will also experience soft breezes. I am forecasting plenty of adolescent storms in the next few years but hopefully with the proper preparation they can be weathered!
Asher started middle school this week. I didn't shed a tear when he started Kindergarten. (I think I was too busy with the other two babies at home!) I shed many tears last Monday. I also prayed many prayers. I love you, son.
I know he will encounter turbulent winds. Thankfully, he will also experience soft breezes. I am forecasting plenty of adolescent storms in the next few years but hopefully with the proper preparation they can be weathered!
Asher started middle school this week. I didn't shed a tear when he started Kindergarten. (I think I was too busy with the other two babies at home!) I shed many tears last Monday. I also prayed many prayers. I love you, son.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sweet Potatoes
The phone rang Tuesday morning. I answered the call and it was dad. He asked, "Could you bring your camera when you come out here and take some pictures of my sweet potatoes?" I replied, "Sure." Dad said, "Thanks, sis." He then hung up the phone.
My dad is, and probably always will be, a man of few words.
He also came over to my house and borrowed two of Eden's fake snakes for his apple trees. He was hoping they would keep the birds from eating his apple crop!
My dad is, and probably always will be, a man of few words.
He also came over to my house and borrowed two of Eden's fake snakes for his apple trees. He was hoping they would keep the birds from eating his apple crop!
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| I felt like Eve... but the snake didn't say anything to me! |
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Blame it on Facebook!
I can't believe I haven't posted since June 20th. I feel so guilty. So slovenly. And, so incomplete.
I write a little bit every day. I just haven't been sharing lately. I always have such grand visions of my what my accomplishments will be and how I will share nuggets of wisdom with my audience and then I get distracted by life.
Summer is especially distracting...
Part of the distractions of late have been travel-related. I took the kids to Virginia Christadelphian Youth Camp and then to the Great Lakes Bible School in Wisconsin. That adventure took 14 days. Then, I returned home with our friend, Dwight. (When Dwight is here I get even less done because we like to philosophize while laying poolside in the sun!) The two weeks home were filled with unpacking, loads and loads of laundry, a lot of swim practice, a lot of friends, packing for a second trip, and two swim meets before heading to Grandy and Grammy's house. (Yes. Back to Virginia.)
A great time was had by all in Virginia. We played with the cousins. We ran a 5K. (The first for all three kids.) We went to the beach for a few days. We visited Jamestown. And, we got plenty of quality time with Aunt Martie, Aunt Carmen, and Aunt Shannon!
Now, being back home just means two more weeks to get ready for school. The girls and I spent the morning cleaning and organizing their room. We also started gathering school supplies and I realized how tall they've grown this summer!
I always want to accomplish more than is possible during a day. I've finally realized how much time three children take out of my schedule. Someone is ALWAYS hungry (must be related to the growing!). Someone is always asking a question (usually about having a friend over). Someone is always needing something...
So, I blame Facebook. It's too easy to type in a quick status update. Instead, I should be taking the time to muse about motherhood in a more thoughtful way. It's therapeutic. I should know this... anything worth anything takes time. However, I will resist taking the opportunity to make an "I will blog more" promise. Because I also know that "good intentions are not enough..." I've got to get to work!
I write a little bit every day. I just haven't been sharing lately. I always have such grand visions of my what my accomplishments will be and how I will share nuggets of wisdom with my audience and then I get distracted by life.
Summer is especially distracting...
Part of the distractions of late have been travel-related. I took the kids to Virginia Christadelphian Youth Camp and then to the Great Lakes Bible School in Wisconsin. That adventure took 14 days. Then, I returned home with our friend, Dwight. (When Dwight is here I get even less done because we like to philosophize while laying poolside in the sun!) The two weeks home were filled with unpacking, loads and loads of laundry, a lot of swim practice, a lot of friends, packing for a second trip, and two swim meets before heading to Grandy and Grammy's house. (Yes. Back to Virginia.)
A great time was had by all in Virginia. We played with the cousins. We ran a 5K. (The first for all three kids.) We went to the beach for a few days. We visited Jamestown. And, we got plenty of quality time with Aunt Martie, Aunt Carmen, and Aunt Shannon!
Now, being back home just means two more weeks to get ready for school. The girls and I spent the morning cleaning and organizing their room. We also started gathering school supplies and I realized how tall they've grown this summer!
I always want to accomplish more than is possible during a day. I've finally realized how much time three children take out of my schedule. Someone is ALWAYS hungry (must be related to the growing!). Someone is always asking a question (usually about having a friend over). Someone is always needing something...
So, I blame Facebook. It's too easy to type in a quick status update. Instead, I should be taking the time to muse about motherhood in a more thoughtful way. It's therapeutic. I should know this... anything worth anything takes time. However, I will resist taking the opportunity to make an "I will blog more" promise. Because I also know that "good intentions are not enough..." I've got to get to work!
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| At camp you make life-long friends! |
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| Cousins! |
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| More cousins! |
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| The girls and Aunt Carmen! |
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| Asher catches a wave at Virginia Beach! |
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| Pregnant Aunt Martie looking radiant... only eight weeks to go! |
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| The girls imagine what it would be like to live in a Powhatan Indian house! |
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| "Land ahoy!" Grammy shouts. (Did I mention it was 108 degrees on our visit to Jamestown?) |
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| The kids try on the armor while touring the English fort at Jamestown. |
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| We helped Uncle Ty and Aunt Shannon celebrate their 7th anniversary while in Richmond. |
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| Dwight and Asher... twinkies in their matching shirts. |
Monday, June 20, 2011
Home Brew: Take One
D and I decided to try home brewing. He ordered a kit online and our first batch of beer is "Old School IPA" from Austin Homebrew Supply.
At this point, we're hoping our home brew is going to taste something like these taste...
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Who's your daddy?
My Daddy has always been there for me. In a quiet and unassuming way...
Anyone who knows my dad knows he is a man of few words. He gave me one consistent word of advice growing up... marry in the Lord. Our family read the Bible almost every evening while I was young. It was during this time Daddy would give us life advice.
He not only spoke words of advice to us... he lived the words he spoke. My dad was an accountant. I heard him complain a few times about some of the people he worked with and it was usually about their smoking habits. (Remember, people used to smoke at their desk.) Dad had signs on his door and in his office regarding smoking. I remember his "Smoke Free Zone" sign on his office door. I remember Dad always going to work... he was never out of a job. He never complained about providing for his family.
Dad was also faithful to my mother. He spoke like a "male chauvinist" at times but his actions told a different story. (I now realize he was picking at us. It was his way of having fun in a female-dominated household.) Dad and Mom were always working on some project around our house and 20 acres. My mother would ride on the tractor with my dad while he cultivated the garden or bush-hogged the field. She didn't have to be there... but she knew he liked it. I now realize these were "dates." They were always hugging and kissing each other (at my mother's insistence)... even in front of our friends. I found it embarrassing at the time but now I realize the importance of their displays of affection. It was showing me a healthy and happy marriage.
Dad was always a "wanna be" farmer. He grew a huge garden every summer. We even had a cantaloupe patch for a few years. Our work in planting, picking, and selling the cantaloupes resulted in a swimming pool. I remember complaining about the "dumb cantaloupes" when I was a kid, but now I see what Dad was teaching us. He was showing us how to work and reach a goal. He was showing me the rewards of labor.
My dad is a man of many talents yet he is not proud or boasting about them. He never played softball while I was growing up. His last season was the summer before I was born. He began playing softball again a few years ago. (I think it was after my youngest sister was married.) I see now how much he loves it. It must have been a sacrifice for him not to play for 30+ years. His softball team won the "65 and Older" National Softball Championship last summer and he was named MVP.
Daddy not only "talked the talk" but he "walked the walk" of a Christ-centered life. He showed me the benefits of a quiet and unassuming life. Peace. Enduring love. And, honor. The honor of his children, his wife, and his friends. The honor of a life well-lived.
I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day!
Anyone who knows my dad knows he is a man of few words. He gave me one consistent word of advice growing up... marry in the Lord. Our family read the Bible almost every evening while I was young. It was during this time Daddy would give us life advice.
He not only spoke words of advice to us... he lived the words he spoke. My dad was an accountant. I heard him complain a few times about some of the people he worked with and it was usually about their smoking habits. (Remember, people used to smoke at their desk.) Dad had signs on his door and in his office regarding smoking. I remember his "Smoke Free Zone" sign on his office door. I remember Dad always going to work... he was never out of a job. He never complained about providing for his family.
Dad was also faithful to my mother. He spoke like a "male chauvinist" at times but his actions told a different story. (I now realize he was picking at us. It was his way of having fun in a female-dominated household.) Dad and Mom were always working on some project around our house and 20 acres. My mother would ride on the tractor with my dad while he cultivated the garden or bush-hogged the field. She didn't have to be there... but she knew he liked it. I now realize these were "dates." They were always hugging and kissing each other (at my mother's insistence)... even in front of our friends. I found it embarrassing at the time but now I realize the importance of their displays of affection. It was showing me a healthy and happy marriage.
Dad was always a "wanna be" farmer. He grew a huge garden every summer. We even had a cantaloupe patch for a few years. Our work in planting, picking, and selling the cantaloupes resulted in a swimming pool. I remember complaining about the "dumb cantaloupes" when I was a kid, but now I see what Dad was teaching us. He was showing us how to work and reach a goal. He was showing me the rewards of labor.
My dad is a man of many talents yet he is not proud or boasting about them. He never played softball while I was growing up. His last season was the summer before I was born. He began playing softball again a few years ago. (I think it was after my youngest sister was married.) I see now how much he loves it. It must have been a sacrifice for him not to play for 30+ years. His softball team won the "65 and Older" National Softball Championship last summer and he was named MVP.
Daddy not only "talked the talk" but he "walked the walk" of a Christ-centered life. He showed me the benefits of a quiet and unassuming life. Peace. Enduring love. And, honor. The honor of his children, his wife, and his friends. The honor of a life well-lived.
I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day!
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