Made for Work

If I had been more faithful to the blog this past week, this would have been my Thankful Thursday post. Joe was just on top of the world on this day when he got to go out and work in the yard. For some reason, the fir trees in our backyard dumped a boatload of little pinecones this winter. Joe raked and raked and raked! It made me think of a book that's on my list of ones I want to get soon, a devotional for boys called Made for Work. This day made me think we'll definitely be enjoying the thoughts shared in this book. Joe loves to be useful and see the fruit of his labors. This was an extra chore, so I offered to pay anyone who would work. The girls only lasted for about 15 minutes. Joe kept up with the work, but I don't think the money was really his motivation. What a blessing that kind of energy will be for his whole life!

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I'm simply thankful for this dear girl who is turning 7 this weekend. I've been working on her slide show and am feeling sentimental. For some reason, her birthdays are always the hardest ones for me. She's the one who seems to change every time I blink my eyes! (I really love that about her, though.) Tonight she was busy working on her "book" called The Life of Joe, Ellie, Erin, and Daniel. She's been working on it for at least a week now, and I think it's precious...fully illustrated, of course. Maybe someday I can put an excerpt on the blog. What a precious blessing her life is to our whole family!

Thankful Thursday

For tonight's Thankful Thursday post, I'm rewinding back to our homeschool Valentine party held last Friday. (This is the beginning of the week in rewind, but it works out that it is something I'm truly thankful for, too.) Last Friday morning we got all ready to go, the kids all toting their Valentine boxes with them....

Yes, they are all pretty cute, but I was mostly thankful that they were DONE for another year!

Then, the party...this is one shot that shows one of the things I'm most thankful for about homeschooling.

In this picture the kids are doing a little game to split up into teams for relays. Just look at the teams...that's what I love. See all the ages mixed together? These kids are such a blessing to be around! At one point, Erin was playing with some girls when she fell and hit her head on the floor. I saw it happen, but before I could even get to her, one of the teens had swooped her up and was comforting her. Wonderful! The kids played lots of games, then one of the moms led devotions (and that part was so well done the kids even remembered it that night at supper).

So...lots of fun for the kids. I don't have that many pictures of it because while they all played, I was having a very encouraging time talking with the other moms. That's something I'm super thankful for!

Yes, the valentine party post definitely belonged on a Thursday.

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I'm very, very thankful for our little Erin who celebrated her fifth birthday today. We knew she was five because she was so much bigger...when she woke up the first thing she told us was that the ground looked farther down today because she had grown! She had a wonderful day, and it was a joy to be able to bless her in so many ways. First of all, Joe and Ellie had doubled up some of their school work yesterday, so we could take the morning off of school to play and have fun with the birthday girl. This meant Erin could stay in her pajamas a little longer than usual which was truly a treat for her. She loves that! Her gift that she got first thing in the morning was her very own Beta fish.

She named him Rainbow, and I would say she loves him about as much as a fish can be loved. She got to wear a special outfit of her own choosing, choose all our meals for the day, have a little extra video time and an extra long story time, got a couple more gifts through the day (including her first two-wheeler), and basically, just got made much of! Ellie took on the role of "professional" (as she called herself) and made a checklist of all the birthday activities, which was very sweet.

So now I no longer have a four-year-old girl. To me, five is a milestone, which ends the little girl years and starts the schoolgirl years. What a joy to see it all!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful tonight for the many, many foot prints in my backyard. I have always loved the smooth cleanness of newly-fallen snow. Now I'm finding that I love messy tracks (and the little feet that made them) even more.

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I'm very thankful to be sharing a house with a toddler! I tell you, if babies started out at the stage Daniel is in right now, I'd be like the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe! He just trots around here, getting into everything, and passing out belly laughs for nothing more than a quick tickle. I also love all his cute little words right now: "beeshot" for basement, "mishak" for music, "bee-ah" for bear, etc. Now, he does have his moments (a couple weeks ago he "discovered" his scream!)...he's a natural-born sinner, after all, but he brings far more joy than grief. How I love my baby boy! And he's the one that we weren't even going to have. We had always thought maybe four kids, but after three in 3-1/2 years, we felt like we were pretty good to go. Then God worked on both of our hearts and here we are today. And what a blessing Daniel is to our family!

Take today, for example. Homeschooling can, of course, lend itself to some pretty intense moments, what with the various personalities and story problems and all. Today one of the tribe was in a not very happy state of mind. Daniel walked into the room where this child was "struggling", then stopped and looked at them for a long time (seriously, 10 seconds or more) without saying a word. We all got quiet, waiting to see what he would do. Then he blurts out, "BLAA-DAA DOD-IT!!", and calmly leaves the room. It was the perfect tension breaker!!! We all laughed, and went on with our day in much lighter spirits. Thank you, Lord, for that boy!!

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I'm thankful that 50 years ago today, the most wonderful man I know was born.

I used to always joke that Matt was a smart guy and that's why he married me. Now I know the truth... He is an incredibly kind and patient guy, and that's why he's married to me...happily! I'm so thankful for his great love for me and the kids, which is displayed every day in his servant-like attitude around our home. He's my greatest fan and supporter in my role as a homemaker and homeschooling mom, for which I am also most grateful. He keeps life fun for all of us, and we were so glad to celebrate him today!

We had a simple family party tonight, as the bigger get-together will be this weekend. A few gifts and cards, a good dinner, and some family games made for a special night.

We are also so thankful for the many people who have sent Matt cards. He has really enjoyed hearing from so many friends, near and far. What an encouragement! The cards are awesome...very fun! The kids have had a blast with the ones that have sound. The Star Wars theme played in our house for about an hour today (Beau and Megan!!). Thank you so much to everyone! We have such a great group of friends and family!

So, it's a very thankful Thursday. We have more blessings than we could ever count!

Thankful Thursday #4

Tonight I'm thankful for cold weather and warm memories. When we bought these sweatshirts at the Outer Banks last summer the temperature was close to 100... that would be a 100+ departure from our air tonight! In July, it was hard to believe we'd need these extra layers someday, but I knew that when we did, we'd be thankful for the bright colors and the sunny memories they evoked.

It is incredibly frigid out there tonight, but even that is a reminder of God's faithfulness to His promises.

"While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

And cold and heat,

And summer and winter,

And day and night

Shall not cease."

Genesis 8:22

On a lighter note, I have one more thing that I'm thankful for. Behold...

It's my laundry room floor! I knew it was down there somewhere. I finally found it today. It feels good to be caught up. Now nobody is allowed to change clothes for the next five days!

Thankful Thursday #3

Tonight I'm thankful for my weird kids. Actually, I should say, I'm thankful that kids are weird, and I get to live with four of them, whose unique brand of weird-ness I totally enjoy.

One aspect of their weird-ness (probably my favorite) is the way they play. We first started noticing this when Ellie got a little family of toy lions for her fourth birthday. Those lions were the only thing the kids played with for days after that! The lions were everywhere, having all kinds of adventures. Other animal families later joined them, but now all have been replaced by what the kids call "lizard'ns" and "frog'ns". They are these little rubber, stretchy lizards and frogs that we buy at Wal-Mart (88 cents for a pack of 15!). There are different colors and varieties in the packs, and the kids have names and character traits for each one. They even speak in different voices and accents! What's really funny is the kids think I know the names of each one. They'll come up to me and ask if I've seen "Susan Lizard'n"...as if I could tell Susan from any of the other 50 lizards! Lizard'ns and frog'ns are sort of like action figures and Barbie dolls rolled into one cheap, little, gender-neutral package, and they've provided hours of fun in this house. For more than a year now, they're about the only toys we've needed.

See? You just don't get that kind of weird with grown-ups.

I got this picture of what appears to be a lizard'n and frog'n pow-wow. Mode of transportation at the bottom right corner.

Thankful Thursday #2

Today I'm thankful that my son loves my singing voice. I know as well as anyone that I can only carry a tune in a very large bucket, but he thinks I should be making my own CD's. I love it that when he's going to sleep at night, he begs me to sing him songs, and then always tells me how good the song sounded. Someday he may hear how limited my singing abilities are, but I hope he still has warm memories of our favorite bedtime songs. What a blessing to be a mother!

Thankful Thursday #1

(Coloring by Erin)

Well, it's easy to have something to be thankful for today.

Lately, I've been listening to this song by Point of Grace. It's not a Christmas song, per se, but I think the message is perfect, especially here in the first couple verses.

Infinite Deity, humbly enframed
In a mortal and breakable body You came
To rescue our souls from the depths they were in
Because, in spite of, to cover my sin.

Master and servant together in one
Come to redeem what our hearts had undone
Savior of all come to gather His kin
Because of, in spite of, to cover my sin.

Holy, unbreakable, infinite God,
Ever unchanging in all that you are
Light of the world and the sun and the stars
You are I Am and I am because You are.

(Scott Phillips, Because You Are)