To Train Up a Mother

For Veteran's Day...

2008-11-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

We went to the Veteran's Parade in Arlington with our fun Kirkman cousins!
This is pretty much the red carpet for me. I would pass up Leonardo de Caprio and all his liberal friends any day to shake the hand of one of these men.

Unlike Leo, these guys aren't real sure about all the attention. They never did what they did for the politics or limelight and if you make the mistake (like I did) of calling one a hero he will quickly correct you and tell you that the real heroes are all their friends that never came home. But we know they are heroes too and we love them.

The kids thought it was so amazing to see real life heroes. I think they were kinda bummed when we piled back into the van without getting to shake any hands or tell them how thankful we are.So when we spotted these guys in the alley on our way out... we couldn't help but track them down! The cream of the crop no less!!!Three Veterans including WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War! (Silas was quick to proudly tell them that his own Papa Tim served in Vietnam.) I think he made a real connection.

Commander Bill Morse gave us his card and they offered to come over sometime and do a special home school day for the kids! Look at their faces. These are proud kids. This made their day!We watched them go and I wondered what mix of feelings they must have on days like these. I wonder if they really know what they mean to us, and how thankful we really are. I wonder if they know that they are still blessing us by their lives long after serving. Both those who died and those who fought and still live to shake hands of the younger generations and inspire them to greatness. I hope they know... ...that my little boy came home and got right to work on a hat and flag just like theirs and informed me that he now wants to be a "flying soldier"... Thank you Veterans.
We thank God for your service
and we rejoice in your life.

We salute YOU!

The Hearts of Kings... and Mothers too

2008-11-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 21:1 says that
The King's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD. He turns it wherever He wishes.

So... we need not loose sleep over the heart of our new President, right?
We now begin to pray for him and in so doing, realize that this all has just as much (if not more!) to do with our hearts as it does his! And this, my friends, leads me to my point...

Where is your heart today? What's the initial gut reaction when you think of praying for your new President? Are you there yet? Did it take you awhile? Are you nauseous?

Have you, like me, run the gamut of emotions even despite your confidence of the Sovereignty of God? I confess that I spent Tuesday before the polls came in, weeping for the lost children of my unsaved friends. Not the intangible, theoretical, hypothetical lost unborn children, but the actual I-dearly-love-their-Mothers-and-wanted-them-to-live-desperately-but-now-don't-even-have-a-grave-stone-to-even-bring-yellow-roses-to... children. The ones I don't let myself think about on a daily basis in order to function.

It came out of nowhere, with no PMS to blame, and hit me very hard. I wept for their mothers... and vacillated between grief for the lost... and ANGER towards my fellow "Christians" for allowing such atrocity. I watched the elections later and felt brief shock, mixed with frustration that I couldn't cry tears of joy with Oprah and my fellow black Americans at seeing a black man come to the Presidency. I wished I could have. But I could only think of the statistics and wonder if Oprah realizes how many more little beautiful black babies will not see the light of day as a result of this "historical" vote.

I felt pity watching all those people swaying to the music, waving their flags, rejoicing in vain hope of a new human savior, dancing in the streets, weeping, arm in arm, briefly united in a cause... because they need to put their hope in something, and I guess this is it for them. I was able to watch them and clearly see a misplaced hope. I felt disgust, wondering how many ignorant voters Leo, Brad Pitt & Paris Hilton alone got out to vote...

And then as I heard the Obama hymns and saw the magnitute of the worldwide worship for this man... I felt that familiar flash of fear betray a heart off course and a need to dive back into the Word and let my LORD direct my own heart in the direction that He wishes, just as He will direct the heart of my new President, as He wishes.

So... I did. (And I let my husband make me a nice strong Pina Colada too.)

And this is the point. The thing we must do. (No Pina Coladas before noon, ladies) ;)

God is preparing us for heaven, people. He just cranked up the furnace. He did. Not the voters. God did. He is "weighing" each of our hearts. He knows how we voted in secret, and He knows why. He knows how we now fear, anger and falter... or simply care more about catching our favorite show than searching His Word. He knows how sinful humans love to take up a "worthy" cause, throw money into charity, let the world see and hear their goodness and just generally bask in their awesomeness as they blindly speed down their high road headed to hell?

Whether you're speeding there in a hybrid or a 15 passenger van makes no difference to Him.

What direction is the "channel of your heart" flowing today and which direction might the Almighty God want it to go? Surely not jadedness, self-righteousness, fear, and apathy. Surely not running off at the mouth (or the computer) before you've taken a good look in the mirror. Realize that with Tuesday's vote, God just did re-direct the channels of our hearts. He exposed, tested, dangled our idols before us and shifted us further away from hoping and trusting in any government, leader, policy or law... and more to Himself and His promises.

If you're feeling the heat of the Refiner's fire today whether it manifest itself as fear, worry, disgust, anxiety, depression, confusion, disappointment, jadedness, doubt, anger, or even... (if you placed your hope in man and won!)... false hope, triumph, defiance, confidence and puffed up pride for your country and yourself... may you recognize it all as the loving Hand of the LORD, directing the channel of your heart, or adjusting the heat setting on your furnace. Let your heart flow like water according to His wishes. Let His heat burn away any dross that keeps you praying from those Christians who have so disappointed you. Let all of this be another revelation to you of your need for a true Savior and may you rejoice in the fact that our God, unlike man, has the actual power to save you! Let it bring you to your knees in humble, loving and confident prayers for your new President Barrack Hussein Obama whose heart is in the hands of the LORD in whom we put our trust.

Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be,

For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
They speak emptiness to one another;
With flattering lip and with a double heart they speak.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
The tongue that speaks great things;
Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail! (yes we can)
Our lips (votes?) are our own; who is lord over us?"
Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
(what? You didn't know the unborn can groan?)
Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs."

The words of the LORD are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
Thou, O LORD, wilt keep them;
Thou wilt preserve him from this generation forever!
The wicked strut about on every side,
When vileness [worthlessness] is exalted among the sons of men.
~Psalm 12

In the LORD I take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain;
For behold, the wicked bend the bow,
They fixed ready their arrow upon the string,
To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?"

The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.
~Psalm 11

Answering to God for YOUR stroke of the pen

2008-11-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

I have very great peace and confidence that the outcome of tomorrow's vote will be right in God's plan no matter who gets elected. It is in His hands. My hope is not in any man but in God who "directs the hearts of Kings".

And yet, with that said, I have a lot of very strong feelings regarding the actions of my fellow Christians. I have been completely shocked this election, (so utterly shocked) to hear of professing Christians unwilling to vote on behalf of tiny, innocent, unborn babies who do not get to vote. Professing Christians who think that there are greater issues than the life of a little baby?

I meant to blog about this many, many weeks ago. I started, ranted, deleted. Many times. But... what in the world do I say to a Christian who will not vote to protect the life of millions of unborn babies???? For (what?) their wallet? What in the world do I say?

I can only guess that these people must be so very, very far removed that they think that they will not themselves be judged for their part in it and that their vote doesn't really impact that world of the unborn? That somehow... it filters down, gets dilluted and in the end, Obama, the doctor performing the abortion, or the mother will bear the final responsibility for the life of the innocent. I'm guessing....(trying so hard to give them the benefit of the doubt here)... that they must not know that it is our job? As Christians? That God will not start by judging Obama or the poor lost, deceived and exploited woman seeking the abortion but that He will hold responsible those of us who know better?

Maybe they've never seen one of these tiny beautiful silhouettes twirling and kicking on an ultrasound machine... the little four chambered heart just beating away?

I'll never forget the first ultrasound I saw. I was a very little girl and it was my first magical peek at my wonderful, beautiful, dancing little sister... Rose. I had a glimpse that many never get, through my Mom's tummy, into the unseen world of the innocent, unborn people. Real people.

When we vote for a person that we know will vote for the murdering of these innocent little people... what neurons in the brain are misfiring...? What sinful justifications and numbing of the conscience has brought us to a place where we think for one moment that we ourselves will not stand before an Almighty God, the One who "knits them together in their mothers' wombs" and have to answer for the deadly stroke of our pen? Not just Obama's pen. But our pen.

I guess the reality of this personal responsibility really sunk in while I actually picked up my pen to draw that line in ink from one end of an arrow, to another. I realized in a brand new way that I was, in fact, writing in ink, a line representing life, or death and it hit me that I will answer to God someday for that line.

And with a very, very sick, sinking feeling... I thought of all the professing Christians I know of who know better, and who will have to answer for their part too.

It's an easy vote, Christians. We vote for LIFE. We imitate Christ who laid down His own life, so we might live. Before we had a vote, He voted for us. In obedience to the will of the Father, He voted for us. So we imitate Him, walk by faith, in obedience, knowing that our Father can raise the state of this nation's economy just as easy as He raised Christ. He is a God of miracles and redemption. So we lay down whatever we have to....

....... to vote for those babies.

I shall wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go about Thine altar, O LORD,
That I may proclaim with a voice of Thanksgiving,
And declare all Thy miracles.

Psalm 26: 6 & 7

Understanding, Knowledge, Wisdom & Lemon Drops

2008-10-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

We just enjoyed another fun & easy Science Project out of our Story of the World activity book. It just seems to make SO much sense to me for young children to listen to the great stories of history unfold chronologically, while reading good corresponding (age appropriate) literature along the way, coloring beautiful maps of your travels and letting great science happen as... well, as it did! It makes each subject come to life so wonderfully!

We're in the Early Modern Times book and it's all kinds of excitement as usual! Jamestown, The Early Colonies, The Search for the Northwest Passage, the French in the New World, Henry Hudson's quest and so much more! At these young ages we don't focus too much on exact dates and trivia but on the continuous unfolding stories and characters of the great cultures in time! As they grow, they branch out into more challenging literature, but keep right along with the fun! So since around this time there was a lot of hoopla over a pretty deceiving little mineral called pyrite - a.k.a. Fool's Gold, how fun but to segue into a little science experiment on the qualities of real gold using yellow Playdough and lemon drops as our two mysterious treasures.

The Playdough turned out to mostly resemble real gold so we just went ahead and ate all the "Fool's gold"! Nothing like lemon drops to seal those memories into the best places in their little brains!

(Silas coloring Henry Hudson after having used half his Father's tube of hair butter to form his Mohawk)

THIS IS WHERE YOU BLOG PRETEND READERS DROP OUT ;) AND WHERE YOU DOUBTING MOTHERS HANG IN...

I only have a high school education. (SCANDALOUS! I Knoww!) Some people might think it's ludicrous that I'm teaching my kids myself. That's an argument for another day (that I will eh hem...win), but for now I want to just extinguish one specific little fiery dart of discouragement that the enemy, or the world, or a woman's own sinful mind will shoot straight at the heart of this thing called raising happy, godly children.

So you don't have a teaching degree. Wait whaaaaat? Not even college? You whaaaat? Even slacked off in high school?! Will the scandals never end?!?! You hate to read because the books were always soooo boooring? So you in fact, are not stoked on say... history for instance? PERFECT! You may have just as much fun as your kids! Let's be honest though, you and I would really suck at teaching calculus to teenagers right now. But here's the thing: Before calculus comes 1+1 dude. And 1+1= you can do it dude. Catch my drift?

Surely we can teach our 2 year olds? 3 year olds? 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 year olds? Do you realize how easy (and fun) this stuff is? It's stays soooooo eeeeassy for sooooooo many years! And these are the precious years! The foundational years. The years in which they will learn whether you want to be with them and whether they want to be with you. For now, it's all about love for learning! Whetting the appetite! Lighting the fire! What you will discover is that you, the parent will suddenly realize you are loving it because you are learning too. Very easily. Because you have an adult brain and you are learning basic stuff.

Home schooling is my second chance at learning! I get to acquire a lot of the knowledge that I didn't give a darn about at the time because duh! I was in schoool! And there were like...too many things to worry about! ;) I have an adult brain now and understand how wonderful knowledge is because I now have a little life experience to understand why. The heart of him that hath understanding, seeketh knowledge ~ Prov. 15:14 I'm a great reader (thanks to phonics at the Christian school while I was teeny), and I looove these little people more than any professional ever will. All it takes is a little planning and willingness.

But let me tell you... in just a few more years...possibly months, I will be no match for my eldest daughter in history. She takes an interest to someone like Queen Elizabeth or Abigail Adams, checks out every book in the library and suddenly I have a for real expert sitting right here in my dining room gazing back at me with these big knowing fawn eyes. I never know which direction her interest is going to go, or if I will be able to carry the library basket out that day or not. It has picked up more speed than I ever imagined it would! What my sweet, dear, precious daughter lacks, is the wisdom to know where to put all this beautiful knowledge. But that... is where I come in! For what I lack in calculus, prepositional phrases and the periodic table of elements... I make up for in wisdom gained right from the Source Itself. And my love and wisdom (and her Father's!) will guide and cover this precious child as she grows in that understanding and wisdom.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.~James 1:5

(But on't count me out on the other stuff either. I'm all stoked on memorizing my prepositions right now with my girls! And someday it may come to some pretty formal logic. Unless I want my boys running circles around me! Calculus? ...I may have a root canal scheduled that.... yeah.

Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. - Prov. 23:12

But when that moment does come where you are outrun by your sweet kid and she pipes up to correct you on some Abigail Adams fact because she indeed is now an expert, let your wisdom guide her in the humble telling of it, and may you rejoice in that moment exceedingly! It will be sweeter than any lemon drop!

Through WISDOM is a house built; and by UNDERSTANDING it is established: and by KNOWLEDGE shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. - Prov. 24:3,4

For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. - Prov. 2:6

You can take the girl outta the Valley...

2008-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

...but you can't take the Valley outta the girl! This is a late post due to some super funky illness we've been battling but too fun not to post. Saturday before last we headed up north to my old stomping grounds for the Annual Skagit Valley Festival of Farms with our friends "The Burns-is". Chris and Jenni invited us over for dinner after all the farm festivities. How can you resist produce, hayrides through vineyards, pony rides, carmel apples, curly fries and hanging out with friends of such likeminded...humor.

I sure as heck can't. The curly fries, that is... I'm pretty convincing here, huh.

It's a good thing we stopped to see the cows with the best hairdos first because we got rained out before touring any other farms. A wicka wicka wee on the little pony...
He knows he's utterly studly here. uh huh...get it. Cuzza the cows...
Owen: Hiee Eamon! What you guys talkin about?
Eamon: We're just having a quick little huddle about parental control.
Owen: Oh! Can I join you! I have lots of good tips...

Owen: Okay so who are we aimin for here?

Eamon: Well I'm feeling like it might be kind of fun to get my Dad today.

Owen: Great! Well I highly recommend waiting right until the fries get here and then just scream bloody hell.

Eamon: Thanks buddy! That sounds like fun!

Owen: Yeah man, don't mention it. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great.

These are my favorite kinds of pictures. They just really, really, utterly amuse me.

While we were waiting for curly fries Jenni and I met a gal who reads both of our blogs. How fun is that? (Hi Tina!)

And the best thing about going back to my Skagit Valley is bumping into old friends. I bumped into my old gradeschool/highschool buddy Eddy and his wonderful family!Turtle fell asleep on the hayride. I guess he didn't realize he was sitting next to Eddy's brother Danny Zucco.

Juju had a great day. Look at those chompers! When posing for the Kirkman/Blau photo we discover one is missing. Can anyone guess?SILAS!!!

Thanks Chris!
But we forgot to get a Kirkman/Burns shot! :( Next year!

Don't EVER say the words "It can't get any worse"

2008-10-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

In fact, don't even mutter those words, quietly under your breathe. Don't even... regardless of what state of feverish delirium you are in, or how many countless things have gone wrong to add up to your present despair... even think those words. Go ahead and feel the pain. But... don't say those words. Because..... things can always get worse. And there seems to be some scientific law that as soon as you do, they will. While lying feverish on the couch Wednesday night after three days of sudden Jane Austen levels of fever... chills, shakes, projectiles, aches, a three day migraine, a week of missed school, 527 unanswered phone calls and trying to block out the deafening sound of seven kids eating and cleaning up dinner in the kitchen, I came to the realization that it sounded like a food fight was now actually breaking out in my kitchen. And then I did it. I made the stuuuupid maverick mother mistake of forming those very words in my mind. Yes. "Could this beeeeee any worrr?!!?!....

THUD.

Of course....only moments later came the most horrific sounds I think I have yet to hear in my lifetime. There was the horrible thud, Silas screaming bloody murder, everybody else screaming bloody mass murder, and the three oldest (normally calm-headed kids) running in to me in utter terror shrieking out the words "He's gouged his eye out!!!! Mom! His eyeball is gouged out!!! They were absolutely terror stricken which shook me up more than the scene itself... The "scene" happened to be Silas staggering around the kitchen with one very bloody eye, blood on his hands and screaming "I'm bliiiinded!" His vision was filled with blood so it was truly a scare for him. He had run into the cutting board that I knewww would eventually get left out and one day cause some real damage to some poor fool running by at high speeds.

(As Silas points out below)

I love this face. He looks like he's about to beat the crap out of the cutting board. Much in the same way we hear of mothers fighting off bears, running through burning buildings, to save their young, they can likewise overcome fever and projectiles, managing to run at very high speeds, even hurdling large pieces of furniture to tend to their injured young. It is a strong instinct for sure, and no doubt fueled by some pretty sweet adrenalin. Not even getting hung up by my bathrobe during my flight to the child (and the split second humiliating decision to shed it), was going to keep me from my young one. (I should mention here that I've been reading a lot of dramatic fiction during my days of invalidity)...

Isn't it amazing how quickly things can come into perspective for us? It's so ironic how for me things can seem so out of control until something really obviously out of my control happens and then I suddenly feel and remember how much out of my control it all is? Where nothing else matters. Where we realize nothing was really that bad a moment before when we were moaning that nothing could be worse?

I tend to do much better in those horrific-completely out of my control split second moments than I do in the sometimes overwhelming day to day little things that can feel we should have under "control". It takes a loud thud to jolt me out of my despair sometimes with what I know deep down. While scooping him up, grabbing a towel for the bleeding and hurrying him over to the light where I could assess the situation, I heard myself telling all of the panickers to "Calm down! Is God not in control? Did He not know this would happen? Does He not love Silas more than even we do and is He not the one who formed his little eyeball in the first place? Yes! He is! He did! He was and He still is in control!!! Everyone CHILL!"

This was met with silence, and true calmness that filled the room. We all (even the babies) gathered around him, laid hands on him and prayed. We cleaned him up and discovered that the cut (that has mostly healed before taking this picture), ran all the way up to the very tip of his lower eyelid, and even cut slightly inside of the lower lid (though not through). He also banged up the top lid pretty good which had been quite swollen before I took the picture today. I didn't see enough guts to call for stitches and by the time Brian got home it was old news (and I had my bathrobe back in place). eh hem.But I was so thankful for my fever and my back ache and my filthy house, unproductive week and my little boy at home with me instead of some ER somewhere. It is amazing how God needs to make things worse for us to see how good they really are, isn't it? We have so much. So, so much. Even when things go truly bad and we experience true tragedy or heartache, it can always be worse.

Oh Lord give us the grace to realize how much we have, how we deserve nothing good, and how you yourself took the horror of what we all really deserve. Help us to stay humbly on our feverish knees thanking you for each undeserved blessing. And when the thuds come, may we trust you because we know...we really know You and how much You love us.

Of Boys and Playgrounds

2008-09-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I have learned by observation that little boys have a different way of meeting other little boys than (for instance) little girls do. One thing I've noticed is that a seemingly essential part of the meet & greet process right off the bat, is to throw out all their important "stats" and basically do a bit of friendly bragging and comparing before they commence to the shuffling, scuffling, wrestling part of the friendship. This all seems very important so I try not to interfere if I don't have to, but I do try to... overhear.

Some boys are more prone to exaggerating and embellishing than others. It can be pretty comical when they do because another thing I've noticed about young boys is that they tend to be horrible liars.

My son Elijah however, has never been much of a bragger and is pretty darn truthful on the whole. He tends to hate the spotlight or undue attention. (Funny how different brothers can be?!) This is why the following conversation was particularly amusing to me as I overheard my son Elijah during a recent "meet & greet" process with another little boy his age on the playground.

Elijah: "I have a spiderman suit. It would go pretty good up here."

Playground boy: "Well I had a Spiderman suit too but I got rid of it and now I have a black ninja suit that I'm wearing for Halloween."

Elijah: "Oh."

Playground boy: "Black ninjas seem cooler this year."

Elijah: "Oh. ...I climb up on roof tops in my spiderman suit."

Playground boy: (incredulous) "....On what roofs?"

Elijah: "Well, mostly the pool house roof... and the shed roof."

Playground boy: "Huh-uh-uuh."

Elijah: (calmly and humbly) "Yeeeah, I do. My mom lets me. And then she lets me jump off."

Playground boy: (long pause..............) "Your Mom wouldn't let you do that."

(At this point "Mom" is hiding behind the bush, feeling a little bit like a reckless excuse for a mother as I wait and wonder what my son's answer will be)

Elijah: (grinning) "Yeah well she's pretty crazy about her blog sometimes."

Playground boy: (just stares very confused at my son.)

Elijah: "And she likes to take pictures all the time."

(I hastily stuff my camera in my pocket)

Playground boy continues to stare at Eli and realizes that he seems to be stating facts and does not seem to be lying or bragging.

Playground Boy: "Anyway... yeah, I don't know why I ever got rid of that Spiderman suit. I think I'll probably be Spiderman again next Halloween."

Elijah: "Oh. Cool. So did you see Spiderman 3... ?"

At this point the "meet & greet" was magically commenced, the friendship was apparently official and the two boys happily start scuffling and shuffling around the playset together demonstrating all their coolest spiderman/ninja stunts.

Boys. Mysteries.

Mothers: Perhaps the moral of this story is that if you let your sons do crazy stuff, then they won't have to make up crazy stuff to brag about on the playground. Perhaps I am just crazy and finding a moral to back up my antics.

But lest you think I am actually a reckless mother, here is a "behind the scenes" shot of Spiderman's sister checking his landing area for any sharp objects during his big photo shoot. See, we take proper precautions. Look how patiently Spiderman waits for his spot check.

*NO CHILDREN OR ANIMALS WERE ENDANGERED IN THE SHOOTING OF THESE BLOG PHOTOS.

No Ordinary Grandpa

2008-09-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

My Dad, who we affectionately call Papa Wheely, (and who we also acknowledge as the source of the inventor genes), was apparently reading my blog the other day! He was so impressed with Silas' homemade fishing pole...that he brought him a real one rigged with little magnets and with little magnetic fish to "catch" until we get a chance to do the real thing! He has always been inventing such fun things. But this isn't actually the reason for the title of my post. In fact, it is probably worth mentioning that most "ordinary Grandpas" do not try to go sky diving either! (DAD! Really! At your age!!!) But that is still not the reason for his very, very un-ordinariness.

You see, for all these years, we've felt it best that we just keep Papa Wheely unaware of what a famous Grandpa he is. We feared he quite possibly could abuse the celebrity of it all, and as most of you know, superheros usually keep their identities hidden from close family members for safety reasons. (Like so they don't get kidnapped in the night by green goblins and such.) So for his own safety, we've just played it pretty normal up til now. So all this time, he's been going by the title Papa Wheely and having no clue how famous he is.
But going under cover for that long can be a lot more pressure than most ordinary people realize. So when Spiderman overheard Grandpa talking about his near skydiving adventure and realized that Papa Wheely likes to live on the edge... well, what the heck. Sometimes you just gotta blow cover. So... just out of the blue, while Papa was sitting in the rocker, getting a hug from little grandbaby Juliet...
Spiderman just shows up.
Papa couldn't believe the stunts he was seeing right there in our living room.

He had thought Spiderman was a New Yorker.

And when Spiderman actually sat down for a few moments to chat with Papa Wheely...

He was pretty starstruck! But then...he started to recognize the charming, funny little voice coming through that mask...You can imagine Grandpa's surprise! When Spiderman revealed his true identity, Papa shouted out: "I'm Spiderman's GRANDPA?!?!?!" A lot of things make sense now. (uh hem...like trying to go sky diving at 63!)"Bye bye Papa Wheely,
Thanks for the fun visit...

We love you!!!"

How Does a Man Redeem Himself...

2008-09-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

when he has done it again. Dinner is ready, he was supposed to be home an hour ago, he's got half his commute still ahead of him and a wife about to chew him out over the phone (I would never do this, but I hear that some wives do)?

How does he? Well.....he could tell her to go get James Ussher's big fat ANNALS of THE WORLD book down from the shelf and open to page 716. Then when she replies with a saucy

"What, now?! Aren't you driving?!?!"

...he could patiently persist... until she finds something like this....

with a card like this inside...

with a very sincere apology and other sweet things written inside including that "this card is not to excuse" his "tardiness and absence" but just to know he is working on his "terrible vice" of being late. And he promises to make it up to her...

Then Signed, In Love and Repentance

oh heyll yes !

This should do the trick!

Too Impressed to be Mad

2008-09-04T12:29:00.001-07:00

So a couple days ago my kid comes walking in with his homemade fishing pole and whistling... because I'm guessing he must be in his Huck Finn character, stops right in front of me and says:

"Hey, check me and my fishin pole out, Mom."

I immediately notice that his reel is actually one of our spinning hot tub jets that has apparently been removed from the hot tub and rigged to another one of his contraptions. And...what the heck? It really reels!
See really... I could be mad. (Maybe I should?) But I am really just too impressed. The kid has never been fishing except for briefly on our recent boat trip where he must've studied the beauty of the fishing pole. If you can see, he used the following materials:
1 sturdy piece of kindling

1 Target pants hanger

(no doubt with the actual pants somewhere upstairs lying on the floor)

1 Hot Tub Jet

(as is typical with this son of mine, the most maddening is also the most genius part)

1 piece of thread

1 safety pin to anchor thread to the tip of the pole

1 bead (I'm guessing for asthetics because he noted similar objects when inspecting a real pole)

1 weight (um...a nut from Daddy's tool drawer)

1 toy fish tied to the end

1 brother to play Tom Sawyer and sit and keep you company while you "fish"I guess you could say I'm just reely, reely too impressed to be mad. ;)

While I was publishing this...
The son I was not mad at, just came over to my desk, munching on an apple and out of the blue said:

"Mom? You should try to go on that one show on TV where those um, people...they run up big mountains and win prizes and thtuff."

I began to get this uneasy feeling while asking"Really? Which one is that?"

"You know... the one for....you know....not very thkinny people?"

(he's doing this really fake-polite, teeth clenched with raised eyebrows smile now and I can see little bits of apple in his teeth and spittle on his lips)

"Um, so do you mean The Biggest Loser?"

"Yeah!!! That one! With all the f.. people who need to be skinny! That way you could get...y'know...thkinny... and win usth a lotta money too."
Okay. Now I'm mad! Get out of here you little JERK! --Before I break that fishin pole over your thick SKULL!!!! (just kidding. I would never...break that fishing pole.)

You Can't End the Summer without a little TERROR at the FAIR!

2008-09-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

We felt we hadn't had enough panic attacks to call the summer good.
We needed to find a good way to make the kids really look forward to the school year...
The kids and I couldn't help but giggle at each new expression of terror that came circling around. It looks sadder in the pictures than it actually was. It was pretty funny. Even she thinks so now.
Because after awhile, once she remembered her Daddy's arms were around her, she thought it wasn't so bad. She even waved!And raised both hands!!! Yey Essie!I flippin LOVE this picture.My two youngest kids have been a little out of control lately. I bet Brian (I should've bet him a large sum of money) that they wouldn't make it through the fair without a meltdown.Can you even believe this kid?
The meltdown came when Daddy wiped his hands clean (he had wanted to lick them clean)And little miss "Cheese"...Her meltdown came when Daddy tried to lick the drippy parts from the cone.
I love how ticked off she looks here. It was really a fun day. And I won the bet. :)

Treasure Maps

2008-08-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

What could Silas have possibly done now that could evoke such a look from his Father? Well... he could design a really cool treasure hunt, hide the treasure in the van and then....
...scratch the actual map of the van...

into the side of the van!

(You'll see he even included the "X" marks the spot.)

He didn't do this maliciously at all. He designed this fun treasure hunt for all of us and assumed it would "wash off". Since it won't wash off, I guess I will be looking at it for many many years to come. Hopefully it will serve as another very good reminder, along with the huge hole cut into my couch, the huge bleach spot on the new carpet and all the various "artwork" showcased on the walls of our home, each serving as their own sort of treasure map if you will. The little treasure maps that keep pointing me towards the real "treasure".

As we strive to be good stewards with the material stuff God has entrusted us, there is this constant tension between stewarding and enjoying God's great blessings, while still keeping them all in an open hand and not allowing them to become the treasure of our hearts. All these temporary things we naturally strive to acquire and keep... nice homes and cars, clothes, money in the bank, strong healthy bodies, youthful attractive figures... Temporal. And more fleeting than we can imagine.

So it is actually kind of a blessing whenever I'm reminded that those are just temporal things that "moth and rust" can destroy, thieves can steal, and one very rascally kid will inevitably vandalize! The truth is that the real and eternally lasting treasures are the little vandals themselves... and in serving the great God who miraculously sends them my way.

...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~Matt. 6:21

So where is your treasure?

Creepy!

2008-08-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

I got a funny idea off my friend Christa's blog and had to post it. You should try this for a good laugh. You just google your first name and then "needs". I'm sitting here checking email on the PC waiting for my Mac to recharge so I can get back to recording and this gave me a good laugh. It's for REAL what I came up with...

Elizabeth "needs"...
1. Protection (hwwwaaaaaaa!!!!!!!)
2. A hero (I sure do. Thank God He gave me a superhero for my husband)
3. to stomp the Latin out. (Now this is my favorite and it's flippin hilarious since I have finally officially given up on the Greek and Latin that we aspired to for awhile in my homeschooling. Let's just say the word "stomp" nailed my feelings on it pretty well!)
4. Email support (That's why I signed on!)
5. a nuk (Um...no.)
6. to wear a second shoe (I actually did only have one slipper that I wore for several months. It was really pathetic and annoying.)
7. your prayers today (yeah. Come on people)
8. to heal (um...yes, but in a much funnier way than you might think.)
9. lovin (that's where Superhero comes in, baby...)
10. The Fashion Police (Oh Lord do I ever!!! Did my sisters RIG THIS ONE???)
11. advice (Yep!)
12. a new home (only when I have really bad PMS)
13. justice, dignity. (interesting)

Try it! It's funny!

Weekend Aquatic 2008

2008-08-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Our ever inspiring and dear friends TEAM TWEDT took us out on their boat for our third annual San Juan boat trip. As usual it was a total blast. Make sure your speakers are on because friends crazy enough to take seven kids (ten total), their gimpy father and their crazy redheaded mother out on their boat (and invite us back!) deserve nothing less than the Zissou soundtrack...

Leaving Anacortes at Sunrise - still in our jammies
Goodbye mundane
While steering... he scans the horizon for any spotted jaguar sharks...
Turtle has never been happier... or turtlier.
Sleepy heads still snuggling down beneath. Juliet has no idea what is right outside her window...

What the?!?!Breakfast underway always tastes better.Land HO!Our long awaited destination, always talked about, brimming with memories and treasures... little secluded-piece-of-paradise...

~Jones Island~

Juliet is waiting for her sea legs to change back into her land legs.

She was just a baby our last trip. We just sit here...And keep this handy dandy little babysitter device nearby...And they have total freedom...(Well, there's always zoom.)
My Happy Little Explorers...

Captain Tom is always up to something exciting! Always "tying strings".

A little Rain...

Never stopped us before!

~Pure, hot, Caffeinated Bliss~ I'm fairly certain that this is how coffee will look and smell and feel and taste in heaven.

Gimpy Daddy perked right up!BedheadStill haven't spotted that Jaguar Shark...Momma and The Littles go for a little hike up the island. Turtle thinks he runs so fast!
Not so much. (Juliet is walking, and gaining on him...)

Hannah LandTime to cast off and check out some other islands!Gemma takes the leap...

and had no idea how cold the ocean really was.

Tom and Becky, after all these years you still both inspire us. Thank you for loving us, and for being such an example of true hospitality. Your friendship, love and salsa have warmed more hearts than you'll probably ever know. Thank you! We love you!

Isn't it amazing...

2008-07-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

...how He "knits them together in their mothers' wombs"? And all we do is just watch the beautiful evidence of the miracle that is happening, completely and utterly mesmerized at The Creator's handiwork. How can anyone see it and not know we have a very great God with a very great Love?

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ~Psalms 19:1

How much more is this beautiful image a declaration of our God and His great loving hand?

Isn't she beautiful?

SUPER HEROES AMONG US

2008-07-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

How else did the cans get to the street?!

Surely my husband with the fractured foot wouldn't have? He was told not to put weight on his broken foot. Surely he couldn't have lugged 100 lbs. of garbage down this hill..... on crutches?!?!

But it would seem that he somehow did.

I think his words when interrogated were "What? I just used a crutch."

But I'm still trying to imagine how in the world he did it.....????? Hmmm....

Just when I think I've seen it all! This man inspires me! I would do him a great injustice at this point if I didn't take this opportunity to say what is really great about my husband. God's Word does not say it is muscles that move mountains (or hurkin garbage cans) but it is faith. Not just faith, because we all have faith in something. The kind of faith that moves mountains is the the kind that acknowledges the One who created the mountains as the object of the faith. The example of Jesus Christ, is where my Superhero gets his super. His is the kind of faith that would hold fast if God chose to break both his legs and whatever else because he knows it is an undeserved gift and he knows his God is good and works in very mysterious ways. He knows that his ability to work comes only from the God that puts breath in his lungs in the first place. In a world that looks pretty bleak at times, you can still easily find these guys if you know where to look. They are around and you will know them by their love. That verse about faith moving mountains goes on to say:

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.When love and strength run low like it does for all of us at times, the guys that amaze us are the ones who find their strength and example in the ultimate hero ~ Jesus. These are the ones that keep the world going round. The next generation is eagerly watching these men and learning that they are usually disguised as regular guys, while doing superhero things.

They're the ones weed-whacking and disguised in ridiculous looking plastic bags over their casted broken legs; very often disguised behind babies...

with hands that serve...smores...with obvious love in their eyes...with heads bowed in prayer as they seek wisdom and strength...
living out for us the very gospel of Christ in such colorful pictures day in and day out that we cannot see it and not be immensely blessed and changed by it.

We are.

Thanks guys. For being faithful. For loving long.

We are blessed.

Practical Principles

2008-07-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

I was a little surprised when my sister recently commented that my Gum Removal post had been the most practical and helpful post that I've blogged. She seemed to think I should share more practical advice. I have found that the more kids I have, the more I find myself focusing on (and bloggin about) principals instead of the methods that have really faded out of importance in my mothering. My memory seems to have retained only what it deemed the essentially important stuff (which usually is, the principle). I have found that children survive whether they were scheduled or on-demand, whether they wore huggies or Pampers, etc... Whether little butts ought to be slathered in organic diaper cream or stinky ole Desitin doesn't get me real revved up anymore. I usually don't even remember what worked and what didn't. These days, I cling to my principles and very often just shake my head and laugh, run for the camera and instruct as I go. But I think my sister has a point. New mothers do need a little methodology sometimes to bring godly principals into practical mothering because it is such new ground. So, I've decided to try harnessing some principal with a little more step by step practical help here on To Train Up a Mother. Beginning with.........HOW TO RESPOND WHEN YOUR SON RIPS APART YOUR HOME AND YARD TO MAKE A HOMEMADE CAST IN IMITATION OF HIS FATHER:
1. First, breathe. Try to see past the gaps in your little white picket fence and look at your son's heart. He wants to be just like Daddy. What a beautiful thing! Scripture says the heart, is "the wellspring of life" so we don't want to bypass it's intentions! I highly recommend Shepherding a Child's heart if you have not read it.

2. Get the camera. We want to capture these beautiful things.

3. Laugh. Because...it is funny. The kid has a pair of Fruit of the looms wrapped around his foot, held securely with a bungy cord. He has ripped apart the white picket fence of the American dream in such perfect childish irony.

4. Now of course, instruct him. After you get a good pictures, make sure he puts back his Father's bungy cord and understands to ask permission next time he gets into Dad's stuff. Make sure he puts the briefs in the laundry, and that (here's the clincher!) he fixes the fence. If you fix it for him, you've just crushed his dream of being like his hard working Daddy.

5. Don't feel guilty if you need a margarita now. A lot of us would. ;)

This time it was NOT...a perfect Sunday

2008-07-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty great one though until Superhero finally showed a human weakness and broke his foot. Actually, it was still pretty fun even with the broken foot! Thanks to our great ER escort Jack and his treasure trove of stories and jokes, we had our funnest ER experience yet! (Thanks McPs and Melody for watching all the littles.) I am really relishing in our church community these days!
Well...and then there's always Vicodin. But look at the man still hard at work! He's so dedicated.
This is him last night after the color came back to his face but before the ER. (Still a bit nauseous) He's hamming it up for the camera hardly out of shock.
I guess he heard it pop when he twisted it. Ughhh.... I had never seen a person's face get so white! Brian is such a strong and steady guy that it made the rest of us a bit nauseous seeing him go down! He's the type of guy that will tackle Costco with seven kids in tow and not even break a sweat. He's so strong and dependable that I've actually had dreams that my husband is actually is an undercover superhero. In times of certain disaster he just whips out his flying skills, Superman style and swoops in to rescue falling ladies and their babies and I'm like "Oh! Nice work hon! Well that's handy!" Napolean was right. It's all about skills.

So anyway, it is a bit of a shock to have him out of commission and I realize even more how much I depend on him and what a blessing he is.

What am I saying... out of commission? He was walking by just now on his cruches when he heard this Soggy Bottom Boy song and started dancing and stomping his crutches. Maybe I should have warned them back at the ER about mixing Superheroes and Vicodin???

It was such a perfect... Sunday

2008-06-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

There was lots of sunshine, a great time of worship, great sermon, a bountiful feast that followed, beloved friends...and of even a pool to simmer down the theology talk. Or wait...I guess with these particular four guys it could really be any number of things. It could be the theology, law & politics, the stock market, Microsoft... but by the way they are strangely shifting around, I fear it is gymnastics, powerlifting.... or perhaps a combination of the two???

Yes, I have the uneasy feeling they are up to one of Dave's tricks...
Oh great. And my husband is the guinea pig???ONE... TWO...

THREE
FOUR....
FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS of FALLING MEN...

COMING TUMBLING (happily) DOWN!!!But the audience was really pleased.

I call this next segment...

Men of Christ Covenant get schooled by...

"The Grey Hair"
C'mon preacha...

(I love the little boys in the back ground, battling like the big boys in the foreground.)

Essie finally got her pool party and got the whole church to boot!

"It was hotter than snot." ~Lannie Brown :)

Somehow children just know...

"whether you EAT or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31

There were Lots of Children!

(who slept great that night!) Happy Menfolk

Lots of Lovely Ladyfolk

and brand new baby-folk!

And even some time for a little Sabbath
REST

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Strawberry Shortcake Discoveries

2008-06-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

What the blazes is this stuff?
My Mom better get this recipe
Gramma is brilliant...
Where is she anyway? I'm ready for thirds...
Oh Graaaamma.....

Thank you!

Business as Usual

2008-06-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may be wondering if all this song writing is affecting my mothering, I snapped a few pictures today (with my new birthday camera) to reassure you that things are running as smoothly as usual around here. There have been only a few minor...

blow ups...

Blow outs...

Only a few run-aways...

who were home by lunch...
only one severe allergy attack...

(which responded quite well to Benadryl)

only one brief moment of being locked out of my house by my naked toddler... my naked, smirking toddler...

Business as usual

...except maybe a little more fun!!!

Hannah's Dad

2008-06-17T16:49:00.001-07:00

I have been so obsessed with writing music lately I have neglected my poor blog. (It just isn't the same without a camera). Every once in awhile, something blogworthy strikes me and I feel compelled.

Anyway, this morning my Hannah approached me while my mind was busy forming song lyrics and my fingers were busy strumming and began to ask me permission for something that I was apparently tuning out. I soon realized this poor kid was trying to speak to a mother with her head totally up in the clouds (yet in fact staring straight at her) and so I apologized. She stood there still, sweetly waiting for my permission to something seeming quite important... what? Hmm...It was something about Dad I think. I asked her to repeat the request...

"Mom? When I read my Bible and pray and talk to God...in quiet times like that...well, do you think it would be okay if ...I call him Dad?"

I sat there stunned, humbled, and amazed at how distracted we grown-up Christians can get from the point... and from the person. We have a holy, all powerful, mighty, all-knowing God...master of the universe... who let's us call him Dad. In fact, he wants us to.

Incredible.

Clean & empty homes

2008-06-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

(NIV translation puts it this way:)

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest. ~Proverbs 14:4

Makes sense. But sometimes you just gotta love the King James which puts it a little better (at least for the mother who struggles with keeping up with housework and seven kids underfoot):

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much inrease is by the strength of the ox. ~Prov.14:4

Heck yes. I get it.

(Key word: "Clean" the Hebrew actually meaning "pure, clear, and empty".

Are you like me? Are you constantly trying to "purify" that slimy sink, "clear" the toy strewn floors and colored paper cuttings covering your dining table, "emptying" the always full garbage, diaper pail, lint filter, etc.... and it all just keeps coming because your stables are still full of the hungry, clumsy, busy, pooping little growing oxen that "make it" faster than you can "take it"?

Our little ones will grow strong, and like the great ox, someday bring much "increase" to the Kingdom of God. In the meantime, the cribs will neither be empty, nor clean.

Look ahead to that!

Keep shoveling, make your "arms strong", but don't break your back. The house will be empty and clean someday.

And the harvest will be great!
photo courtesy of www.worldofstock.com

He finally came out of the closet

2008-06-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry. My English teachers taught me that it's essential to grab your audience with that first opening sentence.

But actually it's true. Owen my sweet turtley Turtle has come out of the closet, (my walk in closet that his crib has been in for his long 2 3/4 years of life). He's now in a big boy toddler bed sharing a room with Essie and they LOVE it because they are best buddies! They are looking to becoming the new "Bonnie & Clyde"(usurping Hannah & Eli for the title. I doubt these two will surpass the deeds of mischief and mayhem that their formers did though.)

My flying nun friend Marjie , (and also one of the kids' most beloved babysitters) has forever teased me about when Owen will "come out of the closet" :) He loves being in a big boy bed.
Out of one closet, and into another!

Oh, the lot of the seventh child. But look at that little grin....

June day

2008-06-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

~The Birthday Girl~

Miss Esther Grace turns five today

(pictured below at age 2)

The lyrics to a little song I wrote for Essie about my feelings of incredible joy for her and my immense gratefulness to the Lord for her life and health on this day five years ago...

June day

beautiful day

cause I'm on my way

to see you

June day

and the sun's risin higher in the sky

to see you too

I couldn't dream up this feelin

my heart's soarin up at the ceilin

oh day...

oh June day...

June day

beautiful day

never thought i'd say

"wishes come true"

Oh day...

my fear's gone away

in every single way

You came through

and I can't believe You're givin me more

I'm fallin down on my knees thanking You for

this day...

Oh june day...

Another one bites the dust

2008-06-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

There was the scene of the crime...the deceased... (I had to dredge the bottom of the cup to retrieve it)
A prime suspect...
and a likely witness staunchly refusing to incriminate her... (with prior conviction of similar charges on his record might I add.)But other than that, the case had gone cold. The suspects had been bathed, the crime scene had long been contaminated... I guess some things we'll just never understand.

They're lucky they're so dang cute. That was a brand new camera. (sigh)

In the Arms of Angels

2008-05-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today I was very suddenly reminded of a beautiful movie our family watched recently called In the Arms of Angels available on Netflix for instant viewing.

Silas came running in the house scratched, out of breath and telling me a story I never would have believed if two of the most honest people in our family (Hannah and Elijah) were not running in on his heals corroborating the whole thing.

Apparently he had been climbing a tree in the woods and was about as high as our two story shop. (30ft) Hannah and Eli say he was that high at least. Silas said he heard the branch he was on begin to break and toss him backwards, falling upside down for what sounds like about half of the way down breaking various branches as he went before his foot got caught in a fork in the tree and held him dangling upside down about 10 ft. or so from the ground! Hannah helped him get his foot unstuck and aside from some minor scrapes, he was fine.

I listened quietly to the whole story before asking Silas if he remembered what happened in the office shortly before he went out to play. He said "Oh...yes! Didn't you and me pray?" I said "Yes Silas, we did pray. But why?" and he said "it musta been to keep me safe!" I agreed that it must have been but I sure hadn't known it at the time. I asked him if he knew who probably moved me to pray and with very sober eyes he said "It was God."

So now I am sitting here asking myself the same question. Why? Why, when I was hurrying to get out an important email and Silas came up to ask if he could keep the quarter he found on my desk, did I turn towards him, suddenly taking him in my arms and holding him begin to pray? Perhaps I was thinking of the unfortunate combination of his love for money and his struggle with laziness? Or maybe it was that I noticed how small his shorts are on him and that he won't be little for long? But for whatever reason, I prayed (out loud) that God would help him have victory over particular sins that he is struggling with and I thanked God for the man He will be. I prayed that He would protect him and grow him for His glory, into the man I know he will be.

Then, I promptly released him... a little embarrassed at my sudden mushy motherliness and went back to work thinking I really ought to get my hormone levels checked again.

I am sitting here so humbled at the sovereignty of my Lord. God knows, controls and ordained before the foundations of the earth, the number of our days. His good plan has been from the beginning. But do we realize that our Father delights in our seeking Him and being moved by Him? Do we realize how securely we are held in that good plan for us? It should move us to pray! A prayer of confidence and yielding... and hope. I can pray for my little son in confidence because God is working all things together for his good. Today it meant a perfectly placed tree branch and a mother's bolstered faith.

The kids and I just sat down and watched In the Arms of Angels again on Netflix instant watch. I held Silas and cried just as much as I did the first several times for it so perfectly portrays the mystery of God's sovereignty and the decisions we do daily make. It's a beautifully filmed movie with breathtaking cinematography and music, and very convincing acting. It's only 14 min. long and I highly recommend just enjoying it right now. It will leave you and your little ones totally inspired to better obedience and humbly grateful for all the grace given in our learning of it.

When 8-year-old Belle Richards disobeys her father, she puts herself and her younger brother in peril from a rock slide that could mean death -- but God intervenes and saves the children. And though Belle never tells a soul about the miraculous rescue, years later, her father finds out exactly what happened during the life-changing event that drew the girl closer to God. Winner of the Grand Remi Award at the 2004 Worldfest Houston Film Festival.

And don't forget to keep praying over your little ones.

We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ~Romans 8:26-28

Pleasing the Dinner Guests~ More on the Fear of Man

2008-05-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

(Old forgotten post from 5/1/08)

I've written about the Fear of Man before. It's rather a theme for me as my often good desire to please and bless people can quickly become an idol if it is not in its rightful place below and in harmony with my Fear of God. It is impossible to please either God nor man with those two desires not in their rightful place.

It's beautiful how God is always using our children to sanctify our hearts and gradually chip away at our pride and fear of man, isn't it? And for those unfamiliar with the saying "Fear of Man", it is basically that futile desire we have to please, impress or just be understood by people... that so often distracts us from our focus which should be pleasing God. We all struggle with this.

My thoughts are almost always occupied with the training of obedience (among all other virtues) in my children as this is something we highly value, as well as something many of my friends and family value highly as well. Herein lies the issue I've been thinking on: Those friends and family that highly value that our children are obedient. These people can be such a huge blessing for us. This is a good thing and should function as a beautiful source of accountability and re-enforcement to our children of the values we are laboring to impart to them. We should be open and teachable and so thankful for them!

And yet, as a parent will quickly discover, it's not so cut and dry. If all the answers were that easy we would not need faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God. You can read every good book there is, listen to every tape, go to every parenting conference and your kid will still throw you for a loop driving away from that wonderful conference and you will need to seek the Lord and wait expectantly for His faithful leading.

We all have different children and different values to some degree. As Christians I would hope we would all name our biggest value for our children to be raising them to glorify God. How this plays out can be vastly and beautifully different though.

Parenting requires 24/7 faith in God's leading and directing us. God gave these particular children to us for a reason and it is all part of his perfectly ordained plan for the way he wants them to grow, and the way He wants us to grow. Much of our learning and sanctification will take place during those difficult moments where our children expose our failure to train and teach them. But much of our growing and humbling will happen in those inevitable moments that our children will not perform up to par in the sight of others. Our children are a reflection of us and we mothers feel it deeply. Somehow they are born with the uncanny ability to get you in the most inconvenient and humiliating moment and astound you with something new.

So how then do we respond?

This morning I was reading the story in Mark of the beheading of John the Baptist. The words "because of his dinner guests" really stuck out at me in a new light today since I have been praying much on this aspect of parenting. I think we've all been in that situation where we're busy serving our dinner guests and so our training can either become lax and inconsistent, or... depending on the particular guests, we may discipline our children stricter or in anger if they have embarrassed us. Herod didn't actually want to have John beheaded, indeed scripture says that when the request from one of the guests came for John's head on the silver platter, "although the King was grieved, the King commanded it to be given because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison." He caved in to the fear of man with tragic results.

As a parent of seven little children who still has a ton to learn, I can tell you to learn to expect those inconvenient moments because they are a fertile field for the training ground that God uses to humble US and cause us to learn to look to Him for the harvest in our children. Our kids should absolutely be bearing much fruit as evidence of our diligence with them day in and day out, and this post is not to lower the bar with the standard at all. But they, like we, are sinners and even more immature with much "folly bound up in their hearts". They need us, as their parents who know and intimately understand their frames, their motives, their abilities and comprehensions, to fear God and not man as we disciple them. We need to mirror the love and graciousness with which God deals with us--no matter who is watching.

How often do we as adults display behavior inconsistent with God's diligence with us? God has NO FEAR OF MAN so he is never encumbered with pleasing the dinner guests. His relentless patience and His constant faithfulness to us never skips a beat.

We must be like God who disciplines in His time, with eternal eyes, with utmost wisdom, consistently, and not with changing standards! Whether we struggle with the tendency to be more lenient, or more strict in front of those dinner guests, seek God and His kingdom and righteousness first! One thing at a time...

A good harvest takes time, patience and WISDOM in regard to the specific crop we are seeking to grow. Our children have different strengths and weaknesses, temptations...and certainly are all at vastly different places in their spiritual, mental, physical capabilities! Your sweet dinner guest has no way of knowing the course of the past months and what your little sapling needs at this moment. We cannot approach a tree and judge the status of it's fruit without knowing where it was last season. A dinner guest may see one pathetic little apple, when his mother knows to rejoice in that one little precious apple that was not there a few days ago. Or a dinner guest may applaud a tree full of apparent beautiful fruit, whereas his mother knows from seeing close up that the fruit is infested and needs major attention.

But if we seek at all costs for that instant, outward and arbitrary obedience to please man, we too may foolishly lop off a tender little shoot sent to someday reap a beautiful harvest, not too terribly unlike the way that Herod lopped off the head of the beloved apostle.

Although... I don't doubt that his guests were pleased.

God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

1 Sam. 16: 7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. ~Psalm 111:10

BOYS...

2008-05-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Are the most perplexing creatures...
They MUST ALWAYS challenge the status quo...
And I'm finally learning as a mother of boys that boys learn best...
The HARD WAY.Those real life experiences seem to stick better than mothers' warnings anyway...Who knows? Someday there may be a very legitimate need for "death jackets" and my son's invention will be in high demand.

Search for Wisdom as Blueberries

2008-05-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, [or blueberries] then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path.

Proverbs 2:1-9

This verse came immediately to mind while watching Juliet extract the precious blueberries from her pancakes this morning. Her eyes are fixed on the prize! There is such intensity and expectation in the search!...

With these verses in mind, I just sat and watched her... and let the deep truth of God's Word sink in on a new level. Do I search for God's wisdom the way this kid digs for her treasures? She knows how sweet and juicy those blueberries are! Those chubby little fingers DIG AND DIG FOR THE TREASURES! The blueberries get shoved in the mouth quicker than the shutter can click! Every last little bit of that pancake gets shredded to bits in the quest for the hidden treasures...
...only pausing briefly to give her sister a sticky noogie and scan the horizon for more possible treasures...

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. For its profit is better than the profit of silver, and its gain than fine gold. She [wisdom] is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her. (not even blueberries!)
Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways,

And all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,

And happy are all who hold her fast...

Juliet "Calling out for insight, and crying aloud for understanding"

More please!!!!!!

And naturally, we should help our sisters search for wisdom and understanding too...
And enjoy finding and sharing those treasures with them!

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. ~Proverbs 9:10-11

And never stop hungering and calling out for more!

***The book of Proverbs is like the ultimate pancake for anyone with a hankering!***

This Mothers Day I took my Mother's advice...

2008-05-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

and "got the heck out of Dodge!" And thanks to the incredible generosity of a couple of other fabulous mothers, I was able to throw the kids and a few sleeping bags into the van and head off on a spontaneous trip into the mountains in search of bluer skies beyond. A little bit of a leap of faith with the husband not joining us for a few days...

My mother is so smart. We really should listen to our mothers, you know. They really do...know. Oh where oh where would we be without them? I love you Mom. You're the best.
Hope through the trees.

Oh yes.

Yesh.

Don't try to make sense of it, people... don't fight it... just listen to a good song...Lake Chelan was so low the kids could wade out to a fun little island and had tons of beach to explore...blissBossom friends
Life's Popsicles~ Sometimes we are just trying to stay on our feet. And we fall...or maybe the little plastic lawn chair just tips right out from under us with no warning...
and we hit face first, very hard, and get a very fat lip. And we cry. And cry some more. And we feel sad, and mad...and all we can feel is pain. Until...We get a taste of comfort. And realize anew...
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted"

(I'm just sure that's what Juliet was thinking when we gave her this Popsicle to "ice" her fat lip. She was thinking of the great mysteries of life.) No, all Juliet was thinking was how good that Popsicle tasted. But after all is said and done, I'll bet if she had it to do over again, she'll remember the taste of that Popsicle more than the pain that proceeded it.

FAITH always rolling in ready to party... such A GIFT from the Lord!

Happy Mothers Day to one of my lovely role models...

~and my dear friend~

Does this face exude angel to anyone else...
And does this face exude...rascal to anyone else???Ah Rene~ (What's not to love?) I know I will suffer much more than brownie heart burn and increasingly hostile phone stalking for posting this picture...but you know...When you love someone, a bloody nose is a small thing to overlook... and kick boxing turned out to be a pretty cool thing, so just hang in there Rene. But please... " You must chill....you must chill...."

And then... our Daddy drove over the mountains to join us!smokin
I know Juliet, my thoughts exactly. Essie & Abby
Owen & Ronan
And a lovely stop at Gustav's in Leavenworth for my Reuben Yes, my mother was right again. All I needed was to get away from the hustle and bustle, enjoy my wonderful friends and family in the beauty of God's creation, and get a fresh look at all of us through His eyes again.

and all my instincts,they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

I see the doorway to a thousand churches

In Your eyes

the resolution of all the fruitless searches

In Your Eyes

the light, the heat

I am complete

~Peter Gabriel

Dad-GUM-it

2008-05-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Don't panic. In fact, mothers should never panic. uh heh. uh heh heh heh HEH....(this is my crazed, teeth clenched laughing btw). No really though, the hardest part about this ordeal turned out to be choosing which of Essie's bazillion funny faced pictures to post. Too much cuteness can certainly be a frequent dilemma for us Mommas though. And when it happens to you just be glad it was gum and not the scissors. Doesn't scripture say "To not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has scissors enough of it's own?" or something along those lines. But gum? No problem.
Essie learned a good lesson. In fact, I vividly remember not heeding my own mother's order to remove my gum before bed time or I would find it in my hair. I remember waking up shocked to find gum in my hair and thinking "Oh wow. So mom didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday!" heh heh (A favorite expression of hers to get us to respect her wealth of experience and not be know-it-alls).This is Essie's "doh" face. So in all my eleven plus years of gum removal, I can tell you truly, not to panic. It's easy.
I've tried it all by now and I believe that olive oil is without a doubt the easiest, quickest, safest thing and you're sure to have it on hand.

1. Saturate gum in olive oil and rub it in for a little while.

2. Carefully start pulling very small strands of hair from the gum to save the hair. (Rather than just pulling on the gum which usually breaks the hair.)

3. Wash area with dawn dishsoap to cut the grease

4. Wash hair as normal.

Essie highly recommends it.

Brilizabeth

2008-05-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Our 9 year old daughter Hannah figured out something amazing the other night. Brian and I highly resemble a very famous Hollywood couple. Yes. It all makes sense now. Don't you see it already? I kind of just thought people were staring at us all this time due to the small army of children always at our heels, or that maybe they're still remembering my famous percaset interview on King 5 news as the freeway birth lady? (I'll probably never live it down...) But Hannah has figured out the more probable reason for all those double takes (especially from the younger crowds) and now it really does all makes sense... Can you figure it out? Can you see it?

Do you need a clue?

Ta-DA!It's uncanny isn't it? Yes. Hannah thought so too. You never really know what your kids are going to say from one moment to the next. It keeps life ever-so-interesting. But I think she has a point... my same oversized ears... my same hair color, Brian's whiskers (not to mention bad habit of slurping up my food...) And get this-- the night Hannah figured this out, we had actually just arrived home from a romantic date night having dinner at the Italian restaurant! The only reason the noodle thing probably didn't happen was only because I'm still doing this dumb low carb thing...

Yes...he's often in the dog house for something too....Uh hill hill... Raaachel...

So but anyway, I decided that since it is likely that our next pup--err... baby will also come quickly and likely in another inappropriate location with the reporters likely to get wind of it again, I thought of something to make it easier for them when they write up our story.

We're just gonna start going by Brilizabeth now like the other famous couples.

uhhhhh hill hill hill hilll....

I know...I need to just go to bed, get a good nights' sleep and stop abusing the internet...

Living with Addiction

2008-04-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed it has been a full nine days since I last blogged and it has not been due to a lack of anything interesting to blog. I think it's time I need to just come out and say that my name is Elizabeth, and... I am a Garagebandaholic. I have been clean now for about five hours and fifteen minutes but it took me a full week just to get past the denial. (Well, and I've only had it for a week.) There had been other warning signs but the big tip off came the other day when I was at the stoplight waiting to take a left turn and mistook the sound of my own blinker for the Garageband metronome and just began belting out a random song after the first four counts while my fingers were grabbing frantically at the steering wheel searching for the sharps and flats to no avail. It really frightened the children and I knew then that I had a problem.

(A glimpse into the mind of the addict)

Then there were those classic changes in sleeping/eating habits, the loss of interest in other favorite activities (the noticable blogosphere withdrawal)...the chronic red eyes, sore throat, dry cough not due to allergies, fatigue, sore and squished earlobes (you know, from the headphones...), the stiff neck and shoulders, the late night singing binges...and the subsequent passing out with my head on the keys...

I just eventually buckled under the pressure of trying to pleasing my fans... This one's an enabler...
Oh no... I did read that addictions can be inherited...I looked on the internet and though they have plenty of help for the alchoholics, compulsive gamblers, shopoholics, and the like... they don't have any help yet for Garagebandaholism. But I think the key word there is yet. I did happen to read that shock therapy is getting very popular in Japan for treating all the internet and video game addictions. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. What next? And just when you're sure you've seen it all...

YOUR TWO YEAR OLD BRINGS YOU THIS:

And yes.
It is dead.
It is a dead gopher that my little boy is holding.

While I was a little preoccupied with um...something on the computer the other day, my two year old walks up beside me and softly says "Bunny Momma. Bunny." I turned to see the fuzzy horror and screamed "Drop it, drop it!!!" I initially thought it was a rat but our more rodent savvy friend has seen the picture and now informed us that it was indeed a gopher.

So... I guess the question begs to be asked. How did I then get this gripping photo for my blog? Well...since today is a day of admissions and confessions, I will tell you. After I screamed in expected mother fashion at my poor child to drop his deceased "bunny", I (then...like the lowest, and most shameless Brittney-stalking paparazzi out there, hurried to grab my camera and shouted

"Okay Owen...now can you just quickly pick it back up long enough for mommy to get a picture and then drop it again, honey?"

Unfortunately, I had forgotten how two years olds often struggle with two-step directions and Owen easily obeyed the first command and proceeded to then turned on his brother and sister with it. Don't worry though, after that one last photo I disinfected him. And remember people, it is a dead gopher, not a rat. I would never ask my child to pick up a dead rat. How disgusting.

And now...I don't mean to BRAG, but...

In keeping with the adorable theme of my niece Dahlia's nursery... the colors of gold, black & white with that splash of hot pink...

and the whimsical little mobile so lovingly painted by her adoring parents while they anxiously awaited her arrival...
~SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS~

...I was inspired to create this... For her very wonderful baby shower that I was unable to upload earlier due to my disease...
First Babies require special preparations as well as precautions:

Hot pink Dahlias on the top...
And delicious... Rosie's favorite... Chocolate Lovers Chocolate with French Butter Cream icing...

The guests of honor~
Rosie & Baby DahliaSo who the heck had the baby five days ago?!?! Kuh!

~Auntie Liz snags the Dolly Baby~
The lovely Rachel~ The brains behind the outfit... and the bringer of all things delicious... including the ever important vertical elements on the lovely table... :)
and sheer mischief. Always.

The lovely Grammas hamming it up for the camera
I'm guessing the below conversation went something like this:

Rachel: "Okay Mom, what do we do about Liz? I need some help in the kitchen and all she's doing is running around taking pictures of that CAKE and sneaking off with the baby!"Mom: "Weeeeell honey, I don't know what ta tell ya! I've had to deal with that sister of yours for years...it's like a tornado touching down! Now where is that champagne?"
DOH!

Oh good she's still busy with the gifts...

(sigh)

Gracious Grace...

Such loving and generous friends...The Littlest Guests...
And now I must be off to Baskin & Robin's 31 cents a scoop night! Yee haw!

Happy dEARTH DAY

2008-04-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Ohhh I know. I'm tarrrible. Tarrrible, tarrible environmental unfriendly me with all my kids filling the landfills with their stanky diapers... Well... no. Not quite. I love this beautiful planet second only to the Great Creator and the beloved children He placed on it. Maybe I'm still just a bit traumatized by our April snow and not fully recovered from the last couple days of suffering through what felt distinctly like a good ole Global cooling to me...

Or maybe I just agree that Earth Day is a Holiday for Liars and is About Politics, not Climate. So in the case that you've maybe been watching a little too much Oprah, and being a little too duped by the Green Masters of Propaganda, and feeling that growing anxiety that tends to result, I thought I'd pass along some helpful articles from the National Anxiety Center kindly sent to me by my friend Liam who will be celebrating today by "smoking one big cigar by his big tree" in his yard (with I'm guessing, very little anxiety).

uh Heh... uh heh heh heh heh.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for the Greens. I really do love my greens... topped with a few other veggies and slathered with blue cheese...

In a Rut

2008-04-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

rut- 1. a track worn by a wheel or by habitual passage of anything; a groove in which anything runs. 2. A routine method of action or procedure from which one is not easily stirred.

Yes. I would say I'm in a bit of a rut productively speaking. It's funny how quick that can happen. We've been off of our regular school & cleaning schedule for more than a few weeks for various reasons. I'm crashing down from my "baby high", (not to mention the chocolate lovers cake high) that I indulged in at last night's baby shower. ooh-eeh! The past several weeks have been a blur of visitors, business trips, surgeries, parties, anniversaries, Easter celebrations, sewing lessons, music lessons, teething toddlers, new babies, ear, eye and everything doctor and dental appointments... and add to that a really good excuse to put off the formal schooling--a broken copier. Since I tend to plan school by the week, when Monday and/or Tuesday goes awry I'm tempted to start over next Monday instead of re-writing the whole plan and make the best of Wednesday. Anyway, there's my list of excuses.

It's amazing how quickly habits can become formed--even when they were not meant to be formed. A couple trips off the beaten path soon...makes a path? A rut. The unscheduled nature of things around here has suddenly become the "track" on which the ole cart is now running and given the momentum of the cart, I'm gonna need a little (probably a lot) of extra muscle to lift it out. I feel...too lazy and unmotivated to do it. bluh. No...there is no inspiring motivational message to this post ladies and gentlement. Just "bluh"...I'm in a rut. Thought you should know.

For some reason my recent pictures won't upload so I can't illustrate the baby shower (or the train wreck of a day we had today) and... yes, I'm realizing I'm sitting here putting off the inevitable. I guess lifting the heavy proverbial cart out of the rut means first lifting my heavy non-proverbial butt out of this chair to tackle some good old fashion housekeeping.

(sigh)

She's really HERE!!!

2008-04-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

Friday night Dahlia Mae surprised everyone by coming a month early and with new record breaking speeds and adorableness. 7lbs. 8 oz. and as beautiful as can be. Matt and Rosie were having dinner at our house to (Haaa!!!) write out a BIRTH PLAN when birth (like it tends to around here...) just decided to PLAN ITSELF!!! In a nutshell...

Wham

Bam...

Thank you

Ma'am.

I will never forgive myself for that five minute stop for gas on the way to the hospital behind them. I was about five minutes too late for a labor that amounted to 2 hours from first contraction to baby. I'm thinking it was some sort of revenge? ;)

New Daddy brushing out the labor tangles...

Dahlia, you get to have such a funny Momma and Daddy! I love this picture...

Gramma in all her glory...Hannah Weeps for Joy...

There was not a dry eye in the room when Hannah first held her cousin and the floodgates of happy tears opened. I cry every time I look at this picture. Born into a world of happy tears and love...
joy and smiles...and of course...many answered prayers.
I'm so proud of you Rosie.

And you Matt, you rocked it of course. I knew you would.

And to the Giver of Life, we are all so humbly grateful...

Where would this World be without Big Brothers?

2008-04-09T13:56:00.001-07:00

Shiny new (yet forgotten) tricycles belonging to fifth children may never get assembled...

Or found in the messy storage closets where their mother's lost them to begin with...
(Turtle joining happily in the brotherish activities while soaking up some vitamin D.)

"Thank goo-ness for my big bwuthers!!!"

"And thanks again Gramma Teweeee!!!"

Confusing...in more than one way

2008-04-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

First we heard the shooting coming from the stairway... then we looked and saw the uniform. Parenting never fails to throw something new at you. We didn't know whether to be worried about the tough looking girl with the machine gun...
Or the very sweet little boy in the dress....Or perhaps to feel confident in the girl in the dress and the boy with the gun? Yeah. We'll go with that. Poor Daddy just hugged his creative little monkeys and ran quickly out the door for work.

General(s) Grievous~

I wouldn't mess with either one of his sets of arms. I'm guessing they're both pretty tough.

Precious Moments~ I brought our old baby swing up from the basement to loan to a friend and discovered our 1 year old still likes it! She managed to climb in for some fun swinging... only to have her big brother sing her to sleep! She couldn't resist the Si guy- Lullaby.

Stretch Marks on my Heart

2008-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

I was driving home my little brood from the most beautiful day at Point Defiance Zoo yesterday, with my sister Rachel with her glorious baby bump in the passenger seat, her darling and exquisite daughter Scarlet happily sardined into the van with all her crazy cousins, the sun streaming lazily in the window when I finally began to acknowledge this strange new aching...

(Pregnant goddess due in August)

It's come on kind of gradually so I've been able to bear it for the most part. But it was when we were driving along sipping lattes finally with a chance to talk at length about how overwhelmingly excited we are that our youngest sister Rosie's first baby dolly is expected so very soon! That's when I got this fresh twinge of ouch. Right... in...the ole heart...

(Auntie Liz's pipe dream of Scarlet and the whale becoming reality...)

...well maybe it was the caffeine...the intoxicating warmth of the sun during that drive, and the simultaneous view of it in my rear view mirror shining on eight angelic little dozing heads bobbing peacefully to and fro to the motion of my big van... the sound of my precious niece yawning the tune to Baby Beluga....the thought of how we'll fit one more Momma, two more babies and a double stroller into my big rig juust fine.... Anyhow, I realized then, a heart can only get so full--even of JOY--before needing to stretch again and the stretching starts to literally... hurt a little. I just didn't expect such intensity.

I guess it's like the baby belly itself. A human being needs to stretch to accomodate the girth of such new blessings. And well, sometimes the stretching aches. I remember when driving home from the hospital with our fourth child and saying to my husband how it's amazing that the human heart (capacity to love) just keeps growing. It's not like...(good heavens!) you ever get full! Young mothers in the throes of that first born ecstasy mistakenly fear they won't be able to love subsequent children in the same earth shaking way they love their first, but that is only because they have yet to meet their second, third (or fourteenth)..... before they realize how the heart, like a woman's belly, is created to grow and stretch more than she can believe it can!

I know this, and yet...I can't really comprehend this moment in time where both of my sisters are now basking with me in the gift of motherhood. I've longed for it more than I think even I myself realized.

(Little Cracker Crunchers)

I almost feel I might explode! It's a bigger feeling--a bigger joy even than I imagined it! My heart is feeling stretched to the brim and it truly aches with expectancy and joy of the coming months to the point that I can hardly bear it. My little sisters.... such beautiful amazing Mommas. I can assure you--if I make it through this May (a new niece!) without exploding into a big terrible splatter of Auntie, it'll be a sheer miracle...

(Rosie due with dolly this May!)

and if I happen to make it through August, (my new nephew!) and into next winter... Well...now I think we all know what might just happen THEN!!! And then, if Lord willing, may he then bring more heart stretchin AND belly achin on!

(Christmas of 2006 w/ my big Juliet belly)*There has been more than a little confusion as to the meaning of this blog post and if I actually meant it to also be some sort of cryptic pregnancy announcement of being due this winter. I know it's a little out of the ordinary and all (me not being pregnant)... but I can assure you that I am at this time, NOT pregnant. It is only a metaphor for the stretching of my heart as I am utterly overwhelmed with this new burst of joy and love for my little sisters and their precious babies that many people read to be an announcement. I do pray that God will bless me again when my time comes and the above picture of me pregnant refers to the fact that when I hold my newborn niece in May and my nephew in August I will certainly be wanting to get pregnant with another of my own! :) But for now... I am really just basking in my auntiness while enjoying my current children. Sorry for any confusion!

TWELVE YEARS AGO TODAY...

2008-03-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

...We tied the knot...

And I love him a lot ...

He's like totally...hot.

He puts up...with...a lot...

A chocolate chip cookie...

I GOT.

(Yes, I know that cookie part seems totally random but I haven't had a lick of sugar, in any way, shape or form...simple carbs or refined anything! ... for a solid 3 weeks. So the cookie was a big deal folks.)

And to my husband, my best friend in the world~

Everyday with you is like a miracle for me. When you get home from work at night I still get that same funny feeling I had when we were flying away into the clouds on our honeymoon and it hit me like... oh my gosh it worked! That poor fool just actually married me! SWEEET!!!

Seriously though... it still feels like a miracle everytime you come home and walk through that door...to me. You're my hero, my very best friend, everything I ever wanted and so much more. You make the gospel so very real to me the way that you love me and these amazing kids. Thankyou, thankyou oh my gosh Brian.....thankyou...... I am so totally looking forward to seeing you as a really cute old guy... holding our grandbabies and tipping over in your rocking chair... heh...heh heh...

Thank you for loving me

I love you so so much.

HAPPY 12th ANNIVERSARY

No Small Potatoes in Parenting

2008-03-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Today (at Gemma's request), I was gathered with all my sweet younguns excitedly around the computer, poised to take the exciting Lord of the Rings Personality tests. Most of said sweet young children were quite predictably just bursting with hope that they'd turn out to be the lovely Arowen...the brave Aragorn, Legolas......or even perhaps the funny hobbits...

...except for one child. He, with the most disturbingly hopeful yet honest face blurted out:

"Oh! I just hope I'm Smeagol!!!"

and we...like usual, assumed he was cracking one of his jokes with only a little fear that he might be serious. It became more disturbing when he began answering questions very Smeagol like...and yet...honestly very Silas like. So alarmingly (yet honestly) alike were the answers that none of us could fault him for rigging the thing...

When asked if he was loyal, his reply was:
"Yeah...I'm pretty much ah....not that loyal at all cuz none of the kids twusts me even when I pwomise...it's bucuz I always bweak so many promises"

When asked if he was noble: it was "Nope! And I don't even know what that IS!" (which, in and of itself answers a big NEGATIVE to the next question on whether he is "wise" or not.)

When asked if he "likes to meddle in other people's affairs" he didn't hesitate to say with a teeny reassuring glimmer of remorse:

"Yeeah...I'm pretty much a meddler cuz I like to spy and get into all of the girlses stufffff..."

And that little reassuring glimmer was the last bit of hope when asked if he was afraid of the dark, and he hesitated a bit before saying:

"Weoll...some of the time I'm afwaid of the dark...but some of the time...I....love it!"

The torture went on, when asked if he was proud, mischievous and secretive, he answered again and again "yes", "yes" and unfortunately yet again.....yes. (would this torture ever stop? thought his poor disturbed mother)
Fiery Temper? Affirmative. All are in agreement on this as well.

Really, the only "no" that I can think of was in answer to the question "Are you willing to accept responsibility?" Oh wait...I guess that's still not-- (gulp).

And then came the question we were all so sure clenched the deal. It was to choose his favorite food out of the following four: 1)Lembas, 2)mushrooms, 3)Stewed rabbit with herbs, or 4)Ale. There was no question in our minds, and he certainly did let us down when he (with spit a flyin), shrieked out:

"Oh MEAT! Definitely MEAT! I love meat even more than BEER!"

And with that, all the Kirkman household, fully expected the following face to pop up on the screen as Mommy clicked for the results:

But alas, with some seeming computer gliche...like some merciful internet miracle from the heavens...

like a direct ray of hope to a tortured mother from the Almighty Himself......

we all gasped in shock!

For...

what could this mean? There must be some kind of mistake!

I wouldn't go so far as to say he was disgusted, but Silas was certainly not pleased. He said something like: "Awwww DANE-IT!" and walked disapointedly away. After the excitement died down, this perplexed mother was left to grapple with the turn of events... when it finally hit me. Yes! That must be it! Just moments before Silas took his own test, his big brother, his best friend in the world...and quite simply his hero...Elijah (I know, how appropriate)

had tested to be none else than FRODO BAGGINS!!!

And now it all makes sense. Sam Gamgee used to be a real rascal before he had to buck it up and help Frodo save Middle Earth. It's really funny actually. My little rascal Silas hasn't read the books or seen the Lord of the Rings movies yet to even know that Sam turns out to be the real hero in the end. It may have been that ONE blessed virtue of bravery that Silas scored on the test (because he sure bombed out on the "loyalty"!) Or maybe it's the fact that loyalty has nothing to do with the supporting cast, and everything to do with the main character.

Silas in general, is not a loyal kid (yet). But... he is loyal to his truest friend Mr. Eli. And like Samwise the Brave and the others, he simply won't be able to resist following one who would lay down his own life for those he loves. Or namely, The One who already did. It's that same sort of irresistable grace that has hold of him I think. The end is already determined for this kid and He will grow to understand who is his truest, closest friend and hero. (thank God!) My little Silas will surprise himself and everyone else in epic proportions, except for the one who laid down His life even before he set Silas' little rascally life in motion.

And Jesus (our main character) said:

13"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other"

~John 15:13-17

We love, because He first loved us ~1 John 4:19

Keep on loving your own little hobbits Mommas. The greatest heroes are born out of crazy, happy little shires like ours. :)

Our Little Ones

2008-03-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Matt. 18:10

If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the Lord, who is my refuge then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Psalm 91:9-16

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Heb 1:14

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Col 2:18The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Psalms 103:19-22

*Although I do feel that the angels depicted in most images end up looking more like what I imagine the little wives of the actual celestial beings would look... since those "mighty ones" given charge over us are described throughout the Bible more like great and fearful warriors (if only we had eyes to see into the spiritual realms), I kind of prefer the idea of the actual warrior guardian to the more nursery appropriate whimsical lady angels, but one still can't help but love these beautiful reminders that our children indeed are the heirs of the Kingdom and the very sons & daughters of the Great High King. It is just a biblical FACT that great guardians are appointed over our little ones to carry out the great and loving plan God has for each of their lives.

And it does a Momma good to remember!

My Easter Dollies

2008-03-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

Punk Kids

2008-03-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'll get them back.

Oh yes.

Oh yes I will.

Juliet goes uncle

2008-03-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I like to conjive a new word into the American melting pot. Uh heh heh... In this case those who know Juliet's Uncle Matt need no further explanation but for those who do not understand the use of uncle as a verb...

un'cle (ung'k'l), n. 1. The brother of one's father or mother; also, the husband of one's aunt. 2. slang. A pawnbroker. 3. verb. [as in to "go uncle"] marked by extreme force or sudden intense activity esp. when a generally calm, cute and non-violent person evokes such sounds and thunderings from a percussional instrument quite never imagined to come forth from natural objects. [early Seattlese from the belief that uncle Matt Johnson is the supreme percussionist.]

Eyes closed in rapture

Passion.

Passion!
I can't believe I'm so flippin awesome!
-Time out-... Essie mops her sweaty brow... all worn out.
How was that, Uncle?

Look what I found!

2008-03-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

While digging through boxes for spring clothes, I found this old costume in the 2T box!!! We used to think it a frog, or a dinosaur... but on this particular 2 year old it is looking rather...

Turtley

Never Bored
Years ago, I remember jokingly answering a particular "bored" child by saying "Oh dear, only dumb kids get bored." Now... let me just clarify that as a rule of thumb in parenting I certainly don't encourage name calling but I kind of just blurted it out and remember following it up with an explanation of my strong opinions on the idea of boredom and some good life perspective. I have to say though, it was very effective. As a result, being "bored" is unknown in these parts. It probably also has something to do with the fact that (in these parts), when you are seen lulling around, you usually get given a job. :)

So when Brian and I told all seven kids to wait in our small bathroom while we hid the resurrection eggs for their little hunt, I was only a little alarmed to hear blood chilling screams and soon found the not-bored children all somehow piled on the toilet playing splash mountain. I may be partial here but, I think they play it pretty convincingly...

Resurrection EGGS~ A fun way to learn the Easter Story (and might I add, something I would have seriously frowned upon a couple years ago.) From twelve days before Resurrection Sunday, we've done a little egg hunt in the house before Family worship. In each egg is hidden a couple jelly beans or m&ms. In one special egg is hidden a symbol that illustrates the part of the story we are reading that night.

So great to have my wonderful man home again.

What would you do...?
Our kids constantly ask us what we would do in the most outlandish imagined situations. It can get quite exhausting because they are truly expecting a detailed description of what we would do if "an orca whale swimmed into the kitchen right now" or if "Attila the Hun rided into the yard with raw meat sticked under his saddle" I mean...really, these kinds of questions are coming from a sincere curiosity and desire to understand this big interesting world, and thoughtful responses.... take some thought!

So I ask you... how would you answer the following question. Silas picked this particular hat right out of the pile at Target, put it on, put on this face to go with it and asked:

"Hey Mom. What would you do if I turned up to be one of these boys?"Hmmm....what would I do? is this a challenge???Trying on hats for fun at Target...

This was the best I could do.

Escape!!! While busy not being bored, Juliet likes to pull up heater vents and try to escape. She REALLY REALLY wants to know what's down there...

Juliet usually won't wear hats but when I tried this little $2 clearance bonnett on her just for fun, she fell in LOVE with it and didn't take it off all day!

In the nick of time!

2008-03-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

Yes...I think it's safe to say Owen's Daddy is flying back into town just in the nick of time. I was tempted to blog these photos of his son putting on make-up a couple days ago when I was at my wits' end. It just might have gotten him on the next flight home!These couple business trips are a brand new thing for us and I hope will not be common place. I miss my man too much and realize all the more how spoiled and blessed I am to have his faithful, ever-present and constant love. Fly hon, fly!

I PROMISE I had nothing to do with this!

And I had my friend Mica there to vouch for me! Mica and I were sitting with our coffee catching up when this little turtle came in and promptly placed the empty book basket over his back and just sat there grinning like "ahh...that's better."

Mica is my sweet friend who also homeschools her two children. She is quite the gifted folk artist and makes and sells the most incredibly sweet dolls (among many other things) We had a wonderful time just sitting and catching up!

Make new friends...but keep the old...one is silver and the other...

~gold~

Hannah's Testing

2008-03-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it,

'Why hast thou made me thus?'

~Romans 9:20

Hannah received devastating news that her blood tests show severe food allergies to all dairy, all wheat, gluten, spelt, rye, eggs, soy, nuts and much more. Her naturopath has never seen such a bad case and after some brief tears were shed, Hannah shared some new insights with me that amazed me and convicted me of my own bad attitude regarding these developments. We had suspected some dairy allergies as Hannah has had chronic headaches, even migraines, stuffiness, tired eyes, fogginess, fatique, needed adenoid removal and tonsillectomies twice as well as repeated ear tubes for unexplained chronic fluid. Mostly she doesn't let on to her suffering though. When the results came back she shared with me that she had feared being allergic to her favorite foods (dairy) and had even imagined how awful it would be to be allergic to lots of foods. So the worst of her fears were realized and this (in unexact words) was her response. Not five minutes after learning the news:

"Whell...(sigh)... this sure seems like bad news, but it's actually good news because...it's what was the truth anyway, we just didn't know it. I think it's like why people don't want to believe in God Mom. They mostly know He is real but they don't want to obey...because it's hard. They just want to keep doing what they want to do even though it's not healthy for them and they don't feel good. And they don't know how good they could feel."

I told Hannah that was a very mature way to look at it. I also told her I was going to let her choose the pace and the degree to which she wants to eliminate these foods and that it is up to her to decide what's more important to her. That piece of birthday cake...even if a headache might follow, or no headache. I will try to provide the healthy/yummy alternatives.

Oh...but inside...as the days wore on, the little stalwart Hannah's mother's attitude was not so faithful as Hannah's. I questioned God why it had to be Hannah, why it had to be me... This happens to other people. Now this added burden while already struggling to cook healthy for a family without allergies and special orders seemed hard enough... why...God would you create your people incompatible to Your food? It doesn't make a ton of sense, Lord... (oh yes...I know...wicked Liz...) and, and how many more of the children have these allergies? Why God, why...

Hannah has chosen to go pretty much cold turkey-- eliminating those beloved culprits with the tenacity of a bulldog and the grace of a butterfly. As I have watched her I have been convicted so immensely by the greatness of her childlike faith. The fact is that her great gift of faith (unusual at such a young age) is directly connected to the suffering experienced in her life. It taught her and made her aware of her need for the Sweet Suffering Savior--Jesus.

Why would I wish that away from her???

Oh, that we would see the value in all trials, tribulations and anything that exposes the reality of the situation. If only there were a blood test to show in bold red graph the severity of each of our unique depths of total depravity.

Imagine the doctor walking in. "Well, here it is Elizabeth, your results are in. What we've always suspected. You are showing a severe "allergic" reaction to the concept of Biblical submission, to self-control, to trust and contentment.... there is also a moderate tendency to fear and anxiety and your grumbling and complaining is reading off the charts...

Food allergies are rather a good analogy for life in general I'm realizing. It's been hard for me to accept this idea of being allergic to food. But we are fallen, people. Death is inevitable. Allergies seem to be Hannah's lot in life and because she knows the truth, she was able to quickly see that it is a good lot. The sooner we accept the reality our sinfulness, and God's goodness, and of the eternity awaiting--once we really get that we need saving from our fleshly selves, the better off we are. Compared to many lots, food allergies is a walk in the park. By God's grace may we be able to face our lot in life with thankfulness, setting our hope on Him.

Let them fear death who do not fear sin. --Thomas Watson

"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortailty, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "

"O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, [and my beloved Hannah], be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that you toil is not in vain in the Lord. -1Cor. 15:52-58

"The Dawk Side"

2008-03-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

I assumed Essie and Owen had just been joking around the other day when they slowly walked into the kitchen and Essie announced in her most menacingly monotone Darth Vader voice: "Mom. We've cwossed ova....

to... the dawk side!"

But, the three "littles" really did in fact cross over into a some sort of darkness at some point because they tag teamed me last night and took turns keeping me up all throughout the night. It's like they had it all planned out, and by 3:00 a.m. I could not resist them anymore. All of the forces of the dark side... spent the night in my bed. Wiggling. Writhing. Climbing. Talking in their sleep. Nearly rolling off the bed. Pushing me off the bed. It was a long night.

(Notice the one squished eye)

What to do?

2008-03-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

What do you do at 8:07 on a Saturday night, when you've just given your son half a hair cut, the clippers have suddenly quit working...and you're supposed to leave for church by 9:30 a.m.?

Um... apologize?

Boasting in Weakness

2008-03-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

The other day I noticed Esther curled up on the couch "reading" her Bible very intently. Since Essie is only 4 yrs and does not read at all (and in fact has not even been started on phonics), I was very curious to know what she was actually reading on that vast pictureless page of words!
I realized that Essie had been having a low point in the day and that along with her faithful blankie and sucking her little finger, she was seeking comfort in the scriptures. This was mind blowing for me and my knees actually began to feel a bit weak as I humbly realized that God was encouraging me and specifically answering my discouraged prayers from earlier that morning.

I asked "Whatcha doin Essie?"
"I'm readin my Bible....just like a Momma"
"Oh...(gulp)...that's really wise Essie. And what are you reading?"
"Oh, lots of good pawts."
"So what does it say?"
"The people said 'We thought God is not real, but HE IS!' "
"I need your yellow mawker Mom."
"Oh. Okay. Why?"
"To make the best pawts look the most pwetty"

My morning prayers had everything to do with the enormity of my weakness and the ways I feel I fail my children. I prayed for the strength to teach them all the things I need to teach them and was reminded in one knee buckling moment that it was my weakness and need for a Savior that taught them the greatest things.

...but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses....

...and He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

~2 Cor. 12 5 & 9

My soul cleaves to the dust;

Revive me according to Your word.

I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;

Teach me your statutes.

Make me understand the way of your precepts,

So I will meditate on Your wonders.

My soul weeps because of grief;

Strengthen me according to Your word.

Remove the false way from me,

And graciously grant me Your law.

I have chosen the faithful way;

I have placed your ordinances before me.

I cling to your testimonies;

O LORD, do not put me to shame!

I shall run the way of Your commandments,

For You will enlarge my heart.

Psalm 119:25-32

Turtle emerges into a World of Sounds...

2008-03-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

I know. Could he be any turtley-er?

I do not pull his hat down over his eyes. Turtle naturally likes the "shell" look.
Juliet's first time running "loose" in the yard...
What is that over there up in that tree...???

Is that? Is that...
Silas!!!

I promise I'll be nicer next time, Byron....One of the little children I was watching colored me this beautiful portrait before he left. At one point he looked at it quite dismayed and said "aww... is it starting to look scary?" I assured him that I thought it was very bold art... and that I was so glad to have a new pair of earrings.

Doh!

Caught stealing their library suckers out of mom's purse... (Ohh yeah. It buys a lot of time in one of my favorite places.)

Too late Mamma... I just bit the whole top of off!

I heard some thumping and discover the four year old handy-girl proudly displaying her art up on the dining room wall... Gemma in her new fun dress up clothes, cleaning up before Daddy gets home...

Daddy is home and teasing Gemma about how perdy she looks in her dress up clothes.

He's trying to make her laugh by pretending to be a nervous, goofy, little smitten boy...

It's working.

Prayer & Fasting for a Loving husband and Daddy...

2008-03-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

A good friend of ours recently had a stroke and is still at the ICU. Barry is pictured (left) at a church potluck here at our home last summer. He leads worship faithfully at our Church and this stroke came as a big shock for everyone. He and his family are very dear to us all. Please pray for this devoted husband and father of five little ones. Pray for strength for the family, protection, healing and a quick recovery. I would also like to extend the invitation our pastor emailed the church body a little while ago:

"If you can, would you please join with us tomorrow to fast and pray for Barry? Let’s ask God that he would restore Barry’s mobility so he is able to continue playing piano and fulfill his duties in order to continue receiving all his lines of income."

The prayers of the righteous availeth much.

James 5:16

If you feel God directing you to join us in prayer and fasting,

thank you and God Bless you immensely.

To Train Up a....mob
Ahh... but what a delightful mob they all are! So we picked up a few "hitchhikers" leaving church yesterday and ended up with quite a party back at the house.

Turtle is juuuust about asleep...

Thank you Crystal for not letting Juliet get left out...

I'm guessing Silas was in a really good theological debate with Dean here... it looks like he's got him stumped.

We finished the night with a little concert, some Psalm singing and a prayer for Barry.

Juliet the flirt! I'm starting to get a little worried... She really likes men! She gets this demure little look... I don't know what it is. Her Daddy is certainly her main man but...there are...others....

Some welcome news! Little Byron's smile spreading across his face as his Mom tells him that Daddy has improved today! After he got off the phone he did this cute little victory jump...This little girl looks like a miniature Momma! So cute!

They'll sleep good tonight!!!

The Brave Little Turtle

2008-03-01T23:04:00.001-08:00

Once upon a time there was a very brave little Turtle. His name was Owen. He was always a very happy little turtle, but one day Turtle's Momma discovered that something was missing... and even though she was very protective of her little Turtle... Turtle's Momma loved him far too much not to help him find it...Turtle loved his world (quiet world though it was) and generally went with the flow, never causing anyone any trouble...even when it involved big, strange, yellow hospital socks...or that tight squeezy thing the nurses kept putting on his arm... Even with his tummy growling something terrible, when asked to remove his brand new special Cars jammies from Momma and exchange them for a silly hospital gown, Turtle never fussed or snapped... Turtle loved his brothers and sisters, his food, color crayons, his funny Daddy...
...and even though he hadn't had any of his beloved food in his tummy for over 12 hours, (unheard of for Turtle!) he behaved very nicely and made his Mommy and Daddy proud. The nurses and doctors said they'd never ever seen such a sweet turtle.

Turtle's Daddy made him smile when he started a crayon fight with him!

And when Turtle's Daddy put a crayon box on his nose and let Turtle stab him in his belly...Turtle laughed... in turtley delight.

Turtle had such a nice Daddy. He only got mad on those rare occasions that he was forced to watch grown men in striped shirts singing about Blues Clues. Daddy did not understand those men. Turtle wondered if Daddy might beat up the strange man in the TV...This was taking long! Turtle stretched his little legs... He didn't know how much longer he could last...But then Daddy found something very special in the bottom of the diaper bag. Turtle said: "Kenks Dat!"

(which in deaf turtle means "Thanks Dad")

Then they gave Turtle some medicine that was supposed to make Turtle sleep. It made his head very wobbly but his smile still very smiley.... And they whisked him away to go see if they could help fix what was missing...

That's when Turtle's Momma prayed and prayed. She didn't like Turtle being whisked away and she asked God to remind her that He was still in control and taking good care of His little one. And after a loooooong wait...Turtle woke up!

And was HUNGRY!

Turtle wasn't even opening his eyes yet when he was grabbing for any food in sight!

This was a new side of Turtle...

Momma felt a very sad for her hungry little Turtle struggling to wake up and make sense of it all.

It wasn't until Turtle was safe at home, and back in his own jammies, that a big smile spread across his little face...

Something seemed different?

Better...

Turtle was so happy, he started doing crazy things!

He was dancing!
Singing! (and yelling)...Wearing unconventional new head wear...

He discovered it was WAY more fun to terrorize little sister when he could hear her SCREECH!

He was delighted with the new town his sister had drawn for their cars to drive around in...

All in all, Turtle was very happy with this new noisy world. He is as happy as can be and we are all very thankful for everyone's prayers and to Turtle's great Creator for "wonderfully forming him" in the first place, continually protecting him and now blessing him with such a fun, new, noisy world.

TURTLE'S GETTING TUBES!

2008-02-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

My little Turtle is going in for surgery early tomorrow morning. It's really not a big deal, only some ear tubes, but I just never like the idea of general anesthesia. I am very excited for him to hear better but would appreciate prayers for his protection.

His faithful orange lollipop from the ear doctor somehow lasted this kid all day long! It was some sort of fish and loaves phenomenon because I watched him lickin that thing continuously from 11:00 a.m. to around 3:00 in the afternoon...

...Through the sandy beach, lunch at Burger King... tightly clutched in his sticky hand while napping in his carseat... even covered in sand it appeared quite delicious to Turtle...

The kids were fascinated at the cold water divers. I hadn't realized there is actually an underwater park at Edmonds Beach. The divers have maps that guide them to the "treasure" at the other end of the rope from all the various buoys! The map showed all kinds of sunken boats down there. Pretty darn cool--especially to little boys already "obthessed with diving!"

Juliet would have nothing to do with the yucky sand.
My Essie has a total blast wherever she goes. Poser.
Long hard day at the office, Essie?
The computers at the Library are quite a big attraction for these guysGemma in absolute HEAVEN!!! Owen...blurry, but still eating his sucker around 3:00 in the afternoon. It kept him very quiet at the library. I'll have to remember that...
This is for you Gramma... This is what I was trying to explain... The wild baby with the hat dressing up, graffiti-ing the walls with pencils, stripping off the pants to expose the sure-attention-getting legs... all to get Mom's attention while busy on the phone with Gramma...
Boy Edibles...
I intercepted Silas heading outside to play, carrying along one of his famous

"thnack packs"
He often makes these for all the kids without being asked. Today he had almonds, peanuts, raisins.......um....Luke Skywalker...Hans Solo.....and some dry spaghetti noodles? When pressed for an explanation he said it just helps him to carry his StarWars guys in his snacks cuz then he doesn't loose them so much....makes sense....but when pressed further to explain the dry noodles he insists:

"I like em, Mom. I really like em. Twusst me... Sometimes boys just need to cwunch."

The Nursing Baby's Dilemma

2008-02-26T18:31:00.001-08:00

It must be that humans were all created with that innate need for milk to dunk our cookies in because today I was approached by my 13 month old at a time she normally would not be wanting to nurse...but was clearly wanting me to pick her up to nurse her. I picked her up and then noticed the half eaten Oatmeal Raisin cookie in her hand.....poised....as if to.......what? How can I help you kid? What do you want from me?

She (with cookie poised just so), began to nurse but quickly stopped...looked at the cookie...looked back at me... I couldn't help but just crack up laughing because her dilemma was so apparent and so ridiculously cute. She totally just wanted a wee bit of milk with that there little cookie of hers! She and I both had a good laugh while the whole charade continued a little longer. She knew this was a funny thing! Sip....bite....sip....bite.... but not quite the same as dunking. I guess my little baby is growing up and needs a good cup of milk to dunk in. (sigh)

Hannah's Thriving Business...
My Hannah has taken it upon herself to figure out a few little tunes that happen to be favorites of the younger kids. Today she said in her sweet soft little lispy voice

"Hey Mom...I figured out if I put my violin case out while I play, the kids want to put money in."

Later in the afternoon I was hearing quite a lot of violin and noticed the kids were scrambling around a little more fervently for change to drop in Hannah's violin case. She came up to me with that little grin and a twinkle in her eye and informed me that she figured something out....

"Mom! If I dump my whole jar of money inta my violin case...then the kids rully want to throw more and more and MORE money in! Isn't that funny Mom? It's like what we read in my logic book Mom!"

She's talking about when she read about Propaganda Techniques with her father in her little Fallacy Detective logic book by the Bluedorn brothers. To be exact, I think it would fall under the Bandwagon Propaganda of appealling to people's vulnerability to "everybody's doing it". She's frighteningly perceptive. (Thank God she's the angelic one). I just watched quite amused as two of my children in particular... the two I've always known would be succeptible to all the bandwagons we parents fear... scrambled frantically for all their change and eventually turned up broke. Yes, I'm thankful that they are home with me and that Lord willing I have many years to teach them.

And I mean heck, at least if they're broke, we're keeping the money in the family?

You shall not follow a multitude to do evil;

nor shall you testify in a dispute

so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.

~Exodux 23:2

When in Doubt......Mumble.

2008-02-21T23:51:00.000-08:00

Parenting involves a lot of talking. In a typical day I do more of it than any woman should but today I set new records in both the intelligible and the doubtful mumblings. My kids keep me very busy...With two additional (and very inquisitive) little minds thrown into the mix, trusting me and looking to me with those big blue eyes, to answer all their constant questions and dilemmas througout the day I had to be at the top of my game and very prayerful for the guidance that all these precious ones need.Being entrusted with someone else's kids made me realize anew how incredibly much children learn directly from the care giver they are given to. Every spoken and unspoken word. Every facial expression, every attitude...the body language and certainly the philosophies leave a lasting mark on these little canvases.

True education is, in one sense, a spiritual process. It is the nurture of the soul. Education is the nurture of a spirit that is rational and moral, in which conscience is the regulative and imperative faculty. The proper purpose of conscience, even in this world, is moral.

But God is the only Lord of the conscience; this soul is his miniature likeness. His will is the source of its obligations. Likeness to him is its perfection, and religion is the science of the soul's relations to God. Let these statements be placed together, and the theological and educational processes appear so related that they cannot be separated.

It is for this reason that the common sense of mankind has always invoked the guidance of the minister of religion in the education of youth....Every line of true knowledge must find its completeness as it converges on God, just as every beam of daylight leads the eye to the sun.

~R.L. Dabney

My older three children who have started violin lessons, gave their Grandma a nice concert today. It makes it so exciting with the symphony accompaniment CD to play with!My favorite moment was when Silas, very inspired, jumped up and started conducting. Owen, not to be outdone, (and not knowing why in the world Silas was making such violent gestures at the musicians), promptly jumped in and fired round after round right...to....the beat....of the conducting.... Bang, bang, bang...(rest, rest) bang.... Apparently he's been listening to them practice??? It was fascinating stuff and the musicians just kept right on playing...conductor kept right on conducting...He, (and George Washington) will celebrate their birthday tomorrow. My wonderful little man will turn 8 years old. What a wonderful little man. So much like his Daddy...

And speaking of little men, you can never have too many around. Our little visitor Keeghan, while inspecting the storage closet, pointed out to me that it would make much more sense to have one fire extinguisher down stairs...but we really should bring the other one upstairs! Heck. I couldn't argue with that so I thanked him for the inspection and asked him to help me find a smart place for it. I got quite the chastizing when he realized it needed recharging. Keeghan plans to be a fire chief someday. Not just a fireman...a fire chief. Abiagail helped me get the pot roast going...We all read about the Walter Raleigh's lost colony...
and trace the paths of the ships of the Spanish and English colonists...
Gemma gave Elijah the sweetest card as he was leaving to spend his birthday Eve at Grandma and Papa's...
I'm not sure who's more smitten with who...

Proving still as a vessel of God's direct mercy in my life, my mother left me with a Blueberry Fritter big enough to feed an army...

~An Afternoon Pick-me-up~

Fortunately for my diet, there were plenty of munchkins up from their naps to help me eat it!

Momma...you've outdone yourself today!Juliet's first doughnut bonded us together on that deepest level we women relate... She loves it!!!
Life's Simple joys

Keeghan and Abi were getting pretty homesick for their Momma so I decided to do what she would do. BAKE! Not my natural gifting and quite risky given the fritter we've just consumed, but the call of duty today!
But we walked it off...

Juliet kept shaking her rattle to get the horsie's attention. It worked!

Is it me, or are they both giving me that same daring look???
~Thank you Lord for your BEAUTY~
My funny Essie helping me test the "sport" setting on my camera
This boy is sheer rascal! See his wicked laugh as he watches Mommy dart to save the stroller rolling down the hill! SILAS!
So back on the topic of the always-constant, never-neutral instruction of the children; When passing the neighbor's yard, Keeghan requested that I read one of the several signs "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT...SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT...AGAIN." I explained that it was kind of a joke, but that they clearly don't want people trespassing. "But Mithuss Kirkman, what does that mean?" "Well Keeghan, it means if you go in their yard, they'll shoot you. And if you get up....they'll shoot you again. But like I said, it's probably meant to be a funny way to tell people they really don't want them in their yard."

"Is that BAD Mithuss Kirkman?"

"Yes Keeghan, guns are very bad. All guns. Terrible, wicked things. If we got rid of guns, then man would be basically good. Repeat after me Keegan"...... hahh... juuuust kidd'n Liam....

But...my point exactly. How was I to know I'd get into a discussion about guns with this little man today? And how were his parents to know? I really could've done a number on the truths this little boy's Daddy is teaching him regarding freedom and responsibility. Fortunately this little boy was entrusted very carefully to me by his wise parents who know very in depth and care very much so, what we believe, why we believe it, what we will exhort their children in, and what we will leave to the parents. And this part seems silly to even have to say, but they know that we love their kids. We have a reason to teach them what is good and true...

...You shall love the LORD our God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Deut. 6:5-9

This is how children are shaped. It is so easy to forget, and so tempting to ignore when we are confronted with the pressures and demands of life. Education is never neutral. Childcare, academics, extra curriculars...can never be strained out or separated from the nurture of the soul.

Give ear, O my people, to my law;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old,

Which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from our children,

telling to the generation to come, the praises of the Lord, and His strength

and wonderful works that He has done.

For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel,

which He commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children;

That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born,

That they may arise and declare them to their children,

That they may set their hope in God,

And not forget the works of God,

But keep His commandments.

~Psalm 78:1-8

Ah, the Joys of Having Babies close together!

The Trials of having Babies so close together...

But mostly the Joys of Having Babies close together!!!

And remember, When in doubt...

mumble.

To Pee or not to Pee... THAT, is the Question!

2008-02-20T18:16:00.001-08:00

Yes. With nine children underfoot... turning your back for even a moment to pee can be a risky thing. We had two extra students join us today as we continued through the Elizabethan Era and learned about Shakespeare! Our two extras blended in just wonderfully and we are looking forward to tomorrow!

Keeghan is only a few days older than our Silas, and Abby is only a few months older than our Essie. Their little brother Ronan is only a week or so older than our Owen so we have great fun and great memories with our friends! Essie and Abby are SO cute together! I have never known two such articulate little girls!
When I titled this post "To Pee or not to pee", I was thinking of this walk and how little ones instinctively have to pee once you have just bundled them up and left the comforts of toilets and tissue far, far behind...

We met a new neighbor and her beautiful horse named Quincy.
He was really showing off for the kids.
Owen and Juliet had never seen a REAL BIG HORSIE so up close and personal! WOW! And the answer to the question soon turned out to be.... PEE! Find a bush and pee for heaven's sake!
We learned about some crazy Renaissance Cures like leeches and molasses covered spiders. We experimented (right before nap, mind you!) with one recipe ~

~Lettuce tea to make you Sleepy~ Whoa...is the camera out of focus...or is this tea working???

Keeghan's tea worked so well he passed out he said!The Mind is a powerful thing mothers. Never underestimate it... Essie and Abby had a little rest time and laid down with Momma while I read my Stepping Heavenward book by Elisabeth Prentiss which I highly recommend!
Aren't they precious? We didn't expect Abby to really crash but she sure did! Essie is faking it for the picture...
And after resting for a good 45 minutes we decided to surprise Abby with some cookies!
This girl's face melts my Mommy heart...

Gemma practicing her violin...

My little Juliet is turning into such a HAM! I should have known it when she cut those teeth looking way too much like big brother Silas!RASCAL BABY!!!

Me and Turtle playing around with the self portrait setting. I LOVE MY KIDS....

Houston, we have a CAMERA!

2008-02-19T17:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, I realize she's out of focus but little Juliet's face best demonstrates my joy at having a camera again to capture my fast growing little people in action.

This is Gemma enjoying the beautiful day after having escaped the confines of the the school table...

This is her before the escape...
Hannah practicing her violin
Seeing how my little LUMIX will do with no flash. I hate flash...
Not too terribly shabby...
Essie sitting by her favorite heater vent while drawing some "leetle pirate geerls."

Jesus likes my "wasted" perfume

2008-02-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me how God is able to feed me exactly what I am craving. Out of 2,226 pages in my Bible, and despite being on a pre-set reading schedule, He is able to land me smack where I need to be... and hit on exactly what I am wrestling with this morning. It's so great how He rigs it!

I have been familiar with the story of Mary annointing Jesus with her costly perfume since childhood (although I still have trouble determining if it is all the same story recounted with different details in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or if there are two similiar stories). In any account, as I began reading this morning and comparing all the different accounts, the Holy Spirit taught me very much by the different details emphasized as I compared the different gospels.

Lately I have felt much more pressure than usual to take on outside responsibilities. I have posted about this in the past and how great a temptation it is for me to take on too much and then eventually ending up in a sniveling heap on the floor unable to do much of anything. It is SO hard because in my heart I want so desperately to do most all of these things--for all of these dear people....but there are so many many MANY things! There are so many, many people! So...how to choose? How to be a good steward? How to not show partiality and how to not feel that crushing discouragement of having to say "no" and it not going over real well even though I'm already saying "yes" to more than is about humanly possible? Hmmmm.......

Well, where is Jesus?

While Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor" And they were scolding her.

But Jesus said "Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. For you will always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her." ~Mark 14:3-9

Oh thank you thank you Lord! That's right! Even famous Mary was scolded for not pleasing people! Oh if only I had you in my living room I would run straightaway for my bottle of Eternity and let the 11 months wages just flow! But it is so hard to know when there are so many GOOD DEEDLY looking things out there!

Still needing more, I decided to read the account referenced for Matthew, Luke and John. In Matthew, a detail emerges "But the disciples were indignant when they saw this and said "Why this waste?" It's not unusual for the scoldings to come from within the church, from very well meaning and godly brothers and sisters who are presuming to determine where a woman's energies/resources should go...

In these moments we must first be very sure of our calling as Christian women to "love our husbands, to love our children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored..." ~Titus 2:4&5

This eliminates very much guess work for those of us who are married with children and it is very clear. But I have learned there is still very much more grey area to have to muddle through that don't call us to outright turn our backs on our calling, but somehow manage to squeeze their way sneekily in...like that guy at Costco in the sample lines. Sneaky. And we are likely to (again, like the sneaky Costco guy) outwardly just graciously let him cut in to get his cookie while we inwardly fume.

And yet if we dig a little more into the Word, we see that at times it may be a little more sinister than the Costco cookie monger and we are at times called to consider the source and remain faithful to our calling by offending those who are not as sure of our calling. John 12 says that when Mary began anointing Jesus Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

(Ah yes, the plot always thickens, doesn't it?)

Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep the custom for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." ~John 12:4-8

In my world, I rarely come in contact with someone deliberately wanting to take with sheer selfish reasons. Yes, there is the occasional Kirby salesman, but more often it is people who love me, like me and need me for something that may be very valid. I am the one who is responsible to know how I should respond knowing that those outside of my family cannot know what God is calling us to as a family to begin with.

First of all, where IS Jesus? Do we spend time in the Word as a family seeking and praying to know what God wants us as a family doing? What does my husband say??? This is a very Big "E" on the eyechart for married women because God will lead us through our husbands. If some big thing has arisen that even whispers of taking your energy away from that prior endeavor, run from it like you would run from Judas himself. It speaks of piety but at the core it wants to "pilfer" from the will of God.

Secondly, don't get too weak kneed at the thought of the "poor", the needs. Even Jesus Himself exhorted this. The poor, the needs, the bottomless pit of activity and possibility will always be here. There is a season for it. But we must learn to discern which of the poor Jesus is directing us to. It won't call us away from Him.

As Mary ignored the scolding from the other end of the room, she was anointing the Savior of the world for burial!!! CAN YOU EVEN GET YOUR HEAD AROUND THAT?!?!??!?!

We are called to very specific things and every moment of every day requires knowing where our LORD is...what He would have us do. It is always different than the gal next to us. Martha was bringing Jesus His dinner while Mary was annointing Him.

Dear friends, whether single or married with children... whether it is your own guilt-ridden thoughts, the discouragement from the enemy, or the voices of real people, join me in rebuking the thought that God would want us to stretch ourselves so thin, to sell the precious perfume, (eleven months wages in Mary's case) that we've been saving up especially for Him? Cast away the thought that we are "wasting" our precious time and energy better spent elsewhere as we seek to serve Christ in how He has led our family to serve Him.

Determine what that is for you,

Shake off the guilt of all the stuff you'll never do and entrust to Jesus all the poor or greedy people wanting your costly perfume...

and then make sure you breathe very very deep of the beautiful scent as you pour it out where it was meant to be poured out.

Outflank the Enemy

2008-01-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

We've all probably watched enough war movies to know what outflanking looks like on a military battlefield, but how do we "outflank" our spiritual adversary?

Well... it's something I'm learning... fascinating actually. You may do something similar every spring when shopping at the Home & garden store picking out your little packets of seeds. Even if there are no bright colored pictures of the actual carrots on the package you can just imagine like Wallace would say "the ver-it-a-ble, veg-i-ta-ble pa-ra-dise" that lies ahead as you strategically choose all those little packages.

Depending on the type of person you are, you may be distracted by the idea of all the work...(guilty) ...or you may be the effective dreamer who can already taste those hot sweet steamed baby carrots as the butter just drips down your chin. (That would be you, Rachel....you know food is your gifting...)

But regardless of how good and hopeful your imagination is, you do look ahead to the fruit, right? (Or vegetable in this case)? And that's the whole reason you buy the little seeds? You're thinking about dinner and how delicious it will be?

I will confess that with seven kids, I so intensely fear the work that a garden would mean. Although I look longingly at the adorable little packages of seeds in spring...I am hindered by my fear, discouraged and deflated, and I don't usually torture myself by imagining the harvest I'll be missing out on. I have found that the business of life often causes me to fail to contemplate the huge potential of the future enough. Perhaps this is why I am so long in catching on how the enemy tries to squelch the fruit in my own life. I simply, have a bad IMAGINATION and I get outflanked.

I believe since scripture informs us that "Satan will not outwit us for we are not unaware of his schemes", that he indeed schemes. Our imagination regarding these schemes often belies too much Buffy the Vampire slayer and too little familiarity of his way throughout scripture.

I have reaped great fruit as a result of making my imagination run wild about the fruit God would bring in my life and the lives I touch if I wouldn't be so gosh dang cotton pickin sensitive, hormonal, paranoid, self conscious, fearful, immature, introspective, too easily annoyed or provoked, prideful, competitive, guarded, ignorant the fruit up ahead, and of the ways the enemy plays off my nature. Sinful, in a nutshell.

Whenever I am struggling through an issue or with a person, I try to step back and take a good long objective look at just what the heck may be going on. I play it out in my mind. First I look ahead and imagine the fruit God may have planned: the juiciest carrot, the plumpest strawberry that I possibly can. Depending on the situation it may range from basic getting along with people, understanding each other, the absence of strife, harmony and success... to true deep and lasting friendships, growing churches, friends and families that lay down their lives for each others, healed marriages, gentle mothers, joyful children, peace through tragedies and trials, faithfulness to spouses, victory over addictions and strongholds of sin, loving and healthy relationships that are so bursting with fruit that the source cannot be ignored!

Of course there is the outright stated fruits from Galations...

...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control...

...all of which if functioning together, we simply could not imagine the likes of the HARVEST because we are small, human and so temporal minded. But we MUST TRY!

But where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained. ~Prov. 29:18

Then I look at what may happen to screw that all up: Petty arguments, reading each other's minds, being too self aware, being lazy and neglectful, boastful, jealous, ungraciousness and impatience with each others' sins, sharp tongues, hate, depression, anxiety that causes us to complain, gossip, slander, bitterness, faithlessness, broken promises, not carrying each others' burdens, rash reactions, envy, covetousness, ignorance, apathy, lack of self control, sacrastic and pride, pride, pride prrrriiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEd. I could go on.

And then I look real honestly at what is going on with me, back up a bit, remember that everything good is from God, especially the people involved and at some point my own sin, and the scheming enemy has entered in and befuddled* me. I have realized that outflanking him only requires that I cast off and repent of my sin, search eagerly for what God's victory might be--(the fruit), anticipate Satan's tactics, remembering always that HE and my own depraved self is my enemy...(not the people I am struggling to be understood by.....never them.)

I have found that the single best flanking maneuver is to zero in on that thing that is irking me and causing me to ruminate or complain. Whether it is a family member, friend, situation at church or work, I consider that this opposition and irkment* may be there for a reason! Our adversary has been around since the garden of Eden people! He and his legions know how these things go down! His specialty is using all that petty, everyday sinful stuff that builds and builds to the breaking point and all the christians are standing around wondering what happened when our relationships grow distant and tolerant, marriages splinter, churches split, children run the opposite direction.... and we wonder why the world stands aloof and even turned seriously off?

But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. ~Galations 5:15

In fact, not only is our Enemy probably familiar and skilled in the sinful nature of humanity in general, but I would go so far as to say that on a personal level, He has some degree of knowledge of us and will likely go straight for our kneecaps, our achilles heels...our habitual little piles of vomit that we constantly return to, given that we are already exchanging our truth for a lie.

It makes sense to tighten the ranks by running towards, then alongside the people I am called to love. The closer I get, the more clearly I see them as NOT the enemy. In fact, most likely needing me just as much to run alongside them together against the real enemy and for the real prize.

Are you struggling with someone or something? Are you forgetting to look through spiritual eyes up ahead to the fruit that God means to produce through it? God will get His fruit--His glory! Will it be you that He uses? If there are seemingly huge obstacles between you and this person/situation it may be possible the enemy has a better imagination than you and is seeking to steal and destroy the greatest potential for fruit there is! Have you considered that? What must God be planning for there to come such a battle! Instead of running away or continuing in the futile battering...outflank your enemy by what he least expects and most fears.

We are out witted in the sheer fact that we have not looked at what God is doing. An army that is divided is SO EASILY OUTFLANKED!

As you set your mind on the fruit, remember that only Satan is our true enemy and that God has called us to only love each other and seek after the lost, you can let your imagination run wild as you imagine the magnitude of the ways He might use you. It feels a bit suicidal at times to open ourselves up and run towards our very fears and irks, the very real wounds of our perceived enemies.... our cross. But it is our calling.

Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ~Gal 5:24,25

Tighten those ranks and let's outflank our real enemy together!

*Befuddled is my favorite word right now.

*Irkment- I made that work up I think.