Hardly Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is coming, and we will be beginning what we are unaffectionately calling our, "Thanksgiving Marathon."

The order of events go like this, on day one, we take the family on a long drive to another state.
On that same day we have dinner with my dad and his wife, then, we leave to take another long drive to where we will be staying for the night.
On day two, we leave where we are staying for another dinner at my mother-in-laws, then, on that same day, we leave for another drive to where we will be sleeping for the night.
On day three, we wake up and go to my moms for our third Thanksgiving dinner in a row.
Then on day four, we take our little family on a long drive back home again!

Isn't divorce wonderful!!

Divorce creates things like, "Thanksgiving Marathons."

One of the hardest things about participating in these marathons is that everyone is so unhappy about the fact that we are only able to spend one day in their home. Mother's are unhappy that we are visiting, "you're Father," as she calls him, disapprovingly, and vice versa. Mother-in-laws are also extremely sore about you spending too much time with your Father-in-law!

Yes, what a messed up bunch we come from. My husband and I both come from multiple divorced families.
All of today's divorces are creating more conflict, distress and violence than divorcees will take to see. In all I have seen, and I've seen ENOUGH, are selfish adults acting like children. Not moving beyond the 30, 20 or 10 year ago divorce, but rather staying emotionally in the past, with wounds so fresh, it's like they happened yesterday.
Parents who gasp in horror if you lovingly refer to your other parent (their ex) with admiration or love.
Grandparents made to act so ugly when their tiny grandchild mentions his affections (or merely the name) of the, "other," Grandparent.

Trust me (and many already know) divorce begets a big, giant, horrible mess! Divorce is weakening children, parents, grandparents and our Nation.

As we are now made to deal with the, "sins of our Fathers," I am tired, weak and feeling unable to deal with the upcoming holiday.

Funny

While helping my husband clean out his office two nights ago, I found something really funny.

It was a list of maybe a half dozen professions and "their" hymns. Of course I can only remember a couple (and I can't even blame that on my old age - yikes!)

Anyways, here's a couple for a good laugh...

Shoppers (a profession to some :-)) - "Sweet Bye and Bye"
Dentists - "Crown Him With Many Crowns"

Cute and very funny!

Trucks, trucks, trucks!

Okay, I admit it, I'm lost when it comes to the world of toy trucks (and real for that matter)!
My little son happens to love any and every truck, toy or not!

I try to talk, "truck talk," and make truck noises when we play...but I know I am so lacking!

Thats why I love when my dh comes home at the end of his long day, grabs a truck, and enters into truck world with our son!

I'm in the kitchen at the moment, laughing to myself at all of the truck dialog that so easily flows from my husband! It's like he hasn't missed a beat since his own childhood! I love having such a great Papa around...what would we do without him!

Begining the Holidays...

Today, in celebration of the harvest, my little guy and I made orange Rice Krispy treats together!
They are so easy to make, and he made sure to put lots of green and brown sprinkles all over them too!
We're going to take a batch over for the Mom's Group tomorrow, along with a healthy salad and some focaccio bread I made!
Ever since I figured out how to make focaccio bread with my bread maker, I make it often, especially for potlucks or events. It always gets eaten right up too!
I mix my ingredients in the bread maker on dough cycle and when it's done I take it out and spread it on a pan to rise. I brush it with melted butter and herbs to taste and after about 30 min., I place it in the oven to cook.
It's not too hard, and worth the effort!

I spent some time on the phone today organizing this years children's Christmas Pageant. I have quite a few helping so far. I'm not completely comfortable with organizing events like these, but no one else wanted to either!
I will be spending a lot of time in prayer to be able to be, "filled up," enough to be of use to people.
The best part is working with the kids, the hardest part is, "being in the know," about All the details. My best friend is So Gifted at event planning and organizing...me not so much. Any skills I might have in the area are hard earned, and did not come naturally or easily!
Today I found a volunteer to be in charge of costumes. She is a wiz with the sewing machine, and she's so sweet! Some people are so pleasant to work with!

Sunday Report

From time to time, I like to invite just the bachelors of the church to Sunday dinner at our home.

Today, after church, was one of those times. As usual, meat and potatoes was on the menu, because thats what men love. I also served, as one of the sides, my home made canned applesauce! (I couldn't resist). They really liked it, and said it's amazing how it tastes different from store bought (in a good way, I think! :-))

It's a lot of fun having just the guys over. They are, of course, very thankful for a home cooked meal. Most of their diets consist of mostly top ramen and cereal, so their not a difficult crowd to please.

Another sweet thing happened as I was preparing the meal, my little son said, "Mommy can I have a hug and a kiss?" I said, "Of course!" As I was hugging him, he said that my hug wasn't big enough, so I squeezed harder, till we both got the giggles.

I thought on the busyness of the morning, and how much sharing he has to do with other people over Papa and Mama at church. I think it can be difficult for our children at times in the ministry. When he runs to me after nursery to show me his picture and tell me what he learned, and soon finds out Mommy's got 101 people that also need her...whew, it can't be easy.
So when he asked for a hug and a kiss, I knew how bad he needed me at that moment. I'm just glad he asked.

Patching Up Jeans

I'm currently patching a pair of my hubby's Carhartt work jeans. They already have two layers of denim on the thighs, but here I am patching holes that have become so large, he can no longer wear them. He insists that all the guys he knows wear their jeans out just as fast. "Sometimes they catch on things,,, like the saw blades." "Please," I thought, I don't want to know, just give me the jeans, and I'll fix them!

They are of course his favorite, so here I am, attempting to patch them up. I'm doing a double zig zag seam to be extra sure. I have tried the iron on patches, but never had much success. I have heard that if you iron, then sew them on, that they actually last without falling off.

However, I have an old pair of denim jeans that I kept around, and it's a good thing because now I can cut them up for fabric (you never know when you just might need something) {smile}.

If I ever figure out how to post pictures on this thing (I'm technologically challenged), then I'll post a picture of my patching attempts. (Our computer is a Mac, and things seems to be a little different with these.)

Oregon Coast or bust!!!

Well, I am looking forward to what began as a family vacation, and has ended up being more like a family reunion coming up!

We will be gone for around a week, and some of my family is coming tomorrow to stay the night here. Then we'll pile some of the group in our Suburban to go to the coast, and the rest will come later. We live very near the coast already, so it wont be too far of a drive, but far enough to really get away!!

I asked dh to maybe plan something romantic for just the two of us on one of the nights. I can't remember the last time we got out, just he and I on a date (I know were really bad)!

Anyways, I can't wait, and as you can imagine, I'm busy packing, doing laundry, cleaning, etc. today. I like to try to come home from vacation to a clean house...if at all possible {smile}

The other thing is I'll be missing church while away; Youth Group, Wednesday Family Night and both Sunday Services! It feels really weird, but I am looking forward to some much needed rest for our whole family!!

Oregon coast or bust!!!

Pastor's Wife Mussings

We just returned home from our church's Wednesday Family Night.
I am tired, in a good way.
Although, on Wednesdays I sometimes wish there were ten of me.
So many people need to talk to the Pastor's wife with concerns, prayer requests, needed instruction, etc.
I only wish I could address everyone the way they need. It's difficult to know that your not really pleasing anyone when there are so many needs to be met.
At one point today, I think I had three or more people trying to talk to me all at once. On top of this my toddler son is staring at me from across the room, trying to tell me about his Pee Wee Club, my baby girl is saying, "Up, up," from down at my feet, and I'm trying to clean up class after Patch the Pirate Club.
Sometimes, I think to myself, "it's good that your still young, and have the energy for all of this!"
Then I go home and go to bed!

"Choo, Choo, Whoo, Whoo!"

I've got a Train Conductor in my dining room...
The boxcars are full and the track is set as my Little Conductor
says, "all aboard!"
When his little sister isn't busy watching him or acting
as the, "Engineers Assistant," she's content to listen
to Wiggles songs, and talk to the babies in her books.

...must go do some more, "chugga, chugga, choo, choo,
whoo, whooing!"...

Days Off

Well, there's been a little change to our schedule thats starting this week.
Our day off (our family day) has always been on Mondays, but now is changing to Fridays.
It's mostly because Mondays are such a let down day in the ministry.
We've been finding it near impossible to relax and to just forget about the business of the church on Mondays.
So, I'm praying that Fridays will be better...we'll see!

Hot and Sunny Days

Mmmm, our raspberry bushes are yielding lots of berries this year.
I picked a bucket full this afternoon.
Usually, I get about half that because my little guy loves eating them right off the vine!
Right now, I'm eating my favorite; Raspberries and Cream (delicious!)

The weather is projected to be unusually hot for the next couple days.
They say it's supposed to get in the triple digits. We almost never see this here!
Little guy and I set up our little pool and turned on the mister (like a sprinkler) in the front yard.
So were as ready as we can be!

What fun these times are...
I prayed today that these times wont go by too fast, and that God will make it seem like my kids have been little forever!

Baby Steps

My littlest one is finally taking steps!
I say finally because her brother walked early, and she's decided to take her sweet time before she has even had a desire to try!! It's pretty cute, however, to see the determined look she gets in her eye (combined with a little fear) when she does venture out and take some steps.
One other thing thats funny/strange, is how I feel when my baby's start walking...I get this desire for another one! I get sad when I think about it and realize that my baby's almost not a baby anymore!!

Reading on the Potty

Today my little one was on the potty, pretend reading the book, A Birthday Cake for Little Bear, to his little sister. She was sitting up tall and quite still, seeming to be very interested in what her brother had to say.
It reminded me of when I was little, and I used to, "pretend read," books to my cousins. They loved it and always asked me to "read" to them. I can't say I ever did it while going potty however. I think it brings new meaning to multi-tasking (smile).

"Come On, Everybody Else is Doing it."

What is it about people who are drinking alcohol, when they insist that everyone have a drink, even if not everyone wants one?
Yesterday, we went to a family BBQ for Memorial Day. The kids had a great time spending time with cousins, aunts, uncles, Grandma and Grandpa. The food was delicious; there was a little bit of everything it seemed (sort of like potluck style.)
The only thing was, it was like being in high school all over again when it came to not wanting a drink. Can I just say that this is a continuing, "issue," with family for me. I’m not really sure why, since alcohol is not a big deal to me, and I really don't care if people choose to drink. But, I can't say the same for those there who were drinking. It’s not the first time that this has happened, but it becomes such a big deal to some people who do drink for me to drink too.
This time it was even more ridiculous, when nobody even asked me if I wanted anything, and my sister-in-law and mother-in-law fixed one up for me in the kitchen and brought it to me without even asking. I didn't say anything out loud, but I did feel like they were making an awful big deal out of something that didn't need to be. So, I asked God to help me in this uncomfortable situation. Then something really funny happened, my little darling daughter pulled the tablecloth off the table, and "whoops," there went my drink. Nothing was really said, since they noticed that I hadn't drank any of it anyways, and it was just sitting there.
A bit later my sister-in-law asked me, "Why don't you drink?" My mother-in-law chimed in, "well, she used to, you should have seen her when we were at...(and on it went.)" And she was right, I did used to drink, but I don't want to anymore. I can relax and have a good time without it. I like the taste of wine, and my husband and I will have a glass of wine if it's just the two of us.
So I said, "You know, I don't have a problem with somebody drinking. The problem for us is when it comes to leadership, and trying to counsel families who falling apart because of problems with alcohol." I said, "I know its just family, but we live in a small community, and rumors get started, and on it goes." She actually seemed to understand this explanation pretty well. Maybe it's because although she didn't say, her husband is an alcoholic. He's almost lost his job and his family over it. That’s why I thought it was especially crazy that she was trying so hard to get me to have a drink when I didn't even want one.
Anyways, God worked it out, and I was ready to go home when it was time. This morning, thinking about everything, I still think the whole thing was pretty silly...like a scene right out of high school. It's interesting to me how people feel so uncomfortable drinking when other people aren't. That they try everything they can to get you to drink like them (especially the Pastor's wife.) Wouldn't it have made them feel so much better, if they could have gone to town the next day and told all their friends that the Pastor's wife was drinking!
I'm sitting here laughing, laughing because of how ridiculous it is, and how immature adults can be!

Good Quote

My husband brought me home a knick-knack from the gift shop. It's a little orange colored, construction looking cone, and it says...
"All mothers are working mothers."
I think it's great, and I have it on display in my kitchen now!

Daycare

I was just doing some reading on daycares recently. One of the reasons being that I am constantly faced with people questioning the job legitimacy of being a SAHM. My childhood was unique in that I spent time away from my mom in a combination of ways.
I was partly raised by one of my aunts with my other cousins. I have vivid memories of those days, and the only time I remember my aunts presence was when she would holler and yell at her boys when they were getting into trouble. In the morning before school, I'd spend about an hour alone, before anyone else got up, watching anything I wanted on TV. After school, we'd make prank phone calls, wreak havoc on the neighborhood, get into verbal fights with other kids, and spend time at other latch key kid's houses. There was usually no adult supervision, so we did whatever we wanted.
I was also partly raised in a couple actual daycares. This was even worse than being left with my aunt and cousins. I never got used to the ache, that no matter how many years I spent in daycare, never left my heart. It was an ache that desired and yearned so badly for my mom. Here I was left in the midst of aggressive, unruly kids (who had become this way from spending most or all of their lives in daycare), cold adults who didn't care that much about me, and certainly didn't love me, cheap as possible, unhealthy meals (so they could save as much money as possible), and a 15 child to 1 adult ratio.
I actually find it humorous (and sad) when I read the names of some of these daycares. "Little Blessings," "Grandma's Arms." Or the ones with an "educational emphasis." like the name, "Bright Horizons" or "Knowledge Learning Corporation." (any child can parrot their ABC's).
I can hardly imagine leaving my six week old baby in a daycare. Basically, it would be like leaving your baby with strangers. Not to mention these strangers are getting paid peanuts (did I mention the high turn over rate). And no, it's not one on one care either, try more like four babies to one adult. Then as babies become toddlers they get shuffled into groups with kids much older than themselves. The daycare worker doesn't have quality time to give to any one child, and toddlers basically end up getting raised by other kids! What kind of generation is being created!
Daycare is just not the best option for children. If it's a temporary, emergency type situation, then okay do what you have to do, but unfortunately for most kids this isn't the case. How can a mom spend nine months preparing to have, "the perfect baby," only to put her newborn into an institution! Really it's all about dollars. Dollars are more important than children in our world today. Women will spend all day away from their children at a job, only to give most of their paycheck to someone else to raise their children.
I am a SAHM because I am a product of daycare and I know it's absolutely not the best thing for children. No matter what, no one can give a child the love and care so desperately needed like his mother.

Homeschooling vs. Public School?

My husband and I are at a stage right now in our parenting where we are trying to decide what would be better for our family, public school or homeschool. Now we know we have time, our oldest is only a toddler. We are praying about what God would have us to do. I am also doing a lot of online reading on the subject.
I am such a novice on the subject, my husband, myself, and basically everyone we know was raised in public school. An example of where I'm at exactly is, I spent about an hour last night reading about the Charlotte Mason method. I am learning that there are so many different kinds of homeschool (I had no idea!). So, I would like to see if anyone out there has any web sights, etc. that might be helpful on the subject?

Our Small Town Community

Where roads are built along side of rivers. Houses and cars are few and far between. Any car that does pass, gives a wave to say, "hello." Some roads are still made of gravel. Trucks with four wheel drive are a necessity and not a fashion statement (smile). People anticipate and truly enjoy the harvest. At The Store, the cashiers happily hold and bounce your baby, and the bakery workers let your little ones pick out the cookie of their choice. All this, while you pick up some needed groceries and supplies. At The Restaurant, the waitresses not only know your kids, but they remember you when you were a kid, and they know your parents (and sometimes Grandparents, etc.) People have time to stop by and visit over coffee. Barns aren't built alone, but with many hands. Everybody loves and has a dog. Church dress for the men is usually hickory shirts and suspenders. Kids know how to play outside. At church, young and old fellowship together (they're not separated into a million different groups because of their ages). It's still okay not to have a cellphone. Anytime you see somebody blabbing away on one, rushing in and out, you know their from the, "city." The school is still K-12, and in the next town over, is a one room school house. There's a sense of community here, where people actually look at and greet each other, and they know you by name.

TAG: Seven Things I've Learned

I got my first tag (thanks Accidental Pastor's Wife). I feel like I'm officially in the "blogging loop" now! I'm pretty sure I don't have seven other people to send this to...so, to whoever reads this, I believe I'm supposed to list seven things I've learned.

1) I know enough to know that I don't really know anything.
2) True security can only be found in eternal investments. 1Ti 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into [this] world, [and it is] certain we can carry nothing out.
3) I am depraved, and Christ had to die for my sins past, present and future.
4) Being a wife and mother are the most fulfilling roles a woman can have.
5) If I had to be a Pastor, I would probably have quit a long time ago.
6) To have grace with others, because God has so much grace with me
7) My babies think I'm the prettiest lady they've ever seen, even at 4am in the morning

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day!

1) went to church, and worked in the Nursery Ministry. There was a new four year old child who had all three of the other little ones in tears...including me! Lord help us all!
2) had two older gentlemen in the church say, Happy Mother's Day! "Oh yeah," I thought, "it's Mother's Day."
3) left church as quickly as possible because of the previous Nursery drama (I was pooped!)

...it actually does get better - read on...

4) put the kids down for their usual after church nap
5) went and took a long, hot shower, prayed and had a good cry (sometimes only God can understand)
6) crawled into bed and took a nice nap myself
7) woke up to sweet hubby, home and taking care of the munchkins
8) had myself lunch in bed with one of my favorite movies, The Quiet Man
9) had a nice long talk with hubby (I love quality time)
10) Grandpa B came to visit
11) My family took me out to chinese food (yum!)
12) My toddler, in his cute little voice, wished me a Happy Mother's Day...over and over at the dinner table!

...It turned out to be a wonderful Mother's Day after all!...