Well, I should have known better than to get all self-righteous (about dishes and laundry, no less!) the other day.

Because yesterday was one of those days where life happens...

and I did nothing but the grocery shopping.

So I am extremely grateful that

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

No matter what happened yesterday, I hope your today is wonderful.

Friday Favorites : Thomas Jefferson & Breaking the Rules

The question this week is where to begin?

#1 -- The favorite book I'm reading right now is The Real Thomas Jefferson by Andrew M. Allison.  I'm learning so much about Jefferson that I'm seriously considering a series of posts on him.  Stay tuned!

#2 -- Okay - so, high on my list this week is the day out with my amazing husband to see The Avengers.  On an IMAX screen and in 3D.  And just the two of us.  (No kidlets!)

And two words that capped off the day:  Rally's fries.  Yum!


#3 -- Our homeschool co-op has started a weekly park day, so the kids and I got to visit with our friends Wednesday.

I cannot stress the incredible importance of support when you undertake to educate your children.  I know - there are some families that don't want or need outside support, but I am definitely not one of them.  I schooled for a long time without connecting with other homeschoolers, and I know, that for us, meeting occasionally with like-minded moms and kids is vital.

I'm so thankful to be able to meet with them through the summer!

#4 -- Last night, I did a bad thing.  *grin*  I crashed line dance class.  (Don't tell on me, ok?)

I wasn't sure how much I'd be dancing, given that I'm at 26 weeks and definitely feeling very pregnant.  But it was great.  And a bonus?  I can still walk today!  I'm really hoping to get back into attending (like, officially) this fall after the baby is born. 

Also - the class exposed a strange pregnancy conundrum.  Apparently, I can, in the same week, be (relatively) graceful on my feet while dancing and fall over while slipping on my sandals.  I don't know how it can be, but that's my reality right now.

#5  -- We're looking at the end of the school year approaching rapidly.  I think everyone can agree - no matter how much you enjoy education - summer is definitely a favorite!

(Even for those nerds like me who have been compiling literature lists and government class assignments for the fall with entirely too much excitement!)

Linking up with Rachel

 

Didja miss me?

I've missed me.

I decided to take a break from writing and from posting during December.

I intended to get back into full swing with school, writing, blogging,

and of course, all the cleaning and organizing I get in the mood to take care of

right after Christmas.

Instead, I've spent the last three weeks or so,

up until last Monday,

sleeping.  And eating.  And sleeping some more.

Seriously, I've been in a mental fog.

The house is nowhere near the relatively clean state

that I can usually make peace with.

('Cause you know I'm not a compulsive cleaner, right?)

School didn't start on January 2nd.

Or January 9th.

We finally got out the books on the 16th.

The good news is - the house is still here to clean now.

The kids are adjusting to a more structured day that involves homework.

(Homework?  What's that?  Are you speaking English, Mom?)

The even better news is - we're expecting a baby later this year!

I'm thrilled to be able to say that.

A baby.

Why I should be so blessed, I have no idea.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole experience.

It's taken me a while to begin to get my thoughts in order.

(Or even stay conscious long enough to have coherent thoughts in the first place.)

But I'm hoping to be posting a little more regularly

now that the fatigue is retreating a bit.

Thanks for sticking around!

Listening to : downhere

I've been hearing this song a lot lately on WBGL.  

{from youtube}

From the day after Thanksgiving to Christmas Day,

they play exclusively Christmas music.

It's been reducing me to tears on a regular basis,

 so I thought I'd share the chorus so you can be weepy too.

You're welcome!

How Many Kings   by  downhere

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me

Sunday Scripture Snapshot

And she answered…

“Spread your wings over your servant,

for you are a redeemer.”

Ruth 3:9 ESV

                                 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

                         his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Psalm 91:4 NIV

Thank God for our Refuge and Redeemer,

 Jesus Christ



A Beautiful Birthday

I turn 33 today.

I used to think that “30” seemed old.  Back when I was 17, and I knew everything.

Every day I learn something new.  Something about myself, my kids, life.

My life is … amazing.

I can’t recall ever having a driving ambition to be any certain thing.

I wanted to be an archaeologist for a while, and an Egyptologist, and a teacher, and someone rich enough to live in Ireland (I don’t think that qualifies as an occupation, but oh, well).

Mostly what I remember from my youth is being angry.

I didn’t really like myself much.  Or anyone else.  I wasn’t a very good friend.  I wasn’t a very nice person.

I could put on a really good front, and convince you that I was the good girl.

But that wasn’t me. 

“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.”

Lamentations 3:19-20

That was me.  Then.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

This is me.  Now.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:21-23

 

The Lord has blessed me so richly.

Four wonderful boys to love and care for and teach and raise up to be Godly men.

An incredible husband who loves me and protects me, cherishes me and sacrifices himself for me.

Family that loves me and blesses me with the joy of their presence.  (And with pizza…but I digress.)

 

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

The Lord has given me His grace and mercy.

Grace –

the blessing and favor of God, which I could never, in a million lifetimes, deserve

Mercy –

the withholding of the punishment which I absolutely deserve, a million times over

 

Thank You, Jesus, for another beautiful birthday.

 

Five Minute Friday : Still...

Today is a double-link-up kind of day, I think.
First, I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo again for Five Minute Friday.  Here are the guidelines:



1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word on the prompt, “Still.”
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Get a little crazy with encouragement in the comments of the five minuter who linked up before you.


Here     we     go.

Still…

sitting when I should have been

up already, fixing breakfast

weak and aching after a week

of finding muscles I didn’t know

I’d lost, finding strength in You

believing in happy endings

even in the face of this world

ever more rapidly spinning

into chaos and shadow

unsure where all this is going,

but knowing how it clicks,

all these stolen moments

at the keyboard, all my feeble

efforts to direct the fount of words

You’ve loosed in me

certain of the ending,

no matter how badly I screw up

today (like yesterday),

no matter how the hours unwind

before me—

always, forever, unchanging

You, Lord

and thankfulness for letting me

walk with You

© Victoria L. Banks

7/29/2011

I'm sure this is not a surprise to any of my family who read this, but I've discovered that I love to write.  Even within strictly enforced time limits.  (Actually, the rules make it more fun!)

What about you?  Would you like to join the fun?  Share your own thoughts and link up!

I'm linking up to Five Minute Friday because I love to write,
and
linking up to Finding Joy because loving the Lord through my writing is one of my Favorite Things!

FF: And then it was … s u m m e r

 

I am so thankful that it’s summer!

What have you been up to?

__________

Listening to some great music!

__________

Playing horseshoes

(not my throw, btw – a double ringer by my fantastic husband!)

__________

The boys’ (and my) new favorite board game:

The Settlers of Catan

(I almost won today!)

__________

Welcome home, Fred!

This is the toad that has taken up residence in the old clothesline pole in the backyard.  We don’t know how he got in there, but we like to keep tabs on him.  We thought he’d been blown away in a recent storm, but he was back at his post today. 

__________

More time messing around on the video games—a little bit, anyway!

__________

One of my favorite holidays:  Father’s Day!

__________

Clothes drying on the racks …

outside!

for free!!

I love not running the dryer!

__________

Linking up with Finding Joy

Friday Faves: Busyness & Blessings

This has been a busy week.

I’m one of those people that likes to be home.  A lot.  I would ideally (like, one day when I finally get my act together!) like to be out running errands and “doing stuff” only a day or two a week.

This week, I had something going on every single day:  a “kidswap” for the older boys, a doctor’s appointment, a trip to the circus, a program at the library.  Plus a few extra trips to Wal-Mart because I forgot to get the groceries that were on the list.  (Sheesh….)

So today I’m staying HOME.  We may not even go out in the backyard to play.

But as I reflect on my busy week, I find many, many things to be thankful for.

(Drumroll, please!)

1)  Fantastic homeschooling friends with boys the same age as mine, who share our values (so I don’t have to worry about what the kids will be up to) and don’t mind picking-up-and-dropping-off duty when we swap kiddos.  It’s a wonderful blessing for my boys to have the opportunity to “hang out” with like-minded boys.

2)  Good health.  Going to the doctor’s office stresses me out.  But we aren’t there very often!  Praise God!

3)  CIRCUS!!  We live in a small town, so I’m really amazed at the great performers that the planners were able to book.  The George Carden Circus was really amazing!

4)  The library.  What would we do without it?  This summer they have some amazing programs scheduled.  Yesterday we saw Troy Roark, who performed a Glow-in-the-dark Juggling Act.  He is very talented and hilarious—the kids (and the adults) were cracking up.

I have only two words for you: FLAMING! TORCHES!!

He juggled all sorts of things and spit ping-pong balls into my son’s hat!  (Don’t ask—you just had to be there!)

5)  We are a one-vehicle family—which is a blessing because it frees us from the major expense of keeping another one running…

6)  …however, leaving the house after Dad goes to work means walking.  So I’m very thankful also to Grandma, who never hesitates to provide transportation when we need it.  Thanks, Mom!

7)  I’m thankful for my kids.  They are well-behaved, imaginative, creative, energetic boys.  I love you guys! 

8)  When I’m “on-the-go” a lot during the week, my routines at home seem to slip.  Laundry and dishes tend to pile up; my attitude starts to slip.

So this is a wonderful blessing—I’m cancelling an errand today and staying home.  A day at home…no errands…no appointments…no field trips…plenty of time to clean the house and get things back in order!

Have a blessed weekend!

Linking up with

“Summer School”

We don’t actually “do school” in the summer.  Honestly, though, do you ever stop learning?  My cousin (Hi, Cally!) graduated with her teaching degree last month; is her head filled with all the knowledge she’ll ever need?  Of course not.
We all learn continuously throughout our lives.  So when my kids have teachable moments, I grab that opportunity and utilize it.  Even if it’s summer time.  (And even if they don’t actually realize that they’re learning.) 
Also—I document the undercover lesson to add to next year’s portfolios.  *grin*
So, thanks to the public library’s summer reading program, they spent some time planning and constructing castles.  (This year’s theme is “A Midsummer Knight’s Read,” and they have many Middle Ages themed activities planned.  Coincidentally, guess what my little boys are studying in history this fall?  Sweet!)

Here’s my 4-year-old’s vision of Bowser’s Castle, from a video game. (With some LOTS of help from his 14-year-old brother!)

This one is titled “Mozzarella” (a take-off from Cinderella) by my 10-year-old.  The blue mouse is fleeing the Mouse Ball and has lost a slipper; the red mouse is in pursuit of his rodent fair.

This one is Castle Grayskull, by my 8-year-old.  He was going to include an action-hero He-Man toy, but three-dimensional He-Man was twice as tall as our drawbridge opening.  So he used two-dimensional He-Man instead.  (Many thanks to Dad for printing that up!)

____________________

But we’ve been up to more than just medieval architecture.

I put these place-mats charts of the Presidents and the states and capitals on the cork board next to the kitchen table.  You would not believe the memorization that’s been going on, just because they see it so frequently!  The older boys have even taught the 4yo the first few presidents.  Since I have 4 boys, everything they do becomes a contest, and it’s not unusual to hear, “Quiz me!” while waiting for dinner to be served.

____________________

And now we pause for one of those moments that make me so thankful that we homeschool.

My 4yo was drawing this morning.  Here’s his picture of Grandma’s barn.

He wanted to know how to spell barn, so I told him.  The he looked at the word for a minute, and I could see the wheels turning in his head.  He sounded out the letters, and his face lit up as he connected the sounds with the letters, and the letters with the word, and the word with his picture and the actual building at Grandma’s house.
And he wanted to know more.

Silly me couldn’t think of anything else that rhymed with “barn” off the top of my head, so we did “farm” and “warm" before switching to the much easier “dog.”  (And of course, he had to write his name multiple times for good measure.)
Ahhhh, I love an impromptu phonics lesson masquerading as fun on the dry erase board before lunch!  But I have to run—we’re building bald pirate mother potato head people this afternoon!  When is naptime, again?


linking up to Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

The (Not Really Very) Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

You knew I was going to write one, didn’t you?  I’ve been holding off because I’ve been realizing more and more lately that everything in my life is a blessing, even beyond food, shelter, clothing.

Every breath I take.  Every smile on the faces of my kids.  Every time my fantastic husband puts his arm around me.  Laying down in my gloriously soft bed every night.  The fingers I’m using to type this post.

Knowing that I am loved by God with a love so awesomely invincible that nothing I do can ever damage it, lessen it, end it, or change it.

Here are the lyrics to a song by The David Crowder Band.  This song has really been on my mind lately.

He Is Jealous For Me

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

 

You may be wondering right now why I included all the “love” lines, when it’s just the same thing repeated over and over. 

Can we ever fully absorb the depth of God’s love for us?

In church, I hold the wafer and cup of juice during communion, thinking about all the terrible thoughts I’ve indulged toward others throughout the week.  Thinking about all the things I should have done, but didn’t.  All the times I pushed God aside – because I had to wash the dishes, clean the house, blog.

And I wonder how He can love me so much – me, the ungrateful, the harsh, the lazy, the too-busy-to-find-time-for-God.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:     While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.        Romans 5:8 (NIV)

Oh, how He loves us.

How much happiness can you fit in here?

More than you would imagine!

What do you think is in this pretty little bag? 

Money?  Nope.

Lunch?  Nope.

A new book?  Nope.

It’s full of … CANDY!!

My kids loved the treats!  Thank you, “Mimi-in-law”, Deb. 

It just goes to show that it doesn’t take much to make someone’s day more fun!  What can you do to brighten somebody’s day?

I've been thinking a lot lately about blessings - the tremendous number of "little" things that I take for granted.

Being able to live in my hometown, where my kids can visit their grandparents and relatives often.

Living in a country and state where I can homeschool my children as their dad and I see fit.

Fresh air and sunshine and beautiful autumn leaves on the trees.

The way my kids can translate the peculiar sign language I use when my throat is too sore for hollering at them.

And, after spending most of yesterday on a mission (to find a stand of very specific dimensions to hold a computer stack), I'm also thankful to:

The Home Front Antique Store on 4th Street in Albion, IL.  They have some fantastic furniture and unique knickknacks and offer reasonable prices.  A special note to homeschoolers - there are some very interesting old school books in the back.  They are going to be relocating, so stop by soon to check them out! (When they find a new home, I'll let you know!)

TJ's Thrift Store in Wayne City, IL.  He has great furniture, collectibles, and some small appliances.  Here, my quest ended with the purchase of a 2-shelf pine bookcase for only $6!

I appreciate the low prices at Wal-Mart-type retailers, but it's really nice to find local shops to support.  Small businesses are the backbone of our nation, after all.  And saving money is always a good thing on the Home Front!