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!

Sunday Sermon Snapshot

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,

but you shall meditate on it day and night,

so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous,

and then you will have good success.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,

for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:8-9 ESV

MM : Speechless?

Wow, it’s been so long since I wrote a blog post that I don’t remember how to begin!  Me – at a loss for words? 

Actually, I’ve been doing a lot of word-working.  Just started attending a creative writing class once a week at the local community college.  (Just started – meaning, it began in August.) 

It’s been very good for me.  And a lot of fun.  But also it’s very strange to have homework to do every week.  *grin*

It’s difficult sometimes to find the time to fit everything in.  I’m still giving my best efforts toward running the house smoothly:  the cooking and cleaning and keeping the kids fed and educated properly.

But I’m also making time everyday to write.  That’s what I feel I’ve been called and gifted to do.  But, you don’t become a body-builder by reading books on lifting weights, right?  So, I’ve been regularly exercising my writing muscles.

(You think I jest?  I finished 3 poems and wrote 1000 words of an essay over the weekend, and got a few nonsense ideas for more verse typed up last night.  Whew!  Makes me tired just thinking about it.)

I have such big dreams for the future…but I won’t get there if I don’t put forth the effort.  (Although, if God has a big, fat book contract sitting around that He wants to get rid of … just kidding!)

What does this have to do with The Home Front?

Good question.  I’m going to try to develop a regular posting schedule.  Ask my kids – if a job isn’t posted in plain sight (preferably in several different spots, with multiple colors of sticky notes) I’ll forget, and it won’t get done.  Hopefully, with a planned posting method, I’ll be able to keep you all in the loop. 

So, here’s to big dreams, lots of prayer, juggling moms, and enjoying the journey!

PS - Happy Blogaversary to me!

PS (again!) - Linking up with Carissa at lowercase letters for miscellany monday...even though it's Tuesday...and not very miscellaneous...oh, well!

WFMW : Fishing Trip

We went fishing this weekend.

Worms are not my thing.

So I set up camp on a blanket in the grass and take pictures.

Really, really not-sharp picture of the crane all the way across the lake.

Or maybe it’s a heron.  I don’t know.

But it sat in that tree, fanning its wings into the wind, for a long time.

The sweat bee that wouldn’t go away.

The one butterfly that sat still long enough for me to get a picture of.

They were everywhere.

The cornfield nearby and the gorgeous blue sky.

Wasn’t it a beautiful day?

I never cease to be amazed at God’s glorious creation.

Have you let Him speak to You lately?

The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

… their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19: 1, 4

Enjoying nature’s beauty with my family works for me!

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.

 

Open the Door

The Locked Door The girl with a spade is digging holes in the floor of her room; she stands knee-deep where loamy earth once lay, turning out shovels-full of soil. The clods hit the ground in relentless thuds, like the knocking fist at the door. She has locked it. She scoops and dumps, again and again.  When the crater grows just big enough to cradle her, she kneels down into the loneliness, almost folds herself in two, wondering (as she hides) whether the caller beating at the door will leave if she ignores Him. But the pounding grows stronger. She climbs to the brink and out, cheeks smeared by sweaty palms with the grime of despair, leaving a tear or two on the hard- packed soil at her feet. She begins anew:  hoist shovel, heave weary shoulders, find an unblemished corner. Soon she’s dug herself knee-deep in a spotless new pit.  Blistered palms ache as she stands and surveys the level of her pitted landscape. Ears straining for the drumming on the door beyond the rasp of shovel or breath, bent double under her doubts, she realizes— that if she only opened the door… “ ‘Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.’ ” Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

Do you hear the pounding?

The pounding of the His friends' hearts as the soldiers invaded the garden to seize Him?

The pounding of their frightened feet as they fled?

The pounding of the lash meeting His back?

The pounding of the nails being driven into His hands and feet?

The pounding of His heart as He bore the sins of the world on His perfect shoulders -

and offered Himself in your place?

Is He pounding on your heart?

Open the door.

LOVE (What else?)

 

 

So, I’m grabbing a few minutes online after the kids are in bed, and I realize that it’s Monday.  So, I’m linking up to Miscellany Monday.  And while I’m really, really beat (explanations forthcoming), I also realize that I have something to say about…

LOVE

Valentine’s Day is almost a non-event at our house this year.  We’re coming off a week of at least one kid being sick every day for the last week.  Some slightly sick – just enough to make them cranky and uncomfortable.  Some really sick – like, I-wish-we-had-more-buckets sick.

And today, I realized that it’s Valentine’s Day, and I didn’t have a card for my wonderful husband.  In fact, I didn’t even mention it till after lunch because my mind has been on the kiddos.

And he didn’t care.  He didn’t feel neglected.  Even though I really have been neglecting a lot this last week.  And it hit me…

THIS IS LOVE.

Love that waits until this weekend to go out to a movie.

Love that tends to the upchucking kids in the middle of the night (because I slept right through it).

Love that hugs me when I really, really needed a hug, and cheers me up when I felt really awful.

Love that took time out of his busy work day to send me texts that made my day.

Looking forward to spending some time with you this weekend, hon!  I love you!

It Could Have Been Me

As naturally as writing comes to me, I was really scared to start writing a blog.  It’s one thing to share my random musings.  (Although I’m amazed that anyone would want to read about my ordinary life.  Even after I’ve spent more time than I should reading about other people’s ordinary lives.)

I’ve been realizing lately that part of blogging is using your voice to reach others.  My sphere of influence is not very big yet, I know, but sometimes I feel a responsibility to share certain things that are vitally important to me.

Last November, I blogged about knowing what the candidates stand for, and voting according to your conscience here.  One of the biggest issues of interest to me is abortion. I am ardently pro-life.  If a candidate wimps out with some trite little justification (it’s a women’s issue), then my vote goes elsewhere.

Why is abortion so near to my heart?

Partly because it’s such common sense issue – murder is murder. 

Partly because I have four children and know how precious they are. 

Partly because … it could have been me.

I have been in a position where having an abortion would have been understandable (even encouraged), by society’s standards.

In my mind, abortion was never an option, because I knew that I was carrying a baby, not a blob of cells.

I loved him, even before I could feel him move, before I started being sick every time I smelled food, before I heard his heartbeat or saw his tiny fingers in the doctor’s office. 

Ever since I became a mother, abortion has been a very big deal to me.

And so, I felt compelled to share a few links with you.

• Here are some statistics on the subject from Focus on the Family.
• Hear Ronald Reagan’s thoughts on the issue at The Morris Tribe.
• Check out the petitions available to be signed online at ParenthoodUSA.org.  As I write, the signature count is at 919,826 in support of personhood.
• Check out some very moving images of life before birth here.  WARNING: Some may find the images too graphic.  Use your own discretion.

I am very sure where I stand.  I pray for our country, that this deadly practice will be stopped.  I signed the Illinois petition at ParenthoodUSA.org.  I’m not sure what else I’ll be doing to support pro-life efforts, but anytime God puts it on my heart to discuss it here, I will.

And now, I ask you – where do you stand?  And what are you going to do about it?

The Story of Christmas for the “Naught” Generation

 

 

My brother, who is in his mid-20’s, calls himself a member of Generation Naught – those who “came of age” between 2000 and 2010.  So, in honor of Tucker, here is the Miracle of the Jesus’ Birth, social-networking-style.  Love you, bro!

A Social Networking Christmas

And, yes – I am shamelessly reposting this from Kristen Welch at We Are That Family.  It was just too beautifully moving not to share!

Globes Don’t Bounce, So Don’t Drop the Ball

We are homeschooling all four boys this year.  Just saying that feels a little frightening.  Lots of pressure.  Lots of questions.  Mostly, people ask,  “How do you do that?”

I don’t know.

We just do.

Sometimes it feels really fun, like when we spend the afternoon at a historical reenactment like Muster on the Wabash in Vincennes, Indiana.  The kids get to see how people dressed in 1811, watch a blacksmith working at his forge, and hear the muskets and cannon firing in an intense-if-only-mock battle.  The kids are engaged in the learning, and it feels more like fun than “school.”

Sometimes everyone is in a cooperative mood, and our core lessons get finished in record time.  We have time to listen to some classical composers, play with math manipulatives, study some famous artists, or dig into some really great books.  The learning is richer than just the 3 R’s, and I find myself thinking that I’ve got this homeschool thing in the the palm of my hand.

Then there are days when school is a matter of holding the kids’ noses (and mine) to the grindstone and getting the work done.  It’s not fun.  (Hello – diagrammed any sentences lately?).  It doesn’t seem very enriching, or even useful.  (How often do you factor polynomials in your everyday life?)  But we cover the material that we need to cover.  Some days, homeschooling feels like this:

But basic facts form the backbone for future knowledge.  Maybe it’s more important some days to learn how to buckle down and finish the job properly.  Some days school is not about conquering the multiplication tables.  School is teaching my children how to learn, how to ask questions, how to fulfill the assignment.  School is giving your best effort when you don’t want to, and no one would really know if you took the easy way out.  Some days, school is preparation for life.

Learning is a gift.  Pass it on.

 

all photos from http://www.inmagine.com/