Where we clapped, waved, and said thank you.

Pink cheeks, water bottles, fried dough

Shady spot

America

young ladies

young menlittlest ones

freedom, protection

anticipation

music, flags, uniforms, firetrucks

and hot dogs. Where two teen young men joined the parade (orange and gray shirts). Hot dogs.

red, white and blue

Thank you!

Weekend Gifts

~: Savoring the moments we have with a fellow getting just a bit older. It's such an exciting thing to be a part of his life and watch God-given dreams begin to stir into small ideas that I truly believe are a part of how God wants to use him in a bigger way.

We had hard shelled tacos (his choice), expressed in words and cards what we love about him, and presented cake(his choice) and gifts. Then he was off to paintball.

~: Today we had a super encouraging word about honoring the past at church. I even more look forward to Memorial Day tomorrow. The Body is a gift.

~: Mom and Dad L. had the nearby family over for a BBQ today. We.had.steak. My Dad is such a blessing and serves us by making magic over his very large grill. The kids played, and I loved being around my family.

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Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

Because This Spot is Curls and Crayfish

Jeremy took the littlest crew out for a walk last night, while giving me time to put away laundry. The house was quiet and darkened, but I heard them laughing down by the creek. My shoulders relaxed a little. Jeremy brought the camera. He always takes such nice pictures.

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast."~: Paul Scott Mowrer

A Merry Heart

Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.

What a wonderful God who works in all the details of life. Remember that "Attitude Check" post I wrote a week or so ago? It seems God has me on a theme...one I very much need. Thankfully, He doesn't leave us in the dark when wisdom is asked of Him.

Springtime is fun around here. There has been lots of frog and toad catching, crayfish hunting, butterfly chasing, laundry hanging, ice cream eating, a Friendship Party, and a Princess Party...all just BECAUSE. BECAUSE life is worth making some fun moments happen (and some imaginative hearted children have asked that it could be so).

It seems like children always have a good idea cookin' and I have to find grace to cipher whether it's a possibility or not...and try to work on my "yes"es :) and then the "yes"es accompanied by a more joyful spirited mama.

So, I'm thinking about Derek's podcast - Princes with Amnesia
This- I think she wrote it for me ;) Wow!!!
and of course the Breaking Free coursework. My own unit study. Thank you Lord.

Multitude Monday

Giving thanks

26. the smells of roast beef and lilacs...simultaneously

27. walking in and to freedom with my church sisters

28. hands to hold, hearts to love

29. the fruit from a little girl's lips who told her doctor, "I love my brothers and sisters..."

30. same person blowing dandelion fluff and wishing her Mama gets chocolate and flowers

31. a little plot of earth I get to imagine and design all sorts of green leafy arrangements

32. a Saturday date with husband in which communication rang clear, without interruption

33. little girls hysterical laughter with cousins

34. a newly painted home

35. learning of a yoke that is easy and light

Attitude Check

"I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." ~Abraham Lincoln

We were driving in the car, and I was mumbling about something. He said,

"Honey, you really ought to work on that..."

?!

"That. That being negative."

It didn't set so well with me at the time. ;) I think it snuck in somewhere, probably in a discouraged, hurt time. But it grew...into an attitude.

In my younger years, I participated in a Christian summer camp: first as a camper, then as a counselor. We had this activity in the afternoon that was called: ATTITUDE CHECK. It began simply as a roll call where your group would get points for your team if you said something like: "Praise the Lord Pastor Jim!"

Over time these changed and you'd really rack up the points if you quoted a Bible verse, sang a song, or performed a skit. The more we were losing ;) the more brilliant the Attitude Check needed to be. Personally, I didn't really enjoy doing them, but they definitely created a more fun atmosphere in the day.

I experienced a nosedive this morning, sat on the steps, put my head in my hands, sulking. And there was that little question raining in from my yesteryears, with a provocative meaning: Attitude check?

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. ~Winston Churchill

It's not fake to look for and believe for the best. It's an attitude.

Patience, forgiveness, compassion:

attitude.

Phillipians 2:5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

reposted

Yesterday's coffee break with Jeremy was one of those tearful times. I love them so very much, but there are times when life with many little ones who need the cuddles, my ear, and direction can be very overwhelming. I've had moments when 3 or more :) are crying at the same time.
\
And then there's me.
Not perfect. Struggling to stay calm, but very stressed nonetheless. I don't always do what I need to keep things "just right": quiet, productive, and neat.

Jeremy reminded me again... This is hard right now. That's why we need vision before we are in the thick of the crazy, muddy moments, and perspective after we come out of them. Those "muddy" moments can be long and frequent. But, really, we are going somewhere.

We are raising these beautiful lives for our Father's glory and purposes.
I wish I had the time to go into all the wonderful things I am learning, and being refreshed again by, the truths in the Bible study Breaking Free my church is doing. But I have time enough to say He is with me.
His peace is mine as I rest in His government and sovereignty.

So even though it feels hard sometimes to keep them moving, the little steps are really not so little in the big picture.

Comforted today by...

"While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves--blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do."


"When the habit of inwardly gazing Godward becomes fixed within us we shall be ushered onto a new level of spiritual life more in keeping with the promises of God and the mood of the New Testament. The Triune God will be our dwelling place even while our feet walk the low road of simple duty here among men."


"Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, `I will set my throne above the throne of God.' Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line."

Tozer's chapter "The gaze of the soul" The Pursuit of God

"I love Spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden." ~Ruth Stout

Forget-me-nots and wattle fence

examining their fishing equipment as the weekly fishing trips have begun

forget- me- nots and irises

Abby and a frog

Bannon helping Sophie on the swing

" 'Just living is not enough,' said the butterfly. 'One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.' " ~Hans Christian Anderson

On the way to the pond for more exploring


Yesterday we were able to do our schooling out on the porch and trampoline. We got very dirty and a little sunburned. This Mama has had to remove a couple of ticks, and is using the antiseptic gel just like the commercials suggest. More pictures of the garden wil surface here. I enjoy it so much. It's not here because of just me though. Everyone has pitched in, and we all get to enjoy it because of the help. Sophie has planted, Bannon has watered the grass seed, Jake and Jeremy made a koi pond, Cot and Jake built wattle fences, and Hannah has planted lots of pansies. Abigail delights me with her frog catching and holding. This is just like planting a flower to me.

Clear as mud.

I posted a blog yesterday that I let go of and want to bring it back...but it's gone. I am working through a process of trusting God to take care of my words that I type here and publish. I admit though to worrying that people will misread what I am saying, and that worry has a tendency to blind me to His peace and government that I surrender to as I write...not that I'm infallible...but the truth is, He loves me anyway :) So, yesterday, that lie intimidated me, and I erased a meaningful blog. I lost the vision in the mud that gives me perspective. sigh.

Several of you wrote me the sweetest encouraging notes, one I didn't see til later. Thank you so much for sharing with me. I honestly carry them real close to my heart. :)

So remembering today:

Vision, muddy moment, PERSPECTIVE

Our Songs

You know why I like blogs?

I do get tremendous blessing and ideas from the many voices of experience in *living.*

But more, it's so interesting to hear all the different voices and hearts whose stories are being written by God. That's what makes them special to me. The words are a language, expressing that person's life and God at work. Some are very gifted writers. Some, not their thing so much. It doesn't matter. It is still them. How quiet it would be without them, especially in their own circles. The internet is just an extra medium to express the hearts of the people behind the screens.

I go back and forth on whether I should keep blogging. I don't want my blog to be a stumbling block to anyone...including myself. That leaves me wondering, what to blog about then? :) I guess I'm left with a simple answer of singing my testimony of His work I see in my day to days, for now anyway :).

Today I'm thankful for~

21. A beautiful weekend of sun.

22. His Spirit helping me as we homeschool. Amazingly they learn incredible stuff, even though I don't do backflips "teaching" them.

23. One-day-at-a-time provision. "Consider the lilies..."

24. The internet to keep me up to speed on my extended family who live far away.

25. My husband who shares my heart in seeking what God is saying in these crazy busy days.

If you have the time to read Ann's post, you'll probably like it. I know I did.

Thanks for reading!