Thursday, August 30, 2007

Life's Interruptions

Some days I feel as if I really don't accomplish much. As I have been trying to school the kids at home for the last 2 weeks, it seems that, in spite of my good intentions, my lists, and my aim at being a woman of discipline, there is never quite enough completed at the end of the day. I have been thinking a lot about this and realizing and trying to accept that "life" happens in the midst of busy days. Then just yesterday, I was reading an article by Gloria Gaither that my mom had loaned me and it really spoke to me. She wrote on the subject of interruptions in our lives and what our perspectives should be. One of her statements is:
"I am coming to believe that God's will for my life is the interruptions".
Wow! That hit me hard...here I have been trying to avoid roadblocks to "progress". She went on to show that so many of Jesus' special moments and miracles here on earth were what we would consider interruptions:
  • the water to wine
  • the leper and blind men
  • the man brought thru the roof by his friends
  • the woman with the disease who touched Him
  • the children who came to sit on His lap

Planning and visualizing and organizing is all well and good, but my earnest prayer is that I am never so busy that I miss the opportunities and adventures that will come when I am open to them. After all, what else am I really here for?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and how you have learned to embrace with joy God's alternate plan.

By the way, this is a picture of our smallest "interruption". We are so thankful for him!

(And I do have pictures to post of our time in Montana and will do so soon. )


Sunday, August 26, 2007

Montana Trip - Preview








Well, we have been home for almost a week, but have not had time to blog, due to an icky bug we brought home with us. We truly enjoyed our week there...some of the highlights of our time together were:




  • nana and gramps, brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles

  • babies!!!

  • horses

  • four-wheelers

  • kids' camp

  • smoky mountains due to fires ....and the days that were not so smoky

  • late night visits

  • a great game of dominoes (thanks, Tom, for the great music and entertainment!)

  • enjoying old family pictures and movies

  • great food

  • a visit to the park with toddlers

  • a candlelit 40th anniversary dinner

  • 2 baby dedications

  • a buddy for everyone to play with!

  • Andy Griffith shows that the kids loved watching

  • out-to-lunch and Candy Land game with Nana

  • catching up and reconnecting

I have many pictures to choose from to put on our blog. We all thank God for a wonderful time together and new memories made. As Jayce put it, "Our family rocks!" :)


We can't wait until the next time together ( and we so hope to be able to see Krystal, Jeff and kiddos soon! We love you guys!) .





























Thursday, August 9, 2007

Days like this I want to remember...

Not all days as a mother are happy, peaceful days - many, but not all! There are some days that I am not satisfied with the way my children have interacted or the way that I have responded. There are some days when one or more children are sick and we have crying in the home. There are some days that I would like to forget ever happened and am so excited to start over the next day!
This wonderful day in McCall. Idaho was not one of them! Robb had a deck to look at and bid, and so we all piled into the car and rode with him. It was so enjoyable to get away, even for a day. We have been camping twice this year, but always with groups of people, so it was nice to just enjoy each other's company. The first part of the day was smoky due to many fires in Idaho and Drew's asthma was bothering him, but by the time we got to the lake with our buckets and shovels, the sky had cleared and it was beautiful!
We were able to rent a little canoe for a couple of hours and we all enjoyed it! Lauren was a bit nervous, even though she is a great swimmer and is in the water a lot. But when her and I got to go out for a while, she really loved it and has asked her dad to try to find one at the thrift store. :) The lake was pristine and so beautiful and peaceful.

The kids and Robb enjoyed building sand castles and Tuck spent a lot of time burying my feet in the sand!
There are no pictures of Preston as he was sleeping most of the time. He has turned into a very happy baby and we are loving having another baby around here!


I think God gives us these days as a time to reflect and appreciate all we have. I certainly did that today, and somehow I think I will remember this day for a very long time.
"Every good and perfect gift comes from above..." James 1:17