hallowweeeeeeeeeeen

when they were little we didn't trick-or-treat.  we put them to bed early so they didn't have to see the gory teens and made little slips of poems with the gospel message and handed them out with (really good) candy.  it was easier to avoid the world's interpretations of the holiday, and still feel like we were hospitable.  as they got a bit older we enjoyed the little harvest festival thrown for the community by our local church.

then we moved to our current neighborhood and one halloween we went to a church-sponsored event and came home and discovered our whole neighborhood had been at our door and welcoming us to theirs and we were gone.  that night i went to bed with a sick feeling in my gut that we had missed the biggest opportunity to build relationship in our community and we haven't missed a year since.

now we throw a party.  this year we even dressed up (don't ask!).  we giggled with the retired snowbird neighbors who are sure to come back to their winter home in time to participate, who flew an 8-foot bat down the drive on a pulley system, and of whom the wife dressed as a gypsy with her cauldron of goodies.  we enjoyed every minute with our good friends and their kids, moms and dads taking turns looping the blocks.  we shared haystacks and driveway-crockpots of chili and bacon-wrapped pineapple and goat cheese and who-knows-what-else.  and oh-my-gracious, will we have some serious sweets to take to church to share with all those  less fortunate.

each has to follow his own conviction, and we are glad, for now at least, that we can enjoy this crazy and fantastical opportunity to be silly with our kids and our friends, and to build relationship in the community in which we live.

party on...  (angela)

our naples week {florida homeschool field trip}

we had so much fun spending a week in naples, bonita springs, and ft. myers. we took a field trip (missed the second one due to a sick big brother), visited a cool park, hung with grandparents, friends, and cousins during the day, and did a series of portrait sessions in the evenings. a couple snaps from our edison field trip (which we especially enjoyed in the midst of our botany study):(thanks, nana, for manning the camera!! we had so much fun with you...)

marriage equals two plus...

I remember driving home from college several states away on a whim once, to surprise my dad and see him perform a lead role in a church musical. When I arrived at a rehearsal in session, I was asked to join the closing prayer. I remember the pastor asked a pretty lady to lead the prayer, and when she spoke, her voice was filled with such sweetness that I thought, “I’d like to get to know her!”
Fast forward a few weeks, and I arrived home for the summer between college semesters. I met a handsome boy who loved Jesus and whose voice could melt butter, and I was smitten. Not long later, I knew without a doubt that this was the man God had chosen for me. (And if he didn’t, my dad informed him!) Imagine my sweet surprise when the mom of this handsome boy (MAN!) was none other than the pretty lady I had heard pray that rehearsal night.
Fast forward a few weeks, months, and years, and lots of life changes. There have been moments of life-happenings in which each of us (my husband, his in-laws and mine, myself, and eventually our brood of five arrows!) have shown clearly how awesome were the gifts God has poured into us, and how He has drawn us together to make a beautiful tapestry of love and service. There have also been moments, though, when the innate human-ness (read: sin nature!) has been glaringly evident! Both my sweet husband and I have had to make adjustments and grow through personality differences groomed in part by our upbringing and life experiences, and along with us, our families have done the same. There have been moments when I am sure each of us has thought of the other, “What in the WORLD??!!”
Recently my mom-in-law came for a visit, and we did some “adventuring” together. I’ve been going through major life changes as I build a business and try to maintain excellence as a home educator and wife, and her visit was a welcome break to “go play” a little bit more than lately. It was in the midst of a couple of days without my hubby, and I had a chance to just enjoy her for who she is as we played with the kids.
I took a photo of her that made my heart melt – she was laughing at a crazy antic of my littlest, I think… or she might have been giggling at something I had said. In that image, through that giggle, I remembered again that lady that I had longed to get to know. My Papa reminded me that when I married the man of my dreams, I gained a whole extended family, and a significant part of that is his mom, a woman who is in many ways so different from me, and in a crazy number of ways, very similar. I know, for instance, that part of why he loves me is that I am strong and a “go-getter,” a trait illustrated in his momma. I also am reminded that so many of the traits I adore in my man (after almost 14 years, I still melt when he cries at weddings!) were gifts from her.
Looking at this image reminds me again that marriage is a culmination of two lives, and a beginning of one… and that one combines and weaves together two distinct units, but ones the Father wanted together. With “the in-laws” come challenges, to be sure, but more, come the blessings. Thank you, Papa, for the chance to remember through my lens, the first sight I had of my husband to be, as I was drawn to the heart of his mom.

rite of passage.

my first and second (and i use the term "my" very loosely!) have just returned home from a weekend of turkey hunting with their Papa. there is the smell of man about them; they share private jokes which result in rolling giggles... they have quickly hushed stories to share of untold quantities of consumed fried catfish, coke at night,a certain inability to stay still in the "blind" (and resulting opportunities to tromp in the giant gully nearby), big trucks stuck in Georgia red-clay... and not one turkey in sight.

they sport sleepy eyes (up at five till after 10!) and grungy shoes and new cammo gear and huge rain boots. there is a new and deeper bond forged with a man God blessed our family with, and there is the sense that soon, they will be much older, perhaps (and prayerfully), wiser, and i have the awareness that not long in the future, they will know the sweet sadness of sacrifice so that mankind will have food provided by God... at their hands.

it's bittersweet, this blessing. they lose a bit of little-boy, and yet they gain strength. it is one more reminder that they are "borrowed..."

i often wistfully imagine days of quiet and the opportunity to sip lattes and read novels mid-day... and yet i am sharply aware today that those days will come too soon, and i will miss the never-ending chaos. soon, perhaps tomorrow, "my" boys will be the men God is shaping them up to be.

thank you, Papa, for a Papa here who joins in this process.

a few years ago, a little girl was born in a small town in indiana. her family loved her very much, and her Creator loved her even more. she grew up to be a pretty lady with a prettier spirit, and she met a handsome man who had two little girls and a broken heart. with the help of her Father, she helped him heal his heart, and long years later, she helped him bring home the hearts of his girls.

one of those girls grew bigger and came to live with them. the first girl, whose name was constance, lived out her name in her actions. she devoted herself to loving faithfully the husband and daughter she was given. she prayed and she loved and she taught and she encouraged, and Papa-God blessed her faithfulness by building a home of love.

the daughter she loved grew up and moved away and had a family of her own. through the years, challenges would come, and days would be hard, and callings would be felt, and all the while constance would remain constant. she would pray, and she would challenge; she would encourage, and she would love. she was the woman her Father named her to be.

the husband was grateful, as well, for the constance of constance. she was his partner and friend, his lover and helpmeet. she continued to pray, and she worked and she cooked, she served alongside and still she loved.

the girl constance was a gift to me from my Papa. i am the daughter of her heart whom she loved, and served, and challenged, and encouraged. i am the "little one" who gained confidence at her faith, who knew trust in her faithfulness, and who knew unending love in her arms.

it's my mom's birthday today, and i am one spoiled girl. for i have received the love of constance.

happy birthday, mom. i love you.

strawberry fields...

mmmm... wandering the strawberry fields today, and then visiting a super-cool park we'd never been to before... meeting up with Nana and some friends, both old and new. spring has officially come to Florida - and it's strawberry season. mmmmm...

c-baby,

i love you!! you're such a big boy, and you're really cool. i love your whole family... but today, you hooked me for good. thanks for letting chase you today, all of you guys!

for more of this family, go here.

birthday of the week, #2

...or technically, #4. our middle-baby, sort-of. our e-baby. my sweet boy who's curious and cuddly and would do anything for scratch-backs. of course, breakfast in bed. the neatest way, though - the bigs decided i wasn't going to get up fast enough, so they put his requested refrigerator-cinnamon-rolls to bake. then they set the tray, complete with fresh cut fruit. (they got his order: apples, oranges, and blueberries.)
orange juice, milk. served with a smile and a song and a ray of sunshine through the blinds. he enjoyed the service in big brother's lower bunk for ease of service.

the ever-present Princess-Puppy holds the seat of honor at breakfast.

mmmmmmmmmm... sticky fingers - proof of a meal well enjoyed. pure joy.

technically, we began his celebration on saturday with brian's.
jr. requested a lemonade ice cream cake, a past-made recipe.
e, on the other hand, mused, "you know what would be good? dark chocolate cake with nutmeg and cinnamon. and with a white frosting with nutmeg."
you got it, buddy!

back to the actual date-of-birth celebration... the day ended with a date with dad to a favorite arcade-play-place... lots of man-time, lots of tickets, and sugar enough to more than make up for the too-early cake celebration.

be still my heart - when this boy smiles, the world lights up. he enjoys life, and desires affection from each of his people. working hard to balance his best-friendship with his dear sister, and his longing to be one of the "big boys," he manages to fly under the radar much of the time, and demand attention when needed.
schooling him is such a pleasure just now, as he's ever more independent, and yet desirous of one-on-one learning time. and oh, how i love watching him become the protective and guiding older brother for blue.
it's a big year, e. you're growing all the time into a man of God to be reckoned with.

I've Been Tagged!

So my VERY SWEET friend Bren gave me a little extra project this morning. The morning when I stayed home to give little stinker some much needed nap time, and catch up on my way-behind homeschool product reviewing. Well, imagine my surprise when I received this little assignment. I had to go to the 4th folder in my photo supply on my computer, and the 4th picture... then give you a little explanation!

Well, I have to be honest, I have hundreds of photo files, so I "fudged" a bit - I chose the most recent family folder (December), then the 4th sub-folder, 4th photo.

(Just a little encouragement here: if you've gone digital, be sure to organize your photos on your computer so you can find them!!)

I had a little trepidation at what I'd find, but here it is!!

I'm glad this was the photo, because I haven't touched our Christmas photos yet!

This is from Christmas Eve. Every year we attend our church's Christmas Eve service, and come home to enjoy some sweet family time. It's our time to "unwind" from the pre-Christmas rush and get focused again on our precious Jesus. This year we enjoyed most our devotion for the night from our Jesse Tree tradition.

After this, the kids traditionally open one present. A few years back, a fellow mom friend gave us a "pickle ornament," which is a Victorian tradition we embraced. It is hidden on the tree, and the first child to find it gets an extra gift. (Usually that's more of a family gift. This year it was an adorable egg-and-chick-shaped small liquid measuring cup; Joshua got it and loved it!)

"In the beginning," when we first had kids, I made jammies - pants - for each child, then they got those with store-bought t-shirts. That has become the Christmas-Eve gift, and we always take a photo of the kids in their new jammies in front of the tree. As life, and extra hobbies, and new businesses, and church ministry opportunities, have grown and shifted, we've moved into (GASP!!) STORE BOUGHT jammies. I still enjoy sewing. Maybe someday I'll get back to making them. Probably when my kids are married, and I'll be making them and their spouses jammies, and they'll be secretly rolling their eyes. That, or they'll be enamored with their sweet mom-in-law and the love and devotion she expresses through her silly handmade gifts. One can hope!

So here it is, Bren! Thanks for tagging me! (It was fun, but it was 30 minutes. That's because I also photoshopped the too dark photo. You owe me.) Now I'm off to tag some other unsuspecting friends!

If you've been tagged then this is how you play:
1. Go to your 4th folder on your computer where you store photos.
2. Select your 4th picture (no exceptions).
3. Post the picture with an explanation and a link back to your tagger.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same. I'm tagging Tracy K, Tracy R, Tami, and Julie. Haha, girls, your turn!!

My Sister's Family

Wow, I totally did not expect that after just a couple hours' short visit, my throat would be tight and my eyes would well up when that Kentucky-rented minivan pulled out of our drive. My "little" sister is such a precious woman, growing in Grace and teaching me much about patience and determination. Her boys melt my heart, each so different. #1 is strong and quiet, with deep eyes and a serious expression. #2 reminds me of his mommy, and there's something about his tiny self that makes me want to give him whatever he might ask. And of course precious, chubby cheeked little one I just want to eat for dessert. My brother-in-law is funny and a loving and attentive husband and daddy, and the easy rhythm between them is as comforting as beef stew with red wine and buttered whole wheat biscuits! (Although for you, sis, I think I'd have to leave the beef out of the stew!)