Behind the Fence of Trouble

"We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched.  We should never enjoy the juice of the grape if it were never trodden in the wine press.  We should never discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten.  And we should never know the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. 

The excellence of the Christian is brought out by the fire of trouble."
Charles H. Spurgeon

I find myself in a time of trouble.  My heart feels rather heavy from the load that I am carrying.  I have lifted it to him, this parenting stuff, but still the daily tasks remain on me to carry.  I find myself feeling separated out, with friends and church not the support I had thought.  As if God is removing things so that I can lean on Him alone.

  Some days we can only see where we stand, God does not allow us to see into the next month or the final outcome.  I continue to press in, to fight the good fight of faith.  Perhaps in this time of trouble God is growing me from faith to faith and from glory to glory.

Certainly my soul (my mind, will and emotions) are being transformed.  Though trouble and the times it brings are not fun, they are times of learning in my walk with Christ.  Praying for wisdom and strength as I walk this part of the path alone with Him.

Proof that Life is Good

sisters who are friends too

a 3 year old who loves the water (and taught herself to swim)

a best friend who became family (by marrying my brother)

for remembering this summer, the summer of my raccoons

remembering that though the trail sometimes is treacherous, 

that thankful God is with me.

for my raccoons that are now wild

how thankful I am for pictures and a head full of memories

for this Knight who celebrated 25 years of bliss with me this August

 that I am loved

Words of Friendship

Unusual Pleasures

subtitled:

Because Sometimes the Posts Need to Be About What Pleases Me

an evening on holiday

watching the carousel ponies go round.

Tonight Mama does one of her favorite things, which is playing with photo editing.  Time slips by, the crickets quietly sing through the study window as I gently nudge this and that around in this one photo.

Self taught, but how it makes me feel.  Glorious, after many heavy days of parenting.  

Oh, Picnik 

how thankful I am for you to snatch me away from the weight of motherhood for a few moments.  How thankful I am that my Knight upgraded me to the premium account (a sweet birthday/sanity gift).

Photo editing is a form of temporary escape.  You just might find a few more posts like this one.  I need it for the spot I currently find myself in.  No I haven't forgotten about prayer, or Bible reading or friendship...but somehow this seems to sooth my heart in the perfect prescription.

If I cross your mind (ever) would you pray for me...or I might just slip into photo editing as a full-time position and toss my hands up at this parenting thing.  

my heart is contented. 

a huge sigh came up with this black and white addition. 

i can push away and fall to me knees,

thanking God that indeed He is guiding my steps,
today and all-ways.

photo editing is easy, parenting not so much.

Prayer Request Sunday

Would anyone like prayer this week?

Great Site ~ Archaelogy for Kids (homeschool)

As I come across great teaching sites, I bookmark them in a folder labeled

*Homeschool and the current year*

When time allows I use the sites throughout the year, as bonus teaching tools.  They are certainly not for homeschoolers only, certainly they are a great extra for any child who is hungry to learn.

One of my daughters has always had a love for archaeology, so naturally I bookmarked this for her.  I know my other children will also enjoy this, she will spark them on as she oooohhh's and awwhhhh's.  

Hope you can enjoy it too!

Archaeology for Kids

Archaeology stories and games 

(which is highly educational, but is totally FUN!)

God Behind the Scenes (some monkey business)

Until one has loved an animal

a part of one's soul

remains

unawakened.

                                                Anatole France 

My baby raccoons are gone, Oh how I miss them.  We go to their spot in the wild every few days to bring them food (their mama would still be there with them if she was able). We (meaning my raccoon loving Knight and I) want them to stay fat so they hibernate through the coming cold months.  

We haven't seen them because now they are nocturnal, though some day we may venture into the area way after dark to see if we can catch sight of them.  My heart misses them terribly.

But...

  my wonderful Father has brought me a new surprise friend.  Recently she lost her husband and we have been getting to know each other better.  Over coffee in my living room, she told me a few years back she had a monkey,
 though a cougar is all she really ever wanted.  Be still my soul, a girl after my own heart. 

She went on to tell me crazy monkey stories and how her husband Paulie had brought it home after she asked him for one (back then it was legal).  Betty told me how the monkey found a new home, after its adventure outside its enclose.  bad monkey, bad monkey.  How she told Paulie to get rid of it (she was MAD) and he brought back two neighbors and the warden (who had a gun).  No animals were hurt...but that monkey took a ride (without a seat belt or cage) and dear sweet Paulie got a $50 ticket trying to *get rid of that monkey!*

I told Betty last night at church that my only regret is that, 'I didn't know her when she had the tiny monkey,' as we could have made quite a team with a music box, monkey and two girls full of animal love. 

She looked at me and tipped her head back to laugh, hard.  

God is good. 

Recipe for Ethiopian Tea

One of the many benefits of adopting children from a foreign country, has been the blessing of discovering culture through our taste buds.  With two beautiful Ethiopian daughters (age 3 and 14), we have thankfully been led into Ethiopian foods and drink. I think having a 14 year old who grew up within the culture has helped us retain many of the traditions within the Ethiopian daily life.

It wasn't until I pushed my buna (coffee) cup away-that I learned to love Ethiopian tea.  Now I don't know how they prepare this in Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa I only experience a real buna ceremony. But in my Ethiopian church, this tea is served during fellowship time at gatherings close. 

All of us look forward to a cup, each of my kids always line up to get handed their own cup of tea, including our 3 year old.  They normally pair it with Ethiopian bread, which is a yummy partnership: caffeine and carbohydrates-in my book you can't go wrong there! 

Ethiopian traditional tea

What you will need:

tea pot 

(mine is a stove top whistling model-I try to get whistled at a few times a week at least)

4-5 black tea bags 

(well for a typical tea kettle size)

(my Ethiopian friends like the Lipton variety)

8-15 whole cloves

5-8 cardamom (the green whole variety)

one cinnamon stick (about 3 inches long)

fresh cold water to fill the kettle with

sugar to taste (but my Ethiopian friends aren't afraid of sugar, enough said).

Put all ingredients into the kettle.  Bring to a boil.  Let sit for 3 minutes, fish out tea bags (which if you were smart, you let those cute little strings hang out over the edge of the kettle and secure them with the lid).

Pour into cups, add sugar while hot.

Stir...

Drink!

Personally, I don't drink tea black or with tea with sugar, but this is beyond lovely this way.
You can reuse the spices and tea bags for another round,
often I reuse mine for several days before discarding them.
They sit their waiting, patiently waiting for some fresh water, so they can get to business!

To change it up once in a while (hey, a girl has to have change, right?) I sometimes throw in some fresh ginger, a big hunk with the rest of the spices before brewing occurs.

Hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think!

cardomom

(easily found at an Indian market)

cinnamon

(you only need one, but the one I had looked so lonely 

that i brought a friend along for the photo shoot)

 cloves

This is what we're talking about!

Fear, Vision and Reality {parenting}

Parenting is hard.   

Sometimes the burdens we carry are hard.  Sometimes they are hard to share.

Many times it is difficult to admit that you are struggling.  In admitting that no matter what you try, nothing seems to be getting the heart of your child.  Even admitting that you are at the point of questioning if anything done thus far has even penetrated the heart strings of the child that you so desperately want to see touched by God.  

Parent's sometimes grow weary of their hard task of training.

 

Today I met with a dear friend, wise woman and huge mentor of my heart.  We caught up after a long summer of little contact with each other.  We shared what we have been carrying.  I unloaded a lot of my parenting burdens on her, one daughter in particular who I am concerned for.

She spoke peace to my heart. She told me to trust Him with it and to wait to see what He'd be doing.

On the way home from our meeting, the Lord showed me a vision. 

It was of me driving what seemed like a 1,000 wild horses. 

My hands were raw from holding the reins so tightly. 

I was not leading, but instead being dragged by the reins that attached me to said horses.

Everything around me was dry and looked in need of refreshing. 

I looked (and felt) beat, but then there was a voice that said,

" Loosen your hold on the reins." 

In exhaustion I did.  Immediately He showed me that it wasn't me holding the reins, 

it was Him. 

 My hands had only been clutching His (which were indeed the Ones who were holding the reins.)

The flood seeped out. 

I've been holding so much in, maybe too much.

I am not a super-hero, I am just me, a mother of 8, 

who passionately Loves Him and desires that my children do too.

I can trust Him, He knows all there is about wild horses. 

I am not giving up, I am taking a break and instead releasing my wild horse team to Him. I am not driving, 

I never was, it was His nail scarred hands that had been tenderly holding the reins, while my hands dug into His, never realizing the reality of what had been occurring.

Psalm 139:13

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

I never saw this verse written in the King James Version, guess I had it memorized in a more modern text.  How perfectly it matches my vision the Lord gave me...He is asking me once again to release control to Him and to trust Him fully, as I am fully known.

What Saturday has Become

 soccer

It finally happened~ we signed up to be on *teams.* 

Four days a week we are committed to the field-

a huge change,

as family dinners have become (3 nights) a hand held sandwich on the way.  

The kid's are passionate about soccer...so guess I'm in too.

Today games start at 9:30 and end at 8:00 p.m- 3 different towns. 

Our Ethiopian princess is filling in on another team, so she has two games today...

and we're off!

Sewing for the First Time

Our sassy Ethiopian Princess got invited to try her hand at Mama's sewing machine.  This machine is Mama's baby and NO ONE is allowed to touch her.  She runs like a dream and doesn't give Mama fits or make Mama cry, this is why children aren't allowed to touch her.

BUT

my girl is 14 and never has sewed...

SO

I 

invited 

her to come.

I walked her through how we were going to recover an old pillow I had acquired and how these two pieces of fabric, with their right sides facing each other would become a lovely new adornment to her hang-out couch downstairs.  We pinned them together and then with a marker I made dots for her to follow so she could hold a straight line.

She was NERVOUS.

(guess the fact that Mama loves this machine so much made her fearful.)

But Mama loves her more, so (sew) she sat her down and gave her lesson #1.

Honestly, I meant to do it sooner.  But my sewing time is scarce these days, but I am bound and determined to find time for some sewing time and such in our homeschool this year.

 She sewed beautifully.  I couldn't believe she would ever do so great on her first time out.  She currently is blind stitching up the opening.  Once she gets it done I will post it...

but for now, you will only see with what she started with...

Another benefit of homeschooling I guess.

When you are Side Swiped

Yesterday my Knight and I felt like

we were hit by a very large truck. 

At our home church, it was announced a restructuring of sorts, no more Wednesday night services (which are teaching and prayer focused).  As of January we will begin to break up into smaller home groups for our meeting, the groups will be sermon based (but sans our children). 

I get why we are doing it, but as a mother of many my heart is a bit shaky.  How will no worship service on Wednesday effect my children's lives?  I understand the need for change, actually the change is being done out of desperation for getting us beyond surface~y relationships and into true love and fellowship with one another.  Still my heart is aching and very unsure, we did home groups for many years and it didn't change the lack of love and fellowship.

Then our beloved Ethiopian church announced that our Pastor is leaving.  OUR BELOVED PASTOR, who loves us, adores our children, and makes us feel much a part of the church.  A Pastor who has been willing to change up his church, just for US.  He not only preached in Amharic, but always translated for us so we would also be included in being fed and encouraged. 

This the church of my heart, the one that brought me so much healing in finally feeling connected and loved. Though it is a tiny body of Christ, its influence and effect are huge to many.

All of it really didn't hit me (and my Knight) until we got home, until we separated ourselves from the days events.  At my home church I encouraged others to trust that God would walk us through this, that we would come out better.  At my beloved Ethiopian church, I kept my tears in my heart and instead chose to build up my Pastor in not being sad, but believing God is going ahead of him to California and all that He is calling him to there.

At days end my Knight and I lay in bed saying how sad we felt, over and over I found myself saying,

"I am SAD,"

  Somehow saying it helped.

Of course God is the one who binds up the broken~hearted.  He goes before me, my Knight and my children as we follow Him in obedience.  

Still my heart weeps.  

Letting go of what you love is hard.  

(I learned this lesson first hand in having to let go 

of my 3 orphaned raccoons-

allowing them to be who
God created them to be.)

Today I am still sad, but I remind myself that God is in control and that..

He is leading me (us) to green pastures

and though

I walk through the valley (a sad place) of the shadow of death (letting go)

that YOU (my Lord and my God) are with me 

and 

I will (should) fear NO evil.

Prayer Request Sunday-devotion

Something in my Pastor's notes jogged my heart this morning, he asked us to think of three things that we were devoted to. 

I began to think of my long term devotions and then I also made a mental list of my current things that my heart is devoted to.

in case you are wondering about what devotion actually means:

devotion

My Long term (life long) list:  

1. God (this covers my faith, my time in His Word, time in prayer, time with Him)

2.  my family

3. others (church, friends...)

Short term 

(meaning this list changes depending on the season of my life)

1. Reading through the Bible chronologically 

2. Caring for my raccoons (who now live in the wild)

until winter comes and they go into a semi-hibernation.

A mama raccoon normally cares for her babes for 1 year.  I stood in the gap (from my master bathroom, which was converted into a raccoon den) until they were 4 months old, and now I mother them from a far.

3. Praying for my unborn daughter who God is calling into our family through adoption.

What would your list look like?

Would you like prayer? 

I'd love to stand with you believing God to move in whatever situation or circumstance you are currently facing.

the verse on my heart for this week:

2 Cor. 10:4

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Reading Logs for your Kids (Homeschoolers!)

Reading logs give readers 
(and reluctant readers) 

a feeling of achievement. 

Set some goals for each of your readers and make sure you also celebrate along the way. 

We like to see how many we can read

(at our level, or bundle 10 easy books read to a younger sibling counted as one for reluctant readers)

from beginning until end of our homeschool year.  

We have been doing reading logs for an eternity here at our little schoolhouse.  Thought you'd might like a few links to help you get started.

Ice cream or candy makes wonderful incentive to stack up the books on each child's log!

read!

read!

read!

read! (color)

read (colour)

read! (a little more detail)

and a book report form too!

and don't forget to make multiple copies for your teacher's folder~

expecting that this is going to be a very productive and  illustrious year!

Happy homeschooling!

16 First Days of Homeschool Celebration

Yup, this is our 16th year of homeschool
-day one.

I survived with all my fingers and toes intact!

I wasn't so sure how today was going to go...as when we were bundling every one's curriculum for the year the night before our big opening day, my Knight and I were growing faint. 
We started the day however without any casualties
and only one case of whining about an assignment
(note: 9 year old son suddenly doesn't want to write short stories).

 We finished the day singing "Happy First Day to you" (sung to the tune of Happy birthday).

It was a fabulous hit and made the teacher (moi) endeared to every one's heart
(note: the three year old Ethiopian princess can be bribed with sugar).  

The delightful red frosting was scoffed up over the summer from Aldi's at 25 cents a jar, so you will probably be seeing red and blue Fourth of July frosting for months to come.
(note: make more cake and come up with more songs to keep the morale high in school).

 Here are the faces that will grace our homeschool,
that we named 16 years ago as "Growing along Together.
 ...well, except for the oldest who is now in college, but still graces us with her loveliness.
(and as she got me started in this homeschooling 16 years ago....
well she is included in today's snaps too!)

our homeschool graduate...

13 years of homeschool for her..

and she is on the Dean's List at college 

(note to self, relax you are doing fine teaching your children).

our 11th grader...

working harder than ever!

The one who will hit the piano to unwind after a long day of hard studies.

our 6th/7th grader...

her second year of homeschool. Last year she completed from K- grade 6!

(can you say Halleluyah that we got that much done in one year).

I never taught English as a second (third) language,

but all things are possible with Christ who strengthens us!

Guess the sky is the limit with this Ethiopian daughter.

our 7th grader...

eager to learn and happy to homeschool next to her Ethiopian sister/best friend.

4th grade it is...
she is careful and hard working.  

This year we are going to work a bit extra with speech.

4rth grader too...

this boy is fast...need to get extra work to keep him busy.

(and work on writing more short stories)

3rd grader at large.  

Quick to get concepts and able to leap small buildings in a single bound.

AND...

 

my 3 year old preschooler.

Candle licker and proud of it.

Always happy to sing, puzzle it up, entertain, correct her siblings,

snack, pray and move heaven to earth,

occasionally she slows down long enough to work at school.

"Happy First Day to YOU!"