A Pajama Mama

Go Gently

2012-09-27T21:20:00.001-04:00

"Go gently through this day. Lean on me, rely on My presence." ~Jesus Calling

This sentence jumped out of the page of my "Jesus Calling" book this morning. I zeroed in on the word gently. What would gently look like for me today.

gently = carefully
gently = purposeful
gently = intentional
gently = soft answers and responses

What does God's word say about gentle, gently, gentleness?

This:

Jesus is gentle. "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart. You will find rest." Matthew 11:28

Ladies, be gentle. "But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:4

Walk in gentleness. "....walk...with all humility and gentleness, with patience bearing with one another in love..." Ephesians 4:1,2

Pursue gentleness. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith." 1 Timothy 6:11

What does Webster say?

As an adjective, belonging to a family of high social station (hmmm..that's a new one...), chivalrous, honorable, kind, amiable, free from harshness, soft, delicate, docile.

As a verb, to make gentler, to make an animal tame and docile.

Now, that reminds me of something! Could this gentle gentle word study be leading me here?

My youngest daughter and I are going through the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House book series this school year...We read a chapter or two each day and by the end of the year, we will have finished the entire series. Along the way we stop and study related subjects (like Native Americans), try recipes mentioned in the book, make crafts, delve deeper, etc.

The other day we read in Little House On The Prairie of Pa helping ranchers/cattle movers moving Texas longhorns through the prairie. In exchange for his help, he was given a female longhorn and her new calf. The longhorn was scared and wild "as a deer" and even kicked Pa in the chest when he tried to milk her.

Pa build a tight fence/pen around her to keep her still, secure and to begin taming her. The fence had room for her baby but the mama cow couldn't walk or turn. Pa spoke softly to the cow and was very kind to it. Pa told Laura this was how to "gentle" a cow. I explained what this meant to my girl, and we both agreed that we don't use that version of the word gentle much these days. Eventually, the cow became secure, felt safe, trusted Pa, and was docile and tame. She was able to leave her tight pen for regular grazing during the day and the barn at night.

The more we choose to and allow ourselves to be yoked (Matt 11:28) with Jesus...to be filled with His presence, the more gentle we will be. The more gentle and the more gentled.

Allowing Father to gentle us doesn't mean to beat us into submission until we don't know who we are anymore. But it means for Him to love us gentle....to love us with his overwhelming love until we desire nothing more but to follow, submit, let Him lead and still be who He created us to be.

I like this word gentle and its meanings for me...all of them.

Father, gentle me, gently. And may I be gentle to those around me in return.

Validation - a short film

2012-09-12T17:37:00.000-04:00

I'm all about free Kindle books. I usually skim the description but more closely read customer reviews. My latest five-star free read is "Sifted: God's Scandalous Response to Satan's Outrageous Demand" by Rick Lawrence. During an emotionally-charged couple of hours yesterday afternoon, I jerked my kindle out of my bag and started reading Sifted...mostly so my mouth and brain would be otherwise occupied and not tempted to say what I was thinking....which wasn't very kind, gentle, necessary, or who I am, for that matter.

"The names we embrace are the names we become, therefore, we're in desperate need of a good name." And the people around me that afternoon were in desperate need of hearing good names, good words....not the angry mama-bear words bumping around in my head. The author told of a movie called Validation...a 16 minute film that does a brilliant job summing up what we have learned over the years...call out, call forth the good, call out the good names, call out the best character qualities in people. (Even when...or especially when you aren't very fond of them at the moment.) I'm not sure if the film makers knew what they were doing or just producing a nice film.

But if you have 16 minutes, just watch it and see what you think. Validation.

http://vimeo.com/2485018

The Boy's 13th Birthday

2012-07-01T09:06:00.001-04:00

13 years ago, Father sent to this earth a one-of-a-kind creation...our boy.

I prayed he'd have brown eyes like his daddy but they were blue. They were blue until he was two....then slowly turned to the same melty caramel brown eyes that his daddy looks through.

Through the years, I have realized that he has more than just his daddy's eye color....but he sees the world through the same eyes as his daddy does.

He has heart vision....gazing at things through a filter of compassion, kindness, and tenderness, with the most precious heart. Just like his earthly daddy. And his Heavenly Daddy.

He has had his share of struggles. They've made him stronger and more compassionate to others. Only Father knows what path our boy will take, what profession he chooses, but I can say with confidence that he will touch people's hearts with his kindness and compassion, he will cheer folks up with his cheerfulness and cornball humor, he will encourage those around him with his gentle words and quiet strength.

He is a treasure, our treasure.

Happy 13th Birthday, precious one.

St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer

2012-03-15T08:47:00.000-04:00

Around 1500 years ago, a young British teen was kidnapped by Irish Raiders and forced into slavery in Ireland. Six years later, he escaped and returned to his home in Britain. This young man became a Christian and took the Christian name of Patrick. Through a vision/dream (as it's told), the Lord put it on his heart to return to Ireland as a missionary. He did just that....sharing the love of Christ and building schools and church buildings. Did you catch that? Just in case you missed the point....Patrick RETURNED TO IRELAND...the place where he was enslaved for 6 years. Could I do that? You? By the 8th century, he was a patron saint of Ireland. March 17 is believed to be the date he died. Irish Catholics began celebrating this day in the 17th century. Irish-Americans introduced the celebration of St. Patrick's Day on American soil during Colonial times.

Most believe it to be legend that St. Patrick drove snakes out of Ireland. Some believe it was symbolic of him driving paganism out of the country. I personally don't believe the Lord would send Patrick back to Ireland just to rid the country of unwanted reptiles. He had a greater plan for Patrick in Ireland! There is also legend that St. Patrick used shamrocks to explain the Trinity - The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. While this is not fact, it is definitely a feasible possibility, don't you think?

There is a prayer long believed to be authored and prayed by St. Patrick. It is known as St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer, The Deer's Cry, or The Lorica. Whatever you choose to call it, the prayer is beautiful and relevant in our lives some 1500 years later! Here is just a portion of the prayer. Read it in its entirety here.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me;

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's hand to guard me.

Afar and anear,

Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today

Against wounding:

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ in me.

I arise today

Through the mighty strength Of the Lord of Creation.

P. S. I'm not sure where the Wear Green or Get Pinched tradition fits in, but yes, I will have on a green shirt bc my kids take this pinching thing SERIOUSLY! ~Blessings!~

2012 - Year Of Steadfast Faith

2012-01-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

We spent New Year's Weekend at the beach with our sweet friends. After a fun New Year's Eve celebration with fireworks, blow horns, noise makers, fun hats, PFChangs, cheesecake and sparkly juice in plastic wine glasses, we started New Year's morning together reading The Word and spending some time in prayer. As each person took their turn praying about the fresh, new year, a picture began to form in my mind.

The little girls had spent the weekend skating on the sidewalks. I pictured Little C in full skate gear. Helmet, elbow pads, gloves, knee pads. She had her rollerblades on and was poised to take off skating...headed down into the depths of a canyon, completely obscured by a blanket of thick, gray fog.

As I pondered the foggy canyon and the fully-padded skater girl, the symbolism...the meaning...became perfectly clear.

Little C in her pads represents all of us in our spiritual armor. The Full Armor of God, spoken of in Ephesians 6. The canyon, foggy and path unclear, is the upcoming year - 2012.

We are all standing at the edge of this foggy, obscured canyon of 2012.Complete unknowns...trials and joys of 2012.

But fully clothed in our spiritual armor of faith, we have NOTHING to fear or dread.

We can take off, full speed ahead, with complete and steadfast faith in the One who loves us like no other, wholly and completely....the One who is the ONLY one worthy of our complete and total trust because He cares for us, has a plan for our lives that is ALL GOOD. No, we can't see what's ahead for this year. But we know WHO has us in His hands and we can walk boldly into 2012, fully confident of His love, His care, and His provision for each one of us, counting everysinglebit of it ALL JOY.

Count it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds.

For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect,

that you may be perfect and lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

Consider it a sheer gift, friends,

when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.

You know that under pressure,

your faith-life is forced into the open

and shows its true colors.

So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.

Let it do its work so you become mature and

well-developed, not deficient in any way.

James 1:2-4 - The Message

Steadfastness - endurance, patience, strength to keep going, loyalty in the face of trouble, fixed or unchanging, firmly loyal or constant, unswerving.

May 2012 be a year of ever-increasing, boldly walking, firmly loyal, steadfast faith for each of us.

The Little Drummer Boy, Repost

2011-12-15T22:43:00.000-05:00

Tonight, we watched the Little Drummer Boy together. Below, you will find a repost of my own Little Drummer Boy story from a year ago.

Have a blessed Christmas!

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8"

That's how the 1968 version of "The Little Drummer Boy"show ends. I'm sure you've heard the song....and you probably saw the tv show as a child. The storyline goes like this....a little orphaned drummer boy and his animal friends follow three kings and a really bright star across a desert. The Little Drummer Boy finds himself at a stable where a newborn baby has just been born and a crowd of shepherds have gathered, along with the three kings. Just as the Little Drummer Boy begins to make his way to the manger, a chariot runs over his little beloved lamb. With a huge tear in his eye, he approaches one of the Three Wise Men and asks him to save his dying lamb. This king told him the lamb was dying and he could do nothing for him.....but he knew a King among Kings who could. At that, he motioned towards the baby in the manger. The Little Drummer Boy said, "But I have no gift to bring." To which the wise man replied, "Go. Look upon the newborn King." As he gazed at the Baby Jesus, he is overcome with emotion and begins playing his drum for the King. His best for Him. The wise man then says to the Little Drummer Boy, "Your gift, Little Drummer Boy, given out of the simple desperation of a pure love is the one favored above all." The little lamb was healed and so was the Little Drummer Boy's heart.

We watch this movie together each Christmas as a family...it's one of our Christmas traditions. Although the movie is precious and meaningful in and of itself, it has deeper meaning for our family. You see, my Hero had a Granny who never stopped praying for him as he grew up. Jesus spoke to his little heart through any means He could. As an 8 yr old boy, my dh found himself watching "The Little Drummer Boy" on tv at Christmas.....And at the end, he was crying and his heart was touched by the King of Kings. My dh had to endure many heart-wrenching things as a child. Things that send many into a downward spiral and spend a lifetime trying desperately to stop it. There is no other explanation except a miracle straight from the heart of God to explain why my dh is the man of God he is today....a man of integrity, grace, mercy, love.....did I mention grace?

I grew up with many special Christmas traditions in my home and he grew up with very few Christmas memories or traditions. It's been very important to him to establish special traditions with our kids each Christmas. We have quite a few....Advent devotions and wreath, chili on the night we decorate our Christmas tree, eating Martha Washingtons, visiting relatives, but one of the most special times to my husband is when we cuddle together and watch The Little Drummer Boy.

When my sweet husband watched it the first time, I imagine he never dreamed he'd be watching it again.....30 some-odd years later with a wife and three beautiful kids, wondering at the hand of the Lord upon his life.

Blessings to you as you celebrate our Savior's birth with your family and friends. May the realization of His Gift to Mankind overtake you and may the blanket of His peace comfort you. And may you offer Him the most favored gift of all, your heart.

Joyful Christmas Cheer!

2011-11-30T22:26:00.001-05:00

Elf is one of our favorite, cheesy Christmas movies. Some people in our house have already watched it THREE times this season...and it's not even December quite yet!! So, I was so excited to find this free printable on Pinterest. I printed it out, put it in a cute aqua frame, added a sparkly snowflake and placed it in a prominent spot in our kitchen.

You can get yours here at LessCakeMoreFrosting.com. A sweet friend is also offering a free printable with this same quote on her site that is absolutely DARLING!!! Look HERE.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is

singing loud for all to hear!!

The music of Christmas! Let the singing begin!!! Joy to the World!

Papa's Pecans....An Object Lesson in Light and Darkness

2011-11-29T11:03:00.001-05:00

In our Christmas Advent devotion book this morning, we were reading about the difference in light and darkness, why we need the light, how Jesus is our Light and why we need Jesus, the Light of the World. When God said, "Let there be light," was He foreshadowing The Light of his son and the first Christmas?

While I was reading, Doodle and Butter were "pickin' out pecans." We've had the bowls on the school table all week....something I highly doubt you'd find in "real school." ("Pickin' out pecans" = carefully separating the pecan meat from the shells.)

As I was attempting to explain our need for Light, the two bowls before us came into sharp focus and became more than just pecans. They became an object lesson.

I had the kids close their eyes tight and attempt to separate pecan meat from pecan shell "in the darkness." It was impossible. The green bowl (pic above) represents lives in the darkness....a heart still filled with yucky, bitter "shells." Sin, if you will. A life without Light.

The shiny silver bowl is nothing but cleaned, pure pecan meat...representing a life where the Light of Jesus has been shed abroad into the heart of the person...making it pure, new, cleansed.

"Maybe that's why God has given us both darkness and light on earth - so we can understand that our lives are full of darkness without Jesus, but can be full of light with Him. Wouldn't you rather be full of light?" ~ The Wonder of Christmas-A Family Advent Journey by Melody Carlson

Play Dough Fortune Cookies

2011-11-18T13:57:00.001-05:00

Doodle has been making fortune cookies from play dough every spare moment this week. She was inspired by a handful of real ones she got in her Dorothy basket from our Halloween weekend in the mountains. She has been writing her own "fortunes" on tiny pieces of paper and burying them in the rolled up dough. This one caught me off guard and touched my heart.

A Basket Full of Thankfulness

2011-11-14T19:12:00.000-05:00

This is a repost from last Thanksgiving. It was such a simple activity that ended up creating treasures. I kept some feathers for myself...the ones with love-words on them just for me. And I'm not the only one who still has feathers a year later! It's not too late to start your own basket for this Thanksgiving, you know!

Add caption

I found a pile of leftover paper turkey feathers for pinecone turkeys and paper plate turkeys of classrooms past. This year, we decided to use the feathers for something a bit different.

We took one basket, added a little sign, the feathers and a marker. For the week leading up to Thanksgiving, we are to write one thing we are thankful for on each feather....excluding toys and electronic games and such.

Digging deeper. Shifting our focus. What are we truly thankful to Father for this Thanksgiving season? What person or people have impacted our lives this year? What truths have been shown to us? What have we learned about His character this year? What fruits? What gifts?

On Thanksgiving Day, we'll take time as a family to pull out every single feather and thank God for what is written on it. I'm really excited about this. I can't wait to see what the kids write on their feathers!!!

Most importantly, I know the Lord will be blessed.

My Beautiful Grandmother

2011-09-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

One year ago today.

I miss her...we all do. I think of her often...when I see her picture on my dresser, when I see the bowl from her kitchen, when I remember our summer vacations together...I smile. She made me giggle at something every time I was with her. Laughing is a good thing. It's the good things I remember. She was loved so much.

My beautiful Grandma at our wedding almost twenty years ago.

The day our long, sweltering summer turned to the cooler, welcoming days of autumn is the day our beloved Grandmother went to spend eternity with Father. September 23, 2010.

The significance of this day and the changing of the seasons has not gone unnoticed. At the end of our blistering summer, our flower beds were a mess. The day after Grandma's homegoing service, my Hero cleaned out the dried up, floundering plants and replaced them with straw until spring.

The last few years of Grandma's life were hard on her. We watched our beautiful, fragrant flower begin to wither and fade from the blistering heat of pain and a body that wilted but a mind that never forgot a thing. Our rare, beautiful flower dreamed of a new garden. She longed for the heavenly paradise where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more wilting.

On September 23, 2010, our Father very tenderly, very gingerly, very peacefully plucked our beloved exquisite blossom from the earthly dwelling place where she bloomed brilliantly for almost a century.

He planted her in His heavenly garden, where her radiant blossom now flourishes with the newness of spring. And that's how it will stay for all of eternity.....Her face turned towards the Son, arms outstretched in worship to the Father she loved dearly, her voice of praise joining the angels and loved ones who have gone before us....in a divine paradise that will never fade.

"You have been born again,

not of perishable seed but of imperishable,

through the living and abiding word of God; for

All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower.

The grass withers, and the flower falls,

but the word of the Lord remains forever."

1Peter 1:23-25

"According to His great mercy,

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance that is

imperishable,

undefiled,

and unfading,

kept in Heaven for you."

1 Peter 1:4

A Scarlet Letter

2011-09-15T17:50:00.000-04:00

Recently, I spent the evening with a group of my most favorite ladies. Collectively, these strong ladies have experienced the highest of highs, the lowest of lows and everything in between. Lots of wisdom and faith to move mountains...I just sit and listen.

I've been pondering some things shared that night...some real and raw things.

One friend felt she had a big "C" plastered across her head when she was given a C diagnosis. At first, she felt like all people saw was the BIG C. Not her.

Another felt she wore a scarlet letter of shame because of a terrible accident involving her son that led to jail time for him.

Carol Kent, an author/speaker/mom whose words have inspired many of us, speaks of feeling like she had "Mother of Murderer" branded across her forehead.

So, this is what has been rolling around inside of me...

Our circumstance does not equal our identity.

Two completely different things.

Satan knows where we are vulnerable. Where our cracks, our weak spots are. He throws darts. Lies. He'll do anything to try to separate us from the Body of Christ. He'll do anything to try to keep us from living an abundant life apart from our circumstance.

I have a son with learning struggles...dyslexia, dysgraphia. Certain school work is agonizingly hard for him. Since I am not just his mother but also his teacher, I sometimes feel branded with an F. Failure.

Flaming dart.

And what about my sweet boy? Is he forever branded with a D? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

We all have a choice. We can choose to wear that scarlet letter...the lie sent from Satan. We can choose to give in and wallow around in that mud hole, worrying what people must think or how alone we feel...

Or

Lift our eyes heavenward.

Rise above the circumstances...to where Jesus dwells. And freedom.

The place where we realize our identities are in Christ as His new creation.

Graham Cooke puts it this way: "We are not in our circumstances....We are in Jesus."

I choose a life of freedom from whatever my "circumstances" may be. I may have to remind myself of my TRUE identity 57 times in a day. It's hard...and I haven't even experienced the hardest. But I choose it.

My friends I mentioned and the others who were there that night....they have all chosen to walk not in circumstances....but in their true identities found only in Christ.

A life tucked away in Christ.

Satan can fire his darts. The world can even brand with letters. But the darts miss and the letters fall off.

Because that's not who we are.

Remember:

Your circumstance...whatever that looks like right now...does NOT equal your identity. It is not who you are.

This precious children's book, You Are Special by Max Lucado illustrates this perfectly.

08/03/91 is where Our Story begins.....

2011-09-04T17:00:00.000-04:00

The happy couple...

On Saturday, August 3, 1991, I married the love of my life.

My hero.

My best friend.

My protector.

My encourager.

My sweetheart.

Fast forward TWENTY YEARS. I wouldn't change a thing and I'd do it all over again.

We wanted to do something special to commemorate this 20 year marriage milestone.

Our dear friends generously shared their beach home so we kissed the kids goodbye and took off for the week.

Special dinner...gift from friends

He knows his steak's coming...

This beach house is special to us. Our friends have owned it for about a decade and they've shared it with us since day 1. Hero actually helped move the furniture into the house when it was brand new.

My favorite spot in the house is way up on the third floor balcony in the wicker swing. So, at 3:00 p.m. on August 3, 2011 - the exact time we got married twenty years before - we made our way to the swing. We had written letters to each other to read in this moment. With a warm gentle breeze and swing quietly rocking, we shared our words with each other. This moment was a holy one...just as it was 20 years before. We then began reminiscing and remembering and wow, the memories began to flow. One long-forgotten memory led to another. We laughed. We cried. We loved.

We renewed our vows to each other after a great celebration dinner at Tommy Bahama's. We made our way to the same balcony, same swing. Between the Father and the two of us, we pledged our lives to each other once more.

We were both so grateful for this time together. It was a time of refreshing, renewing, and strengthening of an already beautiful relationship.

His own words say it best:

Twenty years later, I see real Love in our midst,

a fairy tale love story only The Divine could put together.

I love you, I love you, and I love you.

I not only say it, but we are living it.

A Divine Love Story.

July Did Fly....

2011-09-04T15:04:00.000-04:00

So...continuing my whole Catch Up On the Summer blog fest... July was great! Here's a smidgen of what happened!

The Boy turned 12!!!

Pirate teeth!

Rayray went to Worldview Academy for the 2nd summer.

What else is there to do but use up eyeliner in July?

I kept my 3 plus BeachMama's 6 at the beach for the week
while BeachMama and BeachDaddy went on a great trip.

FOUR twelve year old boys....
that was a LOT of twelve-ness.

Bodysurfing in the rough, red-flag water...
This day took approximately 2.5 years off my life.

Where did June go?

2011-09-04T14:21:00.001-04:00

I love to blog. I really really do. But I apparently have regularly scheduled stretches of days...or months...when we are living life so much that I don't have (or don't take) the time to chronicle the happenings. So, here's my attempt at catching up.

June

Grimy and sweaty, but happy!

Love Your Neighbor Campaign 2011

Girls spent the week at the grand's stables. First time Doodlebug's been away for that long but she had her sissy and grandparents...and horses. She didn't miss me at all!
The teen took an intensive week of Driver's Ed at a local college.
Family ministry project with some neighbors. We were blessed to be a part of this.
I painted. But I already blogged that here.

Coins

2011-07-12T11:56:00.001-04:00

Do you have pennies all over the place like we do? I find them EVERYWHERE. Normal and strange places. In the sofa. On the floor. In the jewelry box. In the napkin basket. On a shelf. In the bottom of my purse. Under the bed. Wherever toys are. In anything cup-shaped on my dresser. In the cup holder in the car. In the freezer. (The Boy freezes everything to see what might happen.)

Don't forget the Winn-Dixie parking lot.

We were looking up the value of one of our silver dollars last night and found some interesting information.

A 1943 copper penny is so rare, it is worth anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 dollars! (Read this.)

Our silver dollar from the 1800s is only worth $60! Some old silver dollars are worth thousands...

Years ago, someone told me to never throw away a penny or walk by one on the ground. The words "In God We Trust" are on the pennies and they are a small but powerful reminder of Who is in control of our lives. Through the years, I've been amused at the Lord for His timely reminders for me when I find a penny here and there. I always stop to pick it up and smile at the reminder...to trust Him.

Anyway, all that to say....don't ignore the lowly penny!!!

Going now to show the kids how to check pennies!! I'll let you know if we find one from 1943!

(More coins to look out for found here.)

School Room Redo - The Painting

2011-06-21T14:24:00.002-04:00

The painting and the painting and the painting.

I spent part of our first week of summer break painting our porch french doors RED.. Whose idea was that??? It took FOUR coats of paint and four mornings of painting to FINALLY be finished. It took our idiotic kitty Punkin all of FOUR seconds of being shut on the porch to scratch a patch of said red paint from my beautiful door. Why must we have claws, again?

ANYWAY, last week, The Boy and I dismantled the school room while one sister was at VBS and one sister was at Driver's Ed. We gave our "soft fern" green school walls a little fresh boost with "celery stick" green to better match the dining area.

Then, I tackled the tired wooden desk and shelves in the room. The desk belonged to little boy Hero. It is wood except for the desktop...which is wood-looking laminate. This is why I held off painting the desk these last 20 years. Finally, I had had ENOUGH of the pitiful sad desk. I found an "expert" at Lowe's who assured me it could be done and that's all I needed to hear to breathe new life into this little desk. After deciding on a beautiful shade of teal called Caribe by Behr, I got busy and (((drum roll please))) here it is before and after:

Before. In need of some tlc.

After....happyhappyjoyjoy!

Same thing with two twin bookshelves that our neighbor made from scrap wood for us years ago. They needed some personality.....to the tune of Caribe by Behr and Grape Juice purple by Valspar. Here they are:

Before...not bad, just blah.

After....fun fun fun!!!

What To Do With All That Zucchini Squash, Part Two

2011-06-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

Our Favorite Top Ten Things To Do

With Summertime Squash

1. Shred zucchini with a cheese grater and add to spaghetti sauce.

2. Zucchini Bread. A quick search on my favorite recipe website yielded 94 zucchini bread recipes.

3. Chop into chunks, dust with seasoned bread crumbs and saute in olive oil with onions, bell peppers, corn (or any other garden veggies you have), add chopped garden tomatoes when other veggies are just about done. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve with rice.

4. Chop into chunks, spread on a baking pan, drizzle with evoo, toss with salt and seasonings. We love Weber Grinder - roasted Garlic and Herbs. Roast in oven at 350 until tender.

5. Freeze for later use (all sorts of squash-freezing advice found online).

6. Slice and eat raw with ranch dressing, hummus, or spinach dip.

7. Slice long ways, coat with meal, salt/pepper, and pan fry.

8. Slice long ways, drizzle with evoo, season to taste and grill alongside your chicken or steak!

9. Squash Casserole - tons of recipe variations.

10. Then, there's Mema's, southern Georgia way...stewed..which is normally made with yellow squash. You chop squash and onions (sweet Vidalia, of course, grown in Georgia), put in a cast iron skillet with a little water and butter, salt and pepper. You cook it and cook it until it's mush. You can substitute bacon drippings for the butter. Serve with thin, pan-fried hoecake cornbread, sliced garden tomatoes, a bowl of pink eyed purple hull peas...cooked with salt pork, a couple of pieces of fried chicken, a glass of sweet iced Lipton tea, and a heaping slice of lemon meringue pie for dessert. Sunday Dinner, southern style.

Zucchini and yellow squash are so pretty and colorful cooked together, which is what we usually do. All of the above ideas can be made with either type of squash or both.

I told my friend Tutu that I think I'm a little squash-obsessed. Last year, we didn't have much yellow squash or zucchini and I missed it. Yes, I could have bought some, but in the summertime of south Georgia, it's almost criminal to have to actually BUY squash or tomatoes at the grocery store!!! That's one of the the joys of living in a small, southern town. That's a whole-nother blog post, right there.....

For the record, the yellow squash in the picture above is not the same yellow squash we have in the south of Georgia. Our yellow squash is fondly referred to as "crooked neck squash" because...well, it has a crooked neck.

What To Do With All That Zucchini!!

2011-06-11T21:00:00.000-04:00

To my delight, we have had an abundant supply of yellow squash and zucchini.

I've gotten quite creative with ways to cook the squash that appeals to the discriminating taste buds of our children.

I was excited today to try my sweet friend's recipe for Zucchini Quiche. She is a veteran homeschool mom and has brought this quiche several times to our homeschool meals. It's so savory and delicious. You will love it! And...if you have a thing about quiche, you can call it something else. It's barely a quiche, anyway, with only two eggs in it and all....

Cindy's Zucchini Quiche
1 pie crust
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup (one stick) butter ( 1/4 cup should be plenty.)
1/4 cup parsley (I used fresh, chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano (I was all out, so made it without and it was still wonderful.)
2 eggs
2 cups shredded mozzarella or muenster cheese

Saute onion and zucchini in butter for about 10 minutes. Stir in seasonings. Stir eggs and cheese together and add to zucchini mixture. Put in pie shell or in a casserole dish and bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Responses from the Offspring:
Rayray - "Oh my word! This is divine!!", ate two slices
The Boy - "It's so cheesy!", ate one slice
Doodle, after one bite - "I'm sorry Mama, but it made me GAG!"
To which her big sister replied..."You don't tell someone their food makes you gag! Mama, It's good. Don't listen to your daughter. Wait. Don't listen to the little daughter. Listen to me. It's so good."

Meanwhile, The Boy, aka Peacemaker, is patting me on the shoulder saying, "It's ok, Mama. She didn't mean it." And Hero? He's laughing and eating...enjoying the show.

LucyBelle Turns One!

2011-06-08T23:43:00.002-04:00

LucyBelle's First Day Home

I resisted. I was the hold out. But we told the kids that we would consider getting a little doggy when our two elderly outside kitties passed on. The kitties didn't make it through the spring...and the lobbying for a puppy began.

Rayray had wanted a yorkiepoo for quite sometime and talked her siblings into it, too. We visited a kennel and saw several breeds....shih-poo, poodle, and this one little black yorkie-poo. I could see it in Rayray's eyes...we could hold all the little cute puppies we wanted to hold, but it was the little yorkiepoo that had stolen her heart. The kids voluntarily pooled their saved money to pay for half of Lucy's adoption fees. Two days later, LucyBelle came home with us.

My sweet puppy!

She is 3/4 yorkshire terrier and 1/3 poodle. She weighs 5 pounds, almost exactly. Rayray has taught her some tricks...sit, lay, roll over, dance. She LOVES playing ball with Hero. When she wants to play, she will worry us to pieces until we play with her. She loves her bones and her kitties, especially Punkin. She barks and runs to the door when we say, "Daddy's home!" She comes straight to me when someone says, "Go find Mama!" And "get in the bed" means to get in the closest sleeping spot...whether it's her basket, her pink bed, or....our bed. ;)

The one thing I did not count on was how attached I would be to this little puppydog. The first night we had her home, she had a low blood sugar attack and we totally missed the warning signs...because we've never ever had a tiny doggie and didn't know about this sugar thing. She let out one solitary bark that I happened to hear in the middle of the night. I went to check on her and she was in a coma and stiff. My husband brought her back, which was a miracle, with prayer and large amounts of Nutrical massaged into her gums and mouth. After that, she was my baby. It was a lot of work...consistent training and internet research on what to do for this or that. She's gotten sweeter and sweeter as each month passed by. We didn't expect her to be so so small...but she is what she is and we love every tiny ounce of her. She has won our hearts and is an official part of our family.

The ONLY time she can sit at the table is
on her birthday.
She looks like a Furby.

Birthday Hair!

2011-06-05T00:21:00.005-04:00

"Mommy, for my 8th birthday, I want to
get my hair cut."

So, we went to see "Miss Ronda", who worked
her hair-magic.

She loved it...even though it's not as short
as she wanted to go....but she still lost 6-8 inches.

Birthday hair!
Big Sissy, Rayray, took her turn with her
"magic wand."

Yes, you can still have piggytails!

We might be homeschoolers....

2011-06-04T11:49:00.001-04:00

Or we might be just plain ol' rednecks.

This is what was happening in our "room of learning"
while I was cooking up a scrumptious dinner last night.

THIS contraption is what I found in our master bedroom
after the scrumptious dinner.

A few years ago, we closed in the garage to make a lovely master bedroom but it gets the last trickle of cold air from the a/c unit AND is on the hottest, sunniest end of the house. Since Summer has decided to get an early start on the three-digit temps down here in the south of Georgia, we are working ovetime to keep the room cool.....three fans blowing, blinds and curtains closed, extra insulation in the attic, etc.

The Hero has a lightbulb moment....He did a little google research, spent less than ten dollars and mostly used things we had. He and The Boy together created the lovely, the beautiful, the "won't take up too much space", homemade air conditioner, pictured above.

Does it work? Well, as long as there is ice in the cooler it sorta works.

But no matter if it works or not, all three kids were involved at some point in the process and listened intently as Hero explained his method behind the madness. I personally loved the Daddy being the teacher and the group working together on the project......whether it actually works or not!!

Now....where are those pictures of the Redneck Snow Machine they made a few winters ago........

One Year Ago...

2011-06-01T00:49:00.003-04:00

Clutching my stomach and bent over double, I crouched in the hall at the plastic surgeon's office trying not to get sick or pass out. All I could hear was my just-turned 7 year old babygirl screaming in excruciating pain and my Hero's attempt to soothe her with his words.

It's been a year today and I'm finally sharing the story.

The morning of June 1, 2010, we were finishing up our last week of homeschooling before summer. I had walked into our bedroom to plug in my laptop. My babygirl came running into my room to tell me something funny the kitty had done.

Then, it happened.

She tripped over the rug in my room and fell, face first, onto the corner of the cedar chest. I didn't see the accident. I heard it. By the time I got to her, she was up, had her hand over her mouth and was stunned and panicky. It took me a split second glance at the injury to see that her mouth needed medical attention, immediately. After a quick call to our beloved pediatrician, we were on our way to the ER.

I never let her see the injury before stitches. I'm glad I didn't. Her beautiful mouth was a mess, her top lip suffering the worse with a gaping gash from top to bottom, inside/out. The plastic surgeon and his nurse admitted it was much worse than they expected.She had just lost her front two baby teeth and the permanent teeth hadn't broken the skin yet. That, in and of itself, was a blessing.

The Daddy joined us at the ER as quickly as possible. What a relief! But we were both brokenhearted. No parent likes to see their babies in pain and scared. Because of the intricate stitches needed on her mouth, a plastic surgeon in a nearby city kindly agreed to skip his lunch break to fix our girl.

The doctor had to give our sweet girl 5 painful shots in the face to get her mouth numb enough to stitch the lip. The first two shots didn't "take." He gave her no pre-shot calm down medicine nor did he put her to sleep. This is what we were dealing with when I started my story out. Our girl held nothing back...she screamed to the top of her lungs in pain from the 5 shots. I couldn't stay in the room. It was too much for this mama.

With the lip finally numb, the doctor was able to carefully make the intricate stitches needed to sew the jagged edges of her lip back together. I heard our girl, finally settling back down, start talking...I heard her, of all things, apologize. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I screamed. I just...I just wish this never happened. I just wish I could go home." My precious.

Here's what I wrote in my journal later:

"Seeing our beautiful baby girl in pain - with her split lip - the uncertainty of what it will look like once healed - her teeth and gums and other possible dental problems - her fear. She was terrified. We couldn't stop the fall. And she had to have the painful shots so the doctor could do the intricate stitches needed to put her lip back together. But, they were for her good. She couldn't see that. She only saw the pain of right then. Her daddy and I, as the two people who love her more than anybody, could not...did not stop the plastic surgeon.

As I crouched in the hall struggling to remain composed, I heard the Lord speaking to my heart, even then. He said, "This is how I feel when my children are hurting. I could stop some things - like you could stop the plastic surgeon and go home- but for your own good, I allow it to happen because I can see the big picture."

Babygirl's lip will heal beautifully with minimal scarring because we allowed the doctor to do what needed to be done. When we allow the Great Physician to tend to our wounds - even if painful - we WILL HEAL and our scars will be minimal.

When we are in pain, He is holding us, like my husband was clinging to our daughter that day. When we are screaming in agony, He is crying with us, like we did with our daughter. Father takes no delight in our pain. He wants to take it away - but we first have to trust His heart."

A year later, the babygirl, now 8, looks back on the accident not as a horrible experience, but sees how brave she was and how strong she is. She couldn't suck from a straw or drink normally from a cup for a couple of weeks, and she never complained. She couldn't smile for awhile, but her eyes did. Her doctor gave her permission to dance in her recital 5 days later. It amazed us that she even wanted to, with a still-painful lip 7 times bigger than normal and black thread for stitches all over her mouth. Her Daddy found a bandage to match her skin and covered the black stitches. I was a nervous wreck for her. She got on that stage and danced her heart out. She was so strong; we were so proud. She knows where the strength comes from...from the Lord. We believe this time will be a significant one to our girl for the rest of her life...not because of what happened...but because of Who showed up and what He spoke into her life that day and the weeks that followed as she patiently recovered.

Birthdays, Recitals, and Graduation Receptions

2011-05-31T11:59:00.000-04:00

Well, what on earth have we been up to the last 10 days?

I decided not to bombard the blog with copious amounts of pictures, although there are some mighty cute and blog-worthy ones.

Instead, what we have here is one picture which embodies the essence of our recent acitivites.

Doodlebug danced her heart out in her recital.

Doodlebug turned 8. EIGHT. My baby...

Papa turned 78 on Memorial Day. The entire country had a day off for his birthday. Ok, not really. And...Hero had to work anyway so not really a holiday for us.

And somewhere buried in there, I helped execute our homeschool co-op's graduation reception for 150 people.

Today, I'm doing what we are supposed to be doing in the summer....

I'm eating a blt, with tomatoes from Papa's garden...trying to decide what to do with allll those yellow squash and cucumbers he brought over.....and what time we should go swimming at the neighbors.

Happy Summer!

From the Resident Poet

2011-05-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

The ocean is like a blanket of blue;

It covers the sand and all the fish, too.

It keeps them warm and protected each day,

And at night, it gives them a place to stay.

The ocean is like a great lion roaring;

It bellows and growls when it is storming.

It extends its claws restlessly upon the shore,

As if it is trying to stretch out even more.

The ocean is like an orchestra of strings;

It plays its night music so beautifully.

Sometimes, though, the salty wind joins in,

And the tune they create together seems heaven-sent.

When I look into the blue eyes of the ocean,

When I listen to the song it sings,

I have heard music composed by my Creator;

And, perhaps, a subtle message, meant only for me.