Through Clouded Glass

Hummingbird Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 21:56:00 +0000

If I had to pick one sound the represents summer to me, it would be hummingbirds.

Every year, growing up in the mountains, my dad would put out a hummingbird feeder. People in the city probably do this too, but in the mountains, houses are spread out enough that there are less feeders, and therefore more hummingbird per feeder. We used to get swarms, literal swarms, of hummingbirds around our single feeder. We'd watch them from our kitchen window, marvel at how you couldn't even see their wings, get ready to boil more sugar water when the feeder started to get low.

Last year I put out a hummingbird feeder for the first time in my adult life. I honestly don't know what took me so long, because like my dad, I love those little hummingbirds. I bought the feeder, filled it with liquid sugar, and hung it in my kitchen window, just like when I was growing up. I hung it a little late in the season, so it took the birds a while to find it. We ended up with a little lone hummingbird that year.

This year Derek has taken over the hummingbird feeding duties, and he reminds me so much of my dad. The way he keeps an eye on the feeder, counts how many birds we have, and feels protective of them when something goes wrong.

What could go wrong in hummingbird land, you may ask? A Rufous, that's what.

Rufous hummingbirds are little orange/red birds that take over your feeder and chase all the other hummingbirds away. They are mean, they are pests, and unlike our usual Ruby-throat hummingbirds, we have no fondness for them at all.

I came home from the gym the other day and walked around the house. I couldn't find Derek. I checked outside, and there he was, standing outside with the hose, getting ready to scare that bully hummingbird away with some water.

It wasn't a bad idea (I actually think it was rather brilliant), but I had to laugh, because in that moment I felt like we had become my parents (when it comes to hummingbirds anyway).

The kids are joining in too. Wyatt is especially fond of birds, and has been since he was 18 months old (I kid you not). I used to carry him through the zoo, and he wasn't interested in the bears or the giraffes or the zebras, but every time he saw a hawk or flamingo he would point and cry out "Bird!". He still examines bird books, draws birds, and wants to know everything he can about birds. I love that he loves birds! I am hoping as the kids grow older and less likely to cry, we can become a real birding family.

The other day I walked outside to find the boys running around with their butterfly nets. "We are going to help daddy and catch that mean orange bird!" They've been chasing it around with their nets ever since. If I actually thought they'd catch it, I'd be worried, but as it is I just find it completely adorable.

I am sitting on the porch, typing this, and there are multiple hummingbird sounds, swirling from every corner of our one acre of earth. Wyatt grabs my phone to ask Siri how to catch a hummingbird.

This is summertime in the mountains.

The Many Smiles Of Georgie - 8 Months Old

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 11:30:00 +0000

These month markers keep getting away from me - Georgie turned 8 months old two weeks ago!

Eating and Growth

This baby girl loves her solid foods. Whenever we set her up to feed her, her arms and legs start flailing out of excitement, and when we have a puree on the spoon she almost dives at it if you don't give it to her fast enough.

I can't tell you how much she weighs at this point, since we missed our 6 month check-up (oops). I'm going to take her in soon for a 9 month visit, and then I'll have an update. We're in size 2 diapers (though we probably need size 3 soon, and she wears 6-9 month clothes right now.

Sleeping

The poor little thing has been sick this last week, and she had a couple nights when she woke up in the middle of the night. It's so rare that she wakes up, I actually didn't mind it. I brought her in bed with me and we got some snuggles in.

Since I never have anything interesting to say for this section, I'd like to just make a note that the key for Georgie seems to be this ancient space heater we have in her room. Every night we turn it on after we lay her down. It hums to life very noisily, and the filaments glow red. It heats up the room pretty well for being an old heater. It serves not just it's stated purpose, but also triples as a noise machine and night light. We've been talking about replacing it for a long time, but I almost don't want to - it does so well at humming our babies to sleep.

Firsts

I'm not really sure we celebrated any firsts this month, other than Georgie's first Father's Day on the outside! She is getting a little better at sitting up now. She also stretches and kicks so intently when we place her on her stomach - she wants to crawl so badly, but can't quite figure it out! We're still waiting on teeth, but I keep thinking it can't be long now.

Wait, wait, she had her first teething cookie! And she loved it even more than her purees, which is saying something.

Personality

This girl. Where to start.

I might have mentioned this last month, but her new thing is sticking out her tongue. Whenever she's happy, out comes the tongue. When she's concentrating, out comes the tongue. It's her new thing, and I kind of love it.

She is the baby of a hundred smiles - meaning a hundred kinds of smiles. She does a sweet smile - that's the default. She gives a huge grin, dimples showing, and raises her eyebrows when she is happy to see you. She smiles and shifts her lower jaw forward and tilts her head when she is trying to charm someone. She smiles when she is crying and realizes that you're going to pick her up - it's a crying smile. And my current favorite, when she is completely amused and about to laugh, she tucks her chin back into her neck, her eyes become these tiny slits, and it's like her entire face is one big smile. I love the many happy faces of Georgie.

And of course there is the half-hearted, "where'd you go?", sort-of smile that happens when I pull out the big camera. I have to be sneaky to capture a good one.

In addition to all the smiling, Georgie is so into her baby toys right now. She will sit there and study a plastic ball for an hour. She especially likes soft stuffed animals or baby dolls. I think she is particularly attached to the bunny we take her monthly photos with, and I would like to buy her one that I can let her completely destroy (after 5 kids, I know what happens to the "lovey" stuffed animal or blanket).

She is such an incredibly easygoing baby, the section on her smiling pretty much covers it. She is social and starting to explore her surroundings more (as much as she can until she starts crawling). I love her to bits.

---

Georgie Bea,

I think it's safe to say that you are a momma's girl right now. You like to be held by other people too, but whenever I walk close enough, you'll lunge into my arms, then turn and give a triumphant grin to the person you just abandoned. I find it incredibly cute and amusing - the people you leave feel slightly insulted, but you're so adorable they can't stay mad. When I feed you a bottle right now, you tuck your little head into the space under my shoulder and turn into me, trying to get as close to me as you can manage without dropping your bottle. You laugh when I kiss your little cheek, and you love the made-up songs I sing you. You chew my chin and slobber all over my face if I give you a chance - which I do, because I know these are your baby kisses. You are my precious girl, and I love every minute of the day I get holding you.

Stop growing so fast, will you?

I love you so much, Baby Girl.

Love,

Mama

On Decorating With Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 11:30:00 +0000

(This new metal print is so cool! Thanks to Artsy Couture for sending me a metal photo print to review.)

Do you ever wonder if it's narcissistic that we decorate our houses with pictures of ourselves?

A few years ago I heard someone mention how it could be narcissistic to decorate with photos of yourself, and for a long time I wondered if maybe that was true. I can certainly see how decorating with photos could become narcissistic, like those movie characters who live alone and have a huge canvas of themselves adorning the wall above the couch. But still, I don't buy that decorating with photos has to be a narcissistic thing.

I've put more thought into it, and even read about it in recent years, and I personally think there are a few good reasons to decorate with photos of your own family. This is what I think:

1. Decorating with photos adds to a feeling of solidarity between family members.

I think about decorating with photos differently now that I have kids of my own. I think that for kids, seeing pictures of themselves with their family on the wall reminds them that they aren't alone - they are part of a bigger unit, a family, and that means something. They play an integral role in a family, they are woven through the collective family memories that photos represent. They can look at the walls and visually see their place in the family. In my opinion, that can't help but add some security, knowing your place in the world by being able to see it on the walls.

2. Photos are memories.

I went to my parents house for the 4th of July, and my sister and I stood looking at an old vacation photo from when we went river rafting. I mentioned something specific that I remembered about that day, and she mentioned something she remembered, and there we were bonding over a shared memory because of a photo on my parents' wall. I'm the type of person who doesn't really remember things until I see a photo - and then a whole cascade of memories floods in. Not everyone is like this, certain personality types are much better at remembering and honoring the past in their hearts without any external reminders, but personally, I need the photos around me to remind me.

3. Photos can be modern "remembrance stones".

Remember how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, and God told them to stack twelve stones from the river bed? When their children asked about the stones, they could tell them of the Lord's faithfulness to Israel. Well, to me, photos on my walls are something like a modern equivalent to that. I want to work on this more in my home, by putting photos on the wall that are not only the perfect family photos, but photos that I can point to and say "Remember when God did that?" He has been faithful to our family in many ways, and I want the photos on my wall to not just serve as an anchor for bonding and memories in my family, but also a way to point back to God's faithfulness.

Now, on to some practical things...

What is your favorite way to decorate with photos in your house?

Personally, I am constantly changing it up.

-I have small, square prints on a bulletin board above Derek's desk.
-We have a wall collage of canvas prints. Two of the pictures are of Derek and me from our 5th anniversary (they probably need updating since we just hit our 10th!), and there are smaller canvas prints of each of the kids' newborn pictures.
-I had pictures hanging along our stairwell, but I recently took those down because I want to re-do that wall. I'll update when I figure it out.
-A metal print on my piano-top (which is basically my version of a mantel display, since I don't have a mantel).

The metal print is the newest addition to my photo decor - Artsy Couture recently asked if I'd like to check out one of their products and sent me this gorgeous metal print! In case you haven't heard of metal prints, the photo is actually printed on a thin sheet of aluminum. The colors are supposed to be brighter and sharper in printing with this method.

I ended up picking a beach photo from our vacation that I knew was not perfectly focused, but I was so impressed when the print came at how crisp it was anyway! The colors really are gorgeous and vibrant, and it kind of has a certain glow about it that I am assuming is an effect of printing on aluminum. I love the way it turned out, and it looks just as good as I thought it would on my piano-mantel.

Bonuses to printing on aluminum: it doesn't get retain dirt like textured canvas might, and there is no glass to break if it falls!

I poked around on the Artsy Couture website and they have a ton of options - not just for metal prints, but canvases, wood prints, traditional prints, cards, photo books, etc. They also happen to be having a sale on large prints that ends tomorrow, so if you are interested, hop on over there and check it out!

What do you think? Do you decorate with photos or not? What are your reasons, if you have any?

That Time We Almost Moved (And Why I'm More Content Now)

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 19:20:00 +0000

Let's start from the very beginning, shall we?

A few months before Derek and I got married, we bought a house. Derek lived in it while we were in engaged, and I moved in when we got married. We searched high and low for a house that I felt good about. Our budget was not big at all, and a lot of the houses we could afford were..."yucky" might be the right word. Still we kept looking, and one day our realtor showed us this house. It had an old, outdated kitchen without a dishwasher, a bathroom that can only be described as "blah", and a rough-hewn wood ceiling that aged into a yellow-y orange. But the ceilings were vaulted, and there was an unfinished, walk-out basement. We bought it.

My dad remodeled the kitchen as our wedding present (for which I am eternally grateful, especially for the dishwasher). When Wyatt was on the way, we finished the basement. I painted and decorated, and while it was far from what I wanted it to be, it was cozy.

One day when I was pregnant with Clarice (4th baby) my mom and I drove by a house that was for sale, and I immediately fell in love with it. Of course it was a house that was just outside of the price range that we could afford. I schemed about how we could make it work, dreamed of all the space we would have in that new house, and checked every couple of days to see if it had sold. It eventually did, and not to us.

The seeds of discontent were planted. Everything we hadn't updated in our home was starting to look particularly old and grubby. Already, with only three kids on the outside and one on the way, our 2000 square feet was starting to feel small.

The next year, after keeping an eye to see if anything we liked as well as that dream house would come on the market, we decided to stay put and update ours. We updated almost everything in the house, and it felt brand-new. But every now and then, when we had a particularly grumpy day in our tiny house (tiny for 7 people and a dog, anyway), I'd check the market to see if anything else looked interesting.

That's how we came across a house we liked last week.

It was bigger. It had more land around it. It had a hot tub. It had a formal dining room. It had a partially finished basement that might allow for more bedrooms and a playroom. I dreamed of sending the kids downstairs to play in their perfectly decorated space on days when the noise got to be too much. I dreamed of how I'd turn the dining room into a homeschool nook, a place to organize all our books and supplies. I dreamed of finding toys in the living room and being able to just through them into a play room.

This house had been on the market for five months, an eternity in an area where things are getting snatched up in days. Though most contingent offers are being rejected right now, our realtor thought that probably wouldn't be the case with a house that had been on the market so long. We made an offer on it.

Derek started scrambling to replace old doorknobs we never got to during our remodel, to paint the trim. I started making a mental checklist of what would need to be done before we could list our house for sale, and I bought boxes from Walmart since our agent thought we should list it in a mere four days. I spent an entire day cleaning and organizing and making the house look perfect, ready to be listed as soon as we heard the word.

They counter-offered. We counter-offered, pretty generously, sent a nice letter - but we needed the deal to be contingent. We have five kids, we need to have somewhere to live, after all.

They rejected all contingencies. Even though the house has been on the market for five months, with no other current offers. "Why can't they just sell their house first, and then maybe...?" said the selling agent.

Why couldn't we sell our house first?

The thing is, through this whole thing, I've figured out that somewhere along the way, I kind of fell in love with the house we have. After 10 years, I have the right furniture figured out to make it feel functional and not cluttered. I have the walls decorated the way I want them. We've put in blood, sweat, and tears (literally), to make the whole thing comfortable and functional for our family. I can see us here in five years. There aren't very many houses that come on the market that make me feel the same way.

Somewhere along the way, I accidentally became content with where I am, and what I have.

After struggling so long with comparison and discontentment, I have finally realized what is special about what we have, and learned to be thankful for it.

This house is small, yes, but it is customized to our family. We made it what we want, working with what we had. As our family has grown and our house has not, I've learned how to choose between what can stay and what has to go, to learn how to be more organized and less of a hoarder. We've stretched our living space to the outside, with a large porch and deck furniture that makes me feel like we're on vacation. We have songbirds in the pine tree outside the window, and hummingbirds that count on us to feed them in the summer. We have neighbors that don't mind our dog roaming around on their property, because we don't mind when their dogs roam on ours. We have a sunny, wooded lot. We have firewood stacked next to the shed, and a wood stove that keeps us warm and lets us cook when the power goes out. It's painted the perfect color to be a backdrop for my Instagram photos (Le Luxe by Behr, in case you were wondering). It's got a huge paved area where the kids ride bikes, and practice fledgling basketball skills. It's where we brought all our babies home. It has our memories.

I'm not going to put all that at risk for a maybe.

So we're staying put, and right after we made that decision yesterday, I crawled into bed after snuggling on the couch and watching the Bachelorette with Derek. I opened my Bible app, and it was still on the chapter I flipped to when looking up a reference for Bible time with the kids that morning. I was tired, and couldn't remember where in Leviticus I've been reading, and 1 Timothy seemed a little easier on my brain. I scrolled up and read these words:

"But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and darkness. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

But as for you, O man of God, flee from these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called...I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus...to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ...To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen."

1 Timothy 6:6-14

It seems right to me somehow that I would just happen upon that chapter after we let go of the idea of a bigger house. Because the key to contentment is right there - did you catch it?

Pursue righteousness. Godliness. Faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

Fight the good fight of the faith.

Take hold of eternal life to which you were called.

Keep the commandment free from reproach.

To Him be honor and eternal dominion.

Could I do all that if/when we get a bigger house? Sure. But I also can do all that just as well here. Maybe I'll even learn to do it better, within the limitations of the walls of this small house. Because when we learn to take our focus off the temporary and onto the things that will last forever...well there you go. That's the secret to contentment.

And that's when you learn to be thankful for the good things you do have too, because a too-cramped house all of a sudden feels like a bonus when you have your life in focus, on the things that matter eternally. On Christ.

So there you go. The time we almost moved, and why it's overall really not that big of a deal after all.

(Also, I'm not going to lie, it's a huge relief that my house can be messy again!)

(Also again, I never did share the pictures of our home after the last major remodel a couple years ago. Methinks it's time for a house tour. Stay tuned!)

What I Learned In Our First (Real) Year Of Homeschooling

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 11:30:00 +0000

This past week we finished up our homeschool year. I have to say, I was a homeschooled student, but coming from the mom side is a whole different thing. There are a lot of advantages I have as a homeschool mom from being a homeschool student myself, but there are also a lot of things that you can't learn until you are on the teaching side of it. I thought I'd take a little time today to reflect on what I've learned over this first year of homeschooling (first real year anyway - in my book, kindergarten doesn't count).

Homeschooling Is Great For Developing Patience

I would in no way consider myself a patient person. Patience is something that I've struggled with over the years - I get impatient when things don't go smoothly, when I have to repeat myself, when things don't go my way. Getting married cured me of some of that. Having kids has grown me even more. But having my kids with me 24/7 and teaching them myself at home is a whole other ball game when it comes to patience.

When I mention that I am homeschooling my kids, I've had lots of moms say to me "Oh, I wouldn't have the patience for that." This year I learned that I don't have the patience for homeschooling either. The secret is, a lot of moms who choose to homeschool don't have the patience for it. But homeschooling is an excellent facilitator for sanctification.

I know you've heard it said that if you ask God for more patience, He'll give you opportunities to practice it, and that's exactly what homeschooling has done for me. It hasn't always been pretty, and my deep-seated impatience has never been more obvious to me, but I can honestly say that at the end of this year that I am more patient then I was at the beginning of the year. And that's purely through God enabling me and giving me practice at developing patience through this thing called homeschooling. It's hard, but I know this is exactly why I should be doing it.

It's Okay To Change Curricula In The Middle Of The Year

I mentioned in a recent post that we ended up changing curricula in the middle of the year. A lot of homeschool posts will advise you against switching your curriculum, will tell you to give it a really good chance before you drop it. And there's some wisdom in that. You obviously can't be switching curricula constantly - it would waste a lot of money and stunt your child's learning. But this year I learned that when something just isn't working, you should find something else that will. I'm so glad we didn't muddle through the whole year with the curriculum I had originally bought for reading - finding a curriculum that fit was so life-giving to our homeschool days! Switching curricula mid-year does not mean you are a failure for starting with the wrong one. When you are in the early homeschooling years with any kid, it's going to take a little trial and error to figure out what will work best with your unique blend of personalities. I imagine we might have to switch curricula mid-year again at some point since I have five different kids with unique learning needs, and that's okay!

You Will Be Miserable If You Don't Learn To Stop Comparing

I remember seven years ago, as a brand-new mom, I struggled constantly with comparing my baby to all my friends' babies. I doubted myself whenever another child started rolling over, walking, talking before my own baby. Every new mom has to learn not to compare her baby to others, because every child learns and develops at their own pace. I eventually became secure as a mom as I learned those things. What I didn't expect was for all those insecurities to come roaring back as soon as my oldest hit school age. This year I had to re-learn all over again that kids' learn and grow at their own pace, and that this will necessarily affect the way we homeschool. While kids' need to be challenged to grow, there are also times when they are just not ready for a certain academic skill and you have to sit back and wait until they are. Learning when to challenge your child with a new skill and when to wait a bit - and learning to stop comparing your child to other children - is part of becoming a good homeschool teacher.

You Actually Can Have A Baby In The Middle Of A Homeschool Year

I have to admit, I was nervous about how having a new baby in the house would affect our homeschool year. This is the first year we have had a legal requirement on the amount of days we needed to do school, and I was really worried that having a baby would make it hard to hit our target. But I learned that having a baby in the middle of a school year is not really a big deal. The great part of homeschooling is that it is so flexible!

I tried to get ahead a bit by schooling a few days here and there over last summer, but we only accumulated 20 extra days. When Georgie was born at the end of October, I took the entire months of November and December off, and we didn't do a single thing (aside from some field trips). But we still finished up our school year before June! Our school days after Georgie arrived were laid-back and simple - we did practically no school work in the mornings. When the little ones were down for a nap in the afternoon, then we would work on our reading, language arts, and math. When the younger ones got up, we'd read our history and science books together.

I was surprised and encouraged to see that homeschooling fit easily into our new life stage - and the key was letting our days be flexible. I'm actually glad I didn't have to deal with getting my kids out the door in the morning and picking them up by a certain time every day, not to mention all the extra preparation for lunches and school events - it might actually be easier to have a baby without sending my kids' to a school building!

Learn To Love What Must Be Done

I am admittedly an academia-loving person. I get excited by school supplies. I love studying and learning new things myself. I actually love the idea of teaching my kids history and science! But there are some areas of being a homeschool teacher that I was not as excited about. I've had multiple friends make comments to me too about not looking forward to homeschooling, not feeling excited or passionate about it. However, through this first year of homeschooling I've learned that it is possible to learn to love what must be done.

I can't remember where I first heard this phrase, but it has become a constant refrain for me this year, as we pushed through our lessons on days when I was just not feeling it. It's impossible to be passionate and excited about something all the time, and I think to be successful at homeschooling you have to realize that. You can push through and learn to love what you are doing anyway.

It's the difference between the newly-married, heart-pounding love, and the steady deeper love that you have when you've been married for years. As the fresh excitement of the school year faded, and the seeming drudgery of daily work took over, I learned that there is a deeper satisfaction and passion that develops when you push through, as you find the meaningful in the midst of the everyday, as you learn to shake things up and give yourself a fresh perspective throughout the journey.

That's how you learn to love what must be done, by sticking with a commitment even when you don't feel a superficial excitement about it - there's a deeper accomplishment, and yes, even a love, that comes with the commitment.

Next year is my first year homeschooling two kids in two different grades, so the learning has just begun! Stay tuned.

Homeschool friends, what was the biggest thing you learned in your first year of homeschooling?

A Little Sunshine (Award)

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 11:30:00 +0000

When I was a kid, Focus On The Family had a pen pal program. You sent in a card with your name and address, and they paired you up with another kid who also hoped to receive some happy mail. By the time I reached junior high, I had ten different pen pals going. I still have a bunch of letters from those girls filed away in my closet.

Sadly, I lost contact with the majority of my pen pals, but there are still a couple that I am in contact with today, and one of them is Bethany from Waves And Lilacs! Pen pals that also turn into blog buddies!? It doesn't get much better than that.

Anyway, Bethany tagged me for the Sunshine Blog Award a couple months ago. I am pleasantly surprised that these awards are still around! If you've never seen one of these posts before, I answer the questions that Bethany sent me, and then award some of my favorite bloggers and pose some questions to them. It's a fun getting-to-know-you opportunity!

1. How do you balance motherhood and blogging?

Well, I've managed to balance being a mom with keeping this blog running since the beginning, so I've been asked this a few times. As far as the practical nuts and bolts go, I sit down and type during nap/quiet time, occasionally get away on a Saturday morning to write, and I take pictures randomly wherever I go, just so I have a few images to slap onto a post when I need them. I make notes in my phone when an idea strikes so I can remember what I want to write about later.

Especially as my kids have grown, I rarely work on my blog when they are awake, which means I've had to learn to prioritize and scale back where necessary. I love to blog as a hobby, but my kids are way more important than my blog! I don't want to let it take my attention away from them, and I find that when I keep that in mind I still find ways to squeeze it in.

I've had people ask me how I find the time, and all I can ever say is that you find time for the things that are important to you. So sometimes instead of reading a book or binging on a TV show, I spend my spare time writing a post or editing pictures. I think we often have a lot more time than we think we do, if we just learned to utilize it better (that goes for me too!).

2.What is your dream vacation spot?

Italy. Derek and I have been wanting to go to Italy since we got married. Our original goal was for our 10th anniversary trip, but since that is this year, it's obviously not going to happen. Maybe our 20th?

3.What is one item you would need if left stranded on a deserted island?

That depends, how long am I going to be stranded? Did I get shipwrecked, or am I just being left there temporarily while the boat fills up with gas or something? If we're talking temporary - my phone. I'd have plenty of books to read on my Kindle app. If I have been shipwrecked...my Bible and some flint (don't make me choose).

Maybe this question was supposed to be more fun, but what can I say, I'm practical.

4.What is your top goal for the year?

I didn't really make goals for the year this time around, but I'd say for the rest of the year my goal is to get organized and into a good daily homeschool routine. Last year we got our work done but we mostly flew by the seat of our pants, so I'm hoping to form more lasting habits and rhythms this year.

5. What’s your favorite romantic memory with your spouse?

Oo, good question! The easy answer would be our engagement or any of the trips we've done together. But my favorite more normal memory is probably our 6th anniversary. My cousin got married on our anniversary, and we had a fun time at the reception. The kids were running around and dancing, and it was so cute. But then our song came on, so I handed the baby off to relatives, and Derek and I danced to the same song we danced to on our wedding day. It was a sweet flashback, and in that moment I just was so happy to be married to him all over again.

5. How did you pick your kiddos’ names?

I have a system. First we print off the baby name list from 100 years ago from the social security website (we like old name). Then we go through and cross off anything we hate to narrow it down. Then we pick our top 10 names or so from what's left. Then we look up name meanings, because that's important to us. We narrow it down to 2-3 name possibilities. With the first few we would pick the final name when we saw our baby's face (to make sure the name fit), but with the last couple we just had one choice and knew our baby's name before they were born!

6. You can only watch one show for the rest of your life. What is it?

Ugh. Hmm. I'm going to say Survivor or The Middle. Survivor would be great because it has 36 seasons or something ridiculous like that (and counting), so we'd be busy for a while. And we love to analyze that show! The Middle would be great because it's so funny! (Have you watched The Middle? I haven't met too many people who've seen it. If you watch it, you HAVE to start from the beginning, you won't get half the jokes if you don't.)

7. What is the anthem of your blog?

Hmm, "anthem" feels so high pressure, haha! I think my hope for this blog is that someday my kids will read it, and will be able to see God's faithfulness in our lives, even when it was hard. I've been singing the kids a new hymn lately as I put them to bed, and the words kind of encapsulate what I hope the overall trajectory of this blog (and my life) will be.

"To God be the glory, great things He has done."

8. What is one blog post you are MOST proud of?

I've got over a thousand posts on this blog now, so this is a hard question. Skip? I guess most recently I like my "Things I Regret (And Don't) From My First 30 Years" post. It's a nice summary of my life and this blog thus far.

9. What do you shoot your pictures with?

I either use a Nikon D5200 with a 50 mm 1.5 f/stop lens, or I use my iPhone 7+.

10. What is your favorite recipe?

Oh, I found this great recipe that we've been loving lately! It's in a cookbook called One Pot Wonders, and it's the "spicy beef and sweet potato braise". So good!

11. Who/what inspired you to begin blogging?

I started blogging almost ten years ago now! Back then, blogs were more like public diaries where you also made friends. I started to blog for a couple reasons. First, I loved writing down my thoughts about different things, and for me, it's a whole lot more fun to write if I have somewhere to share it. Second, I was a young newlywed, and none of my friends were married yet, so blogging was a great way to make friends with other girls close to my age who were also married. The internet has a lot of problems, but one of the great things about it is how it lets you connect with like-minded people from around the world! I have friends from all over the country and overseas, all because of this little blog.

My Nominees

For those I tag, if your blog is in my sidebar - I tag you!

Michelle, Angi, Rachel, Heather, Brittney, Emily,
Amanda, Bekah, Meghan, Laura, Leslie, Rachel

My Questions

1. What is a favorite childhood memory?
2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
3. What was the last book you read?
4. When you have some spare time, what do you do with it (besides blogging, of course).
5. With whom is your longest friendship?
6. Favorite summer beverage?
7. If you had the opportunity to attend your own funeral, what would you hope to hear people say about you?
8. All you ladies are married - how did you meet your spouse?
9. Finish the sentence: "In high school I could have been voted most likely to..."
10. Tell us something that we don't already know and wouldn't think to ask you.

Answer the questions on your blog, and then pass the award along (to however many people you want)!

Lots Of Firsts - Georgie At Seven Months

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Fri, 22 Jun 2018 16:35:00 +0000

Georgie Bea is seven months old, and this post is late! Whoops. I'm blaming vacation (even though it was a month ago).

Growth And Eating

We are solidly into size 2 diapers and 6-9 month clothes, though I still make some smaller sizes work as well. Her feet are big enough for shoes now, but since it's summer I rarely put shoes on her. She looks adorable in her baby swimsuit (I will share pictures on Instagram soon).

Georgie has really filled out over the last couple months, and I love her chubby little cheeks! We started food purees this month, and she loves them. She often lurches toward the spoon if I don't bring it to her mouth fast enough.

She is still cuddly and sweet when I feed her a bottle, and she snuggles into my and reaches up to touch my face. I love that she still does this, even though we are no longer nursing. She can almost hold her own bottle now, but I try not to let her too often when we are at home, because I want to enjoy her baby snuggles.

Sleeping

No change, she's still amazing. She does have a harder time when I first lay her down lately, but she's usually still asleep within 15 minutes.

Firsts

We went on Georgie's first family vacation this month! Maybe I'll get around to posting about it before the summer is over. She had her first plane flight, and did wonderfully on the plane. She met her Uncle Jeff and Aunt Rae for the first time. She saw the ocean for the first time (even though she won't remember it).

We also started solids for the first time (which she loved)!

Personality

Georgie hates water, and always gives me this desperate, betrayed look when I put her in the bathtub. She hates getting sprayed with the sunscreen. Aside from those two things she has generally been an abnormally happy baby. It's not hard to get her to smile! She also has the cutest little baby laugh (I know, I say that about all my babies).

Of course, as we've passed the 7 month mark her teething has gotten a little more aggressive, and she has had some days where she just gets upset whenever I put her down and wants to be held all day. Whenever I pick her up she immediately gives this triumphant grin and pats my shoulder, and I have a vague feeling that I've just been played. Still, I usually just try to accommodate - she'll be crawling soon, and then who knows if she'll want me to hold her?

---

Georgie Bea,

How you've grown this month! You are starting to look like an "older" baby. The happiest place for you to be is resting on my hip, and you grin at everyone who looks at you. I love your sweet smile and dimples, you charm people wherever we go! Even the people on the plane couldn't get irritated that they were sitting by a baby because you were so darn cute. I love how your eyes follow me around when I'm not holding you, and you lean toward me with your little raised eyebrows whenever you catch my eye. I'm still your favorite, and you can be attached to my hip for as long as you want, Baby Girl. I love you more than all the stars in the sky.

Love Always,

Mama

Things I Regret (And Don't) From My First 30 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 11:30:00 +0000

It's here! This week the third decade of my life is coming to a close. There is something more significant about those decade increments, and I wanted to mark it here on the blog in some way.

I've been toying with different blog post ideas. I've seen some people doing "30 Things I Learned Before 30", but I couldn't bring myself to write a post like that. Most 30 year olds are still in the I think-I-know-so-much-but-I-don't-realize-I-really-don't stage, and that includes me. When I reflect back over the last 30 years, I don't think I'm qualified to offer anyone advice. I know less now than I thought I knew at 20 years old! I've spent too much time with people further down the road and much wiser than myself to offer anyone life lessons from a still relatively shallow well of experience.

What I can do though, is look back over these first decades of my life and say what I've regretted, and what I never will, so here we go.

What I Regret From My First 30 Years

Caring Too Much About What People Thought In My Teens

Doesn't every teen care too much about what their peer group thinks? Yes. Does every adult wish they had cared a little less about what their teenage peer group thought? Probably also a yes. I was so insecure as a teenager, and I can't say that I could have really done anything differently to change that - confidence must be earned in some way, must be grown into. But I still wish teenage Callie could have had a little more spunk and individuality.

Going On The Birth Control Pill

This one is a bit of a mixed bag, because I am obviously so thankful to have the children I have, and our rather frustrating journey to parenthood brought them to me. God is sovereign and always had a plan. But I went on the pill unquestioningly right before I got married, and I didn't know about it's potential abortifacient effect, which conflicts with my pro-life beliefs. I didn't know it would seriously mess up my hormones so that when we were ready to start trying for a baby, things wouldn't work right. I'll always wonder if there could have been another child, I'll always wish I did a little more research about birth control before succumbing to that cultural norm. I just didn't know.

Not Getting Serious About Budgeting Sooner

This year I finally realized that grown-ups should have budgets. I feel stupid even typing that. It's not that I had no budget at all through my 20's, I knew what I had to spend each month and I had varying success at staying within that limit. I didn't really overspend (except for one dark period between 2014-2015), but I didn't think enough about future goals and plans. I didn't "give every dollar a job". When I think of all the dollars I have wasted by allowing them to slip away without a plan every month, it makes me kind of sick. I wish I had taken one of those financial peace classes or read more about making and managing a budget before I got my first grown-up paycheck.

Not Witnessing To My Coworkers

I got a job at a great dental office the year after we got married, and I worked there until I got pregnant with Clarice. My sister even worked there for a while, which was so fun. That office saw me through the birth of three of my babies, and I so appreciated the people there. I worked there for almost 7 years. And in all that time, I was too chicken to witness to my coworkers. I was a good employee, and I know some will say that you should "preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words", but let's be honest, that's a cop-out. No one ever got saved without the use of words. I should have loved them enough to be vocal. I kind of wonder if the Lord took me out of that job because I was blowing my chances to tell them about Jesus. To me, this will always be one of my biggest failures. From an eternal perspective, it feels like a waste.

Not Filming My Kids More

Not to toot my own horn, but I have kind of knocked it out of the park when it comes to taking pictures of my kids and documenting their babyhood. But I've also had a video camera in my back pocket for years now, and I'm such a slacker on filming them! In "my next 30 years" (you know I couldn't resist that country song reference!), I want to get better at filming their childhoods, before they slip away.

What I'll Never Regret

Putting My Trust In Jesus For My Salvation

Let's start with the most obvious one! When I was four years old I asked Jesus "into my heart", and over the next years I learned and grew into my faith, made it my own. I will never, ever regret asking Jesus to save me from my sin, turning to Him alone to save my soul. It was the best decision I ever made, no matter how long I live. I am so thankful for my Savior.

Being Homeschooled

When I was 8 years old, my mom made the decision to pull me out of public school. She did this at a time when homeschooling was not common, and looking back at it now, I so admire her bravery. I am thankful every day for her decision. Being homeschooled allowed me space to stop thinking so much about what other kids thought, and start caring a little more about what God thought. That first regret in the list above could have been so much bigger. That decision by my mom to homeschool me became a major part of my testimony - without it, I don't know if I would have grown in my faith or walked with the Lord through high school at all. It's a big reason why I always knew I'd homeschool my kids. I wouldn't be who I was today without it, and I never look back at homeschooling and feel that I missed out on anything. Instead, I gained something precious from it.

Getting Married Young

When I was still in hygiene school, I remember walking into the office one day with a sparkly ring on my finger. I was so happy and excited. I remember one of the front office ladies looking at me with concern. "Are you sure? You are so young. What is the rush?" She didn't get it, and a lot of people didn't get it. They didn't understand that I was committed to not sleeping with anyone before marriage, so living together was not an option. They didn't get why I didn't care to "have some fun" first (marriage is fun, people!). They didn't recognize that when you already know you're going to marry this person, there is really no point in waiting just for the sake of waiting. They didn't think a 20 year old was mature enough to make that kind of decision. But we were absolutely committed to each other, and we got over every rough spot together. I love him more now than I did then. Did I have growing up to do? Yes, but I got to grow up with my husband next to me, my best friend. I'll never regret marrying him young.

Not Drinking

That whole "drink a little more lemonade, and not so many beers" (you know, from the song?) does not apply to me! There are a multitude of reasons why I don't drink, and I won't get into it here. That could be a whole other post, and it is a post I've attempted to tackle several times but was never satisfied enough with the result to share. I think there is liberty here for Christians, so I'm not going to judge you if you do have a drink (without getting drunk, of course, see Ephesians 5:18). But I absolutely think it was a great decision for me to never open that door. I don't want it or need it to relax (a bubble bath and chocolate does the trick), I don't need it to have fun (I honestly feel sorry for people that do), and let's just think for a minute about the money I've saved over the years by not creating that (potentially addictive and risky) habit. I don't imagine I'll regret not having a drink in my next 30 years either.

Having Children In My 20's

I started having babies in my early 20's, and had my last baby in my late 20's. People are always surprised at how young I am, considering I have five kiddos, and sometimes they're even a little judgey about it. But I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I'll graduate my first child at 40, and probably my last before I hit 50. When you are young you have more energy, and I'll hopefully be a younger grandma, which will be fun. I might even get to see my great grandchildren, like my grandparents have. Having babies young isn't always possible, and I want you all to know that my heart aches for every woman who wants to be a mama, and for whatever reason she can't. I know young motherhood isn't possible for everyone. But I don't regret it a bit. I personally don't see anything but positives attached to becoming a mom when I was young. I'm glad we didn't wait too long.

Having A Big Family

I've written about this at length, so I'll keep it short here, but goodness, I'm so thankful for my five kids. Our house is loud and chaotic and full to the brim with joy, and I wouldn't change a single thing. I'm so proud of my big family.

Quitting My Job To Stay Home Full-Time

There was a crossroads in my life a few years ago. When my first three kids were little, I was able to work just one day a week. I didn't have to be away from them very much, and was still able to supplement our income. It was a blessing. Then things started shifting, becoming a little more stressful at work, and they told me they needed me to work more days per week. I hated the thought of giving up that job at the time. But I didn't want to spend more time away from my kids, especially with another baby on the way and kindergarten looming (I wanted to homeschool). After I quit, I felt so free (and also a little guilty and insecure about no longer contributing my "extra" to our income, but that was silly and I got over it). I don't think I ever realized how much even just one day a week was taking from my energy, and now I have it back to give at home. If you are a working mom, I'm not trying to send you a message, so don't read this section that way, please. But for me, I'm so glad I let that job go and came home full-time.

Starting This Blog

If I'm totally honest, I struggle with this little online space sometimes. Blogging has changed so much, and I've changed so much too. There are times I still love having a place to share my thoughts, and times when I am afraid the whole thing is pointless. But as I write this today, I'm glad I've documented the last decade here. Would I remember so much of my 20's if I hadn't taken time to write about it? Without this space, would I have slowed down, formed my thoughts enough to be able to look back now and see God's hand in the journey from 20 to 30? I don't really think so. I don't know what the future holds for this blog. My children are growing, and life keeps speeding up. I imagine it will look different in another 10 years than it does today. But I'm so glad I take some time to write about my life here, and God's hand in it all, if for no one else than for me, to stand as my "ebenezer". It's a reminder of God's goodness to me. I don't regret writing here. And thanks to all of you who have read my posts and stuck with me through the years. Without you, I don't know if I'd have this record at all.

And just for fun, remember that unofficial 30-year-old beach shoot from my vacation? Here are the outtakes. The tide was coming in, and the waves just kept coming in higher, and that water was cold!

Here's to the next 30 years!

936 Pennies Review - Recommended!

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 11:30:00 +0000

I somehow found Erin Lynum on Twitter a few years ago, and I specifically remember clicking through to her blog and reading her post about receiving a jar of 936 pennies as she dedicated her baby at her church. The 936 pennies represented the weeks she would have with her baby from birth until their 18th birthday. In that post she challenged moms to make sure they were spending their 936 pennies well. That idea stuck with me, so when I saw this book, I knew exactly who had written it and I snagged it!

I would classify 936 Pennies: Discovering The Joy Of Intentional Parenting as memoir/encouragement for moms. Erin shares a lot of her own mothering journey and ways she has learned to "spend her pennies well" over the years. She doesn't get preachy or tell you what you "should" do, but instead presents her personal experiences as an encouragement and challenge to parent intentionally, with the passing of time in the forefront of our minds. Her kids are about the same age or perhaps slightly younger than mine, so while there were certain sections that I no longer struggle with as much, I could deeply relate to 95% of the book.

There were a couple little quibbles I had here and there with how she worded certain things, but I can definitely say this book is solid doctrinally and is thoroughly grounded by biblical truth and the gospel. She doesn't just focus on superficial suggestions to make our days smoother or more fun, but she digs down deep into what it means to parent our children with not just 936 pennies but eternity in mind. I especially enjoyed the chapters toward the end about memory-making and keeping (something I spent some time writing about last fall), and about how we can gain some time back by using technology well.

I highly, highly recommend this book! I found myself so encouraged to invest in my kids and put some of my own strategies in place to use my time with them in a way that will matter for eternity. I also think this would make an excellent baby shower or first birthday party gift, along with a jar of 936 pennies, of course. If you are a mom, check this one out!

Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.

Currently (June 2018)

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 11:30:00 +0000

Currently, I am...

Wearing: I simple green t-shirt, and my favorite pair of shorts from H&M that I bought two months ago and am already wearing out. Clearly I should have purchased a back up pair. They were only $10!

Making: Body butter. A friend of mine posted on Facebook a couple months ago about this homemade body butter that she makes for herself and her girls. Well, I happen to be a little obsessed with body butters, but I can't seem to find one that I really like since Bath and Body Works reformulated theirs, oh, 5+ years ago. So I thought, "hey, why not?" I finally got around to trying it this afternoon. I added some essential oils to make it smell good, but I'm thinking that might be a wasted effort. This particular recipe contains cocoa butter, and oh my goodness, the smell is strong. It's cooling right now, and my whole fridge smells like chocolate. I'm not mad about it.

Drinking: Peach-Pear La Croix. I long ago learned that I don't love pop so much for the sugar as for the carbonation, so a flavored sparkling water will do! The latest flavors I picked up were Coconut, Passionfruit, and this Peach-Pear. I think Peach-Pear might be one of my favorites.

Eating: Nachos for lunch. Not the healthy kind (is there a healthy kind?).

Cooking: I'm cooking out of the Fix It And Forget It Lazy And Slow Cookbook. When I flipped through it at the library, I had to have it. Basically the cookbook is broken up into weeks for an entire year, and each week gives you the menu, the shopping list, and directions on how to make the meals each day with the minimal amount of effort, using your slow cooker. It's basically a ready-made year-long meal plan. I've never been good at meal planning, so I'm all about someone doing the work for me! I've made two recipes from it so far. one was stuffed peppers, and it was great. The other is Chicken Vegetable Soup. I think the name of that recipe is generous, because there are literally only two vegetables in it - chopped up celery and corn. We ended up having a change in dinner plans for the day I made it, so I haven't had any yet. Derek had some for lunch and said it was more flavorful than you might expect for a vegetable soup recipe that only has chicken, celery, and corn in it. I'm skeptical. We're going to have the leftovers for dinner tonight. I'll report back on Instagram or Facebook.

Reading: Right now I am finishing up Voracious by Cara Nicoletti. I am loving this book! Each chapter is a little mini-memoir about her experiences with different books, and the food in those books. Then she includes a recipe inspired by each book. I'm not a food-memoir type of person typically, but this book is right up my alley! I definitely recommend it.

(Remember how I was reading it before vacation when I hurt my knee? I'm finishing it up now!)

Listening To: Right this very minute I'm listening to the audiobook of Renegades by Marissa Myer. You might know her as the girl who wrote the Lunar Chronicles. I have to confess, I only made it through the first two books in that series, and I haven't felt compelled to pick up the rest - mainly because there are some weird experiments on humans (or human-like creatures?) that are ethically horrible, and I was a little weirded out by it. Renegades, however, is funny and interesting so far - basically it's a superheroes story similar to X-Men, and some of banter between the villains and heroes is cracking me up! I don't know if it's meant to be funny, but I am amused and loving it.

Also listening to Georgie fussing from her crib, so I'll be back.

Wanting: More time to read! I just visited our local library sale, and I have too many books now. I wish I could whole up for a week and knock a few off my list! I'll try to show you guys what I found soon. I got everything for probably an average of $1 a piece. Not too shabby!

Buying: This probably deserves it's own post, and you guys are going to laugh at me...but I bought a grain mill. You know, so I can grind my own flour. Ugh, I feel like a weirdo just typing that. Basically, I like carbs. I like bread, muffins, cookies, and cereal. Since I like my carbs so much, I thought I might as well make them as healthy as possible. Enter the grain mill.

I promise, I'm not turning into a crazy health food nut that won't eat white bread (we've already established that I love carbs). But this is a fun kitchen project that is bringing back my love for baking, and I'm excited to give it a try!

And no, there's no hand-crank. It's of the push-a-button-and-the-flour-is-ready-in-4-minutes variety.

Watching: The Bachelorette. I just can't help myself. If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that one of the contestants is from my (tiny) home town! We actually saw the film crew while they were here. And thankfully the guy is representing us pretty well so far, so I know who I'm rooting for!

Thinking: I've wasted a lot of years being discontent with where I live, and I feel really dumb about it now. It's beautiful here! How many people get to live in the mountains? No, there's not a Starbucks around the corner, but there is a cute little down-home ice cream shop that sells coffee. No, there's not a Target I can go wander around when I need to get out of the house, but there is fresh air and wildlife and hiking trails, and all those things are free. Yeah, a lot of people left, but a lot of people came. For the first time in my adult life I feel entirely content with my my house and town, and it's a lovely feeling.

(The only thing I'm bummed about is that our church is so far away, but it's not even a big deal to drive! And we're making friends there too. I've just started focusing on what I have instead of what I'm missing, and it's making all the difference. Contentment is a wonderful thing.)

Loving: This lovely summer weather! I don't know why, but summer seemed to come all in a flurry this year, and the novelty has not yet worn off. I'm sitting outside to type this! It's so pretty!

Praying: For rain. I love the warm weather and all, but I don't love wildfires, and that's where we might be headed if we don't get some rainy days.

(Also trying out this linkup here!)

On (Almost) Ten Years Of Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:52:00 +0000

“What is Callie’s favorite productive hobby?”

I sat there sipping my blueberry limonata while everyone scribbled away in the notebooks Derek passed out. My 30th birthday party, and my sweet husband came up with a contest for whoever could get the most questions about me right. He knows my love of games - in my opinion they make any and every party better!

A few minutes later and he read off the answers, and when he got to the question I just mentioned, almost every single person in that room got the answer right. Writing. Blogging.

I expected to be surprised at some of the answers that the majority got wrong, but here I was surprised at the question that the majority got right.

—-

Yesterday I decided it was high time I purged my blog feed. I wanted a clean, simple lineup of blogs I actually care to read, not blogs I followed because of a giveaway, or big bloggers who never knew my name. I opened up the browser window and navigated to my “following” list. As I scrolled down the page, I found out I actually wasn’t following too many big, impersonal blogs (just a few that were clogging up my feed). But I was still following blog after blog written by people who have long abandoned writing on the internet. I remembered each one. I remembered what they looked like, how many kids they had, how many more or less years they were married than me.

Blog after blog written by people who no longer thought it was worth putting themselves out there for the world to see.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I closed the window before I totally finished.

—-

Somehow I’ve been pounding out my thoughts on this blog for nearly ten years. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I tentatively typed my first post, wondering if there was anyone out there who would read it. Back then, none of my real life people knew I had a blog. I didn’t tell anyone, not for years and years. There was a tiny part of me that was irrationally embarrassed. I didn’t tell anyone until I started making money at it.

I don’t think I was the only one who kept their personal blog a secret. It’s vulnerable to put yourself out there in the first place, even more so to have real-life people who may be reading, who may or may not “get” why you are writing.

Then the professionals came on the scene, and we casual bloggers started to feel like maybe these kinds of posts weren’t really worth sharing. Maybe this blogging thing was only worth doing if you were trying to make money at it.

—-

I’ve been thinking about the blogging community a lot lately, as I slowly approach the ten-year anniversary of this blog. I added a blogroll back to my sidebar. Somewhere along the way blogrolls in the sidebar became uncool, unprofessional, and if you wanted to “make something” of your blog you wouldn’t be caught with one anymore. As my ten year anniversary approaches, I’m rejecting that. It’s back. It’s a short list, full of bloggers who proudly still write the kind of posts that I like to read. Posts about their real life, things they saw and did, feelings that it takes a certain measure of bravery to launch into public.

Blogging has changed so much, and we’ve lost alot. It’s got me thinking that maybe all those times when we bloggers didn’t want to admit that we had a blog finally caught up to us somewhere along the way. Maybe we did this to ourselves by not being willing to stake a claim, and say that no, these kinds of posts are worth writing. To say that being willing to organize our thoughts and record them for posterity in a way that is interesting and relatable to other people is worth doing, not something to hide, even if you never make a dime from it.

In the end, after ten years and countless blogs lost, I am starting to think that when it’s all said and done, maybe these are the posts that are really worth writing in the end. And maybe all us bloggers from the old school should have realized that before so many quit, thinking it wasn’t worth the effort.

So I’m here, and a lot of blogs have bitten the dust, but I have no plans to stop writing on this little blog that no longer makes any money. I’ll write about my faith and thoughts and feelings and successes and regrets. In the end, those things make up a life.

I’ll write it all out for my children, and maybe their children after them, and I won’t feel a bit sheepish that this is all I'm doing anymore. I won’t feel a bit of embarrassment that almost everyone in my life seems to know that I write on here without any other incentive than I just want to. Because years down the road, I just don’t think I’ll regret the times I wrote here for nothing more than the love of it.

Let's Catch Up - Vintage Books, Etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 11:30:00 +0000

Time for a good, old-fashioned life update post!

The last couple months have been so busy, mainly because of one thing: vacation. First I spent a couple weeks getting ready for vacation, which took a lot more effort than normal because I injured my knee. Then we were gone on vacation. Then we were home and recovering from vacation. Now we are finally settling back into a routine at home, so I have some time to sit down and write!

Vacation And Last Day Of School

Speaking of vacation, I will eventually get around to writing a post and sharing some of my favorite photos. It was such a nice getaway, and so needed! My philosophy of vacationing is that we get away so we are happy to come back home again, and our fun-filled week left me with just that feeling of being full and happy to be home. It was so nice to go visit my brother-in-law and sister-in-law in North Carolina, and they are fantastic hosts who really made the whole thing relaxing. We left feeling refreshed, and we are bringing that vacation feeling back home with us into the summer.

I think I officially love vacationing in the middle or end of May. We get back right in time for warm, beautiful weather in the mountains. It's been so warm and lovely the last week, and I've spent a lot of time lounging and reading on the porch in the sun. May vacations kick off the summer with that vacation vibe to set the tone, and now I'm in the right frame of mind to make this summer relaxing and adventurous for our family! I sat down last week with my bullet journal, the library calendar, a cookbook, and a kids' activity book and laid out a summer plan. I'm hoping to fill this summer with good memories and good food!

We also finished up our last day of recorded school for the year last week (I say "recorded school" because we'll probably continue some casual schooling through the summer). I'm kind of shocked about how easy it was to cross off 172 days, in retrospect. That's a lot! But it didn't feel overwhelming at all, even with having a baby. I'm working on a post with all the lessons I learned in our first "real" year of homeschooling, so stay tuned.

Of course, when I told Wyatt that it was our last week of school, he got rather sullen and said, "But Mom, I don't want to stop school in the summer."

I was baffled. "Why?"

Wyatt: "Because I like it."

"Why do you like it?" (I was expecting an answer having to do with seeing our Bible study friends on Wednesday or something.)

Wyatt: "I just like it. I like doing school."

I tell you, after a year with some frustrating moments standing out in my memory, it's encouraging to know that from his perspective, he is just remembering the joyful parts of learning that we've had. I guess I'm not failing him after all.

Nancy Drew And My 30th Birthday Party

My 30th birthday is this month. Starting way back when I was 25, I informed Derek that I would like a birthday party for my 30th, and this past weekend he delivered!

We started off the day with some family time first and we went shopping at our local antique mall. I've mentioned before that one of my favorite series to read as a girl was Nancy Drew (for me and every other girl I know). Well, I found out recently that though the Nancy Drew books were originally written in the 1930's, they were re-written after 1959 to make Nancy and her pals more "modern". In my reading about this, I learned that this was done in part to correct some racist language in some of the books, but there is some anecdotal evidence to indicate that the rewrites weren't completely for the better.

So obviously now I feel like I HAVE to read a pre-1959 book. Are the new books noticeably different? How exactly did they make Nancy "modern"? DO I EVEN KNOW NANCY DREW AT ALL?

Well, I am happy to report that I found a Nancy Drew printed in 1948 at the antique mall! I'll try to read it soon and report back with my findings.

(I also found one of these "Best In Children's Books" volumes. This is a vintage book series with excerpts from children's literature, short stories, and some early writings from authors like Richard Scarry and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm sort of casually collecting them.)

After the antique mall we made a quick stop at our Sunday School class picnic. We switched churches last year (it's still a little fresh to write much about it), but we are feeling so happy and settled at our new church now. We found one of the rare churches that still does Sunday School, and it's a model that really works for our family since we have to commute a bit to get to the church. It's nice to get to know the people while we are there on Sundays, instead of feeling a bit excluded with a small group model that we can't participate in on a regular basis.

But anyway, back to the topic at hand - my 30th birthday party!

Derek sent out these pretty invitations to my close family and friends, and we all met to have dinner together at Olive Garden. It was lovely to have all the people who are dear to me gathered together as I prepare to enter a new decade. Derek also played Ben Rector's "I Like You" (which is currently "our song"), and he gave a really sweet, short speech and said a bunch of nice things about me. I tell you, I could have cried, but I was too happy. My heart was full.

(Me before dinner.)

(We tried to get a quick family shot after my party - this is as good as it got! Not pregnant, that's just a food baby - ha! )

Other Worthy Of Mentions

Guys, I went to our annual library sale last week, and I got SO MANY BOOKS. It's a little out of control, honestly, but I see those bags of good books waiting for me and I get so excited! I also made a second trip on Sunday for their final bag-of-books-for-$6-just-to-get-rid-of-everything sale, and grabbed a bunch more books, which came out to dimes a piece. My goal for the next year-ish is going to be to read two of those library sale books a month. Maybe I'll write a post soon sharing all my finds, and you can help me pick what to read first.

Speaking of books, I feel like my reading is way too subject to my momentary whims. I am definitely a mood reader, and for that reason I either fly through a book that interests me within two days, or I start a book and abandon it before I reach the halfway mark because something else catches my fancy. This is why I usually have 10 books going at any given time - I have bookish ADD.

THIS IS A PROBLEM.

I feel like these bad reading habits really affect how much I enjoy any given book. And when I start and stop a book several times before finishing, it also makes it difficult to give a good, thorough review (you may have noticed some of my reviews are dashed off a lot more haphazardly than others on Goodreads - this is why). I'm trying really hard to be more disciplined about finishing the books I start, or giving a book a fair chance (at least 100 pages) before I decide I'm not enjoying it and pick up something else. Am I the only one who has this problem?

Maybe I should start a support group.

What are you all doing to welcome in summer this week? (I know, summer doesn't officially start until middle June, but in my book, if it's warm and green, it's summer!)

Why I Won't Be Sorry To Turn 30

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Tue, 29 May 2018 11:30:00 +0000

(Note: We took a trip to the beach recently - vacation recap coming soon - and I got this dress from Pinkblush just in time before we left! They sent it to me for free in exchange for the feature I am including in this post, but I totally used it as my dress for an unofficial 30-year-old photo shoot on the beach!)

There is something about those decades skipping by that seems a little more of a big deal than normal birthdays. Some of us mark the 10 year increments with bigger birthday celebrations (that's me!), but I think for a lot of people there is a twinge of sadness or anxiety in growing older.

In less than a month, I will be turning 30, and I'm not bothered by it. Not even a little bit. Here's why.

1. Growing older means more experience.

You all know I'm a talk radio fan (honestly, I listen to way too many shows and podcasts), and Rush Limbaugh often says how he is never sorry to grow older, because it means he has more experience and knows more than he used to. I have to say, I love that. I've adopted his attitude over the years, and especially as I've been surrounded by wise older people. Some of them are decades older than me, like my parents or grandparents, some are people just a few years further down the road of life (ahem, like my husband), but I always look at them and think about the experiences and growth that they've walked through and I haven't yet. So the passing of a year, even a big year like 30, is just another year that I've grown and matured and learned more.

2. Let's be honest, 30 is not that old.

We all like to joke about how old we are getting when these decade markers pass us by, but really, the early 30's are still relatively immature. We all think we know more than we actually do. Just watching the people in my life who are approaching 40, I see the difference even that one decade makes in maturity and wisdom. I'm not naive enough to think I have no more growing to do. Thirty is still very young (maybe not always in a good way).

3. I'm surrounded by people who love me (and vice versa).

It is not lost on me how much of a blessing it is to enter my 30's with my own family established, and surrounded by family and friends who love me. I think maybe the hardest part of getting older is not being quite where you thought you would be, whether that's professionally, relationally, or personally. Being surrounded by the people who are most important to me, feeling like I belong somewhere, was always one of my biggest hopes for 30, and so my heart is full. When I look to the years ahead, I can expect a continuation and maturation of the fun I've already been having with my husband and kids and family and friends, and that's a blessing!

4. I've figured out who I am.

Maybe this is just me, but I've always had these arbitrary marker years in my head, ages that I look ahead to and think "Wow, when I'm that old, I will have arrived." Well, I haven't really arrived because every time I reach the magical age there is another marker age on the horizon. But 30 was one of those years for me. When I thought about 30, I envisioned having figured out my own identity and style, and feeling confident in who God made me to be and what He wants me to do. And maybe it's just the power of suggestion, because of the mental picture I've developed surrounding the age of 30, but I do feel like I've figured out who I am. I just think 30 is going to be good. (The next marker age is 36, in case you were wondering.)

(Speaking of style...I think one of my favorite parts of this age is that I've figured finally figured mine out. I like to try new trends, but I fit them in around casual and feminine basics - this dress from Pink Blush is a good example! PinkBlush is my go-to for maternity clothes, but I love PinkBlush's non-maternity clothes too because they are the right cut for my grown-up, post-baby body, with tons of flattering options. Thirty means abandoning the juniors section for good, and finding brands that look good on my figure, and with options like Pinkblush I'm okay with that! You can check out the dress I'm wearing here. It's a perfect beach dress, right?)

5. Each year I live on this earth brings me closer to Jesus.

Each year I live is that much longer I have to grow in my walk with the Lord and learn to serve Him better. Life on this earth is only an incredibly small sliver of eternity, and for those of us who have trusted in Jesus for our salvation, we have eternity in Heaven to look forward to. And anything good that we experience here will be magnified and perfected there. Really, how can I be sorry to grow older when I think about that? Every year I spend here is one year closer to when I'll see Jesus face to face. As a believer, there are only good things to look forward to when you take the long view.

Was 30 a good year for you, or was it hard to leave your 20's? Or if you are in your 20's, do you look forward to or dread turning 30?

Comment below, I want to hear!

Homeschool Curriculum: First Grade In Review

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 14 May 2018 11:30:00 +0000

(Note: Some affiliate links below.)

I sat down and counted up our school days the other day and realized we have less than 20 days left before we hit our required number of homeschool days. That means I'm less than a month away from having my first true year of homeschooling under my belt! (I am not counting kindergarten.)

Last year before we started I shared all about my curricula picks for first grade. So how did all that work out for me? Here's the breakdown:

Math

What We Started With: Rightstart Math

What We Ended With: Rightstart Math

I have zero complaints about this curriculum! Rightstart has an unusual method and order for teaching math, but I was really impressed it. I love how it teaches underlying math concepts, instead of just rote memorization! This curriculum was such a good fit for my teaching style and Wyatt's learning style! We love all the manipulatives, the way it reinforces concepts through games, and the focus on teaching kids to visualize numbers in their heads. It is so much more enjoyable for Wyatt and myself than doing endless math problems and worksheets. I am really happy with it, and will use it with all my kids as long as it fits their learning styles!

What We'll Use Next Year: Rightstart

Reading

What We Started With: 100 Easy Lessons and Rod And Staff

What We Ended With: All About Reading

As we were entering the school year last fall, I knew we were going to be finishing up 100 Easy Lessons before the year was out...so I knew I'd have to shift to something else. We limped along with 100 Easy Lessons until I had Georgie, and to be honest, by the end we were kind of hating it. I really love the first half of that book, which takes your child from knowing nothing to reading sentences. However, by the time we got about 75% of the way through the book we were really bored and frustrated. I was also a little irritated because that book took forever to introduce all the letters/sounds, and didn't go over all the rules I wanted to teach Wyatt. It got him reading, but by the time Georgie was born we were fighting through the lessons and I was ready for something different.

We were loving our math curriculum so much because it had different activities and manipulative to go with each lesson, so I was wanting something more like that for reading. I did a little research and decided to give All About Reading a try. I've heard so many good things about it (and it was recommended by a great blog friend too!), so I ordered our level and got started. Wyatt flew through that whole curriculum in a few months and we both stopped dreading reading so much! It gave him so much confidence, so it was definitely the right call!

In the end, I don't regret starting with 100 Easy Lessons, because I still think that book has the best method for teaching blending that I have come across. Blending is only covered in one lesson in All About Reading, and if your kid doesn't naturally get it, 100 Easy Lessons would be a great resource. I think the reason we got through AAR so quickly was because we started with 100 Easy Lessons. For my other kids, I will probably start them on 100 Easy Lessons and then switch halfway through the book instead of suffering through the last half.

What We'll Use Next Year: All About Reading

Writing/LA

What We Started With: First Language Lessons, 100 Bible Verses To Read And Write
What We Ended With: 100 Bible Verses To Read And Write

I took a more casual approach to writing and language arts this year, since the language arts priority was solidifying reading skills. We did copy work (mostly with the 100 Bible Verses book) and wrote notes to family members for writing. For language arts concepts, we had plans to use First Language Lessons - but if I'm honest, we hardly used it at all. We talked about some LA concepts as we were doing All About Reading, and I'll review a few things over the summer with Wyatt before we start a more structured writing program this fall.

What We'll Use Next Year: TBD

Science

What We Started With: Apologia Flying Creatures and Building Foundations Of Scientific Understanding

What We Ended With: Apologia Flying Creatures, BFSU, and random library books

I'm going to be honest and tell you that science kind of took a backseat with the whole having-a-baby thing this year. I had so many grand plans to do all the experiments in our Apologia science book, the science activities in BFSU. I was going to be a science-super-mom!

However, after Georgie was born I just was not organized enough to plan a bunch of experiments and do a really organized study - so we ended up going through a few random sections of Apologia and BFSU (according to whatever looked interesting), and grabbing coordinating books from the library. We did a couple field trips, and a couple science experiments - all interest led though, not really what was in the books. We kind of just went flying by the seat of our pants! I'm actually quite happy with how this turned out. Science at this level is mostly to get kids interested anyway, and I'm fine with that! My plan is to do a few more science activities this summer to introduce different concepts that I really wanted to cover this year, and then start fresh in the fall.

What We'll Do Next Year: Stay Tuned, I'm figuring that out now.

History

What We Started With: Beautiful Feet Books

What We Ended With: Beautiful Feet Books

I love this curriculum! For history I knew I wanted a literature-based approach to American History, so we chose the Early American History set from Beautiful Feet Books. There are all kinds of suggested activities in the study guide, but we have really just read the books and done coordinating field trips this year. We are stretching this curriculum out for two years instead of just one, so we are finishing up half the curriculum this year, and we'll finish it next year. We haven't covered a huge range of historical events, but what we have covered I feel that we've covered well - my kids have retained a lot of what we've read this year. It makes my heart happy every time they see a historical reference somewhere else and exclaim "It's just like in our book!"

What We'll Use Next Year: We are continuing with Beautiful Feet Books Early American History for sure, and may throw in another set (possibly the World History set from BFB or Story Of The World).

Bible

What We Started With: ?

What We Ended With: CBS

If you remember, I was a little unsure of what we would use for a Bible curriculum. I had a really hard time finding something I was satisfied with, and I honestly just gave up searching as I approached my due date. Then after Christmas we attended a visitor day at our local Community Bible Study, and I loved it! I did CBS growing up, and I forgot how thorough and deep the lesson books are. This will basically be our Bible curriculum from here on out. Once the kids reach grade school, they get their own lesson book that coordinates with the adult lesson books, which I love! We work through the passage together and then attend our CBS meeting each week to discuss with others, so it's a social opportunity and Bible curriculum all in one!

What We'll Do Next Year: CBS

---

I'll do a more in-depth post soon about what we will be doing next year for 2nd grade and kindergarten! But in the meantime, I've been searching for books to read for me over this summer. I like to read a few homeschool-related books in the summer to keep my motivation up and give me ideas. If I get a good list going I'll write another post, but I'm excited about this one:

My blog friend Elizabeth is also one of my favorite homeschool bloggers - she gives so much inspiration, ideas, and encouragement on her site. Well, she wrote a new ebook called Lifestyle Homechooling, and it's launching today! I'm really excited to pick this one up, because I'd say "lifestyle homeschooling" is a perfect term for what I'm going for in our homeschool. This past year I have been loving how flexible homeschooling is, how I'm able to work it into our family life and fit it into the life stage we are in right now with a baby. I'm looking forward to getting some ideas from Lifestyle Homeschooling - definitely check it out!

(Note: I am part of the launch team for Lifestyle Homeschooling, and will be receiving a free copy of the book in exchange. Follow me on Goodreads to see my eventual review!)

When You Feel Unsettled

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Fri, 11 May 2018 21:07:00 +0000

I'm sitting here typing this, and there is a tinge of smoke in the air. Despite some beautiful flowers poking through the ground and dressing the trees, it has been such a dry spring. It's hard to enjoy the summery weather when you know the sun is sucking more moisture out of the ground. I'm praying for rain or a big, wet snow to prevent wildfires this summer. We've already had one just this week.

It's not the most comforting feeling when we're leaving on vacation this month.

The last couple weeks have been just weird and unsettling. I hurt my knee two Sundays ago. Badly. I was peddling the bike at the gym, and my knee started hurting when I got in the car. The next morning I couldn't even straighten my leg without pain, much less put any weight on it.

I had surgery on that same knee seven years ago, so this feeling was familiar. I was convinced I tore my meniscus again somehow, and I was going to need surgery and be on crutches for six weeks. I was a soggy mess the rest of the day, crying because I'd be on crutches for vacation, and I had so many end-of-year events that week, and I couldn't take care of the kids...crying just from the stress of it all. I shared what happened with different friends as my mom drove me down to the doctor's office, who then ordered an MRI. I was pretty convinced my May was ruined.

Then my knee felt surprisingly good the next day. And even better the next, and the next, until the day of my MRI, I could almost step on it. Results came in. No tear. I was walking without crutches the next day. I just don't even see how that's possible with how my knee felt just a few days before. Because it was bad. It felt like something had torn, but this week I'd say it's pretty much healed.

I'm crediting all the prayers. God definitely healed my knee way sooner than I expected, and it was a gift.

So I'm hanging on to that thought, as I sit here and catch a whiff of smoke, wondering if there is another fire someplace. Derek isn't home right now, and he has some hard work-related things to deal with that will affect our whole family. Both of these things are stressing me out. But then I remember my knee, and I say a prayer and take a deep breath. Rotten things happen every day, and sometimes they work out, and sometimes they don't, but this week I remember that we have a God who cares about it all. When we feel unsettled and anxious, we are supposed to come to Him.

"Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philipians 4:6

I know those verses are so much used that they can almost seem cliche, but they will never seem cliche to me. How amazing is that, that we have a God who cares for us? And the proof of that is Jesus. When we trust in Him for our salvation, our eternity is secure in Him. If He died to save us from our sin, our biggest, most insurmountable problem, then He can handle all these little problems too. And even if it doesn't work out like we want, we have Him, and that is all we truly need.

So I'll cast my cares on Him, and go work on some packing.

Happy Friday, Friends!

Humming - Georgie At Six Months

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 07 May 2018 17:07:00 +0000

Wow, that was one of the fastest half-years in my recent memory. My sweet girl is halfway to one year old!

Growth And Eating

It seems like every time I take Georgie's monthly pictures, she looks so much different. These days she's sporting leg rolls and a cute double chin - I'm pretty confident that she is back to her correct curve on the growth chart! She is in size 1 or 2 diapers, and her feet are finally big enough to stay in her tiny baby shoes.

I haven't had a chance to write about it on my blog yet, but last week I seriously hurt my knee - to the point where I couldn't walk without crutches and had to get an MRI to rule out the need for surgery. I also have a history of blood clots and my doctor recommended aspirin to prevent that - and so I decided to wean Georgie. I felt like it was time, since I knew she was getting hardly anything from me anyway, but it didn't make it less sad. I nursed her to sleep one night, and held her a little longer than necessary, admiring her little eyelashes, and cute lips, and chubby cheeks...and then I put her to bed and that was that. I had one day of minimal discomfort and that was it. I might have cried, but we have been hanging on by a thread with nursing for months, and this felt like the right time, before it got frustrating for both of us.

Now, on to solid foods!

Sleeping

No change, this girl is an amazing sleeper. We'll see how it goes on vacation this month though.

Firsts

No big firsts this month! In the month ahead we'll have first time eating solids and first vacation though, so stay tuned!

Personality

I feel like Georgie has been talking more lately. And by "talking", I mean she hums at me a lot, especially when she's eating or tired. I've never had a baby who hums at me so much, it's something that is distinct to Georgie. Occasionally she'll babble. She laughs most at her brothers and sisters right now - it's a chore for me to get her laughing, and I'm not sure why. Maybe her sense of humor is maturing (ha!). It's so cute when the kids get her laughing though - she has the best belly laugh! She smiles at everyone, and still has a nice deep dimple in her left cheek.

My favorite thing this month is Georgie's eyebrows. Georgie has the most expressive happy eyebrows. She'll smile at you and wiggle her eyebrows, and it's just the cutest, funniest thing!

When she is hungry she grabs her lower lip with her little toothless gums and sucks on her lip, and stares at me with big brown eyes. It's adorable. She usually only cries as a last resort (or on the occasional cranky day). She's just such an easygoing baby overall!

---

Georgie Girl,

Darling, this month has been emotional for me. I nursed you for the last time this month. Suddenly you look like such an older baby. You are growing out of all your tiny clothes. I can't stop you from growing, but there will always be a part of me that is sad to see everything that comes with your tiny babyhood go.

This month you ended up falling asleep on me a lot, and I love it so much. You usually start talking loudly and rubbing your face against me, and that's how I know you're tired. Then you get really still. Then your eyes droop closed. I love studying your face when you sleep. Your eyelashes spread out so perfectly on your cheeks, your lips look so squishy, and I love the weight of your little breaths. It's one of my favorite things. We are on the way to one year old now, and who knows how long you will fall asleep on my lap. I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

I love you so much, Sweetie. The next six months will see "real" food, mobility, and a first birthday party - lots of new baby sweetness behind us, but lots of older baby fun ahead! Onward!

Love Always,

Mama

Combed Hair And Dirty Feet - Clyde At Four

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 11:30:00 +0000

My Sweet Clyde,

Goodness, it wasn't that long ago when I was writing letters to "my sweet baby Clyde", but you are hardly a baby anymore! How did that happen?

This last week, you turned four years old. At three years old I think you still fall into the "toddler" category, but over the last month or so I've been realizing that you've left that stage behind and are solidly in the preschool stage now. Your drawings are becoming gradually more careful, you will often make comments that make me realize that you actually were listening to the book we were reading after all, and you reject all mentions of being my "baby". I tell you that you will always be my baby boy - even when you are a grownup. And you laugh, and your little eyes sparkle when I say that.

One of the cutest things about you right now is how you are developing your own sense of style. You like your hair to be fixed with gel; you love to wear sunglasses so you can look "cool". You even picked out some sunglasses for me for Christmas that look a lot like yours, because you wanted me to look "cool" too! I bought you a comb at the grocery store a couple months ago, and you treated it like a prized possession (until it was lost a week or two later in the black hole of your sock drawer).

Despite acting so grown up when it comes to grooming and style, when I think of you at this age, I think of a little boy running around with his hair perfectly combed, chocolate on his mouth, and dirt on his pants. You are all boy, and will spend hours outside with your siblings, sitting in the dirt, making mud pies, gathering pinecones, and riding your little red trike (that you are almost too big for). You are so often on the go, but you will drop everything for a chance to cuddle with my on the couch. I remember being pregnant with you and praying for a cuddly baby, and the Lord sure answered my prayer. I still treasure our snuggle times, and I will for as long as I can fit you on my lap.

The other thing I always want to remember about you at four years old is your sweet little voice. It was recently brought to my attention that tongue ties can run in the family, and one of the side effects of having a tongue tie can be a lisp. I immediately thought of you. I know I should get you checked, because I want you to be able to speak clearly as you grow...but I have to admit, there is a part of me that rejects the idea of doing anything that will change your sweet little voice. You have the cutest hint of a lisp, and I love it so much. I know this may change soon, may have to change soon, but right now, when I think of you, I think of your precious little boy voice telling me "Mom, you're the bethtetht mom ever!" You tell me that almost every day, and I love hearing it from you so much. If I could freeze time at any point, I might choose right now. Then I could keep with me forever the little boy with the sticky fingers, dirty feet, sunglasses, combed hair, and adorable lisp.

But instead, I get to watch you grow - though it's bittersweet, that's even better.

I am thankful every day that God made you mine, Clyde. I love you so much. Happy 4th Birthday!

Love Always,

Mama

A Book On Prayer You Should Read

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 11:00:00 +0000

(Affiliate link below.)

Prayer is not something that comes naturally to me. I constantly struggle to fit in dedicated time for prayer, and then once I have it, I struggle to make my prayer time really meaningful. Any time I have a chance to read a book on prayer that I think will be actually helpful, I snag it.

The Prayer That Turns The World Upside Down by R. Albert Mohler Jr. is a book that focuses on the Lord's prayer, and specifically why this prayer was so radical in Jesus's time (and now as well!). Mohler takes each line of Jesus's prayer in Matthew, and explains it in detail, including the theological truths that Jesus was communicating through each line. I honestly never thought about the actual theology communicated through the Lord's prayer, even though I've had it memorized since I was a child.

I found this book not only fascinating, but also very practical when it comes to figuring out WHAT to pray. So often I get stuck in praying about things that feel trivial, and then not really knowing what else to say. The Lord's prayer is a wonderful basis for directing us to the things we truly should be praying for, and this book really inspires you to actually spend time praying about the things that Jesus told the disciples to pray. After each chapter I found myself closing my eyes and taking a minute to apply what I was learning.

This is a book that I'll refer back to again and again - I already have so many passages highlighted that I want to go back to now that I've read the whole thing! Highly, highly recommend if you find yourself stagnating in your prayer life. I think it will inspire you to focus your prayers on things that will last, obeying Jesus's example and honoring God in the process.

Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.

Nothing Too Interesting

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 22:06:00 +0000

(I did not take this photo today. Obviously.)

You know how I wrote that post about "spring" in the mountains last week? Well, it's snowing. That's about right.

You know how people ask you, "So, what have you been up to?" And you respond with "Oh, nothing too interesting." Well, that's this post. Nothing too interesting, but life isn't always edge-of-your-seat, is it? Life is made up of a whole lot of nothing-too-interesting, so I see no reason why I shouldn't still take time to write about it.

The last couple weeks have felt so busy to me, but not with anything very substantial. No, I've been busy with things like creating a spreadsheet with all the groceries that are in my cupboards, making muffins for the kids for breakfast to save money on cereal, and cleaning my house. All helpful, good domestic things. All things that, dare I say, I have surprisingly found rather fun.

Once again, not things that are very interesting to write about, but that won't stop me from trying! Because guys, if you have never created a grocery-cupboard-spreadsheet, I feel like you should give it a try. This was a particularly hard month when it comes to grocery money, so the spreadsheet was born from my desire to see how long I could make it without going to the grocery store. I had no idea how much was hiding in the dark recesses of my freezer! I've barely gone to the store at all this month - I've spent probably around $200 on groceries for April. For seven people.

I laid all the items in my cupboards out on a spreadsheet and then put together meals with what I had, and it's been amazing. I saved so much money!

And we've actually been eating pretty well, if I do say so myself (thanks in large part to this cookbook). We've had braised meatballs in wine gravy, spicy chops with sweet potatoes, skillet steak with peppers and cheese, barbecue roast, raspberry hazelnut chicken with potatoes (not as labor-intensive as it sounds, I made it with salad dressing). And for breakfast we've been having these (amazing) nut muffins, banana muffins, cranberry muffins, pumpkin pancakes, and hard-boiled eggs (instead of the cold cereal we usually have).

My grandma told me once that when you have less food to work with, it's easier to get creative and you almost end up eating better than when you have an abundance. I must say, she was right.

I also realized about halfway through the month that I had read hardly any books, so last week I buckled down and finished FIVE books. Pretty good, right? And I'm halfway through three more that I'm hoping to finish before May!

I've been having a lot of fun making videos with my recently read books this year, and watching other bookish videos on Youtube. My friend Felicia has been on "booktube" for years, and I love watching her videos. It's quicker and easier to talk about the books you've been reading, rather than sitting down and compiling a post with mini-reviews (at least it's easier to me, I don't know why). So if you want to keep updated on books I'm reading, you need to stop by my channel. Or you can also follow me on Goodreads, because I'm still writing reviews on all my books there (how is that easier than writing review posts on my blog, you ask? I don't know, it just is!).

Speaking of May, we booked our vacation! We are flying out to North Carolina this year to visit Derek's family! The last time we went to North Carolina I was largely pregnant with Gwen, so it's been quite a long time. We have four more babies on the outside than we did then. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous about flying with five young children. The airline assured me (multiple times, because I asked the same question, worded slightly differently, repeatedly) that we would be sitting with our children on the plane. "Are you sure?" I said. "Because there are four of them, and one in my lap." But they assured me this would be the case without any extra seating fees.

Now I have the monstrous task of digging all the kids' summer clothes out of the closets, and sorting through them to see what will be acceptable North Carolina attire in May. Southeast people, what's it like out there in May? Because the last time I went on a May vacation somewhere that I thought it would be warm (ie. ARIZONA), it snowed.

The spring snow, I tell you. It follows me even out of state.

What I Read In March | 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 13:35:00 +0000

Now that we're halfway through April - let's talk about what I read in March! If you follow me on Goodreads, you have probably already seen a bunch of these. Prepare yourself for one very unpopular opinion.

Books I Mentioned:

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle

Chronicles Of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

When Is It Right To Die? by Joni Eareckson Tada

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

What Came From The Stars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman

Answers For Homeschooling by Israel Wayne

The Reformation by Stephen J. Nichols

Anne Of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Emily Of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

What are you reading these days?

8 Minute Memoir: Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 13:09:00 +0000

(Quick note - Post inspired by Amanda's beautiful 12-Minute memoir yesterday. I forgot how much I like doing these, and it's so much easier to fit in before the kids wake up. I'm getting my prompts here. Thanks Amanda! Also, picture is from somewhere else where they actually have those magical flowering trees.)

6:46 AM

When I think of spring I think of one thing: mud.

I've lived in the mountains my whole life, and in the mountains spring is an endless cycle of snow which turns to mud, which is covered by more snow. Even the springs that break form (like this one) are brown and grey in the mountains, with very little color. We wait and wait, until suddenly, all in a flurry at the end of May, it goes from spring to summer in one week.

When I was a child I never understood why people liked spring. When I became a young adult I started to realize that other places had flowers, flowering trees even. And well, if you have a spring like that, it makes sense why you would like it. But in my mountain world, spring is the ugliest season.

Mountain springs haven't changed that much since I was a kid, but while I used to hate the season, I don't anymore. It's still brown and yucky, but I notice the green grass poking through the ground, hidden behind the yellowed leftovers from last year. As my kids' feet pound the floor above me way too early in the morning, I realize I also hear birds singing an endless song outside the window. I walk over to let our big hound mix outside, because he won't leave me alone until I do, and I hear squirrels chattering and I breathe in the cold, wet smell of melting snow.

Spring will always smell like that to me. Not like flowers, or green grass. Like mud and melting snow.

There is life out there, new life stretching up, peeking around the corner, sitting in the tree branches. I never noticed that as a kid, but I do now. Now that I've felt new life in my womb, held it in my arms, and had a few more Resurrection Days under my belt, spring holds a bit more significance.

So even these muddy, ugly springs are beautiful after all. I look out my window and can see the echoes of God's words in Genesis - even here, in the mud.

"It is good."

6:54 AM

Happy Baby - Georgie At Five Months

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 11:30:00 +0000

Well, this month's update is about two weeks late. Whoops! My sweet girl is now well past 5 months old!

This month has felt like a bit of a whirlwind, and I'm not really sure why. I just know that I've been exhausted with everything on our calendar and have been intentionally trying to slow down. The last few weeks I've been telling Georgie that she's my little stress reliever, because her sweet cuddles and big smile instantly lighten my mood! I'm so happy she's my baby.

Growth And Eating

We're still struggling along with the nursing, and my supply isn't increasing at all - but I'm hanging on, because I'm not quite ready to give it up. She's mostly on formula now. I'm also happy to report that she's chunked up some even since her last monthly update. Her little legs have the hint of rolls now, and I just love her round little cheeks when she smiles! Her hair is starting to thin - I've figured out that babies' hair reaches the peak of baldness at six months old before it starts to grow back in thicker. She still has hair, but I can tell it's changing texture. She is gumming everything and drooling a lot, so I feel like some teeth may poke through soon - or we may have to wait another 3 months, you never can tell.

Sleeping

I actually told Derek the other day that I feel bad for everyone in the world who does not get to be Georgie's mom (ha!) - first, because she's just so sweet and happy and delicious, and second because this baby is the most incredible sleeper I've ever heard of. She's STILL sleeping 12 hours at night, plus a 2-hour nap during the day! I'm getting so much sleep, I have no reason in the world to be exhausted. When I'm tired, everyone assumes it's the baby - no, it's my own fault. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop...it is just so nice to have a fifth baby who sleeps! Georgie totally spoils us. I told her the other night that she's the kind of baby who tricks you into having a sixth!

Firsts

Shortly after Georgie's 5th month birthday, we celebrated Easter! It was Georgie's first on the outside, and she looked pretty cute in her dress that matched all the girls. We also put her in the gumbo seat for the first time, and sometimes she likes it, and sometimes she hates it. No other firsts yet, but I think we'll be adding a few in the next month as we look ahead to starting solid foods.

Personality

She is still the cutest, happiest little thing! She greets me with a smile each morning, smiles when I kiss her cheek, smiles when I talk to her. She loves her siblings and will just grin at them if they give her any attention.

She's obviously very easygoing (see above), but she tries to assert herself when she's hungry. Even then, her cry is just not that loud or disruptive. If she has to cry more than a couple of minutes before I get to her, her cries turn to this hopeless wail, like she's upset that no one ever takes her crying seriously, and it's so sad and pathetic and cute-sounding.

She definitely likes me best right now, and will just watch me when someone else is holding her, then she grins when I finally take her back. She likes to talk, and has the cutest little cooing voice - I'm looking forward to when she adds more consonants to her repertoire!

---

Sweet Georgie,

My darling girl, you are such a blessing to me! There have been many times over the last month when I was feeling stressed, and I sat down to feed you and your smile just melted all the chaos away. If I look you in the eye while you are eating, you'll grin at me around your bottle and give me a cute little "hum" sound, and I just feel like laughing every time you do it. What a joy you are! Your personality is so sweet, and I just can't wait to watch it develop more as you grow. I thank God every day for giving you to me. I love you, darling.

Love Always,

Mama

Don't Be Like Bob

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 11:30:00 +0000

(Four of my blessings.)

"Ah, you're Callie. I've heard of you. The one thing I know about you is that you have a lot of kids...so I guess I also know that you're insane."

Hardy, har, har.

Believe it or not, someone who was also a fellow Christian, by the way - we'll call him, Bob - actually said this to me once. I gave out an incredulous "ha!" and then sat there in silence. This is where I wish sometimes that I was a little quicker on my feet. What I wanted to say was, "Oh, nice to meet you, Bob. I guess the one thing I know about you is that you haven't read Psalm 139, where it says children are a reward from the Lord, and a blessing. Buh-less-ing!"

But of course, I didn't say that, because that would be rude (hint, hint, Bob).

The reason I bring this up is because I saw a sketch on Facebook yesterday that made me laugh (you can see it here). A stick figure family with six children and one on the way have their mouths hanging open, while another stick figure man says "You know what causes that, right?" Underneath it says "This is Bob. Bob does not recognize blessings. Don't be like Bob."

Apparently there are a lot of Bobs out there.

Of course I thought it was funny because of my own experiences, so I shared it. And then I sat there and remembered the story I shared above. And then I had a startling realization.

Sometimes, I am also a Bob. Because sometimes, I don't recognize blessings.

Isn't that what discontentment is, after all? We forget to recognize and thank God for the blessings we have. We think what we have isn't good enough, or isn't enough, period. We want more...more excitement, more recognition, more experiences, more things (even good things) - and when we focus so much on what we're missing, we forget about the things that we have. The things God has so graciously given us.

Maybe we don't actively ridicule those blessings like my Bob did, we're just overlooking them or minimizing them. Those are two different things of course, but in practice, isn't it the same thing? We're an ungrateful people, and whether with derision, or indifference and greediness, we snub God's good gifts as spoiled children would. And when I say "we", I mean me. So when I say this next part, it's a challenge to me more than it's a challenge to you.

Don't be like Bob.

Creative Contentment | A 100 Days Project

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 11:30:00 +0000

One of my unspoken goals for the year has been to get better at budgeting.

Recently I was reminded of why I need this so much when a friend mentioned a deal she found on some new clothing items. Did I need new clothing? No, but it didn't stop me from browsing the internet in search of a similar deal. I have three new garments to show for it, and though I stayed within my budget to buy them, and they were good buys that will fit into my wardrobe nicely, it still makes me a little unnerved each time I look at them. Because I know they were bought from an ugly place. A place of discontent.

2018 so far has brought to light my personal discontent in ways I didn't expect. The budgeting and finance issues are just one aspect - at various times over the last few years I have felt discontent with my schedule, discontent with our food, discontent with our house. I have felt discontent with how ordinary my days are, how little I accomplish in a day, the quality of the books I'm crossing off my to-be-read list, the number on the scale. I've felt discontent with my homeschool community (or rather lack thereof), and discontent with my walk with the Lord (because I wish I had more time and was better at making it a priority!).

Basically, I'm tired of being discontent.

I recently saw that the #100daysproject is starting up on Instagram, and I mulled over the idea of joining in. I did 31 Days Of Writing last October and loved being able to focus my posts around a certain theme on this blog, and I liked the idea of doing it again.

As I was sitting there, running through different topics or activities that wouldn't be too burdensome in my current stage of life (and also wondering if it's cheating somehow to write about the project on my blog instead of Instagram), I remembered my blog friend Cassidy doing a 31 Days project on contentment a few years back. Many blog friends have participated in these challenges over the years, but for some reason Cassidy's series stuck with me. Perhaps because contentment is something I struggle with off and on too.

Then it came to me: creative contentment. If I was going to do a 100 Days Project, that's what I'd like it to be on. Thinking outside the box when it comes to practicing contentment - figuring out strategies to help myself rest in contentment, and improving my circumstances and attitude where I am right now, with what I have right now.

I think I'm just going to go for it. Will I write every day about this on the blog? No, but I am hoping to seriously think about and practice contentment in different areas of my life every day for the next 100 days, and write something related to this topic at least once a week right here (and maybe occasionally on Instagram too). That counts right? That's my plan.

So consider this the first installment, and expect more on Thursdays or Fridays for the next few months!

Reunions

noreply@blogger.com (Callie) — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 11:30:00 +0000

This time last year, my belly was just starting to round with a new little life (Georgie!) when we made the difficult decision to search for a new church. I remember crying. We had been going to our previous church for seven years, and it took a significant amount of that time to really start to feel involved there, like we belonged. Though we had been praying about it and felt like this was the right decision, I wasn't looking forward to starting over.

I didn't write about it during that time, but it was a long, hard search until we found somewhere that met our standards and felt right. Maybe I'll write more about the process of looking for a new church someday, but let's just say I'm relieved to have it behind us. There is a sense in which any body of believers feels like family, but every time you start attending a new church it takes some time to feel like you belong. We've been pleasantly surprised and blessed to feel at home here quickly, and that has helped ease the transition, helped us know that it was right.

A couple of weeks ago after the church service, I pushed open the door to the ladies' room, and looked up and into the face of a dear lady from our former church. She stared at me for a second, and I stared at her, and then we burst out with each other's names and rushed to give each other a hug. We laughed about meeting again in a restroom of all places. My family visited with their group in the hall well after most of the regular attenders had cleared out. It was a reunion of sorts, and I couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the day. Reunions, when they are sweet, will do that.

---

March has been a month of reunions overall. We also went out to visit my dear childhood friends on their ranch. They can't get away that often, but once a year we make the trek out to see them. I want to make it happen more often.

We visited, caught up on each other's lives, introduced the baby. We ate lunch, and remembered back to when we were kids, growing up in a little white church in the mountains. Every summer there was an ice cream social, with real ice cream churned in vintage buckets, packed with snow from the nearest mountain pass. There would be peach, and banana, and pralines and cream - the row of ice cream makers on the shelf above our heads brought it all back.

We will keep making this trip out to the ranch as long they will have us, because we love our friends so dearly, and our reunions make it seem as if we live much nearer than we do. It always feels like we saw them last week instead of last year.

---

Reunions don't always feel so sweet as all this, of course, but when I do have moments of happy reunions, it makes me think how beautiful Heaven will be. I imagine we'll see everyone who we know here who has trusted in Jesus, and that will be one round of happy reunions. Then we'll see all the people whose names we know but who we've never met - but it will seem as if we had known them all along. Then we'll see all the people whom Jesus saved who we never met, and we never knew their names, but we're still all connected because we've all been adopted into this family, through the blood of Jesus.

---

It's Good Friday today, when we remember Jesus's death on the cross. My heart is heavy as I remember why He died - to pay the penalty for my crimes (and yours too), when He had no crimes of His own. God became a man, lived without sin, and died in our place - covering our sin and reconciling us with Himself when we trust in Him to save us.

What kind of despair the disciples must have felt though, when He died. I can't even imagine that feeling, because I've never had to feel it - we all have the benefit of knowing the rest of the story, after all. Seeing Jesus on the third day, alive again, had to be an unimaginable joy!

And now, I'm just waiting for my turn. Because someday I'll see Him too, either when I die and enter eternity, or when He comes back on the clouds to take us home. And boy, that will be the best reunion of all.

---

Happy Resurrection Day (on Sunday), friends! I pray that you know Jesus as your Savior too, and may you get a small taste of the joy of that coming reunion as we celebrate that our Savior is alive, forevermore!

"But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. "

Matthew 28:5-6a