Not the Greatest of Times

Unfortunately we have had to end our week on a bad note.  We had to have the paramedics come and take Grandma to the hospital.  She has pneumonia again.  I have not yet received a full report, but both lungs are full.  It was caught more quickly this time than with her last two episodes, so I hope and pray things will go better this time.  Right now I'm just in a holding pattern - waiting for more news on Grandma, and for the girls to get home, which should be anytime now. 

Becky

God Moves In a Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footstaps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

                                  -William Cowper

Autumn

 
The trees are starting to put out their finest colors.  I enjoyed driving the girls to my mom's after church Sunday, because the stretch of road we were on has some gorgeous views.  All the oranges, reds, golden and bright yellows, and some purple and rust as well.  Of course, all of that is mixed in with the ones that have yet to turn, and the evergreens.  It was beautiful.  Next we'll start smelling all the piles of burning leaves.  I don't know why I like that smell, but I do.  I also enjoy the smell of damp leaves, crushed acorns and whatever else it is that makes fall smell the way it does.  It's my favorite time of the year.

I wish I could have enjoyed the drive to South Carolina yesterday for our milk, but it started out overcast and began drizzling before we were halfway.  By the time we got to the farm there was nothing for it but to get soaking wet while we loaded up the car.  I should have taken more than my shawl, but you don't usually think of colder as you travel south.  I have decided to use the weather channel and input the farm's address to get their forcast in the future.  I'll also get a weather resistant, hooded jacket.  And, I'll not wear a medium weight denim if it is going to rain.  Those don't dry much at all in a car.  So, in short, this was a learning expirence.  And I still have plenty to be thankful for.  I was expecting delays on the way back because of the rain, but traffic moved along very well, and I made my drop off at my usual time.

Well, I have several new books to pour through before the girls get home, so off I go.

Becky  

Special Time

Hubby and I have spent a wonderful day together.  I won't tell you how late we slept, let's just say we ate breakfast after the lunch rush at one of my favorite all day breakfast restaurants.  But afterwards, he took me to the newest thrift shop that just opened up in the city our town boarders, and we were able to get several skirts, a couple of dresses, and a few tops for the child who is most in need right now;  Bree, who is currently 12 and has been hungry for at least 2 years.  I couldn't tell you how many shoes she's grown out of in the last year and a half and we have no more hand-me downs because both Kay and Ri have stopped growing (besides, Bree is almost as big as Ri). 
Then my adorable hubby took me to Barnes and Nobel, helped me sort through the books I was most interested in, bought me a hot chocolate, and let me sit and read for as long as I wanted.  And the blessings didn't stop there.  Instead of the two books I was going to buy (I was taking info. about another 4 so I could plan on purchasing them later), he bought me all six!  I couldn't believe it.  Isn't he great?!
He'll be either taking me out for supper in a little bit, or going to pick it up - whichever we decide on, and then we'll spend a quiet evening together.   It's all been terrific.

Becky

Clothes Everywhere

The girls are going to my mother's tomorrow after church to visit for the week.  In order for me to get them to mom's house (in a city about 45 min from here), I needed someone to be able to come stay with Grandma, so I called my uncle.  He was kind enough to arrange for her to visit with him, and his and dad's youngest brother for a couple of days each so that hubby and I could have a day or two to ourselves.  Between all the packing for the girls and Grandma, which by necessity means we have to wash ALL the clothes, we have had clothes everywhere.  Ri set up her own blog this week and has a very cute post on it here  http://purityandpetticoats.blogspot.com/2009/10/stacks-of-laundry.html .  
One of my uncles came to pick up Grandma last night and drove off with her and a car load of stuff necessary for her comfort, convience, and health.  Right now I'm just praying that everything that left with them makes the complete round trip through both my uncles homes and back here. 
My next hurdle to jump is managing to make sure the girls have milk for the week.  They strongly dislike, and I don't like for them to have pasturized, homogenized milk, so I usually bring two or three gallons with us when I drop them off and then bring more milk mid-week.  I'm just not sure Grandma will be up to a trip over there and back.  It wouldn't hurt them to go a few days without milk, but mom has her own views about the necessity of children drinking their milk, so I will honor her preference - I'll just provide the milk.  Of course, I guess it is kind of hard to eat cold cereal (ugh!) without milk, so she does need it.   Maybe I can sweet talk hubby into making a milk run for them Wed.
After all that's figured out all I need to do is locate the stack of books we just got from Vision Forum so I can read them this week.

Becky   

Technical Problems

In an attempt to correct some problems we were having with certain things on the blog, my lovely daughter set up another one, exported/imported all the content from the first, and is in the process of finishing up the fine tunning. 
Most everything transfered properly, but I did lose my followers list.  I apologize for this, but you can link back up now, and hopefully I will not continue to have the problems I was having before.
Sorry for any inconvience.

Becky

Company!

I love having company for supper.  Grandma's pastor and his wife joined us last night for a good old-fashioned chicken n' dumplin' supper.  We started alternating between our church and Grandma's when she moved in with us.  I didn't want her to lose touch with her friends there.  She's been attending that church since 1955!

It's very time consuming to make the

dumplings.  But oh, are they good.

I don't bother making them anymore

unless I'm making enough to fill my

largest stock pot.  Thankfully they are

very filling so we usually have enough for

each girl to have a small bowl for lunch

the next day.

Since we fill the dining room table

all by ourselves, we have to take the

drop leaf table from my bedroom, and

chairs and the piano bench from the

sunroom  in order to sit anyone else

in the kitchen.  I really prefer this to

having a bunch of tray tables set up

in the living room - but with a little

more company that would be necessary.

I have always enjoyed having company in my home, but I have not always been able to enjoy it quite as much as I do now.  I have learned quite a bit about hospitality over the years.  Because of certain family members, I had come to believe that the house had to be absolutely spotless before anyone could visit because, of course, they were going to nit-pick your housekeeping to death.  Maybe not to your face (leave that to close family), but certainly once they got in the car the topic of their conversation would turn to whether or not your baseboards were dusted this week, or to the dirty hand prints you missed cleaning off the sliding glass door.  Wouldn't it?  I mean, I didn't talk to my husband about those things when I left someone's house, but then again, since I wasn't one of those compulsive cleaners, maybe I just didn't notice dust or smudges in other people's houses.  Other people must see it though, so I made myself crazy anytime we invited someone to the house.  Then the inevitable happend.  After having several children it became impossible to have the house spotless when company was to come because invariably one of the children would get into something 2 min. before our company arrived, rendering it(in my opinion)  unfit for company.  Not that anyone said anything, but still, I felt it and at that time, that was all that mattered.  We began to have company less and less frequently, until just about the only people who came over were family members from my mother's side of the family (no compulsive cleaners there, so I was fine with them). 

Then, wouldn't you know it, just when I was okay with being tucked away, in my hopelessly imperfect home, with just my hubby, my kiddos, and the occasional "I don't care one whit what your house looks like" relative, my husband got saved and latched onto hospitality with both hands.  (It's not like God didn't try to nudge me in that direction before - it's just that I was not willing to listen.)  I managed okay for a little bit.  We lived in a double wide that had a LOT of problems, but I could work around that, and the girls were a bit bigger, so it wasn't nearly as hard to clean up anyway.  Alright, I'm fine now - right?  I've listened to God and opened my home up to others, lesson learned.  WAIT - there's more??  Oh, but yes.  Shortly after we starting inviting others over again, we had a water leak that forced us to not only take up a huge section of the floor, but several walls had to come out as well.   We had no idea the damage was that extensive, so we did not have the money for all the repairs (insurance did not cover it-grrrrr).  We fixed what absolutely had to be fixed (we put the new sub-floor down, and put a wall around the bathroom again) and planned to work on the rest as we got the money, and available free labor from friends and family.  But my husband still wanted to invite people over.  Can you believe that?  I couldn't.  The house wasn't just "not clean" (we did clean it the best we could), but there were walls gone, and bare sub flooring, and sheets of drywall leaning up against other walls, and lumber in the den.  And for a little while the chest freezer had to stay in the dining room.  And he wanted to have company?? NOOOOOOO!!!  But wait, I needed to honor his wishes as head of our home (gotta actually live that example for your girls).  I have to admit that I did not just jump over that hurdle in my head all by myself.  God helps us out in so many ways.  The pastor's wife invited us over one afternoon so the girls could see the newest batch of chicks they had hatched out, and guess what?  When I got there I saw that their house was also in a state of incomplete remodeling.  Boxes of tile were stacked in the hall, ontop of the bare sub-floor.  The walls had obviously been mudded recently and the kitchen was jumbled into a reasonably workable area while awaiting more work on the ceiling and cabinets.  And she still invited us over.  We had a great time.  It was pretty easy to invite them to supper after that, but could I manage it for others?  Well, I did.  I still had to overcome some a lot of that old anxeity, but it was really just pride.  We ended up inviting a lot of people over, and everyone always had a good time, despite the odd layout they had to work around in the kitchen or dining room; regardless of the plain sub-flooring or the bare drywall.  It never mattered one bit.

I have a very nice home now, and I'm incrediably thankful for it, but I have caught myself a time or two worrying about little things not being perfect when company's coming.  I don't ever want to do that again.  I don't want my house not being "perfect" to keep me from having someone over, and by that same token, I don't want to make my kids crazy and have them believe they have to have perfect houses in order to have company.  For that reason, I deliberately refused to have anyone mop the floor before the pastor and his wife came yesterday.  They weren't bad - they were swept, and we don't ususally mop until Saturday unless there's a spill or something.  And guess what - we still had a good time.  If they even looked at the floors I would be very surprised.  There are people who will look for every little piece of dust, and will probably sneak a look past your shower curtain when they go to the bathroom, but we cannot let the pettiness of others keep us from obeying God's call to hospitality. 

What should a congregation following Jesus Christ in ministry look like?

The title to my post is a question that was asked on another blog.  Actually, they are linked up to someone who is holding an essay contest with that as the topic.  I'm not entering any contest, but I thought it a worthy question.  I basically asked myself this question for a good long while before we finally started attending a family integrated church.  We've been to a variety of different churches and while I'm sure I could stand to spend more time really searching this question out, I'm pretty sure I have a good hold on what a congregation that is following Jesus should not look like.  Church politics, backbiting/gossiping, cliques, spiritual dependancy, and worldy attitudes should definately be in the "not" category. 
To start with, I'd like to say that I don't intend to offend anyone, but topics like this are very sensitive and most people automatically adopt a defensive stance whenever someone starts sharing an opinion that may be different from theirs.  I personally think it's a good thing to question what you believe every once in awhile.  Revisit standards and convictions and study them out again.  Finally, know that God tells us in Romans 14:5, when it comes to disagreements about convictions, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."  Of course, a good starting ground for being fully persuaded is to study.
All that being said, one of the first things I think one should look at when considering a ministry, and whether or not it is following Jesus, is why the church meets.  I know there are tons of churches out there like this, but I don't really think the church should be designed to "Get people in so you can tell them about God."  When we read about Paul and the other disciples sharing the gospel with other people, it was out in the world, in every day life.  I'm not saying you can't get saved in church, and if you can get people to visit, that's great, but it should not be the main reason to meet.  I know some churches would argue that this is not really the main purpose of their meeting, but when you are constantly admonished to go out and visit/knock on doors in order to "get people in", and you hear a salvation message every single Sunday morning (and often, at other times as well), your claim that church isn't for that purpose loses it's believability (is that a word?).  I've heard preachers like this say that in order to truly grow in the word you have to attend all the meetings; meaning of course, Sunday school, and Wed. and Sun. night.  Too often I've heard these same preachers spend Sun. and Wed. evening service  berating those present about church attendance dropping off during those times (Side note here - why are they fussing at the ones that are there?  If that's what they're worried about, shouldn't they being saying that to the ones that only come on Sun. morning?).  So, sadly, not a whole lot of teaching gets done.  I believe the main purpose of the church should be the growth of the breathren.  It should be for instruction, edifying, fellowship, and occasionally for rebuke or correction.  The teaching should challenge and occasionally convict us.  It should arouse our curiosity.  It should be designed to increase our understanding of the Word, and consequently, our spiritual growth.  Mature Christians are much more apt to feel comfortable sharing the gospel.  I know that when I was new in Christ, I felt inadequate to effectivly share the gospel.  I certainly didn't know as much about the Bible as I do now.  I know there are some that are gun-ho right from the start, but sometimes they overwhelm people in their enthusiasm.  Some of the best, most effective witnessing I've seen has been from mature, grounded christians.  This is where I feel I should make reference to my earlier comment about spiritual dependancy.  Spiritual dependancy is created in churches where the pastor/preacher is the be-all-end-all when it comes to the ability to understand God's word.  I know I'm not formally educated when it comes to the Bible, but most of it is fairly plain and easy to understand.  Pastors cripple a congregation when they insist that you should always look to them for understanding about the Word of God.  They should be teaching, discipling,  and encouraging us so we can study and understand it for ourselves.
Another quality of a congregation that is following Jesus, is helping each other.  The members should be there for one another spiritually and physically.  It is really the church's job to care for the "widows and orphans", as well as others in need.  We are at a point where everyone has given that job over to the government and it has not turned out well.  With things as they stand, it is difficult to rebound from this, but a Christ following congregation should do what they can.  I have actually attended a church that provided for widows that had no other family support.  Even when one of the widows had several children, the church provided her lodging and money for food and utilities so she could stay at home and teach her children.  It was a beautiful thing to see, but many churches are steeped in debt, making this a near impossibility.  It is difficult learn faith in God for provision, even if your pastor preaches this, when the church itself keepings running out to the bank to get funding for every new addition, or new vans/buses/whatever.  The church I mentioned above that provided for widows also built their new church themselves - literally - as in, the men, and extended family members, built the new church building after the church had saved money for the materials.  They made do with a building that was really too small for the size of the congregation until the new one was finished.  
A Christ following congregation will also have parents that are obviously trying to raise their children up, "...in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."  Eph.6:4.  Men who have taken seriously their jobs as head of the house.  Women who are committed to training their children.  Parents who do not abdicate their responsibility to teach their children about God to the church.  In this same vein, a Christ following congregation will have decent conversations.  Not that every conversation they have will be spiritual, many won't.  But the things they talk about won't be full of the world.  Suggestive comments and gossip have no place.  There may be plently of talk about day-to-day life, but who's winning American Idol and which store has the best sales on won't dominate the discussions.  In other words, you will see something on the outside that lets you know they are trying to live a life dedicated to the things of God.  I definately don't want to see people who are decidedly different inside church than they are the rest of the time.
Personnally, I don't think liberalism or feminism have a place in a Christ honoring congregation.  Being Christ like is dying to self, not spending the preponderancy of your time worrying about your own personal rights.  It also does not see government as the solution for all social woes.
This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but it was the begining of what I was looking for in a congregation.  I want to see some evidence of Jesus in the people I see in church.  I don't want it to look like "a country club for people who claim to be christians", as I've heard it described. 
I'd love to hear what others think about this. 

Becky

PS  If I did this right, there is a link to the blog that is holding this contest when you click on the title of the post.

They're Normal!!!

A few weeks ago a dear family that we used to go to church with came over for supper.  We had a great time, and  I very much enjoyed spending the evening with them.  The girls and their son played UNO Attack while the adults were talking and,  from time to time, standing around the table watching the intense competition.  The subject of church apparently came up during one of the times we weren't standing around the table, and when their son found out that nearly all the kids at our church are homeschooled, he made the remark that he couldn't go to church there.  Of course the girls were shocked at his statement and asked him why.  You see, he has always attended public school and aside from our girls and one other boy at church(I'll be the first to admit that boy is a little unique), he has never met any homeschoolers.  He assumed he'd be ostracized, or at the very least, looked at funny if he made a comment about something that happened at school.  Long story short (it's probably too late for that), he was invited to attend church with us.  At our church we are encouraged to bring lunch and hang around afterward to eat and fellowship, so when he joined us last week, we stayed for quite awhile after the service was concluded.  Once we got home I asked him about it.  Something along the lines of, "So, you just spent the entire morning, and part of the afternoon with nothing but a bunch of homeschooled kids.  What did you think?"  His answer was -  brace yourselves - "They're just normal."  I behaved myself very well, and said none of the things that I may have wanted to under other circumstances (You know, sarcastic things like, What??  Just normal??  They didn't kick you out of the ultimate frisbee game because you didn't, for some/any reason, fit into the crowd?  Nobody looked at you funny? People talked to you even after they found out you were public schooled? - See I was good, not that I would have said that to a young person anyway - it's the adults I sometimes want to say those things to).  I just assured him that, yes indeed, they are normal*, and he and the girls hung out and played games for the remainder of the afternoon.
Incorrect perceptions about homeschoolers apparently abound within the ranks of public schooled children, and I just have to wonder where those perceptions come from.  Okay, I can understand him feeling as though he may be ostracized for being different.  That would just come from his experiences in public school, but other things do not have any origin in personal experience.  Like all the public school children that say things like, "Oh, I'm sorry for you." when they hear one of the girls mention that they are homeschooled (trust me, the girls have a ready answer when this sentiment is expressed).  And what about all the public schooled kids that try to quiz my kids on everything from algebra to Spanish?  The misconceptions don't stop at the children.  One of the mothers on our street came right out and said she didn't want to homeschool because she wanted her child to have a good education.  Of course, she quickly backpeddled and told us that she was sure ours had a good education.  Good thing since it was my children she sent her daughter to for help on her homework.  Her and her oldest son (in college) have also talked about homeschoolers being weird.  Here again she backpeddled and told my kids that this did not include them.  Hmmmm - I guess the origins of the kids' perceptions isn't so hard to find.  I just wish we could break through these misconceptions.  I've got to be honest when I say that I get very tired of some of the same old questions.  And I really get tired of people quizzing the girls or asking them "Just exactly what is it you do all day?".  If it were an honest question I would not have a problem with it, but it's not usually said in a "I'm sincerely curious and just want to learn more about you" kind of way.  We're not even going to touch the "socialization" question - grrrr.
Yes, the kids are normal*, in the sense that they behave as the young people they are.   This does not (thank goodness) mean they act in the "normal", silly, I'm more concerned about my (current) boyfriend and my clothes than anything else kind of way.  In fact, when we went to a church with mostly public schooled children, my kids had very little to do with most of them, because, as my 17yr would say, they just didn't have anything real to talk about.
I'm glad they are normal*, and equally glad that they are not just your "average" kid.

Becky

*As a Christain humorist once wrote, "Normal is just a setting on your dryer."  I love that!

We're still on the planet!

Oct. 15
We're still on the planet.  We haven't fallen off... yet!
We have been busy with school, house work, milk pick-ups, and various other everyday tasks.  Of course, milk pick-up isn't an everyday task, more like an every other Tuesday task, but still.
Here are some pictures of the milk pick-up (not this Tuesday's).  I hope to get somemore next time we go down.

Mom and I filling a cooler of milk with ice.

This one is self-explanatory.

 

The sign right outside the farm,  near the road.

Cute, isn't it?

I hope to have some more pictures next time.  Maybe one of all the coolers loaded up in our mini-van?  Let me tell you, that is quite a sight!

-Riah

Feelin' Feminine Challenge - Day Six

Oct. 10

Day six...  I tried Jenna's suggestion, but it didn't work out quite the way I expected.  Perhaps because my hair has a mind of it's own, and a stubborn one at that.  I did like what it ended up doing though.  I also did T. Lynn's hair.  I was happy she agreed, because she doesn't like having her hair done.

See?  It doesn't look at all like Jenna's!

It just did its own thing and I pinned.  As usual.

Point 1,000 for hair, 0 for Ri.

Not that it doesn't look nice, but hey, it would be

wonderful if my hair listened to me for once.

Now T. Lynn's hair is a different story.

She has very fine, kind of thin, strawberry blonde,

I'll-do-whatever-you-say, hair.

Could our hair be any more different? 

Is it possible?

I think I'm afraid to find out.

But isn't her hair cute?  I love it when her hair is up.

I wonder if that's how Momma feels about my hair?

This is sort of off-topic, but I finally got my book in.  I have been waiting a long time to buy "Do Hard Things", by  Alex and Brett Harris.  We ordered it the other day and I got it in yesterday.  I was so excited, I started reading it as soon as I open the package.

For those of you not familiar with Alex and Brett Harris, click on the link below to go to their site.

http://www.therebelution.com/

- Riah

Someone still has energy.

Oct. 9
This was entirely too cute.

Can you tell what these are?

How 'bout now?

The grass was a little longer than usual when Bree and Ri mowed this week, so we were left with rows of cut grass in the yard.  Yesterday Beenie, T.Lynn, and the two little neighbor girls that live behind us spent the afternoon using a square storage tub to pack all that grass into these neat little blocks.  When they were done it looked like someone had left miniature bales of hay all over the yard.  They worked at it tirelessly for over an hour.  When I asked why they had done it, Beenie said the grass itched them when they were running around in the yard, so they wanted to get it out of their way.   Now where is all that energy and determination when it's time to clean their room?

Becky

Feelin' Feminine Challenge - Day Five

Oct. 9

It took me a little longer to do my hair this morning then it generally does.  But I think it was because I was running out of ideas.  I believe I'll try Jenna's suggestion tomorrow.  As it was, I got creative today.

I tried to move the hair out of the way so you could see

how it was held in place by a hair scrunchy and bobby pin,

but I don't know if you can.

Side view. The picture is a little bright making my skin appear light.

(Or really, really pale.)

T. Lynn wanted my hair to be like hers, so she tied this bandana

around my head.  I thought it was cute and have left it in.

-Riah

Unusual

Oct. 8
I'm enjoying the unusual quiet in the house, although it promises to be very brief.  My uncle has taken Grandma to a doctor's appt. (not that Grandma's all that loud),  and all the children are outside except for Kay, who is making lunch.  They are taking advantage of a few free minutes.  Ri was finishing up mowing the hill (we don't let Bree mow that yet) and decided to give T.Lynn a ride on the mower.  She'll probably take Beenie for a ride too.
We have been working on our second batch of apples.  3 bushels this time.  We have all the plain and cinnamon applesauce made and I'll start the apple pie filling after I get the children settled for a science documentary after lunch.  I've found one that has a creation basis instead of an evolutionary one.  We also picked up pumpkins this weekend so we'll be making them into puree to put in the freezer.  Thankfully pumpkins keep well, so this is not a pressing issue.  I can work on them as I find the time. 
See - I can't escape.  Even when the house is quiet I'm thinking about work, or kids.  I just can't help it.  But, I've really liked all the canning this year.  I even experimented a bit with a batch of applesauce that ended up too runny.  I turned it into apple syrup.  I found a recipe online that started with making an apple puree, instead of using apple juice (and it didn't call for corn syrup either - yey!) and I tweaked it, a lot.  Especially since the original recipe called for "1 lb tart green apple", and I had puree that had been cooked down from about 18-20lbs of slightly tart apples.  It was kind of a shot in the dark, but it turned out really delicious.  I have 16 pts. up in the cabinet now.  I just had to make pancakes this morning to see how it came through the canning process - it's still, as T. would say, nummy.  I've already envisioned homemade apple pie with homemade vanilla icecream, drizzed with the apple syrup.  Oh my!  Focus, I need to focus - I have to finish those apples today.  But there's always tomorrow.

Becky

Feelin' Feminie Challenge - Day Four

Well, I think I am running out of hair styles.  As you can see from today's style, I went very simple.  No braids, pins, buns, or flips.  I think I will be needing somemore ideas soon.

Simplicity!

(Sounds nice when using that word to discribe it, no?)

I couldn't get the picture to darken as much

as I wanted.  It was shinning because I had wet hair.

So, any idea's anyone?  Please?!

-Riah

Feelin' Feminine Challenge - Day Three

Oct. 7 

Three whole days of fixing my hair!  I'm sure some of you will be shocked.  But believe it or not, I have fit "fix hair" into my morning routine nicely.  I get up, take my hair out of a bun, brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed, and fix my hair.  It usually takes two tries to get my hair up, but hey, at least it's out of my face all day.

This style looks hard to do, but it is actually simple.

Can you tell my hair is still a little wet from

washing it last night? Well, it is!

You can see the light hair scrunchy in there!

But it doesn't really matter.

Well, I am really having fun with this. 

-Riah

Little Things

Oct. 6

I just love (almost) all of those little unexpected things that you find, in the oddest places, that remind you there are children in the house.  Here are a few I've seen recently.

If you look closely, you can see the edge of a

cell phone sticking out of the basket in back too.

Needless to say, this isn't where the crayons

belong, or the cell phone for that matter.

This is probably my favorite.  I get tickled

every time I see those twisty straws sticking

out of my utensil bucket.  I guess it doesn't

take much to amuse me.

A very recent favorite.  A couple of days ago

Beenie heard me say that I needed to remember

to get tissue for the living room.  Can

you guess what this is?

Yep, a roll of toilet paper.  I applaud her

ingenuity.  In fact, I haven't changed it yet

even though I have a box of tissue for it.

Of course, this isn't a little reminder,

it's the whole kid, but I really liked

this picture Ri got of T.Lynn helping

her put supper in the crock pot

yesterday.

And here's another I liked of Bree and T.

Bree was a little fed up with the rather

unenthusiastic way T. was wiping the table

and decided to take over for her.  Kids being

what they are, table wiping became instantly

more interesting, and T. tried to get the dishrag

back.  This was Bree's solution for trying to get

the table wiped and controlling the little one who

was trying to swipe the rag at the same time.

Of course, I don't really need all the little reminders.  You know, since I have them all in here making an incredible amount of noise each day, but I still enjoy all the little things too.

And yes, I know I won't always have them here.  That's why I'm so glad Ri likes taking pictures.  I'm sure one day, one of my grandchildren will be looking in a photo album and think I'm totally crazy for having a picture of twisty straws in there.  I'll just have to smile and tell him/her that they will understand one day.

Becky

Feelin' Feminine - Hair Style Challenge, Day 2

Oct. 6

Ok, so I did my hair again today.  This time I chose something that won't fall out quite so easily!  Of course since my hair is layered, getting it into a bun wasn't a walk-in-the-park, but it only took six large hair pins (like the huge black ones) and two small hair pins (to keep escaping hair in place).  Hum... now what should I do tomorrow???  Any suggestions?  I've done two simple ideas, braids and buns... I think maybe a ponytail?  Wait does something that simple count? 

I know the bun looks huge, but I promise you,

it is not a hair piece!

The comb at the top is holding down way-ward strands.  I found it in the drawer and thought it was pretty.  Imagine how happy I was to find I needed to use it after all!

Well, we bought more apples the other day, so canning calls.

-Riah

Hair style challenge

Oct. 5

For those of you who know me, doing my hair is not my thing.  I never do my hair.  I wash and brush it and if you get lucky you might see me with a (ah-hum... sloppy) bun in my hair.  I used to have very long hair and when I did I either braided it everyday or put it up in a not-so-sloppy bun, but since I've cut it I don't do anything.  I fact when I really and truly put it up the other day my grandmother looked at me and said that I should put it up more often and even asked me if I did it myself.  I guess what I am trying to get at is that this is going to be a real challenge for me.
I actually read about this challenge at http://femininefarmgirl.blogspot.com/   Jenna's blog.  The challenge is to wear a skirt everyday for seven days and do your hair in a different style each day.  Since I have been wearing skirts everyday for eight years I'm skipping the skirt part and just doing the hair styles.
So here goes....

Look!  I did my hair this morning!

And I only had to try twice. 

-Riah

Grocery Store Blessings

Oct. 4

Anyone who is trying to do right knows that it is easy to be discouraged by friends, family, and even strangers.  Constant questions like "Why do you do THAT?" or "That is just ridiculous" can be irritating and/or daunting.  It's hard to do things that are considered  "abnormal" and "weird".  And rarely do we ever hear a kind word, or someone praising you for doing right.  I am not saying that we should do right just to be praised or that it is impossible to do right unless you get praised for it, but that it is nice to hear something positive once in awhile.  I had one of those positive moments the other day and want to share it.
  I had run in the store for Mom a week or so ago to pick up salad fixings and some baking supplies. Beenie (aka: 10 y/o) and T. Lynn (aka: littlest one) asked if they could run in with me.  Normally I say no when by myself because I am sort of small and I feel more comfortable when Kay is with us; but this time I gave in and said yes.  We were in the produce section, Beenie was helping me pick out tomatoes and T. Lynn was watching the cart when a gentleman approached us.  He said "I love the way you are dressed".  The girls and I replied "thank you" and figured he would move on, but he continued to say that it was so nice to see us dressed in dresses and that more people needed to learn the word modesty.  I was shocked and my look was mirrored on the little girls faces.  I managed to get out an "I agree completely" before he went on with his shopping.  Well, needless to say I was extremely blessed and hurried with the shopping to share it with Momma.  I was really glad to have brought the girls in with me, because when there is a larger group of girls in skirts it grabs more attention than one girl dressed modestly, and had I not allowed them to come I would have missed the blessing.
I just know it was God who planned that. In the little town where we live, the chances of running into someone who appreciates modest clothing is slim. The Lord knew I would need cheering up that day and planned it out so perfectly. 

I hope this blesses you too and helps you to continue doing right even when it seems hard.
-Ri