To really see...

"Earth's crammed with heaven

And every common bush afire with God:

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,

The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware." 

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Every day, we are given a multitude of choices.  To bask in self-pity or find the good in the day.  To play outside in the backyard with my girls or browse through blog after blog.  To lay down with my littlest one after a bad dream or dismiss it for my To-Do list.  The choices could go on...  As silly as this sounds, I've found recently that one of my hardest choices is between reading (a real book) and perusing the internet.  I have always loved to read, but since having children, my desire for books has waned.  With blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media, I (maybe we?) have been become accustomed to getting the information quickly and concisely without having to read paragraphs, pages, and chapters.  If I get bored with one topic, I just open another browser for another one.  I am not condemning all of these by any means.  

But in my pursuit to incorporate the peace that God desires for my life, I truly believe that will come easier through the avenue of literature (spending more time in His Word, reading through my book list, and taking more time to read to my girls).  I finally finished the book, Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman this week.  Incredible book!  My next pursuit is a book that my sister lent to me (over a year ago...) titled Helper by Design by Elyse Fitzpatrick.  I've only begun the first chapter, in which the above quote was found.  She expands on it by asking the question, "When you look at the world, what do you see?"  That is my desire this weekend... to really see.  

A Day in the Life...

Sometimes I need to step back and approach my life through the eyes of my camera, to gain a different perspective, to remember His blessings, and reevaluate priorities.  So here is a glimpse of what a day in the life of our homeschool family looks like.  (I will preface this post by saying that yesterday was one of our better days.  Other days are not so easy.)

Two of my favorite things:  coffee & homemade granola.  A great combo for a few minutes of peace before the crew awakes.

Daddy working on a puzzle with the younger two to keep them out of the kitchen during breakfast prep

Our independent Sophie, trying to undo buttons "by myself!"

Breakfast of champions:  frozen waffles & apple juice

Family devotions:  Reading the story of the Passover & reviewing our monthly verse (Check out my Facebook later to watch all three girls reciting the verse together... sort of.)

School work begins:  Pledges, prayer, and daily calendar time (incorporated this week).

Chloe working on cursive.

Mommy & Sophie working on colors & patterns with the help of M &M's.

Naomi trying to help teach Sophie her numbers.  Interesting, to say the least!

Sophie finally getting to watch Daniel Tiger on the I-pad

Helping Mommy fix lunch... Can I please lick?

Daily lunch routine:  Adventures in Odyssey to give Mommy a break 

(aka. browse Pinterest while they eat & listen).

Rest/reading time:  Chloe has read through almost all the chapter books in the house & just started on the Little House on the Prairie series.  We read them as a family a few years ago, but hopefully they will last her a few weeks while I gather others from the library.  Naomi listens to her music during this time while looking at books & Sophie usually takes a nap.  Mommy took this hour to exercise & finally get a shower.

Naomi's newest adventure:  her fort/art center/place of refuge

My latest endeavor:  bread making.  Found this great recipe on Pinterest.  

First, make the dough in the bread maker, then make into rolls or bake bread in the oven.

After rest time, we enjoyed a snack of fresh rolls & hot chocolate.  (Don't you just love Chloe's addition of the pine cone to our table centerpiece?)

No pictures for the rest of the day.  We left a little earlier than usual in order to get gas in the van, grocery shop at Aldi, and pick up a pizza at Little Caesar's for supper with Daddy.  We were at church from 5:40 till 8:30.  Bedtime for the girls and a couple episodes of The Office finished up our day.  Overall, it was a good day.  In the eyes of some, it may seem mundane, but as I look back over the snapshots of the day, I find it to be quite glorious.  

I love this quote by Sarah Young, author of Jesus Calling, "Enjoy the tempo of a God-breathed life by letting Him set the pace."

Books to live by...

There are days when my biggest accomplishments consist of painstakingly teaching my oldest the in’s & out’s of division, trying to stay awake while my kindergartener slowly reads to me, putting up the last (finally!!!) of the Christmas decorations (with three little girls help), and cleaning out rabbit poop in the dark.  Life changing…  But today, the division problems won’t seem so hard, listening to my struggling reader will be a blessing, and the rabbit can handle a day off from poop patrol. 

As I still seek rest and a sense of peace in this new year, I’m finding the need to retreat, to back away from the busyness of life.  Obviously, as a mother, this seems impossible.  After taking several weeks off from my weekly retreat, I’m making that a priority again (with my wonderful husband’s help).  Taking a break from Facebook, even if it’s just for a week, also seems appropriate at this point in my year.  But one area that I hope to really change is replacing my television time with more reading.  As a home-school mom, I read throughout the day.  Our current read-a-loud is Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes.  My sweet husband took an instagram of me reading it the other night after supper.  Even though I look bored out of my mind reading it, it truly is a fabulous book! 

Last year, I had hoped to read a book a month.  As easy as that sounded, it didn’t happen.  I’m still reading Grace for the Good Girl that I mentioned in October.  Great book, but other things have become more of a important.  But the television is going downstairs to our playroom today, and I pray that reading will become more of a priority and rest will come through it. 

Here is my (hopeful!) book list for 2013.   

• Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord by Dave Stone
• Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot
• Desperate:  Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe by Sarah Mae & Sally Clarkson
• Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst
• The Hobbit by JR Tolkien
• Discipline:  The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
• The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
• Parenting with Love & Logic by Foster Cline & Jim Fay
• Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne
• The Power of Words & the Wonder of God by John Piper & Justin Taylor
• Sacred Influence:  How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands by Gary Thomas
• Graceful: (For Young Women) Letting Go of Your Try Hard Life by Emily Freeman
•  Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry by Katrina Kenison
• Let it Go by Karen Ehman
• Helper by Design by Elyse Fitzpatrick

I will most likely not read all of these, but I’d love to try.  Obviously, many of these revolve around parenting and motherhood because that is my life.  It is my season of life for which I am grateful.  I want to add a few more books on marriage which is an even greater priority for me than parenting.  I’d love to hear of other books that you were encouraged by last year or hope to read in the coming one.

Peace for the New Year

Looking back over my New Year's resolutions from last year could honestly make me quite depressed.  I could probably cross off one, maybe two of my goals.  Pitiful, I know...  After a difficult past week of sickness and an unaccomplished to-do list, I'm left feeling weary and already a little discouraged for the upcoming year.  After all, there are still a few more Christmas decorations to put away, lessons plans to write, a school room to put back together, checkbook to balance, and the list could go on...

But God is so good in giving reminders of His grace and presence.  Ann Voskamp's latest post, When You Don't Want a New Year, but a New You, brought such comfort in my time of exhaustion.  She wrote the most beautiful illustration of her daughter playing the piano for a festival, messing up at times, but continuing the piece.  After the festival was over, the adjudicator encouraged the students with these words, 

"We are all going to botch it somedays. We all sometimes get the notes wrong. But the song only goes wrong when we keep thinking back to the wrong notes.  When a piece starts to fall apart — fall forward. Fall forward into the next bar. Moving forward is what makes music.“

I just need to keep moving forward.  One step, one day at a time.  II Corinthians 12:9-10, highlighted yellow in my worn Bible, also reminded me, 

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, that I am strong."

As I've said in previous posts, grace has been my unintentional theme of last year, 2012.  It is still a work in progress, a daily prayer, and a constant dying to self because I can't do it alone.  But as I've reflected a lot over the past week, I believe the Lord is desiring for me to focus on peace this coming year.  Much of that revolves around rest (in the form of more sleep, less yes's, and more time in His Word).  No promises or concrete goals this year, just desires... Desires for peace, rest, less regrets, and new memories.  

Our Little Middle One... growing up...

They say time flies, to savor each moment when they are young, that they'll be gone before you know it.  My little, middle one turned six last week and I can't believe where the past six years have gone.  It's tough being the middle child (or so I've heard) and then to have a December birthday on top of that (I understand...).  

So this year, we made it special.  Our girls get to have "real" parties on their first, fourth, sixth, eighth.... and we'll see from there.  I wish I were more creative, but my creative juices seem to be waning the older I get.  She did get her homemade double-decker butterfly cake and a small pajama party (no sleepovers yet, that's the eighth birthday).  Getting her haircut was the highlight though!  She has wanted her hair cut short for two years and Mommy finally agreed.  

Being in the middle of two sisters, it has given her a new sense of identity. She's still our shy, quiet (in front of others), and reserved child, but how I love her laugh!  She has the best sense of humor once you get to know her and is one of the biggest wiggle worms you'll meet.  She loves to snuggle and give hugs.  She's our adventurous one who will surprise us when we least expect it.  Often when she sees a need in others, she is quick to give whether it be a card or handmade gift from her room. 

Her birthday was on December 14, the same day that so many parents lost their precious six year olds.  It's impossible to understand why, yet still possible to trust.  Needless to say, I held her a little tighter and a little longer this past week.  When the stresses of her birthday party arose on Saturday, the thoughts were still fresh how many parents would love to be giving their sweet babies their parties.  Let me not take for granted the children He has entrusted me to care for.  How blessed I am!

"Happy" Holidays?

In a little less than two weeks, one of the most anticipated days in the life of a child will be here.... at least for my children.  We count down the days.  I pray that everything will be bought, sewn, and wrapped in time.  Every year I desire for a stress-free Christmas, yet I still want to do all the activities and ideas that I find on Pinterest that make me think we have to experience in order to have the "perfect" Christmas.  Once again, this "peaceful" season has been anything but full of peace.  

It amazes me how much our children sense in our tones and reactions in life.  Sophie's favorite question these days is "Mommy, you happy?"  Of course, I try to answer yes.  Sometimes, it's more like, "I'd be happier if you'd eat your supper. or I'm happy to be in the car... finally!"  But her question has really caused me to think.  I've been so busy going to Christmas functions, shopping, trying to make Christmas crafts to go along with our advent, trying to do random acts of kindness for others, in hopes that it might teach my girls something about the real meaning of Christmas.  But I'm tired...  With the warm weather and running around ragged, I've yet to sit back and enjoy the moment.  So, today... I choose to let it go.  There will still be moments of stress and times that I lose my temper, but I want to enjoy these next two weeks with my family.  I want to read for the fun of it and give to others because we truly desire to, not just because a list.  

Happy Moments of Christmas...

• my sweet mama sewing Christmas skirts with my littlest
• coloring or crafting 5 out of 12 days of our advent ornaments
• bonfire & Christmas cookies
• seeing Christmas lights as a family 
• walking through our neighborhood with friends 
• being blessed at the mall by someone else's random act of kindness of quarter's & masking tape on bubble gum machines
• visiting grandparents
• the first Christmas presents under the tree wrapped by my oldest
• meeting neighbors over cookies

Tomorrow is another day...

Tomorrow is another day....  Praise the Lord!!  May tomorrow be spent more at home than out running errands for seven hours rather the two or three planned (in which bathroom breaks are taken at EVERY SINGLE store and sometimes more than once in a store).  May tomorrow have less arguing among sisters and more love (or least quiet glares).  May tomorrow involve a somewhat cleaner house or least the breakfast dishes washed before bedtime.  May tomorrow be more about the peace-giver and less about the presents.  Tomorrow is another day....