Today I took Bria and Nicki for back-to-school haircuts. While waiting Christi and Ryan played tic tac toe and a version of the dot game. After a time Christi walked up to me and said "I'm going to draw a picture of you and Levi". Levi is our long hair mini daschund. I think she nailed it! :)
Christi is in the throes of learning how to "push and pump" to make her swing go higher and higher. She has worked, and worked and worked, to get herself to the stage of being able to swing "really high". To document this, she called to me and said, "Take a picture Mommy so I can see how close I get to the clouds!" I'd say she reached one...Cloud Nine!
Thursday the kids and I took the visiting cousins to Branson Landing for a fun filled day of shopping and water front fun. We went on a day when everyone told us "You're crazy! It's supposed to be so hot!" But once we got there, it being so close to the water, it was actually a fairly perfect day with moments of cool breezes and water splashes. Everyone had a such a good time, finally heading home just after
9pm.
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Every area or town, depending on size, has one place that locals know is the BEST. Whether it's seafood, barbque ribs hambugers or frozen custard, the locals will know it well and visit it often. Our area has Andy's Frozen Custard. THE. BEST. EVER. When we have family or friends come to visit, it is THE place to go. We usually save it as a nightcap to a full day, knowing full well that it is going to make everyone very happy.
This week, my husband's nieces have been visiting us for the first time without parents or grandparents. We have gone to the movies twice, went shopping yesterday, they have stayed up late playing Monopoly and talking and such. It was finally time to take the cousins to visit Andy's so we made it part of the planning for Wednesday night after church. This, in and of itself is a treat, since when school starts back we have to rush home from church and go to bed so we can wake up in time for school mornings...but summer gives us that leaway to stay out a little later and have a little bit of frozen manna custard.
Come visit sometime, we'll take you too!
This post is about a friend of mine of many years and a newer "blog-acquaintance", his wife. Kevin and Candace are in the midst of enlarging their tent" (Is. 54:2 ""Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not"). They, along with their five children are in the midst of adoption processes for bringing home three children from Liberia. This is a section of their blog that I am going to link you to later in this post.
"We are the Stewart family and we are in the process of bringing our three adopted children home from Liberia (West Africa). Fannie (age 6), Charles (age 5), and Giftee (age 4) are siblings whose father was killed in the summer of 2003, at the very end of the 14-year civil war which destroyed much of Liberia. Their mother continued to care for them the best she could, but because of extreme poverty and deteriorating health, she severed her parental rights and left them in the care of a Liberian orphanage in December 2006. Our hearts’ desire has been to keep these three little ones together and to provide them with a loving home and family. We received our referral for their adoption in January and their adoption was finalized in May. Their passports were received in July and now we just wait for clearance to travel from the US Embassy in Liberia. We hope to have them home by the end of August or early September.
I have been following and praying for this family for the process once I reconnected with Kevin earlier this year. They have been through the process of raising funds, jumping through the hoops of adoption requirements and are legally the parents of Fannie, Charles and Giftee...just waiting now for clearance to travel and they can bring them home to meet their five brothers and sisters.
I am someone who believes very strongly about the power of prayer and the spirit of agreement, so I am calling upon each of you who happen by to intercede for this family, for the three children who are waiting to come home and five children stateside who are waiting to finally meet their new siblings. I ask you to pray for the authorities in charge to submit to The Authority in charge, giving the "go ahead" to travel and bring them home. I ask you to visit the site here (http://stewartfamily.onedollaradoption.com/) that gives you an opportunity to donate one dollar toward their journey.
To read more about this, visit their site : http://bringingthemhome.net
Well, that's all for now. I'll post my regular type of post later on today. Have fun surfing and hope you get some great free stuff. :)
My husband and I decided to take some special time with our youngest two while the older two were at youth group this past Sunday. Upon being asked what they would like to do they quickly requested that we "show Daddy our special park". Good idea!
While driving there our son and daughter began to fill him in on the favorite things about the park, the neat play equipment and the fact that they had really clean bathrooms. Husband laughed and said "I guess we'll have to check it all out."
Daddy did in fact like our "special park" very much. He pushed the kids on the swings, (even got on one of the swings with them) helped them use the teeter- totter and watched them climb on the jungle gym. I sat on the bench and watched. I took pictures. I savored the sight of a Daddy playing so joyfully with his children and felt so blessed to know that this is my partner in raising children.
We later drove over to our favorite pizza place where we spent over an hour just talking and laughing, enjoying the fellowship of love.
Thankfully we get chances to learn, grow and have fun...some days all we need to know is that life is just a walk in the park.
This barn and silo is positioned along one of the roads I like to drive to get to the nearest Godfather's Pizza. It took a few takes and a slow drive by shooting (camera speak, that is). As I was discussing my fascination with barns to my four year old she asked many questions about why barns were needed. I took some time to discuss with her why people used them, why they would need horses for more than riding for fun, why we don't have one. After a bit of talking, we sat down and watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie. When it was over, she looked at me and said "Let's get a barn! I think we need a horse!"
Just because it's so pretty. This barn sits just south of the school my two daughters attended in recent years. It is part of the original homestead that has now been taken over by the school, the church to it's west and the upcoming shopping area. It is so lovely. If you look at it closely, you can see that it was built lovingly by someone who appreciated the beauty of the rocks from the nearby river.
As you may remember, I have a fascination with barns. What is it about barns that draws my interest? Well, it's the history behind the barns that I find endearing. Barns were once the center of ones home. If a fire occurred, one hoped it would be the house instead of the barn since the barn houses the livelihood of the family, all the winter items needed, the transportation of the family, the seeds and equipment for food, crops and feed for animals. It was the single most important structure on the homestead. Barns were also the result of a community. They connected neighbor to neighbor, often raised during a workday. Men, women and children would work together to help one another. The barn, for the Amish, is the place were teenagers meet and court during "Singings", it also is often the place were a worship service will take place. The barn, such a part of our history is fast fading into the past. We, as a general rule, do not need the barns as much. We have garages, we have grocery stores, we have sheds...none of which I begrudge anyone (and of which I gladly partake) but there's something that tugs my heart when I drive past a barn that has obviously served a family throughout the years and protected that which they needed for survival.
I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of my electronic family. Her name is Iphone, but you can call her mine! :) LOL
I have always said that my darling husband gives the best gifts..and me being a geek...well that just means that the gifts have internal memory and internet access and communication abilities out the wazoo. The best part of the gift? My husband, who hates to shop, and hates running errands, went to three locations before he procured one this item and then hid it from me for twenty one days until our anniversary. Cuter still, he saved it until the very end of the night to give it to me since he knew I would immediately start "geeking out" (his words) as soon as I got it and he wanted to make sure that he got some (uh, cough, uh-hum) "attention" before he lost me. Smart, smart man!
Blessings on your day!
Yesterday, while visiting at a friend's house (Jean 2 from A Pair of Jeans) my youngest came into the house and said "Mommy, cwose your eyes, I have a pwesent for you." She gave me this beautiful, very rare tropical flower, usually found only in the remote regions of the rain forest. How amazing that she was able to locate it so near the Ozark hills during an exploration with friend's oldest daughter. They also happened upon a unicorn named Jasmine...amazing. What a magical walk it was!
So often in our lives we are hurrying. Hurrying through the laundry, to get dinner done, to run to the store for a gallon of milk, preparing dinner. Everything is about speed and instant results. Sometimes, it is necessary to just slow down, look around, drive a little out of the way to decompress. Last week I had one of those times. After meeting my friend at Walmart to shop sans kids, I drove the back road home. This picture was taken from the top of the steering wheel while driving home from Walmart. I arrived home more peaceful than I would have if I had taken the main road with all the traffic, stop lights and 60 mile an hour speed limits. Out here, the speed limit is 45, the traffic (as you can see) nearly non-existent and the landscape peaceable and comforting.
Here's to a quiet interlude.
Yesterday I took my kids and two friends to Branson Landing. It is an outdoor mall with cool play areas and all the coolest stores. My girls have been babysitting and had money in their purses ready to spend on clothes (I know, shocking considering they're teenagers). Bria's BFF met us down there along with BFF's mom, sister, sister's friend and boy BFF babysits. They are a really nice group of people and the Mom, Debra, laughs at my jokes....which means I REALLY like her!
We shopped, ate lunch, talked and just had a really good time. Nearing the end of the day, Bria said she would sit with the kids while I went into one store of my choosing so off I trotted into the Cold Water Creek store....70% off sale sign had me salivating. I had no more than walked through the doors when I heard a clap of thunder. Hesitating, I looked outside, decided I had a little bit of time, and began to look through the dress rack with items marked WAY DOWN. Another thunder clap. I quickly took my chosen item, after being assured that I could return it to our local store if it didn't fit, to the register to pay and hurry back to the kids. As the lady was ringing up my purchase it began to sprinkle outside. As she bagged the purchase it began to lightly rain. As she put the receipt into the bag it began to rain. As I walked to the door it began to rain harder. As I read the text message from Bria that said "In Disney. Thunder Scared Christi. Waiting here 4 U" it began to rain a bit harder. As I walked through the doors of the Disney store it began to pour. We decided to wait out the rain burst in the Disney store, allowing the kids to watch the big t.v. in the back. 45 minutes later I was tired of standing, getting thirsty and having doubts that the rain burst was going to be over anytime before closing time. And then I got creative. Bria, Niki and I began shifting all our purchases to the one big bag. Bria handed me her scissors. I began creating the coolest new ponchos this side of the Mississippi from the smaller yet adequate plastic bags from Children's Place, Disney Store and Charlotte Russe. We dashed to the van, got there dripping wet and one and all began to laugh at each other's hair, running make up and rain soaked shorts, shoes and "ponchos". (click on the photo to see it better.)
Sometimes we, as normal persons, find ourselves bound in a rope of life and responsibility. We move, restricted by thoughts of laundry and dinner, through daily tasks while caring for those around us. We plan, tied by schedules and appointments, for times of "getting together" with friends. We dream, lassoed by work and commitments, of getting away for just a little bit of leisure. But God, being merciful and gracious, makes a way for us to decompress. It may be for a week at the beach listening to the ocean. It may be for a romantic getaway with the one who shares your life. It may only be for a trip sans kids to Walmart with one of your life long friends. It is called "breaking free". Lately God has been refreshing in my spirit the verses of Ecc. 3:1-8.
TO everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
If I were to word it in my life it would go something like this"
A time to do laundry, a time for the hamper to remain untouched
A time to cook, a time to eat out
A time for childcare, a time to hire a babysitter
A time for yard work, a time to let the grass grow
A time for errands, a time for a pedicure
A time for family, a time for friends
A time to iron, a time for Downy wrinkle release."
Isn't it such a relief to know that God's very character understands the need for seasons of change?
When last we were together, you had met the last of the cousins that came to visit....But Wait!!!
You must now meet the momma. Sister-in-law, acting as cruise director for the Loveboat (Honda) Minivan of Sea Mist blue (or is it glacier ice?), came with kids to hide out from the floor repairment take a little vacation with the southern Missouri family. She has become one of my closest friends, having similar backgrounds and sense of humor (a must have with me, right Jean 2?) as well as a common goal of raising children to be happy and productive as well as intelligent adults.
She is funny, giving, sarcastic (hee hee) loving and a good momma. She loves her children and loves mine (a true bonus). My kids love her as well, which makes for a wonderful visit.
We had the chance to go get pedicures/manicures and just be grown ups for a little while while my older two babysat the younger kids. It was such a nice little oasis in the land of Motherhood.
And tomorrow, I return to the tales of my little acre of land we call Home. :)
P.s. click the link above to hear Linnae's newest vocal stylings...so cute it hurts.
This is Matthew. Matthew is the final rung on the stairstep that is the cousins. He is six, two days short of being an exact year younger than my Ryan. It has been such a blessing for there to be a boy cousin in this family of numerous girls (there are 10 granddaughters and until recently there was only the two grandsons. Now there are two more toddler grandsons that live away from the family). Matthew is very taken with superhero's of all types (as you can see from the Spiderman pose) and enjoys superhero play. I think we must have rigged capes and masks everyday all day long for the two boys (and sometimes for Rose and Christi when the boys would let them play). I look forward to each visit with him, love him and enjoy who he is.
(yes, there are two posts today since my post yesterday did not appear for some reason...)
This is the third installment of "Company Cousins", featuring Rose. Rose is the third rung up on the stair step, which means that she is four years old. Being two weeks older than my Christi, they are very close. They giggle and talk and play with animals all day long. (Rose loves anything kitty where Christi loves anything horse). Rose is also very very silly....she loves to make faces, silly songs, silly noises. She livens up a room much like a roman candles does a nighttime sky. I love when she comes to play and Christi loves it even more.
This, on my second day of posting about the visiting relatives, I am featuring Jade. Jade is two years old, the second rung on the stair-steps working from the bottom. She is a beauty, as you can see, but she is as sweet as she is lovely. She wormed her way into my heart through cuddles, snuggles and arms raised high for me to lift her up. She talks some with her speech, but gives soliloquies with her eyes.
Until tomorrow....and try not to get a tooth ache from all that sweetness.
My sis in law came to visit recently bringing with her four stair-step children. This is Linae, the youngest of the family. The kids and I had only briefly met her the week before at a memorial service for Nana, so when they arrived she garnered quite a lot of attention. I enjoyed rocking a little one again, snuggled up against my neck and breathing soft breaths of life that only a small one can take, smelling a fragrance that I wish one could bottle to be sprinkled onto baby clothes saved for memory sake and sending a calm that can only be achieved by holding a baby so near to ones heart. What a treasure it was to have her here.
The next few days will feature this family and the other key players and the blessing that they also brought to our home. So, until tomorrow, enjoy the baby fix. :)
Our family recently celebrated the 4th of July with many friends from our church body. This has become our yearly tradition for the last six years. As we were preparing this year, my oldest, Bria, asked if she could be responsible for the decorations. She even wanted to use some of the money that she had saved from babysitting jobs to pay for them. After much discussion of what she wanted to spend and walking the aisles of the local party store, she settled on a few patriotic items, paid for them and then went about decorating the deck, fence and dessert table. My husband also went shopping the same day and brought home two big boxes with plain wrappers. Those went into the cool dark storage room immediately, since they did nothing for the decor. Bria did a lovely job decorating, but once it got dark, everything she did was forgotten by those in attendance since the items from the boxes were now decorating the sky with much pomp and circumstance. After an hour and a half of fireworks, we began the clean up before heading to bed. We had a great time, great fellowship and I look forward to next year. You know, same bat time, same bat channel.
Lately, I've had this song going through my heart when I think about the meaning of freedom and independence.
"I'm free from the fear of tomorrow. I'm free from the guilt of my past. For I've traded my shackles for a glorious song, and I'm free, Praise the Lord, I'm free at last. "
My freedom, although guaranteed in the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, can only take me so far. Because it is the spirit of the law and not the letter of the law that sets one free. What does that mean? Let me give an example.
As a child I was very well read, I knew the definition of many words and used them at will. But I did not have understanding of many of the words. Like most people, I learned the words and later learned the true meanings. Words such as "sympathy" and "pleasure" and even "mother". As an adult I grew to understand the words to a depth and feeling. One can know that sympathy means feeling sadness for one another, but when you are sitting with your friend who has lost her father and your heart breaks along with hers, you learn a deeper meaning of the word, a deeper definition. One can know that the word pleasure means sincere happiness and joy, but when you are holding your infant and she smiles her first real smile while looking in your eyes, you understand true pleasure, bliss and joy. One can even know and have a good understanding of the word mother, can even have a fairly deep understanding but once you've sat up for 14 hours straight watching a child sleep while applying compresses to a fevered brow and then later prepared breakfast for the other children in the house and carried the sick child on the hip the entire day to make the sick one feel your presence and love, then you understand what it is to mother.
This is where freedom comes in. I've always known that freedom means not being enslaved to someone or something. But once Holy Spirit illumined (brought light to ) the things that were hindering my freedom, I learned what it meant. When I had been freed from fear, poverty, my past, my pride and sin then I learned what true freedom meant. I live in a state of perpetual freedom that I could never truly have just with our country's democracy. And, while I'm proud to be an American and appreciate all the civil freedoms I have, I am even more grateful to be a Christian and appreciate the spiritual freedoms I have.
Daddy and Christi
Ryan wresting a snake... bronzed snake
Ryan fishing....
Bria, Niki and Christi fishing together.
OK, so this isn't our vehicle, but there was a day not too long ago when this was my mode of travel....of course it was the 70's and 80's and I was merely a child. But it is with much chagrin and some fondness that I view this car. For those of you really young people, it is called a station wagon...for Jean 2, it looks just like my dad's car, huh? Although it's not the most updated of cars, it would come in handy on a trip like our upcoming camping expedition. Hm, maybe I'll stop by that house and see if they want to loan it out. LOL
Here's to memories of bologna sandwiches, riding down the highway laying in the back (nope, no seat belts) waving at people who drove behind us, and no air conditioning since Dad said it made the car use more gas.
I have this fascination with barns, I don't know why, but I do. I love the look of them. This is one I photographed recently (Yes, Laurie from Jean 2's neighborhood, it's your barn). There are a few others that I plan to photograph in the next few weeks, I might even share them. 
Christi and I made a trip for essentials one day last week (read that as "went to the mall") . We had received a 10 bear bucks to Build-a-bear in the mail the week before, so Christi felt it was necessary to bring along her Bunny Christy (guess who she's named after) to get a new outfit. After much deliberation (a half hour of mind changing, waffling and indecision) it was settled that they should have the same color on for the rest of the day, right down to the pink bow in the hair/hare.
I am so thankful that I have one more sweet girl to watch grow up and become a young lady.
On Friday, June 1st, 2007 my daughter's middle school set out to break a world record "Largest Human Chair". They had to bring in 4th and 5th graders from the feeder schools to add to their numbers to have enough students to break the record and sit upon each other's laps for a minute and a half. It was a process that required much patience, a lot of "scoot closer" and then a 785-person "SIT" as the principle counted 90 seconds on a bull horn.
They did it and now, my daughter is part of a world record! Kinda cool huh?
We recently made a trip to our local mall. While my older two were clothes shopping my younger two and I took refuge first in Border's and then set up camp at a table at Starbuck's. My son had managed to convince me to let him purchase a Junie B. Jones (and Me) jourmal. {The book allows the reader to take turns with Junie answering questions journal style, thus creating a journal together} He was so excited that he asked for a pen right away. He wrote and answered questions for an hour and a half without one complaint about how long he was having to wait for his sisters to finish shopping. For those of you with son's who just "love" the mall, will understand the greatness of that moment.
