Full Heart!

My heart is full!

Have you ever carried a prayer need in your heart like a physical ache?  Has a situation seemed so troubling that it sometimes kept you awake at night or gave you nightmares?  Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you could only say, "God, please take over and do what You will because I just can't bear to worry about it anymore!" 

A few posts ago I mentioned a difficult situation some good friends are going through and asked you to pray on behalf of the children involved.

I just got a call and the children will be going to a safe and stable home!  God has answered the many, many prayers of many faithful ones with a resounding "YES!"

I am sooooooo thankful and already planning the party to celebrate!

Thanks to those of you who prayed!

Preparations

I've started making Sunday nights "Prep Nights." In order to have a successful week, I need to PLAN and PREPARE. So, I take time to review what the lessons are for the week, make copies, line out the crafts/projects for the week, and clean off the school table.  I jot down my schedule for the week in my Mom's Plan It planner and think about what activities/appts./church stuff we have going on.  I review my menu plan for the week so I am reminded of what meals I'll be fixing and think about any food prep that needs done in advance.

It is crucial for me to take my vitamins as I recover from the toll that 4 kids in 6 years has taken on my body.  I'm much more likely to get all of my vitamins in each day if I put them in an organizer on Sunday night.  In case you're curious I take: magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, evening primrose oil, fish oil, B-50 complex, and also take a teaspoon of liquid trace minerals.

Yogurt spirulina smoothies (with frozen fruit and vegetables thrown in) are a great health booster and protein snack for me.  But stopping to take the time each day to blend them isn't always realistic.  So, I have experimented with making a week's supply all at once, meaning the blender only needs washed once instead of daily!  However, I noticed they didn't taste quite as fresh by the last couple of days.  A friend suggested I keep a few in the fridge and freeze a few.  I'm trying that this week!

Another really important thing in making preparations to beat exhaustion/depression as a mom is getting sleep.  I love to stay up late and read but staying up TOO late isn't good for my husband, my kids, or me!  So, I've been in the habit of reading just one or two chapters each night in my book instead of trying to finish the book.  It now seems to take forever to finish a book, but I'm feeling rested!

Straightening up the kitchen, getting dishes done and tables and counters wiped down nicely and doing a load of laundry before bed also makes me feel like I'm getting a jump start on Monday chores.  So, 1-2 hours on a Sunday Night can really help make the week ahead get off to a really great start! 

My friend Nicci, who homeschools 5 boys, said the other day, "Maybe the reason we moms are often overwhelmed/exhausted/burnt out is because we expect too much out of ourselves."  I've been pondering that and wondering where I can scale back.  I have EXTREMELY high standards for myself and because I like to get things done there are many, many people that rely on me or come to me for help/favors, etc.  Often because I CAN do something, I think I should.  But just because you can do something doesn't mean you can do everything at once and do many things well.  So, I'm evaluating once again, something we all have to do all of the time, what to say yes to and what to say no to so I can choose the BEST things over the GOOD things.

How do you make preparations for your week?

First Day of School

 The "School Room" which is one-half of our living room

 The 7 L's of Homeschooling which I got from Holy Experience and portrayed in photos

I found this Who Am I worksheet online and have made it a

yearly tradition as a sort of "Time Capsule" for our kids.

Jeremiah and Justus both want to be Rocket Riders when they grow up,

not sure what those are.

Ali changed from wanting to be a Swim Teacher last year to a Ballerina Teacher this year. 

We also do a first day of school photo each year.

Justus grew 4.25 inches this year and gained 3 pounds

Jer gained 5 pounds and grew 3.5 inches!

Ali gained 3 pounds and grew 2 inches.

 Playtime is such a vital part of the kids' education.  I firmly believe, along with Charlotte Mason, that kids need lots of time to play and explore

 Snacktime is an opportunity to learn to put together a snack and to serve others

 Homeschooling isn't all fun and games!  Each of the kids took a turn crying and/or screaming throughout the morning when things didn't go their way.

 A school day wouldn't be complete without RECESS time!!!  The boys collected worms and rode the fourwheeler around.  Ali opted to stay in and clean her room instead.

For fun, I packed the kids lunchbox lunches.  They saw them and squealed, "Now we can pretend we are REAL school kids!!!"

Chore Charts I found online and personalized.  I had them laminated at the local print shop so I can use dry erase markers on them.

Happy Back-to-School Day for all of you who are starting or have recently started school!!!

All is Grace?

All is grace?  Really God?  Even this?

The words in my inbox were pure anger in Times New Roman beat out on a keyboard in the rage and fury that is a wounded animal mauling the vet trying to save her.


A former close friend, threatening now to try to turn me in to DFS.


My head knows she's lashing out, not knowing if she is going to lose her own children.
My head knows that I have friends in the local DFS office who would find this funny.
My head knows that opting out of some vaccinations as a personal choice is perfectly legal and not a reason for DFS to investigate.
My head knows there are many, many people who would call her unstable and hundreds of people that would give me a character reference.
My head knows that she has left her faith and is running from God and hates those who serve Him.


But for just a second, my heart squeezes and I can't breath and this question echoes through my being, "All is grace?  This God?  This?"  It doesn't matter that she has said that I am hated, or that she has taken every personal thing I've shared with her as a friend and pistol-whipped me with it.  It doesn't matter that she has mocked my post-partum depression.  Oh, well.  But threatening to try to have my kids removed from my home?  This?

He answers in a gentle whisper in my heart.

Yes, even this.

And as I ponder how this threat could possibly be grace in my life and why God allows those who minister to be beaten down by those they minister to, it comes to me.....

.....Suddenly, after months of feeling down, fighting the doldrums and the exhaustion that comes with having 4 little ones and endless trials and tribulations in the lives of those around us, after many nights of laying my head on the pillow feeling like an utter failure as a mother, I see it.  It's the answer to the prayer I prayed just last week, for God to give me strength and patience in my mothering.

Clarity.

Purpose.

Perspective.

I suddenly feel what has been missing for a long time, like the sun coming out for the first time after a long, cold blizzard.

I'm a good mother.  Not a perfect mother.  Not the best mother.  Not a hero.

But, I'm a good mother.

And....

....I love being a mom.

I'd rather be Alathia's, Jeremiah's, Justus's, and Katrielle's mother than anything else in the world.

It's hard, it's exhausting, it's often thankless, and sometimes looked down upon, but I wouldn't change a thing about my life.

And with this clarity, I have empathy and compassion for my friend, instead of harshness, vengefulness, and disbelief.

She is losing her children.


And while I don't think the safest place for her precious children to be right now is with her, I can understand, even just for a minute, why she has resorted to this animalistic rage.  I forgive her and I choose to love her.


And the next day, and the next, and the next I wake up with a smile.


I squeeze my baby Katri and linger over her morning feeding.
I pray for Hannah, in prison unjustly, and missing her babies.
I take the extra time to put another bandage on Justus (the 5th today?)
I praise the efforts of my big-boy Jer Bear.
I take the time to talk with Ali.
I pray relentlessly for my friend, that God would pursue her with the tempest of His love.
I thank God for the cross, and for forgiving me, and loving me, though I have scorned him worse and loved him less than this.


It doesn't mean that life is magically easier.
There are still toys underfoot, dishes to wash, and sticky messes everywhere.
There are meals to make, mountains of laundry to wash, and errands to run.
There are tantrums and fights, and screams, and ouchies and dirty pants, and accidents, and runny noses.
There are still little kids we love going through a vicious court battle, a friend at church dying of a disease, and in this world there are churches splitting, children dying of hunger, and people fighting everywhere.


But I have seen the grace that comes in pain.
And that pain has its' purpose.  A lesson I have to keep on learning, it seems, every year.
When we are pain-free, we watch TV.  We eat chocolate cake.  We worry about how our hair looks or if we can afford to go on vacation or are irritated that someone didn't flush the toilet or that we can never win an ebay auction.


When God allows us to experience pain, in whatever measure He chooses, we hit the floor with our knees. 
We cry out to him in desperate need.  
We dive into His Word like those dying of thirst discovering a pure well in the desert.
We set our sights on what truly matters and the superficial little things in our day fade away.

And He has us right where He wants us:  in His presence.


All IS grace.

Go here to listen to the song All is Grace, on Shaun Groves new album, which I LOVE!!!  This song was inspired by Ann Voskamp, whose blog I also love and read daily.

Side note:  Might you join me in praying for the children involved in this serious and difficult situation?  Pray for God's hand to mightily move on their behalf.

Other Painting Projects

I painted the schoolroom wall in our living room "Dark Cherry" after I saw a friend's home with this color in the living room and loved it.  I moved the clock over to the left a bit after I took this pic because it bugged me that it wasn't centered right.

Jeremiah's favorite color has always been green and Justus' has always been blue so I wasn't a bit surprised when they requested their color for their room.  So, they each got what they wanted, with some brown thrown in.

I got this lovely blue off the clearance "oops" section at Ace.  It's called Soft Serenity.

The green is Elm Valley which I also used on Kate's room to save on money.

Grammy painted two walls in Ali's room last summer a soft pink.  But after I did the other kid's rooms I realized that Ali, our most vibrant child, had the least-colorful room.  So, I took some paint leftovers from the siblings rooms (and a $3 can of yellow from the oops shelf) and made her room more vibrant.  It turns out that the quilt her great-grandma made her matches the walls perfectly!  I mixed Soft Serenity with Heavenly Sands for the turquoise-like color in here. 

She has a clothesline for art in her room since she is constantly making pictures.

We also have one in the dining room.

On my craft day, I had sudden inspiration to use the colorful, cool fabric scraps in my stash to make this large poster for Alathia.  Alathia is the Greek word for truth so that is why I chose this word.  I used scissors, a glue stick, and a large frame from Family Dollar.  It only took about an hour, and it totally fits Ali's personality.

I didn't get the dining room, upstairs hallway, and living room finished like I'd hoped, but I will work on those in the next couple of weeks before we start school.