A Return

I have realized of late that I have been neglecting my spiritual discipline of thanksgiving. It's not Monday (my former usual day), but tonight I feel the need to put down in writing some things that I am most grateful for.

419. The newest Rose baby's approaching due date
420. My husband who never rolls his eyes at me
421. Snuggles with Ian and Emma
422. Riding lessons for the girls
423. Inexpensive antibiotics
424. Peas springing up in the garden
425. Getting to eat nearly every meal every day with the whole family
426. The success at the end of the year for my highschooler
427. Dishwashers
428. Whatever job God has waiting for Rob
429. Cool early mornings
430. The energy to complete one task this morning
431. The desire once again to say "Thank you."
432. A long talk with a dear friend

It's good to be back.

Just Do It

I don't feel like blogging today. So, like I know to do: Just do it! Life is busy and a bit hard right now. Time to keep making good choices. There is still much to be thankful for.

407. Fall is coming.
408. A hard conversation
409. Teaching
410. A new puppy!
411. Continued bounty from the garden
412. A tough decision
413. Encouragement from a more experienced pastor and his wife
414. Spontaneous company
415. Clean floors because of said new puppy
416. The wedding of the first couple Rob and I counseled together
417. My parents-in-law's anniversary - Congatulations on 35 years!!
418. New ideas

The Great Thanksgiving Desert

It's been far too long since I've sat down and given thanks. Oh, we still do it at mealtimes and at bedtimes, but not regulartimes. It's been far too long and my attitude is showing. This is a difficult season for our family, but I have never found that not giving thanks is helpful during tough patches. (Confusing sentence? Try living in my brain this week!)
School officially started for us this week and with the advent of our new schedule comes the return to the blog. I'm looking forward to the regular remembering of His many blessings. I hope you'll join me again.

Picking up where I left off:
398. School beginning
399. A fabulous garden harvest
400. No tomato/potato blight
401. Girls finishing their county fair projects
402. Girls winning blue ribbons for their fair projects
403. No dead chickens
404. A dog - Jack - joining our family
405. Fall coming
406. Forgiveness

Two Weddings (sort of) and a Funeral...and a Birthday

"So, honey, I have a great idea for our anniversary!"
"Yes, what is it?"
"You want to go to a funeral with me?!"

It was a bizarre way to spend our ninth anniversary, but in one way it was also very beautiful. Wednesday we attended the funeral of a neighbour and a dear member of our community. Also in attendance was his wife of 52 years. We saw, that day, the end of a relationship. The next day we sat with a couple Pastor-husband and I are counseling as they seek to get married. Their story is just beginning. How amazing to watch God work through our whole human timeline.

And just as we celebrated the end of a life this week, so also we celebrate the coming into life of our little Grace girl. Emma turns 5 today and we are so blessed to have had her in our family for these years. Much to give thanks for.

384. Emma Grace Rose
385. Richard "Dick" Waite
386. Missing snakes
387. A new chicken run
388. Sprouts!
389. Church gathering for fellowship
390. Taking time to talk with a sister in the Lord
391. Answered prayers for said talk
392. Time with my highschool group to talk about God's plan for their bodies and relationships
393. Trip with the whole family to Ft. Ticonderoga
394. Mini-golf
395. New shoes for the kids
396. More thunderstorms
397. Freshly picked tomatoes

That's all for now!

Weathering the Storm

On Wednesday, Lord willing, Rob and I will have been married for nine years. That may seem unbelievably long for some; it's unbelievably short for us. We have been blessed with many things and frustrated by a number, too. In retrospect (all we have, really), none of our storms have been huge though at the time some seemed insurmountable. I was reminded of this earlier this week when we had a huge thunderstorm come through. It went on for hours and even after I couldn't hear the thunder anymore the lightning continued to flash. It was beautiful if a little frightening. Our marriage is something like that. Huge storms come through, frightening and beautiful in the growth they bring. Sometimes the flashes of those storms remain for years. By God's grace we have weathered our storms and by his grace we'll weather more. This week I'm grateful to God for many things. I'm also grateful to my husband for the many years of love and faithful service to me. What a treasure you are! (And yes, everyone, I'll tell him in person, too! I just want him to know that I want everyone to know!)

Thank you Lord, for:
371. Thunderstorms
372. The morning after a thunderstorm
373. Children's clipped fingernails
374. Children sitting still for said clipping
375. Pancakes
376. Family portraits
377. Village-wide yard sale
378. Great finds!
379. A neighbour going home to be with the Lord
380. Being able to apologize. Again.
381. Volleyball with church friends
382. Marriage
383. My husband

Quick Thanksgiving

Headed for bed, but not before giving thanks for the many blessings of this week:
355. It's the last week of softball.
356. Parents visiting
357. 6 still-alive chickens, now living outside
358. Pentecost
359. The Holy Spirit
360. Sewing time
361. Renewed prayer
362. Spiders, even big ones
363. Last weeks of school
364. Not being unmarried (I'm so over highschool.)
365. Independent bookstores
366. Conscience pricks
367. Coaching
368. New playset for the kids
369. Playing with those same kids!!
370. No new cavities at the dentist!

There is much to be grateful for. =)

"In everything give thanks
In every situation
Lift your voice and sing
And praise Him from your heart"
~ Psalty Song

Life here in the garden has not been all roses. People are hard, or rather, relationships are hard. We've been separated for quite some time for travel reasons, then returned to extended family visiting (which we love!), and finally we've been struggling through some tough issues in our church home. All of these require relational work. Much growth is happening through that work, but it sometimes seems harder to give thanks in this time. To that end, I'm up early this morning to just do it!

341. Ladies improving in softball
342. Dance parties
343. Church unity
344. Family visits
345. Flying kites
346. Highschoolers coming to play with the kids - just because
347. The local creamery
348. Ralph and Larry stories
349. Sleep
350. A new fabric store
351. The circus
352. Garden beds full of dirt
353. Frogs
354. A brother willing to help

Some Time Away

I'm in denial. Again, I might add. Or perhaps I should say, as usual. My sweet husband is giving me a precious gift: some time away. I leave on Friday for a ten-day trip to see my dear friend in Chicago and then to attend the wedding of a cousin who stood up in my wedding. I desperately wanted this time away, but as I draw near my departure date, I'm conflicted. People keep asking if I'm packed/ready/excited. The answer is no. The truth is, now that it comes to it, I don't really want to go. Oh, I want to see my friends and my family. I'm so grateful that I get to see this cousin's wedding. But I don't want to leave my family. It's a reminder that I'm not meant to. Occasional short trips aside, God has called me to be a homemaker, a wife, a mother. It's tough to leave what you've been called to do. And blessed to do! So, would you all please pray for me this week as I get ready to leave behind my vocation (for a some needed R&R) to return renewed and refreshed? Pray for my sweet husband who will be a full-time stay-at-home mom while I'm gone. I'll try and blog on Wednesday before I go, but I probably won't get to this page while I'm gone.

In the meantime I'm grateful for:
329. Not wanting to leave on this trip
330. Emma's selflessness
331. Cool nights
332. A whole day to clean the house
333. A new school term
334. New recipes (Simply in Season)
335. A clean kitchen to cook in
336. A grace-based perspective on parenting
337. Snuggles with Ian and Emma
338. Dinner with the Moskowitz family
339. Not-yet-believers at church on Sunday!
340. Getting started on school this morning

One of Those Days

We're spring cleaning this week. So the blogging will be short. Again, more for me than anyone else. I still need to keep track of what I'm thankful for!

320. Easter and the great work done on that day!
321. Nature hike

322. Katie picking up trash on said hike

323. Dinner with friends
324. Quilt squares

325. Excitement around ordering next year's homeschooling supplies
326. Frogs peeping

327. Sunny days

328. Planting flowers with Rob and the kids

Thank you, Lord.

A Screwy Weekend

This was a full and crazy week! Much to be thankful for, but little time to write it down! A full week of softball practice, school, and gymnastics led into a weekend devoted to the 30-Hour Famine. Our highschoolers at church were participating in this fundraising event where we fasted for 30-Hours and stayed (mostly) together to do activities that would remind us of those around the world that suffer from hunger all the time. It was a humbling experience for me to realize just how blessed I am and how little I'm aware of the regular gift of food on my table. It was a special challenge this year as our children were not fasting and I was responsible to give them food five times that day! So hard to see all that they left on their plates when I was so hungry!

The real adventure came at about three in the afternoon on Saturday. I was downstairs working while the kids played quietly upstairs during "naptime." All of sudden I hear Katie scream, "I'll get Mom!" David is crying/screaming as is Emma; I assume someone has fallen. As I race upstairs, Emma's words become clearer: "He's gonna die! He's gonna die!" Katie quickly tells me that David has swallowed - is swallowing would be more accurate - a screw. The screaming is escalating (we've all woken up Ian by now) as I try and get David to throw up said screw. It's obviously still high up in his throat and I figure better out than in. No luck with that and he finally swallows it. I as how big or small the screw is and there are differing opinions. David squishes his fingers together to show its miniscule size. Katie's pretty certain it's at least an inch long and pointed on the end. I actually managed to keep pretty cool. David said it wasn't hurting anymore so I let Rob know what was going on and accepted an offer from one of my highschool girls to come with me to the urgent care clinic. Now, on Monday, we know that it appears to be a bolt (flat-ended) between 1/2 and 3/4 of inch in length. We don't know where it came from or why David decided it would be tasty. We do know that God is gracious and watches out for my children - indeed, all of us - and David should be less screwy in a couple of days. =)

And so, I'm giving thanks for:
311. David's health
312. X-rays
313. Softball
314. Rob caring for our kids
315. Feeling good about my body
316. Hunger
317. Food
318. Sap from our maple tree
319. Microsoft Excel (It does everything, maybe even dishes!)

A Bit of a Fastball

So, for those of you who keep an eye on this blog, you might have noticed I didn't post on Monday. I meant to, I really did! This week I began helping to coach the "modified" (read Junior High) softball team for the local public school. The head coach is a member of our church and a friend and when I offered some assistance she said, "Sure. You've pitched before, right? You're the pitching coach. Oh, and get these girls in shape, too." So now I'm in charge of fitness and pitching! It's a fun challenge, but the biggest part of it all has been balancing all of my other responsibilities. I have realized that as much as I'm going to enjoy this season, I am NOT called to be a working mom! I miss my kids and yet I feel distanced from them by the time I get home. (I'm gone about two hours in the afternoon.) I don't feel like cooking dinner, doing dishes or laundry, or doing any of the other chores that I usually do in the evening. We'll get into a routine here, I'm not too concerned, but in the meantime I'm grateful for the lessons I'm learning: I'm a good teacher/coach, I prefer to teach/coach my own kids, I'm not called to work outside the home, and I understand a little more what Rob feels when he walks in the door at the end of the day. Perhaps I can show a bit more understanding, especially since he's taking over for me for those two hours I'm gone! Please continue to pray for me as I coach these 29 girls. They need so much guidance and I hope to show them as much of God as I can in the short time I have with them.

This week I am also grateful for:
297. Spray paint
298. Hard-boiled eggs
299. Homeschooling (Have I mentioned this one before? :) )
300. Facebook
301. Old friends
302. A sweet grace of dinner and an activity timing coming together
303. Sewing with Katie
304. Silence
305. Clean schoolroom (first time in months!)
306. Homemade pickles, applesauce, and yogurt
307. My own issues (as opposed to someone else's)
308. The family of the home where Ian was born coming to celebrate his 1st birthday
309. Feeling like the Love Dare doesn't have much for us to do!
310. First week of softball practice