A Lovely Gift

Each year when my birthday rolls around, my husband is somewhat distraught about what to give me.  (Just for the record, he always manages to pull off something very nice.)  This year, he managed to really hit the brownie points lottery – he made me a console table for my living room.  This item has been on my “would like to have this one day when you have the time to make it” list that sits in a drawer in the kitchen.  I have an oddly shaped living room due to a stone corner area, and that side of the living room looks rather odd.  I wanted a table to fit in that small space under my gallery wall (which is still unfinished).  You know, the kind of table that I can decorate and store a few little odds and ends out of sight. 

Since he was going to be on the other side of the country during my birthday, he got to work early and finished it before he left!  I got to paint it and glaze it (my favorite part) after he put it all together.  Seriously – how awesome is that?  He gets the “Best Husband Award” again.  I guess that makes it thirteen years running now. :)

Here he is priming the drawer fronts in the garage.

The table is ready to paint… My favorite part.

The table top is aspen coated with a golden oak stain.

The table is painted in Valspar Nightfall green (Winter 2012 collection) and glazed in Martha Stewart Black Coffee.  I absolutely love this table!  I put the drawer pulls on myself – pretty scary to think of messing up my beautiful table while trying to drill a hole in the drawer front!  Eeeeep!  However, it turned out beautifully and fits perfectly in that space between the doorway and the hearth area. 

It was definitely a happy birthday to me moment!  Thank you, Paul, for such a wonderful gift!  I love you!

What is your favorite birthday gift?

Family Photos

It is that time of life.  Our children have continued to grow so quickly that our most recent family picture is way out of date.  Thankfully, I have an awesome and talented friend that agreed to take our photos this year (this is so much better than the self-timer method).  So, many thanks to my good friend Laine who sacrificed her time to make these photos possible. :)

{this one is one of my personal favorites}

Of course, there are many other pictures, but there are way too many to fit on this blog.  I just wanted to share a few photos with you, and you can all exclaim over how much the children have grown, and be in awe of my talented friend!  :)

September–Already?!?

Yes, that is what I am thinking.  The last few weeks have been so busy that my blog has been put on the back burner once again.  Since I last wrote, we have traveled several thousand miles cross-country, held several meetings, and I don’t know what all…  My brain feels quite numb. 

We have begun our fourth week of school, and everyone seems to be settling into the routine pretty well.  Mornings are clogged with papers, reading, writing, problems, and sometimes even a few tears (although not as many as the first week – and not all of them mine). 

We were home for a very brief visit.  I was planning to have two weeks at home to get all the winter/summer clothes changed out in preparation for our trip north, in addition to school, housework (you know, my house was pretty dusty after a whole summer of being gone), and I was hoping to get a little crafting done.  It was not to be.  We got a call the day after we arrived home asking us to come to northern Indiana the next week.  I now had five days to get everything done.  Was I upset?  Sort of.  Was I overwhelmed?  Definitely.  Did I cry?  You better believe it!  However, I got as much done as I could in that short window of time.  My house really didn’t get cleaned – just got all the dead bugs and spiders swept up out of the corners. 

Now that we are in Indiana, we have a little time to rest while visiting my in-laws.  The kids haven’t seen their grandparents for months.  I cannot remember the last time we saw them.  It is still a pretty busy week, just with all the plans we have, but I am hoping to get a little fun in the schedule as well. :)

Here are some pictures of a few things we have done over the last few weeks.

Packing up the hoses

Surprise visit of friends in NC

Lots of homework

Indians on the warpath – yikes!

Evening with Paw & Maw Carpenter – dear friends of our family

Sporting my favorite knitted scarf

Choir special during our revival service

Doily made of bamboo thread – so amazingly soft!

These two cracking me up “playing” the offertory in the service!

Found a beagle in the church parking lot that had been hit by a car.  We ended up calling the animal control to come and get it, but in the meantime, the kids had fun playing with it.  Sweet little dog!

Thrifting with my friend Laine – so much fun!

Cute pink boots for Esther at the thrift store – like new!

Campfire and s’mores with friends – watch out for the kids with super-heated bamboo spears! :)

Fresh chocolate chip cookies for Labor Day!  Yummy!

Boards form our collapsing fence that had to be torn down.  I have big crafting plans for these babies (when we get back home).  Can’t wait to get started on some awesome projects!

At Papa’s farm in Indiana.

Well, now you are caught up on the last few weeks, and hopefully, I can stay abreast of events as they happen.  I’m not making any promises, though – because I know the next few weeks are gonna be crazy, too.

School Days on the Road

Life always gets a little more complicated once school begins each year.  This year may well be our most challenging yet, with four munchkins in the magic school bus RV.  Junior high, fourth, second, and kindergarten are on the menu.  I am already overwhelmed, and we have just started!

I guess the two biggest obstacles are space in the trailer (we have the nicest school room back in MS, but we aren’t there much), and time.  Right now, we are doing a lot of traveling, and the travel days are broken up into smaller drives so that we can get all of our school work done each day.  Consequently, it takes us longer to get from point A to point B during the school year, and the pressure on the kids is lot more - “Hurry up, we have to drive 350 miles this afternoon, and we cannot leave until you finish your homework!”

Paul is helping teach this year, taking Josiah’s education in hand.  That way, I can focus on the very important foundational teaching for Daniel, Esther, and Abigail.   I am relieved to not have the burden of the upper grades on me this year.  This is preparation for college, you know!  Papers, pop quizzes, reports…

So this is what my entryway looks like now.  Three crates of school books, and more in a drawer behind the stacked pink crates.  I’ve already whacked my bare toes on the edge of the blue crate while walking through the living room.  Ouch!!!   I guess I will have to walk more circumspectly!   :)

I know we will learn a lot of things this year, and I look forward to having a good academic year.

Twelve

One whole dozen.  Many things come in dozens – eggs, doughnuts, disciples, months… but not years.  They come slowly, one day at a time, slipping past like so many jewels on a string.  Drops of water that run continuously, forming a large stream, small things that turn into larger things.

12 years.

4,383 days.

105,192 hours.

6,311,520 minutes.

378,691,200 seconds.

That’s how long I have had the privilege of knowing this little man.  This miracle of life known as my son.  My precious child.  The baby I loved from before the first time I saw him.  Josiah, my firstborn.

These are a few pictures of the birthday boy.  His life began before I had a digital camera, so the first several years will be omitted in this pictorial history.  Suffice it to say, he has always been a cutie!

Over the years, he just continues to amaze me with his humor, sweet spirit, and tender heart.

Cute as can be…

He’s a great big brother.

All boy – not afraid to get down and dirty (or wet).

Loves to have fun with the family.

Never ceases to make me laugh at his antics!

Oldest child born of two oldest children (think about that for a while).

Enjoys making bunny ears on his siblings…  :)

Finds a solution.

Thinker.

Adventurous.

Good example (most of the time) to his younger brother.

Always ready to laugh!

Standing on the brink of life, just waiting to see what will happen next!

It scares me to death to have a child on the brink of adolescence, with the infamous teenage years just around the corner.  Where has all the time gone?  More and more I understand why God compares our life to a vapor – here for a moment, and then gone.  It really does seem to pass in the blink of an eye!

All that to say this: I love you, Josiah.  You make me so proud and happy!  I am so thankful for the privilege to be your mother.  Have a wonderful birthday!

Yellowstone Adventure–Day 2

Small waterfall in Yellowstone

Mammoth Hot Springs

I thought this looked strange – all the colored travertine made from the mineral deposits over the years.  It is constantly changing, and growing, which makes it really neat.

Boardwalk through the hot springs and mud volcanoes.  Signs everywhere warned against getting off the boardwalk, lest you fall through the thin crust of the earth and be literally boiled alive.  Okay – I was a little nervous  as my kids ran headlong down the walk.  Breathed a sigh of relief when we were out of that part!

This looks like a winterscape, but it is actually a tree in a field of travertine that has, over time, been sucked up into the tree’s system, and has hardened it with minerals until the tree is practically petrified.  These trees can stand like this for years, even though they are dead.  Amazing!

Picnic lunch at the park.  Notice the bear-proof trash cans in the background.

The kids got a real kick out of this magpie who found a grape that someone dropped in the picnic area.  it does sort of remind one of a pig with an apple in its mouth!

Along the Blacktail Drive – it was lovely!

We just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dip our tootsies in the chilly waters of Lake Yellowstone!

Some people {ahem} threw rocks instead of wading.

We really had a good time together, just driving around the massive park and looking at all the beautiful things God has created.