December 22nd - Part Two

I am terrible with a camera.  I never remember to take it with me, but even when I do, I forget to pull it out and both our other computers with all our photographic memories of the last 10 years are on virtual lock down until we can crack their codes... so with that being said:  This is the one post I wish had a thousand pictures on it, but instead -- it will have one.

Mr. Thompson and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary today... and as he is at work this morning, I am being flooded with thoughts of joy and gratitude and awe, not only for my husband, but of my Great Big God who works everything together for the good of those who love him.

The odds were stacked against us.  There is only ONE thing we had going for us, and that is Jesus.  I think (I could say know) we were the only two people on our wedding day that knew without a doubt (call us naive if you will) that getting married was the one thing we could be sure was the one right decision we would ever make.

And we knew it the next day and everyday since.

For most, the story of two kids knowing each other for the whole of 4 1/2 months on the day they committed themselves to each other, expecting a baby in 7 months, and not having more than "a few dimes" to their names at any given moment... is a recipe for disaster.

I was going to say "on a road less traveled" -- but that's not quite an accurate statement now-a-days... I will say: On a road that is far less appealing yet, for some reason, traveled frequently, I am so thankful that God has shown us His merciful favor and given me the husband of any girls dream.  And I am still in awe, everyday, when I wake up next to the most faithful, sacrificing, loving, beyond respectful, beyond patient, and beyond HANDSOME man that God saw fit to bless the likes of ME with.

Though our life as Mr. and Mrs. Thompson has been pockmarked with hardships... our love has only grown deeper with each trial and the "D-word" has never so much as even been whispered.  No cliche about it.

I am giving all the glory to God!  There is no way that in our falling-short-every-second-of-the-day efforts, that a marriage like ours is possible... even with the most ideal of beginnings -- aside from the strength from Jesus and grace of God.

Courtesy of Ben's phone... we got one picture.

We went to the hills for a night.  The first anniversary we've gotten away for, even if just 30 minutes away, since we only had one sweet baby boy eight years ago.  Now we've got 4 and 3/4 sweet babies, and I never dreamed of a life so hard... nor of a life so fulfilled. 

I love you Ben Thompson.  I thank you for giving me the best 10 years of my life this far and I pray... ohhhh, I pray... for at least 100 more.  I'd still have chosen you in a heart beat and knowing what I know now, it would have been even quicker than that.

December 22nd - Part One

I have two stories to tell this morning:


My four year old jumps on my bed... the first of my children up and the boy that bursts constantly with joy was wanting breakfast.

"Can I make it, Mom?"

We are out of cereal -- as I only buy a few boxes a month strictly for those mornings when making a real (aka: nutritious) breakfast is impossible -- and that is usually the breakfast that he makes himself.

The other children begin stirring and my oldest boy wants to make it, too.  (He's already better at fried eggs than I am!)  So I tell boy 1 and boy 2 that they can make scrambled eggs and toast.  They ask me about every step along the way and it sounds like all is going well in the kitchen.

Enjoying my morning "off", I begin to smell something that isn't the fragrant aroma of gently cooking eggs... I jump up and run to the kitchen just in time stop our eggs from being cooked in blackened butter.  Literally.  He had the bowl of beaten eggs in his grip, readying the bowl to be pour over the pan...  Both looking at me like, "What?  Is something wrong?"

I'm laughing out loud now... but at the time, I pulled the plug on them chefing their own breakfast this morning quicker than a... <I am woefully unable to complete this sentance with anything resembling "wit". If you know of a good "quicker than a..." phrase, please let me share in your wisdom via the comments below!>  Anyway, it was fast!  He's great with a griddle... maybe a few lessons on the stovetop are in order.

We got our breakfast in record time and how could any of us help but smile...

Our tummies were full and our hearts were happy.

Most of all?  Mine. 

Christmas Calm

It is Christmastime.

Amidst the bustle of days and days, there is a driving need for time and peace. Slow down the frantic to see the King of Glory in everyday. In every minute.

Eligh twirls to The First Noel played by a children's toy... like that moment.

But neccessary life?


Errands and lessons and groceries and visits with friends.  Housekeeping and quiet-times and getting presentable-looking.  Schooling and meal-creating and time to just be.

In-between that which must be done there ARE -- precious moments.

Oh, beware my time-wasters.  Joy-killers.  Life-suckers.
 
... I attempt. I'll call it intention. (Here are seven ways to help ensure your ability to see those moments in your day.  And tomorrow.)

Live unharried to see the sweet moment recurring this day.  To see the opportunities to make someone else's day... to reach beyond and reach through and affect their eternity.  Becuase Jesus came. The infinite God made small babe. Christmas. The one  Precious Moment offered you and me.

And eternity awaits.  Remember this each day and in-between what must be done... there is awe. 

Slowness to rush through and miss it.  It is in the effort of calm and intent these days -- the expectation of something sweet...

Kisses for mama.  Dances for Eligh.

(Google images)

Farmhouse life...

We wake up to a chill in the air.

Oh, for the boy that is not yet a man, keeping his family warm.  He slides from his bed, hazy, I am sure.  Throws on his boots and coat and heads out to the white of the frigid morning.  The outdoor wood stove needs filling and The Man is gone to work for hours already.

That kind of farmhouse living.

I had visions of fences, a welcoming drive, a few cows, a herd of chickens and a real homesteaders spirit.  Children building and milking and making.

But this is the life we are living...
We opt for days we can do. Days that include: homeschooling and Internet, whole foods cooking and store bought food, trips to town and a debit card, evenings with our family and movies on Netflix.  Children play in a child's paradise and with a Wii.  Chores, yet don't be surprised if you stop by to a home in chaos.  Time in the hard copy Word and stops by an inspirational blog or two. 
Though, family... working together for the good of each other.

 It may not be the thrashing and grinding of our own home-grown wheat, but the principles remains the same:

wonder, sacrifice, effort, grace, love, service.

family.

Reassessing to live today.  It's not a three week project -- a fleeting finishing... it's the project of a lifetime that will take our lifetime. 

Moving beyond the renovation.

Of Days Gone By

Yep.  The big ol ugly ??? (whatever it was) is going, going...

gone.

Grandma Snyder canned our pears for us this year...  xoxo

A slight problem with venting your dyer INTO your house.

Doesn't look like much to be proud of, but that is how we heat our house.  A little vent cover would do nicely here... yes?

Tea time with my girls...

 Paper scrap creations

Reading and more reading.

 

I love Christmas and that guy. 

And am so thankful for these people that God has given to me!

 Time for sledding...

Time for Jesus with our Daily Advent devotion -- The Jesse Tree

In three months there has been a little more progress... but a lot more life.

Days go by...

(And as soon as we can find our SD card (grrr)... there will be pictures of curtains and a Christmas tree and other curtains that don't cover windows...)

In the Beat of a Heart

Here we are, now on the brink of Autumn.

Not for even a moment does life grant us a stand still.  And as much as I know life  must be on the move, I, almost daily, try my best to freeze frame my favorite sights and sounds of the day.  Those priceless moments with my gifts from God. Though, I can't recall them even five minutes later, I hope the Lord is preserving them in my mind for precious recollections down the road.

I look forward to holding our newest gift for the first time -- March can't come soon enough. But from the same place in my heart, as I watched my three-year-old walk away, obediently to bed last night... oh, my heart...  someday, sooner than I wish it, my little boy will be a great big man.  No longer with the greatest little boy's belly laugh that I've ever heard... though, I reckon it will just be the greatest great big man's belly laugh I've ever heard.

I look so forward to being old with my husband... but what about when it finally hits us that we are getting old too?  When we look back on how many Autumn's of our life together have passed?  When the day arrives that our children start off on their own journey's apart from us?  A lifetime lived in but the beat of a heart. What a life we will have lived together, Lord willing.

 (I so completely adore that man the Lord made for me.)

"I look forward to each new season with the anticipation of what it will hold. But as I go, I can’t help but look over my shoulder with the warmest sentiments toward the season I am leaving behind." -Stacie at Beautiful Things

My sentiments exactly.

My Sweet Jesus... He Loves Me All the Same

Last week was a tough week.

... Last year has been a tough year.

I had some real self-pity goin' on when I said, "I know you are God and all, but...

 I don't like you right now."

This morning in church I was thinking about the cross and His gift to me, and I couldn't believe I had so recently said that.  However, I continued:

Forgive me, Jesus.

[BUT]

I am so weary.

I am so hungry.

I know my walk with you is my responsibility... but it's a the Mojave out here!

Not to mention how hard life has turned out to be...

[Remember the good ol' days?]

We had time.

I knew Your presence.

All was right.

[So]

Please return Your hand of blessing on our family.

As if His hand had ever left us. 

I am such an Israelite.

                     Complain.  Whine.  Create for myself.

He reminded me of a passage I had just read on Friday.  In passing, I read a portion of Scripture (Luke 17-  See what the Lord can recall to you if you just take it in??)

   “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.

Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field,

‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 

Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink;

after that you may eat and drink’? 

Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say,

‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

God is a great giver -- it is not our right to receive.

Will I only offer praises to him in the times of abundance and apparent blessing?