Thoughts on Mary, Luke 1 & 2

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Have you ever taken the time to notice what the Bible says about Mary, the mother of Jesus?  You almost have to read between the lines, because there are only a few comments here and there... often overlooked when you read the Christmas story.  {At least I overlooked them.}  A few years back, I began to notice those little one-liners about Mary that Luke mentioned in his Gospel.

Luke 1:27 "... a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary." 

Virginity is laughed at in our culture today-- but a person's virginity is very precious to God.  If Mary had been a "loose" girl, God never could have chosen her to bear the Son of God!

Luke 1:28  "And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

What does one have to be like to be  highly favored?  Righteous. Holy. Submissive spirit. Pure in body, mind, and heart.

Luke 1:29  "But when she saw him,{the angel} she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was."

Mary was troubled at first. She was scared!  She knew she would be giving up her flawless reputation.  She took the news patiently, with faith.

Luke 1:34 'Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”'

She wasn't afraid to ask a question.  She wanted to fully understand what was going on.

Luke 1:38 "Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her."  Mary trusted the Lord with all her heart.  Her heart of submission to the Lord was beyond compare.

Luke 1:45 Elizabeth blessed Mary for her faith in the Lord to carry out this honorable task. "...Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Luke 2:6-7 "So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Mary gave birth in a barn! {or a cave}.  Is there any documentation of complaining here?  NONE!  She was so patient and trusting.

Luke 2:16  "And they {the shepherds} came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger." Mary was very gracious to allow all these strangers to come visit her new baby immediately after the birth.  She seemed to understand that He was not "her" child, but belonged to the Lord and all mankind.

Luke 2:19  "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart."  

She didn't call her friends.

She didn't tell everyone.

She didn't even tell her husband!

These things were part of her relationship with God.

Luke 2:22-24  "Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Luke 2:39  "So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth."

Matthew 2: 13-15   "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Joseph and Mary were obedient to the law of the Lord.  Just think... they could have been proud and thought, "This is God in the flesh... these rituals for man are not necessary." but the thought never crossed their minds.  They obeyed without hesitation. Had Joseph not obeyed and immediately fled to Egypt, we may not have had a Savior at all!  God knew that Joseph and Mary were the ones whom He could trust to properly care for His only Son!

Luke 2:51  "Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart."  Imagine having a son who obeyed in all things?  Pride could have easily crept in at that point, too, but Mary always knew that He was God's Son, and she was only the vessel for Him to carry out His plan.

John 2:1-5 "On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”   

Mary always believed He was God.  Though He had never yet performed a miracle, she knew He was capable of anything.  She was His number one fan!

There is so much we can learn from Mary!  She is a model of Christian womanhood and motherhood.  She is an inspiration to me: to be a better, more focused mother; to be the "biggest fan" of all of my children! One who ponders things in her heart, rather than blabbing to all.  One who obeys in all things, out of my love for my God, and as an example to them.  Mary is an example for our young daughters, too!  Protecting her virginity, keeping her heart and mind pure.  Waiting for God's calling, and willing to obey whatever He calls them to do!

I hope the next time you read the Christmas story, you, too, will see Mary in a different light.

Judy  Linked Up at Raising Homemakers

Homeschooling with laryngitis

Today I have learned a lot about Proverbs 15:1,

"A soft answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger."

Due to either a cold or allergies, my voice is abnormally soft.  In fact it is only a whisper!  My kids keep saying, "Just try and talk normal."  "I am," I whisper back.  I have had a scratchy voice before, due to a cold or chest congestion, but I don't think I have ever lost my voice so completely!  Ugh!

What I have learned is that if I speak in a whisper, they respond in a whisper.  This has probably been the quietest day we have ever had!  Without having any control over the volume of my voice, I have managed to control the volume of their voices.  Hmm...  I guess King Solomon knew what he was talking about.

For those moments when they still got loud and I needed to get their attention, I was sure glad they are trained to respond to a finger snap or a hand clap!  That sure comes in handy in public when I don't want to shout their names because they disappeared around the corner, I clap my hands.  Or if they are too far away for me to reach in church and I need to get their attention, I snap.  I know, they should be trained to NOT walk away from me at the store or misbehave in church in the first place, but for those times, it works. 

The one thing I wish I could change in this situation {other than NOT losing my voice!} is that I wish I would  have taught them sign language!  I still can, it just won't be too handy NOW! 

I think I'll go drink some more hot tea.  And sleep, I am soooooo tired!

Judy

Why I haven't been blogging

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I decided at the beginning of the summer that we needed to "unplug." Less T.V. and computer, more God. Once I got off the computer,  I realized how much of my time gets sucked away when I am on it! I also realized how I really, really, really needed to be more of a "present mom." Not presents like gifts, but present like really there!  When I'm not "really there," well, you know the saying... "When the cat's away, the mice will play!"  Messes. Fighting.  Sin.  Not the godly character I would like to cultivate in my children!  At the end of each day I would realize, another day had gone by without reading Scripture or praying with them.  My excuse was, "that's Dallas' responsibility," which is true, but his job is different from week to week and he is not always able to get it into his schedule, either.  So it's my responsibility, as well!

Something else I have been working on all summer is getting my thoughts organized, then getting them on paper, then following the plan.  Once upon a time, I had a notebook organizer.  I made it up myself, with printed planner sheets from MicrosoftWorks and plain notebook paper.  The dividers were recycled from something else, I just flipped them over and wrote on the backs.  I had everyone trained to just look in the book for chores, shopping list, homeschool contacts, etc.  And guess what... it worked!  It worked really well, too!  At that time I had three high schoolers, one little'un in school, and then came the babies... February 2003, October 2004,  July 2006, and June 2009.  Throw in six wrestling seasons, Hubby's bout with cancer, rebellious teenagers and very little sleep.  Oh, and my health crashed. (Barely any progesterone and phase II adrenal fatigue.)  All I could do was survive.  Barely.

Anyway, I forgot all about that handy-dandy notebook organizer!  The Holy Spirit poked and prodded at me all summer to get an organizer.  I really didn't want to make one again, so I looked and looked and looked online for the "perfect" notebook to buy.  Several had a lot of what I needed but not ALL of what I needed, and they are expensive.  So guess what?  I made one after all!  I need full-size pages (I am less likely to lose it that way!)  I need a weekly planner with lots of writing space per day, a calender, a menu plan, and a shopping list.  I found just what I needed at Organized Home.  I went to Staples and bought dividers with built-in folders to store pages that don't have holes.  My other sections include: schedules (MicrosoftWord2007), cleaning schedules from Money Saving Mom, chore charts from Homeschooling at the Speed of Life, Bible, (just different ideas I find or notes), goals (ideas from Sarah Mae), old menu plans to refer back to, and a school section, with attendance charts, notes from homeschool conventions of the past, copies of CPI forms,  copy of supervising teacher contract, etc. The theme of this organizer is

"The wise woman builds her house, 

But the foolish pulls it down with her hands."

Proverbs 14:1 

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(This verse and picture is on the front cover of my notebook.)

Now that I have my organizer all organized (he-he) all I have to work on is, "eh-hem", #1 NOT letting it get buried on my desk*blush*, and #2  following it!  I honestly don't know which one is harder!  Really!!!  I have come to realize a little bit of rebellion in my heart when it comes to following a plan rather than being lazy.  (I am praying about a submissive spirit in this area!)

Through all the toil I also suffered with some depression.  I have a lot of back and neck pain and normally visit my chiropractor weekly.  But our insurance decided I go too much, I guess, because they have cut me off.  So every visit comes out of pocket now.  I have suffered more aches and pains than any 40-year-old should have!  Sometimes the pain was debilitating.  That's depressing.  We made our first real estate investment and it made a huge impact on our finances up front. (We're pretty broke until we get the house ready for a renter.)  That's depressing.  I could hardly walk through my basement due to piled-up junk, misplaced toys, and construction supplies.  That was frustrating, and a tough task to attack while having a lot of hip pain, especially while going up & down stairs.

But God is good!  He is patient!  And He wants me to ask for His help- which is a good thing since I need so much of it!!

I also haven't blogged much because my computer was in the shop several times.  Mr. Fix-It did a clean up but couldn't find anything seriously wrong--- at first.  He ended up saving all our data, wiping out the computer and re-installing the programs.  When that didn't work, he told me that it is just time to get a new one.  (Not what you want to hear when you are flat broke.)  So I am still using it, and asking God to heal it.  So far its working!  But next time I drop off the face of the earth, that just might be WHY!

If anyone actually had the patience to read this entire article, thank you for your time and patience!  I know, Laurie, you are probably the only one, so, thank you!

Judy

A Mother's Worry

I have been reading through a book my mother gave me, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, By Joanna Weaver.  Its hard to read much with a house full of kids, but am trying to read a little each day since we are on our summer schedule.  It has been a real blessing.  Yesterday I was talking to someone who was telling me about how much she worries about her children and grandchildren.  I know how easy it is to get wrapped up into worrying about our loved ones! {Spiritual, emotional and physical concerns!}  The section I read in the book today directly addressed this exact topic! {Funny how that works!}

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

Here is an excerpt from chapter 3 under the section titled, "Worry versus concern":

"Concern:                                                    Worry:
* Involves a ligitimate threat                         * Is often unfounded
* Is specific (one thing)                                * Is generalized (spreads to many things)
* Addresses the problem                             * Obsesses about the problem
* Solves problems                                       * Creates more problems
*Looks to God for answer                           * Looks to self or other people for answers

"Pastor and teacher Gary E. Gilley sums up the difference like this: 'Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God.  It is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we cannot trust Him.  A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust Him all the more.' {Gary E. Gilley, "think on These Things" newsletter 4, no. 2 (February 1998).}

"Concern draws us to God.  Worry pulls us from him.  I think this distinction is especially helpful for those of us who tend to spiritualize worry, convincing ourselves that it's our duty to fret about such things as the state of the world, our finances, or our futures.  Oswald Chambers put it this way in My Utmost for His Highest:

                   'Fussing always ends in sin.  We imagine that a little anxiety and worry
                   are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indica-
                   tion of how really wicked we are.  Fretting springs from a determination
                   to get our own way.  Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious,
                   because He was not "out" to realize His own idea;  He was "out" to
                   realize God's ideas.  Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God....
                   All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God.'
                   {Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (1935; reprint, Uhrichsville,
                    Ohio: Barbour, n.d.), 135}

"That's something we all need to remember when it comes to this issue of worry.  We face legitimate concerns every day of our lives.  But instead of fretting, instead of worrying, we need to focus on discerning what we can do (with God's help) and what should be left entirely up to God.  Even more important, we need to keep our focus on who God is and what God can do." {Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanna Weaver, Copyright 2002, Waterbrook Press, pages 38, 39}

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I am so guilty of worrying!  I mean, I have 8 children to worry about, a husband who is on the road for 60 hours each week, elderly parents who are prone to falling and forgetting important things, quite a number of unsaved relatives....  "What if robbers come in the night while Dallas is gone?  I don't even have a dog anymore to warn me!"  "What if I am not prepared for {fill in the blank!}"  "What if something happens to Dallas and I am left to take care of this family by myself?"  The list goes on, and on, and on.  The list could go on forever!  But I can't think about things like that, but rather, trust the Lord in all things!  Two of the most valuable verses I memorized as a child is Philippians 4:6-7  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your request be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  I quote these verses to myself often, but not often enough!  I still worry!  This book is such an encouragement to me.  I would encourage every woman to read it!

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Happy Birthday, Joseph!

He's my Little Man.

My Blondy-Boy.

 My "Comedian Bacon".

{Photo taken in the cave at Silver Dollar City, 2010}

And he's nine.  NINE!?!?!   When did that happen?  The poor little guy turned the big nine while I was in the hospital.  In fact, I had my third surgery that week on his birthday!  Did he complain?  No.  He was too worried about Mamma.  Others pitched in and tried to make it special, but not on his birthday.  {Big Sister} Jordyn held a hospital party for him the next morning.  She bought decorations and made a cake.  She even had a birthday hat he "had" to wear.  Next, some dear friends took ALL FIVE {of the little set of} kids for the entire weekend!  They did all kinds of fun stuff, including bought each one a brand new outfit... new from head to toe!  Shoes, jeans, socks & undies, 2 shirts, jackets... we just couldn't believe it!  (We've never done that!  I usually say, "If we find something good at Salvation Army, then you can get something!")

Joseph eating his birthday cake Jordyn made for him.

Celebrating with his brother & sisters.

Dad & sick Mommy... two IV pumps and too many IV's to count!

{These pictures were taken February 18, 2012}

Joseph is more reserved than some of our other kids.  He is very sensitive and sweet... but sometimes that sensitivity is unbridled and manifests itself as anger. {Or is that just a "man thing"?}  The best part is that he is sensitive to God's word.  When he was about five years old, I was convicted to read to my children from the Scriptures, not just children's picture Bibles.  I was reading in Proverbs, those verses that contradict good with bad.  He was so convicted about his "bad" behavior, he got saved that night!  What a blessing to lead my own son to salvation in Jesus Christ!  He was so sincere, I felt sure that he truly accepted Christ that evening. Praise God!

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That is why we do this!  That is why we homeschool... why we make sacrifices on one income... why we follow the commands of Deuteronomy 6:  ⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. {KNJV}

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Well, Joe, I hope you had a great birthday, anyway, despite the unfortunate circumstances of the week.  I sure wouldn't have had that surgery done that week if I had known it would turn out so disastrously!  Mamma still loves ya, and your turned nine without me.  I LOVE YOU, LITTLE MAN!!!

Kitchen Tips & Tricks #5: The Dishpan

A great friend of mine who has a dining room separate from her kitchen gave me this idea.  Clearing the table can sometimes take longer than necessary.  Even when the kids are supposed to clear their own places, it seems there is always a fork or glass left behind.  Though my table is right beside the dishwasher, I still find this idea to be very helpful.  If you have a separate dining area, dining room, you may find it really saves you a lot of time and trips back & forth.

It is the same concept as what restaurants do when they bus tables!  Make one trip from the dining room to the kitchen.  This plastic dishpan is also very useful for many other things, like in the garden when I pick vegetables.  When I have lots of dishes to wash and need an extra "sink" to keep them in until I am ready to wash.  I have even used it to put an extra large batch of  popcorn in when we have company!

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Psalm 90;12

So teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to figure out ways to make my life easier and to use my time more efficiently.  We just don't know how much time we will have with our families.  Its seems like our family has been in contact with a lot of untimely deaths in the last few months.  Mothers.  Fathers.  A child.  Even an infant.  We need to uses every moment we can to teach our children God's love and Salvation.  

Deuteronomy 6

⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
{texts copied from Bible Gateway }

We teach as we go.  We teach all the time.  Even louder than our words are our actions.  My kids are impatient because I am impatient.  My kids are negligent because I am negligent.  My kids are grouchy and bossy  because I am grouchy and bossy.  Wow.  Actions speak louder than words!  That is not a new saying, but it certainly rings true around here!  So I need to work on my behavior so that they will be patient because I am patient.  Diligent because I am diligent.  Gentle because I am gentle.

"Lord, I ask you to make me a Spirit Filled parent!"

Judy

Please pray for my little friend Elizabeth. CLICK HERE

I am linked up at Our Simple Country Life

WARNING: DETOUR!!!!

Aren't detours annoying?  Like if there is a bridge out, and you can see where you need to go, but you have to go 3 miles out of your way to get there.  You can get lost, you know, if you don't carefully follow the signs.  And sometimes, even if you do follow the signs, you still don't end up where you ought to be.

Well, I have had a detour.  I had a simple, outpatient procedure planned for Tuesday morning, February 14.  I know, "who plans a procedure for Valentine's Day??"  Well, it was the week Dallas was off work, so we were off school and I didn't have to worry about having him take a day off or anything.  Except that every medical procedure comes with risks.  Between my family history and Murphy's Law (Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong... or something like that.)  Something went wrong.  Two additional surgeries and 7 days in the hospital!  I think I was even slightly addicted to my  pain drug for a couple of days there!  I have been home for three days now, and I am just not feeling as well as I think I should, and my doctor agrees.  One's body just takes a while sometimes to get over the sting of surgery.

Today I slept... A LOT.  And I hope it helps because tomorrow I will actually be home with my children!  I miss them.  I miss our "normal" {Tongue-in-cheek}. I miss helping them and snuggling them on my lap.  I missed Joe's birthday!!  I miss reading to them and being able to actually stay awake to finish the chapter!  I don't miss cooking.  {Thank you, church family!!!}

I feel as if I got a little lost on this detour.  I am not very faithful to read my bible and pray, but I had been working on it before this happened.  Dallas and I had got into the routine of having family devotions before school each morning, but we've been distracted {to say the least}.  I wanted to read the Gideon bible in the hospital room, but had double vision from all the drugs.  {2 IV's, 3 pumps; 4 bags of antibiotic, plus saline, nutrients, potassium, and pain}  My emotions had shut down through it all, and I didn't feel like talking. {What???? I know!!}  I never questioned God, though.  I knew He was in control.  I knew it didn't do any good to ask "Why?"  I was able to lie there and trust that He knew what He was doing, and asked Him to teach us what He wanted us to learn.  It still may take us a while to figure that out, as long as we learn!

Overwhelmed

The title describes how I have been feeling for the past month+.  Starting homeschooling without much organization, always feeling like I haven't had enough sleep {because I really don't}, dealing with the issues that go along with having elderly parents, starting a new home business- with all the fears, expenses & new things to learn that go along with THAT,  Hubby working extra hours, a constant backache, the repentant prodigal son who is stuck in Texas indefinitely{and very homesick, I might add!}, my 91-year-old dad {whom we thought was saved for close to 60 years} says now that the Bible is not true and he just can't believe it, and don't forget the two-year-old and her campaign to gain full control of the house- particularly her MOTHER....  I believe it all adds up to a nervous breakdown!!!

My Pastor's wife likes to share the verse, "when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2  This verse has meant a lot to me these last several weeks.  Whenever I start feeling like crawling in a hole is the only solution, I remember this verse.  It is really the only relief I have.  I go to the Rock and He refreshes me and fills me with His love.  He gives comfort and peace.  I am so thankful for my relationship with my Savior.  I don't know how an unbeliever could get through all this stress.

"Thank You, Father, for the love and strength which only YOU can give!  I am so thankful for what You have done for me on the cross, and in my life.  Help me to just lean on You all the time!"


P.S.  I do have a few pictures to share, but the computer is not accepting my memory card... *sigh* just one more thing...

June 5-11

First thing Sunday morning Peter lost his first tooth!  By the time his Tuesday softball game, he had lost its neighbor!

Speaking of teeth...

Corah got her braces on her top teeth on Tuesday!  This is phase one of a two-year process. {Isn't she so cute!

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I love "no school" times.  There are just soooo many things I'd rather do than school!  But taking sick kids to the doctor and changing 300 diarrhea  diapers isn't on that list!  But, being the mommy, that is what I did Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Mary had all the symptoms of strep throat, but with a test and a culture, neither showed up.  She is on antibiotic and is better, but was not comfortable to eat for 4 days!  Leah, on the other hand, had diarrhea for two days for no apparent reason.  Her poor little back-side was so sore, I had to spray her off each time with the shower hose. {I love that thing}

Thursday was a very special day for Leah {despite the diarrhea}.  It was her second birthday!  We went to Grandma & Grandpa Dale's house {Pa-ka & Ma-ka as Leah would say, sort-of backwards *cute*}  They would be here by breakfast time on the kids' birthdays if they could drive!  So we take the party to them!

Leah & her cake

Leah & Mommy... Love the expression on her face!

Good cake!

Grandma and Grandpa are soooo kid crazy!  They enjoy our visits so much.  Being older, they thought they might never meet my little ones, so every visit is extra special.  I am very thankful they have lived to their ripe old ages!  Dad will be 91 this week, Mom is 85!

 Mary, Grandma Mary, Leah

Me & my Momma

Friday was the first day of the NICHE Conference. {Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators}  I LOVE going to NICHE and now that Corah is getting older, she can go with me!  We have such a good time together, one-on-one, can't beat that!  I so appreciate the encouragement and education I get there.

When we got home, I got to find out everything that Daddy did while I was gone.  I heard about how the kids drove him nuts {hmmm, welcome to my world!}, but he also moved the boys into their new room! {Jordyn moved out and they inherited her room}  Exciting!  And then "the news"....  "Dad painted our room... CAMMO!" {hide freaked out feelings}  "Oh, really?  SHOW ME!"

OK, well that wall is 90% doors.  They LOVE it!  And then Mary said, "Now wait 'til you see your bathroom!" {Oh, no!......  OK, its not cammo.  just some dots like that only tan.  ONLY tan.  Not sure what he was thinking, but the whole room needs paint, anyway, so... oh, well!

Saturday night EVERYONE was home!  Tyler {and his girlyfriend} and Jordyn, plus all of us.  I was beat from NICHE and all the guys {+girlyfriend} went fishing.  I collapsed on my bed and put in a "Love Comes Softly" video.  *Sigh* Chick time.

What a Day!

As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, we usually just, you know, stay home.  We do school.  We go to Academy two afternoons a week.  We go to church.  We go to the grocery store.  But today was different.  My [very brave] neighbor watched my 5 kiddos so I could go to Ethan's (Jordyn's boyfriend's) graduation from wonderful Faith Baptist Bible College (my alma mater!).  The grduation was at 11a.m. so I promised to be gone only from 10a. to 2p.  True to my word (and my personality) I rolled in the driveway around 2:12.  I was greeted at the door with a desperate, "Do you have a minute?"  While all our children had been playing in their barn, one of her daughters fell and possibly broke her arm!  So she was going to take her daughter to the doctor for x-rays while I took her kids for the afternoon!  That was fine, as long as she was back in time for me to go to the same clinic for Leah's strep re-check and my back adjustment at 4:45.  Everything went great, except that her 2-year-old would't take a nap and she got back just in time for me to leave for my appointment!  {If the arm is broken, it didn't show up on x-rays so she has a re-check in a week.}  My [very, very brave] neighbor took Peter & Mary {after all she'd been through!} while I took Leah, Corah & Joseph stayed home to do homework.  Leah tested positive for strep after 10 days of antibiotic!  So then I had to go to the pharmacy, which is in the next town, another 5 miles, one way.  As I was heading home at about 6:15 I realized.... it was suppertime!  I have been gone most of the day and have nothing prepared!!  So we had a "clean out the fridge" night, whew! {my next cooking adventure is going to be "once-a-month cooking" so won't that be nice on a busy day like this to just pull a meal out of the freezer instead of wondering what to do?}  So now I am home for the evening.  The kids must be tired too because Peter asked if he could "please get ready for bed".  {I should take his temperature!}  Sounds good to me, too!  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......................

Day #2 Results

Wellllll...........   My results were not as drastic with my living room as with my kitchen!  I spent a lot of time trying to KEEP my kitchen clean (HUGE JOB!!)  I also was behind on laundry, so I folded about 6 loads of laundry. 

I did, however, put away Mary's winter clothes which have been on our loveseat for going on 2 weeks.  I washed nine children coats, which I will Space Bag today. (I love those Space Bags for winter coats and snow pants!)

 I also went through a basket, formerly known as a laundry basket (turned JUNK basket) which has been collecting junk in our bedroom for about a month.  (The sad thing is, I have another basket in the basement with the same problem!) 

I still tackled the top of the TV, which was covered with DVD's, CD's, and a nice layer of dust; and the piano, also covered with a nice layer of dust and dry plant leaves.

Somewhere in there I found time to make supper and walk Mary to the neighbor's to play.

My devotion time went well, I am reading in the Psalms.  However, by the time I crawled into bed at night, it seemed like last week since I had done that!

Rather than choosing music to listen to while working, I have been listining to the audio book The Duggars: 20 and Counting!  What a blessing that has been!  I am refreshed with renewed inspiration to teach my children more consisently about living for and loving our Saviour Jesus Christ and Christian character.  I also have a load of new child training insight, which is ALWAYS helpful!  I now believe there is hope for the Leah monster! ;-)

I am planning on working on the master bedroom for two days instead of doing the kids'room tomorrow.  We did it not too long ago, and the master is... scary!  It seems what I would consider a good time to clean my room, either Hubby or Baby are sleeping in there.  I am doing good to get the laundry put away the same week it is washed!  The scariest part will be pulling out the bed to clean and dust underneath.  Hubby gets to help with this!

Sorry, but photos would be to humiliating!  Maybe later!

Corah Noreen

I just can't believe my sweet little girl is 12 now!  Saturday was her birthday.  It was busy, I had a homeschool meeting in the morning and she had softball at 1.  Being in Des Moines on her birthday, however, managed a trip to the mall, which really helped make it better!  (Shopping is sometimes like medicine, but a habit I try to avoid!)

Remembering 12 years ago.....

When I was 37 weeks along (which developed into a trend for me) I started s howing pre-ecclampsia symptoms, so the doctor ordered a 24-your test for me to do at home.  When the results came in, he nurse told me the wrong result and the doctor was off that day.  So I waited another day for my appointment, which made me pretty sick.  I did not understand what pre-ecclampsia was, Dallas was driving to Missouri every day for work, we had kids in school who were not old enough to be left home alone... I had a lot on my mind!  When I went to the doctor that fateful Friday morning, the doctor was so upset that I had been told the wrong results, he stormed out of the room, and hormonal mama started crying!  I didn't know what was going on!  Of course, my biggest fear was that something was wrong with the baby!  (Back then we didn't find out ahead of time if it was a boy or girl, but I KNEW it was a girl!)  The doctor had me put directly into a delivery room... PANIC! PANIC! PANIC!  Dallas was still at work, the kids needed to have someone pick them up from school an my mother-in-law needed at least 3 hours to quit what she was doing, pack, and drive down to Des Moines.  Back then I didn't have a cell phone and Dallas' couldn't call his mom with "roaming charges" (remember those?!?)   ANYWAY!  Everything all worked out!  I called Dallas' cell phone at noon.  He was back to Des Moines and they let him skip driving to the airport so he could come to the hospital.  He ran home first, grabbed his bag, packed one for me (I think... maybe I had it ready?), called his Mom... of course everything worked out! 

At 7:10 that evening, I delivered the tiniest, most precious little creature I had ever laid eyes on.  She was 5 pounds, 4.8 ounces.  The nurse laid her on my chest, and... she raised her tiny little head and looked straight into my face!  Oh!  I was so overwhelmed with emotion, all I could do was cry and say, "Oh, God!"  It wasn't taking the Lord's name, I was trying to pray, and that was all I could say!!!!  ......pause, dry tears, continue....  All was perfect in my little world.  For about 30 minutes.  The nurse came in and told me that they didn't have enough hospital rooms available on Powell, the labor & delivery side, so they would move me to the Younker side, where the C-section patients stayed.  Same room accomodations, only smaller.  No biggie, we thought.  We had our baby, and each other, all was fine.  Grandma brought the older kids to visit, that was fun.  We finally went to bed.  Dallas had been up about 24 hours by this time.

An hour later I was calling the nurse.  "Something's wrong" was all I knew to tell her.  She came right away, and fund that I had a giant hematoma (blood blister) on my.... well... where the birthing took place!  I couldn't wake Dallas because he was toooo tired to wake up!  The nurse got him up, called the doctor, and as soon as he got there I was off to surgery.   I remember thinking (as I bobbed in and out of consciousness) "I have seen my baby, now I am going to die.  Lord, take care of my baby...."

Of course a hematoma is not life-threatening, but it sure did hurt!  Meanwhile, Dallas thougth I was dying.  He cried and prayed in the dark until I was brought back.  I had pain for quite some time from that.  (That is probably why it took us 4 years to have the next one!)

My blood pressure stayed up at dangerous levels, so they put me on meds and kept me for 5 days instead of 3.  I went home with 2-3 kinds of bp medications.  I was exhausted, confused, drugged, and I don't honestly remember a whole lot about the next couple weeks until I was off those medications.  I do remember the Columbine shooting, which happened 11 days after Corah was born.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

CORAH!  Is the prettiest, sweetest, most talented little girl I know!  At age 5 she was a princess.  She didn't just play princess, she was one!  She had everyone at church calling her "Princess" instead of "Corah."  And when she wasn't a princess, she was a... something else.  When she woke up in the morning she didn't ask herself  "What shall I wear today?" but "Who shall I BE today?"   Somedays she was a "cowboy-girl!"  (But still a princess.) She would wear her denim skirt ("cause girls just wear dresses") and the cowboy vest my mother made me when I was little, and cowboy-girl boots.  My heart broke the day she told me, "Mom, I'm not your princess anymore." *tears* Why must they grow up?

Corah is an avid reader, a talented pianist, who can read music or play by ear.  She is creative, helpful, and great with little sisters.  (Those brothers are annoying, you know!)  Corah has a strong desire to teach the younger "women" how to live a godly life, as her Bright Lights leader (and Mom) do for her.  She was called to be a missionary at age 5, 2 years before she was actualy saved! 

I am just so thankful for each one of my children.  They are all so special, each in their own way.  But I think there is just something so sweet about the bond between a mother and her first born.  Maybe its because she is the one that "initiated" me into motherhood.  Maybe its because we've been together the longest.  I don't know, but I just can't imagine life without her.... nor would I want to!  I LOVE YOU CORAH!!!

Leah Marie

Leah Marie made her early appearance into our lives nearly two years ago now.  After her prolonged infancy, she caught up very quickly!  The next thing we knew, we couldn't keep up with her!  Now while I am cleaning up the mess she made in the kitchen, she is in the bathroom putting on my make up... or climbing to Mary's top bunk... or falling off of it!  And her talking!  Oh, my!  She is always surprising us with words and sayings that seem advanced or one who is not yet two.  Take Sunday, for example!  While feeling exasperated from trying to keep her "out of trouble",  I said to her, "Are you Charlie Troublemaker?"  At which she tilted her head to one side, scrunched up her face to show she was thinking very hard (pointing finger on chin), all while saying,"Ummm..."  Then suddenly popped up her head and said brightly, "Probably!"

Little Leah got her name because she was so, well, little!  4 pounds, 9 ounces was really good for a preemie, but smaller than normal.  She was like carrying around a little doll.  I remember once while doing my Walmart shopping with her on my shoulder, holding her there with my left hand while I did everything else with my right hand.  She was a whopping 5.2 lbs when we brought her home.  Her weight wasn't even noticeable.  Now she wakes me up every morning by climbing in my bed and "whispering" [very loudly], "Mom, eat!"  From that moment until she finally drops for a nap, she is always into everything, and screaming at me when I try to stop her.  I struggle with my anger at some moments, so I pick her up and kiss that sweet baby cheek and my anger disolves into a love so overwhelming, so deep and wonderful... it is the love only a mother can feel.  I am so blessed to have all these children!  They are loud, messy, sweet, irritating, fun, demanding, adorable, provoking... all at the same time!  There is only one love that is greater than a mother's love, and that is a Savior's love.  He loves ME when I am loud, messy, sweet, irritating, fun, demanding, adorable, provoking...  And He forgives me.  There is no greater love.  I know that without HIS love, my love for my children would be nothing.