Library due dates are harsh and other organizational issues

Sometimes I lose track of all the things I'm supposed to keep track of. I was most recently reminded of this yesterday when I owned up to some library fines for overdue books. I thought I could take care of this and keep it a matter of conscience, lesson learned. Unfortunately, while I certainly wasn't trying to be secretive, I neglected to let my husband in on the little charge that showed up on our online banking info. He is now referring to me as a philanthropist and sent me this message via email this morning:

I noticed that you made a donation to the public library (I looked at our account). You are a generous person.

Busted?? Or maybe this is what it means to be accountable.

Most of the time I really thrive under pressure. As a university student I would often have several research papers going at once and then, days before (or maybe just the day before), I would pull them altogether into something worth handing in. All that time letting things whirl around my brain seemed an almost necessary part of the process. I realize that in many ways I am better at short-term commitments (not relationships, just tasks). Tell me you need a specific goal met for a certain project with a definite deadline and I am your girl.

Sadly, this doesn't always translate well into everyday life as a wife, mother, homemaker, and teacher. Housework is definitely not something that I should leave "'til the last minute." Child-rearing seems to take some ongoing commitment. You cannot leave all meals until the end of the day and then cram breakfast, lunch, and dinner into one meal and get away with serving "brunchner." Just doesn't work. I'm continually looking for better ways to "keep at it." One of my favourite Christian writers, Elisabeth Elliot, inspires me with her "do the next thing" philosophy. Elliot was inspired by this poem, author unknown, as am I:

From an old English parsonage down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the doors the quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration: “DO THE NEXT THING.”

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing

Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing

Looking for Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering, be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons thee, do the next thing.

I so need to remember this when I'm trying to get all the things in my head sorted out so that I'm not always working under pressure. Enjoy God's grace today as you "do the next thing."

New look, same great flavour...

Yes, I played around with Blogger a bit today and managed to get that beautiful cup of coffee on there for everyone to see. Yes, that's a real photo and that's a very real mocha that I enjoyed at a tiny little coffee shop and roastery on a recent trip to Edmonton. I was also playing with photo settings during that trip and was surprised by a few gems when I uploaded my photos to the computer. Good times. Good coffee.

Busy day spent prepping our home to host care group tonight. Gary leads a weekly small group Bible study, has for several years, and we've been hosting for the last few months. I'm making it sound like work, and it is, but it's good work. These people are our FAMILY. We delight in knowing them and sharing part of our week with them. While it sometimes, like today, means an abbreviated seat-work day for homeschooling, we all work together to get the house ready. Olivia folded laundry, Noah vacuumed the carpeted areas, I dusted and baked a cake. If you haven't yet been introduced to the pioneer woman, you have to check this gal out! Tonight I served her chocolate sheet cake and it was scrumptious. A great way to spend the afternoon.

It's the eve of Sophie's birthday and I always feel a bit melancholy before one of my children's birthdays. I am hoping that we can make tomorrow a special day for her. Friday mornings are our mornings out for music lessons at the conservatory, errand running, lunch out (it will be Sophie's choice this week), library pit stop, and a couple of homeschooling co-op classes in the afternoon. We're having some of Sophie's "adult friends" over for dessert: her music teacher, a lovely lady from our care group, and a young woman who sometimes babysits for us. I hope they feel special to be singled out in this way, each has an important role in this little life.

Off to bed...before midnight! Hope your Friday is a great one!

When Life Gets in the Way

I've found myself begrudging many of the tasks that have crowded my schedule, my desk, my mind over the last several months. True, it's been a season of increased activity for our home. You know what, though? Life has a way of, well, just getting in the way. I'm beginning to realize (yes, count me among the slow learner camp in this area) that no matter how refined my schedule, how organized my calendar, how "on top" of things I feel, I'm not the only factor in this equation. Years ago I shared part of my life story in a church service and started this way: "I would be the perfect wife and mother if it wasn't for my husband and children." Ain't that the truth?

There's more to it than that, though. In all of this falling short of my goals and ideals, and certainly falling short of the mark God has set for me, I'm learning some pretty valuable lessons. The biggest one, of course, is that God is using my insufficiencies to show He is beyond sufficient. I'm embracing the value of this calling called homemaking and chucking out some of the long-held but incorrect notions I have of what this all means. That motherhood, teaching, cooking, cleaning, and managing our home is one of the roles God values highly. That all these times of missing the mark can result in fertile teaching ground. And I do need to be taught. Desperately.

We started homeschooling our children 5 years ago. Starting out, I thought that we could really offer them a strong academic foundation in a time–efficient way. What I've grown to understand is that academics are such a small part of what we do in a day. All this character stuff is way more important. And I'm not talking about the children.

Since my recent track record on posting isn't exactly stellar and it's statistically improbable that I'll blog again before Friday, I'll leave you with a pic of my soon-to-be-7-year-old girl. I'd tell you how time flies and all that good stuff, but I suspect you're likely aware of that already.

I have the funniest kids!

Okay, so you may have funny kids too, but I have to tell you about this crack-up conversation I had with Olivia the other night.

She was in her room, all snuggled into her bed on the top bunk, reading while I got ready to read with her sisters on the lower bunk. "What's a cupid?" she asked. At least that's what I heard. I answered, "You know, those chubby little naked angel babies who shoot love arrows on Valentine cards." "Oh," she replied, puzzled. "So, if it says that something is 12 cubits high..." Then I realized that she was doing her Bible reading. She's currently in the book of Exodus, reading God's instructions to Moses about the specs on the tabernacle. "Oh," I said, "you mean a cubit! That's a measurement for length." She looked at me and started to laugh. Hard. She said, "I just had this picture of a stack of those little chubby angels used to measure stuff." We laughed and laughed over that one. Valentine's Day is going to have a different spin. I imagine reading the Old Testament will too.

Oh, poor neglected blog...

I have not been a good friend to thee. No posts. No pictures. No energy.

Oh, poor neglected blog.

Together

This past month saw me go to Winnipeg for a scrapbooking convention called Canada's Crop for Kids. Loved it! Had an absolutely hilarious trip with two scrapbooking friends from here and met up with a precious friend in Winnipeg. The time zoomed past but I was glad to get back to my family. Not glad to leave my friend Tracy though. Sigh.

Gary was away this weekend and I really missed him. So many different things going on and I was left with a houseful of guests, a football wind-up, and two indoor soccer games to fit into the schedule. Schedules are a good thing to carve out some order but sometimes they have to be tossed for more pressing realities. Well, reality hit my poor little Sophie square in the face on Saturday. Right in the nose, to be more precise. If you can believe it, my 6.5 year old suffered a broken nose and a concussion in a cousin collision. I felt horrible for her, even moreso because I was at Noah's game when it happened. I was able to find a ride for Olivia to get her to her game but I missed seeing her play her first game with a new team. I relished the time holding a sleeping Sophie in the waiting room at the clinic. Sometimes the world seems to be moving far too fast.

This fall has been busier than I had hoped. We're ready to begin renovating our basement but haven't had much time to even think much about it. I'm so excited to be expanding our living space and very content with the plan to stay in this house rather than moving to something larger. With some changes to make the most of the rooms we have, this will really be the house we've always dreamed of. I really appreciate the fact that Gary and I are on the same page about that sort of stuff.

At the end of this weekend I am so happy to have my husband home. I am thankful that I have such a loving husband to walk through all this craziness with me. I am thankful for opportunities to get to see that we truly are a good match and that being together is the very best place for us to be.

{How Not to Blog}

I think I could write a little dissertation on the above topic. Life gets in the way and I'm often not wanting to be introspective when I sit down at the computer. I'm looking for a break, man! This past month has been intense with the start of so many things: a new homeschooling year, music lessons, Bible study, Sunday School (as a student, not as a teacher), and a new major renovating project in our home necessitated multiple trips to visit our banker. One thing came to an end this past week: Noah's first football season. What an amazing finish he had! Playing for the city championship, the game was finally called at a 14-14 tie after eight, count 'em, eight overtime halves! These kids were amazing. I am so thrilled that Noah had this opportunity.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the nature of friendships and just what role friendships should play in the life of a 30-something-homeschooling-God-loving-wife-and-mother. I have been blessed with some amazing friends but I've also gone through some difficult friendships, some of which have needed to end at one point or another. I find this whole relationship balance stuff really challenging and I struggle daily to keep my priorities in the right order. There have been some hard conversations in this past month and I've shed many tears while praying for wisdom and courage to do the right things, not just the easy things.

Well, there you have a nutshell glimpse into what's going on in a few corners of my life. I had a neat opportunity to be the Guest Design Team member over at Scraptivity for the month of September. I'll leave you with a little glimpse of some of the creative work I've been busy with these past weeks: