...another late post of thanks

#71  The ability to still write these thanks posts even when writing has been so scarce this season.

#72  The refreshing that comes from seeing people you love and who also love you.

#73  A husband who seeks to be the best leader for this family.  How rested my heart can be!  He is such a good man, a wonderful husband, and great dad.

#74  A loving Father who will not fail to lead said wonderful man in His plan for us.  If I could only keep that on the forefront of the mind all the time!

#75  Freedom.  Freedom to be who I am, even when it is sometimes hard to figure that out.

#76  New clothes... even when it is only two maternity t-shirts, I love having new clothes.

#77  The noise of a dish washing machine that reminds me that I no longer have to stand in front of the sink so many times a day.

#78  Less than two weeks to see my mom.

#79  Being able to fly my mom in so she can stay with the children while we attend a conference.

#80  Friendships:  Newer and older alike.

Days of learning

I kind of missed my thanks post, but my thoughts have still been there:

::  Every baby we´ve had seems to be surrounded by a season of learning in our lives.  Usually it is all around one thing, and this time around we are plunging into new depths by a rediscovery of grace.  Very grateful for it and willing/hoping to learn all we need to learn this season.

::  Another patriotic anniversary spent so far away from my country and from anything that can remind me of it.  I am more and more aware of my responsibility to instill in my children a love and appreciation for the country that birthed their mom, thus having a hand in their very own shaping.  Grateful for the opportunity and sobered by the responsibility.

::  These next few weeks will take us traveling and will bring loved ones to us.  So grateful for that, especially in light of the coming Winter and "confinement" season of yours truly at the arrival of our very little dear one.

::  Very, very slowly some routines and some structure is getting established and that brings me some peace.  There is still much more to be done, but as I have a tendency to get overwhelmed by what I haven´t accomplished instead of appreciating what we have been able to tackle down, I am seriously focusing in trying to enjoy and appreciate the little victories.

::  And now, I get to run and get ready for a couple hours at the office!  See you all soon!

A Day of Richness

There was a funeral yesterday, of the father of a dear friend.  Little people are hard to manage around these kinds of events, but I wanted to be there if only to let her see/know of my love and support.  My favorite guy officiated the service at the funeral home and then at the committal.  We (littles and me) sort-of-attended as one of them chose to fall asleep in each drive, so I sat in the car, ready to follow with my orange sticker that read "Funeral" on the windshield.  Ben joined us for the drive and we talked about this man's example of life.  He had been a Marine.  What a touching and powerful statement to see three young uniformed Marines honor the life and memory of a WW II hero!  Although I never met him personally, I feel honored to have been there.

While we waited in the car, I had books, puzzles and all that paraphernalia for little hands to keep busy.  Among Elena's little stash I included her first little book for her to try to read.  I though she might enjoy trying to read it while we waited.  It is only three pages (5 three-syllable words) long.  I never expected to be so soon reminded and reinforced in our decision to home school her...  She sat next to me, little book in hand, and began to sound the first word:  "P - a - m".  She repeated the sounds a couple times, while looking intently at the letters, closer together, just a tad faster and suddenly, it clicked!  "P - a - m,  Pa-m... Pam, Pam!"  Her face lit up, her eyes teared up as she laughed and exclaimed:  "I'm reading!!" 

Of course, my eyes were also blurred up with tears and I was so grateful for having been witness to my daughter's accomplishment.  How priceless to see her face full of pride and satisfaction at having accomplished this task she has been dying to do!

I know not every day will be like this.  Not every day has been like this and we've only done it what?  4 days?  But I can already see how worthwhile it will be.  The house is not tidy... I haven't really figured out how to occupy-distract-entertain Benny while we try to read a poem, not to mention a whole book chapter, I am only beginning to experiment at this juggling game of running home and doing school.  But we will try to make the best of it all as I try to keep in mind that these days and these little milestones will be quickly gone.

We heard a song the other day and we really, really liked the message in the chorus:

"It's not the breaths you take that make up your life, it is the moments that take your breath away"

I can say with all certainty that yesterday was a day full of such moments, and I hope I never forget it.

Many thanks, on a Tuesday, nonetheless...

#61  Family life.

#62  My favorite people.

#63  Crisp freshly picked apples.

#64  Friends, very good, close to our heart friends!

#65  A boy big enough to pick his own apples.

#66  A boy big enough to pick his own apples but who still loves snuggling with his mama!

#67  The beginning of a new season:  Not only are we embracing the Fall but we are also embracing home school.

#68  A first day of home school with the fresh and clear reminder that it is only the first day and that we have lots of time to get the hang of this (or not! Ha!).

#69  Plans and mental blueprints that will someday look like life.  Today:  a desk, tomorrow: a family room?

#70  The constant reminder that when I can´t seem to reach, there are strong hands around-underneath me to lift me up and help me do it!

For the few faithful

This is for the few faithful who still visit this blog.  I seem to have hit a rut in trying to come up with something good to say here.  So here a few of the things that occupy my mind.  I wish you would find them inspiring and empowering, but at the very least I hope you find them entertaining.

*Beyond the physical challenges of pregnancy, I am reminded afresh of the emotional and even spiritual ones as I find myself fighting myself more often than not.  The swing of the pendulum between the nasty, very emotional "me" and the quiet and delightful fruit of the Spirit in me can be soooo long, that I sometimes wonder if there even is a better side.  But when I finally grasp a little tiny corner of that peaceful place, where I can abide in His love and His faithfulness, life gets more enjoyable... ahem... for everyone around here.  

More and more I am convinced that we are always given a choice.  We give into our failed humanity and the emotions that arise at every different circumstance we face, or we live by faith looking to rise above that which we feel and chose to be led by His loving Spirit.  More and more I am convinced that pregnancy is not the exception and that as deep as the valleys go in feeling emotional, out of control and affected by everything and everyone around us, much higher are the peaks we can reach if we only tap into that well of wisdom, peace and steadfastness the Holy Spirit has to offer.  Along with the heightened emotional meltdowns is a heightened spiritual sensitivity that I wish I could tap into more often than I actually am.

So there lies my challenge.  I can´t live with one foot in each realm, so I am really fighting through the thick of the nasty to get to the tip of the peaceful!

*  My little people are so amazing!  I love seeing them grow and cringe at their (and my) shortcomings, but am so blessed by the leaps and bounds they take and show so much maturity at times.  I had what we will call a "lack of patience" (to make myself look a little nicer) with them (the girls) the other day.  I realized that I needed to walk away before letting my temper get the best of me... probably a little too late, but still.  Ben was just walking into the house as I came downstairs and he was able to go up and talk with the girls.  Before bedtime, I climbed into Elena´s bed, recognized my mistake and apologized, she was very graciously quick to forgive, as did Adriana when her turn came around (I apologized to each separately and privately).  But after my apology I did ask them to pray for me, so that I would be quicker to recognize my need and cry out for God´s help in the same way we are trying to teach them to do... Have you ever asked your child to pray for you?  I have been prayed for before, beautiful, powerful, moving prayers, but let me tell you, there is nothing more moving and powerful than the honesty, genuineness, and love of the spontaneous prayer of your own child over you.  Simple words, spoken with love, care and so much grace for the mistakes I make.  I cannot tell you how much I learn from these little ones every day (when I don´t take it for granted... another one I´m working on).

*  And then there´s the nitty-gritty every-day stuff.  Get them to make their beds, brush their teeth, brush their hair, eat their food.  On the latter, our meal times have turned into such a battle to get them to eat "the green stuff" on their plates that I tried a new approach yesterday.  I brought out of the freezer a chunk of frozen spinach and called them over.  I proceeded to explain how we were supposed to eat this spinach because it is so good and important for us and how I was going to give them the choice as to how I was to prepare it:  Option a)  cook it "as is" and just put the chunk of green on our plates, Option b) chop it in tiny small pieces and put it in the spaghetti sauce.  Elena jumped to say "Small pieces in the sauce!", prompting my explanation on how we needed to eat our dinner, sauce-with-the-green-stuff and all without complaining because it had been their choice.  Won´t you know we had the most peaceful dinner time we´d had in weeks!

I shall leave you now, hoping to come sooner than later... thanks for your time.