Family Circles

Spending time with our kids is important to my husband and me, and yet we struggle to make the time to do so.  I am the worst because if there is a task in front of me that needs to be done, I have a hard time doing anything else but that task.  I'm a slave to laundry!  ;-)

A resource that has helped us to be more consistent in this area is Family Circles from Doorposts.  This is a great resource and our kids literally stand at the refrigerator talking amongst themselves about what they get to do with Dad or Mom next.  Music to our ears! 

Here is what our Family Circles looks like.  DH and I were just talking about it yesterday, and we realize that we need to add in our 11-month old!  :-)

HSB Literary Club

I have zero time to read these days, but I love to read so much, that I can't resist at least trying to keep up with the reading that the new HSB Literary Club will be beginning in just a couple of weeks.  The first book that everyone will be reading together is a Lamplighter book, "Ishmael".  Here is the link to the HSB Literary Club if you are interested in finding out more!

Tackle-It Tuesday

I am awful at getting things in the mail that require me to go to the post office for postage.  I love being able to buy my stamps at Kroger, and sniff at the inconvenience of having to go to the post office for anything.  My Mom is the same way.  Every time I talk with her on the phone she tells me she has a package to get in the mail to me, but she's been telling me that so long, I don't even remember what it is she is supposed to be sending.  ;-)  God bless her.  We both have good intentions.

So my Tackle this week was going to the post office to mail out a couple of large envelopes.  One to my nephew in Georgia.  I found this cheesy little picture book about Guadalajara, oh, about two years ago.  His dream is to move there to open an orphanage.  He has spent some time in Mexico on short term missions trips and says that orphans abound there.  He has a great heart for kids, and I'm praying he gets there. 

But I found the book on Guadalajara and wanted to send it to him as a bit of enouragement.  So now, two years after finding the book, I believe, it's time.

The other package I'm sending also goes to Georgia, to one of my best buds.  Her son stayed a few nights with us back in December and left the obligatory t-shirt and underwear, so I'm sending it back.  I'm hanging my head in shame over this one.  I swore to her that we had everything that belonged to her son packed-up.  So she probably got home, and had to do a special run to SuperTarget for more underwear.  Doh!  Sorrreeeeeeee! 

Oh, hey.......while I was out at the post office, I also deposited some checks at our bank that have been sitting on my desk for three weeks.  I'm including that in my tackle!  Man, I'm not going to have to do another Tackle for weeks now!  ;-)

What's Your Passion?

I was just telling my oldest son on Friday night that when he follows God, and gives his life fully to Him, then God will give him a passion for something that will eventually become his life's work.  He is only 11, but is a thinker and planner like his Mom, and is already wondering what he will do when he grows up.  I experienced this very thing. 

I graduated high school and went to college, but had no real plan.  I just sort of drifted into THREE majors.  I had no direction.  Of course I pared my majors down to two to keep myself sane.  I was a Theatre and English major.  Theatre because I had fun doing shows, and English, because I love to read.  The major that I dropped was History.  I figured I could get the History through the English major, which I did.  I enjoyed all that I did while in college, but during that time in my life, I was not truly seeking God.  I had no real passion for anything, but had a lot of fun doing just about everything.  I was in the college choir, a member of the Campus Activities Board (I was responsible for Special Events on campus), a member of a gospel singing group called New Life, was constantly busy working on shows at the theatre, not to mention all the reading, paper writing, and rehearsing that went in to my majors.  I was constantly busy.  Constantly.  It got to the point that I finally burned myself out by the end of my junior year, and I took a year off from school to recover.  What a crazy year that was.  Still, with no passion, I spent that year adding more fun things on my list of things-to-do, but never had a real passion for anything.

Fast forward about five years, and I was married and expecting our first child - that thinker and planner I told you about.  :-)  My husband and I were realizing that we had nothing to offer this child apart from God, so we began to seek Him, and our lives have never been the same.  As I began to seek God, He began to place that passion in my heart for something that I had been wondering if I would ever have.  He gave me the passion for being a wife and a mother, and I know without a doubt that I am exactly where God wants me. 

But just because I know what my passion and life's work is doesn't mean that it's always easy.  It is a constant struggle to give what I need to my family because more often than not, I would prefer to read a book, knit, scrapbook, take a nap, EXERCISE!  I wrote another post about this very issue here.

Today at church was the first time it occurred to me that God uses the passions He places in our hearts to make us more holy.  Like I wrote, there are times that I would rather not make dinner or do math.  But I do these things because I love my husband, kids, and remember the passion that God has given.  Our pastor is taking us through a tour of Romans, and a verse in chapter six hit me between the eyes today.  Verse 19 says, "For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness."

As I make my will and body a slave to the passion that Christ has given me, I become holy.  A "slave of righteousness for holiness."  And I thought that all I was doing was cleaning poopy bottoms and serving up Sloppy Joes!  :-)

We have a truly inspired pastor.  If you would like to hear his messages on Romans for free at your computer, go to the Denton Bible Church site.  Even better, if you have an iPod, you can subscribe to Tom Nelson's messages and listen to them while you're on the treadmill.......

The Sun

I used to think that I would be the perfect person to live in the northwest or even England with all the overcast days they experience.  I like overcast days.  But it has been overcast here for days and days and days, and on the 14th, I thought I was going to lose it!  I finally walked through the house and turned on every light that we have.  I just couldn't take it anymore.  Everything felt dark and grimy no matter how much I cleaned.  The lights helped a little, but even better was today!  The sun finally came out!  And as I sat down to read some poetry to the kids this morning, I accidentally flipped open to some poems about the sun.  That was fun!  Here are a few of my favorites that we read from "Favorite Poems Old and New" by Helen Ferris.

THE SUN
John Drinkwater

I told the Sun that I was glad,
I'm sure I don't know why;
Somehow the pleasant way he had
Of shining in the sky,
Just put a notion in my head
That wouldn't it be fun
If, walking on the hill, I said
"I'm happy" to the Sun.

THE SUN'S TRAVELS
Robert Louis Stevenson

The sun is not abed, when I
At night upon my pillow lie;
Still round the earth his way he takes,
And morning after morning makes.

While here at home, in shining day,
We round the sunny garden play,
Each little Indian sleepyhead
Is being kissed and put to bed.

And when at eve I rise from tea,
Day dawns beyond the Atlantic Sea;
And all the children in the West
Are getting up and being dressed.

 

It's a Lost Art

Biscuit making.  There is NOTHING like a homemade biscuit.  I have a friend who gets Hungry Jack biscuits and I keep trying to give her my recipe, but she resists!  ;-)  Homemade biscuits take longer than Hungry Jack, and I know we're all busy, but they don't take that much longer!  And you'll reap the benefits of big grins on the faces of your husband and kids when you serve up this special treat.

Flaky Baking Powder Biscuits

2 c. unbleached, white flour
2 c. whole wheat flour (see this recipe has whole wheat flour - now you're being all healthy about it)
2 T. sugar
8 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. butter (no margarine - go for the real stuff)
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. milk

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in butter until mixure resembles coarse meal.  Combine egg and milk.  Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring just enough to make a soft dough that sticks together.

Turn onto floured surface and knead 15 times.  Roll out, cut and put onto ungreased baking sheet for 12 minutes at 425.

I used a cookie cutter and made heart biscuits in honor of Valentine's Day.

Goal Update

I made a goal at the beginning of this year to try to connect more with my daughter.  The original post is titled Girls Day Out.  Then I have an update here.  And now for another update.  :-)

I'm realizing that as I go through each day that there are ways that I can better connect with each of my kids, but have just been to distracted with life to notice.  Something that L can always be found doing is singing.  Today when we went on a walk around the block, she made up a song for each season, and then started in on her own originals for each month.  She's no master musician.  She just likes to carry a tune with her wherever she happens to be. 

If this blog were a t.v., you would see me standing in front of you with a far-away, dreamy look while the picture gets wavy, and I remember back to my college days.  I was a Theatre major.  I was in the lobby of the theatre building one afternoon all by my lonesome self, and as one of my professors came around the corner he said, "Must be Becca because I hear singing."  Awwww, shucks.  I took that as a compliment, and I think he meant it that way.

I'm not sure now that anyone I know would think of me in that way.  I think I have let the worries and chores of motherhood and marriage distract me and now I rarely belt out a tune.  So today I vowed to start singing with L when she breaks out in song.  She had "Just as I Am" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" going through her head today, so we sang them a few times and shared some smiles with each other as we sang.

Tackle-It Tuesday

 

I am almost ashamed to post this Tackle.  I'm sure you'll wonder just what sort of ship I'm running down/over here in Texas. 

The last time I cleaned our half bath was THREE WEEKS AGO!  Between homeschooling, cooking, laundry, other cleaning and a baby boy that is now very mobile, this poor bathroom has received no attention from me.  I didn't even step in to give the sink a good swish during my three week slack.  I've had good intentions, but just never made it in.  But today was SuperBowl Monday at our house (we weren't able to be home for it yesterday, so we TIVO'ed it, my husband took the day off, we ordered some pizza and watched it today).  With SuperBowl Monday and the presence of my husband, I was able to squeeze in a couple of neglected chores with all the required SuperBowl festivities.  Here's a picture of my husband and the kids playing a rousing game of football in what we call "the schoolroom."  We don't actually do school in there, but it's where our books and school things are kept.  ;-)

It's the SpideyTeam against the Cowboys.

Anyway.....here is a picture of the bathroom before.  I know it doesn't look THAT bad, but I wanted to spare you the details.  I do have a six-year-old and an 11-year-old boy that use this bathroom very regularly and they are not as tidy as I would wish.

Here is my commercial pose for the cleaner that we use.  I LOVE this stuff!  It is called Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Aromatherapeutic Household Cleaners.  I found it at our local whole foods store.  Cleaning the bathroom with this stuff is so enjoyable because it smells so good!  It truly is Aromatherapeutic.  I always buy the lavender-scented cleaner.  So worth it!

Finally, here is the clean bathroom, and I got every inch of it!  Even the dust from the tops of the candles and moulding.  Yuck!

Juice Machine

Today my second son and I had a date.  When I asked him where he wanted to go, he said Target!  Seems this kid loves to browse the toy aisle.  We spent an hour looking at everything in every aisle, but the girl stuff.  ;-)

At one point, I felt particularly out of touch.  I felt so almost-fortyish as I looked over and saw the Juice Machine.  I thought, "A JUICE machine????  Is that REAL????  Are they trying to get kids into juicing early?  How weird that it's in the shape of a gas pump!"

And then I thought, "Kewl.  Just never expected that in the toy section of Target."

Then I actually looked closer at the box and realized that it is a charger for a toy car!!!!  Doh!