Into Still Waters

I just want to apologize to those who visit here each day (or every few days) and haven’t seen anything new in a while, and to those whose blogs I normally follow who haven’t heard from me in weeks.  I’ve been tired a lot and I feel mentally exhausted.  I keep trying to catch up on my blog reading, but I’m spending most of my spare moments lately in bed!  And although I have lots of things I want to write about, when I sit down to try I have a hard time putting my thoughts together.  Some of that is because of how busy I’ve been lately, and a lot of it is pregnancy.  It always seems that my brain functions on about half it’s normal level when I’m pregnant.    But I’ll try to write a few lines here every week or so, even if they’re not of any great theological importance, just to let you know I’m still around and hopefully as things progress past the first trimester my mind will start to clear up a bit.    I appreciate those of you who visit and post comments and I’m thankful for your friendship.

Outside my window... The kids decided to plant pumpkins this year and we put about eight vines in the ground last week.  We were careful to fence them off, to keep the chickens away, but unfortunately the fence did nothing to keep our Clifford dog out.  Did you know that pumpkins are irresistible to certain members of the Great Pyrenees family?  Particularly those members who are already facing the threat of re-homing due to their penchant for eating eggs from the coop and digging through the trash.    Here our some pictures from our pumpkin planting day.  I haven’t taken any recent pictures of the three pumpkins that still remain.  It’s just too depressing. 

This is our guard-owl, who keeps the chickens safe from hawks.

Unfortunately, he does nothing to protect pumpkins from marauding dogs.

I am thankful … That God has decided to place another precious child into our care.  I’m thankful that our children are so excited about the new baby, and I’m thankful to be back in touch with an old friend.

From the learning rooms… We’re going to be getting our first curriculum soon!  Up until now, we’ve been making up our own but we’ve decided to go with Our Fathers World for this year.  I’m really excited about that.

From the kitchen… I think this lead-in is meant to assume that us “simple women” know something about cooking and are always whipping up something delicious in the kitchen.  Well, I just learned how to bake squash, yall.  I’ve cooked it in a skillet and I’ve steamed it, but I’d never baked it before.  As it turns out, baked squash is delicious and the only kind of squash my children will eat.  I’m glad I have friends who can cook and share all these marvelous little secrets like:  Squash can be baked.

I am reading… The Shack, by William Young.  I’d heard so much about it that I finally decided to read it for myself and have been completely disappointed. I won’t go into the theology behind the book – everyone has an opinion and I don’t feel the need to add mine, but what I was surprised by is how irritating and incredibly tedious I’ve found it.  It’s taken me forever to get through this book.  I find myself doing just about anything – even laundry! – just to have an excuse not to sit down and read it.  I keep slugging through it, figuring it HAS to get better at some point, but now I’m at the last few pages and I doubt I’ll even finish it.  If you want a GOOD book to read that is similar, I would suggest The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis, or The Screwtape Letters.  Much, MUCH better books.

Here is picture I am sharing…

Long overdue, here is a picture of our two remaining kittens.  I’m sorry to say that the others didn’t make it.

Kitten 1 aka: “the play kitty”

Kitten 2 with her mother.  Aka: “the big eye kitty” and “momma cat”  (my kids aren’t very original with names) 

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Have a great week, everyone!

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Outside my window…

I’m happy to say that our dog has NOT killed any chickens, which was my main concern when we got her.  Thankfully, as you can see, they get along just fine and have worked out a comfortable arrangement between themselves… the dog provides the chickens with fresh kibble, and the chickens provide the dog with fresh eggs. 

I am thinking… Of the amazing post I read last night, and my resolve to be a better mother.

I am thankful for… people like Mrs. Parunak and so many others who inspire me in so many ways.  For the way God is helping my brother through some hard times.   For my husband who continues to support me in everything I do.  For my step mom who has prayed me through every photo shoot, and been my “agent” in so many ways. For my mother-in-law, for always being there for me.  For our friend Alan, who has been with us through everything, offering Godly council, support, and encouragement every step of the way. And for so many other friends and family members, too numerous to name!

From the kitchen… About a month ago, I made a resolution.  Often times, toward the end of the day, I would be tired and not feel like cleaning.  So I would leave a sink full of dirty dishes and toys in the living room floor (and other messes that I’m not going to talk about) for the morning, and the mess would be waiting for me first thing when I woke up.  I’m not a morning person, and waking up to a messy house just made it that much worse. So, having heard before that it takes 15 days to start a new habit, I resolved, for one month, to keep the kitchen and living room clean at all times.  Well, I have to tell you, it’s been amazing!!!  I don’t feel overwhelmed first thing in the morning, I don’t worry about company coming over unexpectedly anymore, and I can actually FIND things in the house again!  At this point, it truly has become a habit, and I can’t imagine NOT cleaning things up before bed any longer.  I thought I would share this because I’m sure there are other messy moms out there like me, and this has really been helpful for me.  I didn’t overwhelm myself with some new commitment, in fact, for the first few weeks the back of the house (bedrooms, bathroom, hallway) was a major disaster, all of the time.  I was committed only to keeping the kitchen and living room clean.  That, of course, has been seeping into other areas and the entire house has been much nicer to live in.  My next step is to make a new resolution: bathrooms and hallway must be picked up each night as well as kitchen and living room.  Baby steps, ‘yall.  Baby steps.

I am creating… lots and lots of pictures!  Here are a few more from recent photo shoots…

I am hearing… the laughter of my 1 year old, who is throwing cherrios at his sister.  I try not to sweat the small stuff. 

Around the house… The dishes are done and the living room is clean! 

One of my favorite things… when the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning is a huge grin on my baby’s face.  That’s the BEST.

A few plans for the rest of the week… Nothing much, finishing up on some more pictures, and hoping to have another photo shoot next week – my first maternity shoot!

Here is picture thought I am sharing…

The girls love to rock the baby to sleep, and sometimes they put him down in funny places.  The other night, they made his bed in an empty laundry basket:

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