MAYCATION!

today is the first day of "the most wonderful time of the year," 

MAYCATION!

"school's out for summer," and we'll be on maycation at the in-law's casa on bass lake!

for the next 14 days i will be found;

lounging on the beach

life-guarding (swimming is only for the young and brave.  the lake is still cold)

slathering young wakeboarders with sunscreen

on a ski boat waving the orange flag 

overseeing the construction of sandcastles 

(someone has to make sure they follow county building codes)

devouring fudgebuckets

markley girls & jones kids sharing a fudgebucket, maycation 09

 

bulking up my muffin top with junkfood

visiting with friends who have become family 

(our first visitors are blog friends with families- idaho mom & the best days of my life)

visiting with family who have become friends!

i HEART maycation!

and tell me when can you come for maycation? 

glory speaking

"Worship is a deliberate and disciplined adventure in reality." It is not for the timid or comfortable.  It involves an opening of ourselves to the adventurous life of the Spirit.

 From Richard J. Foster's Celebration of Discipline

The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot!

Augustine of Hippo 

 i have been timid and comfortable.  

i long for an adventurous life in the Spirit.

i desire passion, and to be an "alleluia from head to foot!"

i want my life to be a doxology
(from the greek doxa, glory + logas, word or speaking).

i was made to be glory speaking.  

Do Silly

yesterday was the neighbor boy's birthday.

he's 10.

10's a big deal.

to God he's a big deal.

we walked over to his house after dinner to sing happy birthday, give him a gift, and to say, "we are so glad God made you."

he was delighted.  his freckled face lit up as he grinned from ear to ear.

it was the only gift he'd received on his birthday.

he had share with us weeks earlier about his plans to indulge in his favorite, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on his upcoming birthday.  when i asked him if he'd had his birthday cake, he licked his lips at the thought of it, and said, "we don't have any cake."

"no cake!" i responded. "i know how you like chocolate cake with chocolate frosting."  he smiled. "well, we need to see if we can find the chocolate cake fairy!" he looked at me puzzled. he was unaware that i have fairy connections, as i said, "we're going to look for that chocolate cake fairy, and get her to bring you your cake!"

chocolate cake fairies aren't hard to find when you are blessed by a family that doesn't mind getting scooped up into crazy ideas in order to love people out loud!

we walked in the door at 7:00 p.m., divided and conquered. i was thrilled to discover we had 1 chocolate cake mix box in the cupboard (we are not chocolate cake connoisseurs), and got to baking. michael and noah headed to the store for chocolate icing, ice cream, and candles. the girls got to work creating the "chocolate cake fairy!" by 8:00 p.m. we walked next door to make our delivery.



 with 10 candles lit, we knocked on the door, and SURPRISED our neighbor with the "chocolate cake fairy," his very favorite dessert, and another round of happy birthday.

please join us in praying that he will KNOW that God has not forgotten him. that he will grow having confidence that his God sees him, knows him, wants him, and LOVES him. pray that this 10th birthday will be a reminder of that Truth, which comes from the  greatest gift he could ever receive, Jesus.

finally head over to Deb's blog,  Talk at the Table, and be encouraged to Do Silly.

Wonderously Made

In the Beginning, O God, have You made heaven and earth.

In Your Word,

In Your Son,

In Your Power,

In Your Wisdom,

In Your Truth.

Wonderously You spoke and wonderously made.

Who shall comprehend? Who declare it?

What is it that gleams through me?

What strikes my heart without hurt?

What makes me shudder and glow, impassioned?

This force is so unlike me, so I shudder.

But this force is what I was made to be like, so I ignite.

From the Confessions of St. Augustine

Yosemite Falls, Yosemite 

May 2, 2010

the "check engine" light came on in our van last week.  today it came on in our car.  it was only a matter of time for both.  we've planned to run both vehicles into the ground, and replace them when absolutely necessary (how we're going to replace them is another question).

it occurred to me that my spiritual "check engine" light has been on for a while, and i've been ignoring it.  my "vehicle" was past the point of needing repair some time ago.  instead of repairing it i've learned how to coast in neutral. to keep coasting one needs a downward slope, and i've been on it. there is no destination, i've been aimlessly traveling wherever the slope takes me. 


but i wasn't created to coast. 

i am wondrously made, and bound for glory.  

my life from start to finish is to be traveled on Victory Rd. 

pray for me as i go back to the Beginning, to my first love.
as i seek the One who made heaven and earth, and ask him to make me. 
as i ask Jesus to strike my heart!  to cause me to be impassioned and ignited, and to gleam through me again. 

popularity & circumstance

i'll never forget the last time i wore days of the week panties.  it was june, 1987, at my 8th grade graduation.

i was wearing wednesday panties, and it was friday. i hadn't been wearing them since wednesday, they just happened to be clean that friday so i slipped them on.  i was 13, and had no reason to fear that my red and white striped, "wednesday, wednesday, wednesday, wednesday, wednesday..." panties would be seen by anyone other than me.

to be completely honest i wasn't concerned with my panties at all, i was distracted by the excitement of wearing my new graduation outfit from the limited! 

you see in jr. high as all the other girls showcased their wardrobes filled with name brands such as- guess, esprit, outback red, reebox, and keds,  i was wearing the latest no-name-brand clothing, purchased on lay-away, from zody's or mervyns, paired with my payless shoe source pro-wing tennies.

so you can only imagine how thrilled i was when my mom took me to the limited to purchase my 8th grade graduation outfit.   like molly ringwold in "pretty in pink" or john cusack in "say anything" i too longed to be accepted by the cool girls, and knew this outfit would launch me into popularity.

i arrived at graduation with my aqua-net doused head held up high, as i wore my new peach outback red wrap around skirt, and forenza blouse.

i was certain the cool girls were all eyes on me as we lined up boy-girl-boy-girl, and were each given our white see-thru caps and gowns.

with caps and gowns on, we made our way on to the high school football field, cheered on by family members as pomp & circumstance was played by the 7th grade band members.

we took our seats in the warm june sun, and listened to boring speeches made by board members, followed by witty speeches made by the class clowns, and our 8th grade class president.

the time came for us to file into lines, and to make our ascent to the front to receive our diplomas.

i stood up, took a few steps, thinking my skirt felt a little loose, but i didn't worry, and continued to move with the line.

a classmate, who was still seated a few rows behind the moving line shouted to me "hey, your skirts dragging!" i took a closer look. and AGHHHHH!!! my expensive, trendy, gonna-make-me-cool, outback red, wrap around skirt was in fact dragging!

i attempted to fix it.  i desperately called to my friend, wendy, the girl ahead of me, and she graciously attempted to cover me as i tried to rewrap the skirt of my demise around me.  but it was IMPOSSIBLE,  because 1. the line was still moving. 2. we were standing boy-girl-boy-girl.   3. it was friday and i was wearing my wednesday panties!

so i did what any 8th grade girl with her skirt falling off during graduation would do...
i took the skirt off and threw it to the principal, who gave me a puzzled look, and placed it under his chair.

i set a new trend, and became the girl who received her diploma skirtless, wearing a white see-thru gown, AND of course red and white striped wednesday panties on a friday.

turned out i didn't need the skirt to gain popularity after all!

this post is part of flashback friday, usually hosted by jo, at the blog mylestones

 but currently being hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, 

erin, from together for good.

it's a bird, it's a plane...

it's super hero capes! 

i've been busy making capes for 4 SUPER little boys.

two of the boys are my nephews. we just got word that their adoption is in the final stages!!!

the other two capes are for a friend's boys.  she and her husband are divorcing, and her two darling little boys are losing the security of family.  

making capes for  all the boys gave me the opportunity to be intentional about praying for each of them. my great hope for them in Christ is that they would know and live in the fullness of God's love- higher, wider, longer, deeper, and SUPERER than they can grasp or imagine!

when my sewing was done my girls did a little super hero cape sewing of their own

 for my "grandsons."

let me introduce you to

emilie's "son," michael sullivan

josie's "son," logan elliott 

(josie tells me elliott is suppose to have 1 1/2 "l's" and 1 1/2 "t's"). 

if you want to teach your child to sew. this project is simple and QUICK! 

 

 

to make your own super hero capes follow this tutorial from my s.i.l., the pleated poppy!

happy mothers

"She says I shall now have one mouth the more to fill and two feet the more to shoe, more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure or visiting, reading, music, and drawing. Well! This is one side of the story, to be sure, but I look at the other. 

Here is a sweet fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worthy all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. 

I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ’s name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. 

Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother’s heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers!"

from Stepping Heavenward 

by Elizabeth Prentiss

my cup runneth over

"Sacred" by Caedmon's Call

this house is a good mess
it’s the proof of life
no way would I trade jobs
but it don’t pay overtime

I’ll get to the laundry
I don’t know when
I’m saying a prayer tonight
cause tomorrow it starts again

could it be that everything is sacred?
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes

the children are sleeping
but they’re running through my mind
the sun makes them happy
and the music makes them unwind

my cup runneth over
and I worry about the stain
teach me to run to You
like they run to me for every little thing

when I forget to drink from you
I can feel the banks harden
Lord, make me like a stream
to feed the garden

wake up, little sleeper
the Lord, God Almighty
made your Mama keeper
so rise and shine,rise and shine
rise and shine cause

everything is sacred
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes

originally posted in May, 2009

National Day of Prayer

 

"Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."

Amen

   Matthew 6:9-13

You Are My I Love You

originally posted May 2009

I am your parent; you are my child.

I am your quiet place; you are my wild.

I am your calm face; you are my giggle.

I am your wait; you are my wiggle.

I am your carriage ride; you are my king

I am your push; you are my swing.

I am your audience; you are my clown.

I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.

I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice.

I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.

I am your water wings; you are my deep.

I am your open arms; you are my running leap.

I am your way home; you are my new path.

I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.

I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake.

I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line; you are my race.

I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.

I am your favorite book; you are my new lines.

I am your night light; you are my starshine.I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.

I am your good night kiss; you are my I love you

From the children's book "You Are My I Love You" by Maryann K. Cusimano

happy 12th birthday "bob!"

12 "coolawesome" things about noah on his 12th birthday! 

1. his nick name is "Bob." there is no reason. it started when he was a baby, and it stuck.

 2. he reads a lot. he dreams of having a library for a bedroom. he says, " it will be 

two stories tall with a ladder that rolls around the room."

3. he plays so much wii that he has morphed into a wii character

4. he makes up words, like "coolawesome."  if webster  added "coolawesome" to the dictionary i think the definition would be noah. 

5. he is the BEST big brother. he loves his sisters and tells them they are beautiful. 

he also wrestles with them, and tickles them until they laugh and cry, "stop!"

6. he has a green frog, Smoochy, that resides on his pillow, and sleeps next to him each night (Smoochy is 12 years old too).

7. he is still delicious to chew on (shhh, don't tell his friends.  it is so not "coolawesome" for a mom to chew on her 12 year old son).

8. he knows Whose he is. he seeks Truth.

9. when he was 5 he said, "he was going to marry me when he grew up, and that for our wedding i was going to wear a green polka-dot dress, and we were going to have chocolate chip cake."

he broke off our engagement earlier this year. 

10. he  is like his dad. he loves the outdoors, has a witty personality, retains information,

and shows potential to "macgyver" his way out of any situation. 

 11. i use to call him "baby bear," now i call him "bear.  he use to call me "mommy bear," now he calls me "m.b." 

12. he is tender with my heart.

happy 12th (gulp) birthday noah!

you bless me.

 i'm so grateful that 12 years ago our good God made me your mommy.

i love you bear.