Good Morning!
May the Joy of the Lord be your strength today!

Right now I am glancing over my shoulder to see my two little bitty girls emptying my laundry basket as fast as they can. As soon as they finish there they'll probably move to the folded laundry and start helping me by throwing it all to the floor!
I guess that's what I get for leaving it out overnight. My children bring me such great joy! I love their enthusiasm.

Sunday was not such a good day for me, though it ended nicely with a visit at a dear friend's house. I saw her familiar face after a difficult experience and couldn't have been happier! She invited us to stay and I eagerly accepted. We spent the evening talking and sharing 'our true selves'. No pretense in this friendship. She comforted me by opening her home and laughing with me over the little things. She made tea and we shared a supper of burritos. Our husband's talked 'guy talk' while we chattered in the kitchen.

By the time we went home I was renewed in my mind, my heart had been strengthened and my fears pushed aside. I know friendships like this are rare. They are like precious jewels, not to be taken lightly.

When I was young, I didn't realize what a treasure this kind of friendship is. I've lived long enough to know that it's difficult to cultivate any lasting relationship. I believe it gets more difficult as we age. If you are blessed to have this kind of friend...stop right now and call them and thank them for being there for you. If are not so blessed I am sorry. May I suggest praying that God bring this enrichment into your life?

God is Good. Have I said that lately? :-)

This morning I feel a sense of anticipation...there is a little bubbling brook of joy gurgling away in my heart and I'm hard pressed to keep it bottled.
My toe is tapping to a lively Irish tune and it reflects the condition of my heart. Any moment now I may embarrass my children by hopping around the room in an Irish jig. I hope this elation is contagious...maybe you'll start smiling...or laughing...or even dancing!

May your heart feel like smiling, and your eyes like laughing. May you dance barefoot in green grass! :-D

Labels: Another Day

I was visiting another blog this morning and was blessed to hear a modern version of an old favorite song of mine: As the Deer.
It was early and no one else was up in the house so I abandoned myself to worship...closing my eyes and loving Him who gave everything for me. Every day He keeps reminding me to turn back to childlike love and trust. Each new morning I start anew and I remember who He is. The beauty of the words of this song can be found in Psalm 42.

"As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God..."

I encourage you to go and pick up your Bible right now and open to Psalm 42. Read it and listen to this song. Refresh your soul before the Lord.

Have a sunny day!

(click the arrow below for sound)

Labels: Inspirations, Sunday Smiles

Here's something to watch with your children. This is especially for those of you who have never observed a butterfly emerging from it's cocoon. Re-birth is a miraculous thing!




My thanks for this link go to John Sturtevant at Say What? Start Making Sense. He had this video posted in April.
As America's Expert on Clear Writing John Sturtevant's posts are full of 'rubber meets the road' content. This could prove to be very helpful to those of us who homeschool. Most of his posts are directed at the corporate world but are no less useful to the 'rest of us'. :-) Get thee to his site and gather useful tips on teaching your children clear writing.

Labels: Inspirations

Just a few pictures to share today:

Ladybug discovered the beauty of dandelions while on a recent visit to my parents' new home in the Ozark's:


LittleGuy spent a lot of time outdoors with sticks and roly-poly bugs:


Doodlebug smelling a flower while at Grandpa's house:


Little Guy's first horse ride at a cousin's birthday party here in Texas:



Lately, I've been pondering the beauty all around me. I keep marveling at what God has created...especially the children.
I've had some questions and some requests that I've brought before the Lord and have also been reminded of God's character. He's teaching me, again, how to trust....not just in His salvation, not just in my day to day activities...but in His Goodness and Gentleness.

I've been reminded of my first love and I'm falling in love with Him all over again.

For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 33:4-5

Labels: Inspirations

I've been so forgetful lately...ask any of my near friends or relatives and they'll probably shake their heads in wonder and agree that I am not exactly on top of things. Only recently I returned from my usual weekly shopping trip and the children helped me put everything away. Within an hour I was serving supper and confidently announced that there were corn chips to eat with the meal. Everyone was excited to hear it and waited expectantly while I walked to the pantry and began rummaging around. After a few minutes with no success at finding them I looked back at the table and all the waiting faces and said in an overly happy voice "I'm sure they're here somewhere! I just bought them today!" I kept looking but still no chips...after a while I told everyone to keep eating...there must not be any chips. I thought so hard that it hurt but still could not remember. I began questioning whether I had even bought any! Eventually I gave up. Strangely, the following week I was looking for something in the pantry and right before my eyes was a bag of corn chips!!?...

I laughed ...and laughed...at this video. :-) Laughter is good medicine. I hope you enjoy it!

Labels: Another Day

This pretty little thing sits in my kitchen window next to my tins of dishcloths and sponges. Every time I stand there and wash dishes I look at the bright green trim and the pink flowers and I get a sunshiny feeling. It's just one of my favorite things!
What are some of your favorite things?

Labels: Favorite Things

I'm all about teaching femininity to my daughters...
I want them to fully enjoy being what God created them to be.
Women are different than men and how wonderful those differences are!
I desire my girls be trained to cultivate ladylike qualities.

I want to share this link with those of you who have never seen this publication.

If you cannot view the video then maybe you can visit the website at this link:
Girlhood Home Companion


Oh! I guess thought of something to post after all!

Labels: Books Movies Music, Inspirations

Anybody notice I haven't been posting anything lately? I have...
I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. I can't even concentrate enough to kindly link you to other people's posts.

Yes, we are still living and thriving here in the rain forest/tropics/mud pit that used to be Texas.
Yes, the children still do cute things and the hubby still goes to work and comes home and I still cook and clean and bathe babies and change diapers...and now I've added weed eating to my personal list b/c ds17 has been gone to work a lot and the grass is growing 3 times faster than normal...

I could tell you about all the many gazillions of spiders and flies we have this year...maybe I'll take some pictures and post them later. Bet you can't wait!

I could tell you about how my freezer turned off last month and I'm just now getting the meat disposed of...yucky! (don't worry I kept it separate and frozen until I could throw it out...but oh! the mess when I did clean! blech!

I could tell you about the re-arranging I'm doing...it's looking pretty good...but I'm tired and need to sit and have some tea.

Or I could mention the trip to a neighboring town on the 4th of July that should've taken 30 minutes but actually took 2 hours due to a tire blow-out and a missing lug nut wrench! :-) It was raining cats and dogs!

We've had endless adventures but I'm too busy keeping up to write about it all. Maybe things will even out in a couple days and I can post more. Gotta go...the babies are crying about something and I need to shower...I just took all the rotten food to the trash and put it on the curb.

Have a sunny day :-).

Labels: Another Day

This is beautiful....
~~Return of the Daughters~~

As I watch this my eyes fill with tears of joy. God is moving on the hearts of His people.
This has always been our vision and dream for our daughters.
Their website is a treasure chest for young women desiring to serve God in their homes. Please take a little time to visit Visionary Daughters.


This is beautiful too. In a different kind of way. The Godly young people of this generation have a lot to fight for and a lot to stand against..but more than anything they have a lot going for them...


The Rebelution is a website you should visit often if you've got teens in the house. If you've never heard of it before get over there quick and do some reading. What are you waiting for?

Labels: Family, Inspirations

Recently my oldest child (Osprey- my 17 year old son) and I and Dear Hubby have been having some long serious talks. It's that time in Dear son's life when there are new challenges and difficult decisions to be made--especially regarding his future. We have hours of talking and prayer behind us and probably many more hours ahead of us. During these talks we alternate between very happy and a little frustrated and sad (that's me-- because my baby is growing up--when did this happen?).
However, I am so excited to see him maturing and I want to help launch his life into whatever God has planned for him.

This is an excellent time for me to offer him great words of wisdom gleaned through the years.
The following is a list emailed to me by my Aunt that captures some of the wisdom of the ages! ;-).
You've probably seen some of these before. I believe that some of these are quotes that could be credited to particular people but I don't have that info. If you know who said any of these let me know I'll be glad to add credit where credit is due.
I hope these help you smile like they do Osprey and I.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon,
and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet,
just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good
if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be
recalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again,
it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to
others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,
because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way,
you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you.
The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world,
but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are
pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are
different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

and this one is a quote from Yours Truly:
*Don't try to carry God's galvanized wash tub of responsibility...he has a
little colorful plastic pail and spade for you...take it and go.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

Labels: Family, Just for fun, Quotes