Doing the Next Thing

Update Friday 5pm: Today S. had a outpatient surgery to remove the barb. Thankfully, the surgeon was able to easily locate it and get it out. The barb was smaller than I thought, but still a pretty long object to have embedded in the soft part of your big toe! S. was very calm and a good patient, though he was quite a character when he was still loopy from all the medications. He'll spend the next 24 hrs off his feet and then a few days on crutches. What a story he has to tell his friends! Thanks for all your prayers and comments. I'm so glad to have the excitement behind us. Now we can spend the weekend restoring order and peace to our home. (click on the picture to enlarge it and you can just barely see the serrations ... ouch!) Update Thursday 4pm: We had a consult with a foot surgeon today and scheduled the surgery for tomorrow (Friday) morning at 11. They will not use general anesthesia, but instead "twilight sleep" plus lots of local anesthetic. Thanks for your ...

It's birthday season at our house. Today is a milestone ... my firstborn turns 13! Yes, at 3:38am I became the mother of a teenager. S. was not only our first child, but the first grandchild on both sides of the family. Despite all the grandmothers' spoiling, he has remained a very sweet, even-keeled boy. He is a lego-builder, nature-lover, scientist, and friend to all animals. He loves to read, loves to act, and loves computers. He has been my right arm with the arrival of babies #4 and #5. He is not just my son, but quickly becoming ... my friend. Happy Birthday, S!

Today is my #2 son, C.'s 11th birthday! C. made his arrival 3 days before his big brother's 2nd birthday - what a fun birthday present for S. that year! We are on our vacation and are celebrating by eating his favorite breakfast - pancakes - and heading to the beach! For the last 11 years, this boy has made us laugh more times than we can count! He has a hilariously sophisticated sense of humor. He also has very contagious joi de vive and I love him for it! Happy Birthday, Kiddo!

Fans: Our family is addicted to fans! I contemplated that fact with some frustration as I began packing for our trip to the beach. If you were to visit our home in the dead of night, you would hear no less than 4 small box fans whirring away as the family sleeps. I'm not sure how it started - perhaps when our oldest was a babe and we had a monster german shepherd that barked at everything. And now - let's face it our house is a noisy place! The pleasant white noise of a fan helps a baby settle down for a nap in the midst of the commotion. Our favorite is this Honeywell version; we've been through many of them over time! And so, as we load up the suburban, we will be taking along our 4 favorite little black Honeywells! The Lord gives the increase: I have happy news - my dear sister is expecting her second baby in April! After years of waiting on the Lord, she gave birth in Jan. 2006 to the cutest little girl you've ever seen. It has been a joy for me to watch her become...

Quotes flying around our house recently: "I have natural talent!" - 10 yo C. getting excited because he can play Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing on his recorder. Enthusiasm? Yes. Talent? Time will tell. "Mama, I so sick. I need to rest because my feelings hurt." - 3 yo. A., who is not sick at all, just trying a new angle on getting to be a couch potato. "I really got one?!" - 12 yo. S. in disbelief after opening a gift from his uncle - a bonsai tree. Believe it or not, that is what he wanted most for his birthday. (The actual birthday is next week, so I'm calling him 12 as long as I can!) "Mama" - 16 month old K. - yes she finally said it and her Mama is very happy! And winner of most convicting comment of the week... "I wish... Mom, it would be cool if you could be a kid again." - Ouch! 8 yo. M. after I told her I couldn't help her brush her doll's hair right now. Guess who is getting some Mommy time today?

My son C. (almost 11) caught this katydid in our backyard with our next-door neighbor. His 5th grade science curriculum (with A Beka Academy ) encouraged the students to make a "meadow terrarium" so he thought this katydid was a good place to start. They named it "K-man."

Work and play at the park.

I love historical fiction! It's probably my favorite literary genre. So when I put God King by Joanne Williamson on my sons' reading list for this school year, I knew I would have as much fun reading it as they would. The last time we were studying ancient history, we read Williamson's Hittite Warrior , set in the biblical time period of the Judges. We fell in love with her vivid characters, readable style, and exciting way of making the action of the Bible come to life. This book was no different. God King is set in the time of King Hezekiah, when the Assyrians had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and were knocking on Jerusalem's door. True to form, the book was easy to read and action-packed. Taharka , a young Egyptian pharaoh (thus the god king reference) must flee for his life to Judea. Once there, he witnesses first-hand Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem, coming away with a respect for Yahweh, the God of Judah. I came away with a neat discover...

One of the reasons I love that poem is that I sometimes feel I never get out of "survival mode." There are so many days that we don't seem to "move the plot along" in our story. We struggle to feed, clothe, and clean up. Projects get postponed - again. Lesson plans don't get made - we just wing it. Our pastor is preaching through the book of Ecclesiastes and I've been thinking recently how tempting it is to feel like day follows day and all is vanity under the sun. But as Christians, we don't live life under the sun - we live it "under the Son" (borrowed from the title of a Jay Adams book .) That's why I find myself saying, "do the next thing." Do it immediately, do it with prayer; looking to Jesus, ever serener. Instead of wallowing in my frustration, I just "do the next thing" with prayer and more often than not my attitude experiences a change for the better. This week has been a good example of that. We had an al...

Three years ago, after a break of five and a half years, we had our fourth child, a son. It was with great joy that we reentered the baby phase after such a long break. A. was instantly a hit with our older children and became the "family doll." The Lord's timing was perfect, for this baby would be the last my beloved mother-in-law would hold and his beaming face and charming personality comforted all of us when the Lord took her home. As A. became mobile, we quickly realized we had a spirited kid on our hands. My #2 son, C., nicknamed him "BLT" - "Busy Little Toddler." The name was perfect and it stuck! He is the most active, rambunctious, and mischievous toddler I have ever had! He conquered every baby gate we put up. He climbed out of the playpen and the crib. He has decorated furniture, carpet, and walls with his marker "art." In short, he runs circles around us! But the BLT is also one of the most affectionate and compassionate little g...