Doing the Next Thing

How was everyone's Christmas? Ours was good. Busy - as always, but good. This is our year to travel and be with all of my side of the family. So we celebrated our faux Christmas Morning with our children on the 24th, then headed to Tennessee for a Christmas bash that included 12 adults and 11 children! It really is a blessing to gather that many family members to celebrate and fellowship, even if it is what my Mom calls "happy chaos." We also took the opportunity to get a portrait done of the entire family. I can't wait to see the results and post the picture. It was actually much easier - and faster - than I thought it would be to get a good shot of so many people, five of whom are age 4 and under! Now it is New Year's Eve and I sit here in the midst of a mess of presents, luggage, and packaging - evidence that we left in a rush - and I'm struggling to get it all put away and tidied up. I titled my blog Doing the Next Thing, because that seems to be wha...

--Be careful with your camera's memory card! I had an SD card disaster this week and lost a bunch of pictures. Lessons learned: 1. don't delete pics from the card using Windows - do it on the camera; 2. get some prints once in a while and back the dern thing up before you have 500 pics piled up! --In other "tech" news: our kids truly are more tech savvy than we. A (4), in a wise-in-his-own-eyes attempt to turn on a Sp*der-M*an cartoon, ordered Fre*d Cla*us on demand for $4.99! Not my first choice for movie night w/ my Sweetie, but we weren't going to let 5 bucks go to waste. --Christmas decor and baking ... am I the only one who struggles with frustration at the huge mess being festive makes? I love doing Christmas-y things with the family, but it takes motivation to stay jolly while working overtime. ;-) --Check out the Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog . We're letting our kids choose one item from the catalog to earn money for by doing extra chores. It...

"Better known as Soon-Dead and Gonna Bite-It" 12 C., renaming Eli's 2 wicked sons, after reading in I Samuel where God says they will die for their sins. "I'm not making a mess - I'm making art! " 4yo A., when I told him to be careful with glue, paper, scissors, and a hole punch. "Mom, when I have a job and I'm earning my own money... if the family budget is still tight, I'll give you some." 14yo S, showing a little bit of maturity. Awww. "When I get up in the morning, I'm gonna make a mocha." S again. Somebody tell that boy to stop growing up! "I be careful -- I be careful, Daddy." 2yo K's announcement as she walked into the room carrying the empty silverware basket. Such a helpful girl. " And I thought your eggs weren't going to be good!" 9yo M, pleasantly surprised that the breakfast she made me was actually quite delicious. That girl loves to cook and is happiest in the kitchen. It's...

What's been going on, you ask? Well... on the one hand, it feels like a whole lotta nuthin! On the other hand, I've been incredibly busy with daily life. You know the drill, the kind of busy where everyone gets fed, clothed, cleaned, and tutored each day and you fall into bed at night - only to get up and do it all over again. The weeks fly by, and poof! It's Thanksgiving before you know it! That's ok, though. We've laughed, loved, learned, and served. K (2) continues to keep us in stitches with the funny things she says and does. The latest is her announcement that "I go bafroom you" each time I say I have to go to the bath*room. She runs in, lifts the lid, and stands ready to assist me in any way. Future attendant at a 5-star hotel? The Big 3 have enjoyed their enrichment classes, culminating in a medieval feast for M (9) and some pretty amazing President projects for S (14) and C (12). A's (4) obsession with the human body has been replaced with Spi...

I am so not a decorator! I post these pictures only to show you that it is possible to have beauty ( i.e . Hidden Art ) in your home with no talent and no money! Yesterday was a rough one around here and I was feeling a little blue come dinnertime. I decided a pretty table would make our plain ole weeknight fish-and-broccoli dinner a little more festive. The flowers are summer's last blast from my neglected yard; the napkins are cut from a fabric remnant I keep meaning to do something with; the aspen wood vase was last year's anniversary present from My Sweetie. In about 15 min, the table - and my attitude - got a makeover. Return, O my soul, to your rest;for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. Psalm 116:7

In the description at the top of my blog, I have these words: "Thoughts on the joys and struggles of one Mom's journey..." Well, here is a bit on a struggle I'm having at the moment - the computer. I know from reading other blogs that many of you share this struggle. I've posted about it before. But I was convicted, once again, that too much of my time was being spent here. You may have noticed I'm posting less. If you have your own blog, I'm sure you've noticed that I have been visiting less. As Dr. Richard Swenson, author of the book Margin , says, "Progress means more and more of everything, faster and faster." Computers, cell phones, blogs, networks, email, voicemail... all fabulous tools, but also all time-suckers. And each new thing competes with the rest of our life for the same 24hrs. In a radio broadcast Swenson did on Focus on the Family, he recommends unplugging as a way of simplifying, allowing us to maintain balance and margin in...

I just had to share a glimpse of recess today at the Next Thing house. I went out to check on the kiddos and here's what I found: -M (9) with a plastic knife and cup, cutting of sprigs of boxwood, pretending they are herbs for her "soup" -C (12) hammering an old piece of crumbling concrete, just because. He said, "Mom, can I just keep hammering? It's fun." -K (2) taking great delight in running in an out of the bushes - Laughing at herself when no one is looking -S (14) watching over things and using sticks to make speed bumps for A (4), who is racing down the grassy hill on his tricycle like Evil Kenevil --and then... S taking his turn going over the speed bumps on A's little bike It doesn't always look this happy, but I love it when they are all using their imaginations, enjoying each other's company, and (for the big boys) ignoring the world's notion that they're too old to "play." Thank you, Lord, for this sweet vision of...