Opening Day of Fishing 2012

A beautiful day . . . some fantastic friends . . . a pole in the water . . . some biting fish . . . squeals of joy . . . roasting marshmallows . . . learning how to clean the catch . . . a fun relaxing day at the lake . . . seven fresh trout in the fridge . . . can it get much better than this?

A Spring Daybook

Outside my window... 
Wet ground from earlier rain . . . but peeking sun through the clouds. Come on sun . . . come out to play!

I am thankful for...
Hand-me-downs. We have gotten the cutest clothes lately for the girls and myself. Best part, they were free which was quite a blessing. I look forward to blessing others with our clothes as we move on to the next size.

I am thinking about...
Taking a nap. We are all working through another cold. I feel like we have been inundated this year with flus and colds and none of it is fun. We finally all went to the doctor together and it was quite comical to watch her check down the line . . . ear, ear, ear, ear . . . nose, nose, nose, nose . . . take a deep breath, take a deep breath, take a deep breath, take a deep breath. And we all won the antibiotic prize for a myriad of sinus and bronchitis type infections. (The huge praise throughout all of this is that last year, I would have been in the hospital at least once for all this business. As much as I love my fantastic doctors, I enjoy not seeing them very often!)

Learning all the time...
What things I need to parent and what things I need to ignore. I find myself annoyed with certain behaviors that upon later contemplation realize they are just being kids which sometimes means loud and messy and silly and wild and not always pleasing to my ears but not disobedient or naughty. Don't get me wrong - I think it is totally appropriate to pull the plug on activities that get out of control or reign in when things cross the line or ask for the noise level to go down if it's too high . . . but sometimes I have to remember what it was like to be 6 or 8 and how much fun riding down the stairs in sleeping bags laughing loudly with glee was. Chill out Mom.

From the kitchen...
Tons of fresh produce. We have recently discovered a produce co-op in our area. For $20 twice a month, you receive two huge bags full of delicious fruits and veggies. And although there was once a bag of parsnips I had to Google to know how to cook, it's mostly all the things I'd buy each month for at least three times the price . . . potatoes, oranges, apples, onions, peppers, carrots, lettuce, mangoes, sprouts, bananas, grapefruits, pears . . . and that's not even all. It's so fresh and wonderful that we have an ongoing joke. As we taste everything, it really is the best we've ever had. So now, when going for an apple for example, we say to the person, "Is that going to be the best apple you've ever had?" And we giggle our heads off. It saves us a ton of money, saves us time to go to the grocery store at least twice a month to find all these great things and makes us feel part of the community. It's awesome . . . you should find one near you. (or if you're near me, I'll send ya the link)

I am creating . . .
A compilation of Grannie Oregon's life story. (Yes - that's what we call her.)We recently had the privilege to sit and chat and listen and be inspired and laugh and learn about her life. When I mentioned what a joy that was, she said, "I've been writing a bunch of these down but am not very good at editing." I jumped at the chance. I love to write and I love to listen to the wisdom of those further along in their journey than I am. Upon returning home, there was a large manilla envelope in the mail full of pages of stories. I've begun typing them up and will soon start tying them together. She turns 96 in September and what a more perfect gift? I laugh so hard some times that Travis will come over and see what I'm writing. What a joy!

I am working on...
Mailing out our "we have moved" cards . . . four months later. Better late than never I suppose.

I am going...
To pick up Hannah from school and enjoy the barrage of stories from the 3rd grade. I love being the one to raise these little girls and there is something special about that first 10 or 15 minutes right after school. (Although I did forget how fast a little girl can talk at only 8 years old. What am I to do at 15?)

I am hoping...
We feel good enough to go to the lake with friends on Saturday. It's opening fishing weekend (which means nothing to me except that friends have a fun barbeque every year and we look forward to the adventure).

I am reading...
Well I just finished reading "Cinderella Ate my Daughter" by Peggy Orenstein. It is an absolutely MUST read for all moms with daughters. First because she is hilarious and you will laugh out loud. Second because she has taken a long hard look at the marketing directed at our little girls and what that is creating for them. It's interesting, poignant and you truly must read it. Haley and I went to the library today and I feel like a kid at Christmas when I dump the bag out of new books. My greatest dilemma is what to read first.

I am praying for...
Miraculous healing . . .
   
I am hearing...
The Mariners game. My dad will absolutely love the fact that Haley has taken a big liking to the national pastime. She was up one night with a tummy ache and there is nothing like sitting on Mommy's lap learning all the ins and outs of the game of baseball. Since then, she's hooked and actually asks to watch it on her own fruition.

Around the house...
Empty boxes from light bulbs and ceiling fans and cords. The electrician came out today to fix a few projects around the house. I appreciate the fact that there are people out there who know a whole lot more about so many things in the world and can make little honey-dos disappear that my honey can't do. (I love you honey and love what you can do . . . let's be honest though. Electrical work is not your forte and I want you to keep your eyebrows.)

One of my favorite things...
Playing games with my little girl. I realize now just how fast time goes by and we have tons of family time that is great. And with Hannah, I adore reading her books at night. She is an avid reader just like her momma and we love snuggling in together with a good story. But looming in the back of my mind is the reality, little one will be going to school five days a week. I love our elementary school. I've been volunteering in both their classrooms once a week and adore their teachers, their principles and the opportunities they have at their finger tips (I just discovered they have a wet land on site complete with bat houses, bridges and trails, sandy foot print boxes and plants galore to learn about on the way) but I appreciate how precious it is to stay home with my little bug and want to enjoy the special time we have right now.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Precious time with sweet cousins on our last Oregon trip a few years ago. I wish I were there with them right now hugging them as tight as I could . . .

Questions to Ponder

The bible is infinite . . . scholars spend their whole lifetimes trying to understand it all . . . as much as I will never understand it all, I know that it's true . . . for the bible tells me so! There are times when I enjoy just taking it in - reveling in God's promises. And then there are times when I like to be challenged. I truly enjoy a good bible study where I am given the opportunity to learn from someone oh so much smarter than I am. And I occasionally like to read a book that offers some depth to ponder. '40 Questions About the End Times' by Eckhard Schnable was such a book.

I was really excited to dive in and learn after completing Beth Moore's study of Revelation. There are more than a billion words and thoughts and insights in this book that I will never begin to grasp it all. Eckhard Schnable, however, made a good attempt to do so with an exhaustive amount of research. I began reading each question and commentary from start to finish and after four or five questions, my eyes were crossing, my head was spinning and I was more confused that the easy prompting question began. I was almost ready to give up. Then I realized there was a summary at the end of each chapter that combined the research and thoughts discussed way over my head in the 10 or so pages prior. I finally began to understand some of his points.

I did not agree with all of his positions and was more that overwhelmed by the amount of references included in each topic but had great appreciation for all the work he did and did take some thoughts to ponder. I found those summaries quite concise and somewhat approachable. It's an impressive research book that reminded me of my college days - which sometimes we need to challenge ourselves and remember we have an intellectual brain.  If you'd like to win a copy of this book, put your name in the comments section and you can spend days pondering some thoughts and questions about the end times . . .