And here's why.
This video by Kelly Corrigan, author of "The Middle Place" really packaged up the enormous value of women and their friendships with other women, their friends, mother's and sisters. At times when it can seem so frustrating to be a woman because we are so interconnected which can be so complicated at times, and men often don't understand our need to connect. Yet in reality we've been blessed to inherit a God given divine nature to connect, nurture, love, and support, laugh, cry and bind up each other's wounds. I can relate to this woman's experiences, (minus the getting together for a drink or a smoke, but ultimately she has experienced just what all of us women do when we have a great group of friends). The second video was poignant as well. Too all my women friends and to Amy O., here's a video for you
To view the second video you will either have to click on the link or copy and paste it. A great honor to the purpose of a family.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3R156WOA9WSBE
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Happy New Year
some of our pecan pickings
Dustin & Daria take a ride
Grandma said there would only be 3-4 eggs for Daria to find. She was right!
The chicken who was hoping to protect her egg.
The affect of being on the farm.
Yes, my kids are amazed at dried cow bones
(Cheri, this post is for you)
Happy New Year to everyone. I am trying to come up with a short re-cap of our holidays, and anyone who knows me, knows that it’s a challenge to keep any conversation short. I would like to say that I’ll take on the challenge of keeping it short but wouldn’t want to disappoint any of you with a tiny blog post. :o)
To start off with, as you know December is always a very busy month, that can often make a person/parent cringe. But I read something that a good friend of mine wrote on her blog. I’ve just got to share it because I think it’s a great way to think of the holidays.
Simplify they say. Keep it simple. I realize that there is no such thing, really. I mean, you can simplify each individual thing to the best of your ability, and there IS such a thing as being organized and prepared, (for example having your Christmas cards out on time, and other such gratifying things...) but at Christmas time, simple is just not possible in my humble view. Buying less? Yes. Easy December? No. But the realization I have come to is that Christmas can't be easy, you wanna know why? Cuz it's the season of giving, sharing and thinking about other people. And that is OK. If your Christmas seems hectic and you find that the reason is because you are thinking about what to give to others and who you need to help, then...you are doing the right thing. Secret Santa, The Giving Tree, the families in need, the neighbors you haven't introduced yourself to yet, the people you visit teach at church, the collection drive in which you need to remember to put out the "gently used stuff" on your porch, the class parties you are helping to plan for the little kids who are really important in your life, the giving gifts to neighbors to foster friendships, etc. etc. Nope, Christmas can't be easy. And it's ok. Just keep on moving and LOVE it! (Even if that means you wake up THINKING at 3:30 am and you have to get up at 4:00 cuz you just can't bear to let the time be wasted...yawn.)
With that said, we had a great December. It WAS busy. I thought I was somewhat prepared (since July) but miscalculated the time frame of accomplishing things. Like the fact that the craft I was making for various friends/family members takes 24 hours to dry, or that putting a 94 page book together really should have been started several months ago, not 3 weeks before Christmas. I also never calculated the fact that I had to plan a party for Daria’s class. But I won’t complain, I enjoyed it all. Thus, I often found myself in a time crunch. Fortunately I still felt the spirit of Christmas. Our home was often in disarray but filled with Christmas music and bustling projects.
We were able to visit Ken’s family for Christmas, have a mini-wrapping paper snowball fight, pick some pecans and visit Ken’s 97 year old Grandmother, who happened to be quick as a whip on the day we saw her, and pick eggs out of the hen house. Dustin and Daria spent hours riding the 4-wheelers around the field…by themselves…. As Ken and I cautiously watched. Amazingly they followed the rules, no speeding, no jerking, no turning fast, no racing. Daria is too much of a rule follower. But we kept our eyes on Dustin who I think has a “need for speed”, but he didn’t want to loose this glorious privilege so he obeyed. Since we visited Ken’s family for Christmas, our gifts and stockings were left at home, much to the children’s worry. (if we are not at home will Santa still come to our house?). Luckily he did. Everyone knows that he goes where your stockings are hanging right? When we returned home the stockings were full! We also started a new tradition in our family. Daria and Dustin have to make something for each other as gifts. Daria spent oodles of time sewing a pair of Longhorn pajama bottoms for Ken and Star Wars pajama bottoms for Dustin. Dustin with the help of Ken built a nice jewerly box for Daria.
Happy New Year to everyone. I am trying to come up with a short re-cap of our holidays, and anyone who knows me, knows that it’s a challenge to keep any conversation short. I would like to say that I’ll take on the challenge of keeping it short but wouldn’t want to disappoint any of you with a tiny blog post. :o)
To start off with, as you know December is always a very busy month, that can often make a person/parent cringe. But I read something that a good friend of mine wrote on her blog. I’ve just got to share it because I think it’s a great way to think of the holidays.
Simplify they say. Keep it simple. I realize that there is no such thing, really. I mean, you can simplify each individual thing to the best of your ability, and there IS such a thing as being organized and prepared, (for example having your Christmas cards out on time, and other such gratifying things...) but at Christmas time, simple is just not possible in my humble view. Buying less? Yes. Easy December? No. But the realization I have come to is that Christmas can't be easy, you wanna know why? Cuz it's the season of giving, sharing and thinking about other people. And that is OK. If your Christmas seems hectic and you find that the reason is because you are thinking about what to give to others and who you need to help, then...you are doing the right thing. Secret Santa, The Giving Tree, the families in need, the neighbors you haven't introduced yourself to yet, the people you visit teach at church, the collection drive in which you need to remember to put out the "gently used stuff" on your porch, the class parties you are helping to plan for the little kids who are really important in your life, the giving gifts to neighbors to foster friendships, etc. etc. Nope, Christmas can't be easy. And it's ok. Just keep on moving and LOVE it! (Even if that means you wake up THINKING at 3:30 am and you have to get up at 4:00 cuz you just can't bear to let the time be wasted...yawn.)
With that said, we had a great December. It WAS busy. I thought I was somewhat prepared (since July) but miscalculated the time frame of accomplishing things. Like the fact that the craft I was making for various friends/family members takes 24 hours to dry, or that putting a 94 page book together really should have been started several months ago, not 3 weeks before Christmas. I also never calculated the fact that I had to plan a party for Daria’s class. But I won’t complain, I enjoyed it all. Thus, I often found myself in a time crunch. Fortunately I still felt the spirit of Christmas. Our home was often in disarray but filled with Christmas music and bustling projects.
We were able to visit Ken’s family for Christmas, have a mini-wrapping paper snowball fight, pick some pecans and visit Ken’s 97 year old Grandmother, who happened to be quick as a whip on the day we saw her, and pick eggs out of the hen house. Dustin and Daria spent hours riding the 4-wheelers around the field…by themselves…. As Ken and I cautiously watched. Amazingly they followed the rules, no speeding, no jerking, no turning fast, no racing. Daria is too much of a rule follower. But we kept our eyes on Dustin who I think has a “need for speed”, but he didn’t want to loose this glorious privilege so he obeyed. Since we visited Ken’s family for Christmas, our gifts and stockings were left at home, much to the children’s worry. (if we are not at home will Santa still come to our house?). Luckily he did. Everyone knows that he goes where your stockings are hanging right? When we returned home the stockings were full! We also started a new tradition in our family. Daria and Dustin have to make something for each other as gifts. Daria spent oodles of time sewing a pair of Longhorn pajama bottoms for Ken and Star Wars pajama bottoms for Dustin. Dustin with the help of Ken built a nice jewerly box for Daria.
Ken & Dustin showcaseing the jammie bottoms Daria made by herself
One other huge event happened while we visited family, some sort of coming of age or right of passage (understand that I’m saying that dumbfoundedly or a bit sarcastically). Dustin who has yearned since he was 4, was finally able to go hunting with daddy and actually shoot his first gun (not hunting, just target practice). I admit, being a woman and a cautious protective mother, it’s just never easy to see a gun in your child’s hand (even though I’ll admit I like to target practice myself). Sometimes everything in your gut just thinks it is not right. BUT, at the same time he is a boy and has a smart dad and grandfather who are serious about teaching him safety, proper use, etc. But seven years old? I was hoping to wait more like until he was 9. Farm boy Ken reminds me that growing up on the farm you learn these things real early (Ken was driving the tractor at 8). At this time in Dustin’s little life he’s still bent on becoming an Air Force Pilot and looks at his cousin Jonathon who just joined the Marines as a hero, and well, we know that soldiers are heroes fighting to protect our freedoms and the freedoms of others around the world. Soooo, we packed ourselves up, drove down to Ken’s grandmother’s property out in the middle of no where and Dustin who walked like he was 10 feet tall, got to shoot at some targets with a 22. Amazingly he was pretty good and brought his little rusted can with holes in it, home as evidence. As a mother of a little boy though, when I look at this picture I can't help but imagine a man in full military battle dress uniform, fighting some war, and I know Dustin is enjoying himself at this moment, but there is something deep inside that says “I would be proud if my son one day served the country….but fear the sacrifice that it may require”
Another neat event in our month came when Daria shared her piano talents. How do you talk about your children’s talents without sounding overly prideful? But the truth of the matter is, Daria does very very well in piano. It’s natural for her and she can pick up what seems like any piece of music and sight read it and eventually play it. I sometimes listen in awe. Mostly though I’m thankful to have music in our home because it adds so much and reminds me of the verse “for my soul delighteth in the song of the heart”. So this holiday, we invited some friends over and the sister missionaries for dinner. After dinner we all gathered around the piano. Daria would play several Christmas hymns (while we listened, she said she would only do it if we did not sing because it still sort of distracts her). In between the hymns we would read verses out of the Bible telling the story of Christ’s birth. Song, then verse, song then verse. It was a lovely special evening and I was so thankful Daria was willing to do that. It really made us feel the spirit of the season.
Lastly, the biggest thing that happened is the addition of 2 members of our family. Meet Chrysanthemum and Patches. Yes we now have rats in our house, only not the ones you call the pest control people out for. When I had asked Daria what she wanted for Christmas she could only come up with 4 things. Rat, Sour Patch Kid’s candy, a book and a Webkin. You have to understand that since Kindergarten Daria has wanted to be a veterinarian and she is drawn to all animals. This brought fun conversations in the home. Again, Farm Boy Ken who grew up on the farm couldn’t even remotely see how a rat could be a pet, none the less having one in his house. City girl Karie whose brother owned everything from mice, rats, to snakes, felt quite ok with it. Long story short. Daria now has two rats. The only stipulation: keep the cage clean, if it starts stinking they’re out of here. Anyway, just a note to all you parents out there. You may think a rat is an odd pet, but by far they really are a perfect first pet, even better than gerbils, hamsters, or guinea pigs. They are more social, and you can potty train them and teach them tricks. The “girls” as I like to call them will always come out to meet me if I step towards the cage. They loved to be held, snuggled and played with.
The rest of the holidays was filled with endless marathons of playing Settlers of Catan, spending time with friends and enjoying our time at home.
…..how about that for a quick post!
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