~ The Dripping Never Goes Away

I wake up,

Crawl out of bed

Longing for a few more minutes

To sleep, to think

Before chaos ensues

Like it always does.

These boys of mine DID NOT come with a volume control;

No mute button,

No slow-motion setting,

Not even a pause button.

I fear I'm not ready to face it all again.

Will this day hold anything new?

Will it be any different than all the rest of my days lately?

I pause, as I'm in the habit of doing.

I bow my head.

I confess, cry out really, I am incapable of doing this thing I do everyday on my own.

I am nothing without Him.

I determine to set my ears to His tune for this day

to listen for His rhythms

And in that moment, I hear the ever-so-soft dripping sound I hear only when I stop to listen for it

and the dripping washes over me until my heart begins to see the newness of this day

-the mercies

- the grace

- the goodness

- the gifts

• All four children sleeping in long enough for me to get my bearings (and a cup of coffee and a quiet moment) this morning.

• An older child nestling up close to offer humble words, "I'm sorry for my attitude about lunch. I started thinking about all the people who would have been happy to have my lunch. Will you forgive me?"


• A child noticing that mom didn't yell today, and following it up with, "...and neither did I!" (We're both working on it! We're too much alike, the two of us! It is a daily taming for both of us.)

• A nine-year-old who started and finished a book while he waited for his brother's gym class to finish. (That's six books in less than two weeks.)

• A science experiment that actually works!
  
  

• The big "aha" as one of them stops me in the middle of the story of Abraham sacrificing his son, Isaac, "Oh I get it! God provided the ram to take Isaac's place, and Jesus will take our place!" (Ahh, sweet light of truth!) (We were reading in this Genesis commentary again. Great discussion always follows!)
  
  
• A two-year old squealing with delight, "Nummy! Thanks for making dinner, Mom!" as he shovels a huge mouthful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

• A passport arriving in the mail for one who was not born in this country. His first passport was issued by the Republic of Korea. This one was issued by the United States after two attempts, just in time for him to take his 2nd international flight as he and his dad go away for a "rite of passage", "coming of age", "Yea! I'm a teenager now" Father/Son trip (more on that at a later date)

• Two blessed hours of quietness before I lay my body down (unless it collapses from sheer exhaustion first).

Photos are of our humble little school and the little one who likes to be in the middle of it all.

~ Southern at Heart - Cheesehead on Sundays

Today was the big game

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears

We may or may not have worn green and gold to church along with the rest of our fine congregation this morning.

(not - sorry, we don't own any!)

We may or may not have participated in the following prayer at some point this weekend.

(It's not something I'm proud of.)

The Cheesehead Prayer

Now I lay me down to bed

A wedge of cheese upon my head

Allegiance to the Packers I promise to keep

and cheer them on while I'm asleep.

If I should die, don't let me wonder,

Just bury me neath the frozen tundra.

But, Lord, before you take my soul,

Let me see the Pack in one more Super Bowl.

Forgive me Lord, for those I hated,

The Lions and Vikings, they're overrated.

The streets of heaven, so I've been told,

Are paved for us in green and gold.

If I get to heaven I'll have only one wish,

A big screen TV with a satellite dish.

I pray for this Lord, for only one reason,

to cheer on my Pack to a winning season.

I'll close this prayer by thanking you Lord,

for listening to me and the time you afford.

But one more thing......please remember the Bears,

Because that's a team that hasn't a prayer!!!

(Sorry - Couldn't resist!)

We may or may not have jumped on the cheese bandwagon.

(There actually was cheese involved. It just wasn't the foam kind you wear on your head; although, we are not above that type of thing. We just prefer the salty kind that squeaks between your teeth.)

(God brought us to WI. Cheese curds are why we stay!)

I may or may not have taken a brief nap in the middle of the game.
(OK, I admit that I did, but I didn't fall asleep until after our first two touchdowns, and I woke in time for the fantastic ending!)

We may or may not have done some victory dancing!

(Actually, it was just the boys hangin' on to Daddy's legs while he stomped around. Bennett screamed, "Hey guys, wait for me!" Ken's been taking ibuprofen ever since.)

(Thankfully, there is a crop feature on my editing software. The more they danced, the lower dad's pants fell! We got a good giggle out of it!)

We may or may not have paused throughout the evening to chant, "We're going to the superbowl! We're going to the superbowl!"

We may or may not already have plans for Sunday night, February 6th at 5:00 p.m.

(We may even buy some green and gold for the occasion!)

"We're goin' to the Super Bowl! We're goin' to the Super Bowl!

We're goin' to the Super Bowl! We're goin' to the Super Bowl!"

~ The Best of 2010

The calendar flips forward,

the days keep flying by

but we pause to mark the moments,

to capture the precious faces,

and to slow down the passage of time

if only for a moment.

May 2011 be full of precious moments for you and yours.

~ We're Still Celebrating

We still have our tree up.

The twelve days of Christmas seemed to fly by this year.

Actually, the whole season was over before I was ready to say goodbye.

So I've declared Christmas not quite over in our house until I have a moment to enjoy it.

In the meantime, here's a look at our 2010 Christmas season...


- Eight inches of snow (just to put us in the mood)

- One night of baking

- Two strange rashes, three fevers and one case of strep throat

- One beautiful Christmas Eve with church family and friends

- Four happy boys on Christmas morning

-12 hours with four kids in a Yukon (both directions)

- Six nights in strange beds

Bennett and Aidan asleep in the hotel in my hometown

This is the guest house where we stayed in Nashville.

The moment this one goes up for sale, I'm packing up my family and taking them with me! (Just kidding!)

- A tender Tennessee Christmas with too many family and friends to count

Lots of cousins

Beautiful nieces

My brother (left) with his wife and friends

My Brother and Dad

The matriarch of my family and the one we hold responsible for all the chaos - 94 this year!

Beautiful sisters-in-law

Ken's brother and nephew

Siblings

Crazy People

Niece and her adorable red head

Grammy and her youngest great-grandchild

- And one family still celebrating the gifts of family, friendship and forgiveness this Christmas Season

It's all because of Jesus!