Journey Notes

We Did It.

2011-12-18T11:32:00.002-05:00

When you get in a car on a first date, and your date has to move Amway training tapes out of your way, you have a decision to make. Get out and run. Go on the date and never return another call. Or pay attention to all that caused you to say yes to the first date, and see if there is something to learn.

17 years ago, I decided on the last option. This intelligent man who loved (loves) God passionately and seemed (seems) crazy about me and is thoroughly committed to living life to it's fullest - he was also committed to the Amway business. What I thought that meant at first was that he sold soap - like Vern the old man who used to peddle at my parent's house. What I found out was that it really meant I was falling in love with an entrepreneur - someone who at age 16 committed to having multiple income streams and working for himself.

I could write an entire post on how our marriage (a few months later) was fully blessed and grew so much because of our years committed to our Amway business - maybe I will sometime - but this isn't what I'm here to share today. But you need to understand that when I married Marc, I knew this about him - and knew that it would have an impact on all of our Life Together.

Fast forward 15 years. 3 kids, many moves, several jobs. Marc was approached to run a political campaign for someone we felt passionate enough about to support - in an intense way. It was a crossroads at a perfect time. Marc had been building thefundraisingcoach.com since 2003. There was insurance for our family, so we went for it. It was a risk, a calculated risk, a big risk. But when I married my Amway tape toting man, I knew that there would be times when we had to take a risk (I'm NOT a risk taker, not like that anyway). As much as Marc had stayed in life-sucking, demeaning jobs to serve my need for stability, I knew it was my turn to serve and trust him to make this jump.

The political campaign ended that June - badly and sadly and sooner than we expected. Marc did the cleanup, and we spent the next few months making the best decisions we could. Marc put out feelers to employers, and went to work in earnest at thefundraisingcoach. Each month there was enough. Sometimes just enough. But enough.

That fall we faced some business upsets and some painful learning experiences with a home renovation. We lost a lot of money - or poorly spent a lot of money depending on how you look at it. Money that wasn't ours to mess with.

As things came to a head last December and I cried to my husband that I just needed to know we weren't going to lose the house, I also became aware of how split we were. We were looking for a job AND building thefundraisingcoach.

Prayer, crying, and maybe some foolishness led to "Let's give it a year". If the business isn't growing and supporting us by next December 18, then we will earnestly look for employment, and close this chapter.

We cleared our mental desks of any other options and we have worked hard - Marc making cold calls, writing, speaking, traveling, cold calls, coaching, writing, speaking, traveling, cold calls, consulting, traveling; and my doing whatever I could do to support this business, with ours kid (you know we homeschool, right), stepping into new roles, taking on more than I thought I could.

Guess what.

It's December 18. We did it. I'm tired. I'm proud of Marc, myself, our kids. And I'm so, so, so glad that we are an entrepreneurial, self-employed family.

Thank you Hatch's, Hankey-Sugden's, and Pat Michaud for cheering for us, crying with you, checking in with us. Thank you parents for not telling us how crazy you might have thought we were. Many other folks were online and real-life support - thank you.

Thank you God for loving us so recklessly and trusting us with so much.

Congratulations, Fundraising Coach. I'm so proud of you and can't wait to see where in the world the next 12 months will take us.

Fundraising Coach Kids - you rock. You have no idea how much you motivated and gave to the business this past year. And someday you will be faced with similar decisions - I pray we have walked our path in a way that inspires you to make courageous (scary, crazy) choices.

(Check out Marc's thoughts as we celebrate our December Independence Day at http://marcpitman.com/2011/12/18/one-year-ago-today/.)

Wishing Well

2011-11-30T19:16:00.001-05:00

I drive Caleb to school for band every day. It's a short, very ordinary drive. 5 turns, 2ish stoplights, usually done in about 7 minutes. It's pretty easy to NOT notice anything about the trip after making it hundreds of times.

This week I happened to notice, behind one of the houses we pass, one of those wishing well lawn decorations. The thing that was noticeable about this wishing well was that it was all covered in plastic securely held by rope or plastic.

On the first day I saw this, I thought about how smart the owners were to protect it from the coming Maine winter.

On the second day I thought about how it was kind of ugly.

On the third day I saw it I thought about how sad it was to have to cover up something the owners were clearly fond of in such an ugly way.

Today, I saw it as a Wishing Well Covered, and began to think philosophically about it.

How often do we do the same thing with our wishes and hopes and dreams? They are ~~our~~ my special hopes and dreams. And I certainly don't want to risk the atmospheric challenges that might come from just putting them out there, do I? How many ways do I cover them up in a protective stance?

So, now I guess I can plan on viewing this Wishing Well icon on my way to the junior high for the rest of the winter. What will I do with my wishes?

Letter to My Future Self, #1

2011-11-17T15:34:00.000-05:00

Dear Emily,

Hopefully you will remember to read this when you are a mother of adult children. There are some things you need to remember when you are, and especially if the kids have kids.

Your job, and your approach to your job as mom (and homeschooler) has been to raise up independent, creative individuals with their own opinions and ideas. Your hope for your kids is that they would see, experience, and impact the world wherever they want to and in what ways they discern are best.

Your kids have watched you pursue what you love and feel passionately about and they have every right to expect that to continue in you even as you grow old.

You have told your kids that you will have your own adventures when they are adults. You have promised to yourself and to Marc and to them that your life will be spent living passionately serving God, not desperately seeking grandchildren. You expect yourself to have relationships that fill you and challenge that have no DNA connection to you.

When you were younger (and impossible wise) you didn't really believe in a retirement age. You don't see an age when you will stop to loiter and rest. Slow down, for sure. Need extra help, probably. But stopping your growing and contribution to those around you are inconceivable to you. As long as you can see, you will be able to read out loud to someone. And if you lose your sight you will make up stories, tell stories from memory. And you will always be able to sing and offer an encouraging smile to someone passing by.

Your job is as a parent to adult children is to cheer for them, pray for them, support them. You will disagree with their choices and approaches sometimes. Honor them enough to put aside your experience and opinions and to learn something from them. Honor them enough to remember the many promises you made when you were younger.

PS. Emily, you should make sure the kids have a link to this and future letters to yourself.

PPS. You need to consider and write about honor and humility, too... these admittedly weren't strong considerations when you wrote this.

About NaBloPoMo

2011-11-15T15:56:00.001-05:00

Sunflower Waking Up -
makes me happy on a fall day

So, I said I would be writing every day this month. And I haven't written since last Thursday. Since we are half-way through the month, I suppose it's a good day to write about what I've learned about writing and myself so far.

When I plan to do something, I do it. I made a commitment to myself to write every day. And until last Thursday I did. Even if it came to the end of the day and I was getting ready for bed, I would write.

I will keep working until the work is done... and the work never ends. So when I turned off the computer last Thursday night, I opted to not turn it on again until Monday morning. I needed a rest from screen.

Screen makes a lot of lines fuzzy. I can go from writing to shopping to snooping (er, I mean social media). I am highly distractible. Especially when I am tired. From doing all that work that never gets done.

How am I trying to apply what I've learned?

Spending the evenings knitting rather than with the laptop.
Re-examining the wisdom of writing EVERY day.
Scheduling time in the afternoon to write, or pay bills, or shop (so that I have more bills to pay).
Learning the art of using 'drafts' when blogging - so that I can have more than one I'm working on, and am not constantly working on the one that will be published.
Sticking to that time.

These are just ideas, and I'm honestly not sure how long it will take me to apply, how long I will remember the goal... but it's a good start to some good thinking.

First Evening of Hope

2011-11-10T22:08:00.001-05:00

Just getting in from Amirah's First Evening of Hope. Over 200 people gathered for the dinner as we commit to do our part in helping survivors of human trafficking.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

Humans are bought and sold for labor and sex.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

Human trafficking is the number two most profitable crime in the world today, second only to drugs.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

Boston is on the top 10 list of US ports of human trafficking.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

10,000 humans are trafficked through Boston, each year.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

Thank God for organizations that are helping with prevention and rescue.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

There are only 100 beds in the US for survivors that get out of slavery. 90 of those are for kids.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

10 beds, in the US, for survivors of human trafficking.

There are more slaves in the world today than during the time of the transatlantic slave trade.

Amirah will open it's first house in the Boston area in early 2012. There will be a few more beds, and a whole slew of people working with the survivors to heal, to rediscover themselves, to thrive.

To be Free.

**the website is down for google apps maintenance ... please come back and check the link next week...

k-a-n-g-a-r-o-o

2011-11-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

Animal Kingdom 2011

I just began volunteering in Sofia's former kindergarten classroom last week. I loved, loved, loved listening the kids grow as readers last year. So this year, I asked Mrs. L. if I could volunteer again. Sofie goes to music on Wednesday mornings, so during that time, I get to work with Mrs. L.

Today, I listened to 4 or 5 kids read. Then I got to help a few students write their journal entries. Today they were writing about animal mothers and babies.

Can you even dial back to when you were pre-literate? You see these symbols that you are told mean something. There are 26 and you need to learn to write them legibly and know what sound they make. Oh! And remember some of them make more than one sound, and some of them work with other letters and make whole new sounds.

To write a sentence, a child not only needs to master those skills, they need to be able to put together a full sentence in their mind, remember it clearly enough, and then all apply the alphabet skills.

The first little guy that I worked with - chubby with big blue eyes and the sweetest spirit, though he is probably the first to get distracted when something shiny comes by :) He chose to write about kangaroo moms and babies and his sentence was "A kangaroo has a baby joey."

Check out how long kangaroo is! But all the sound (except the 'oo' at the end) are fairly clear if you slow the word way down and listen carefully. So that's what we did. Sound by sound, slowly, carefully, checking his alphabet chart on his desk. But he did it. We got to the end of kangaroo, and I told him 'hey, this oooo sound is tricky, let me tell you about this', and I gave him the 'double o' at the end.

Oh, if I could have captured his face. When he realized that he had spelled 'Kangaroo', he beamed. His eyes said 'oh my goodness, I CAN do this!' Pride was bursting out of all of his little kindergarten self.

Helping kids learn to read and write is like midwife-ing the future. I am absolutely thrilled that I got to participate in this birth today.

You are invited...

2011-11-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

To my Pity Party.

I've got nothing to write that I would have my kids or grandmothers read. (I've got plenty to write... but those are my general filters when I think about blogging.)

But I committed to blogging daily this month.

Tomorrow will be a new day, with a good nights sleep (if the election results for my town ever get posted), and I have several non-pity party posts in my idea pool.

Chores...

2011-11-07T21:54:00.001-05:00

One of the ways that homeschooling works for us is that we all do our part to keep the house --- livable.

This is a part of what our chore chart looks like. When I looked over this coming year, I realized that I needed some charts to handle all that we were taking on. We have been using this since August, and so far it is serving us pretty well.

Yellow means 'everyone does it', and each of the colors represent the 6, the 9, and the 12 yo. Our chores are on a 3 week rotation, at the kids request, so that someone doesn't ALWAYS have to do the laundry on Monday.

Our three main chores, next to taking care of their own rooms, are the bathroom, the dishwasher, and laundry. And yes, all three of them do all of those things.

We don't get to all the chores all the time, and that's okay. And that's how I know that This Chart is working for us - because it is guiding us, but not overwhelming and stressing us.

My kids wouldn't believe me, but this isn't just about my load being lighter. This is about helping them to know how to care for themselves and their stuff. And to know that just because 'most of their friends' are told they can't do it, shouldn't do it, won't do it - they CAN do it.

And yes, we may have more broken dishes per capita in our household and more wrinkles per county, but we spend a part of our day caring for the physical needs of our home - and our family.

He Said, She Said

2011-11-06T14:09:00.001-05:00

(Yeah, this was almost 17 years ago. We SO
don't look like this anymore.)

A couple weeks ago, Marc wrote a blog post about being a traveling spouse. It was a good blog post, and we both agreed that I should write my side of the story, too. I have a lot to say about being married to a traveller. But for this post I thought I would take a 'he said, she said' approach.

1. He said - "Take half days when you are home." She says - You need to know your (and your kid's) needs. It is so much fun and so helpful to have Marc with the flexibility of half-days. It is one of the reasons that we have agreed on his traveling lifestyle - so that when we are together we have the flexibility for different choices. My biggest mistake has been taking those half-days as all out lazy family days. Once in a while that is GREAT and necessary. But done too often, it will create an overwhelming experience when he leaves and we get back to routine. Laundry and dishes and schoolwork don't stop needing to be tended to. So when your spouse says "I'm taking a half-day", you need to carefully calculate how this time can serve the family. Marc isn't asking for us all to take a holiday, he's offering to serve us in fun and work. So this afternoon, on such a half day, I am getting some much needed time to myself and Marc is helping our youngest find all that she needs to be something wonderful for Halloween (not only saving me time from having to do the running around AND doing something I hate doing - coming up with costumes).

2. He said - "Do your own laundry." Remember that everyone works hard when Dad (spouse) is on the road. I think in many healthy relationships you meet two people that want to serve each other. When Marc gets home we all let out a collective sigh of relief and joy. My inclination is to 'out-serve' him. He's been on the road, in hotels, he deserves to be cared for and pampered, right? Yes. But I do to. And I need to be careful to be served (that's a whole other topic) as well as serving. She says - Yes, do your own laundry.

3. He said 'Wash the dishes when you are home'. She says - Wash the dishes when he isn't home. What I mean is keep caring for yourself and your home while he is gone. Seriously, I have some great justification for leaving dishes, laundry, towels... when he isn't here. I homeschool three kids, and to add 'double parent duty'... you would agree with me, right? I do it for me. So, even though there are chores and tasks that I would pay serious money to not do, I will continue to do them most of the time, because the feeling of a settled and cared for home settle and make me feel cared for.

Morning Glories

2011-11-05T19:43:00.001-04:00

In the past, I've shared pictures of my sunflowers. I did plant sunflowers this year, in a different place, but this summer the flowers that were most captivating were my morning glories.

You can see that I started out with a very pretty bamboo place for my flowers to climb. We came home after a week away and the plants had literally dragged down the poles and kept the bamboo poles hidden until I cleaned the bed this fall and pulled them out of the woven trap.

The flowers were slow in growing, but when they came they were so abundant.

(I'm still learning iPhoto on my mac, after being a picassa girl for years. Anyone have any favorite easy mac photo software?)

16 years ago....

2011-11-04T22:35:00.003-04:00

My friend Renee, who blogs at FIMBY, mentioned recently that she was getting ready to read A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L'Engle. L'Engle is probably my very favorite author. I have a very fond feeling toward this book. So I picked up my copy and began reading it again.

The first time I read this book was 16 years ago. I had been married all of two months to someone I had not yet known for a year. This book, actually the whole Crosswicks Journal series, helped me survive a very hard first few years of marriage. That was what I remember about this book.

Today, I read what may have been the Key for my young heart to not running away to Australia 16 years ago; and it is astonishing to me that this passage still gives me the same grace and hope and love for my marriage that it did all those years ago.

"When we were married we made promises, and we took them seriously. No relationship between two people which is worth anything is static. If a man and wife tell me they've never had a quarrel, I suspect that something is festering under the skin. There've been number of time in my marriage when - if I hadn't made promises - I'd have quit. I'm sure this is equally true of Hugh; I'm not an easy person to live with.

I'm quite sure that Hugh and I would never have reached the relationship we have today if we hadn't made promises. Perhaps we made them youthfully, and blindly, no knowing all that was implied; but the very promises have been saving grace."

M. L'Engle, A Circle of Quiet (p107 in my book)

Well, Why Not....

2011-11-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

As I've been getting the kids going on their NaNoWriMo, it is very weird to to not have a writing project myself. But it really would be impossible for me to participate in NaNoWriMo while helping the kids with their own writing. (Not to mention our current life schedule.)

Last night I was visiting @lannalee 's blog (http://lannaleemaheux.com/) - I met her and @rurugby at the #smbme birthday party last month - and saw that she is participating in NaBloPoMo.

As I was blogging about the kids writing, I had thought, maybe I should just commit to blogging each day - or nearly. So stumbling - it felt stumbling- across Lanna Lee's "in solidarity with her NaNoWriMo friends" line cemented it for me.

Then, I wondered if I should join the NaBloPoMo or just blog. Because, you know. I can't just do something without over thinking it.

And I remembered that last November was a big writing month for me, too. Anna and Marc were in NZ for most of the month and my part of their journey was to blog each day. So maybe November is a good writing month for me.

So, why not.

(Thanks, LannaLee!)

So much just happened....

2011-11-02T22:10:00.003-04:00

I was writing a blog post, chatting on FB with a friend who has been on my mind for over a week - and Caleb came running out of his room.

"Guys! Come here! Quick!"

He ran to our patio door, opened it, and in came the cat who has been missing since Saturday afternoon.

I had just written to my friend on chat "I'm not sure at what point I tell Anna to change her prayers from 'bring Cleo home' to 'God please comfort me.'" Seriously. I'm sure FB must keep track of these things, if you want to check.

Seriously, I hadn't hit the period to that sentence when Caleb came out of his room.

As if that all isn't crazy enough, the phone rang and it was Marc - who we haven't talked to since Sunday night (something about his being in Mexico).

All of this happened at the same time.

And I am so overwhelmed by God's goodness and caring especially to my kids. Kids worried about the cat. Kids missing their Dad. Me worried about the cat and missing my husband.

And All at Once His love broke into my very cozy living room and gave me More than I could have hoped for, More even than I thought I needed.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, EPH3:20.

NaNoWriMo

2011-11-01T21:54:00.001-04:00

This month is NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month. I think I would have been almost entirely unaware of it if a friend hadn't forwarded me a link to The Young Writers Program linked with NaNoWriMo. Almost as soon as I hit the home page, I was hooked. And the more I looked around, the more excited I got. There are some AMAZING writing resources.

So, this month Pitman Academy is participating in NaNoWriMo. My two challenges are the age spread of my students (1st, 4th, 7th) AND we didn't do any pre work last month.

On the website there are lesson plans, ideally presented in October, for every level. There is a treasure trove of resources! I printed out free lesson plans and free worksheets. There is an interactive online classroom - which we may or may not take advantage of.

For Pitman Academy participants, the first week of November is going to be spent doing a NaNoWriMo bootcamp - doing that work that would have ideally been done in October. We are going to get through as many of the lesson plans and worksheets as we can. I will be happy if the kids start writing next week. And even though the spirit of NaNoWriMo is to get it done in November, I can already see that I'm not going to cut off the kids' muses just because the calendar page changes.

I have been astonished by how hard the kids are willing to work on this. Not only do we sit together while I teach for about 40 minutes (NOT how we do homeschool, so this is a learning curve in and of itself), but will gladly do their 'homework' until bedtime. Even when I tell them they've put enough time in, they keep going.

Yesterday, we covered the basics about what is a novel and what is NaNoWriMo. Today, we talked about what makes us love or hate a book AND began developing Main Characters, Supporting Characters, and Villains.

I love that each night at supper the kids have asked each other about their NaNoWriMo work.

I am so excited and overwhelmed by this adventure.

Tomorrow, we work on plot.

Baby Clothes

2011-10-12T20:25:00.000-04:00

These are the clothes Caleb wore home from the hospital. When he was born. 12 years ago.

These clothes have moved three times, and spent the majority of their life in a plastic bin in the basement.

But how cute are they?!

If the boy weren't now 12, I might post the million baby pictures we took in those first few months. (My in-laws had just gotten together and bought us our first digital camera - Sony Mavica that took a 3.5 inch floppy.)

Yeah, it's time to say good-bye to the clothes. How horrible would it be to hold on to them and give them to my (MAYBE, someday a long way away) daughter-in-law for my (MAYBE, even much longer away) grandchild. Creepy.

So, I'll take a picture and hold onto it for any of those things that might OR might not happen somewhere down the road.

Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll let go of some of my mama expectations. He's reaching the age of young adult before my eyes. Buh-bye, baby boy clothes. Buh-bye, baby boy.

Fun with Psalm 139

2011-10-06T19:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I posted this on Google+:

Caleb is memorizing Psalm 139 for school (taking the first 12 weeks to do it all).

Today, we were going over it and he confessed to me that whenever he says the first verse (You have searched me oh God, and know me) that he thinks of TSA or police officers giving someone a pat-down.

Doesn't that just make you grin?

Today the adventure continued:

This week we are working on verses 1-12. He's got it down pretty well, but verses 11 and 12 are quite a piece of poetry with repeating, twisting words and phrases, so we have had to work extra hard.

Cale memorizes best when he is moving so he paces and sways a lot as he gets going. So as we were working today he was pacing around the living room.

He sped through verses 1-4 and the first part of 5. He stopped. Stuck even though he has HAD it for weeks. He started patting his head in earnest and the pacing started back up.

"I know I know it." pat pat pace pace. "I know I know it."

I could only giggle as I watched him think and pat.

The rest of verse 5 is "You lay your hand upon me".

Sea Dragon

2011-08-18T20:05:00.001-04:00

I have been afraid of this ride as long as it's been in my awareness. I have been afraid of heights for as long as they have been in my awareness.

At my first country fair - I was maybe 8 - a friend convinced me to go on the ferris wheel. (I still hate ferris wheels.)

My parents had entrusted me to carry my tickets. Getting on the ferris wheel, I became very concerned that they might fall out of my back pocket. Thinking carefully about how to keep them safe, I carefully put them into my mouth. (It worked for Wilbur, didn't it?)

The ride slowly rose. The ride stopped as others got on and off. I became more and more nervous. The ride stopped at the top. It was horrible.

As we got off the ride, I might have kissed the ground if it wasn't truly a country fair. I retrieved my tickets ... now a soggy wad of paper.

Since then, I've made careful choices about rides (and what I put into my mouth).

I'd like to let you know that basing choices on the fear and experiences of an 8 year old are not always our best guides.

Today, I went on this ride. Not only was it not bad, it was kind of fun. I felt pleased to face a thirty year fear next to my 11yo (who might or might not have been laughing at me the whole time). I also felt a little sad that the fear has held me captive this long.

As far as breakthroughs go, this WAS just a carnival ride. The real breakthrough comes when today's experience becomes an icon for freedom and courage in other places.

Peas...

2011-07-25T19:34:00.000-04:00

... or Peace?

Growing

2011-07-13T20:22:00.000-04:00

I came across these two pictures of our little front garden when I was sorting on Picassa last night.

It was quite surprising to look at these images, taken on May 30.
This is what it the flower patch looks like now.

I have faith that that is how my growth happens, too. Not seeing a big difference day to day, but sometimes getting snapshots of how different I am now from what I was then. Amen.

Sunflowers 2011

2011-06-05T21:29:00.000-04:00

These were my sunflowers at the end of the Summer 2008 (and my girls). It was my first try at sunflowers. I had used an idea from the book Roots Shoots Bucket and Boots and have morning glories growing among them.

These are my sunflowers from Summer 2010.

These are my sunflowers, so far, this year. They are on the totally opposite side of the house in a new, dug and prepped today, bed. Stay tuned for pictures as they grow (7-10 days till germination).

Roman Shade Number 1 - Done!

2011-05-28T16:07:00.000-04:00

I've been using a pattern from the Martha Stewart website - with lots of modification. I've done loads of curtains before, but this is the first time I've ever used lining (room darking). I was surprised at how nice the liner actually is to use. The top fabric - the hippie butterflies - is a quilt quality batik. Also very nice to work with. Even though I can't wait to get to work on Shade Number 2 - it is time to give some other things - and people, some attention.

Window One, done. I'm a very happy crafter this afternoon.

Saying Goodbye to Some Old Friends

2011-05-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

Got a tweet from my sister today 'do you guys have any board books you're finished with? i'm already tired of the ones we have. hee".

I have to admit to a funny series of emotions today about this request. I have delighted in getting rid of most things the kids have outgrown. Toys, clothes, most books have gladly been donated to Salvation Army.

But there is one pile, one small pile, books that I have imagined myself reading to grandchildren one day.

Which is SO not like me and SO not really in line with our values. (Which would be interesting to put into a post sometime, but that's not really what I intend this post to be about.)

I've been having this conversation with myself today about sharing some of my favorite things with a very special niece, or hoarding them in the basement for my SomedayMaybeGrandchildren.

As a way of saluting these books, keeping record of them so I can buy fresh copies for my SomedayMaybeGrandchildren, and of sharing my love of these books with you... here are the board books that have stayed with us a little bit longer.

Dear Books,
Thank you for the delight you gave me and Caleb and Anna and Sofia as we snuggled and cuddled. Thank you for laughter and and quiet moments. Thank-you for being the beginning of their deep love affair with reading.

We commission you, now, to continue your magic with our niece and cousin, our aunt and sister.

On her way to Kindergarten Concert

2011-05-19T21:45:00.000-04:00

Most often this is what I see. The power walk and determination with only a rare look over her shoulder.

But sometimes I am rewarded with this ....

She had such a lovely kindergarten concert tonight. Sang with all her heart and all her soul.

What a year of awakening and growth it has been for her. I think I feel much more melancholy feeling about the end of this year than I did at the thought of my baby beginning school nine months ago.

First Day of Kindergarten

What we did in school today...

2011-05-16T17:40:00.000-04:00

We are thoroughly enjoying The Story of the World history books. We began book 3 - Early Modern Times - last week. For this book, I also purchased the Activity Book. Today our school plans included using this activity as a craft and writing opportunity.

"At the time of the Star Festival, Tanabata (July 7), it was traditional to decorate a bamboo branch with strips of paper, put poems and wishes on the strips, and then hang it outside. Participants in the Star Festival hoped that these wishes would come true!"

The first problem with my plan was that I didn't have any dowels. Caleb came to to the rescue on that one and pulled out the yard stick that has been kicking around the kitchen for a few weeks.

The second problem was that it is raining outside and it will be raining outside for what feels like the next decade... Anna came to the rescue on that. She suggested using a planter with rocks. We found a bucket sort of thing at first, but then remembered this uber cool vase made by my sister!

The third modification to the assignment that I made was that we could write poems, wishes or prayers. I got funny and so sweet from my kiddos.

We filled the vase with marbles and topped it off with some word rocks that I had put away in a drawer waiting for the right place to put them.

I think we will use our Pitman version star festival dowel as a place to share more prayers, poems, and silliness for the rest of our homeschool spring.

Help me to enjoy the rain...

Dear Lord, help me to focus....

Dear God, help the rest of the school year
to be a success.

Sight Reading

2011-05-14T20:19:00.000-04:00

I am so proud of the musician my son is becoming.

Caleb had been asking for this book of Beatles music and so I told him I would get it for him after a couple track meets (for which I am also very proud of him).

The Material...

2011-05-14T19:38:00.001-04:00

...that I am using for Anna's Roman Shades.

I am using a room darkening lining (for the first time) and a pattern from Martha Stewart.
Because Anna's windows are so big and such an unusual shape, I'm having to do more math and figuring out than I had anticipated. But with such wonderful fabric, who can get too downtrodden.

After...

2011-05-08T21:36:00.000-04:00

This is where I started yesterday. This was full of lilies. Full. But I have designs on covering this east facing brick garage wall with morning glories. Three varieties have already grown an inch in the starter pots. I'm busily searching for how early I can plant without high risk of frost.

I continued today around the corner of the patio. This will be home of some our our resituated lilies.

To the bed that is situated along the patio wall (yes, we know we need to get that brick work worked on - one thing at at time!). This will be home to a couple bulbs that we left where they were, daisy's, violets, and marigolds (Anna's favorite).

And I had some sometime helpers. They were fun while they lasted. (You can also see a bit of the 'before' in this picture, too).

A good Mother's Day Weekend.

New Jeans

2011-05-03T21:21:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, I took some time to sew. Just for fun.

I made Molly a pair of pants from the corduroy left over from a jumper I made for the girls (Sofia wore it to school today).

And I made Josefina a pair of jeans from the leg of a pair of my old jeans. (I hate just getting rid of so much denim.)

In other domestic news, Anna and I bought the lining and main material for the roman shades that we will be making her windows. The main material is a beautiful batik with butterfly's in the pattern. Perfect for my girl.

Bermuda Photo Album

2011-02-28T16:26:00.001-05:00

Bermuda 2011

Moments Today

2011-02-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

We went dress shopping today. Sofia and Marc are going to a Father-Daughter Dance on Friday. As we looked at pictures online, I was surprised to have my 8yo "jeans and t-shirt only, please" express an interest in getting a new dress. We had so much fun (and success) shopping.

There were moments when my girl, my Anna, looked like a 3yo discovering the wonder and beauty of being a girl. She found her long hair and all but twirled around. She all but asked the question out loud "Am I lovely?"** And at times, she was the emerging young woman that she is - thoughtful, creative, beautiful - all in one glance.

How blessed and honored I am to be this girl's mother.

**Captivating, Stasi and John Eldredge

I just gotta say

2011-01-26T20:43:00.000-05:00

I impressed myself today. I rarely have a day that looks like a parenting or homeschooling magazine article - so when I do, I just gotta share.

Today, the normal part of our day included Anna doing a full days worth of homeschool; Caleb doing a full amount of homeschool work, going to school for an hour and half jazz band clinic, coming home for a short time, and going back to school for a two hour techonology team training; and Sofia having a half day of public school.

After school, Marc took Sofia to Tim Horton's and the library. I picked up Caleb from his tech meeting

We had decided to have apple pie for supper (dessert) and the two older kids wanted to learn to peel apples. What mom says no to that (after checking for insurance cards and bandaids)? Apple peeling lesson and crust making began. Pie got put into the oven.

When Sofia got home from time with Dad, we began a family science time (something that we have decided to do at least one afternoon a week during these winter months). This is the book we are using.

Our first lesson and experiments were about "solutions" and we explored our new information with sugar and water. The part that we will be able to eat is Sugar Crystal Candy that we will watch form over the next week.

When the science was finished and cleaned up, we had one more thing to do. Make ice-cream. Really. Who has apple pie without ice-cream. We had received one of those ice-cream balls for Christmas and Anna has just been dying to try it. So while I finished up dinner and homeschool work from today, the girls made icecream. (It was really good.)

In the midst of this, I began our dinner of pork chops, rice, and squash. It all made it to the table at the same time, by the way, and the table was even set with Real plates and silverware.

In the interest of full-disclosure, about 2/3 of the way through dinner, I realized how tired I was and told everyone, nicely, that I was ready for the day to be over. : ) And in the course of getting Sofia a plate who was very disturbed by her ice-cream and pie actually touching, a plate flew out of my hands and shattered all over the floor.

But the kitchen has been cleaned up (thank you Marc and kids), lessons are planned and prepared for tomorrow, and to top it all off I conquered Bouldergeist (SuperMarioGalaxy) and have written (although not beautifully) a blog post.

I think I might have hit all my 2011 goals in the course of today.
See you next year. *grin*

Another Good SnowDay

2011-01-21T20:44:00.000-05:00

2010 Wordle Review

2011-01-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

(Click through to see a bigger image.)

Three Words

2011-01-01T21:21:00.000-05:00

The company that I’ve been keeping in person and online the past couple of years have done this ‘Three Words’ thing for each year. It’s kind of a neat take on resolutions/goal setting. Last year, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t.

This year, not only could I do it, I did it fairly easily.

For 2011, my three words are

* rooted
* connect
* calendar.

On the First Day of Vacation...

2010-12-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

A Story to Celebrate

2010-12-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

Each Sunday, our church has a time to share our 'celebrations and concerns'. Our community take a leisurely time sharing, listening, agreeing, celebrating. It is one of my favorite things about our church.

This morning, a man moved from his position as usher in the rear to stand behind his wife. He straightened the lapel on his bright, red blazer as he cleared his throat. With his hand on his wife's shoulder, he shared 'This week we will be celebrating our 55th anniversary'.

We rejoiced with him as he moved back to his place as usher. And that would be enough to celebrate, right?

What caught in my throat, though, was when the usher that was serving beside him stood up and walked forward to meet him in a huge embrace. It was a hug only people who have been through a lot together - the hug of true friends and comrades.

I think both are worthy of celebrating, and both part of a very good story.

April 1990

2010-12-03T11:21:00.000-05:00

I just spent the last half hour reading my journal from my very first international trip. In April 1990, I participated in Mission of Peace, sponsored by the Northeast Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, to the Soviet Union. It was my first flight (from Bangor Maine to NYC to Helsinki!), the first reason I needed a passport, my first long trip away from home.

I had spent the previous 8 months raising $3500 to fund the trip. I would spent the year following visiting the many groups around Maine (mostly Methodist Women groups) sharing my experience over 40 times.

Reading my journal was a little disappointing. I was a junior in high school, and even though I like to think better of myself, I really was all about the hormones and drama. On this trip I had my first beer and my first vodka, and liked the way they made me feel. I had a crush on a guy but played the role of 'little sister' to him, listening to all this woes. I was incredibly aware of the dynamics in our group of 40 high school kids. I was struggling with my relationship with God - mostly that I wanted to have fun that I knew would not bring my closer to Him in discipleship. I was worried about leaving my little sister at home. (That's what I wrote, but I think I probably just missed her.) There were very nice people there, and there were terrible people there. I wasn't afraid except of black marketeers (whom we could get arrested for associating with). I loved, loved, loved the Moscow Circus and wrote that circuses would never be the same for me. (This is true.)

Communism and the USSR was becoming unglued at this time. At one church service we went to we heard speakers from East and West Germany talking about the reunification process.

One of the most vivid things I remember about my trip (not in my journal) was how the sky was blue in Moscow. After growing up in the cold war, but also paying attention to humanitarian appeals that featured tones of sepia and overcast skies, I was shocked at how vibrant blue the sky was - just like ours in Maine.

I'm not sure what to do with this journal. I don't think I want to read it again, or that I want my family reading it. What does one do with journals like this? There must be some kind of parting ceremony?

December 27, 1994

2010-11-29T15:01:00.000-05:00

"'I LOVE YOU!' he said 'i love you' - me, he loves me."

That's part of the journal entry found from the night before we left for our first visit to India.

The setting was in Lewiston, Maine, a cold winter evening. Marc's parents lived across the driveway from his mom's parents. We had just gone down to visit Gram and Gramp and to say good-bye before our trip to India. I was staying with his family because he and his Dad and I were flying out of Portland to meet the rest of our mission team in NY the next morning.

I had never expected to fall in love when I met Marc. It wasn't what I had scheduled for my junior year of college. I was ready to be an RA and to throw myself into my studies. Infatuations and unmet expectations had stolen a lot of my time and energy during the previous few years. This was going to be my year of focus.

Marc and I had known each other for four months. We were 'dating' in the pressure filled culture of a Christian college, with people having all sorts of 'how you are really supposed to date' ideas. As we moved along in our relationship we tried to sift through what we thought and believed for ourselves. I think we did pretty well. But let me share that we were well into the conversation about marriage and had not yet shared our first kiss. It was still a thrill, a big deal, when we held hands.

We had been not only conservative in our physical relationship, but in our promises and conversations. Marc was still trying to figure out a call to a season of celibacy, perhaps in a monastic setting. It was pretty clear to me that he was to be my life-companion. We had long, frank conversations about this.

That night, we paused in the driveway on our way back to the main house to look up at the clear star-filled sky. I said something, I have no idea what. All I know is that he said "I love you" and it was one of those orchestral, sky-spinning moments. All of the dreaming of a life together that we had begun to share became even more than a dream, it became a path going somewhere.

I imagine that we hugged, though I don't remember it. But I do remember scrambling into bed that night with my journal, my hands still shaking.

"'I LOVE YOU!' he said 'i love you' - me, he loves me."

NZ Adventure - Day 16&17

2010-11-26T10:21:00.000-05:00

There's nothing to make a holiday like a good family reunion.

And there's nothing to help find your voice but to try out different ones. And so what seemed like a lovely Thanksgiving week idea to write about Philippians 4, will conclude here and now. Thanks for being with me while I experimented with that kind of blogging.

My next experiment is going to be, thanks to Starbucks seasonal slogan, "Stories are Gifts... Share".

A couple years ago I read in a magazine about 'harvesting' journals. I can't remember all that the article said about this process, but it is an idea that has stuck with me. I've been an inconsistent journal-er since junior high and have a small box of journals that are waiting in our basement storage.

My starting point will be some of my 'anchor' stories: mission trips, wedding, graduations, births. And who knows what else I will find as I begin to read through my journals.

NZ Adventure - Day 16

2010-11-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

I used to be great at being anxious about everything. When we were fairly newly-wed, I would be worried if Marc was 20 minutes late from work - imagining all the terrible things that could happen on 128. By the time he got home I would be so wound up that our evening together would be shot.

Tonight, 15 years into the game, I am able to see that I really am growing. Sometimes you really need to step back and get a long view for these things. Not only am I waiting for my beloved and my sweet daughter to get home from a 16 day adventure, I have also been watching the clock for the last 20 hours or so, imagining each place that they might be on the trip.

I can honestly no anxiety has marked this trip. At times, it asked if it could. Passing thoughts about volcanos and earthquakes wanted to dwell with me. Even Anna's homesickness didn't 'stick' though it asked. I am so thankful for this grace.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I should include that I did have my fair share of anxiety driving down Route 1. So I guess that's the next I'll work on my prayer life - driving Rt. 1 in MA.

NZ Adventure - Day 15

2010-11-23T19:48:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve this year is going to have nothing on this day. I've run my errands, with a silly grin on my face and taking time to look at and enjoy all the faces that around me. In a matter of hours, they will be boarding a plane to come home. They have a long flight, and I'm sure our hours will also feel long as we make the trip to Boston to wait for them. We can't wait. I can't wait.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Phillipians 4:5

Ironic, that I had assigned this verse to today. In my excitement I am edgy, irritable, everything but gentle. And of course the kids are excited, and express their excitement - like kids.

Looking at the verse, thinking about the context of it, trying not to get too irritated with the writer (Paul often irritates me), I wonder if I could get away with rephrasing it this way: "Let gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Just taking out the 'your'.

Cause when I try to make my gentleness evident, well, it's just not there. But when I breathe deep and remember that the Lord is near, then I am able to make evident a gentleness that is not my own, but something that happens when I hold His hand.

NZ Adventure - Day 14

2010-11-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

The name of the game today, and for the next two days, is called 'stay busy, very busy'. I have all but given up on housework at the end of the renovation, but in honor of my family coming home in two days I have brandished my mop and vacuum against all the evil debris. It will likely be replenished tomorrow, but I kept telling myself 'but it won't be AS MUCH as it was today' and no doubt I will renew my battle tomorrow evening.

I also went to the gym today. One of the things I have learned in reading more about my enneagram type is that it is very important for me to be grounded in my body. I find this incredibly interesting because there have been times in the past ten years that I have just 'felt' like if I wanted to get out of my own way that I needed to do something to connect with my body. Sometimes just taking to 30 seconds to put on mascara has been that for me. I also know that exercise is one of my front-guards against depression. So it is a very good thing for me to be at the gym. And tonight I was thinking about how it doesn't even feel like it took away any time from my day. Not that I love being at the gym, but I do love how I feel afterward.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Phillipians 4:4

Rather than showing off how much I know about Paul and this letter and that I can look up Greek words and other commentary (that's sarcasm, in case you missed it), I'm going to tell you what jumped into my head when I wrote that and as I've been thinking about this verse today.

Rejoice. Re-Joice. Re-Joy. That joy you had? Remember it. Repeat it to yourself and your kids. Redo it. Relive it. ReJoy.

Sounds simple. Even a little over the top PMA. But then I see a flash of how often I re-complain, re-mind myself and others of failure, re-gret. Oh, my bent little heart.

And so I suppose it's bit like going to the gym, working out muscles that can't be seen or felt unless they are too weak or damaged. Rejoice. ReJoy. And One ReJoy, and two ReJoy, and stretch and breathe. And one ReJoy and two ReJoy...

Happy Thanksgiving Week.

NZ Adventure - Day 13

2010-11-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

3 days left. Spent time FB chatting with Marc and Anna today. They have begun their week already with a Rotary meeting and training today (tomorrow? yesterday?) Boy are we all ready for them to be home.

The kids and I went to church this morning. I didn't want to go to church. I didn't want to answer people's 'Why are you here, I thought you were going to NZ?', 'When are they coming back?', and 'How can you handle all of his travel?' I didn't want to get weepy in the overwhelming spirit of gratitude and love. (I am profoundly touched by the part of the Body we are hanging out with at PSUMC.) I wanted to be alone in my Hobbit-hole.

But we went to church. Not because it was the right religious thing to do, but because I know that when I don't want to be around people, when I want to curl up in my hole, I'd better haul my butt out of the house for my sake and the sake of my family. And we went, and the questions were asked, and I was in tears within the first five minutes of the service (the announcement about training to volunteer for the homeless overflow did me in). And it was a good thing. It is good to be loved and vulnerable and NOT alone (and yes being with my two kids is being 'alone' sometimes).

I met someone this fall who has run three half-marathons. She has no aspirations for a full-marathon. And she has no love for the half-marathon. She says she just woke up one day and realized she'd better get to doing something. I think she is one of the most inspiring fitness/athletic stories I know. And days like today, I think of her, and haul myself out to church (tomorrow it will be the gym) not because I expect to love it (though I usually do) but because I better get to doing something.

As I finish out my NZ adventure this week, I am wondering if my goal will be to stay posting daily and what direction that might take. This week I am going to use the scripture read in church today (Philippians 4:4-9) as I prepare for and celebrate Thanksgiving with my reunited family.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
.

NZ Adventure - Day 12

2010-11-20T22:58:00.000-05:00

OY! I just took a random personality test online and it was so depressing! It was one that I am not going to even share the results.

I was just reading my posts from the beginning of this adventure - about 11 days with several hours to myself. About these days being about soul-care and self-care. You know, when I wrote that I pictured myself in a spa or quiet log cabin. I forgot that I was still going to have laundry, dishes, meals, and renovations. So the quiet oasis I imagined is still somewhere ... still in my imagination. My quiet times have come at about this time at night. After taking care of the needs of my family that never stop, and living with the progress (that's the positive spin of it) of renovation.

But I am not bummed out, and the work that I need to do is to be glad with what I have done and have gained. It happens often that I makes lists and expectations that turn out far from perfect. Tonight I am rejoicing that I am learning to not be defeated by that, but to enjoy the unexpected things I've seen on the way.

NZ Adventure - Day 11

2010-11-19T21:49:00.000-05:00

Things I have learned (or re-learned) today.

I like to have my own private corner, with a door, and no sound.
Staying up late is a very bad idea.
People that offer me genuine love often get tears in response.
Refinishing furniture always requires a sense of humor and patience and creativity.
My 5yo loves one on one attention, and to feel pretty.
My 11yo is soon going to be talking in terms that I don't understand - so stinkin' smart.
Beginning a thoughtful blogpost at 9:47 (especially after said very late night) is just not happening.

NZ Adventure - Day 10

2010-11-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am just excited. I think I am excited about many little things. Lots of renovation progress this week - loving the paint colors that we worked so hard to pick; getting a desk refinished for Anna - been working on that since her birthday in May; less than a week till the travelers are home - yeah, we're ready to be all of us again.

I am also feeling the love of lots of friends today... nothing really in particular happened to make this on the top of my awareness. Tonight, I just feel the for real-ness of the people that surround me, that love me, that like me. And I get to love and like back. I forget too easily years of loneliness as a kid and even as an adult. When you make habit of being transient in location and relationships, you miss out on that.

My friend Megin began working on her list of 100 things a couple weeks ago, and I intended to copy her during my NZ adventure. I began today. One of the things that I put on my list (and it surprised me) was 'to live in one place for at least ten years'. I have never had that experience. Even thinking about it makes me teary.

In honor of the movie being released this weekend, I took a ridiculous FB quiz to find out which Harry Potter character I am. I am Nymphadora Tonks. Maybe I'll dye my hair tomorrow in honor of her. Probably not, but it's fun to think about it.

NZ Adventure - Day 9

2010-11-17T22:07:00.000-05:00

No quiz today, too tired to look for one, much less take one.

Today was a rainy, puttery, Anne of Green Gables sort of day. And then the plumber came to move the stink pipe and take out some of the other old plumbing. Old pipes and terrible smells.

Perhaps it's a useful metaphor for the journey. Sometimes there needs to be stink in order for there to be progress.

And on that note, Good night.

NZ Adventure - Day 9

2010-11-16T21:52:00.000-05:00

Tonight's quiz was a Facebook quiz: which word in the dictionary are you. I am "Astute". I love words, and I love dictionaries. Studying words, word origins, finding new synonyms and antonyms - this is one of the things that makes me happy.

Today I am feeling hurried. I am afraid that I won't get done anything that I said I would like to get done. Who cares that it was an impossible list to start with. And I knew it. And who cares that I still have seven days left to still work at SOME of what is on my list.

As I was rushing around moving furniture and dust tonight I was thinking about my enneagram test result. Being a 9, a peacemaker. One of the things that this test confirmed for me is that I can be an all out people pleaser - supporting people (mostly Marc and the kids) at the neglect of me.

There have been times in our family when I have hit a crisis point and have said 'That's it. I'm done playing the role of support staff. I'm going to exert my individual needs and desires.' Thank God for my very supportive husband who immediately blesses me and sincerely desires to do whatever it takes to support my declaration. The only problem is that when it comes down to it ... I have no idea what I want to do. One of the symptoms of being a 9 is having disconnected from oneself. The most common path for me to consider is school - getting my masters in ... I don't know what.

So then after realizing that I have no clear path to assert, we all go back to the way things were more or less. And often I feel great about that. Because peacemaking is where I live, supporting, caring for, trying to keep it all balanced.

One of the things about being a 9 that I am trying to digest is that maintaining internal peace is so important to me, and that one of my main fears is that 'my internal balance will be upset' (a lot of my information is paraphrased from www.enneagraminstitute.com, by the way). Living as a single parent with my two extreme children, who can't seem to leave each other alone, highlights this tension. I'm beginning to feel like Miss America - can't you two just hold hands and get along. I suspect that if I look closer at their personality types, their birth order, their enneagram number, I may see that in some way they are working out exactly what they need to be working out. The fact that it messes with my inner ohm doesn't mean it is all wrong behavior.

I did get to work with Sofia's class again this morning. I can't imagine teaching each day, but I love getting to be involved in these kids lives. As I write this, I realize that when I volunteer I am in a very chaotic situation. Controlled chaos, but it IS kindergarten! And in the midst of this chaos, I feel very settled into my peaceful place - not to hide from them, but in order to be fully present to them. THIS is something I need to pay attention to.

NZ Adventure - Day 8

2010-11-15T20:35:00.000-05:00

As I was taking another test, this time another spiritual gifts inventory, I got grumpy. Not like mildly irritated, but like totally angry at the stupid test and the computer and the kids and the A-Team (they were watching the A-Team, so it's not all that random). So I quit the test and found another spiritual gifts inventory. Same thing.

Another time that I felt this kind of grumpy was when I was fasting. And I think that's why I paid closer attention to it than the kind of grumpy that happens when your kid spills milk AFTER being told 'watch out darling'.

I've fasted for both health reasons and as a spiritual discipline. Either way, it is not my favorite thing, and I don't think I'm very good at it. But that doesn't mean I haven't learned a thing or two in the process. When I have fasted and gotten the grumps, it is often at a time of transition or just before some breakthrough or clarifying moment. With each baby I had I hit the point of "I Can't DO THIS" and then soon after they were born (with varying amounts of modern medical help). That's a bit like what the grumps and fasting are for me.

This doesn't really help me to OVERCOME the grumpiness, but it does put me on alert to be watching with an open heart and mind.

Interestingly, I don't have an agenda or expectation of what might be coming. I'm assuming that the discipline of writing and daily reflection is what is prompting this grumpy. It could be that 2/5 of the family is away. Or that we are almost to the halfway point in this Adventure. But it really feels like the first.

By the way, the spiritual gifts results were top: discernment; tied for second: serving, giving, faith, wisdom. Nothing unexpected there. And it really was a wonky test.

And because of a twitter interaction I opted to also find out which of the seven dwarf's I am. 2 out of 3 tests say I'm Dopey.

Discerning Dopey. Hee.

NZ Adventure - Day 7

2010-11-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

(10 days till they get home - if the airlines and weather cooperate.)

This was my personal mission statement that I wrote in 2003:

I live as an individual created and called by God. As I press into His love, I am able to love myself, and my neighbors.
I take time for what’s important to me. I am wise with my time and talents. I don’t make fun of the dreams that I have. I enjoy life.
I have high expectations and generous amount of grace and forgiveness.
I have healthy habits.
Marc is my life companion and my best friend. I am honest with him. I trust him. I encourage and love and serve him. I am my beloved’s and he is mine.
I nurture my childrens growth in the LORD and the discovery of their unique purpose in our family and in this life.
I shepherd a home that is a haven of renewal, blessing, safety, and happiness for my family. We live and grow and play and learn together. I am generous with my hospitality to others.

I wrote it soon after moving to Maine, while I was working with a personal life coach. I had written one or two before. It was intended to be a compass that was general enough to work even when circumstances changed, but specific enough to be mine. I haven't looked at it for a long time and I wanted to pull it out during this adventure to see if it still works. And to think about whether it will be a tool that I want to begin using in my life again.

Reading through it quickly, I feel like 'writing' and 'community' are missing. A previous version included 'I laugh often' - I'd like to restore that, maybe. I've learned to really value being generous, to hold onto things lightly and want to continue learning that.

I took three quick tests tonight. I googled 'what color am I' and took three of the tests that came up on the first page. Each one had different questions and each one said I am purple. Isn't that interesting? I am so tired of picking colors for our home renovation, maybe I'll just pick purple for all the rooms that are left! : )

Kids are back to school tomorrow. After four days with kids home, I am ready for four days of kids in school.

NZ Adventure - Day 6

2010-11-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

I find publishing an un-polished post very un-settling. I just had to insert that here.

I realized that rather than having some fantastic time and space to think I don't know what kind of thoughts - me thoughts? - that I'm still filling my head with kid thoughts all the time. WKID would be the call-letters of my radio station - worried about the homesick kid halfway across the world and the Dad that is her companion, wondering about just pulling Caleb to homeschool and be done with the non-sense of his teachers, hoping that the grace of God will be large enough to help me enjoy my non-stop talking 5yo AGAIN for most of the day tomorrow.

Even with the external environment ripe for some personal margin and experience, they are still there, closer than skin... much like each pregnancy. Perhaps there are still bits of them in me and that's why I'm overweight. I have little child aliens that are still living off me my fungus or parasites. Or I'm just doing my job as a mom, walking that tight rope of being here and pushing them and me into places of independence.

What I really crave, is to get my keel a little deeper into the water. I think my radio is operating on a bit of an am frequency, so it doesn't really take much to upset the signal. I think that this is my hope for my NZ adventure... that even though I'm probably tuned to WKID for quite some time, I'd like to move back to the place where a breeze or a tunnel don't mess the the signal - my True Signal, the One that has called and equipped me to be mom, the One that calls me child.

PS. I took a personality test today. It said "free test" - it was the DISC test. Yes, the test was free. But if I wanted the results I had to pay $10. And I'm too tired to go looking for another test, so (picture me sticking my tongue out).

NZ Adventure - Day 5

2010-11-12T20:40:00.000-05:00

After helping with some pie-making at church, my day included two 11yo boys with giggles about all noises body. We were near to drawing up plans for a natural 'gas' (insert little boy giggles here) car, equipped with automatic bean refiller. Fortunately my sister and BIL came for a few hours mid-day before I could lose all my maturity.

Friday nights are pretty standard in our house - pizza night with a movie. But tonight we did pancakes because we had pizza a couple nights ago. And didn't watch the movie. And I got a little lonely for Marc and Anna around supper time.

I found a place to take a free myers-briggs test today. I think the last time I took this might have been when Caleb was a baby. I've always thought that I was an INFJ or INFP - that my P and J are really close. So my results today were kind of a surprise.

The S surprises me because I operate from an Intuitive center according to the enneagram, but I felt on this test that I answered really accurately. I may bounce around to see if I can find a couple other places to take the test again. The description "Conservator" seems somewhat accurate, though I'm not so sure how loyal I really am. Just read another description that called ISFJ "nurturer". Yes, more study required.

NZ Adventure - Day 4

2010-11-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

On a lighter note, I took a quiz to see which Greek goddess I am today. Turns out I am Hestia.

"You Scored as Hestia/VestaHestia/Vesta was the goddess of the fireplace. She didn't have a throne on Mt. Olympus, but people considered her to be just as, if not more important than the other gods. Every home in Greece had a shrine dedicated to her."

Even though I intended this to be a light-hearted quiz, it actually fits what I'm learning about myself really well.

Also today, I saw the word 'acadia' an abnormal number of times. Enough so that I just looked up the meaning - "land of plenty". Not sure why, but each time I saw the word it was like there was a highlighter over the top of it saying 'Pay Attention'. So that will be added to the basket of things that I am pondering on this adventure.

Tonight I intend to play some guitar (one of the things on my list to care for myself while Marc and Anna are away) and being reading this book:

NZ Adventure - Day 3

2010-11-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day that it was quiet enough to feel hard.

After getting the kids off to school I went to the gym. It felt like such a luxury to be able to go without worrying about being done by such and such a time for so and so's whatever. Came home, sanded a desk that I hope to finish for Anna, cleaned up that dusty mess, and then cleaned up me. I was pretty proud that I did all that in that order.

Then I met the doldrums and wondered what to do next. I think it is pretty bad form to just hang out watching the contractor or painter do their work, even though it is interesting and THEY are interesting. I tackled some phone-calls - the least favorite thing ever on my lists, and then decided today would be the day that I took the Enneagram test.

free enneagram test
I began my Enneagram journey in January at a day-long retreat. Even after the retreat I wasn't sure what type I was but felt more convinced that this path was going to have some important keys for me. My first instinct is to 'get a book about it' which I did. Truth is, though, that my eyes have gotten a bit older and my days a bit fuller and I struggle to do the volume of reading that I did in college... if you can imagine!

What I learned about myself today is that I am a Type 9, the Peacemaker, according to the (paid version) test that I took at enneagraminstitute.com. I have thought that I might be a 9, but also thought that I might be several others. I feel pretty comfortable with this result. With the reading that I've been able to do on the website about the full results has largely rung true. And leaves me thinking that I would do well to put some good focus here for the rest of my time.

One of the things that made me grin as I read the Type 9 results is that "Peacemakers require a LOT of alone time". Guess it's a good thing that I'm including the Enneagram on my NZ Adventure.

NZ Adventure - Day 2

2010-11-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

Today was a pleasant, putter-y sort of day. Dropped kids at school, staying to volunteer for a while in Sofia's classroom. Home to pay bills and work around the house. Parent Teacher conference this afternoon at Caleb's school. Cozy supper of grilled cheese and a quiet evening with the kids. They are in bed, and I am on my way.

The clock on our stove reads NZ time now... so my heart and mind have wandered to that side of the globe not infrequently, but also not unpleasantly. I was a little more on alert during the hour that I knew would be 'touch-down'. I was so relieved to see an email from Anna to Caleb, and then to get one for myself from Marc.

The last time Marc and I were apart for such an extended amount of time was before Caleb was born. Four weeks apart. I was in Calcutta. It was a splurge to send him a fax the three or four times that I did during that trip. I never expected to get one in return. My luggage consisted of letters from family and friends that they had written beforehand - one for each day that I would be there.

And just a few weeks ago I was chatting real-time with my friend in Ethiopia. I am getting instant emails from my family 18 hours away. Bizarre.

One of my hopes during my NZ adventure is to take some sort of personal assessment each day. Spiritual Gifts, personality, enneagram, sorts of things. I hate these things. Marc loves them and is usually the one that is doing or pushing them. I'm not sure if I'm doing them in hopes of discovering something new, rediscovering something forgotten, or just to affirm that I exist as an individual with a unique contribution and calling. But what started as an idea a couple weeks ago has become an important discipline during this adventure.

Today I took a spiritual gifts test at buildingchurch.net. The wording was familiar, the test felt familiar, the results were mostly what I expected. Here are my top five: giving, healing, administration, apostle, leadership. When we took a similar assessment last fall with our church my top two were healing and knowledge. I think I will take that one again, as well.

I found myself wondering why it is I am so much more able to stay even-keeled when I am in tougher situations. Often, by 4pm, I am ready - READY for Marc to be home and help with the parenting - or to take over altogether while I hide under the bed. I know I'm pulling on deep reserves, am also in a Grace Cloud surrounded by prayers of the saints I call friends... But I think that even in normal circumstances both of those exist still and I just don't put my reliance there. This will also be interesting to watch play out over the next couple weeks.

NZ Adventure - Day 1

2010-11-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

My part of the NZ adventure is being at home with my oldest and youngest. My husband and middle left today for NZ. They will be gone for the better part of this month. The last time I was away from my husband for this long was the year before Caleb was born when I was in India for four weeks.

It is a very long story about how all the pieces have fallen this way at this time, and maybe over the course of their trip and my adventure I will unpack some of that here, but not tonight. I'm tired.

The interesting thing about their trip to NZ is that it gives me something I haven't had for 11 years... several consecutive hours a day to myself most days. Because of the age of our kids and because of our homeschooling years, including this year that I'm homeschooling our middle, I have not had a set of days when I have had daytime hours to myself, to care for myself, to listen to myself. And with complete honesty I can say that this is more exciting to me than the idea of traveling to NZ. I feel like I have been given an incredible gift.

So my adventure will be getting to know 'me' in a whole new way. I have a million ideas of how to use the time for soul-care and self-care and home-care. I am a 'to-doer'. I really want to press into some to-being, but also honor the part of my character and making that loves 'doing', too.

Spiritual renewal and self care and awareness are my focus until the day before Thankgiving.

Of course my 5yo was quick to remind me, when she overheard me talking, that SHE's not going anywhere and neither is her older brother. But because I will have chunks of time to myself, I think that all three of us are going to see great benefit and growth from our part of the NZ adventure.

So here on my blog, I have set the goal to check in each day of this adventure... if for no other reason but to do it.

#growingrenovationgratitude

2010-10-28T09:20:00.000-04:00

Yeah.

I hit that point yesterday where I am so done with renovations and dust and dirt and people in my house. I have one corner left to do my daily living in, and yesterday it was made a dirty mess.

I was telling someone yesterday morning, before hitting the Point of Done, that "I even get sick of Marc when he's around too much. Of course it makes sense that I'm sick of the contractor being around the house. This is a normal social consequence."

In the scheme of things, I do have way more to be thankful for than inconvenienced by. I know this.

And I know that I AM STRONG enough and RESILIENT enough to weather this with grace and joy.

So my activity today to recenter and refocus my heart about this will be to tweet my gratitude each hour at least until the kids get home from school. If you are on twitter watch for my #growingrenovationgratitude throughout today.

Love

2010-10-02T19:07:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is World Communion Sunday, a celebration of communion in all of our diverse ways across cultures, denominations; and a celebration that it is a meal that celebrates that we are One in Christ... though many parts, we make up a whole.

It is my turn to share a brief little 'sermonette' with our youngest tomorrow during the service. I've had a ton of ideas about how to share this with them. What I decided today was to make a word collage on wordle.net.

Rather than trying to unpack the theology of communion, I have chosen to use the word LOVE. After all it is a table of love, a promise of love, and act of love - this mystery of communion.

Here is my handy dandy word artwork:

Sunflower Collage

2010-09-25T22:42:00.001-04:00

thepitmans.chronicles, volume8number1

2010-09-13T15:32:00.000-04:00

My “New Year” times tend to come more around the school-calendar. So now that school has once again commenced, I am in ‘new year’ mode. And again, one of my hopes (do I dare even call them resolutions any more) is to re-establish some sort of regular publication of thepitmans.chronicles.

I’m sitting in our kitchen, with Anna next to me. She is working on her creative writing assignment on ‘how to brush hair for girls’. Anna was in public school last year, but has returned home this year. While I think she learned a lot about social things, I think she also spent most of her days overwhelmed with classroom and school dynamics. We began homeschool three weeks ago, and she is trotting through books and re-engaging in life in a number of ways. She will go to school three mornings a week for specials – Art, PE, and library. She has been assigned a 3rd grade classroom to attend these specials with, and the teacher (as well as the administration) has been wonderful to work with.

Caleb left for school this morning at 7am. A sixth grader. Junior High boy! After a week of school, he is really enjoying it, and enjoying his teachers. This is his second year in public school. While he still is holding out hope to be homeschooled next year, he has done so well and grown so much, we will continue to wait and see. He began to play trumpet last year, and is looking forward to the start of Jazz Band next week.

Sofia left for school around 7:45. Kindergarten for her this year. WOW! She is as outgoing as Marc is, making public school as easy choice for her. She loves everything about her day and is coming home quite tired. The only answer I can get from her about what she likes best about school is ‘mostly…. Everything’.

Marc is working in his office space in our basement – he has sent book 2 to the publisher and is working on number 3, as well as setting up speaking, training, and coaching engagements. He left the hospital last winter to be the campaign manager for moderate republican’s (the last in Maine?) gubernatorial bid. When we lost the primary in June, he began working from home (or local coffee shops). Each month I am still surprised that this works. He is a true entrepreneur (I am not), and I think he is much happier, though maybe feels more direct pressure to produce. Last month, his publicist had him being interviewed on FoxBoston, FoxNewYork, and an online FoxNationalshow. Later he was interviewed by FoxMaine. In the next few weeks he will be in the Boston area and Chicago. A busy, exciting time.

The other sound in our home is the sound of renovation. After many generations of plans and ideas, renovations began this week. Our three bedroom/one bath ranch will become four bedroom/two bath ranch. The rooms and hallway in the original layout were very spacious, so the rooms will still be nice sized, and the layout much more what we need. For awhile we wondered about just moving- probably staying in the Waterville area. But in our current location we are in town on a quiet dead end street with neighbors that we are just getting to know, five minutes from each school, each grocery store, the gym, and Starbucks. So here we will stay, and renovations have begun.

This past Spring and Summer Caleb and Anna participated in baseball and tee-ball, and then participated in track and field all summer. Anna got three ribbons for her javelin throwing (with a personal best of 27’7”). Caleb went to Mechuwana for a week of sleep-away soccer camp, and did a band camp in town as well as taking trumpet lessons from a high school band student. Anna went to a Day Camp at Mechuwana that foscused on Arts and Crafts. Sofia participated in kickball, tball, and ‘tiny-tykes’ through our town’s summer programs. It was a busy summer (and I’m personally glad to be back at the regular school schedule).

There seems to be so much more to share, but at least here is a start. : )

Have a terrific September!
Blessings.
Emily, Marc, Caleb, Anna, and Sofia

Too cute

2010-09-13T13:29:00.000-04:00

Going through some photos today and found this....

taken 2006

First Day of School (last week)

2010-09-10T14:43:00.000-04:00

My Mom reminded me that only Caleb got pictures posted on the first day of school. So to do due diligence, here are all three on the first day of public school, last week.

"Really, first day of school pictures again? I'm in Jr. High now."

Calm, cool, and confident waiting for the bus. I chose this picture because she has really never looked back.

Goofy, and a little smug, in her pj's.

Matchbook Found

2010-09-09T12:26:00.001-04:00

Look what our contractor just found in the wall!

Here is a closer look at the two panels. Notice the four digit telephone number. Also, the printer (Atkins Printing Service) is still in business. The hot dog shop is not.

One of the things I love about homeschooling

2010-09-09T09:48:00.000-04:00

Today, Marc had the kick-off breakfast for United Way. Anna got to go with him.

Here is a picture of Anna participating in the hooplah:
http://twitpic.com/2mp1hi
And here is a picture of her sneaking in some time to do what she loves:
http://twitpic.com/2mooka

Because of our choice to homeschool, and because of Marc's approach to work and family, our kids have had dozens of opportunities to be involved with what is happening in our community. They have seen adults pulling together to get something done, have seen adults celebrating what has been accomplished, have seen first hand that our donations are going to hurricane relief or the homeless shelter. Organizations like Rotary and United Way aren't just a meeting that Dad goes to with other adults. They have seen and experienced what it is to be a contributing and involved citizen. They have seen that a difference, even if it's a little difference, can be made and is important.

And thinking about it, those are some of the most important lessons that I could offer my kids.

Prayer for our Kids

2010-08-30T11:06:00.000-04:00

Yup. This is the week that I send my baby to kindergarten and my oldest to Jr. High. So when this song came on my ipod this morning, I have to admit to getting a little weepy. (Perhaps I should build margin in for that this week.)

I first heard, and fell in love with, this song when I was preparing to head to India 15 or so years ago. The song was largely about me and my journey. About what I felt commissioned for.

Now, I am hearing it with a mothers ears. I am hearing it as a parenting commission, and as a commissioning that I can pass onto to my kids. It is the prayer I will be praying for my kiddos, especially this week.

Let Mercy Lead
Rich Mullins and Beaker

Aidan you're young
But Aidan you're growing fast
Me and your mom
And all the love we have
We can only take you so far
As far as we can
But you'll need something more to guide your heart
As you grow into a man

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I'll meet you in that place
Where mercy leads

Aidan the day
Aidan the day will come
You'll run the race
That takes us way beyond
All our trials and all our failures
And all the good we dream of
But you can't see yet where it is you're heading
But one day you'll see the face of love

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
Where mercy leads

Sunflower

2010-08-07T21:18:00.000-04:00

Remember this little guy?

Grew up so nice and tall and proud and well on the way to becoming a tall sunflower.

Here it is now....

No, not the one behind, nor the little bit of grass in front. It's gone. Bugs, apparently, have no respect for the potential of a sunflower.

So, in spite of my very Organic Gardening upbringing, I have gone to the dark side, and begun to spray POISON! It is with a mixture of guilt and glee that I spray the leaves of the remaining plants about once a week.

And just to give perspective on how tall they are now, here is my new comparison (isn't she cuter than that rock, anyhow).

Track Star

2010-07-12T12:05:00.000-04:00

At her first track meet (7/1), Anna was thrown into a chaos that was punctuated by gun shots. It was a first track meet for all of us and Marc and I did our best to keep up with all the action and to shepherd our kids from one event to another, and to lead them in cheering for their teammates.

Caleb ran the 200m and threw the shot put. He didn't place in either, but he had also been at music camp all week, missing the practices just before the meet.

Anna ran the 100m threw tears. She was overwhelmed by all the action and noise and directions coming from every direction. She and I talked and I gave her the goal to just run and told her that even if she continued to hate track all summer, we would hate it, and finish it together.

After the 100m, her javelin event was called. All the ages competed at the same time so we watched the youngest to the oldest take their throws, some of them for their first time. Marc, one of her coaches, and I watched with outright amazement at her natural ability and very good form.

Today we found out that she had placed second in her age-group for javelin. From tears to cheers and feeling proud. Guess who is looking forward to her track meet this week?

Sunflowers

2010-07-10T19:22:00.000-04:00

Three Weeks of Growing

Week 3 in the life of a sunflower

2010-06-29T21:22:00.001-04:00

No kidding! This is the same sunflower that I took a picture of taken 7 ago!

Treasure Hunt, Waterville Style

2010-06-26T21:24:00.000-04:00

Waterville Public Library has some awesome programs planned for kids this summer. The first adventure began this past week with a Treasure Hunt in downtown Waterville. We followed the clues to find 10 'x's' around town. Here are a few pictures the we took on our adventure.

Waterville Pirate Treasure Hunt

More about the Sunflower Bed

2010-06-22T14:54:00.000-04:00

Years ago I talked about this cool book:

It is full of fun gardening ideas. Even more, it is beautiful to look through.
One of the things I learned from this lovely book is to mark out my garden using kitchen flour.

So here is a picture of the sunflower bed just before the seeds went in the ground.

And here is the garden after the seeds have been bedded and watered.

Here is one of the first babies, just a week after planting.

I put a rock next to this baby. My hope is to take its picture at least weekly.

It is going to grow to somewhere between 8 and 12 feet!

Birth of a Garden

2010-06-15T20:23:00.000-04:00

I tweeted this morning, "I think I will plant some sunflower seeds today." It's a fairly straightforward tweet, isn't it? What I didn't include in my 140 characters, is that I didn't have a place to plant them. The day was spent creating a place for my sunflower seeds to grow.

Here is what it looked like this morning:

Here is after the dug the outline:

Here is what it looks like tonight:

Maybe tomorrow I will plant my sunflower seeds.

Anna's birthday Cake

2010-05-21T20:14:00.000-04:00

There's no excuse....

2010-05-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

Anna came home from school today singing a new song she had learned on the playground. It goes along the lines of the 'one potato, two potato, three potato four' only the words were 'my mother hit my father, what color did he bleed?' I felt proud of myself for not freaking out, and asking her 'well what do you think about that?' And I was proud of her for saying 'I don't think it sounds very nice'. So we came up with an alternative about bugs biting our brothers and what color did they bleed.

But really? A little sing song ditty about domestic violence?! Harmless verse, I don't think so.

Later, we were sitting with afternoon snack watching Popeye. You know, the one that makes kids eat their spinach so that they too can save someone as beautiful, wonderful, thoughtful as Olive (obviously another blog post could come out of that). What I failed to notice as a child was glaring today. Every short Popeye cartoon featured feeble minded Olive (that's the other blog post) being violently pursued by a big fat man wanting a kiss. Hello?!

Don't get me wrong. I think old-school cartoons with a dash/bang/boom/crash of comical violence are okay. And I daily lose my battle with the kids to lean more toward my love, peace, and harmony view of life - as they sort out and play out the battles that they construct. And we talk more about the color of blood and other bodily fluids than I think doctor's offices do.

The two extremes of violence against each of the sexes in the matter of an hour was too much for me. Thankfully, it was too much for my kids, and they still have the lenses to see it. What happens when the image becomes blended into what is just part of the culture?

Lord, keep our vision sharp, and our hearts ever tender.

Easter Dresses, Easter Siblings

2010-04-04T21:45:00.000-04:00

Cozy Kitten

2010-03-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Captain is thoroughly enjoying spring! Sofia got some great pictures of him in nook that he thinks was built just for him.

Another New Dress for Molly

2010-03-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

Discipline for Lent, 2

2010-02-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

During Lent I am going to read this at bedtime.

*********************************************

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

The Twenty Two Questions the members of John Wesley's Holy Club asked themselves each day in their private devotions.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidently pass on to another what I was told in confidence?

4. Can I be trusted?

5. Am I slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7. Did the Bible live in me today?

8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?'

9. Am I enjoying prayer?

10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?

11. Do I pray about the money I spend?

12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

13. Do I disobey God in anything?

14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?

17. How do I spend my spare time?

18. Am I proud?

19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?

20. Is there anyone who I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what I am doing about it?

21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?

22. Is Christ real to me?

Discipline for Lent

2010-02-20T08:00:00.004-05:00

For Lent I am reading Romans 12 in the morning. Here it is in the TNIV translation, but I printed it out in the nrsv, the message, and the new jerusalem translations as well.

********************************************************************************************

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not think you are superior. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Anna's Cat House

2010-02-19T15:02:00.000-05:00

Anna picked up a woodworking book for kids at the library last week. She began vacation saying she wanted to make something in it. She picked out a cat bed (actually called a small pooch bed in the book).

So yesterday we went to Home Depot and bought the wood, and they did most of the cuts for us.

Today we put it together. We are still thinking about painting it. And Sofia and I will make a couple cushions to put in it for our kitties.

I'm so proud of Anna, and so pleased that we could do this project together.

Anna's Cat House

"Sunday's Palms Are Wednesday's Ashes"

2010-02-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

These are the lyrics to a hymn that we sang at the Ash Wednesday service tonight.

(The first line remembers that traditionally the palm Sunday are kept until this time and burned to make the ashes.)

_____________________________________________________________

Sunday's palms are Wednesdays ashes as another Lent begins;

thus we kneel before the Maker in contrition for our sins.

We have marred baptismal pledges, in rebellion gone astray;

now returning, seek forgiveness; grant us pardon, God, this day!

We have failed to love our neighbors, their offences to forgive,

have not listened to their troubles, nor have cared just how they live.

we are jealous, proud, impatient, loving over-much our things;

may the yielding of our failings be our our Lenten offerings.

We are hasty to judge others, blind to proof of human need;

and our lack of understanding demonstrates our inner greed;

we have wasted earths resources; want and suffering we've ignored;

come and cleanse us, then restore us; make new hearts within us Lord.

-Rae B. Whitney (1991)

Beaches?

2010-01-24T17:57:00.000-05:00

And you thought we were in SC enjoying the beach...

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T22:55:00.000-05:00

from our family to yours

Delegation....

2009-12-31T10:04:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I needed to get out the door to attack my errands.

I needed to complete several desk tasks before I could do that including something that resembled a menu to build a grocery list from.

The twenty minutes that I had was not adequate to get all the at-home stuff done.

The kids began hovering over me with the million questions and requests that vacation days bring.

In a moment of inspiration (don't even dare to call it desperation), I grabbed a piece of paper, listed the days out, and handed it to them. "You guys come up with the menu for the next week, AS a team."

Collaboration commenced. They actually had fun as they remembered favorite meals and took turns (without my prodding!) making suggestions.

Here is what they came up with:

Wednesday (last night): Pasta and veggies
Thursday: Potato Soup, but also cheese and hummus and crackers for our New Years Celebration
Friday: pizza (we almost always have pizza on Friday)
Saturday: crockpot macoroni and cheese
Sunday: spaghetti and meatballs
Monday: Veggie Soup that mom made up (This one cracks me up. I asked them to explain it, that I didn't remember the recipe. They said that's okay, you can just make up a new recipe. They have so much faith in me.)

Yes, the menu is starch laden, but perfect for a snowy weekend. And since they have buy-in for the menu, there will be minimal meal struggles, and maybe even some extra help in the kitchen.

Creative Mathematics with Christmas Gifts

2009-12-30T21:55:00.006-05:00

Take these:

Add this:

And you will likely get this:

My first completed pair of American Girl pants, modeled by Miss Molly McIntire. The girls and I have three patterns and have great hopes for these girls 'custom' wardrobes. What a fun new hobby for these winter months!

(The nightgown on Josefina in the first picture is also homemade, though not by me. I picked that up at a craft show a couple weeks ago.)

Marc's What...

2009-12-28T10:12:00.000-05:00

My sister, who is the coolest in the world, made Marc a 'what' for Christmas. On his website is a variety of his guesses.

Here is the answer.

I love having such a creative sister. She inspires me. I especially love that she loves teasing Marc as much as I do. : )

Christmas Already?

2009-12-18T10:25:00.001-05:00

Today is the last day of school for 2009. The kids will have a full two weeks off. I am amused with myself that I find these two weeks a bit intimidating - me, that homeschooled for six years and had them at home ALL the time.

In a fit of inspiration, I decided to pull out our games, and put them under the tree. They will be easy to see, no hidden behind a cupboard door. They will be easy to grab. They are located next to a warm pellet stove and large open place of carpet... a perfect place to play a game. A perfect setting for some good family holiday fun.

Snow Day

2009-12-09T16:03:00.000-05:00

'nuff said?

More Socks

2009-11-10T15:32:00.002-05:00

Why yes. They are homemade socks. What? Oh yes, I made them. That's right, my third pair this Fall.

I am SO excited. This pair I made both socks at the same time, and I think I may be just downright addicted.

The book that I used for this pair is Knitting Circles around Socks. It was a great help to me and I highly recommend it. I spent too much money on it because it was a spontaneous purchase, but especially now that I've finished my first pair, I feel certain I will use it as a guide for many sock pairs to come.

A new family member

2009-11-04T19:50:00.001-05:00

Our new family member, Captain

Art Student of the Week

2009-11-03T17:38:00.001-05:00

Anna has thoroughly enjoyed her art class at school. Yesterday, she came home with a special certificate for being the Art Student of the Week for her school. The art project they worked on last week was pictures of pumpkins. What the art teacher appreciated about Anna's pumpkin picture was that she drew a background of pine trees.

Socks

2009-11-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

I finally wove in the ends and finished up these two pair of socks this past weekend. On the left, Sofia feet. Anna's are on the right. The socks were made toe-up with finger-weight yarn. Sofia's are all wool, Anna's are wool/nylon blend.

When you don't pick up your dirty laundry....

2009-11-01T13:32:00.003-05:00

.... someone might fall and slip on it with our hardwood floors. Like your mom. When she's looking for a shirt for you to wear to church.

Lately, if I trip or stumble, my body does it with gusto, with knees and ankles getting hurt way more than they should. This morning it was my big toe, mostly, that hurt. Call me talented.

So after I got the shirt, I sat in a chair and told the kids to leave me alone to have a pity party. Examining my toe 'I think it's swelling', 'It might even be longer than the other one'.

As all mom's know, when mom is hurt, no one knows what to do. Most of the time they don't believe we are hurt or sick, because after all we are super-heroes.

As my family processed my pain and my self-pity, my 4yo came quietly to my side, "Mommy, can I pray for your toe?" She put her hand on my foot and with a heart full of faith prayed for my healing.

I hugged her with tears in my eyes, in awe of her quickness to ask her Father in Heaven to attend to all our needs.

When I looked up, my 10 yo son was standing near. His offering to my pain - a Snickers bar from his Halloween loot. My very favorite kind of candy.

I have such great kids.

Holiday Preparations

2009-10-26T21:25:00.000-04:00

Sweeper on the Roof

2009-10-17T19:42:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, we took care of some home maintenance. Perhaps the 'help' was having a bit too much fun...

Sweeper on the Roof

Do not try this at home.

2009-10-15T20:30:00.002-04:00

Today I did some sealing up of a fireplace that gave full access to the outside of our warmed inside air, as well as inviting the cold in. I am generally confident in these little matters of home maintenance. After cutting and fitting foam sheet insulation, I sealed the edges with this fun foam product. I also gave our leaky chimney (the other one) some foamy love.

In the midst of it, my hands got covered. No big deal. I've never met a mess I couldn't beat. Until today. I'm writing this at 8:30 in the evening, and have been working since 12:30 to get my hands cleaned, and functional again. Purell, regular bar soap, especially dirty hands hand soap, cream. My hands can bend more and are only thinly covered now. But there is still a lot to wear or pick off.

Next time, I'll be wearing gloves.

Time Economy and Cookies

2009-09-23T15:13:00.002-04:00

The oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that I use says, “Bake for 10-12 minutes”. When I bake cookies, I play the role of efficiency expert.

.... to read more, check out my post over at GNMParents.

Homeschool to Public #3 - the Lunchbox

2009-09-23T15:12:00.000-04:00

This school-year is going to be different from all the other school-years our family has experienced. For the first time, my 9yo and 7yo are going to school. After six years of homeschooling, our chickies are going to take their first test flight into a new way of life, and mom (that’s me – yippee) is going to get a sabbatical. Since there are so many things that I want to capture as we make this transition, I will capture many of my thoughts in a series of posts over the next couple of months.
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At one point last winter, Anna asked me, "If I go to public school, will the I get a lunchbox?" I had forgotten about that until it came time to get them ready to go to public school this summer.

I asked my friends who helped me out with school shopping what their thoughts were about lunchboxes and again got great response. Ideas about hot lunch versus cold-lunch, types of lunch bags, and the ease of prep and eating. While I have offered my kids the opportunity for hot-lunch, they are still quite pleased to have momma make lunch and pack it with treats from home.

The funny thing was, that during all the shopping, Anna's biggest concern was the lunch-box. Are we going to get it today? Where are we going to go to get it? What will it look like? The crayons, notebooks, clothes didn't matter nearly as much as The Lunchbox. And the morning we finally got it, seemed to settle something for her. She knew she was ready. She had a way to feed herself, but the importance of it to her was clearly about more than food.

The lunchbox has remained an important part of Anna's days. She makes sure things are packed, that her thermos is filled (with water, I love that!), and reminds me to include a little note. The school day ends with The Lunchbox being emptied. For some reason she loves to save something from the day to eat at home. And she always comments on the little note.

I don't think I will get a full understanding of the significance of The Lunchbox. I'm okay with that. I'm amused by that. I think she looks so sweet with her Hello Kitty stuff, and I'm delighted that she wants a lovenote from me every day.

Proud Mommy Moment(s)

2009-09-14T15:38:00.003-04:00

When Caleb got home he was greeted by a shipment of Legos. He had been allowed to pick out his birthday present by his Pitman grandparents, so they are an early celebration.
"Mom, I think I'm the luckiest boy in the world to come home to Legos." (proud moment number 1)

Moments later I hand him the phone and tell him to call Grandparents to say thank you. I eaves-dropped as he left a message "I am SO EXCITED! Thank you" (proud moment number 2)

Sofia got set off by something, and went into the other room crying. The two olders began to moan about her temperament and I quietly told them that her day had not gone as she hoped with her playdate. Caleb immediately asked, "What room did she go to Mom?" Again I eavesdropped, holding my breath this time, to see what Big Brother had planned. "Sofia, would you like to try to build this Lego set while I do my homework? You can sit next to me and I will help you if you need it." (proud mom moment 3)

Sofia and Anna are snacking, Sofia trying to make sense of Lego directions. Caleb says, very kindly, "Hey guys, let me teach you about median" and proceeds to patiently explain his homework to the girls. (Anna didn't care, but Sofia was all ears.)

Treasures to my heart.

LightSwitch Cover

2009-09-13T14:44:00.000-04:00

This was my first attempt at a custom lightswitch cover. The girls painted their room purple and green and this pulls the two colors together around the light switches. Learned lots, and can't wait for another go at it.

Journey Notes

We Did It.

Wishing Well

Letter to My Future Self, #1

About NaBloPoMo

First Evening of Hope

k-a-n-g-a-r-o-o

You are invited...

Chores...

He Said, She Said

Morning Glories

16 years ago....

Well, Why Not....

So much just happened....

NaNoWriMo

Baby Clothes

Fun with Psalm 139

Sea Dragon

Peas...

Growing

Sunflowers 2011

Roman Shade Number 1 - Done!

Saying Goodbye to Some Old Friends

On her way to Kindergarten Concert

What we did in school today...

Sight Reading

The Material...

After...

New Jeans

Bermuda Photo Album

Moments Today

I just gotta say

Another Good SnowDay

2010 Wordle Review

Three Words

On the First Day of Vacation...

A Story to Celebrate

April 1990

December 27, 1994

NZ Adventure - Day 16&17

NZ Adventure - Day 16

NZ Adventure - Day 15

NZ Adventure - Day 14

NZ Adventure - Day 13

NZ Adventure - Day 12

NZ Adventure - Day 11

NZ Adventure - Day 10

NZ Adventure - Day 9

NZ Adventure - Day 9

NZ Adventure - Day 8

NZ Adventure - Day 7

NZ Adventure - Day 6

NZ Adventure - Day 5

NZ Adventure - Day 4

NZ Adventure - Day 3

NZ Adventure - Day 2

NZ Adventure - Day 1

#growingrenovationgratitude

Love

Sunflower Collage

thepitmans.chronicles, volume8number1

Too cute

First Day of School (last week)

Matchbook Found

One of the things I love about homeschooling

Prayer for our Kids

Let Mercy Lead Rich Mullins and Beaker

Sunflower

Track Star

Sunflowers

Week 3 in the life of a sunflower

Treasure Hunt, Waterville Style

More about the Sunflower Bed

Birth of a Garden

Anna's birthday Cake

There's no excuse....

Easter Dresses, Easter Siblings

Cozy Kitten

Another New Dress for Molly

Discipline for Lent, 2

Let Mercy Lead
Rich Mullins and Beaker