Sunday evening contemplations

Here we are, the start of another busy week-the end of another busy month. I want to ask again and again, "where does the time really go?" But I know the answer to that.

-helping my little ones with school work

-helping my little ones with house work

-helping my little ones with farm chores

-feeding my family

-clothing my family

-putting up food for my family

-helping my hubby in the parlor, milking, cleaning, cheering and supporting

-sorting through mountains of paperwork that is months behind

-sorting the daily/weekly clutter from our counters and cupboards

-planning, planning, planning

The list really does go on and on, doesn't it? But, through it all, I have to keep trusting that God will make a way, when there seems to be no way!! A Sunday without church is quite uncommon for us, but this was a busy weekend of chopping the corn silage, and as we are completely at the mercy of the custom harvesters, and their schedule, we thank God that the silage is ALL done in about 15 hours of hard work, that it did not rain on us, that we again have plenty to feed out cows for the next year, and that we are able to pay for it all-steep prices, yes, but we can pay for it.

This coming week has so many things on the schedule already, there hardly seems time for family time, God time, down time. But, we are looking forward to the science co-op field trip to the Crane Foundation on Friday, and then coming home to fly to a fellow church-member's home for pressing apple cider. 7 bushels should make about 22 gallons of cider for us to enjoy all year long-and it really is not that long of a process-thank goodness for their wonderful family and the cider press they share with all of us.

So yes, it is a busy season of our lives right now, but keeping perspective is what it is all about. If we get lost in the list of to-do's, we want to just shrivel up and despair over the busyness of our days. But if we choose a humble, joyful attitude, and thank God for His rich blessings to us, we can take the busyness much more in stride, and hopefully, with a lot more smiles and teachable moments than frustration and hurtful moments.

Happy Fall to everyone, and may God Richly Bless you !!

In Him

Chris

My Boy loves Chit Chas

Can you see me now???

See how fast I can go????

Am I cute or what???

Here I am again!!!

Our new name for him is HOT SHOT HENRY!!

While doing Tyler's 6 month report, I was able to get a lot of photos uploaded to the computer, so now is a great time to do a little updating on what Tyler has been up to in the last couple months.
He is VEHICLE NUTS!! He still refers to them by the Mandarin term Chit Cha-I have no clue if that is spelled correctly, but it is phonetic-It does not matter if it is a horse and buggy, tractor, fast car, ambulance, helicpoter, anything that moves, he loves it-and the faster the better for him.
He has many riding toys (and they are Tyla's chit chas!!) that he has just about worn out this summer-and he doesn't just ride them-he rides them FAST!!
I think we will have our hands full when he reaches his teens!

Blessings

Chris

WELL, where have we been???

I can't believe it has been 2 months since I have visited my own blog, I actually had to stop and think, how do I get there, how do I get to "new post"!! UGH-I am continually amazed at how time just flies by-kind of sad when you stop and think-2 months are gone, never to be here again-makes me ponder the verse "redeem the time" , and how can I do that more effectively???

Well, a quick update on where we have been the last 2 months, and then in a few days, maybe I will give a few more detailed posts, with bunches of pictures, as things change so fast around here, only pictures can remind me where we have been and what we have been up to.

Seems to me, July was the month we started worrying about Chuck's mom. She was having bladder problems, and went in for several procedures, only to discover she had bladder cancer. After an unsuccessful first attempt to scrape the bladder to remove the tumor, the only other option they felt was good for her was total bladder removal-which didn't happen until Aug 28. For about 6 weeks, we were making regular trips to their home-75 miles away-visiting, encouraging, just being together. The surgery was quite intense and recovery required 9 days in the hospital, but the upside to it all is that she is now cancer-free!! Praise the Lord!!

On July 31, our little boy turned 4-he was sick, we were all worried about Marge's first surgery and recovery difficulties, but he was a champion, and thoroughly enjoyed his cake and presents-post with plenty of pictures will follow SOON!

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The second week of August was a wonderful time of spiritual renewal as the church we attend held city-wide Tent Meetings, with various speakers, and each night, the service began at 7 and ended about 9-kind of late for us farmers, but what a wonderful week when God met many needs, opened many hearts to His truth, and healed many wounded hearts.

We were also in the heat of Home School planning for our new year. I now have 2 4th graders, and 1 pre-schooler. Tyler is not to be denied school time-he adores it, and wants to be just like his big brother and sister.

And just when you think you are really busy, we were planning a couple-night get away to my home town and time with Mom and Lee, and Dad and Ann, when an unthinkable thing happened. My Mom's brother, Butchie, was in a horrible car crash. He was hit broadside, and thrown into the back seat. After a long fight in the ER to keep him alive the first night, he was on a very precarious road the first 5 days-broken neck bones, broken facial, ribs, left arm, but thankfully, no paralysis. As of 4 weeks from the accident, the breathing tube has been removed, he is speaking some, he is starting to respond, starting to eat, and beginning rehab in the smallest degrees-although there are literally hundreds of hours to go before they even talk about letting him go home.

Please continue to lift him up in prayer-there is MUCH work to be done yet! And his family and he have a LOONNNGGGG road ahead of them!

His hospital is 2 hours one direction, Marge's hospital 2 hours another, and 2+ hours in-between-we spent a lot of time on the road in the last 4 weeks-life through a windshield is not a lot of fun, but it did give me some good prayer time, and some more good God time, as I have listened to many messages that have rekindled the embers of my heart.

We are now into canning season full-swing-we have done peaches, pears, some raspberries, sweet corn, green beans, and tomaotes, and apples will be coming soon. My raspberry bushes are huge and bearing a huge crop this year, but we are sharing our bounty with many friends-as long as they are willing to come and pick.

I still have potatoes and onions to dig, as well as many weeds to pull and fall tilling to do.

As for school time-we are thoroughly enjoying our science this year-we are doing Jeannie Fulbright's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day-birds, insects, bats, anything with wings, and it is wonderful. We are doing it as a co-op with several other moms, 4 of us are taking turns teaching when we get our 16 children together every other week for 2 hours and review the week's lessons-very fun, very hands-on, and we are all falling in love with insects-they are just so interesting when you take the time to learn about them.

I will close for now-but promise to return in the not-too-distant future with more details from our summer and our home-school year. I have many pictures of Tyler that are begging to be posted, as well as news of our farm adventures-so, check back soon-and thanks to all who have kept checking for 2 months-I have had many posts written in my mind-if only for a laptop-all those hours traveling or sitting in hospitals could have been used to keep up on so many things-but, not to be.

Blessings In Him

Chris

In Other Words Tuesday-Valleys

Today's In Other Words Tuesday is a quote from a wonderful author I have a great deal of respect for-in fact, it is probably not a simple coincidence that I have decided to participate in this weeks' post, and this just HAPPENED to be the quote to respond/ponder/meditate upon.

When you are in a valley, it is really nice to know you are not alone, and that others have gone that route before you-and I am feeling like a pilgrim lately, lonely, fatigued, battle-weary-wondering where the joy went.

“The Christian life is a pilgrimage. At times the road is difficult and we get lonely. Sometimes we may get discouraged and consider abandoning the journey. It is at such times that God will place a friend alongside us. One of God’s most precious gifts to us is friends who encourage us and lovingly challenge us to ‘keep going.’ “ By Henry T. Blackaby & Richard Blackaby from their devotional book, Experiencing God

Ok, I am kind of surprised at the way God has chosen to bring someone along side me this time. It's not the hand-holding, lay your head on her shoulder and have a good cry type of friend, but I have been mighty encoouraged to keep on keeping on never-the-less.

In the midst of the valley of despair, discouragement and disgruntled confusion in which I have been contemplating next year's homeschooling, I have been feeling quite a failure, very inept, and basically a mess. All I see is last year's unfinished projects, last year's unmet goals and aspirations, and piles of papers I have found on the internet in an attempt to find the "PERFECT" activity for my children which will engage them, encourage them, and inspire them.

I wonder why I even attempt to teach my own children, when I feel my own life is such a mess of disorganization, unfinished projects, and disarray. Basically, I am having a pity party, and it hasn't been much fun.

Enter a dear old friend I had shelved for a while due to busyness. Wipe off the dust, open up the pages and begin to be refreshed, revived, and rejuvenated by the words of this dear book I have read several times already, but really needed the relief it provided this weekend.

No, it was not the Bible. But it is practically my homeschooling Bible. Written by another homeschooling mom, who has also written her own curriculum, Heart Of Wisdom Teaching Approach by Robin Sampson was just the instrument God has used to renew my vision for homeschooling and give me the gentle nudge I needed to trudge forward with new hopes and dreams for the coming year.

Robin has truly BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!

She knows how it feels to be defeated by circumstances, and to take your eyes of Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. She also knows the victory that comes with returning to our first love, Jesus, with a new vision and new sense of trusting Him to provide for our every need.

In the book, she compares our homeschool experience to the Israelites leaving Egypt, having their every need met by a loving and faithful God, and yet, they still manage to mess up, forget, murmur and complain, worship idols, and turn their eyes back to Egypt instead of focusing on the Promised Land.

Oh, how easy it is to let life carry us along on a riptide of emotions, instead of letting Jesus' grace and strength provide for us. How easy it is to take our eyes off Jesus, and focus on the difficulties, the failures, and the messes we create.

Well, I am not sure I am completely out of my valley-I still feel pretty empty when it comes to enthusiasm and zeal for the new school year. But, hopefully, with a bit more reading in HOWTA, as well as God's Word, I will find my strength renewed, and I will be able to mount up on wings as eagles, to walk and not be weary, to run and not faint (Isaiah 41:30).

So, even though we have never met in person, we have communicated a bit in email and I consider Robin Sampson a very good friend, and a worthy companion and mentor on this road of homeschooling, and I so appreciate her insights, her loving words of encouragement, and her reminder to focus on the one who gives us strength in our times of weakness.

And thank you to Bonnie at INK IT BLOG for hosting this week's In Other Words. Hop on over to her blog and read what others are writing about this week's quote, and be blessed along your own journey, wherever it may be taking you this week/month/year!!

In Him

Chris

Strawberry picking

The children and I spent a delightful 2 1/2 hours picking berries Saturday morning.
I remember the sweet, delightful aroma of fresh-picked berries from my childhood-either the large, domestic berries I would help my mom pick and clean and eat, or the itsy, bitsy little ones I would pick in the ditches with my Grandpa and Grandma. I could always smell them along the dusty country dirt road when it was time to pick them in June, and Grandpa and I would head out with our ice cream bucket, and see who could find them without stepping on them. The best part was the eating them in Grandma's red kitchen, with fresh cream poured over them and dunking fresh bread into the strawberry and cream mixture-ummm!
Sweet memories of picking with mom at all the u-pick patches also flooded my memory today, and I wanted to provide the same fun and memories for my children. Even though we have berries in our garden, we don't get enough at one time to do them up and freeze a bunch, but I do get enough for all the fresh eating we want, along with pies, shortcakes, and fresh with yogurt. I will also use my own berries for making jams this week.
But for the big job of freezing mashed berries for winter shortcakes and Angel Food cakes, I opted for the u-pick patch run by our friends with the greenhouse.
Tyler entertained himself for a long time with his trike, and then once the owner's girls came out to join us, of course he wanted to be right in the middle of things too-and he and the 4 yr old friend then entertained themselves with wayyyy too many strawberries for a mid-morning snack-despite mom's attempts from 5 rows away to remind him he was probably full, he decided to keep eating, and wasn't long and he had a tummy ache.
We had to laugh at him though-the tell-tale signs of strawberry over-indulgence were everywhere-face, shirt, hands-he was literally covered in strawberry juice!
Kendell, Nick and I managed to pick 40 pounds-about 6 full 1 1/2 gallon icecream buckets-and after paying for them, and returning home with our stash of berries, promptly put Tyler in bed-actually he put himself in bed-where he slept for an hour, and woke up telling me "Mama, owwie all gone" after patting his little tummy, and heading to the bowl of berries I was in the process of cleaning.

I LOVE berries, but after hulling and washing berries for FOUR hours, I was a bit tired of looking at them, and was very glad to get the last container finished before the frozen pizzas were done in the oven. The angel food cake from the Amish at my morning's visit to the Farmer's Market was cut and ready for fresh mashed berries and Schwans ice cream, and I had 5 1/2 gallon containers froze, as well as a 5 pound cottage cheese container-and I was thinking-No, I don't need to pick more berries-we will make jams with whatever we get off our own patch.

They will taste really good though this winter!!

Blessings

Chris