Friday, October 28, 2011

Scatterbrains

I have a real bad case of this lately.  That and needing to "do something different."  It is not necessarily a good thing to have the commander of the household be so flighty, the soldiers seem to follow suit, which adds to the commander's flustering feelings of getting nothing done, which leads to more scatterbrain decisions, and so forth.

I'm currently living a Laura Numeroff plot.  As much as I enjoy reading those books to my children, I'm not enjoying living out the fiction in reality.

I do know how to stop this merry-go-round, and I really should take that trail, to stop the madness, to once more oversee a well-run (that is always in the eye of the beholder) home.  I think I will try today to curb the current chaos for some semblance of control and emulate better behavior towards the troops in my command.

Wish me luck.

Now I wonder what is happening in the blog world this morning.  Oh wait - I want to do some more editing in photoshop.  But first I should call my sister-in-law and see how she is recovering from surgery and touch base about Trick-or-Treating.

I need to do some laundry.

Where is the child who is suppose to load and unload the dishwasher? Oh, I better answer that email before I forget.  I'll do that after I finish a chapter in my book.  Which reminds me to read to the youngest more about space.  I wonder if there is a decent documentary on Netflix we could watch. . . .

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

All About Jesus

Today in a pastor's study I saw a framed letter from a child.  It had numerous tally marks on the top half with a printed letter on the bottom.  I can't remember the exact wording but it went something like this:

Dear Pastor _________,

In the service today you said Jesus 113 times today.  I counted them.  Thank you for teaching me about God.

Then the child signed his name.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

It Makes Me Happy

My son Nathan takes oboe lessons from Luke, a senior in high school, at his home.  We drive to the farmhouse every Friday afternoon.  I sit in the living room, while Nathan is learning more about playing an oboe in the music room - the small room off the living room with a piano, lots of music books, and a music stand.

This farmhouse makes me happy.  When we first walk in, the porch is filled with current produce from their garden.  The first few lessons it was lots of tomatoes, yesterday there were pails of potatoes and some squash.

The house itself is old with lots of neat character, from the woodwork to the hot-water radiant heating to the open stairwell banister.  Plus the touches of the family are all around.  The shoes and coats, the books, the definitely-not-picture-perfect-but-so-obviously-loved-to-sit-in-to-read-or-watch-tv couches and chairs fill the home as does the smells of supper which Mom is fixing while the lesson is proceeding.

The first time we went I noticed the family portrait on the wall and smiled that this family also has five children.  I spotted Luke in the picture and quickly figured out he was number 4 in line, and being a senior in high school, that meant it was only he and his younger brother still at home. I wondered if his older brother and two sisters must be in college, or was the oldest graduated from college and just two in college.

But yesterday I was really happy while sitting in the recliner during Nathan's lesson.  When I walked in there were more people on the couch than ever before (usually there is none) and there was an aura of joy in the house.  I thought maybe either Luke or his younger brother had friends over, but I was wrong.  It was the older siblings, home from college for the long weekend due to fall break.  The chatter of the kids, the verbal jabs given back and forth was giving that wonderful happy vibe throughout the home.

And I was happy for the mom, that all her kiddos were in the nest, the bustling of bodies and voices had to be a pleasure to her once again.  And I thought of how, even though I now yell "QUIET" and yearn for some peace, I know deep down, that I had a glimpse of my life in a few years.  When I'll have offspring who've grown and flew away, but will return for brief stays and all the world will be right with noise once again.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

One Cool Family

The other night David and I saw a great tv commercial for a Honda Pilot.  We looked for it on You Tube to show to the kids and found an extended cut version that is better than the one we saw on television.

Enjoy!

Thursday, October 06, 2011

A Splendid Evening

Last Sunday, David and I took Hannah and Ellie to American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI, to watch the closing performance of Taming of the Shrew.  It is my favorite Shakespeare play, and now it is David's.

It was very good indeed.  I had heard of this theatre from friends and we finally decided to just do it.  I'm so glad we did.  The girls liked it, I liked it, David liked it, and we all look forward to next season!

We left after dinner on Sunday and arrived with ten minutes to spare.  I had time to catch my breath (it is an uphill walk - or in our case, run) and snap two pictures before the performance began.



It was a perfect fall night for an outdoor play.  This will be a night we won't soon forget!  Plan now for next season and enjoy a well-done Shakespeare play in Spring Green!  Who knows, maybe we'll see you there.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

SDG

My husband visited a four month old boy from our congregation in that big, well-known hospital on Wednesday.  This little lamb of God had surgery on his skull because his soft spot had closed prematurely and his brain no longer had room to grow and was pushing his skull into unusual shapes.

The surgery lasted eighty-nine minutes in which the surgeons cut into his skull what my husband said they described as a pie (math) shape, removed some parts, added a calcium (I think I'm remembering correctly) plate that will grow into the skull as it now grows with him.

I can't even imagine the worries and fright that Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma had.  But I rejoice with them that God brought His little lamb through without complications.  I am amazed and astounded at the knowledge God has granted to medical staff in order to fix these types of problems.  That this is described by those doctors as "not that uncommon" and that this little boy will most likely be able to go home this weekend, only a few short days after a major surgery, is another wonderment.

Praise be to our Heavenly Father!