January 2011 – Page 2 – Kingdom Twindom +2

For Joy

Me and my sad little violin….barely seen the light of day for the past six years. We’re working on a come back. But it’s gonna take some practice.

Out of the Abundance of the Heart, the Mouth Speaks

It’s way too late to be starting a blog post. And that’s my blanket excuse for the errors and typos that are sure to find themselves living here. I do have something brief to say, though; and if I wait till tomorrow, I’ll just compose a beautifully written, phantom blog post in my sleep and then be really ticked off in the morning.

Last night, I had a laundry list of both paying and obligatory work to finish. I put the kids down at six-forty-five and they were asleep by seven-thirty. I unplugged my phone and stayed off of Facebook and Twitter. I brewed a fresh pot of coffee. I even turned off all of my front room lights and locked my door. I was determined to knock out my entire list before the ~~birds started chirping~~ snow started sliding off the roof.

And then, there was a knock at my door.

My wonderful neighbor, undeterred by the darkness, came to drop off a plate of cookies and a few groceries I had asked her to buy (which she wouldn’t let me pay for!). I never even turned on the lights; because, in my natural thinking, I needed this conversation to be short. Still, we stood there, in the glow from my laptop and television, for somewhere around an hour. She talked, and I talked, and we talked and we talked and we talked. When she left, my heart was light, and I felt good….really good….about the confessions I had just whispered in my darkened living room….things I probably wouldn’t have uttered if I’d been alone.

This morning, still far behind my “schedule,” my mind wandered back to last night’s spur-the-moment chat. The Holy Spirit so clearly impressed upon me, in the King James that I learned as a child, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” And then I knew what was in my heart. That while my mind might be led down the darkened road of doubt, my heart believes both the written and the spoken word of God.

There is wickedness there, don’t get me wrong. But for the past eleven years, I have been asking God to plant in me His desires as I’ve sought to delight myself in Him. I’ve failed, but He hasn’t. And I’m just loving what He’s doing with my heart.

Sorry to Leave You Hangin’

So, the first couple of guessers were right, but the rest of y’all got grrrross! Ha. I’m really glad to say, now, that clip I pulled that out of a nose. When Lil Prince started whining that his nose hurt, I just assumed it was head cold related, “Oh, Honey, I’m sorry. But I’m sure that you’ll be fine.”

“No, Mama,” he finally admitted. “I put a clip in there.”

“A clip?!” I marveled. I wasn’t even sure that was possible. Still, I had him blow, and blow, and blow. Not a clip in sight. I must have asked him a hundred times, “Are you sure there is something in your nose?!” At one point, I almost gave up, assuming he had swallowed whatever he….you know. He continued to insist there was something there, though, and that it was causing him pain. The word that played on a loop in my brain was, “aspiration!” and I knew I had to get the mysterious object out. Well, that or head to the ER.

It was after attempting the netti pot that he screamed, “I’ll blow my nose!!” And he finally did blow hard enough to reveal the slightest evidence of a foreign object. That’s when I got my tweezers and, well, there really was a clip in there.

I wish I had a prize to offer the winner. But I don’t suppose anyone wants the clip.

Sometimes Mommyhood is Gross

And maybe that’s the understatement of the year.

But this little girl hair clippy is, by far, the largest item
I’ve ever had to _____ ____ __ ____.

Something Cute from Yesterday

Btw, a lot of you have e-mailed me about these computers. They’re V-Readers from Vtech, and they were Christmas presents from Grammie (thank you!!). The kids LOVE them. They have great educational games and can be played for fun and as a supplement to school time. So far, nothing has broken, and we’re pretty rough and tumble around here. We have misplaced (hopefully not lost!) one of the styluses, but the touch screens work with little fingers, too!

Spa Day

Saturday is bath day for my kiddos. And because we live in a very, very dry climate (and because small children have much thinner skin than adults), I try not to bathe them more than two or three times a week (though we wash faces and such nightly). But whether they’ve just had a bath or it’s been a few days, Saturday is the mandatory day for baths. It’s a special day, for me. It’s the day I clip everyone nails and check ten little ears. I brush and style five heads of hair, and if haircuts are due, Saturday is the day.

One of our favorite things on bath day is the post bath massage. One-on-one time is the only thing that is truly less available in a big family. Well, I guess money and space also apply, but I don’t worry about those things like I do the lack of personal time.

On Saturday, though, I pluck the kids out of the bathtub one at a time and walk them into the living room for their lavender oil massage. They oooo and awww as I rub down their arms and they giggle as I rub their toes. It gives them a chance to talk when they absolutely know that I am paying attention. It makes me sad, just thinking about that day when my boys will no longer want to be included in our spa time. But for now, at least, they love it too.

Today, after massages, we decided it was time for tea. Then the girls insisted we go all out and light the candles. So, here are our (ahhhhh) super relaxed, happy post spa day photos.

Tiny Dancer took this one (which is awesome and looks like two different photos).

Oh, and then there is this one. Well, you can’t be relaxed all day long.

Worth Sharing

As I talked with a friend yesterday afternoon, she replied, “You sound like you’re in a good mood!” And, I was. It’s amazing what a little biblical encouragement can do.

I received the following message, yesterday morning. And because I know that some of you are in the exact same boat I am right now (or any number of relevant situations), I’ve decided not to keep it to myself.

Cause it’s gooood.

I have been reading in Hebrews and today as I read your blog I saw an uncanning parallel between biblical people of faith and You, a modern time “Hero of Faith”.

“And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection…” Hebrews 11: 32-35

Hero of Faith

Job description:

1.Conquer Kingdoms- your fight is not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities.

2.Perform acts of righteousness- dishes, laundry, bedtime, cleaning, sewing, cooking, diaper changing, sleeping alone, etc. Not forgetting, love, peace, patients, kindness, etc.

3.Shut the mouths of lions- quiet the demons and the naysayers, and the doubters, and the critics using the Sword of Truth, The Word of God.

4.From weakness be made strong- the joy of the Lord is your Strength.

5.Mighty in war- be strong and of good courage not being afraid for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

6.Putting foreign armies to flight- Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.

7.Receive back their dead by resurrection- Be ready to receive!!! Whether that be dead feelings, dead marriage, “dead” husband, dead dreams, dead vision, what ever… it will be resurrected .

“NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation,the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” Heb 1:1 Amplified Bible

Praying for you and believing with you!!

And That’s When the Roof Fell In

I wish I had something to blog about. It’d be the perfect time. My ten year old niece is playing with my kids in their bedroom. She’s not old enough to babysit, but she’s the perfect age to tattle. And let’s be honest, MSC moms, the tattling is annoying, but we secretly depend on it. There is no way anything is breaking or anyone is getting hurt in that room….not without my hearing about it.

But, alas, I can’t think of a single thing to say.

Oh, I guess I could fill you in on my little Facebook flip out. That’s what it’s destined to be known as, I’m sure. I panicked, yesterday, and started looking for a new place to live. And since I’m car-less and penniless (oh, it’s really not as bad as it sounds!), I decided to look on Facebook. But the story is in why I decided that I needed to move.

It’s cause on Tuesday, I broke a pipe and nearly flooded the cabin. And then I climbed up onto the roof and threatened to jump. Or maybe that last part only happened in my head. It’s hard to be sure anymore.

I was actually on the phone with Ellyn when I realized the pipes were frozen. It’d been in the 20s (below zero) the night before, and my Texan dripping of the faucets simply hadn’t cut it. I think my initial reaction was, “Oh my gosh, now I’m definitely getting kicked out!!”

Basically, living here has become like an invitation to a (supposed) friend’s house for dinner. Once we accepted the generous offer, we packed up the family and drove across town. Sometime during dinner, though, one of our children spilled something on the floor. Of course, I immediately jumped up to clean the mess, but while I was scrubbing, I heard murmuring from the kitchen, “We really shouldn’t have invited them. I wish they’d just go home.”

Sigh.

By the way, this living situation might be the only time in my life when I haven’t felt welcomed. God’s really convicting me, as I write this, just how fortunate in friendship I have been in my life. And no one has ever not welcomed me at dinner.

So, once I realized the pipes were frozen, I turned up the heat, plugged in the space heaters and attempted a rapid thaw. Then, about an hour in, I decided to retest the bathtub (this, ladies, was a mistake). As soon as I turned the knob, I could hear water running. It was mid happy dance that I heard something else. Something bad. I quickly turned off the faucet, but the water kept on running….somewhere. It just kept pouring and pouring and pouring within the wall. And I started crying, and crying, and crying.

I literally ran around in circles and waved my arms like a crazy person. Then I called our church secretary (isn’t that who you would call?!), and she took over where my panic had stunted me. In less than twenty minutes, the water had been turned off. Then, later that afternoon, Papa Bear and our wonderful neighbor (Thanks, Tim!) located the break(s) and fixed the problem. As it turns out, after examining the break and the pipes, our neighbor informed me that the incident was not my fault.

Still, I was sure I was getting kicked out. Which I still haven’t been, by the way. I’ve just been reminded, again, that I’m in the way and that I shouldn’t have been invited. I’m really hoping to move somewhere where I’m actually wanted. At least, after my Facebook rant, I’m feeling better about that aspect. It seems I really do have the best friends in the world.

That doesn’t feel like an ending, but I can’t believe I’ve managed to ramble this long as it is. Night, all. Sleep tight. Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!