Dressed up for church
Home for lunch
Easter egg hunt inside
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Easter Sunday
Just the six of us
Dressed up for church
Will and youth choir signing one of the songs at church
Thunderstorms and down pours
Home for lunch
Easter egg hunt inside
Dressed up for church
Home for lunch
Easter egg hunt inside
Excess Media
In 7, the fourth month is a media fast, and this is one that I am expecting to be a challenge for me. I seem to spend a lot of time online -- shopping for books, looking for recipes, searching for ideas for weekend activities, reading friends' blogs, trying to find neat ways of teaching the kids new things, learning about gardening and birds, checking Facebook often and keeping up with friends that way, searching for certain scriptures, and so much more! I use my cell phone when I'm waiting in line to pick up kids, when I'm waiting for an appointment, when I'm waiting for anything that isn't quite happening as soon as I'm ready for it to. In all my waiting, I check the weather forecasts, catch up on local and national news stories, text Allen and other friends to make plans or ask quick questions, play games, look for Pinterest ideas, and check email. When I'm not plugged in or otherwise busy, I can spend waste time flipping through magazines and catalogs. A couple evenings a week, Allen and I watch TV together. Though I really enjoy some shows that make us laugh till we cry, we waste too much time watching junk. April is my month for detoxing from all my media junk food.
Here is the plan for me:
My family is getting on board with me, too. All of us are giving up TV, Wii, movies, and radio for the month. Ben, Maddie, and Jon volunteered to give up all video games. Will refused to give all of the games up, and since that is often a way to motivate him, I think I am okay with that. He will not play games when the other kids are home, though, and he will not be earning extra game time.
I think this month will be an interesting experience for all of us. I anticipate lots of reading and family board games. I anticipate some frustrations from the kids on rainy days. I anticipate I will be frustrated when I "need" to text Allen love notes or ask for encouragement or mentally check out at the end of a long day (or in the middle of the afternoon when the kids won't quit fighting). I have been blessed SO much with all the other experiments, so I am anxious to jump into this one!
Here is the plan for me:
- No TV
- No Facebook
- No catalogs or magazines
- No texting or phone apps*
- No cell phone - I have survived before without a cell phone, so I know it is possible. I plan to carry my phone to use in an emergency (or if the school calls), but I plan to not use it otherwise.
- No radio, but we will listen to Seeds CDs when we want some music (but not as an aural pacifier for restless children)
- I will check my email twice a day - I cannot completely give it up because that is the primary way I communicate with all the kids' teachers and schools, and I have several other people or companies I need to keep in touch with that way.
- Limited internet use - I will continue to pay bills online, but I will not shop online. I do plan to keep up with my blog (or try to), but I will not check other blogs. I may need to use the internet for some projects I'm working on, but I will only do that if I really NEED to and cannot find the information another way.
My family is getting on board with me, too. All of us are giving up TV, Wii, movies, and radio for the month. Ben, Maddie, and Jon volunteered to give up all video games. Will refused to give all of the games up, and since that is often a way to motivate him, I think I am okay with that. He will not play games when the other kids are home, though, and he will not be earning extra game time.
I think this month will be an interesting experience for all of us. I anticipate lots of reading and family board games. I anticipate some frustrations from the kids on rainy days. I anticipate I will be frustrated when I "need" to text Allen love notes or ask for encouragement or mentally check out at the end of a long day (or in the middle of the afternoon when the kids won't quit fighting). I have been blessed SO much with all the other experiments, so I am anxious to jump into this one!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Blast Off!
Last night, Will had a Cub scout sleep over. The boys watched a movie while they took turns making and spray painting a rocket that they blasted off this morning. All the boys were proud of their rockets, but not all of the rockets blasted off the right way. A few of the kids lost theirs to mini explosions. Those boys few pouted a bit that they didn't have a rocket to relaunch, but then they joined in the excitement of watching the others take off, and it was the explosions that made the best stories and actually got named. Among the collection of multi-colored rockets (or rocket parts) the names were Will's rocket, Caden's rocket, Eric's rocket,... the Columbia, the Challenger, and the oh-my-goodness-did-you-see-it-land-in-the-ground-upside-down-and-THEN-blow-up. That was our morning.
The Big Purge
Give-away month was fun! This month, my friends decided to have a garage sale to sell all the things they were purging. All three of them started a pile in February as they went through their closets. Since my closet selection was already limited, I didn't do the same thing. I decided that my March purging would all be gifted in some way, but, in the end, I did have a bunch for the garage sale, too. And, at the end of the sale, we all donated whatever stuff was leftover. Here is a partial list (or rather, what I kept up with) that I gave away this month.
Some of the hardest things to give away were three well-loved stuffed animals that were in excellent shape after they were washed. Those were three that had just enough sweet cuddles to remember that I wanted to find a special new home for them, but not quite special enough to go in the keepsake boxes I have for each of the kids. In the end, I sent them to a friend who is a foster mom, and I trust that she will match each of the animals up with one of her children. Some of the most fun things to giver were some of Maddie's dresses that she wore to church -- they were almost new, but too short for her, and I took them to St. Paul. They were immediately hung on the closet rack (rather than going into storage until sorted) and a mom picked one out for a pretty little four-year old (I'm guessing) girl with dark wavy hair, long eyelashes, and a shy smile. I'm not sure that this month's experiment brought me to my knees as often as the first month (7 foods) did, but it was A-MAZ-ING! to see how God orchestrated all his miracles with the garage sale. This month -- or that weekend -- brought my friends and I closer to him as a group, so I am definitely glad I came face-to-face with my excess STUFF. This is a project I need to do more often, and I plan to keep some boxes always ready to fill with stuff to share with others.
- 54 children's books to the Literacy Council (plus garage sale leftovers)
- 21 Christian books (fiction and non-fiction) to the church library
- 50 adult books to local library
- 22 videos to local library
- 27 Women's blouses or slacks to St. Paul closet
- 23 Little girl outfits, dresses,or shirts to St. Paul closet
- 12 Men's shirts to St. Paul closet
- 13 stuffed animals to St. Paul toy shelf
- 21 Toiletry items to St. Paul pantry
- 7 pantry items to St. Paul food pantry
- 14 books to a friend's Little Free Library
- 5 Chasing Rainbows blouses to the scrapbook store
- 6 Little girl outfits and
- 3 stuffed animals (who needed children to love them) to a friend with foster children
- lots of little books, new pencils, and happy meal-type toys to the kids' teachers for rewards
- lots of assorted items left from our garage sale to a missions sale
- garage sale leftover children's and men's clothes to St. Paul
Some of the hardest things to give away were three well-loved stuffed animals that were in excellent shape after they were washed. Those were three that had just enough sweet cuddles to remember that I wanted to find a special new home for them, but not quite special enough to go in the keepsake boxes I have for each of the kids. In the end, I sent them to a friend who is a foster mom, and I trust that she will match each of the animals up with one of her children. Some of the most fun things to giver were some of Maddie's dresses that she wore to church -- they were almost new, but too short for her, and I took them to St. Paul. They were immediately hung on the closet rack (rather than going into storage until sorted) and a mom picked one out for a pretty little four-year old (I'm guessing) girl with dark wavy hair, long eyelashes, and a shy smile. I'm not sure that this month's experiment brought me to my knees as often as the first month (7 foods) did, but it was A-MAZ-ING! to see how God orchestrated all his miracles with the garage sale. This month -- or that weekend -- brought my friends and I closer to him as a group, so I am definitely glad I came face-to-face with my excess STUFF. This is a project I need to do more often, and I plan to keep some boxes always ready to fill with stuff to share with others.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Ghost Adventures
Oh, what a DAY! Today, being Good Friday, Allen was home from work. Ben, Maddie, and Jon had a school holiday, and Will would have, but his school had to close one day unexpectedly (an armed robber was on the loose near his school) and today was the make-up day. Allen and I were busy this morning getting a head start on weekend chores, and the younger three were playing cheerfully upstairs.
I heard a crash and did what I always do in similar situations -- I wait with my ears straining to figure out what happened. Maddie's crying began instantly, and she came down wailing to tell me she ran into the wall and bumped her head. She sat next to me and I held her to calm her down enough to learn she put a blanket on her head and was being a ghost. Evidently, the Maddie-ghost blindly ran into a wall. She got an icepack and put it on the small egg forming on the top of her forehead. While she sat impatiently, I got back to work. This is how things usually go in our home... almost on a daily basis, so I didn't have any reason to think differently.
Soon, Maddie went back up to play with her brothers. About an hour after the last accident, she came downstairs wailing again. When I asked what happened, she said her head hurt really bad, but she didn't do anything new to it. After a short rest on the couch, she was up and reading a book quietly until she screamed out again about fifteen minutes later that her head hurt so bad. I gave her some Tylenol, and when Allen came in from mowing, I told him we needed to keep an eye on Maddie since she was complaining about her headache.
Around 11:40, I was getting my keys to go get Will from school and Maddie started throwing up. I headed out the door with the boys and called the doctor on my way to get Will. They couldn't fit her in soon enough, and since she was young and throwing up, they insisted we head to the ER immediately. I called Allen to let him know he needed to take Maddie, but when I realized I was the one with the insurance card, I turned the car around. We swapped cars -- he headed for Will, I took Maddie and a bucket to the ER. I was glad I remembered the bucket, because she started throwing up again in the car.
I know I've joked that I know the ER staff on a first-name basis, but the same doctor we had the last three of four times I've been was there again. This time, he knew me, too -- but only because our boys go to the same school and are in drama together. It was nice to see a familiar face again. I tried not to be worried, but I had always heard that throwing up once after a head-hit was bad, but twice meant something really bad could have happened. As I sat keeping Maddie still and awake, I tried to chase away all the fears that I hadn't had since we were in NICU learning about brain bleeds and swelling. They did a CT scan on Maddie's head to check for all that, but ruled out all the super-bad things. I was relieved when the doctor explained that she had a concussion, but then he told me everything we needed to do to make sure her brain rested until it could recover -- no running, jumping, biking, skateboarding, video-games, television, loud noise, bright lights. Maddie leaned over and said to me, "Why doesn't he just say 'no having fun.'? Can I read and color?" She was happy that the answer was yes. Basically, we have to protect her from anything that overstimulates her brain or could cause another head injury. He explained the severe danger of another injury, and I left wondering how much bubble wrap we would need to keep her alive for the next week. Such is the life of a mama... now, all my kids have been to the ER. Though I REALLY hope not to visit again any time soon, I am thankful to have one that takes good care of all of us.
I heard a crash and did what I always do in similar situations -- I wait with my ears straining to figure out what happened. Maddie's crying began instantly, and she came down wailing to tell me she ran into the wall and bumped her head. She sat next to me and I held her to calm her down enough to learn she put a blanket on her head and was being a ghost. Evidently, the Maddie-ghost blindly ran into a wall. She got an icepack and put it on the small egg forming on the top of her forehead. While she sat impatiently, I got back to work. This is how things usually go in our home... almost on a daily basis, so I didn't have any reason to think differently.
Soon, Maddie went back up to play with her brothers. About an hour after the last accident, she came downstairs wailing again. When I asked what happened, she said her head hurt really bad, but she didn't do anything new to it. After a short rest on the couch, she was up and reading a book quietly until she screamed out again about fifteen minutes later that her head hurt so bad. I gave her some Tylenol, and when Allen came in from mowing, I told him we needed to keep an eye on Maddie since she was complaining about her headache.
Around 11:40, I was getting my keys to go get Will from school and Maddie started throwing up. I headed out the door with the boys and called the doctor on my way to get Will. They couldn't fit her in soon enough, and since she was young and throwing up, they insisted we head to the ER immediately. I called Allen to let him know he needed to take Maddie, but when I realized I was the one with the insurance card, I turned the car around. We swapped cars -- he headed for Will, I took Maddie and a bucket to the ER. I was glad I remembered the bucket, because she started throwing up again in the car.
I know I've joked that I know the ER staff on a first-name basis, but the same doctor we had the last three of four times I've been was there again. This time, he knew me, too -- but only because our boys go to the same school and are in drama together. It was nice to see a familiar face again. I tried not to be worried, but I had always heard that throwing up once after a head-hit was bad, but twice meant something really bad could have happened. As I sat keeping Maddie still and awake, I tried to chase away all the fears that I hadn't had since we were in NICU learning about brain bleeds and swelling. They did a CT scan on Maddie's head to check for all that, but ruled out all the super-bad things. I was relieved when the doctor explained that she had a concussion, but then he told me everything we needed to do to make sure her brain rested until it could recover -- no running, jumping, biking, skateboarding, video-games, television, loud noise, bright lights. Maddie leaned over and said to me, "Why doesn't he just say 'no having fun.'? Can I read and color?" She was happy that the answer was yes. Basically, we have to protect her from anything that overstimulates her brain or could cause another head injury. He explained the severe danger of another injury, and I left wondering how much bubble wrap we would need to keep her alive for the next week. Such is the life of a mama... now, all my kids have been to the ER. Though I REALLY hope not to visit again any time soon, I am thankful to have one that takes good care of all of us.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Friendly Correspondence
I read ... a lot! I have enjoyed several books that are really a bunch of correspondences between friends that come together to tell the complete story with the facets being from different perspectives. I wanted to keep some of my friends' words because it seems like the story is more complete with them all together. So... this is more for me, so I can remember the story and what great friends God has gifted to me.
Good morning ladies,
All day yesterday, and now today, my mind is jumping to reflect, to stay in yesterday's moment of The Lord working with us, but also to revel in how He has worked for months to this sweet moment. In the crazies of yesterday afternoon I just had to pull aside my husband and say "listen to this, let me share and spill, let me show you what our Father has done" because it was just bubbling in me.
From Sarah reading Seven to sharing it with us and waiting patiently to discuss it, to the conviction we all felt when reading Seven that something was about to happen, a simple change to our days or more to see God more than ourselves. On to January for discipline, February for clothes, -- oh, what to do with the excess? Hmmm... a garage sale in March -- that would work with possessions. Along side is Sarah, hearing a call from God to step out and be uncomfortable and after months of nothing the mission trips are presented, each with grace attached -- but, wait! we had already said PCM would be a great focus for the sale proceeds as we love them so, so very much. Sarah made her prayerful decision, Uganda it is, and we can finish her last piece of paying for that. Wow! Wow! This doesn't include the prayer that calmed the overwhelming feel of too much stuff on Friday or the rain that only came as we decided to consolidate. I know there's more that I skipped, maybe there was more for you individually, either way I am feeling scrutiny, like a favourite child as Sarah put it last week in prayer.
I am so very thankful that I shared this tiny adventure with you and that we bonded more in friendship but most important of all as sisters in Christ.
Ema
Good morning ladies,
All day yesterday, and now today, my mind is jumping to reflect, to stay in yesterday's moment of The Lord working with us, but also to revel in how He has worked for months to this sweet moment. In the crazies of yesterday afternoon I just had to pull aside my husband and say "listen to this, let me share and spill, let me show you what our Father has done" because it was just bubbling in me.
From Sarah reading Seven to sharing it with us and waiting patiently to discuss it, to the conviction we all felt when reading Seven that something was about to happen, a simple change to our days or more to see God more than ourselves. On to January for discipline, February for clothes, -- oh, what to do with the excess? Hmmm... a garage sale in March -- that would work with possessions. Along side is Sarah, hearing a call from God to step out and be uncomfortable and after months of nothing the mission trips are presented, each with grace attached -- but, wait! we had already said PCM would be a great focus for the sale proceeds as we love them so, so very much. Sarah made her prayerful decision, Uganda it is, and we can finish her last piece of paying for that. Wow! Wow! This doesn't include the prayer that calmed the overwhelming feel of too much stuff on Friday or the rain that only came as we decided to consolidate. I know there's more that I skipped, maybe there was more for you individually, either way I am feeling scrutiny, like a favourite child as Sarah put it last week in prayer.
I am so very thankful that I shared this tiny adventure with you and that we bonded more in friendship but most important of all as sisters in Christ.
Ema
Ema beat me to the words :) I have been reflecting in amazement ALL weekend. It started raining on me on the way home from Jennifer's house yesterday, and I was a bit frustrated that Allen didn't have working wipers, but all I could do was CRY that God was so faithful to wait till we were done to let it rain. I keep trying to put everything in words, but all I do is cry at the beauty of all He has done for us and through us and I can't find the words. I can't find the words to tell Him or you how thankful I am for each of you and your support and encouragement -- as you all read 7... as we all decided to experiment with it... as we all have made more room in our hearts for God to work. I wish I could thank you enough, but, since I can't, I'm praying that God pours his blessings on you and your families for your faithfulness and kindness. I am thankful for your husbands' and kids' patience as they stood in the background supporting you all for the sale (and also me, though they may not have realized it.)
I was sharing praises in Sunday school today of God's provisions -- for providing me three awesomely supportive friends who encourage me and each other.... who dare me to be a better Christian, wife, and mom... who pray for me... who do crazy experiments with me.... who love me ... who give up sleep and warmth to face bitter wind before the sun rises to help me; for providing lots of buyers yesterday... and those few visitors sprinkled in the crowd who brought words of encouragement.... for helping us find new homes for all those blessings we once thought we needed... for blessing us with more than enough to pay for the trip; for everything!
I was sharing praises in Sunday school today of God's provisions -- for providing me three awesomely supportive friends who encourage me and each other.... who dare me to be a better Christian, wife, and mom... who pray for me... who do crazy experiments with me.... who love me ... who give up sleep and warmth to face bitter wind before the sun rises to help me; for providing lots of buyers yesterday... and those few visitors sprinkled in the crowd who brought words of encouragement.... for helping us find new homes for all those blessings we once thought we needed... for blessing us with more than enough to pay for the trip; for everything!
I really am frustrated that I can't find the right words... but, still, my tears of joy are flowing. Like, Ema, I am so thankful we are doing this all together. What excites me even more is that we are only just beginning! Even if this "journey" is only defined as our 7 projects, we aren't even to the half-way point, and look at all God is doing!! It is so exciting to me, I can barely contain my joy (or rather, I cannot contain it -- it keeps dripping from my eyes) but I don't know how to share it without feeling like I'm going to overwhelm the listener. Thank you all for experiencing it with me so that I have at least 3 people I can call and just jump up and down with giddiness without having to explain much. THANK YOU!!! for everything!
Sarah
Me again.
Earlier I wanted to send this quote because I too was tears. "The tears streamed down, and I let them flow freely as they would, making of them a pillow for my heart. On them it rested." Saint Augustine (in Amazing Collection)
I read this that we can rest in tears of joy and what a beautiful rest that would be but worried that the quote may be too sad I thought I would share it this time saying, "The tears streamed down, and I let them flow freely as they would, making of them a puddle for my feet. On them I would jump and splash and praise and sit.. joyful and wet!"
Basically tears are good especially when they are because we are so full of His love.
Ema
Ema
I am playing with my spreadsheet of donations and payments for the trip and just now realizing my calculations were off by a little bit (in a good way! I only lacked $800 for the travel expenses). I wanted to share that all the feet in this photo (by Beth Reed) can have new socks and shoes that fit because of the money from yesterday. Praise the Lord!! (and here come the tears ... again.)
Sarah
Sarah, don't worry about finding the right words, that picture is worth a thousand words and adds so much perspective. I am very thankful to have had the honor of participating in such a clearly laid out God orchestrated event as took place on Saturday right down to holding off the rain until the last minute, exactly as Ema has already so beautifully described!
~Simone
It was an amazing experience and I am so glad to have shared it with you.
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10).
What an awesome thought that is to me, that God has work for us to do. That he uses us to be His hands and feet here on earth. I am excited to see what else He has for us to do. On a funnier note, the rain He so graciously held back until we were done was enough to wash Sarah's tent clean of all the birdie business that had dirtied it. I was happy not to have to spray it off with a water hose.
Looking forward to our next adventure!!
Jennifer
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Sale Day
Friday night, Allen and the kids headed to his parents' for the weekend. Jennifer's family went to her in-laws' place. I picked up salads from Jason's Deli and she and I ate before we headed to the mess in her garage. All week, Ema, Simone, Cay (a lady in our Bible study group) and I have taken turns dropping off our carloads of boxed "excess"-- all the things we have been purging as we've been working through our separate 7-projects.
We decided to wait until Friday night to start sorting through things, to price everything, and to set it all out neatly. With 12 hours to go till we opened the door, Ema, Simone, Jennifer and I stood in the overflowing garage... staring at the piles... shivering as the cold front approached... almost in tears of defeat, but struggling to keep it together. All four of us were trying to follow someone's directions because we couldn't think on our own -- we were all THAT overwhelmed and didn't know what to do, but we acted like everything was fine. One of us finally admitted what she was feeling and we all grouped together in agreement that "THIS was just too much!" Together, we prayed that God would give us peace and direction, that everything would come together smoothly, that the weather would work in our favor, that He would bless our crazy project that seemed to come together with His prompting. After our Amens, we all went to different corners of the garage, we all worked smoothly and cheerfully, and everything DID come together miraculously.
Saturday morning threatened rain, so in the dark hours of the morning, we fought to assemble the canopy that would keep our outside tables dry. The day went well, though we were cold a lot of the time. Even as early (and dark) as 7:00AM when we opened the door, we had a constant flow of shoppers -- not just looking, but actually buying all the stuff that we, at one point, couldn't live without. Just after noon, we realized we didn't have much left, so we started consolidating -- emptying tables and boxes as room was made in other places in the garage. As we started moving it all inside the garage, we also started sorting things into boxes for Salvation Army to pick up, for Ema and I to take to St. Paul, for the library, and for other new homes for our extras. While we were sorting, a lady told us her church was doing a garage sale to support a mission trip for teens, and we sent a lot of the stuff with her. The rest fit in Ema's, Simone's, and my cars for us to deliver to other charities. After we loaded the cars and had the rest cleaned up, we headed inside the house to count the money and the sky opened up and poured. It really worked out perfectly, but it is the whole story all together that is really quite awesome...
Last fall, I was reading 7 because a friend recommended it. Before I finished it, I bought three more copies and gave them to Ema, Simone, and Jennifer to read. This was one of the few times everyone read it immediately (we often pass around books, but rarely read them so quickly.) By November, we all decided to do the 7 projects when the new year started, but we also decided to do a trial of the "reduce stress" experiment for December. In January, all of us did different versions of food fasts, but we started talking about how we would handle clothes in February. In February, the three of them purged their closets (mine was already recently reduced.) As they gathered excess clothing, they decided to start doing more of their homes and just have a garage sale and give all the proceeds to a charity. I figured that since I was giving stuff away in March, I wouldn't have anything left to sell, but I planned to help them with the three-family garage sale, especially since it would be for a good cause. All of us have been, in some way, donating to PCM, so that was already one of the charities we talked about donating part of the money. Meanwhile, God put the mission trip on my heart and I chose to go on the one with PCM. My awesome friends decided all the proceeds would go toward my trip, which would cost around $3200. In the end, I actually had PLENTY to add to the sale (or maybe I just found more that we could live without...) and all of us had more than we realized. Friday night, the gals were talking about how close to $3000 we thought we could get -- knowing that was a crazy amount. They didn't realize that I had already paid for half the trip, and when I told them so, they relaxed a little bit. As I was falling asleep Friday night, I realized that I had several donations come in earlier in the week that were for my travel expenses. In the morning, I told them that I really only needed about $1000 more, and they were excited because that seemed possible. When we got together and counted out the proceeds, we had more than $1100!! God provided everything we needeed -- from the peace on Friday night, to finding new homes for all our junk excess stuff, to the funds to finish out my trip expenses, to holding the rain back until we were finished with the sale.
When I got home, I entered the donations into my spreadsheet. I was a bit surprised at my miscalculations. It turned out I only needed $800, so we had more than $300 left that would all go to purchase shoes for the children I'll be visiting -- I couldn't WAIT to tell my sweet friends that happy news!
We decided to wait until Friday night to start sorting through things, to price everything, and to set it all out neatly. With 12 hours to go till we opened the door, Ema, Simone, Jennifer and I stood in the overflowing garage... staring at the piles... shivering as the cold front approached... almost in tears of defeat, but struggling to keep it together. All four of us were trying to follow someone's directions because we couldn't think on our own -- we were all THAT overwhelmed and didn't know what to do, but we acted like everything was fine. One of us finally admitted what she was feeling and we all grouped together in agreement that "THIS was just too much!" Together, we prayed that God would give us peace and direction, that everything would come together smoothly, that the weather would work in our favor, that He would bless our crazy project that seemed to come together with His prompting. After our Amens, we all went to different corners of the garage, we all worked smoothly and cheerfully, and everything DID come together miraculously.
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