A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  -soulemama

Because my heavenly Father made this daughter of his love the smell of apple blossoms.

I have had sick little ones since Tuesday.  This morning, when all the morning mess from sickness was cared for, and baby was sweetly clean and sleeping again, and toddler was sweetly clean and being held by his brother, this tired mama walked away for half an hour, into the woods.

Under an incredibly thick blue sky…if you took a dark sky blue crayon and heavily colored every spot on a piece of paper that’s almost what it looked like…I settled my back against a fallen-pine log bed and stared up, up, up, into the deep blue, and the soft yellow of spring leaves growing on the far tops of the trees.

I prayed and told God exactly what He already knew.  A few tears gently rolled down the sides of my face.  Slowly the little burdens grew more distant as the beauty of my awesome God’s creation started capturing my attention.  My prayers started turning to praise and thankfulness.

I got up and started walking home.  When I came out of the woods I found myself just underneath one of my favorite things…big perfumed branches of an apple tree, on the edge of state forest near my home.

As I hungrily breathed in the scent, I could almost hear God telling me, “Yes, I made those blossoms for the bees who are enjoying them now, too, but I also made them for you.  I know how much you like them, because I made you that way.”

I collected big branches of them….saying “Thank you” out loud.

Came home still quietly sort of blue, but happy with my big armload of blossoms.  Happy with the knowledge of God’s love for me, just the way I am, the way He made me.

Grace and I took some pictures because God made me to love photography, too, and the joy of snapping moments of gratitude with the lens.

The open window allows soft breezes to blow through my bouquet, scenting the whole room.

And I smile.

One day I took my pretty quilt outside….. and I took a pillow…. and I took a book.

I relaxed in the sun and shade while the children played around me.

Soon a creature joined me.

After a while we all left the pretty quilt and by the time I got it at the end of the day, it was dampish from the ground.

So I hung it on the line.  It flipped and flapped in the breeze and dried in no time.

Sarah Joy came out to help me take it down and that is how our impromptu photo session began.

Because, we discovered, pretty quilts make wonderful backdrops for pretty baby girls.

The sun, the shade, books, grass, turtles, children, pretty quilts, clotheslines, winds, & Sarah Joy…….all things I am very thankful for indeed.

Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while,
but their hearts forever.  ~Author Unknown

Happy Mother’s Day 2011

(This is a book recommendation post.)

“Building a Grace-filled marriage and raising creative, contented, capable children without legalism or manipulation”

Paul says, in Ephesians 3:17-19:  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it.  And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.  (TLB)

(Isn’t this an incredibly beautiful and encouraging verse?)

If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’  John 7:38

“Wouldn’t you like to help your children learn how to recognize their thirst for Jesus Christ:  Wouldn’t you like to help them find that Jesus is the only one who can give them life, from the inside?”  -J. VanVonderen

“We can stop trying to control behaviors and feelings, and focus on value and identity.  Our eternal value and identity are settled because of Christ.”  J.V.

“We need to watch for ways to encourage our children to look to Jesus alone as their source of value and acceptance.”

“Our job as Christian parents is simply to draw our children’s attention to what is real–what is true–and not to try to control how they feel.”  -J.V.

“Here is a message about how God’s grace can transform relationships within a marriage and family.  The first step is learning the simple difference between God’s job and ours.  God’s part is to fix and change.  Our responsibility is to depend on the Holy Spirit, serve our families and help to equip them to be all they can be.  Healthy relationships between husband and wife, between parents and children, are possible only when the filter of God’s grace is placed over the processes of marriage and parenting.  The Christian family’s ultimate goals of harmony, obedience and full potential can be arrived at without using legalistic and manipulative methods.”  (from the back of the book).

This book teaches and affirms what I believe to be true.  However, I have rarely heard or read the message of grace-full marriage/parenting in quite this way (the author has much God-given knowledge in this area).   I began reading it yesterday and am eagerly picking it up at every spare moment, with a pencil in hand.  I’m learning SO much and will probably read the book again as soon as I finish it.  I’m attaching the link here at the end of the post.  Perhaps it will encourage you like is is encouraging me.  How thankful I am for people who write about the hope and love we have in Jesus, so that we can live abundant lives in Him.

Have a wonderful day!

My friend Hannah (alaskahannah) made Sarah this beautiful quilt.  I was so excited when I recently found a crib sheet (at Potterybarn kids) that matched it perfectly.  Sarah is sitting here looking pretty and sucking on her finger.  She’s the only one of our seven children that has never had a pacifier.  She’s wearing one of my favorite outfits on her because it’s so soft (babygap blouse, leggings, and knit cardigan).

Davy’s first catch of the season.  We were thrilled for him.  He loves to fish and it makes me happy to see him down at the pond trying patiently to catch something.

Sarah made this mess herself! 

This grass is like my soul…..Jesus makes me lie down in green pastures; lush, healthy, full of water.

Caleb James, my little flower picker.  Oh how I love this boy of mine.

This was a peaceful afternoon.  We spent time in my bedroom…Grace and I were in my bed working on our day journals and the boys were on the computer.  Little Sarah was so pretty in her dress.

Later on that same day, I found her on the floor as still as can be.

She was holding her dress and sucking that finger again.  It’s so wonderful to have this baby girl….we adore her. 

One of our hens laid this H U G E egg, almost 1/2 a cup of egg was inside.  We kept the empty shell and David wrote his name on it.  Because it was his, he said.

This picture is for innaorchard, who loves old things.  My Aunt Mary gave me this hankie that belonged to my Great Grandma.  Great Grandma also made the doily under it.  The box of nature bits was brought to me, as a gift, from Caleb.  His hands were overflowing with treasures for his Mama and I grabbed the box to hold them.  I think about him and how special he made me feel that day, whenever I see it.

I bought a couple of packs of velvety purple pansies and Grace worked so diligently to plant them in two big pots outside our door.  Unfortunately, the hens ate every last bit of them. 

God made the big beautiful sky.

And the small yellow flowers.

Some quotes that I like:

That which is to be loved long must be loved with reason rather than passion.  Samuel Johnson

My heart is singing for joy….the light of understanding has shown in my little pupil’s mind, and behold, all things are changed.  Anne Sullivan

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.  Martin Luther

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.  Robert Louis Stevenson

Some verses I like:

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.  Psalms 85:10

The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.  Ps. 72:3

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.  Isaiah 32:17

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  Romans 14:17

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.  James 3:18

(In my thoughts, I believe that righteousness=Jesus Christ.  I know He (His work, not mine) made/makes me righteous before God.)

Well, my son David told me yesterday that he had a BB in his ear and that it’s been in there for a month.  Rich took him to the hospital last night and they didn’t have success.  They cleaned his ear and they thought they saw the BB but they weren’t sure so we have to take him to a specialist today.  Would you pray for us, please?  Thank you. 

It’s time for me to get the children their breakfast.  I hope all my friends have a wonderful day!

Out-door-life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open air,

which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind with sane subjects,

but keeps him out of mischief. 

It is not only during childhood that this is true, for love of nature counts much for sanity

in later life.

This is an age of nerve tension,

and the relaxation which comes from the comforting companionship found in the woods and fields is,

without doubt,

the best remedy for this condition.

Anna Botsford Comstock

The children all sensed right away yesterday that IT was THE DAY for CATCHING things out of the ponds.  So we spent almost the entire day outdoors.  We went inside to work on some school and to eat.  At about 3 in the afternoon we all came in to rest, but when we got up we went right back out. 

We saw so many creatures yesterday that I wonder if we all dreamed of them in our sleep last night.

Davy, quietly on the hunt for tadpoles and frogs.

We have two ponds on our property and the children spent most of their time around the “long pond.”  They walked around and around it, looking, searching, and catching with bare hands or with a net.

Turtle

Frog, in Grace’s hands

Bullfrog, isn’t it amazing? 

Seth was so calm and sweet.  Yes, being outdoors really does keep this 2 year old boy out of mischief. 

He didn’t want to touch any of the creatures, but he was so excited to see them.  It’s a special thing for me, this spring, to watch another boy enjoy God’s big world.  Last year he was too little to understand very much (although we included him then, too).

The frogs were kept in the wheelbarrow.

They have incredibly large mouths!

The big bullfrog got away and then floated, stunned, for a while on the water.  After it “came to” it dove away again out of sight, poor thing.

I think the reflection under him is so cool!

The industry of these children was amazing.  I wish all my friends with youngsters could come over for a day like this, with us.  They were working together to catch as many things as they could, but each enjoyed it in their own way.

Caleb’s happy smile

Caleb and Dave, looking at their zoo of pond creatures.

They had little fish in one bucket, tadpoles in another.

Ethan and Grace are convinced this is the same snake they’ve been catching for years.  His name is Ferdinand and when they first caught him he was only “this big”  (they hold their hands out to show me).  He’s growing.  Yesterday he was kept in a big metal garbage can, with water and rocks.

Toads

Bluets

We also saw ducks, geese, goldfinches, purple finches, a hummingbird, hornets, and a newt.

It was a wonderful day. 

As I finish this up, I am thinking about my boys, who have eaten their morning eggs and cheerios and are right back outside again.  This is an exciting part of spring for us because every year many, many toads come to our ponds to mate and lay eggs.  The air is filled with the sound of their calls………..it’s a gray, damp morning but still good weather to be OUT exploring and enjoying God’s wondrous creation.

PS, I just went out on the porch and even our cat is catching creatures!  Only he’s EATING them.  LOL  On our “welcome mat” I found one frog leg and one frog EYE.  LOL