Lessons I learned this December:

Dan turned 39 on the 19th and Alec turned 15.  I wrote on facebook “I am baking a birthday cake for Dan & Alec, who share today.
The elderly ladies were right.  Dan the man is still handsome and kind and makes a good husband.  And babies grow up so, so fast.
It feels surreal.  My baby is a bass-singing, snowmobile-tinkering, English-loving, responsible, mysterious young man of 15.
~And Dan & I have known each other for more years than we haven’t.  He is the strongest, gentlest steak-grilling-waffle-making farmer/pastor I know.”

 Let me explain about the elderly ladies.  The old ladies have always loved Dan.  I have to keep a close eye on him at the nursing home.  I used to work for a lady who had Alzheimers and one time when we stopped to visit her and her husband, she flirted shamelessly with him and when we went to leave she told me that I could just go and she would keep him. 

I waffled a lot about whether Dan was the right guy, but the older ladies who knew him always told me they thought a lot of him.  Other people did too, for that matter.

So they were right.  And they were right about time going fast and babies growing up too. 

Alec was the sweetest baby.

Here he does his piano theory.

 

Lesson 1:

Listen To Your Elders.  They usually know what they’re talking about.

(In case you think that facebook status sounds sappy, I could tell you the many things Dan & I don’t agree on. Our tastes in food and books differ a LOT.  He is the more protective parent.  He is completely happy with our lives and I am always restlessly dreaming of change.  Our marriage takes a lot of work and giving for both of us.  But I love and respect him.  And he thinks I’m quite nice too.)

  

The other day Dan gave me a squeeze around the middle and then went on to tell me that in Japan it’s against the law to be overweight.  He’d been reading that employers are required to regularly measure their employee’s waists.  I can’t believe it.

Lesson 2:  We Would be Thinner if We Were Japanese.

Liesl hid from me in the shoe department at Walmart the other day.

After some frantic calling and searching, several nice ladies started helping me search, and one of them found her quietly huddled behind the slipper display.  Little stinker! 

I was having facebook friends tell me that I’d tagged them in strange photos or seen me tagged in photos like someone’s trip to Europe.  I thought Facebook had some kind of a glitch and didn’t think too much of it.  Then late the other night Bryant confessed at bedtime that he’d been looking through facebook photos of my friends and randomly tagging people for fun.  Stinker!  He said I could publicly confess for him so I guess I’m doing that here.

Lesson 3:  You are Never too old to be Embarrassed by the Children you Love the Most. 

I learned that I’ve been pinned.  Ha.

My creative friend Laura had a preschool birthday party for Jesus.  I  her.

     

 

 

 

 

Our school has a fun Christmas program every year.  The neighbors come and the children sing their hearts out and we have coffee and lots of of food in the basement schoolrooms afterwards.  This year they did a play based on Max Lucado’s book about the water master who went on a trip and left his servant in charge and the villagers could never be polite or pretty or good enough to suit the exacting servant and he started refusing them water.  And then the master’s son comes back and sets everything right and redeems even the cruel servant.

 

 

It was really good.  I cried over it.  And the bass-singing boys.  And our 6 year old Natalia who seemed perfectly at ease on the stage.

We missed being with more extended family this Christmas, but had a good turkey dinner with one of Dan’s sawmill employees and his wife at our house. 

And in the evening we ate and talked with a few Peacheys at my brother’s big house. 

It’s just so, so good to sleep late and sit around together and forget about going out in the cold.  It’s been a very cold Christmas season, but were are warmed and filled and blessed.  My heart aches for those who aren’t….and people who are grieving….and people that are lonely.  I want to share the goodness.

 We brought the cows home the other day, which always makes Dan smile.  But I groan because I know that weaning comes next.  And you don’t want to hear 85 cows and calves who are missing each other badly!!

This morning the children slept till 10:00.  Dan brought me an egg and toast and grape juice while I sat on the loveseat and read.  And I wondered what it would be like if life was always this sweet and easy.   I cleaned a cupboard in the bathroom and plan to clean behind a few appliances in the porch, which will hopefully redeem the day from total laziness.  The children started in the late afternoon with rearranging their bedrooms.  I will pretend that that will not create a huge mess.

I didn’t do Christmas cards and letters this year. A happy Christmas season and New Year from our house to yours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like a moth to a flame, I am drawn to the news.  Elections.  The top 10 newsmakers of 2012 according to Maclean’s in the dental office.  War in Israel. School shootings.

In times of tension and tragedy, we all have our ideas of how to make the world a better place.  Republicans in office.  Tougher gun laws.  Getting concealed weapons permits.  Prayer brought back to schools.  We’ve heard so many sides.  We feel like we’ve heard it all.  We nurse our own opinions.

In the face of the horror of Friday, it feels insensitive not to speak of it.  But when we try, there is little to say.  At least for some of us. 

I confess to being a silent lurker, way too interested in the facebook debates, shaking me head at all the opinions warring their way through cyberspace but returning again like the moth to the huge flame.  I’ve had times in my life of control when I refuse to follow the madness.  But right now I’m not being disciplined.

I don’t have the audacity here to suggest solutions and proper responses.  For every word I write in this small space there have been a million more already said by people a lot more important than me.

What I have to say is this:

The meanness inside my own soul scares me most of all.

Last weekend with the face of that young gunman burned in my mind, and firm resolves to hold my children closer and cherish life more, it raised its ugly head anyway.

Like when the 10 year old I love the most complained for the 467th time about the 15 minute job of putting away a basket of clean laundry.  I wanted to shake sense into him–and hard.  For the 467th time.

I fought over small things with Dan.  Like couldn’t he keep the little humans quiet for the 20 minutes that I read our bedtime book to the three oldest children?  I had done it for him over and over last winter when he read The Scarlet Pimpernel to them.

And if I was a cursing person I would curse the messy container drawer and the irresponsible people who put away dishes and don’t care where they land.

There were small irritations over the way we do our Christmas caroling.

And self righteous shaking of my head over people and their strong ideas.  {In reality almost everyone is trying to find their way in the confusion like me.}

There were frantic, laughing but also slightly bitter and confused prayers because the little 3 year old  has started to tell me that she doesn’t like me when I punish her.

Strong willed teenagers sometimes have me clenching my fists.

I nag too much and rant too often instead of quietly stating and sticking with my word.

I don’t want to think of myself as an angry person.  But it lurks too close for comfort.

Dan spoke in church on Sunday on the book of Philemon.  Paul writes to Philemon to convince him to accept and embrace his runaway slave, Onesimus, who not only ran away from his master Philemon, but also stole things from him.  Paul says that whatever wrong Onesimus has done or whatever he owes should be credited to his own account.  Just like Jesus imputes righteousness to us. 

I need that imputation.  Badly.

(I also told Dan that I needed imputed righteousness to get me out of bed this cold, dark Monday morning, but that is beside the point.)

I need Jesus.  I need the forgiveness of my family when I apologize for the 1278th time.  I need grace to live unselfishly, to serve with joy.  I need the discipline to avoid the arguments yet the backbone to stand up for Christ. 

Most of all I need His Love.  Just like the whole world does.

I love these points from this post by aSeriesOfFortunateEvents:

I’m NOT Going to:
Stop believing in life after death. – John 3:16
Expect more of people than I am willing to give of myself -Mark 12:31
Say something negative when there’s no need for it- Proverbs 21:23
Walk away from someone who needs something when I can give it to them- Matthew 25:40
Waste opportunities for hugs, from anyone-Romans 12:10
Focus on the bad things in life- Philippians 4:8
Lose hope or faith- Hebrews 11:1
Assume that I know more than God- Isaiah 55:9

 

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It makes me feel bad when I see that people visit this blog and there are no new posts. 

I’m floundering a bit with depression.  Floundering but still afloat.  I think.  I can’t seem to write and enjoy it like I did here.  I miss it.  I need the wisdom it takes to relax and not take my very serious self so seriously.

Here is a bit of a post I wrote the other day.  Just because this one needs to be lengthened, you know.  And because I’d uploaded photos to go with it.

Last night we watched I Really Absolutely Must Have Glasses.  (Watch and enjoy 10 minutes of Charlie & Lola.)  Natalia didn’t have school today and woke with a burning desire to make paper glasses.  Her first tries ended in frustration, so I helped cut the frames out of cardboard.

“Oh Mom, you’re SO good,” they breathed as I cut them each a unique shape.

“I’m gonna look cute, Andre’s gonna look awesome, and Tillie will look pretty,” said Liesl of the many words.

 Tim Horton’s holiday cups and doughnut bags are so cute that I saved them when we went there the first time for the season.  Now I should probably throw them away because I don’t know what to do with them.

 

Yesterday I made three pans of lasagna for sewing circle by 8:00 a.m and we were all at school a few minutes before 9:00.  When I accomplish great things I always wonder why I don’t just make a habit of great accomplishments.

I heard or read on the news at least three times that the duchess Kate was in the hospital for a few days with acute morning sickness.  Can you imagine the world knowing that detail of your life?   Imagine being the nurse who looks after the princess.  Imagine the life of the royal child.

I wonder if Mary had morning sickness when she carried Jesus.

Some years I let each of the children pick a special cookie recipe and we make it together for Christmas. It’s fun and gives us a nice little stash of treats. This Christmas I tried the unbaked fruitcake that Dan’s mom makes. I’m not a big fruitcake fan, but this recipe is extra special.

Little fingers are playing Jingle Bells and Good King Wenceslas on the piano these days.

Victoria was taking pictures of the sun shining through the condensation on the office window.

This is good fun on a snowy day.

Liesl wears this outfit every single day if I let her.  She thinks she is destined for stardom.

And I am working on thee perfect green and gold Christmas dress for Victoria.  But the plaids will not line up.  Sometimes when I’m at the sewing machine I want to scream “MOOO….THERRRRR!!!!!!” very loudly.

Peace to you all this Christmas.