Thinking a lot about this song today, so I decided to share it. Hopefully I will have more time for writing tomorrow.
Wedding preparations
2 years ago
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Our Office/Sewing Room
Last spring, I gave up my rather large sewing/craft room so our oldest daughter could have her own bedroom. The plan was for me to relocate my sewing room into a portion of my husband's office. Our summer and fall were so busy that we never did get around to unpacking my stuff and reorganizing the room. We are (finally) in the process of doing that now. Here is a little glimpse of our progress:
As you can imagine, not a lot of work or creativity can take place in this room right now. Hopefully that will change in the very near future!
This is my entry into the My Messy Room Contest sponsored by Mabel's Labels on their Facebook page. Do you have a messy room too? Visit the Contest section of the Mabel's Labels Facebook page to learn how you can enter it in the My Messy Room Contest. The winner will be announced in February - I'll be sure to let you know how I did!
The view upon entering the room
Continuing around the room - so much fabric and yarn still unpacked
Boxes and bags and bunches of stuff
So many books - so many packed away
Back around to where we started
This is my entry into the My Messy Room Contest sponsored by Mabel's Labels on their Facebook page. Do you have a messy room too? Visit the Contest section of the Mabel's Labels Facebook page to learn how you can enter it in the My Messy Room Contest. The winner will be announced in February - I'll be sure to let you know how I did!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Surrender
Just how close can I get Lord to my surrender, without losing all control? (From Somewhere in the Middle, released by Casting Crowns on The Altar and The Door).
A few years ago, I gave my testimony at a women’s retreat held by our church. Months later one of the other women from our church told me that the most memorable part for her was when I recalled the point in my life where I realized I was not in control. I was a Christian for over 15 years before I was ready to completely acknowledge that I relied on God for everything. When I hear Somewhere in the Middle, it almost always makes me think back to that day when I finally accepted that.
Lately I have thought about posting my testimony on this site. However, the story of my life isn’t just my story, it is the story of everyone who has wandered into and out of my life. I can’t tell my story without telling the story of the people who shaped my life . I have given my testimony to a number of small women’s groups, but I don’t think I’m ready to share everything in this type of setting quite yet. I will, however, share a little bit about surrender.
Growing up, I was innundated by the ”we can have it all” doctrine of feminism. I made up my mind early that I would not be dependent on anyone for my needs. My salvation at age 12 only altered this independence, I certainly didn’t allow it to completely replace my independent mindset. I earned an engineering degree and then a law degree. Somewhere in all this I met my husband, got married, and started a family. I passed a few bar exams and got a job as a patent attorney. I loved my husband, attended church, and yet was still clinging to the belief that my education and experience would allow me to never be dependent on anyone.
One rainy Sunday morning I was driving home from the store when another driver failed to stop at an intersection and forced my van down an embankment. That one instant changed everything. I went through numerous treatments, therapies, and tests. My back and neck were in constant pain. I worked off and on during this time. In addition to the physical pain, however, I was battling things I had never dealt with before. I would forget deadlines and conversations. I would start talking and be unable to finish my sentence because I forgot what I was talking about. I would see someone I had known for years and not remember their name.
Finally, after nine months, my denial had to end. I still remember sitting in the little office with my doctor as if it was yesterday. I remember the sounds and smells – funny that the memory is so clear when it was my memory that was the problem. I was sitting across the desk from a specialist who told me that I my memory problems were the result of the accident. I could no longer practice, although by this point I hadn’t even attempted to work for months.
That night, as my husband and I talked about next steps, I finally acknowledged the truth I should have embraced years before. I realized on that night that I was not in control. I was completely dependent on God for everything. Of course, God was in control all along. I just failed to accept it. Wonderfully, he is still in control!
I have been so blessed in the years since then. While my back did not heal completely, I now spend most days pain-free. God has also restored a great deal of my memory. Through it all, God has also been faithful to meet the needs of our family. Even better, I got the chance to stay home every day with my children in my new career as stay-at-home mama. While I have worked some in recent years to supplement our family income, I am thrilled that God got my attention and reminded me of his sovereignty and gave me a life far richer than I ever could have secured on my own.
A few years ago, I gave my testimony at a women’s retreat held by our church. Months later one of the other women from our church told me that the most memorable part for her was when I recalled the point in my life where I realized I was not in control. I was a Christian for over 15 years before I was ready to completely acknowledge that I relied on God for everything. When I hear Somewhere in the Middle, it almost always makes me think back to that day when I finally accepted that.
Lately I have thought about posting my testimony on this site. However, the story of my life isn’t just my story, it is the story of everyone who has wandered into and out of my life. I can’t tell my story without telling the story of the people who shaped my life . I have given my testimony to a number of small women’s groups, but I don’t think I’m ready to share everything in this type of setting quite yet. I will, however, share a little bit about surrender.
Growing up, I was innundated by the ”we can have it all” doctrine of feminism. I made up my mind early that I would not be dependent on anyone for my needs. My salvation at age 12 only altered this independence, I certainly didn’t allow it to completely replace my independent mindset. I earned an engineering degree and then a law degree. Somewhere in all this I met my husband, got married, and started a family. I passed a few bar exams and got a job as a patent attorney. I loved my husband, attended church, and yet was still clinging to the belief that my education and experience would allow me to never be dependent on anyone.
One rainy Sunday morning I was driving home from the store when another driver failed to stop at an intersection and forced my van down an embankment. That one instant changed everything. I went through numerous treatments, therapies, and tests. My back and neck were in constant pain. I worked off and on during this time. In addition to the physical pain, however, I was battling things I had never dealt with before. I would forget deadlines and conversations. I would start talking and be unable to finish my sentence because I forgot what I was talking about. I would see someone I had known for years and not remember their name.
Finally, after nine months, my denial had to end. I still remember sitting in the little office with my doctor as if it was yesterday. I remember the sounds and smells – funny that the memory is so clear when it was my memory that was the problem. I was sitting across the desk from a specialist who told me that I my memory problems were the result of the accident. I could no longer practice, although by this point I hadn’t even attempted to work for months.
That night, as my husband and I talked about next steps, I finally acknowledged the truth I should have embraced years before. I realized on that night that I was not in control. I was completely dependent on God for everything. Of course, God was in control all along. I just failed to accept it. Wonderfully, he is still in control!
I have been so blessed in the years since then. While my back did not heal completely, I now spend most days pain-free. God has also restored a great deal of my memory. Through it all, God has also been faithful to meet the needs of our family. Even better, I got the chance to stay home every day with my children in my new career as stay-at-home mama. While I have worked some in recent years to supplement our family income, I am thrilled that God got my attention and reminded me of his sovereignty and gave me a life far richer than I ever could have secured on my own.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
My Life With a Mini-Martha
Over the last few months, my daughter has really taken an interest in cooking and baking. She will stand in the kitchen when my husband is cooking asking him all sorts of questions about different spices and cooking techniques. During the weekly visit to the library, she will check out at least two cookbooks along with her other finds. She was thrilled at Christmas to receive two new cookbooks by Sam Stern – a Brit teen who reminds me of Jaime Oliver. One of her assignments is to write a book review for her favorite of these new books – I will be sure to post it when it is complete.
I am not a good cook – let’s just get that out of the way right now. I love, love, love to bake all sorts of breads, cookies, muffins, you name it. But I am just not that great at cooking dinner fare. Oh sure, I have a rotation of about 8 or 9 meals I can prepare that don’t elicit pained expressions on my kids when I serve them. I am still amazed when I prepare a meal and one of my children says something like “will you make this again, it’s really good”. On the rare occasions that happens, of course. Let’s just say that I am blessed to have a husband that loves to cook and is really quite good at it and leave it at that.
Baking has always been my turf in the house. My husband won’t even attempt it. He doesn’t even like to be left in charge to determine if a loaf of bread or a batch of cookies are ready to be taken out of the oven.
Last night I spent a few hours trying to catch up on paperwork and filing while my husband was at his game. At some point during this time, my daughter announced that she wanted to bake something – like brownies – but she couldn’t because we didn’t have any chocolate chips. All we had in the house were peanut butter chips and peppermint chips. I didn’t think much of it, but told her to just substitute the peanut butter chips for chocolate and give that a try. I remember at one point wondering to myself why in the world she needed baking chips to make brownies, but that thought was chased away by the papers that needed filing.
And then, at some point before the oven timer went off, I realized that my daughter was making brownies FROM SCRATCH. I have never, ever, made brownies that didn’t come from a box. Not a single time. Me, the one who loves experimenting with muffin recipes and making home made pizza crust for my kids.
When my husband returned home last night, I told him about the brownies and the fact that my not-quite-thirteen-year-old daughter had done something that I had never done. He stood there in the kitchen with a blank stare on his face. It turns out that even my hubby - you remember, the one who claims to not be able to tell when a batch of cookies is ready to come out of the oven, yeah, that one - even HE has done this.
Oh yeah, the peanut butteries (that’s the name we settled on) were delicious
I am not a good cook – let’s just get that out of the way right now. I love, love, love to bake all sorts of breads, cookies, muffins, you name it. But I am just not that great at cooking dinner fare. Oh sure, I have a rotation of about 8 or 9 meals I can prepare that don’t elicit pained expressions on my kids when I serve them. I am still amazed when I prepare a meal and one of my children says something like “will you make this again, it’s really good”. On the rare occasions that happens, of course. Let’s just say that I am blessed to have a husband that loves to cook and is really quite good at it and leave it at that.
Baking has always been my turf in the house. My husband won’t even attempt it. He doesn’t even like to be left in charge to determine if a loaf of bread or a batch of cookies are ready to be taken out of the oven.
Last night I spent a few hours trying to catch up on paperwork and filing while my husband was at his game. At some point during this time, my daughter announced that she wanted to bake something – like brownies – but she couldn’t because we didn’t have any chocolate chips. All we had in the house were peanut butter chips and peppermint chips. I didn’t think much of it, but told her to just substitute the peanut butter chips for chocolate and give that a try. I remember at one point wondering to myself why in the world she needed baking chips to make brownies, but that thought was chased away by the papers that needed filing.
And then, at some point before the oven timer went off, I realized that my daughter was making brownies FROM SCRATCH. I have never, ever, made brownies that didn’t come from a box. Not a single time. Me, the one who loves experimenting with muffin recipes and making home made pizza crust for my kids.
When my husband returned home last night, I told him about the brownies and the fact that my not-quite-thirteen-year-old daughter had done something that I had never done. He stood there in the kitchen with a blank stare on his face. It turns out that even my hubby - you remember, the one who claims to not be able to tell when a batch of cookies is ready to come out of the oven, yeah, that one - even HE has done this.
Oh yeah, the peanut butteries (that’s the name we settled on) were delicious
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Home School Convention
A good friend just invited me to go along with her to the Michigan Home Education Convention this spring. She has been home schooling for over 15 years now and she used to regularly attend this convention. As a new home school mom, I am excited about all the workshops and classes - I know enough to know that I still have a lot to learn about homeschooling!
The Michigan convention is a Friday and Saturday in May (Yippie! Girl's weekend!). It is also just far enough away that we will need to stay overnight there, but not so far that it will be an exhausting car trip.
I just got the workshop list and the schedule. I know my friend has lots of great suggestions for what to do over the weekend. I am really excited about this experience! Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or comments about home school conventions in your areas?
The Michigan convention is a Friday and Saturday in May (Yippie! Girl's weekend!). It is also just far enough away that we will need to stay overnight there, but not so far that it will be an exhausting car trip.
I just got the workshop list and the schedule. I know my friend has lots of great suggestions for what to do over the weekend. I am really excited about this experience! Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or comments about home school conventions in your areas?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Winter Blahs
The Christmas decorations are put away. The kids are back in their school routine after a two-week break. Everything outside is covered by a blanket of snow several inches deep. Yep. Here they come right on schedule – the winter blahs.
We have lived in Michigan almost 9 years now – wow is that hard to believe. I typically love the summers here. Lots of sunshine and warm days with very little humidity. This past summer was a little cooler than I would like, with only one day in the 90s, but usually, I love Michigan summers. Fall is beautiful in our town once the leaves start to change, showing off all the colors in God’s paintbox. Spring is a little cold for my taste, but new life can be seen everywhere you look. Grass starts to peak out from under layer upon layer of snow, trees start budding, and my roses awaken from their slumber.
Winter is another matter altogether. The ground is covered with snow for weeks and sometimes months at a time without melting away. It is cold and windy. It is not uncommon for us to go an entire week without seeing the sun through the clouds here. Not even a hint of blue sky during these times. A doctor once told me that our area is the second most cloudy area in the continental United States. I never bothered to fact check that one for fear that I might find out we were number 1 instead of number 2.
For the last few days, I have had very little energy. This weekend I let dishes sit in the sink and laundry go unfolded for a lot longer than I care to admit. I caught myself staring out the window for at least 5 minutes this morning before I snapped back to reality. I dislike feeling like this, quite the opposite of my usually joyful and energetic personality.
I need a cure for the winter blahs, or at the very least a good treatment. I thought relocating a few thousand miles south seemed like a good idea. My husband was not “on board” with this suggestion, however. So for now I will have to look into alternative treatments to snap out of my funk. My (admittedly short) list of alternatives includes:
We have lived in Michigan almost 9 years now – wow is that hard to believe. I typically love the summers here. Lots of sunshine and warm days with very little humidity. This past summer was a little cooler than I would like, with only one day in the 90s, but usually, I love Michigan summers. Fall is beautiful in our town once the leaves start to change, showing off all the colors in God’s paintbox. Spring is a little cold for my taste, but new life can be seen everywhere you look. Grass starts to peak out from under layer upon layer of snow, trees start budding, and my roses awaken from their slumber.
Winter is another matter altogether. The ground is covered with snow for weeks and sometimes months at a time without melting away. It is cold and windy. It is not uncommon for us to go an entire week without seeing the sun through the clouds here. Not even a hint of blue sky during these times. A doctor once told me that our area is the second most cloudy area in the continental United States. I never bothered to fact check that one for fear that I might find out we were number 1 instead of number 2.
For the last few days, I have had very little energy. This weekend I let dishes sit in the sink and laundry go unfolded for a lot longer than I care to admit. I caught myself staring out the window for at least 5 minutes this morning before I snapped back to reality. I dislike feeling like this, quite the opposite of my usually joyful and energetic personality.
I need a cure for the winter blahs, or at the very least a good treatment. I thought relocating a few thousand miles south seemed like a good idea. My husband was not “on board” with this suggestion, however. So for now I will have to look into alternative treatments to snap out of my funk. My (admittedly short) list of alternatives includes:
- making some chai tea and starting a book
- going down to our basement office/sewing room and starting that quilt I need to make for my daughter or doing some long overdue filing
- picking out paint colors and finally painting my dining room or bedroom
- making plans to take the children to the next homeschool day at our local indoor water park
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Daily Dose of Cute
Yesterday, my husband was getting ready to leave to take our son to a birthday party. Our four-year-old, Linden, was eating dinner while the boys were getting ready to leave. As my husband went to leave, he stopped to give me a hug and a kiss (as he always does before he is leaving). Linden rolled her eyes and disgustingly asked, "man, why do you guys love each other so much?"
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