Let's Review

Top Threes, Please...

...in movies:
* People Like Us
* Machine Gun Preacher
* War Horse

...in books:
* Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (seriously, everyone must.read.this)
* Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking (I need to re-read this every year)
* not a fan, Kyle Idleman (did not expect to like this one)

...in things accomplished:
* new lights in the kitchen! Ding, dong, the too-dark-always-burning-out hanging lamps are dead!
* We grew enough tomatoes successfully that we were able to get tired of canning tomatoes. And we got strawberry plants in the ground that still appear to be alive.
* Wrote non-press release articles for $$ for the first time in many years. Felt good!
(I should put the bedroom re-do project on here, but because I am technical and "that way", I'm not. Because it's not quite done :)

...in homeschooling:
* Big transition - Levi taking some classes through/at the local school district. Lost some control of our time, gained new experiences.
* Either Delaney has a natural bent for understanding fractions, or I got better at teaching (must be the former). Either way, it wasn't the dramatic gloom-and-doom that long division and all previous math had portended. Whew.
* Finding Phonetic Zoo for spelling. Thank you Andrew Pudewa. Thank you.

...in the unexpected:
* Suburban stolen out of the barn in February, but Eric didn't get fired that day. One to remember.
* 60s on the twins birthday, hanging out laundry in February, gardeners and farmers planting in March. Crazy weather.
* We have a dog. She has not been hit on this road. She appears to like us.

...in God-things (aren't all?):
* Eric baptizing Sara
* deep-thinking friends who can see beyond the routine into the heart of things in the midst of soccer games, kid-running and dirty dishes
* the barn sale and all that goes with it - He never ceases to amaze us

...in music:
* Psalm 46, Jenny & Tyler
* Washed by the Water, NEEDTOBREATHE
* Rice and Beans, The Welcome Wagon

So I Can Remember

"The worst way out of apathy is by dodging problems, avoiding the clashing of personalities, and getting around persecution. May the Spirit prepare us in this new year for the daily grind, and may He fire us with unusual strength for the special task of confronting our national and personal idols."


- Dave Black

No "what if"s, No "if only"s

"Wherever you are, be all there." 

- Jim Elliot

What I really want to eat this week

I will miss making all of my husband's family's favorites...whipped sweet potatoes, broccoli casserole, the "dressing", the green beans, the endless lines of pies, the apple stack cake

But we will eat together, and I will not miss the stories, the games, the time.

I will miss my grandma. My first Thanksgiving without a living grandparent. Their traditions, their steadfastness, their ever-present love.

But we will make her noodles, and pile them on mashed potatoes, and make a ham instead of a turkey, and remember her in each bite.

I will miss my "boy"...his willingness to hold my hand in public - or any motherly PDA; his boyish features; my slight advantage in strength....all have been fading, and with this, the 12th birthday, are disappearing.

But we will eat his All Boy birthday menu on his Thanksgiving Day Birthday (who else gets to eat corn dogs on Thanksgiving Day? Anyone? Anyone?) and sing to him and be so thankful for the boy he is and the man he is becoming.

I will miss the "way things were" - I've always been bad at change - but I will embrace the "way things are" and remember the One Who Always Is - He is my Rock.

And I will eat...

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money, 
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me; 
    listen, that you may live." 

Balancing October

In my former life: whether to go start tailgating in the morning on Saturdays, or closer to game time
In my current life: whether to stay up later and read OSU game recaps online, or just get to bed

Former: whether or not to play Christmas music or wait until Nov. (ok, that's still a debate)
Current: keeping track of what month I'm in

Former: whether it was worth it to pack up 4 babies/toddlers and all their stuff to go try to keep them on a blanket for an hour while the 4-year-old played soccer.
Current: whether I can ever get to the place again where I can sit with 4 of my kids and watch 1 play.

Don't let...

...the busyness overshadow the small stuff

[6yo's who light up at being the "shark"; excitement over new uniform colors; sunsets that overwhelm the world with the reality of Him]

...my detailed self make mountains out of molehills

[really? I have to get that paper over to that place right this instant? will school planning get done by worrying about when I will get it done?]

...my kids miss the people, the purpose

[my attitude is reflected in them; do they see stress or joy? do they understand why we are putting others before ourselves?]

...me forget:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Living Well: the in-between

Observations on a phenomenon:

Your family? Easy. You love 'em. You take care of one another, listen, get mad, forgive, eat, dream together.

Strangers who catch your attention? Clearly, Americans and the western developed world find them easy to give time and attention to - actors, celebrities, those whose mistakes and crimes attract our curiosity, those who write interesting things. Newscasters and pundits whose entire livlihoods are wrapped up in making sure we know what complete strangers are doing and saying each day.

Those in between the 2 groups? Not much time and attention left to spread around, is there? Strange, then, that that is exactly to whom Jesus called us. To our neighbors. Those in our town who are hurting. The lonely. The elderly. Those who would disciple us and love us right out of our comfort zones.

Living Well: The Lists

I was determined this year to do better at doing the "next thing" instead of stressing about the "next thing".

On a good note, I am doing better at this. On a bad note, I'm getting a little wrapped up in my to-do list.

(Note: if you did not know previously how I can be a little *obsessive* about lists, you should probably stop here and keep your well-polished image of me intact.)

Instead of putting "Call ____" on my list, and then spending a night or two wondering how they will respond, or what to do if they don't respond, or whatever, now I just call them. Immediately. Done. Move on. That's working well.

However, since I'm becoming my mother and all, I know that I'm more prone to forgetting something, and because I don't want to lie awake all night wondering what I've forgotten (my ONLY cause of insomnia), I've been writing everything - even things I just might WANT to do - on my to-do list. This is creating problems, because my to-do list? It gets done. And I mean, done. I really can't stand to have a lingering, been-on-there-forever to-do list item. So, even when I have gotten a LOT done, I feel the pull...what's next? What else can I cross off?

So what does all this have to do with my musings this year about living well? Well, my children, my husband, my relationships? They can't go on my list. They don't get crossed off. But too many times, too many days, I'm getting all wrapped up and in love with and - yes - consumed with my get-'er-done list. Sometimes I think: "put 'do _ with kid' on the list!" And then I think: "that's terrible. That is NOT living well".

I have no answers right now. E has always been the one who can pull me away from my lists...maybe I should ask him.

Some homework...or Heather-work

So a good friend and I snuck out and had a great evening recently discussing life, kids and breakfast, schedules, books, music, Africa, and a multitude of other deep-to-shallow topics that only 2 mothers of 9 children could squeeze into 4 hours. A phrase that rose to the surface throughout the evening: "living well". She and I are going to continue the discussion - what does it mean to live well? As a Christian? As a mother and wife? As me?

I thought I might start to flesh some of that out here...feel free to add on, weigh in, disagree, etc. Brainstorming is on the agenda first, as all good students know, and since there is not much in my brain, I'll stimulate my thinking by seeing what others have to say.*

"There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live." - John Adams

"If you can't make it better, you can laugh at it." - Erma Bombeck

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" - James 4: 13-15

*Fine print disclaimer: just words that make me think...not necessarily an endorsement of the sentiment.