Shoes, TV's and Puzzles...Oh My! (and more shoes)

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.

That's a verse - SO true - that runs through my brain as we sort every year. And sort. We got a lot of donations (thank you!!) earlier this year, and for some reason we just felt this might be an "off" year. And so began the running Heather-brain commentary: "You should be more specific in your donation requests"..."Everything's fine"...."Is this even worth it?"..."What does worth it mean? Why do you have to try and control everything?".

What does the Lord do with all that? He takes the body of Christ, our obedience to putting one foot in front of the other, good and bad weather, and prime barn-sale real estate and raises nearly $3000 to send to His work in Liberia, one 25-piece children's puzzle at a time.

 We all know that crunch time is here when Pam and her girls show up to fill all those empty table places, rearrange with fresh eyes, and price thousands of items. So thankful for them!

 Every time I look at a picture, I think of 10 other ways of setting things out. But when I'm doing it, I think - yes, this is right. It's a disease.

Umm...The Year of the Shoes is an understatement. I finally got the last tub out on the last day of the sale. I think we sold about 2/3 of all that we had, but that may be optimistic-hindsight-thinking. I also tried a new clothing arrangement for pants and shorts, but I'm not sold (ha!).

Not as many bikes as usual, but our outside items (not all pictured) went quickly!

Marriage Enrichment Counseling True Life Example from Barn Sale '13: the frosted shower curtain television. There's a lesson every year, folks. Will share our informative talk "How to Avoid Complete Marriage Meltdown" for the small-ish fee of feeding our children.

 Wish I could've remembered to take pics of all those who donated and helped! The Murphy's were new initiates to the Barn Sale this year, and fit right in. The Bayers and Allison Smith also came for the first time. Thanks to ALL!!

Another one in the books

So cool this year to have so many different families donate their *stuff* for the cause. We literally had to keep setting out and pricing right up until the last few hours. And, as usual, as soon as you set something out or move it around, it sells! Love that. Our many, many heartfelt thanks to friends and family for all of your help. This is absolutely a community effort, and one of our favorite times of year. We topped $3000 this year for the first time!

Right in the middle

The end-of-the-school-year special one-on-one restaurant dates kicked off tonight: Jesse took me and chose The Olive Garden (recently opened in Richmond). He was the best dinner date. It kind of dawned on him about 20 minutes into our time together that he really did have my full attention and no one to interrupt him, and he grabbed hold of the conversation and ran with it. I asked him a few questions when we got there about his favorite part of the year so far, and what he was looking forward to this summer. When there was a lull when we were starting to eat, he got this totally serious look on his face and said, "So, mom, what would you say is the best year of your life?"

Love that boy.

Just a very small sampling of the topics we touched on: Italy, salad dressing varieties, Eric and my life before kids, grapes and wine making, cousin Evan the-absolute-cutest-smartest-1-year-old-in-the-world-today, Christianity, siblings and their quirks, that fettuccine does not necessarily mean alfredo, the proper relationship of the napkin to the meal....and on and on.

He kills me.

He's right in the middle of the pack - a position which has taught him patience, perspective, and more patience.

He's right in the middle of boyhood - halfway between new baby and that age they call "adult". He promised tonight that he'll always be my boy.

Best line: The waitress asked if we were ready to order and he so politely explained exactly what he wanted to her, so politely answered her questions, and so politely asked if the salad had tomatoes and if she could please leave them off.

Me (when she left): You did such a nice job ordering and speaking clearly and kindly to the waitress, Jess. Good job!

Jesse: I know. The whole time in my head I was like "Wow, I really sound like an adult right now."

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." 

I'll Give You Organic

Conviction+
Opportunity+
Obedience+
Faith+
Blessing+
Friendship+
Generosity+
Open Doors+
Commitment+
Purging+
Sharing+
Witness+
Work+
Relationship
= BARN SALE


All glory to the One, True, Living, Eternal God.

I Could Get Used to This

So far today...

...tons of hugs and kisses...

...they made my bed...

..."Interviews About Mom" videos with each kid answering questions and sending messages to me. Best. Gift. Ever....

...Originial songs written and sung for me...

Here's one of the interviews. You can see in the clothing question that I have passed down the sarcasm gene completely intact.
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/slideshow/AlbumID=4191389015/PictureID=196880957015/a=4932649_4932649/

trains, trains and automobiles

Whew! We've had a great but busy couple days. The best part has been enjoying the amazing hospitality of friends on our journey. Thank you to those who opened their homes and took in this vagabond 7.

Today, our nation's capital! It was great to see it all through their eyes as they matched up what they had read with what they were seeing. But, as we figured, their biggest excitement was riding the metro and mastering the stations. It was a great way to see the city.

Now, to sleep. In. And in. Will attempt pics from e's phone.

February Hike

What a beautiful cold day. Hints of spring in the air...whispers of green starting to grow.

I.Am.So.Seasonal.

How could I ever live anywhere but the midwest? Would I survive? Would my seasons still feel like seasons if they didn't look like seasons?

In this, the dead of winter, I am hibernating, and it is good. I read deeply. I think and think and think. I crave learning new things because I have time. I clean things that were not touched through the entire fall sports season. Even as I get frustrated with inane tax codes and HSA babble, I love to do all the taxes and get the sense of great accomplishment when they are done. It makes me feel like I'm right back in the office with my dad, helping do the farm books in a warm house in the cold of winter (ok, this house is not warm like their house, but my extra slippers and sweaters compensate).

I find new music that will sustain me throughout the year, when I don't have time or the inclination to find it. I visit. I plan, and plan and plan. I cook differently -- everyone does this, right? I do not make my comfort-food-only-I-like-it-tuna-noodle in July. That is a winter food. We make soups and more breads, and casseroles and apparently, lots of things with melted cheese.

I have too many ideas, ways to make things better, ways to help, ways to get involved. Dangerous. Can I make it out of winter without having taken on so many things that I will kill my spring-summer-fall? As I am learning in every season, this means waiting on God, listening to the Spirit before I say yes or say my ideas out loud. My prayers, my trust deepens in the slow time of winter.

Trips to the library mean many evenings where all 7 of us have our noses in books and some music quietly playing. Or craft supplies left out for days. Piano practice and playing gets deeper and longer.

I love winter. I don't love it for it's cold and ice and gray days (although I do love it's annual bug-killing cycle, and how it rests the earth). I love it because of spring. How could there be spring without winter? How could I work hard without rest? How could I know joy without knowing sadness?

January hike....check!

After a long day of auctions and errands...a snowy hike was the pefect antidote to a boring Saturday. Deciphering animal tracks ("are you sure that's not a bear, Dad?"), moments of silence to listen for what else might be in the woods besides our noisy selves, and, of course, being a little "lost" when mom and dad had a slight disagreement on which marker to follow (okay, okay...he was right!).

On the boardwalk before the "real" trail...

No, we're not cold!

Merry Christmas!!

(Thanks to grandpa and grandma, we are so festive-looking!)

"In the first quiet moments of this new day my mind is drawn to Hebrews 2. Oh, how His voice speaks into my silence! The incarnation. Jesus becoming like us and sharing our human nature (Heb. 2:14). What a wonderful truth this is! Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate Deity! God has lavished His love upon us, with all of our sin and rebellion and pride. That is how God acted toward us, and now we are called upon to demonstrate the fact that we are His children by having the same attitude toward others, including our enemies.

The identification of all of life with regard for the welfare of others -- this is the message of Christmas." -- Dave Black, Dec. 2010

November

vote.
birthday.
anniversarybirthday.
BIG birthday.
soccersoccersoccer (<-----typo? please? no? )
birthday.
birthday.
KID birthday.
Thanksgiving. And I will.
birthdayinremembrance.
Thanksgiving II.
birthday.

November.

A Birthday Ritual

No, not the pick-your-menu thing! Although we still certainly do that. We like to spend some time sharing with the birthday person (or persons, in this case) what we enjoy about them...what we're thankful for in regards to them. Thought I would share some of the comments:

About Jesse:

"I love being his twin"

"He's nice"

"He puts others before himself"

"He taught me a lesson...I was being mean to him and he was nice right back at me"

"He's very brave"

About Sara:

"I'm glad she was there with me when I was born"

"She's my best sister and I love her"

"She gets us going in the morning and has a lot of 'pow!' energy"

"She's a very hard worker in her school work and house work"

"She's loving and really cares about other people"

"I love to play with her"

Happy 7th Birthday twins!!

She totally gets it

We acquired some speakers and a CD player to go with them this weekend that know they have found a true home. We couldn't help but testing them repeatedly after Eric got them set up and made sure they worked (they were from an auction). First, some classic rock guitar. Then, bluegrass. Then, classical. Then, Newsboys. Finally, it hit us -- and, even though it was June, we pulled out the Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas arrangement with everything from violins to guitar to piano and so on in it; this is the one where I always "assign" an instrument for everyone to pretend they're playing, because the instruments play at different places and they really have to listen for it.

So we are blasting it in the living room, (and really only my brother and sister know what I mean here by blasting) and Delaney and Sara are the string section, Levi's got the drums, Jesse is the bass guitar, Leah and Eric are the electric guitars, I'm the keyboard. We love the sounds, the speakers, our family, music, just....life. Right in the middle of one of the full orchestration points, at the top of her lungs, with a huge grin on her face, Delaney says:

"I broke a string!"

Cost v. Benefits

I'm going to launch right in here with a really obvious statement: it matters where you live.

We wrapped up our annual barn sale tonight. I'm in that exhausted-happy state right now: glad to be done but sad that it's over. But I'm sitting here contemplating how we got to this point. An "annual barn sale" implies at least three key things: 1) we have something worth selling; 2) we have a barn; and 3) we think it's worth doing this every year.

Those of you who really know me will know that I have very little worth selling. : ) We specialize in hand-me-downs around here. When I had my very first garage sale after moving here 5 years ago, I agonized over the items I wanted to sell: was that given to me? should I give it away? After spending way too much mental guilt time on that issue, plus finding myself getting far too concerned about each nickel and dime, the Lord led me to His solution: have the sale, give away the money. This works well and we have way more fun. Now, most of what we sell is donated by friends and family who are lightening their closets and garages, and their stuff is much nicer than ours!

The thing that has left us most amazed is the fact that having this barn sale is actually worth the time and effort. Of all the "cons" we listed when choosing this house, the most obvious and looming was the location. We, the ones who are trying to keep alive five active children, moved into a home with an address with a nickname: National Road. Hello? And despite a perfectly acceptable and quite speedy interstate being close and parallel, the apparently-nostalgic truckers prefer this road for their daily deliveries.

As it turns out, traffic is good for something: barn sales (and break-downs, and lost elderly drivers, and bike races, and Model T caravans, but we'll leave those stories for another time). Our short, two-day, middle-of-the-week sale this week yielded 306 vehicles into our driveway. And trust me, yes, we counted. (Levi also monitored the make of each car and what state they were from -- there's really no chart that boy doesn't love). This may be nothing to some people, but is quite fascinating to a couple who has either lived in farmhouses located where you could advertise everything for free and still have no one show up, or in city apartments.

So after days of cleaning and sorting together, delighting in watching the kids interact with our "customers", Levi and company make change with their toy cash register, making chocolate chip cookies together to sell, meeting new people and explaining how their money will help, giving neighbors a reason to come over and chat, not doing dishes for two days : ), and figuring out how many Liberians will have shelter, or a Bible, or seed money for their business with our earnings, all I can say is Thank You Lord, for this house on a busy, busy road. Will we live here forever? Maybe, maybe not. Will I complain less about the "cons" and look for more "pro" opportunities? Yes, I will.

It matters where you live. It matters how you live.

...and that's what little girls are made of

"Is it time to make my cake now? Right now!? I'll wash my hands...can I get my thing on, you know, my Leah thing? Oh yeah, my apron! Do I pour like this? How many eggs?!! Four? But I'm going to be five, mommy! We should do five eggs! The mixer is loud...yes, I'll hold it very carefully."

"That's a LOT of chocolate, isn't it, and chocolate chips. It's hard to stir!"

"I scraped all I could, mom. Is it ready now? Oh, right, we have to cook it!"

"Guys, come on, come on! It's finally time to ice my cake!"

"I'll be verrry careful licking the knife, mom."

"Happy Birthday to Leah, happy birthday to you."

What's been going on, you ask?

Losing...


Picking...


Celebrating...


Riding...


Winning!

A Norton Christmas Eve

We're still mixing it up from year to year with our Christmas Eve traditions, except for three sure things: the reading of Luke's account of the birth of Jesus; eggnog with nutmeg; and singing. Tonight we added in viewing The Nativity Story, singing Silent Night with some carefully held candles, hanging our next-to-last Jesse tree ornament, and, strangely, wrestling with Dad (can't you just see their children years from now? "Dad, why do we always wrestle on Christmas Eve?" "I don't know, son, that's just always what our family has done.").

Here are some quote highlights:
"In those days, Cas-car Ah-goose-tus issued a decree...." -- Levi, who sometimes reads the Bible passages a bit too quickly.

Eric (with his annual "trick" question): "So, who was Jesus' father?"
Levi/Delaney/Jesse/Sara: "Joseph!"
Eric: "No. "
Delaney: "Daniel?"

Merry Christmas everyone! May God's grace and mercy be renewed to you tomorrow, and every, morning.