February In Review

I loved reading your comments, I think I'd like to come gaze out y'alls windows!  Scene 1 was my current view... And by the time I had finished writing, it had changed to scene 2:

 

The winner of giveaway #4 is Karen, who commented: "I see my bird feeder  (which is empty) I'll fill it up yet before leaving my classroom... blue sky, brown field, an astute brick southern mansion up on the hill beyond the field that separates our little white school house from them. "

Karen, email your address to christopherbethany@juno.com and I will get "The Ministry Of Ordinary Places" sent your way!

I really enjoyed doing this month of giveaways; thanks for participating and making it fun! The only thing I don't like about giveaways is that I can't make everyone a winner. I'd love to. ☺

February held more than just giveaways and more cold days. I thought I'd give you all a little review of the highlights with pictures....

On February the 4th, I turned 40.

That's a big number.

But the celebrating made it almost worth it   -- there were no less than six different celebrations, each one special and unique. It made me feel humbled and tearful. 

My youngest came home from kindergarten reading words and little stories!

There was a school open house with a powerful speaker and fun exhibits. Lillian's classroom made this little town...

Complete with so many fun details...

She was proud to point them all out. 

Jasmine turned 15 on the 8th.

Yes, she's that much taller than me. 

Current favorite game. 

This particular time his first question was

"Does your person have a mustache?"

You can imagine his glee 

when the answer was yes!

My birthday surprise from Chris was scribbled on a napkin at the restaurant...

After consulting my children, everyone wanted to go back to Florida again!

As I told a friend 

who asked about our trip afterward --

"It was good, in a 'very-much-not-how-I-envisioned-it' kind of way".

We got an Airbnb in northern Florida this time and the weather didn't cooperate very well -- not so much lovely sunshine and blue sky as we were hoping for, the promised pool not open... but we really did have a good week together. 

We have a science museum membership right now, so we enjoyed two museums!

The first one had lots and lots of hands on projects we all loved. 

This was a challenge to hang 10 to 12 nails on one upright one. 

Chris and I managed to get

 20 nails on there!

This fellow showed up one day to check out our picnic. Came right up and snatched a tidbit off of the picnic table!

The second museum was a Naval Aviation Museum. Simulated flying with The Blue Angels and watching a video about the space station had to be the highlights here. 

Blue skies and sunshine though we may have lacked, it was still a lovely far cry from the snow and cold of Ohio!

Putt Putting was a big hit. 

Twice. 

And the most fun of all was having our own little house to hang out in. It meant cooking most of our meals but that was actually kind of fun too, to see how efficient we could be with using up every little bit of food by week's end. 

Scum was the game of choice, 

even while traveling home. 

I also had discovered an app that allows me to borrow audio book through our local library so we enjoyed "Cheaper By The Dozen" and "The Phantom Tollbooth".

And then it was back home and straight back to real life the next morning!

And this was my view on March 1

And now I really must run along and take care of laundry and get something else done. Happy Monday to all!

To Make Their Eyes Sparkle

In Ohio, the first day of Spring meant a snow day. I'm not going to mention any attitudes associated with that, except gratitude about school being cancelled. I almost felt like I should apologize to the rest of the school patrons about the change in schedule, because it was obvious to me that the Lord just needed to take care of the lady on The Hill who's husband wasn't at home.

We spent a truly lazy day lounging around in night clothes, playing games that we were too lazy to find the pieces for and other such strenuous activities.

In the late afternoon, when I was putting off starting supper as long as possible, my eight year old came begging to have a "Restaurant" for supper. They've been wanting to do this for awhile and I've been putting them off for lots of 'good' reasons - mostly laziness and selfishness on my part. I started to drag my feet and then decided, why not?

We decided on a menu of Taco Salad so that each person could choose what they want on their salad and they came up with appetizers of Ritz crackers with melted cheese with or without pepperoni or ham. We came up with a simple dessert, some cheesy biscuits and a choice of drinks to round out the menu. And then we got busy.

Of course, the unique thing about this restaurant was that I got to be the chef and then turn around and be a customer ☺

Jennifer and Lillian busily worked on menus and setting up their table in the basement while Jasmine helped me work on food.

We set up food stations for them while they prepared all the details for their customers, right down to bells to ring for service.

When everything was ready, Isaac, Jasmine, Charles and I took our places at the table and our friendly waitresses came to take our drink and appetizer orders.

As they were leaving, Isaac wondered if this place has crayons and pictures to color? Lillian promptly popped his bubble by producing stickers and paper that she had prepared just for that purpose! We got a good laugh out of that one.

I had to be the annoying customer who rang the bell just to bring a waitress down to ask if they have a restroom?

The drinks and appetizers were served and then it was on to ordering the main course. Our waitresses made a few mistakes, which they apologized for profusely, and we chuckled (behind their backs) over the meager helpings they served us.

Turns out it was an all you can eat type of deal, so we all had seconds and were quite well filled.

Last of all we were offered dessert which some of us barely had room for.

We left our waitresses a generous tip, which they were quite thrilled with. Then we did a most unusual thing and told them the customers would clean up their dishes and food if they would bring the things up from the basement.

All in all, it was quite fun and well worth the extra effort. The sparkling eyes and the multiple thank yous, given with hugs and big smiles, were enough to make this mom glad she had said yes.

What makes your children's eyes sparkle? Do you have memories from your childhood when you were the one with sparkling eyes?

Confessions From Vacation

Our family has been away the past week; away in another world. A world of sunshine and blue skies and no cares but our own. A world of sleep and relaxing and doing nothing...or something...just as we chose. We took our own selfishness and human flaws along with us, to be sure, as you will see in this piece written early one morning last week.......

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In the semi-darkness, my eyes take in the clutter of clothes and suitcases and abandoned footwear. The flat surfaces are strewn with discarded cups and empty bags. The trash can overflows with the rubble of seven people. My order loving heart chafes at the messy chaos; there's too many people in one room and this introvert soul is reaching a breaking point. Slipping down onto the ugly, striped carpet in the pale glow of early morning, I clutch at a sliver of solitude as one person moans in their sleep and another snores blissfully on - that same snore that so annoyed a third at 2:00 this morning.

It's a dream vacation, taking everyone to Florida during school's week of winter break. When their dad broke the news to them of the plan, the children all looked at me in wonderment to see if he was serious. But halfway in, I confess, I'm not feeling very dreamy and the guilt of that fact threatens to overpower any fun I am having. I had desperately wanted our own space, see - a house, an Airbnb, something. But the plan was short notice and it was hard to beat other prices and I had sweetly said I would be ok with whatever he decided. After all, he didn't have to take us anywhere!


But I wasn't really ok with whatever.

Messiness and chaos and no personal space just get to me, that's all. How can it be a vacation when I'm constantly smashed into the same space with six others, unable to even enjoy a private conversation with my own husband? At every turn my stubborn mind aches to point out the benefits of what I so desperately thought was better. I don't want to be like that but how can I not when I feel like I'm suffocating?



I see a slice of blue sky through the parted curtain - the part carefully made at night so the room isn't too dark for the little people - and I remember yesterday and the blue, blue sky and the puffy white clouds and a little boy reveling in the wonder of the ocean's waves. It was sheer joy just to watch him. Into the waves and then out; laying down to let the water rush over him; head up in surprise when the water nearly got his face, and all the while giggling and bouncing with delight.

 Then their was the drama queen who was shivering with cold and tearfully disappointed at the cold water and the strength of the crashing waves. Sitting in a dejected huddle under her towel, on the beautiful, sandy beach, she could think of nothing to do and her mind was fixed on one thought - the pool back at the motel. The mother in me wanted to shake her. Indeed, the lecture I delivered was rather much like a hard shake that might rattle the teeth.

Laying, now, on the hard floor as the occupants in the room slept on, I wondered if it was me, instead, who deserved the lecture and a good, hard shake. Was I not quite a lot like the drama queen myself, unable to recognize extravagant beauty and privilege in the face of my own selfish little heart?

"Really, woman. Do you know how blessed you are? Look at your children sleeping peacefully - one, two, three, four, five. Once, they were tucked away safely under your heart; once they were tiny, dependant on you for life; once they needed you for everything. Look at them now, stretching tall and strong, yet still content to all be huddled together in one room. This week is an incredible gift. It won't be long till they're all independent, finding their own way in the world and making their own plans. The time left to make these close knit memories is fast passing by; don't waste it. Do you hear me? Whatever you do, Do Not Waste It."

Thoroughly chastised, I slip back into the cozy bed. The room is still silent, I've had my sliver of space. It's a beautiful day and I'm thankful, so thankful, to be spending it in close proximity with these special people.            

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That early morning lecture on the floor was well taken. I must say, we had a most amazing week together. And now, we are home. I'm finding the drama queen tendencies crop up just as easily in this world. It's cold and drab and brown here, with piles of laundry and Real Life staring me in the face first thing this morning. But there's just as much extravagant privilege here, if I'll open my eyes. Just as many special moments to not miss; just as little fleeting time. I find myself needing the same lecture here as anywhere else, "Don't waste it. Do you hear me? Whatever you do, Do Not Waste It."

Down Memory Lane: Quilting, Hymn Sings and Nostalgia

In my experience, quilting is a sure time for the mind to wander; at least if you're quilting alone. If there is more than one of you on the job, quilting is a sure time for chatting. Or, it can be a great time to go through the old tape closet and listen to every single cassette down the long line. I have great memories of doing that with my sister on cozy afternoons by the quilt -- singing along; starting on the next song before it came on because we knew them all by heart; shputting the wanna be bass (the dutch "shputting" sounds nicer somehow than "making fun").

Today I was sitting at my quilt alone, no sister to go through the old tapes -- although, goodness knows, we have quite a few. My little school time buddy was spending the day at grandpa's because he's spoiled (and I'm spoiled and grandpa's are spoiled), so I'd been spending the day in delicious, selfish projects: finishing a book, practicing choir music and now, quilting.

Coming to the quilt straight from practicing music had me in a singing mood and I was happily belting out songs in my quiet basement, with the dehumidifier for accompaniment. I grew up in a family of singers and have loved music for as long as I can remember. As a little girl, I sat by my mom on the hard, wooden benches in our tiny country church with its cement floor and block walls and lovely acoustics. She had a beautiful voice and I joined her singing alto at a very young age, I want to say before I ever went to school.

When I was young, our church hosted their mid-week Wednesday evening service in each other's homes. Packed in our brown, VW van or crammed into the old Reliant, our family would sing. Someone would start a song and then another and another. I can think of a whole list of songs we used to sing on those Wednesday night drives -- "Some glad day my soul will fly, way up high, in the sky..." I loved the rhymes in that one. "Once I wandered alone, in blackness of night..." We never had a good, strong soprano but songs with alto lead? Those were our best. "You have heard of little Moses in the bullrush..." Some of those songs I've never heard sung anywhere else.

The first Sunday night of every month was "Hymn Sing" at Shady Lawn. On those nights, out would come the stacks of old, green songbooks stored inside the pulpit. These were doled out carefully, a few to each pew, and the evening would commence. It was a sad day when the stack of green songbooks no longer reached around and a different book had to be chosen as the old, 'Select Church Songs' were no longer in print.

I did a google search today, and there it was, in all its nostalgic beauty. Although, I don't remember the day that ours looked that nice.

The song that got me started down memory lane today, all alone at the quilt, was this - "Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey, and perhaps we'll never meet anymore......" Suddenly I was transported back, back to that little girl on the hard church pew with the voices ringing out around me. "If we never meet again, this side of heaven...." Me, with my little girl voice joining mom's rich alto and Elsie's soprano joined by Wilma's, crazy how you can be transported back in time and just hear those voices!

That old, green songbook held many favorites. Some of the best were the songs by Albert E Brumley. "I'll Fly Away", "Jesus Hold My Hand", "If We Never Meet Again", "The Sweetest Song I Know"..... I would love to page through that old book again. That pretty one pictured above is on Amazon for 70 some dollars; I think I'll settle for hunting up mom's old copy when we're home for a visit.

The trip down memory lane led to looking up Albert E Brumley songs and listening to different ones. The deeper the nostalgia went, the stronger became the urge to forget the quilting and write it all down. Looking back those days seem perfect; full of love and old songs and memories. I'm sure that is the perspective of a child and there were just as many cares and worries and responsibilities as there are today but it was a fun trip, and I'm glad I took it.

One thing I will never forget and that is this: When the moderator announced "We'll sing one more after this", for a perfect ending to a monthly hymn sing, the song needed to be "When All Of God's Singers Get Home". It made the evening complete.

Vacation 2017

This post is mostly providing myself with a little picture diary of our trip. All I had for a camera was my cell phone, so I definitely have no spectacular photography to show off! Chris is a master trip planner and he did a super good job lining up all the details for our trip ahead of time and adjusting our days as we went to make it all go smoothly.

Day 1 - Travel 12 hours to friends in Leon, Iowa. Discover a new era in travel where mom sits in the front seat the whole 12 hours (in fact, the entire trip)!! Read Miss Buncle's Book aloud from start to finish because every time you stop someone begs for more. Eat supper with Arlyn and Sue Kauffman and family and spend the night at Marvin and Rosanna Kauffman's place.

Our rig for the week

Day 2 - Enjoy breakfast and stimulating conversations. Depart for DeSmet, South Dakota. Arrive Monday evening and run into church friends who were traveling nearly the same path we were! (No picture to prove it but it happened) Visit downtown DeSmet and the graveyard.

Windmills that signal the west... We had fun looking for gravestones of the Ingalls family and other people in Laura's books.

Day 3 - Tour Laura's houses and school. Surveyor's house and DeSmet school are original buildings. Visit homestead and enjoy all the hands on activities.

Comparison pic from three years ago when we were in DeSmet

Day 4 - Head toward Mt Rushmore. Visit the Badlands. Take a small hike because Miss Drama isn't feeling well. Arrive at Mt Rushmore. Enjoy supper in motel room by our chef. (Who knew you could have chicken and mashed potatoes in your motel room?) Drive up to Mt Rushmore to see the lights.

Gorgeous sunflower fields enroute

Terrible pictures but it was really cool in the dark!

Day 5 - Visit Mt Rushmore. Amazing, amazing place. Switch up planned activities for the sake of the sickly and drive through Custer Park. Totally worth it for the breathtaking scenery!

We saw buffalo, prairie dogs, antelope amazing rocks and scenery and drove through tiny tunnels...

Day 6 - Head to Rapid City, South Dakota "The City of Presidents" and walk through 12 blocks, I believe it was, meeting all the Presidents. Fun!

On to Storybook Island where we saw "The Three Men In The Tub", "The Cat In The Hat", "The Pumpkin Shell" and lots of other fun storybook scenes/characters.

Drive on to Deadwood and watch a shooting reenactment. Leave Charles and I at the motel while the rest tour the town and take in the evening's activities - including the mock trial of Jack McCall and Jennifer helping serve on the jury. They had a grand time!

Day 7 - Traveling, with stops along the Oregon Trail ---

Oregon Trail Ruts. Amazing to see the path made through the rocks by so many wagons passing through!

Register Cliff. Landmark on the travelers way with thousands of names carved in it's side.

Chimney Rock. A spectacular landmark that could be seen for two days when traveling by wagon. Amazing.

These flowers were everywhere.

I want some.

Day 8 - Head to Kalona, Iowa and spend the evening/night with Elam and Loretta Stoltzfoos. Lovely time.

Day 9 - Leave at 6:00 for New Bloomfield, Missouri to be near the center of totality and view the eclipse. I have no good pictures of the eclipse, sadly. The experience was absolutely amazing and one that is hard to describe with words or pictures!

Watching the people was almost as interesting as the eclipse. The man on the lower right amused me greatly.

This is how we travelled -

racing games on the laptop and Play House/School/Hospital on the iPad were main activities with Adventures In Odyssey, a biography of Ulysses Grant on CD and various other books, games and snacks in between.

Arrive home at 12:15 a.m.

Day 10 - First Day Of School! No picture to prove that either but it was and now vacation is over and it's back to school and a new schedule.

The End