Rambly Thanks and Random Photos

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

This has been an amazing week. I don't know how else to say it than this: God has gone before me.

We are still very much adjusting to BB's starting back to school, trying to figure out the best ways to get the necessaries accomplished and still get some sleep!

There is much about this new season that is exhausting, but I'm also encouraged in so many ways.

BB is always wonderful to help me with woman's work whenever I'm behind or in a pinch, which typically has been almost all the time for the past several years! Read: we pretty much shared the housework, or it just didn't get done. God is using this shift in our responsibilities to strengthen me and rebuild my confidence as a homemaker/mother/woman.

I've been so touched by God's tenderness this week. On Sunday night, I faced 6 days ahead that looked utterly overwhelming: unusual number of out of the ordinary things to do, places to go, phone calls to make, etc. But HE has been my Help, my Guide, my Strength, showing me what to do when, and how.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Now the week is done. Last night we celebrated mightily here. On Thursday, our friends had their day in court: the adoption of their four children is final. I heard their mama say it was "Gotcha Day." They've got them forever now. Praise God from Whom all (quadruple - this is two sets of very closely spaced twins, oldest set is 2.5 years old!) blessings flow!! I hope to share some photos of that grand occasion soon, too.

Thank You, God, for adopting me, for being Father to me...

 

I am not a crafty let's-do-a-hands-on-project kind of mom, but when LC and I came across this very simple little "experiment" in a children's book on seeds, I thought it would be fun. And not overwhelming for mom. All we needed was dirt, eggshells, an egg carton, and beans.

It is not nearly as easy to "punch tiny holes" in the bottoms of eggshells as the book indicated...several of our had large gaping openings, which I repaired with tape. LC had fun filling each eggshell with dirt, planting the bean, and then watering them. The experiment part of it involved digging up a bean each day to observe the various stages of germination, roots, shoots, and the growth of the new, tiny plant. Fun! She drew a picture of what she saw with each bean unearthed.

 

 We put the carton in a pyrex casserole dish and set it by my bedroom window, because there's far more sun there. But check out this bean sprout! Notice anything unusual? The bean itself is in three parts instead of the usual two halves! And we had another interesting one: the bean never lifted itself above the level of the dirt, though it did shed its covering and began to turn green. The problem? NO ROOT. Lots of parables to be found in this project....

The girls caught this butterfly and marveled over him. Then they set him outside to go free. That's when CA tiptoed outside to visit him and he met his end. Three year olds don't quite have that gentle touch that butterflies require, unfortunately.

  

 One thing that three year olds can do is cut. And CA had fun being let loose with scissors to go cut marigold blooms in the back yard. The plants are flowering like crazy now that everything else in the raised bed is dead and gone.

The oleander looks so tropical to me. You see them everywhere around here. This one had several blooming cycles throughout the summer.

EG as Abraham Lincoln. She was working the "gravely serious" pose apparently so popular in the 1800's.

I was working on some cute collages of this photo shoot of her, because she was hilarious...the sequence would've been so funny...but alas, let's just say I ran into technical difficulties and ran out of time...so here are three huge pics for you to see.

So funny! And by the way, that's Abe's old log cabin in the background, in case you were wondering...

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Mercies - and, oh, I am sure I miss so many. God, give me a soft heart and a sharp eye to recognize Your goodness....

464 crisp black tree silhouettes against the creamy orange dusk

465 dove silhouettes, black against the sunset

466 a nice long email from one of my great faraway girlfriends, whom I'll be seeing soon over Thanksgiving

467 daughter who delights in reading a book to a sister (MK to CA)

468 number 4's contrary ways these days - prayer, patience, and faithful discipline and training required! Sanctification of mom's heart: certain, by God's grace

469 BB and I sitting together eating a cookie in the quiet at night

470 a day away for all of us

471 our boys! yes, we've adopted (into our hearts) two little ones from Rwanda through Compassion International

472 three overflowing baskets of clean laundry

473 three overflowing baskets of clean laundry (mostly!) put away - you can't imagine what a big deal this is for me. I'm never even remotely caught up on laundry and it's a blessing to be finding little ways and time to get more of it done here and there. Sometimes. :-)

474 looking back to see the the Work done in me during hard times, looking at now, seeing how much has changed


475 mk in a crisp white collared shirt

476 cj in some truly fall clothes

477 first day to wear socks in the house...a little chill!

478 pockets of time to make phone calls to loved ones and friends

479 a few moments to organize and file away an inch-thick stack of school papers

480 that crazy Wednesday just wasn't crazy last week or this week (historically, our homeschool Wednesdays have been so, so long and chaotic!)

481 conversation with my husband

482 a husband who's a kind listener, always has been

483 that God has adopted ME - Ephesians 1:4-6

484 Adoption Party!!

485 chubby babies in snug white onesies

486 babies who grow out of their bassinets overnight - literally

487 amber waves of...dry summer grasses - silvery yellow and undulating - a sight to see

488 just the recipe I needed for our Thanksgiving chicken - didn't even have to go looking for it

489 God goes before me moment by moment