Category Archives: Family

Daily Life, David, Project 365, Sarah

An Unremarkable Day

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As much as we try to live a life worthy of the blog, sometimes things are just quiet.

I worked from home today, and nothing really very interesting happened. A bunch of us are restarting our diet, so there wasn’t much culinary interest to the day. I briefly chatted with Joshua, and I helped Daniel craft a job application cover letter. After supper, Kathy and I attended our Small Group, which was ably-led by my co-leader Dave, but I didn’t take any pictures.

Now it is almost 10 pm, and Kathy (who is off picking up her dear friend from the airport) texts me: “Don’t forget to blog.”

She’s entirely relentless about this Project 365 thing. It is astounding to me how often my turn comes up, and how rarely I have anything profound to say.

Fortunately, David and Sarah saved the day with some goofiness in the kitchen, as they washed the dishes. Listening to the two of them sing and have fun with the dishes, I am very thankful that silliness and laughter are a big part of our family dynamic.

I think these two are a few ice cubes short of a full tray.

I think these two are a few ice cubes short of a full tray.

Tonight at our Bible study we were talking about stewardship, and I had a chance to reflect on the areas in my life where God has appointed me a steward. I manage my children, my job responsibilities, and help out with several different ministries at church. My money, possessions and time are all not really ‘mine’, but I am a partner with God in using those resources for His glory.

Clearly I need to spend more time being a steward of my two youngest children.

Project 365, Day 82
Tim

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David, Homeschooling

Student Campaign

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Things are progressing in my Leadership Class at our homeschool co-op. We’ve been studying Proverbs, styles of governance and the power of influence. The students each selected a leader and wrote essays profiling their chosen subject. Today I returned the edited papers for final revisions. We even had a little lesson on using easybib.com and formatting with Word. They did a great job on their work – some of the kids had never completed this type of assignment before.

The next thing we are working on is our campaigns for Student Government. The kids who were interested in running filled out a four step nomination process including:

1) Teacher Recommendation
2) Student Body Support Signatures
3) Nomination Form
4) Paragraph declaring intent & qualifications

This guy looks trustworthy - vote for him!

This guy looks trustworthy – vote for him!

We’ll develop election platforms, film mini commercials, give speeches, mingle with the co-op kids and culminate in elections in April. Exciting to watch the students grow as leaders and compete for positions.

Stay tuned!

Project 365 – Day 79
Kathy

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Being a Disciple of Jesus, Kathy, Musings, Project 365

Joys and Sadness and Promises

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I started this blog with the intention of writing about how the kids sometimes spend their time during our school reading. I loaded the pictures and started writing. I even came up with a few titles.

Couch Time Arts and Crafts
Read Aloud Entertainment
Random Craft Books We Like

David and Marco - working on the Buck Book

David and Marco – working on the Buck Book

Hmmm. Yeah, had a hard time coming up a very catchy title.

Sarah's art book

Sarah’s art book and her bucket of gel pens – art waiting to happen!

I tried to do a search on the blog for other posts I’ve written on this subject, and then I got lost in all the cuteness of the kids from blogging days gone by. Is it weird that I find my own writing entertaining? Oh dear. Is that a little narcissistic? But really, this blog about Rachel getting glasses. I mean, how could I resist spending time reading about a day from Feb 2007. Especially when Sarah and I went to the eye doctor yesterday.

Strange how life circles around.

And then I started wondering about the passage of time and the hopes, dreams, and changes in life. Does the Lord protect us from seeing too far into the future because He knows we need to live in TODAY and not focus on the joys, sadnesses, losses, heart breaks, and victories coming in the TOMORROWS ahead of us. But that seems odd because, wouldn’t we treasure the moments today if we knew they were fleeting? Or maybe we would dread the pain that was coming too much to walk forward. It would paralyze us. And we would cling too much to the joyful moments that we couldn’t enjoy them, knowing they were going to end.

Sarah's beautiful creations

Sarah’s beautiful creations

I don’t know. This is what happens when I blog late at night after reading old posts of “days gone by”. I start to wax on a bit maudlin in tone. Oh dear, now I’ve used the word maudlin in the day’s blog.

When I search the scriptures and think about the hope that the Lord offers and the peace that He promises, I think it is okay to savor the joys and mourn the losses. I can’t turn back time and relive the years when my father was alive or the busy days of homeschooling all five kids. I can’t live them any more fully than I did.

Regrets do nothing but amplify pain and sadness.

I can, however, be PRESENT in today.

Love that grin!

Love that grin!

I can listen when David tells me his dreams from last night’s sleep.
I can pay attention when Sarah shares thoughts about friendship and cliques and “being cool.”
I can look at Frisbee clips on the computer and laugh at random videos with Daniel.

Working on Ultimate stats

Working on Ultimate stats

I can capture the day’s moments on film and journal on the blog.
I can hug more, fuss less.
I can praise more and criticize less.
I can be thankful EVERY DAY for the abundant blessings in my life.
I can teach and study and share my love of learning.
I can love and forgive and encourage the kids to do the same.
I can be transparent when I’m moved by God’s grace and power (even if that means tears).
I can mourn losses and give us all freedom to grieve when we need to.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Rev 21:3-4

I can live with joy today because I know that I have a future ahead of me that is greater than anything I can imagine. I can walk in peace today because I have a God who promises never to leave or forsake me. I can laugh and cry over memories of yesterday without letting it consume my tomorrow.

And so the post I started writing (arts and crafts and read-alouds) took a bit of a rambling turn and ended in a sweet message from the Lord to me. How fitting that the song that He gave me to end my time was Matt Maher’s Lord, I Need You.

Every hour I need you. Amen.

Project 365 – Day 77
Kathy

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Daniel, Family, Parenting, Project 365

Dan and My Van

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Daniel doesn’t currently have a job. He’s put in lots of applications and has some leads going, but right now he’s unemployed. Which is difficult when you have bills to pay. And you like to drive a car to school and not take the bus.

Such a cheerful worker!

Such a cheerful worker!

We are a very easy going family in many ways. We aren’t overly scheduled or structured. I’m afraid Tim and I are just too relaxed, easy-going, fun, (lazy?) to run our lives and the home in a austere or overly orderly manner. That means things are often a bit of a mess, we’ll drop work for ministry and fun, we miss appointments (not on purpose), and we get behind in projects at times.

We can't all live the life of ease and luxury like Marco.

We can’t all live the life of ease and luxury like Marco.

We try to encourage the children to be servant-leaders and to invest in our family and the lives of others. When the older kids were home (ie before college) and managing busy schedules, we often set aside “Bless the Family” time on weekends. We asked the children to spend some intentional time working on a project or cleaning chore that blessed the home in some tangible way before they went off with friends or to work.

As Daniel finds himself without work and funds, I want to encourage him. I want him to be a diligent hard worker. If he can’t work outside the home, than he can labor for me. He can put some of his available time and energy into blessing the family.

A few weeks ago, I told Daniel he had to get some side jobs in order to use my van that week. Or at least TRY to get some work. Within minutes of posting on FB, he had a yard work job. And that job led to another project. Yesterday I had a LONG meeting up in Auburn. Tim and the kids were all off at the Duckabush for a CIT meeting. Before I left for my appointment, I wrote down a list of things Daniel needed to do (before Monday morning) if he wanted to use my van.

A few chores

A few chores

Of course, I forgot to tell anyone that I made that list. Heh heh. Around 9:45 pm I remembered. A quick call in to Tim set Daniel to work. When I arrived home at midnight, the chores were all crossed off and the place looked neat and tidy. [Kudos to David for doing all the dishes and cleaning the kitchen as well while Daniel worked on other things.]

Today Tim asked Daniel (who wanted to take a car to pick up friends and go to an Ultimate Frisbee Game), “What can you do that will make us glad for you to be off using the van? And not in a, ‘Dan, you need to get out of here you’re causing trouble!’ sort of way.” LOL! “What can you do to help around the house that will show that you are a blessing and a joy to have around?”

My Van - getting all freshened up.

My Van – getting all freshened up.

I love how Tim crafts things in ways that empowers the children and gives them the opportunity to earn respect. I tend to “mother” and nag and make lists. Ahem. Well, I am a mother, so I guess that’s somewhat expected. Tim’s approach, however, let Daniel “own” the work and be a part of the decision making process, even if it was only regarding a small thing. Daniel still needed some ideas, but he had sovereignty and control of what work he did.

Nothing like vacuumed seats.

Nothing like vacuumed seats.

Parenting teens is hard work! Teaching and training and discipling them is hard work! In my mind they are still my little ones.

2004 - sweet faces!

2004 – sweet faces!

Letting them go and make their own decisions is hard work! Only by God’s grace and strength!

Project 365 – Day 75
Kathy

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Essential Allergies

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While we were down in Portland, my allergies returned full-force, and I was somewhat miserable. It is hard to laugh as much as I like to laugh at (or in some cases, with) my brother when my sinuses are so congested.

Three little vials of essential oils.

Three little vials of essential oils.

Back at the tail-end of the last decade I became desperate, as my allergies had seemed to worsen by about 10% each year. So (after much ‘encouragement’ from my lovely wife) I went to an allergist and started allergy shots. After a year or so, the shots were pretty effective, so I kept up the treatment regimen for nearly three years.

I probably should have continued. Only a few years later, I am back where I started.

So Kathy turned to the interweb. As it turns out, many people get relief from a wide range of ailments by inhaling the aroma of various essential oils. No, I’m not making this up. There is a whole industry offering these oils which can be topically applied, inhaled, and in some cases, ingested.

Kathy and Sarah are either praying or snorting essential oils. You decide which.

Kathy and Sarah are either praying or snorting essential oils. You decide which.

My wife picked up a few samples from a friend, and we’ve been trying a blend of lavender, peppermint and lemon oils, several times a day. I have to admit, they do temporarily clear out the sinuses, and there seems some mild relief from the worst of my allergy symptoms. Kathy likes the smell of the oils, and the ritual of pouring out the drops, rubbing our hands together, inhaling the scent, and ultimately rubbing the residue on our necks and upper chest is very entertaining.

I’m a skeptic about these things, but I must admit that desperation makes me very tractable. Further bulletins as events warrant.

Project 365, Day 70
Tim

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