Sunny Days and Stormy Days

Our neighbors place viewed from down in the field of mustard..

 We enjoyed a sunny Sunday afternoon last week strolling with family across the neighbors mustard field, with their permission of course, and down the irrigation ditch to dip our toes and do a little exploring.  Going for nature walks are on the top of every member of the family's list of most enjoyable things to do all together....


Sporting a freshly picked weed crown....

A freshly picked bouquet of horsetail....

Carving a rock...

Running down the irrigation ditch...

Enjoying the breeze on her skin....

Dangling our legs and laughing with Daddy....

 Little did we know that less than a week later we would be still laughing with Daddy, but this time with his foot up on ice after a flying leap and block in volleyball...  avulsion fracture is the word.

The night it happened...

3 days later...

Feet and ankles are precious..."How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News... or bring home the paycheck...."  I know we shouldn't be happy that our Daddy can't go to work but we are.  What can I say?  We love him and are thoroughly enjoying spending time with him at home:  bringing him food, ice, books, videos, and hopefully a lot of laughs. 

We could choose to stress at the "Storm" and waste our precious time or simply enjoy our little ones and one another on this "surprise vacation."  It's really all in how one looks at life.  And, no, it's not just positive thinking... or escaping reality. 

Reality can be grim, but God's truth and glory are powerful.  Mercy and grace intermingle.  Faith, hope, and love outshines, outlives, and is irrepressible.  Try to dampen it and it's glory spreads around the dark edges. 

God has never not taken care of us before and He will not stop now.  We can laugh at the future knowing He is fully in control....how refreshing and how exciting all at the same time.  You know, it was kind of getting slow around here.....

Ode to my Eldest Son on his Birthday

Installing new sink fixtures

If you were to peek into our home on a regular basis, you would find this young man fixing anything and everything.... no job to small or difficult that he wouldn't give it a try.  Here he is in the bathroom cupboard installing a brand new sink fixture.  It seems like just yesterday he was in my kitchen cupboards playing with the flour bucket.  Just yesterday he was throwing tantrums upon exiting his sandbox or refusing to pick up his crayons from under the table.  When did he stop sitting on our laps for story time?  We still squish him on the couch between us but not for very long and certainly not to hear a picture story.  Was it only a few years ago we could hardly get him to stay in bed and now to roust him in the mornings.....

My first born....17 years ago today...I gave up during his birth and wanted to die.... it was painful, long and trauma filled...to make a long story short: severe shoulder dystocia, fetal monitor inserted underneath scalp, broken collar bone and vacuum extraction heralded this baby boy into the world.  BUT as soon as I held him in my arms nothing else mattered and the world melted away. 

Experimenting in George Fox University Laboratory

 He continues to enjoy taking things apart... except now at the molecular level and enjoys solving problems with Algebraic equations.  Did I mention joy?  Yes, pure joy when discovering something new and working out math problems I must of did eons ago but can't remember anything to help him now. 

Planning, goal setting, adding up high school credits

 Thank-you my dear son for putting up with your Mama's efforts to stay on top of everything which means you have seen first hand the trials of procrastination..... thus the messes.....


 Speaking of messes, son you have made your fair share but have created and done some amazing things with it all!  And we, as parents and grown-ups, have made even more messes.  Thank-you for handling all the difficulties in your life with joy, thoughtfulness, and godliness.  God is preparing you in advance for the work He has in store for you.  

Painting the walls in our Alaskan house

 Embrace the mess:  God did it for you in Christ Jesus!

Trying to hide from the camera

 You're not one to toot your own horn, so we'll toot it for you!  You're an inspiration to all of us in perseverance as we have watched you learn to walk, run, read, write, and compute numbers.  You study the Word, and learn new things with such exuberance, you draw us in.  You lead gently and quietly and we notice.  We love you so much... not for what you have done or will do, not for what you have been or will be, but for who you are....TODAY, our dear son, Happy 17th Birthday!


Snakes!

Look what we found in our yard!

 This is a gopher snake that we found lying under some cardboard in our yard.  At first I thought it was a baby rattlesnake because it's markings looked just so: but alas no rattle.  Since we live in the Pacific Northwest where they do not live I knew I shouldn't worry.... but for a brief second I thought that maybe the previous owners may have let their pet escape under the house and this baby crawled out....  I can think of more things to worry about.

Killing the grass in our yard with cardboard boxes....

Happy little Rubber Boa snake wrapped around sister's wrist...

 

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Sitting on big brother's snake cage....

For school that day we studied snakes, of course, what else could one do after such an exciting event?  Not to mention, a few days before, my oldest son found a rubber boa snake on our property.  Since big brother has studied snakes before and immediately looked his up and identified it, he went on to design and build a double compartment snake cage to house their new pets.  I’d say I could give him extra credit for shop and science class on this one!

I love educating my children at home.  They are truly exposed to all sorts of people, adventures, jobs, attitudes, and learn such flexibility in it all.  They are gaining real life experiences daily as they plan, set goals, and then they go awry but still have to be revisited until accomplished.  Sometimes, they get tossed out completely, goals that is, and exchanged for new ones, sometimes not.  BUT this is life, and it happens and we roll with it.

Oh, just for fun, we studied the bombardier beetle this week…. AMAZING!  Totally defies evolution, just saying.  He mixes chemicals and catalysts and POW, at temperatures of 212 degrees F he shoots it out at his enemies. 

By the way, I am beginning to understand what a catalyst is because my 17-year old son comes home from his chemistry class at George Fox University every other Monday, and explains what he’s learning to me and his siblings and his Dad and anyone else who’s interested.  The class is being taught by a grad student to a class of homeschoolers, and being graded by the Professor.  I’m so proud of my son!