And the List Continues

Working towards 1000... looking for the gifts that God gives me all the time... I am so blessed!

201. A chance to get a bit of school work done at home between appointments

202. Lego loving kids

203. Moving our bodies at zumbatomics

204. A chance to play my flute in a group again.

205. Getting home from my doctor's appointment 3 minutes BEFORE it was scheduled to start. I love my ENT!

206. The white stuff is starting to stick. I'm sure I'm the only one in NY but I love the stuff

207. School with the cards, a timer, and cozi is going pretty well.

208. Van passed inspection

209. Knowing a couple of the lead roles in a 7th and 8th grade version of Treasure Island

210. Fun at the zoo with friends

211. Sunshine melting away the snow

212. We get to go to Miracle Worker at Syracuse Stage for free next week!

213. Time to chat and snuggle with my favorite doctor to be

214. Flylady morning routine checklist

215. Flyers with codes for cheap checks

216. Bagels from the freezer

217. Yummy chinese food and pizza and friends to share it with

218.  Spring boards, balance beams and uneven bars

219. We almost became couch owners, trusting that God knows best

220. Curry with unplanned guests

221. Dory

222. Uncluttering

223. Abby's help with the 14 little ones

224. Visiting with friends at Christina's shower

225. Heather is feeling so much better

226. Baby Karsten

227. Skype with Kendra and baby Jack

228. Date night with Glenn watching 39 Steps on comfy cushions

229. I asked the kids to strip and make their beds and they did it

230. My camera was still in the car

231. Sheets blowing in the breeze

232. Cozi, cards, and timers along with mom being more present = school going better

233. Caring friends praying for me at small group

234. Indonesian fried rice

Escaping isn't the Answer

Yesterday I read a painful blog. We had some of Glenn's friends from Christian Medical Fellowship over for dinner and while they were here Glenn had me check out his friend's Nook that he'd hacked as a tablet. They told me to use it for a little bit and see what I thought. The only thing I could think to look up was A Holy Experience because I hadn't read it for the day and.... ouch. I thought, "OK, maybe I shouldn't have read that. That was painful."

Around our house it is often chaos. Someone is getting hurt, someone can't find something, someones have a question on their school work, someone is touching someone else, someone is not on task, someone is hungry... There are squabbles about chairs and squabbles about pencils and squabbles about toys, squabbles about EVERYTHING.... and so often I just want to escape. Too often I do... to the bathroom to pee and read a few pages in a magazine or in a book or to the internet where everyone else a happy life, or a crappy life, or at least a different life than I'm living here and there are great ideas about how to save money, organize your house, get deals, cook food, or (very rarely) to my room where I just pull the pillow over my head.

I think that Ann had been having one of those days when she wrote this blog and said "Anyone know the escape route to the big flashing exit sign? But I have to feed them all first."

She discusses pressure cookers with her son and explains, “Oh, a pressure cooker’s just a pot with a lid that doesn’t let the steam escape. And if the steam doesn’t escape, whatever’s in the pot cooks faster.”

She confronted me with the fact that when I escape I may be missing out on what God is trying to do and He is not going to be able to do it as quickly or as efficiently when I let the steam out  by running away from the pressure.

My word for the year is "present" and if I escape I am not living out that word that God has called me to.

I long to escape but I have been convicted that it is not God's best for me. We often say, "No es-ca-pe" around here when someone is trying to get away. We love Dory and how she says, "Es-ca-pe. Hey, that's spelled just like escape." I just grabbed the Dory sticker that we got in the mail last week with the Disney try to get you to buy DVDs thing. It has Dory and Marlin together and says, "Thank You" on it. I am not sure where I am going to put it but I want to use it to remind me, "No es-ca-pe!" It's fitting that it says, "Thank You" on it because I am striving to be more thankful. Another Dory phrase running through my head is, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." God wants me to stay here, in the present, in the pressure, because that is where He is refining me, making me more like Him. 

Thank You God for this confrontation that escaping isn't the answer. Please give me the strength and the grace to stay in the present and to grow as You desire me to and not to escape.

I Love Thursdays

I always look forward to Thursdays because I finally get to spend a few minutes with Glenn. Once the week starts it feels like we don't see each other. He's been catching a ride in to school with a friend who picks him up at 6:30 so mornings are kind of out of the question. Monday nights we have small group so we spend much of the evening at the same place but we don't really get a chance to talk and then we get home late and have to put the kids to bed and get whatever we didn't get done during the day done and collapse. Tuesdays are one of Glenn's long days at school. He has class all day then a meeting from 5-6pm. After his meeting we either get him or he gets a ride home and we scarf dinner before I leave for flute choir at 7. Wednesdays this semester he has had an evening class that usually goes late and he usually just stays at school and comes home after it. This week he didn't get home until about 11. Thursday evenings I feel like we can finally breathe and somewhat be a family. This week he had a meeting until after 7 and we had a play to go to at 7 that one of our neighbors was in. When we got home and finally saw Glenn (the kids hadn't seen him since Tuesday night when they went to bed) it felt like we had gone through Glenn withdrawal and we just needed to be with him. It was nice to spend some time with him last night just chatting after not seeing him for a couple of days. That is why I always look forward to Thursdays. I know that this is just a season and that things will be "worse" at times in our near future. Soon he won't be able to be home studying where we can go in and pester him or just be with him because he'll have to be at the schospital but I am thankful for Thursdays right now. I think that this week was worse because it was one of the busiest weeks that Glenn has had this year and we had him whenever we wanted him last week because it was spring break. I have no idea how my military wife friends and friends who have husbands who travel often for work do it.

Next week is going to be another busy one. I am often tempted to not invest in my marriage during this season because we are both so busy but I know that that is not right. I listened to a two part Focus on the Family broadcast with Linda Dillow this week that was excellent. I don't usually re-listen to them, just listen then delete the mp3 after listening but this one was a keeper and I am going to have to listen to it again when I can sit down and write stuff down. She said that it would be easier to just not work at your marriage during these difficult years when you are so busy with young kids and work and stuff, to "put it off 10 years until life gets easier" but the chances are, if you do that, you won't have much of a relationship if any at that point. I've done too much of the "later, when life gets easier" thinking regarding our marriage and it has not been helpful. I need to invest now so that we will have a good marriage later. I am also reading Margin by Dr Richard Swenson (it is free right now for Kindle) and I've (re)come to the realization that life is not going to get easier. It is just going to get different. I have to make the choices to step back from the 500mph pace and spend time doing what really matters and one of the things that matters most is spending time with my dear husband. So, I am thankful for Thursdays. I am going to try to be more intentional about our 9:30 dates and Thursdays because my doctor to be is my best friend and I want him to know that.

Just 18 More...

This has been a snowy winter in Syracuse, NY. We've had 174.2 inches so far. We had a really snowy December (over 70") and the ground was covered non-stop until a couple of weeks ago. (Though some people, like our friend Nick, still have huge mounds of snow in their yards.) It was funny as the snow melted to see bags of leaves and Christmas trees appear out of no where on the side of the road that we had remembered seeing last fall before all this snow fell. As the snow melted on our way to church a couple of weeks ago I told everyone to look out the window on the right to see if the brown toilet was still there that had been on the side of the road at the end of November, I think. It was.

So far we are in position to be the 4th snowiest winter on record in Syracuse and it is snowing again. I know that many of my friends on the west side of the state had snow days or delays because of the white stuff and that system started into Syracuse a couple of hours ago. I went out to move our van to the street because we need to get it inspected tomorrow and started singing, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" because that is what it felt like. I am actually smiling at the snow. I think that it is so pretty. If it is going to be cold it may as well be pretty.

The sight out our back door

One crazy reason that I like it when it snows is that I like shoveling. It is something that I can do and see that I have actually done something. I love bundling up and heading out with a shovel. Most things that I do I have to re-do over and over again and it never stays done. With shoveling eventually it stops snowing for a couple of hours or a day or even a week. During that time I can look out my window or walk outside and see an empty sidewalk and driveway  and I think, "There's no snow there, it's empty. I did that!!" There are few things in life that can give me that satisfaction so I take it where I can get it.

I guess another reason that I am OK with it snowing is that I have been a frequent stalker of The New York State Golden Snow Ball Award blog. It has been fun to be on top of the list almost all winter. In fact we are the snowiest city with over 100,000 people. I think that it would be cool to be able to say that I lived in the the snowiest winter on record in Syracuse. I am only here for one more winter and if it happens this year then it doesn't have to happen next year :). We are only 18 inches away from the record so I am hopeful that we will beat it. I've been told that one year we got 60 on one day in April. Not sure if that is true but if it happens again we are sure to beat that record. I'd personally just be content with 18 though :)

OK, it's time to go grab my shovel. Thanks God for this beautiful stuff you created called snow. I know that I will miss it when it is time for us to leave snow country. Thanks also for the reminder that You wash me white as snow.

One Thousand Gifts 1-200

God is using this book to change my mind and my heart lately. Paul, in Philippians, talks about having learned to be content in all circumstances. I am trying to learn "to overcome my one ugly and self-destructive habit of ingratitude... with the saving habit of gratitude - that would lead me back to deep God-communion." Ann was challenged by a friend to make a list of 1000 gifts from God and doing it changed her life.  She has challenged many people to do the same. I started my list of 1000 Blessings from God back in January. She has a notebook that she leaves open on her counter at home and takes with her places. I decided to write mine on the "notes" function of my iphone. I started mine January 18th, I think. I emailed 1-100 to Glenn on February 28. Today I reached 200. It has been neat to see how doing this, writing down things that God has done, given me, has helped to start to change my heart, change my attitude. On Sunday I was woken up by Hannah who told me that her sisters had both peed the bed. Instead of grumbling my first thought was, "How can I thank God in this situation?" and God gave me ways to thank Him. That is not my natural response. God is at work in my heart and I am so thankful!

On A Holy Experience there is a challenge to post from our lists, the graces we have received from God on Mondays. I think that I am going to start doing that. Today is going to be a long one. #1-200. I am not expecting anyone to read them all but they are gifts that God has given me. Some of them may not make sense but they are things that I have stopped to thank God for during these past 2 months.

1. The Word of God. It contains all I need for life and godliness. I have only skimmed the surface of the unfathomable riches contained in it. I want it to be my life long passion

2. Unexpected time with my dear friend Phoebe today sharing our recent trials and blessings.

3. Short sweet naps snuggled on great grandparents' laps today as we visited with my dad's parents for a short time this afternoon. Abigail fell asleep on Grandma and Lydia nearly fell asleep on Grandpa.

4. Time away from the kids connecting with other homeschooling moms at Panera Bread.

5. Time enjoying read alouds with the kids while we've waited for various appointments lately.

6. Glenn was cavity free at his dental appointment. (It was his first trip to the dentist since we've been married.)

7. Peppermint tea and Legos with Dawn and Jeremiah.

8. Met our neighbor Kevin when he rescued me from the snow piles.

9. Glenn got a ride home last night so I didn't have to bundle the kids out into the snow after 10 pm.

10. My three little dish washers.

11. Prayer time with Glenn.

12. A public library just a 5 minute walk away.

13. Miss Quinn - our wonderful children's librarian always ready with a smile and questions for my kids.

14. Free holds at our library. There's always a stack of books there awaiting me.

15. Sunshine brightened by clean fresh snow.

16. Pretty plants thriving under our lightbulb despite the frigid gloominess outside.

17. Lego hearts and creative kids who made them

18. Three extra little boys and three extra little girls and two extra mommies in the house for a couple hours this afternoon.

19.  My laser printer scanner copier which makes it so easy to print stuff.

20. Popcorn cooked on the stovetop.

21. Chris giving Glenn rides to school so I don't have to go out early in these frigid temps.

22. A place to have quiet time with God in the mornings.

23. Lander and Powell sharing the "blanket trick" with us which makes Lego pick up so much easier.

24. My Amish drying rack - a wedding shower gift from my dad's Aunt Helen.

25. Popcorn on the floor.

26. The clinging arms of little girls during the scary parts of the movie.

27. Baked macaroni and cheese

28. There is a family moving in upstairs, not college students.

29. Watching the kids enjoy their "prizes" from the Pass-it-on Bingo potluck.

30. The girls' grateful hearts for things they got even though they didn't get what they wanted most.

31. I can't do it but God wants to and can do it through me.

32. UNO with lots of giggles.

33. Spring time smell in my livingroom.

34. Pink hyacinths

35. Peter the penguin night light and the boy so excited to have him

36. Husband laughing over Internet comics when he should be in bed

37. Grandma's crocheted blanket that covers our bed

38. A chance to have surgery to improve my hearing

39. Glenn's "ghetto lampshade"

40. Comfy clothes to wear tomorrow

41. A desk with a crank for Glenn

42. Friendly nurses with smiling faces

43. No cholesteatoma in my right ear

44. Titanium ear bones

45. Cold water handed to me by Glenn <3

46. Handmade valentines

47. This list and the joy it brings

48. Sleep

49. Hugs from little arms

50. Lasagna from the freezer

51. Glenn walking to and from school

52. A shower with nice warm water.

53. Hawaiian pizza

54. I was the best picture the library lady took all day

55. A full day out of bed (first since surgery)

56. UNO games

57. Sunshine and tshirts

58. Green shoots shooting up

59. A warm home, protected from the blowing snow

60. Cantaloupe with pancakes

61. Hot chocolate with real whipped cream

62. Sleeping in with my best friend

63. The chance to see Rebecca's thank you list

64. My diva cup

65. Watching blowing snow out the window

66. The Jesus who is - so much better than the Jesus I perceive.

67. Giggly girls with bouncy hair.

68.  A strong arm to put my hand through as I walk icy sidewalks. .

69. Wallet found in the library book bag

70. Sleepy hugs in the early morning

71. Towels swaying on the drying rack in the blowing air from the furnace

72. God desires a relationship with me

73. Wyoming sweatshirts

74. Lego hearts

75. PBS kids

76. Sterie strips removed

77. Our small group

78. Glenn's meeting with Sasha

79. Morning kisses good bye

80. Pop corn cooked on the stovetop

81. Flat and whole wheel noodles

82. Cashier giddy about the good deals he rang up for me at Tops

83. Dry milk powder for <$1/gallon

84. Quick dentist appointments.

85. Conversation hearts conversations

86. Unexpected lunch with a ear surgery survivor

87. Little girls with bouncy curls

88. Books

89. Birthday cinnamon rolls

90. Hugs from a 7 year old birthday girl

91. The smell of chili

92. Ice cream cake

93. Friends for supper

94. Telephone chat with my grandma

95. Peppers

96. A leaf in my table and an extra table besides filled with people

97. Our ultimate treasure - Jesus - nothing is worth keeping more than having Him

98. We are God's treasure

99. Visits with neighbors we rarely see because of hibernation.

100. Thanksgiving always precedes the miracle.


101. Rain boots sloshing in slush

102. Packing removed from my ear

103. $170 ear drops that I only had to pay $6 for

104. Baby chicks in my hands

105. The chicken feed is always better in the cage next door

106. Lydia in her glory with all those chicks

107. Free extra Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell - Glenn's lunch for tomorrow. We offered to pay for it but they said it was OK, it was their mistake

108. Sun shining on this lion-y day

109. Getting through all our school cards today.

110. Storybooks on the girls' bed

111. Coffee

112. Under200

113. Sunshine

114. Combed out hair with no snarles.

115. Golden grilled cheese with ham

116. Wandering Wegmans alone

117. A place to park

118. A chair party between the dining room and living room

119. $34 of savings at Wegmans.

120. Wegmans carries chipotle flavored Tabasco sauce and I got it for $1 off :)

121. Swept floors

122. Toss Your Cookies and Bananagrams

123. Chicken wing pizza

124. 18" of snow which gave us an opportunity to meet a couple neighbors, help people, and get some fresh air

125. White as snow, white as snow though my sins were as scarlet

126. Lydia's delight at reading color words, "I didn't know if I was supposed to read them but I decided to just spit them out."

127. Skin on skin

128. Zumbatomics

129. Hot water

130. The story of a homeless man quoting Romans 7-8 to a bunch of teenagers on a corner in Toronto.

 131. Broken bread, poured out wine in memory of my Beloved Savior's sacrifice for me

132. God hears my prayers

133. Sweet arms that hug and lips that kiss

135. Birthday letters 10, 8, 7, 5

136. God, the Creator of all things

137. An invitation to be a part of an intimate group of homeschoolers that meet on Tuesdays

138. Oatmeal bread smeared with real butter

139. Celebrating finishing unit 6 with Chinese takeout

140. Snuggling on a Saturday morning

141. Rain boots

142. 150 pounds of produce!!

143. Chatting with Bethany

144. Christmas trees and bags of leaves everywhere!

145. Jesus paid it all

146. Lunch at Sasha and Sarah's with Michael, Jonathan, and Bill

147. Movie night as a family watching Hook

148. Free books from kindle

149. God's provision even though we're car-less for a while.

150. Sunshine

151. Snuggling a newborn

152. Bunches of little girls playing Pollies

153. Pink dessert dishes from my grandma's house

154. Dishes cleaned by my little man

155. Sleeping in on spring break

156. We got our car back for <$1000

157. Skipping girls

158. A walk around Green Lake

159. Leaf pockets in melting ice

160. Falafels

161. Sunshine

162. Cute older couple walking arm in arm around Green Lake

163. "helping" the water flow into the lake with sticks

164. Peanuts, rolls, steak, huge chicken fingers, sweet potatoes all cooked and brought to our table and cleaned up after and $25 toward the bill from Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds

165. Bright colors

166. Stop action videos and a funny commentary on Abigail faces in pictures

167. People may actually read my blog

168. Lots of silliness with the kids while daddy has been home.

169. Sunshiney day at the zoo

170. Defecating animals and that I don't have to do that out in public with people watching

171. Leftover steak, onions, and mushrooms

172. Momma Patas monkey and her growing baby

173. Fun with cameras

174. Brad, Melissa, Kaylee, Coen & Rain came for supper

175. My Toothless Wonder lost another top tooth

176. Barbeque chips

177. Sunshine through the trees

178. Guard rails

179. Wegmans subs

180. Shiny combed out hair

181. My kids usually stay dry all night

182. Sunshine

183. Free underwear

184. Inspiring stories of people who live with less

185. How He loves us

186. "Everyone is lost and at the same time, everyone is loved."

187. Yuko

188. A new start for a new week

189. Little flowers and for sale signs popping up everywhere - it must be spring

190. Quick dentist appointments

191. No one walked into our house (that we can tell) when the door was left open while we were gone.

192. Eating some Living Food with the kids after lunch

193. A chance to pray with our small group for the people in our neighborhood

194. Our friends are moving to be neighbors with friends of ours

195. This list which makes me stop to look at what God has done

196. Apple crisp

197. Kids enjoying the cozi calendar

198. Kitties rubbing on my legs

199. Book loving kids

200. Margin is free on kindle!

And the list goes on. God is so gracious and I am learning to be so thankful.

Happy Birthday Yuko!

Today I am dedicating my blog to my dear friend Yuko whose birthday is today. (It is probably over for her because she is possibly in Germany for work. I am not exactly sure where she is. She travels a lot for work. I know that she was recently in Singapore but for 15 months or so she her work is based out of Germany.) She was my roommate when I was a student at Tennessee Temple University and one of my dearest friends. We would always stay up late talking then look at the clock and realize, "Oh no! I have homework to do!!" We always had so much fun together and she introduced me to so much more of the world. Yuko's dad had been a student at TTU years ago and went back home to be a missionary/ pastor to his people there. She's been on my heart today so I thought I'd look up some old pictures of us. One horribly scanned film pic from TTU when my mom was visiting, some pics from when she visited us when we lived in Rochester back in May of '09, and the last one was taken today. The girls are wearing the shirts from "Aunt Yuko" that she had given them when she visited. They wore them today in honor of Aunt Yuko's birthday.

As I think of Yuko and my other friends from Japan that I made while at school I can't help but think of the devastation that has taken place in their country. I look at the pictures on the news and just sob to think of all the people who went into a Christ-less eternity. All of the people without Hope right now because they don't know the One, the only One who can bring Hope and I pray for the missionaries and other followers of Christ there reaching out to those hurting people, bringing Hope. Lord, do a work that only You can do and glorify Yourself and call people to Yourself through this devastation!

Here are a few pictures that I found as I think of my precious friend Yuko today. I love you Yuko and pray that God will continue to bless you as you shine for Him! I am so thankful that God allowed us to be roommates!

Naomi, Yuko, me and my mom during chapel at TTU

My kids instantly fell in love with Aunt Yuko. It was the first time she had met any of the girls.

Group Shot - the kids are all wearing their "Aunt Yuko" shirts

hanging out in a tree in Highland Park

The girls today wearing their Aunt Yuko shirts in honor of her birthday. (They are going to cry when they no longer fit! They already have plans to make them into pillows.)

Happy Birthday Yuko! We love you!

Expectations...

I have been going through One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp with (in)courage bloom book club online and it has been a huge blessing. I read through the book quickly on Kindle so I would be ready to watch the videos twice a week. I am going to buy a hard copy to have and read through more slowly. I've highlighted so much and God has worked in my heart so much though it.

I will blog more on it as I go through it a second time but.... I was just thinking of a quote that I heard one of the girls say on the video from chapter 9: "Expectations are premeditated resentments." We've struggled a bit with expectations over the past week with Spring Break not being all that we had dreamed it might be but God is faithful. We have had a good week. It wasn't the week that we had expected but I'll blog more about the fun that we did have (though I know Glenn has given a bit of a taste with the pictures he's thrown on here). A quote from Ann from chapter 9 says, "The demanding of my own will is the singular force that smothers out joy - nothing else." I have found that to be true.

Lord, please help me to surrender control and my expectations to You and to be thankful for the gifts You give me every day, all the time. I am so blessed. Better than I deserve!