Snippings and A Motto for Moms

Making things pretty is part of the fun of life, at least in my opinion. Jon and I purchased some dining chairs, thanks to a sale and a generous gift certificate I've held on to just waiting for the right moment. We are still expecting the delivery of two more chairs, but last night was the first time in a long time that each family member had actual chair at dinner time. The table was also a recent purchase-- a farm table I bought off of Craig's List. Most of our furniture have been CL finds. The black buffet was a piece Jon found at a sidewalk sale 8 or 9 years ago.

Olivia and I had the idea of gathering little snippings of the various blossoms around our yard at present. We decorated our dining table just for fun, just for us. The lavender in the center was from Trader Joe's to decorate the table for an evening of cheese tasting last weekend, but everything else was from around the house.

I've found myself taking more every-day type pictures recently. These are from this afternoon while the boys made houses and tanks from the boxes that the chairs were delivered in. The first one was taken before breakfast, the boys being funny little characters.

Above, Jacob is peeking out the window made of plastic wrap and tape. He looks in distress!

Below, Olivia always swinging or climbing in the trees.

>>>:<<<

It's nearing midnight here, and I'm waiting on food to cool before I can store it for the night. We're going to be getting up early tomorrow and starting our school day in earnest. Later in the morning we are heading over to a friend's for brunch, then taking our kids out on a field trip. This kind of stuff makes me so thankful for the way I school my kids.

These late nights are fine with me. It gives me a chance to record the things I need to write for myself; the things I am learning and prone to forget. Here are some words from the first chapter of Nehemiah that have encouraged me to pray in similar fashion:

"O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night..."

"O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy..."

The second chapter continues with a record of Nehemiah praying and of God putting into His heart a plan and granting him strength and confidence. God was with him and for him in the midst of opposition and difficulty. True and fervent prayer allows us to move forward with confidence and say:

"The God of heaven will make us prosper."

>>:<<

Tomorrow morning, when the alarm sounds earlier than my body wants to respond,  I will lean over to my bedside table and grab my Bible. Just as I have done the last several days, my eyes will turn to this verse, a two-lined motto which fits perfectly during these days of motherhood:

"God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns."

Ps. 46:5

Yes, I know that in context the "she" refers to Israel. But now, in the age of the New Testament, God's Spirit is within each one of His children. And so because of that, because He has personal presence with me, I can have both strength and tranquility at all times. And so I pray for it, and endeavor to hold fast to what God says.

Finally, a prayer as I head up to bed here in a bit (The 'us' inserted as I pray it for my family):

"The Lord bless you (us) and keep you (us);

 the Lord make his face to shine upon you (us) and be gracious to you (us);

 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you (us) and give (us) peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

~Katherine

A short update on the house

I should be in bed right now 'cause I'm exhausted and tomorrow will start fast and furious. I had just finished drying my hair (during which time Jon took a shower with his eyes closed and quickly fell asleep before I finished), and I came down to the kitchen for a glass of water and to turn out the lights. Recently I've been afraid to go into the kitchen, particularly first thing in the morning, late at night, or anytime we've been away for a few hours. Yes, the ants have taken up permanent residency in there and throughout the house. There are little freeways of ants traveling up the walls, across the carpet, and through my cabinets. The refrigerator is stocked with non-perishables, and surfaces and dishes are kept clean at all times.

But it doesn't matter. Tonight the ants found a crumb of something in my cabinet of baking ingredients. By the time I had dealt with them, and finished brushing them off my arms and neck, I decided to post a little something here.

So, hello! Several of you have emailed and wondered if we're all settled in to the new house. Not quite. I haven't taken the time to take many pictures, but here are some from yesterday morning...

The work continues. Jon has been working so hard in the midst of an otherwise busy time. Not only that, but he got his turn with the virus that made the kids and me sick recently. I don't know, but given our various constraints right now, maybe we've bitten off more than we can chew? It feels like that now, but I think we'll be glad we took the opportunity. These beams, for instance, were painted a dark, heavy brown. It's almost criminal. It took days of sanding, and created heaps of dust throughout the house. Obviously, it would not be very practical to put it off till the walls were painted and the furniture moved in.

The beams are just an example. We're trying to do as much of the work ourselves to make these renovations financially possible, and everyone helps out according to their ability. Today I applied wood bleach to some spots on the old wood floors which Jon has sanded down, and I even used the hand sander to touch up some areas. When I started sanding it felt like the sander had a mind of its own, so Jon told me I needed to "man handle it". Ok. The boys hauled out lumber and the upstairs carpet, and the kids and I all pulled out hundreds and hundreds of staples in the subfloor. I man-handled those pliers till my blisters burst and my skin began to tear.

Yep, the simple fact is that I do not have man hands.

But I do enjoy the work. There have been times in my life (mainly during pregnancy) when I couldn't do the normal things I'm responsible for. When my ability to work is taken away, I quickly realize how good work is. A sense of productivity is important and the ability to work is a gift.

So anyway, we have a couple more weeks to go before we actually move. In the mean time, we've got double or triple amount of work compared to the normal full load. My mornings are spent schooling and cleaning and cooking, early afternoons are lessons and errands, and the rest of the day is usually spent working at the new house. I need to start packing up, too, as I've only done four boxes...

Sleepiness has returned, and I'm going to regret not sleeping while I can. Good night.


~Katherine

Humble Owners

Because the wait has been long, because we never believed it was a personal right, and because doors have so often closed before, the fact that we are now home owners seems rather unreal. We are thankful.

The wait has been long; for years timing was wrong and stability elusive. But when the timing was finally right, it quickly became apparent that we are atypical in our needs. Most floor plans in our budget didn't seem to suit our family, and we were unwilling to drastically alter our long term desires for ministry and family. We considered moving again and renting a more suitable home indefinitely, and figured that by the end of summer we would need to move forward with that plan.

But the Lord granted our desires and gave us our place to call home for this short time on earth. A place to use, I pray, for His glory and to further His Kingdom. I pray that His Spirit would fill our home, that He would bless us with peace and love, and enable us to extend that love to others.

For a few brief moments, after the keys were handed to us and handshakes exchanged with the agent, Jon and I stood in the empty house together, looked around and then back at each other. The kids were excitedly running around, discovering, shouting with glee. "Well," he said, in a sort of questioning tone. "Can you believe it?" I responded.

Jon is providing more than a house for me. I love that man for the way he loves me. 

And it's definitely not the right house for most people. It's not typical, which I love; it needs work, which I actually prefer. It even has some elements that I dislike, but are exchanged for features and possibilities which entirely thrill me. It has a nonsensical floor plan, two quirky entryways (but no real main entrance), and hardly any curb appeal. On the other hand, it has an ocean view, a pool, and, most importantly, the right space for our needs and lifestyle desires. We can look past the peach tile and blue carpet and see tons of potential. There will be lots of projects to work at together in the next few years.

As the sun set that first night over our flowers...

My kids are thrilled they have trees to climb, and I am eager to discover what is currently growing in our yard and to incorporate more blooming plants and fruit trees.

Michael was the first to take a plunge...

I promise Olivia was happy, too. She and Jacob were the next in line to succumb to the flu I had last week. We are still not entirely recovered!

Our ocean view at sunset. I will never tire of watching the sun descend below that blue line along the horizon...

Our moments of standing around in disbelief were short lived. We move quickly 'round here. The next morning I had about five minutes to take a few "before" shots, and the tearing down began. We ripped out carpet, pulled down all vertical and horizontal blinds, draperies, weird wooden pegs, and removed as much of the unsightly elements we could possibly do away with for now. Michael rather enjoys working with a drill, and Andrew is eager to clean up with a broom or the shop vac.

The second time we had visited the house, we discovered original hardwood floors beneath the carpet in the living room and two adjacent bedrooms. Jon has begun sanding those down.

I go to bed at night thinking of paint colors, of whites and creams and grays. I know what I don't like, but I'm rather insecure when it comes to making a decision. Each day Olivia and I add new samples to the wall, and marvel at the fact that shades and colors looks so drastically different in one room compared to the next. Are any of you designers out there? Want to help?!

My boys have made friends with the boys next door. My boys were given Lego magazines and tiny weapons-- a very nice housewarming gift in their opinions. It seems that a very large family lives on the other side of that fence. I think there are six boys, and at least one or two little girls. I guess the rest of our neighbors are used to hearing kid noises!

We have much to do in the next few weeks. So much. But my heart overflows with gratitude-- to God, to my husband, and to those who have prayed on our behalf. Thank you.

~Katherine

May Days, boys, and more

May. Such a soft sounding name for a month.

I love May here in southern California. We have no gnats, no swarms of black flies.

It's a nice in-between-time: The mundane of academics is letting up, and the busyness of summer hasn't begun. For us school is nearly complete and there's lots of time for extras like field trips, sports, and science experiments. We're wrapping up course work for the year, completing the last few pages of review, or starting next year's work because the law requires a just a few more weeks. We'll go to the zoo, we'll visit museums, and maybe catch bullfrogs at the lake and count that as an educational experience. And we'll listen to audiobooks in the car because that counts as school too, you know.

The kids are all playing soccer this month with their PE class, all favoring that over volleyball and track from the previous months. Olivia has been riding horses again, and her lesson time provides the boys with regular tree climbing/bug catching/jumping off play structure time. We started swim lessons last night, and we're signed up to run a road race later this month. We're not usually involved in so many sports at one time, but for a month like May it's so much fun.

Jon snapped this one before our run one evening...

Of course we still have guitar lessons and tutoring to round things off. We've worked hard all year, catching up from lost time during our move and transition, and pushing ahead. I can't say I mind May at all.

As I wonder what the summer will be like, I hope for another move. Well, no. Moving itself is detestable to me, but we need to get out of this house. We've been actively looking, the market is slow, and my expectations have changed drastically. Ha! We've been looking at some real eye-sores lately. We are leaning towards older homes that have more land and better use of space in comparison to newer homes, and since the price of a dump-y house is lower we could go in and re-do the bathrooms and kitchen, floors and trim,  etc.

Overall, I can see how the Lord has changed what I am looking for in a house. It seems that I've desired our own home for so long: A place where we could settle, decorate, and fill with stories and memories. I've envisioned such a place many times... pretty and just right. Then reality comes. Such a house-- pretty and just right-- cannot be found in our budget!

But I'm OK with that. The years of waiting for the right time to buy has allowed different desires to take root in my heart. Honestly it would still be nice to find pretty and just right, but I don't want a house to be my focus anymore. I want a functional home that can be used for the glory of God, a place where people are more important than things, and where the love of God reigns. Given a choice between pretty and just right vs. purposeful, I choose the latter. It's not that you can't have both, but I think a choice of priority must be made.

~~
Boys. Here are some recents of Jacob. Do you know I kinda cried a little after his ultrasound, when I found out I was having a third boy? I'm sad to admit it! But by then I knew enough about boys to make me fear having a third. Michael, who was merely three, would come to me rubbing "lotion" all over his hands and arms. This so called lotion was smashed snail slime, and he sincerely thought he was doing a good thing in moisturizing himself for me. Do you know that stuff stinks up close? Do you know it doesn't easily wash off with soap and water? Oh, and did you know that snail slime stings like mad when it gets smeared in eyes?!

Anyway, just an example of boy-ness. There's lots of it going on around here all the time, but now I know how cute it can be as well. Ever wake up to a handsomely tanned 5 year old puckering up for a kiss, and dressed only in undies and his father's aviator glasses? It's a nice way to start the day!

Andrew has an obsession with paper airplanes. We've got books on paper airplanes, we've watched youtube videos on making the best variations, and he has a drawerful of his favorites. I've had to limit the amount of printer paper he uses, but all extra sheets of paper that come through our door or into our mailbox get converted into a sleek gliding flyer.

He'll try anything, always hoping for an improvement. Here he taped together several sheets, only to learn that the paper was too thin. He likes to make miniature planes with square bits of notepad paper. Some of them look like rockets, others look like beetles. I should take some pictures of those, too!

And finally,

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to write me a note of encouragement following my last post, either here on my blog or by email. I am touched by all your kind words, and humbled that the Lord would use me in some small way to encourage others. Thank you.


~Katherine

Field Trip

We love days when we ditch the text books and head out on a field trip. I've been wanting to take everyone to the USS Midway for a while, but since Jon wanted to come too, finding wide open day that coordinated with his schedule also took a while.

It was amazing, and though I am not American, I felt a sense of pride and gratefulness.

I took few indoor pictures because of space and lighting. The planes were cool, yes, but I was really impressed with the small city this aircraft carrier contained. The living quarters, conference rooms, kitchens, and technical rooms of all sorts... every space used up brilliantly, yet completely maze-like to me.

Michael listened to the self-guided audio tour, and informed me of all the neat stuff he learned. Andrew and I liked the bombs and artillery.

They didn't know I was taking a picture, but I liked how they happened to be evenly spaced. I wonder what they were each thinking about as they looked out...


~
On our way home we stopped at an architectural salvage store that Jon found and figured I would like. Wow! I dream of redoing houses all the time, and I just love pieces like these! The whole place was so visually interesting. I just might need to go back when there's more time-- and a house to fix!

Yes, please!

And now, dinner must be made...


~Katherine