Bits: Charmed

A wonderful woman and encourager from Liberty came to our house this week and prayed over it and us.  She filled us up with good or, rather, the Lord worked through her to do so.

And, I'll be honest.

The Lord has been working a lot lately--  on me, on my heart, on priorities in the middle of all that. 

I have been torn up in the best kind of hard ways-- over the state of the world, over what my children need to really learn, over the love and redemption I want for all people.  It's easier to tuck away these feelings sometimes, to pretend that I'll get to such things later.  Then, suddenly, truth hits me in ways that cannot be neatly boxed up and ignored.

Books like Billy Graham's Storm Warning or KP Yohannan's No Longer a Slumdog make me dig through my Bible or even throw one of the books down and say, "I can't do it! I can't read about these things!"

But, that doesn't keep them from existing.

So for today, as I turn such ponderings over in my heart and in my mind and as Joe and I talk about little and big changes to be made-- I know this; I have a charmed life. Even with my meager hardships, which sometimes have felt pretty tough over the years, I have a charmed life.  Almost a guilty amount of charmed, to be perfectly blunt, should I not believe I am to use it for good.

Today I get to cut up fresh foods for my family to eat for three solid meals, we have a strong roof over our heads, there are clean clothes and sanitary ways to keep us healthy, no one is forcing us to do unspeakable acts just because of where we were born or who we were born to. This list could go on and on and on...

I also know this; This small collection of memories is nothing if it does not glorify the Lord.  It is meant as a window into family history for us, for the clouded memory time will no doubt deliver.  It is also a way of saying thank you to Father God, for each little beautiful memory He sees fit for our family to have.  Each week I sit down to reflect and write my bits and it is a precious time for me. To everything there is a season and a purpose under Heaven.  I know things do not always stay the same, and I have always felt that these quickly passing days will one day be a great source of joy to have recorded.  They are not perfect; they are real.

I love them for that, patience testing and all.

So with every picture I take, with every story I tell, with every memory I try to etch in our hearts I hope to remember the people who do not have such opportunities.  I hope to make a difference to the ones of those people I am intended to help.  I hope to practice true religion and teach my girls that such religion is NOT about just us and our family.  In it are not a long list of rules or tyrannical demands; in it lies a tremendous amount of freedom and purpose.  Lord willing, they will come to know and I will better come to practice:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." ~James 1:27
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Just a few of this past week's blessed bits.


:: Getting to hang out with friends.  One of my days spent among five girlfriends, five and under.  Another morning spent taking cookies we baked for a walk with six girlfriends, seven and under, to the park.  

::Showing off dance skills.





:: Slowing down our busting the moves to hug on stuffed animals.
:: One moment we're dastardly pirates.  The next we're juggling baker chefs.  Talented.

The girls' favorite bedtime story these days is the idea of three grown up sisters, Princess Maddie and Astronaut Hope and Baker Chef Alysse-- all smart, beautiful, and kind and all ready for adventures of every sort.

 :: This girl, this hammy girl.  Ever the fashionista, ever the hilarious.
She makes up Proverbs like this one: "The girls are to brush their hair and jump up and down." ~Proverbs 16:16.  She stumps her older sis who, in an effort to get the bigger wooden heart to paint at craft time, tries to remind Maddie of middle sis's love for small things.  Maddie quickly retorts, "That's not always true.  I love God and He is really, really BIG!"  And she writes stories.  Oh, I so remember making those swiggly lines as first attempts at cursive.  I find her tummy down on her bed scribbling away and she says, "Quiet please. I'm writing a story."  After the pages are successfully filled she holds it up and announces, "This is a very important story! It's 'The Girl Who Loved Her Mommy'."  
Love you too, Maddie Girl. 

:: Though I lament age from time to time, I do think it's so fun as my girls ages start to even out a bit. This becomes especially apparent when I'm prepping things to do. It's rarely things for just the big girls now. The things come in threes.
   
 ::This scene should always make me hit my knees, that I have never had to see my babies go hungry. That we can light bunny candles and eat under a gentle breeze, at the direction of those same children.

 
Thank You, God.  Thank You, thank You, thank You. 

:: Ah well, I guess I'll lament a minute more.  How did we go from one of these to the other? Anyone?? 


 
  
::Daddy got a special day and, boy, does this Daddy deserve a special day.  We let him sleep in but then bumrushed him with, "WAKE UP... It's Faaaaaather's Day!  WAKE UP!"  Surely little girl picked and wrapped gifts, painted cards, and homemade breakfast is worth such an alarm clock?  We aimed for relaxing this Daddy's Day, for this Dada who works so hard.


One of Hope's gifts-- "The Adventures of Astronaut Joe."


Grateful to have charmed days, longing to do more, believing in a God who knows my heart and will show us the way.
~Katrina

Bits: Refreshing

The day before I got in the car with an iced coffee, a new CD, and five hours of road in front of me I had a last rendezvous with my typical girlfriends.  The same ones who tearfully bade me farewell with hugs and hearts.
 
A thoughtful friend rocked it out when keeping them on Friday and Super Dad seriously rocked it out all weekend.  They were bubbling over with stories when I got home! So very grateful.

We've been doing this Girls' Weekend thing for a while now, and I cannot tell you how thankful I also am that these women came to the little Bible Study we used to have in the "Blue Lobby" of my undergraduate dorm. It's so good to be with friends who knew you when you were young{er}, who have walked through everything from crisis of faith to crisis of boys, from births to weddings to first jobs to sickness and even death, plus more.  We've learned to let go of the petty and make friendships work through thick and thin. Used to be that after we arrived at our mountain retreat, we might dress up and go out.  Now we know that the most important thing is quality time.  So we stay in our pj's, sip coffee, talk, eat good food, watch girly movies, craft, laugh our hineys off, cry some, share devotions, eat more good food, hot tub, shower for as long as I'd like, and change into another pair of jammies after all.  The best.

We have a theme verse for this little gathering, and every time I say or read it I smile because it's true.

"A sweet friendship refreshes the soul." ~Proverbs 27:9

My forever friend Marcie and I were in charge of planning for this year.  And so my refreshing, hilarious, sweet weekend.  In just a few pics:

Gah, I love them!  So much so I will refrain from posting the outtakes, but I really should.  Just so you could laugh a fraction of how hard we did during these jumping photos.  For the record, my spontaneous herkie above captured brilliantly by my friend (since middle school!) Brooke, inspired this series of goodness.

Another warm coffee, my new CD favorites on repeat, a stop in Knoxville to see a new baby of another sweet friend, and five more hours in the opposite direction led me back home.  Hard to believe it was the first time in nearly five years I actually traveled alone, the first time I hadn't brought along my own little girlfriend-- in my belly or on my hip.  Sometimes both.



Hoping these bits of refreshed continue to rub off on me and those wee girlfriends of mine as I bottle up these memories along with some welcome home hugs.

And count down the days 'till next year.
 ~Katrina

Bits: Just Bits

Let's see, this past week in true and random bits fashion....

I got diagnosed with stage one Lymes disease, ironically enough after pulling a couple of ticks off the kids and worrying myself--what I thought was-- kinda silly over them.  It has not been fun, but I am so grateful to be on the mend.  And for prayer.  Really, really grateful for prayer. {Check you and your loved ones often!  This is supposed to be a *terrible* year for them as the winter was so mild.}

Said illness has made me ridiculously a touch cranky and emotional, so one night when the kids constructed giant forts instead of quickly picking out their bedtime books, I was actually not in the mood.  Until I got back in the mood and then was so glad for it all, especially when Joe broke out the guitar for praise and worship.   Really, really grateful for praise and worship.

I realized Hope particularly needed some predictability going on, after what... the traveling and house guests and sickness and bats.  We sat down for a good half hour, first making a countdown calendar to help the, "How many more daaaayyyyyssss until we see our cousins and go to the beach?!"  Then we made us a "Summer Schedule," providing just enough structure and attention to things we want to accomplish most days.  Working out mighty well so far.  A good routine mixed with flexible kids works for us.

Next up will be the "Summer Bucket List," another small but mighty charty chart.

We reclaimed an hour each day for rest time, usually up in my room doing quiet like things.  Fun and loud are good, especially when balanced by some quiet and rest.
   
"Mama, up with your pitchers!  Wet's wead!" says Alysse. 

Can it be?  This week Hope lost her first tooth!  Daddy was out of town and so we resorted to everyone's easy favorite-- breakfast for dinner.  Turned out to be a good choice because that cantaloupe was just the ticket.  Hilariously enough, the teeny tiny tooth went missing after dinner-- still a mystery to me because everyone was so jazzed up about the whole thing!   When she wondered to me out loud about whether or not the Tooth Fairy is real, I simply smiled really big and said, "Hey... let's just have some fun with pretending!"  It was good enough for her, so she gave up her waffling about the absurdity of a fairy who collects teeth and helped me pen a note explaining the toothless circumstances. 

It's going to take a while to get used to that bottom gap.  How can she be old enough for this?

Let's see, in other important little bits...

Polly Pockets are almost the new Little People around here.  I know; hold the press!  Little People have had the market on almost every other toy for years now but once introduced to these miniature {have you ever tried to find one of those lost shoes?} wonders, the girls think they're pretty awesome. Last week we were supposed to be in Nashville, but I was too sick to go.  We found some clearanced Pollies and the girls were up until almost midnight, together in the top bunk playing church and wedding and family and who knows what else.  It helped ease the pain of missed park dates and potlucks and slumber parties.  That really made me smile.

Since much of our adventuring was put on hold, how about some more of Alysse from Memorial Day?  Cutie patootie.  My other water babies were too busy splashing for many photo ops. 

We've been missing out on recording  HAM for some time now, I believe. {Click here for the original HAM post.} The girls were overheard having a discussion about getting married and Hope was telling Maddie how important it is to find a good man, one who will love you and take care of you.  Later in the van we asked about this conversation and the formerly right-on sister girl Hope pauses momentarily perplexed and says, "But what if I meet a guy and like his face? And his hair?"

Maddie and her headband we made, big by her request.  Some of her latest hamminess TBA.

Love them all.  To bits.
~Katrina