Thursday, May 27, 2010

I'm a Rich Royalty

Growing up, my Pastor used to do something that made a real impression on me.

He would find himself in a "this is as good as it gets" moment, like coming home after a long day of work to a house full of kids (and stowaways..) who loved on him as soon as he came through the door. He would wrap his arm around them and pronounce with a broad smile,

"I'm a rich man!"

and usually in unison they would all reply,
"Why didn't you tell us???"

I loved those times and thought to myself what it would be like to have those "rich" moments myself when I had children of my own................



Isaac-the-hysick-the-high-sticky-stysick


Abby-babs


Caleb


Nase


Anna (or as I called her in this dress, "The human popsicle" :-)

Lanie-Girl




........Now I know.




Monday, May 24, 2010

Fevers and not so few words....

We have had a string of weird fevers sweeping our abode here on Haywood. None of the other "unmentionables" come along with it. Just a high fever. All was somewhat normal until it hit the 5th of the Mohican's.

Anna IS a talker.

For sure.

If you remember I have noted on here that all too often we were asked, "Is she four or five?" And with a grimace we would reply, "Um.....nnnnoooo she's TWO."

Well now she's three and her vocab is a growin' like her hair these days and having a fever to boot just about made her the chattiest little thing you ever laid eyes (or ears) on.

And was.it.ever.cute.

I sat with her in the blue chair of all wisdom and comfort, (Smile) and knitted and held her, and knitted and listened, and knitted and kissed her scorching forehead and so on and so forth. And while I did all these things, I told myself that this was so a "blogable moment" and when I had her interested in yet another Popsicle I decided to try to write down all of the questions she had just asked me or comments she made in a whopping 3 minutes time. Yes I mean 3 minutes!

Here goes:

My eyes hurt.
Why do we have blood?
I love Uncle Chris. (This is a story for another time!!)
I love cows, and birds.....and PIGS.
I love Alayna.
Do I ask a funny questions?
I love ALL my children.
When I sit down my culottes go up.
Do the Wilcox's know the baby name?
Do we have friends?
Are the Duggars and Wilcox's our friends?
I like my clothes.
What did I say?
Nathan said I was bad when I had my Princess pajamas on.
How come I don't have hand pockets in my culottes?
Can you pull my culottes down to cover my legs?
I love you.
I was gonna tell you that I love you.
What is a woodpecker?

And these were what I could remember and get on paper!


Now the cutest thing was that she would sniff her little button nose after about every other question or so. And just in case you were wondering these must have been rhetorical statements because I never had the time to answer them!! She just kept on a goin'!
Anna is just Anna. And we could just about love the stuffin' out of her some days. I love that you know how she feels about everything, whom she loves and how much she loves them.


Our smooth talker in action again...


Just love her.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Person of Promise

The story is told of 12 prominent businessmen from Minnesota who decided to pull their resources and head over to Rwanda for a two week trip in search of a "Person of Promise." This "Person" could be a Father a Mother a Daughter or Son, just someone who they felt could make a life for themselves given the right setting and the right education. At the end of their two weeks they had met several "some one's" who would fit their description and who had a desire to be something in life given the right turn of events.

Then something amazing happened. A man from the village they were in asked if they would go with him to check on a small group of people not heard from for a great while. They drove as far back into the wild as they could until they were hiking the rest of the way into the jungle interior. Heavy rain fell and as they approached the village it seemed like an almost waste of time and energy as they couldn't locate a single individual.

Finally a girl in her late teens met them and relayed to them that all of the adults in the village save a few elderly individuals had died from Aids, leaving only a large group of children and herself to care for them. These children had been scrounging the jungle in search of food to sustain themselves.

These twelve men without a word began to fix roofs and huts to the best of their ability in the pouring rain. One took off his coat and wrapped it around a small child with the other eleven following suit, until they had given every article of clothing they could save their underclothes. They made every effort to show these children that they would give them everything they could possibly give to help them.

And then in too short a time they were back in their jeep and gone, to fly back to the states the next morning.

They had found their "People of Promise."

It wasn't in the package they went out to find, but these children were full of promise and simply needed someone to care for them.

Now for a little transparency. Are you up for it?

Today is Saturday. We ate a good breakfast, listened to a kids radio program and I decided to stay home with my youngest while the rest of the fam went visiting.

Not so terrible, eh?

Today I just decided to stay home. I decided that the people Joel was going to visit were not my "People of Promise." Some of them on his bus route would not have even understood that I had come to visit, or can even fully acknowledge their care for Joel or I.

Interestingly enough today is pouring rain.

I am wondering if I exchanged places with one of those twelve men today if I would have the heart to do the same thing that they did, leaving me tired and wet and uncomfortable.

Today, this afternoon, If I don't even have the will to visit a few folks on our Handicap route, what makes me think that I would show the love of Christ to anyone and everyone God sends my way??

That is a shocking, terrible thought.

In fact what is worse is the fact that God may not be sending anyone here to Haywood, because He knows I will not care for them.

He knows I am too busy caring for myself.

I am looking for a "Person of Promise" who can make good on my investment and time in them.

He reminds me that I was once, poor, destitute, naked, and blind.

After all, I John 4:19 tells us that, "We love him, because he first loved us."

We couldn't even love Him unless He first loved us.

Do we love "them" because He first loved a dirty, rotten hopeless sinner like us?

And by "them" I mean everyone God sends our way.

We love to hear and share stories of people giving everything to help someone else, but are we even willing to give something???

Are you looking for a "Person of Promise" or are you promising to love on every single person God sends your way??




Hmmmmm....

Good thought.



If I do say so myself.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Life as we know it

Hello world.

Wow I have been away soo long I almost did not remember how to even sign in!

And most days I am without a computer at home during the day (which I LOVE) and most nights I am getting dinner on the table, getting it off the table, washing the table.....well you get the idea.

Come to think of it, my life kinda revolves around that table, doesn't it?

Anywho, It is late, the kiddos are sleeping, the husband is sleeping and I have a moment to check in.

How in the world are you? (That was for Tam)

I have thought about things to put on here, but tonight I am just gonna "shotgun" it and whatever tickles my fancy is gonna make it lickety-sizzle in this post.

On children:

My now recently turned 5 year old found a honest and truly Robin's egg outside and he, thinking it was one of the badly named Easter candies, "Robin eggs" decided to pop it in his mouth.

Hi-lari-ous.

Hilarious.

I dunno what was more side splitting to me, Him trying to eat it, or his slightly older brother understanding what happened and yelling to him that he "Killed a bird."

Yeah that was a day.

In other news my oldest and funniest told me, over dinner one night, that my food was so good he wouldn't be surprised if I was asked to "make the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven."

It has been said that a person can live three days on one good complement.

I think I can live all of eternity on that one. (wink wink)

Good times. Good kids.

On the home front:

We are having a blast with 6 chickens now. So when you think of it, I have 6 kids in the house and 6 out in the shed. Lest you think they were my idea they were not at all, but I will say that I whole heartily agree with anything that passes my "good idea" test. It is a simple two question exam:

1. Will it add to the humor of the family?
2. Will it be profitable to us?

Yes to both accounts, so enjoy them we will.

I have acquired a real enjoyment of knitting at present. Some have even sighted me in the blue chair with my thick glasses, knitting like a fiend with one eye on my needles and the other on my bird feeders right outside my window. And smiling like someone who has eaten brownies for breakfast and who has erased the word "laundry" from their vocab.

See I have a lazy eye and can do things like this.

Yes I have more "lazy" parts of my anatomy that will not take up any more space or mentioning here.

Life is more simplified lately. No t.v. No computer most days. Just a really old radio antenna and my singing.

Life is lovely come to think of it.

I keep hearing of facebook finds and friends and fiasco's and yes I do like to get on someone's for a while and look and see what this one and that one are doing, but then I am off like a hot potata and am sick of it like when you eat one too many Doritos.

Yeck.

So if you catch me on here, great, but if not, no worries. I am probably off on my new bike I got for Mother's Day riding up and down my neighborhood in my super long culottes and smiling 'cause I picked the bike with the largest seat in the whole store.

Seriously.

I am living, and loving and of course I am laughing.

And sometimes I am even wondering how you all are doin'.