Day 3 of the 8 Weeks

It's so hard not to talk to B when he is sitting on the couch quietly and I am puttering around lonely-like, with a hundred thoughts in my head. I catch myself when I'm just getting started talking- which is too late- and lamely trail away with, "I'm sorry. I'll stop talking to you." Sometimes he nods.

Then, when I'm finally engrossed in my Bible study he interrupts me with this:

"I love typing the word AVERAGE. It's so nice; you can type it with one hand."

That pretty much sums up our conversation for the night.

On Bedtimes...

“Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they’re grown.”

-Finding Neverland

This chokes me up and makes me want to run upstairs to kiss everyone and wake them up just to be with them some more today.

Oh My Goodness!

T, 21 months.

This just makes B and me laugh every time we look at it.

E.E. on 8 Weeks

As it would be, I finished posting about the 8 weeks of studying we are in only to find that I had an Elizabeth Elliot devotional waiting for me in my email. . . on exactly the same thing. She says it so much better! Here are her words:

"Obedience, humility, cheerfulness ("Do all you have to do without complaint or wrangling") are rare in a warped and crooked world--nearly nonexistent, in fact, where each lives for his own ends. If a marriage counselor were to ask each partner, "What are your goals?" and the answer were "How can I best serve my husband or wife? What can I do to further his or her goals?" the counseling period would be over, the bill low. Any two people, any community of Christians who set themselves to look only to the other's interest would be a rare and radiant thing, shining, as Paul said, "like stars in a dark world" (Phil 2:15 NEB)."

THE 8 Weeks

We are officially 8 weeks away from the VA bar exam. . . and I want to let you in on a little plan I have.

My plan is to purposely bless my husband for 8 weeks. For 6 of these weeks the kids and I won't even be here, so I really only have TWO WEEKS to most effectively carry out this plan. I guess it's not a secret, because he'll probably read this (if he has time!), and I guess if ya'll know this is my intent I feel even more responsible. . . which is a good thing.

I am responsible. B needs to devote his time to studying. After three years of law school, this is the BIG DEAL. His professors are recommending that he study 10-12 hours a day, every day, until the bar. (They did say that 4-5 hours on Sunday was allowable!) Knowing this, I can really only choose one of two things.

1) I can bemoan these 8 weeks. I can complain. I can sigh. I can grudgingly do the work myself. I can subtly let my husband know how hard this is on all the rest of us.

2) I can be his helpmate for 8 weeks. I can encourage him. I can adapt my schedule to best suit his. I can joyfully and cheerfully do all the work (it won't really be all, and it is only for a few weeks!). I can have dinner ready on time. I can pack his lunch. I can get up earlier so I am home from the gym earlier. I can let him know in numerous ways that I appreciate his serious efforts and that I am so very, very thankful for him and who he has become these last three years.

It is so obvious that I want to choose the second way of living these next few weeks. My mind chooses #2, but my flesh still selfishly cries out for self-gratification. Oh, how very much I need Jesus!

So, this is my experiment and my commitment. I commit here to do my utmost to bless my husband for the next two weeks. (It's how I want to live all the time, anyway... this is a great focus time!) The experiment is really on myself: will the Lord change me in these next weeks to be more of the woman that He desires? Will I succeed in blessing my husband? We shall see. . . in eight weeks or so.

For A Good Night's Rest

T(21 months) recommends lavender oil.

Once your sister has loosened the cap for you, take one bottle of pure lavender oil and dispense drops over the bed (parents' bed is good!), until the entire bottle is empty.

This should ensure several successive nights of peaceful slumber.

Strawberry Delight

May is the month for strawberries in VA!

Last year we combined strawberry picking with our Memorial Day outing to Bedford for the service at the D-Day Memorial. This year I found out about another farm and we opted to take a Friday morning trip- leaving a long weekend to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

These photos are from Joe Motley's farm. We were well pleased with the size and condition of the berries. My helpers were even better than last year (not so many green and white berries this year!). We started with T on my back, which worked well, and when he was ready to stroll around we already had several full pails so B was free to supervise. We picked 27 pounds of sweet, red berries and enjoyed a few in the field, too.

Can I Choose My Child's Healthcare?

I'm not one to write political blogs (my husband is vastly better suited to that), and I really have other things to attend to (though everyone is resting now). However, this link B just sent me is positively disturbing to us as parents. . .

Parents who would seek alternative treatments if our children had cancer. Parents who believe that the Lord made our bodies to heal themselves, that He gave food for sustainence and healing, that He provided plants and herbs and other means of promoting wellness.

Parents who must claim religious exemption so that our children won't be taken away from us if the state deems they did not advance their education sufficiently this year. Parents who believe that our children are better educated classically, at home, than by the state.

Parents who question vaccinations.

Parents who support breastfeeding, eating locally, buying and selling and growing locally. Parents who detest greed and fraud of manufactureres, industry, and marketing.

Parents who believe that keeping things simple is not very easy, but is still worthwhile.

Parents who pine for our children's salvation and desire their affections to be set on Christ above all else.

Parents who love their children fiercely. Passionately. Unashamedly.

Imperfect parents, yes. But is our government better qualified to care for our children?

Parting Thoughts On "In Defense of Food"

Wow. This was a great book. (Yes, it took me a long time to read it. I do have four children and not much discretionary time to read!) I would love to reprint so many good nuggets of information here for you to digest. (I'm so funny today.) BUT... it's a book, so you can read it yourself. I highly recommend it. And I was happy to see that Michael Pollan mentioned Joel Salatin at the end of the book. (I linked these two names in a previous post when I heard Mr. Salatin speak at Liberty.)

Overall, what I loved best was Mr. Pollan's defense of food as food; stripping away the nutritionism and exposing the way we look at foods (high fat, low fat, low calorie, protein, starch, etc.). Good food is just FOOD. This is so simple we miss it. It is also why so many traditional diets work so well, despite the fact that they don't follow the rules that nutritionists tell us to follow. I'm fascinated by looking at traditional diets and recognizing that God has always provided for His people. He provided different things for different people, but He sustained them well. (Eskimos eat whale and are healthy; Japanese eat sushi and are healthy; Greeks eat goat cheeses and saturated fats and are healthy...) This is linked with Weston Price's findings.

I also enjoyed Mr. Pollan's discussion of industrialization of food. Exposing what has happened to our food sources, to our grocers and growers and processors is intensely helpful to me in shaping my views of food.

The book included a call to buy locally, to know where your food comes, to grow your own foods, to cook and to eat as a family. This is what our family has embraced.

I hear so many people lamenting that it is "so expensive" to eat healthfully. I'm not very sympathetic, for while I agree that it does cost money to eat well and that it may, in some instances, seem more expensive than choosing the cheaper, processed, on-sale food items. . . in the long run, eating healthfully is vastly less expensive. On this, Mr. Pollan states: "Is it just coincidence that as the portion of our income spent on food has declined, spending on health care has soared? In 1960 Americans spent 17.5 percent of their income on food and 5.2 percent of national income on health care. Since then, those numbers have flipped: Spending on food has fallen to 9.9 percent, while spending on health care has climbed to 16 percent of national income. I have to think that by spending a little more on healthier food we could reduce the amount we have to spend on healthcare." (p 187-188)

Mr. Pollan in his final chapter, states: "To reclaim this much control over one's food, to take it back from industry and science, is no small thing; indeed, in our time cooking from scratch and growing any of your own food qualify as subversive acts" (p. 200).

I find myself so subversive these days.

Biceps

I was dismayed to see my biceps in the graduation pictures! "Surely," I said to B, "my arms don't really look that BIG, do they?" (BIG is vastly different than strong and shapely!)

He gently reminded me of a conversation we had several weeks ago, wherein he asked the innocuous question: "Have you been lifting heavy weights?"

I have been going to the YMCA about three times a week since January. Two of the early morning classes I enjoy involve strength-training. I've always loved strength-training. Strong muscles feel so good! And I know myself enough to know that I don't have to use heavy weights to accomplish toning; just consistency. I've been noticing the effects of my gym visits, too: I feel stronger, my triceps have tightened back up, my legs feel firmer... but I hadn't noticed these BICEPS.

In retrospect I hear my husband loud and clear. I need to back off a bit. The big arm look is not for me.

More Photos From Graduation/ Mother's Day Weekend

A Story of Mercy... and a Pickle.

God is so gracious with us. I'm compelled to share this story that touched a chord in me.

My R (5) has a sensitive heart. He is sensitive to others and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We are so glad! Over and over again, we have seen him come to tears as he recognizes his own sin. It happened again this week.

B had bid farewell to a fellow law student and that man gave us the contents of his fridge (and his grill!). B and the boys were very excited to receive pickles and mustard and other things... but they were especially excited about the pickles.

After enjoying crispy Claussens together, B asked the boys to come outside and help him unload the van. Sometime during that job, B sent R back inside to unlock the back door for him. B waited and waited, but the door remained locked. Finally, he sent O (7) to check on R and unlock the door. O did... and reported that R was in the kitchen eating a pickle.

When B confronted R with his disobedience, R tearfully explained, "I was TEMPTED by those pickles!"

Consequences would follow, B assured him. And they did. As B took R upstairs, R became more and more upset. His crying caused him to gag. Little by little, he threw up the entire pickle.

As I heard about this entire episode later, it brought me to tears. Throwing up a pickle didn't hurt R. B didn't hurt R. But God, in His mercy, blessed my boy. It was mercy that caused R to see his sin and to be cleansed of it. It was mercy that he was loved enough to be found out. It was mercy that made it plain to our boy that disobedience turns out poorly.

I am so thankful for R's tender heart. I am so thankful for a merciful Father who does not give us what we deserve, but gives us what we could never earn. He can even redeem pickle temptations.

Morning Muffins

Here is a new muffin recipe we tried this morning. I'm not so good at taking good photos, but wanted you to have a visual aid.

We make muffins once or twice a week. Leftovers are stored in the fridge, or individually frozen so they can be grabbed quickly when we are running out. These are great for picnics and sack lunches, too. Make sure to drink water with these! Flax seeds need water for you to receive the omega 3s!

Morning Muffins


1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (if you aren't grinding your own, you may want to use 1/2 cup all purpose flour)
1 cup regular oats (I grind mine into fine flour)
1/2 cup sweetener (I prefer honey)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup plain yogurt (we use kefir)
1 cup mashed banana (about 2)
1 egg

1 cup chopped, pitted dates (I have boys who prefer raisins!)
1/2 cup chopped, dried pineapple
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 Tbl. finely ground flaxseed (2 Tbl. before grinding)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 18 muffins cups with liners or finely sprayed with oil.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking well. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
3. Mix wet ingredients and pour into the dry ingredients, stirring just until moist.
4. Gently fold in nuts and fruit. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle with flax.
5. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until done. Remove immediately from pans and cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars

At the request of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, here is the recipe I use with my leftover oatmeal. Because we eat so much oatmeal through the winter, I occasionally have a bit left over. I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and then use it to make these moist bars. I tend to think they are too crumbly... but they are pretty tasty. I found this recipe online, but have adapted it just slightly.

Peanut Butter Bars with Leftover Oatmeal

2 cups leftover oatmeal, cold and slimy is fine
1/2 cup butter, softened (coconut oil is also yum)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sweetener- I use honey (depending on your taste and what your oatmeal originally had!)
1 egg
1 cup whole grain flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup peanut butter (we like this better doubled)
1 tsp. vanilla
chocolate chips (what can I say?)

Cream butter, sweetener and egg in a bowl. Add oats and other ingredients; mix well. If the batter is too dry or thick, I often add just a few tablespoons of rice milk. Spread into greased 9×13″ baking pan. Bake at 350′ for 10-15 minutes, or until done. (I usually double this recipe and my jelly roll pan takes at least 30 minutes to cook.) Cool on wire rack; cut into bars. Yield 18 (small) servings.

He Did It!

Here is my husband, second from the right, in his graduation regalia (or "costume" as Livia called it!). We had a whirlwind celebration weekend with out-of-town guests in attendance. Graduation was Saturday. It turned out to be a perfectly beautiful day and our family watched B from the grassy knoll of the stadium. Following the main ceremony (Liberty had about 6000 graduates), we attended the law school ceremony, where B was recognized as finishing Magna Cum Laude. In this photo he stands with three of his closest friends.

It has been three grueling years, but he did it. We are so very proud of the time and the effort that B exerted to do so well. (We weren't always glad he spent such time and effort, but we tried to remain cheerful!) Not only has he gained experience and knowledge, but the Lord has challenged and changed him as a man, provider, and leader over these past three years. Our family is in a better place today because of this journey. For a very brief moment we pause, and celebrate THUS FAR.

Called to Pray

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer. This year I sense special urgency to pray, specifically for our country and our leaders.

Take, for instance, our president. He removes his shoes when entering a Muslim mosque, but is choosing not to participate in the National Day of prayer. You can read more.

I am telling you, there is serious evil at work. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities. This is a call to prayer.

Outside Gifts

I love being outside. That, in itself, is a gift.

It has been so beautiful here lately, my favorite weather, I think. It is weather for working outside, for playing in the yard and taking long walks. On one of our walks this week we were pleased to visit with a neighbor we don't usually see. She had a stump removed from her backyard that day and offered us any mulch that we would like to come and haul away. What a gift! I've wanted to mulch around the front of our house since we moved in! It is another one of those unnecessary expenses that fell off the priority list during law school. Another generous neighbor loaned us her wheelbarrow. The kids and I made numerous trips back and forth to the backyard mulch pile. Owen would push the empty wheelbarrow while I pushed T in the stroller, Liv walked, and R rode his bike. We would fill up and then I would push the full barrow home while Owen pushed T. It was hard work! I was so impressed with O's (age 7) enterprising spirit and unflagging effort. Another gift! Over and over again, I am praising the Lord for these gifts He pours out on our family.

My children are a gift. I love this picture because it captures one moment... the three younger children are preparing to run to me. It's precious to me because T is just starting to edge his way into all the escapades of the others. He prepared for the race and ran with everyone else, nevermind that he is only ONE and was left in the dust. He loved it. And then he put his fingers in his mouth, his other hand down his shirt collar, and quietly took his place to race again.