...with a husband and 5 sons, I am truly outnumbered....stories and thoughts on life from a mom in a houseful of little men!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Bawling--Sobs of JOY!

Oh my goodness...you all have GOT to click on this site and watch this (October 20) video of our dear friends meeting their precious, new baby daughter in Seoul! We have been knit together with this family in prayer for their long-awaited baby girl for years. I mean seriously...it has been years in process and our amazing God is bringing it to fruitition. Grab some kleenex, turn up the volume and check this out: Meeting Molly Howell And then, please join in praying for this incredible family.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

A Great Reason to Love 3-Year-Olds!

Their blatant honesty.

Upon the advice of my hairdresser, I bought myself a set of hot rollers. Haven't tried the things since about 20 years ago, but thought I'd give it a shot. Sherry knows what she's talking about, right? Yesterday morning I put 'em to work. As I sat all hot-rollered on the couch during my morning Bible study/quiet time, I heard the little padded footsteps that I know and love so well, coming up the stairs. Spunky started chattering away about something as he made his way up the stairs--his way of diverting attention from the fact that he really isn't supposed to be out of bed yet. I sat with a smile...just wondering about the effect my get-up would have on him and what delightful comment he'd have to share. I was not left disappointed. Upon seeing his mommy, he stopped in mid-sentence, gaping at me. "OH MY MOMMY! WHAT is THAT thing?! Mommy! You is lookin' like a SCARECROW!" So, it is only right that I end this post with a picture of the (very scary scarecrow), taken by my 8-year-old (who by the way had plenty to say about my state..as did my 5-year-old.)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

From My Heart

This one's very tender on my heart. So tender, in fact, I've let it sit for about six weeks before deciding it was important to share it. God designs families, and He does it perfectly. He knows exactly who we need and who needs us. Boy, girl, conceived or adopted....He brings us all together in perfection. With each of our babies, we have inwardly acknowledged and embraced this, and eagerly anticipated exactly "who" He was adding! With each of our babies, we have also developed dreams and possibilities of "who" the new little person was and what they would be like. Baby number four has been no different. So when the much-anticipated ultrasound day arrived (we never have waited until the birth day to "find out" boy or girl or to choose names....we've always had the possible names ironed-out and we've lovingly called our little ones by name from the ultrasound date on...) we grabbed hold of the dream that really was, and simultaneously let go of the dream of the other possibility. At the pinnacle of our joy we shared with anyone who asked (and many who didn't ask) about the ultrasound--"Yes, praise the Lord our baby is healthy and well! And....he is a boy and his name is _________!" Well, I was not prepared at all for some of the reactions this time. We were met with some hurtful and down-right rude reactions...such as--deep, heavy sighs....hands covering faces....mutterings of "I'm so sorry--will you try again?" (What do you mean--"try again"? For what?...because there are no disappointments here.) These reactions hurt. These reactions made me cry. How could anyone be sad over such joyous news? I am the mother of four, perfectly special, hand-knit gifts from the Lord. They happen to be all boys. Actually, they don't "happen to be"...they are each and every one a unique gift from God. No accidents here. He created them for us and created them perfectly--knowing exactly how He wanted to build this family He's so graciously given us. Feeling very sad and teary those first couple of days post-ultrasound because of these reactions, in addition to pouring my heart out to God I also did something I never do--e-mailed a complete stranger. Rachel Balducci is a newspaper columnist and mother of five sons. I love her stories and insights...many are all so familiar to me. I needed so badly to hear from someone who may have walked a similar experience. This precious woman e-mailed back to me words of grace and love. Yes, she had been in my shoes. Yes, it hurt. Truly she was God's mouth-piece to me during a rough time. She also included part of my e-mail in her blog, Testosterhome. The discussion on yours truly is posted on September 1, 2008. There are several comments on that post--some funny, some poignant, others...well...annoying. It is a good discussion. One of the comments stands out to me the most:
Blogger Rebecca said...
I try SO HARD to remember that "congratulations" is the only appropriate response to news of a new baby -- boy or girl.
Well said. Let's remember to rejoice over God's masterpieces.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Fourteen Years of Grace



September 23, 2008

First Snow!



The first snowfall is always fun...no matter when we get it. We've been watching the snow come steadily down the mountains the past few weeks, and knew it could meet us down here any day. The day was yesterday. It started out raining, then turned to sleet, then snow. The first picture here is from yesterday...the second from today--we were surprised it stayed cold enough not to melt. Well, we're sort of surprised. I guess more is in the forecast. A couple years ago, we had our first fall on October 10, and it stuck the entire winter. This could be it, folks.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Lessons on Women

So last night at supper, Eaglet asked why the Titanic is referred to as "her" and "she". I explained that, traditionally, ships are referred to as women and named womens' names. so Bobcat pipes in--in his normal, revelatory, booming voice--"Oh! So we can call women "Titanic"?!" Uh....no. But we got a GREAT laugh!