Groovy

 

Peace Out!

For more Wordless Wednesday go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Culture

My brother and sister-in-law have returned from their 6 month trip mission trip to Southeast Asia. On Thursday we got together and made an authentic meal. It was one they enjoyed eating when they were guests of some of the nationals there. We all dressed in ethnic clothing, ate a very ethnic meal and had a wonderful time learning about a different culture!

This is my sister-in-law, whom I love just like one of my sisters! She gave me this Shalwar Comise with a beautiful Orna (scarf) to keep! It is absolutely beautiful, unbelievably comfortable and it makes me feel so feminine!

Our Meal...

Chick Pea Salad

Biryani (pronounced Beery-ani)...this is mixture of stir fried onions, tomatoes, potatoes, chicken and spices mixed with Basmati rice and a boiled egg. It sounds crazy, but it was pretty good! It is the sort of meal the people of this country would make for company. Their everyday food is much more basic, consisting of Dahl (a lentil mixture), rice and vegetables.

The fun part was that we couldn't use any utensils! Here's my brother demonstrating the proper technique!

And here I am trying out my hand at it!

A few of the crew tried the strange looking concoction, but decided to go with the old stand by...

To top it all off we had a wonderful rice pudding...

which I forgot to take a picture of until I had almost devoured it! We Americanized it a bit with a dollop of whipped topping, M-M-M-M good!

This has been amazing learning experience for my brother and his wife. We have been blessed to be able to also share in the learning as they share their experiences and knowledge with us, of a totally different culture from ours!

One of Summer's Perks

 

Even though we have been extremely busy with gardening, berry picking and jelly making, we still find time to enjoy a fun filled afternoon at a local lake with our family.

Here is my adorable nephew just back from a 6 month mission trip. How I missed this little guy!  He was such a phenomenon in the country where his parents were working that the people there wanted to touch him all the time.  So, for now he prefers not to be touched or cuddled too much.  I'm trying to wait patiently, because I just want to swoop him up into my arms for a humongous hug!

 

My crew had a great time splashing around in the water. Lauren got overly excited a couple of times and went under, but except for a hilariously shocked look on her face and a couple of tears, she recovered nicely!

This is my youngest sister, Katie with my other nephew (who is the brother of the cutie above).  I kept trying to get pudge to look at me (the baby, not you Kate!), but every time I took the picture he looked away. In this one even Katie looked away. I love how it turned out!  My sis is so beautiful! And baby boy is just adorable!

There's nothing like a summer picnic and a leisurely afternoon spent splashing, giggling and getting soaking wet!

Trying To Touch God

 

One day when my oldest son was 3 years old I walked into the dining room to find him standing in the middle of the table.  He was reaching up high, stretched to his full capability.  When I asked him what he was doing he responded, "I'm trying to touch God!"

How precious a child's faith is.  The lessons we can learn from them abound if we only take the time to listen and apply their simple words and faith to our lives.

These simple words, I'm trying to touch God, speak of the yearning of my heart.  Can't you just picture it!  I am standing on my tip toes reaching, stretching, desiring to get closer to God with a childlike faith.

...Jesus said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.  Mark 10:14-16

 

I'm coming Lord!

One Very Big Reason...

 

WHY...

I have never had a manicure

Or a pedicure!

Yeah! I love playing in the dirt!  I have tried to wear gloves, but it just doesn't work for me.  And when your out in the garden in flip flops the dirt gets in between your feet and sandals anyway so you just mine as well go barefoot!  That's what summer is for anyway isn't it?!

And plus I know I will get to enjoy this

 

 

 

 

 

and this

 

Green beans and Cucumbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

And what about all of these

To me it is a fair trade to dirty hands and feet (plus a little Comet works wonders on all that dirt!).

A Challenged Heart

I wearily sat down on the edge of my bed.  Every muscle in my back, legs and feet were protesting. I grumpily thought of all the laundry that still needed to done. I sighed heavily as I pondered on how the house had mysteriously gotten so cluttered when we had hardly spent any time at home over the weekend.  I struck up a running commentary in my head on the injustices of doing my household duties while everyone else lounged in front of the television.

Then my eyes drifted over to my nightstand and caught these words printed on a card.

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits-  Psalm 103:1-2

Oops! I had been doing everything but that for the last hour.  I had let my tiredness and selfishness take control.  Instead of complaining, I should have been praising. Praising God for my happy, healthy children. Praising Him for my loving husband (even though he had parked his caboose in front of the T.V.!). Praising the Lord for my home, for the food he provides to fill our tummies, and for the clothes we have to wear. Praising Him for our freedom to worship in this country. Praising the Lord that my husband still has a job. Praising Him for his love. Praising, praising, praising.

Let me tell you those two verses struck my heart. I realized I have prided my self in being a positive person, looking for the good in every situation. Last night I realized my positive attitude does a disappearing act when I am in the comfort of my own home.  All of a sudden, I start to gripe. I get frustrated with all that needs to be done and all that isn't getting done.  My outlook takes on a more pessimistic tone.  Instead of setting my heart to praising I find my self grumbling.  This is the exact opposite of what I want to teach my children.  Now I'm not saying that I walk through every second of my day grouchy.  I tend to feel the grumpiness coming on when I am tired, the children have been a handful, or when there is much to do and little time to accomplish it.  However, I am coming to see that these are the times I need to pour on the praise, look for the positives and fill my heart with thankfulness.  When the pressure is on my children are watching to see how I will respond.  Am I going to crumble or am I going to stand firm and fill our home with praise.  I want my children seeing and hearing me praising the Lord through the good and the bad.  So that when they face difficulties they will know exactly how to deal with them...

Head on,  with a heart and voice full of praise!

Issues

 

Lauren ran in to the room at full speed and announced in a loud voice, "I have to go potty!"

I looked at her, raised an eyebrow and said in a slightly exasperated tone, "Again!"

She stood there two stepping and I told her to go ahead that I would be right there.

She turned back to look at me and said in her toddler slurred voice, "Mom, do I have issues?"

Stunned I replied, "WHAT?"

"Do I have issues?", she asked.

I just started laughing.

 

I guess too many strawberries snuck from the patch yesterday created a few issues!

Mama Needs Help

 

1) Unload dishwasher, put dirty dishes piled in the sink and across the counter into dishwasher. 2) Pick up socks strung down the hall and throughout the house. 3) Seek out Lego's hiding in every nook and cranny. 4) Eradicate dust. 5) Wipe toothpaste off bathroom mirror and out of the sink~ again. 6) Start another load of laundry. 7) Fold the two loads of laundry heaped on living room floor. 8) Plan and prepare next meal. 9) Gather up two-year-olds toys and have arranged nicely at least for two minutes or so. 10) Vacuum floors which seem to be a magnet for every piece of fuzz, scrap of paper and food remnant.

Does your daily list look a little like mine? Does the housework seem never ending? Are your rushing around constantly picking up or cleaning? Or do you just feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start? Today I would like to give some practical advice on getting the whole family involved in helping mom in keeping an inviting, clean home.

When my boys were younger I struggled with a perfectionist complex. Everything had to be sparkling clean and just so. I spent my days quite efficiently picking up, cleaning and picking up some more. As the years went by, we began homeschooling and a couple babies joined our family, my ideal began to crumble and reality set in.

 

To read the rest of my most recent article visit At The Well

Awarded

 

Thank you Kristilea for this lovely award. Thank you for thinking of me. I truly appreciate it!

 

Since this award is all about honesty... here goes, my sincerely honest self...

~I'm addicted to coffee. It gets me up and going in the mornings. Truthfully, it gives me the oomph I need to get out of bed. Sad, but true!

~I am a homebody. I am happiest when I am at home. I don't like to get out and about a whole lot. 

~Big cities intimidate me! I like to visit and am in awe when I am there.  It is a big adventure! Yet, somehow I feel out of place.  I am so happy to get home to my quiet, country home.

~I love to feed the birds. So much so, that I raise meal worms to give them and I make my own suet!

~I am shy.  I struggle in social situations, where I don't know people.  And sometimes, I even struggle when I do know people. My brain seems to freeze and I can't even begin to think of anything to say. Which compounds the problem and I just get more embarrassed.  I would much rather be at home curled up with a good book or reading blogs! I guess that's one of the things that attracted me to my husband. He can talk to anyone and make them feel at ease.

~I love teaching. I am so glad I have the opportunity to teach my children at home, most days! (I'm supposed to be honest, remember!)  And maybe, when they are grown, I will get to teach in a classroom again.

I pass this award on to...

Marisa@ Small Moments Captured

Wilma@ Little Toes and Cheerios

Amy@ The Kings Table

Dawn@ P.S. He Loves You

Martha@ Fly Away Birdie