KY, VA, NC, among others (1)

~ Creation Museum

~ in the insect rooms at the Creation Museum

~ Rosemary in Virginia

~ setting up camp at Shenandoah National Park

~ Dark Hollow Falls hike

~ Rosemary helps mail postcards at Byrd Visitor Center

~ our friendly neighborhood black bear, 

who frequented our edge-of-the-campground site

(we avoided him, he avoided us!)

~ Blue Ridge Parkway

~ view from our hotel, Asheville, NC

Too busy soaking up the end of summer, too busy starting more homeschool, too busy working on the upstairs porch (to finish before the chaos of post-Labor Day begins), I wasn't going to sit down with pictures from our trip East. But we had a few minutes today, since I'm waiting to paint until after Jeff finishes trim, (I'm listening to the air compressor and nail gun right now), and decided this was do-able.  And that I wanted to do it.

We haven't been East in a long while, the girls never.  They added six new states and three new Junior Ranger badges, we visited three National Parks and whatever "National" the Blue Ridge Parkway is.  ("National Parkway" the internet tells me.)  I'm a list-maker, can you tell?  We found places we loved and will visit again and places we mark of the list as been-there-done-that.  So many beautiful views, short hikes, chilly nights, (impromptu stop at REI for a better sleeping bag for the girls, this has been the second major trip Greta's frozen at night), grouchy kids, good food, (not so good food), fairy house building, and lots of hilly winding roads where the speed limit is a joke ("Um, yeah, ain't no one going 45mph on this road!" we said more than once).  New-to-us Big Red Van now has 3,500 more miles, and we have a different car picture with "123,456" on the odometer.

Hopefully I'll get to the second half of the trip soon, because I'm planning on some quiet around these parts and the summer winds down and the school season picks up.

Thank you for your visit to our family vacation slide show!

all out of darkness we have light

"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
in the bleak midwinter, long ago."

Christina G. Rossetti

~

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."

Isaiah 11:1-2 nkjv

On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring
On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring

Chorus:
News of great joy news of great mirth
News of our merciful King's birth
When from our sin he set us free
All for to gain our liberty?

When sin departs before his grace
Then life and health come in its place
When in its place, angels and men with joy may sing
All for to see the new born King

All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night
Glory to God and peace to men
Now and forever more, Amen.

Sussex Carol
Attributed to Bishop Luke Waddinge

~ ~ We wish you a very happy Christmas!

in which we have a strange day of rest.

Sunday was quite odd, for us.

For the first time, in as long as I remember, we spent all Sunday at home (without anyone being sick).  The weather did it for us, for me I should say.  We were up and headed out, even with the winter storm warning, then the freezing rain started in earnest (with us only a couple miles from home, with 20 miles to go) and we turned back, got home, shrugged off our clothes, and kind of looked at each other, all dressed up with no where to go.  Now what?

I turned to my usual sick-Sunday protocol:  thanks to the internet we listened to a couple very nice sermons, Rev. Lucero in the morning, and in the afternoon a sermon from our own Rev. Sawtelle when we missed a PM service due to weather a few weeks ago.  (I do want to be very clear that we certainly weren't pretending we were having "church" at home!  We're of the firm belief that an integral part of Christian life is to be an active member of a true church.)  We picked "easy" sermons, since it's harder to pay attention without someone speaking in front of you, and the girls did like listening curled up in the living room.

That being said, not having two services and two (total) hours of driving gave us lots of extra time.  I perused a cookbook or two and decided wait-a-minute.. I *do* have time to make cinnamon rolls!  There was lots of shovelling (Jeff and Gret), lots of tea drunk (me, some by the others), (re-)learning a new game for, oh, four-plus hours (me and Jeff), and working a sewing project (Kaatje).  The girls watched Dumbo while we finished Power Grid in a different room, and I sang along to all the songs and said lines before the characters said them (and annoyed Jeff).  I don't think I've seen that movie in 20 years, but watching it with my brother every Sunday for years (?!) as a child obviously paid off.  (Hey, it was the days of VHS.  That was the one we had.)

So, we missed church dearly, we were inexplicably exhausted by the end of the day, but we had a very nice - albeit strange - day of rest!

giving thanks.

(last 6 photos by Kaatje)

~~~
so tired and a bit sore

(we have no major medical issues)

the child worries about frustratingly minor things

(these are the worst they have to worry about)

hands ache from the cold

(we have a warm house and warm clothes, when I remember to use them)

the child fusses about food

(we have so many options to offer for eating)

the laundry piles up

(we have so many nice clothes)

the bathroom needs cleaning, the dishes never end

(we have indoor plumbing and hot water when we want it)

the dog pukes again

(we have a pet who loves us no matter what, and the ability to care for him)

long hours are worked at the busiest times

(he has a secure job and steady income)

we are too busy with social obligations

(we have so many friends and relationships)

we don't get to visit the far away family as often as we like

(we care so much for our family, though far away)

I don't care for our location

(we own our home free and clear, and have been very blessed here)

I grumble and complain my selfish protests to "the way life is"

(and have absolutely no right to, and, in fact, am commanded not to.)

~~~

"Oh give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!"

psalm 105:1-4

~~many many thanks for each and every way God guides our lives, both in blessing and hardship, because He promises all is for us, His people, the sheep of His pasture~~

of food, and works.

The idea had been sitting with me since the evening of the meeting.  The unsettled feeling began with an attendee's vehement objection to the use of a certain big-box retailer in the functioning of the natural food store on whose board I sit.  He passionately argued against the purchase of a membership to said retailer, all but mounting a soapbox in his speech assuring us of the absolute fall of society due to these stores and this brand specifically.

(I usually sit on my hands, literally in this case, when such things come up.  This time I had to have my 2-cents (quickly shot down) because said retailer, where we frequently shop, is also an excellent employer to a close family member, and, with that, certainly supports local economy.  After my brief say, I stayed quiet and let the rant end naturally.)

But what I thought most about isn't about the claims that were made or the discussion (of which there was much) that followed.  I realized and remembered, when I returned home and re-hashed the conversation, with much drama and hand waving, to my husband, that this isn't about natural food.  It's about religion.  And the sin of the usage of big box retailer required full condemnation.

For a while, as I've sat this board, I've been thinking about how hard it must be to live with a food-based religion:  the religion of health/natural/organic/local (take your pick, one or all) food.  Absolutely-no-white-sugar-no-dairy-based religion.  Where-did-it-come-from-or-I-won't-let-it-past-my-lips religion.  Anti-big-business anti-corn anti-oil anti-factory-farm anti-conventional-medicine (there, I think that covers all of my relatives' occupations) religion.

Obviously, this is a works-based religion: constant concern, constant vigilance, constant worry.  Keep studying, reading, researching, who's bad-listed this week?  With my obsessive... obsessing, I keep myself and my family safe from Those Who will do Anything for a Dollar and Could Not Care Less about Me or My Health.  It's exhausting listening to them.  I often go home and have a cup of hot chocolate (that's dairy and sugar, you know).

I have to be careful here... we don't, as a general family rule, eat artificial colors, flavors, preservatives.  I do specifically look to avoid these things.  We buy organic when we can, local when we bother.  But... we eat out.  Sometimes our pizza comes from the fridge (let's see, what kind of cheese do we have leftover this week?) and sometimes from a box, from around the corner (that's local, right?).  Although we buy parts of grass-fed beef quarters, sometimes we eat, well, other meat.  Moderation.  Balance.  Thoughtfulness.

But you know, it's not our religion.  We are called to take care of what we've been given:  ourselves, our families, "the earth."  But most of all we (and everyone else for that matter, whether they acknowledge it or not) are called to be true and faithful to God and His commands.  "Serving and loving Him, serving and loving others" as Greta is learning for catechism this week.

I'm *not* supposed to be worried about "whether my meat has been offered to idols" (the apostle Paul: I Corinthians 8).  Meat's only meat.  I'm a Christian, who, by my eating both what's good for me and what I like, without ranting and raving, shows others where my priorities lie.

That being said, what works-based faiths do we create for ourselves?  When do I say, about "not-specifically-religious" things, "Oh, I couldn't do/go/eat that?"  Or think the way I do something shows that I am something.  Or makes me be a certain way.  That family over there does That this way, and look at their Awesome Life!  I guess what I'm wondering is, when do I think that certain of my works make me "better?" (And Who really is the only One who can make us better?)

So the only works of which I should be concerned are those that help me serve and love God and neighbor.  And even that, only and ever through the help of the Holy Spirit, never of myself.

For another side of the "worried about the world" thought process:

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain."  I Timothy 6:6

All right... back to photography and knitting and kids and homeschooling.

in which the year ends, and we can't help but muse.

december...

~ a special night out with a fun group, with and thanks to mom and dad
~ a special day out, with my 2 special girls
~ being silly in iowa
~ that especially exciting morning (stockings were before church, gifts between services... it was quite a day!)
~ the posters in the background are completely unintentional in their suggestion of the smoking bishop.  and the smoking bishop was excellent, even though not drunk from a bowl.
~ my sweet baby and their sweet baby seemed to love each other very much
~ those two loved each other very much, too (a bit...too much... at times.  pippin fortunately does still have hair on his ears.)
~ learning a new game, then days later
~ playing it ourselves...
~ before (and after) waking eldest for her first ball drop.

it's a new year now, and like many,
we've spent some time looking at life and
thinking about what's important.

we've been stressed out from the hand-holding we've had to do (both literally and figuratively, both with children and adults).  we've been disillusioned and disappointed.  we've been frustrated and sad.  and angry.  haven't we all?

but... we've also welcomed new babies and hung out with old friends.  we've started things and finished things and tried things.  we've grown.  we've had so much fun and learned so much.    we've had the honor of celebrating the life of one of God's saints He has called home, freeing him from pain, after a long and good and serving life (dear grandfather A, we are so thankful for his daily prayers for us).  we've traveled and explored and wandered.

we've worshiped and been blessed.

but we still feel the tug of needed change, those tweaks here and there that could move us forward in how we want our family to be.  we feel more need for focus.  in life, especially in homeschooling life, but more because of the kind of person I am, I see the world rushing by and think about all we're missing.

(that's not the heart-throb pop-singer/reality show/smart phone "world" we're missing... I don't miss that in the very least.  but the "what's truly important that I'm not doing" world.  the world where we take more time to be with the kids and try to figure them out and help them and be faithful Godly parents for them in this weird weird world kind of world.)

so we'll see how this year goes... we're going to try to add a few little things to the routine.  to tweak and improve.  to rest.  to grow. 

we have hope and God's promise of watch-care in faithfulness.

what more do we need?

there once was a man named Jonah.

As a Vacation Bible School coordinator and teacher, this past while has been a building, all-consuming project in management and delegation, coming to a head this week.  We're on day 3 now of the 5 day program - and counting!

Being an organizer is a job, but I love choosing and leading the crafts.  Here's the first three days:

day one: weaving (like cloth making in Jonah's days)

day two: sun printing cloth, handprints and leaves (or, you know, an octopus.)  We'll be using these later for another craft.

day three:  sail boats, to remind them of Jonah's journey and God's plan
(yes, I explained the sailors did not throw Jonah off a sail boat.)

days 4 and 5 are yet to come... I can't wait to make the special books with them on Friday.

There is so much more to update with us, and so much more to do around here..but...

These days it's late nights and early mornings, weird suppers (but yay CSA starting!) and the lack of lunches, but we're hanging in here and looking forward to the real start of our summer... swimming and camping and travel!  soon, soon.

But first, 50 kids need to glue more and draw more and paint more, for 2 more days.

(projects are from discountschoolsupply.com, with whom I was quite happy)