Sarah Short and Gaudy

I am treasured wife and girlfriend to Don, who by the way is pretty close to having developed the patience of a saint over the past 11 years. I am the constantly busy mother of 5, ages 6,7,9,10 and 11! (boy, girl, boy, girl,& boy) I love people and their idiosyncrasies! I enjoy having many friends with varying interest and personalities! God has richly blessed me! The notes above are only a small sampling of all He has accomplished on my behalf. YEAH GOD!!!

Friday, May 29, 2009

This One Is For LouAnn

She never slows down

She doesn’t know why but she knows that

When she’s all alone it feels like its all coming down

She won’t turn around

The shadows grow long and she fears

If she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down

So stand in the rain

Stand your ground

Stand up when it’s all crashing down

You stand through the pain

You won’t drown

And one day what’s lost can be found

You stand in the rain

She won’t make a sound

Alone in this fight with herself

And the fears whispering if she stands she’ll fall down

She wants to be found

The only way out is through everything

She’s running from, wants to give up and lie down

So stand in the rain

Stand your ground

Stand up when it’s all crashing down

You stand through the pain

You won’t drown

And one day what’s lost can be found

You stand in the rain

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

My Fiestaware Has a Home!!!

The East wall of our kitchen

The South wall of the kitchen

My spice cupboard!!

The man who held me while I cried, and cried, and cried some more... Honestly! I am happy to see progress in my kitchen!!!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The Cuties

CUTIE #1

CUTIE #2

CUTIE #3
(she didn't like the sun in her face, and I didn't want a picture of the top of her head)

Carter's Jammies!
One of the best parts of having little ones!!

"Big Brother" had a collision with his older brother and his bike..

He looks much better now!

Many thanks to Sarah for saving the day with Popsicles!!!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Broken and Spilled Out

One day a plain village woman

Driven by love for her Lord

Recklessly poured out a valuable essence

Disregarding the scorn

And once it was broken and spilled out

A fragrance filled all the room

Like a prisoner released from his shackles

Like a spirit set free from the tomb

Broken and spilled out

Just for love of you, Jesus

My most precious treasure

Lavished on thee

Broken and spilled out

And poured at your feet

In sweet abandon

Let me be spilled out

And used up for Thee

Lord you were God's precious treasure

His loved and his own perfect Son

Sent here to show me the love of the Father

Just for love it was done

And though you were perfect and holy

You gave up yourself willingly

You spared no expense for my pardon

You were used up and wasted for me

Broken and spilled out

Just for love of me Jesus

God's most precious treasure

Lavished on me

Broken and spilled out

And poured at my feet

In sweet abandon

Lord you were spilled out

And used up for me

In sweet abandon let me be spilled out and used up for thee!

This song has been one I've sung for years. My mom had it in a book and I have sung it various times for special music. I hadn't really thought much about this song over the past few years. Steve Green doesn't end up much on the radio, and quite frankly, he NEVER ends up on my playlist.

To make a long story bearable, at a recent family gathering my mom pulled said book out and I sang this song again. I was quite surprised by the emotions that overwhelmed me. Honestly, this is my life. I ache with the desire to be spilled out as a sacrifice. I just have a difficulty at times ensuring I am sacrificing myself for Him not for myself.

I don't care how old it gets to hear about our Bible study in EVERY post I do. It's that great! I actually bought the messages on DVD and plan to go over them again, and again, and again....

Anyway, this Bible study I have noticed I am hungering and aching to spend time with God alone. Something in my mom life I haven't always made time , nor sought time for.

I have noticed Don also gaining very specific guidance thru the word also. It is AMAZING the thinks God chooses to do in and thru us when we take the time to be led!

A specific leading here lately was taking on the care of 3 girls under 3 for a few days. Their momma is 35 weeks along with sister #5. (no I didn't just miscount. Sister #1 stayed home with Mom.) Momma was having preterm labor and also SUPER backed up on laundry, to the tune of 30 plus loads, so some of us are helping there too.

This is a family God has led to our church. There have been and I am sure will continue to be many needs represented by this family.

Part of God blessing and guiding is that the girls who usually scream when taken to Sunday School, haven't cried a lick in the 4 days we've had them except when in trouble or mad at someone.

Jesse has done very well adjusting from baby to "big brother". He has dubbed the girls "the little cuties". "Mom, do the little cuties need their cups?" "Mom, the little cutie hit the other little cutie."

I have done 3 in diapers before. Thankfully I remember how constant it was, but I forgot the exact details. Details like never getting anything done b/c I am CONSTANTLY changing diapers. Quite often poopy ones, and my hands stink ALL THE TIME!!! Even as I type this Cutie #3 sits at my feet filling her pants..... Ew gross!!! She stinks!!!

(diaper break)

I'd like to introduce these precious little ones, but sadly blogger won't let me find the pictures from my computer... Not sure what is up with that, but hey, I'll have post fodder for tomorrow!

Friday, May 15, 2009

I Have To Leave My House To Get Blogging Time

It's true, there are just too many things undone and people who need me at home to actually relax and put 2 sentences together.

Tonight I am chilling with my sister in law and good buddy Jessica. I have Marlene, Jon, Delphia and Jesse with me. Don and Homer are on a Father/ Son retreat. I am so excited for them!! Don took today off and Homer had 1/2 day of school. They will be home sometime tomorrow evening.

At the Mother Daughter banquet here in Dysart, one of Jessica's friends was wanting help styling her 6 year old daughters SUPER curly hair, so we made a date for tonight for me to share my years of experience. (that and the my extensive supply of hair products)

I am sure there is so much more to say. I have lists of blogs I would like to write, but never have.....

Oh, and God is doing a number on me and my mouth. It's all good! Or for my best anyway.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

For Now

I have been lodging, in my mind, various happenings over the past few days in hopes of getting a few moments to fire off a bullet point update on things. There is a lot going on, and honestly it is the only way to string it all together with any readability.

Obviously it's not happened. So I am settling on catching up for today. (usually the things I want to write about on any given day change by the next day or so, or are crowded out by new things and thoughts)

Today was GLORIOUS, and not at all what we had planned.

sleeping in
not fixing breakfast because there were leftover burritos and the kids would rather eat cereal anyway
fixing 40 ham balls for Mother's day dinner with my mom and siblings
practice for special music, coaxing a friend to sing with us
quick trip to buy more ham, drop of the baked ham balls, and speeding to a graduation open house
getting to see our former church family. 50% good 50% not so great.
struggling with how poorly we represent Christ
walk around GC lake
hubby spent all day setting up new sound equipment at church
we all went to the park
we all came home and cleaned a portion of the yard in hopes of actually having a patch of grass for the kids to play on
our plan was to plant all the flowers and seeds Don bought me for Mother's day. Didn't happen, too dark.
hot dog supper on the front porch
planning "meeting" with Don while the kids took their showers
20 more ham balls to make
Don mixed the Cheesy potatoes for me
ham balls just finished cooking. I am off to bed. Rhubarb pie to get around in the AM.

As I mentioned, the day really was nothing like we'd planned. We had plans to work on placing our kitchen cupboards, staining some doors, and getting all the baking done, but it was perfect. There was no rush and it was perfect contentment just working all together.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Is He Sick Or Not?!!

This morning Jesse woke up crying and was in a very pitiful mood. I wasn't real concerned. He tends to whine, or out right, cry about any and everything that doesn't go his way. I just figured getting up and around to take the kids to school fell into the category of things he'd do differently if allowed.

(Don had a discussion with him about crying "Wolf" recently. This weekend he fell into one of our egress window wells and was screaming his head off, but it was the same mad cry as when a sibling looks at him cross eyed, so needless to say no body was rushing to investigate.)

He sat on my lap for the majority of our "getting things around for school" time, and shortly after devos had a drink of water, which he promptly brought back up.

Okay, we took the kids to school and upon arriving home he wanted another drink. I complied, with bowl in hand. Yep, it came right back out.

So, he sat on the couch and took a trip to Narnia. That trip seemed to cure him! He is now running around like this

eating everything in sight, including licking the spatula from the chocolate for the peanut butter bars I made. (aren't you jealous Sarah?)

P.S.

Does anyone else have a 5 year old still wearing 24M shorts? I don't have a clue how we got such a scrawny kid!

Rocking Out

Kinda a follow up to my previous post about my girls.

I am a big fan of Super Chic. Good get up and go music, something I need to do right now...

Their "Bowling Ball" song pretty much won me over.

I just got their latest CD "Rock What You Got". Here lately the girls and I have been doing a lot of car time together, and these are our tunes. I am glad for something peppy that encourages them to buck all the social pressures.

So here's a bunch of songs to listen to in all your spare time. (Mom you won't like them)