Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does...  (Eph. 6:7-8)

We've had a challenging couple of weeks-- just fighting a virus that is making it's way through everyone in our house and lasting a long time.  I am weary- feeling pretty miserable myself and yet constantly up and tending to the needs of everyone around me-- wiping noses, praying, taking temperatures, giving medicine, rubbing backs, making a cozy spot for a lethargic child, getting another drink, praying some more... and on it goes.  On top of all of the stuff I normally do.  Then nighttime comes and what with all the coughing and congestion and these bothersome sore throats, the kids are up so much more and hence, so am I.  :)  Last night Audra was up at 11:30, 12:30, 1:00, 2:00... just waking herself up with her coughing and wanting some comfort, wanting to be held and prayed for or for me to just lie beside her and hold her hand.  Poor sick little sweetie.  Finally at 2:20-something I brought her back to bed with us- and we all slept much better from that point on.  Anyway-- as a mama I'm pretty tuckered out and am really going to try not to take it for granted when we are all feeling well again.

So recently when I read that verse--- it brought me such encouragement: God sees.  He knows all that I do. Every single act of service will be not just acknowledged, but rewarded.

And it was also encouraging in reminding me that it is GOD I am serving, not man.  It's all about Him.  My acts of service to Mark, the kids, others... it's all an offering to God.  (So, note to self: *Do more of it!* and with a right spirit, not a grumbly, complainy heart.)

*  *  *

Also, just a quick note to let you know that I'm going to be taking an extended break from the internet.  I won't be blogging or checking blogs.  I will be checking email, so you can reach me there and if you comment here on the blog I will get it via email.   Blessings to all of you!   ~Stacy  

Plans for a New Year

{from the archives: Ella and I, waiting at the window for daddy to come home for lunch}

I usually take the month of December off from the blog. This year I didn't, but only because I had plans to take January off instead.

I'm looking forward to a month of no internet- with the exception of checking email. I truly am excited about it, and the timing of it feels perfect as I head into the new year.

I have plans to pull out a blank journal, update and print out a new prayer list, adhere it to the front page of that new journal, and get back into the habit of referring to that prayer list.

I'm still mulling over whether or not I should try-- again-- to do a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan. If I do, I want to print that out, too, laminate it (which, in my world, means cover it with clear contact paper), and attach it to my journal.

And then I want to spend time praying and writing in that journal. I plan to do some reflecting on each of our kids~ on their strengths and weaknesses and how I can intentionally encourage them in this next season. I want to be purposeful about entering into this new year: What are the areas of my life that God would like to see growth in? How can I best love God, Mark, and the kids? Family and friends? I don't ever formally make New Years resolutions, but I do usually make a list in my journal of things I'd like to do in the coming year, more like reminders to myself. (Not as in "go here and do this" types of things, but things like: laugh more... play more games with the kids... listen. really pay attention, when the kids speak to me... be faithful to put down what you're doing and greet Mark when he comes home from work... things like that.)

Oh! I'm also intrigued by these recent posts about prayerfully choosing a theme for the year. I love that idea.

I also really like this idea of a perpetual calendar (you'll have to read the description to get the idea), and clearly I would make my own with index cards and a box or basket, but- the idea would be to record things the kids have said that day or add snippets of what we've done during our days... but I don't know that I'll ever actually do it. (Hmm... I'm now thinking that maybe I could somehow incorporate that idea into my existing journal~ I could just have scraps of a certain color paper at the ready-- or, easier yet!-- a certain colored pen handy, and when I sit down to journal I could jot down a snippet from our day, something one of the kids did or said... Then, when I look back through my journal, everything in that color would represent my "perpetual calendar". Why, thank you for letting me "think out loud", there. :))

Seems like all of the above-listed things may take more than a month to accomplish (!), but we'll see.

Many blessings to each of *you* as you enter into this new year God has given! If you want to reach me, I'll still be checking email and would be happy to hear from you.

~Stacy

New blog design!

If you read my blog via a reader, click over so that you can see what my blog looks like now!

(Isn't it the cutest blog design you've *ever* seen in your whole life?)

Thought so.

The amazingly creative Debi put this together for me. I am positively thrilled at how it turned out, and Debi is so talented and was wonderful to work with.

{Thank you, Debi!}

The look of the blog

If you've made your way over here lately, you'll see that my blog looks a little different. A few days ago everything that was pretty {all that color! the hydrangea photo! the cute fonts!} disappeared, and I have not been able to recover it, so I've now got a pretty simple look going on.

A new blog design is in the works, and I'm really excited about it, but in the meantime, sorry for all that whiteness you're seeing. :(

Break

We've got a lot going on in the next several weeks, so I'm going to take a break from the blog.

Just wanted to let you know in case you check in regularly!

I'll be back at the start of September.

Blessings to you and yours for a wonderful rest-of-your summer!

~Stacy

Timberdoodle sale

For those of you who are interested, Timberdoodle is having their yearly damaged and closeout sale today.

Break

I'll be taking a blogging break for awhile...

Blessings to each one of you!

Introducing...

...the newest little member of our family:

Audra Joy


I'll fill you in on all the details later, and we'll announce the contest winner soon.

For now, this mama needs some rest. We are just home from the hospital, and we're settling into home life. Our beautiful Audra is sleeping next to me in our bed, and I have promised Mark that I will join her in sleep just as soon as I finish typing this.

Blessings to each of you from this happy mama...

With great joy...

{Corrected March 1, 2013: I discovered photos of strange people I do.not.know in this old post.  I've fixed it, now.  }

{Adelia just dropped her sign}



{Whoops! Wrong side, Addie! (And yikes... Ella is about ready to drop Adelia!)}

{There.}



This little one within my womb has been longed for and prayed for for years; and we feel immeasurably blessed.

We had an ultrasound this morning and were able to see our tiny miracle. All is well. My due date is somewhere around February 19th (which would be one day before Addie's first birthday!)

You make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
How great are your works, O Lord! ~Ps. 92:4-5a

Blogging break

I'm feeling the need for a blogging break, so I'm taking one. From posting and from reading.

We have a couple of rooms to paint, our back garden to plant, and some other household stuff that needs to be done. [But last week? Mark cleaned the back porch! And it looks WONDERFUL!]

And I'm feeling that pull to enjoy the life that happens around here rather than the life that takes place behind this computer screen.

But most importantly, I need to get back into the habit of rising early in order to spend time with Jesus. [Actually, the real struggle for me has always been getting to bed early enough so that I can get enough rest when I do get up early.] This habit of getting up early has been a bit hit-and-miss of late. With it being so light now, early in the mornings, the kids have been getting up much earlier which means that for me to have some quiet time (something I've found I desperately need at the beginning of my days), I need to get up even earlier than they are rising. And that's just plain early.

There is a stark difference in my parenting (more anger, more criticism, a lack of patience and self-control on my part), when I am not faithful to get up, and it's becoming painfully obvious (by an influx of the above behaviors) that I need to get this habit solidified in my life once again.

I will continue to check email so if you want to reach me that way, I'd love to hear from you.

Blessings to each and every one of you!

~Stacy

So...

Guess who we get to bring home TODAY?

Looking forward

It's been a few days...

How is everyone?

Can you even believe it's almost November? Which means, for us... it's nearly time for Operation Christmas Child! We did this for the first time last year and loved it. The kids and I have been talking about it for weeks and we're anxious to do some shopping and get those shoeboxes packed. For more information on Operation Christmas Child, go here.

Within the next couple of weeks we're going to be doing this again, too. I can't wait! I was looking at our Thanksgiving journal the other day and was so thankful we have this tradition. We started doing this in 2002, when Ella was just a baby. It is such a delight for us to thumb back through these pages and see God's gifts from year to year. If you're not already doing something like this, I encourage you to begin! It takes just one evening, minimal scrapbooking skills, some photos, a journal, pen, and a thankful heart. And your children will *love* the family project.

Today we went out to celebrate Aidan's birthday (Amy's oldest). He is SEVEN years old. I had the wonderful privilege of being there when this little guy came into the world, and it is such a joy to see the godly young man he's becoming. (It's those great parents of his!)

I just finished knitting my first hat! I'll post a picture as soon as I take one. I'm working up the courage to start a sweater. Not just yet, though.

"Homeschooling" would be a term you could use lightly around our house lately. We haven't done "school" for quite a few days. Mark has asked kiddingly, "What, is this like early-Fall break or something?" Yeah, pretty much. We've just been busy, what with birthdays and organizing and making meals for a friend who just had their fourth baby, leading small group (and having our house clean to host it), baking for one thing or another, laundry, colds,... you name it, we've done it. I even postponed school one day last week so that I could clean and rearrange our bedroom. (And Ella helped me, as I tried to explain to her that this was "kinda school"... you know, serving and blessing daddy this way. She completely bought that and was cleaning happily and helpfully.) I vacillate between being completely okay with this and stressing that I'm an utter failure.

One more thing...
Mark's sister Shelley is going in for surgery on Friday. She will be having a lump removed as well as some lymph nodes, and will follow up with radiation treatment. Will you join us in prayer for her, her husband, and their four children? Thank you, dear readers.

It is a gift to have such wonderful online friends, and I do love stopping by your blogs and catching up with each of you. (That is, except for Amy, who still needs a blog. Ame...?)

Celebrating God's goodness

I have a miserable head cold and am off to take a nap here in a couple of minutes, but why don't you head over here to congratulate this happy family, and here to congratulate this one?

God is *so* good, and I am rejoicing today!

I should probably tell you...

...that Michelle has posted a short video of my trip to Indiana.

You can view that here. Or not. (Preferrably not, if I had my way.) I don't particularly like pictures of myself. Not to mention videos. (But I'm just going to get over that for the moment and cringe while you all head over to watch that.)

The three words that made my day

WE HAVE EGGNOG

Just seen on the sign outside a local coffee shop.

You can't even know how happy this makes me. Eggnog Lattes, readers.

You may be surprised to learn that I haven't actually had one yet. Yet. I just gasped loudly and braked and alarmed my entire family in the process. Then I whooped with joy. And expressed my delight for a few minutes: "Do you see that? Eggnog! Eggnog Lattes! I can't believe it! I am *so* excited! Do you even SEE that sign? Mark, LOOK. That sign. Everyone, look. That sign! It says 'We have Eggnog.' Do you even know what that means? Eggnog Lattes! Mama LOVES those.... (etc)"

I plan to head out bright and early tomorrow morning for my first Eggnog Latte of the season. (~contented sigh~)

And in the meantime I am just savoring the knowledge that EGGNOG is in town.

On second thought, maybe if I sweetly ask my husband he'll head out later tonight and get me one.

Yes. I'll try that.

Ohmygoodness. WHAT IF THEY CLOSE before then? I am calling right now.

The most exciting thing ever

(Well, okay. Not EVER, but... very close.)

Just popping in quickly from Michelle's house to inform you that she is about the nicest friend in the *world*. Do you know what she did?

She arranged for me to go out to a farm today and....

(drum roll, please)

... MILK A COW!

Oh my goodness. It was so much fun. And how sweet is Michelle to plan for me to do that? (I probably shouldn't mention the fact that she stood behind me and made fun of my method.) Maybe because my method wasn't really working properly at first. But then I figured it out. It was only for about two minutes but it made me very happy. :) I told their friends that if I lived there and needed a job I would want to work on their dairy farm. I was very serious.

Okay, I just thought I'd share that fun fact for ya'll. I'm having a wonderful time with Michelle and her family. Can't wait to tell you more about it.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Scarce

UPDATED TO ADD: Well, then. Neveryoumind about this post. Those folks at Apple do their job very well, I must say. My computer is here already and I am back online.

***
I'm going to be scarce around here for a few days. Our computer is very, very sick and very, very slow. So much so that we're getting a new (and improved) one. But until that one is here, I won't be doing much on the computer.

As soon as that's set up, I'll come around to all of your blogs and leave those comments I have been wanting to write. And I'll answer my emails, too.

Take good care!

One year

It was one year ago today that I began blogging.

You know what? I am really thankful for this venue. More than anything, I am so appreciative for each one of you. I have gleaned so much from you. As I transferred old posts from HSB to Blogspot these past couple of months, it became really evident to me that I have grown much over the past year. God has used many of you as a resource for growth in my roles as wife, mother, and homemaker.

So thank you, for reading here and for encouraging me through what you have written on your own blogs or your comments here.

TA DA!

I am just SO incredibly happy to announce that I am completely done transferring all of my posts from HSB to Blogspot. ~Whew~ Finished!

Some new arrivals at our house