Oh, wow.
{tears}
Do you have 15 minutes to go watch something? I just finished watching an adoption story.... twice. Once alone, once with Ella. I *loved* this adoption story, and how the character of God is
revealed through it.
In an effort to "hook" you to go watch, this is a family (The Via family) in the process of adopting a little girl, Chloe, from Uganda. They find out that Chloe is not granted a visa, so she is not able to come home to them.
So they decide to bring home to her.
Go here to watch. (Follow the link, watch the video (4:58) at the
top of the page, and then watch the video at the bottom (10:09)).
Loved this.
~Stacy
ABC Hunt, Take 2!
Major parenting fail, here. A couple of weeks ago I was singing the ABC song with the little girls and it became apparent that Audra isn't super familiar with that song. #youngestchild #sorryaudra ;)
This is not to say that she doesn't know her ABC's. She does. And she knows the sounds most of them make. And she can write all of her uppercase letters and is learning her lowercase letters. But. The ABC song? Not so much.
I'd been meaning to put up the alphabet somewhere around our house for the girls, so I did that recently. And now we're practicing the song.
This reminded me of a game I started doing back when Isaac was in Kindergarten (*sob* about him being five. I love memories of Isaac-at-five.) We did a game called "ABC Hunt".
This is not to say that she doesn't know her ABC's. She does. And she knows the sounds most of them make. And she can write all of her uppercase letters and is learning her lowercase letters. But. The ABC song? Not so much.
I'd been meaning to put up the alphabet somewhere around our house for the girls, so I did that recently. And now we're practicing the song.
This reminded me of a game I started doing back when Isaac was in Kindergarten (*sob* about him being five. I love memories of Isaac-at-five.) We did a game called "ABC Hunt".
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| ^^^These are Isaac's chubby little five-year-old hands and his wobbly five-year-old handwriting. |
So this morning I did this with the girls. I just traced a plate onto cardstock and cut out the circle, then glued it onto a craft stick and did some cutting and writing. They thought it was pretty fun. :) The only rule was that they couldn't stand in front of the alphabet on the wall and flip their little tabs. ;)
Fixing our gaze
Encouraged and exhorted by these excerpts from the book Women of the Word, by Jen Wilkin:
We must make a study of our God: what He loves, what He hates, how He speaks and acts. We cannot imitate a God whose features and habits we have never learned. We must make a study of Him if we want to become like Him. We must seek His face.
We become what we behold. Do you believe that? Whether passively or actively, we become conformed to the pattern we spend the most time studying.
Upon what is your gaze fixed? ...It is the nature of this life that we must fight daily to make room in our line of sight for that-which-transcends. Many things hold a legitimate claim on our attention, but when our eyes are free from the two-year-old or the spreadsheet or the textbook or the dinner dishes, where do we turn them? If we spend our time gazing only on lesser things, we will become like them, measuring our years in terms of human glory.
By fixing our gaze on [His] face, we trade mere human glory for holiness: "Beholding the glory of the Lord, [we are] transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corin. 3:18)
There are really only two possibilities in this life: be conformed to the image of God or be conformed to the pattern of this world. No doubt, you want the former. So make a faithful study of the One you want to imitate, as a dearly loved child. Study everything that makes God wonderful and mimic to your heart's delight, as the joyful expression of your reciprocal love for Him. Respond as David did, "My heart says to you, 'Your face, LORD, do I seek'' (Ps. 27:8). To the one that seeks Him, the Lord is pleased to lift up His countenance.
Good reads on the web and some organizational stuff
Well. Somehow I've injured my foot and I'm hobbling around the house- seeing all the things I can't do as easily and wishing for pain-free walking. But tomorrow I get to find out what the doctor says. Peeking in here a day late to let you in on some reading I've enjoyed around the web, and some things I'm doing on the homeschooling/organization front:
I hope you're having a wonderful day! Mark is just wrapping up two days off in.a.row (unheard of!) and so it's been a great two days and I am loving it. Blessings to you all...
~Stacy
- Foster Care: It's Just Too Difficult is a beautiful post on foster care. Katy Rose shares her heart as she fosters and it reminded me of our own experience. And I love what she says about it being a family's ministry. So true.
- I always love Heather's book lists, and she does not disappoint with her September/October Book List.
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| My carry-around-with-me-throughout-the-day clipboard |
- I really appreciated Misty's recent series of 31 Homeschool Lists. I read this post (and watched her video) and was inspired to re-vamp the top sheet of my carry-around clipboard, and I started filling out daily index cards. I also made daily checklists for my older three kids after reading this post. (I tried this once before, a couple years ago, and it was a flop, so I'm trying it again, in an effort to get the kids working more independently without having to rely on my to-do-today list on the dry erase board.)
I hope you're having a wonderful day! Mark is just wrapping up two days off in.a.row (unheard of!) and so it's been a great two days and I am loving it. Blessings to you all...
~Stacy
Book recommendation (for boys!)
Isaac would like to recommend this book:
He got it for his birthday, read it in two days, and loved it.
And since it can be difficult to find good books for boys? I'm recommending it to you. This is the fourth and final book in a series written by Andrew Peterson.
What are your boys reading and liking?
He got it for his birthday, read it in two days, and loved it.
And since it can be difficult to find good books for boys? I'm recommending it to you. This is the fourth and final book in a series written by Andrew Peterson.
What are your boys reading and liking?
Commonplace Entries
There are times I feel slightly embarrassed at the copious amount of fiction that I read. It doesn't seem intelligent enough of me or something. I see the book lists of others and sort of wince at all the deep things I'm not reading.
But here's the thing: I love stories. And no matter what else I'm reading, I am always yearning for a good story. Maybe those with the extensive and academic book lists aren't wired that way. But I most decidedly am. So I'm becoming accustomed to that in myself.
I've been busily copying into my journal portions from the book I'm reading, and I've decided to share some here.
From L.M. Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill:
Ella finished Jane of Lantern Hill last week and promptly declared that I ought to read it. (I'm not usually fond of reading a book twice, and this one I know I've read at least once before, but I agreed.) And now I'm pretty sure I'll be reading all of L.M. Montgomery's books all over again. I love them that much.
For those of you who appreciate L.M. Montgomery, what is your favorite title of hers? (My mom just finished The Blue Castle and thoroughly enjoyed it.) I think this one, below, will always be my favorite of hers, but I'll check back in when I've read through them all again and let you know....
But here's the thing: I love stories. And no matter what else I'm reading, I am always yearning for a good story. Maybe those with the extensive and academic book lists aren't wired that way. But I most decidedly am. So I'm becoming accustomed to that in myself.
I've been busily copying into my journal portions from the book I'm reading, and I've decided to share some here.
From L.M. Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill:
Gay Street should be a gay street, thought Jane, with gay, friendly houses, set amid flowers, that cried out, "How do you do?" to you as you passed them, with trees that waved hands at you and windows that winked at you in the twilights.
***
"I love making jam," she said, when dad asked her why she bothered. Just to go into the pantry and look at shelf after shelf of ruby and amber jams and jellies gave her the deep satisfaction of a job well done.(Is it any wonder how much I love L.M. Montgomery?) I copied far more down than this tonight, but I'm just giving you a sampling. :)
Ella finished Jane of Lantern Hill last week and promptly declared that I ought to read it. (I'm not usually fond of reading a book twice, and this one I know I've read at least once before, but I agreed.) And now I'm pretty sure I'll be reading all of L.M. Montgomery's books all over again. I love them that much.
For those of you who appreciate L.M. Montgomery, what is your favorite title of hers? (My mom just finished The Blue Castle and thoroughly enjoyed it.) I think this one, below, will always be my favorite of hers, but I'll check back in when I've read through them all again and let you know....
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| My well-worn, well-loved, much-read copy |
Recommending.... Ellie!
I love to sing. Pre-children, I used to listen to music all the time. I could even sing along because I had the lyrics memorized. GONE are those days. What with all these people around, talking or squealing or screeching or just-- making NOISE all the time, I just... can't. Music ends up being extra noise and I really don't need any more of that around here. I cherish quiet.
This summer I made a whopping exception. I'll get back to that in a minute.
I struggled so much last year. Wintertime brought life and joy and then suddenly, anguish. Spring came, and as we approached what would have been our due date, God blessed us with yet another life growing within me. We quietly held this news, and cautiously hoped. The gift of that tiny life within me eased our grief and pain as our due date neared. And then, when we lost that baby, too? I was so very broken. The grief crippled my spirit.
I prayed long for God to give me something- a verse, a song, a word, something- from Him. I wanted Him to speak into the darkness. He did. First, through song, and then months later- with a passage of Scripture. But the gift He gave me over the summer was the music of Ellie Holcomb. I can't describe it other than to say that there are words Ellie sings that seemed like they had come straight from the pages of my journal. As I journal, I often pray through Scripture and write out my prayers and thoughts, but she sings the truths of God's word- and beautifully. My soul needed the beauty of her melodies rooted in Scripture. And my gracious Father gave me such a gift in Ellie's songs.
Every single time I got into the van, I played Ellie. I would carry around my phone and play Ellie. On the treadmill, Ellie. In the kitchen doing the dishes? Ellie.
My kids always knew that the CD mama was reaching for or the song I was searching for on the iPod would be Ellie. Without any effort on their part, they all have ALL of Ellie's songs memorized. Just from the sheer number of times they have heard her. ;) And they love her, too. (Ella's favorite songs are Marvelous Light and The Broken Beautiful.)
Her song Anchor of Hope* was the prayer of my heart in the darkness. For weeks I couldn't even sing. I just wept as I listened. Then I was able to sing bits and pieces- through my tears. Finally, weeks later- I could sing it and own it. I still grieve, of course. But I truly believe that God used Ellie- we are SO on a first-name basis around here, me and Ellie- to pull me out of despair, and for that I am so grateful.
And so, I heartily recommend to you all: Ellie Holcomb. Get some of her music and listen. I think you'll love her. :) [I hear she won "new artist of the year" at the Dove awards, recently, too. She's not actually new, though.] She's been singing in a band with her husband, Drew, since 2006. Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. Also good. But Ellie-on-her-own? LOVE.
*Anchor of Hope is on Ellie's Magnolia EP
.
Oh! -and I'd love to know who you're listening to. Who would you heartily recommend?
This summer I made a whopping exception. I'll get back to that in a minute.
I struggled so much last year. Wintertime brought life and joy and then suddenly, anguish. Spring came, and as we approached what would have been our due date, God blessed us with yet another life growing within me. We quietly held this news, and cautiously hoped. The gift of that tiny life within me eased our grief and pain as our due date neared. And then, when we lost that baby, too? I was so very broken. The grief crippled my spirit.
I prayed long for God to give me something- a verse, a song, a word, something- from Him. I wanted Him to speak into the darkness. He did. First, through song, and then months later- with a passage of Scripture. But the gift He gave me over the summer was the music of Ellie Holcomb. I can't describe it other than to say that there are words Ellie sings that seemed like they had come straight from the pages of my journal. As I journal, I often pray through Scripture and write out my prayers and thoughts, but she sings the truths of God's word- and beautifully. My soul needed the beauty of her melodies rooted in Scripture. And my gracious Father gave me such a gift in Ellie's songs.
Every single time I got into the van, I played Ellie. I would carry around my phone and play Ellie. On the treadmill, Ellie. In the kitchen doing the dishes? Ellie.
My kids always knew that the CD mama was reaching for or the song I was searching for on the iPod would be Ellie. Without any effort on their part, they all have ALL of Ellie's songs memorized. Just from the sheer number of times they have heard her. ;) And they love her, too. (Ella's favorite songs are Marvelous Light and The Broken Beautiful.)
Her song Anchor of Hope* was the prayer of my heart in the darkness. For weeks I couldn't even sing. I just wept as I listened. Then I was able to sing bits and pieces- through my tears. Finally, weeks later- I could sing it and own it. I still grieve, of course. But I truly believe that God used Ellie- we are SO on a first-name basis around here, me and Ellie- to pull me out of despair, and for that I am so grateful.
And so, I heartily recommend to you all: Ellie Holcomb. Get some of her music and listen. I think you'll love her. :) [I hear she won "new artist of the year" at the Dove awards, recently, too. She's not actually new, though.] She's been singing in a band with her husband, Drew, since 2006. Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. Also good. But Ellie-on-her-own? LOVE.
*Anchor of Hope is on Ellie's Magnolia EP
.Oh! -and I'd love to know who you're listening to. Who would you heartily recommend?
