Practice Makes Peace...

You know how you think you're totally over something?  It's been worked through, prayed over, forgiven, resolved, and it's in your past... and then something comes along that brings it back up to the surface again and it blindsides you?  Yeah, that's been happening to me this week. And I'm not particularly proud of the range of reactions my thoughts have been serving up. What's got me all in a dither? The whole health care as a campaign issue thing. I deliberately do not publicly get into political views and debates. Much like in the church, I feel that too much condemnation and judgementalism gets into too many of those conversations. I hold my beliefs. I live by them. I vote by them. And I am content to let you do the same. I will talk with you about them but I am well over trying to prove that I am right, you are wrong, and that if you don't see it my way you deserve a tongue-lashing. Civil exchange of ideas, I'm all for...but that's a rarity in...

Today I had to take a quiet mommy-moment behind closed doors so the kids wouldn't see my tears and ask about them. They would have rolled their eyes and made the crazy-sign with their finger around their head, anyway. As will some of you, maybe. Because I was in tears over this: Yep. My son standing with a cute look on his face, wearing a pair of jeans did me in. He picked those jeans out on a trip to a thrift store yesterday. Yes, they have a hole in the knee and will probably wear out very quickly. But you don't understand: he was asking to buy a pair of jeans!!  One of the most pronounced sensitivities Michael has had is a sensitivity to clothing.  Texture, fit, how it feels when he moves - it's a big deal. Very rarely does anyone in the family buy clothing for him because we have learned that if he doesn't choose it, he probably won't wear it. For years, it had to be very tight. As a five-year-old he had to be pressed to purchase clothing that was lar...

Many thanks to my Mom for sharing a blog that speaks that for which I had no words. Follow this  link. Please. No matter where you are today, what circumstances surround you, may the Truth of the Hope that lives, of the Light that is eternal, pierce and banish any darkness that threatens to overtake you.

Really. I wish I could bookmark today so that I could go back and re-read it over and over again. It was one of those glorious it-all-just-worked kind of days. We woke to two kids sleeping in late (our "weekend" is Tuesday/Wednesday around here) and the other two whispering and plotting how to build a Lego scenario. There's something wonderful about laying in bed, slowly adjusting to morning wakefulness and listening to kids share ideas and giggles. Over the next couple of hours, everyone got moving and we shared a special weekend breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and pineapple. And I found myself laughing that our kids' appetites have gotten to the place where they'll polish off almost 3 full recipes of pancake batter. Wow!! Then it was on to that every-day stuff. Laundry had to be done, the dog walked, beds made, the house opened to the warmth and breezes of the day. After the kids got their chores done, while Dad and I collaborated on laundry...

Dear Nursing Staff, Thank you for taking wonderful care of me today. Your prompt attention, compassion, sense of humor were all appreciated. I'd just like to address one misconception that seemed to come up *every* time one or another of you came to my room. One of you went so far as to be sure to inform the new nurse to the room of this staggering misconception. So, I'm sorry if I shatter you, but... being a mom of four kids and homeschooling them does not, in fact, qualify me for sainthood or Superwoman status. Although your awe and compliments totally made my day...when I closed my eyes and ignored their insane level of falsehood. :) I could tell from your reactions that somewhere in your mind this picture was being painted: A family in which some Otherworldly magic has imbued the very atmosphere with a backdrop of harp melodies, the strains of which caress each gentle child to wake in the morning with the sweetest of spirits. Upon awakening, this Otherworldly influence cont...

The Winds of Fate One ship drives east and another drives west, With the self-same winds that blow, 'Tis the set of the sails And not the gales That tell them the way to go. Like the winds of the sea are the winds of fate, As we voyage along through life, 'Tis the set of the soul That decides its goal And not the calm or the strife. - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The conversation in our home this morning as the kids waited for breakfast: Michael: so...God made us...but how did he get our ribs to wrap around our bodies? They're hard. How did he get them to bend like that? Me: **insert brief explanation of DNA chains that contain codes of instructions for the cells as they develop to grow in exactly the way God wants them to grow to create the parts of the body** Michael: There are directions for all of my cells? Me: Yes. Michael: Well, then, why did God give my cells directions so that I would have autism? **crickets chirping** Reese, without missing a beat and with a "well, duh" tone of voice: Because He wanted you to be unique! I love my kids.