Joanne Heim

Interviews

My interview today went really well. Anita is a great host, and it felt like we were having a conversation rather than straight question and answer.

Even though I've done a ton of interviews, I still get nervous--especially doing interviews on my own. When Toben and I do interviews for our books together it's a lot easier; I know that if my mind goes blank he'll fill the silence!

Since I've started doing interviews on my own for Living Simply, I've really sensed the importance of having Toben pray for me beforehand. The first time I asked him to he looked at me like I might be joking, but he did it anyway. And today he prayed such a wonderful prayer over me that I felt totally blessed.

I shut myself in my room, sat on the floor by the fireplace, and spread out everything I might need:

*my Bible
*a copy of my book, marked up and with pages turned down
*cheat sheets with key points for different topics
*a sheet of quotes and Scripture verses I might need
*a list of interview questions with a word or two to remind me of what I'd like to say in response
*a pen
*a confirmation sheet for the interview with program information

Think that's about it. I get as prepared as I can get, get down on my knees, and ask God to give me words to speak, to help me think clearly, and to rely on him rather than myself.

Then I sit there feeling a little sick to my stomach, with my hands literally shaking, and wait for the phone to ring!

Sounds like fun, huh?

But once we get going, I feel peaceful and calm and actually have fun! The time flies and I'm surprised when we're done.

In the past, I've often hung up and thought, I should have said this or I wasn't very clear about that. But totally giving it to God first makes a huge difference. Of course, there's always more I could have said, but I have to trust that he's going to answer--after all, it's all about him, not me.

When it comes right down to it, the reason why I think living simply is so important is because I want women to find the "wide open, spacious life" that Paul talks about in Corinthians, the "more and better life than you've ever dreamed of" that Jesus talks about in John.

When we cut back, when we choose less, when we take time to rest, when we eliminate the clutter in our homes, cars, schedules, and minds, we find time and energy to pursue a relationship with God--something I think so many of us want but are too tired to figure out. That's what living simply is about, I think. Having what we need--time, energy, rest--to love God with our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.

Granny squares

I finally made the underskirt to go with my granny square skirt (at 6:30 this morning) so I could wear it to Bible study today.

How do I love this skirt? Let me count the ways...

1. Granny squares just make me happy!
2. Galway wool...great to knit or crochet and so very warm when it's bitter cold out (like today!)
3. Bright colors...would you believe that four years ago all my clothes were black, brown, khaki, gray, and white? No color at all--boring! (Can you tell I'm much happier today than I was then?!)
4. It gave people I didn't know a reason to talk to me today. "Love your skirt. Did you make it?"
5. No one else in the whole world has a skirt exactly like this one!
6. Somehow I can see my girls wearing this (or even their girls) someday and saying, "My mom/gran made this way back when..."
7. I'm sure I could come up with more things I love about it, but the girls are up in my bed waiting for me to come read to them...gotta go!

Tune in!

I'm the guest on Moody Broadcasting's "Midday Connection" tomorrow (Wednesday). We'll be talking about Living Simply. Click here for more information and station listings and times. The program airs all across the country.

If it doesn't air in your area, you can listen live on the internet. "Midday Connection" comes on at 11 a.m. (Mountain Time).

It's a live radio program, lasts an hour, and listeners can call in.

I feel like I know a lot of you from this blog; it would be fun to hear your voice if you wanted to tune in and call in to the program!

Monday

It's Monday. Laundry day. Cleaning up the basement day. Wearing sweats and no makeup day.

Seems like I should be able to come up with something more exciting than that to say, but all the bleach from the laundry must have gone to my head.

The girls and I are finishing up watching The Sound of Music tonight, which makes me think of my other favorite movies:

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Gigi
You've Got Mail
Funny Face
Paris When It Sizzles
Mary Poppins

Hmmm...seems like I should be able to come with more than that, but I am drawing a total blank. Mommy mush brain has struck, I think!

Sunday night

I love Sunday nights. And tonight was a great one.

Earlier today we had everyone (Mom and Dad, Wade, Kristen, and Ava) over for Sunday dinner to celebrate Emma's birthday. Mom, Kristen, and I ran across the street to Jo-Ann's for a while (found some great fabric for some more applique!), and the little girls all played while the guys watched golf.

We were still pretty full from that, so for dinner we popped popcorn and sliced up some apples and cheddar cheese. The girls wanted to watch a movie and picked The Sound of Music--one of my all-time favorites.

Popcorn and apples and cheese is something Toben's family often did for Sunday night supper. In my family we watched The Wonderful World of Disney and often roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in the fireplace. I love it when we can take little pieces of our traditions and put them together in a new one.

I love that Audrey and Emma love The Sound of Music. I remember watching it as a kid (on television--no VCRs or DVD players then!) and my very favorite scene has always been Liesl and Rolf in the gazebo in the rain, singing "I am Sixteen Going on Seventeen." I think that set the standard for romance in my mind. Rain pounding on the roof, a beautiful dress that twirls, dancing--not to mention a first kiss. Wow.

I *heart* applique!

I went to the fabric store today for some embroidery floss and to learn about fabric stablilizer so I can embroider on knit clothes.

So, "Happy I Love You Day!" to Ava.

I bought these karate pants and tee shirt a while back at American Apparel to embellish for her. I hadn't got around to it yet and I'm glad, because the flowers on this clearance fabric I picked up today worked great. I added a button and some seed beads to give it a little something extra.

And I made a shirt for myself too--again a plain tee from American Apparel. Love their stuff!

Now what else can I applique?!

***

Gotta run...I have a radio interview on "Live from Seattle" with Thor Tolo at 5:15 for Living Simply.

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Today is Emma's birthday. At 8 p.m. she'll be six. I can hardly believe how quickly time flies.

Here's an excerpt from the notebook full of letters I write to Emma:

January 27, 2001 (2 days old)

Dear Emma,

You're here! And I'm just crazy about you and love you so much I feel like my heart might burst.

Your were born on Thursday and we had an incredible birth. I was so happy to be at home--it was just what I'd hoped it would be.

Every morning for the past few weeks I've woken up and thought, "This could be the day!" And on Thursday I was right. Audrey and I went to see Jeanie at 9 for our weekly appointment and when she saw how much further you'd dropped she checked me and found that we'd made it to 4 cm. She said she was going to cancel her afternoon appointments.

I came home and cleaned the bathrooms, your dad came home and vacuumed. By the time he got back from the grocery, your Gran arrived and I started feeling contractions.

From noon until 2 p.m., they were about 10 minutes apart. Jeanie arrived and the controcations got closer together. By the time I got out of the bath at 4 p.m., they were about 2 1/2 minutes apart and lasting longer.

I made it to 6 cm and walked around the kitchen a bunch. I went upstairs around 6 p.m. and got in bed. At 7 p.m. Jeanie broke my water and everything sped up quickly. After I made it to 10 cm, I pushed twice and out you came!

It went so quickly that it really took me by surprise. I was concentrating so hard I didn't realize you were here. Someone said, "Open your eyes and look at your baby!"

I held you right away and your nursed almost immediately. After I while, I got up and took a shower. Your dad held you and took you downstairs to meet your Papa. Then you had your newborn exam and got your belly button cut.

Everyone left by about 10:30 and we all went to bed. We spent yesterday in bed, napping and nursing. People came to meet you and everyone thinks you're as beautiful as I do. I could just look at you for hours--you're amazing.

Words just aren't enough to say how much I love you!

Love, Mom

***

Somehow I forgot to write about the fact that Audrey came up to meet her baby sister, held her in her lap, and sang "Jesus Loves Me" to her. I cried and cried!

Blog vs. bubble bath and a book

Need I say more?

Teaching my kids to rest

The girls and I are reading Nicki every night before bed. Nicki is the
new American Girl of 2007. She's fun and smart and completely over-commited. She's overwhelmed by all she has to do--and she's only ten years old.

As we read I'm struck by the importance of teaching Audrey and Emma the importance of rest. Rest is something most kids don't like to do very much. "Why do we have to have rest time?" they whine when I suggest it on a Sunday afternoon. I tell them how important rest is, but I wonder if I've made it clear that rest is important for everyone--not just kids.

I'm not very good at resting. I'm a pro at downtime, sitting on the couch and reading a great book, or knitting away on a new project, or watching a movie. But I'm not very good at just being still and being quiet.

Toben will often ask me to come take a nap in the afternoon, and after about 15 minutes, I jump up, ready for whatever is next. In my family we laugh that my dad never stops--he's always working on something and I'm very much like him.

I often laugh at Psalm 23: "He makes me to lie down" in green pastures. He makes me because I don't do it on my own--no matter how much I complain about being tired. Just like I have to make the girls take time to rest.

I got a new book in the mail yesterday that I'm excited to read: The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring the Sabbath by Mark Buchanan. I have loved some of his other books and am looking forward to this one. I'm drawn over and over again to the idea of Sabbath--a day of rest each week. It's something I wrote about in Living Simply, but we still haven't quite figured out.

Somehow writing about this has brought it all to the forefront of my mind again, a little reminder I needed. So often I think about something and work on it and then in the midst of living daily life it gets forgotten.

Chicks!

***

And now this chick is off to the airport to pick up Toben, who's finally coming home tonight after being gone much too long!

Embroidery!

It snowed about 6 inches today; Dad came to get us and bring us to their house for Sunday dinner; lots of embroidering practice while we watched Shirley Temple in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

Another day at the museum

The girls spent the night at Papa and Gran's last night, and I picked everyone up this morning to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. This time Dad got to come with us too--and he loved it, just like I thought he would. I can totally see my dad being a docent at a museum like this someday when he retires.

We visited the Mars exhibit to help Audrey with her solar system project before heading to the IMAX theater to see the Everest movie. Wow. I just can't really imagine wanting to climb Mount Everest (especially when you almost feel like you're there with an IMAX film, but without the 30 below zero temperatures and dying). If you've not seen it and have an IMAX theater nearby, go see it. Incredible.

We also saw the dinosaur bones and the mummies. No wildlife halls today...but they do behind the scene diorama tours on Saturdays, so next time we'll have to take that tour--and see the Shackleton's Antarctica IMAX, the next one on the list.

***

I've been embroidering this evening. (I'd post a picture, but the camera's downstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it right now!) I think I've got the stem stitch down. The book I mentioned from the library is The Embroidery Stitch Bible. It's been really helpful so I think I may need to get a copy to keep. Though $29.99 seems like a lot. I'll have to check if Amazon has a used one.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my bit of embroidery. Perhaps a little zippy purse.

P.S. It's snowing again.

P.S.2. It really helps if it's a golden delicious apple, rather than a granny smith. Granny smiths are really hard to break in half.

Am I weird?

I was tagged by Erin to share some weird things about myself. So here goes...

1. I collect chickens and roosters, though I'm terrified of them in real life. Seems like I was in someone's henhouse as a child and full of fear of being pecked to death.

2. I love removing the dryer lint from my lint trap when I do laundry.

3. I'm mostly in bed by 7:45 p.m. (I don't think this is weird at all, but some of my friends assure me it is!) As a result, I get up by 5:30 every morning (yes, even most weekends!).

(Had to stop and ask the girls for help, but for once, they said that I'm not weird!)

4. Emma was born at home with a midwife and without drugs--Audrey would have been, but it's a long story. (Again, I don't think this is weird, but I do have friends--and a sister--who think I'm nuts for that.)

5. I get really excited about things like playing cat's cradle--and other fun things that come in handy for Brownies.

6. Hmmm...can't think of another. I'm sure there are many more weird things about me, but because I'm me, they don't seem all that weird when I think about them. For example, I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue, I can break an apple in half with my bare hands, and my eyes are exactly the same distance apart from my nose.

If you want to know more, I suppose you'll have to ask my sister. My guess is she'd be the best one to list my weird qualities! Kristen?

Hugs and kisses

I spent the day with Kristen today. (Janna was supposed to come but she's sick with the yucky stomach flu. She called tonight and sounded soooo pathetic. I know just how she feels after our bout with it on the cruise. We missed you, Janna, and are praying you feel much better soon!)

We made Valentine garland.

Kristen's says "JE T'AIME" and is so cute too.

(Can I just say again how much I love scrapbooking paper? Mom came over yesterday and lined an old silverware box with paper to store remotes in. And I covered some Altoid tins yesterday for the girls too.)

After bagel sandwiches for lunch, we headed down to Pearl Street to shop. We went to Five Green Boxes and found some fun Valentines...think the Valentine decorations will go up tomorrow.

And since Toben says I need more chickens, I had to buy this one...especially when I figured out that it clucks and lays eggs. She rolls along the floor, stops to lay an egg, then rolls some more and lays another egg. It is too cool for words.

I love the library

I am a library girl.

One of my first jobs was working at the library on base at Menwith Hill Station in North Yorkshire, England. For a while we lived on base in a duplex while we waited for military housing in town to become available.

Living on base was great because the bowling alley, soda shop, and, most importantly, the library were just across the street and I could go by myself even though I was only 11 years old. A small military base was a pretty safe place.

The library itself was pretty tiny--and my job was actually volunteering. At least I think it was; I don't remember getting paid anything. I put books away and learned to cover books with those clear, shiny covers, and typed labels for the spines. I loved it.

I've always been a reader. Until the kids stopped napping, I pretty much read a book a day. No, I'm not exaggerating! On the days I didn't read a whole book it didn't really matter, because there were many days I'd read three or four. I read very, very quickly.

Working at the library meant unlimited access to books--teen romance novels were my favorite at age 11. I'd sneak them home and hide them under my bed because I was sure my mother would disapprove. Not really risque--just lots of hand holding and first kisses, but they were just about more than my 11-year-old heart could take.

The girls and I went to the library after school to get movies. Our library lets you check out unlimited DVDs for free! And they always have great movies for kids. We got some old Herbie movies, a Barbie movie or two, "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. After the kids go to bed, I'm going to watch the first season of M*A*S*H* and look through magazines. Gotta go get them out of the tub and into bed!

I need your help!

Hey all,

Would you do me a favor? If you've read Living Simply (and liked it!) would you write a review of it on Amazon? You can click on the book cover to the left and then it'll show you how.

Thanks so much!

Joanne

Rocking chair

Here's what I was going to write about last night before Emma got sick. (She stayed home from school today, took a three-hour power nap, and seems to be feeling much better now.)

I've had this lovely old rocking chair for a while, but it's been in the garage or in the basement for at least the past year. Joey the cat loved this chair and clawed the seat. Bad kitty!

I saw this at Jo-Ann Fabrics yesterday for only 49 cents a yard, so I bought 10 yards (it's better to have too much than to run out in the middle of a project!). The lady at the store said, "Oh you can't just sit on that, you have to have a cushion too." "But I like it and I think it's pretty," I said. She looked at me like I was crazy.

So I came home and cut off the seat and got out the staple gun.

Over, under, over, under. Audrey held the chair steady for me and I pulled as tight as I could. I'd forgotten how hard it is to squeeze a staple gun and couldn't have done it without her help.

And, contrary to the woman at the store said, it looks beautiful without a cushion and is now sitting in front of my new fireplace in my room. It's totally comfortable and Joey's left it alone...so far!

This stuff is my new favorite thing. I can just see it as garland around my Christmas tree, woven to make a pillow top, ribbon for big gifts, woven to be a tote bag, and who knows what else...

Toben's gone...

...and Emma's throwing up.

I think she (and the rest of us) have thrown up enough in the last month to last us at least a year--if not ten. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

I'm not a very good mom when my kids are sick. Especially at this age, when they can tell me enough that I know something's wrong, but not enough that I have any clue what to do. I ask a million questions, mention the doctor a time or two, and generally freak out. I'd love to be really nurturing and calm like I remember my own mother being, but I can't seem to get the hang of it.

Hello nasty control issues. Every time I think I'm getting better at surrendering control, it pops up again.

My mother was awesome when I was sick. I remember laying in bed by myself a lot, but that she'd come in to check on me and put her cool hand on my forehead. And whenever I'd get up to throw up, go potty, or take a bath, she'd straighten the sheets and fluff my pillow and air out the covers so it was like getting into a fresh bed. I vividly remember what it felt like to slide between those cool sheets when I was hot and feverish.

She'd also set a tray on my bedside table--flat ginger ale in a diet Coke glass with a bendy straw, a plate with dry toast, and a bell that was shaped like a helmet in case I needed her and my throat hurt to badly to yell.

In a weird way, I have really good memories of being sick. Somehow I don't think Audrey and Emma will have the same. "My mom totally freaked out and got angry whenever I said I didn't feel well."

Toben got really sick before Audrey was born and spent a month in the hospital. I picked him up at the airport in my pjs (don't ever go to the airport in your pjs--bad things happen when you do!) and then we flew straight to the ER where he went into surgery to have his appendix out and part of his intestines. (Not appendicitis after all, but they took it out anyway. Weird, huh? It was something called meckel's diverticulosis and it didn't heal right and he had to have more surgery and it was generally horrible.) I remember being totally terrified to see him quite literally screaming in pain as I drove to the hospital and my reaction to such fear was totally irrational anger. Once we knew what was wrong and the doctors were there to deal with it all, I was fine.

And once Emma stopped complaining about her tummy and threw up everything she'd eaten today--then I was able to hold her and hug her and be gentle and caring and calm. If I could only figure out how to do that first.

I suppose it has to do with trust too. I have a much easier time trusting God for myself than I do for the people I love the most. I wonder why that is. He's proved entirely trustworthy with them in the past.

I've been thinking a lot about seeking God first. I've got the first thing in the morning thing down pretty well; it's something that comes naturally to me. But seeking him first in my reactions to things isn't quite so easy.

Leave a comment, get a book!

I love it when people leave comments on my blog.

If you'd like a copy of my book, Living Simply: Choosing Less in a World of More, be one of the first three people to leave me a comment telling me you want one and I'll be happy to drop a signed one in the mail to you!

(I'll send you an email to get your mailing address--that way you don't have to leave it for all the world to see!)

Finished pencil boxes and fireplace

Pictures!

I especially love the vintage-looking school paper and the polka dots and checks together!

I've also picked out a mirror to hang above the fireplace, but I'm waiting until Hobby Lobby puts all their mirrors on sale.

Pencil boxes and wrist warmers

Wow...nothing for days and now three posts in one day.

I was at Hobby Lobby (how I love Hobby Lobby!) with my sister yesterday looking for letters and papers for the Valentine garlands that Kristen, Janna, and I are going to make on Thursday when I saw these wooden pencil boxes on clearance for 66 cents. I bought five and think I may have to go back for more.

Here are a few in progress...

I'm not a scrapbooker, but I LOVE scrapbook paper!

And one other work in progress, started at Emma's playdate with Hayden on Friday morning. Wrist warmers for Audrey from Debbie Bliss's book, Junior Knits.

Single mom

Toben's getting ready to go out of town and so I'll be a single mom for the next week or so. It's something I kind of like from time to time, but only for about a day before I'm desperate for Toben to come home again. I'm not sure how single moms do it and think they all deserve a huge medal.

I think that even though I'm not a single mom, I sometimes act like one. I take on full responsibility for our family and don't leave any room for Toben to lead. I assume that developing the girls' character and setting the tone for our family and discipline and everything else is all up to me. (Can you tell I struggle with control issues?!)

And then, of course, I sometimes resent Toben for what he's not doing without stopping to think that he's not doing it because I've had an attitude of "I'll handle it my way, thanks." Not very fair...

So how do I, how do we as wives and mothers, step back and involve our husbands in such things? Sitting down with Toben and saying something like, "What do you want our family to be like?" or "How can our family improve?" isn't going to work. I suspect he'd say something like, "I like our family just the way it is." End of conversation.

And I like our family too.

At the same time, I feel like life is so full of so many things that I want to be really active and deliberate in the what defines our family. It's all too easy to get up and go through today and tomorrow and the day after that and not ever make the memories we want to look back on or have the conversations we want to or create the traditions we want to have through the years.

I think I may need to come up with better questions as I talk with Toben. Maybe it would be better to ask about traditions his family had, or memories he cherishes, or the things he loved to do as a child, or the things that taught him important lessons.

Because when I think about all this, so much of what I think about is my own childhood and the things my family did. Sunday nights watching "The Wonderful World of Disney," camping trips every summer, reading aloud after dinner, having all kinds of people over for Sunday dinner.

All that to say, I wish he wasn't leaving tomorrow.

Excuses, excuses...

I'm sure I could come up with a lot of excuses for not blogging for the past few days (Brownies, Daisies, and Girl Scout cookie sale kickoff this week; playdates and sleepovers for the girls; Toben getting ready to go out of town; company for dinner; and it's just been so darn cold), but really I've just been lazy about it.

And sometimes I sit down to write and think my day has been so ordinary and not really exciting--just plain boring--that I don't have much to say that's worth anyone's time.

So what to write about this cold (below 0) and snowy (yes, again!) morning before everyone else gets up? Hmmm...

It occurs to me that I need to spend some time teaching the girls how to be good hostesses. Audrey had a friend come over after school on Friday to play and then spend the night. And it didn't go so well.

They came home from school and plopped in front of the television; Audrey and Emma fought ("Emma's stealing my friend!"); Emma cried ("Audrey said that her friend is only pretending to be nice to me, that she doesn't really like me, but she does!"); Audrey spent much of Saturday morning locked in her room pouting (she locked herself in--though I was tempted to do it for her) because her friend wanted to put together a puzzle that Emma had started.

"Emma's stealing my friend!" she says.

"Why don't you do the puzzle with them? I'm sure they'd love your help."

"I hate puzzles!" she says. Never mind that she doesn't really, but everything that morning was either boring or something she hated.

"But your friend likes them. Don't you think you could do it because she likes it?"

"NO!"

In the midst of all this, her friend kept asking me, "Where's Audrey? Is she okay?" Poor friend was stuck in the middle the whole time.

Audrey's been asking to play with this girl everyday for months, so I didn't really plan anything for them to do together. I kind of figured that they'd been talking about it so much that they knew what they wanted to do. Next time I think I'll sit down with Audrey to talk about what they can do together (other than watch television!).

I did keep Emma away from the girls quite a bit to give Audrey and her friend some time alone, but as I told Audrey, having a friend over is inviting her to be part of our family for a while, and Emma's part of it. Not easy, I know. Think I need to remind Audrey that I do know what it's like since I'm a big sister too.

After some chocolate chip pancakes I got out beads and safety pins to let the girls make some more friendship pins, which they did and all got along really well. Yes, crafty activities are good.

I'm so glad we have tomorrow off school to recover!

***

P.S. Toben's started blogging. I've put a link to him over there. <---

I would like to be profound...

...every time I sit down to write--a blog, a letter, an inscription on a book. But it just doesn't happen that way.

Especially when I'm cold. It's 18 degrees outside and starting to snow (again, I'm sorry, Laura, we're really not trying to steal your snow--you're welcome to it!). It makes me even colder to think that it's warmer now than it will be for the next few days. Brrrr...shiver...brrrr...

I am starting to warm up though because I bought an electric fireplace for our bedroom last night. My mother-in-law had the idea when they were here for Sunday dinner, and when I went to Home Depot yesterday they were all half price! This one is mahogany and granite, and has a remote so I can turn it on and off while I lay in bed. How cool is that?!

Toben says it's like a really big (and really heavy--ugh, getting it up the stairs nearly killed us last night!) space heater with fancy lights in it. True, but much more romantic in person. He's been after me all day to get the thing decorated, but instead I did laundry (my washing machine is fixed--hallelujah!) and took down Christmas from the girls' rooms. I'm excited to make the fireplace even more beautiful than it is all alone, and will post some pictures when I get it done this weekend!

Living Beyond Yourself

I started Bible study today at church.

I spent far too much time this morning getting ready and worrying about how I looked. Walking into a room of almost 200 women I don't know can be a little bit scary...so I at least wanted to look confident! I tried to explain it to Toben, but I think you have to be a woman to understand why that can be intimidating.

It seemed like everyone knew someone--except me. So instead of sitting there all by myself for 20 minutes and waiting for everything to get started, I called my friend Lori to chat. I participated in a Bible study at Lori's house in San Diego, and I was missing the familiarity of her beautiful living room and faces I know and love.

At the last minute, I saw a face I knew--Ellie's mom, Tricia. (Ellie and Emma are in the same class at school.) The table where she was sitting was full, but she introduced me to a couple of other women and directed me to a table she promised would be a lot of fun. Everyone was very nice, and they all seem really social--having lunch together after Bible study each week, getting together for girls' night out, and so on. So it looks like I'll be making friends soon.

We're doing Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself (on the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23). And of course once they turned on the video segment and Beth popped up on screen I felt right at home. Because even though I've not met her (YET!), she's a friend. So there was someone else I knew and loved. If you've ever done one of her studies you know exactly what I mean. (And if you haven't, I can't recommend them highly enough!)

The introduction alone was inspiring and I'm anxious to get up tomorrow morning and start in on this week's homework. As Beth said, who couldn't use more joy or peace or patience or self-control--today? I know I sure can and I'm so excited to be starting a new study.

I came home and started taking down Christmas--something that always makes me a little bit blue. But I talked on the phone while I did it, which made it more fun.

And my washing machine got fixed today. It has refused to spin for the past week and today was the first day the repair man could come. Laundry's on the agenda for tomorrow. Hooray for clean underwear!

Anyone remember these?

When I was in the fifth grade in Montgomery, Alabama, friendship pins were all the rage. I remember sitting for hours putting little beads on safety pins and then attaching them onto my shoelaces and such. We also strung little tiny beads on thread to make necklaces--rainbows were the favorite pattern of the time. (In fact, I'm sure my mom still has some of the necklaces we made--and I think there's a beaded safety pin still on a pair of her sandals!)

It's my turn to lead Brownies today. We're doing the Friends Are Fun try-it and making friendship pins as part of earning the badge. The book suggested friendship bracelets, but the ones they described were kind of lame, and I think the kind made from embroidery floss by tying knots would be a little too hard for the girls. I don't think they'd be able to finish them in the time we have...maybe next year for Juniors.

We're also making secret codes with a great Girl Scout code wheel that Terri told me about. I found it at this website and printed them out on cardstock. The girls are going to cut them out, color them, and then decode one of the other girls' names. Then they'll learn something new about that girl and share it with the troop. This code wheel is fun because the code can be different each time--making it impossible for little siblings to figure out!

Toben's parents came for Sunday dinner yesterday afternoon--pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans with carmelized onions, "Joanne" carrots (braised with garlic, sugar, and parsley), and chocolate mousse. Yum. We celebrated Christmas with them and it was such fun to hang out for the afternoon.

I'm off to Monument tonight to meet my friends Emily and Michelle for dinner. I haven't seen either of them since we were all up in the mountains together for a girls weekend. It's really not that far to drive--about 35 miles--don't know why I haven't gotten down there sooner. So we'll celebrate Christmas together tonight--and Emily's birthday!

I suppose this all means that Christmas is finally over and I should take down the Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. It always makes me kind of sad. But I'm starting a new Beth Moore Bible study (Living Beyond Yourself) tomorrow at church! I don't know anyone there, but it's time to get involved. So I guess I'm off the hook for taking down the tree until Wednesday. (Although Ava is spending the day with me on Wednesday, so maybe I'd better wait until Thursday!)

Snow day!

When I checked my email at 6 o'clock this morning, there was an email from the school in my inbox--no school today because of snow. We got about 6 inches overnight and another 2 or 3 over the course of the day.

Audrey slept in, the girls made a snow cave, and I shoveled snow. I was also crafty and made a bunch of headbands to keep the wispies out of our faces. These are really fun and easy and I think I'm going to have to make a lot more so I can have one to match every outfit. And I experimented with little drawstring bags to help Emma organize her little toys. (She loves little toys--the kind with lots of different little parts that seem to get spread all over the house.)

And I got to talk to my friend Janna on the phone not once, but four times! Wonderful since I don't think we've had a chance to really chat since before Thanksgiving.

P.S. Hey Laura, if you want snow, I think you should move to Denver.

***

One of the things I have loved about blogging and writing is "meeting" new friends. In the past couple of weeks, I've made a new friend, Marla. She's also a writer and we have the same agent. She sent me two of her books. I, of course, read the one about sex first! (It's a great book--I'd recommend it highly!)

At the end I found some wonderful encouragement that spoke perfectly to some of the things I've been thinking lately:

I have slowly figured out that God rarely lets me conquer any significant struggle completely. He allows me to take steps in the right direction but keeps me from ultimate lasting success. It's too important to Him that I keep turning to Him and trusting Him, rather than myself. Thankfully, He's the God of second chances. With Him, I always get another opportunity to do things right. His grace and compassion are new every morning. He's the God of fresh starts...

Life isn't about reaching a point where I'm finally self-sufficient in every key area... Life is about learning how to handle mistakes and failures when they come. Learning how to rely on God in the midst of messy, often painful, circumstances. Realizing that self-sufficiency isn't even a desirable goal.

Amen, sister!

As I wrote back to her this morning, "I especially loved your reminder at the end that it's not about conquering a problem or getting something perfect...but about dependence upon God each and every day. So often, I get down on myself for not having figured out so many things in my life...and I really needed the reminder that God doesn't want me to be independent, but fully dependent on him.

"In Psalm 28 in the prayer book this morning I read, 'Save us, and bless your inheritance; shepherd us, and carry us for ever.' In a previous month, I'd written at the bottom of the page, 'As I grow & walk w/ God, I'm heading toward more & more dependence, learning to rest & be carried-such the opposite of life on earth.' Somehow I need that monthly (daily!) reminder that it's better to be carried than to walk on my own. It requires such a mindshift for me to focus on being carried, being led, being dependent-rather than to get it all together and be a super woman, super mom, super wife."

All that to say, no wonder some of my resolutions for this new year are the same as ones I had last year! While I want to keep working on the big things in my life, I need to do that with a new mindset of learning to rely on God rather than myself.

A wonderful afternoon

I called my friend Ann totally spur of the moment this afternoon on the off chance she'd be home and available. (Why is it we don't really ever drop by our friends' homes these days? I suppose it could be that so many people are never home, or that we feel like we have to have things perfect before we'd let someone past the front door...)

Anyway, she was home and available, so I stopped by the grocery store, picked up some lunch (deli sandwiches, dill pickles, kettle chips, and my favorite little schoolboy cookies), and headed to her house.

I stayed until it was time to get the girls from school and it was a perfectly wonderful afternoon--just what I needed. We laughed and visited and rescued her daughter and Christmas ornaments when the tree totally fell over all on its own. (Note to self: Be sure to really check the stand each year--one of the legs on hers just snapped off and the others were cracked.)

So often I put my to do list above being spontaneous and hanging out with friends or family. I feel like I have to have so many things crossed off before I can reward myself. I find myself scheduling time with friends--and if you're anything like me and my friends it can be hard to find empty time that matches. "How 'bout two weeks from next Thursday at 11:35?"

I think that's just some of the nature of life. If we don't schedule things, they tend not to happen. But there's something to be said for spur-of-the-moment, totally unplanned, "throw the to-do list out the window" kinds of things too.

We chose the adventure...

...and spent the afternoon at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with my mom, sister, and niece wandering the wildlife halls. Beats the zoo any day in my book because the animals stand still, they are close enough to see, and there's all kinds of fun information to read about them.

For example, did you know that the albatross ends its mating dance with a resounding "MOO!"? Who knew?!

If you live in or around Denver, or visit someday, this museum is tops in my book. A family membership is totally worth it.

***

I'm off to read to the girls before bed. School really does start tomorrow. I checked the website and called another mom just to be sure.

Wednesday, 6:30 a.m.

Set the alarm, got up at 5:30, got Toben out the door for his trip, packed Audrey's lunch, and just looked at my calendar. School doesn't actually start today; it starts tomorrow.

Guess I won't go get the girls up and out of bed after all.

Mommy mush brain has struck.

The question is: Do I do what I just spent some time planning to do today (laundry, ironing, sewing) or do we go have an adventure to celebrate an unexpected day of freedom? I think adventure is calling...

Bathing beauties

I'm sitting here in the bathroom, talking to Kristen and watching all the cousins take a bath. Audrey, Emma, and Ava are all in the tub together--laughing and splashing and soapy. So very cute.

Kristen and Ava came over after Ava's 18 month check up this afternoon. Ava took her nap here, we all sat on the couch and watched M*A*S*H* and then ate dinner together. Wade's working late tonight and will be for the next two or three months during the accounting busy season. So Kristen and Ava will be here a bunch.

I made my all-time favorite pasta for dinner. Here's the recipe, such as it is.

Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Chop roma tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and toss with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, and lots of chopped garlic. Roast in a pan in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. This will make your house smell really good.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Add tomato mixture and crumbled goat cheese. Toss to coat. The goat cheese will melt and make a creamy sauce for the pasta.

If you have fresh basil, add some. Tonight we added some roasted chicken to the pasta too.

Enjoy!

New Year's Resolutions

The girls and I sat and watched the Rose Parade this morning and wrote thank-you notes for our Christmas presents; that's what you do on New Year's morning if you grew up in my family. So just a few pictures to print out and include in a couple of envelopes and they'll all go out in the mail tomorrow.

We also spent some time talking about New Year's resolutions--especially that they have to be for yourself--you can't make a resolution for someone else. ("No, Audrey, you can't resolve for Emma to be nice to you! But you can resolve to be nice to her.") We didn't quite get them all written down neatly to go in our (still undecorated--need some spray mount from the craft store) time capsule.

So here's a little sampling of what we came up with:

Emma wants to have more playdates with her friend Hayden. She's also resolved to try some new foods this year and to go horseback riding and to learn to read.

Audrey's going to work hard at multiplication and spend some more time with me. She's also wanting to have family fun days. (The world championship for snow sculpting happens in Breckenridge at the end of the month--think that'll be our first family adventure of the year.)

I'm going to add Compline (the night-time office in my prayer book) to my evening routine and read to the girls each day. (Tonight Emma chose The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman--it was my sister's all-time favorite book as a child. "I love my house, I love my nest. In all the world, my nest is best.")

Toben's resolved to be perfect. Not sure how that'll go, but I guess it's a worthy goal!

We spent the afternoon at Mom and Dad's with the whole gang--Wade and Kristen and Ava, and Wade's parents and cousin. We watched football and ate black-eyed peas. (I really hate black-eyed peas, but ate them anyway. Gotta set an example for Emma, and, besides, that's just what you eat on New Year's Day if your mom grew up in the south. I think they represent luck in the new year. In which case, I'll have moderate luck this year--since I really only had a "brownie" bite.)

P.S. Daisy really loves her sweater and wore it non-stop until she played in snow that was just a little too deep for her this afternoon. It's drying, and she's looking longingly at it while she waits to be nice and toasty warm again.