Joanne Heim

Two down, two more to go

Letters W and X for The ABCs of Living Simply are up on the Free Downloads page. Only Y and Z to go.

Then I have something fun planned that I'm so excited about!

Thanks for hanging in there with me--somehow these 26 have taken way longer than the 26 weeks I envisioned. Summer threw me for a loop--I think all the suntan lotion made my brain fuzzy!

A quick homework tip

**EDITED TO ADD THE NEXT MORNING**

Wow. Ya'll (see, there it is again!) have some great ideas. Keep 'em coming. And even if you don't want to share, go read the comments to see what others have done!

A couple of things--that wipe board is a small one--the size of an 8 x 11 piece of paper. That way, the girls can hold it in their laps or on the homework table.

And I forgot to mention that we do homework at the exact same time everyday--from 5-6 p.m. An hour works for us--especially since Audrey will take as long as you give her. So she used to do homework from 3:30-6--even though it could be done in an hour. That keeps her on track, like the timers some other moms have mentioned. Plus it gives her time to play and be a kid after school. And eat a snack.

That's something else we do--a healthy snack right after school. The girls come home hungry and tired and need almost a whole 'nother meal. Full of protein and a little shot of caffeine sometimes too!

Every once in a while, I have a brilliant mommy moment that totally changes life for the better for my kids--and me too. This one happened a while ago, but it made our evening better tonight so I thought I'd share.

Here it is:

I know it's a terrible picture, but it's a dry erase wipe board and I'm sure you've seen them before.

Here's why I love it:

1. No more wasting scratch paper for math problems--crumpled up paper in the trash with one little, measly long division problem on it. Instead we use the wipe board to work things out the long way. And then we erase it and move on to the next problem.

2. Spelling words. It's hard to test spelling words out loud when your daughter gets easily distracted and loses her place between the T and I in motivate. We were both totally frustrated when I thought, "WIPE BOARD!" She grabbed it, I gave her a word, she wrote it down, and then read it to me.

That way she heard the word, then wrote it down, saw it, said it, and heard herself spell it. Think we covered almost every possible learning style with this. And she went from missing most of the words to missing only a couple.

3. And let's face it, a wipe board is great for tic-tac-toe, doodling, and drawing funny pictures. 

I think I got these (yep, we have at least three of them!) on clearance at Target for less than $5 each. But I would have paid double that--because this little thing makes homework SO MUCH BETTER. Every single day.

What about you? Any other amazing homework helper, thing-ys you use? Do share!

Look what I did today!

I spent the morning meeting with my admissions counselor, learning about financial aid, and taking a campus tour. I AM SO EXCITED!

Looks like I'll start in January with OT 511: "Understanding Early Israel and Its Wisdom Literature." I CANNOT WAIT!

For those of you I haven't told, I'm going to get my master's degree in Biblical Studies with an Old Testament emphasis. I have no idea what I'll do with it, and so when I was asked a couple of times today why I want a degree, I just smiled and said, "Because I think it will be fun!"

Of course, I'm sure that I will use it, but how and when and what for? That's up to God. (And it's years away, because I'm going to go to school part time. My family has to come first!)

Anyway, Toben came back from the office supply store earlier today and said he almost bought me a Trapper Keeper. But then he figured I'd rather take my MacBook to class. But I don't know...a Trapper Keeper is pretty hard to resist!

Now if only they had lockers...

Charm bracelet love

To answer all your questions, yep, that's my charm bracelet. I wear it everyday--Toben says he loves it because he always knows where I am since I jingle just like the dog!

For those of you who are new, I've blogged about it here, here and here. And there are some charm bracelet links on the LINKS page over there <---------.

Pardon the construction dust...

...I'm playing around with banner images for a while.

Ya'll!

If I lived in the south, my accent would be real and I'd probably have air conditioning. It's 82 degrees in my house right now.

I am so ready for fall.

A glimpse of San Antonio

Here's just a glimpse of the Siesta Fiesta weekend!

Row 1: Made a baby hat on the plane, Riverboats from my room, The view from my balcony, Kim taking our picture on the boat

Row 2: All of us on the boat, Waiting in the lobby (Fran, Kim, me, Patty, Lisa, Georgia), At the Alamodome (Annette, Angie, Teri, me), Met Dedra

Row 3: Reserved seating, Group picture with Beth, Brooke and me, Me and Elizabeth

Row 4: My homegirl Lisa and me, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Holly, Tammy, Brooke, me, Elizabeth), Brooke and Georgia--the Karoke Queens coming soon to a venue near you, At the Alamodome (Bobbi, Holly, me, Tammy, Elizabeth, Brooke)

YA'LL...I'm home...

I made it home from the Siesta Fiesta with a definite accent envy (though I'm pretty sure I was one of those "northern girls" trying to talk with a southern accent someone--can't remember who--mentioned...it just comes out the more you hang with those "southern girls"!), a propensity to say ya'll in every sentence, and a beautiful inheritance.

More on all that soon. I've been out having fun with Toben all day to celebrate his birthday a couple of days late. We went to lunch and to the Bass Pro Shops for bullets. Big birthday fun! That and grocery shopping.

I am downloading photos as we speak and will post at length about the weekend, but the laundry is calling and it's getting louder by the minute.

Look at this thing...

...it has a setting called "Pleading Chicken." What the heck?! Who hunts chickens? And what do they plead? "Don't kill me!"

And imagine my distress when I realized that instead of the black/chrome crockpot I just bought, I could have had a camo one!

I love the shooting range, but I must say the sights on the two guns I tried were way off.

P.S. I did kill that darn rattlesnake at the shooting range!

Happy birthday, Toben!

I'm glad you were born. And I'm even more glad you're mine.

Well, I *thought* I was packed...

...until Holly called to say she'd be late swinging by tonight to drop off my cookbook because she realized she'd forgotten her ticket to the conference and had to stop and search for it.

I nearly had a heart attack because I had totally forgotten to pack my ticket.

So...if you're coming...DON'T FORGET YOUR TICKET!!!

***

P.S. And totally unrelated: This is my 800th post!

I love the smell of pot roast in the evening

I've had a roast going in the crockpot all day and my house smells so good. It's almost time for dinner; Emma just needs to make the gravy when she's done with her fifteen minutes of reading.

I'm all packed for San Antonio. Or over-packed, I guess. I'd rather have lots to choose from than wish I'd brought something else. What about you? Are you an over-packer or an under-packer?

(Note I did not ask if you pack just right. Such women exist only in mythology, as far as I'm concerned!)

I've decided to leave my computer at home. I'll knit on the plane and listen to some Alistair Begg sermons instead of watching a movie. And I really don't think I'll have time to blog. The schedule is jam-packed full of fun. But I will take lots of pictures and share everything when I return.

I did find some new jammies for the pj party on Saturday night. And I'm bringing an extra pair so my new ones will be fresh for the party.

I hope to hug lots of you there; wish you ALL were coming along. I'll be back on Monday!

Calling the tooth fairy

Forgot to mention (I know...even in the rush of list mode that went on and on!) that Emma lost a tooth yesterday. She pulled it herself.

And that means it was time to call the Tooth Fairy.

The first time Audrey lost a tooth she wanted to know how the Tooth Fairy knew to come. Good question--and one I never had as a kid.

"Um. We call her," I said. And I have ever since for every tooth the kids lose.

"Hello? Is this the Tooth Fairy."

PAUSE.

"Yes, I'll hold." Turning aside to the girls. "It must be a busy day for her. I'm on hold."

PAUSE, while I tap my foot and wander around humming to the hold music.

"Hi. This is the Heim family and Emma lost a tooth today."

PAUSE.

"The one on the bottom left."

PAUSE. 

"Yes, our address is still... Yes, her room is still the one at the top of the stairs on the right. Blue carpet." 

(We always confirm our address because sometimes we're on vacation and need to let the tooth fairy know where we are.)

PAUSE.

"Special requests? Yes, she'd really like to keep her tooth so she can take it to school tomorrow to show her class."

PAUSE.

"Thanks for making an exception and understanding."

(Emma also wants me to tell the Tooth Fairy that she only wants dollars, not cents. But I think that's a little pushy, so I don't tell the Tooth Fairy that!)

PAUSE.

"Thank you very much. Have a good night!"

Random-y randomness

First, when Peter said, "What are we going to do with your hair?" and I said, "I don't know" and he said, "How about Sharon Stone short?" and I thought, "No way!" what I said was, "Been there, done that, let's just trim the ends."

So no picture to show--it pretty much looks the same. But someone else washed my hair and spent 30 minutes brushing it (with at least four different kinds of brushes) getting it dry and all I had to do was sit there with my eyes closed. It was good. The other big news? I chose orange polish for my toes.

In other news...

1. The girls are tucked in for the night in clean sheets. It's Tuesday, also known as sheets and towels day. I love getting into bed when the sheets are all clean. I don't particularly enjoy making the beds (making beds is a boy job around the Heim house), but I must admit that I do get a weird sense of satisfaction out of flinging the flat sheet up in the air and having it land all smooth and perfect--just like in a laundry detergent commercial. 

2. Toben's in Phoenix (which is where the company he works for is located), so I have been making the bed each morning, though that's not really hard since I don't really move when I sleep. It makes for a quick chore!

And speaking of Toben... He has a blog too. But he never posts pictures and I think his last post was about shooting a machine gun. I'm sure if you all go look his stats will go way up and maybe he'll start posting pictures under the pressure of more than the three readers he says he usually he has.

3. Back to school always makes me feel housewife-y. It's a chance to start again (more so than the new year for some reason) and I've been setting the breakfast table and packing lunches the night before. And I've made sure the kitchen is clean--no dishes in the drying rack, everything put away just so--before going to bed. I tell ya, it makes getting up in the morning that much easier to know the kitchen is nice and neat and there's just one button to push for that first cup of coffee.

4. I'm headed to San Antonio on Thursday morning for a Beth Moore Living Proof Live weekend and the Siesta Fiesta. (Click on that thing over there ---> for more information if you don't know what I'm talking about.) I'm so excited to meet so many of you face to face. I do need to pack tomorrow--and now that my toes are orange, I'll pack clothes to match!

The biggest question is whether to pack my computer and blog from there. Part of me wants to, the other part thinks I should leave it at home and just take lots of pictures and notes to share when I get back.

But I never travel without it and it might be kind of weird. Not sure yet.

5. I finally got to talk to my friend Terri today. It had been way too long and I've been trying to get her on the phone for days. It was great to hear her voice, but it made me really miss her. I think we could have talked for at least another hour, but it was my turn in line at Target and I just can't talk on the phone while someone is ringing me up. My mother would tell me it's rude and I agree.

6. I got to have coffee with a new friend this morning. I was standing in line at Starbucks, contemplating the fact that I had no idea what she looked like, when I felt a tug on my jeans and looked down to see the cutest little boy with the longest eyelashes ever look up at me and say, "Are you Miss Joanne?" 

By the end of our time together, Jonah was sitting up in my lap and playing with my charm bracelet, asking me about each one and learning all about sea otters and how they eat abalone while floating on their backs (that one is from the Monterey Bay Aquarium). He even invited me to come to his house and see his fishing pole. And when it was time to go, he said, "Excuse me. Do you love me?" Absolutely. And I loved his mama too!

7. In case that whole "boy job" thing made you wonder, we have very definite boy jobs and girl jobs around our house--and have since we got married. For example, boy jobs include putting gas in the cars, taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, making the bed, cleaning up after dinner, and trimming the cat's toenails. Girl jobs include cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing, trimming the dog's toenails, and grocery shopping.

8. Okay, now I'm just babbling. Time to go pray the evening office and go to sleep. (I just read Robert Benson's new book, In Constant Prayer. As always when it comes to his books, I loved it and was challenged in so many ways. If you're looking for something to read, go get one of his books. Or come borrow one of mine. But you have to return it because I read them again and again.)

  

It's time for my annual haircut

Well, I did get it cut last December, so it's not quite been a year. More like eight months. And since I go so infrequently, Toben splurges to send me someplace nice. Someplace where there's a guy whose only job is to wash hair. I love having my hair washed. It just might be my love language.

The last time I got my hair cut there (well, the only time other than tomorrow, really) two people dried my hair. One on each side, each with his own blowdryer. How cool is that?! It takes at least 25 minutes to get my hair dry (and that's with the super-duper, high wattage hairdryer of doom), so to have someone else do it saves my arms from getting tired and falling off.

I have no idea what I want. Part of me wants to tell Peter to do whatever he wants--after all, he's worked on Linda Evangelista and other models and famous people--but I'm a little chicken. Make that a lot chicken. I'd love to go for an Angelina Jolie, Stacey London, Miley Cyrus kind of a long hair thing, but I cannot stand having my hair in my face or in my way. 

I'd also love to do a sassy short hair thing, but I know that I'd hate it and then spend the next two years complaining and waiting for it to grow. (I know that because I did cut it short about three or four years ago and just stopped complaining in the past year and a half.)

Which means I'll probably tell Peter to do whatever he wants as long as it's still long enough to pull back in a boring ponytail out of my face. And that means that no one will really be able to tell that I've had it cut.

But I'll be all mellow and happy because someone else will wash my hair and take about half an hour to do it. And that's really why I go get my hair cut anyway! 

I'll let you know how it turns out...

It's Monday and I've actually posted the next ABC of Living Simply

I know you can't believe it, but school has begun and I need to get back in the habit of getting these up. After all, we're up to the letter V and getting close to the end of the alphabet.

And I have a really cool bloggy thing I'm so excited about, but I can't do it until these ABCs are done.

So click on over there (--->) on the ABCs button and you can download "V is for value story."

Ceasing on the Sabbath

I don't know why, but I think it's easier to start with the "do nots" when it comes to understanding the Sabbath. Just some weird way I'm wired, I suppose. I want a clear list of what I can't and should do--and that way I can check off all the little boxes and we'll all be just fine.

But the Sabbath isn't really like that, I'm learning. So much of it is about motive. What honors the Sabbath for you may not honor the Sabbath for me. Which means it's something we each have to discover and pray and seek God's guidance in for ourselves.

And isn't that the point, really?

I mentioned Lynne Baab's book, Keeping the Sabbath, a couple of weeks ago. One of the things I appreciated was questions to help wrestle through what it means to keep the Sabbath for me and my family.

She had something to say that makes sense to me about figuring out the "ceasing" part first:

Remember, we are striving to obey the spirit of the sabbath law. We are not trying to make rules or create new burdens. We are ceasing from some activities to make space for resting in God and enjoying the gifts he's given us.

I need to cease from some things in order to make space for what I will do on the Sabbath. If I add without subtracting first, then it's all too easy to get overwhelmed because the day is just too full. I have to clean house, as it were, before I bring in something new. Otherwise it's just clutter.

Here are just a couple of the questions she asks in her chapter, "A Day Without a 'To Do' List":

What do you need to cease from?

What aspect of your life might be losing its value because of overuse?

Your answers to those questions will probably be different than mine. But as I think about it, I need to cease from work, from chores, from my never-ending to do list. I need to cease from the hustle and bustle of the outside world--shopping, running errands. I need to cease from the noise of everyday life.

The second question is a little harder for me. When I think of overuse, I think of the computer. I love my MacBook, but I spend LOTS of time on it--particularly when I'm in the middle of a writing project. Even just reading blogs, surfing the net, and responding to email takes up big chunks of my day.

I am a reader--and always have been. And when I'm on a reading tear, the world could stop and I wouldn't notice! I do read lots of nonfiction, but when I read for fun, I read for fun. Nothing too heady, nothing on Oprah's book club, just total escape into the world of spies and adventure. 

I say a reading tear, because I can easily ignore my family for hours on end and escape to the underwater world of Dirk Pitt and Clive Cussler novels. I overdo it easily.

For my children, overuse makes me think of the television, the computer. It's changing now that school has begun (we do not turn the television on Monday-Thursday), but as I look back on the summer, it seemed that the TV was on and someone was playing on Webkinz or Littlest Pet Shop or American Girl or Build a Bear every moment.

As I've thought about my answers to those questions, a couple of things have come out of it:

• No computer for me or the girls on Sundays.
• No television (with the exception of watching movie as a family) on Sundays.
• No homework for the girls on Sundays.
• No chores on Sundays.
• No shopping or errands on Sundays.
• No fiction for me on Sundays.
• Nothing on Sundays that doesn't include the whole family--that means an automatic "no" to any birthday parties on a Sunday afternoon, Girl Scout activities, or playdates.

That's an awful lot of NO as I look at the list. But the cool thing is that some of it feels like a relief--no grocery shopping, no cleaning the house, no laundry! 

But like Baab said in her book, all those "no"s create space for the things we will do on Sundays.

This is getting entirely too long and I have to go take Audrey to her final vision therapy evaluation, so more on the YES stuff soon! You deserve a cookie if you've read through this whole thing--and maybe a cup of tea to go with it. Go treat yourself!

Anticipating Sabbath

It's still raining here--I just love it! We've had a wonderful indoor day. Breakfast all together, followed by the me and the girls hanging out in the basement being crafty and sewing.

But I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's Sabbath.

We've been gone the past two Sundays on vacation, and I'm excited to go to church tomorrow and do our Sabbath routine.

For me, the idea of Sabbath and service are closely linked. And as I've thought about what we could do to serve as a family, one of the things that has come up is our Compassion children. We have four Compassion daughters--two for each girl, sharing birthday months and years with Audrey and Emma. 

I must confess that we've been terrible about writing to them.

So as I've thought about new ways we could serve, God kept bringing our girls to mind. That we have children to serve--and we could serve them much better than we do. It's not time to add something new until we're doing what we're already doing well.

So on Sundays, we come home and have Sunday dinner, then we sit down and write to our girls--one each week, so they each receive a letter each month. We've been in the routine since school got out and it's working really well.

We read any updates from the girl whose week it is, write a letter together, and Audrey and Emma usually draw pictures and write little notes. We dig through the sticker drawer and look for fun things to send along with the letters. Audrey and Emma love it. 

And while we pray for Lucia and Denys, for Gita and Josiane at bedtime most nights, I'd like to start praying more specifically for them as a family on Sunday afternoons.

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry 

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry for help, and he will say:

Here am I...

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

and the LORD's holy day honorable, 

and if you honor it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

then you will find your joy in the LORD,

and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land

and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."

The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

(from Isaiah 58)

A joyful noise and a clean house

**ADDED A FEW MINUTES LATER** Forgot to mention that it's been raining and thundering all morning. I love that!

I just have to stop what I'm doing and say I'm having the best day. Toben's been out running errands and is now at school doing lunch duty, the girls are at school, and I have the house all to myself.

I started cleaning at 8 this morning and the whole downstairs is done. I just need to go put some rugs in the dryer before heading upstairs to tackle bedrooms, bathrooms, and the loft.

When I'm home alone cleaning, I turn the music WAY, WAY up and praise my way through mopping, dusting, and scrubbing.

Here's one of the songs I've had to listen to again, putting down the scrub brush so I can sing and dance with some reckless abandon.

The video doesn't show the whole song, but go find it if you don't have it on your playlist. Here are the lyrics:

- Nicole C. Mullen Lyrics

Are you convinced? NOTHING can separate you from the love God has for you. NOTHING! He loves you so much. Know that today.

They're looking so grown up...

The first day of school

I do have pictures on my camera, but it's in my purse in the garage and I'm sitting here at my desk in the living room and don't want to go get it. So I'll add them later! 

The first day of school was wonderful. We are so blessed to send our girls to an amazing Christian school and the first day of school never fails to make me say "Thank you, thank you, thank you" to God all day.

We got up and out the door with Audrey only changing clothes three times (she must be getting older!) despite the fact that we set out outfits the night before. We ALL go to school on the first day and it's our usual habit to pray on the way to school with the girls. So we prayed for teachers and friends and new families and our principal from last year who left to follow God's leading in a new job.

Then we walked the girls to their classrooms, said hi to everyone we saw, met new students, and headed over to chapel. The first day always begins with chapel at our school. Prayer, praise songs, and an introduction to the theme for the year--this year is the names of Jesus.

Every new student is introduced to the whole school, new parents stand up and are welcomed. It's the best and so fun to talk to new families and hear them say that the school has far, far exceeded their expectations.

School's out at noon the first day, and we headed to lunch with Audrey's BFF and her mom (a dear friend of mine) and then over to Mom and Dad's to give them the scoop on the first day. Can I just say again how much I LOVE living only a few minutes from my parents?

Toben was mentioning the other day that he only saw his grandparents a handful of times as a kid--I love that Audrey and Emma see my parents almost every day (when they're not off in the wilds of Alaska, that is!).

Lunches are packed for today, the breakfast table is set, and it's almost time to get the girls up for their first FULL day of school. They can't wait--in fact, I hear the pitter patter of feet upstairs!

My first FULL day of being home? Cleaning house!

Pictures coming, I promise.

The grand total...

$38.56

Not bad for two kids. We had to buy a gazillion spiral notebooks for Audrey and went for the expensive plastic covered ones. I know my kid and paper ones would rip by next Tuesday. 

And I bought a few things NOT on the list--like personal hand sanitizer and chapstick (what I call lippy!) for their desks. 

The other big ticket items were 12-pocket expandable plastic folders for both of the girls. They're not cheap--but so nice to have all their papers in one big folder, neatly labeled (well, for the first week anyway, after that Audrey's math papers always end up in the geography section, and her maps migrate over to grammar!). Oh, and Clorox wipes always cost more than I think they should.

So I've sharpened a million pencils (not really--50 for Emma, 20 for Audrey, plus 24 colored pencils--so that's only 94!), found a mishmash of crayons for Emma, and put names on absolutely everything.

Clothes are set out in the clothes cubby things in their closet for the two days of this school week; we're washing hair tonight. I think we may be ready for school to begin.

Back to school shopping in the basement

School starts on Thursday and we need to get our school supplies together. I love shopping for school supplies, but am always amazed at how quickly it all adds up. We easily spent more than $150 last year. So instead of heading to Target with the list right off the bat, I decided to do a little shopping in the basement first.

The girls sorted through the backpack collection we have and each picked one--a different one from last year, so sort of "new to them," if you will. I've washed them and the girls will put on all their pins and keychains and such tomorrow.

And I've been looking for dry erase pens, markers, and colored pencils to make complete sets. We have so many of those things that I just don't think it's necessary to buy new ones. I know that a new box of crayons is probably only 88 cents, but we have something like 847 crayons in a box downstairs--it seems like we should use them before we buy new ones.

I feel kind of bad that the girls won't start the year with colored pencils in a box that are all the same length, but really, after the first week or two, everyone else's will be broken in too! And they don't seem to mind.

We're doing a dry run tomorrow morning--up at the necessary time, dressed, and out the door by 7:40. But instead of going to school, we'll head out for breakfast (remember our breakfasts at The Pancake House the day before school began, Terri? Wish you could come!) and then to Target for the few things we don't have that are on the list--spiral notebooks, boxes of tissues, and Clorox wipes.

I'll let you know the grand total!

We have a winner!

Random Integer Generator

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23	

Timestamp: 2008-08-12 12:25:36 UTC

 

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That's Marla, who said:

"We bought some invisible ink books on vacation last summer. I loved, loved, loved them as a kid! I've seen the bingo cards but have never owned any. We used computer print-outs on our Kentucky trip last week. (I want to win!)"

I have your address, Marla, so I'll get your prize out in the mail later today. Congratulations!

I agree with Dorothy--there's no place like home!

We're home! We decided to take two days to drive home instead of pulling a twelve-hour driving marathon. We did drive past all the Oz museum things in Kansas, but I can't remember if that was yesterday or today!

We pulled into the driveway about an hour and a half ago, ran to the kennel to get Daisy and Joey, and are in the midst of unpacking. (But first, I deadheaded the daisies and picked some zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. I couldn't wait to check on everything!)

After a couple of days of not checking my email, it's FULL! So thank you for the sweet comments and such--I'll get back to any questions and such soon. I promise!

You can still enter the Ozarkland giveaway this afternoon--it'll be tonight before I close comments and pick a winner. I'll announce the winner in the morning.

It's GOOD to be home. And now it's time to start the post-vacation laundry.

Happy Double Digits, Audrey!

Audrey made double digits today--10 years old. I know it's a cliche, but I'm not sure how it's been 10 years already! It really seems like just yesterday that she was born. After 36 hours of labor. At 3:37 a.m. With jet black hair. Hair that was almost two inches long and in perfect finger waves against her perfect little head.

And now she's 10--and old enough for The Talk. (Hence those books in the picture below. They've come highly recommended and we'll read them together.) I could get weepy so easily, but I'm choosing not to. Really.

And now that she's 10, she's ready for her very own sewing machine too. And the cool thing is that she's really excited about it--I don't have to push her to be a crafty girl. So when we get home, we'll make some space just for her in the mad workshop and get her all set up to sew.

We had birthday lunch and presents in between hanging out on the boat on the lake, with a trip down to Bagnell Dam for some shave ice, batting practice, and skeeball. It was a good day!

We're headed home tomorrow. This week has flown by--though I shouldn't be surprised that the week went so quickly when 10 years has gone by just like that. Where does the time go?

Ozarkland giveaway!

MONDAY NIGHT: Comments now closed.

We made it to Ozarkland yesterday. Oh, how I love wandering through here! A trip to the lake just isn't complete without a trip to Ozarkland. I especially love the big glittery sign. 

They didn't have the charm I wanted (but we're headed down to Bagnell Dam and the arcade later for some birthday skeeball so I'll find it then), but I did find these treasures. I loved these invisible ink books as a kid and had forgotten all about them until I saw the display. And who doesn't love a rousing game of auto bingo on cross-country trips?

Leave a comment below before I close them on Monday night and you'll be entered to win.

(And for those of you wondering, I did get the jeans. The pair I thought I wanted were too capri after all, so I got an ankle length pair that I'll hem just a bit and then they'll be perfect. They will be perfect for fall--better keep an eye out for some shiny nickles for my penny loafers.) 

Putt putt '08

Yesterday was cooler and not quite so humid, so we headed on over to Sugar Creek yesterday afternoon for our annual putt putt challenge, with lots of breaks to get all the grandkids to pose just so.

I know I say it every year, but this is the nicest putt putt course in the whole wide world. Shady, fans everywhere, a little stream, in the woods. Perfect.

We skied yesterday morning (my arms are sore this morning to prove it!), I practiced diving (something I never quite learned as a kid and have decided I want to know how to do even if it means looking like a dork while learning!), and I caught a fish! On Emma's princess fishing pole, no less. The fish was small and I sort of freaked out when it came up looking like I'd hooked it in the face rather than the mouth. Luckily Dad was there to set it free while I looked the other way and breathed deeply.

Today's plans? 

Ozarkland. I need a charm for my bracelet and am thinking about the hillbilly girl for this year. Audrey and Emma have allowance burning holes in their pockets, and Ozarkland is filled with all kinds of things they'll just have to have. It's the place to go if you want to decorate your house in Betty Boop. Or John Deere. Or Elvis.

Perhaps the outlet mall. I saw a cute pair of jeans at the Gap outlet the other day and want to go try them on. They're cropped rather than capri (I'm just not a capri kind of a girl) and would be great with penny loafers and a cardigan for fall. Very Nancy Drew.

Opening ceremony for the Olympics tonight. With pizza.

And I'm sure there will be some swimming on the boat and at the pool. Popsicles or six. And reading. 

Tomorrow is Audrey's birthday, so there will also be some cake/dessert making. I'd better go find out what she wants.

Happy Friday!

Water skiing is a lot like riding a bicycle

Here's how the day has gone so far:

Pajamas

Swimsuit

Pajamas

Swimsuit

Pajamas

And it's not even four o'clock. So who knows how it will end? (Well, it'll end in pajamas, but you know what I mean!)

We headed out this morning for some fishing and floating and tubing and skiing before lunch. I love water skiing. Up first time each time, a nice long run, then just letting go when I'm ready to stop. I really think I could have done a mom this morning and not even gotten my hair wet! 

Then lunch (in pajamas) and then to the pool for some more floating. And now pajamas again. Vacation is good.

I have yet to take my camera out of my purse, I think. But Kristen brought hers along last night for our post-dinner fish and float.

 

Sabbath resources

While I'm thinking about it, here are some of the books I've been reading and found helpful about the Sabbath. Just in case you have nothing else to do!

(In fact, I just said to my dad who's sitting here at the breakfast table next to me, "Here's that book if you want to read it!" He laughed and said he'd have to add it to his stack of 11 or 12 "must read" books.)

Sabbath Keeping by Lynne M. Baab

My friend Jan Johnson recommended this book to me a couple of weeks ago after I asked her about her own Sabbath practices and so I immediately ordered it from Amazon. (Sometimes when I know I'm going to love a book I have to go ahead and buy it so I can write all over it--I'm one of those people who reads with a pen in hand!)

I really loved this book--it's full of practical wisdom on the Sabbath and packed with quotes from real people about their Sabbath practices.

One thing I especially liked was her helpful guidelines about choosing what to cease from doing on the Sabbath and what to actually do on the Sabbath. It very often comes down to a question of motive--not a list of do's and don'ts for everyone under the sun. 

Her guidance was very helpful to me in determining what I (and our family) should cease from on the Sabbath and also what we should strive to do. (More on that in another post.)

After reading this, my copy is underlined, arrowed, starred, and completely marked up. It's one I know I'm going to read again. (And I'm going to visit Amazon again soon because she has a great list of other Sabbath resources I want to check out.)

The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

This is one of the first books I read on the Sabbath. It whetted my appetite to learn more about the Sabbath and is in my stack of books to read again. 

It's been a while since I read it, but one of the things I liked was that each chapter ended with a way to put into practice what the chapter talked about. 

I really like Mark's writing style. His book, The Holy Wild, is one I read every year.

The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

 

I've just started this book and haven't made it far enough to say much about it. But I've heard great things about it and am excited to dig in. 

The Sabbath by Alistair Begg

I listen to sermons by Alistair Begg most mornings while I walk. (When he really gets going, his Scottish accent gets stronger and his Rs really rrrrrrroll!)

This series on the Sabbath is challenging, informative, and unapologetic about the fact that keeping the Sabbath holy is the fourth commandment. 

He too offers guidance about what the Sabbath means for us today--what is considered "work" and how we can keep the Sabbath holy.

(This series can be purchased as a set, but you can also download individual sermons to listen to on your iPod.)

So, there's the beginning of my list. Have you all read or heard anything else about the Sabbath that's been particularly helpful?

It's hard to make some Holy Ghost crazy noise in a room full of people trying to watch Good Morning, America

I went to the fitness center here this morning in preparation for the frozen custard I will eat later. Mmmm... And discovered that I'm not really a gym kind of a gal. 

When Kirk Franklin tells me, "Make some noise!" and "I can't hear you!" and "Clap your hands up here like this!" I tend to obey. 

But I noticed that people were looking at me rather than at Good Morning, America. And then there's the fact that it's hard to clap my hands and do the elliptical thing at the same time. Much easier to sing and clap while walking. Not so much flailing about to keep from falling off.

It was good to finish up and get outside (where it's HOT and HUMID, but okay because the water is so lovely) so I could sing nice and loud--the way it should be.

We made it to the lake, finally got into our place yesterday afternoon (the people who were renting it last week decided to extend their stay without telling anyone or answering the phone which required us to unpack for Saturday night, then repack, and then unpack again), did the big WalMart run for groceries (MANY bags of popsicles--I get it from my mother), and it finally feels like vacation has begun.

P.S. I got all your sweet comments this morning about the Sabbath. Thank you. I'm anxious to share more--and hear more about what works for you. But for now, I have the whole place to myself and I'm going to enjoy it!

Sabbath

(It's been a little quiet around here this week--around the blog, not my house! Thus, the quiet here online. Toben's been out of town, we've had some meetings, some playdates, and we're supposed to roll out of here for the lake in a couple of hours. Everyone's still asleep though, and since there's no such thing as wireless connection in the car yet, thought I'd better check in now!)

So, the Sabbath...

I don't think I can get it all down in one post (and I really need to finish packing and I'd love to go for a walk before sitting in the car for hours on end the next couple of days), but I'll go ahead and start and continue my thoughts as the days go on.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, God's really been bringing the Sabbath to the forefront on my life lately. It's one of those things where a topic pops up all over the place, sometimes in random places, and you begin to think, God, are you trying to tell me something? (Does that ever happen to you? I always think it's cool when it does.)

Anyway, I've been reading some books, listening to some sermons, and having some conversations with my parents. (I'll do a post with some links to books and sermons I've found helpful, challenging, insightful, intriguing.) It started a couple of years ago, in fact, but really feels like it's all coming together in the past few months. 

I've long felt that our Sundays need to be different than any other day of the week--that we need to honor the Sabbath and keep in holy (it's the fourth commandment, after all)--but I've just not been sure what that looks like.

I do know a couple of things:

It looks restful.

It looks relaxed and not rushed.

It looks like family.

It looks like service.

It looks quiet.

It looks peaceful.

It looks like the best day of the week.

It looks like freedom, rather than rules.

It looks deliberate.

That deliberate thing is the key. A day like that isn't just going to happen by chance. So we're putting some things into practice and asking God to continue leading--and here's the exciting part!--it's really coming together. And I'm so excited about it. Because I need a day like that more than "every once in a while when nothing else is on the calendar and somehow everything in my life lines up in perfect harmony."

The Sabbath is not a random, once in a while, "if you're really good and on top of everything and crossed everything off your to do list" kind of a reward. It's a weekly gift--and it's one I want and need.