And His Glory Appears

nap skipping

We let Ella skip her nap today. Crazy, I know. But we'd let the time slip and we were on our bed playing with her and then she happily ran off to play with her biggest brother. She didn't seem tired. We all went on a long walk, and yes, we did see the tree that has a face. And when we got home, it hit. We had one super cranky girl on our hands and it was only 5 pm.

By 7 she was absolutely miserable, as were we, so we both put her in her pajamas. Yes, it took the effort of two adults to undress and pj one very mad little girl. She's a tough one. I had her in my arms, paci already in her mouth (I know, I know) and we were searching for "blankie" all while she was crying "I want my daddy. daddy. I'm not tired. I'm too tired!" Jonathan grabbed her in a hug only a daddy can give, and in the time it took me to get her medicine (ear infection), she was just about totally asleep.

I took her back to her room, sat in the rocker, said her prayer with her, and started a song. She was out before the first line was sung. So for 20 minutes or so I held and rocked my sweet, sleeping girl. Usually I'm so desperate for time to do what I want that I read, pray, sing, go. But tonight I just sat. And rocked. And prayed. I loved feeling the weight of her in my arms. I loved how her little hand held on to my arm. I loved her snoring and paci noises (I know!). I missed being so small that someone can hold you that way. And I no longer regretted letting her skip that nap. Few are the chances to hold that one still, and fewer chances while she's quiet. I loved every minute of it.

Will Ella be skipping her nap tomorrow? Absolutely not. It was so worth it today, but on a Monday I've just got to make more responsible choices for the good of the entire family.

from last spring

And about that paci, she has it only at nap and bedtime - I've been telling her that when she turns 3, it's bye bye paci. Maybe we'll trade it in for something really cool.

my home

I really don't believe in coincidences anymore. So, when Ella came up to me so sweetly yesterday morning and said, "you my home, mommy..." it had to be God. I mean, she's pretty brilliant *of course* but she had no way of knowing that the night before I was given this Word:

Lord, You have been our home since the beginning. Before the mountains were born and before You created the world, You are God.

You have always been, and you always will be.

Psalm 90:1-2

I very much needed a pick-me-up and Ella delivered just in time. I smiled at how in that moment God was saying to me I see you, I know you, I love you... here's a tiny glimpse of how I feel when you trust Me. Hold on to Me. Trust Me. Always. You are her home for now. I Am your Home for all time.

"We will see Poppa...

when we go home, tomorrow," Ella recently said upon seeing "Poppa's office tower," also known as the RSA tower where my dad worked. (7th floor, facing his fave Chris' Hotdogs!) We see the tower anytime we leave our house via the interstate. There it sits, hard to miss in the crowd, not unlike my tall dad. I've really been missing him an even extra amount lately, for various reasons, but mainly because sometimes a girl just needs her dad. I can't think it a coincidence then that Ella has been talking of him often lately, other than the usual office tower sightings. A few weeks ago, after her near daily recognition of the tower, she said "I wanna see 'im. I wanna see Poppa." Me, too baby girl.

So when she said, "We will see Poppa when we go home tomorrow," what I heard was "we will see Poppa when we go Home tomorrow!" And whether tomorrow turns out to be sooner or later, glory to God that on some tomorrow I will see my dad again.Poppa's Princess

I needed this tonight...

here comes week four...

of first grade for Elijah and me. We've read from creation to baby Moses in a basket. We've learned all about number bonds and know them well to ten. We've had three spelling tests and one math test. We've done compound words, words with suffixes, similes, descriptive words, a couple paragraphs (with modifications) and a dialog. We are reading Charlotte's Web and waiting to have a movie viewing complete with pig cupcakes and spider cookies when we are done. We've completed a book called Peoples of the World, which Elijah loved, and from which we have one lingering, half-finished assignment. Our attempt at painting with the batik technique. Hmmm... we really should finish those because we started them two weeks ago. Speaking of that, I'm fairly certain Elijah's not the only one with ADD around here. I recently read a list of ADD symptoms in adults. Yikes. It described me. And my dad. Interesting. One symptom is having several projects going on all at once without completing them. Well, I'll show you, adult ADD - we'll finish those paintings tomorrow! Maybe I'll even post a picture for some accountability. Although, my ADD will likely get in the way of that...

So, here we are. At home. Schooling. Put it together and that equals homeschooling. It's funny how I still can't believe God called me to this and that I obeyed. But it is seeming quite normal already. The first week it felt so strange. I'm enjoying the feeling of normalcy, even though and maybe especially because, we most definitely are not normal. I keep reminding myself that God does not desire that we be normal, but transformed and set apart. God doesn't care if people think we are homeschooling weirdos - He just wants us to respond to His call.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying my new way of life is easy. In fact, the past three weeks have been quite difficult. We are, for one thing, in a preschool break, so Miles and Ella have been our companions at home. It's been... challenging, to put it mildly. Start with one ADD but super sweet Elijah, add one apprently ADD and obviously patience-lacking momma, and mix in the two little crazies (who are either fighting over the computer, dressed up as a princess and a knight weilding swords in our school area, or needing any number of kinds of assistance) and you have slightly organized chaos. Thankfully, my little knight and "sister" (as he calls her when they play bad guys) will return to school three mornings a week just after Labor Day. I so adore them (really, I do!), but we need to share their love with their new teachers. And Elijah and I will really get to work then.

Our first week I spent telling God I thought He perhaps had had a lapse in judgement when He called me to this lifestyle. He reminded me that He has never had a lapse in judgement. So I grimaced, likely with my hand on my hip, and told Him "Oh, alright. But you could've called me to something easier." On our fourth school day, God gave me this Word from Isaiah 43:18-19:

The Lord says, "Forget what happened before,
and do not think about the past.
Look at the new thing I am going to do.
It is already happening. Don't you see it?"

This Word is what I'm holding on to right now. I am so thankful for such a specific Word. He was so good to share it with me, right when I need it. To be honest, I don't see it yet. But I do believe Him. He is already doing a new thing. And when my little boy is a big man I know I'll be able to see it. For now, I'll hold on to my sweet Word. My sweet promise. And I'll get up and teach more first grade in the morning. Addition stories, here we come!

catching up

I have been wanting to post on here for a long time, but time has been scarce around here lately. Here are some pictures from our fun summer:

We had a trip to the beach with Meme, Allison, Alinda and most of the cousins in July.











We took in our first Pike Road 4th of July parade... lots of fun! Lots of candy! A few strands of beads. And one poor, patriotic goat.

My sweet, crazy Milesy turned four in June. Hard to believe in some ways. Sad, too, because it's going so quickly but also because the older Miles gets, the longer Dad has been gone. He talks about Dad like he remembers him sometimes, although that's impossible. He was 9 months old when Dad died. He recently said, "I've never met your dad, Mom. Do you think he could come down from heaven and have lunch with us?" That would be so nice.birthday doughnut!

Me with the two just-a-likes! All I did for Miles was carry him in my tummy and give him blue eyes. Other than that he's all daddy.

Poor (sweet) Grandaddy had a tough job on such a hot day! The kids loved it!

They also enjoyed the balloon swords!

It was a fun and busy summer. Now it's school time!