Crazy's Daisies

These are my Crazy Daisies.  My husband has nicknamed them Crazy's Daisies - no further explanation needed.  I love them.  They grow wild and free and multiply like, well, like crazy.  Hmmmm.

They are there growing and pretty and green almost all year.  They are good to have when everything is in the bleak of winter because they are a promise of beauty to come.  They need care and love and then space to do their own thing.  They grow best in the confines of my garden, but every once in a while, one will grow outside of the planting area.  I just let it grow and flourish where it wants to.

Sometime during the heat of the summer, they need pruning and straightening up.  Sometimes when everything else is blooming and bright and beautiful, you hear these doubts creep in your mind.  Would it be better to just clean up the yard?  Would it be better to just have a few of these?  Then that day comes.  This year it was the first of October.  You look out and their beautiful sunny faces are bursting out to welcome you to the garden.  They are beautiful, and we picnic outside and just stare at them.  I open my blinds in the morning eager to see them.  One of my girls sits in the midst of them to do her school work because they are beautiful and inspiring.  Sometimes when the moon is full, I can see them at night.

And that is what it it like to raise our family.  They are pretty and wonderful all the time, but it is the promise of who they are that makes your heart leap with joy.  Souls made to worship a living God for eternity.  I sometimes just get used to their being there, and sometimes I just stare at them because they are amazing and beautiful.  There are days that are like the ones when the daisies bloom.  Days where the beauty of my life takes my breath away.  Those are the days when there are no words to tell God Thank you".  It seems so inadequate.  Those are the days when my heart leaps for joy.  They are my field of daisies with a beauty beyond compare.

Psalm 139

For You formed my inner most parts; You formed me in my mother's womb. Psalm 139:13


Twelve years ago today, we heard the wonderful NEW words, "It's a boy!" From that moment on everything changed. Rescue Heroes and weapons, Bob the Builder and trains, Star Wars and Lincoln Logs had entered our world.



Still the Biggest change was LEGOS. For every Lego block I see (or step on) I am reminded that Ryan lives in my home, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you Lord for every LEGO creation I see, because it means that the Creator of the universe had knit a little boy together in my womb 12 years ago. For that gift of God, I am thankful beyond belief.

The Man I Love

There are moments where you catch your breath with the love you feel for someone.  When I see him slow his steps to walk with Michael and tell him about tools.  Michael will not remember tools, but he will hold the memory of tool talks - moments where his daddy slowed his pace to tell him a little about the world.

 We have months where the sameness of who we are together crowds in.  As if I have known him all my life, and he is just there.  We kid about the day one of us is not here - how he won't know how to pay a bill or balance a check book.  The reality, of course, is that it is I who would suffer the greater loss.  It is I who would be wondering how to breathe again, how to laugh again.  Though I might be able to balance checkbooks for our family - he balances the world for us.  That is the moment when I cannot fathom loving him more.

It will come and go -  the intensity of the feeling.  Life is rushing forward, and I cannot stop too long to dwell on this love.  I think it is a glimpse, a taste of God's love -  of the love we will one day feel before Him - for we shall see Him in all His glory and know He is the one who balances all of the world.

Privileged

"I am privileged to have had her sit at my table for 18 years." I overheard a mother speak this of her daughter the other night at a friend's graduation party. I thought it was the most beautiful way one mother could describe life with her child.

I am privileged to have 8 that I hope will sit at my table for years and years to come. I hope I am privileged to have them bring their children and spouses to sit at my table for years and years.

That joy at my table is one of God's most precious gifts to my life. Thank you for them Jesus.

An Ordinary Man, part two

"The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children."

I think this quotation from G.K. Chesterton describes the Tom Lee family more than anything I could say.

This was a man who lived and worked and just loved his family and loved his Lord.

We love them for who you were and for who they are. We know that some of them are so young that we will be the ones to pass on the legacy of how great their dad was.


Laughter has not come as easily at our home as it did one week before. An ordinary man has died proving what we all knew...he was not ordinary at all.

An Ordinary Man, part one

"The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children." G.K. Chesterton

I have seen a lot of extraordinary people in the last few days.

Extraordinary men and women were the ones who walked through piles of rubble for their friends. The extraordinary are the ones who picked up china plates that survived a tornado where a father did not. The extraordinary men are the ones who looked through piles of rubble for a wedding ring because a godly man had once loved this family. Extraordinary men are the ones who are crying and working because they love their families and would want someone to care for them if the roles were reversed.

The extraordinary men are the ones who took chainsaws and flashlights and cut through miles of trees, so an ambulance could get through to these precious families. The extraordinary men are the ordinary men who serve an extraordinary God.

My hero is one of those men. I remember the hurrying, the realizing things had gone terribly wrong for our friends. But it was not until I put him in the car in the storms with a chainsaw that I knew for a brief moment that this could be our last time together as well. We had no idea what he was facing. We laughed (as we always do) because we were just throwing everything in his car. To break the tension, we quoted our favorite Toy Story line, "don't forget your angry eyes" But that was the last of laughter for a while even for our family.

My hero is ordinary because he loves his family and knows that Tom loved his family. For that my extraordinary hero sat in ambulances, drove to different hospitals looking for children for a mother who needed to know where her little ducks were. My hero sits at my table and cries because two of our dearest friends are in wheelchairs.

All of those people you see on t.v. have a story. The ones whose homes are gone and the ones who are helping them. Take the time to see what Jesus sees. A world that needs His love when all else is crumbling.

Then go be an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and together you will be extraordinary.

Our Garden

Maggie: Isn't she SO cute?

The Dog Kennel!

The "Long Garden" (We also have the Short Garden!)

Well, it is warming up fast here and we are beginning our garden. Our potatoes are growing wonderfully, the strawberries are starting to produce, the onions keep getting taller and taller, and it won't be to long before we have blueberries!!!

We are so excited about our garden. The work is hard. The weather is hot and humid during the summer. The fire ants HURT!!! OW! But, it is very worth it to have fresh tomatoes, potatoes, and onions from the garden!

How are your gardens?

Mommy's Hero

A little man to bring joy to our day, smiles to our faces, and warmth to our hearts!

Fresh Food

Fresh Fruit Straight out of the Garden!

The Red Berries are full of sweet juice, they are SO much fun to find out in the garden after weeding for a while!

And they make for great photo-ops! :)

What will they remember...

When they are older,
grown,
gone,
When they have flown the nest...

What will they remember,
recall,
love,
What will they smile over?

The work,
math,
chores,
the Toil of Everyday Life?

The sorrows,
death,
sickness,
The Curse of Fallen Man?

What will stick out to them,
remind them,
cause them to laugh,
What will they tell their kids?

Will it be the tears,
the time you finished the mathbook,
the time all the socks in the house were put away,
The time all the tasks you had wanted done were done.

Or will it be the boring times,
the unscheduled times,
the crazy times,
The times you didn't plan for.

The times that seem unsubstantial,
unimportant,
there are other things to do.

The cuddles on the sofa,
the talks late at night,
the surprises,
And the walks in the afternoons.

As a mom, you want to have it together.
To keep up with the Jonses.

But, remember... what will they remember?