Almost every night after dinner, I jet out the door to go on a walk all by myself. The walking path just calls my name and I cannot say no.
Every time I go on my walk, I thank the Lord that he lets me live here. Right next to this walking path.
Most people think the town I live in is a God-forsaken dust bowl. You should see the grimaces when I tell outsiders where I live. But I think it's a special place and I don't care. It's kind of flat and has a lot of brown, but I think you can find beauty anywhere. You just have to look for it.
When I get back, John and the boys are usually playing outside.
We have a new friend named skittle.
Skittle is VERY personable and has fans all over the neighborhood. I've never seen anything like it.
The other night, we were walking and we saw skittle's owners pull out of their driveway and drive away. Skittle ran onto the grass and John said "I want to hold skittle".
A few feet away, one of the neighbor girls came lurking out of her house and she crept onto the grass. Before we knew what happened, she grabbed skittle and ran back to her house.
We could not believe it. I was SO sad for John that he did not get to hold his beloved little skittle. But such is life when you are as popular as skittle.
A few days later, my other neighbor started asking me about skittle. "Does skittle have an owner? Because he's so friendly and just sits at our front door....he's so cute...." There was longing in her voice. She wanted skittle too! Haha.
The only one who is NOT entirely fond of skittle would be Peach.
Do you see Peach's ears flared back?
They have a love/hate relationship. They always insist on chasing, biting, scratching, hissing. At the same time, they can't seem to resist each other. Better get Peach fixed and SOON.
We got a call from the neighbor the other day because they were fighting so bad. Peach got a very bad report that she was being unkind to skittle and being mean. Oops. We have the naughty kitty.
John and Finn have been slaving all summer over this ENORMOUS scratching post for Peach. It's not finished yet. Skittle came by and took a nap on top.
John thought the scratching post would go inside the family room. Ya know. Just taking over the entire place.
Speaking of which.
I startle EVERY time I see Peach in my bathroom sink.
John went on out of town for a conference the other day. During this time, the unthinkable happened: Peach caught her first bird. Or so we thought.
Until a friend on Facebook informed me that Peach most likely caught a dead bird because birds have been dropping dead all over our neighborhood from West Nile or something equally egregious.
I didn't know what to do. There were sticky feathers and blood everywhere and Peach was walking around outside with the dead bird hanging out of her mouth. I die.
I called my father-in-law but he was out of town. I would have to deal with the atrocity myself. Why oh why did John have to be gone at such a time like this?
I grabbed the broom and dust pan, and tried not to gag. As soon as the end of my broom touched the dead bloody bird, I let out a huge girly shriek. By now, I am trying not to faint. It was ghastly hot outside. I dropped the bird into a plastic target bag and as soon as I felt the "thud" of the weight of the bird in the bag, I shrieked again. Could not help it. I'd make a lousy hunter, of this I am sure.
I ran back inside and the boys were all abuzz. "Mommy why are you yelling? Can Peach come back inside? It's hot outside. We went Peach. Whaaaaaaa".
I knew I was in a pickle. I didn't know what to do. It WAS hot and poor Peachy could get heat stroke out here. But I did not want her inside if she was carrying some disease. She must be quarantined!
I called John and texted my father-in-law and he did some research for me. At the same time, one of my nurse friends from church said that west nile was transmitted by "skeeters" and that I need not worry. From my father-in-laws findings, it is RARE or EXTREMLY UNLIKELY for pets to give their owners bird flu or H1N1 or whatever.
So after a {long) while, I reluctantly let Peach back in, with strict instructions to the boys not to touch her. She is still a kitten and likes to bite and scratch.
It was a long few days.
If you hate cats, I know what are thinking: That's what you get for owning a varmint such as this.
I know, I know.
BUT.
You should see how my boys' faces light up every time they see or pet her. They get SO excited about building her scratching post and cry when Peach stays out too late at night. Finn gets up every morning around 3am just to give Peach some wet canned food. Then he crawls back into bed.
And I kinda have a thing for her too. I baby talk to her and she just looks at me all aloof, like "mom, stop". I get giddy when she lets me pet her more than 3 seconds. And yes, I have no idea who I am anymore.
My dear friend Jessica came into town and I was so thrilled to visit with her! We got to hang out with Jessica's sister-in-law Sarah, who is a new friend of mine.
Jessica in the middle, Sarah to the right.
When I first met Jessica, I felt immediately at home with her. And the funny thing is, I feel the same way about Sarah. They are home to me. And to hang out with them BOTH, TOGETHER was a very special occasion indeed.
side note. Jess and I are both wearing shorts from american eagle, the skinny bermudas. It cracks me up how they fit us so differently because I am a shorty. Oops? Did i just compare? Hmmm. Read on.
These girls are sweet and funny. And really listen and care.
But even more, they truly love with Lord with all their hearts. They are the real deal. True saints of God.
I am blown away by their wisdom and depth of character.
They tell me the truth, not matter what. And leave me challenged yet encouraged. They are gems!
I thought I was doing good if I listened to an extra sermon per week.
Um, Jess listens to sermons all week long. She worships the Lord throughout the day and has 3 children, 3 years old and younger.
Jess linked a sermon to her blog, called The Snare of Compare, by Carolyn Mahaney. I have to admit, my first thought was, "Oh I never compare myself to anyone. I don't need to listen, I'm good."
Either I'm prideful or just plain old thick-headed. Because this sermon is EXACTLY what I needed to hear. God knew I needed to hear it and Jess was there to prompt me on.
I encourage you to listen to this sermon. I don't want to give away the good points and spoil it for you.
So go listen. And then come back and let's chat, shall we?
*******
Here is my interpretation of what Carolyn said.
Like me, you might think that you never compare yourself to others. You know it's wrong to compare. And so you have tricked your mind into thinking that you are not at fault here.
But let me tell you. It kind of has a sneaky way of creeping up on you, unawares.
Say, for example, that someone wronged you, or hurt your feelings. This person seems to skate through life, trial free, whereas your life has lots of trials. You might even dwell on that person in your mind longer than you should, stewing the problem over(I never do that, ahem). You eventually find yourself asking God, "what about so-and-so Lord? What are you going to do about them?" You are comparing how God is dealing with them, versus how God is dealing with you.
And if you think God is going to let you off the hook and give you sympathy for how wrongly you have been treated...well according to the passage at the end of John 21...you've got another thing coming!
Basically in John 21, Jesus tells Peter some sobering news: that when Peter is old, he is going to be crucified. And the first thing Peter says is "what about John?" LOL. Oh Peter. How I can relate.
Jesus does not offer Peter sympathy. He basically tells Peter, "It's none of your business how John dies."
and then Jesus says to Peter.
"FOLLOW ME."
Did you catch what happened? At first glance, it seems as though Jesus was a bit harsh to Peter. The poor guy just got some terrible news!
But in reality, Jesus gave Peter the most LOVING possible answer: Don't turn your eyes off me for one second. Don't look to your right or left. At anyone else. Look at ME and follow ME.
You see, Jesus knows that the second that we start looking at someone else's situation or lot in life, we are in grave danger of falling into all sorts of deadly snares. We start becoming the judge. And he loves us too much to let that happen. We are to keep our eyes on HIM and follow HIM alone.
Since listening to this sermon, I have caught myself quite a few times {subconsciously} comparing my lot in life to another's lot.
And Jesus has given me NO sympathy in this area. Because that is not gonna help me. Instead He says. Look at me Davi!
And that simple little thing has REALLY helped me. So that is why I am writing on and on here. Because I truly hope it helps you too!
p.s. I don't think sympathy is a bad thing. If something bad happens to someone, they have my sympathy. But if they then start comparing themselves to others...maybe that is where sympathy is no longer useful...perhaps it's better to give encouragement, to spur them back on toward the Lord. I'm still mulling it all over.
Pocahontas edition. Because I feel like an Indian in this poncho shirt I'm wearing. Not to mention the canoes.
My niece Hannah took the pics that I'm in.
Just had to include Ollie picking at his pant's seam. That is Ollie for you.
I think this year's Hume trip had the biggest impact on Ollie. He was so pleasant and smiling from ear-to-ear almost the entire time. Except for when John took him on walks outside the cabin-- he was convinced that daddy had no idea where he was going and kept insisting that "daddy was making them get lost".
And it was so sweet watching Ollie snuggle up with cousin Hannah while we watched a movie on a huge screen under the stars on their deck. Definitely a highlight(I've mentioned before that John's brother Pete and family live at Hume year round). The cousins are getting so grown up.
I was sad that cousin Mikayla was not in the above pic. She is 10 and wishes she were still 5 and WAS SO MUH FUN for the boys to play with this year.
The snack shop is also a huge highlight for all. Even if the 1/2 shake I ate kept me up all night.
This year, Uncle Peter let the boys chop his firewood. This was kind a big deal for my boys. They were obsessed.
I was actually fine with this little activity, believe it or not.
However. I did have some reservations regarding the following sitch.
Meet my nemesis: Huge powdery dirt hill just outside the cabin.
Little boys INSISTED on rolling down this hill whenever they could.
All while Finn was, oh say, THROWING A HATCHET AT A LOG, just a couple feet away.
I will give the boy credit for good aim.
However.
I was in no mood to explain to the ER doc why Twain had a hatchet stuck in the side of his head. Ya know. In case that happened. And with our luck recently, it was a real possibility.
So I shut this operation down, much to the dismay of all male parties involved.
Seriously, my boys are so 'District 1', as Olive Oyl would say.
(Um Hunger games reference, if you have no idea what I'm talking about. District 1 is home to the "career" kids, who flawlessly hone their skills in hopes of winning the Hunger Games).
Don't let this cozy picture fool you.
John and I had quite the roaring debate that morning while the boys were rolling down the dirt hill, with Finn simultaneously throwing the hatchet. John saw no real problem with the whole scenario, while I was, on the other hand, flipping out. It just defied common sense to me.
I was so very upset about the whole thing, while John was insisting, "They are boys. I grew up one of 3 boys. This is what boys do. This is what is fun for them!"
To which I replied, "This is too much of an extreme leap for me! I'm not used to this! We live in a very tame environment at home. I'm ok with the rolling down the dirt hill...or Finn throwing his hatchet by himself with nobody else around...but I cannot handle BOTH activities simultaneously!"
Thankfully, John agreed. He understood it was too much for me. And so they went on a nice nature walk instead.
And then fed some ducks before it was time to leave.
John and I always seem to have a way of working out our differences in the end.
It's been real Hume. Can't wait to see what next year holds for us. Um, well I can wait. But I love Hume. So.
After Lindsay's twinsies were born, my sister Jessica and I really wanted to throw her a Black Apple style baby shower.
I found 6 little dolls on Emily Martin's site. They would be perfect. Here is one example, which also happens to be my favorite.
There was just one leetle problem. All of her dolls were girls:
And we needed some boys. Because Lindsay has a girl AND a boy. So I modified the above girls using the pen and vector tools in photoshop, and turned some of them into boys. Believe you me. I felt like a complete klutz trying to figure out that trixy vector tool. But it worked out well enough and we were back on track for the shower.
I think Emily Martin is one of the most talented artists I know. She is the creative genius here. I just modified her girls into boys. But really it's all her inspiration, k?
Used these dolls to make lots of banners and centerpieces. The ribbon shape of the banner's pendants were inspired by cm handmade's yay banner that I saw on sweet Hannah's happy days blog.
It was my sister Jessica's idea to hang the fun colorful paper flower/wheels from the ceiling. They are from Martha Stewart. Used a 50% off coupon and it made my day.
Jessica filled the mason jars with sweet alyssum and painted them. Inhaling those paint fumes makes me feel all hopped up on crack, so thanks Jess, for taking the hit for me. Quite literally, ha. I mean, not that I know how crack feels. Moving on.
Dewars peanut butter chews are my favorite candy in the whole wide world. In case you wanted to buy me a pound. Wink.
Jess also ordered these eyelet M. Stew(Martha Stewart)lanterns. I had no idea what she was talking about at the time, but I really dig them.
Jess and Mom were cooking like wild mashuganas(why yes, I am speaking in yiddish). They made the most delicious quiches I have ever tasted in my life. Also. Sausage was there, folks, trust me. But scarfed before I could take a pic.
Jess makes awesome handmade whip cream from TJ's heavy whipping cream, with just a little bit of powdered sugar, and some stevia drops. Pretty healthy dessert option with strawberries. Mmmmm.
Mom is giving a devotional. She spoke of God's faithfulness to our family during various trials we have encountered this past year. It's been hard but God has been so very faithful to us.
This shower was a long-awaited celebration.
Celebrating that God safely brought these two precious family members into our arms. I could fairly burst. In fact, I think I did. As each person walked into the door, I almost cried from the joy of it all.
The above pic is special to me because Jess has 4 girls and is holding Savannah, and I have 4 boys and am holding James.
Sisters! Lindsay in the middle. She shrunk, yo. You'd never know she had a baby, let alone twins. Sheeeeesh.
with our dear mama.
and with family, family! Cousin Jamie,(also a twin!)is in the middle, holding Savannah. Next to auntie Nanie. Hayley and June, we missed you!
They were def with us in spirit. Hayley(Jamie's twin) sent quite the sentimental gift for Lindsay, amongst other things:
Wooden creatures representing Lindsay's beloved horse Sheba, and sidekick Pepe, the fainting goat. Yes, the goat actually faints when frightened...but hey! That was the only goat my parents could find at the time and she mows the back grass for them. Horse Sheba has moved onto greener pastures(sniff), while Pepe still resides with my parents. And with Rufio. Another goat. We are weird. The end.
