One of the best sermons ever. I have attached the link and highly recommend a listen. Confession and Absolution is one of the most important things to me and I am SO thankful Emmaus faithfully offers it. I have no profound words other than that. The sermon says it all. The message is good for Pastors and parishioners alike. The beginning was cut off a bit.
http://emmaus24.org/sermon/2011-04-13_sermon.wma
Wednesday, April 13th is the day. I am SO confused! Keep posting the wrong day. LEt me know if the link works.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Wow
Well yesterday was quite the day. I am not sure I could improve too much on a day like that. We started with Matins, docoroo appointment which ended up all good, home for a bit, my dear husband um.......went van shopping for an eight passenger and......bought one (used)!!!!! I feel spoiled rotten! I am delighted though and the kids are too. I will taking it on its maiden voyage Thursday to pick Anna up for Easter. We have already had some great fights between the kids as to who is sitting where and many mouths hanging open with extras which came with. Pinch me.
Finished the day with a Divine Service - awesome of course - greatly appreciated by this poor miserable sinner. Evan and his sweetness is the light of my life right now (no, the van does not rank) and the day ended well too. That sentence does not flow well but I don't care.
So on the van front, I know it doesn't fit all of our family but sadly in a few years it will fit everyone who will be home. It is of course white to fit in with all the rest of the white vans at Emmaus. Somehow we will attempt to keep it clean or at least cleaner than the rest of our vehicles have been. Our 15 passenger will get less use and hopefully live longer. Rust treatment is in order for that thing.
So went the day.
Finished the day with a Divine Service - awesome of course - greatly appreciated by this poor miserable sinner. Evan and his sweetness is the light of my life right now (no, the van does not rank) and the day ended well too. That sentence does not flow well but I don't care.
So on the van front, I know it doesn't fit all of our family but sadly in a few years it will fit everyone who will be home. It is of course white to fit in with all the rest of the white vans at Emmaus. Somehow we will attempt to keep it clean or at least cleaner than the rest of our vehicles have been. Our 15 passenger will get less use and hopefully live longer. Rust treatment is in order for that thing.
So went the day.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Home Stretch
Unbelievably Anna will be done with her Sophomore year in a few weeks. It is the time of year I find most challenging to keep my kids going in their school work.
In the church year, this is my favorite time of year. Holy Week this week and Easter! Yay! We go to church a lot in these few weeks (every day and then some) and it is great to just revel in it. The time we are not at church we will stumble, trip, stumble trip at home. Today was certainly in the category of stumbling and tripping but no one is crying at the moment and we have a dinner plan so all is good. 15 minutes till departure. Not sure we are going to make it......better go throw some food on the big kids plates!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the church year, this is my favorite time of year. Holy Week this week and Easter! Yay! We go to church a lot in these few weeks (every day and then some) and it is great to just revel in it. The time we are not at church we will stumble, trip, stumble trip at home. Today was certainly in the category of stumbling and tripping but no one is crying at the moment and we have a dinner plan so all is good. 15 minutes till departure. Not sure we are going to make it......better go throw some food on the big kids plates!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Taking all their clothes away
Time to begin switching the clothes out for the new season. I have taken more and more of their clothes away as winter went on to lessen their burden of clothing care and now......time to start over again. They don't need too many clothes do they? Four t shirts??? Three pairs of clothes and some church clothes? The clothing monster makes me crazy. Time to find some black garbage bags to fill up again!!!!!!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Mornings and retirement.
Even though the rest of the day looms ahead of me, I do enjoy time with the little people. They jabber their heads off at me and are in their most cheerful state of the day. They love their baby brother Evan and play with him and tell me how much they love him. Sweet!
This morning is gorgeous outside. It is SO green and getting greener. Green gives me energy but of course is distracting too as the kids want to play around with gardening and there is still work to be done. Perhaps by the time Evan is in high school we will throw our hands up and give up on school the first of May. It is just occurring to me that this spring will be different this year! Woo hoo!!!! No baby chicks to fret and worry about. No water to haul. No lights to make sure are on. Sigh. Sweet relief! We did the animal thing and now we REST from that labor!!!! I wonder if this has crossed the kids minds. What will they do with themselves????? Maybe we will EAT the lettuce this year and not just grow it and run out of energy to go down and week the stuff and the rest of the garden. We have retired from animals!!! Happy dance.
Well, that thought should be worth something today. I will always smile quietly at all you enthusiastic farmers out there. I will cheerfully pay you for your labors. :o)
This morning is gorgeous outside. It is SO green and getting greener. Green gives me energy but of course is distracting too as the kids want to play around with gardening and there is still work to be done. Perhaps by the time Evan is in high school we will throw our hands up and give up on school the first of May. It is just occurring to me that this spring will be different this year! Woo hoo!!!! No baby chicks to fret and worry about. No water to haul. No lights to make sure are on. Sigh. Sweet relief! We did the animal thing and now we REST from that labor!!!! I wonder if this has crossed the kids minds. What will they do with themselves????? Maybe we will EAT the lettuce this year and not just grow it and run out of energy to go down and week the stuff and the rest of the garden. We have retired from animals!!! Happy dance.
Well, that thought should be worth something today. I will always smile quietly at all you enthusiastic farmers out there. I will cheerfully pay you for your labors. :o)
Monday, April 11, 2011
Answer to prayer
Yesterday I saw again my friend Janet for whom we have prayed for years. A year after she and her husband were married she discovered she had breast cancer. That was a long and scary ride for her but she lived and carried on. She and her husband prayed for a child and we prayed with them every day we could remember to. We prayed for other families who remained childless. Jesus answered all of those prayers. For a long time it was no and then for some they had wonderful surprises, which were not a surprise to Jesus in the form of children born to them and also families with wonderful surprises of answer to prayer in adoptions too for which we rejoiced with them all and thanked Jesus for His gift of children to them. Janet and Todd were still watching and waiting and doing their best to be patient.
One day, not too long ago, I heard that Janet and her husband were in the process of adopting. Happy day! I knew it was going to be in January. Talking to a mutual friend, close to the day of their adoption, I discovered to my horror, everyone's horror, that the day Janet went to get the crib she went to the oncologist and cancer had returned. She was not given a great prognosis. They would have to tell the birth parents. Keep praying... We prayed, everyone prayed, and... the answer was yes! The birth parents proceeded with their adopting their little baby boy.
So, I saw Janet and her husband and their little guy Stephen. He is about fifteen months now. At some point in the evening, his dad was holding him and another friend who hadn't seen Todd in a long time asked whose little guy he was holding. Todd, standing a bit taller, say, "This is MY son." Answer to prayer...
A little later Stephen decided to get a bit jealous of our little guy Evan and um...Evan's arm must have appeared a bit like a chicken leg to the small boy and on came a bite. Janet scrambled to get Stephen and apologized profusely. The thought quickly came to me and I smiled and looked at her and said, "Janet, I am just thankful you have a little someone to be embarrassed about!" Funny how I never would have thought that I would be thankful to Jesus for my son getting bit by a toddler. Answers to prayer are pretty amazing. Spending the evening with friends who have suffered many sorrows but yet we were all laughing our heads off, is just another answer to prayer in so many ways.
Janet does not share with us how she is doing as she is reveling in her little boy with her husband. We are going to get together to go garage sailing in a few weeks. She wants to look for clothes for Stephen. I'll be there with bells on, even though I will be highly selective in my own purchases! No excess stuff ya' know!
One day, not too long ago, I heard that Janet and her husband were in the process of adopting. Happy day! I knew it was going to be in January. Talking to a mutual friend, close to the day of their adoption, I discovered to my horror, everyone's horror, that the day Janet went to get the crib she went to the oncologist and cancer had returned. She was not given a great prognosis. They would have to tell the birth parents. Keep praying... We prayed, everyone prayed, and... the answer was yes! The birth parents proceeded with their adopting their little baby boy.
So, I saw Janet and her husband and their little guy Stephen. He is about fifteen months now. At some point in the evening, his dad was holding him and another friend who hadn't seen Todd in a long time asked whose little guy he was holding. Todd, standing a bit taller, say, "This is MY son." Answer to prayer...
A little later Stephen decided to get a bit jealous of our little guy Evan and um...Evan's arm must have appeared a bit like a chicken leg to the small boy and on came a bite. Janet scrambled to get Stephen and apologized profusely. The thought quickly came to me and I smiled and looked at her and said, "Janet, I am just thankful you have a little someone to be embarrassed about!" Funny how I never would have thought that I would be thankful to Jesus for my son getting bit by a toddler. Answers to prayer are pretty amazing. Spending the evening with friends who have suffered many sorrows but yet we were all laughing our heads off, is just another answer to prayer in so many ways.
Janet does not share with us how she is doing as she is reveling in her little boy with her husband. We are going to get together to go garage sailing in a few weeks. She wants to look for clothes for Stephen. I'll be there with bells on, even though I will be highly selective in my own purchases! No excess stuff ya' know!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Bees
Maple syrup season ended and bee season begins. Matthew and I took the little kids out to our other location of bees. I've been dreading that a bit as last year all of the hives died. THIS year three out of four lived. This is encouraging. This weekend I should spend some time playing with bees as that is therapeutic to me. I am not sure if it is too early to make a split but will read up on that and get back at it again. Perhaps I will even find some time to see what the condition of the honey supers are. Last year this seemed impossible with the baby and all. In some ways it seems challenging this year. Perhaps in a few years people will find me out there sweating away, playing with the bees and doing even better in the beekeeping department. I don't like being a bee haver.......
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Grandma's feather bed
Today we were all struggling to find a quiet place to give attention to individuals who needed math help and reading help etc. There were laundry baskets hanging about with clean laundry (just fold it and put it away already!) and many small children vying for my attention. I said to Martin and Benjamin, "Come on quick! Let's sneak off into my bedroom and shut the door. It will be quieter and I will be able to have you both snuggled in bed to talk to you about your school stuff." So....off we sped to my bed.
We were making good progress. I was sharing with Martin that his lesson on Ven graphs and the like was always an annoying lesson to me when I was a kid but we had to do it anyway as they put this stuff on tests and Benjamin was reading away on the other side and Evan was drifting off to la la land. (I was thinking during the sermon this evening that if I were to live like I were dying, which we all are, I would probably grab a few kids and snuggle them up in my bed.) It was a nice quiet scene until.....we were discovered. Soon they all drifted in like something out of a story book. The lyrics to 'Grandma's feather bed' started drifting through my mind. Kids were on top of the covers and gleefully climbing under them. This is what homeschooling is all about right? I might try it again tomorrow. Perhaps they will all pass out in a nap.....or not.
I'm glad we don't have little piggies or chickens anymore.
We were making good progress. I was sharing with Martin that his lesson on Ven graphs and the like was always an annoying lesson to me when I was a kid but we had to do it anyway as they put this stuff on tests and Benjamin was reading away on the other side and Evan was drifting off to la la land. (I was thinking during the sermon this evening that if I were to live like I were dying, which we all are, I would probably grab a few kids and snuggle them up in my bed.) It was a nice quiet scene until.....we were discovered. Soon they all drifted in like something out of a story book. The lyrics to 'Grandma's feather bed' started drifting through my mind. Kids were on top of the covers and gleefully climbing under them. This is what homeschooling is all about right? I might try it again tomorrow. Perhaps they will all pass out in a nap.....or not.
I'm glad we don't have little piggies or chickens anymore.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Various stuff
I am still about the business of throwing stuff out and giving stuff away. Several "family heirlooms" have been given away after no one has used them for 20 to 40 years. No one in the future is going to use them either so off they go. It is a tiny bit cleaner in here.
School is still slow and steady. Today was interrupted with errands and sick kids. I managed five hours of sleep without interruption. That was a thrill. Evan finally slept fairly well last night.
Sometimes we get stuff done around here. Charley completed the taxes. I am pushing kids to get through their math for this year and forge ahead. I think I dream of getting more done but it seems to never happen. Some are 'ahead' and some are 'behind'.
Um......this is another boringish post. Other than sick kids and plugging along there isn't much going on. I have no deep thoughts either! Someone would have to ask a question for me to answer to come up with something I think. So deep I am.
School is still slow and steady. Today was interrupted with errands and sick kids. I managed five hours of sleep without interruption. That was a thrill. Evan finally slept fairly well last night.
Sometimes we get stuff done around here. Charley completed the taxes. I am pushing kids to get through their math for this year and forge ahead. I think I dream of getting more done but it seems to never happen. Some are 'ahead' and some are 'behind'.
Um......this is another boringish post. Other than sick kids and plugging along there isn't much going on. I have no deep thoughts either! Someone would have to ask a question for me to answer to come up with something I think. So deep I am.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Not doing much
Today was remarkable. Well it was mostly remarkable. The syrup season is over and it is true, the kids collected the buckets and taps (keelers and spiles). Otherwise , we enjoyed a day of little activity. I managed to do a little laundry and put some away. I checked out some prices on my wonder phone to see what to price some things on Amazon. That was very exciting. This morning we ate breakfast, cleaned it up, did a few things, catechesis and reading a book aloud to kiddos, (can't remember what else they did...) then we ate lunch. How is THAT for awesome? This afternoon the kids watched a movie and did the syrup clean up. I went on a walk with my walking buddy and Evan came with. Then.....are you ready???? We came home and I finished making dinner, our oldest son, 65 year old Jim came over, we cleaned up from dinner and......I read to the kids and......watched another movie. We must be sick.....or something. This sounds like a chapter of "Little House in the Big Woods". The kids noted that in almost every chapter the family got up in the morning and in the next paragraph they were getting ready for bed. That was our day. I can handle this awesomeness. True, someday I might need to do more laundry or clean a bit more but I will cheerfully accept some more days like this. The kicker is...Charley stayed inside most of the day and only snuck out when I fell asleep in a chair with Evan. Not too shabby.
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