Changing Seasons

I know you've heard me say it many times, but I just LOVE fall.  It seems I am more motivated to do fall cleaning than when it is spring.  I love the cool, crisp weather.  And it seems that the moving bug always starts to hit me around this time of year.  Every move our family has made since being in the military has always been in the summer.  And we have never stayed longer than three years in one place.  It seems to be a cycle that we find ourselves in.  We move, get our home settled, begin to make friends, feel a part of the community, get involved, really learn our way around the area (you know those secret routes only people native to the area seem to know), and then about the time we hit a few months into our third year (that would be about now)…it's time to start anticipating our next assignment.  

The older I get, the more I don't like waiting to the last minute to get things done.  Throw homeschooling full-time, year round in there and there isn't a lot of last minute time to get things decluttered and organized.  I find myself thinking quite a bit about the upcoming move.  I know anything can happen and there is always the slim chance we might be able to stay.  But, that has never happened yet with us.  

So, as I decorate and welcome fall, I am also working on areas in my home that need work.  It always brings me back to the minimalist mindset.  You really begin to think about what you need and love when you move often.  It is no fun lugging things from one place to another and having no need for them in either house.  It just takes up much needed space and time by demanding attention to clean and store properly.  

So, my fall cleaning is underway.  Right now I am weeding out curriculum that I have collected for years and know that I will not use again.  It is time to try and sell at a good price and hopefully, bless others in the process.  What are your plans for fall?

Finding My Way

It has been a little over two months since we have moved and I am still staring at boxes in our garage and bonus room.  We are slowly working our way into our new home, creating a new fabric for the day to day rhythm of our lives.  Being a military spouse has taught me so very much about working with constant change.  We change houses, churches, doctors, hairdressers, our favorite places to shop, grocery stores and all the things we can no longer find…or things we can finally get now…vets, piano teachers, homeschool groups, sewing teachers and yes, even friends.  We always keep the old friends, but must become accustomed to not seeing them regularly and finding new ones.  That is one of the hardest things about moving.  Sometimes it seems like friends are plentiful in some places, sparse in others…just another indication of a new season in one's life.

As much as I dreaded Oklahoma…and believe me, I did!  I am learning that my Father in Heaven has His beauty everywhere, despite the myriad of scorpions that I find in my home!  The sunsets here are beautiful and the crazy wind?  Well, who would have thought?  My children love it here!  There are birds that we see here almost on a daily basis that I never saw back east…like a great blue heron and a lovely osprey that fishes in the pond behind our yard.  There are coyotes serenading us some evenings…that I must say is not quite a thrilling!

And as much as I have always wanted to stay put in my own home…planting fruit trees that I can watch grow with the passing of each year, painting scriptures and small pictures on my walls, etc., God continues to show me that I am only passing through.  This military life gives me a true taste of the pilgrimage.  Life is so very short.  Children grow up so quickly.  Soon, I will be staring at the empty nest years and I will long for these transient days when we were all together.  What really matters is that we have each other and more importantly, we have the Lord.  Everything else is a far second from that fact.  And although my children will never remember their childhood home like most children…I pray they remember the love that went with them everywhere they lived.  And I hope they take away the thought of blooming where God plants them…no matter where that is.  

Yes, I'm Still Here!

It has been so long since my last post, I am sure many of you have wondered if I gave up blogging forever.  Well, no, at least not yet.  But, there have been many things happening around our house that have kept me from blogging.  So, this post will be a catch-up of a few highlights of what has kept me away.  The pictures today are those around and in our home.  My oldest daughter Joy gets credit for the picture taking.  She is becoming quite the budding photographer!

There was a virus going around our church for a while.  My husband caught is first, then my son, my middle daughter, and then myself.  It was pretty nasty stuff.  It started mainly with a bad cough and that cough lingered for about four weeks.  I am still coughing some even after all this time.  But, praise the Lord, the worst of it is over.  We have also been working on a new schedule in our home and we are trying to work out the kinks and figure out the best use of our time.  We have been convicted about making every moment count for the Lord and the best way we feel to do that is to have a workable schedule in the home.  

I will try and share some of the things that work for us later after we get it running a little more smoothly.  The great thing about the schedule is that even though things are not tweaked to our liking yet, we have been able to accomplish so much more with it in place.  It has really been an effective tool.

We are also involved in many more classes for some of the children here, which has taken some time away.  Joy is taking photography, sewing and piano this year.  Joanna is taking piano and sewing and Josiah piano lessons.  We are very excited about these opportunities, but they take time to do and therefore, we are having to be much more selective about the use of our time during the day.

Also during this time my eldest son got a fever, stomach upset and some congestion.  It was quickly over, so we thought, but about five days later he started breaking out in a rash.  We thought it was chicken pox, but it has been going on for over 14 days and there have been new areas as recently as two days ago.  We took him to the doctor, she thought is might be measles, but it doesn't fit the measles rash or symptoms at all.  We are perplexed and have kept the children away from church in case he is contagious.  But, none of my other children have gotten anything similar so it doesn't seem to be contagious.  

This is what his face looked like, although fortunately, his face has completely healed.  It is mainly on his legs and arms. His legs are by far the worst looking. If any of you ladies have any suggestions for me, please let me know.  We have gotten him some anti-itch medicine that seems to be helping some.  I do think it is on it's way to healing, but it is a mysterious thing since we have never experienced anything like this before. 

Lord willing, we will be leaving next week to head to Ridgecrest for the Gospel-Centered Marriages retreat.  We are so excited about what the Lord will teach us  there.  I hope to share some insights when we come home.  Much of it will be centered on preparing our children for marriage through the courtship/betrothal model.  I am thankful for the opportunity to go and learn under those that have gone before us in this area.  We are definitely newbies to all this!  I will hopefully be back with some things to share after the conference.  Until next time!

Tough Choices

Sometimes in life, we all have to make tough choices.

Which path should I take?  

Some choices are not so easy for a girlie girl to make.

You know the ones I am talking about…they ooze sweetness, cute smiles that melt your heart and love everything pink and flowery.

Sometimes the best of the girlie girls has a conundrum to face.

What's a girl to do?  

Yes, sometimes the girlie girl must face the facts, and that's when she chooses the road less traveled and the girlie girl takes the truck.  

Confessions of a Negligent Blogger

Okay, I must confess....I have been a negligent blogger.  I will try to do better.  So many things have been happening...I thought I would share a few of the things that have kept calling me away from my blogging world.

Well, there is the lovely campus to see.  Lots of things to explore there!  Oh, and we have just finished up our end of year testing...I was a little late on that one!

There are produce stands and farmer's markets!

Plenty of toads to keep a mother happy!

Beautiful butterflies outside my windows.

Skies only God could paint!

Our friends that come and feast at the edge of the property.

Some of the most beautiful moths I have ever seen!

The first Luna moth I have seen in person...landing on my wedding hat. 

And then there are the not so beautiful things...like huge slugs wrapping around my daughter's arm.  You would be proud of me...I didn't even jump.  I don't want to be "that" kind of Mom.

And did I mention...my five blessings...who make my days so blessed.   I really will try to do better...but if I am negligent again...you will know why!  Have a blessed day!

What the Last Few Weeks Have Been Like

I thought I would show you a glimpse of our last few weeks.  This first picture is from the hallway of the house we just moved out of.  Jonathan was getting boxes we stored in the attic so we could pack for our move.

We did a partial move ourselves through Uhaul.  As you can see, the truck was backed up to the front door for easy loading.  Here my husband is placing one of our red bookcases.

Many of the boxes that we packed ourselves were full of books.  Even though the boxes were small, they were a little heavy for one child to carry themselves.  But, our children still desired to help.  And they were a very big help at that too!  Here the girls are carrying a box together.  They would carry them out and then Jonathan would put them in place.

My boys in action.

Joy carrying one by herself.  She has a thing for going barefooted.

Finally hitting the road in the Uhaul.  The children took turns riding in the front with Daddy. 

After we unloaded the Uhaul at our new home, it was right back to Fayetteville to prepare for the movers to come and pack/load everything else.  When you move as much as we do with moving companies, you learn to have a "no pack" corner.  These are the things that you want to be able to put your hands on as soon as you get to the new place without sifting through hundreds of boxes!

Our den soon became an obstacle course.

This is the bonus room in the new house.  See why I have not been blogging much lately?  Most of the rooms looked like this. 

I hope to show you some pictures of this room when it is finished.  I still have quite a ways to go.  This is going to be school room/library/craft room...so there is a lot to put away and find places for everything.  I am so thankful it is a nice large room and there are so many windows.  I just love having the light shine through most of the day. 

Oh, I wanted to show you a creature that was attempting to be a stowaway.  So glad the children didn't catch him.  They would have been smuggling it to the new house.

And this is the view of the house we are living in for the next 14 months...until we get ready to do this all over again! 

And this my friends is what we all did when it was finally over! 

Settling In to Our New Home

It seems like forever since my last blog post.  We have been so incredibly busy. We officially moved from our home in Fort Bragg/Fayetteville, NC to Wake Forest, NC.  I hope to show you pictures of our new place as soon as I can.  Right now, we are still trying to get out from under our sea of boxes!  We have met many of our neighbors and they have all been so kind and helpful.  God has given us a great neighborhood to spend the next 14 months.  The children have a large yard to play in and many slugs, toads, caterpillars, praying mantises, beetles, fireflies, snails, etc. to bring to me on an almost daily basis!  The downfall to the critter department seems to be the ticks we have found…one on me…two on my youngest son…one on my daughter…not very excited about that!  So, we do a daily tick check before bed.  

This is the town that my husband went to seminary over ten years ago.  We loved it then and were thrilled to be able to come back here, even for just a short period of time.  The pictures are of the children feeding the geese at a pond behind a local cemetery just a few miles from where we live.  When we were here last, I only had Joy to take…now I have my five blessings that are able to enjoy it.

God has been so good to be with us every step of the way during the move.  It has been a stressful one, but the Lord has watched over us through it all.  We begin school again this coming Monday…I still have some school books to find and put away and we will begin more of our routine again.  I am looking forward to that.  Although, I am sure we will be unpacking for a few more weeks to come.

Thank you to all of you that sent your sweet comments and prayed for us during this time.  I am truly grateful for it all.  I look forward to catching up with you all again real soon!  God bless!

Swimming in a Sea of Boxes

In case you're wondering about this picture, we just got a new computer that takes pictures.  We were playing around with it and came up with this!  Just wanted to pop in and let you all know that we are now officially swimming in a sea of boxes!  We had a very successful yard sale on Saturday, which is why I didn't get my health segment post up on Friday.  Unfortunately, my posts may be a little sporadic until we finally get settled in our new home.  But, I will try to post when I am able.  We will be doing a partial move of our things this next Friday, so we will be moving some things into our new home next weekend.  This week we will be frantically trying to get as many things done before then as possible.  After that, we will be weeding out and paring down to prepare for the packers and movers.   We greatly appreciate your prayers during this time as moving is always a potentially stressful time.  I look forward to catching up with you all again real soon.  God bless!