More Busyness...

I know that excuse is getting old...really old. Will I ever log on here and say, "Hi guys. Me again for the 5th time today...just bored again." Is that possible? Ever?

Well, let's see. Last Thursday we had a showing. It went well. Saturday, we decided to take a road trip to drive by possible houses to cross them off the list. I think we're pickier about the location/setting of a house than the inside, so we eliminate most of them. Out of five houses, only one stayed on the list. And we haven't gone to see it because it is the farthest away from Barry's job...about 35-45 minutes, depending on weather and traffic (currently, it's 20 minutes). BUT, it appears to be a very good house for what we need, AND in the budget. Anyway....

When we got home, the girls and I went to take pictures of Miss Morgan before her Junior Prom...she was on the court. Isn't she gorgeous? And all grown up. Sad.

Ok, then Tuesday night, we had another showing...the same couple from Thursday night. They were bringing the parents and possibly writing an offer. Panic. We have no where to go. AND, neither of us want to face the "offer acceptance decision". You know, how low do you go? Well, they decided not to write an offer at this time. First time buyers...big mortgage.

On Wednesday night, the girls and I went to look at a fsbo house. We loved the old house character. That's what I want. They liked that it was on a creek. Barry didn't like the idea at all! In his mind, old equals junk and work and money. So, we keep looking. I still want my character house...

Another showing set up for Saturday morning. We were going to have an open house, but Barry decided that he wanted to go fishing on the opening weekend. Guess I'll be cleaning anyway....

Hopefully, I'll be posting again today. I have lots of new cards and wall art (my new project) to show you.

Here's a teaser...

 

But for now...it's breakfast and school! Have a great day!

Lambs & Easter & Birthdays, Oh my!

On the Saturday before Easter, we went on a field trip with friends to Govin's farm in Menomonie. We visited last year and the girls loved it. If you're lucky, you get to see baby lambs being born. They also have chicks, goats, puppies, piglets, and horses to see. We had a great time and will probably go next year again!

Alana, Mckahl, Erin, and Hannah (friends from church)

We celebrated Easter at Mom & Dad's, as usual. Barry stayed home to do some last minute house projects, but the girls and I drove up on Friday afternoon. We then went with mom & dad to Minn to Avery's 4th birthday party at a bowling alley, followed by a picnic lunch at a park, church at Eaglebrook, and then a little hike along the river at Taylors Falls.

And then a delicious Easter dinner on a glorious spring day, enjoyed with family. What a wonderful way to celebrate the Lord's resurrection!

Erin & Alana after hunting for eggs.

Easton (2) in his new boots!

Cousins in their Easter finery! Alana, Avery, & Erin

Grampa Videen with Baby Everett. Adorable!

Busy, busy, busy...

I know, I know. It's been like 20 years since I last wrote. Here's the deal. We finally have our house on the market!!! After years of talking about it, and thinking about it, and dreaming about it...we finally did it! Before that could happen, though, some major work had to be done. We had to paint our basement (please don't ask what it looked like before!) and in order to do that, lots and lots of stuff had to be sorted and thrown and donated. Actually, there were piles and closets and boxes of stuff all over the house that needed to be dealt with. So, that's what I've been doing for the past month. Now I'm pretty much done (exept for a couple of small baskets of misc stuff that I need to go through...but am too burnt out to attempt right now) and just need to maintain the clean.

I've never worked harder in my life. Really. And our house has NEVER looked better! It feels SO good. Why didn't I do this before? Because I'm a "keeper" and because my kids inherited my disease. Now we're on the road to establishing new habits and patterns. I tell my kids often that God's plan may not have been for us to move (although, I still feel that it is), but just for us to clean out and simplify.

We've had one showing so far. I guess that's not bad for the first week. Especially in this down market. It's ok, really, as we have no where to go as of yet. I just really feel that God wanted me to step out in faith...to prepare and list the house, not knowing where we would go, or when. I've obeyed. Finally. So, now I wait for His perfect plan and timing to reveal itself. At least now I'm waiting in a clean house!

Family Matters & Happy Spring!

As I'm writing this, I'm looking out my office window at GREEN GRASS (well, as green as is to be expected in March) and chirping birds at my feeder...mostly sparrows I believe, but I just saw a red cardinal and think I saw an interesting finch earlier today. For those of you familiar with Wisconsin weather, this is one step from Heaven! In fact, one of my favorite email forwards is the "You Know You Live In Wisconsin If"... like as soon as the temp goes above 40 deg, everyone is in t-shirts and flip-flops? :) Well, so far we haven't broken out the flops, but the girls have been sneaking their jackets off when playing hoops out in the driveway. Last week we had sun, which raised are tired, March spirits immensely. This whole week, however, has been cloudy, rainy, and dreary. But, still above 40, so I'll take it.

The pictures below spotlight another happiness in my life. My daughter, Alana, has always been a reader/book-lover like her mom. Never fighting me during reading time, and always reading before shutting off the light in bed. Erin, however, was a different story. Not interested. I've struggled to find a subject, author, or series to spark her interest, to no avail. Now, suddenly, it's taken root. Mostly, I think because she's sharing a room with her sister again, and thinks that reading might help her fall asleep.

Anyway, earlier this week, Erin got up early....a little after 7am, versus the usual 8am. I was sitting at the table doing my God Time/Study. She came up the stairs and stopped at the top to pet Zack. Then she spied the pile of books I had piled near the banister (I have books piled everywhere!) The next time I looked, there she was with a book open, reading on the top step, petting the cat. :) Joy.

I recently finished a book called Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense. I know why it makes sense for us, of course, but this author has a unique point of view...he's a public school teacher, and he and his wife homeschool their 5 sons. It was very interesting, giving a good history of public schooling...how it came about, why it's changed, and where it fails and succeeds. Here are just a few of the points I found thoughtful...

*the inherent rigidity of schools...children were not predisposed to long hours of physical inactivity

*schools were basically joyless institutions, serving an education almost entirely divorced from daily life

*In Massachusettes, the literacy rate was higher before compulsory education (possible 98%) than it would be any time after...due to being schooled or tutored at home

*the bureauocracy of the public schools was probably its biggest downfall...when the vision and control shifted from parents and communities to bureaucrats and "professionals"

*homes are no longer the "educational vacuum" they may have once been...we have internet, tv, books, libraries, globes, maps, magazines, homeschool curriculum, etc. Schools, to a certain extent, have become a waste of taxpayer dollars. Let parents teach...

*and finally, towards the end, this one really hit me hard. The author presents human beings (parents) as natural teachers of their young. And in most cultures, this education is reserved for the elders when they are no longer best suited to be out "doing," but have the knowledge and experience to pass on to the next generation. And since we have this "need & desire" to teach our children, a hole is created in our souls when we send the kids to school. He points out that parents quickly become selfish with their time and desires. How many times have you heard moms repeating all summer, "I can't wait for the kids to go back to school!" And we become totally focused on serving our own needs, seeing our kids as an intrusion on our time. This hit me very hard. Pre-homeschooling, I was an obsessed scrapbooker. That's what I did...that's who I was. I recently realized that I didn't NEED to do it daily...weekly...or even monthly, as I had to before. I don't normally feel the need to "get away from my kids." Could it be that my "teaching hole" has been filled now? Wow. He also mentions sports and dads. How many dads find that the only way they have to fill their need to teach is to teach junior how to throw a ball or swing a bat. This is where they bond. How true is that???

Anyway, the book did nothing to make me want to send my kids back to school. :) Family matters...and mine is home where I want them. :)

Have a blessed weekend!

By Grace Alone

Why a blurry school bus picture???

Well, you see, as a kid, whenever I'd stay home from school (due to sickness, or what my mom called much-needed "mental health days") I'd feel so guilty and regretful when that bus passed by. Was I really sick enough to be home? What was I missing? How far behind would I be? And then in high school, add to that guilt the pressure from missing basketball or volleyball practice. Seriously, people, I didn't even skip class in college! Once a geek always a geek, I guess. But I digress.

I became a mom. And all too soon I was putting my first little girl on that bus. And I cried. Then pretty soon, there were two on the bus. It took me 4 1/2 years of kids on the bus for me to finally have the courage to bring them home (for reasons that I won't get into now). But as I'd watch that bus go by each morning, I'd wonder, was I making the right decision? Would I ruin my kids? It was the same old guilt...the same fear I'd end up regretting this decision.

I still have days of questioning. But now, each day, as I sit over my Bible in the quiet before the kids awake, I thank God that my girls are NOT on that bus. They are home with me...where they belong. Where God has called me to keep them. And I am thankful. And humbled...that He has entrusted me with these precious lives.

And then the precious ones awake, and before long I'm wishing I would have put them on the bus. I might even threaten to put them on it tomorrow! :) Some days are bad days. Really bad. With the words from Ann at Holy Experience, whom I admire greatly,

"Raising your own flesh and blood is this exercise in seeing how dirty your flesh is and how dire you need the blood of Christ. "

It is by grace alone that I'm forgiven of my sins. My mistakes. And it is by His grace that I am entrusted with these precious souls, day after day. And it is by His grace that tomorrow I'll do better. It is through His grace that the bus goes by each morning, just to remind me...

A Case for Creation

It was early last week...Monday morning, I believe. As I sat with God, watching the world wake up, I witnessed the most beautiful thing. It was really foggy. And cold. And the combination created a white world...similar to a fresh snowfall, yet different. Individual frost flakes coated every surface. And the air was white with a frozen fog. It was, in a word, magnificent!

Then the girls woke up, breakfast had to be made...my day began and the spell was broken. I kicked myself all day for at least not trying to take pictures. Well, I got my chance the next morning...I was greeted with the same picture. So, as soon as I could, I trekked out into the yard and started clicking. However, there was so much light...so brilliantly white, that the pictures were all whited out. So, I wandered out for a second attempt. These were the pictures I got. Like most things in life, the copies don't do the justice to the original.

For many days after, I pondered the beauty I was blessed to witness on those early mornings. It felt like a personal showing of God's greatest art. Each night I thanked him for his creativity, and I couldn't help but think, yet again, how obvious the Creator is through His creation. How can people not see Him?

This made me think about beauty itself. I guess, if you really wanted to, you could make a case that "beauty" is really just a natural survival instinct. We are "attracted" to those of the opposite sex so that we are willing to propagate our species. We see "beauty" in a newborn babe so that we determine it necessary to care for the young until they are able to survive on their own. And, I guess, I case could be made for us seeing "beauty" in nature...as it would tell us "good place to make camp".

I finally determined that one could say that "beauty" is not art presented by a creative God, but just a perception on our part (dictated by the "big bang," I'm sure!) But there was an idea that could not be explained away. How are we moved to tears by words and music? What makes us see beauty in a grandparent interacting with a grandchild? An elderly couple sharing a smile and holding hands? The first words of a child? The miracle, I've decided, is not just what we see that He creates, but that we even see it...feel it. He gave us that gift. To see beauty. Wow. Can you imagine life without that?

Can a worm see beauty? Can a tree? Can an amoeba (that we apparently came from)? The ability to see and feel the beautiful. That's my case for creation.

Introducing Everett Allen

First, I must appologize for being awol for so long! I really don't know what my excuse is this time. Just busy, I guess. Between school, cooking, and cleaning...seriously, it really shouldn't keep me that busy, but it does. Anyway, we've begun the "we're really going to try to sell this house" cleaning again. But I'm serious this time. :)

On a much happier note, my sister finally had her baby. Last Thursday, January 28, Everett Allen Abrams entered the world at a whopping 11 lbs, 4 oz!!! (At least now we know what took so long!) You go girl! Everett was born at home, as was Avery and Easton, and everything went very smoothly. We visited on Friday, and let's just say, 11 lbs sounds much bigger on the phone than when he's in your arms (of course, we Videen girls don't mess around with those "average-sized" babies...we only produce 9+ pounders!) He sure still seemed tiny to me. And beautiful. And if I could just bottle up that baby smell...!!!

And this one's my favorite. I can totally see Grampa in this one!!!

As always, I have more to say...but, as always, I'm just too wiped to do it! :) Hopefully, I'll be back again tomorrow to bore you to tears. Until then, God bless, and have a fabulous end to your week!