Hubby's Serious Injury = No Blogging

Hubby was injured very seriously on September 29. He broke his leg severely under his knee cap. There were two breaks -- one on each side of the tibia -- and lots of crushed bone directly under the knee. This ordeal has involved surgery to implant 2 large plates into the knee with 13! screws, a life-threatening blood clot, and 9 days in the hospital. It's also taken lots of recovery time at home and he has been ordered to be non-weight bearing until the end of December. All this has meant lots and lots of prayer for me and many extra responsibilities that my terrific husband, who is my true partner in every way, normally takes care of. As you might know or remember, hubby is also job-searching. So, this time has been a serious trust-building one for our family. God is teaching us so much about His absolute sufficiency in all circumstances. He is also reminding us that each day with loved ones is a blessing. Please pray for our family to keep looking up to Him as we continue in this trial. And, hopefully, I can begin to blog more regularly soon.

Lifting Hands Blog

I have been so blessed by this site. It is a site where prayers for children, usually taken right from scripture and highly influenced by Stormie O'Martian's work, are written at the beginning of each week. I write these prayers down on my spiral-bound notecards and then put them up in my kitchen to pray for my children as I am reminded throughout the week. I highly encourage you to visit and pray for your children as well through using this wonderful tool.

A Big Ole Writing Slump

I'm in a real writing slump lately, in case you can't tell by my serious lack of posting. I mean, I am in such a writing slump that I'm not even journaling, which, if you know me, is really weird. I am not sure what it is, but mainly, I just feel as if I have nothing of worth to say (or write). I'm not saying that in a "poor, pitiful me" sort of way, but it's truly how I'm feeling. I suppose it's okay not to write sometimes, to let real life seep in. Living --really living -- my life allows me to have something worthwhile to share. So, I'll keep living in my day-to-day moments and hopefully soon, I'll be out of the slump and have more to share here.

Oh, and on a fun note, my son, who lost his front tooth at age 3 in an accident, is FINALLY getting his big boy tooth. He's so excited!

Back and Kids Stuff

I've been away from the blog-o-sphere for over one month according to the date on my last post. Unbelievable! I'm going to try to update more regulary, now that our lives at home are in back to semi-regularity. So, if I do have any readers left after my long absence, hopefully you'll have something new to read on a fairly regular basis. I do have to say, though, that the break provided me with a freedom that I have enjoyed. Not being so tied to regular posting, not wondering about comments, etc. were freeing for my mind and heart during a season where my mind has been consumed with lots of other real-life stuff, such as re-establishing rhythm and routine to our American life, jumping back into my ministry role at church, and unpacking. Oh! And homeschool!

Anyhoo, we are starting a new little fun family thing at our house tonight. We are establishing "kid days". Each child in our family will have a day once a month when it is "their" day to have some special time with mom and dad all by themselves. They will also get to choose a special breakfast and get their meals served on the special red plate. We'll be using the children's birthdays to figure out when these days will be. For example, my son's birthday is on September 19, so on the 19th of every month, it will be his special day. Tonight, we're taking him out to dinner, while grandma watches his sisters and then we're going to make a list of things to do during the next year on his special day. I'm hoping to come up with lots of inexpensive ideas. We want this time to be a blessing for each child, to let them know they are special and unique, a time to listen to them and give them individual attention. But what we don't want is lots of expense. So, that's why for this first time, we're making the list for the year.

So, what's been up with you, long lost readers? How are things in your world?

Good Friends. Good Trip Reports.

If you enjoy trip reports, hop on over to my friend, Annette's blog. She and her husband, Tony, just got back from a fabulous trip to Portugal. The photos are to-die-for and made me want to GO! With 16 days left in this part of the world, however, I don't believe we'll have time to fit that one in.

Also, my friend, Paula, has been posting about her summer in Central Asia. Some amazing photos as well. Be sure to check out their new Tajik-wear. She has some great photos of a trip to London with a certain friend as well. ;)

Enjoy!

We Temporarily Interrupt This Blog...

...For our last round of visitors.

Be back soon!

I Fixed It!

That London Lesson Number One post was driving me crazy. I couldn't stand to look at it because there were no paragraph breaks! So, I tried what Emily said to do, and that didn't work. Then, I tried what Cyndi said and...it worked! So, if you can go back and read it now with some paragraph breaks if you like. I always feel quite overjoyed when I fix something on my blog, being the internet illiterate and all. Thanks Emily and Cyndi for the help!

Stay tuned for London Lesson Number Two later today...

A Jumbled Mess

No, I am not talking about my mind! Have you been talking to my husband? I am referring to my first London Lessons post. What's up? Why won't blogger separate into paragraphs now? I'm sure it's all operator error. Sorry for the jumbled mess. I've attemped to fix it several times, but to no avail. Can anyone help a girl out?

Do They Offer Blogging 101?

I'm updating my blog with labels, which means that the posts will now be categorized. This will make it nice if you're trying to look back to a specific post on a specific topic. It will also help newcomers to the blog find something specific that they might be searching for. However, being the self-taught blogger that I am (read: blog illiterate), I am doing this by going into each post and republishing them with the new labels. I hope this is not really annoying if you read the blog through bloglines. If "new" posts keep popping up in your bloglines, and they are really old ones, my new little labeling project is probably the reason. So sorry in advance!

Blog Sidebar Update

I just added music to my blog. If you don't like it, or don't want to hear it while you're reading, just scroll down in the sidebar and click the pause button. I love classical music as it soothes my soul and seems to make difficult days easier to bear. Sometimes, all I need is a little classical to be a more cheerful and patient wife and mom. So, whatever your preference, no problem. Be blessed!

New Blog

I'm currently moving all my old HSB posts to blogger. If you're a reader of my old blog at HSB, thanks for following me. If you're a new reader to this blog, welcome. Please be patient as I move my old posts to this blog. Hopefully, it will be easier to use and view. Thanks!

Slow Rat

As my friend April says, I'm a slow rat. You know, the kind that keep hitting their head against the wall in the Skinner maze? That's me alright. The slow rat. It sometimes takes a while for me to catch on to what God is trying to say to me.



Right now I think it's listen, be aware, pay attention.



"There is ecstasy in paying attention." -Anne Lamott

As I look back over my blog entries, I see that so many of them are about this paying attention, this listening. I think about my last entry where I really watched and listened, really paid attention to my daughter. There was ecstasy in that. Seeing her joy in life, her unattempted relaxation, her freedom thrilled my soul and opened me up to a childlikeness in my own. Ecstasy indeed.