The Summer that Was and Wasn't

Kids are back in school, Labor Day is behind us, and leaves are starting to fall.  I am simultaneously feeling:
1) wistful that we did not have a "real" summer vacation,
2) guilty that we never got into a good routine for our summer days together, and
3) relieved that the burden of structuring my time and that of my children is no longer mine alone to bear.

Rather that obsessing over what I did not accomplish or what was not feasible, I want to cultivate a spirit of gratitude.  There were a lot of very good things that happened this summer, and some of them were even on my summer "bucket list."  Here are the things that come to mind.

In July:

• My husband's parent's came for a visit.
• We explored the Saskatchewan Science Centre for the first time.
• Grandparents babysat while we went out for a dinner date in the big city.
• I got my official Canadian passport!
• I was able to switch my part-time work schedule and get to know some fascinating co-workers.
• We found and picked a pitcher-full of local Saskatoon berries!  I've been itching to do this since our arrival in Saskatchewan last summer.  With the fresh berries we picked we enjoyed Saskatoon berry applesauce bars and berry topped pancakes.

In August:

• My parents came for an extended visit.
• We went out to celebrate our 13th anniversary while my parents babysat. 
• We went on a family history tour to see the area where my mom and grandparents were from.
• My husband got to teach new EFL teachers in Cambodia.
• The kids and I went strawberry picking.
• Friends let us tend and harvest the produce in their garden while they were away.  I've missed having a garden of my own. 

• We made lots of yummy jam.  My mom brought us more delicious jam from her kitchen.
• My mom also helped us catch up on laundry.  Yes, we can actually see (part of) the laundry room floor now!
• My husband finished the first draft of his Ph.D. dissertation!  We started this grad school journey six years ago, and now the end is in sight.
• I got a second-hand (or third or fourth-hand, more likely) bike that works--and it was free!
• We finally got an offer on our house in Nebraska!  It's been 12 months since we packed up and headed north.

There are still a few question marks in our lives right now.  When will our house deal finally close?  Will we continue to rent here or will we dive into the local, more expensive real estate market here in Saskatchewan?  Will my husband graduate in December?  If so, will we risk traveling in December to attend the ceremony?  Should I keep working part-time after the house closes?  We need wisdom and patience from above.   Seasons of waiting and uncertainty are hard.  I am ready for closure.  Nevertheless, God is good, all the time.

10 Things I'll Suddenly Be Glad to Do

Waiting is hard.  Waiting patiently is an even greater feat, which I believe takes supernatural grace to manage.  I'm not there yet.  Right now my two-week-old daughter is still in the hospital recovering from surgery.  Once she starts feeding well and gaining weight, we should be able to go home and rejoin the rest of the family.  We just don't know when that will happen.

It's amazing how one's perspective can change with an unexpected turn of events.  Once we do finally get to take her home, I'll be seeing certain tasks differently.  Hopefully I can remember to give thanks in the midst of it all.  Because if I'm doing these things, it means my daughter is home with us to stay!

 I'm looking forward to:

1. Changing lots of dirty diapers.
2. Being awoken in the night to feed my crying baby.
3. Having more laundry to wash.
4. Going about tasks with only one hand available.
5. Feeling like I'm never alone.
6. Needing to buy more diapers.
7. Having a full-time job feeding my newborn.
8. Lugging extra baby gear around with me.
9. Taking my daughter in and out of her infant seat.
10.  Staking out a quiet nook to nurse my daughter when we're out and about.

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him..."

Psalm 37:7

Thanksgiving Ideas + Menu Plan

Does anyone else love pumpkin as much as I do?   If so, the 10 pumpkin recipes I shared last week will not disappoint.  Two of my very favorites on that list are savory dishes--pumpkin soup and pumpkin buns stuffed with leftover turkey.  With canned pumpkin on sale at rock-bottom prices (69 cents a can!), I'm stocking up for the weeks ahead.

Thanksgiving weekend I plan to make some baked rice pudding and homemade cranberry sauce and have a mini-feast after gathering with friends on Thursday.  Spending too much time in the kitchen is a temptation I shall try to resist.  But there must be pie, right?  And with all the delicious options --pumpkin, pecan, apple, cherry--it's hard to narrow down which one(s) I'll make.

• Monday - Roast chicken, bean soup, rice
• Tuesday - Birthday meal (from our favorite Chinese restaurant, Yang's)
• Wednesday - Venison, rice, vegetable stir fry

• Thursday - Thanksgiving dinner with friends (bringing a pie, pumpkin dinner rolls, and cider)
• Friday - Leftovers
• Saturday - Cornish game hens, salad, sweet potatoes, rice pudding, cranberry sauce

I hope my use of time this week reflects what it truly important.  Certainly there is more to Thanksgiving than food and shopping, despite ads that say otherwise.  While we try to cultivate a spirit of gratitude in our home every day, I appreciate that there is a designated time to focus on God's goodness to us.  Giving thanks, sharing, and spending time with friends and family are what this season should be about.  Ideas for slowing down during the holidays in this article at Simple Mom were helpful to my thinking.

Have you found a recipe for how to make Thanksgiving happy and meaningful?

Our First Nebraska Apple Orchard Trip

The long-awaited opportunity came this week.   My son's preschool class had a field trip to a local apple orchard.  My daughters enjoyed their orchard visits when they were in preschool as well. However, I had other youngsters at home then, so I was not free to go--until now.

My son was thrilled to ride the bus that he had heard so much about from his sisters.  Can you tell?

We selected a couple of apples to take home.

Stopping to pick and eat raspberries was delightful.

Each child also got to pick out a pumpkin.

And hay bales kept kids busy until lunch.

In all, we had a wonderful morning together.  I was so glad to finally get the chance to experience the orchard with one of my children.  And I brought home some fresh, cold apple cider to share with the whole family.  A truly blissful day it was.

What field trips from your childhood do you recall with fondness?

This is linked to Try New Adventures Thursday, hosted by Alicia.

Five Happy Moments

What Came on Monday

What We Got Tuesday

Armed with cardboard and instructions, two young scientists are ready to begin their projects for the Science Fair next month.

What I Needed to Hear on Wednesday 

See that book?  It's actually a love letter.  And the words come from the One who is love.  That's why He can love me, in spite of all that wearies Him, just like he loves the people described in chapters 42 and 43 of Isaiah.


What the Kids Configured Thursday

I thought this was an ingenious way to resolve the longstanding conflict over who gets the two swings.  Now all three can!

And before we had a swing set, they devised this simple setup, which they continue to enjoy in addition to the big wooden play set (that grandparents and great grandparents sponsored).

What Remained on Friday

What moments from your week are you savoring with a thankful heart?

I'm linking up with the Company Girls and Boys in Motion today.

10 Things to Savor from This Summer

1. Sun-kissed tomatoes from our garden

2. Sweet pea bouquets

3. Snoozing in my Vietnamese hammock

4. Sweet-smelling clothes from the line

5. Summer Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches

6. Stories illustrated and told by my sanguine 5-year-old

7. Sounds of "yee haw!" as my daughters rode like cowgirls in the backyard

8. Scrumptious homemade raspberry pie and jams from St. Joseph Island

9. Seeing my grandfather and grandmother in Ohio

10. Stone necklace my husband gave me on our 10th anniversary

What are you savoring?

Ain't That Good News!

Preschool Artwork by K.B.

Recent good news from friends has gladdened my heart like never before.  I am so thankful for such friendships.  When my own life is hard, it is good to look at how God is blessing the people I care about and share a bit of their happiness.  Why am I just discovering this now?

Some ways I am rejoicing with those who rejoice:

• The best man at our wedding got engaged recently and is getting married this summer.  I understand better why everyone was so happy for us when we were engaged.  We will now get to be one of those gushing married couples who congratulated us so warmly on our wedding day ten years ago.
• Another friend shared the news that she has found someone who may just be her God-given match. I am eager to learn about how God's plans for her unfold.
• My sister has another job--at a good company.  This is an answer to many prayers.
• We have several friends blessed by expecting another child this year.  And one of these couples had their fourth child last month.  We went to visit them and share their joy.  I had fun making my first ever diaper cake to give to them for the occasion.
• My husband received a teaching award this semester.  Such news is gratifying, after pouring his energy and expertise into students who treat their education and grades as mere transactions rather than as an opportunity to grow. He gets a couple hundred dollars as part of the recognition as well, which we certainly appreciate during these financially tight grad school years.
• But the best news of all is what we celebrate every Easter.  I've been studying the book of John in a Bible study that meets each Wednesday.  Looking at John's gospel has deepened my insight into the wonder of who Jesus is and what He did in perfect obedience.   And his triumph that grants my pardon and gives access to life with Him is my greatest cause to rejoice.

What are you celebrating these days?

Thankful and Conflicted

Today was the second day this week that I had plans to be somewhere by 9:30 a.m. We arrived at 10:00 for our play date. Hopefully tomorrow we will be better prepared to depart on time since my daughters are starting a ballet class at 9:30 in the morning. They've been dancing for joy ever since I shared the news that I had managed to sign them up.


Immediately after the last ballet class we will, Lord willing, travel south through Kansas to Oklahoma to visit my parents and sister. The last time I was there was about six months ago, and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with them and attending church in the sanctuary where my husband and I were married.

I am thankful that my husband has decided to take my daughters to school each morning. He's away most evenings, so this is a chance for his to grab Daddy-daughter time and it makes my mornings less hectic. We also enjoyed our first candlelight dinner of the year. I surprised my husband by setting the table with porcelain plates that I found on clearance after Christmas. These plates will be used exclusively for our weekly dinners as a couple (which works well since I found a place setting for 4 and we are a family of 5).


So while we've managed to get this year off to a good start in some ways, I find myself stymied in others. Being somewhat of a contrarian, January puts me in a dilemma. I resist the cultural momentum to diet and make resolutions because that's what everyone else is busy promoting. But in fact I do want and need to be transformed. However, in my case, willpower and self-discipline will not accomplish much. So I come to God helpless and humbled, hopeful that he will carry on his work in me. Whatever good changes happen this year will not come from my strength of will, they will be wrought by Him.

"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

"...it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

Philippians 2:13 (ESV)

The Winter Road Trip that Wasn't

We knew we might have to nix our plan if the weather didn't cooperate. But the reality of canceling our trip was more painful than we imagined. I was incredibly disappointed, and so were my grandparents. I found out they were even planning to wait to open Christmas gifts until after we arrived. Instead, the unopened gifts for our children would have to be mailed. The delight of celebrating the holidays and his 90th birthday with exuberant little voices became a dream unfulfilled.

In hindsight, we should have been ready to go whenever the road conditions were favorable. In this case, that would have meant leaving two or three days earlier, and we weren't prepared enough to do that. Winter travel is not something with which we have much experience; we prefer to avoid it altogether. But we'd rather not avoid it the way we had to this time.

I have enough confidence in my grandparents' love to trust that our relationship is not irreparably damaged by this great disappointment. Still, it is hard to talk with them on the phone, not knowing when we can manage to arrange another trip. And we also don't know how many days they have left on this earth. Still, I remain thankful for the many wonderful times I've shared with both sets of grandparents in the past. My husband had far fewer happy moments with his grandparents before they were gone.

So in this new year, I resolve to be thankful for God's abundant gifts to me, past and present. Remembering His past faithfulness helps me believe that His goodness will continue, even when events do not unfold in the ways that I might hope or expect.

A Worthwhile Journey

Winter travel intimidates me. So why would we risk an 800 mile trip in the middle of winter? Our love for my grandparents compels us.

Through the time shared with my grandparents and the stories of the more distant past, I want my children to understand that wisdom and simplicity are admirable goals. Growing older is not really something to fear, so long as a person lives life to the full by continuing enrich the mind and spirit and by seeking to contribute to the lives of others.

Most of my grandparents' lives have not been spent in the spotlight. What has amazed me is their faithfulness in the ordinary tasks of each day. They have been ordinary folks, devoted to God, living with quiet grace.

This is where I falter. In my longing for extraordinary experiences, I would rather skip the mundane parts. Yet these rather unremarkable actions are essential to living well, to the glory of God. As I think of my grandparents, I realize I need to alter my course and not squander the rich heritage of faith they have given me. I will never regret the moments I've spent with my grandparents. There are few gifts I treasure more.

Together in 2007

This post is linked to Steady Mom's 30-minute blog challenge.

Wishes

My daily goal for the month of November: to arrive early instead of perpetually late. As soon as I resolve to change, however, reality and ingrained habits strike back. Yes, that was me, combing my daughter's hair with a plastic fork before we rushed her to school yesterday.

"Do you want to be healed?" That's a question Jesus asked in the passage from John 5 that we studied this week at BSF. "Get up," he commanded the lame man. Obedience and faith, not will power, were the keys to transformation. Part of me wants to be changed and freed from my hang ups, and yet another part resists, believing it impossible.

After talking about it for weeks, I think we will actually start our Thanksgiving countdown today when my daughter gets home from school. By simply seeking to obey God's command to give thanks, I am seeking to build habits that continue long after November ends.

Meanwhile, even as we prepare for Thanksgiving, Christmas ideas are being tossed around and considered. I came across some wonderful inspiration here for simple gifts to make. The folder games look like so much fun, we might have to enjoy some before Christmas.

To be ever thankful, to simplify, and to arrive early and at peace. These are my holiday wishes. Now it's time to "get up", obey, and celebrate what He does!

Ode to Autumn's Maker

When sunlight gilds the autumn leaves,
The glorious hues mine eyes receive,
And in the soul swell songs of praise,
For splendors God alone displays.


-Copyright J. Baurain 2009

Welcome to my week, Company Girls. Though it's been far from perfect inside my home, God has put a song in my heart thanks to the emergence of the sunshine and beautiful weather. What has given you cause for praise this week?