Life is good

Part I

Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.
Okay.
So it hasn’t been strange, exactly.
But it has been a busy interlude.
Thus, the lapse in blogging these past few days.
I have worked at the new house quite a bit this weekend.
There’s nothing like getting in there and getting your hands dirty to make you feel better about a project. That’s how I lovingly refer to our remodel now – our project. Somehow it sounds less monstrous that way. Almost cute in fact, really. Almost.
Seriously, we are making progress and hope to be in by the beginning of July.
My enthusiasm has in no way been curbed by the facts that Joe found a black snake in the house yesterday, and just today we witnessed a bold little mouse scampering across the new laminate floor.
It was so adorable, the way his feet slid out from under him as he was racing for the closet.
NOT.
All I could think about was the movie Mouse Hunt, which I happened to watch with the boys recently. It was not a comfort to me, even though in the movie the mouse is nice to the humans in the end.
Joe chased him with a broom, I suppose to sweep him away. Be gone, little mouse. You have no power here.
But alas, he was too quick, laminate floor and all.
Anyway, in the past few days I missed blogging about Daniel’s first foray into a baby pool and an afternoon spent with Isaac and Jo’s good friend Ben.

Daniel loved it. All my kids are part fish, it seems.

That was Friday afternoon.
Friday night was family night at VBS, and the week came to a close with a presentation for the parents and a meal for the families who participated.
I want to thank everyone who put this on. My boys loved it! Thank you for laying down your lives for the next generation. I know it is something my little “agents” will remember for a long time to come.

Here are two of God’s Kids.

Here’s another one.

Saturday, I spent a lot of time at the house, gettin’er done.
I actually used a drill. I don’t know if this impresses anyone else, but the house is still standing!!
Sunday, after church, we had lots of people over at gramp’s. Fourteen adults and three kids!
It was the first time in a long time that the house was full and bursting at the seems with not only people, but laughter and conversation and brotherhood.
After dinner, we were back at the house.
Today, after some necessary errands, we found ourselves at the house yet again.
The boys are so tired of being there, and sometimes they whine a bit, when they find it is where we are heading, “Do we have to go there again?”
I keep reminding them that since we will live there one day very soon (fingers crossed) they might as well get used to it.
Generally, they are a big help. We can always find something for them to do.
And when we are not keeping them busy, they wander out into the landscape and find toads and bunnies and animal tracks of all kinds. Yesterday they found coyote and deer tracks.
Joe and I surveyed the land later and discovered an apple tree and a couple of mulberry trees. Almost the entire property is lined with thick blackberry bushes. Very exciting.

Part II

The other day, as I was going back and forth from the new house to various other locations for cleaning supplies and lunches and such, I got behind a jeep with a tire cover that read “Life is Good."

"

Now, if I’m being honest (and I am) life wasn’t seeming very “good” to me at that moment.
For many reasons, I had had a bad week full of wrong attitudes and stinking thinking and fear and frustration.
I thought about that saying.
I stared at the people driving and riding in that jeep, respectively.
How did they know?
Sure, their hair was blowing in the wind on a God-kissed beauty of a day and their smiles were visible from my windshield, but were they happy?
I thought about myself.
I missed my dad so badly this last week, I could literally taste the sorrow of the loss of him.
Who was going to tell him that life was good?, I humphed.
Immediately, God said, not unkindly, but knowingly, “Um, eternal life is great. I’m sure Bill would agree . . . “
“Okay,” I challenged, “Let’s play this!”
One by one I went down the litany of things that had been bothering me all week, whining, “But, but what about . . . “
And one by one, he turned it around, gently, showing me the good in each situation.
It’s not that the bad doesn’t happen, doesn’t exist.
Of course it does.
God never promised that life would be easy.
But he did promise comfort and hope and joy to those who love him and keep his commands.
As I drove on, wind blowing my hair through the open window, voice of God whispering in my ear all His benefits, all the wonderful things that I have to be thankful for, my perspective began to change.
As I listened to Him, I remembered . . . small hands raised in worship of Him; small faces lifted for a kiss; friend’s hands, held while making plans for coffee; husband’s smile widening when I look at him; mother’s voice on the other end of the line, saying “hello” from down the street; grandfather, still sitting on porches to watch the sunset; tomatoes warm from the vine, bites of sunshine; cups of coffee, steaming; berries washed and sweet; sunset blazing; cool twilight hues melting into night; horses running; prairie grass blowing in the wind; crisp of autumn; chill of winter; fresh of spring; laze of summer; children’s laughter; child’s prayer; a child dancing.
Sacrifice of life so I can live.
Yeah.
Life is good.

A day out on God's big playground

It's been a full day, and as I sit typing this, we are under severe weather watches.
We went to visit grandpa at his house this morning.
The sky was blue, the sun was shinning and the clouds -- perfect, fluffy, white dreams -- were sailing over the landscape. It was soooo windy!
The boys loved it, though, and we sat out in the whipping wind, letting it blow through our hair, over and around us.
They sat for some time and watched Grandpa's neighbor, Jim, cut down some bushes by the pond that had rumored nests of water moccasins under them.
I just want to say for the record, no water moccasins were discovered. However, we are now one blackberry bush poorer.
It didn't take long, though, for the boys to be up and at it, playing all over the yard.
Josiah was running and jumping and catching hold of the lower branches of the trees. Then he would hang suspended and swing there for a moment before dropping off.
"Look, mom. It's like a playground. A nature playground. Like God just made a playground out of trees and stuff."
"Yeah, the trees are like the jungle gyms!" Isaac added.
What a child-like take on the world my young sons have.
I love it.
Daniel enjoyed playing outside too, and spent most of the time discovering the many joys and uses of rocks.
Grandpa is up to his old tricks again, tooling around in the tool shed.


I took these pics at gramp's ( your comments about my photography --haha-- have gone to my head, I'm afraid.).

The boys had riding lessons today.
Their dad was able to come along to see the action.
We met Andre the Giant, a good little pup that was abandoned out on the ranch, and who has adopted Kevin and Rachel.
Daniel was particularly taken with him. Ya know, being a puppy and all. Daniel loves him some puppies.
Isaac and Jo rode Bounder again. He is a good horse.
It was neat to see the boys lead the horse and groom the horse -- all the things they have been learning.
Rachel is a good and patient teacher.

They had a friend, Aaron, with them, and he even got to get up on the horse today.
We got home in time to eat dinner (thank you, Joe, for cooking a wonderful meal!) and head out the door to VBS.
We are coming to the end of VBS. Tomorrow night is Family Night, the last night of VBS, and we will have a cookout and fun activities to wrap up our week together.
The boys have had such a good time with it. They love all the spy gear they have been making, and the stories pull them in and teach them important principles.
Isaac was sad that tomorrow evening will be the last night . . . "until next time," I said.
Well, I think we are in the clear as far as the weather is concerned, so I am going to get some rest.
Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.