The story of our lives

A friend recently asked me, “How do you decide what to write about [in your blog]?”
I didn’t have any fancy answers.
“I just write about our days, mostly; what we’re doing. It’s all just my life, really.”
It’s true.
I do not plan out what I will write, usually.
I just live my life and attempt to tell the story that is unfolding.
One of my favorite authors, Madeline L’Engle (recently deceased) once said, “All of life is a story.
This, also, is true.
Every person has one. A story of their own. A story to tell.
They are neither all good nor all bad, but an amalgam of these elements, with humor and horror and drama and romance all in the mix.
There are heroes. There are villains.
Why tell our stories?
We tell our stories, we listen to other’s stories, because it affirms the life in us, and it connects us to others.
Telling is a way of saying “I’m here. I exist. I am living this beautiful, brutal, precious, phenomenal life!”
Listening lets us know we are not alone.
God chose story to communicate His plan to man.
I’m sure you have heard the cute saying, “History is His story.”
While it contains commandments and poetry and genealogies and letters, story is the overwhelming medium God uses in the Bible to show us how to live, to enlighten us, to touch us, to speak to us.
He uses the stories of people – their lives and the stories of what happened to them are eternal examples of encouragement or admonishment.
And all our stories weave together, some of them touching right up next to each other, or intertwining, but all of them a part of His bigger story.
And when we allow Him, the creator of our being, the one who knows us inside and out, the assessor of our hearts and desires, to write our story, then we can be sure of one thing.
It may be sad, or messy, or wonderful, or difficult, or beautiful, or abundant, or all of these things.
But it will be right.

A few good quotes on the subject:

"The most important story we'll ever write in life is our own - not with ink, but with our daily choices."
— Richard Paul Evans

"You get old and you realize there are no answers, just stories."
— Garrison Keillor

"Stories only happen to those who are able to tell them."
— Paul Auster

"It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story."
— Patrick Rothfuss

The short story of another day

We stayed at home most of the day.
I think we all needed a “down-time” day after all of the running around we’ve done recently.
The boys read the books they got yesterday (Isaac is reading Eragon, and Josiah picked out some chapter books that his is reading on his own).
They played some video games with their friend (today was our last day to watch him).
They played outside for a while in meme’s backyard.
When they came back inside, it was to announce proudly to their dad and I that they had indeed broken a sweat out there.
We went to gramps for family dinner, which was a light fare of cold sandwiches and bean salad.
I love sandwiches. I could eat them for every meal!!
The boys got to swim a bit, though it was very breezy and quite late in the afternoon already.
It was a quick dip, and they had fun.

My lens seemed to be looking out at things a lot today (that in itself tells it's own kind of story) . . . looking at scenes out the screen door . . .

on the other side of the screen door . . .

(I tried to get a closer shot -- wings like fine gossamer, beaded body perfection.)

out the window.

And so, the story continues . . .

A day in the life

Today was a pretty busy day.
We are watching a friend's kid for the week, and he was here at 8 a.m.
The boys had haircuts at 10:30.
Then we picked up Aunt Kathy and went to Wal-Mart. I had some shopping to do for DANIEL'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!
Which is tomorrow, by the way.
Rachel called and said this afternoon would be best for horse riding lessons, so after eating lunch at grandpa's, cleaning and vacuuming the truck, and dropping some groceries off at mom's, we headed to the ranch for our 3:00 lessons.
The boys had a good lesson. Rachel quizzed them, and they did well.
I was snapping pictures left and right. The sunlight was perfect, the sky was so blue and the photo ops were popping all around me.
It was after about the 50th snap that I realized I had forgotten to put the photo card back in the camera last night.
So, there are no pics for this post (boo, hiss!).
After lessons, we went back to Rachel's and met the new kittens. The boys fell in love with them. Who wouldn't? They were so tiny and soft and beautiful.
"This would have been the perfect time to have your camera to take pictures of the kittens," Isaac chided. "Dad would let us have them if he could see them."
Well . . . I don't know about that . . .
Josiah decided that Velcro is a good name for a kitten, since they cling to you for dear life.
We also got to visit with the dogs, the bunny, the calf and the goats.
Fun, fun, fun!!!
Stepping in goat poops, not so fun.
We got home at 5:30, and pulled up just as our ward's dad came to pick him up.
We had a hodge-podge of leftovers for dinner, but we were all together, so what we were eating wasn't what we were thinking about. We were all talking about the day, and the things we had seen and done.
Tomorrow, we will celebrate Daniel's first birthday.
We talked about that at dinner a bit too -- what kind of day it was when he was born, remembering.
That led to conversations about each of the boy's births -- what kind of day it was, what time of day they were born, etc.
I can't believe he has been here for a year.
It feels like he has been a part of my heart forever.
Perhaps he has been.
Tomorrow, he will not know why he is getting so much attention (not that he won't love it . . .please!)
But we will. We will remember, we will tell stories, we will bless God for the gift of our third son.
Tomorrow, I will make sure the photo card is in the camera!!!

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.

Another day

The earth is heady with Spring today.
It is warm and has been sunny most of the afternoon.
There is a breeze, but the nip has been removed, and it is soft and warm, like a caress.
The trees and flowers have bloomed overnight, it seems, as though they just decided to dress to the nines and go for an outing at the last minute.
The buzz and zig-zag of insects drunk with the nectar of fresh blooms is enchanting today. Where are their secret bowers? (In a few months, we'll be spraying them to death with pesticides.)
On days like this, you can smell the sunshine -- smell it warming the earth.
Nature, to me -- the beauty of it, the breathtaking quality of sunlight on the tops of trees, falling through the branches into kaleidoscope patchwork beneath; the aromatic rows of brilliant, colorful heads dancing in flowerbeds; the white and pink blossoms of the cherry trees, bowing with ancient grace to every slight breeze, dropping their petals here and there, a silken carpet; the brilliant greens of grass and leaf and blues of sky and waters -- is further proof of God's love for us, of His grace in our lives.
I heard it said recently that God's plan for relationship with man began in a garden (Eden) and, after the fall, became possible again in a garden (Gethsemane).
I am home with Daniel today, who continues to have congestion and a bad cough.
We have the windows flung open, though, to let the Spring in.
I missed seeing a play (Honk!) with the elementary grades this morning, but later found out that the theater didn't perform the whole play -- today was a sneak peak. I am planning to go see it with the boys Friday night, so I really won't miss a thing (if we make it).
I did some packing today, though not a lot. I need to get moving on that (pun definitely intended).
Josiah, Daniel and I read library books this afternoon:
Cranberry Easter by Wende and Harry Devlin
Little Bear Marches in the St. Patrick's Day Parade by Janice
The Berenstain Bears On The Moon by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Leprechauns Never Lie by Lorna Balian
The Sound of Color: A Journey of the Imagination by Jimmy Liao
We sang and danced around the living room to worship music. Daniel had his hands up and was "singing." Josiah was bustin' some major moves! We were grooving to "Holy is Your Name" (from the CD City On A Hill: Sing Alleluia). There is a line in that song that I love: "Your mercy flows like a river running wild".
Josiah played with one of the best toys there is -- the laundry basket.

Secretly, Daniel is a baby samurai.

Isaac is back from school now. I couldn't be happier to have them all home for the day.

I always ask the boys, "Where would I rather be?"
They know the answer.
"Nowhere but with us and Dad."
For dinner, mom picked up food from the Deli. De-lish! Bless her three times over!
After cleaning off the table, I made hot cocoa from scratch for the boys.
The air is turning chill.
The windows come down.
And so another day goes down to evening, and there is a peaceful hum of activity, of family life in our home.
Tomorrow is another day.