Today is a great day - after a week of a lot of busyness, we are home all day today! Lots of the basics of household care to catch up on, but time for us to slow down a bit and not "cram" everything in! I will have to take a photo of our new schedule board - it had to be something that could have lots of changes, as our life always seems to. So we made this great board (thank you so much dear hubby!) with clear pockets so I can move our little cards around for what we are doing! Today, it is a lot of schoolwork, but laying out our "goals" really helps us! I keep my chores going as we do things too, since of course laundry can be going while I am teaching. And it gives everyone a break to go out and hang laundry!!! LOL! No one complains!
I also posted a new ad, we love notebooking, each child creates something that is meaningful to them, and it is unique to each child. I love the website that I listed as it really gives me good ideas.
You know, I just have to really give thanks right now. I have had the experience of looking back this last week and seeing how far we have come, how many things that had seemed to be just dreams are now realities. There are so many things to be grateful for: my big van (hooray, finally!!! It seats 15, but we took out the last seat - still gives us 11 seats and we have room to haul backpacks, books, musical instruments, animal feed - right now there is a spinning wheel back there!!!!!! Whoo-hoo!!!), my noisy crew of five kids - at times I just cannot believe that they are all here, that I am honored to be their mother!, my wonderful husband who is patient and kind and puts up with my and all my crazy ideas, our country acreage - we dreamed of land and a country home for so long, and now we have been here nearly two years and are nearly true farmers with the animals (dairy goats, pygmy goats, sheep, horses, chickens, dogs, cats and rabbits) planting new pastures and expanding current pastures for our animals. Not too long ago all of this seemed to be a dream only. A wild hope that maybe someday we could do this! I was so afraid that our kids would be grown before we could move out of town. And now they are learning so much and growing out here so well.
God has been so good to us. He very clearly states that we must ask. I am not at all good with that - He's God, he should know the desires of my heart, shouldn't he? Of course, but like any good parent, usually we wait until our children ask before we unleash some of our blessings upon them. There is something special about the asking.
He also has our best interests in mind, even when we don't see that. He can see the big picture, we only see a tiny part. He can see the dangers that might come if something particular happened. I have been struggling again over something that happened about sixteen years ago at a difficult time in my life. It was stupid, made no difference, but I was turned down for a plum job that I thought was mine, because the interviewer remembered me wearing jeans to the interview! Let me tell you, I DID NOT wear JEANS to the interview!!! I had a very nice and fancy pleated skirt and matching blouse, new shoes and all, things that I could not afford at that point in time. The added insult to injury was that a girl in my grad school, who came from a very wealthy family, got the job! I have been mad and hurt about that for years, even though I got a job working in the schools, doing great things, and it led to several job offers after graduation. But I was so hurt about the injustice of it! I finally last week begged God to help me to let it go!!!! I just wanted to be done with it. Wellllllllll, following finally asking God to take it from me, I found my thoughts going to all the things that might have happened had I gotten that job. I might have stayed there in Washington DC following graduation, which would mean that I wouldn't have my eldest son most likely, I would most likely not have returned to Wisconsin, in which case I would not have become reacquainted with the man I am so blessed to call Husband. And that means I would not have my two daughters, or most likely my adopted sons, or my wonderful home and life, and maybe not my strength of faith. Funny, but while the hurt is not totally gone, it is pretty minuscule, it no longer brings me to rages of anger and frustration, it doesn't lower how I feel about myself. It still seems unfair, and unfair that it hurt me for so long, but I have come to believe that I have gained so very much by not taking that particular path. Did God put those thoughts into my head? I believe so. But, however He did it, he has given me peace about it after so long. And for that I am grateful. So, maybe I need to ask Him more often. Why did he wait so long to help me? He could have done this at any time. The difference is that I did not ask. When I asked, He released the peace I asked for. Hmmm...... We do not receive because we do not ask???? Perhaps.....
Love to everyone, enjoy these great days of spring!
Christy
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