How Did We Get Here So Quickly?

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Today, my children set off for their first day of school. I tried not to flinch when I realized that next year, my daughter sets off for high school - ouch! How, exactly, did that happen so quickly? I'm stumped.

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Over the past two years, we have found ourselves talking about subjects that I felt ill prepared for. All of those baby books I read (seems like just yesterday, too), did not prepare me on how to discuss intimacy, relationships and marriage with an impressionable pre-teen/teenager. I still read about parenting - books, articles, websites- I just feel less sure about what I'm doing. Throughout infancy and toddlerhood, life was kind of like a checklist. Rolling over - check. Sitting up - check. Walking - check. Talking - check. See what I mean? Teenagers throw curveballs that leave parents asking, "What just happened here?" One of those curveballs came for us when our daughter asked us to set a "dating age" for her. Not that she wanted to date right now, she just wanted to know what we were thinking. Quite honestly, we were thinking sometime between the ages of 25-30, but she didn't buy it. Had to try, I guess. Since she threw down the "d" word, my husband and I decided some heart to heart discussions were in order so that when she hits 25 and starts dating, she is ready (okay, maybe not 25. We're willing to discuss 21). The following list is some of the advice I've dispensed over the past couple of years:

• Faith is Important - You can't fake faith. Marrying someone who does not share your faith is a difficult road to travel. When two people share a love of the Lord, it brings them closer together than they could ever be on their own.
• No Fixer-Uppers - Do not take on a relationship with the mind set that you can "fix" him. What you see is what you get. No one wants to be a project. Make sure you are happy with the person as is.
• Do Nothing - There should be nothing you need to do to be "good enough" for your spouse. They should love and accept you warts and all. Think of it as the reverse fixer-upper. Yes, you should want to the best you can be in any relationship - but no sentence that begins, "I would love you if _______" is going to end well. If you are not good enough for that person, they are never going to be good enough to deserve you.
• Your Love is a Gift - and anyone in a relationship with you should treat it as such.
• Marriage is for Better or Worse - enjoy the better and brace yourself for the worse. Checkbooks bounce. Appliances break. Cars crash. Injuries happen. If you know the hard times happen and work through them together, the good times are that much sweeter.

That's all I have for now. She is only 13, and I know we still have deep waters to wade through as far as relationship advice goes. Fortunately, God sees to it that we're not in it alone - parenting OR marriage.

Clothing Swap

Once upon a time, I cleaned out my daughter's closet and was aghast at the accumulation of clothing that no longer fit. We added my son's outgrown clothing to the mix and together, the discarded duds made quite a pile. Our solution was stage a clothing swap.
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A date and time were set, clothing was brought in and sorted.

Rooms were re-appointed as changing areas.

And then the "shopping" began. It was fun to see clothing picked up at last year's swap show up again and walk out the door with a new owner.

At the end of the day, everything left over was donated to charity. Win (get rid of outgrown clothes), Win (maybe find new clothes), Win (donate to charity).

Who Turned on the Heat?

Until just a week or so ago, we had been blessed with a very mild and pleasant summer and now we are having typical August weather, you know, the kind where you can either drink a glass of water or inhale it. This weather drains the energy right out of me, making me want to channel Scarlett O'Hara and drink lemonade on the veranda while fanning myself. Unfortunately, that is not an option available to me as I don't have a veranda (just kidding). Our family has spent several evenings huddled around the air conditioner and fighting the dogs for the cool air. Even though our dogs raced in Florida, they are convinced that they would melt into a puddle of greyhound should they ever be forced to endure any temperature above 75 degrees.

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As we chill on these steamy evenings, we have been entertained by the sweet sounds of my daughter practicing clarinet for marching band. Midnite loves it when she sees the instrument case come out - she sings (howls) along with the music. I can honestly say I have the only dog in town who can hit the high notes in The Star Spangled Banner. Memo to self, though, don't take her to any sporting events - it might be potentially embarrassing! I will try to get a picture.

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In other news (yeah, I know, calling it "news" is rather exaggerated), look for a post in the near future where I bend the rules of nature and conduct a mad scientist type of experiment in my kitchen. It was an unfortunate day in my family when I first heard of a freak of nature known as the "kool aid pickle" or "koolickle". Long have I had a love affair with pickles, and as a child, I was even known to drink the juice from the pickle jar - despite my grandmother's dire warning that I would "dry up my blood". A kool aid pickle is a dill pickle whose pickle juice has been swapped for double strength kool aid. **I'll wait a minute while you all digest that fact** Yes, I did say kool aid - whatever flavor you wish. I currently have a jar marinating in the refrigerator. They are not disgusting. I don't know how to describe the flavor, but they are not disgusting. My plan is to make people try them and take their picture for their reactions.

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Hmmm. This may go down as the most random and disjointed post ever. Or not. Stay tuned.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Inspired by Chrysalis!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Keep on the Sunny Side

My daughter chose this song to sing a few weeks ago at church. I love it so much, it reminds me of the radio that sat permanently on my grandmother's kitchen table. Every afternoon when you stepped into her house you were sure to be greeted by the sounds of country gospel music and gram's whistling accompaniment.
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A Simple Message

Every year, our church has a tent at our local county fair. At our tent, we give away walking sticks strung with rawhide and beads, as well as bead bracelets. This idea originated with Christian Farmers Outreach (http://www.christianfarmers.com/).

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Each bead is assigned a special meaning to assist us in sharing the salvation message in five easy steps.

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(information below taken from the Christian Farmers Outreach website - link above)

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Gold — Represents Heaven - Somewhere we all want to go.“ ...and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.” Rev 21:18b

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Black — Represents Sin - Our Problem — All Are Sinners“ For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23“ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23

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Red — Blood of Christ - God's Remedy for Sin“ But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 This is what Jesus did for us. He loved us so much that He went to the cross on our behalf that we can have eternal forgiveness for our sin and be saved.

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White— All May be Saved Now - Our Response to what Jesus did for us on the cross.“ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13“ But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God.” John 1:12a

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Green — Represents Growth “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” II Peter 3:18

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Each evening, we invite the fairgoers to come in and spend a few minutes talking with us. We spend those moments explaining the meaning of each bead, and in doing so, share the message of salvation. Such a useful tool!

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If memory serves (and it may not), this was my fourth year working at the tent. It was the same this year as it is every year - nervous as all get out as I pull into the parking lot and, no, I'm not kidding! My first year, I was nearly in tears at the thought of witnessing. I was not bold. I was not courageous. I was scared silly. But, by the grace of God, peace fell all around me as folks began to fill the folding chairs at my station. It's been the same every year since. What a privilege it is to share the good news with others!

One of those weeks . . .

My huge, beautiful tomato plants which were loaded with green tomatoes caught the blight and none could be salvaged. My garden looks barren and I am disgusted that all of my hard work was for naught.

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Just one of those weeks.
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My son, who had signed up for football back in May, began to have some serious second thoughts and a lot of anxiety about playing this season and very much wanted to play soccer instead. We initially told him he needed to stick it out, but relented when we saw the toll that worrying was taking on our normally very happy boy. He will be playing soccer this fall and is thrilled, leaving his father and I feeling as if we need to explain our decision to everyone.

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Just one of those weeks.

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Band camp has started, and my daughter apparently thought that a massive nosebleed and accompanying emergency room trip two weeks ago was not excitement enough for me, so she passed out during marching drills. Fortunately, her passing out was due to the extreme heat and the fact that we apparently had "no food" for breakfast (disclaimer - "no food" is teenager-ese for "I know there is food, but it is skillfully hidden behind impenetrable cupboard and refrigerator doors"). Unfortunately, she has a mild concussion from hitting her head on the way down.

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Just one of those weeks.

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However, last evening I had the privilege of presenting the gospel message to many people as I worked at our church's tent at our county fair. There is no better feeling than feeling the sweet presence of the Lord allaying your fears and helping throughout it all. I plan on posting more about the tent our church sets up later on this week. As I sat in the long line of traffic leaving the fair, I thought of the folks I talked to throughout the night. There were children, teenagers, and adults of every age. Some were wary, some were a bit mocking, some were light hearted and some were heavily burdened. We talked, we laughed, we cried and we prayed. The evening conversely seemed difficult and easy all at once. Difficult because the task of presenting a message that not everyone wants to hear seemed daunting and easy because God was with us every step of the way.

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Just like He has been with me every step of the way this week.

Tis the Season

Aaaaaack! It's time for school clothes shopping - again!

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Didn't we just finish shopping for school?

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Oh, right. That was last year.

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I have fond memories of my first real school clothes shopping experience. My five year old daughter and I set out for the stores wide-eyed and idealistic - so naive. We quickly found everything we needed and she declared all of it "perfect". And it was good. My son joined the clothing expeditions two years later. And it was still good.

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Enter middle school. Times two. Momma needs a paper bag to breathe into.

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This year, I have a strategy to divide and conquer. Yes, it will mean double the shopping trips, but it will eliminate some of the pitfalls I've struggled against for the past two years. Parents, did you know that once a girl reaches the age of, oh say around 12, you are no longer permitted to suggest articles of wearing apparel to them? Also, heaven help you if father (having gotten bored at the electronics store) happens to witness his female offspring emerging from the dressing room. "That looks cute." results in immediate discard of the outfit in question. "Um, not sure I think that is appropriate." results in rolled eyes and exasperation. Shopping with teenage girl is like navigating a minefield.

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The boy, he is an enthusiastic shopper, but with his own agenda. Left to his own devices, his fall wardrobe would consist of soccer cleats, a backpack and a few shirts from a wildly overpriced mall store that he has never even set foot in. We've found the best tactic for him is to find a pair of jeans that fit and then buy them in every color available. Other than that - he's fairly easy to shop with.

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And so it begins, another foray into the wonderful world of changing rooms, sales that don't start until Monday (and only if it's a blue moon), coupons that won't scan, and "Do you want to apply for a credit card to receive 10% off?" asked at every store.

Fruitful

Our yard did plum good! (Couldn't resist)

Mawwidge, It's Wot Brings Us Togevver

Every time I think of the word marriage, or attend a wedding, or someone announces their engagement, I automatically think of the above clip from The Princess Bride. And yes, I realize that is completely abnormal.

This weekend provided me with some much needed downtime, during which, I caught a few of what I'm going to call wedding reality shows. You know, the ones where they feature overblown weddings, unrealistic expectations, downtrodden grooms, entitled brides and more angst than you can shake a stick at? As I watched one pitiful bride burst into tears about napkin color, all I could think was that this poor woman was going into marriage completely unprepared for real live marriage. I realize that all of the drama was overblown for my viewing pleasure, but reality hit when I thought, that for some, more effort goes into the wedding than the marriage that will follow. Weddings are just one day, marriage is a lifetime commitment.

My husband and I recently celebrated our 15th anniversary, which, as I posted earlier, brought back fond memories of our wedding day. Like most other couples, we looked forward to the ceremony and the reception, and especially to the "happily ever after". We received a rude welcome into the world of married people when our car began to overheat halfway to our honeymoon destination (note - my husband is many, many wonderful things - mechanically inclined is not one of them). Struggling not to bicker, even though we were tired, stressed, scared and hungry, we ended up laughing until tears streamed down our faces. What could have been a terrible beginning to our lives together turned into a memory we still laugh about.

I realize the context of these verses is not related to marriage, but I think they really do sum up what a committed relationship between a husband and wife should be.

But Ruth said:

“ Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth 1:16-17

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Quilt Odyssey

This past Thursday, I was given an awesome opportunity to attend Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

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Quilt Odyssey is a combination of a quilt show and huge vendor's mall. We explored the quilt show first and every single display was amazing. Some of the quilts were very old, the oldest of which was made in 1810. I just could not believe that the colors were still just as bright as the day they were made. Other quilts were impossibly complicated - one was a winter forest landscape made of thousands upon thousands of tiny pieces of fabrics. I came away awed and inspired.

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Speaking of inspiring, there was a stand set up called Hugs and Kisses. Here, there were a dozen or so sewing machines set up with quilt kits at each one and visitors to the show could volunteer to piece a quilt for a child at Hershey Medical Center. If I understood correctly, they were hoping to have over 150 quilts to donate. I didn't get much done on mine, but here are some of the squares from the station I sat down at.

Last, but certainly not least, was the vendors mall. Coming from a virtual sewing desert (fabric shops are few and far between), I needed a moment after walking into the shopping area. Gadgets, machines, patterns, jewelry, bags and fabric galore. Here's a picture of my loot, before I took a second sweep of the mall.

I feel the need to confess something. See the red cloth, prominently displayed in the photo? I have loved that pattern ever since I first laid eyes on it. It is peonies on red from the Pop Garden line designed by Heather Bailey. I had not been able to find it ANYWHERE. So, while perusing items in one of the vendor stalls, I looked up and there it was! An entire bolt of the stuff! I did what any self-respecting grown-up woman would do - I pulled the bolt off the rack and danced with it. Yep, it was just that exciting for me. I'm so lucky my aunt still acknowledged that we were related after that display. Maybe growing up with my dad desensitized her?

It was such a fun day, and sewing projects will surely follow!