What He Wrote

This afternoon I was sorting through some remaining piles of school papers for the boys & was choosing a few pieces to save.  As I was reading through Wyatt's writing journal for this year I came across a few little gems I thought I'd share here.


(In response to the question 'What do you think about doing chores?')
"I get about 20 chores a day.  And my brothers get about 5.  My parents talk to me but it still doesn't make sense."


(For Martin Luther King Day)
"I have a dream.... that people will land on a new planet."


(In response to what he did over the weekend)
"All I did was clean.  It was boring.  But I made money."


(In response to the question "Which was your favorite birthday?")
"My favorite birthday was my 1st.  Because I got to poke the cake.  And stick my face in the cake.  And smash the cake."


And, on that note, Happy 8th Birthday Wyatt!  (Sunday was the big day.)

Great picture, huh?

The Hard Questions

In this post I encouraged you to read a piece by Rachel Held Evans.  Her writing, her style, her outlook intrigued me.  And, as I perused her site I discovered that she had written a book entitled Evolving in Monkey Town:  How A Girl Who Knew All The Answers Learned To Ask the Questions.


Evidently Rachel grew up in the town that was the location for the Scopes "Monkey Trials" that took place in the 1920's (thus the title of the book).  The reviews of the book that I read explained that she grew up as a good evangelical Christian girl who indeed knew all the 'right' answers.  Until she started to doubt & question & search and experience a 'faith crisis'. 


I have been experiencing my own faith crisis of sorts.  There have been so many questions that have been circulating through my brain and, like Rachel, I know the 'right' Christian answers.  Still, they have been ringing hollow lately.  And, the more I try to push back the doubt, the more it seems to push in.


Her book seemed as though it might speak to some of my own unsettledness.  I ordered the book off of  Amazon within 5 minutes of first reading about it.  


We went camping over the weekend & the book had already arrived by the time we came home.  I was tentative.  I had ordered it in 'the heat of the moment' so to speak.  And, now that I had it in my hands I wasn't sure if I was ready to tackle whatever emotions, thoughts, new doubts it might conjure up.


Still, I've been so hungry for someone to bounce my own questions off of, that the idea of reading about someone who had asked the same questions seemed too tantalizing to ignore.


The beginning of the book startled me, worried me, scared me a bit.  What direction was she taking?  I thought this book was going to help me answer some of my questions, not raise more.


I kept reading.  I'm still reading.  Currently I'm about halfway through.  And, I have to say that as hard as portions of the book have been for me, at about the seventh chapter entitled 'When Believers Ask' I started to see where she was going.  Here she really broke the questions down to a human level.  This wasn't so much about Christian apologetics, but about people and how God wants to relate to us.  And, it broke my heart.  


I cried through chapter 7 and cried even harder through chapter 8.  It was at that point that I needed to stop and come here to start to put my thoughts down.  I'm still not sure where she is going to take me in the pages of her book.  But, I've been challenged.  I've been challenged to rethink.


To rethink is scary.  The Bible is the inerrant Word of God.  I believe this!  I do.  Sometimes it's so much easier to state that in any question that may arise (either from ourselves or others) than it is to face that question head on.


And, Rachel definitely faces the questions head on in this book.  It's uncomfortable.  I'll say that.   But, I've decided that it's time to face this doubt head-on.  I'm tired of running and hiding from it.  


(I will follow-up once I've finished reading the book)

An Uncool Church

If you've got 5 minutes let me strongly recommend that you use them to read this....."Blessed Are The Un-cool" written by Rachel Held Evans.

 I think you'll find it well worth your time.

Um.....Yikes!

I feel really bad for my chicken!

A Really Beautiful Letter

This is a really beautiful letter Edison's kindergarten teacher sent to us parents.  She didn't write it (the author is unknown) but it brought tears to my eyes.  And, for some reason it reminded me of all the great teachers I had....some who I DO still run into from time to time.

Dear Parents,
I give you back your child, the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall.  I give him back pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible, and more mature then he was then.
Although he would have attained his growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch his personality unfold day by day and marvel at this splendid miracle of development.
I give him back reluctantly, for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a crowded classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.
Ten years from now if we met on the street, your child and I, a light will shine to our eyes, a smile to our lips, and we shall feel the bond of understanding once more, this bond we feel today.
We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year.  I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give him back I must.  Take care of him, for he is precious.
Remember that I shall always be interested in your child and his destiny, wherever he goes, whatever he does, whoever he becomes.  His joys and sorrows I’ll be happy to share.
I shall always be his friend.
~Author Unknown

Last Day of School...Finally!

Today is the last day of school for my boys.  Wow!  It feels like we're halfway through the summer already!  And, a busy day it's going to be....


 - I've got a multitude of errands to run this morning - a run to the store, drop some things off with a friend, etc.  

 - 10:00 a.m is Awards Ceremony time at school.  Both my boys will be receiving character awards.  (Wyatt has received one each year he's been in school so far & this is Eddie's first year of school).  I'm so proud of the boys.  The teachers choose about 7-8 students from each class to receive this award.  Even though it's not always smooth sailing at home at least I know that they are being kind, respectful, and considerate at school.  It blesses a mother's heart!


 - I will need to come home and pack a bag for Edison who is going to go to our weekend kid's camp for church.  Wyatt (my more reserved son) has opted not to go.


 - It's only a half day of school, so they will be home by 1:30 & we'll pretty much have to load up in the van and head off to camp to have Edison checked in by 2:00.


 - Back home to clean the house & prepare food for a cookout we're having tonight with friends.  


Woo!  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  I wanted to share pics of my boys getting on the bus for the last time this morning, but my camera's batteries are dead.  Oh!  That's one more thing to add to my list!  Well, I better be off.  Have a fantastic weekend!  Talk to you all next week!

What A Man!

I only talk about my husband occassionally on my blog.  Mainly because he's a private kind of guy & most things he'd rather just keep between us.  But, every now and then I've got to brag on him because he is a great man!

Earlier this week my husband had finished cutting up a tree that someone offered to him from their property.  Then he brought the large chunks home to split.  He recently bought a used wood splitter and fixed it up to use here at home.  So, he started out using the splitter, but about halfway through the load it blew a hose.

Now most people (myself included) would say 'Well.  Let's just call it a day then.'  Now understand that he had just finished working about 10 hours at his job in the heat (he works for a family business that builds industrial engines & generators).  Then he cut the tree & hauled it home.  Then he split half the wood.  Seems like a full day, right?

Nope.  My husband is of the mentality, 'If there's work to be done & there's still sunlight to do it, let's get it done'.   He told Wyatt, our oldest boy, to run to the basement and get the splitting maul.  He was going to finish the job by hand.

I will admit sometimes his work ethic makes me a little nutty.  I can't keep up with him!  He is so motivated & driven...two character traits I can't say I have.  But, when it comes down to it I really am proud of him.  What a man!