Better Late than Never...

We had a blast at Halloween this year, hanging out with all the neighbors in the middle of our cul-de-sac.  It's such a blessing to have great neighbors.  :)

District Honor Chorus

My handsome oldest little man at district honor chorus last weekend.  Sure loved getting to go and listen to them sing.  His chorus was outstanding.

Likening the Scriptures to Ourselves

For my friends who read the Book of Mormon, check out how Lizzi applies the scriptures to her own life experiences. Seriously?

For Posterity

The dog is my favorite. She already draws better than I do. 😆

Smiley Face

The Joys of Parenthood

Thanks, Tiffany, for the title.  I haven't posted in awhile, but there are some things that bear recording. 

So, I'm hanging out in the office this morning, balancing the checkbook (quick, somebody check on Bob, he's probably having a heart attack), and I smell a funny smell.

What's the smell?  What's the smell?  What's the smell?

One of the children, who shall remain nameless (not that that will prevent any of you from guessing) had just brought in a grub to try to feed to our newly captive frogs (for Caleb's reptile and amphibian merit badge), and he said it smelled like a skunk.  Was that the smell?

And then quick as a flash, pictures in my head: melty, melty, melty.  Smoky, smoky, smoky.  The reptile lamp.  On the floor.

Bad, bad, bad.  Very, very bad.

Now if you know me well, you know that I don't ordinarily think this fast.  On my own it would have taken me an hour to figure out the source of the smell.  Because who would think the carpet was melting in one of our bedrooms because someone put a burning and bare light bulb that's designed to simulate the sun down on the floor?  And left it there!! (The top of the aquarium housing 6 frogs, which are almost as bad as snakes, was also left open, but in light of the circumstances, this is really a minor detail.)

Anyhow, bear in mind that our house is built on a full basement, so there is no concrete slab beneath this carpet.  And it burned all the way through the padding.

Disaster averted.  Narrowly.

I know some people will say that it was luck or instinct or whatever.  I call it the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  It was information that came not from my own brain, but from Someone waaaaaaaaay smarter and faster than me.

I am counting my blessings this morning.  The scriptures and the prophets say "Remember, remember" a lot, and this is one of the things I'll be remembering.

Family

Art by Sariah

Things to Remember from Mistress Bradstreet

Just finished reading Mistress Bradstreet: The Untold Life of America's First Poet, by Charlotte Gordon.  It's somewhat laughable, since I don't usually get very much into poetry.  But when I saw the book at the library, I was interested.

It's not a bad book, especially as far as biographies go.  I tend to get bored easily by them, but this one kept me interested and hanging on for what was coming next.

I dog-eared quite a few pages, simply because Bradstreet's or Gordon's words really spoke to me on some level.

"God-fearing and devout, during these late nights Anne had to stare down her own belief in her weakness, as well as her fears of being attacked, to begin to commit her thoughts to parchment.  Though she had never heard of any other woman attempting such a feat, perhaps the memory of her father's voice, all those years ago in the paneled rooms of Sempringham, gave her courage.  As it was, she prayed that each line she formed would be in the service of the Lord" (Gordon, p. 179).

Anne Bradstreet's reasons for fear were different than mine, but maybe it's time for me to face my own demons, and start chasing a long-ago dream that's never quite left me.

"This five-page document [Bradstreet's spiritual autobiography] is remarkable as a celebration of her faith as well as an admission of her doubts.  Anne urged her children to know that questioning was an essential component of Puritan belief....  By voicing her own uncertainties, she gave her children permission to make their own journeys of faith.  Not that they should stray from Puritanism but that they should not allow their delusions and questions to take them away from God" (Gordon, pp. 258-259).

A little lesson for motherhood here in this statement of truth.  My experiences have also led me to understand that, like babies must put everything in their mouths to test things out, we need to know our faith, inside and outside, and why we believe it...and to remember that it is faith--the substance of things hoped for but not seen.

"For many, though Anne was luckily not one of them, their children were a large part of the struggle.  Some younger Puritans simply refused to examine their consciences or attend services in the meetinghouses.  Each congregation faced the possibility of extinction as the old members died off and new ones failed to join" (Gordon, p. 263).

The struggle to maintain congregations struck me, as recently I have been directed to several articles addressing how Christianity is losing active followers.  It is intriguing to me that this is an "age-old" problem, going back the 400 years to colonial America, and if you really think about it, it started with the dying out of the Christian church after Christ and many of the early apostles and disciples were martyred.

In my own church, though I don't believe we see quite the numbers falling off as in other Christian denominations, we do see those years of youth and early adulthood as crucial to developing commitment to religious beliefs and practices.

A few pages later, Gordon wrote, "With prosperity came too much attachment to the world and too much laxness with regard to religion.  The plenty that now graced families in America could prevent them from ever reaching the kingdom to come."  She then quoted Anne Bradstreet directly:

"...the gifts that God bestows on the sons of men are not only abused but most commonly employed for a clean contrary end than that which they were give for, as health, wealth, and honour, which might be so many steps to draw men to God in consideration of His bounty toward them, but have driven them the further from Him that they are ready to say: we are lords, we will come no more at Thee.  If outward blessings be not as wings to help us mount upwards, they will certainly prove clogs and weights that will pull us lower downward" (p. 270).

Again, it's still so relevant...and has been for centuries.  The dangers of prosperity, which is also laden with blessings, have been evident in both testaments of the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon.

And then a few pages later, Gordon records some of Anne's parental advice, a somewhat less religious topic, but akin to the completely modern debate of nature versus nurture:

"'Diverse children have their different natures,' [Bradstreet] wrote, sounding as though she were speaking directly to Mercy [her daughter-in-law].  'Some are like flesh which nothing but salt will keep from putrefaction, some again like tender fruits that are best preserved with sugar.  Those parents are wise that can fit their nurture according to their nature" (p. 273).

And an incredibly astute observation of child-rearing...each child is different.  Different strokes for different folks.  It's the heart of parenting a large family.  And I'm so glad to hear someone important and knowledgeable acknowledge it.  :)

I guess what I really walked away with was this: a different time period, a different culture and religion (and religious culture) ... and yet the problems we face are still the same, and the victories we seek are still the same.

Y Swim Championships

February has been hectic.  But we are all well again (knock on wood), and I have all kinds of photos.  Like these from the Y Championship Meet a few weeks back.  Both Lizzi and Hannah participated, and the Y graciously shared some of their pics, which I 'm sharing with you cuz I love you.

Diamond Diva

Yep, that's my girl.  Sariah had softball "tryouts" today.  Most of the little girls hadn't played before.  But our little diva was the only one out there in a skirt as she fielded grounders and hit off the tee.  She also got smacked in the face with a softball.  Yeah, it was a great day.

Puzzled

So I went on this kick last week when I decided to figure out how many of our puzzles actually have all the pieces. That's really labor intensive. I am probably driving my family nuts. But I am having fun. Puzzles are something solvable...unlike Sariah's inexplicable fever for 4 days. Or all the other things that plague our little lives.

The Love Affair with Horses Lives on

Sariah and I were in downtown Newnan on Saturday for Girl Scout World Thinking Day.  When I picked her up from the church where it was held, I had to park really far away, which landed me on the Square, where these artistically inclined horses have been on display for some time.  Sariah, like many five-year-old girls, has something of a love affair with horses, so of course we had to capture the moments.  After reading this article, I now know what the horses are for, and am more excited about them, lol.

P.S.  You like her socks?  That's our girl for ya!

First Day of School

So I'm a little late.  Sorry, grandparents!  And note to self, the more kids you have, the harder it is to get the picture just so.  :)

Sam's Surgery in October

Waaaaay back in October, Sam had his tonsils and adenoids removed.

It's a decision we've made for several of our other children...but it seemed a lot more clear-cut with them.  For example, Hannah basically had strep for about 8 weeks and we couldn't get rid of it (which, eventually, is very bad for your heart), or Rex had chronic ear infections and a set of tubes.  

Sam never got ear infections.  But he was regularly getting sinus infection, and was just generally miserable all the time.  It was frustrating to watch, and we felt like it was seriously affecting his ability to learn to talk.  We had his speech evaluated twice, and both times, he was borderline but not severe in his speech delay.

We finally took him to an ENT, who tried various medications, but nothing improved.  He told us Sam's tonsils were big (a Haynes family trait, I'm afraid), but that he could go either way with leaving them in or taking them out.

At length, we decided to go forward with the surgery.  But as a mommy, I struggled with the decision, since it wasn't easily arrived out.  My mother fears were in overdrive, and I worried about all sorts of things going wrong.  He was the most miserable little critter during the week after his surgery that I continued to question our decision.

However...three months later, he is sooooooooo much better!  He doesn't get sick so often, and when he does get sick, he is able to resolve it without antibiotics, or even much congestion medication.  In fact, when the rest of us got miserably ill with flu-like symptoms over Thanksgiving, Sam sailed through it like a pro.  AND he talks like a maniac now.  

Pre-surgery "snacking."

Poor little man!  He was seriously miserable for about a week.  Sariah was a good big sister, and tried to keep him entertained.

More from the Temple Last Summer

Ah, true family love!

Man on a mission.

Old Favorites

Over the last weekend, I had ample time to listen to two books on CD: the first two books in the Harry Potter series.  It had been a long time since I had read them, and I remembered again how much I love those books and why.  It was like rediscovering old friends.  I still laugh at Rowling's wit; I still love her characters with all their idiosyncrasies.  I continue to be amazed at this crazy complex world J.K. Rowling created, how very detailed it is, and what an accurate perspective on people.  If you haven't read them yet (and if that's the case, where the heck have you been hiding?), do it; read them.  They are well worth your time, and some of the few books that live up to their hype.

Missing

I love Georgia. It is a great blessing in my life, and in the lives of our family (even if they don't always see it). I am in love with the hills and the pine trees and the fog, and I am in love with Southern kindness and hospitality and tradition and respect.

But every now and again, I find myself thinking of the things I miss from "back home" in Oklahoma: wide open spaces and sunsets that fill up the whole horizon. Bare tree branches against the sky. Country music stations that play old country. Folks who smile at you when you wait for them to cross the street. Sooner stuff everywhere, and upside down longhorns. Goofing off with my bestie, and being close enough to spend a day or two with our family.

They are precious moments. I pray that we are collecting them in our new home, too, even as I rely on the older ones to carry me through the new times.

Owwwwwieeeeee

I have a zit.  I never get zits anymore.  It's right under the nosepad of my glasses.  Yeah, I'm a happy camper.

Brrrrr!

My, how things have changed.  It's cold here. I don't think we've gotten below freezing yet, and I am cold.  Lizzi wore flip flops to school today while her classmates were bundled up like little Eskimos.  This afternoon, the wind was blowing (by Oklahoma standards, a gentle breeze).  Sam didn't know what to do with it; he found it very disturbing, and kept squinting at it and yelling at it.  I didn't even notice it, because it didn't take my breath away.  Many have asked if I miss real winter weather.  No.  No way.  Meanwhile, Bob's new fireplace is keeping us toasty warm during this bout of cold weather.  I love Georgia.

Guess Who's Been Playing with Photo Booth?

My favorite, for sure!

This is her ninja look, lol!