Bushisms and other nonsense!

Many of you that know me know that I have one thing in common with George W. Bush...bushisms. Yes, it is true. It happens quite regularly around here and I am married to the grammar police, so it is very rare that these language blunders go unnoticed. Sometimes I genuinely get my words mixed up and sometimes it is an accident but usually people know what I am TRYING to say. I blame some of this on my mother who is worse with words than I am. (sorry mom, it's true!)
I just so happened to make one of these mistakes in my last blog post when I called my father-in-law's brisket "infamous"...which means having a reputation of the worst kind... now OBVIOUSLY I didn't mean to use that word and if I thought his brisket was infamous I surely wouldn't have said it for the whole world to see... what I meant to write was famous. My father-in-law's brisket is the best I have ever tasted. It is delicious, fabulous, wonderful and anything but infamous. Elijah says I am like the "BFG" (the big friendly giant- a character from a Roald Dahl book that always gets his words mixed up!) Here is a quote from the BFG "Words is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life. So you must simply try to be patient and stop squibbling. As I am telling you before, I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around"... maybe Elijah is right. I am kind of like the BFG (which, by the way, is an hilarious book to read aloud to children).
Onto the nonsense. The other day when we came home the entire family was standing at the door and I had the key. Everyone was waiting for me to open the door and in the meantime I am getting totally frustrated because I am pressing the unlock button on our keyless entry control for the car over and over again and I am not understanding why the door to our house isn't unlocking. Finally I realize what I am doing and I just started laughing at the absurdity of it all and Elijah is just staring at me like I'm crazy and Matt asks "Did you just try to unlock the door with the car keys?"...I look at him with a look that says
"are you really that surprised???" When I was pregnant I used the excuse of pregnancy brain and I the past several years I have used the excuse of being really tired from night nursing and back to back pregnancies...but Matt likes to remind me that I was this way before we even got married. Ok. fine. I admit it. It's true. Sometimes my brain leaves my body...but in the words of the BFG "I cannot be helping it if I is sometimes saying things (and in my case, doing things as well) a little squiggly. I is trying my very best all the time."

Embracing 30 and the Birthday Surprise (almost a month later!)

(after much late night laboring I am still unable to get this video to post correctly but if you want to see the full picture just click on the video twice...I can't try to figure it out anymore...my technological skills are very limited!)

Well, it is official. I am 30 years old. Last year when I turned 29 I started thinking about being 30 and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it...but now that it is here I have totally embraced this new decade in my life. I love my life and my sweet family. When I look back on my life before Matt and the children I just remember dreaming about getting married and having a family and I have been living out that dream for 8 adventurous years now! Life seems so full of meaning and purpose...and for the first time I feel like I am starting to be exactly who I want to be. I am no longer worried about living up to other people's standards and expectations. I am no longer offended by what others might say or think about our home birthing, home schooling, home churching life style. My heart and my vision is focused on this calling that God has placed within me of being the best wife I can be for Matt and raising these magnificent boys that we have been blessed us with.
All that being said, I must now sing praises to my amazing husband. He was so sneaky and really pulled of a big surprise for my birthday. I started to become suspicious when he insisted on cleaning the kitchen on a Friday night and he told me I was going to have a special guest come and visit me for my birthday. Well, around lunch time on Saturday my parents rolled into the driveway and I was really surprised. I wasn't expecting to see them because they visited the previous weekend for Elijah's birthday. They said they were going to take us out to this awesome restaurant that evening and I thought "ok-this is the surprise". So I actually had a nice dress on at this point because I didn't know who the special guest was going to be, but when I found out it was my parents I decided to put my PJ's back on and I was getting ready to ask Matt if I could take a little nap when all of a sudden the Mosher family walks into the house! This is one of our favorite families ever and were great friends of ours from when we lived in Boone. We hadn't seen them in well over a year and here I stand in my pajamas! So I was totally embarrassed and I ran back to our bedroom and slipped back into my dress just in time before all the other people started rolling in. My in-laws came with a bounty of food and my father-in-law made his famous smoked brisket...my friend Jenny showed up with her family from VA and she made my birthday cake (which, by the way, is the world's best pound cake ever). My brother from Raleigh came with the beautiful Marianne and all the other family members arrived with food and flowers and it ended up being the very best day ever! To top it all off Matt brought his projector home from school and hung a sheet on the wall to display a fabulous slide show (which is what you see above) that he created (along with his very talented brother Dan). The most unique part about the slide show is that he asked our friends and family members to share some thoughts and words about me and he took bits and pieces of what everyone said and put it in the slideshow. It is amazing how words can be so uplifting and encouraging. I don't think I have ever felt as special as I did that day! Matt Mosher said that my Matt earned the "husband of the year" award and he was right! He is a fantastic Mr. Fox.
So I want to say a big thank you to all of our friends and family who helped me welcome 30...it's looking pretty good so far.

The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension

Life can be so very hectic at times. Some days it feels like I can hardly keep my head above the water...treading through the hours, minutes, gasping for air, for rest, for calm.
Last night as I was praying and pouring myself out before the Father I heard Him speak to me. It is not very often that I feel God speaking to me so strongly and He said clear as day "My peace surpasses all understanding". Be still. Hear the Words. I open my heart and bible to Philippians.
Chapter 4:4-9 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men, The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever
is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of
good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,
practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

The peace of God is beyond our comprehension. It is not something that I can attain through more lists, more planning, more schedules. I sometimes think that if I can organize our lives enough then we will have peace. I just need to plan more activities so that the kids won't have time to argue with each other. I need to stick to our sleeping and eating schedule so they won't be so whiney. Peace is also not something I can find in a walk alone around the neighborhood or on a beach retreat or in a quiet nook in the library (though those things do provide temporary relief)...but the kind of peace that is beyond our comprehension comes only through the Father, our eternal King of Peace.
The word dwell really fell heavy on my heart. Dwell. Part of the definition is to fasten one's attention on or upon someone or something and to think or speak about something for a long time. I began to think about how much of my days and my life I spend dwelling on the negative things...how messy the house is, how I keep getting interrupted when I am trying to homeschool, how I need to lose weight, how we need to pay off debt and the list goes on. Dwelling on those things bring worry, anxiety, frustration etc. As I rolled the words over and over in my head the word dwell really started sinking in. The things that God tells us to dwell upon aren't just nice things to read about. He wants us to inhabit these words, to live them, to fasten our attention upon them and do not look away. He spells it out very clearly what we should dwell upon. His word assures us that when we dwell on these good things and practice them that His peace will be with us and that His peace will guard our hearts and minds.
I pray that in the moments and days to come when I might find myself gasping for air once again that I would turn toward the Father and fix the eyes of my heart upon Him, who says "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Matt. 11:28-29
"Thus says the Lord, 'Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls" Jeremiah 6:16

(In)Courage

I want to share an amazing group of women with you. They come from all different backgrounds and walks of life and they have come together to share their thoughts and words with other women on this fabulous site www.incourage.me On this site you can find links to each of the women's individual blogs or websites (featuring one of my all time favorite blogs, a holy experience). I want to encourage you to check it out if you are searching for inspiration (as I do from time to time). You will laugh and cry and find a wealth of encouragement as they share their lives and hearts with you.

FOR TODAY Thursday September 3, 2009...

Outside my window...is the quiet darkness of night.

I am thinking...about simplifying the house and eliminating the things we don't love or need.

I am thankful for...the glorious weather that we have been having and being able to be outside enjoying these days with the kids.

From the learning rooms...I just ordered the Prairie Primer (a very detailed unit study curriculum based on the Little House series)yesterday and we are looking forward to diving into that series once again. In our outside learning room we have been finding all sorts of awesome things. Elijah caught a toad and a skink. We discovered a massive group of caterpillars (the most I have ever seen in my life) devouring the leaves on an Oak sapling at the park and we watched what I think were LOTS of fireflies mating on the trunk of a different tree.

From the kitchen...the fragrant scent of curry (my favorite spice). We ate Mulligatawny (soup),which is always delicious.

I am wearing...a navy blue shirt and a lime green skirt.

I am creating...scriptures to hang throughout our house so I can constantly be reminded of God's goodness.

I am going...to hopefully go to bed soon. I am trying to get on an early sleep schedule...but I've been saying that for years now.

I am reading... Educating the Whole-Hearted Child and trying to find motivation and inspiration for this school year.

I am hoping...that tomorrow goes by fast so that I can spend more time with my sweet husband.

I am hearing...crickets chirruping outside my window, a dog barking off in the distance, the quietness of children sleeping.

Around the house...I see a lot of stuff that is getting ready to go to Goodwill! Good-bye clutter!

One of my favorite things...Ezra's funny little four-toothed grin.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Possibly going camping this weekend if the weather stays nice.