where did they come from?

I was awakened by Jack and Kelli this morning. They wake up between 6 and 6:30 every day. They play together in their room for quite a while if they don't hear anyone else up. I thought I would take advantage and get up to finish knitting a secret thing.

But Jack E saw snow out the window. He pulled open the blind and the two of them were on a mission. By 6:40 they were both dressed and Jack was in my room asking for help with his mittens. Then he was back asking where his boots were. Then back for help with the boots.

The snow is pretty, sure, but I was even less motivated to get out of bed knowing that there was 3 inches of snow on everything. But not my Colorado born babies! They were making snow angels by 7 o'clock this morning.

Which meant I was making hot cocoa and pancakes by 7:20.

Now we are getting the house ready for a brew party this afternoon. And since there won't be much playing outside, we really have to make sure the house is clean and ready to played in by all the little friends.

Off to pick up!

Your bladder is very near your eye...

That is one of my favorite lines from Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt and it describes me very well these days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been trying to make better use of my time lately. And I've had more errands to tend to. So I've been here less. I have been really stressed about holidays too. I married into a family that goes over the moon for Christmas gifts every year. It seems that we have cut back every year, but with 8 people in a household, it is still a lot. I am busy crafting my way through holiday gifts and searching for means of help for our family. In the midst of all of that, I am trying to remember that this is a season to celebrate and give thanks for all that we already have. And trying to instill that in the kids as they see endless ads for the new toys on TV.

Why is it that at this season we suddenly forget the values that rule us the rest of the year? Maybe this is my personal battle.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of us. We have been blessed with plenty in our lives. I plan to take a moment and reflect on that.

I think I did it to myself

I'm feeling really overwhelmed this morning with what needs to be done this week. I have errands that are more important than the usual return a library book or pick up more milk.

And I have found myself obsessed with getting holiday gifts completed. I guess that's a good thing. Our budget for holiday shopping will be more minimal than ever before. In fact I'm hoping to get some help with the kids' stuff this year. And I typically start to think of holiday gifts around the second week of December. But I feel like all I want to do is work on my knitting and crocheting.

So I have a big pile of laundry that didn't get touched this weekend. I have places to be outside of my home. I feel really stressed. So I'm blogging. That makes lots of sense, huh? I'm going to the laundry room now.

bliss

I had about 10 minutes today of absolute peace. Kelli wasn't home from school yet (I drop off and the neighbor picks up) and Jack E was napping. It was beautiful.

proof texting

Maybe that's not quite accurate, since I tend to think of proof texting in a negative light. But I was thinking this morning that it's quite indicative of the modern church when women across the country and across generations think of themselves as Titus 2 women, when it's just a few verses.

Here's Titus 2:3-5 from The Message

Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone looking down on God's Message because of their behavior.

Those are great words. I don't disagree with them at all. But if you google "Titus 2" you will find entire groups based on these verses. As I read further in my Bible this morning I really like the next chapter of the book.

Titus 3:1-11

1-2Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand. No insults, no fights. God's people should be bighearted and courteous.
3-8It wasn't so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

8-11I want you to put your foot down. Take a firm stand on these matters so that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the essentials that are good for everyone. Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It's obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

That is much broader. It's not just about women, it's about the church as a whole, people who call themselves followers of Jesus. Maybe my problem with the Titus 2 thing is for women who don't feel that staying home with their kids, homeschooling the kids, cooking all from scratch, sewing and knitting handmade gifts...well what if that's not something you feel good about? Are you less spiritual? Do you love God less? Is it OK that we feel sending our kids to public school links us to our community in a bigger way? And I LOVE to cook and bake, but what if a woman is just really not good at it? I have a few friends where the husband does the cooking. Is that bad? Then again, in those families the mom is working, so maybe that's the root of the evil there?

I'm probably opening myself up to tons of criticism for what I don't fully understand, but I really struggle with putting people of faith in a box based on a few verses in the Bible. What happens when we don't all fit into the same box?