"Pride in his good deeds, rather than remorse over his bad deeds, was keeping the older son out of the feast of salvation." ......"the main barrier between Pharisees and God is not their sins, but their damnable good works."
- Timothy Keller
With the arrival of a 68 degree day and the absence of mosquitoes all plans to continue painting inside were halted and we all promptly vacated walls of house to play outside for awhile. Sweet smell of honeysuckle, freshly mowed grass, cardinals, hummingbirds, green leaves whispering above, cool winds blowing through treetops, towering trees swaying gracefully to rhythmic cadence of all of life. Mail lady full of abundant love for children comes bearing gifts of candy for all and good tidings in form of letters. News that, despite the trials still endured here, God is still on His throne and actions are still seen, what is sown will be reaped....all we do is not for naught. And somedays...in the heat...without transportation that fits us all and as much as we absolutely love to go all together....it just wears...day in and day out....with no visible change. And then.....He comes restoring hope in every way. Beautiful day, beautiful mail, beautiful news, happy, happy laughing kids coming....going, off shift husband with which to spend amazing outside day in each other's company. And life....it's just a pretty beautiful thing....in a little 3 bedroom, 1500 sq ft, work in progress, rent house with no kitchen cabinet doors, currently broken a/c system, leaky basement standing in water, subfloors, half painted....and still sporting a mile long list of infinite to-do's that remain. But He is good and we are still cared for in absolutely every way despite how discouraged I may get at times, how loud the outside voices become, how long the list seems, how small the budget appears, how overwhelming the workload feels. Maybe we were moved here because we were the only people in life that would do this task....maybe just because there's enough of us to get the job done....maybe because our children know how to work and work hard....and they have been taught to find joy in the little things....that this project brings them just as much fulfillment, laughter and joy that it brings husband and my own self...maybe cause they have learned to take themselves and life lightly....laugh at the absolute ridiculousness of it all when it's just absurd in every way. Because there is a joy that truly does become the strength that binds us all, unifies us, and carries us through. And despite the trials I am coming to learn just how much I will miss these days when they are gone. There is so much victory and so much joy in overcoming. And these children....each of them.....they radiate joy and laughter. They're learning what it is to work....work hard....for something that benefits someone other than themselves. They're learning absolute selflessness. They're learning kindness and are truly perplexed by those that show no interest in demonstrating it. Conversations that arise from it all...it's just an amazing thing to watch them observe and learn. There are no textbooks for this. There is no instruction book. Just life...observation...living it out by example....watching, doing. They're learning how to recognize self absorption in others which will hopefully benefit them each when it comes to choosing a spouse, how they manage their own income as they grow, how they choose to give of time, energy and resources. How I yearn for them to be beautiful people that learn what it is to be honest, kind, full of compassion, learn what it is to see beyond the surface....because every person encountered in their lives has a story, harbors something so much deeper that's responsible for their actions and their words. Oh that they would learn the art of forgiveness at early ages in their lives, that they would know the fountain of life flows from kindness, covering all in love, drawing healthy boundaries with others....that they would know intimately they are nothing without the grace of God...that only if they learn to walk in kindness, honesty and humility will they ever be worth anything or be of any use to mankind. My heart aches that we would ever be in danger of forgetting all that we have learned here....that we are still learning here. May we never become so self centered again that we lose sight of the bigger picture...... that we always remember that life is just not about us. Because the secret of life lies in giving it all away and finding contentment...absolute total gratefulness....in what's right in front of you...all that you've already been given. How sweet it is. Heart overflows with the abundance of life. This road we have walked and all that we have overcome in the last few years...it hasn't been in vain. And for all that it's entailed....I wouldn't change it.
So so true.
Our escape artist. We were a little perplexed as to how he kept appearing on the other side of the yard when gates remain locked. This little guy is going to go very very far in life. Passionate, driven, highly motivated, problem solving, self sufficient, ever the helpful one, little man...even at 2 yrs old.
As for the truck dent....yeah. We'll save that story for later.
As for the truck dent....yeah. We'll save that story for later.
Hanging by one arm attempting to unlock the gates...and his ever present guardians. 2 more standing out of sight to the right and left of the pic.
Meanwhile on the inside...his polar opposite is just hanging out driving cars around.
The advantages of the pregnant body...when your bra cup now fits the head of your 14 month old like a tailor made hat.
Late night fun...popcorn, sweet tea and Lost party with two oldest and a sweet boy who had a very late nap.
Everybody in motion...minus oldest who stayed home on treadmill to be with a napping baby.
The wonder of nature..responsible for all the little detours.
Socks, son. Socks.
Stopping to stare in total awe
....of this.
Wild blackberries!
They ride hard. I'm pretty sure every bike has no less than a thousand miles on it. The result of lots of stoppies.....and some agressive bike track jumping.
The blog post of the bras....still funny though. She said she was wearing her backpack. Lovely. Kinda on the wrong side of your body, my dear.
Ever loyal, patient one following commands from the 4 yr old.
She takes it from her hand so gently she barely has any grip on it at all.
And.....the Love project of the day! They're kinda out of control, they prevent under deck area from ever drying out which attracts a plague of mosquitoes, they prevent light from entering basement sliding door, underneath them is a snake haven, and they act like huge leafy nets for all the crap babies continually throw over deck.
In all of my exuberance I forgot to get a ground level pic of before we started in on them. But...this is the work in progress after all the undergrowth had been cut away. We were finally able to get a saw close enough to saw the rest off. This is the future sight of our vegetable garden. We FINALLY found sunlight....and an abundance of it....in our yard! It just happened to be in a place we'd never thought to look before.
When you don't have a couch....
And I didn't get before pics of the front yard either. Cause I was just in work mode and we worked from back to front yard without stopping. So....this is as good as it gets. Before.....
Trucks pretty much entirely in the way...but you can kinda see the Amazonian growth going on in front of the windows.
And after! Yep....we stripped it bald. Plans include painting shutters black so it's not the horrific maroon on orange brick, planting encore azaleas, daylilies, and some monkey grass or liriope. Because we also discovered that with the absence of total overwhelming overgrowth comes...sunlight!
Office windows to the left, dining windows to the right....and a very blank landscape with which to work!
Window units are so lovely. But thankful for them in every way.
New windows will be installed. With amazing people who've heard this story we now have windows available to us at wholesale price and installation of them at a fraction of the cost. Slowly but surely working our way that direction.
How many kids and dogs can you cram into one pic? Makes me smile in every way. Everyday life. Oh the memories they'll grow up with. They have an entire acre and they always end up congregating in one place and working together on a project or being in awe of something together...even earthworms. And yes...there are 10 kids in that pic. The other one's on a bike behind me.
The privilege of dog sitting for sweet friend currently between houses. None of us would mind at all if she just decided not to come back for her. She fits right in and has made herself completely at home....assuming guardianship and responsibility of kids as her main job here. She is the epitome of all of the amazing traits of the breed.
For the love of earthworms.
"Look Daddy!!! He looks like a bracelet!!!" Only a girl with 5 older brothers and 3 younger ones would find such girly thrill in 6 inch worms.
Hitchin' a ride.
