Just a Daisy in the Meadow

The questions enters the mind, “Why does one EVER lay down and try to rest\nap during the day?”

This is how it went this morning. The one and two year old are extra tired today, but thankfully it is their turn to go to grandma’s. She takes one each Saturday morning, but these two go together. So off they trot over to Grandma’s escorted by older brother. By 11:15 they are home again, having begged to come home, (They ask almost every day if it’s their turn to go . . . so why come home early?) but I am glad to have them back and welcome them enthusiastically in.

I decide that they should eat lunch and we all go to bed for a nap. So we all get settled. Baby has problems with a dot of milk cream clogging up his bottle, so up and down for me a few times. In the process the oldest three can’t sleep and ask to sleep in my room. So I let them, but this is not conducive to sleep for me . . . or them. And baby just had a nap this morning and this early afternoon nap doesn’t suit his schedule. So now oldest brother watches youngster down stairs and I climb back into bed. (You only keep doing this if you THINK you might get some good rest) The youngster bangs cups on bench. I have to remind the eldest to make him play quietly.

The other two in my room are whispering. Why don’t they go to sleep? They are both quite tired I know. “That’s it,” I say, “back to your room.”  I go downstairs and decide that youngster really should be able to go to sleep he’s so grumpy! So up the stairs I take him.

By now I think why am I trying to get some rest anyway, there’s still much to be done. I better go start on the muffins I decided I needed to add to my menu for family night supper( All the Stauffer Clan plus one). It was handy to have the two year old and one year old at Grandma’s this morning while I got most of the supper preparations done and a bit of cleaning. Thank the Lord for Grandma!

So why did I try to sneak a nap in? Why did I try extra early? One just can’t control always the happenings the day before and the happenings of today . . . . Thus one does the best one can . . . and leaves the rest to the Lord!

If the Mom was always rested well . . . then this scenario wouldn’t happen right? That’s not the real world! If Mom would just stick to schedule anyway, wouldn’t that work?  Mom isn’t perfect, and doesn’t always make the wisest decisions especially when she is tired.

But this is real life . . .

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thoughts afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways . . .” Psalm 139:1-3

I had plans to visit a friend a couple of hours from here, since my hubby was going in that area to help some friends who had a house fire recently. So time with hubby while driving- total of four hours - and time with another young mom and her two children makes a nice outing for me. I was looking forward to this treat.

I also have a friend who was very great with child due sometime the end of this month who had asked me to come help at the birth.

Well, we are really trying to watch pennies these days. Some other guys from church decided to go help repair the fire damaged house. So considering all things Japheth and I decided that the four youngest children and I should stay at home today, and they could save gas going together.

Last evening our bedroom phone got left somewhere downstairs. And yes, the call came, “She’s in labor. Do ya want to come?” I did not hear the phone ringing . . . but Japheth did.

So after going over and bringing their children to my in-laws I was there for the event, just fourteen minutes to spare!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties . . . ”

But God . . . knows me . . . REALLY knows me! He knows the dread, the fears, the anxieties that circle ’round my heart the weeks before my own labor and delivery. He showed me from a different perspective . . . She made it look so easy . . . SO DOABLE! God spoke so clearly to me, ” Let go of your fears, your anxieties and rest . . .”

I cried on the way home.

God does really know me and cares about my “little” worries that constantly swirl around in my head and I don’t consciously consider that I worry so dreadfully about.

“Even there Your hand shall lead me and Your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:10

Here a little, there a little . . . and life flies by!

Just a picture update.

We are enjoying these Singing Science Songs! For several years now the Stauffer menfolk sing bits and pieces of some of these songs, the more familiar ones being “How Many Colors Are in a Rainbow” “How Does a Cow Make Milk” and “What Makes the Weather” Daddy always referred to them as the “Tell Me Why” records that they listened to as boys.

Japheth and his siblings grew up listening to some of them also . . . and so we must keep this thing agoing! Yesterday my dear husband downloaded all of them (They’re free) and brought them home! So now guess what we will be hearing day in and day out? I admit I like to listen to them more than the children do at this point, but they are a great help for homeschooling, explaining science information in such an understandable and rememberable way! Though we did hear one that we decided to delete from our collection that had some evolution mixed into it!

Just following the Golden Rule . . . in letting you know. I would have wanted you to tell me about them!

God’s blessings upon your day!

I’m anticipating the pleasures of doing photo albums. In preparation of that time, the last few days I’ve been organizing our digital pictures on the computer, rotating them (So one doesn’t have to get a cink in one’s neck watching the screen saver.) and editing a few. In the process, I came across this picture. One of my favorites! So I thought I’d share it with you. This was fall of 2004 I believe.

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich!”
Proverbs 10:22a

There’s a story here . . . How did my husband get into the sewing machine business? What got him to start making quilts? (He did those wall hangings and various other quilts.) Why did he become a salesman when he hated them? How did he learn how to fix sewing machines anyway? Who orchestrated this all?

See is you can get him to tell ya! It’s one of those stories that will get passed down from generation to generation. It’s all about God!

“The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord,
like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Proverbs 21:1

We had the fun of taking the children to the Children’s Science Museum last week. We wouldn’t have traveled that far just to do that, but since we we going close by we decided to make a Field Trip out of it.

It is a GREAT place to take children!!!! All hands on things like getting to operate a child’s size crane, loading blocks on to a conveyer belt, playing in the bubble pool making monstrous bubbles, running through an enlarged ant hill etc.

Loraine and Wayne and Jaden and I stayed at the water spot about half the time! They had little aprons on to keep them from getting wet. (Do you think that was successful? You’re right , Wayne was soaked till we pulled him away from there!) At this particular spot they spent their time putting ping-pong balls in tubes of water that ran them though a passageway and out another spout. Great fun!!!!

On one of the walls I read this quote though I can’t recall the author, “There are many things one can learn from children, like how much patience you have, for instance.”

I’m finding that the more children I have the more I fight against getting impatient. I remember my co-teacher in MI saying that she never thought she had an anger problem until she taught school. Somehow being with children day in and day out can bring out the worst in ya . . .

And so in this new year of 2007, I have one main goal. And that is to let Jesus’ patience come out through me . . . cause I certainly don’t have it on my own. I’ve proved that way too much this past year!

“But let patience have her perfect work . . . “ James1:4a