Monday, July 25, 2011

Oh wait, I write a blog????

And yet again, my four loyal followers may be wondering where I've been...And the answer is, I really don't know!  It was so good to have the Big Sarge home for two weeks of leave, but I've not really gotten back into the groove since he left.  Fatigue and discombobulation reign here at the LoveShack.  I believe that we have hit.....
the wall.....yep, that's what my head is smacking up against lately.  It's been great.

But, I am actually hoping that school will help.  I'm hoping our first day will be August 15 - that gives me a little room to take off some time when Big Sarge is FINALLY HOME!!!!  I'm hoping that back on a stricter schedule with everyone knowing what each day (in theory) will bring will help.  Also beginning a major overhaul of our schoolroom, in the hopes that a little more order might help, too. 

In other news...my biggest is away at camp.  Sigh.  And while the LadyBug has traditionally been a bit more cautious and not-so-keen on new stuff....she was pretty much like, 'see ya!'....and I was glad. 
yep, that's a tepee...better her than me!

I miss her this week, and am DYING to know what she's up to (the first time ever that she's up to lots of stuff without me), but mostly, I'm glad she's there.  LadyBug is our family anxiety sponge - and this deployment has been tough on her.  She and Big Sarge are birds of a feather and so she misses him most particularly - and she frets about all of us.  So, I'm glad that she's got a whole five days to do nothing but be a kid. 

I'm off to put some shelves together.....drink a coffee.....and watch an episode of my new favorite show - Midsomer Murders.
But, more on that later.....

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Ernie Haase Day!!!!

It's the day that we look forward to all year!  It's Ernie Haase Day!!! 

Who's Ernie Haase?  Well, I'm gonna tell ya!


Oh, What a Savior!  I love this guy's voice. 

This will be the third year we've taken the monkeys to see these guys.  And they are just as gracious as they are gifted. 

Mr Ernie is so cool!


This is Devin....


And this is Doug Anderson...as yes, he's even cuter in person.
'Til We Fly Away



I love Firecracker's star-struck look!!




I didn't get a picture of the bass, Timmy Duncan last year...wish I had since now there's a new guy singing his part....so that's one of my goals for tonight!

I know that Southern Gospel isn't everybody's cup of tea, but I love the fact that these are the guys that my monkeys think of as rock stars and idolize.  And they're funny, and real, and not stuffed shirts.....cool-ish men singing about Jesus! 

One last song to sing us out....the song that started in all here at the Love Shack....


Okay....one more.....the monkeys everytime-absolute favorite.


Blessed weekend to you all!

Monday, July 11, 2011

would you people just GO TO BED!!!!

Just got this in the mail today...

...and I'm so excited that I actually thought briefly about making my monkeys go to bed at 4:30 in the afternoon!

Can't wait to tell you how it is!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

A gift from Lousia May Alcott


A SONG FROM THE SUDS

Queen of my tub, I merrily sing,
While the white foam rises high;
and sturdily wash and rinse and wring,
     And fasten the clothes to dry;
Then out in the free fresh air they swing,
     Under the sunny sky.

I wish we could wash from our hearts and souls
     The stains of the week away,
And let water and air by their magic make
     ourselves as pure as they;
Then on the earth there would be indeed
     A glorious washing day!

Along the path of a useful life,
     Will heart's-ease ever bloom;
The busy mind has no time to think
     Of sorrow or care or gloom;
And anxious thoughts may be swept away,
     As we bravely wield a broom.

I am glad a task to me is given,
     To labor at day by day;
For it brings me health and strength and hope,
     And I cheerfully learn to say,-
"Head, you may think, Heart, you may feel,
But, Hand, you shall work alway!"

from Little Women


Thursday, July 7, 2011

Please allow me to introduce myself...

So, since I haven't been around much, I thought this might be a good time to (re)introduce myself.

First, a recent photo:
I think it's really quite a good likeness.  Sigh...been a long streak of stepping in it...sticking my foot in my mouth.....and eating humble pie. 
                            Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
                                   do not fret—it leads only to evil.

                                         Psalm 37:8

Or, then there's the face my kids see a bit too often....
Yeah, about that temper thing.  Have yet to turn them bodily into stone, but what of their hearts?  I tell them often that they can't use this or that circumstance as excuse for bad behavior, or bad attitudes.  But too often, they feel the effect of my too tired, frayed nerves and bear the brunt of my bad attitude.  And I guess you could say that with life as it is at the moment that we have every right to be tired and a bit worn around the edges....but do we?  Yep, we're human and thus susceptible to difficulties of this life but we are also given some pretty non-negotiable instructions in Paul's letter to the Thessalonians:
                                             16 Rejoice always,
                                                     17 pray continually,
                                                                   18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this
                                                  is God’s will for you
                                                       in Christ Jesus.
                                                          1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
And then, there's my deployment fitness regime which has yielded really impressive results.

Yep, that's right - I've been following the Body by Grimace program.  This consists of three pregnancies, two C-sections, and a grueling daily ritual that includes nightly snacking and a lot of time sitting on your rear-side watching movies and feeling sorry for yourself.  It's been hell, but I'm trying to persevere.  In truth, since Big Sarge is getting skinnier on the the Deployment Diet, I've decided to gain all the weight he's lost in the most unattractive way possible so that, when he's finally home for good, he'll feel really good about himself in contrast. 

Seriously, I wonder when we will actually begin to really see our eating (over-eating, under-eating, junk-eating, obsessively-only-organic-everything-eating, etc.) as a spiritual issue.  Because whichever way the wind blows us, it all comes down to pride, idolatry and materialism.....just like everything else that we trip over.  Food ought to be a gift, a blessing and thing to be thankful for....but I'm not sure I know a single person who really sees it that way.
                                 20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
                                          or gorge themselves on meat,
                                                                                 21 for drunkards and gluttons
                                                          become poor,
                                                               and drowsiness clothes them
                                                                    in rags. 
                                                                      Proverbs 23:20-21

Add it all together, and this is what you get:

This, for those of you who don't know, is an eggbeater.  I'm pretty sure that this device is being cranked at an amazing rate of speed somewhere behind my bellybutton 24 hours a day.  I'm still making to the end of each day, but barely.  I'm still feeding all three children, but we've been eating a lot of popcorn.  Everyone is still dressed, but more often than not, they're dressing out of the dryer.  I'm still sleeping, but not deeply and not long.  And I could easily point the finger at my current nemesis: 


But, that's not the real root of the issue and we all know it.  The root of the real issue is self-pity - pride's evil twin brother.  The reason that the abundant life that the Lord designed and desires of us is so often out of reach is because we don't really want it.  We're far too busy looking for the next sap to dry our tears and kiss our boo-boos that we become those things that seek to drag us down. 

Yes, it's a hardship to be alone - or whatever your circumstance is.  Yes, we were warned by Christ Himself to expect trouble - and we get it.  And yes, there are terrible, tragic, grieving things that overtake us on this journey.  But in the midst of these things, are we truly, truly seeing to worship and glorify God, or too often are we seeking after pity, desiring to be glorified for our handling of this or that, secretly enjoying our role as victim? 

 And yes, it's a process - we grieve in stages, we move through the process of accepting our lot, we grow and stretch and change in our circumstances.....but all this assumes some kind of forward motion.  I don't know about you, but I spend a lot of time in neutral - just blindly moving from one assigned place and time to another. 

Abundant life is about seeking God, seeking maturity, seeking surrender, seeking, seeking, seeking. 

But I fear that we are often too busy wallowing to be doing Gods' work in this world.

So, now that we've been (re)introduced.....you still wanna be friends??????

Saturday, July 2, 2011

where the heck have I been????

So, still digging out of the housekeeping hole that comes from two weeks of Big Sarge home (yippee!!!!), followed very closely by five days with my brother and nephew (yippee, again!!).  But, here are some highlights for both of my loyal followers!
Daddie TOTALLY surprised us all - he snuck in the back
door and made us all scream like little girls - which made the Griz cry like a baby. 
 But, WHO CARES!!!

Trip to Lake Codorus - nothing like some water and
sunshine to brighten up your day!

Catoctin Zoo - everyone loved the deer - especially the Griz
who apparently ain't afraid of nothin' or nobody!


The Ladybug, The Firecracker and the Griz...ain't they cute!

The Griz's first swinginginginging...can't stop!


The boys hamming it up!

People movers at the airport!
Look - we're smiling even though we don't want to!

We don't travel without our Grammie!  We love Grammie!

So, that's the leave that was.....come on Christmas so we can have him home for good!