"Odd Combination"

A friend of mine told me recently that she loved me because I was such an "Odd Combination". I knew exactly what she meant and love her precisely because she is not so "odd" :) ! For instance, she loves (and is great at) cooking, baking, teaching all ages of her children, sewing, keeping a very clean and organized house, interior decorating, music, reading, crafts, etc., etc. She is a very classy and "together" stay-at-home homeschooling Mom. Her husband does all the outside work, home maintenance, etc. and they have a great marriage. This split of responsibilities works very well for them. She came over to visit on a day when I had spent the morning driving the tractor on the farm watering trees then came inside and finished homeschooling my children, topping it off with an "extra" reading from Narnia (we usually just save that for the family evening time). I had just finished Anna Karenina myself the day before, and my hubby and I were in the last chapter of "Family Driven Faith". She couldn't understand how I could speed read five books in one week as well as finish "Anna" (Thank you to my 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Ferguson!) and yet be happy driving a tractor :) ! I could never put together a formal dinner party, especially with 5 little ones under foot like she does, either. And yet we love each other and our time together. I love each aspect of my life, as she does hers, and with my hubby of 30 years, what works for us, well, it works well, and her marriage of 12 years works well for them, too! I think of two lighthouses that I have visited. One is on a rocky outcrop, and shines out from cliffs into the depths of the open sea; the other has weathered many hurricanes and shines into a shallow harbor with constantly shifting sands. My friend and I have to remember not to try to imitate each other but to use the talents and heart desires God has given us in the place he has placed us, to make the most of our marriages, our parenting and most of all our willingness to be lights to the dark world around us. And God is good enough to not only provide the light but to let us draw strength from each others' light as well!

To my friends....

Well, "Next week" came and went and wasn't what we had hoped for but was still filled with blessings and hope amidst sickness, snow, appliance problems, job stress for D, and other "stuff". So we will leave it where it belongs - behind us :) !

On another note, I have lots of friends that mean so much to me that sometimes I wish I knew a great way to express my gratitude. Some of you challenge me to a higher walk, some encourage me in the lows, some make me smile, but most of you do all of these at one time or another. Lots of people have written poems and essays and flowery cards about friendship, but it's like any deep relationship, no language has yet been written to truly express what's felt in our hearts. If we took all the words of appreciation and gratitude and emotion that we have said to or about our friends they still wouldn't give a glimmer of the truth. So to my friends, old and new, young and old, near and far.......




That's my heart's gratitude to you for your friendship. Not a blank, but a feeling too big and strong and important to confine to words, or images. You are loved, and appreciated, and maybe sometime I will try to find a better way to express it, but today I feel totally inadequate to even try to confine it to a blog. Friendship is a joyous and amazing thing and I am honored to call you my friend.

Fall Fun

Friday night our friends held a "Fear Not" party (a God-centered alternative to Halloween) and we had a blast! Go to Beth's post to read and see pics (I've smuggled these two over here from her!). My two youngest children were "Florence Nightingale" (shown playing the Widow's Mite game with her new friend) and "Wyatt 'IRK' " (shown below in Armor of God relay)! I'm sure it was a lot of hard work for the Herberts but we not only had a great time but also had a lot of discussion on Saturday about Light versus darkness, how "Mr. Rob" showed them that no amount of darkness was stronger than the light, and we talked about being a light in the world. We hope to be invited back to Beth's party again next year (hint, hint!!) but also hope to have one of our own for several families we would like to invite, both believers and non-believers, praying for it to be an evangelical outreach. (I'm gonna needs lots of help to plan it, Beth!)

My oldest daughter went to a costume party because she had a (rare) night off from work, my second son went with his fiance and her family to another family's for a bonfire and marshmallow roast. What did you do for Friday night's celebrations?

Saturday we laid out the (hopefully final!) layout of the orchard, placing 362 flags in their exact spots for the tree holes. Read about it here if you are interested in the progress of the farm. Russ helped for a while in the afternoon and then we went to a rare evening out at a steak house with him ad Katy. I must say that although that was only my third time ever eating at a LoneStar Steakhouse I have been very impressed with the food and service every time. Matt spent the day Saturday with his best friend (since they were 12!) taking pictures in the NC Mountains while his wife was away for the day.

Sunday we got to visit with Joanna for a while; I'm cooking a pot of "Chicken Stew-pid" for supper; the children went and visited with Gran while I cooked. (Yes, she's home from the hospital and doing well although very weak and will have to daily monitor her fluids to ward off another possible attack and potential congestive heart failure.) We played a game of badminton before Joanna had to go back to school, ending when it was getting pretty hard to see the birdie with the new early sunset time.

Tomorrow is a full day of school (including doing a life-sized outline of each child on which we will label their major organs), taking a tractor radiator to a "specialist" about 25 miles away, dropping off soil samples on the way, and getting back in time for dinner and dance classes. I really do loving being a wife, Mom, farmer and homeschool teacher. I can't imagine what joys I would be missing if it were any other way. It may not sound much to you but then you don't see the smiles, feel the hugs, hear the laughter, smell the earth and trees, that I do. My prayer, though, is that your world would be as wonderful to you!
Happy Fall!

Baby Shower (with CHOCOLATE!!!)

This has been the year of the showers! And I'm sure with my son and future daughter-in-law's date fast approaching there will be many more before this year is out! Last Saturday was a baby shower for my "twin son Matt". Now for those who don't know, my son Matt has had a best friend named Matt for ump-teen years. Second Matt is married and now expecting baby which will have both a Dad named Matt and "Uncle Matt". Confused yet? Anyway, this dear couple (who I would love to claim as my own children!) are soon to have "Baby B" now known more precisely as Kenna McKay Brogli, due late November. The baby shower was lots of fun with floating babies on ice (tiny plastic ones!), fun games and prizes, beautiful decorations, love, laughter and chocolate truffles!! Yummm!! Go HERE to get Beth Anne's recipe, along with other scrumptous ones. Glad to meet all of Lindsey's family and friends, see Matt's Mom and Sis again and enjoy a great afternoon with my youngest daughter among friends both new and old. [Thanks Beth Anne and Alisa for a wonderful shower!!] Now I just have to get back onto helping EK with her "special delivery" for Kenna so that it will be ready by her actual delivery!

The last few days....

Hope each of you had a wonderful Fourth - we sure did!! On the third we went to White Lake for the day (just D, Gran, and the two youngest since the others were working) and it was perfect weather and loads of fun. Then although several families had to cancel coming on the 4th, we were still blessed with all 5 of our children plus Gran and several young adults that we count as family, too! The Broglis were here and we were so very glad since we probably won't see them as often after they move. Matt B. will be a Youth Pastor, and although we will miss them we are very glad that the Lord has opened a door for them and we know He will bless them greatly in their new adventures! After we ate (and ate - esp. D's homemade salsa from veggies from the garden - I am so glad I grew that cilantro!) we drove over to a baseball stadium to watch some fireworks. My Matt "practiced" taking firework pictures (like he needs practice - I've not seen a bad one yet!) so that when he and J are in Paris this weekend for Bastille Day he will have some practice with them (although I'm sure the French would not compare their fireworks with those of the Mudcats :) !!)

Anyway, it was a wonderful holiday here (except for a while mid-day when I got the "Martha syndrome"and was ill-tempered with my dear hubby - who is loving and gracious enough to forgive this middle-aged whacky woman) and I pray that each of yours was great, too. On Saturday I gathered the first purple hull peas and green beans from the garden and we ate them and some of the salsa and leftover grilled chicken and burgers for supper. Yummy! Purple hulls are probably my favorite veggie. Lindsey had left some of her watermelon here so all weekend I pigged out on watermelon, too!

Service Sunday was very special with a beautiful tribute to the armed forces, with the veterans standing when their military anthem was played. I couldn't help but get teary-eyed thinking of my father and many of his WWII generation that have passed on as well as the many young men and women who have/are serving and the ones who have paid that ultimate sacrifice. May we not be foolish in living, voting, praying in a way that will help to carry on their memory.

As we get ready to send two off to Europe, do gardening, canning and housework, keep two extra children part of the week, get ready to have relatives from Kansas visit this weekend, and try to squeeze in some time to enjoy the summer, I probably won't be back at the computer long enough to blog but will try to keep up reading yours. Hope you have a wonderful summer week!

Weddings and Widows

Amidst the daily life of gardening, cleaning house, reading to my children, laughing, and everyday things, there are tucked those special times to stop and celebrate life. Monday night my daughter's former college roommate had a Wedding Shower. Like most, it had lots of good friends, good food, good presents. But it was even more special to me because I got to see several old friends that I hadn't seen in some time, including a wonderful friend who was recently widowed. Her life is such a witness to everyone around her, even during troubles and pain. Her dear husband loved the Lord dearly and had spent his life teaching preachers from his brilliant mind and humble heart, and had touched many, many lives, especially during his long battle with cancer. My friend's smile is amazing and her peace in the Lord is visible to everyone. She has always had a love, knowledge and skill with flowers and as she shared a very special bouquet (tussie-mussie) with the bride-to-be, she shared the meaning of each flower and vine included, each one as a reminder of what true marriage with the Lord as head of the family actually looks like. Some that I remember are ivy - eternal, friendship; dianthis - steady; rose- passion; daisy - innocence; oak - faithfulness, fidelity; rosemary - spice of life; dusty miller - work; and many more that I do not remember. It was a beautiful bouquet and a wonderful reminder of the fact that true marriage is between 2 people and one Awesome and Faithful God who can create and mend anything! This dear woman of God shared all this in a very loving and fun way when it has been only a matter of weeks since she lost the love of her life. What a wonderful testimony to all of us! Thanks, Cindy - what a privilege to know you and love you as a sister in Christ!

We love having "company"!!

We were blessed last Friday night to have Megan and her family over and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! Gran's friend was here, and Russ and Katy came and stayed a while, too, so we ate up some grilled chicken, slaw, and some of the best potato salad and strawberry salad that Megan brought (I want recipes!!). Saturday evening we had a relative over for a while in the afternoon and enjoyed sitting and chatting on the back porch, swinging in time to the breeze and watching two hummingbirds flitter just a few feet away from us on the other side of the screened porch. Sunday brought a few minutes to share with an old friend at church who was in town for the day and then Matt and his best friends came over for a spaghetti dinner (hope it wasn't too spicy for Baby B, Lindsey!) with my niece, sister-in-law and MIL joining us for part of the time. Lindsey started my girls on some new crafts!! On Monday Russ, Katy and Joy visited after coming this way for a hair appointment and spent the afternoon with us, playing some video games, "Apples to Apples" and the girls making a few more crafts they had started on Sunday night with Lindsey. All in all we had a terrific weekend and now my children are asking who is coming this weekend to play!

Saturday some of us will be going to our home school graduation ceremony and then on to various celebrations with some of the seniors and then Sunday we hope to have a repeat of last weekend with some other friends/family here. In the meantime, I am emailing a couple of friends "up north" talking about when we can get together for a "chicken pickin' " (hint, hint Lea & Shelley!!). Maybe they will be our visitors the following weekend!

I love the extra time we have in the summer to get together with friends and family. I think somehow I need to make that extra time year-round, too! Nothing as good in life as time spent with those you love. Do I hear an "Amen"??

Collards and Blackeyes and Pork, Oh MY!!

We celebrated the New Year in a very quiet country way. Well, that is after all the gun shots and pot banging were over! Our dog was nowhere in sight until well into the next morning and still somewhat shaky. (I rewarded her with some of the leftover ham we used to season the collards). We proceeded to cook black eyes ("pennies") and since we couldn't find any good greens ("dollars") at the grocery we went over to a friend's house and picked collards from their garden (they farm and sell collards, cabbage and numerous other good things to a local grocery). We had lots of fun checking out their new poultry additions (more types of ducks and geese than most poultry catalogs!) and chatting and visiting. I really was glad the grocery was out because it was a lot of fun to visit with them. Then back home, cooking collards, and visiting with my MIL who cooked the pork chops ("to be able to live 'high off the hog' ") and cornbread. My older children "opted out" of this most Southern of traditions but my niece and SIL and BIL joined us to catch a little of one of the ball games. Food was good (we like an excuse to eat these things even though the children have yet to develop a taste for them), but family and friends are even better. Hope you all had a wonderful beginning to the year 2008!

[Thursday is "triples" (triple coupon days) at Harris Teeter so I'll be grocery shopping bright and early with a list of 5 "shops" using over 100 coupons if all goes well - but until then I'm cleaning out my fridge and pantry to be prepared to stock up big time (hopefully)!]

Christmas Wrap-Up

What fun we have had this year! The joys of watching our children not only get gifts but give them to each other and other family members and friends. We did our annual Baking last Friday, visited with relatives on Saturday at a "half-way point", had a relaxing day Sunday, had Derwin's Dad's family's get together Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day stayed at home except for a fantastic brunch at my SIL's across the road for a couple of hours. All five children were here, my nieces, SIL and BIL, Grandma, Katy and even a brief visit from neighbors. We (yes, we, not just them!!) had fun with their tinkertoys, having radio control races (my 5yo got 4 RC vehicles and is ecstatic!! I am thrilled that I stocked up on batteries ahead of time!), playing Othello,

having "sword fights" with this ,


launching rockets with this
making pot holders with Emma with this kit


and eating and eating and enjoying each other immensely. My oldest son gave my hubby this DVD (they both enjoy that stuff - personally my daughters and I prefer something like Pride and Prejudice !). The greatest gift of course was time. Yesterday we had lunch with Shelley and Jimmy and we were talking about just that. Time. Time spent with each other. Time spent laughing and sharing and even a few tears over those who are no longer here to share our time. I wish somehow we could bottle up a few hours or days or weeks and wrap it and give it to each other. So today and for 2008 my wish for you is the gift of time. With those you love. Doing what is important. Sharing your heart and dreams and love and laughter and tears. Sharing why you have hope. Sharing why life is so precious and "stuff" like toys and clothes and movies are good only when they are shared with those we love. May we each cherish the gift of time and give it away to those we love each and every day. Remind me when I get too busy. Remind me when I get too caught up in the "stuff".

Sorry....

Well, Monday came and went and I didn't post a "Missionary Monday". Sorry. Here it is almost the end of another week and well, I have lots of excuses that you don't want to hear but let's just play catch-up by trying to get back on schedule next week, OK? Praise that my MIL is doing very well after her nasty fall on Thanksgiving "eve" and that no other people are sick, only the cars (yes, plural, part of that phrase above about "you don't want to hear"!). Thanks for all the prayers for my MIL.

Tonight our friends should be returned from Ethiopia with a much larger family (by 3!) than when they left here 10 days ago. Rejoice with them! If you haven't read their story, scroll down to the oldest postings and read them in chronological order. It will truly bless you - GOD is so very good!!

Other friends of ours are dealing with 1) an unsaved brother's terminal cancer amidst a very dysfunctional family, 2) a wayward son who seeks the truth everywhere except the one place it can be found, 3) an unplanned teen pregnancy (praise that they will have the baby!), 4) & 5) loss of jobs, 6) financial woes, 7) major church split and 8) a possible separation/divorce. All in all we are doing very well, thank you! Sometimes lately when we pray it almost smothers me and then I realize none of this is my responsibility or that I can do much of anything to help but I can pray to the One who can help. And then I am overwhelmed by the amazing fact that He lets me be part of His cure. I get to be the observer and sometimes even the one who helps give the cure to the patient. I can't help anyone, especially not even myself, and yet the Creator, the Great Physician, allows me to be a part of seeing His wonders by aching with and for my friends, by bending my knees to pray for them, by watching amazing miracles happen in the midst of heartaches and sorrow.

Truly rejoicing with some and truly aching with others - and always seeing astonishing things happen to those who trust the Lord!

Pretty gift from friend

Yesterday I watched my friends' seven children while they went to a doctors appt. They have 6 girls and one boy and found out yesterday that they are expecting another girl!! They grow and sell vegetables, he works at the post office, she homeschools and they also grow pumpkins and flowers to sell, have goats and chickens and I don't know when they sleep with all of that going on! As a gift for watching the children Karen gave me this that she had made:It adds a beautiful touch to my fall tablecloth! Thanks, Karen and Congrats!

Wells Family at State Fair

Thanks Lea!!

.... this award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends & those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.

Lea over at "End of the Road" has brightened my day many a time through her blogs and her smile and now she brightened my day by including me with the "Nice Matters" award. Thanks Lea!

There are lots of others that I think deserve this award but since the rules are 7 I will split them between my blogger and homeschooler blogger friends. I would've included Beth and Shelley but Lea beat me to the punch so here are 7 others that I think deserve the award:

Angela - for blessing me with a window into the joys and trials of lots of little ones, making me remember the times with peanut butter smeared walls and lots of pushing to see who gets Mommy's lap next. Thanks for making me stop and be thankful for each moment with each child.

Julie - for reminding me that every small thing as well as the big things show the love and creation of the Lord. Thanks for showing me your heart of love through your words.

Eileen - friend, sister in Christ, and so full of love the Lord keeps blessing her with more children who will glue on her walls! Thanks for letting us share in your joy of adoption.

Katy - for being such a joy to know and such a wonderful friend to my son. I enjoy getting to know more about you through your blog.

Brian and Mandy - for having such a heart for Christ and letting others be a part of their mission through their blog.

Cynthia Robin - for having such a heart for the military and having such wonderful devotions.

JenIg - for making me laugh till I hurt and smile at life and "stuff" !

Sisters

Do you have sisters? daughters? Mother, Mother-in-law? Isn't God good to know that we women need each other?! I never had a little sister although I was blessed with an older one. But through the years it seems like the Lord has brought into my life several young ladies that are like "little sisters" to me (I'm not yet ready to admit that I am old enough to be mother to them!). One of those came to visit today and did I ever enjoy it! I got to hold her dear littlest one (3 months old), visit with her son and daughter and just "hang out" for a while on our front porch rockers, in the kitchen, lunch on the screened porch and lounging in the living room. She has such a heart for the Lord and wanting to do what He wants of her that it always encourages and challenges me to try to obey Him more, too. Her heart for her husband and his ministry is so evident it makes me want to be more of a help-meet for my dear husband who each day is sweating and trudging through construction sites and trying to keep up with irate workers and demanding customers just to provide a place where I can have friends over for lunch and let all our children play on the see-saw he built and in the rooms he built with his own hands. I get so much encouragement and challenge from her, maybe I'm the "little sister" after all! Thank you, Lord for wonderful women in my life that teach me to love You and my family more.

Missionary Mondays

Since we are so blessed to know so many who are willing to serve the Lord all over the globe, I want to share with you the blogs or something about some of these wonderful people. So every Monday I will (try to) post something about one or more of them. Hope you enjoy getting to see God's hand at work in so many lives in so many places in so many ways.

This week I'll start with a brand new arrival of a wonderful young lady into Uganda. It's "UG" on this map of Africa (just west of Kenya, south of Sudan). Here's a link to her BLOG. Now you can go and visit her by internet and then pray for her and the many HIV patients she is and will be dealing with as a physician assistant. Good thing she relies on the GREAT PHYSICIAN!

Back from the Ukraine

We have recently made some wonderful new friends that somehow feel like we've always known each other - you have probably been blessed with a few of those in your life, too. It really is great and you just know they are a gift from God. The husband just returned from the Ukraine where he spent a lot of very hot, humid days and nights teaching and translating with a team that included Dave Black (who by the way wrote a book I'm itching to re-read called 'The Myth of Adolescence" which was the topic of an old blog of mine!). Go here to read Dave's blog about the Ukraine and see pictures of their trip. God is good!!!

Summer Fun - Friends!

We've had lots of fun this summer getting to see friends - from J's graduation party through today - and we have made a point of using time this summer to "make new friends and keep the old" (Did you learn that song as a child? It was one of our favorites to sing on the Girl Scout bus!). Here's a few pics of our fun with friends this summer (so far!).

VBS

We are having our Vacation Bible School this week and my 8yo and I have already had a "ball" even though it doesn't start until tonight! Yesterday we went and helped decorate. One of the things I really like is meeting more people or getting to know "acquaintances" better because when you are painting, drawing, tacking up stuff or cleaning up spilled glitter you have time to chat and find out more about the people you don't necessarily usually see. Last year's first VBS workday I ended up coloring and painting with a dear, sweet young lady that has become a wonderful friend. We immediately "clicked" with our interests and although she is extremely, extremely musically talented and I am ummmm..... musically challenged!! we found that we both had connections to military academies and then that she was eager to learn about homeschooling and then... well, she's just a real joy in my life. So that's why I like to decorate for VBS - great way to make new (or deepen old) friendships - and have fun, too! BTW - my friend and I are in the "Bed Babies" together this week so I get to spend lots of time with her while we love on babies - including her new one - what more could I want?!!