Tuesday Treasures – Autumn Harvest

I sat down last night to put together the list of items for today’s treasury, and I was still excited about apple picking. We had such a good time on top of the mountain in Charlottesville, surrounded by friends and the juiciest, crispest, yummy apples. Now our countertop is piled high with apples in various shades or red, gold and green just waiting to be baked into even yummier treats. All of these apple picking memories, paired with the need to get a few Thanksgiving items listed in the etsy shop got me thinking about the autumn harvest.

Fall is such a bountiful time of year. Even though the leaves are changing and falling away, and summer’s gardens are soon to be turned under there is so much to be thankful for. Apple and pumpkins, pears, corn, squash, and nuts all are gathered this time of year. Soon the thanksgiving table will over flow with all the blessings of the harvest.

Which got me to thinking about what we give thanks for at Thanksgiving…is it just the harvest? Shouldn’t we also give thanks for the bodies that work the land for the harvest? Shouldn’t we also give thanks for those who gather at the table with us? Shouldn’t we give thanks to God for the seasons and His wisdom in creating them in cycle?

I know that I love breaking into the sweaters and gathering around a fire. I am thankful for these, too, the times to be close and cozy, to gather close and talk softly. There is nothing quite like the soft glow from homes in the twilight of the day. I am thankful for these, too, the call home to family that comes in autumn, when summer travels and play are over and we come inside and gather around a hearty table.

Autumn is such an amazing time of year. As much as spring blooms with new life and promise, autumn is a show of God’s splendor and a reminder to me of His generosity towards us. Today’s treasury highlights these ideas for me…enjoy!

Wednesday Words...Make a joyful noise!

She doesn't look very joyful, but she was over
joyed when her hat won her Craziest Hat for
the Cubbies class! 

It is nearly 8 o’clock  - PM – and I am just getting to write…oh Wednesday how you overflow with life! It feels as if every Wednesday this semester has been rainy and that the baby has been sick. I am sure it hasn’t been like that every Wednesday, it just feels like it. It is an improvement over last year – every Wednesday was windy. Not like breezy, but hurricane, gale force winds – on trash day! What a mess! So I can be happy with rain, and we will work to have the boy well, quickly!

Which brings me back to Wednesday…

I have always wished I had a talent that I could carry with me. People who draw can draw anywhere and on anything. People who dance can dance anywhere. People who can sing can sing anywhere. The gifts I do have, which are few, involve loads of equipment and tools.  What a gift to be able to share your gift wherever and whenever!

Even though I can’t sing, I like to sing…when I am by myself. I don’t sing well for many reasons. I have no rhythm despite 3 years of high school percussion. The concept of music notes is very abstract to me.  But I enjoy others singing. I enjoy music. I enjoy lyrics. I enjoy the way music makes me feel, even when it makes me feel sad. I love that music can provoke emotion. I love the universality of music.

Have you ever heard a song you love sung in another language? While visiting family in Branson, Missouri I heard a man sing How Great Thou Art in Hawaiian. Even though I didn’t understand the words, it was beautiful and moving – powerful.  

The youth group that I belonged to in high school did a lot of musical performance, even traveling regionally to other areas to share God’s word in song.  Several of the songs, they sang (I didn’t sing!) were in other languages, some tribal African languages, some sign language.  No matter the language people were always eager to join in.

Singing about God forces you to think about God: whether it is a song of praise or thanksgiving, a song telling the others of His glory, or a song of sorrow for our sins. Singing about God focuses our thoughts and energy on Him. Singing is a beautiful way to share God’s word and God’s love with others. It is a beautiful way to unite to worship Him. It is great when there are musicians and instruments, but even one voice singing God’s praise, sharing God’s word, is a blessing.

So whatever song is in your heart...sing it!

Success this week is surviving!

We were blessed so many times this week – with great fellowship, with support and with food! All these blessing more than make up what I have lacked in motivation this week.

Specific successes this week…

That Accounting mid-term I turned in last Saturday – I got a 94! Success!

I had 3 Etsy sales!

I finished and mailed out Girls Night Out Invites for my mom. I even made an extra set to list on Etsy, so watch for those to be posted soon.

I lined up a walking buddy! YEAH!!!!

Grace had her first sleep over. It went brilliantly!

Oh, and someone else’s success to share. That special teacher I wrote about in my Made of Monday post for back to school, well she was named Teacher of the Year for her school! Congratulations, Mrs. Johnson!

There is a great giveaway going on over at Naptime Diaries that includes some goodies from the TIAMO shop. Including a hair tutu of choice from the list of Hair Tutus of the month, and a set of Glad Text cards similar to those found here. I hope you will go enter for a chance to win!

Thursday…Can you believe that it is Thursday already?

Our two week summer reprieve is quickly coming to an end. It really was more like a crazy blend of mad dash to get life back in order and a lazy laid back family decompress.  The kids have really blossomed under their daddy’s influence. 

But today is the end…We have Grace’s pre-school open house and just like that a switch is flipped and the semester begins. Back to School picnics, back to school events, prepping assignments and books, checking calendars, and this year the addition of Grace going to school and on-line classes for me, as well as the commitment to make TIAMO a go and my husband will be working part-time not at school.

As much as that sounds like a heavy sigh, bordering on a complaint…this year it feels like a challenge, a challenge I might be able to live up to.

Regardless it is full of blessings! Like fellowship that is treasured respite from the hustle and bustle. Like a home that is sacred space for our family.

The greatest blessing though is my husband (as much as we might drive each other crazy, as much as I know there is HUGE post-law school adjustment a head of us!).  As he starts his third and final year of law school there is so much happy, fulfilling future in front of him.

He has always been a hard worker, though he sometimes does his best not to look like it. He is thriving on the rigorous law school schedule.  If it is possible, He is more excited about the start of classes now than he was two years ago, and not just because it is the final first day. He loves law, he loves analyzing, he loves “putting bad guys in jail”, and he loves seeing God’s law in our law, and is going to love being a lawyer.

There isn't any greater blessing to a wife than a happy husband. The kids thrive off of that happiness. It makes home life agreeable.

Sometimes it is hard to compete with law school and all that comes with it, but I know he is happy and I know some day (very soon) he will be done and the pace and focus of our lives will change. I am trying not to wish it away, trying to let him have room to savor his successes and prepare for the next challenge (finding a big lawyer job to pay all these big law school bills!).

I couldn’t be prouder…So let the games begin!

This Thursday

I have a plan for Thursdays but it is going to take me a few weeks to make it work, in the mean time, I think it would be a good time for you to get to know me…

I am a mom and a wife. I am also a student, again (yikes!) I am a crafter – it is really hard for me to call myself artistic or creative.  And in all these things I am trying to glorify God…trying.

Two years ago, my husband and I with baby girl in tow sold the house and moved to a new town so that my husband could go to law school. In the process we have all gotten an education! We now have a big girl and a baby boy, more student loan debt than we can shake a stick at and a whole different outlook on life.

How did we get there well it is kind of a funny story…no not really, but I’ll tell you anyway…

I was about oh 34 weeks pregnant when I quit my job – not on purpose, but sometimes things just can’t be salvaged, sometimes life just shouts YOU DON’T BELONG HERE! And that was hard. I was doing work that felt important, and good and right and purposeful and that is hard to leave. So I was now a full-time stay at home mom. And then the baby came…and then my husband’s company made changes.

We were blessed to have nearly 18 months notice to make a plan before his job would be gone.  He was working towards completing a degree and would rather serendipitously graduate at the same time his job ended – multiplying the possibilities in the decision making process. And then the economy tanked…

What to do, what to do…He was offered a job halfway across the country in the one town we had been to and swore we could never live in…and so he turned it down. We would find something closer to home and then we started talking about graduate degrees…my husband is one smart cookie!

So then where…I had done some volunteer work with a girl who was a law student at a new law school, why not try there? So we did…and so here we are…one year from a law degree, one year from more change, one more kid in tow…and all by the grace of God!

You know people say that, by the grace of God…but really truly. I cannot begin to explain to you how certain I am, how powerful a feeling it is to know that this is God’s plan. Not to say that it has all been roses, because it has been far from it.

I hear people say “Rely on God”, “Trust in God”…and I wonder what that looks like. I try to envision in each situation what that looks like. Most of the time I come up blank…but in retrospect I can see God at work in our lives, I can see where he answered prayers (maybe not the answer we thought we wanted, but answered none the less) and where he filled our lives with his goodness and light, the times when I could not have hoped to have the wisdom to ask for what he did or allowed to happen in our lives. 

So here  we are on the brink of what is next, feeling God’s hand in our lives, praying to find peace with what he brings into our lives or where he takes us…and just trying to get by in day to day and watch the big picture unfold.

But I guess that was more about the family, than me…so about me…ha! I am a 30-something mom to two beautiful kids, wife to a smarty pants law student, and crafter trying to make ends meet in a budget that is non-existent…nice to meet you, check out the shop and help a girl out and get something pretty for someone you love (yourself included!)