Westwoods

Our vacation has been truly magical.  I could not have picked a better one.  It started with going to Spokane and watching a performance of The Handel's Messiah. It was the first time the kids saw one.  That it took place in an old, beautiful church while sitting in the balcony, with an old choir book, following the words and music, made it even more memorable. The event set the tone for finishing up school and preparing for vacation and company. The final week of school went smoothly and the kids did very well indeed with their Christmas program.  I was given so many beautiful gifts, that I felt guilty and a little bit fat.  Chocolate will do that you know. On Saturday, we did a final cleaning at the school and then headed to our closest ski lodge as a family.      We took the mail jeep because of various reasons.  When all the boards, skis, and helmets were packed into the back, I turned around to see this.  I felt like a to...

     It came to me as I was preparing for school yesterday; these questions my teenagers and students pose to me are like flashcards.  Here's an example: Flashcard # 1 Situation:  Three inches of fresh snow on the ground...cold...winter... Teenage daughter in shortish dress, bare legs, and feet in slip-on pink Sketchers... "Do, I really have to wear my boots to the car?  I mean, I'm just gonna be in the car and school...I won't actually be in the snow, barely at all."      Five minutes later, older brother asks... Flashcard # 2 Remember the situation from above? All this beautiful snow makes for bad roads.  Older brother has a driving permit...although he is going to take his driving test today...Lord, help me, for I think he will pass...Anyhow, he asks...  "Can I please drive this morning, Mom?  I haven't got to practice on snow yet...?" And then, at school after the pink slippered feet had donned boots, and ...

  Everlasting Father...   Please be with my friend tonight   As she travels in the dark.   I pray for her safety on the road   And in the sky.   I ask that the transfer of exchange/ foster child goes smoothly.   I ask boldly...   That accommodations are made   So they can get rest and...   Return safely to their family.   I pray my friend's heart   Will be comforted   If things do not go smoothly;   That she will still know   You are in this miracle and...   You ARE her Everlasting Father...   Wonderful Counselor,   Give wisdom to the parents of the wayward daughter...   Help them to rely on YOUR council   More heavily than anyone else's.   I thank You that You give directions just in time.   Help us to all rely more heavily on YOU...   Than on anything or anybody.  Prince of Peace...for the family who has...

It's late but I just popped a huckleberry, coffee cake into the oven along with a fresh pan of chocolate chip cookies.  I am doing this for my hubby and kiddoes.  They have been craving their favorite cookies for over a week.  What with all the busy of teaching, I don't get time to do baking... poor dear ones... I apologize. SO... what got me going was the aroma of the oven when I opened the door to check on things...  Suddenly, I was transported back to a time I can barely remember... A time of magic and of Christmas and surprises... My mom made Christmas magic at our house.  She was the one to encourage the gathering of pine and the arranging of the top of the old, upright piano.  A few tapered candles somehow found room to finish off the arrangement, and it seems like we may have strung popcorn over it some years.   We weren't supposed to have a real Christmas tree, but this was a close second and I think it was just as magical and beautiful, es...

When every spare minute counts, you have to sort out what is truly important enough to talk or write about... Every week has miracles in it.  They are personal and boring to you, yet to me they are from God.  That's why there is no glory or shame for me in sharing them... Miracles last week:  The quiet fifteen minutes every morning on the couch with my Bible and cup of coffee.  It was God who woke me up and convicted me to try harder. { I am enjoying the book of Acts.  Getting to know Peter at the beginning of his ministry helps link his epistle to my mind.} More miracles:  That school is becoming more ritualistic and easier in the everyday parts at least.  That I ask God for help and He gives it. Abundantly. That God keeps working on me to become more gentle, loving, and kind when my natural self would like to be blunt and brutal, sometimes careless.  That He can change me even at one month shy of 40 years old.  That He loves me enou...

     Maybe this is a new concept for some of you.  Maybe you have the talent of reading new information that automatically burrows into your brain waves and sticks, till the end of time.   However, I do not.  Sometimes, this feels more like a curse than the blessing I am sure it should be, largely due to the fact that I do not learn easily and certainly not fast.      Honestly, there are some great guide books out there that really help.  The two greatest that I cannot live without are the Bible and the Webster's Dictionary.       I was getting a little frustrated with my 5th and 6th graders the other day for their lack of zeal in using the dictionary.  It is so much easier to ask Mrs. Hartman what a word means.  Mrs. Hartman very bluntly reminds them of this method of learning and thankfully, they have the wherewithal to properly look sheepish.       And then Mrs. Hartman was smitten with shame...

    Isn't it nice when things go humming along at an even pace?  We like to be able to at least sorta predict our day.  Right?  I have scoffed at "planner planners", and then realize how discombobulated I feel when my plans go awry. So, while I don't like to be so detailed in my planning; I realize the comfort and stability I feel having a 'somewhat' schedule. We awoke to a skiff of snow.  No problem, we live in Idaho... These things happen in winter.  It does slow us down a bit though and we arrive at school with five minutes to spare before the teachers meet for prayer.  I thought, great! still time to make copies of this new Christmas song.  That accomplished, I arrived in the teachers room almost on time.  We sat down to pray.  Then, the lights went out.  They flickered back on and then died.  Three times. And then of course, no more back on. The timing of it was not so fun to the moms that had dropped their kids a...

 It's that time of year... I keep seeing homey recipes and beautifully decorated homes just in time for the season.  I feel extremely pulled this year.  I too want a porch with potted mums and pretty white pumpkins.  I tried.  But the mums froze a couple weeks ago and the pumpkins I have are little wrinkled things.  I am not complaining.  There is, after all, a certain strength in reality and reality for us this year is, we are much too busy trying to keep up with our very real life. This kid is very helpful for keeping it real.  The photo also shows my ineptness as a photographer and at setting the scene for a natural pose.  It looks like it is; someone trying really hard to take a picture that looks like something and of course its not. It's not anything that means anything to you.  Just my beautiful child holding a tin pumpkin as she pops open her eyes wide and smiles artificially.  She basically said it... " Yeah Mom, I...

This week was my husbands 39th birthday, reports cards at school, and an evening of individual PTA meetings with just me and the parents.  I served them tea and told them all the lovely things I could think of about their children.  We also addressed a few things that were not so lovely and got through.  The parents were ever so kind to me and supportive.  Even so, by the end, I was drained from so much intense discussion.  I was ever so glad to put my ice block toes over on my husbands warmness while my soul drank in the comfort of him.   He comes home from the hospital as drained as I.  We both have a deep knowledge of this gift each night.  We both say, "Life is way crazy right now, but we have this, this place of stability and comfort."   So many people don't have even a semblance of stability and the comfort of home. It hurts to think of how many people are sleeping under bridges and shivering through the night with only a thin bl...

     I made two kids cry today.      I don't like to make kids cry.      I feel crippled in spirit and shriveled in heart.      I acted upon 'foolishness' in a mom/teacher tandem act.      I saw nonsense and said," this shall not be."     I wonder now, were my words too harsh?     Should I be more compassionate and long suffering to childish acts?     I think I will not be fired for correcting wrongs.     I call on God and Grace and Wisdom...     I love those kids.     Do they know it?     I don't like to be in this position;     Of being in authority.     Shepherding is hard.     It's so constant and makes your heart hurt.     I hurt for them and their feelings;     And their physical owies.    When I was little,    I thought grown ups enjoyed being boss...

I'm sorry if you thought this was going to be tips on de-cluttering your home of earthly possessions.  It's not.  You see, I sort through life's ups and downs best, by writing it out.  The de-cluttering takes place in my brain. It helps me sleep at night, which is pretty important, since I am also a school teacher. Too bad for you, to listen to me, de-clutter, but I think if you stick with me you will see God at work. One thing I am learning about children: They cannot remember basic manners and rules from week to week. They can barely retain them day to day.  My kids are a lot of fun, very creative, yet very forgetful. I am finding and beginning to accept the fact; they need a Monday morning recap, just to make sure the same rules still apply as they did last week.  They just have to check, in case I have changed my mind over the weekend.  I never do, but you never know...  This is very wearing and sometimes grueling. It also got me to thinking ab...

What is your first thought or reaction to an unusual or scary situation?  What would you do if you saw an old person driving a motorized chair down the middle of your road?  Is your first thought, "He shore nuff looks funny, I wonder if everything is OK?"  Would you assume all is well, or would you know something is wrong and stop and find out directly? This happened to us the other night on the way home from school.  Laife was driving and unaware of the oddness of the situation.  He was concentrating on going around the man cautiously, while me, the worried mother, was looking at the chair, the catheter bag hanging off the side, and the drowsy look on the face of the driver of the chair. We turned the corner next to our home, unloaded the car, and began to settle in for the evening.  I went down and started a load of laundry and when I came back up, I happened to glance out the living room window to see the man in the motorized chair going round and ro...

I truly love living in Idaho, The Pacific Northwest... it has a nice ring to it, as does, The Panhandle.  I have lived here almost sixteen years; it feels as much like home as any place has in all my years of living. However, there are a few codes I haven't yet cracked and probably never will.  There are secrets some will learn of from the very beginning.  This will happen naturally to them or they just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  Oh, and it matters if you know someone that knows someone else that can give you the inside scoop on whats what. There are two specific areas that I have yet to learn what's what and that is:  Where does one find these six gallons of huckleberries and meals of morel mushrooms that others so easily find and later brag about.  And if they are easy to find, why are those that find them not open and helpful about where they are found?  If someone like myself asks specifically the Question Whom No One Dar...

I have a thing for words.  I take them apart and dissect them more than the normal person would. This one is no big deal, it's the same word as "blessed" in English, but I look at it and think, "Good Adventures"... And then I think of the times blessed is used in the KJV in verses.    Blessed are the peacemakers  take on a whole new meaning.  In other words, good adventures to the peacemakers. Now, we all know that isn't truthfully how it is.   It doesn't exactly sound like a great adventure to the one who has to find a way to be the peacemaker in a sticky situation.  Yet, something has me stuck here; the thought is intriguing. I think of all the women in my Sunday School Circle this Sunday past.  We took turns reading the lovely words of Scripture. I wanted to simply close my eyes and soak in the many diverse styles of reading, the falterings that come with a child on the lap, squirming.  The inflections of the older ladies, their voices...

How does it happen? I wrote it all down so clearly, what I felt and how I thought. I also wrote it with deep conviction, which was based on real life experience.  Isn't that evidence enough of saying it like it is? It really should not be that complicated. Simple truths are usually boring and uncomplicated, yet it seems people are more quickly interested in intricate and original.  Pretty often, I even find myself thinking, That is so early 90's.  Or as King George says on Veggie Tales, " Those are yesterday's duckies".   I'll be honest, I get a little sideways when someone explains the circumstances in such interesting detail and in an annoyingly bold way.  It is aggravating, when you are a writer and write the things you do because it was lain upon your heart as simple truth.  You felt you should not be ashamed to share the truth of the gospel by with holding words, so you did and they were full of empty. Such a real struggle of life, this saying wh...

When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.... Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror...  I still have minutes, hours, days, and sometimes whole weeks of reasoning things out like a child, especially when it is things pertaining to love.  Some days, I struggle to see the true reflection of me and my will; my vision is blurred by the tears of my own pain and suffering. Pain and suffering I cause by not letting go of me and my piddly needs, goals, and desires. When, do we dare earn the right to say, "I cannot do this anymore" or "I am done with this trial"?  Is it right to make strong statements of: "I can not stand this one minute more"? And, "I need this need fulfilled now, today or at least by next Friday"? I know what it's like to think: I must have what I need now... I have felt severely alone and crippled with fears, and if I am honest, self pity. I used to make these excus...

I've always loved the imagery I see when reading Revelation 4:11; the picture of the four and twenty elders, bowing and saying, " Thou are worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.  It is a verse with such majesty and of placement; a verse that puts the priorities of life where they belong. A couple of my students needed to memorize the verse for part of an assignment last week, and then in church this morning a visiting pastor had his message based off this same verse. Isn't that just like God? I was already impressed with the verse last week, especially the part about being created for God's pleasure. I thought it was over, then, was privileged of going a little farther and deeper. I watch my children when they aren't aware of it:  Laife, as he plays his guitar and makes adjustments on his bike or while he does his homework. In Toria, I am intrigued by her elegance an...

    I remember a time not too long ago, I longed and sought for a little piece of easy.  I was tired of the striving and 'the hard' of life.  I just wanted a breather, the kind you feel when you get to the top of a mountain after a good, hard climb.  If it couldn't be easier, I wanted it to at least, feel less painful.     It seems as if some people naturally seek the easier path, while others seem to search out the harder, more challenging way.  Sadly, I have always been the seeker of the easy path, until I began to discover the rewards in searching out what is hard and challenging.  No, I am not going to say what the rewards are, they are personal and not worth your time, but I have a pretty good inkling everyone will have a different set of rewards and challenges, so... You get to pick your own. You know what you need to work on.   - The way to get from one point to the other is to realize that good will come out of 'this hard',...

At the core of her being, she has a deep longing to nurture, bring comfort, and to fix things; things like broken toys, knees, and hearts. That's why she supposes, she feels distraught when at three in the morning she is still trying to settle a baby that- WILL NOT SLEEP!  It becomes clear, it is simply beyond her control, but she continues to feel a failure when her baby is grouchy and not sleeping. And so, at six o'clock, when she stumbles into the kitchen to figure out what husband and school children are going to eat for their lunches, the feeling of failure multiplies rapidly, upon the discovery and because of poor planning, that the pickings are slim. She settles for boiling eggs and opening a can of tuna, both of which the family are not crazy about. She will make them egg/tuna sandwiches. The sandwiches will smell unpleasant at lunch time, because that particular sandwich is noted for this, but this is all there is.  She'll try not to feel guilty about such trivia...

I promised myself I would not write about the children, the ones I am teaching, I mean. I am a mom myself.   To have someone observe, judge, and comment on my own dear flesh and blood would make me feel as if someone had invaded my privacy. So, am not gonna do that. But you don't want to read my journal. Some things are just too funny to not remember by writing it down. I am sure some of the things those kids say would be a perfect back drop in stories later. And maybe much later it won't matter so much, like five years from now. Maybe then I can tell you a few funnies. Anyhow, I will just say that children amaze me. I have often been amazed by my own talented, smart, funny, and cute kids, but when you have 16 in a small classroom, there is a bigger possibility for even more amazement. Kids, at school, get the whole concept of working hard to accomplish a goal. They do it every day. If they don't get their work done at school, they take home schoolwork . Some learn s...

After a week of lesson planning, relearning how to deal with the decimal and integers, and generally bossing around nineteen kids, counting my own, I felt I deserved a good catch up on my reading via the Internet. I also placed a shutter fly order, sent a few emails, and listened to Pandora while planning the next weeks classes. So, when I finally got around to Pioneer Woman and Sew a Fine Seam and all the other blogs I enjoy reading, guess what deters me? The advertisements. No doubt there is some click or a setting on my computer that would take care of some of these distraction, but when would I have time to mess with that?  One blog title promised a good read on french design and decor.  I have a weakness for farmhouse, french style decor, but when I got in there, a kid was strapped into a car seat pounding his car seat like a monkey, and the freakiest part was the kid was changing ages before my very eyes.  I finally attempted to x out of the screen that refused ...

Not saying the other days aren't wanted. I like them all, but there is something about the weekend that makes one let go of the holding of breath that may have happened during the week, depending on what was on your plate, so to speak. And there was a lot on mine this week. I knew it would be challenging, but we got through.  I found  that it is normal for the first day of school to be chaotic. That is stating it mildly. Very. I laid awake off and on the first night after, wondering how it was humanly possible to teach 16 children with twenty times more energy than I have. I also wondered what I was thinking when I said, "Yes." I thought about leaving the country or at least driving south a good ways. Then, I remembered this really simple thing. To the person that needs wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally.  Remembering that I can't, but God can, was a very big victory.  I was amazed the following day with two teacher's aids ...

Recently, my husband and I had an argument.  It was over words.  I use too many of them.  He uses a few as well, but only on important subjects like: work, vehicle problems, schedules, appointments, things like that. My words are usually about anything hinging on relationship. This can be: the kids, my friends, school, co-workers, life's lessons, something I read, how I felt about something I read or saw, the kinda thing that makes a man yawn and say: "blah, blah, blah, can we please get to the important part now?" He is usually quite kind to me about all my needs to use these words and describe the things of the  heart, and to bare all, the poor guy. But, this time, not so much. And it wasn't going to get better or go away, this conversation with no end, simply because, there wasn't time. Truthfully, I flopped around like fish outta water trying to get air, figuring out this dilemma. It drove me to my knees and back to 1 Peter 3.  I about have that chapte...

 I have been asked many times in the recent weeks, how I plan to be a mom, wife, and school teacher? The answer is: I don't know. One day at a time. Crock pot meals and one, old, favorite cookie recipe. And my kids. They have already helped me a ton with the household chores and preparing the classroom. My mom-in-law, gave me this cookbook a couple years ago; I finally plan to put it to use. Today we tried the African Chicken Treat...      It was OK... As crock pot meals go... I tend to like my food less crock pottish, more fresh and crunchy and much less mushy... if you know what I mean. Frozen vegetables are kinda pretty I guess.                                                       My helpers of laundry, dishes, and cleaning...    And now, because I am not a food blogger, and because I can, I will ...

It started with an impossible list of schedules, appointments, and jobs. Purposely, we didn't make it a big deal. Rather, we did a little choosing carefully what could be cut out; things like bridal showers and fire department drill. That, and the choice to have singular vision, which is only looking at the day moment by moment, instead of planning all the details only to have most of them go 'poof!' as they so often do. I balked and felt anger that I was required to run the mail route on a week when, I should be burrowed and secluded in my classroom, preparing for a year I have no idea of how to truly prepare. The whole snowball effect was piling down rapidly. I was afraid if I blinked I would be snowed under. Thankfully, God got my attention at the exact moment I felt completely overwhelmed. First, He reminded me of His leading in the past. I remembered my personal pillars of cloud by day and pillars of fire by night. I remembered His provision of manna in my life.  H...

Five things that made summer perfect...   Having a place to call home... a front porch... flowers in pots... and an old colorful blanket...   The color of these old jars made me happy inside all summer long...   A camping, lake trip with the love of my life...  Peonies in my favorite jars... evidence that summer did happen... It went so fast... Kids that know they are loved no matter what. Security of love and family.... Happy Friday!

 I am starting a discussion: I just got a CBD catalogue in the mail. Every time I page through one of those, I get this incredible feeling of too much, It's just too much to keep up with; those who are now being called popular and notable. Hello! Why do I even care?  What is making these persons noteworthy? Their followers, the people who are swallowing every new thing hook, line, and sinker. People who are made to feel good about their faults, maybe. I don't know.  Maybe it's all good and I'm the rebel. I've always striven to be original. Maybe even a little unique. Most the time though, I just end up feeling that I am strange, different, and not normal. And then, I read one of those magazines about who's who in the Christian world and think its all one in the same. How should I be? Maybe it's OK to be popular in mainstream Christianity. Maybe it's really no big deal and not so wrong to have a following because of published books or having 30 ye...

 SO, if a phone is used to take a picture of four people at once, is it still a selfie?  One last girls night out before I start teaching and turn into: "One Who Never Has Time To Do Anything Fun." And this was fun, I am sure. Although, I went home feeling as if I was lacking in communication skills. Also, I felt frumpy. And old. And dull and tired. Sorta washed up to shore.   We traversed this famous alley in Sandpoint and it made me sink even deeper into self pity and gloom. I left looking for some good in life and the need to know what that even was.  Friendship is a very good thing, and there were a few times of girlfriend laughter in the evening. That alone, made it worth while and encouraging...Wow! Don't you love my cheesy grin? I have know idea what that was about...maybe I thought I would look younger...  My friend Jo, whom I hardly ever see and who has the knack for making life fun!  Stand back and be amazed. Or grossly inspired b...