I am a Homemaker

I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him."

--Lydia Sherman

Can We Call It an Era?

Whether it is an era or not, it is coming to an end. Due to circumstances beyond rationality, this blog is over. For the many women who have come here and took the time to email me I have been encouraged to know that the trials in my life are shared in your lives, too. It is encouraging to have heard about your strategies for managing motherhood and marriage, as well as the lessons learned in your walk with Christ.

I will continue to visit the sites where we have met and I will eventually start up another blog, too. Feel free to email at the address listed if you have any questions about my quick exit.

This site will remain open for the archives only.

A Book (CD) Reveiw 5

I couldn't get a bigger picture, but it is a CD not a book. This is the 2011 Woman of Faith Worship CD entitled Rejoice, is a compilation of 10 worship songs sung by the Women of Faith Worship Team. Most Christians would probably recognize a couple of the songs, however, even the hymns have a real 'concert' sound to them - a little bit rocky. They put their own twist on them which I wasn't crazy about, but it was okay.

These women have beautiful voices, without question. The singing team are listed as Kara Tualatai, Michelle Swift, Laura Cooksey, Janice Gaines, Allison Abbott, Jenifer Thigpen, and Jovaun Woods.

Per the product description, "REJOICE captures the unbridled joy, awestruck adoration, and reverent worship audiences experience over the course of a two-day Women of Faith event."

I can recommend for those who enjoy the comtemporary style of worship. However, I prefer a more traditional approach to hymns and christian music - the 'reverent' description on the CD does not match my idea of the word.

Love/Hate Relationship

I love my computer. I hate my computer. Can I get an 'amen?!'

We use our computer frequently throughout the day. Both my husband and I read the newspaper online. We all, including Duck, do research online. Duck and I both use Word documents for organizing our daily tasks and, of course, we use it for school. Even bible studies can be done more effectively with the computer when we can't find a particular passage...the computer finds it way faster than any concordance.

Yes, this piece of technology is woven into my life for efficiency and organization. That's why I love it.

Then there are the troubles it brings. Websites that are slow or freezing when I only have a moment before needing to move on with my day. Also the times when our server is down and feels like FOREVER before I can get into my email. The worst, however, is the security lapses that allow viruses to enter. That happened just this past few weeks.

A virus calling itself 'XP security 2011' popped up and would not go away. It looked exactly like a Microsoft program and wanted me to purchase a new security system (FYI, it is not from Microsoft and should you encounter it - do not purchase it!). It took my computer hostage, refusing any access to the internet. My computer guy informed that we would have to remove the operating system and reload it. Thereby losing any data, pictures and videos that were on hard drive if I could not get them backed up on disc.

Fortunately, I was able to remove all important and personal items onto disc - so we did not lose anything that way. What we did lose was days with our technological friend. I so, so, so missed the computer when it was unavailable. My husband and daughter felt the same way - Hoss didn't care, he just likes to chew on the cords right now.

So, as you can see, the computer has returned to us. I have spent hours reloading software and drivers. Why is it worth it? Because I got to see Mrs. Parunak's new baby who arrived while my computer was in limbo. Because my lists and charts for school are back at my fingertips. Because Duck can listen to Odyssey on the Radio again. Because I couldn't remember the reference for a particular bible passage that I needed.

Yes, a true love\hate relationship. I know it is only a machine. I know that if I had to, I could live without it. I know it is only a matter of time before it disappoints me - again. I know I will do everything necessary to fix it - again.

A Book Review 4

'Daddy Dates' is a book written by Greg Wright where he is talking about the revelation he had regarding his responsibilities in raising his four daughters. The idea of a father being involved in the lives of his children, girls or boys, isn't really a new idea - God planned it long, long ago. However, with so many men ignoring this responsibility, it was a pleasure to see that this book existed!

Mr. Wright's easy reading and humourous approach to describe his journey has little to do with scripture. His heart is obviously in the right place and he takes his responsibility of loving his daughters very seriously. His tag line for the whole issue is 'Don't screw up!'.

I can appreciate the work that he put into the relationship that he is building with each of his children. He is honest and he shows how the work has paid off for him with each of his girls. Mr. Wright does not talk over anyone's head and is open to admitting where he made mistakes, as well - which is something that always helps others trying the same thing.

I can recommend the book, but my enthusiasm is limited. Christian men who are sitting on the fence about being godly fathers may have seen a stronger case for 'daddy dates' with the appropriate scripture attached. My husband perused the book and found it was a little too light on a topic that needs to be taking seriously.

However, it is positive to have the topic out there and available in a format to introduce to men who are just stepping into the realm of fatherhood.

Disclaimer: I receive books from Thomas Nelson Publishers (Booksneeze) free of charge in exchange for my unbiased opinion of them. I am not threatened or rewarded in any way in efforts to encourage me to provide a positive review. All opinions are mine.

Revisiting Easter Thoughts

An old post that I still study from at this time of year:

Do You Love Me? John 21:1-18

Simon Peter was a fisherman. It had been his life's work before Jesus called him. This chapter (John 21:1-18) shows us that he and other disciples returned to that familiar lifestyle when things did not turn out as they had hoped and imagined. Jesus was their leader, their Saviour, their Christ; but, to their limited sight at that time, Jesus was dead.

Simon Peter had been so very close with Jesus. He believed he would follow Jesus to the death, if necessary (John 13:37). Instead, he had run away; he had denied Christ; he had failed.

So there they are - fishing. They had been out all night and caught nothing. Does anyone doubt they had spent those hours in misery, focusing on their failure? They couldn't even catch a fish!

And then they see Him on the beach...calling them back, giving them instructions for success. "Put the net on the other side of the boat." Imagine the grumbling! "We are professional fisherman...we have been out here all night and caught nothing...how is that going to change by moving the net?" It made no sense, but it worked. Success from simple obedience to Jesus.

How many times do we, as His children, run from Him. We return to our old lifestyles; we go back to doing things our way; we fail to follow Him and lay those old sins at the foot of the cross. OR, we lay down one sin, just to pick it back up again! I know I am guilty of this lack of faith, this lack of trust (Isaiah 53:6).

The road to spiritual success is written out clearly for us. We simply need to apply scripture to each and every part of our lives (Colossians 3:17).

1. study

2. examine ourselves

3. obey & change

4. success

Now picture yourself as Peter on the beach (vs. 15-17). "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"

My heart breaks for Peter, who had agonized over his failures. Who had given up all his stated convictions of following Jesus only to return to his old lifestyle. "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus repeats his question to Peter (or imagine it is you) three times - "(Kim), lovest thou me?" And each time He asks, we remember the sins we continue to hold onto. We peek into that closet in our hearts where we think we are hiding those areas of our life that we don't want to analyze through God's eyes. We are grieved because we have returned to our old lifestyle, yet again, instead of following Christ.

He gives us simple instruction, "Feed my sheep."

We can't do Christ's work if we constantly run away from Him. We can't "catch fish" from the side of the boat we have chosen. We can't feed His sheep without a solid, constantly growing relationship with Him. We can find success ONLY in obedience to Him.

Verse 18 shows us the difference. When we were young (unsaved) we did as we wanted. Now we are old (saved, growing) and we must follow where He carries us -- where we would not go on our own.Look at each area of your life and examine it under scriptural lenses - i.e. finances, relationships, employment, health, etc.

Is your 'net' on your side of the boat(worldly)? Are you following Christ all the way to the cross? Are your repeatedly returning to your old lifestyle?

Success will come from simple obedience. Cast your net on the other side.

A Book Review 3

I just finished this tale of adventure, excitement and perseverance. I loved it!

Unsinkable, written by Abby Sunderland (with Lynn Vincent) is the story of how this remarkable young woman made an attempt to be the youngest person to ever solo circumnavigate the globe, non-stop and unassisted. She was in the news for several months during the early part of 2010 for her travels...so the ending should have been rather anti-climatic when it is a real life story - she didn't make it. However, the entire story had me reading each page with delight and feeling some of the excitement, frustration and fear that Abby describes from her travels. Cheering her on a year after her adventure was done.

As a sixteen year old, homeschooled girl there were plenty of trials with which she had to deal from the very moment she sought sponsors for her dream trip. Complete strangers who were critical of her age, her abilities, her intelligence and even her independence - accusing her parents of pushing her into a publicity stunt for money. People from all over chimed in with their expertise on sailing without acknowledging that this young woman was far from being a novice. However, Abby's expertise as sailor is evident in how much she did achieve. Her accomplishment should have silenced the naysayers, but socialists** never admit when their wrong!

Not only did I enjoy this book, I had to compete with my husband to have time to read it. He loved it, too! Next, my 11 yo daughter is looking forward to it. Admittedly, the technical terms tend to drag some of the material down, but I can highly recommend the book.

As a side note, this disclaimer was attached to the book by Booksneeze:

**This title does not contain the amount of faith-focused content as many other books offered on BookSneeze.com. If you prefer Christian Living titles featuring a large amount of faith-centered content, Unsinkable is probably not the best selection for you.

This is something that I found inaccurate. Abby and her family are professing Christians and talk about their faith openly throughout the book. It was faith for real life. Fantastic.

Disclaimer: I receive books from Thomas Nelson Publishers (Booksneeze) free of charge in exchange for my unbiased opinion of them. I am not threatened or rewarded in any way in efforts to encourage me to provide a positive review. All opinions are mine.

**socialist: someone who thinks they know what is best for everyone else, whether they know them or not; also like to call themselves experts

Norwalking on the Wild Side

Gingerale - check

Good supply of TP - check

Jello - check

Individual buckets to carry around - check

Can you guess what we have been doing in our house for the last week and a half? That's right...the norwalk virus hit like a tornado two Saturday's ago. I remember the moment clearly. Duck looked up at me, with a slight green tinge to her face, and said, "I don't feel very well". Within three minutes the first bucket had been used.

Now Duck had the worst of it. Her vomiting was out of control and we had to take a trip to the hospital for some help to stop it - at least for awhile. They gave her a magic pill that cleared up the nausea for over 4 hours! The next day she was still quite sick and living on the gingerale and jello diet. You see, norwalk may start off with coming 'up', then it moves 'down'. By Monday she was back to a normal colour. Then her little brother followed in her footsteps.

Ever try to explain to a nine month old that throwing up is okay? Hoss was a real trooper, though. His up-chucking stage only lasted part of one day and then we went through a tonne of diapers! The worst part with a little one is how much weight is lost in such a short time. Although the virus passes through quickly, it takes several days to re-train the tummy to eat normally. Almost one full week to get the little guy back to normal portions of formula and food. Plus the long lasting effect would be his new addiction to jello.

Now,infection control is still possible with an 11yo who can use a bucket and wash her hands - it is a different story when a baby is just using me to catch his emesis. So, then it was my turn. There is a question if it was just a coincidence that I spent a day with the bucket as my best friend, though. The night prior, my husband took me out for a nice dinner at a restaurant and I devoured a rack of honey garlic ribs. The garlic was excessive! So there is a question if that was what had me heaving - because that was the only symptom that I suffered. Not that made any difference during the time.

So...the question rises. How do we find something to be thankful about in all of this?

Actually, it wasn't too difficult to answer. You see, the three days prior to Duck becoming ill she spent on vacation with our friends at Niagara Falls Great Wolf Lodge Resort. It is a huge water park resort where they had an incredibly good time. Saturday morning, again before any ugly symptoms arose, she spent the time with her dad at the shooting range. So, we look at the fact that her vacation and daddy date were not hindered by the virus - a blessing to be thankful for indeed.

As for me, this past Saturday was a homeschool conference that I always enjoy attending each spring. Both kids were well enough to spend the day with Auntie L, which gave my husband and I the full day to ourselves. I became ill the day after. Again, a blessing that 'ralph and chuck' didn't ruin my day, either.

When God says 'in eveything give thanks', there really is always something for which to be thankful!

Now was there any other way to describe vomiting that I didn't use?

A Book Review 2

Here's a little book I have been enjoying. God's Wisdom for Mothers is a cute little pocket sized book filled with scripture that has been organized under convenient headings. As compiled by Jack Countryman, the headings include: God's Wisdom is Needed in Every Mother's Life; The Crown of an Excellent Mother is from God; God's Wisdom with Children Requires Daily Training There are many more that are set out in easy to read format (from the NKJV) and convenient for short times for meditating on scripture. The size of the book is a perfect fit with my bible case and makes a great little gift for friends. Obviously, these books are not a substitution for studying from my bible, however, when I am swamped with homeschooling, or house management or any other number of events that put my daily schedule into a tailspin, a quick little book such as this gives me the opportunity to take little bites of scripture to feed me. This is a book that will stay right beside my Bible for a long time. Really, is there ever a time when God's wisdom isn't needed? Not in my life, anyway! Disclaimer: I receive books from Thomas Nelson Publishers (Booksneeze) free of charge in exchange for my unbiased opinion of them. I am not threatened or rewarded in any way in efforts to encourage me to provide a positive review. All opinions are mine.

Dog's Best Friend

Warning: this is a post for animal lovers only! The rest of you won't get it...

My dog, Pokey, is known to us a sweet albeit mischievious jack russell terrier. He is not hyper, as his breed can be at times. In fact, he is on the lazy side when in the house. However, take him for a walk and he becomes a new dog. When Pokey walks through the neighbourhood he appears to present himself as a much larger dog - head held high and chest stuck out. A leash is a necessity as he is unpredictable around other dogs. There are times we pass another dog and Pokey doesn't even look at it; then there are times when he is bearing his teeth and snarling like he's a lion!

For the longest time we could not figure out what the difference in dogs was that could bring about such polarized reactions. Eventually, we realized. Pokey is a nazi - small 'n'. He hates all dogs who he deems to be ugly or stupid or just simply below his standards for dogs. It's true...we have tested the theory. Should an approaching dog be lunging on it's leash, tongue lolling, and generally acting like a fool...Poke hates it instantly. When a dog with a ridiculous haircut (think giant poodle) is approaching...Poke will start snarling as though to tell it how stupid it looks. On the opposite end, a dog who is generally composed while walking, with no unusual appearance or accessories...Poke will ignore it or give a courtesy sniff without incident.

There is one exception to this rule and he is our houseguest for the next few days.

Meet George. He is a half breed poodle/jack mix - and, although he's as sweet as sugar, he has the intelligence of a potatoe. He is half Pokey's physical and intellectual size. And they love each other. When given the opportunity to visit together, they wrestle non-stop for 30 minutes or more and take a short break before starting up again. They will share food and water bowls and George is allowed to sleep in bed with us.

Now this isn't purely coincidental. George belongs to our good friends and he and Poke have known each other since they were pups. George is a year older than Poke which gave him some seniority when they first met and that may have channeled into a certain type of mutual adoration for their entire relationship. It works well because we dog-sit George while his family takes vacation and they will dog-sit Poke while we take some time away.

So for those who ever questioned if dogs really do have individual personality; for those who give strange looks to pet owners talking to their dogs as if they were people; for those who question if pets can love...these two really are BFFs.

Awesome New Site

I have always adored the resources put out by Doorposts, and guess what? Now they have a wonderful new blog – you will love it! They are having 10 days of giveaways (with the grand prize being a complete set of ALL their products!), so head on over and check it out!

A Book Review

Thanks to Janet, I found out about Booksneeze and signed up to read some good books. My first book from the selection list was Tithing, by Douglas Leblanc. I have to admit that there was an initial disappointment when I started the book as I expected it would be a biblical study on tithing. Turns out that Mr. Leblanc put together several testimonies from people who have been blessed by practising this ancient practice (this is an installment of a multiple book series on the ancient practices).

Tithing is the fifth book in the "Ancient Practices Series" by Phyllis Tickle. It is a short book at 152 pages and a short study guide at the end. Mr. Leblanc travelled the to different states interviewing people for their testimonies on how tithing has affected their lives. These testimonies are written completely seperate from each other - each chapter is a story on its own. Mr. Leblanc's writing style is easy to follow, but tends to make a long story out of a short one. Therefore leaving the reader (me) bored before the end of the testimony.

The testimonies are encouraging and a quick read, however, I was left with an unsatisfied feeling when the book was completed. It seemed as though a final chapter was needed to tie everything altogether. Although I did enjoy the study that has been added to the back of the book - it, too, could have been more in depth for the reader.

My final opinion is simple. I'm glad I didn't pay for the book.

Disclaimer: I receive books from Thomas Nelson Publishers (Booksneeze) free of charge in exchange for my unbiased opinion of them. I am not threatened or rewarded in any way in efforts to encourage me to provide a positive review. All opinions are mine.

Regrets, I've Had a Few

Generally speaking, I don't spend alot of time fretting over mistakes. Hopefully, each time I make one (and I do make them!), I learn from them and move on. Regrets are little different.

A regret is when my mistake involves other people. That time when I should have shared more of my faith with someone, or that time when my words came out too harshly, or that time I made an excuse to avoid a time of fellowship. These are the things I regret.


Several years ago, a woman I know became stricken with cancer. It was a real nasty type, but I won't go into details here. She was someone I consider a friend although we never saw each other frequently due to the distance that seperates her home from mine. No, it isn't hundreds of miles - it was just over an hour to drive. When I heard she had become ill, I sent an email offering my help. She replied that everything was going well.


Months passed and she attended a bible study that I was also attending. We talked about her illness and treatment. Things were going well - the word remission was used. Conversation turned to husbands and kids and homeschooling, etc. It was like she had never been sick! We said goodbye that day and it turned out to be goodbye forever. That was two years ago. She died at the end of January.

Two years! Two years gone and I had never checked in with her. Two years and she went through a relapse with her cancer and fought a losing battle without my ever contacting her. I had known that relapse occurred and I had always said, "I must get hold of Miriam!" It never happened. I talked with mutual friends about taking a trip up to see her - I talked too long. Get this...she was even writing a blog about her experience and I (a blogger!) knew nothing about it until after she died.

There is no doubt in my mind that she has met her Saviour; that she certainly isn't wondering about me. This world is a distant memory for her in glory. She has no more pain, no more regrets. Yet, I had one more lesson to learn from her - don't procrastinate with the people in my life.

If your interested in reading her story (here), it is an amazing testimony for the Lord. Both in life and in death she glorifies Him. If nothing else, read the last post done by her oldest daughter. May God give my daughter the strength in faith that this young woman expresses.

Imagine That!

Okay, so I'm spending a little time reading online newpapers during my day. Every now and then a gem of a story pokes up. Read this, although the headline says it all.

Canadians are still following the socialist path, though. Just this year in Ontario we can now access early kindergarten - that's where you send your children to school all day at the age of 3. Sad.

Canada 101

Want to know what a socialist political state leads to after several decades? Check out life in 'free' Canada today at this link here. All the Americans who read here may want to sit down for this...after all, from what I've been reading your country is well on it's way to the same situation.

Thankfully, I do believe that God is still on His throne.

Off the Grid

Okay, I'm probably not going to say anything here that those who read here haven't already figured out. Off the grid; off line; taking a sabbatical...I'm just not hanging out in cyberspace lately. Having a 6mos old baby and a grade six student in one house pretty well keeps me busy. I haven't been able to shake the 'baby brain' just yet when it comes to keeping my days organized - some days are better than others.


However, there is more to it. In times past when my days were too busy for writing my thoughts down I still found time to sit and read other blogs for fun and for encouragement as a christian, homeschooling mom. That isn't happening much these days. The interest for the 'computer zone' just isn't there.

I'm sure it will return. Even as I write this, I'm thinking about all the things in my life right now that I should be writing down. This blog was started so that I could think through my issues in life in order to help me become the woman God would want me to be in this life. I have always found writing out my personal studies, personal problems and even personal successes to be helpful in my learning process - I can be quite slow in that. Not to mention all the pictures we have to share!

Life will go on without my blog updates, I know. One day soon the need to express myself here will return! Hopefully the time to do it will come as well. Stay tuned!

Working with Discretion

Since Hoss is a breast feeder it makes things alot easier for travel. As long as he and I are together and we can find a place to sit, we're all set. This has been great for our camping trips, shopping trips and, of course, our trip to Niagara Falls. Even for everyday activities it has proven to be convenient for any schedule we may be trying to keep - including Sundays for church.

Hoss is still wanting to eat every 2-3 hours during the day, and I had started out trying to adjust the schedule if we had plans to leave the house. Just a little 'tweaking' of the timeline to be able to go out of the house and not need to feed him while we were out. This could cause quite a bit of frustration for him and myself - not to mention my husband who would be sitting outside waiting for us to finish nursing and come dashing to the car. I could not remember ever doing this with Duck, who was also breastfed. Finally I came to the conclusion that I had not done this with Duck because it was better to let her eat when she wanted and not interfere with that natural scheduling. So now, that is what Hoss and I do. We nurse everywhere.

Let's see...McDonald's, parking lots, beaches, campgrounds and church. The only place that has given me pause to reconsider this practice is church.

Now, I am very discreet. In the sanctuary of our church, there is a back corner fireplace with a love seat beside it. If Hoss needs to eat, we sit back there and no one needs to know it. It helps that our pastor preaches without his glasses and therefore can't see the front row of the congregation, never Hoss and I at the back! (There was that church we visited while camping where the pastor was caught a little off guard when looking at the back row and seeing me sitting alone with a poncho draped over myself and two little feet kicking out - quite the look crossed his face)

So what has given me reason to reconsider this whole set up? Hoss has yet to learn discretion in the process.

Hoss loves to nurse. Hoss loves to eat, period. His love of eating is easily understood by the yummy noises he makes (breathe, mmmmm, breathe, mmmmm, breathe, mmmmm, etc.) Several people in the back row of the congregation can be seen with their shoulders shaking as they laugh silently about the sounds emanating from the back corner.

All in all, everyone has been generous in seeing Hoss' habit as cute rather than annoying. A little blessing in belonging to a small church where everyone knows each other well enough to be open about such things.

Of course, how could anyone be annoyed at this:

Autumn Vacation

Our recent, generally annual trip to Niagara Falls was wonderful. Just like camping, we went on the trip with the understanding that if Hoss didn't manage well, we would head for home. Just like camping, Hoss enjoyed the trip as well as the rest of us. Travelling this far south in the fall means the flowers in Niagara are still blooming beautifully. This the town clock in Niagara on the Lake:Part of our tradition is to stop by a particular market that has jams, jellies, salsas, etc. made from their home grown produce. It is ridiculously exspensive, but they have free samples. We make our way around the store and try everything. Generally I buy some salt water taffy from them, but this year they decided not to make it! Very disappointing, but the samples were still good:For the first time, we visited Fort George on the Niagara River. The replication of the fort is pretty cool. The history behind the war of 1812 is all over Niagara, of course, but the fort (and the tour inside) makes it come alive to see how soldiers and their families lived during that time. The old guns and armoury is neat to see, too: You've heard the phrase, 'go soak your head' - seriously, at this point Duck and her dad were alone with the camera. I have no idea what they are doing:

For country bumpkins like us the hotel is just as much part of the vacation as visiting outside the city. Duck was quite the pool shark after a few games. We always pick a hotel with a good pool area and free breakfast - those are essentials:

Even though we have a video of Hoss in the pool for his first time, we don't have a picture. This however, is what he looks like after a day of heavy 'partying' with his big sister:

We are very thankful that God gave a baby that will travel with us to our usual haunts. How relaxed is that?

Summary of Summer

It has truly passed by in a flash! Here we are enjoying our usual vacation time in September/October and I don't remember much of summer - I guess that can be expected when it was spent in so many hospitals. So here is a quick picture summary of our activities of late:

First day of rice cerealA birthday party IN Algonquin Park. The family throwing the party works in the provincial park for the summer (dad is a bush pilot) and most of the festivities were held in the plane hanger - cool! The kids had face painting done.Hoss is known as of late as 'the pickle', so that strange thing on his forhead is...a pickle!Even after the party was over, we camped at the homestead of the host family for a couple of nights. Well...OK, we stayed in a trailer with full kitchen and indoor plumbing. Not really ruffin' it for first time camper Hoss.We took a semi-school trip to Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, in Midland, Ontario. Long drive, but neat day. Here is my husband with a fox hat.Taking Hoss means having to find places to breastfeed. We're hiding in one of the display houses here - and take a few people by surprise when they realize what I'm doing!Here's the real camping trip. We spent three nights in a tent, but had good weather and a good portable heater!Don't let the smiles fool you...these two puberty queens can be really scary!

An autumn wedding. Two young people from our church who actually did it God's way! They met in the fall of 2009 and followed through on their convictions in courtship/purity. A real blessing to finally see it done right!Two beautiful children standing in the receiving line. OK, I'm biased.

And there you have it. Our summer in a nutshell. I have several other posts that are half written - sooner or later I'll finish them and get them out. Hope your summer and autumn has been a good to you, too!

The 'P' Word

Many years ago, when my husband and I were DINKS (double income, no kids) we did some unusual things. One particular event involved housing a raccoon in our home. My husband worked for a wildlife rehab and sanctuary at the time, and when they were overrun with raccoons at one point we decided to take one home and care for it. It was a baby raccoon, but she was very...um...rotund. She was given the name of Beatrice, because we thought she needed a moniker that provided some lady-like character to her. It would prove to be the only thing about her that was lady-like.

She was greedy, selfish, gluttonous and could be very nasty during her play. Oh, but she was adorable! The two dogs we had at the time did not agree with this assessment. My doberman/shepherd was a senior in age and did her best to simply ignore the intruder. This proved difficult when Beatrice would 'hunt' her in the living room. The raccoon would sneak up behind the dog, grab her backside and run away. The old dog would move to a new spot and sigh as she laid down again. This was before we owned a video camera otherwise we could have easily won the America's funniest video with this daily occurrence.

The other dog was only about 5 years old and did not have any patience for the wild rodent that had invaded her home. She was a black lab cross so these creatures were for hunting and killing as far as she was concerned. After some training, she came to realize that she was not allowed to harm this raccoon and it was a very confusing set up for her. So she came up with a solution. She moved into the closet. As soon as the racoon's cage door was opened, the Lab went to the bedroom and settled into the closet. A place of refuge and safety from the creature that she wanted to kill.

We often remember this situation when we talk about trying to avoid unpleasant things now. Laughing about how much better it would be if we could just move into the closet and ignore the unpleasantness, whatever it may be.

Well, the unpleasantness at the moment is the 'P' word. Our beautiful, almost 11 year old girl has been transformed by the 'P' word. Puberty. Lord help us!

All of a sudden there is drama everywhere. Anxiety is oozing out of her daily routine.

"What if I'm not really sorry for my sins?"; "How do I really know that God loves me?"; "How do I really know that I love Him or you?"; "Do you think boys notice me?"; "If I don't clean my room perfectly every time, is that disobedience?"

Every topic from God to boys to personal hygiene to daily chores is being questioned to death. If her father and I try to talk about anything in depth the tears start to fall. At one point, I sent her to her room for a full afternoon because I needed to breath for awhile.

I know, I know, this too shall pass. In the mean time pray for me! My patience is hanging on by a thread. My husband has moved into the closet.