Mommy's Girls

Mommy's Girl

My little eyes

are watching,

my ears are listening too.

they take in

everything that

you say and do.

my little hands

are eager to do the

things you do.

i'm hoping and i'm

dreaming i'll grow

up just like you.

so be careful how

you teach me to

do the things you

do for someday

not so far away

i'll be grown up

just like you.

Patsy Gaut

Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift

What a responsibility it is to parent.  How convicting it is, to think they can inherit our bad.  As much as I want them to stay little, to never grow up, I know they will.  This poem reminds me to be intentional, to be transparent and good.  The song reminds me of how short the time is.  It also brings a great big smile, remembering my childhood...my dad's old Datsun, my teal blue walls...I hope their memories will bring smiles.  And I hope that time will crawl.  I love my girls.  So. Much. 



First Love

It's love week.  Today is Valentine's day and all the gab is focused on love...and retail.  Oy.

I had the opportunity to share with our homeschool group this week about the origin of holidays.  Why do we celebrate these special days?  We discussed the big holidays, Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving, 4th of July.  I had lots of raised hands and correct responses to the "why" do we celebrate.   We discussed how each family has different traditions and that some families don't celebrate certain holidays at all.  But the big question of the day is...   ....   ..... (haha, I cannot stand it when the reality shows do this and then they break off for a commercial).  The big question is... why do we celebrate Valentine's Day? 

Lots of noses scrunched up, heads cocked to the side and a few giggles erupted. 
A little voice called out "it is a holiday about love". 
"That's right", I say.  "But why, how did it start?"
There was silence, which is strange for a room full of elementary age kiddos.  Nobody knew the origin of this "love" holiday.  This works out well for me, since my lesson would have been wildly boring if they all already knew the reasons! 

I had done my research as I myself had no clue why we feed the economy on this 14th day of February.  There were some differing accounts of the history.  The basic theories all focus on a man named Valentine.  During this time in history the emperor of Rome had declared that no man in his army was to married, and he made it against the law.  (he thought bachelors made better soldiers, no attachments, no distractions) Of course these men and their loves did not stop loving each other, or wanting to find love, and so this Valentine man felt pity for them and married them in secret.  The accounts I read were sketchy on Valentine's authority, whether he was a priest, etc.  Well, of course the emperor got wind of these secret marriages and put Valentine in prison.  It is said that one of the prison guards had a daughter who would visit Valentine and bring him food. Some versions say she was blind, some that she was a child, others that she was not, some say there was a miracle and her vision was restored by Valentine's prayer, others say he fell in love with her.  It all comes down to the fact that he was sentenced to be...un-headed..., what a romantic tale.  He wrote a final letter to this girl/woman, and signed it "with love, your Valentine".  Yep, that's how it all came about.  I am sure there is more technicality to how it developed into a holiday, but the jist is that people were endeared to his parting words and started signing notes of love in the same matter, from "your Valentine". 

Minus the beheading, it is the story of a man who valued the right for young couples to find and profess love, and met his death because of his willingness to help them. I found a cute book The Story of Valentine's Day that summed all this up in a kid friendly manner minus the death.  The kids finally had a bit of history for the "love" holiday.

So today our society has deducted the history of the holiday.  It is meant as a day to share love.  Not a bad idea.  It is a bit over the top, too focused on the commercial giving of gifts and not enough on the actual giving of love. 

Our group talked about ways you can show someone you love them.  We came up with a long list.  Many were about gift giving, but others were about smiles, hugs, time, help, and friendship.  We decided you don't have to spend money to show someone that you love them. 

I wanted to finish my lesson with a parting thought.  Did Valentine "invent love"?  No.  We were loved first.  Long ago.  By a man on a cross.  By his father who sent him.  We are loved wholly and completely by a perfect God who wove us in our mother's wombs.  A God who sacrificed a son for our sins.  There is no formal mention of Valentine's day in the Bible.  But the resounding theme is LOVE.  That we are and that we should love. 

Some clever person found a clever coincidence in God's word.  I like to use this illustration to remind my kiddos that God is mingled in all we do, and we can find him anywhere, and He is everywhere.  He knew there would be a Valentine and it would evolve into a commercial circus of a holiday, but He gave a way to
link it to his word. 
So I hope on this day filled with chocolate and flowers, that you will take a second to remember that you were loved first, by a mighty God.  I hope that as you show others your love today, that you will share His love too.

Happy Valentine's Day friends!
Sarah

The Sticks

The edges stretch a little further here.  I wasn't sure I could get over the loss of a river view, but somehow the colors here are brighter.  The sunsets painted over the field edges have a different type of light and they go on and on.  There is a crispness and freshness that makes me feel like I can breath a little deeper, live a little lighter.  The black fields are folded over with remnants of last years crop poking out here and there like little amber stakes.  Something new will grow there soon.  There's a sense of excitement with that. 

There is an old familiarity here.  The smells of the farm are a reminder of some of my best days....and a hope that my greatest joys of youth can be a reality for my children.  They miss the big red house, the library, grandparents around the corner.  It pulls at my heart to take that away.  But the facts are simple and plain and this is best.  They are enjoying decorating their new rooms, exploring the new yard.  The apple trees with their low lying branches have been a great adventure so far.  As the snow fades and spring erupts we will plot our backyard paradise.  Santa delivered a fine trampoline, a couple new bikes, a scooter and a skateboard (thankyou Santa).  There are gardens to be constructed and flowers to be planted.  A row of trees to shade the yard and block the wind.  A go-cart to be fixed by daddy with the help of little hands.  Plans for horse fence and a big shed for daddy's equipment.  Hours of tractor watching and the slow evolution of the fields coming to life around us. 

Today the rain will keep us in.  But it will replenish this ground.  It will spur up new green, brighter pastures.  The colors today are solemn, but magical.  A misty grey hovers, muting the shades of winter.  I am excited for the brightness of spring, but marvel at the beauty of this haze. 

Some days can feel dreary and hopeless.  Foggy, dull, bleak.  But those days spur on life.  Remind us that without the struggle, the rain, we can't find or appreciate the joy or the grace.  Yesterday was sunny weather, but a foggy day for me.  Ironically, today is bleak outside but I feel a bright light burning within.  I survived a day to top all days, and get to learn from it.  I get to hopefully do better today, be brighter, and stronger.  Today will be a snuggly, reading, cookie making kind of day.

So as the sun flirts with  the horizon this morning I find a smile.  A swelling from deep with the realization that I get a fresh start each morning.  That there is a God who loves me beyond my human condition, and a hope that I can, through trial and error, learn to be more like Him. 

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

My hope for you and yours: That you can find the sunshine even on cloudy days :)