party

We had a bon fire/birthday party for Ben last night. I'm so thankful that the rain stopped and then held off so we could be outside. There were 16 boys here and they were able to roast hotdogs and marshmallows, play with sock-em boppers on the trampoline and play man hunt in the dark. Everyone was safe and happy and full. I think they all had fun. The man hunt game was so much fun. You have to play in the dark, I'm told. It's serious hide and seek tag. With our huge yard and woods, the boys had a blast. When everyone came in to watch Kung Fu Panda, they were overflowing with the fun and excitement of the game. I hope that we can do it again soon. I'm thankful that we have a place where the boys can play and that they have friends whose parents will drive out here. A family who used to live just around the corner and whom we met when Fred and their son were in first grade came over last night as well. They moved to downtown Fredericksburg last year, and it's like they fell off the planet. So I am also very thankful that they would come over last night and we could catch up with them.

Ben had just 5 boys spend the night. It was an interesting night. Since we don't have a basement in which to put them, we tend to be pretty serious when it comes to sleep. We all need it! They did finally settle down and I think some of them even slept. I know I did. And for that I am very thankful!

Happy Birthday

Today is my brother Todd's birthday. He is the middle child (the one in orange above). I'm thankful for him and for all that he does. I'm thankful for his wife and two daughters as well, and for the relationship I have with both of my brothers. I'm glad that my children can see that we are friends and enjoy being together when we can, so that the example they have is one of staying connected with their siblings. Todd works for the Air National Guard in Virginia. He was in Iraq and, before that, Qutar. He has always been so loyal to his friends, his family, and his country. He and I have spent many hours talking politics, history and religion, much to my great delight. I'm thankful for the role siblings play in each other's lives as we grow old. God uses each of us to shape the other into more and better than we would be on our own. They knew us like no one else as we grew up together. We share memories, good and bad, that others cannot. What a blessing to be a sister!

Shopping update

I had to go back to the stores for food. The best laid plans..... don't always happen! I was shopping for groceries for Ben's birthday party on Friday and some other things we needed, when I decided to try the mall one more time to find an outfit for the reunion. I hadn't tried Macy's, so I went in with trepidation. But if I found something, then I could be done and not have to spend another day looking. There were so many things that I loved. So finally, without Chris, I found two possibilities and brought them home! Yeah! It feels so good to finally know that I will have something to wear. Silly, I know, but it's also a load off of my mind. So today I'm thankful for the dress and blouse that I found to wear to the reunion. I'm thankful for the three precious and patient women who freely gave me their advice about what I should wear.

I'm also thankful for my hairdresser! I got my hair cut yesterday. I just love the feel of someone else washing my hair. It is a luxury. My hairdresser also is a friend, so I'm thankful for the good conversations that we have while I'm there.

Shopping

Yesterday Chris and I went shopping ALL DAY. My class reunion is in 3 weeks, and the purpose of our trip was to find me something to wear. If the reunion had been in August, I would have been set. But no, it's at the end of November in Ohio. We shopped and shopped and shopped. I did find some things, but not what I was really looking for. It was a long day. I am thankful for my sweet husband who would go through the mall and many other stores, looking through racks and racks of clothes and not finding the prize. I was depressed, but he was encouraging. He said that he was glad we got to spend the day together. I am so thankful for Chris!

Sunday

I'm so thankful for the beauty around me. The way the sun shone on this tree and across the tips of the tree line was so beautiful against the dark clouds.

Yesterday was one of those days. No one could get along for long. The bad moods were contagious. The picking and bickering, even with a friend over, seemed endless. As we went to our small group last night, I was struggling with a bad attitude about the day. As we walked in, late, they were singing my favorite song, "Sing to the King." I'll post it some day. It's such an inspiring song. Usually the band is very LOUD, but last night there were just two--Katie and Chip (Katie is Sam's teacher:) and an acoustic guitar. Chip sang this beautiful song, "How Deep the Father's Love for Us." I have heard it before, but I don't remember ever singing it. It goes:

{

How deep the fathers love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give his only son

To make a wretch His treasure

[

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the Chosen One

Bring many sons to glory

[

Behold the Man upon the cross

My sin upon His shoulder

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice

Call out amoung the scoffers

[

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I know that it is finished

[

I will not boast in anything

No gifts no power no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

[

Why should I gain from His reward

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

[

© 1995 Kingsway's Thankyou Music

As I sang "Ashamed I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers," all of the hard things of the day came flooding in. In that moment, I understood how all of my sins added to the voices that day when He died on the cross. That for those sins that come so quickly and easily, Jesus took the punishment. I'm moved again today as I read the words, His wounds have paid my ransom. I will never suffer the penalty of my casual and not so casual sin because Jesus finished that payment on the cross. The word thankful is truly inadequate.

Thankful

I'm thankful for ...
the good conversation I had with my husband at lunch today.
God's heart of love toward me even when I am not lovable.
Enough food in the pantry to feed 4 growing boys.

I am in a rut about food. Sometimes I don't have enough days to make all of the recipes I'd like to try. Then there are times like these, when it seems like we have the same thing all of the time. The boys have the same thing in their lunches. I don't know what else to get. I'm working hard to stay in my food budget, but they keep eating! I get so frustrated sometimes with all of that. Today while I contemplated my rut and what we would have for lunch and dinner, I thought of an e-mail I received from a friend the other day. She asked us to pray for the families of two women in their Bible study. They are in Kenya in a camp where they are starving to death. There is no food. None. They are praying that God will rain down food from Heaven. Time for a perspective check. Even though sandwiches rule the day, there is food. And if there isn't, I can go to Bloom, just 15 minutes away, and buy more. Thank you, God for food, and forgive me for my myopic point of view.

Invincible

Our youth group went to the Invincible Tour last night and today. It is an amazing conference teaching students how to share their faith with others and inspiring them to live out that faith every day. We went last year and were blown away. Many of the kids have said that it changed their lives. I know it did for Fred. So 3 adults and 38 students left our church office last night at 5:30 to go to the Patriot Center to be inspired again. I'm thankful for the enthusiasm these students have for the Gospel, and for their excitement to hear God's Word. I'm thankful for the passion Greg Stier and the Dare to Share team have for reaching students and equipping them to be effective Christians.

I'm also thankful for sleep--especially today when I haven't had enough. I couldn't safely drive to the conference for lack of sleep, so I'm home instead of with the kids today. Right now, I'm thankful that bedtime is not that far away. I'm also very thankful for my husband who offered to drive me up to the conference and then come to get me when my part was over.