Well it’s time for a change. I started a blog on Word Press and I’m going to be moving things from here to there…slowly. Hope to see some of you at the new homestead!
Has it really been this long since I posted? Yikes. I feel like the more I try to keep up with blogging, the more behind the 8 ball I get. I had a few great ideas for a blog post over the Christmas break though, so I’m going to try and come back and post those soon!
Hope everyone had a blessed holiday!
Michele
Ecclesiastes 3
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Three years ago, I was at the lowest point I had ever been in my life. We had found out that the little boy I was carrying inside of me, our fourth child, had died in utero. After several days, Andrew and I left the hospital without our son. He wasn’t coming home later…he had already gone home.
Grief works in such odd and mysterious ways. Just when I think I’m doing okay…and I am doing okay…it sneaks up on you and grabs you. Since Joshua’s homegoing, we have welcomed two beautiful daughters into our family. God is good. He heals our hearts and allows us to pick up the pieces and keep going. There is though, a time for sadness.
Andrew bought me a willow tree and we planted it in memory of Joshua. It’s doing very well…despite the deer and bugs that tried to take it out in late summer. Yesterday I was looking out our front window in the direction of Joshua’s tree. Very fitting at this time of year, the leaves are falling off and it is going to sleep for the winter. Watching those leaves fall with the bleak dark rainy backdrop gripped my heart and held on. I stopped and took a moment to pray and thank God for time that we had with Joshua. Even though we were never able to know him after his birth, I did carry him for six months and enjoyed those kicks and the late night talks when heartburn was keeping me awake. I loved how he’d respond when the kids talked to my belly. And even now, I love how my sweet children remember their brother with love. It amazes me that they never met him and he’s still a piece of their heart. God is good.
So…in this season of Thanksgiving, there is a time for everything. I time to mourn and a time to be thankful and when we’re truly blessed…we can do both.
Happy Thanksgiving,
~Michele
I’d like to tell you about a friend of mine. She has an extraordinary name. There’s no mistaking her for everyone else. Her name is Chautona Havig and she’s an author. Chautona is one of the neatest people I know. Not only is she a shining example of God’s grace and love to those around her…and her husband and nine children (and two grandkids!), but she’s got an amazing talent. This woman can tell a story. It was about six months ago when she told me the number of stories she had in the works. I’ve been privileged to read many of them, but I’m still always amazed how (so far at least) she hasn’t given me one that I didn’t like. She crosses over several genres and goes into worlds that I would have never imagined, but they are all realistic and very vividly described. This year, she’s realized every author’s dream though. She’s been published!! Her second book, Argosy Junction, is now in print and available on Amazon. I can’t tell you how much I love this book. There are so many story lines that cross…romance, spirituality, family dynamics…it just never ends. Add to that the homestead feel of a sheep farm and well…it’s a nice piece of heaven. Be sure you check out her blog too! It’s definitely worth it!
Sean will be 5 in a couple of months. He’s not ‘officially’ old enough for school, but we started what I call "Slow and Steady Kindergarten" with him this year. He’s never had much interest at all in writing, but he has known his letters for a long time and was doing basic reading without any help. I figured with any luck, he’d be reading well by the end of the school year next spring and would be ready for first grade next fall. Sean must have decided that time line just did not work for him. He’s reading like a mad man and I’m stunned at his comprehension level. He loves to read out loud too, so he blesses us with several books a day. Yesterday, he had daddy all to himself for just over an hour and read a nice stack of books to him. Andrew couldn’t help but notice that Sean doesn’t sit very still while he’s reading, so he grabbed the camera and snapped off a few shots.
Look in a Book
Look
in a book
and you will see
words
and magic
and mystery.
Look
in a book
and you will find
sense
and nonsense
of every kind.
Look
in a book
and you will know
all
the things
that can help you grow.
~~Ivy O. Eastwick
Michele