progress

First thing this morning
after I got up and drank my coffee, and checked my email, and got my kids up, and made lunches, and packed snacks and water, and walked my kids to the bus stop (times 2), and walked the dog (the long way today, though I really just wanted to go home), and cleaned the kitchen and dining room, and loaded the dishwasher, and started some laundry, and fed the dog (which she hasn't at this point partaken of, I suppose she is waiting for that bath I promised first) and texted with my friend in Louisiana, and ....
...oh, I suppose that is it...
I went to the pond to check on the progress out there.

I know you are patiently waiting for the report, cause you have nothing else to do, just like me!! Right?? That was sarcasm in case you missed it.

So, this is what I found.
Not a whole lot of change, but definitive white petals showing there on the bottom bud.



Our frog was still there!

I finally figured out that my camera was focusing on a leaf and couldn't "see" the frog.
Aren't his eyes just something else!! I was so captivated by that yesterday that I didn't notice the wonderful white stripe which runs from his nose, right under his eye, and across his ribs.
Fantastic!!!

Oh, I just have to tell you there was also a very large and very dead caterpillar at the bottom of the lower pond area.
I got the net and fished it out and tried to take a photo but just couldn't stomach it.
It looked all bloated and gross.
Why would I want to put that on my blog?

Now that I type all that out I feel pretty silly that I think I can't take a picture of a dead bug.
Hold on a minute I am gonna go right back out there and face this thing.






I am back!

There he was.

Laying there, (or is it lying there) in the puddle of water he came up with, still all large and dead and bloated.

I just couldn't disrespect him like that, so I kindly flicked him into the grass.
With a stick, ewwwww!!!!
I then convinced myself that he was merely a visitor to the pond and that I found him there happily crawling from the grass, and then took his picture.



Uggghhh! I suppose he must have fallen out of the tree above the pond.
Are you still with me??

Okay good, because with only an hours time passing our lowest bud opened!!
It is a 3 petal flower!
Take a look!

Interestingly large center it has there!

I will check back later and see the progress.
Oh, also...
here is the lily pad from yesterday opening up even more.


It will probably be to the surface by morning.

If things weren't so exciting out by the pond I may have gotten a recipe posted today.

How about a tip instead to tide you over.
Wrap your celery in foil, and it will stay fresh and crisp, a way long time! There is just nothing like floppy celery!

I better go give my dog her bath now so she can eat.

Look how she is pretending to sleep while sitting.
She does this when she thinks she is getting negative attention.
Then I asked her if she wanted a bath.
You know, in that high pitched voice dogs love so!


That perked her up!!

You know what, have a great day...despite anything you may read here!! ha ha ha.

Hurry come look!

POND REPORT:


I really enjoy having this pond in my back yard.
The sound of the water falling sneaks in through my bedroom windows when they are open.
It is a constantly changing little place which makes each visit to it unique.

Late Saturday I went out to enjoy some perfect afternoon air and feed my fish, and I was pleasantly surprised by another stalk of those shimmery lavender flowers which made an appearance back at the end of June and haven't been seen since.
I do not understand when or why those flowers bloom, but will take them as they come.

This morning I went back out, knowing that those flowers would be gone, but still holding out some hope that they may have lasted more than 2 days this time.
Nope!
They were pitifully withered with the whole stalk sadly drooping down into the water.
It wasn't a sight to share, you have to trust me on this.

I was so distracted by those purple flowers that I didn't take notice of something new amidst the duck potato plant.


I just can't take myself seriously saying duck potato plant!!
Ha ha ha, they are the tall stalky guys in the above photo.
Do you see the speckly brown stalk there in the center with the bloom type pods near the top?

Anyway, if it is that plant, then those buds should turn into pretty white blooms soon.

I got mightily distracted from that stalk though and quickly when I saw what else was going on at the pond today. It is in the above picture, it just isn't obvious.
Here is a different view of the speckled stalk and it shows our new little visitor.


Do you see him. The lovely green frog!
Here, let's get closer!!
His eyes are shimmering gold and shiney black.
Oh, to have a camera someday and be able to show you what I am seeing!!!
He was very kind to be nice and still for my photography session.
I just love frogs!!!

Before I go I wanted to show you this too.
I have always noticed water lilies laying flat on a waters surface, haven't you?
Well, they don't come to the surface flat. They are curled up and slowly unfurl as they approach the water level.
I hope you can make out the purple spotted curled leaf there in the center. It is rolled from both sides toward the middle. It will open up and be a nice round lily pad.


Okay, I have got to go.
I have bunches to do today, but had to quickly share those few beauties from the pond .

No time for beans!

Wednesday night I put my beans on to soak!
A soaker of beans I am.
Yup they soaked and soaked and soaked.
Little white navy beans soaking in my blue glass bowl.

I decided that I would put them on to cook when I got home from errand running around noon on Thursday.
Because of the busy state of my life right now, I choose to cook my beans in the crockpot so that I don't have to think about them.
The result is often slightly overcooked beans, but I prefer that just fine compared to the alternative.
Of course I know that I need at least a good 4 hours to get those beans done on the highest setting.
Well...

... I didn't get home at noon yesterday.
I didn't get home at one.
Not even 1:30!
I got home around 1:45.
That is pushing it so close to 2 which is the absolute cut off for bean cooking to be ready for that nights supper.
I had this though.
I felt confident that I could get them in, dust my hands off and call it good.

It was not to be though!
A blinking red message light attracted my attention, so I went there first upon my arrival at home.
It was the message I had been waiting for since April. Some paperwork was finally, yes finally complete and my presence was requested for pick up of said papers.
But...I had to be there by 2:30, and it is a 30 minute drive to get there.

So I left the little white beans soaking in the blue bowl and rushed out to get to my paperwork meeting.
I knew in my heart, at that moment, that the beans would suffer.
What could I do?
I was bound by the circumstances of the day.
Paperwork waits for no bean!!

I arrived back home just in time to meet the school bus which drops off my two youngest children, and their slave labor amounts of homework, which includes but is not limited to math checking, book reading, spelling studying, chart making and of course all the conversation about the day thrown in along with that.
A woman can be mightily distracted in the hours just before dinner while attending to three children and their days worth of living.
I did focus long enough to take the soaking beans from the blue bowl, transferring them to my large soup pot, probably right around 4pm.
How in the world those beans were supposed to be ready for our 6pm supper, I do not know. But I was determined to make it happen.
I turned up the heat nice and high and went about my business.
Sometimes my brain seizes up and I forget obvious things.
All sense of cooking know how, exits the building like a man leaving work on Friday.

See here is the deal. I have been cooking on an electric stove for 14 years now. This house however contains a gas stove which I am simply not accustomed to.
Gas cooks different from electric. Very different!

I put those beans on to cook and left them boiling away determined that they would be ready for supper. I stirred whenever I walked past, urging them with kind words to go ahead and finish up so I could feed my family.

Then I made a fatal mistake. I walked upstairs and began to search the internet for a new cookie recipe.
I do remember at 5:09 pm hollering down to my oldest son to "please stir the beans", which he did. Of course that child doesn't yet know that if you stir the beans and there are only beans there and no apparent water that the temperature should be turned down and water should be added. (He knows now!!)
Around 5:20 I found that I was reading brownie recipes. I mean, I have three awesome cookie recipes and maybe we need a little change of pace around here...I like the pace of brownies.
Suddenly, I smelled a smell.
A burning smell.
A oh man I got so excited about brownies and forgot about the cooking beans smell.
A wow, I didn't know burnt beans smelled so bad smell.
An oh no, now what are we gonna have for supper smell.

Gas cooks so much hotter and faster than electric and my mind is not there yet to keep specific track of the cooking process.
I am never cooking beans on the stove again!!!
I am gonna cook 'em in the crockpot til the day I die!!!

I decided that the mexican food place down the road needed me and my family to eat there last night.
And, I didn't make brownies!
I just couldn't do it.
I didn't trust myself not to mess it up.
My confidence was distressed by burned beans.

So I made my chocolate chip cookies instead...and am a better person for it.

By the way....I really rushed through this post to get it up before heading out the door this morning and hope that despite that you feel to a small degree the urgency and desperation of the bean burning Thursday.
Happy Friday all!!!!

Walk everyday!

I woke up feeling better today! I am pretty excited about that.
It could be the new haircut.
Okay, it probably isn't the new haircut...that helped my mental state though!
My old hairdo was in the process of growing out.
It left me feeling what I call "mom-i-fied".
As in, I have nothing else going on in my life but being a mom and don't I look like it.
I am not hip and cool, never have been...but I am for sure not mom-i-fied.

So, since I was feeling poorly I asked Shelby if she would take a picture with me for the blog.
She wasn't thrilled about it, but did want to make an appearance and be known as something other than "that dog who looks like Yoda".
So I handed the camera to my 9 year old and got a huge variety of very bad photos!
Here is the least worrisome of the lot.

It is cut into a cute little stack in the back and tapers gently to the front.

My new orangish hair color doesn't look quite as strange I think.


This morning when I logged onto Facebook, I noticed that one of my friends had checked that they liked this photo.



I put that photo online back in March.
I can remember thinking...
This is why I write a blog.

I know that may seem random and strange to you, but I just had so much I wanted to say about this photo at the time, and so many other things, but felt limited by the constraints of facebook.

Here is what I want to say today. It is really about so much more than the bee!

My God designed and made that bee.
That design is so very amazing, beyond understanding...fantastic!!
It helps to prove that God is real.
He is who He says He is!
It gives substance to His commands for us.

The writer of Romans puts it like this in chapter 1 verse 20.
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse "

That same God who made that bee for me to understand his supremacy is the master and creator of all that I believe and understand.

It is becoming more and more clear to me that acknowledging His supremacy is a very very important part of my life and walk.
When we don't give Him thanks and acknowledge Him we are headed down a slippery slope of humanness and..."we profess to be wise but become fools, whose hearts become darkened".

check out verse 28 of the same chapter.
"And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."
and continuing in verse 32 after a long list of improper things...
"and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

So, I guess my point here is....
God gave us plenty of evidence of his majesty.
He gave us plenty of reason to praise Him and tell of His greatness.
He asks us to be thankful and honoring of Him.
I am learning that doing this consistently and heartily draws me closer to God.
Closer to his commands and principles.
Closer to His presence.

I don't want to be put in a position of not acknowledging Him and Him being so disappointed in me that he gives me over to do improper things. I really, really even want to stay away from giving hearty (or even lackadaisical) approval to such things.

There are certainly things God calls sin, which I do not give approval to.
To do that, for me would be to deny God.
I cannot do it.
If put in a position of asking me to do that...I sincerely desire that I will learn to consistently not choose that route. If my heart is softened toward sin, doesn't it mean it is on its way to being hardened toward God.
Choosing to gloss over willful sinful behavior draws me away from God, even as sin draws the sinner away.

As I write this I understand that I am likely to be misunderstood, mainly because there is a strong sadness in my heart which I cannot share here,
and that I again see that I have so much growing yet to do in my walk with God.

But, ya know what???
Though you may not know it or see it.
I am walking.
Some days it is a slow plod, other days I feel as though my feet can't possibly catch up with my heart.
My heart which through the struggles and misunderstandings of life, longs to be completely His.
My heart which aches when trying so hard to do what is right in the sight of the Lord... but which also seems foolish to man.

Here, this verse gives me courage...
2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.


Poor you!
You came and got stuck in the middle of my own mental arguments and anguish today.
No peanut butter cookies or anything.
Sorry, sometimes when a topic is on my heart I gotta get it off, or go crazy in the meantime.

Let's do this. Lets...

go for a walk.
A God walk.
Walk everyday.
Let the eyes of the Lord find you seeking to give your heart completely to Him...
as you are walking.

And, lets also eat cookies.
Lots of cookies.
I need to go make some cookies.

Sock it to me!

Ugh!
I haven't been feeling great, hence the no post thing.

Still not at the top of my game, but it is Monday!
Yes my friends, Monday is laundry day and laundry is spinning around here.
Lots and lots of laundry.
I just want to address a portion of the laundry thing here for just a moment because I want to and because I have nothing else I care to put the mental energy required to make a super fantastic post.

We have 5 people here in this house.
(Laundry seems to multiply exponentially with each added person.)
So let us just spend a moment of reflection on say....socks!
Yes, socks!!

Look, just bear with me okay. I can't write life changing inspirational things everyday. And yes, I know you are still waiting for several recipes including the peanut butter cookies, but I just don't have it in me. The magic doesn't just happen! I am tired and mush brained so we are gonna talk about socks and you are gonna like it!! So there.

I apologize if that came across as harsh.
uhhhhhh.....

socks

If 5 people wear 2 socks each day of the week...just how many socks is that to wash and match up?

Oh wow, I hate number problems.
Me and numbers...we don't get along so well.
What have I gotten myself into?
This was supposed to be a mindless silly laugh about the good life doing laundry sort of post.

But I can do this.
Even on Monday, even with half my brain tied hostage by sinus pressure.
Let's see...
5 people x 2 feet=10 socks each day.
10 socks x 7 days= 70 socks in all.
Hey lookey there I did it!
70 individual socks longing to meet up with their partners to form 35 pairs of socks.
Do I have that right?
That just doesn't seem like a large enough number for the crazy amount of socks that pass through my fingers each week.

Oh, let me also include 3 pair of long, dirty, grassy, smelly, sweaty, wrong side out soccer socks.
Ewwwww. Just turning those things right side out makes me heave a bit.
Come on soccer moms you know what I am talking about!!
That brings us to 38 pairs. That is of course the minimum and doesn't account for oh so many other instances of life.

Let me be perfectly honest with you here.
I hope you don't judge me too harshly!
Sigh.
I admit it, right here for the world to know...

I don't match up my oldest boys white socks which all look alike.
I simply put them in a nice pile with the rest of his laundry and he has to choose two to put on each day.

I do so wrestle with this decision and its impact on his life.

Actually I don't! But it sounded neat to say.

I am so very blessed to be able to gather my families laundry and serve them each week in washing! I mean that genuinely.
There is something so wonderful about beautiful piles of clean folded laundry.
Yes, it is a chore.
And, one that must be accomplished each week.
But man oh man am I glad it is my chore, in my house, with my family!
Let us find joy and contentment in our own particular life.
In our own particular world of chores and duties.
If we can do that...socks become yet another wonder to behold!!!

(Well, except maybe for those soccer socks... those are still icky!)

I like green.

Hmmmm what can I say?
I just don't have anything on my mind today.
Okay that is not specifically true, so I could say...I have nothing of relevance on my mind today.

I have black beans in the crock pot cooking.
It is my intention to make them into a black bean chili around 4pm.
It is then my intention to make some cornbread in my cast iron skillet and enjoy the previously mentioned chili.
Did I spell that right? Chili...hmmm.
Chilly it is outside, the perfect day to eat chili.
Yeah, that seems right.
A little Yoda-esq as well.

I like Yoda, he is cute.

And green.
I like green.

My dog, when she is worried or nervous looks like yoda!
Do you see the resemblance?





Okay, I admit she can do it better. It usually takes my husband walking in the room, or about 3 minutes with my seven year old "loving" on her to make the perfect look.


I just can't think of anything else to take up your time today.
Guess I will call this good.
Well, maybe not good, but done.
Some days...the writer's flare, it just isn't there!!
Flare not have I this day. (think Yoda!!)

Singing along!!

I mentioned a few posts ago that I had to turn the music off in my van while cruising around.
I wanted to say a bit more about that!

I like to listen to lots of different types of music depending on my mood, the type of day it is, and more often than not, my passengers!! Of course by that I mean my children. I know there were years when all I heard was abc songs and veggie tales songs, and sesame street songs, and lullaby songs. I loved that time in my life, but am glad to have moved on the more complicated music!!
My go to radio station is 89.3FM, KSBJ. It is a christian music station here in the Houston area which you can also listen to via the web!
Here is that web address. I pull it up when I am close to the computer and need something encouraging to listen to.
It is through this station that I have learned of so many Christian artists who I would probably never thought to even look for.
Chris Rice has got to be one of my all time favorites. His music is a bit folksy, with a touch of rock to it. But more than anything I love his message. He sings about heaven, loving like Jesus and whole lot about how nature declares our Maker, and coffee. hee hee!!

Matthew West is another of my more recent favorites. His song "You Are Everything" is so genius!!! It has a counter melody in stringed instruments and piano that flows through the song...ahhhhh it gets me every time...genius!!!!

I also enjoy Leeland, mainly because I saw them in concert with Brandon Heath and they have an obvious deep love for Jesus that comes through so clearly in their music.

Oh, and have you heard Amy Grants new song "Better Than a Hallelujah"?
Oh, my!!!
Beautiful, thoughtful...gorgeous!

I have been going to the same church now for 16 years now. I have never lived anywhere this long and treasure the church family that I worship with each week.
As I have gotten older and more aware of others I have come to appreciate a few people of talent and wonder around here.
You know how you can know someone, but not really know them? They reveal little treasures of information a little at a time over the years and finally all the pieces start falling into place. Then all of a sudden you realize this person has made a difference in their area of expertise and are sharing it with others. I have a rather large number of these people in my life right now. Maybe I always have, but am finally mature enough to take notice!!

So, I am gonna go out on a limb here today...I say that because I didn't talk to this particular fellow about mentioning him in my blog, but I have nothing but good stuff to say so I will ask for forgiveness instead of permission.

For years, I have thought of Sonny Taylor as just "our Sunday morning song leader". Well, he recently did a class on Wednesday nights for us which taught everything from different types of note reading to the history of a'cappella music in America as well as biographies of some of the great hymn writers in recent history. Ha, my husband just came by and pointed out that 300 years or so might not be considered recent. I am an artist...numbers mean nothing to me!!!
This man has some crazy amounts of musical knowledge.
And a website! What? He has a website, and publications and, and, and...all kinds of stuff I don't understand...just leave it said that he is not JUST the song leader!
When we moved into our new home he and his wife gifted us a couple of CD's as a housewarming gift. I am sure he didn't know just how much I would enjoy them!!!

My favorite of the two is shown just below. I pulled that right off of his website, because it lists the other CD's from that group. It is just straight up a'cappella classic 4 part harmony type music. I mean, it might be more technical than that, but I can pick out my part and sing along just fine!

Main Section - Praise Hymnal - Let Us Adore CD C131

"Let Us Adore CD C131" See how there are also related products listed there? I threw that on too, because I am really loving the Heal our Land CD which has songs to really make you think about commitment to God as a citizen. This one is particularly wonderful. I hope you will take some time to navigate this website and see all there is to see that Taylor Publications has available! And, thank you Mr. Sonny for all you do to educate and inspire us to Praise our Lord!!

This CD covers the last 21 songs in the Praise Hymnal, 2008. Songs include: Let Us Adore * A New Anointing * I Bow Down * The Glorious Impossible * In the Name of the Lord * Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King * Come Dwell in Me * Above All * The Power of the Cross * In Christ Alone * Oh the Blood * For All You've Done * Holy Holy * Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross-Boyd Arr. * A Mansion Robe and Crown * How Great is Our God * Surround Us O Lord * Father God * Majesty Here I Am * Blessed Be Your Name * We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here Quantity: Our Price: $13.95 Normal Price: $13.95 You Save: $0.00 % Saved: +0.00% Related Products: B2012: Praise Hymnal Revised 2010 B2012 S2012: ePraise Hymnal Revised Contemporary & Book S2012 SET11: Praise Hymnal Series 11 CD & book Set C130: My Only Hope #10 C130 C129: Worship #9 C129 C128: Heal Our Land #8 C128 C127: Sing To The Lord #7 C127 C126: Rejoice #6 C126 C125: Healing Grace #5 C125 C124: Rushing Wind #4 C124 C123: All In All #3 C123 C122: Sanctuary #2 C122 C121: Step By Step #1 C121