Grace and Glory

Musings from the Threshold

Crash and Kate

Stephen’s nickname from his Daddy is Crash. He earns it over and over…
Yesterday, he did another test on the fireplace; he likes to make sure the bricks are still solid.

Yesterday’s picture:

This afternoon’s picture:

And this afternoon, Katie got in on the action by falling out of her bed at naptime (and no, she was not asleep)…

We debated (well, earnestly discussed?) going to get it stitched up or glued at the hospital, but eventually we just glued it shut ourselves. Jonathan’s pretty good with the glue stick, eh?

Getting “Stuff Done”

Kolbi asked yesterday how I get all these projects done. My “I have no idea” answer got a little long for the comments section, so I thought I’d turn it into its own post.

Really, I have a lot of questions in this area myself.

I do honestly question sometimes, “how did I get all that done today?” Yesterday, for example… I mended a shirt for Jonathan, cleaned out the bottom of the pantry and brought in all the kitchen/pantry stuff that was still on our front porch, folded laundry, printed/”bound” part of a book for school, sorted/moved a bunch of wood outside, did two silhouettes, etc. And sometime in the late afternoon, my back totally spazzed on me and I’ve been able to move very little without pain ever since. So it’s not like it was a full day.

I also often feel overwhelmed with how much I have on my plate. Mt. Washmore is rarely conquered for more than 1 day out of every 2 weeks (and that just includes Jonathan’s and my laundry, along with towels/sheets/blankets). I have many many boxes left to unpack. My front porch is the picture of “white trash” living. We’re still behind on our homeschooling.

And I question my priorities. Do I really mother my children like I should? Do I spend too much time hiding in my room? Do I let words like “independence” and “responsibility” mask words like “laziness?” When it comes to homemaking, do I have my priorities straight… is it more important to have pretty stuff on my walls and improve my tablescaping skills? Or should I try harder to tackle the piles of stuff on my front porch? And in the bigger picture, do I truly hunger and thirst after the God of my salvation like I say I do? Does the way I spend my time reflect His priorities?

I don’t have answers to all those questions. And really, I’m okay with that. Life is a journey. I’m learning and growing, and my Shepard is infinitely patient and kind. He is also faithful, and He will complete the work He’s begun in me. Woot!

In the meantime, here are some of the things that are working in my favor right now…

Sometimes, I manage to multi-task. For instance, right now, Kate and Grace are beside me, using the dice to practice addition while they move their “guys” around the Jr. Monopoly board. There’s no goal, except to add and move, and they’re loving it.

Also, I try to instill as much independence/responsibility as I can. This comes in many forms. The children supposedly do their own laundry (once they’re old enough), though I still need to keep them on-task in this area, and I often drop the ball. The older four are divided into two teams that rotate dishes/clean-up responsibilities monthly. They generally fend for themselves for breakfast (I want to get better about providing simple and well-rounded food for them for breakfast), and often a couple of the older children put lunch together.

Way too often, though, I forget to multi-task and I forget to have the kids keep up with their end of things. So I just want to clarify that I am NOT Supermom/Superwife! I’m just a woman seeking to follow her Shepard, stumbling often, and always being picked back up. Because HE is the SuperHero. I fail, I fall, I wander. He comforts me, picks me up, and tracks me down when I get lost. And I am unspeakably thankful.

A new project… since we all know I have nothing to do but eat bon-bons

There’s a lot going on around here today… cleaning out the bottom of the pantry, folding/putting away laundry, printing/”binding” part of a book for school, and trying to make use of *last year’s* Motivated Moms planner (yeah, I used last year’s so little that I’m giving it another go – I don’t mind if the dates are wrong), etc. In the midst of everything else, I was inspired by this post to try a new project. How did I get there? Well, Shawna (who is inspiring in her own right) linked to this full-of-inspiration blog, which linked to the tutorial that got me going on my new project. How’s that for linkage??

And here is the first segment of the first stage of the silhouette project:

I have an idea of how I want to display these when I get all seven done, but we’ll see how it shapes up.

You like?

Back to feathering my nest!

I’m so very thankful to be feeling better! Yesterday afternoon, I did a lot of cleaning/sorting/putting away in our room, and it was wonderful to be back on the move.

Today has been a terrific day so far. This morning, I got our business tax forms in the mail, and then did our personal filing online. All done, and should have the refund to pay off some lingering bills/debts in a couple weeks. Praise the Lord!

I’m back in nesting mode now that I’m well again. Here are some of the things I worked on today. As always, comments and suggestions are more than welcome! Pretty please!

First, here’s the corner table in our living room. I like what I’ve done so far, though I’d love to find some fabric that fits the rest of the room a bit better.


I don’t think this table looks finished… it needs some softness added to it somehow. Also the candles might be better in a different color (but white is cheaper!). Any suggestions??

And now, on to the bathroom. Again, it’s a work in progress. The Nester is doing a neat series on 10 Minutes to a Room You’ll Love, and last week’s installment was The Bathroom. The Nester always inspires me.

Here’s my mistreatment for the day. I like the mistreatment. I’m not entirely sure that I’m in love with it here, but I think it’s nifty. Straight pins and upholstery tacks, my friends. And by the way, the goal is to fix the screen soon.

I put this little duck on the counter because it needed something. I didn’t want the duck to fill up with junk, so I filled it with washcloths. Is it goofy? The counter still needs some love. This picture also shows off our huge (blah) mirror. I have an idea for giving the mirror some “pop,” but I’m not sure when it will happen. I’m also having color issues and need to sort those out.

Right by the bathroom door is a handy set of shelves. Handy for holding things; a bit challenging for making the bathroom feel cozy and classy. I forgot to take a picture of what this mistreatment hides, but trust me, it’s a good place for a mistreatment. I moved the shelf with our basket of toiletries up a little bit so that the fabric hides our toothbrushes and such. What do you think?

On the next shelf, I added some fabric (see how imperfect it is – raw edges and everything) to soften the look of the wire shelves. I’d like to figure out something to do with the wall here, since there’s now a large expanse of white (that includes a mostly unused outlet). Any ideas?

So that’s my progress so far today. I think I’d better switch to chef mode now!

Back in the land of the living

The family started coming down with stomach yuck last Tuesday (Feb 3), and I’ve been pretty seriously sick since Saturday, so I’ve been a blog slacker!

I’m mostly better now, but running to catch up so that I can pull together the last minute details for our chapel Valentine’s Banquet tomorrow night, so I’m still going to be a blog slacker. But I have some really great links to share with you. Please check them out.

First, what I missed while I lay in bed on Tuesday – the 5th annual Cookie Day at the Missouri capitol in Jefferson City. Folks from around the state, from several different organizations, come to the capitol to show their support for midwives. This year was extra special because it’s the first year that we’ve had legal midwives in Missouri! Lots of neat pictures at that link.

And secondly, a very educational and insightful article on maternity care from Consumer Reports. And be sure to take the Maternity Care Quiz.

I’m off to prepare for the banquet!

Yes or No?

Just take a few minutes to read through these points and consider whether or not you agree with them. I didn’t write them; I’m just putting them out there for your consideration.


1) Yes or no: Do you believe America is a good place, that we’ve lost our way over the years, that we have done bad things but generally speaking we tried hard. We try to make amends. We have tried to do the right thing. Just like everybody else, we fail from time to time and we have truly lost our way in the last 20 years. But gosh, if you look at America, she’s good and our founders were good and our founding documents are good. We’ve just strayed too far away from them. Yes or no.

2) Yes or no: I believe in God. I may not go to the same church or synagogue or mosque as the majority of people in America, but I believe in God and he is the center of my life, and God does not tell people to behead others or to persecute others that see God in a different way. As long as that god is not telling them to persecute others.
Yes or no.

3) Yes or no: It is my responsibility to try to be better and a more honest person than I was yesterday. Sometimes I fail, I’ll make mistakes, but it’s my main mission to be better than I was personally than I was yesterday.

4) Yes or no: The family is sacred. I and my spouse are the ultimate authority under God when it comes to my family. I raise my family, and that comes with a grave responsibility. If I fail, I answer to God.

5) Yes or no: If you break the law, you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6) Yes or no: I have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but that is not a guarantee of equal results.

7) Yes or no: I work hard for what I have, and I will share it with others that I choose when I choose, should I choose. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8) It is not un-American for anyone to disagree with my opinion, but my opinion or others’ opinions may be anti-American. Anti-American rhetoric would be anything that is destructive to the Constitution and our country as our founders understood it.

9) And the last one is the government works for me. The government answers to me. I do not answer to the government.

If you agree with at least seven of these statements, please consider being part of this project.