My Mother's Day !

My day started with a beautiful Mother's Day Breakfast organized and prepared by my dear daughter, Anna. The table was all pretty with several vases of freshly picked roses setting upon decorative mirrors some fabric sweeping around it. Anna planned the menu and it included a breakfast casserole, a beautiful fruit bowl and homemade Cream Cheese Danish. It was a wonderful surprise and I enjoyed all the pampering. Bethany helped her find all the things she needed as in the way of preparation at the store and of course her brothers gave her transportation:) It was kinda funny, Terry poked his head in the kitchen Sat. evening around 11:30 pm( they told me this as I was already in bed) and said to Anna, "we need to fix mom something for breakfast." Anna had it all under control!!! I am blessed!! We then were off to our home church meeting, this week it was in the Blanchard area. Terry shared the teaching this time and it was a message for us mother's. We enjoyed fellowship over lunch and then we headed back to our house. Some rested for awhile and then the guys wanted to "do" something special for me. We hashed out different ideas and came up with going out to eat. The reason we do not do this very often is.....it averaged out at a little more than $11 a head times 14, do some math and thats a pretty good reason, huh? I think the last time we all ate out was last year when we were coming home from the homeschool conference. Anyway, it was a very enjoyable time, we had fun, were rather rowdy, and we were so full!!! I was blessed again, for the thoughtfulness the children had. It's really fun when they get older and can come up with ideas on their own of things to do for you. Hope your day was just as enjoyable!!!!!

Just for the knowing of it, I wanted to say to those who might not have seen Joel's DVD and in some of the posts I mention Joel's nickname, "Balley." I wanted to tell you how to pronounce it. You say it like the" ball" a child would play with and then a long "e" sound at the end:), so Balley!! Very good, you have done math and now phonics:)))))) I probably called him that most of the time. He had the roundest little head and his hair was slower coming on than Josiah. Our family is famous for "nicknames." You hardly ever hear the real names around here, the children call each other by these names. I would write them out, but there are not any phonetical signs, so it would probably not make sense. It was funny one time when we were at church and Caleb and Daniel were leading a small group string practice and Caleb ask Daniel to lead in prayer, and Caleb said "Doug, would you say a prayer."( thats what Caleb calls Daniel) I almost laughed thinking that they were probably wondering who Doug was. Ok, I"ll give a few, they call Micah....Tig, Anna....Tooker and Corrie, Bethany....Besh and Bobe (with a long O) Joshua...Skid, Josiah...Jupitar, Caleb...Kib(short i) Daniel....Dub, Andrew....Osage, Elijah....Toby, these are just a few. We are a funny group!!!!

I read a verse in Ps. 107:7, And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. This is a good verse for me to camp on. I can just pick it all apart and find many thoughts. First HE is the one leading, so I can rest assured that the "way" he is taking me is best. The "right" way may be a very difficult way, it may not be the easiest way, it might have many valleys and hills, it might be narrow and like the scripture says, few on it. The right way might even seem like the wrong way from our perspective. Of course the "world" will mock us for being on the "right" way when we seek to live according to the truth of scripture. I guess it helps me to continue to think that this journey we have been on is the "right way" and the end destination will be the city of habitation!!!! To me this verse portrays a picture that goes so well with the story Pilgrim's Progress. I would not have chosen this "way," nevertheless it is the "right way."So I will seek to gather all I can along the "way" as pertaing to how I might grow and learn and understand what the Lord will grant me to know and then having a hopeful anticipation of seeing the "right way" in its full glory one day.

Sometimes I have heard others say how they have dreamed about their children, or had special "things or signs." I have not dreamed of Joel in these 15 months that I can really remember. I do remember early one morning, I was sleeping and it seems a short time before I woke up, I heard children singing and I thought it was Joel and Josiah. There have only been a few unusual things that I might think of special things, like last year when we went outside there were two rainbows, one on top of the other. It was so beautiful. The other thing that stands out is last spring this lilac bush bloomed for the first time since we have lived out here, 14 years, and it is located in the area that Joel and Josiah played alot. Yesterday morning as I prayed before we left for church, my heart was on a low chord and I just ask the Lord for something special today, a sign. To be honest I was not expecting anything, I was just rambling to the Lord. During our church service, Caleb and Daniel pick and lead the songs. The 2nd one was "Like A River Glorious." That song has significant meaning to my heart. You might remember, the Sunday before the dr. appt on Mon.(in Dec. 06) and then having to check in to the hosp.and then to recieve the dx in a few days, we sang this song and little did we know what lay before us. This was the sign that I prayed for today. We have sang that song many times over the last year and I can hardly get through it. Yesterday was different as I sang it, I did not cry and as I sang the words they were like a special message to my heart. The one verse especially......Every joy or trial cometh from above, traced upon our dial by the Son of Love, we may trust him fully, all for us to do, They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true. and then the chorus, Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest, Finding as he promised, Perfect peace and rest. I was blessed to think too that the Lord did hear my hurting heart and I needed a special something from the heavens where my little boy is, I needed to feel close to him someway and I did.

I better get and do something productive!!!! O, I want to say an extra thank you to Anna for all the pictures that she so wonderfully takes, and to Bethany for helping out her computer illiterate mom, she gathered all the poems up that I have written in the last few months and included them over on the side under Joel's Poems. Thanks for stopping by, you continue to encourage my heart!!!

Cindy