7 Quick Takes Friday- #5

I'll jump right in this week...

1. I can't believe it... but I really did-- I forgot about those sweet little cooey, sigh-like noises a baby makes while nursing, and I just love hearing them. I love these moments with Moses close, snuggled up, so content, so sweet, so needy. This way that God makes new PEOPLE is just so amazing.
   
   
2. Tonight I started Bernard Nathanson's book, Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind, and it took me a few minutes to even clear my head and get over the first sentence:
   
   "I did my last abortion in late 1978 or early 1979."
   
   Date-wise, that's my husband and me. Late 1978 = a Spring 1979 birthday, like my husband. Early 1979 = a Fall 1979 birthday, like me. That pretty much sums up the whole abortion debate for me. We're talking about real people. A real man or woman who would have been born, and would by now potentially have had a family, like what my husband & I have. Or gone away to college and graduate school and been finishing up a doctorate in literature, like my college friend Beth. Or have a computer business he started, a daughter he adores, a motorcycle he drives too fast, and travelled to see Central American Mayan ruins like a high school friend of mine. The person that Bernard Nathanson aborted last was a real person, and Nathanson knows it now (and maybe knew it then, I haven't gotten that far). A person with the potential of a great many things, some good, some bad, perhaps some amazing things... but his or her life was snuffed out.
   
   I wonder if we might have been friends.
   
   
3. Heard this week in our house while reading a book about babies being born to my just-turned-6-year-old son Baxter:
   
   me: "So how would the doctor know if it's a boy or a girl?
   
   Baxter: "By looking at the hair."
   
   You can't make this stuff up. :)
   
   
4. This week, I got organized for the next stage of our homeschool journey. See, the way we do things, our boys keep pressing along and advancing in their math, writing, and reading, but we do history at a pace that allows us to enjoy it and really take it all in (plus, we have had some amazing field trip opportunities that have taken us on quite a few rabbit trails, living where we live). Anyway, we've been just taking our time to finish up their history/science curriculum books from last year. Plus, ya know, I had a baby. :)
   
   But here we are in September, and we're about to begin digging into American history. Ethan (our oldest son) and I have gone all the way through world history, right up to the era of the Renaissance, and we're both ready to tackle American history. I'd been planning all along to keep him on his own course, and Baxter on his (we're talking about history here-- they're always on their own courses as far as reading and math goes). But then mid-summer, I had an epiphany and realized that this year was a perfect opportunity to combine the two older boys (ages 6 & 8) and have a bunch of fun and a lot less scattered year for me. Because it's targeted towards the 3rd to 5th grade level, I'll have to adapt some of the curriculum for my 1st grader (ordered some historical coloring books and such for him to do while we're reading some of the more heady history portions), but what fun! I'm really looking forward to it, and they are too! Not only that, but it's coming at a perfect time, as we anticipate heading back to the States (Lord willing) for a few-months'-visit with family and friends next summer.
   
   Our boys have a great knowledge of the world for their ages, have learned a bit of another language, are both ahead in their math skills, and are doing great as far as reading goes. But I know that if we go home to Texas and they don't have any idea about the Alamo, for example, or basic bits about American history, (a) they could feel detached from their "home country", and/or (b) relatives who have not seen them in 4 years, and may not be fully convinced about this homeschooling stuff could get the wrong idea. Either way, it's a great time for us to take a year to really dive into American history. And we're doing it together- yippee! So, off we go!
   
   
5. You know what I've recently discovered? I mean really discovered? Play-doh. I used to consider it positively evil. Those messy little teeny good-for-nothing bits that ended up everywhere, coupled with the fact that I was requested to play along, made it pretty much a no-go for (I'm sorry to say) these many years. And if we're all being honest, I'm happy to wrestle and tickle, cook alongside, read to, or even sometimes color with my kids. But Play-doh just isn't really my cup of tea. But, now that God has seen to it to give my kids in-home playmates other than me, I've realized it's not so bad.
   
   It isn't that expensive, it allows for great amounts of creativity (especially when fueled by recent family viewings of "Challenge" and "Cupcake Wars"), and it entertains the kids for an almost absurd amount of time. And when I'm trying to explain a math concept to my 8-year-old, get some housework done, or listen to my 6-year-old read aloud, the contented, happy time that Play-doh brings is absolutely priceless. So here's three cheers for the messy, time-consuming, joy-producing stuff! (And for kids who are old enough to use a Dustbuster afterwards!)
   
   
6. This summer produced another epiphany for me: We Christians need the Body of Christ. We need each other! Now, of course, this should not BE an epiphany. Nonetheless, here's how God reminded me of this truth:
   
   Generally, we meet together weekly as a church body with 2-3 other families, sometimes more, plus occasionally some single folk. We meet in homes (often in ours), eat a meal together, pray for each other, sing to the Lord, and study Scripture together. But this summer, two things happened: one family moved back to America, and the other family in our house church took a 2-month vacation to America to put their oldest daughter in college, so we were here alone for that spread of time. It also worked out, what with me being a hugely pregnant woman in the heat, and Moses' birth mid-July, that I was indoors for a good portion of the summer. I struggled quite a bit this summer with discouragement and battling against anger in my heart and in my reactions to my family. But it wasn't until we began meeting again as the church that I realized how much I'd missed the way that God uses that time to minister to my heart.
   
   When the 2nd family I mentioned returned, we began meeting together again, and two other families have joined with us. It has been so encouraging to fellowship, worship, and study God's Word together. I really missed our church body. We need each other! We weren't made to be islands-- we need encouragement, and I'm so thankful for the Body of Christ and the way our Father encourages me through the people we meet with each week!
   
   
7. It's suddenly quite a bit cooler here-- is it getting cooler where you live? Maybe some of you are already wearing jackets? But maybe you Texans or Floridians are still having warm weather... Here, it's just perfectly comfortable-- we leave the windows open, and still have the ceiling fans on, and it feels like "normal" to me (roughly 70-75 degrees each day, and cooler at night).
   
   I'm enjoying the cooler weather but also, in a way, mourning the loss of summer. Time passes so quickly, and our kids really had a great time playing outside this year. Plus, we're about to move into the it-takes-a-year-to-get-out-the-door mode, where each child has to wear more clothes, find matching socks, put on a jacket, and sometimes scarf and gloves, just to get out the door. And I get to corral it all. *Sigh* I'm tired of winter already, LOL.

I think that'll do it. There's my "Seven Quick Takes" for the week. If you do one, be sure to pop over to Jennifer @ Conversion Diary to share the link. Blessings to you!

Growing as a Homemaker (Learning to Tackle the Nitty Gritty of the Home)

Today I want to get real about homemaking in the life of a young mother.

Each time we have added a new person to the family (like our recent addition, Moses, the precious little person to your left), something has had to grow or change in the way I approach the care of our home. I definitely was lousy at this in the beginning (I'm not being falsely humble here), and for years, I've settled for feeling adequate. I'm only now (8 years into being at home full-time) starting to feel a real sense of competency at homemaking.

SURVIVAL MODE

When I had our first son, Ethan, it really was just basic survival. Our home was constantly messy. I'm not saying this to glorify it, just telling you the truth. I remember talking with a friend of mine who had five kids at that time and quite literally believing that my laundry task rivaled hers. It just seemed so monumental and mountainous! The dishes almost never got done... I was constantly behind (thank God for a compassionate husband and mother!). And my "meals" were almost entirely composed of convenience foods + meat and/or butter and/or milk. For me, early motherhood combined with homemaking was simply survival. And yet, we somehow made it, and enjoyed ourselves in the process!

LAUNDRY

When we added Baxter to the mix, I got better at managing laundry. Somehow, though I had another person to care for, I got a little better. I realized that it really doesn't take that long to throw in a load of laundry, so I should stop putting it off, and do that regularly. And I began multi-tasking, sitting next to a little person crawling or playing on the floor and folding that laundry. Don't get me wrong, the house was still a mess most of the time and the meals were still composed of convenience foods, but the laundry was mostly caught up. This felt like a huge achievement!

COOKING

When we had our daughter Maranatha, we had also recently moved overseas. So laundry was being hung (no longer had a clothes dryer) and language was being studied. But somehow, even with adding in a new person, I got better at cooking, out of necessity. No longer could I rely on Hamburger Helper to help me along. No longer could I regularly use "cream of ______" soups to feed the hungry people in my home. I actually had to learn to cook from scratch, to use ingredients to put together a meal that we would all want to eat, and to do it 3 times a day. Cooking seemed to take FOR-EV-ER (and that year, I spent upwards of 3 hours a day in the kitchen), but I got better at it. Even my sister-in-law (domestically gifted one that she is) commented on the improvement my cooking when we returned for a few months after living abroad-- that felt great!

SHOPPING & MEAL PLANNING

Just before we added Silas to the mix, I came across a "Supermarket Savings" online course and the best thing I took away from it was making up a 4-week meal plan. So I basically tackled my meal-planning and turned it into something that was a no-brainer part of my life. As opposed to the "fly by the seat of your pants and buy whatever you happen to want" or the "sit down and plan out the week" methods of grocery shopping, it now takes very little effort to know what to buy and to know what to cook. I continue to use this plan, and re-work the details of meals/ingredients every 8-10 months or so.

CLEANING

Because I'm more of a laid-back messy, rather than a "place for everything and everything in its place" sort of gal, it's taken me this many kids to really start to have to have a plan for cleaning. And anyone who's been in my home can probably testify to the, well, lack of shinyness around here. :) But we're happy. Nonetheless. It's to the point now that if I did nothing all day, the living room would have dozens of books strewn about, at least one toy set littering the floor, colors and color books found at random points in the home, and play doh bits scattered across the floor under the dining table (and thus, soon, tracked through the whole house). And more. (Every mom can testify to the pain of stepping on legos and the frustrations of plates and juice spills left on the table!)

All that to say that we have reached a point that regular, planned cleaning is an utter necessity. No longer will spot cleaning here and there do the trick. So I have a master task list where I listed out every single thing that needs to be done (cleaning wise) in the house, and then parsed those things out, in logical groupings, to a day of the week. Now, I'm still not organized enough to actually carry out each job on the day of the week that it falls, but for the most part, most things get done at least once every couple of weeks. And for now, that's good enough. I care about cleaning more now, but I still can't be OCD about it, ya know?

WHAT'S MY POINT?

I just want to give you freedom. Freedom to be who you are and exist in the stage of life that you are currently in. I didn't have it all together, and we survived. I still don't have it all together, and we're doing just dandy. Our little boys leave the toilet seats up sometimes. Dishes still all-too-regularly litter our countertop. I don't even own "Nourishing Traditions", and I "bake my own bread" (aka throw some ingredients into the breadmaker) about 4 times a year. The bedsheets get changed when I remember. There are strengths in my life as a homemaker (meal-planning, laundry), and there are weaknesses (organizing, dishes).

I hope no one would ever come to Making Home and think, "wow, this is a woman who has it together," or, "this comes easy to her, she was probably born doing this stuff!" or feel that you have to achieve everything all at once, simply because you see someone with more children, ten or twenty years into motherhood, doing many things capably. Do what you can, and keep learning. Feel God's pleasure as you learn what you can, but don't take on guilt for what others can do that you may not yet be able to do, or may have no desire to do.

DO NOT GIVE UP!

Motherhood, budgeting, homemaking, meal planning, homeschooling-- these things aren't easy things. And particularly in our mobile, emotionally distant society, these things are made more difficult because we don't have community/societal support as we learn these things. I just want to encourage you to keep on keeping on. Galatians 6:9 tells us "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up". I think just as this principle applies to spiritual reaping and harvesting, it also applies to learning and growth as a wife, mother, and homemaker. Keep applying yourself to doing good. Do good for your husband, do good for your children, do good for your home, do good for the Body of Christ and your friends and neighbors around you.

Keep on doing good, for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up!

7 Quick Takes Friday- #4

We had a great week around here... hope you did too. I'm really enjoying this "7 Quick Takes" thing-- it gives me a chance to reflect on the week. Here are some random things from this week:

1. Moses (almost 9 weeks old!) is smiley and wonderful. Here's a picture of him mid-squeak/laugh. I sure love him!
   
   
   
2. I'm guessing, at this point, that Moses is an introvert. Just a guess. He's reserved but wry (he already seems to catch onto humor/silliness), and reminds me (both in his physical appearance and his personality, so far) of our second son, Baxter, who is a hilarious introvert. The thing about Baxter is that if you don't know him and aren't around him regularly (enough for him to get comfortable around you), you'd totally miss out on the hilarity, because he's guarded about who he lets see it. But we all agree that he is (hands down!) the funniest person in our family. Our three other kids have been hugely flirty extroverts as babies, so it could be that he's just somewhere in the middle, but so far, Moses reminds me of Baxter.
   
   
3. It took me until last night to figure it out, but I'm fairly convinced that the reason Moses has been consistently waking up at 4:30 every.single.night.for.the.last.two.weeks. is because of drums that precede the call to prayer during Ramadan. DUH! As I've mentioned before, we hear the Islamic call to prayer, crazy loud, five times a day, but because of fasting during Ramadan, there is a tradition here that a man walks around about an hour before the call to prayer and bangs on a drum to wake up all the women so they can prepare a meal so everyone can eat before the first call to prayer happens around 5:30 a.m.
   
   
   In the summers, we sleep with our windows open because we don't have a/c, so whatever happens outside (car alarms, kids yelling & playing until midnight--yes, that's normal here, it's nuts!-- and the drums before the call to prayer) drifts into our windows and has the potential to interrupt sleep. Anyway, Ramadan ends this week, but it's taken me all this time to realize that THAT's why he's been waking up and not sleeping longer.
   
   
4. Our oldest son Ethan was baptized this week. He and one of his good buddies were actually baptized together. What a special day! Friends came along too, and we all went out to an island here, went down to a small cove for the baptisms, and then we had a picnic and enjoyed the day together.
   
   
   
5. We went to see U2 in concert Monday night. Seeing them in an overseas setting this time (we went to their Dallas show five years ago) was a different experience. Bono's comments were translated on the screens. Their social/political activities took on more significance and real-world meaning to me as I considered these things from this side of the ocean. He talked about elections in Iran, the importance of Turkey to the world, and of course, they sang some amazing songs. Seeing them here solidified (for me) the difference between their political actions and some of the mouthy American singers who take loud positions but do nothing to actually make a difference. Yes, they speak out, but U2 also travels around the world, writes songs about peace in the world, meet with politicians to be informed and to persuade, raise money for the poor, and ultimately, seek to consistently speak up for those who have no voice and promote peace and justice.
   
   
   We took the boys with us as a present for their birthdays (they were so excited), but because their show started an hour later than they'd been doing on this tour, our still-sleepy-though-he's-6-years-old Baxter only lasted through about 3-4 songs (he saw all of Snow Patrol's opening set & stayed awake for the hour --!-- between sets), and Ethan lasted a little more than 45 minutes. So it ended up being almost like a date for Doug & I, LOL. We each had a boy asleep on our laps, and I had Moses sleeping across me and occasionally nursing in the sling as we got serenaded by Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton (wearing a shiny silver shirt, which prompted a conversation about rock star style between Ethan & I), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (wearing the classic white tee he always wears)!

Snow Patrol opened for the show, and I like them even more after seeing them, even though the sound for their set was really loud and wonky. They've got a great sound (despite their unbalanced system that night) and were really humble and likable. The lead singer reminded us both of Chris Martin in the way he acts and emotes on stage.


All in all, seeing U2 again was a real treat!


6. Just a little tip from a friend: If you normally make beignets in square and triangle shapes, please just keep right on making them in those nice square and triangle shapes. Don't decide that you're going to start cutting them like donuts for fun, because if you do, you will end up with a bunch of little donut holes. Those extra uneaten donut holes will sit on your counter and keep tempting you to eat them because it's *just one* little bite-sized bit of tastiness, and so every time you walk into the kitchen, you will have to fight some fierce urges or suffer the consequences. Those little bite-sized "just one"s will add up to a world of trouble. :) This is the only public service announcement I'll make on this matter. Consider yourself warned.
   
   
7. Not having my computer around has been awesome. Really. I'm getting a lot done around the house, but what's more, I'm spending more time and more quality time (less interruptions from all that I feel like I need to do) with my awesome kiddos.
   
   Experiencing what life is like without it makes me think I should've drop-kicked my computer a long time ago. Of course, it's nice to be able to still check e-mail and (as I'm doing now) spend a little time online every now and then, but I'm really enjoying being generally unplugged.

So that was my week in a nutshell-- how did yours go?

And don't forget to head over to Jen @ Conversion Diary to link up if you do a "7 Quick Takes".

7 Quick Takes (Oops!) Saturday

So this should be 7 Quick Takes Friday, but today's Saturday. Oops.

1. I. Love. Project. Runway. Years ago, I happened to catch a one-week-long marathon of Project Runway season 3. And this current season (season 8, on Lifetime) is the second I've been able to catch. The creation of garments and originality of each assignment just fascinates me-- the talent, innovation, pressure, and of course the reality-TV vibe. But reality TV for the sake of reality TV drives me bananas. Project Runway on the other hand actually promotes a craft, constitutes an actual competition (as opposed to, say, participating in Machiavellian mind games while starving on an island somewhere in skimpy clothes) and informs viewers about fashion and design. No one who knows me in real life would ever peg me as a fashion-forward person, and I'm not. But I really enjoy-- scratch that, LOVE-- watching Project Runway.
   
   
2. Yesterday I had the opportunity to have a friend come for the whole day. She's moving away in 2 days (I'm learning that such is the fabric of overseas life-- seemingly constant change in companionship), but it was so precious and valuable to be able to share our hearts and process life together. We nursed our newborn babies, watched our older kids play together, and enjoyed the day visiting. I mentioned before about missing real life friends, so I want to acknowledge that God has not left me stranded... it just looks different (much less constant) than it did in the US. But He has blessed me with friendships and opportunities for transparency and encouragement when I need it.
   
   
3. I'm going to have a root canal next week, my second in a couple years. I've heard before that teeth and childbearing are related... anyone else know about this? Anyway, I'm taking more vitamins now, trying to be more diligent about the care of my teeth. Last week we watched an episode of West Wing and Sam Seaborn (played by Rob Lowe) said: "Your teeth are the best friends you've got, CJ. You take care of them, they'll take care of you. I'm wild about dental hygiene." And it made me laugh. But something about it made me realize, gosh, I'm only 30 and on my 2nd root canal; I need to work harder to take care of these teeth of mine.
   
   
4. Do any of you other moms of little ones have mental "careers" stored up for potential consideration/pursuit post-child-raising? I do, and the interesting thing is none of them are linked to what I got my degree in and used to do for a living (pre-children), which was politics. Here are mine: editor at a publishing house, midwifery, marriage & family counseling, not necessarily in that order. I think the last one may be my favorite option at this particular moment. Oh, and Project Runway contestant. :) What are yours?
   
   
5. While watching Project Runway, I saw a trailer for a movie ("Easy A") about a girl who agrees to pretend to lose her virginity to a gay guy, I guess so he won't have to come out of the closet or something? It looks targeted towards high school students, and after checking out an internet source, I confirmed it is loosely based on Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". Is this really what America is becoming? Is this really what we want to communicate to our youth?
   
   Are there really people among us that believe that serving up tripe like this will in any way make Americans more honorable, courageous, inventive, or strengthened in character and resolve? Christian or no, these are the character qualities that have made America strong, and I fear these are the very things slipping away rapidly from the fabric of our populace. Cultural happenings like this make me ask, will I recognize my country when we return in roughly a year's time?
   
   
6. We're coming up on our 10th anniversary in about a month's time. :) Because we're going back to the US next summer, we're gonna hold off on a big celebration until then (we're thinking maybe a cruise or special trip, just the two of us, at that time). Anyway, I just wonder-- do any of you have some ideas about ways to celebrate without leaving the house? We'll probably be able to go to dinner together, but do you have any great ideas about ways we could commemorate this anniversary in a special way without leaving/going somewhere? I welcome your thoughts.
   
   
7. And last but definitely not least, our oldest son is going to be baptized tomorrow; it's a big moment that has snuck up on us and I've not really had time to reflect on it as I'd like. I'm really thankful that God has been gracious not only to me but to our children. Just like I didn't have perfect parents, my kids don't either. And yet, despite my inconsistencies and foibles and sin, our son wants to follow Jesus. It's quite humbling to take on this job of being a parent, being entrusted with these little souls. I just keep praying and trusting that God will do incredible things in his heart and life... tomorrow is one huge piece of evidence to me that God is at work today just as He has always been.