God is great. God is good...

Today I'm preparing part of the shrimp portion of the Shrimp and Grits that Woodland will serve at the reception tomorrow night for the ordination and installation of our new pastor.

I just had to take a photo of my favorite stage of this recipe. Look at this!

 

Look at the colors. God didn't have to make our food so colorful and appealing to the eye and to the taste, but He did! Amazing grace. Amazing! There is no reason, other than pure goodness and graciousness and love, for God to have given us the ability to see colors and, then having given us that ability, to give us such colorful and beautiful fuel for our bodies!

...Let us thank Him for our food. Amen.

A Thousand Thanks

My next-to-last post mentioned a Blog-a-Day challenge...thankfully, I didn't take up that challenge because I would already be behind!

But here is my first thankfulness post of 2011, on the last day of the month. Yesterday in church, the September baby pointed out that it was already January 30 and he couldn't believe that we were already that far into 2011. The Good Doctor said yes, the year is 1/12 over and what had we accomplished? I riposted with a smart-alecky comment that I consider it a daily victory that we are all still alive and living together. But, I will admit (just not to TGD) that the question did make me think a bit.

It hasn't been sensationally or tragically bad, but we've had a rocky month...perhaps rocky isn't even really the mot juste..."less easy than I'm comfortable with" is probably about as strong as I can pitch it, if I must tell the absolute truth (and, since this is the Internet and everything you read here is the absolute truth, I suppose I must). Really, not even anything has happened about which I could say, "We'll laugh about this later." Just sort of plodding uncomfortably along.

The September Baby has Osgood-Schlatter Disease, which is not really a disease, but I love to say it because it sounds so exotic and awful. Basically, his knee hurts because his bones are growing faster than his muscles can keep up. It hurts badly and makes soccer less fun for him than I wish it were. We joke that it's because he drinks so incredibly much milk.

The February Baby is having a tough start to the year because we (and when I say "we," I don't mean we...I mean The Good Doctor) have decided that it is time that The FB start to make a concerted effort to get, and keep, his grades up.

The May Baby is, as usual, completely fine. Harassed by her brothers and missing her best friend, who has been absent from school because of mono, she keeps reminding me of the things on her list that she didn't get for Christmas, i.e. a horse and a violin. She gets blisters on her feet from wearing the high heels that her aunt (The Cool One) gave her for Christmas.

We've been busy and stressed with away soccer games and too many tests and too many days off (you know, having a short school week isn't fun at all any more...the teachers simply have to cram a week's worth of work into four, or even three, days) and too much stuff and too much laundry and cataract video-making and disappointments about land we can't buy and reports of my children being ugly to others on the playground at Wednesday night church.

So, where does the thankfulness come in?

Well, I am thankful, damn it. For...

139. Shampoo and conditioner that does what it says.
140. Dave Bruno and his book The 100 Thing Challenge.
141. Some cold weather...real winter in South Mississippi.
142. A date with The Good Doctor to see The King's Speech.
143. My iPad
144. Tuesday mornings
145. Three applications to take to PCS.
146. Jack Kennedy and United Christian Ministries.
147. Reminders that all the complaining I did in the first of this post is merely petulance and that, as I tell my children, if that's the worst thing you can come up with, you've got an extremely cushy life.
148. The boys getting to duck hunt with Grandaddy.
149. The years of farming my Daddy had, and this email he sent to me last week, after the auction of his equipment:

Subj: End of Quofaloma Partners

In March of 1977 Dixon C. Peaster, first cousin of my father James R. Peaster Jr., died of a sudden heart attack. Uncle Sonny and I rented Quofaloma Plantation from Stacia Peaster. I was the active manager and Partner until about 1996. Then I formed Quofaloma Partners with y'all until 2009. In early 2009 your mother and I formed Roseneath Partners and farmed until Dec. 2010. We rented the equipment from Quofaloma partners. TodayJan. 20th 2011 it all ended. I loved farming and I am very thankful to our loving heavenly father for allowing me to farm Quofaloma and Eden for 35 crops. Our God blessed and prospered us through this time. Today Dewitt auction company sold all of our equipment. It took about two and one half hours to sell the results of 35 years of farming. Jeff Dewitt and I have been loyal friends for 40 years. The auction was a success. It pays to have late model John Deere equipment. Y'all will be getting a nice check in about two weeks. This has been a very emotional time for me. I dearly loved farming.  Laura Lee thank you for your sweet note today and for your prayers. I did not go to the sale today. Too many memories. I love you both so very much. Good night from your your earthly father. Remember to fear God and love the Lord Jesus Christ all of your days.

(A Few) Favorite Christmas Memories 2010

Our weekend at Windsor Court in New Orleans in December.

The children discovered (or rediscovered) beignets.

I have tried to make them at home (with the souvenir mix), but they were not as good.

They also had their first visit to Brennan's for breakfast.

The May Baby's "Best Christmas Pageant Ever" at her school.

(Look at this photo and then try to tell me she looks just like me.)

My beautiful sister, The Cool One, with her beautiful nephews and niece,

sporting crowns from our Christmas crackers.

My family came to us for Christmas, since The Good Doctor was on call.

It was very good.

A Thousand Thanks

Ironically, just like the last time I posted, yesterday was yet another Monday off from school. Just for the boys; the May Baby had to go to school...but she didn't go until 9:00, and she had a yummy pit stop at Hardee's on the way for a chicken biscuit.

So, Number 119: A three-day weekend...another Monday off.

120. Spaghetti
121. Starting to feel a little like fall...sometimes.

 122. Silvery lavender and neon orange soccer cleats
in a (gulp!) size 10.5

123. The Stayers' hospitality
124. Candy!
125. Fifth Sunday night with all the local PCA churches
126. Tuesday mornings at Starbucks
127. Texts from Laura Young
128. Ponytail holders
129. School uniforms
130. Comfortable shoes
131. The Jones County Fair
132. Funnel cakes
133. Taffy (yes, I know I already listed candy...and a few weeks ago, I listed chocolate.)
134. Cataracts
135. Cold Diet Coke
136. Backpacks
137. Paying bills by phone
138. The smell of pipe tobacco smoke

The February Baby was the inspiration for number 138. On Friday I gave each of the children $40 to spend at Party Universe on a Halloween costume. He bought, among other things, a pipe. And he walked around all weekend with it in his mouth and it was so funny. I wish I had a photo of him. He didn't smoke it, of course, but it reminded me of my Uncle Sonny and the smell of his pipe when we would visit him and Aunt Patsy. What a cozy, wintry smell it is.

Sated on Saturday

I know I should give up on the alliterative post titles, but I can't do it yet. It has been a long time since you've heard from me..."you" being me, actually, or one of my ones of followers.

And just a note on my promise to keep you updated on the progress of the fort: I haven't broken it. There hasn't been any progress.

We have been really busy since school started on August 10 for The May Baby and the 11th for the boys. (One month ago!) Seventh grade homework is no joke. Also, lots of football games and horseback riding lessons, meetings for The Good Doctor, and pulpit committee meetings for me. And a whole lot of frantic errands to replace contacts (no glasses under helmets) and get football pads, mouth guards, chin straps, practice pants...

I enjoy watching the boys play, though, and they both seem to be liking it. Both boys sustained their first losses this week, however. The February Baby, whose team was undefeated last year, did not take that very well; he'd been blocking a monster from Poplarville (I think the kid's own child was cheering him from the sidelines). The September Baby was beaming when he came out of the locker room after his game...at least the Jackson Prep offense hadn't gotten around his end, during his six plays.

Anyway, losses have to happen, and it's said that they help build character.

So, I am going to go ahead and continue my thankful list with number 106. Losses
107. Football
108. Coaches
109. Safety, so far, from injuries...physical ones, at least.

And I'm feeling in a bookish mood tonight, so

110. Lord Peter Wimsey and Dorothy L. Sayers
111. C.S. Lewis
112. Jane Austen
113. P.G. Woodhouse and Bertie Wooster
114. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
115. Harry Potter
116. Ngaio Marsh
117. My bookclub

Mulling over Multitude Monday

Well, I said that I was no longer going to comment on how quickly Mondays come around or on the fact that I am so late posting, so I won't. (See how I did that...mentioning it by saying I wasn't going to mention it? There must be a literary term for that.) I will count this, however...Number 82. I do not blog for a living.

This past month has been full of excitement. School is out (Number 83). We went to Dollywood. We came home from Dollywood (Number 84). We got a new kitten, Lucy, who is such a joy (Number 85). We went to a couple of soccer tournaments. Soccer ended for us (Number 86). The boys went to Twin Lakes (87). We had Ella's birthday/slumber/swimming party at Mom L's. We went to Flora to celebrate Mama's birthday (88). Kiper and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary (89) and got to go to New Orleans for the weekend (90), because Haley and Will (91 and 92) came to keep the children (94, 95, 96) for us. We got upgraded (97) to the Teddy Roosevelt Suite at The Roosevelt, which was Amazing. A piano in our suite! All we needed was to have a party and invite Harry Connick, Jr. to play it for us. Kiper is determined to learn to play so we can go back next year.

I want to make it to One Hundred this week so I'm going to also mention, specifically...

98. Clancy's Restaurant
99. New Orleans French Bread
100. Beignets (Yay! One-tenth of the way to A Thousand Thanks!)
101. Jazz music
102. Doctors
103. The ability to go see Goober last week on the spur of the moment.
104. An important negotiation that has worked out for Kiper's business.
105. Getting to spend time with Heather and the Starnses today.

My camera has been lost for a couple of weeks. It needs to turn up before we go to the beach on Saturday. I wish I had some photos to liven up this post.

A Thousand Thanks

Dog tired already on Monday morning and feeling like we didn't have a weekend break. We didn't, really. It was spent mostly driving...driving to Thaxton, driving back and forth from Thaxton to Tupelo soccer fields. It was also spent watching soccer, lugging chairs, pacing, photographing, wringing hands, cheering, wondering if boys had enough cold drinks, cringing at knee injuries, being elated, being disappointed, being annoyed (there was a Starkville team there), watching out for rain.

But what fun! How exciting to see these big little boys...little big boys...in their last few days of elementary school, many just a couple of months away from being teenagers: playing hard, using their healthy bodies, celebrating each other's goals, enjoying each other's company, listening to their coaches, fighting for the ball, running, jumping, scrambling, kicking, falling, bouncing, and rolling but getting up again and still running. How lovely it was to sit with their parents: cheering, encouraging, visiting.

Man...I really hate soccer.

Just kidding, of course.

I like soccer a whole lot. It's the Sunday tournament games that kill me...the four or five games in two days. There is a good reason for having a day of rest on Sunday. I suppose that's why God told us to do it.

61. When we got home last night and the babies had bathed and we were telling them goodnight (or rather, they were telling us goodnight before going up to put themselves to bed because we were too tired to go up and tuck them in) the September Baby, the soccer player, said, "Thank you for letting me play soccer."

62. Cameras with sports mode shooting.
63. Sunday rest.
64. Suburbans with DVD players.
65. Occupied boys on a four hour trip.
66. May, who made us hamburgers to go so we wouldn't have to stop and eat on our way home.
67. A soccer field with shade trees beside it.

68. Soccer siblings sitting in the shade.
69. The end of the school year.
70. Book club to look forward to tomorrow night...and NO soccer practice!

A Thousand Thanks

As forecast...a look at our first swim of the season. The Good Doctor was still in Winston-Salem on Mother's Day, basking in the glory of a successful presentation for the First Annual M. Madison Slusher Lecture...and also basking in the wonderful preaching of our old pastor, Reggie Kimbro, at Grace Free Pres.

Our dear Starnses let us join them at Little Tokyo hibachi for lunch and then let us join them at their neighborhood pool for our First Swim of 2010. Well...it was the first swim of 2010 for The Three...not for me, of course. The water is still way too cold. But I had a lovely visit with Heather.

54. The First Swim of the Season

 
55. Lunch with sweet Loleeta on Monday, who always knows the right thing to say. Maybe it's because she is "quick to hear and slow to speak." Thank you, Lo.

56. Airplanes...it's a long way to Winston-Salem in a car.

57. Time in Winston and getting to see old friends. There is something special about the friendships that begin and grow during residency...the Good Doctor likened to the bonds that form between soldiers in the trenches during a war.

58. Faithful, skillful practice administrators who are willing to trade places with me on plane trips.

59. The sounds of boys talking and laughing in bed...way after lights out...waiting for their daddy to get home and kiss them.

60. Adoption. At the alumni dinner after the eye meeting Friday, and here at home, we seem to be increasingly surrounded by families who are adopting children. I am thankful for them, and for the way it reminds me that I am adopted into God's family...co-heirs with Christ. Amazing love, how can it be?

Thanks Anyway

I am gulping back tears. Knowing that today is the day for counting blessings and feeling like I don't have time, I am NOT thankful, I am overwhelmed...there is too much to do, too much expected, too many needs...stupid stuff, things that shouldn't have to be done, it's not fair to be asked. Feeling pressed and pushed and victimized.

And then I read this...

She says she teaches a home-school preschooler co-op. She says she began counting 1000 gifts.

She says she gave all her preschoolers their own gratitude journals. I swallow hard.

Last week she called four-year-old J. to come with his journal and she'd record more of his gifts for him. They sit down. She looks across the table at this little man.

"So, what are you thankful for today?" Teren asks J.

"I'm thankful that it's not my birthday," says J.

My eyebrows shoot high. Really?

"That's exactly what I did when he said that," Teren laughs, gorgeous sky.

"So I clarified, 'You don't like birthdays, J?'"

And J says, "I love birthdays. And I haven’t had one in a long time."

Then why would he.... ?

Teren leans across the table to me and directly lays the little boy's words into my hands.

"I’m saying thanks anyway.”

That story is from Ann Voskamp's blog, www.aholyexperience.com. Her post from today, May 3, 2010.

And I am as seared as she was.

And I know it's not going to help get the bugs identified. It's not going to get K-group dessert made. It's not going to get Ella's birthday presents bought or the cupcakes made. It's not going to get the bags packed for Winston-Salem, or the milk bought, or the laundry folded, or the Mother's Day gifts bought and mailed. But aren't these things part of God's plan to make me and mold me? To give glory to Himself? So surely it will help my heart

to say thanks...

48. For the science teacher who gives too many assignments at the end of the year.
49. For those bugs that I can't, and the book can't, and the web can't identify.
50. For the huge pile of unfolded laundry on the counter in the laundry room.
51. For needing to be in three places at the same time.
52. For thin, grey hair and crow's feet and a sore knee.

And...

53. For Dr. Davis, who reminds and reminds and reminds us that God is our God. He can never be anything less than our God. He is not ashamed to be called our God.

A Thousand Thanks

I know how awful this blog looks now. I tried changing the design template to give myself room to make the photos as big as they could be. But it's kindof ugly. I'll probably change it back soon. In the meantime, I am so very thankful for

36. The safety of all Yazoo Peasters during the tornadoes Saturday.

37. Breakfast for supper.

38. My mother, of whom pancakes always make me think. (Take that, grammar police!) She makes the best pancakes; and she will make them for my children for three meals a day, if that's what they prefer (and they often do). One of my favorite memories is of her cooking pancakes at the old house in Yazoo City (the babies called it "Mom L City") with a toddler September Baby sitting on the counter nearby, helping her flip them and then eating them warm and spread with plum jelly.

39. The other folks on the pulpit committee.

40. A new Amelia Peabody book last week and a new Mary Russell this week!

41. Del Sol Mexican Restaurant.

42. Naps...oh, wait, I used that one last week...so...

42. Natural gas and really hot water...as the song says, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

43. The appearance of the first tree frog on our big front window.

44. Sarah, who likes to clean things out and who came to help me clean out the carport today. (Isn't this beautiful? The children wanted to eat in there!)

45. The first snow cones of the season.

46. KaBoom Bowl Blaster Foaming Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

Look what it does! It really does foam!








47. This...

A Thousand Thanks

I began this list on Monday (honestly!) but never had time to upload photos and finish it until today. Today I have time because I am at home. I am at home waiting for the man from Willmut Gas to come reconnect our natural gas, which was disconnected yesterday due to non-payment. I am so ashamed. And this time, I can't even blame Harry Potter.

So...I'm here. But I can't (won't!) take a shower. I can't make spaghetti sauce. I can't dry laundry.

But I CAN play here and praise God for his goodness.

24. Pizza delivery, when the stove isn't working (see above).

25. Curly, long, thick, dark eyelashes...like their daddy's.

 
26. Fields of red clover.

27. Siblings playing together.

28. A diligent boy who does his work without being prodded...though it tends to make me a lazy mommy.

29. Baby kittens cradled on my babies' chests. (Thank you, Bentons and Lucy, for sharing!)

30. Abundance and bounty.

31. Forgiveness for not being thankful enough...and for not using the bounty wisely.

32. Sunday afternoon naps.

33. This reminder from Ann Voskamp of A Holy Experience (aholyexperience.com):

"Remember that there is but one difference between us and the soil under our feet, under our plowshare, under our food... One difference only between the dirt in my hand and my hand...

The breath of God."

34. And...OH! PRAISE GOD! The Willmut Gas man who came when he said he would!

35. My dear, dear college roommate and enduring friend Mary Beth, whose birthday is today.

A Thousand Thanks

Monday? Again? Good grief. And, honestly, this is the last time I am going to comment on how quickly the weeks fly. From now on, I'll just plunge in with the list.

18. Reconnecting with old friends...even without Facebook. (Thanks, Cindy!)

19. Traveling mercies.

20. For fishing and catching big(ish) fish

and tiny ones.

21. An important goal made on a gorgeous spring day.

22. The third generation of friends with whom to celebrate it.


23. A beautiful week of spring days.

A Thousand Thanks

Again, it is Monday. Doesn't it come around quickly? The day I have designated to add to my list of things for which I am thankful. And not just any Monday...

11. Easter Monday. The first day after the resurrection! Imagine years ago, how word was spreading...rumors? No! Real! Praise God. The "first day of the rest of Jesus' life" in which sits our Heavenly Father's right hand where He intercedes for us, loves us, saves us.

12. Sweet fellowship and succulent food with friends after church yesterday.

13. The silliness and high spirits of boys out of school. Boys who will still sit on my lap.

14. Madras patchwork shorts on a lanky, long-haired 12-year-old boy. Even though he'd rather be wearing gym shorts.

15. A pick-up truck for the Good Doctor, finally!

16. A boy daddy who will let boys burn boxes just for fun. (And it cleaned out the carport!)

17. Corrective lenses and ophthalmic technology.

Curbing the complaining

While I know this is only my second week of doing this...and two times does not a good habit make (although somehow a bad habit can be established with only one repetition)...and I didn't even remember that this day is "Multitude Monday" until the middle of the afternoon, I think this is an excellent exercise for me: a malcontent, a dedicated complainer, an eloquent caviller, a bellyacher, a sniveller, a griper. (I adore having a thesaurus right on my desktop, available with a touch of a button.) Naming the myriad of good things God has granted me...counting my blessings, as Bing Crosby would call it...has to be the perfect antidote for complaining. I am, in fact, commanded by God to give thanks "always and for everything." (Ephesians 5:20) So, here is number

8.  Since I've already mentioned the thesaurus on my computer, I'll go ahead and expand on that theme. I love my Mac! I am so thankful to be able to communicate quickly with friends and family. We all love the screensaver that works like a slideshow, bringing back memories of past trips and past times. I am diverted by some blogs and deeply moved and encouraged by other blogs that I read from time to time. The ease of being able to track down answers to the random questions that occur to all five of us daily is  so helpful...and educational!

9. I am thankful that my life and livelihood does not depend on my posting blog entries in a timely fashion. I started this on Monday. It is now Friday.

10. It's Good Friday. Praise God for His indescribable gift! Going back to my theme of four days ago, there at the top, just a couple of paragraphs up...How could thoughts of Him ever leave room for any complaining? It just shows how full of sin I am, how much in need of saving, and reminds me again to say how thankful I am for Good Friday!

Multitude Monday

The title of this post is stolen from Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience, and the Gratitude Community who encourage readers to think of one thousand things they are thankful for. (I still hate ending a sentence with a preposition!) I've been pondering the challenge for some time now and have decided to take up the gauntlet...testing out this new blog site* AND reminding myself on this, the day after the horrible, historic passage of the new health care legislation by Congress, that...no matter what...I have been granted multitudes of blessings by my Heavenly Father.

1....

Now, wait...this gives me pause...I hope to end up with at least a thousand things here, but it's hard to put Number One next to one of them. I feel as if I have to make it the most important thing in the world. At the same time knowing that if I keep this up, many of my entries will be very "of the moment," almost transient things that flit by and for which I breathe a sigh of thankfulness while moving on to the next activity, job, or thought. Wait...really, it's easy. So, right this minute, what is foremost in my mind to be thankful for is the taste of Nutella on the baguette I just ate, and the memories it brought back of my trip to Europe in 1992 with Cindy. But I'll make those Numbers Two and Three, respectively, because I know that Number One must be...

God's grace.

2. The smooth, chocolatey, hazelnutty flavor of the Nutella I just ate, smeared on a piece of chewy Reising's French Bread.

3. My trip to Europe with Cindy, of which said Nutella reminded me so vividly.

4. My husband...gentle, quiet, friendly, peaceful today...in spite of the disastrous decisions our government made yesterday.

5. My children. My boys and my girl. Hale and hearty. Healthy and, mostly, happy.

6. I can once again, and still, walk upstairs to kiss them good night.

7. They want me to.

*This was originally posted at thenatteringnelson.wordpress.com. I'm trying to decide which blog site I like better. Surprise! I can't decide.