Runic Plates

Our history lessons have brought us to study the Vikings. Finally, something to excite the bored boy stuck with his sisters! We have all been enthralled actually! So, with much trepidation, (because we all know how much I love to do crafts) we make runic plates in the tradition of the Vikings. Runes are the characters of the Viking alphabet, we have learned. We had a lot of fun...well, most of us. Some of us are much too into perfection and have quit way too early. Oh the joys of motherhood!

The girls and their plates. (maybe I will be able to get mr. perfectionist to finish and put his picture up later!!) They have painted their plates gold and written the Runic alphabet around the edges and their names are written in Runic in the middle.

That is our lesson for the day!! Tomorrow...Attila the Hun!

A Grateful Heart

When I sat down to write today, my heart and mind were tired. My body is tired from all the tasks of the day, and my soul is tired from hearing my children bicker throughout the morning. But, I am determined to remember the things that make my heart most thankful; and slowly, as I start to go through my pictures, a funny thing happens. My heart feels lighter, and my soul is put at ease and I am strengthened by gratitude. And you know, downstairs, almost miraculously, my children begin to serve one another. A home is now at peace. So...

0001 A home at peace.

0002 14400 Seneca Road

0003 An extended family

0004 Time with family in beautiful new surroundings

0005 Hot air balloons right outside my window

0006 A God that is faithful to bring peace when we obey His voice.

We are half way through our Monday, and all I have done is run from one child's need to the next. I am watching and hearing my attitude slowly drift in a downward spiral. I come upstairs to print something out on my computer and I come across a blog that I love to read. I found it through a friend who has this link on her blog. This has become my absolute favorite blog to visit and I visit it daily. Ann Voskamp is the writer of this blog "A Holy Experience" and has challenged me in ways I have not been challenged in a very long time. So, she has challenged her readers to keep a running list of things they are thankful for until they reach 1000 of them. So, I am determined to start this running list of thanks. The other thing I have been challenged to do is similar, but a bit more personal. I am determining to keep a journal of thanks and to write in this journal three times a day. Here is the link of the blog that has spurned me on to this. I cannot put it in better words than she does here. http://www.aholyexperience.com/2009/10/dare-to-be-daniel-pilgrimage-in-prayer.html

So, here and there, I hope to share with you the things I am thankful for in hopes that my attitude will be one of thankfulness for the blessings God has given me.

P.S. You will have to pause the music on my page (at the bottom) in order not to have my playlist run on top of her playlist!!

Our first week of school-FINALLY!

Our first week of homeschool has been one of ups and downs. The first two days were spent telling our middle to "sit down", "be quiet"," work diligently son". Mikey has had his challenges this week. He has not slept well, he is fidgety and anxious. But, with much prayer and much counsel from wise friends who have been down this homeschooling path, we are in a better state toward the end of this week. I am learning that schedules are great, but so are happy productive children. I thank God we have been given such the privilege to come to Him with our requests and I am thankful that He gives wisdom when we ask. We are a happy family as this week ends; content with home, school and each other. He is faithful.

Welcome to New Mexico

Well, we have made it across country without any major issues!! What a feat for this family! Our adventure is alive and well and within 10 days of leaving Maryland, we have driven 1900 miles, unpacked and entire house and are settling in just fine. I have to take a moment to say thank you to our wonderful friends the Hooks and the Ellisons who have labored to make this happen so quickly. What a blessing from our loving God to have friends who have welcomed us with open arms, loved our kids, fed us, done our laundry and made us feel so loved. We could not have done this without you dear friends. So, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

So, now our new life begins! We are taking this week to explore our new town, which is very alive at the moment with the balloon fiesta here. And, next week we officially start O'Halloran Academy!!

God has been good to this little family and we look ahead with hearts full and ready for what is to come.

A Jewel of Grace

Acts 17:26 "From one man, he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. For God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."

My precious Kathryn has taken hard to the news of moving, of leaving this wonderful life she has. The friends she has made, the school she adores, the church that God has used so mightily to bring healing to this family. My heart breaks to see her walk through this trial. I have seen God's hand at work throughout this process and I know He is not far from us now. To teach this truth to a broken-hearted nine year old is more than difficult. Even still, God's sovereignty remains. God has used my many trials to call out to Him. This is no different for my children. They will learn to cry out to God in the midst of heartbreak. This is grace in action. As a parent, I can't wait to see the fruit that is sure to come. I have been reading through "To Live the Gospel", a book of devotions written by our pastor Rob Norris. This one from Feb '95 is exactly what God is doing in my Kathryn.

From Weakness to Strength

"There are times when all of us feel oppressed by circumstances that seem to control our destinies and direct our lives. Yet the mighty God can make us stronger than our circumstances. He once promised Jacob a most astounding thing: 'Fear not, thou worm Jacob...Behold I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth...' Isaiah 41:14-15 KJV

Could any two things be in greater contrast than a worm and a threshing instrument having teeth? The worm is delicate, crushable and easily hurt. An instrument with teeth can break and not be broken; it can leave its mark on a rock. God promises that he can take the man or woman who may be as impotent as a worm and can endow them with strength to make a mark on life.

So take heart, even if you are dispirited by your inability to rule your own destiny, for the mighty God can make us mightier than our circumstances. He can bend all things to our good. He can take hold of a disappointment, break it open and extract from it a jewel of grace. When God gives us wills like iron, we can drive through difficulties as easily as the iron instrument can cut through the toughest soil.

Christ is building his kingdom with earth's broken things. He takes us, even if we are unsuccessful in this world, for he is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filled with earth's broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into an instrument of music for the Lord. He can lift earth's saddest failure up to heaven's glory.

Do not be discouraged by circumstances, for the Lord controls them. He can enable you to triumph over them, and make them serve both you and his purpose."

Rob Norris

Pictures from New Mexico

Chile Season
Mountain View
A Road Runner
Our House