I hope you all had a fabulous Mothers Day. Our church had a lunch for the mothers, cooked and served by all the men and boys. It was nice. For junior church the kids made carnation bouquets. I'm feeling quite rich in flowers .

It's been a busy weekend getting ready to go out of town tomorrow. We are leaving bright and early for the Northern California coast. I am soooo looking forward to a week away with NO chores. The secret desires of a homesteader .

On Friday we went on an awesome field trip to the LavaBeds National Monument. They were having a "TimeLine thru History". They had representatives of Mountain Men, Klamath Indians, Pioneers, and Civil War Soldiers. We had a really fun time  and took LOTS of pics to share.

This was the Mountain Man Camp. The last pic is my hubby making fire .

Here comes the kids throwing a spear.

The Little Man was otherwise occupied

This was the pioneer camp (they were a little lost. They were looking for the Applegate Trail)

The coolest was the Soldier camp.They even had a hospital tent complete with a pile of amputated limbs

The Little Man enjoyed the ride

We were all dirty. I was sunburned(forgot my hat ). And tired. But we had fun. Talk to you soon from the Redwoods.

Blessings.

We went to town again today, to go to the library.

After we returned home I walked up to the door and saw this:

I opened it to find these:

I tried to take a pic of the note but it was too blurry. It says:

"Happy Mothers Day! I miss you mom. Love you! Love, T."  My oldest boy loves his mommy enough to send the very best .

Yes, I cried. Yes, I called and said "thank you" and cried some more. He even personalized the colors. Notice the orange ones? They are my favorite color. The lime green ones? His favorite color. I have to say, he earned some MAJOR brownie points with this one.

Blessings.

Whew! Busy, busy day today.

I took my son in for his yearly eye exam and to order new glasses. They are very nice there but sooooo pokey. It took forever. They kept offering to put in movies and hand out special toys to the other children and I am thinking "Just finish so we can leave!!!!!!" but I smiled and was nice  . Then we had to drop off milk to a customer and then it was time for PURGATORY. You may know it as Walmart. There is just something about that place. It saps all the joy right out of you. In "Created to be his help meet" Debi Pearl talks about sitting outside a Walmart counting all the women that went in smiling. I always thought that was unfair. I mean, come on, it's WALMART  

To make matters worse, I bought a bathing suit for our upcoming vacation. I wanted something modest and attractive. HAH! I did find something that I thought would work. I tried it on at home and the top portion does not, um, hold anything up if you know what I mean. The bottoms aren't too bad if I could just replace my thighs with some attractive ones   So I haven't figured out if I should just wear a sports bra under it or take it back. I will wait until my husband comes home and let him decide.

My husband is applying for a part-time pastor position at a small church. This could mean some major changes for our family. It is a little early to get all caught up in it but that is what I do best. Gung Ho, that's me. I mean how silly is it to get all wound up when the whole thing is in the Lord's hands? If He wills it will all work. If He doesn't will, it won't. It sounds so simple but the flesh is so complicated I think my husband would really like an opportunity like this so I am hoping for him.

I have ham and bean soup in the crockpot. I wish I had started bread this morning. Doesn't that sound good? Yummy bean soup and fresh bread? Oh well. Maybe I can talk my son into making his "signature" biscuits. It is time for chores, I better go.

Blessings.

Have you ever heard a woman say "I hated being pregnant" ?

I overheard a young mother say this a while back. She was a young, missionary wife, with a sweet 7 or 8 month old baby. I have to say that I was greatly taken aback by her words.

Now let me just say here, I do not have the nicest pregnancies. I have "morning sickness", almost from the moment of conception, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the first 3-4 months. The last 2-3 months I have pinched nerves and severe joint pain in my pelvic region. And I am usually way more than ready to be done by 8 months. It's no cake walk.

But I love it. I love carrying life inside me. I love knowing the Lord has blessed me with another life to nuture. It is amazing. It is a priveledge not a curse. To hear a woman say she hates the one thing that so totally defines being a woman, makes me sad. In todays world we often treat pregnancy as a "disease". Something to be endured, dealt with, gotten through. We put women in the hospital, plugged in to machine after machine, hooked up to IVs and monitors, flat on their backs and drugged out of their minds, all to do THE most natural thing in the world: give birth. No wonder some women dislike it so. The beauty and wonder and pure joy has been sucked away by the world.

I know many women who have their "1.7 children" one right after the other to "get it over with". The pregancies, the babyhood, toddlerhood, potty training. They just want it all behind them. That is so sad. It is such a joyfilled season of life. To be able to create and carry life inside you. To have that tiny little person who needs you for everything. To spend the special bonding time nursing that child. To watch them grow and change and look to you for everything. To have the chance to teach a brand new human being who Jesus is and what he did for them. That is a time truly, to be treasured. Not "gotten over with".

I look around me at all the young women who have been taught that motherhood is just a lowly position. Not to be compared with a career or your place in the "world". I am saddened and heart broken for what these women are losing. All they are missing out on. To bring life into the world, to nurture and train a child up in the way of the Lord; there is no higher calling. There is no better blessing. Children are a gift from the Lord. Large families once were considered a blessing. To be childless was a burden and a disgrace. How far we have come from those days.

If you are a young woman or you know a young woman who may be caught up in the ways of the world, encourage her to seek out the Lord. Encourage her to read God's word on children and families. If you know/are a young woman who is family minded and ready to be blessed by the Lord be steadfast. Stay in God's word and don't let the world distract you. Children are a blessing from the Lord.

Psalm 127:3,4,5

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one's youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them

Blessings.