831. progress days & maintenance days & survival days
832. especially progress in planting!
833. getting off my 40 mg/day prednisone boost!
834. the Lord's goodness
835. listening & praying friends
836. a new friend to pray with & read a book together
837. my doctor in Chicago! I love her! And am soooo thankful for her!
838. insurance & medicine
839. safety on the roads ... every day
840. respite
Wednesday is Moms in Prayer morning. Usually it's in our living room, so that would be zero miles.
Since this Wednesday was the last day of school, we planned to go out for breakfast instead. Fun!
We live in the middle of nowhere, but a few farm towns near us have restaurants, so I drove 10 miles to have breakfast.
I continued another 20 miles to make a Costco return, and then backtracked for all. the. errands! (CVS (package pickup), Farm & Fleet, ALDI, Walmart, thrift store donation in another town, and pharmacy & bank in another town)
All was well until LM returned from school stating her expander was loose. I looked & felt, and something definitely seemed loose. Upon calling the orthodontist, they wanted to see her. So we hopped in the van and drove 22 miles due south on country roads (unmarked and without stop signs in places!!). In what was a first for our orthodontist, the band had come loose. So, she "popped out" the expander, cleaned off the glue, and took new impressions. We have an appointment in about a month to start all over. Whew!!
Home for 30 minutes, just long enough to eat sandwiches, grapes, carrot sticks, and chips, before heading 25 miles to church.
So, I traveled three different spokes of the wheel from our house in one day and used almost half a tank of gas!
May is May-ing like it's never May-ed before.
I saw someone post that recently. Most of my Maycember is that I try to squeeze in as much as I can before school is out. And then I run myself ragged...
Take yesterday for example ... I was gone the entire time LM was at school!
I went directly from dropping the children off at school to an appointment for quarterly labwork. (Postponed from when I had pneumonia.) Actually, it was the best part of my day, because I consider my phlebotomist my friend. :) (Quarterly and sometimes monthly labs for 4.5 years will do that!)
She offered me some juice afterward, while we caught up. Then I had breakfast on the go, went in Target & Ross and still had time to go in Clothes Mentor (purchased $0) and get the van washed before my 11.15 AM appointment with my immunologist.
That led to 5 days of steroids, a new daily pill, and her constant reminder that I need to take calcium.
Drive-through for a quick lunch, and then Costco for a few items which turned into more than a few. ;)
By then it was time to get in car line. Thankfully the afternoon was open, so I got some rest. (But I'd prefer to get my rest while the children are in school.)
Every day this week has seemed so very full, and full of such a wide variety each day.
Monday morning was my eye appointment, which led to daily homework and a follow-up in 6 months. Not what I really have time for.
Monday noon I had a phone call with an acquaintance walking a similar parenting journey. RICH conversation and the most theologically astute perspective I have heard. So encouraging!
Tuesday took the cake ... I had been gifted a head spa, which is so luxurious! I almost had whiplash because immediately afterward I had a phone call scheduled with the school social worker, and I ended up in tears.
Then I had the blessing of helping a friend! (Second time in a week! Last week it was staying with her 2 year old for 15-20 minutes because Grandma was running late. This week it was loaning some dress-up costume parts to a different friend who said I "saved the day.")
Mentoring phone call while driving to my labs (in a town in a different direction). And LM's spring music concert that evening. Talk about exhaustion!
Wednesday I had a sick child home, so my nurse understandably wouldn't come for my infusion, so I had an unexpected open day. I also had a very disappointing phone call from a medical office. I ended up "rage cleaning" for 3 hours and also doing lots of laundry, and, in the process, getting triple my average number of steps. (!)
Thursday my whole body was sore (oops!). I did all the things so I could look professional at a 2.45 PM meeting at school. (Hair, nails, jewelry, makeup, etc.)
I rushed from the meeting to Grandpa's to pick up both children who had ridden their respective buses there after school. And then we went the opposite direction for an appointment in town.
On the way home (after filling up with $4.15/gallon gas - woohoo!!), I dropped BK off at the high school, and he waited for Jim to arrive a few minutes later, so they could watch the high school play.
Friday I had Zoom prayer meeting for Japan from 6-6.30, and then my infusion from 8-1 (I slept 2.5 hours during it), and the housecleaner was here from 10.30-1.30. In the evening LM and I went to the high school play.
Scattered in there in all the "free" minutes were what seemed like 50 million texts and emails about all. sorts. of. things. When I look back at my sent emails this week, they are so very random ... and plentiful.
I am ready for a weekend. :)
Maycember is a social media-coined term describing the chaotic, overscheduled nature of May, which mirrors the insanity of December, but without the holiday cheer.
Maycember doesn't stop even on Sundays!
I thought Saturday was a doozy, but Sunday took the cake!
Jim teaches 3rd grade Sunday School every other month, and May is his month, so we had to leave 15 minutes early. We arrived at church before 8.45, and left around noon.
After lunch, Jim & BK left to check the Gideon Bibles in a hotel and replace any that were missing or damaged.
Shortly after that, LM accompanied me to Baccalaureate. I was planning to go alone, but she certainly couldn't stay home by herself! She did great, belting out the songs, sitting next to my friend's high school daughter, and going through all the items in her church bag.
This was the first Baccalaureate I had ever attended in my life! (Although it's nothing like the Baccalaureate of years ago. Only 13 seniors -out of 100 or more- attended.) Our ministerial alliance sponsors it, and had enthusiastically invited Moms in Prayer to be a part of the service. Two of us praying moms were able to attend.
We are overjoyed for the publicity, and hope that more moms will join us! The host pastor described Moms in Prayer and also let the moms know that, even though their child is graduating, they can join a zoom prayer group for their child's college or they can join a young adults' group. Brochures with a QR code were also available by the refreshment table.
Home in time to make a fruit salad, and find & sign three cards.
Then off to a family dinner from 5.30-8.
What will the rest of Maycember be like?!
When you have babies and toddlers, garage sales are the best. And you buy things you didn't even know you "needed." Books, toys, puzzles, snow suits, and more, so much more! Now, we're more in the purging era, and tweens and pre-tweens don't grow as quickly as newborns.
Now I try to have a list and I pray. In fact, the morning of the townwides, when Jim asked us each what our prayer request was, I said, "That I'll find things we need at the garage sale - shoes & jeans for BK, a bicycle for LM, and work clothes for Jim." When I picked LM up from school her first (& very enthusiastic) words were, "Did you find a bike for me?" Alas, no.
But I did (amazingly) find jeans for BK!!
Last year I only found one pair of jeans for him. American Eagle Outfitters. And they were marked $10. I hesitated, but they have been his only pair of jeans this past year. He is definitely at the age where it's tough to find any clothes at garage sales. But! But the Lord provided 3 or 4 pairs of the same style jeans (at $3 to $5/each!!).
You can see all my finds below ...
Oh, and a half-empty can of Bar Keepers Friend. I have one in my Walmart cart, but they were giving half-empty cleaning products away at an estate sale. The Lord provides!
All in all, I am very pleased with this year's "national holiday!" To be able to outfit my children and husband for such little money, and also to get some extras (that will add beauty to our life) for pennies on the dollar is such a generous gift from our loving Father.
Have you been garage-saling this spring?
800. protection in the storms (up to 15 tornadoes in the central part of our state Friday evening)
801. that LM didn't realize how bad it was (at one point we were inside THREE red boxes on the map, i.e. three tornado warnings)
802. fun out-of-the-ordinary experiences for both LM & BK this past weekend
803. a 2-hour Sunday afternoon nap for me (the kind where you have trouble waking up) ~ Thank you, Jesus!
804. seeing the Lord work to slowly improve (somewhat) a situation in our life which has been very very hard
805. a friend to listen & give practical advice when I was overwhelmed one afternoon
806. the SIXTH anniversary of Jim's dad & his second wife (married when he was 90!)
807. excellent teaching in our adult Sunday School class... we are more than one year into Isaiah (I am still loving my Isaiah journal)
808. making contact with a very helpful mom of one of BK's friends, a Christ-follower who also knows lots of the kids in their class *and* their parents
809. slow steps forward in preparing to empty our room for the floor project (Yikes!)
810. related to that, throwing away lots of things & filling bags to donate & bags to hand down to friends (Yay!)
We are at the point in T-minus-summer-vacation where my to-do list includes:
Second shift on Monday only involved four hours of being on the road (2-6 PM, but it felt long. It was pretty tame, compared to many second shifts I have known, but I am out of practice (which is a good thing).
But ... onward, ho! Home. Supper. Get LM in bed.
And this is where the schedule changed from A Farmer in Winter to #Plant26. Jim actually didn't start planting until Tuesday, but he worked late (until long after I was in bed) on Monday.
Now it's time for story time. Back in the day, I spent a summer or two as a camp counselor. (I worked at camps many summers, but was only a camp counselor on rare occasions.) Why did I not like being a camp counselor? Because I had to stay awake until everyone in my cabin was asleep.
Why do I not like #Plant26? For the same reason. I cannot in good conscience go to sleep before the children are in bed. (I also miss Jim tremendously.)
My mother-in-law called today to see if I got any rest. In spurts! I am definitely still not over pneumonia.
What will Wednesday hold? Only the Lord knows. Thankfully He is also holding me!
It's a new week, and I'm still rueing the fact that my phone calendar doesn't give me a week at a glance. I am a pen & paper girl, and just wrote it down, and am happy to see there is only one thing on my calendar most days this week! And - I have zero medical appointments for myself this week. Woo-hoo!
This Saturday night is a Daddy-Daughter Dance. As LM's tutor says, "It's an agricultural community. Why would they plan it during planting?" Exactly. I fear I will have an inconsolable girl on my hands Saturday evening ... But that's yet another life lesson.
We attended 6th grade Orientation for Youth Group yesterday (!). The Lord has blessed our church with longevity (current youth pastor has been there 20+ years) and a solid program, and by that I don't mean programming, but philosophy, volunteers, etc.
Jim's phone apparently has an overactive Siri! Yesterday the assistant pastor who was preaching got a little excited (& loud) at one point in his sermon. Siri started talking back! This morning as Jim prayed that the kids would have a good day in school, Siri said, "I hope you have a good day, too." Oops!! BK quickly disabled Siri on Jim's phone ... as Jim has never used it intentionally!
I printed all of my Mom's tax forms (see reference to pen & paper girl above), but our printer must need toner or something. Normally I would just go to the library to print, but a minivan drove into our little village library the other day & the library is closed until further notice. I could not make this up!
Thankfully, the voucher to mail with Mom's tax payment is mostly legible, so I can be a good citizen & get that in the mail. Whew!
My biggest rock today is no doubt checking fridge/freezer inventory, making a meal plan, and placing a Walmart order that I can pick up after LM's orthodontist appointment tomorrow morning.
I saw this online the other day:
No one warned you that getting older basically means having to decide what to make with ground beef and chicken every day the rest of your life 😂
It's a season of plodding.
I had my infusion yesterday, and I am just wiped out, even though I slept soundly for 2.5 hours of the infusion.
I aim to join a monthly prayer meeting for Japan (6 AM my time), and had missed for several months, but got up today so I could participate. What a blessing! But I do not feel awake yet at 9.30 AM.
We had a lot of storms the past few weeks, and that wears on a person (a mom of anxious kiddos).
Every day is touch and go with a certain situation in our life.
I spent five hours Wednesday by the side of one of our children who was having a difficult time. Afterward I felt like I had been through the wringer.
I had to drive to & from Wednesday night church (Awana & prayer meeting) for the first time in 4 months, as field work is slowly beginning and Jim was working.
Jim wants to do more in the fields, but it has been rainy & there is a lot of rain in the forecast.
I'm feeling nervous about preparing our house (emptying these rooms) for new flooring in 4 rooms + bathroom, closet & laundry room.
I'm feeling apprehensive about the transition from school year to summer vacation (6 weeks to go).
My body is still not fully recovered from pneumonia.
For this we have Jesus. And He is real. And He has all power. And He can answer seemingly impossible prayers!
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
::Repost::
I remember jelly beans, dying eggs, and (real) egg hunts in the front yard.
I remember sunrise service (indoors) and mouthwatering breakfasts in the church basement.Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Have you ever been to a Maundy Thursday service?
Back in the mid-to-late 90s, someone from my college church sent me a cassette tape of a Maundy Thursday service (it was a joint service with another church in the town). I listened to it many times over.
Our church doesn't have a Maundy Thursday service. In the first few years of our marriage, we attended a very moving Tenebrae service at a Lutheran church a few times, and also a Good Friday service at College Church in Wheaton.
On Thursday this week I hit a proverbial wall and ended up spending a couple hours of the afternoon in bed. Jim reminded me of all of God's promises. My reply was, "I can believe His promises & trust Him and still cry."
Before bed I watched a replay of the livestream of the Maundy Thursday service at the aforementioned Lutheran Church. Good hymns!!
Good Friday was FULL of reminders of its meaning. For one, I was lost in reading cover-to-cover (almost) the biography of Pauline Hamilton, "To a Different Drum," which is the story of her radical obedience to her Lord.
What is the cross if not our Lord's radical obedience?
"he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!"
Midday we went to the movies, if one can call it that. We watched "A Great Awakening," and were inspired by the fervor of George Whitefield and the unmatched work of the Holy Spirit!
While preparing my food to take to the potluck at our church, I watched the Maundy Thursday service & Good Friday service from "our" (E-free) Wisconsin church.
Thankful for these recordings to help warm my heart!
Especially because our Good Friday service turned into fellowship only. As we were all collecting our dishes from the potluck (& wonderful fellowship), and preparing to go to the sanctuary, phone alerts started going off with tornado alerts.
The church does not have a large safe room, so most people opted to go home, as the storm was not headed toward the nearest city. The storm was, however, directly between the church and our home. So, we went to friends' house and played a game while waiting. (The storm *might* have touched the NW part of the city, and they live in the SE.)
Even in my first month of blogging while staying in a small village on the northern island of Japan, I blogged about redbud!
In my childhood I never would have considered counting redbud!
But I do so now on my way to & from school each morning & afternoon. I know where the three (count them) redbud trees are on my route through our village.
And when I took LM to tutoring Wednesday afternoon, I noticed that a house on her tutor's street has three redbud at the corner of their driveway. And then I noted with some jealousy that there is a veritable grove of redbud in their backyard. And then I counted three more trees as I left that village.
In my childhood, redbud (& dogwood) just dotted the woods on the hills across the road from our house and behind our church.
Last week as we drove on the interstate through Kentucky, I kept exclaiming, "Redbud!" There were more than I could count (that's the way I like them) along the interstate. I said to Jim, "You probably don't know what it does to my heart to see redbud." No, he doesn't. :)
Have you seen redbud this spring?
I am a morning person, so by 9.45 AM, not only had I taken the children to school, but I had done two loads of laundry, unloaded & loaded the dishwasher, gone to the post office to pick up a week's worth of mail, placed a Walmart pickup order, and called the pharmacy to order 9 refills.
And then I went to bed!!!
An hour later, I went to the pharmacy, so I could pick up lunch there at the hospital cafeteria when it opened at 11. Delicious!! And a great timesaver on the first day after spring break when I didn't have my grocery order yet.
After eating, I picked LM up at 12.20 for her orthodontist consultation. Our orthodontist likes a baseline visit at 8 or 9 years old to take a 360* x-ray, etc. In BK's case, he returns once a year. In LM's case, I now have four appointments for her top expander. Surprise!
From there, we had a little time, so we got a snack, drove through a car wash, and checked out a shop next door which I had heard about.
Next up was speech therapy at the university. Then a Walmart pickup order. Gas for $3.85. Home. Put away groceries. Cook taco meat.
Collapse into bed! My body is in shock from all the activity today ... after a week of forced rest as I followed doctor's orders.
Tuesday will be a day of rest. Amen!
For almost 15 years we have heard of our church's spring break missions trip to a camp in Tennessee. And we have seen families with young children go.
This year we went, too!
Our travel plans are sometimes often flexible, as in we do not have a reservation for the night. We drove more than 6 hours on Saturday. And we found a Country Inn & Suites (for more than we like to pay - but as Jim said, "Going on a mission trip is a lot less expensive than going to the beach," so it more than evened out.) ;)
Sunday my job was to find a church ... as we drove! Amazingly we arrived in the town of Rocky Top, Tennessee, 15 minutes before the second service at Main Street Baptist! We stopped for snacks at Casey's to tide everyone over, and then worshiped with a vibrant congregation.
Onward, ho! And we arrived at the camp that afternoon. Over 50 people from our church converged on the camp between Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. We had a brief meeting Sunday evening. Monday morning we got our work assignments, and our days followed the same routine.
Breakfast on your own
8 AM - start working
12 noon - lunch was served
work in the afternoon
5.30 - supper was served
7.30 - group meeting & devotions
optional: play games (or watch March Madness)
I was on doctor's orders to continue resting as I recover from pneumonia, so I alternated between sitting in a rocking chair on the porch of the dining hall overlooking the lake and taking naps in our cabin. I forced myself to walk (very slowly) from our cabin to the dining hall and back twice a day. On the last day I walked (even more slowly) to the machine shop (where Jim was working all week) and on to the horse corral and dock.
The children in our group loved playing in the woods building forts during free time.
It was nice to be in warmer weather and see spring flowers and budding trees like dogwood & redbud. We appreciated sitting around tables multiple times a day with others from our church and sharing more than we do on a Sunday morning or Wednesday evening.
We left leisurely on Friday morning, stopped at a cave, and then I started looking for motels (see paragraph #3 above). We have past experience with struggling trying to find a motel room on a weekend in between spring break weeks - and one time we even ended up having our own Adventures in [our] Odyssey! I was coming up with NOTHING! Jim pulled off the next exit that had several motels, went in two of them, and then we decided we could make a room with a king and a sofa work. We got the next to the last room. Three of us "slept" in the king (!). It was a nicer motel than we usually experience, and after a week at camp, the bathroom seemed luxurious. :)
I came home tired (and honestly jet lagged from changing one time zone). Time will tell if this will become our spring break tradition or not.
I skimmed the first few paragraphs of the post below. I had just read Lilias Trotter Legacy's Day 25 post for Lent:
"A flower that stops short of its flowering misses its purpose. We were created for more than our own spiritual development; reproduction not mere development, is the goal of matured being -- reproduction in other lives." ~ Lilias Trotter ("Parables of the Cross")
And so before I even finished reading the post about loneliness, my mind went to, "How can I build into others' lives? How can I reproduce connection in others' lives?" Of course, not just connection with other people, but ultimately connection with our Creator & the only Redeemer.
Apart from being a mother, what is my role on our street, in our schools, in our village, in our school district, in our church, among the professionals who work with our children? What is my role in helping each of them feel less lonely?
What would it look like? The possibilities are truly endless (even though I'm not in a season of life to start a big ministry or even take meals regularly)!
