One Word - Reverb10

A Typical Busy Moment in my Day

December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

My word for this year, for 2010, would have to be Busy. Seems I run in a hundred directions at once, caring for small people and all the details of their lives. It's a good kind of busy, the best I can imagine. I never feel caught up, rarely feel as if I've accomplished all the things I'd like to by the end of the day, but I wouldn't trade it for any other life.

I'd like to look back on 2011, and call it Joy. So often I forget that, let it go, and allow feelings of frustration and anxiety to define me. I don't anticipate this next year being any less Busy than this one; in fact, with my baby becoming mobile in the next several months I imagine it being the busiest year yet. My hope, my prayer, is that I will move through it with a little more grace, a little more peace of soul, and a lot more Joy. 

Long Time No Blog

Back in the early Fall I had some idea that I was going to get back to regular posting on my blog....( insert laughter here.) Each day goes by, and I'm running along behind it trying not to swallow too much dust. Did you know that having four kids is time consuming? And cooking for, cleaning up after, homeschooling, and all the other things that come along with them take up a lot of time too? Oh, and then there's this incredible man that lives here as well; he seems familiar, like someone I knew in the past. Sometimes he gets a minute or three of my time, but not nearly enough. Someday I'm going to make it up to him, but for now he patiently goes to work each day, comes home, plays with kids, helps with dishes, rarely bats an eye at the messes that seem to pop up around here, and in general just loves me like a rock.... it's a good life.
I very much enjoy writing, and would love to make more time for it. (My high school history teacher used to say "Time is something you make, not something you have"; I think there's something to that.) For now, little Facebook "soundbites" are serving me well for jotting down a few little things here and there, leaving this space sorely neglected. My friend Rae, who lives in India, just started participating in reverb10, a daily prompt for the month of December. It's a chance for bloggers to "reflect on this year and manifest what's next". I thought it sounded like fun, although I'm not going to commit to doing it daily. Why set myself up for failure? Besides, it started on Wednesday, so I'd already be behind. So maybe, just maybe, I'll be on here a little more often.

Houses for Haiti Update

    I want to thank all of you who contributed to Houses for Haiti; we've reached and even surpassed our goal of $1600. Our grand total was $2,110! Shelley asked if instead of building one home we'd be willing to help rebuild two homes. One is for a woman and her baby who are living in rubble. They don't have enough space to put up one of the wood houses, so instead "we" will build them a smaller, concrete house. The rest of the money will repair the wall and put a new roof on the home of a family of six. Two more Haitian families will have a home thanks to you! Shelley said that construction on these projects will be starting any time, and she will share before and after pics which I'm so excited to see.
    Please continue to keep the people of Haiti, Shelley and Corrigan, and the ministry of Apparent Project in your prayers. Also, as you think of Christmas giving, would you consider some "alternate" gifts to help the people of Haiti? You could sponsor a child, purchase much needed supplies from AP's Amazon wish list, sponsor an artisan, or host a jewelry party. (For those of you who are local, I'm going to be having a jewelry party mid-November. This beautiful, handmade jewelry makes a great gift while helping those in need.) There are other ways to help on their website.
    Again, thanks to all who contributed money, posted about it on your blogs or facebook, helped with the yard sales, donated items, prayed, and told your friends about it. May God bless you for blessing others! Stay tuned for pictures of "our" houses going up!

The Gyspy (A Poem by Peregrine)

Here's a little poem Peregrine wrote this morning for school. We were looking at a painting and he thought this up on his own; I didn't ask him to do it. I helped him with a few lines. 

The Gypsy

by Peregrine (age 7)

The Gypsies come and the Gypsies go

Whether it rains or whether it snows.

And hardly anybody knows

What they have and what they know.

Then one day a Gypsy small

Came from his old wagon tall

Asking for a bit of food

And as I was in a pleasant mood

I gave him some of the family bread

Then with a thankful heart he said

“Thank you very, very much

For giving me this little lunch!”

He reached into his pouch of things

And from it he pulled a golden ring.

With joy he handed it to me

And it was a pleasure to see.

Away he went, the Gypsy small,

Off again to his wagon tall.

And as he left he waved goodbye

And there was a twinkle in his eye.

And that’s all I know of the Gypsy small

Who went away in his wagon tall

As all Gypsies come and all Gypsies go

Whether it rains or whether is snows.

Author’s Note: As a young poet it’s hard to think up morals for the poems and think up the poems themselves; it’s hard to do that too. (But it can still be fun!) This poem was based on one of the pictures in our school lessons. I’m going to keep on writing poems for a long time. (That is, mom’s going to type them, and I think them up.) Adios for now, Peregrine 

No Child Left Behind

It's never too early to start on their education, right?