Fence finding has become a sort of obsession since joining this group. ; )  Amazing what you notice when you start looking for something out of the ordinary.  This is the bridge over the Moselle River during the winefest. 

Happy Fence Friday on Flickr

So I decided I am going to put my life on hold a sec and tick off one challenge at a time until I am all caught up and everyone is crisis free.  Then laundry and dinner and library books and diapers can resume as scheduled. Sounds like a plan to me!

Yeah, I know.  It was a delightful, if impossible, fantasy.  Likely the diapers and laundry and dinner are what keep a person sane during challenging times anyway.  It's that here.  Nothing insurmountable.  Some rather large like national security threats, some rather small, like figuring out how to set up the girls cell phone. Many in-between-ers like trials back home and pinkeye which just made itself known in this house. All of which take up considerable chunks of time and brain cells. 

So I am here wiping and calling and driving and diapering and thanking God I am able to do it. And looking forward to the next reprieve. Those are coming in little spurts making all the rest possible.  When they do, I will check back in here. 

Don't miss this blog.  If you haven't heard of Mila's Daydreams just go.  Now.  Seriously.  This is the cutest thing I have seen in a long time.  Guaranteed smiles. Mila's momma has been staging fairy tale style background scenes and snapping shots of her sweet sleeping baby within them.  Priceless.

(photo from Mila's Daydreams as outlined in her usage terms) 

"Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity."

"Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be – and becoming that person."

– St Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower

"Faith is only faith when it's all you're hanging onto." 

 That is what my friend Brenda told me so many years ago.  I wonder if she knows how many times I have revisited those words in the years since?   I have never been a surprise kind of gal, preferring ample time to wrap my head around news – good or bad. I like to know what's coming. I felt I could do anything if I could just understand the purpose for it all.  Or I used to.

These days I tend to think it is a blessing that God does not ask us to understand, because I suspect the big picture is so very big that there is no way we could understand.  We can't begin to see all the ways the threads of our lives intertwine with others'.  And we don't have to. We just have to know that they do, that in God's great economy there is no waste. Nothing is here by accident and none of it happens just because. 

It is easy to embrace that idea when good things are coming our way.  It is harder to remember that only good things come our way, some disguised as bitter pain, but every bit of it necessary and intended for our ultimate good. Days like that call for praise music turned up loud enough to drown out those doubts and catch yourself saying Amen once more. 

So be it. 

We praise anyway. 

Even if it's still raining. 

"But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are
No matter where I am

And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm."

-Casting Crowns

It's Fence Friday on Flickr.  Taken in our backyard of all places.  I love that.  

Found locally.  They reminded me of Gram.  They are here now. 

One reader has been having a really hard time getting the com-box to work for her.  If anyone is having a problem shoot me a note 'k?  Not that I am sure I can fix it.  I will give it the old college try though. 

Wish you were here!

1. 

Random. [ran-duhm]  Per Brendan (to Tess while preparing for a Mario Kart race) it's "like you don't get to pick.  It just happens in that order."  Who said Wii isn't educational? ; ) Seems like a good place to start seven random takes. 

2.

We watched Letters to God this week though I had no idea what it was about beforehand.  I am a sucker for Christian movies, even if they are cheesey in parts. This one had extra cheese I admit. But the kids were all sniffling when it ended.  Later Kieran caught me in the hall and pointed to his chest saying, "So my heart is here."  "Yes" I said, quickly moving on to finish bedtime chores.  "Then where is my soul?" Umm, hold the phone, back up into the hallway. I told him what I knew.  That it was attached to our bodies now and it leaves when you die. He was satisfied with that but I am still sobered to think that he was considering the profound right as I was considering the pj's and toothbrushes. Martha, Martha….

3. 

On a lighter note, I ordered a copy of the new Turkey Feathers embroidery book. I am so anxious to get my hands on it. Now that we are in a house which is so much lower maintenance I am pulling out all my unfinished stitching projects and planning new ones. Feels so good to have something in my hands again. 

4.

I read this lovely post at Angel Wings and Apron Strings and printed it for my Home Keeper binder. Her most recent post is also convicting:

"It seems to me that we need to take special care to show our girls how much we love being a homemaker"

I take for granted that my love for my vocation 'shows' but I have been taking care to stop and listen to my tone of voice and my under the breath comments and realize that my actions do not always line up with my intention but often more with my fatigue level.  Not good.  Working on that. 

5. 

I found these retro tumblers and pitcher at the thrift store and literally had one teen child stand there and hold them while I went to the ATM after realizing I hadn't replaced the checks in my wallet. It was worth it. My Gram had a set of these and my fear of Altzheimer's was not as strong as my longing to go down memory lane. They make everything stay ice cold and  give me inexplicable cravings for Kool Aid. 

6.

Looking at getting this magazine. Think of that, a periodical with pretty pictures of simple everyday things, focusing on relationships. Sounds like my favorite blogs, but on paper, which means I can slip it into my purse. 

7.

Freebie from Becky Higgins here. Enjoy.