"Bach" to the Violin

Destry had another violin recital last night.  Somehow, in the move, we got communication wires crossed and we didn't know he was supposed to have one until the day before.  Fortunately, Destry had the 1st movement of Bach's Concerto in A minor pretty well ready.

(Please excuse the darkness-I don't really know how to change setting on my camera's recording.)

He has been quite challenged by his new teacher and he hasn't always appreciated it.  In fact, I've wondered a couple times if he would want to stop playing, especially as he has been so preoccupied with the piano.  I think we've turned a corner, however, as he is rising to the challenge and is also looking forward to youth symphony resuming next week.

That These Two Will Live

Once I started reading That These Two Will Live by Sharla Kostelyk I could hardly put it down.  Sharla shares the story of her children's adoption with honesty, trust, and hope.

When their adoption agency went bankrupt, their son and daughter were stranded in a transitional home in Ethiopia.  These children had already suffered the loss of their home and their first parents and had been moved from the familiarity of the orphanage, so their parents were determined to do whatever it would take to bring them safely home.

While our adoption stories have never looked quite like that of the Kostelyks, there are some common threads I think every adoptive family will be able to relate to.

• God's provision:  They knew the Lord would provide what was needed even as they saved and budgeted and collected items for garage sales.  Their motto was  'getting to Ethiopia ten cents at a time'.  "Some said not to bother with such a small amount, but dimes really add up when they are in God's hands!" (31). . .When I found a dime on the pavement that Wednesday, I knew it was no coincidence.  I was reminded that God would provide the money somehow" (70).  There is such a beauty in watching the Lord provide, both in our own lives and in hearing His faithfulness in the stories others share.

• Fears and worries:  While joy overflows throughout the book, Sharla was too honest to minimize the fears and worries involved in an adoption journey.  "I wondered how they were, and if at that moment they were in an orphanage or still with a family member.  I worried about how they were feeling and whether or not they were hungry, sick, or scared.  I prayed for them.  I cried for them.  I grieved for the losses they would endure.  I loved the thought of them" (21).  "It was in the times of idleness that the worry crept in and overtook me and the tears flowed" (50). 

• She was also painfully honest about Satan's attack on marriage during the stress of an adoption and shared how they worked through the tension and distance.  "We each voiced our deepest fears and had very little comfort to offer each other as we were both feeling the same way.  With the kids' frequent tantrums and violent outbursts, we worried that maybe we had made a mistake, that we wouldn't be able to cope with all the kids once we returned home" (141).

• Wry humor at God's ways versus our ways: I drew a little smiley face in the margin several times because I love it when we make a statement from our own human limitations and then God shows Himself to be ever so much bigger.  You think you only want an infant, or a certain race, or a certain gender, or a "healthy" child or only one or, or, or?  He is so good to grow us past ourselves and Sharla wasn't afraid to share those moments when He worked in their lives. "Mark had been very clear from the first time I brought up my childhood wish to someday foster that he would never be willing, and here he was suggesting it!" (9)  "My motivation was mostly about what I wanted and what I thought would be best for me. . .I began redefining my motives and opening myself up to what God had in store for me" (14).

• Fierce love:  "They were our children, just as much as the ones we could see in the backseat of the van, and we would do anything for any one of them" (6).

• Waiting:  I don't think I ever ended up creating the tag "waiting" on my blog during our most recent adoption journey, but I seriously considered it.  I don't know anyone who has pursued adoption without experiencing the ubiquitous 'hurry up and wait' cycle (hurry up and get this paperwork done or these fingerprints or these references or this photo book followed by days and weeks and months of waiting).  Sharla eloquently expressed the lesson we all must learn.  "None of the timing was in my control, so it was futile to pretend that any of it was. . .On the days when the wait felt never-ending, I reminded myself that the timing was ultimately up to God.  I reassured myself with the knowledge that He had already chosen our children for us and us for them" (21).

I highly recommend this adoption memoir as it is about these two precious children finding their family, yet it is about so much more.  I found it very encouraging and affirming and even convicting.

Piggyback Braids

Kiana's quick style that lasted through the move:  piggyback braids
I linked to the video where I learned this style if you want to try it.

 It took less than an hour to style it and lasted a week.  The picture of her in my sunglasses is just a bonus! :)

Our Backyard

We haven't "formally" started school yet--our first day is scheduled for the Tuesday after Labor Day.  But we've been hopping on the four-wheeler or into the pickup for the short ride through the corn field to explore the river and this is learning at its very best.

In one short evening visit we identified the tracks of deer (both adult and fawn), raccoons, opossums, turkeys, and a mink.  Alan was especially excited to discover a coon slide down a bank which was evidence of them bringing their corn and other food to wash in the river before eating (trapping season is getting closer and closer!).  We also found some scat but weren't able to identify it for sure--I guess we'll have to bring the field guides next time.

Briana has always been fascinated by Great Blue Herons so she was thrilled to spot two of them, and Kiana caught a frog which she had to bring closer for momma's approval.  And Destry and Easton tried to catch a turtle, but it got away from them.

 "There is no kind of knowledge to be had in these early years so valuable to children as that which they get for themselves, of the world they live in.  Let them at once get into touch with nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.  We are all meant to be naturalists, each to his own degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things." 

--Charlotte Mason

Easton is getting a dwarf hamster tomorrow so we've been reading about hamsters, and our order of butterfly larvae has been shipped so they should be arriving early next week.  Learning is always in session!

If You Give a Boy a Pile of Junk. . .

he and his cousin might build a dam and run gallons of water from the water hydrant to test its effectiveness.

Then he might build himself a stage. . .

and a fort.

A fort complete with its very own refrigerator,

insulated roof,

guns and a cannon,

and even hardwood floor.

Easton, his cousins, and his friends are limited only by their imaginations when given free rein of these treasures at our new house.  I can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Packing, Painting, and Preview

I've decided one of my least favorite jobs is packing.  If we ever move again, I am sorely tempted to sell the place with the contents and just start over.  Then again, I might just be tired of it right now.

Boxes, boxes everywhere

The old house looked like a "ghost house" with everything packed up.  Isn't an empty bookshelf a sad and lonely sight?

I'm really kicking myself for not taking before and after pictures of our new house.  We painted seven rooms, pulled up carpet in five rooms, completely remodeled a bathroom, and refinished hardwood floors.  The change is amazing.

the toyroom

We've had lots of help in this move, which has been such a blessing.  My brother and sister and their spouses have been incredible with painting assistance as well as moving stuff and helping with remodeling projects (we wouldn't be moved in yet if not for their help!!!).  We also had help from three new families of friends with watching little kiddos, cleaning the new house, and packing/unpacking the kitchen the day before we moved, not to mention our church family which moved all our stuff on Saturday.  We're so richly blessed with helpers.

I'm nothing if not predictable.  We painted the master bedroom a delectable (in my opinion--some people don't like it but I love it!) shade of green, the kitchen yellow, and the dining room is once again a fun shade of red (disregard the ugly carpet, it's actually hardwood there now which looks much better with the red).

Hardwood floors before sanding, staining, and varnishing.

We pulled up ugly blue-with-yellow-flowers carpet to find beautiful hardwood floors in the dining room and sitting room.  There was one spot that was plywood where they had added on to the house, so my dear brother filled that section in with new hardwood and Alan and Destry sanded off the old stain, then restained and varnished both rooms.  Those three men worked their heads off  and I so appreciate them.

Here is a bonus little preview of my library/sitting room.  Giggle, giggle, tee, hee, hee.  I'm just a tiny bit excited--five matching bookshelves along the walls just waiting to be filled with books.  (Of course, right this minute there are many books on those shelves and piles of boxes of books still waiting to find a home). 

Doesn't it look inviting?  My dear sis-in-law and I had a blast furniture shopping for this room.  I can't wait to finish unpacking and settle in there with a good book.  What should I read first?

Passion and Purity, Part Two

Here is the promised guest post by my sixteen year old daughter, Briana.

 Passion and Purity is an unconventional title for a book.  It seems to contradict itself.  In today's culture, passion and purity seem to be opposites; a person has either one or the other.  In Elisabeth and Jim Elliot's story, however, they had both.  Jim and Elisabeth met at college as they were both training in linguistics in order to become missionaries.  Both were committed to sexual and emotional purity, and both of their lives were dedicated to the Lord.  To make a long story short, they fell in love, but unlike a fairytale they didn't get married and live happily ever after.  They didn't feel that God wanted them to get married right then.  Jim desired to go to distant parts of the South American jungle as a missionary and it wouldn't be safe for a woman to go with him.  Elisabeth had important missionary experience to gain at that time as well.

Jim and Elisabeth waited five years after "falling in love" before the Lord led them together and they joined hands as husband and wife.  Passion and Purity tells the story of Elisabeth's five years of waiting.  She shares all the things God taught her along the way and how she learned to bring her passions under Christ's control.  Passion and Purity was an excellent encouragement to me.  Here are some of the most meaningful things I learned:

1. I belong first to God.  God was most important in Elisabeth's life and she learned to submit every part of herself to Him--first, and above all else
2. I cannot make marriage my goal in life--only God can truly satisfy my soul.  Elisabeth learned that a man couldn't really fulfill her.  She had to trust herself completely in God's hands and be satisfied in Him.
3. Waiting produces trust in God and character that we cannot learn if we always get what we want when we want it. "It's no use trying to measure suffering. What matters is making the right use of it, taking advantage of the sense of helplessness it brings to turn one's thoughts to God. Trust is the lesson." (87)
4. The goal is not to make our natural desire for romance and marriage disappear, but to lay that desire at God's feet so that He can truly purify us for His glory.  "The Christian has handed the reins over to his Master.  His human desires are brought into line.  The desires still exist, are still strong, natural, and human, but they are subjugated to the higher power of the Spirit.  They are purified and corrected as we live day by day in faith and obedience" (95).  
5. God is faithful.  He will grow, teach, and guide you.  He knows what is best for you--you can trust Him. "His intention for us is the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (164)

In the introduction, Elisabeth says "The love life of a Christian is a crucial battleground. There, if nowhere else, it will be determined as to who is Lord: the world, the self and the devil, or the Lord Christ." (14)

Later on she voices this struggle, which is the challenge I took from her book.  "Do I want to walk, here as in all areas of my life, by faith? Or will I take things into my own hands?"  Passion and Purity challenged me to lay my desires, emotions, and relationships at the feet of Christ, and I highly recommend it to you.

Atlas Shrugged

How does one write a review of one of the most brilliant yet disturbing novels you've ever read?

The cover on my copy of the book

I'm sure it's going to make my list of top ten books read in 2012.  It's very interesting as a novel--the characters are interesting, there's plenty of intrigue and lots of pathos.  Her writing. . .well, she was one incredibly gifted wordsmith.  The book is filled with foreshadowing (including my previously referenced quote) and figures of speech.  Now that I know what happens, I want to read the book again someday (not soon--it took me plenty of time to read those 1168 pages!) just so I can savor her brilliant  plays on words.  Over and over again she illustrated what was going on in the story with seemingly unrelated or minor details.  For example, during one impasse between opposing men in a laboratory, Rand expounds on the mood:

In the long moment of silence, they could hear the rustle of the animals clawing at the bars of their cages. . .The chief moved his glance slowly, appraisingly, from his face to the two gunmen in the corners.  The gunmen steadied their aim by an almost imperceptible movement.  A nervous rustle went through the room.  An animal squeaked shrilly in one of the cages (1152).

It's just fun to me when an author is so skillful at relating the tension in the room without just telling the reader "the tension in the room was palpable" or some other such predictable phrase.  There are levels to her writing that simply suck me in.

But Atlas Shrugged is much, much more than just an enjoyable and well-crafted novel.  It is the manifestation of ideas and beliefs and the rather sobering outcome of ideas put into practice.  (It was especially fascinating to me to read this so soon after having read Life At the Bottom.  Dalrymple illustrated the problems inherent in many liberal secular humanist ideals with a series of essays sharing his observations of those ideals in practice in the "underclass" of England.  Rand illustrates many of the same problematic ideals in a fictional, somewhat dystopian novel.)  Just a few of the principles she discusses are:

• free trade/capitalism contrasted with socialism/welfare society
• big government and regulation
• ingenuity of the mind vs. a non-thinking society
• workers vs. takers
• value life (of self) vs. death (of others)

Sadly, I doubt many of my followers will run out and read this book even though I would recommend it as well worthwhile.  I've been intimidated by it for the last couple of years, but I'm glad I finally read it.  There are some points and actions in the book I disagree with and it is certainly a book absent the hope of the living God.  The very starkness and bleakness of that lack of hope, however, rather pointed me straight to the cross in gratitude that in Christ my life means more than the picture that was painted.

There's much, much more that I could say about Atlas Shrugged, but Ayn Rand says it ever so much better.  If you genuinely appreciate good writing and enjoy pondering ideas that you almost can't wrap your brain around--don't miss this one!

Little Girl Look

Daddy was a fan of Kiana's most recent hairstyle as he says she "looks like a little girl again."

 Kiana's box braids lasted six weeks and three days--hip, hip, hooray!  I loved their look, I loved their versatility, but they were getting fuzzy and it was time to take them out.  (As a side note, I took the beads out after a couple weeks and thoroughly moisturized the ends.  Then I just left them out and let her ends curl up and the braids also curl up as well, which is simply darling when the braids are styled into pigtails or partial ponytails, etc.)

Here she is after having braids removed and her hair freshly washed, conditioned, and detangled. Isn't that hair pretty!

We opted for a simple part, pony, and braid style this time, which took us maybe 45 minutes at the most.

 I just parted the front from the back by going behind the ear from one side to the other.  Then I made diagonal parts in each half and collected the sections into ponytails with ballies.

Just for extra fun, we added another set of ballies to each pony to give her more bling, and we ended the braids with sweet flower barrettes.  I think Daddy is right--it's a sweet and fresh little-girl style and I like it too.

Six Dollars Worth of Fun

Garage sales around here are really fun.  I stopped at one random garage sale last weekend and spent a whopping six dollars.  How much fun can this family get out of six dollars?  When it starts with a pogo stick, there's no limit!

 Of course dress up clothes around here are priceless--and we picked up FIVE new imagination-boosting outfits for a measly two bucks!

 Then there were these amazing collapsible toy box "thingys".  The lady having the sale said they were for toys--I thought they would be great for holding stuffed animals or even dirty laundry.  I never imagined they would be great houses, castles, spaceships, etc. and thus be great for holding kids.

A princess bike for Princess Kiana, a couple hardback books, three movies and a box of "pirate treasure" (costume jewelry claimed and labeled by Easton) finished our trunkful of loot.

The kiddos have logged hours and hours of play so far, and I see many more hours of equally imaginative play in their future.  What a find!