Things That Keep Life Interesting

Yesterday was a busy weather day here in our neck of the woods. It started out as a rainy day; rain, rain, rain. At lunch time Allison and I were sitting at the table when she noticed it had started to snow. I'm not talking about a few flakes - it looked like a blizzard! The wind was howling and everything. That kept on for a little while and then it started to sleet, mixed with some freezing rain. I'm not kidding. We headed out to Allison's swim lessons and when we came out of there the sun was blazing in a bright blue sky! I think we had just about every kind of weather imaginable in less than an hours time!

Then yesterday afternoon I was sitting at the bus stop waiting for Becky. I saw her bus down the road. Then I saw the bus pass right by our stop - with my child on it. Hmmm...I was a bit concerned. I immediately called the bus garage where they were able to radio the bus driver. She turned around and brought Becky back to our stop. No one was any worse for the wear, I suppose. The bus driver is new and is apparently still learning the route. I hope she learns fast!

This morning on the way to bring Becky to school we saw the most beautiful coyote. He started to cross in front of us but turned around. We stopped and waited to make sure he didn't run out into the road. He looked at us for a second and decided he'd cross. It was very cool to see him trot across the street. Those yellowish eyes and gray/brown fur were amazingly beautiful. His ears were so alert and he seemed nervous. But once he crossed the street his trot became more confident as he found his way back into the refuge of the woods. What a special treat on a cold, frosty, winter morning.

Ah, the little things that keep life interesting.

Ending With Scripture:

Psalm 33: 6-9 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Committed Parenting

Parenting is plagued with second guessing yourself, at least for me. When the girls were babies I worried that I wasn't feeding them enough, that they weren't dressed warmly enough, that I was holding them too much or not enough. Then in toddlerhood it changed to: Am I giving them enough vegetables, am I teaching them enough. Preschool was a little different still: Am I expecting too much from them, are they watching too much TV, am I playing with them often enough. Then as school age approaches more second guessing comes: Have I taught them what they need to know, are they strong enough in their faith to make good choices, has our few hours at the end of the day been quality time. It just never ends. At home I don't always see exactly what or who my children are when they are away from me and that can be a bit discouraging. It seems like there are times when it's battle after battle with one of them at home, and the beautiful person I know they are inside stays hidden from me. It's those times when I need to hear positive things about them from someone else. Just to remind me that some of what I say sinks in. Does that make sense? It's so easy to feel like a failure as a parent, BUT, I'm learning through our bible study that it is Satan who wants me to feel that way. It's his way of beating me up. It's a lie. I'm not a failure. There is always room for improvement but I haven't failed my children. They are sweet, kind, beautiful people - all three of them - and that doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of committed parenting, deep love, and lots of prayer! I'm so thankful for the children God gave me. They are all so different and complex and wonderful. And even though they can rile me up and push my buttons I wouldn't change anything about any one of them!

Ed and I are trying to make the right decision about high school for Katie. Public school does not seem to be a good option for many reasons. I'm praying about it, of course, and I know God will let me know what He wants us to do when He's good and ready. It is still two years away. But, being the planner that I am, I'd like to know NOW! That isn't how it works, however, and we will have to wait and see. I tell you, I can come up with more stuff to busy my brain with!!

Shop Talk: I'm supposed to be working on my writing right now while Allison is at school. This counts though, doesn't it? I find that it's difficult to get myself going sometimes. I'm like that about a lot of things I think. I drag my feet about doing something, but once I get going I get totally absorbed in it. Cooking, housework, coloring with Allison, reading with Becky, shopping with Katie - doesn't matter what it is, I tend to drag my feet, sometimes, not always. I think I'll visit the Rx for Writers site I go to and get a bit of inspiration! Then I need to buckle down and read, read, read. I'll finish reading part 2 of assignment 7 and then start reading from the pile of books on Ghana! Hopefully I'll find my angle easily! I'm tempted to enter another contest but this one is POETRY! EEEEK! Not my thing. But, it would be challenging. And, it wouldn't hurt to try it out. I don't think I'm artsy enough to write poetry. How's that for a stereotype!?

Happy Wednesday!

Ending with Scripture:

Proverbs 31: 26-28 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. (speaking of the Virtuous Woman)

BFFL and Nylon Gloves

I have a ton of things that need to get done but I promised myself I'd post three times a week so I'm making time! Allison is busy coloring a picture for her friend Crystal. Today at school Crystal gave Allison a necklace that she made. It is beautiful rainbow colors with the letters BFFL in the center. In case you don't know, BFFL stands for Best Friends For Life. Isn't that cute? I also have to tell you about this little fetish that Allison has. You know those little nylon socks that you use when trying shoes on at the store? Well, Allison LOVES to wear them as gloves. We were in DSW the other day and she was thrilled to see an entire box of her gloves! Fortunately I was able to convince her to take only one for each hand. This morning when I went into her room, she was all dressed, with her hood from her sweatshirt on her head and a glove on each hand. She really is too much.

Shop Talk: Heather asked where I found the writing course I'm taking. It's actually kind of hokey. I'd seen the ad a million times in different magazines I read. You've probably seen it too and haven't given it much thought, just like me. Well one day I decided to fill out the little card requesting more information. The info came along with a writing aptitude test. No cost or obligation just answer some writing type questions and return it. So I did. The questions included a couple of essays and a couple more fill in the blank type things. A few weeks later I got a letter from the school informing me that I passed the aptitude test and inviting me to sign up for their course. So I did. The school is called The Institute of Children's Literature. Check them out online. I believe you can even answer the aptitude questions on their website. I've been so impressed with the knowledge I'm gaining from the course as well as how it really stretches my thinking.

Now I really do need to get to my housework. Bible study is here tonight and I need to dust, vacuum, fold clothes, make dinner, let the dog out, etc. You get the point!

Ending with Scripture:

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:8

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

It's been SO cold lately. I've found myself wanting to stay hunkered down in the house until the thermometer says at least 40 degrees! When did I become such a baby about cold weather? Maybe it's because we haven't had a break from the frigid temps in quite some time. Oh well, it is January after all.

My brother came to visit yesterday. I'm so glad he came. We had such a nice time with him. He patiently put together puzzles with Allison and played Wii with everyone too. We went on a mini treasure hunt around town. Robby wanted to find a postcard with our town's name on it as well as a key chain with the town name on it. Not easy to do in our obscure neck of the woods. We did it though. That's a thing about obscure little towns - they are immensely proud of their heritage and therefore postcards with historical sites on them are findable. The key chain was a bit trickier, but a trip into the town hall produced a glow in the dark key chain with the town emergency numbers on it. It was so good to see him and spend time catching up. I hope he comes down again soon :)

Katie will be 13 next month. How did that happen?! My little girl is almost as tall as me and wears a bigger shoe than I do. I'm enjoying this age with her. It's been fun to take her and her friends to the mall for manicures and shopping. I get such a chuckle out of how I get left standing outside the fitting room looking like a coat rack, holding purses, clothes and shopping bags. She's a good bargain shopper and understands what TOO EXPENSIVE means!

Shop Talk: I got the final three chapters of my course manual in the mail yesterday. YIKES! I will definitely have my work cut out for me. I will also have at least two more manuscripts ready to submit for publication by the time I'm done. I'm finding that I enjoy writing non-fiction. There is no end to the topics you could write about! My next NF piece is going to be about Ghana. Our family's sponsor child lives in Ghana and I'd like to find out more about it. I'm not sure what angle I'll be taking yet - that's the tricky part - finding an angle that appeals to children and is fun but still informative. It's nothing like writing an essay for Social Studies class, that's for sure. I've also sketched a VERY rough draft for a potential picture book. I'm not sure where that will take me as picture books are EXTREMELY difficult to get published. Many authors choose to self publish their books but that is expensive and getting your book the attention it deserves from the major book markets is tough. I love learning about all this stuff but it is overwhelming.

Happy Weekend!

Ending with Scripture:

Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 106:1

Let's Catch Up

Not very much to catch up on really. After two more Monday snow days in January and a 1/2 day and a holiday it seems that the girls are due for an uninterrupted stretch of school. Hopefully next week they'll get a full week in. It's not that I don't enjoy having them home but I don't really see the point of all of this time off. Think about it, if they'd eliminate all of those foolish days off, except for a couple of school vacations in December and March, they'd get out for the year in MAY! And the consistency would be good for everyone. Teachers must lose so much momentum when the schedule gets interrupted. On the up side, on those days off my girls have been enjoying their time together. They've been playing so well with each other. I'm so thankful for that. My heart's desire is for my children to love each other and be friends. Last week after dinner, they all went upstairs. After a little while I went to check on them and Katie had them all set up in their bathroom getting pedicures! How cute!! Becky and Allison were having a blast! And Katie was enjoying it too. It was great!

As I said last January, I'm not much for resolutions but I did make one. Just one. I've resolved to cook dinner every night. Eating out is a thing of the past. Now don't get me wrong; OCCASIONAL eating out may happen if we are out somewhere far from home at mealtime. But as a general rule dinner will be at home. Think of the money we will save! Our previous routine had us eating out ALL weekend, lunch and dinner! YIKES! I've been doing really well. And on the weekends, I cook and Ed cleans up so that's a great incentive!

Ed and I are completely hooked, once again, on The Biggest Loser! So good. LOST premieres next Thursday people! Mark it on your calendar! American Idol will get better...

Shop Talk: I'm currently on assignment 7 of my writing course. The course has steadily gotten more challenging. As I poke around at different writing for children websites I'm amazed at how many accomplished authors have graduated from the same course I'm taking now! That gives me hope! So much of what I've read is about how difficult it is to get published. But there are many, many success stories out there that I haven't let it discourage me. I'm certainly not banking on my first article being accepted by the magazine I submitted to. But perseverance is key and I will try again. I've learned SO much through the process of preparing a manuscript package. I know I made some beginner mistakes and it really bums me out that those mistakes could land me in the slush pile even if the article is good. But, next time I won't make those same mistakes! I also submitted a short story to a writing contest. There were specific guidelines regarding length, readership age, and subject. It was tough. It had to be about a holiday, geared to four year olds, and only 125 words long. I chose Groundhog Day as my holiday. I was very happy with the piece as I sent it off in the mail. Then I got a writer's newsletter in my e-mail and after reading it I realized I had once again made some STUPID mistakes. Frustrating! Again, hopefully those mistakes will be overlooked by some kind hearted soul who clearly identifies me as a newbie and gives me a break! Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be how it works. On the plus side, if my story is turned down I can send it out to a different publication, only next time I'd know how to avoid mistakes! It's definitely a learning process; one that you have to go through. Reading about how to do things teaches me a lot. DOING the things I read about helps me more!

You may have noticed the ending of my last post. I've decided to incorporate scripture verses at the end of the Blog entries. I saw this on another blog I read and love and it has inspired me to do it also! I hope they will bless you as you read them.

Ending with Scripture:

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. Psalm 100:4

A New Year, A New Name

As you see, I've changed the name of the Blog to The Slush Pile. A slush pile is the heap of manuscripts editors have to go through; a mumble jumble mess, no rhyme or reason, just a pile. I thought the title was an appropriate description of what this Blog tends to be - it could also describe the contents of my brain at times!

I think I will be trying to give the Blog a little more focus. Since writing has become a large part of my life lately, I will be blogging about that a bit more of the focus will go there.

That said, I need to get the girlies ready for bed. I'll try to get a better post out there tomorrow.

Ending with Scripture:

1 Chronicles 15:8 Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!

So....what?

So, where have I been? Quite honestly I've been contemplating giving up the Blog. Then I started to think of maybe giving my blog some sort of direction like some sort of theme or something. I haven't come to any conclusions really. I guess you'll have to check back and see if I decide on something.

Good News: My brother is coming to visit! He hasn't been out here yet and I'm so excited that he's coming. YAY!

Frustrating News: I have not heard from the magazine I submitted my article to yet. It's so difficult to wait.

Bad News: The creepy crud found Becky. She was sick Friday night and then ran a fever all day Saturday. Hopefully my valiant attempts to de-germ the house will prove effective in keeping the rest of us healthy!

I know this is a rather pathetic post but I have to get Becky to swimming lessons. More to come...