Spiderwebs… {A confession and a rant.}

There are a handful of people in my life who get really upset that I can’t just sit down and talk to them on the phone whenever they feel like calling. I am sure there is an even larger portion of people who think I’m completely rude for commonly hitting my ignore button. I feel like, for years, I’ve been having to apologize for myself. There are all of these negative emotions, (guilt, fear of disapproval, annoyance, etc.) which come packed and tangled up in this one silly little phone thing. 
Here’s the thing though- I don’t like talking on the phone. 
there, i said it. 
I LOVE people. I love hanging out with people. I LOVE face to face conversations. 
When I don’t have the luxury of sitting with someone, in person, I am usually spending my time doing something productive. Anyone who is a writer knows that you can not sit and talk on the phone while working. It is an impossibility. Anyone who has ever homeschooled knows that you can not educate your child while sitting on the phone talking. Again- impossibility. Why is it that people hear: home, and automatically think I’m just sitting around praying the phone will right? I am busy. 
I’ve had this very battle with my sister for years. In fact, it’s all out fight sometimes. She loves to sit and talk on the phone. If I call her, (or answer) it’s a good 90 minutes- at least- talking about the SAME things that are always talked about. She lives 10 minutes from my house. This, to me, is ridiculous. If she has nothing better to do but sit on the phone, why doesn’t she load the kids up and bring them over here? 
So yeah… 
We’ve finally gotten to a place which feels normal. (and phone conversationless.) It’s good… 
I will talk to my mom a few times a week, because she is in NM. I try to somehow (skype or phone) talk to Lucas weekly. {Then again, he’s my son. I’ll talk to my kids whenever they want.} About 1-2 times a month I’ll talk to my best friend Debbie on the phone, though I honestly could stand to talk to her more than that. She’s on the east coast. Otherwise, I just don’t do it. It’s a time waster, like facebook (in my opinion) only LESS productive… 
All of that to say, I’ve decided to let myself off the hook here- no pun intended. I’m tired of the bitter, juvenille remarks from distant relatives and people. I am so irritated at all of the two faced, back stabbing stupidity I’m tired of having to say “I’m sorry, I’m just really busy.” In this era, we are blessed to have multiple forms of communication. There are phones, texts, emails, facebook, skype, etc… If you are getting all bent out of shape because I won’t talk on the phone with you, but you REFUSE to compromise with one of the other five means of communication with me- than I’m sorry but the issue is yours and you are obviously the one who doesn’t want to talk to me very badly… 
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Fear of change… Change the fear…

I was chatting with my sister Jennie this morning, about how quickly things change. How quickly her plans to stay home all summer became an entirely different plan involving the east coast, traveling with her kids and Independence Day. To a more tragic tune is how quickly so many in Joplin (and other areas) went from a normal Sunday afternoon to mass devastation. 
My friday trip to buy bread led us to the path of moving. 
After the details were (mostly) ironed out, Chw’s greatest affliction- the fear- set in. There is so much pressure heaped upon the shoulders of a man. Thankfully I’ve been his wife for the better part of seventeen years and I knew this tide of fear would come in. 
The tide always comes rises… 
When he confessed to me, today, his fears- I was ready. 
In complete seriousness he exclaimed that this bad feeling he had was stronger than any bad feeling he’s ever had. It’s not like any other time before, he assured me. Finally, after he’d exhaled all of his worries and the pressures behind his worries he told me that he just didn’t know if it was a good decision. 
“in your bad feeling, do you feel fear?” 
Yes, a lot of fear. he exclaimed, before back tracking a little bit. He knew where I was headed…
“If your bad feeling, this dooming certainty had no traces of fear than I’d be more inclined to trust it as a premonition or sign from God. God doesn’t speak to us through fear though, and so I’m pretty sure we’re ok to move forward. What do you think? 
And really, in six weeks when we’re settled into the house and all of the work is behind us- he’ll feel no inkling of that sickening fear. Usually I’m the one who struggles more with the change but not this time. :) Hopefully Chw can say the same too because that’s a pretty miserable seat to sit in… 
So, we move forward… I’m excited to take on this new project, and this new journey, complete with pictures. It’s NOTHING like we thought our summer would kick off- but we are ok with that… 
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When Seasons Change…

I am participating in 5 Minute Friday at the gypsy mama
START
It’s the wet in the air which reminds me that even the cooler mornings are replaceable. Interchangable. 
Between my fingers i grasp the fading tree blossoms, giving way to budding leaves. I want to be sad that our twelve second spring is fleeting- but how can I be? 
Spring paves the way for longer evenings, for neon extended sunsets. 
For growth and beauty, sustainable meals adorning family dinner tables. 
The cycle continues, and inside my own blossoms wither as I change. 
As i grow. 
I feel, on some limbs, myself becoming more of who I’m meant to be. 
Or closer, somehow. 
The world… This world… My world, everyday, reflects more and more of the way God is molding and shaping me. 
Peaceful moments will still give way to hard times, to dark days, to desperately feeling hours- but no matter the season, one thing will forever remain true. The sun always rises. The dark will always flee from the light. Best of all, once that warm sunlight touches my face- I will always see that I am better somehow- not in spite of my life’s winter, but because of it.
It always comes back to gratitude… 
STOP
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journaling {week five}…

.In my life this week…
{Due to the blogger outage, this is late}
This week I had the priviledge of taking my daughters to see Wicked! It was our second time, and just as good as memories served! It was the best part of a very busy week. The second best thing was that we finished school… Finished is a loose term though because we will carry on, throughout the summer, in more of an un-schooling, “life learning” manner… 
In our homeschool this week…
Well… we finished our book learning… We released over a thousand lady bugs into our roses… We went on a field trip to the Art Museum and did an interactive study on the fashion, art and heart in shoe design. 
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
My oldest had a volleyball game on Monday and a tournament tonight so we’ll be busy with that. There is also Girl Scouts, the Farmer’s Market, church and such. 
My favorite thing this week was…
Wicked… 
And getting well! Just a hollow, nagging cough remains. 
What’s working/not working for us…
Warm days, patio lunches and no book work! everything feels like it’s working these days… 
A photo, video, link, or quote to share

a reminder of our Mother’s Day crepes… but only because we’ve had crepes, in variation, four other times this week. Due to an extra amount of batter and loads of fresh berries… I guess it could be worse! :) 

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