Wordless Wednesday {Shav & Benjamin}

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse {Happy Beach by Perry Springman}

Once in a while, an email floats into my inbox, inquiring if, since I blog, I would like something or other to be sent to me to use and review.

I used to email back and politely decline, and then I skipped that step and started simply deleting such offers--not because there's anything wrong with reviews, but because I just haven't chosen to make that a part of my blog.  And so I never accept those offers.

Until the day I did.  :)

You see, I got an email from Perry Springman, a homeschool dad and musician, about a children's music CD he had made.  Would I like one? he asked.

At first I thought I would treat his email like the rest, but then I took a moment to look at his website...and then I listened to a sample of his songs...and then my kids started listening, too...and then it was pretty much a given that we would be accepting his offer.  :)

As soon as we got the CD and I put it in the player, Josiah grabbed the case and sat down at the kitchen table to listen to the music and follow along with the words.    :)

Another day, when I had turned on the music, Tobin came in, heard it, and said excitedly, "Oooo, what is this? I like this song!"  :)

I've tried to decide which of the songs is my favorite.  At first, I thought it was "The 3 Minute Clean-up"--I mean, you can never go wrong with a little additional encouragement in that department, right?  :)  And it's amazing how much can be accomplished in only 3 minutes when a family works together.

But then I thought maybe "Mommy and Daddy," with its sweet lyrics and cheerful tune, is my favorite song.  :)

Bottom line: I like all the songs, and I'm already hoping that the Springmans (his kids perform with him, which I LOVE) will decide to make another children's CD someday.

Looking back, I'm so glad I didn't push the "delete" button on Perry's email.  It was an offer that I'm thrilled that I said yes to!  :)

Drinking in the Sight of Him

Ever since Josiah returned from his choir tour on Sunday evening, I've been extra mindful of him.

I look at him more, find excuses to walk by him and touch his shoulder or tousle his hair, take more time to listen to his stories of things that happened on tour, discuss with him his impressions of the book he read yesterday, One Second After.

I notice him.  Appreciate him.  Enjoy him.  Simply by being here, his presence has brought extra joy to the beginning of this week.

This is the way I want to always be as a mother with all of my children.

Sometimes it takes a few days of absence to remind me of this.  :)

While the Firstborn Is Away...

...the mom will play.

That is, if you count organizing a storage closet as play.

Which I do.

:)

Here's the deal: in Josiah and David's room, right next to Josiah's bed, there is a door that leads to the secret world of Narnia.

Oh, wait.  Wrong closet.  ;-)

We call this closet "the suitcase closet" for the obvious reason that it's where we keep our out-of-use suitcases...as well as various other items that don't have a home elsewhere and wind up shoved in there, too.  For quite a while, I'd been wanting to clean it all out and organize what was worth keeping; but that particular task had never risen close enough to the top of my priority list to actually get done.

Until yesterday when I decided that with Josiah away on his choir tour, it would be the perfect chance for me to pull everything out of that closet and get to work.  I knew Josiah wouldn't be needing his bed anytime soon...

...which was a good thing because it got sort of buried.  :)

It was shocking unusual rewarding to see the closet that empty and clean!

As the project progressed, I was grateful for my cheering section.  Can you spot him?  :)

David has been doing a terrific job making his bed neatly every day for the last while (motivated by his desire to be a Navy SEAL someday), and that was a convenient place for Benjamin to hang out...

...and cheer me on.  That smile of his sure is good motivation.  :)

In the end, I discovered some things I could get rid of, some things I could put somewhere else in the house, and...

...more space for the stuff that really belongs in that closet. Oh, I DO love organizing!  :)

Seeing the huge suitcases we used to take to Israel when we lived there reminded me of the joys of filling each suitcase to the brim, pressing hard on the lid to make sure it could zip shut, then carefully weighing it to make sure we didn't go over the limit.  It also reminded me of the time (at least once...might have happened more than that) when our scale didn't exactly agree with the airport's scale, and I had to unzip the suitcase in the airport and take out some of the contents to get it beneath the limit.  That's not embarrassing at all.  ;-)

Yesterday by the end of the day, not only was the suitcase closet organized...

...but also Josiah's bed was covered with freshly washed sheets and quilt.

We're all ready for our boy to come home!!!!!  :)

One Happy Cowboy

An event occurred today that Tobin's been looking forward to for at least the past decade (oh, wait, scratch that...he's only eight): his first official riding lesson!!  :)

From a very young age, Tobin demonstrated a real love for animals; and horses have been a special interest of his for quite a long time.  As we thought about riding lessons, it wasn't an "if" but a "when," and today was the day.  :)

While he learned how to care for and saddle the pony he would be riding, Shav and Moriah watched from a little ways away.  This was Tobin's big event, and I didn't want his younger siblings intruding too much into his thing.  :)

Lisa, his riding instructor, is a friend of some friends of ours...

...and she has a wonderful, kind, gentle, patient spirit.

She also has gorgeous golden retrievers, like this one named Mabel. Hanging out with Mabel was good entertainment for my non-riders.  :)

It was pretty hot today; and while Tobin rode, the younger kids and I hung out mostly in the shade, munching on apples and chips and drinking water from the thermos I had taken along.

Tobin didn't complain a bit to me later about the heat, however; he was loving what he was doing.  :)

Moriah was being a little silly.  Hard to believe, I know.  ;-)

And Shav was keeping Benjamin entertained by playing peek-a-boo with him.  :)

Way back in the spring of 2007, I had decided that there was enough extra time in our schedule for some "me time," and I started taking riding lessons at a horse farm not too far from our house.  I enjoyed them a lot but stopped abruptly.  My reason?  I got pregnant.  Pregnant with Tobin.  Do you think the motion he felt during my riding lessons when he was in my womb but I didn't even know it yet is what caused him to love horses so much??  ;-)  Whatever the reason, I find it interesting that my desire to learn to ride got passed down to him (and not really to any of my other children, none of whom have expressed much desire to ride--except for the occasional passing interest, like Moriah today who asked if she could have lessons when she's five).  :)

Tobin told me after his lesson that Lisa asked him what he wanted to learn, as far as riding goes; and he said, "I want to be a cowboy!"  Tonight he is one small step closer to his goal, and he's already counting down the days until his next lesson.

It brings me such joy to watch my children pursue their interests and the dreams God has planted in their hearts!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday {First Time at Riven Rock This Year}

A repeat of a very special visit (last year's post is here)...  :)

It is a JOY to get to spend time with Lisa and her family!  Who knew, when we were apartment-mates during our last two years of college, that, 19 years later, we would have 9 kids between the two of us and would have fun taking them each summer to a beautiful mountain stream close to where I grew up?

Sometimes life surprises.  :)