My Ebenezer

  We were finally seen by an orthopedic doctor Friday: one week after Seth's accident on the one wheel. What a long week spent on the phone with those On Hold Recordings ("Your healthcare is our top priority!" = a big fat syrupy lie), insurance customer service reps, orthopedic schedulers and switchboard operators... You know that scene in The Princess Bride where the Count puts Westley on that machine and then calmly reports, "I've just sucked one year of your life away." I felt just like Westley felt too.   I know now what took so long for Seth to be seen. Are you ready for it? The insurance company had Seth's birthdate wrong in their information. One little number--a 0 instead of a 9--meant the difference between an appointment early in the week and one on Friday. Yes, we still would have needed a referral and prior authorization, but No, it did not have to take so long except that things got hung up with that wrong birthdate. The authorization was se...

  So, this happened. (This will be my fifty-first explanation, but that's okay!) Seth was riding our one-wheel on Friday. He was admittedly going too fast (the machine was actually beeping at him!) and he fell off, wrecking himself on the asphalt. Besides the mean road rash you see in the picture, he also sprained his left wrist and broke his collar bone on the right side. Broke. His. Clavicle. "What's a one-wheel; is that like a unicycle?" is our most commonly asked question. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, this is a one-wheel:  We are so thankful Seth was wearing his helmet, that I was out for a walk on the same street with him at the time it happened, and that it was not worse.  What I am having a harder time being thankful for is insurance. Since when does an insurance company get to tell me that we can or cannot be seen by a doctor?  Let me back up. We went to the ER shortly after the accident. X-rays happened. The x-ray report for his upper tors...

 Josh was invited by our church to go on a mission trip to New York City Feb 7-Feb 12. He was excited to go, and I was excited to send him. I don't mind time by myself (introvert much?) and I love the thought of him putting his construction skills to work for a church-plant up there. Plus it's only 6 days we're apart. Many people are apart much longer than that. However, I wasn't prepared for all of the decision-making that comes with single parenting. I knew there would be the getting-up and the putting-to-bed that naturally comes with parenting. The homework helping and dinner conversations, the carting to-and-from birthday parties and sports practices, and the overseeing of chores. But I was unaware of just how many times I defer to Josh for decisions. "That's a dad question," I'll say to a child of mine, who is wondering if he can sleep over at a friend's house. Often I tell them to ask Josh because my default answer is "No" and I kno...

 I'm pretty sure I have  made it abundantly clear  that live plants and I do not get on together. Historically it has not mattered how much effort I put into caring for plants, their outcome is the same: demise. That said, I nonetheless was inspired to purchase some houseplants last summer, and an orchid was among them. I must have been feeling uncharacteristically brave that day. We brought it home laden down with 7 blooms just simply unapologetic in their beauty. It was almost indecent. And within a week of being on my kitchen windowsill, all 7 blooms had gone to their shrivelly graves. The orchid turned gangly and Josh thought about trimming it way back. I thought about tossing it in the trash; after all, this was further evidence of my deplorable lack of gardening skills. Yet for some reason, I kept the orchid. I'd dust the leaves off every so often and place it insistently in the window, turning its good side toward the sun. I watered it doubtfully every so often. On...

 In my ladies' Bible study, we are studying the book of Isaiah. Wow is that a great book! I had never before tried to plumb the depths of its richness, especially in the first 39 chapters, which can come across kind of doomy-and-gloomy. But there's so much more to it than that! God pleading with his people to return to Him and make Him their trust again. He wants to be their God, the only One they consult and put their trust in.  And so I have been applying these truths to my own life. How often do I google something before I've prayed about it? Or given an answer before I've prayed about it and consulted God? My anxieties run amok in my mind, and where is God? All of these good reminders to seek His face; to make God my trust and my portion.  I've been setting the alarm for 6am, and when it goes off and my soft, warm bed teases me with promises of one more hour of sleep, I remind myself that I'm getting up to spend time with my Lord! By His enabling alone, I th...

 Not much text here, just the before and after on our skylight project, which is now complete! Praise the Lord.

 We are in the process of adding a skylight to our dining room. When we moved in, a skylight in our dark dining room was one of my wishlist items, but it just wasn't practical at the time. Now, 14 years later, it was time to replace the roof, and Josh suggested finally adding that skylight. He didn't have to ask me twice! I do not enjoy having to turn on "artificial" light during the middle of the day, and as we spend quite a bit of our time in the dining room every day, it will be so nice to have natural light! Here is a picture of the "before" and you'll see what I'm talking about. This pic was taken in the middle of a sunny-ish day:  (We leave those string lights up around the fireplace to help it not be so dark and dreary.) I don't have a proper "after" pic yet because this project is stretching out into w e e k s! We still need to sand the skylight one more time before we paint it and can put the furniture back in, so the best I ca...

If you are a middle-aged woman (or probably any woman at all) you NEED to read Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad stories; specifically the one called "Cookies" from Frog and Toad Together and "A Swim" from Frog and Toad Are Friends. I am reminded of the joy of these stories every time I have an emergent reader in the house, which for me has been about every 5 years in recent history. :) The large print, simple words, brilliant illustrations, and uncomplicated plot lines make them must-reads for beginners. Did I mention the human nature cleverly personified by a frog and a toad? The relatability we all feel to poor Toad? Eden brought home Frog and Toad Are Friends as one of her assigned reading books, and I rejoiced when I saw the title. After consulting the Table of Contents, I had her find page 40, "A Swim." Now, it needs to be noted that Eden is a reluctant reader. She's not super confident, does a fair amount of guessing at words, and hasn't l...

  Eden rang in the first week of 2024 by succumbing to the flu. She has been in bad shape for 7 days; feeling bad, then better, only to swing into worse, then slightly better again. It's been somewhat of a roller coaster; we even thought she was recovered enough to send her to school the next day, only to have her crash again a few hours later. Some days she eats almost nothing (a few grapes, maybe) and others she's hungry for something, but can't tell me just what. Cheese Quesadillas have come in clutch. :) She's been lying around on a mattress in our dining room (I've found that extroverts, even when sick, "want to be where the people are," to quote Ariel) dozing and looking at books by turns.  If I thought a doctor would tell us something other than "rest, and get plenty of fluids" I'd take her in. Thankfully, the rest of us are fine so far! A friend and I have begun reading "Choosing Gratitude" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and we meet...

  It's sort of fun that 2024 rhymes with "more." Josh and I have been making up not-real resolutions with phrases like, "Don't lose more in 2024." or "Read more in 2024." Well, I would like to blog more in 2024. To do this, I will have to time block and make it happen. My plan for now is to set aside 45 minutes 2 specific days a week for this purpose. I'm trying to convince myself that it doesn't always need to be really interesting stories or life lessons. I just want to faithfully record the Lord's doings in our family and in my own heart. Maybe sometimes that looks like deep thoughts and carefully chosen words, but I think more often than not it will simply be a record of the week. It may even be boring. *gasp* We have just celebrated Christmas and the New Year. Both were beautiful because we didn't have to go anywhere. We were quietly at home, which is my favorite way to spend a holiday. I took down the Christmas tree the day af...

If you've ever been asked to lead a discussion or teach about a certain spiritual discipline, you can be sure that the Lord will lovingly bring just that exact topic to the forefront in your own life. He'll graciously put your ugly sinful tendencies "right on Front Street," as my good friend Dara likes to say. This is grace! This is God's kindness to reveal sinful tendencies in our own hearts so that we can repent, seek renewed relationship with God and others, and be used of Him. Here is a story about one such evidence of God's grace to me. Josh and I were late to our small group last night. Oh, we were there . We had technically arrived on time, but we remained in the parking lot of the neighborhood's clubhouse for over 45 minutes before we were able to walk in holding hands. Much later in the evening, on our way home from Grace Group, Eden begged to be the one to fill the boys in on why we were late (the boys had driven separately from a soccer practice...

 I am in Scotland. S C O T L A N D. This is me; Joanna, the one whose comfort zone is within about one square mile, who said she never wanted to leave the USA, who hates to travel on anything public, who nearly hyperventilates at the mere mention of airplanes. How is this possible that I am here? Only by God's grace. Every step in front of the other, every long line, every minute on those airplanes was enabled by God's grace. On my end, it wasn't always pretty--usually it was very ugly--and I may have said, "I can't do this" more times than we could count (Josh had to tell me to quit saying that), but God was faithful to me and I have a really great story about one such miracle to share with you, but for perspective and contrast I have to share a really ugly story first. Here goes:  We dropped off our rental car in Dublin about 11am, and had to ride a shuttle bus back to the Dublin airport to catch our 1:10pm "quick" flight over to Edinburgh, Scotlan...

Our cat, Willow, has kittens periodically. By periodically I mean about 2-3 times a year, and we don't hate it. We actually enjoy guessing when her due date is, how many kittens there will be, what they will look like, etc. Then when she has them, well, is there anything cuter than kittens? But sooner or later, 8 weeks later to be exact, it's time for those kittens to go. At that time we will put an ad on Craigslist and find homes for each and every one. This brings the fun hassle of sending people additional pictures, telling them again how much we are charging (that was in the ad!), setting up potential meetings with people who will ghost at the last minute, after we've already given them our address. Everyone should put an ad on Craigslist at least once just for the experience. Should you finally get someone who likes the look of a kitten, wants to pay the price, can meet at an agreeable time, successfully finds your house, is okay with the fact that the kittens haven...

 We homeschool on Thursdays and Fridays, and lately I've taken to using a safari illustration to try to motivate my kids--especially Seth--to stay focused. I'll say to Seth, "Come on, chase down that gazelle! Stay hungry!" or "Your gazelle is getting away from you, Cheetah! Chase it down! Don't let it get away!" What I mean by that, of course, is, "Pick up your pencil, stop daydreaming, and Do. Your. MATH!!!" The other day after I encouraged him to go get his gazelle, Seth said, "Yeah, but I'm a vegan cheetah." LOL!

**I found this post in Drafts, and just decided to post it even though it is unfinished. :) It's from over a year ago, but who cares?  I mentioned to Noah in passing this week that he had learned to read when he was four years old. He didn't believe me! Thankfully I had proof in the form of a video from this very blog (see I knew this would come in handy at some point!). Well, I couldn't just watch that one video. That one was so cute I had to look at others. How much I have forgotten from those little years long ago.  You wouldn't even recognize Noah these days. He's 5 feet 11 inches tall, has a deep voice, and huge feet. Braces on his teeth. He weighs more than I do. He's more man than boy now. "They" really are right when they tell you these years fly by. Here I am, 41 years old with a high schooler whom I started blogging about when he was a year old. It's nuts really. And then I think about my other two kids, who don't have the same number...

 Me: "So what did you do in preschool today?" Eden: "We did grilling. But there wasn't a real fire in it." Me: (incredulous) "Grilling?" Eden: "Yes, grilling. I already said that."  Me: "Did they cook food?" Eden: "No. There wasn't a real fire." Me: "Can you tell me what they did?" Eden: "Well, they lined us all up outside and we sat on the walkway and beed quiet." Me: (what?!)  "Really? What was the teacher doing?" Eden: "Looking at a Ipad." Me: (more perplexed than ever) "Do you do this every day?" Eden:  "No, just today. There was this really loud ringing sound and we all went outside and sat on the sidewalk. The teacher said we grilled." ***Silence for a minute while I tried to figure this out**** ***Then it dawned on me*** Me: "Was this a FIRE DRILL?" Eden; "Yes, that's what I said!" *Facepalm*

For the first time in over 9 years, all of my kids are now in school. Three different kids, three different schools; this can get logistically complicated, but that's just how we're rolling. Noah rides his electric scooter to and from his high school (!!! When did that happen?), Seth is attending 3rd grade at GRASP Academy (his last year there, perhaps, before he switches to Harvest?), and Eden is enthusiastically enrolled in morning Preschool at a church down the road from us. But my point was that for the first time in nine years, I finally feel like I can breathe again for a minute. Like I can come up for air. Maybe mop the floor and listen to classical music, a sermon, or an audio book while I do so. Draw, paint, blog, dust the furniture (I think I remember how to do that?), purge a closet, shower uninterrupted, and b r e a t h e. It's magical.  I think it's marvelous how the Lord works differently in different people's lives, giving them graces and even person...

The last several years have continued pretty similarly and pretty routine, and then all of a sudden in the last year or two the pattern of our life has shifted--in mostly good ways--and we've opened the chapter on a very different...(dare I say?) new adventure. We bought a camper. We enrolled the kids in brick-and-mortar schools. I rediscovered the joy of making art (and have even sold a piece or two!). Covid happened. A new president has been elected. Josh began shifting his focus to stock options after 15 years of property management. I signed up for a ballet class. We changed churches. Mid-life crisis? No. New opportunities to trust the Lord? Absolutely. I feel like each of those listed items needs a whole post attached to it detailing the Lord's hand in it, the thinking behind it, and responses to it. All in good time. I think I've already written about  our camper , our decision to put the kids into  school , art, and even Covid. I'm not planning to elaborate on th...

 We are excited and looking forward to some fellowship with Matt and Jen, Lord willing, this coming Friday night as we celebrate Libby's 9th birthday. Libby was born on November 1, so most years they have done a dress-up/costume party to celebrate the fact that she wasn't born on Halloween! :) Eden is super excited to wear her princess dress that I bought at a yard sale a few weeks ago. My boys never have really embraced costume wearing, but Eden seems to like dressing up. I know I mentioned posting our routine, and I think I'll do that now. Not because it's the surest way to get more readers (it's not), but because it's for posterity. Here's what we're usually up to now that we're not homeschooling: 6:30am I get up, have time with the Lord 7:15 I make breakfast, Noah makes lunches for himself and Josh 7:25 Breakfast for as many of the family as are up. I make it my ambition never to wake a sleeping preschooler, if I can help it. *wink* 7:45/8:00 Tak...

 In this plate-spinning life I lead (and I admit, I'm not as busy as some other moms I know) it's easy for me to let months go by without updating what is going on. Well it's time for a check-in! This (above) is how I spend most mornings after the boys have gone to school (I should post my routine sometime--that's always a scintillating read! Ha!). Eden and I have what we call Eden and Mommy Time. Original and clever, I know. This is time that is largely spent doing what Eden wants to do, whether that is building with blocks, playing with play-doh, coloring, painting with watercolors (my favorite!), baking a dessert, going to the park, or whatnot. She enjoys the undivided attention immensely.  So many things to say about the simple picture above: My kids go through phases and are into forts these days. Specifically, pillow forts. They frequently summon up all the pillows from every corner of the house and make divided forts in the living room. It's great fun for the...