embracing the hard

Of late I have been a student of the "hard". Intentionally. Not a " getting by, putting up with hard" type of student.
An embracer of" hard " student.

See, I've been realizing that I tend to be a "feather the nest" make everything all better type of mama and person. I lean toward how can we nurture and ease the way for each other?
I enjoy creating an oasis in our home for my peeps to fall into, away from all the tough stuff.

But I've come to feel another part of my soul need growing. That I was a bit unbalanced.

A songwriter's comments drew me into thinking of the mysticalness of that place where it's just hard and there's nothing for it but to walk into it, face it, feel it and refuse to allow doubt and fear to prevail but to believe that God will be there even in the dark and that on the other side,every time He will be there. That there will always be good beckoning.
Because for the Christian even death has something bright beyond.

I am loving this imagery, even as we are laid out in the midst of "hard". Even as we sweat through, we can have the comforting image of our God faithfully holding out His hands,with good plans for us in spite of what it could look like.Somehow it makes doing hard so much more do-able.
Oh,and finding little surprises from Him in unexpected moments. Trailmarkers if you will.

But stories about them are for another day!
Blessings!

~Pilgrimama

our morning

So this is our morning so far..

Celestial Seasonings Chai tea with honey and creamer for me.

Starting the wood stove in the livingroom and lighting the gingerbread spice candle on our table.

Talking to two friends who called me bright and early-love that!

Crying over the onions I peeled and sliced for a pot of French Onion soup.

Curled up with at least one of my daughters in our comfy bed.

Watching the children sort and become "traders" in their enormous candy collection which friends have supplied them abundantly with. I should make no dessert for a month!

Now,off to the laundry room!


~pilgrimama

Our own "Max"?

Have you read "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak to your little ones?

Who do you identify with(all in a good natured way of course)?

Squirrelgirl is our "Max".

She has wild hairs,literally.

We try to train her to curb her "I'll eat you up" moments and she's usually pretty good about it.

But some of that wild might come in handy one day.

In honor of her, "Maxness", behold the wild curls.

Thankfully, in the end she's always happy to be where "someone "loves her" best of all".


Happy Thursday!
                         ~pilgrimama

It's official..

Jess

This guy is on his last day of being 9 years old. We've been parents for almost a decade?

 Incredible, friends,incredible!

~pilgrimama

rummagings and good finds in the paperless journals..

This week has been busy. I am trying to catch myself when I'm being a "Martha" instead of a "Mary". I'm scribbling in my paper journal instead of here. Talking my way through the bugs in my schedule, searching for any wrong paradigms that might be present.
But tonight I was digging through the online journal of a lady who has some valuable lessons she's learned,learning and sharing with the rest of us.

Look for the "Put the phone down and no one will get hurt" graphic on the linked page and read the accompanying post.

The concerns she has are so similar to my own. Because of these concerns I am here on these pages only when I choose to be. (At least generally speaking..) Face time with real humans,especially with those in our own households is invaluable.

No blog of mine should come in at first place for my time...
Enough.
Go read!

~pilgrimama

pretty laundry area?

So maybe this is kind of a fetish. (of mine)

I really like organizing and organizational stuff.

I haven't always been this way. But as I've added more children and more structure this"fetish" has taken hold more and more...

Anyway, now that I've given all the background, let me just say that I am really pleased to have made signs to hang above all my laundry baskets with the category of laundry to go in said baskets on said signs.

Using scrapbook paper as the framing paper!

Now our laundry area in our fairly large bathroom looks kinda pretty. Ha!

Every bit helps I say!

Happy Friday!

~pilgrimama

they're heading off...

Well,it's happened. I always thought it would happen. I planned for it.
But still I'm not sure I'm ready for it.

Jess is reading chapter books!
 Sigh!
He's off exploring in the world of the printed page without me!

Heretofore I have always accompanied him.
Now he's gone alone.
Getting ideas,learning stuff without me.
It may seem overly dramatic but this feels BIG.

Alex came back from his second outing to a farm this week. His enduring interest these days is in being a farmer. Next week he is scheduled to go on a field trip to yet another farm.
There he goes, pursuing valuable lessons, gleaning information as he walks the road of Life. The life that I will most likely not always be around to be involved in or see. Wow!

And while independence is still a long way off, I feel the ebb and flow of Waves pulling away from shore. Lord willing, the waves that pull these beautiful sons keep bringing them back in to see me often...

                             ~pilgrimama