Confessions of a Self-Proclaimed Janeite March 27, 2008

I have been reading the book Pride and Prejudice for the first time the last few days. I know to most of my readers it is an almost unforgivable crime that I have not read it before now, but, well, to tell you the truth I wasn’t ever really interested in Jane Austin for a long time- the only thought I gave to the movies based on her books I saw was that they were sorta’ silly. But then, one day, I found myself in the theatre waiting for the movie Pride and Prejudice to start. Uh-oh. I was being sucked in. Now I find myself speeding through the book version at an alarming speed- the reason being, the sooner I finish this, the sooner I can begin Sense & Sensibility. Double uh-oh. I guess I am proof of what one of Trey’s friends recently said: all girls have to like Jane Austin. It’s like a rule.I find myself captivated by the characters, the writing and the dialogue- although having seen the Really Old, the Old and the New movie versions of this book (approximately 2 times, 40 times and 400 times, respectively), I am pretty familiar with the story- how Jane & Bingly fall in love and separated by the evil plots of Mr. Darcy & Bingly’s sisters only to be eventually reunited and married, how Lizzy falls head over heels for Wickim only to end up despising him, and how she is determined to despise Mr. Darcy only to end up falling head over heels for him. This books follows the movie(s) more than any other book/movie set I’ve seen- and yet there is something very charming about the writing and actually seeing the words that makes it almost seem unfamiliar. Well I wasn’t going to spend this blog post on praising the book… but I guess it got away from me. Well, I’m going now to finish chapter 18…

*** it rang! adoption update on Momma’s blog

~Ellie

Waiting March 26, 2008

Lately, Mercy has been learning the meaning of the word “Wait”– and it’s high time. She used to tell you she wants something, and if you didn’t respond immediately she would repeat that she WANTS something. We knew we had to ‘nip this is in the bud’, but it wasn’t until a little later that we decided to teach her about “wait”. She started repeating a request 72 million times at a speed that would make a NASCAR driver dizzy until the required object is in her hand (example: Mercy is ready for bed and has an urge to have a goodnight drink of milk from her bottle. She cries out “Mo-Mo wan’ da’ ba-ba, wan’ da’ ba-ba, wan’ da’ ba-ba, PEEEEEASE, Mo-Mo wan’ da’ ba-ba, wan’ da’ ba-ba…”). It is mostly at these times that we say the new word- and usually she is quiet and patient for a few minutes after being told to wait. Of course, there are times when she needs more correction than one simple word (these times are most frequent at the grocery store, during Church or at some other dreadfully inconvenient place).

The theme of waiting has been very common around here- waiting for documents to come, waiting to hear back from the grant organisation, waiting for “The Call” which we don’t know when to expect…

So what do you do when you are told to “wait”? I find I am prone, like Mercy, to call out my request in a louder, more I’m-seriously-about-to-throw-a-huge-fit voice. I think “the only reason there could be that God has not answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to, when I wanted Him to is that He didn’t hear me, or, He didn’t think I was serious.” So I go into bratty two-year-old mode and I say “Do what I want, and do it RIGHT NOW“- but I find that it doesn’t work. It seems to work out way better to just be quiet- then, I can hear Him when He tells me:

“…For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then shall you call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will hearken to you. And you shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart…”

It might be seventy years, but He will not forget us (even when it seems like He has).

“Sing, o heavens; and be joyful, o earth; and break forth into singing, o mountains; for the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted.

But Zion said, ‘the LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands, thy walks are continuously before me…”

May I wait, that it may be true of me “I waited patiently for the LORD, and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”

~Ellie

O.K. so I know it’s been awhile… March 22, 2008

We have been sick (stomach virus) off and on for most of the time since my last post- I think we are FINALLY over it, though.

Last week Momma and I went to Memphis to get her fingerprints run for the FBI (for the adoption) {read about that here} and then Wednesday the whole family loaded up & we went and had Dad’s done. I think we have a few odds & end things to get together but we are basically almost there- now Momma & Dad are working on filling out some grant applications.

Annie has been very cute today- using words she just found out about (-: We were boating in the pond earlier & Mercy was waiting for her turn. “Hurry up!” Annie hollered from the deck “MO-Mo is DESPERATE to get in that boat!” We had grandparents down today & ate a big lunch, then grazed all afternoon- so tonight Momma said that we would not really have a supper. When Dad and the big boys go home, Annie saw Dad warming up a leftover  hamburger.  “Momma said we couldn’t eat supper”she informed him matter-of-factually “We have been eating all day.” “O.K, but the boys & I haven’t been eating all day.” Dad protested. “Oh, not y’all.” Annie told him “Y’all can just knock yourselves out.”

Well Ben just came in here with some ice-cream and I think I’ll go get some for myself.

Some of y’all might enjoy this post (The Rest Stop)  & this post (Jake) tomorrow.

From Amy Carmichael March 11, 2008

I read this in Amy Carmichael’s Ploughed Under today…

“…Tamarind pods do not always fall from the tree for us. The silver & the gold we so much need do not lie on the path for us to pick up as we walk in difficult ways. To us is a new Joy then, and a deeper: we are trusted to trust our Father when all that we hear Him say is this: “Blessed is he whomsoever shalt not be offended in me” but for the heart that knows Him, it is enough.”

                          -Ploughed Under by Amy Carmichael

Saturday’s Snow (and other pictures) March 10, 2008

I know I’m a little late to post these pictures but here they are:

Annie & Mercy enjoying a COLD seat…

The pond (it looks like Sarah, Annie & Ben on the deck, but I can’t tell)

The House

Sarah working on a book report 

For Mrs Teresa…

~Ellie

So What Do You Do On Fridays? March 7, 2008

With us, what we do is never the same week to week. Of course, some things never change- Ben twirls around the house in the afternoon rejoicing that the school week is over,  Hannah & Sarah talk of their ‘morning to sleep in’ tomorrow (so what is every other day around here?), the boys watch a movie… This post doesn’t really have much of a point, but for those of you reading who might live far away (grandparents), I thought you might like to know what we did today.

After school, we did chores & stuff. Tonight we had visitors, so there was also some time spent finding the extra chairs & etc. The real highlight of the day (besides having company, which is always delightful) was the snow/sleet. The younger children, in particular, had a WONDERFUL TIME!!! It wasn’t until after dark that the snow started actually sticking, but that did not stop them: they were out there with their flashlights doing all those things people who don’t get snow much do on the rare occasions that some actually comes (we, the old boring people, were in the warm basement visiting with the F. family). They collected some snow & I made snowcream to eat… not the best ever, but still snowcream.

When it came time for the F.’s to leave, everyone followed them out & I don’t know how it happened, but somebody(it wasn’t me! Really, it wasn’t!) threw that first snowball and well… we had a little goodbye snowball fight. Mercy in particular LOVED this game. She laughed, and laughed, and laughed. She talked of it for the rest of the night (until she went to bed) & although we can’t really understand what she’s saying, the words “FUN” & “FUNNY” played a big part in it. I’m hoping the snow is still there in the morning so I can get some good pictures of her playing in it.

As for what everyone is doing right now: Ben, Hannah, Sarah, Annie, Mercy, Momma & Dad are all in bed, Emma is probably reading, Trey is hovering around waiting to use the computer after me, and Jake I think has some insane idea of getting on here AFTER Trey is done… it’s 11:48 P.M…

Well, I really need to go now. I have to sleep sometimes (or so they tell me).

I hope to have time & write out a good adoption update this weekend or maybe Monday. Thanks for sticking around (those who did) to read this whole thing…

Mercy… this was this afternoon before the ground got really covered…

My New Favourite Picture March 2, 2008

Isaac, Macrae & I today in the nursery.

~Ellie