Soul Carving

Since I last posted: We've discovered we're going to have another little one join our family. I've spent 2 months enduring grueling morning sickness and effectively hiding from the world until emerging relieved and thankful at the start of my second trimester. I've taken part in a world-wide conference where I obtained inspiration on how to find happiness and fulfill my own, unique destiny. (As a result of the conference, I've also discovered a latent super-power which I'm learning to hone!) I've started a Women's Scripture Study group in my community which meets weekly to discuss truths learned from God's word. My sweetheart and I have celebrated 16 years of marriage. We've driven nearly 3,400 miles across seven states to visit family.  I've published another article at A Voice of Gladness detailing my personal experiences learning about God's grace.  I've also done about 100 loads of laundry, ch...

What do you do when your husband is laid off from a job he's given his all to, and you realize that this means you will no longer be able to redeem the airline tickets he won from a work raffle? What options are left when the 2-week Italian getaway you were planning to celebrate your 15th anniversary is no longer a possibility? How do you cope? You get thrifty, of course! Yes, it's true, Richard was one of the unfortunate ones to be let go from the company a month before Christmas. And yes, we had to come to terms with the fact that not only would this deprive us of our source of income, it would mean saying "arrivederci" to our plans to go abroad. We'd been researching places to stay, we'd arranged a caretaker for all seven kids, and we'd been dreaming of a Roman holiday for just the two of us. But regulations stipulated that the recipient of the airline tickets must be employed with the company at the time of travel. Our plans were scheduled for the e...

       Each year Richard gets an updated photo of the kids for his office. As Father's day approaches, I have fun thinkng up clever themes for a photo shoot. (You can see my first attempt  here .)        This time, we went with a sports theme. I envisioned a shot from behind, the kids lined up, with jersey numbers on their backs. Originally, I thought it would be easy enough for my two older boys to use their soccer uniforms, and then pick up some used jersey's from the thrift store for the remaining five. However, finding the right sizes and styles was a bit tricky, and even at thrift-store prices, a bit too expensive to justify a one-time use.         Then inspiration struck - no need for new clothes (or to convince the children to wear an outfit I had picked out). I would simply make a jersey number from masking tape and place it on the back of whichever shirt they wanted to wear! Bingo!      ...