dear emily,
i was thinking about the wise men who followed the star to the baby in
bethlehem. it reminded me of all the wise women i have followed.
they left me signs as obvious as a star's light. in their wake were happy
and confident children, satisfied and successful husbands, and many
grateful hearts. they were the first to bring a meal to a sick family, to
pray for a significant heartache, or to love on a small child.
these wise women taught me to follow the Lord by feasting on His word
and leaning into Him. they led me in studies to understand Him better
and showed me many ways to worship Him.
they inspired me by their humble, persevering service to the younger
women and our children. they invited me into their homes, fed me
delicious meals and encouraged me to respect my husband and raise
my children in a Godly home.
i watched them very carefully and followed along in their footsteps.
it's humbling and a little unsettling to think that there are young
women behind me now.
i have so much to learn still.
titus 2:4 says that "we are to train up the younger women to love their
husbands and children."
i better get busy,
lea
Monday, December 21, 2009
princess samara
dear samara,
when isaac, shelby, max, sunday, and hailey were little, i made up
stories like this for them.
once upon a time in a far away kingdom there lived a precious little
princess named samara. she had beautiful curly hair, twinkly green
eyes, and a cute little pixy nose.
every morning, when the sun first peaked beneath her curtains, she
would jump out of her royal bed to peak out the turret window. then
she would decide if she and her kitten would fish in the bubbling
stream, explore the great forest, or ride her royal pony.
that morning she spied her father, king matt, and brothers, prince asa
and prince phin, mounting their royal horses!
she quickly scooped up her kitten, ran down the hundred stairs, and
pounced out onto the courtyard.
"papa, please let me go with you!"
"she can't go! she's way too small," said prince asa and prince phin.
"they're right, samara. this is a very dangerous hunt, and you are
much too little. i couldn't bear for you to get hurt," said her kind papa,
the king.
off they galloped, leaving princess samara in a trail of dust. she
stomped her royal foot, picked up her kitten, and stormed into the
castle kitchen.
flour was floating in the sunlit doorway, fragrant bread was baking in
the ovens, and chocolate pies were cooling on the window ledges.
"may i help? please let me help you make something!"
"out! out of my kitchen!" said the royal baker. "you are much too tiny
to be of any help here." but she smiled gently and gave princess samara
a delicious bun, still warm from the royal ovens.
sharing the treat with her kitten, princess samara plodded sadly to her
mother's chamber. she found queen emily and all her maidens on their
hands and knees peaking beneath her royal bed.
"oh, samara, you are just in time! we have been counting out coins
from the royal treasury to give to the poor villagers. one of the coins fell
to the ground and prince ilo crawled under the bed with it. we are
terrified that he will plop it into his mouth and choke to death!" queen
emily cried.
princess samara scrambled under the bed and handed her kitten to
prince ilo, who promptly dropped the coin.
"thank heavens you are still small enough to do important things," said
queen emily and gave her the biggest hug in the kingdom...and lots of
kisses, too.
merry Christmas,
miss lea
when isaac, shelby, max, sunday, and hailey were little, i made up
stories like this for them.
once upon a time in a far away kingdom there lived a precious little
princess named samara. she had beautiful curly hair, twinkly green
eyes, and a cute little pixy nose.
every morning, when the sun first peaked beneath her curtains, she
would jump out of her royal bed to peak out the turret window. then
she would decide if she and her kitten would fish in the bubbling
stream, explore the great forest, or ride her royal pony.
that morning she spied her father, king matt, and brothers, prince asa
and prince phin, mounting their royal horses!
she quickly scooped up her kitten, ran down the hundred stairs, and
pounced out onto the courtyard.
"papa, please let me go with you!"
"she can't go! she's way too small," said prince asa and prince phin.
"they're right, samara. this is a very dangerous hunt, and you are
much too little. i couldn't bear for you to get hurt," said her kind papa,
the king.
off they galloped, leaving princess samara in a trail of dust. she
stomped her royal foot, picked up her kitten, and stormed into the
castle kitchen.
flour was floating in the sunlit doorway, fragrant bread was baking in
the ovens, and chocolate pies were cooling on the window ledges.
"may i help? please let me help you make something!"
"out! out of my kitchen!" said the royal baker. "you are much too tiny
to be of any help here." but she smiled gently and gave princess samara
a delicious bun, still warm from the royal ovens.
sharing the treat with her kitten, princess samara plodded sadly to her
mother's chamber. she found queen emily and all her maidens on their
hands and knees peaking beneath her royal bed.
"oh, samara, you are just in time! we have been counting out coins
from the royal treasury to give to the poor villagers. one of the coins fell
to the ground and prince ilo crawled under the bed with it. we are
terrified that he will plop it into his mouth and choke to death!" queen
emily cried.
princess samara scrambled under the bed and handed her kitten to
prince ilo, who promptly dropped the coin.
"thank heavens you are still small enough to do important things," said
queen emily and gave her the biggest hug in the kingdom...and lots of
kisses, too.
merry Christmas,
miss lea
Saturday, December 19, 2009
sleep in heavenly peace
dear emily,
many years ago, a college friend and i were catching up on each others'
families. she had two beautiful children to my motley crew of five and
a very different kind of life.
she said that her average day consisted of getting up at 6:00 to put on
her make-up in the morning. make-up in the morning? i was lucky
to WAKE up in the morning.
then she gathered up the dirty clothes, threw them over the upstairs
rail, awakened the kids, made breakfast, and flew out the door to take
the kids to school around 7:00.
i was astounded, confounded, dumfounded.
at the same time she was towing her children out the door, mine were
tumbling into the kitchen and onto my lap for a morning snuggle. i
would have just started my devotions that never seemed to last longer
than 30 seconds.
one of my favorite things about home-schooling was that i never had to
awaken a baby to take an older sibling to school. i never even had to
awaken the older sibling. they slept as long as their little bodies needed.
isaac was usually the first to rise, and we frequently had math and
reading completed before the others were ready for their breakfast.
it was a totally unorthodox way to do things, but it worked for us. that
is the goal, i think, to figure out what works for your family, not to try
to be like other families.
galatians 6:4 says "don't compare yourselves to others." be your own
sweet family, which you do so brilliantly.
love,
lea
many years ago, a college friend and i were catching up on each others'
families. she had two beautiful children to my motley crew of five and
a very different kind of life.
she said that her average day consisted of getting up at 6:00 to put on
her make-up in the morning. make-up in the morning? i was lucky
to WAKE up in the morning.
then she gathered up the dirty clothes, threw them over the upstairs
rail, awakened the kids, made breakfast, and flew out the door to take
the kids to school around 7:00.
i was astounded, confounded, dumfounded.
at the same time she was towing her children out the door, mine were
tumbling into the kitchen and onto my lap for a morning snuggle. i
would have just started my devotions that never seemed to last longer
than 30 seconds.
one of my favorite things about home-schooling was that i never had to
awaken a baby to take an older sibling to school. i never even had to
awaken the older sibling. they slept as long as their little bodies needed.
isaac was usually the first to rise, and we frequently had math and
reading completed before the others were ready for their breakfast.
it was a totally unorthodox way to do things, but it worked for us. that
is the goal, i think, to figure out what works for your family, not to try
to be like other families.
galatians 6:4 says "don't compare yourselves to others." be your own
sweet family, which you do so brilliantly.
love,
lea
...to hear the angels sing.
dear emily,
one of the most rewarding roles of motherhood is rescuing our children.
unfortunately, we can't always...and shouldn't always, but when we
can, it just doesn't get better than that. here's a special rescue story.
a mom overheard her eight year old son and his friends regretting that
they couldn't sing in the school Christmas program. apparently, they
didn't sing well enough. imagine her outrage!
so she marched them to the piano and had them sing 'it came upon a
midnight clear' from the program. afterward, she sympathized with the
teacher. they not only could not sing the notes, they could not sing any
note. she had to start at the very beginning...
every afternoon after school she spent time teaching them to find a note,
by playing it and having them try to sing it. eventually, they progressed
to linking two notes, three notes, and finally, the entire song. the boys
especially loved the line, "the world in solemn stillness lay to hear the
angels sing."
after watching the boys do a wonderful job in the school program,
though thrilled for them, the mother was feeling a little glum for not
having been a little appreciated for her hard work.
walking home, hand in hand with her son on that still, snowy night,
she heard him say, "mom, i think i heard them."
"heard who, honey?"
"the angels sing..."
thanks received.
love,
lea
one of the most rewarding roles of motherhood is rescuing our children.
unfortunately, we can't always...and shouldn't always, but when we
can, it just doesn't get better than that. here's a special rescue story.
a mom overheard her eight year old son and his friends regretting that
they couldn't sing in the school Christmas program. apparently, they
didn't sing well enough. imagine her outrage!
so she marched them to the piano and had them sing 'it came upon a
midnight clear' from the program. afterward, she sympathized with the
teacher. they not only could not sing the notes, they could not sing any
note. she had to start at the very beginning...
every afternoon after school she spent time teaching them to find a note,
by playing it and having them try to sing it. eventually, they progressed
to linking two notes, three notes, and finally, the entire song. the boys
especially loved the line, "the world in solemn stillness lay to hear the
angels sing."
after watching the boys do a wonderful job in the school program,
though thrilled for them, the mother was feeling a little glum for not
having been a little appreciated for her hard work.
walking home, hand in hand with her son on that still, snowy night,
she heard him say, "mom, i think i heard them."
"heard who, honey?"
"the angels sing..."
thanks received.
love,
lea
Friday, December 18, 2009
Christmas anorexia
dear emily,
when all the kids left to go back to school after thanksgiving, i had two
choices: feel sorry for myself or decorate for their return. so, i threw
myself into the Christmas spirit and worked diligently for days. when i
came up for air, i was pretty pleased with myself. the house had never
looked more festive.
after many days of living with it, though, i walked into the family room
and whined, "i can't see any Christmas anymore."
hans and hailey's jaws dropped open, and hailey said, "mom,
every corner, table, and surface of our entire house has a Christmas
decoration on it. there are lights everywhere, santas everywhere, angels
everywhere, and mangers everywhere! i think you have Christmas
anorexia!"
i hope they don't check me into one of those clinics...
merry Christmas,
lea
when all the kids left to go back to school after thanksgiving, i had two
choices: feel sorry for myself or decorate for their return. so, i threw
myself into the Christmas spirit and worked diligently for days. when i
came up for air, i was pretty pleased with myself. the house had never
looked more festive.
after many days of living with it, though, i walked into the family room
and whined, "i can't see any Christmas anymore."
hans and hailey's jaws dropped open, and hailey said, "mom,
every corner, table, and surface of our entire house has a Christmas
decoration on it. there are lights everywhere, santas everywhere, angels
everywhere, and mangers everywhere! i think you have Christmas
anorexia!"
i hope they don't check me into one of those clinics...
merry Christmas,
lea
saved by the carol
dear emily,
hans and the kids have teased me a lot through the years, because i
don't really understand sports. all i have ever known is music and
literature. imagine my delight at receiving this clandestine phone
call.
"mom?" one of my sons was on the other line and i could barely hear
him.
"honey, are you ok?" i ask worriedly.
"mom, i don't have much time and may have to hang up on you."
"honey, are you in trouble?"
"how do you finish this line, 'angels we have heard...'?" whispered my son.
" 'on high'...but"
"awesome! now how about, 'o little town of bethlehem...'?"
" 'how still we see thee lie! ' what is going on?" beginning to get a
little frustrated.
"sweet! what comes after this? 'angels from the realms of glory'?"
"'wing your flight o'er all the earth'... do you need me to call the
police?"
"oh no, i gotta hang up! stay by the phone!" now i had visions of
kidnappers with my precious baby wrapped up in duct tape.
the phone rang again.
"mom?"
"oh honey, are you hurt? where are you?"
"no worries, mom. mr. mccoy was just walking by and i didn't want
him to see me on the phone."
"what????"
"just fill this line in: 'what child is this?...' "
"'who laid to rest on mary's lap is sleeping' will you please tell me
what is going on?"
"thanks, mom! you're a life saver! i told my buddies that no one
knew more Christmas songs than you!"
dial tone...
turns out his physics teacher gave the class a bonus pre-Christmas
test, that i helped them cheat their way through. a better mom
would have made them 'fess up, but i was just so proud...
...that my superior knowledge of Chrismas carols won the game!
love,
lea
hans and the kids have teased me a lot through the years, because i
don't really understand sports. all i have ever known is music and
literature. imagine my delight at receiving this clandestine phone
call.
"mom?" one of my sons was on the other line and i could barely hear
him.
"honey, are you ok?" i ask worriedly.
"mom, i don't have much time and may have to hang up on you."
"honey, are you in trouble?"
"how do you finish this line, 'angels we have heard...'?" whispered my son.
" 'on high'...but"
"awesome! now how about, 'o little town of bethlehem...'?"
" 'how still we see thee lie! ' what is going on?" beginning to get a
little frustrated.
"sweet! what comes after this? 'angels from the realms of glory'?"
"'wing your flight o'er all the earth'... do you need me to call the
police?"
"oh no, i gotta hang up! stay by the phone!" now i had visions of
kidnappers with my precious baby wrapped up in duct tape.
the phone rang again.
"mom?"
"oh honey, are you hurt? where are you?"
"no worries, mom. mr. mccoy was just walking by and i didn't want
him to see me on the phone."
"what????"
"just fill this line in: 'what child is this?...' "
"'who laid to rest on mary's lap is sleeping' will you please tell me
what is going on?"
"thanks, mom! you're a life saver! i told my buddies that no one
knew more Christmas songs than you!"
dial tone...
turns out his physics teacher gave the class a bonus pre-Christmas
test, that i helped them cheat their way through. a better mom
would have made them 'fess up, but i was just so proud...
...that my superior knowledge of Chrismas carols won the game!
love,
lea
grandma goldie's coming to town!
dear emily,
shelby said that your parents are coming to town, and i can't
imagine how excited asa, phin, samara, and ilo are! well,
actually, i can, because i lived and breathed for my grandma
goldie's visits.
if grandma calhoon was truth, then grandma goldie was grace.
between the two of them, i had a pretty clear picture of Jesus!
one taught me how to read the bible and live uprightly. the
other showed me how to care for the poor and love the down
trodden.
i have lost track of how many abandoned kitties and puppies she
took in or how many old ladies she visited at the nursing home.
it is shameful to me to remember that i never wanted to go with
her to wash and 'set' their hair, because i didn't like how they
smelled.
i did love every other minute with her...sneaking the car out at
5:00 a.m. when i was five years old, eating as much candy as
i wanted, reading as long as i wanted, even helping her clean
the rooms in her little motel. it probably made her work take
longer with me tagging along, but we both enjoyed it so much,
we didn't care.
then, joy of joys, we got to take our coffee break at the motel
restaurant. she let me have real coffee with lots of cream and
sugar . . . heaven!
at Christmas, all my siblings would get so excited to anticipate
what santa might bring them. i was more interested in how
long grandma goldie could stay. when i was only four i sat on
the curb and cried for the longest time because i realized we
only had one more day...
i wish i still had one more day,
lea
shelby said that your parents are coming to town, and i can't
imagine how excited asa, phin, samara, and ilo are! well,
actually, i can, because i lived and breathed for my grandma
goldie's visits.
if grandma calhoon was truth, then grandma goldie was grace.
between the two of them, i had a pretty clear picture of Jesus!
one taught me how to read the bible and live uprightly. the
other showed me how to care for the poor and love the down
trodden.
i have lost track of how many abandoned kitties and puppies she
took in or how many old ladies she visited at the nursing home.
it is shameful to me to remember that i never wanted to go with
her to wash and 'set' their hair, because i didn't like how they
smelled.
i did love every other minute with her...sneaking the car out at
5:00 a.m. when i was five years old, eating as much candy as
i wanted, reading as long as i wanted, even helping her clean
the rooms in her little motel. it probably made her work take
longer with me tagging along, but we both enjoyed it so much,
we didn't care.
then, joy of joys, we got to take our coffee break at the motel
restaurant. she let me have real coffee with lots of cream and
sugar . . . heaven!
at Christmas, all my siblings would get so excited to anticipate
what santa might bring them. i was more interested in how
long grandma goldie could stay. when i was only four i sat on
the curb and cried for the longest time because i realized we
only had one more day...
i wish i still had one more day,
lea
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