Four Teenagers in the Hooooouse (second edition)

Last summer, my fourth child had his 13th birthday, thereby bestowing on our family the honor of having four teenagers in our family. 

Does that sound terrifying?  I suppose it could be!  But it hasn't been.

It's been awesome.

And the four-teenager-run is about to come to end, never to happen in our family again (we will miss it by about 10 months with the last four kids). 

I have to say, I'm a little sorry to see it go.  Before we had teenagers, when we were in the throes of diapers and tantrums and toys underfoot constantly and no sleep and chasing toddlers and general exhaustion, everyone said "Oh, just wait till you have teenagers!", with an air of impending doom. 

But people, I'm here to tell you: there has been no doom impended upon us, only joy*.  Having teenagers has been a learning experience, to be sure.  I've learned:

• how funny my children are! I never dreamed these little people we created would make me laugh so. dang. much.  They crack me up with their crazy voices and accents and commentaries.  Regardless of what we're doing, their antics are likely to have me in tears.
• to change my dinner table expectations.  Dinner at our house is a sight to behold.  Some kids are stealthily feeding the dog, other kids are asking philosophical questions, others are laughing with a sibling across the table and others might be simply talking louder than the sib next to them. It's loud and crazy and fabulous.
• to appreciate them for who they are.  As the kids get older, their perspectives are becoming more pronounced, and I am learning to embrace how they think and look at life.  My husband and I continue to shape, teach and direct them, but more and more they are making decisions on their own.  It's been so lovely to watch them turn into independent young people.
• how grateful I am.  Every day, every moment is a gift.  When the kids were young, I often felt like I was lucky to be keeping my head above water.  Now, though life is at full tilt all the time, it's different.  I am able now, because I see the end of the family years looming ahead of us, to better appreciate all the beauty I see in front of me.  Every vacation, holiday, game night, and special dinner feels weightier to me.  While I always knew my children were a blessing, as they get older, I more fully see the gifts that they are to us.  

Next month, my eldest daughter will turn 20, and a new era of parenting will be upon us; parenting young adults.  A new set of skills will be required of us.  It's always hard for me to let go and accept change, but at the same time, I'm excited about this next chapter ahead too.  The last 20 years have been full of joy and blessings, and I know God will continue to give us just what we need in the years to come.

*Well, okay, not 100% joy all the time, because they are still indeed humans, and therefore tend to be peskily sinful.

Hymn Sing

Tonight after dinner, we sang our nightly hymn for our family devotions (#676 LSB Behold a Host, Arrayed in White - one of my favorites).  When we were done, I invited commanded one child to do the dishes and the rest to clear, as per our nightly custom.  After the usual silly complaints, the table was cleared and the dining room vacated.  Under the back drop of children's antics, I sat and flipped through the hymnal, singing the occasional stanza of a favorite now and then.  Within a few moments, I grabbed a post it and penned the following list:

Hymns/Songs for my Funeral Concert

For All the Saints

Jerusalem, My Happy Home

Behold, a Host Arrayed in White

The Church's One Foundation

I Know that My Redeemer Lives

Christ is Risen

Alive, Again

Untitled Hymn

Perhaps this is morbid?  I don't know.  I'm always telling my poor husband,  "When I die, you should have this hymn (song) at my funeral". I finally realized that I wanted so many pieces that maybe we better call it a concert. :) 

These hymns and songs are so meaningful to me.  The saints! Christ's resurrection!  The Church! Heaven!  My faith is strengthened and I am often moved to tears literally every time I sing any of them.  What joy and hope and comfort they all give me!

What are your favorites?  What hymns/songs speak to you?  

Snapshots of the Past

As in days of old when families gathered around their radios, every December my kids like to gather around the computer and watch old video clips of them from Christmas mornings past.  They laugh and cheer and call to each other, while remembering gifts they received and how cute their siblings were when they were toddlers.  I love listening to them and catching glimpses of their sweet little-child faces on the screen.

This year, due to a conversion of our old camcorder tapes and an Amazon fire stick, we were able to watch videos on our TV from 1999 onward.  It has been wonderful - a true gift to see those little people I remember from years ago. . .the little ones who slowly morphed into the big kids and young adults I live with now.  I didn't realize it was happening at the time, but looking back, what a joy it is to see those precious faces and hear their darling little voices.  Among the clips we found:

• One of the boys falling asleep in his food at Fudruckers while on vacation.  His head kept bobbing, he kept smiling and drifting. . .until he finally gave up and fell asleep. 
• A sweet three year old boy singing the Transformer theme song - with amazing accuracy and an adorable voice.
• Countless Christmas enter-the-room-and-see-the-stockings-and-presents clips.  The expressions of excitement and joy on their little faces makes my heart sing.
• New babies being brought home and siblings welcoming them - with songs and overtures of love.
• Videos of family members who have passed away. . .clips of three of our grandmothers.  Oh - how lovely to see their expressions and hear their voices.  Such a gift.
• Countless birthday cakes and songs and candles blown out - each year passing more quickly than can be imagined.
• Dances (including a certain four year old dancing on the table for his birthday) and music videos that some of the kids can barely bring themselves to watch.
• My eldest daughter at age 3 recounting (with amazing accuracy) the ENTIRE Christmas story, while directing my husband and her imaginary friend to play all the parts with her. 

More than once I was moved to tears as I took in all the faces, voices and details of the past.  How precious are these memories of so many dear people.  Time passes so quickly we can scarcely see the changes as they occur.  What a gift to have these memories!S

The Week(ish) in Pictures, Holiday Edition

The last few weeks, in picture form:

Twinsies!

  Someone snapped this picture while my daughter and I were working on Thanksgiving dinner and it made me so happy.  Love this girl, and love that we wore the same outfit and same pony! (I don't know how she felt about twinning with dear old mom, but I loved it!)

My youngest daughter's Elf on the Shelf winter scene creation

 She loves the Elf on the Shelf, like her older brother before her, and she had such fun creating this scene for Hedgy (the Elf), and Blair and Claire (the reindeer).  I love her imagination!  And you'll be pleased to know that our dear naughty doggie only ingested some of the cotton balls from the scene. 

Cheesy Christmas Movie Graphic!

We don't have the Hallmark channel, but my youngest and I have watched a couple of Prime/Hulu/Netflix equivalents and I can report that this plot generator is spot on.  And while I generally prefer Law and Order SVU while wrapping Christmas presents, I have to say that, while very predictable and cheesy, the few movies we watched were pretty sweet.  And bonus - the ones we saw were completely appropriate for my ten-year-old's eyes and ears!  Since that's hard to come by anymore, I say three cheers for fluffy Christmas movies!

Monochromatic Christmas decor!

I needed to update my Christmas decor (I was informed of this by my teenage daughter), so off I went to Hobby Lobby, the best store on the planet.  Hours later, I emerged with several Christmas gifts and a few new decorations, all for a song!  This little corner cabinet makes me happy with its gray and white decor, and nod to a favorite Christmas hymn. 

The Best Gift

All five of our kids made this project in preschool (some of them made it more than one year, hence the nine you see - I don't have four other children I haven't ever mentioned). And every year, we hang them up somewhere and they bring me Great Joy.  I love that from a young age, they were being taught at school and at home that Jesus is the best gift they'll ever receive.  I am now in my sixth year of teaching preschool, and I continue to do this project with my preschoolers.  As I work on it with each child, I love reminding them that no matter what gifts they'll get on Christmas, nothing is more important than the gift Jesus gives them - the gift of Himself. 

#SibsForLife!

This summer, while we were on vacation, we were celebrating our middle son's 15th birthday.  We were sitting around the dinner table, and everyone was laughing. 

However, my husband and I had no idea what was going on.

Yep - the kids were all laughing about their shared childhood memories.  Moments, events, experiences, toys, movies. . .memories my husband and I weren't directly involved in.  At one point, while they reminisced about some crazy video they had watched in their younger years, I looked over at my husband and gave him the "who knows" gesture, with a wide smile and laughter.

I had virtually no memory of what they were talking about, and I was loving every moment of the scene.

True, dear old dad and I were out of the loop, but that didn't matter.  What was so beautiful to me was their shared bond.  Independently of their parents, their shared experiences of living in our crazy house brought them joy.  The things they remember fondly brings me such happiness. 

When we are old and gray (which is actually today, I'm sorry to report), our kids will have each other.  No one else but their siblings will quite understand their unique childhood experience.  They will have each for support, for laughter, for family.  More times than I can count, I have reminded my children that their siblings will be the longest relationships they will ever have.  No one will know them as long and as well as their siblings do.  And that's a beautiful gift.

Earlier today, I thought of a phrase as I was doing the dishes and it reminded me of a quote from a movie my sister and I adored when we were teenagers.  I stopped what I was doing, grabbed my phone, and texted the quote to her.  A bit later, she responded with another quote from the same movie, and we went back and forth, entertaining ourselves with our shared memories.  I was laughing with each text that came back, and it was great.  Outside of my parents, my sister has known me longer than anyone else, and there's great comfort and peace in that. 

Brother and sisters!  What a blessing they are.

I Can Only Imagine

After worship this morning, I got in the car (after refereeing a minor scuffle about who got the front seat), and as we left the parking lot, said several things along these lines:

"Wasn't worship amazing?  The music - amazing!  Dad's homily - amazing!  Imagining heaven - amazing!  All the confirmations - amazing!"

The kids agreed that it had been a great morning.  And this afternoon, as we raked the many millions of leaves, I pondered it.

The homily talked about the resurrection of the body, and what heaven will be like.  At the end, my husband asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine all the things, moments, people that bring us immense joy.  And then he said to multiply it by infinity. . .and perfection.  And that is what heaven will be like.  My friends, I was teary as I thought of all the people I love, the scenery that speaks to me, the music that heaven will surely be filled with.  My eyes filled up at the love the Father has for us -- to send His Son to save us from our sinful selves, and then to give us such beauty when we live with Him in eternity!  What a generous God He is!

As I pondered all this this afternoon, while raking the endless leaves, the homily reminded me of something I had written a couple of years ago.  You can read it below (or linked here) -- it's all about how God fills our lives with our favorite things.  The list I had compiled in the blogpost included so many of the things I was thinking of while imaging heaven.  If God gifts me with so many beautiful things here on earth, imagine heaven!  In heaven we will be flooded with our greatest joys and best of all we will be in God's holy presence.  I can only imagine!


Raindrops On Roses and Clean, Crisp Sheets       March 19, 2018

Many of you might know that I attended the Theology of the Body Institute's first course last week.  It was equal parts moving, soul-searching, informative, heart-rending and faith-strengthening.  It was an experience I won't ever forget.  I look forward to the days and weeks to come as I unpackage all my materials and notes.

One of the things our instructor said early on in the week was about a song from my all-time favorite musical.  Yep - you guessed it - Jesus Christ Superstar!  Haha - just kidding.  If you know me at all, you know it is The Sound of Music.  His children had recently performed in the musical, and many themes from it were fresh in his mind.  And at the top of his list was the song "My Favorite Things".  He began singing a few bars and asked us to join in if we knew the words (ummm. . .I know the words).  Maria sings the song to remind herself and the children to think of their favorite things when they are afraid (or when the dog bites or the bee stings).

Our instructor took this song a step further, and reminded us that God knows all our favorite things.  He knows our favorite things sometimes before we know them.  And even better, God sings the song of our favorite things to us all the time.  Our lives are filled with the music of God singing to us those things which move us and shape us and bring us joy.  That admiration of the majestic mountains?  God singing to us.  Overcome with the vast beauty of the ocean?  God singing to us.  A bunny hopping across the neighbor's yard while on a walk?  God singing to us - what?  Does he only sing that verse to me?  Surely I'm not alone in that one.

The thought of God knowing me. . .little me, in an enormous universe. . .and caring to put in front of me all of my favorite things truly brought tears to my eyes.  Here I am, living my (small) life, and the God of the universe is loving me enough to give me joy.  He knows my heart and chooses to love me anyway.  His love and forgiveness are vast.

So - here are a few of my favorite things.  What joy I derive in them!  And what joy to know that God knows even more of my favorite things, and has plans to reveal them to me in the future.

My children's faces
Bunnies hopping across the yard in spring
Clean, crisp sheets
Sweet romance movies (think Anne of Green Gables)
Peanut butter in all manner of preparation
Worshiping with my church family
My home
Laughing with my children
Potato Chips
My sweet students
Taking a walk with my husband
Singing beautiful choral music
80s music
Musicals
A good book
Coke Zero
The ocean and Lake Michigan
Shadow's euphoria at my arrival home
Big family celebrations

Oh dear reader. . .the list could go on and on -- and I don't even know everything that goes on this list!  But God does.  He knows my heart and loves me so much that He sings this song to me every day.

What is God singing to you, my friends?

Sinner? Saint?

Recently, in confirmation class with my daughter, our pastor asked everyone a series of questions.  If the statement was true, we were to stand. If it was false, we needed to sit down.  There were serious questions and silly ones, and people were standing up and sitting down depending on their opinions. Then came this question:  Are you a sinner?  Everyone, of course, scrambled to stand up, knowing they were confident in this answer - we seem to mess up all the livelong day.  We all kind of laughed as we stood there, in agreement that we all were sinners.  While we were all standing, the pastor asked the next question:  Are you a saint?

And almost everyone sat right on back down.  A few people remained standing, but it was a small handful in comparison to the confidence everyone had in their sinfulness.  

Though I was raised Lutheran, it wasn't until college that I recall really hearing about the concept of being simultaneously sinner and saint.  I remember being quite intrigued with the idea.  I certainly knew I was a sinner, but a saint?  Hardly!  

But Luther defines a saint as a forgiven sinner, one who the Father sees though the grace of His Son.  As we celebrate All Saints Day today, one of my absolute favorite days in the church year, we think of those saints who have gone before us, those people who died in the faith and whose rest is won. I think we sometimes romanticize those faithful departed loved ones and those bestowed with the title "saint".  We might often forget that they were people like us -- who struggled, grieved and were tempted in many of the same ways we are.  They were sinners, and simultaneously saints here on earth!

As we think of those saints who have gone before us, may that give us such hope!  They are such an inspiration to us!  Last year on All Saints Day, I wrote the post below.  I hope you take a moment to read the words of the hymn at the end and ponder the lives of those who went before us, and also the great joy that is to be ours as well.  

Sinner?  Yes.  Saint?  Yes, thanks be to God! 

Blogpost from Nov. 1, 2018:

Today is one of my absolute favorite days in the church year.

All Saints' Day. Every November 1st, we get to celebrate those saints -- those who died in Christ -- who went before us.

And when I sing (pray, meditate on) the words of this hymn below, I am almost always reduced to tears. What an example the saints are! They lived their lives -- not perfectly, not without sin -- but they lived their lives with Christ at the center and forefront. They lived their lives fully for Christ. Every Sunday, as we commune, we are united with the saints who have gone before us. Every Sunday, heaven and earth meet as we share Christ's body and blood with those at worship with us, all Christians on earth, and with those saints who are living with Christ in heaven. How beautiful!


Take a moment to read the words below and think about the saints who struggled as we do, who fought here are earth, who never lost sight of Jesus. Those who died in Christ have won! They are brave again, their arms strong. These faithful warriors have been given rest in heaven with Christ. What comfort this gives us! Those who have gone before us -- both "famous" saints who inspire us with their lives of bold faith as well as those quiet saints who lived among us. . . friends, family members. They are in paradise with their Savior!


My dear friends, I have tears streaming as I ponder these words, because they are written for us too! Someday, as our warfare has run long, and our fight has been fierce, a distant triumph song will be in our ears too. And soon, soon to us - His faithful warriors, will come rest. Eternal rest in Christ.


Alleluia, Alleluia!


"For All the Saints Who from Their Labors Rest"
by William W. How, 1823-1897 

1. For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confess,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

2. Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

3. Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor's crown of gold.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

4. O blest communion, fellowship divine,
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

5. And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

6. But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

7. From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

8. The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon, to faithful warriors cometh rest.
Sweet is the calm of Paradise the blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!