The Other Thing

Two blog posts in the span of three days. Somebody stop me!

Ok, here's the other thing I've been mulling on. This year in our Christmas musical at church, I sang that song we've all heard a gazillion times, "Mary, did you Know?" The line that has stayed with me is, "This child that you delivered will soon deliver you". It got me to thinking a lot about Mary, and about all of us. Because really, there is nothing new under the sun; people are people.

Anyway, I was thinking how Mary was just going about her business when all the sudden, she finds herself carrying this child. To say that her life was turned upside down would be a bit of an understatement, don't you think?

I began to wonder about what Mary might've planned on doing with her life had this turn of events not happened. Probably, she just wanted to marry good ol' Joseph and have babies, be a good Mama, love God, the end. Nothing too fancy. Or maybe she secretly wished she could study scripture like the men she knew. Maybe she even dreamed of striking out on her own (that's a stretch, but I'm making a point here). Who knows? The point is, Mary was a human girl and I'm pretty sure she wasn't the only human girl in the history of human girls that didn't have hopes, dreams, plans. Especially if she had any imagination at all (has anyone met my 11 year old???). And yet, when the angel visited her and told her how it was about to go down, she instantly submitted.

Now think about her life AFTER the visitation. We aren't told whether she was ever frightened, frustrated, or doubtful. But, we have the whole history of human experience to tell us she probably was. Also, we know that she had to ride a donkey for days on end, give birth in a barn, flee to Egypt, come back, raise a little boy who just happened to be the Son of God, then ultimately watch him hang, bleeding and dying, from a Roman cross. I think it's safe to say that given the choice, she would've opted out of much of that.

Here's the point I'm trying to get to: The thing Mary needed most was the thing that brought her the most inconvenience, the most turmoil, and ultimately, the most pain. The very thing that took from her the life she'd planned or wished for, was that which would, in the end, give her real life.

Is this not true for all of us? Taking a lesson from Mary, I can only believe that the hard things, the things I might not have checked the box for had I known, are the things I need the most. I've had hard times as a mama. I've had hard times as a wife. And I've had hard days and nights these last nine months.

I'm only saying that I think the hard things are the things we need most. The child that Mary delivered...He ultimately delivered her, as He will ultimately deliver us. But the simple truth is that there were some really hard things in between for her, and there will be for us. Fire that refines is painful, but would we choose to be unrefined?

As I type this, I'm realizing that it's not just in the big hardships that this applies. It's also true in the small little inconveniences, the everyday little plans that go awry. When your kids are sick or when money is tight. It's an everyday truth: Life is not easy. Yet I don't think there is room for complaining. I'm not the fastest learner, but one thing I've learned for sure is that acceptance is crucial. Whether it's true suffering or just an inconvenience we deem worthy to whine about, it may be just what we need; He knows what he's doing. With my whole heart, I believe that the key to our peace, moment by moment, is the same as Mary's: "Be it unto me according to thy word".

Wishing you all the best Christmas ever!
Em

Two Things

It's been too long (again) since I blogged, but I finally have something knocking around in this head of mine that I don't want to lose - two, actually - so here goes. I'll not be attempting to make this good writing...let's just call it "jotting", shall we?

First, I've had an epiphany about Christmas. Every year Christmas rolls around and yells, "Hey, Burlesons...Y'ALL BROKE!" That's slang, by the way; the "are" was left out on purpose (so much for jotting). Seriously, nothing can show you how much money you don't have quite like the season of giving.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas. Love, love, love it. Love the baking, love the decorating, love the music, love it. But I'm not going to lie: the gift giving part bugged the crap out of me. NOT because I didn't want to give people things. My reasons were two-fold: One being that I wanted to buy presents but never felt I could do it "right" due to limited funds, and the other being that I hate buying things just for the sake of saying you got a gift. I resented the whole thing and just developed a pretty crappy attitude about it all.

Not only that, but I always strive to have a tranquil, cozy, idyllic Christmas week, and without fail what I end up with is a whirlwind of activity and busyness. Most of this is baking and cookie making for the kids, card making, crafts, etc... Disorder irks me to no end, so I always feel like there is tension, because all the while I'm bustling about, I am working to get to the tranquil part.

This year, though, I finally get it! Yes, it is a huge sacrifice for us to buy gifts for others, as I'm sure it is for most people (and yes, we do plan ahead, put money aside, all that. Still...) Also, it's a sacrifice of time and sanity to bake a gazillion cookies and candies because the kids (and their Daddy) think it's not Christmas until we do. As an adult, the busyness of it all, the pinching pennies...well, it just seems like it takes the magic out of it that I felt as a kid, and I guess that's what I'm always trying to recapture.

But here's the epiphany: It's not about me!!! As a parent, I sacrifice the magic so that I can give that to my children! They're making memories with messy icing and beaded ornaments. They don't feel stressed by knowing all that has to be done yet, they just know how FUN it is to be bustling in the kitchen with Christmas music, driving to see Christmas lights, or opening gifts Christmas day. It's all for them. Actually, this lesson can be applied to motherhood in general, and will change the way I react to sleepovers, softball practices and other such schlepping activities.

And the gift-giving that bugged me? Same story. I've finally realized that the very real sacrifice of it , whether we're talking money or time, is the whole point! What are we celebrating at Christmas, if not the most staggering sacrifice of all time? That Christ would lay his glory aside to willingly dwell among us and ultimately carry our sin bodily to the cross. Are we not emulating him when we give of ourselves sacrificially?

This year, in the midst of all the baking and gift giving and busyness, I'm encapsulated by a deep sense of joy, a feeling of fellowship with Him who gave all. The crappy attitude has been replaced by a sense of anticipation... not much different from that of a child awaiting Christmas day. Seems that by embracing the chaos that I thought was stealing my "magic", I've been given it back in greater measure. Isn't that just like Him?

I guess that the second thing will have to wait till tomorrow. I am incapable of brevity, apparently.

Merriest Christmas to each of you!
Em

A More Accurate Update, with Pictures

For the one or two folks who might still be following this blog have forgotten to take me off their blog rolls and accidentally read this, I thought I'd give a quick update. Especially after I just finished reading the last update and realized that it's now completely obsolete.

Anyway, in the end, we could not save the 94 year old farm house. We tried. We really did. But it was so full of rotten boards and the floors were covered in asbestos (under the linoleum). Mark pulled it apart board by board until he got it low enough, then he torched it. It was sad to watch that old house burn. We saved all the old windows and doors, though, and enough of the original lumber to have a farm table built. And some timbers to use as a mantle in the new house. It will be nice to have touches of the old in the new.

Finally, after several stops and starts and changes of direction, we started on what will one day be our new house. Mark says we should be in there by Christmas. I think Mark is delusional.

We're still here in our tiny little mobile home enjoying the togetherness. Lots and lots of togetherness. We're still finding it to be enough. Lia is playing soccer, we're busy with church and friends, and I'm running again. I even found room for my Bosch so I can bake regularly. Life goes on. That said, I can not WAIT to be in my new house, and the closer it gets, the harder the wait!

Here are a few pics of the progress. The first ones, of the demolition were taken in June. The last one was taken day before yesterday. You can't tell much, and I hesitate to even post these, knowing that you all don't have the end picture in your minds like I do. But oh well, it will be what it will be in the end, and I'll share those pictures then!

Mark and what's left of the burning house.

Nothing left but the front steps and a pile of rubble. If this picture were larger, you could really see the singed leaves on the trees!

Sam, supervising.

Mark, Sam, and Big Buddy, watching it burn and quite pleased with their work. Sam is just really enjoying this little piece of equipment! Like Father, like son.

Fast forward three months... all but two windows are in, and the first outside wall goes up.

Another week, another wall and a half.




Tuesday of this week. Upstairs window in, front walls finished, beam for porch/second gable in place.

Now, you have to picture this with a shiny silver roof, stained cedar batten board shutters, and big second gable covering the large front porch, complete with porch swing. Imagination, people. Imagination and vision.

There's so much more I could post about, how we decided to do what we're doing, all the changes in house plans, how shifting the location of one closet changed everything. But that's what happens when you don't blog for months. You can't include every detail in a recap. So, I'll leave it at this with a promise hope to blog more from now on out. We'll not hold our breath...

Blessings,
Em

Just Because

I ran into a friend the other day who reminded me I've not been updating my blog. She was right, of course. I told her it was because I have had nothing worthwhile to say! I've gotten out of the mood to share every passing thought or activity, and I've had nothing very important to share. Thus, no blogging. I think being off Facebook has dulled the need to share so much.

But today is Saturday, my little man is fishing with his granddad, and my girls are here babysitting their cousins (with my hands-off supervision), and I have some time on my hands. So, just because, I thought I'd do a quick update post.

The only real news is that we FINALLY closed on our property. We're the proud new owners of 67.5 acres of land and a 90 year old house we can't live in. Yet.

Mark is in the process of tearing off the lean-to addition and the back porch of the house. After that, we'll have the foundation leveled and repaired, then we will begin our additions. We don't know how long it will take, but considering we're paying for it as we go and doing most of the work ourselves, my guess is a day or two short of forever!

I'm excited about the plans, and can't wait to be in my new-old farmhouse on our beautiful property. It's so hard to NOT live there now that it's ours. We'll be adding a master bath/closet, a small laundry room, a small room for Sam, some closet space for the girls (not a single closet in the house), a hall bath, and a den. Once done, it will be somewhere around 1700 sq. feet. Small compared the homes of most everyone we know, but it will seem like a palace to me! And we've learned that we can truly, easily, live with less.

We are all still piled up in the little single-wide trailer my mom is letting us use. It's free, and for that we're thankful. We can put all our extra cash into the house remodel, rather than flushing rent money down the drain.

Living in such small quarters has taught me some great things! For example, I loved my old system of doing laundry, with each kid having their own little laundry basket. I would fold the laundry in my spacious laundry room and put everyone's in their own basket to be put away in a timely manner. But here, we have to quickly do the laundry and put it away immediately, or else it sits on the dryer for the world to see. So we have a new system, in which the laundry is done before it can pile up (no hidden hamper), and is put away right then and there. I love it! So much simpler and quicker and better than the old way. There have been several things like this that have helped me to know we will be more than fine in our little house.

The best part about all of this is that the Lord is doing it all! Not only has He been preparing me to live with less space, He was the one who opened the doors for us to buy the property. It was practically impossible, yet here we are! And He is the one who led us away from building a new house, in order to be better stewards of our resources. And He is the one who is leading us, at every turn it seems, to the right people, at the right time, to do the things that need to be done. I'm just in awe of the obvious, gracious hand of God in all of this. This whole thing has been almost surreal.

So, that's it. That's all that's going on here. Mark goes to work, then goes to the greenhouses, then goes to the house to work. He leaves at 6 a.m. and comes home about 9 p.m. The kids and I do school, hang out at home or have some pool time at Mom's, run errands, and make food. Then we join him in the evenings at the house. That's our life right now, and for the foreseeable future. Throw in tee-ball and softball games, church on Sundays and Bible study on Wednesday nights, and that's pretty much it.

Blessings,
Em

Sausage Cheese Biscuits

I'm posting this here because I'm in a hurry to get it down before I forget what I did. I have to reinvent this recipe every time I make it because I always forget to write it down!

This is a breakfast that is a favorite for my kids. My mom makes them all the time, and the original recipe calls for Bisquick, which I never have on hand. I just use my whole wheat flour and add the leavening. It's all very easy to throw together, and it makes enough to put some in the freezer to reheat later. I thought I'd try it this morning and see if our little temperamental oven would behave. It did, and my children were thrilled with the surprise.


Sausage Cheese Biscuits

4 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 lbs. sausage (uncooked)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups milk

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Add in sausage, cheese and milk and mix with hands till well blended. Work into balls (just big enough to cup in your palms, smaller than a tennis ball, but bigger than a golf ball). Flatten a little and place on baking sheets. You could also pat this out and cut it, just like regular biscuits. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until browned.

Makes 30 biscuits.

Enjoy!
Em

Top Ten Tuesday

Borrowing this idea from Roan... because I wanted to post, but didn't want to think too hard about it.

Top Ten Recent Happenings in Burlesonville (in no particular order):

1. I had my last "planning meeting" with my contractor yesterday! Which means that I have everything I need to take to the bank to get this party started. It has been SUCH a long process, this planning stage. Mostly that's my fault, because I've made a gazillion changes since the first draft. I have a super-patient contractor, though, who has yet to fire me.

2. Kate is wrapping up her last week of rehearsal before opening night. She is playing a China Princess in the Pied Piper's Playhouse production of "Oz". It opens this Friday and there will be 10 performances between Friday night and the next Tuesday afternoon. Craziness! It's worth it to see how much she loves it, though. She has definitely found her calling. I don't think I would have made it through the insane rehearsal schedule (they take this stuff seriously), if it weren't for being able to swap out with my friend Michelle. Her daughter is in the play as well, and just happens to be Kate's BFF, so it works out well.

3. We had a birthday party for my Dad last Tuesday. He was 60! And he just loved the fact that almost every card he got TOLD him he was 60! We grilled burgers and got together with family at his house. It was a laid back and fun night.

4. We wrapped up Bible study my oldest two girls were in last Wednesday night with an Almost Slumber Party. It was so fun! Most everyone, including the moms, showed up in pajamas. The girls finished their study, then we ate hot dogs, had ice cream sundaes, and then the girls watched Tangled while the moms visited.

5. We had the stomach virus! There is almost nothing I hate more! It was the night of the Almost Slumber Party, after we'd gone to bed. I was awakened by Lia, who had come to let me know that Kate was throwing up. I had been having trouble sleeping, so I'd gotten a set of ear plugs and taken a melatonin, which knocks me out. I was so out of it! I managed to get up and walk to their room to find that Kate had indeed thrown up... from off the top bunk! You just can not imagine the mess, the splatter pattern, and I'll spare you the details. All I know is I just stood there not knowing what to do in my half-sleep state. And I may or may not have ruined our vacuum by suggesting Mark vacuum up the solids... Anyway, that was at 12:30 a.m. By 3:30 a.m., I had joined her. Thankfully, Michelle came to the rescue by coming and picking up the other three children that morning, since she'd been thoroughly exposed the night before anyway.

6. We went dog shopping on Saturday. We didn't find anything we wanted. Correction: we didn't find anything I wanted. The kids wanted every dog we saw. We (I) have decided on a Yorkie or Yorkie mix, and we're just going to wait it out till we can find a rescue one in a shelter somewhere. In the meantime, I'll be taking the kids to the shelter here regularly to volunteer their time walking the dogs and playing with them. This gives the kids their pet fix, and helps the animals at the same time.

7. Mark is planting fruit bushes at the "new" house, mowing the yard, picking up limbs, and planning his garden spot. He's so excited about it, and it's looking gorgeous. The previous owners had done lots of work on flower beds and such, so springtime there is just lovely. Lots of really old flowers and flowering bushes, irises, hydrangeas, etc... I can't WAIT to actually live there. This might be the slowest summer in history.

8. My sister in law is an excellent photographer, and she met us at the new place to take pictures of the kids in front of the old house before it becomes the new house. I want to frame one of them to put in the new place.

9. Sunday, I got the fun privilege of going to Birmingham with Mark to the big farmers market where he gets all the ferns and tropicals for the greenhouses. It was so nice to just be with him alone on the drive there and back, and it was really neat to see the big market. We talked a lot about future plans.

10. I have hardly cooked at all! When I do, it's on the grill, or in the crockpot, because the oven here doesn't work well. But mostly, it's been sandwiches or soup or breakfast-for-supper. No baking and no big spreads, though. I can't wait to cook in my new kitchen! One recipe we've found, though, has made it's way into a once-a-week spot on the menu! It's peel & eat shrimp done in the crockpot, and it's FABULOUS. It's a loose adaptation of a recipe I found on a crockpot-cooking website. I'll wrap up this post by sharing what I do.

Crockpot Shrimp:

2 lbs. shell-on shrimp, raw
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup worchestershire
dash of hot sauce
small palm-full of dried basil
1 stick of butter

Toss the shrimp with all ingredients EXCEPT butter. Place in a crockpot, throw in the whole stick of butter, then cook on high for two or two and a half hours. It's done when all the shrimp are pink.

I serve this with a Caesar salad and new potatoes. And french bread to sop up the juice! Actually, that's how I serve it to my family. I just stand at the counter and eat this like it's going out of style, no side items needed!

Hope everyone has an awesome Tuesday!

Blessings,
Em

Enough, Part 1

When we decided to move, we thought we'd be living in the little house while we remodeled. I said it would be a fun "adventure". Then we found out we'd be tearing the house down and building new. That meant we'd probably be living in my Mom's rent trailer, a small two-bedroom single-wide just down the road from the new property.

At the outset, I was a little excited. I had a sense that the Lord would use our extended time of close-quarters living to do some things in us as a family.

Or maybe I was just being overly optimistic. As the packing got under way, I started to wonder if life in such a small space would be months of what I was experiencing as I packed: no room to move, boxes everywhere. I started to panic a little.

It was right about then that my sister called to let me know that her mom, my stepmom, was offering us her house in Tupelo! Practically fully furnished, except for the bedrooms, even down to dishes in the cabinets. Three bedrooms, two baths, living, dining, big laundry room, porch, fenced in yard, AND pizza delivery! Being just a few miles from Walmart was a nice bonus, too!

We were rescued! Life could proceed as normal while our new home was being built. Mark & I were not in full agreement, however. Mark, while admitting that it would be "easier" in almost every way, simply didn't want to do it. I reasoned (sometimes silently, sometimes not so much) that it was easy for him to want to live in the trailer, since he'd just be sleeping there and wouldn't have a clue about being holed up in such a small space with four kids all day, every day, for six to eight months!

Anyway, somewhere around Wednesday or Thursday of that week, he simply said he was thinking about it, and that was that. But several things he said made me think he was going to, in the end, let us go to the house in Tupelo. So why the unsettled feeling? It was like I was on the verge of getting my way, but knowing deep down it wasn't the right way. Geesh.

That Saturday, Heather came to help me pack, move, or whatever. When she arrived, I took her to see the new property and while we were in the neighborhood, the trailer. She saw it and surprised me by saying she thought it would work. Instantly I knew. It was like I just needed someone to SAY it. I felt so relieved!

All of my initial excitement came rushing back, and suddenly I knew that the reason I was clinging to the idea of the house so much was because it appealed to my sense of comfort. It would require nothing of me to move from one house to another, but to move from our comfy house to this tiny space would stretch me for sure. What I thought was God's provision for me was actually just a shiny, pretty distraction from His best for us as a family. I was somehow reminded of a shiny, lovely piece of fruit in a garden long ago... Why my mother didn't just go on and name me Eve, I'll never know.

By the end of that day, we were pretty much all moved in. We were trying to surprise Mark, but he kept prying, and so he wasn't really all that shocked when we told him he needed to bring over the big pieces of furniture, then "run up to Sam's and buy that futon". A futon, that by the way, is pretty darn comfortable!

Best of all, was that as I lay my head down that night, I had perfect peace and a happy man. We'd done the right thing. I smiled as I remembered my Mama coming by that evening and saying what everyone was thinking: "You're crazy."

That was a week and a half ago. So many people have asked me how we're "making it" in the trailer. The truth is, we're more than just making it. We're actually doing great! We have the bare minimum here, and simply put: It's Enough.

It's enough. Enough clothes, though not many. At all. Seriously, you'd be shocked. Enough food, though we can't store anything (tiny fridge, few cabinets). Enough to eat, though the oven doesn't work (I'm becoming the queen of the grill and the crock pot).

The kids are all in one bedroom in two sets of bunk beds. There is a small closet and a dresser for their clothes.

The second "bedroom" is functioning as a walk-in closet. In it are my clothes (in the closet), all the kids toys that we brought, an extra dresser, a portable hanging bar thingy for Mark's clothes & uniforms, and a bookcase. Besides my clothes, the small closet in that room also holds our extra toilet paper, paper plates, paper towels, ziplocs, etc... Oh, and the vacuum.

Mark & I use the new futon in the den. Our large Gentleman's Chest, that used to be in our bedroom, is now a piece of den furniture, with a TV & VCR on top. It's still full of our clothes and unmentionables.

It's cozy. And it's enough. And there are window unit air conditioners which remind me of being a kid and make me happy.

Later I will post about some of the benefits I'm already seeing. Right now I have to stop and clean my kitchen. Have a wonderful day!

Blessings,
Em