Click the photo for a little bit of an update.

A Busy Week

This week my usual flexibility has been spoken for by an occasional employer who has been very gracious. God has used them often in these last seven years to provide hours when nanny times have been sparse and when I've needed an extra bit of cash for this and that. The parents left for France on Friday and asked me to be a single parent in their absence. "Mom" who is extremely organized has arranged for family friends and neighbors to help out with pick-up from school and various weekly activities, which is a great help, but from 6:30pm to 7:30am They're all mine. This weekend we held a spy convention at the house creating legends and IDs for the neighborhood boys as well as nearly missing a baseball game one of them was to play in.

The time is, however, bitter-sweet. I recieved a call yesterday from dear, dear friends, a brother and sister in Christ, with a request for help that I really wanted to provide for them. God has blessed me so often with the ability and availability to say yes to so many things and I wanted to do so yet again but that door of ministry in time of need was closed. God is faithful to those needs that we don't even know are coming and has provided for the family who needed a helping hand and also for my sanity. Having two boys with heavy after-school schedules made the decision to say no heart-breaking and yet simple. Should the situation have been different I would not have hesitated to say yes, but the answer was no before I even knew what the question was.

Many prayers will be offered for the brother and sister and daily help will be offered by the Body of Christ. The members acting together for the preservation and benefit of one another. All of this will be done because of Christ's love dwelling in us for His glory. He is faithful to meet every need that may arise and meet it to the very end.

I thought I may drop into CA (hopefully more like a controlled landing) in October but my time is better spent here for now.

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Psalm 104:5-9

5 (The LORD) set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At your rebuke (the waters) fled; at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.

8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.

9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.


The hills of "the Ozarks" are witness to the power of God. Fossils found here are more common in areas near the sea or grand lakes not the land-locked central US (vs6&8). Caves in this area act as drains for much of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri (vs7). Nature compensating for what would be a massive flood-plain, I think not. God has made provision for His creation (vs9).

What You Been Up To?

Well... let's see...

You know it's really hard to keep up with more than a couple of things. I've found that in order to do even half of what I want to do with my flickr photos and visit friendly blogs on a semi regular basis something has to go by the way-side. And it turns out that this is that thing.

Fortunately it's more like the gutter of a bowling lane rather than that of a rubbish filled ghetto street. Still useful and sometimes visited :>)

So... I'll try to post once or twice a month and keep sane in the process.

Here's hoping many of you have a great school year and others a great nine months.

Some pregnant, most not :>)

Here's something cute to look at while you eagerly wait for my next post:

Watermelon Wishes

I have written before of smells that I love. Some are associated with people and others with places or things and I can't help but take a moment to reflect on that noun that they remind me of. Back in April I wrote of a smell that I associate with the warm days of spring and summer. The smell is that of a freshly cut lawn. I again caught a reflective sniff of such a day or so ago and remarked in my thoughts how closely it resembled that of a watermelon that has just been cut into. An instant smile arose from the thought and I've been longing for watermelon ever since.

Today's my 28th birthday. Happy Birthday to me!

Have a great "my birthday"!

Click the Pic to see what I've written about this special day.

YahooS

Click the Pic to see these YahooS Better

Back from camp and trying to get back in the swing of things.

Park Pics

I took the boys to the park the other day. Here's a pic or two.

The Older eventually hoisted the younger over.

Climbed the tree for this one.

My Buddy

Two posts in one week! What was I thinking?

As a kid I had one of those "kid sister" dolls.

I have since grown up a little and have a new friend.

This is now "My Buddy."

Spring Is Here!

It's not the 21st of March

And officially no one has said it yet but 'tis true.

I smelled spring in the warm, wet rain yesterday.

A smell which I've missed this winter.

"It's the process, not the product."

Did you know that I like to draw?
The only thing better than starting a new drawing is finishing one. However I must admit that I have much more experience with the former rather than the latter. I could post pictures of all the little projects that I have begun but not even "blogger" has enough space to hold all that digital information. The other day I was going through a portfolio of mine from high school. The amount of unfinished projects was a little disturbing.

In thinking about how unfaithful I have been to these undertakings I was reminded that God is continually faithful. I posted this picture on my flickr page a couple of days ago with this title "His work was finished on the cross. Mine has just begun." It is just as He said "It is finished." Even when we are faithless He is faithful. Faithful to complete the work which He began in me, in my brethren, in those who don't know they're being worked on yet. He is Faithful.

The title of this post is something that those of us who work with children say a lot. "It's the process, not the product." You know I do believe that when it comes to macaroni art and learning to dress yourself. When it comes to the daily sanctifying work of God in His children I would like to alter it a little. "It's the process, because of the product."

Scripture says that "When we see [Jesus] we will be like Him." As we await that day we can take comfort in the fact that it is sure, not based on the deeds which we have done even in righteousness but according to His mercy. Because He is faithful and able to complete His work, we can take comfort in whatever it is He has prepared beforehand for us to do.

Can I use these points to get out of finishing those works in my portfolio that remain merely started? No, but I can put them aside for more precious and lasting work.

On to that which will last.

NL White

I found this picture of a picture yesterday.

Thought some of you may enjoy it.

Sepia Sense

I went even more upload crazy yesterday. I have this frame which at one time had a mirror or something in it but now it's just the frame and a backing. My project is to fill it with pictures, cool pictures, pictures of friends and family, kids I care for, really just stuff that makes me happy. I want most of the pictures to blend together, look like they should be there. So... I turned a lot of pictures sepia this weekend to accomplish some sense of continuity among them. So it's all part of a project, not just crazy uploading.


So... visit if you like.


If not... then don't.


Have a great day!!

Storm Damage

So the flight home wasn't so uneventful. The first leg of the flight consisted of my waiting to see if I could even get on the plane because I had an unassigned seat on an over-sold flight to Dallas...Fun Stuff. But the guy at the gate was extremely patient and some people took direct flights to Austin, where they were going any way, so it wasn't too bad. but the final part of the flight was a scene straight out of "Twilight Zone" the movie, minus the creepy gremlin and the crazy passenger. The pilot flew through the beginnings of the storm which caused this damage at the home I work in. I've seen trees twisted and mangled like this before, in Lousiana, after Hurricane Katrina, when we went to help clean up the damage.

I took some pictures of the lightining in the clouds from the plane window but they'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Glad to be home in my bed, but miss the family I visited as always.

Shooting the Family

My cousin asked me to take some family photos for her so that she could give them out for Christmas. Some of them turned out pretty decent. I think it was the adorable subjects. Here's some samples. You can click on them to get a better view.

Here are some with my charges. I am, after all, a nanny with a camera. Again with the adorable subjects.

A Constant Battle

He finally got a moment alone with the present and couldn't resist the early experiance of Christmas Magic.

Click on the Picture to see it bigger and get a better view of the culprit in the background.

Nanny

Check out these photos. They are truly strange.

Great Wall In Arkansas

I took some pictures last week with my little 4 mega pix camera.

No, I didn't travel to Ireland. The pictures are of the wall placed around a housing developement. The building is going slow, however it makes for better pictures when you're not trying to dodge people's rooftops, swing sets and swimming pools. I did end up with some powerlines and street signs.