Real men don't cry?

Really,
       Real men don't cry? Who said? The little red car isn't running right. I am watching a savings account slowly dwindle due to shortened work hours. Things are happening at work that aren't exactly assuring. (I won't detail them here.) It is fall and most of the projects I wanted to do this summer are left undone. A leaking roof, a room that needs cleaned out, some pipes  that need re-plumbing, lots of shelves to  be built, and did I mention a propane tank that needs filled? Now that I sit here and list a few of these it doesn't seem like much to cry about really, but I don't feel any better. Maybe it is because every now and then men have to cry. Then they will dig deep  find out why they are here and what is important. I came home from work today on the verge of tears. I don't why either, I don't think my job is that stressful. Anyway, this too shall pass. I have a wonderful wife, a healthy baby, and a loving church family. Now that is worth crying about, happy tears that is. You know, now that I think about it, there are men I know that I respect very much, and they cry too. Even Jesus cried. So it must be OK.
        Anyway, I think I will be OK in the end. This is life. So I guess I have to square my shoulders and face it like a man. Tears or no tears. (It could be the weather too, who knows.)

 That is all. I will quit complaining now. God is good and so are tears. 

P.S.   There are real reasons to cry though and those reasons have to do with eternal souls. Some one you love throws it away, broken homes, and so on.

Since We've Been Talking Motherhood...

     My baby is a year old. That's hard to believe. He trots all over the house. And investigates everything. I feel like all I do is say "No" all day long. Children definitely do not "get it", after only one or two times. It's line upon line, precept upon precept, for years on end I suppose. The whole parenting thing does not get easier with time, that's for sure.  By the time I get done raising my kids I can give the pat answer to anyone that asks me child training questions, "I don't know how I did it. There but for the Grace of God go I..."  And I am glad for the older women in my life that don't have answers, but they do understand and say, "Yes, I remember that stage." And my MIL told me once," It's good to at least start with ideals, they might not work, but at least you had them to start with." And in lots of ways, I have the easy stage now. No worries about potty training. Nor about schooling. Or running out to the road. Or what they are listening to, or viewing online. Or who their friends are. Or if they are following Christ. I just have to make sure Benny has food, clothing, and plenty of hugs and kisses. But,  every other stage of parenting has it's blessings as well.  In the end, all that matters is that they grow up to love and serve Jesus.
    

For All You Homemakers Out There...

I found this website the other day. There are lots of neat interior decorating ideas, they won't break the bank, and they aren't hard to do.  I've found about half a dozen different ideas I'm going to try sometime.


Someday soon I'll write a real post, I promise....

PS to the last post....

The trial is off, meaning no jury duty for me. Praise the Lord!! And there are 13 pints of salsa in my kitchen. Benny still has a slight fever, but I can deal with that I think.

Why I Haven't Posted In Awhile; Or My Complicated Life.

   See this was the month of August. The month I ran so fast I could hardly catch my breath. This week seems to be the capstone of living in a whirlwind.
  So, I got a jury summons in the mail two weeks ago. I need to appear this week. They wouldn't excuse me for being a SAHM and nursing a baby. I guess they figured an 11 month-old can survive without mommy for a day. Which I suppose is a reasonable expectation, but not for an 11 month-old that views big people food as an experiment. So, the complications of who to take care of him, and how and where. At this point it looks like it's going to have to be his Daddy. Because last Friday morning when Clark went to leave for work, his car refused to start. Which after some digging and testing and talking to others, he decided is a fuel pump problem. So, no car for me. Which means I have no way to get to the courthouse. And I refuse to go on public transportation. But, Clark needs to take off work so I can do my stupid jury thing. Which feels ridiculous to me, because I know that when I get in there, they'll likely kick me off anyway for religious conviction, and hopefully personal responsibilities. Which means I blow half a day for them to tell me what they could have just told me in the first place, without me having to go in there.
    Then last night Benny woke up with a fever. Today was the day I had slated to make salsa. I cannot make salsa and take care of a sick baby. And somehow sick babies and Daddy taking care of him while Mommy is in the courthouse don't seem to mix in my mind. The logistics of making everything work look impossible. Unless he wakes up from his nap and feels better; then I can go ahead with the salsa plan.
    Now, several weeks ago, before all this happened, Mom asked me to teach ladies SS. We're starting the book of James. So I had that added to my pile, but I really wanted to do it. Of course, the first four verses deal with having a calm cheerfulness while surrounded by trials. So we can become patient which makes us perfect. Why do we always get to put our learning into practice? And the next four verses deal with asking God for wisdom and being double minded. And I get to practice that too, because I have been praying really really hard that the trial gets settled out of court, so I don't have to mess up my life and someone else's and appear at the court house. Though the question I want to have answered is are those verses dealing just with asking for wisdom? Or is it for all of prayer life? And see I'm posting this before I know whether or not I have to go in tomorrow. I find out this eve. But I thought perhaps it would have more punch if I do it while I'm still in wondering and waiting mode. Because if I don't have to go in, then I can have this nice, pat story to put in here. And if I have to go in, well, then I have lots of questions, and disappointment, and likely I wouldn't put those on here. Though in the end I'm sure it would work out for the good anyway, and maybe there would still be a nice, pat story.
    So those are my thoughts for the day. Sometime soon hopefully, if and when life lets us breath again, we can do a post on our camping and Andrea's wedding.

Link to Video In Last Post.

Here is the link to the video that was posted in the last post. For some reason Blogger kept breaking the link to the one I had posted on my last post.

Tidbits

     This is going to be a random post. I'm sitting on the couch eating chips and taco dip. My house is clean. I gave it a lick and a promise too many times during the last month, and Monday morning a poor frog went hopping across the living room floor, covered in lint and wound about with hair. We rescued him, and released him to the outside world, and he hopped away so I assume he survived. I have absolutely no clue how he got inside. But I decided it was high time to do a deep clean.
     We've had two camp outs and one wedding so far this summer, and one campout and one wedding to go before the end of August. I told Clark today that I want to pack to go somewhere and all I have to take is my clothing. No food, no bedding, no towels, no camping gear, no fishing gear, etc. But it will all be fun and we've always survived so far.
     We attended a really sweet wedding last Sat. The bride has been suffering from Chronic Lyme disease for almost a year I think. Or maybe longer. But the groom stuck with her through it, and they are very happy. It was good to be reminded about love and commitment, and to see it in real life. Just because everything is fine and good and happy when you get married, doesn't mean that something bad won't happen after you are married. 
     The small man of the house is doing well. He still doesn't have very much interest in eating real food. I guess someday he will get hungry. This week he decided that he'd rather try to feed himself. Which consists of pushing food around his tray with a spoon. Or dropping it on the floor. But definitely not more then a few pieces in the mouth. Clark accidentally captured him doing this last night, and I'm uploading it for my mom to see. Oh and Clark wants you to know that he's not swearing on the end, he's saying, "I got that on video! I can't believe I got that on video!". Clark was playing with the video setting, and Benny decided randomly to practice his walking.Edit: Here is a link for the video.
      Well that's a small update on our lives. I hope you all are having a good summer as well.

Recent Happenings.

Hello,

          Last weekend we had a very rich and enjoyable time "camping". It wasn't really camping because we had a roof over our heads and electric lights. The whole idea of it is that it starts off as a father and son thing on Friday and then Saturday afternoon the wives and sisters show up and make it a family event. It is a time of fishing, campfires, swimming, games, and so on and so forth. There isn't any agenda really because that would just spoil it. There are good things that happen in this sort of setting. You can look HERE to see what has been happening in our lives this month. You will get to the camp out pictures toward the end of the album. Enjoy!!

Quote of the Week

Clark, holding a newly emptied ice cream bucket: "Hey make sure you save this, I need it for when I change oil."
Me: "Honey, there's already three buckets out in the mini-storage for those jobs."
Slight pause then Clark with a smirk: "But it flows better if I have a new bucket."

Maybe you won't find it funny but I did.

A Wedged Benny Bear In Great Tightness

I was washing dishes when he started fussing. I turned around and this is what I found.

Weekend in Pictures

This came rolling in Friday evening.  Thankfully only the edge caught us, it was much worse north-west of us.

Saturday we took the youth to Potato River Falls.

Then Sunday we headed for the North Shore. The lupines are blooming there right now. Brag alert ahead, I took this picture. :)

At the cabin. It was quiet and lovely. We needed the get away.

Grandma came up with us.

Benny and Grammy

Grandma telling Emily stories of when she was a girl.

It takes the whole family to build an outhouse.

Dad and Mom enjoying the fruit of their labors. I'll let mom show the pictures of the projects they did.

Mother and son  at the cook stove.

Mudding anyone? Unintentional that is.

Lots of wildflowers.

It was hot, so we went down to the shore for an hour to play. The water was COLD.

Mother & Son

Watched fireworks in Silver Bay. I was impressed with how nice a display it was for a small community.

On the way home, all tired out. He loved the cabin.

     Well, that was easier then writing a 12,000 word essay.  More pictures here and here. 
     Oh and know what happens when the Minnesota Government shuts down the state parks because of a lack of budget? Everyone just parks along the road and walks in to enjoy the park anyway. How does that help a budget crisis I wonder?
--Charlotte

A Few Pictures And Notes

Current summer table-scape.

    It is summer. Only 58 degrees doesn't qualify today as a summer day though. I did the calculations this morning, and figured out that from now through the end of August we only have three free Saturdays. Busyness!! But we are glad to have friends and busy summer schedules. I asked Clark when we are going fishing....he sighed and said he didn't know. On our "free" Saturdays perhaps?
    The peonies in the above picture are from my flower garden. I planted them two years ago, and have lots of big beautiful blossoms this year. I didn't know peonies smelled so fragrant. Makes me happy to begin reaping some rewards for the time I've put into that bed.

Cutest kid in the world, of course!

     Benny is more little boy then baby. Sigh! I was one of these good moms and plugged off my electrical outlets so he couldn't hurt himself. Well, he's figured out how to dig the plugs out. Hmm. Wonder what the experts would say about that! The other day I walked into the kitchen and discovered he had somehow managed to take the lid off of the large, new jug of olive oil. Fortunately  I hadn't opened it yet, so the foil seal was preventing disaster. But, yeah, we still love him to bits. We have also discovered he has a talent for "singing" on key with whatever music happens to be playing at the moment. We're looking forward to when he's older and we can cultivate that.
     Recently heard the song "Holy Art Thou, Lord God Almighty", from Handel's Largo.  I'd love to sing that with a choir. One of my dreams is to sing in a choir someday. I have good memories of chorus at SMBI.
     And now I must finish supper preparations. Chuck roast, oven fries, and sauteed broccoli (I get the broccoli to myself). Yummy!

"Roman Soldier" or a "Simon"

Hello All,

        I have this thought rolling around in my head and I want to put it out there to see if I am taking something out of context.
        I think we know how roughly Jesus was handled by the Soldiers at His crucifixion. They beat, mocked, and whipped him. There is another detail that we often overlook and I can't help but think there is a reason it is noted.
         
          (Mark 15:21)  And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
      
          Now my question is this: Is there a modern day application for this? Think about it, each one of us has a cross to bear and occasionally we catch glimpses of the crosses of others around us.
           
        (Luke 9:23)  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

          Are you following my train of thought? How often do we mistake some ones cross for a fault? I am not talking about sin, but a perceived fault. We see this "problem" that this other brother or sister is having and we have some choices to make. Do we pick up a whip and go to work or do we get in beside him and help him out? Reverse the situation. Do we make it more accommodating for the whip to be used on us or do we make it easy for another to step in beside us and help? Do you get a vision of a mass of people headed up the road with arms linked and a cross over every shoulder?
What do you think, is this a legitimate comparison?

Just thinking!!

Summer and Stuff

Jalon R. and Benny after church Sunday.

    It's a classic Wisconsin summer day out there. One of those days that makes you want to just live out of doors. I planted garden while Benny napped. It's supposed to be nice the rest of the week. I read on AccuWeather today that those of us that live in the Great Lakes region might not have summer. Meaning that our temperatures won't top 90 very often. Sounds good to me!!
    Yesterday the family was here and helped us get our yard work done. It's amazing how much work you can accomplish with more then just two people. Maybe we need to hire some servants or something.
     Here is a picture for your enjoyment. It was taken several weeks ago; I found it the other day and remembered I threatened to post it.  Can't you just see the ego?

HOW REAL MEN SHOOT CROW

Don't worry, no crows were harmed in the filming of this picture. After all, pellet guns aren't noted for being able to hit their target at 100+ feet. Especially not crows.  

The Best Blueberry Muffins

We had these for breakfast this morning. I think this is the best recipe I've ever found.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder (yes, really, use that much)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup granulated brown sugar or white sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl, combine butter, egg, and milk and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and with a spatula, stir until just combined. Do not beat or over mix; it's okay if there are lumps in the batter. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tray, filling each cup about 2/3 full. (It's more like fill the cups 3/4 to all the way full. The batter will be VERY stiff.) Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the granulated brown or white sugar and return the muffins to the oven to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes (again, optional, I bake for 20-25 minutes and skip this step), until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before turning the muffins out.


I'd like to try these with whole wheat sometime and see how well that works and if Clark would like them.