Wisdom Teeth

Joy had her 4 wisdom teeth removed on Thursday morning. She's healing, but slowly. You can pray that she wouldn't have complications, and that her stitches would dissolve as they are supposed to, or at least be able to be removed without trouble. She had trouble with stitches not dissolving in a past surgery.

She will probably stay home from school again tomorrow. Poor girl has got cabin fever, on top of physical discomfort! You can pray that she'll be feeling much better soon, especially for Thanksgiving and that she wouldn't be overwhelmed with making up school work once she is back at it.

He laid it down on crucifixion day, so that you’d look good on judgment day.

I read this Thursday evening, and it completely met me where I was at and so graciously led me to the cross. I was not expecting to identify much with this chapter currently, seeing as it's titled "Child Rearing - Part 2," but it blew me away how precisely it addressed my heart and softened it to the precious treasure of my Savior's sacrifice in how "He laid [his life] down on crucifixion day, so that [I'd] look good on judgment day."
Below is the excerpt from Womanly Dominion:

Every morning, she faced dirty diapers, runny noses, food messes, temper tantrums, discipline problems, clothing piles, and kitchen clutter. Another son was born. Claustrophobic with cabin fever and boredom doldrums, she sighed, “Any twelve-year-old could wash these dishes, wipe these fannies, mop that floor, and pour these Cheerios onto this high chair tray.”
Her mind often drifted back to her high school and college years. “Back then, I was the center of my world. I decided what I wanted to do for myself. My decisions were based on what would please and broaden me. People applauded me on the stage, commended me for my well-delivered speeches, and discussed with me my future goals and aspirations in life. I enjoyed expressing my creativity in the classroom, discussing profound literary themes with my students, and checking off myresponsibilities on each day’s challenging to-do list.

Old Times

I was looking for some pictures for a project, and I found a bunch of old pictures of me and other kids from church. I guess we were singing for Christmas, or something. I remember that dress I was wearing! We were so little!

Quotes from this evening

A quote from tonight in our family room:

Joy - “Have you noticed how I’m trying to increase my intellectual by using bigger words?"

Dad responds – "hey uh Ma, see how I’m tryin’ to be more smartish by usin’ bigga vords?"

And earlier this evening in the kitchen:

Joy: "This guy honked his horn at me, and I just turned at a red light! . . . oh, I mean traffic light."

It's nice that our family can pick on Joy more these past couple years, so that I'm not alone. (obviously I'm making sure everyone knows this!)

oh, and this just in from Vinson, when Mom was telling him that we have homemade bread (but that he cannot eat the brownies Joy made for another family):

"Is there bread for humans...."

(I take every chance I get to make fun of Vinson, because he definitely dishes it out on me, but I admittedly give him easy material)

Motherly Greatness

I have been really enjoying reading Womanly Dominion [more than a gentle and quiet spirit] by Mark Chanski. I commented to my mom tonight that I think it would be so beneficial for me to read at least one book on biblical womanhood each year or so. If I go too long without a biblical reminder and encouragement for the role of women, the weeds of my heart and culture slowly and surely gain ground without me even knowing, and I start to not only believe lies but act on them. Chanski has been a breath of fresh air, reviving my desire to walk in the role of a godly woman. Practically, I have seen an increase in faith for tackling my everyday tasks at my job, allowed my desire to be a wife and mother be fed and grow in new ways, and increasingly grown much in appreciation for my own mom. I want to share an excerpt from chapter 7 that describes sooo well my mom, and what our family is like because of her. She really is the “soul of our home,” and the “hub” from where all the spokes come and go. Reading Chanski’s description of his wife helped me realize that the fruit that I see God bringing from my family is a direct result of my mom’s full-time commitment to us. It’s almost hysterical how closely he describes our family and mom! I am so grateful for how my mom stayed at home, not only while we were all little and homeschooled, but also throughout our teen years and mixed schooling experiences (home, private, public, cyber, college, you name it!)

Memories of His Faithfulness

Today I spent a few hours driving around Lancaster county, for several different errands during work and after. The drive was a mix of relaxation, conversation (cell phone), getting lost, being late in traffic, getting directions about 4 times from my dad to avoid rush hour traffic, and almost crashing into a car.
As I was driving home, I could reflect on each place and remember different seasons of my life. The result was that my heart was filled with awe at how undeservingly faithful God has been to me. This was His kindness to my heart, to keep me from simple sentimental nostalgia and instead to captivate my thoughts with His greatness in the working of His hand on my life.

Here is a smattering of places and memories that I traveled to this afternoon:

Lititz pike, driving past the home I knew for almost all of my first 10 years of life. It was for sale. This may have been one of the first times that I could drive by that house without at least some tears (I don't go that way often!)

SKH on Lititz pike - free doughnuts with Grandma on the way to her house, back when she kept us for one day a month to give our mom a break. But we only got the doughnuts if we left early enough!

Lititz, along with it's park, train tracks, and Wilbur Chocolate factory. Feeding the ducks with Grandma Sensenig, or going on family walks with Mom and Dad. Book-it pizza at Pizza Hut. School work in the car as Mom did errands. Piano lessons with Mrs. Wittenburg.

Happy Birthday Margaret!

Margaret's 12th birthday was this past Wednesday, September 23. She had Hannah and Hope over for dinner, cake, and a trip to the Lampeter fair. Then yesterday we celebrated it again, since the whole family could be together (plus both grandparents and aunt Beth).

I particularly love the part of the "party" when Dad has us share memories and encouragement.

We are so blessed to have this girl in our family. She's already 12; that is crazy! Soon she'll be a teenager, in youth group, driving, graduating high school . . . oh my, I sound like a mom!

* * * * *

I've really enjoyed how the age gap is decreasing between myself and my sisters. The last photo is from a starbucks trip with Margaret and her friends. I appreciate how our relationship gets to grow and mature as time goes on. I can't wait to see what God has in store for Margaret this next year!

A bit to honor my Dad

I really want to honor my dad for how he served this weekend. He took photos for an event called OneSingleDay put on by our church for singles. He was working on taking and going through photos the entire day, morning to evening. Where the sacrifically serving really came in was that Saturday night when he stayed up until 4:30 am to finish the slideshow so that we could view it at our church meeting on Sunday. I can only imagine the humility and grace it must have required of my dad when he found out that, due to technical difficulty, they could not show it that morning. He had sacrificed so much sleep and poured so much of his energy into preparing the slideshow for that exact time, only to have his plans and services thwarted. And I did not see one display of anger/frustration or self pity, although I know it must have been a battle in his heart. This is the grace of God at work in my dad.

Thank you Dad! I love you so much. You are a wonderful example of a humble servant.

Here is the slideshow. It was a most beneficial day to my soul.

My Talented Brother

I've noticed how our blog has been missing photos. Just tonight, I asked Erin if he could add a verse to a photo I took and use as my desktop background at work. He did it, and some! Here's a sample of the product (even though I took the photos, I believe he enhanced them):

Soaked Through

Melanie Millen, and I (Margaret) sat on her steps and wrote a list of ideas for our "Survivor" camp out.

Survivor List

1. People: Melanie, Abigail & Margaret

2. Food: - Supper: Hot dogs- Breakfast: Cereal- Lunch: Sandwiches.
3. Shelter: Tent- Millen’s tent to sleep in, Sensenig’s tent for storage.
4. Fun!: Tv & Movies, Books, games, ect.
5. Personal things: like tooth paste and tooth brushes, clothes.
6. What for: To celebrate all 3 girl's birthdays.

We had been planing it for a long time and we finally got a date for it so I felt happy because it was not just a small idea that was never going to happen, (like most of my 1,000 ideas) but it was really, truly, actually going to happen!