Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Whew! The Tornado Has Passed!


We have been on a busy ride here on our hilltop! I can't begin to list all the things, but let's just say things have been twirled up like a tornado came through! We're okay and the barn is still standing!

We had been praying about having more foster children and the Lord took us up on our prayers...at least for a week! We did respite for another family and took their two boys. What a joy and what a challenge. The ages of the boys in our home were 11, 9, 8, 7 and 6! Then of course there was two year old girlfriend! Boy oh boy what a time we had. We had legos and Kinex from one end of the house to the other!

These boys were a lot of fun. They have been around the street, but God rescued them in time and they are a joy! There are moments that the Lord allows, to let us know everything is going to be okay. I'm so glad! One of the boys stated emphatically that he had no plans to ever work. In chorus our boys said: "We were created for work"! Can I hear a yeehaw!

Then my oldest decided that these boys need a lesson from proverbs! He very clearly explained that we were to look to the ant for direction in work. The sweet little fella looked at his tutor like he was crazy! Then Ben just said:"Have you ever seen an ant be still? No, you haven't and that's what we are to be like, so there, you have to work if you want to be happy!" Go God!

This was a great experience, but we decided they were shoes that didn't fit! We would welcome these boys again, but we aren't putting a sign out for older foster children while we still have youngsters at home. We are still praying about another baby.

Our garden is a burned up mess of weeds and tiny shriveled tomatoes! It just got too hot and I decided these pitiful little tomatoes and herbs were getting very expensive, since we were watering them everyday! I would be better off buying a bushel of beautiful organic tomatoes and still have some money left over! Oh well, I did try really hard! I think I'm still a fair weather gardener!

We did see God move in an incredible way. My van bit the dust. The same day, we found a new nine passenger van from a wonderful godly man. He sells these vans to large families all over the DFW metroplex at a very reasonable price. We found out about our van, found the guy, found the van and signed papers all on the same day! God is good!

Homeschool plans are moving right a long. We will be starting in just a couple of weeks. I like to wait until September, so we still have a bit of time left. I think we are all ready! This year we are going to try the Mystery of History, Teaching Textbooks and continue with some of our ACE Paces. This gives us a bit of everything. I love being hands on with everyone, but I've got a toddler and someone that is still learning to read, so I can send others off to do independent work as well!

One thing that I learned from my flower garden this year was about growth. Some plants look absolutely beautiful at the garden center. They are full and bending over with blooms. Then there are others that you transplant. They may have only one little green leaf, but they have a single little root. Which one has the best chance of becoming part of a beautiful garden? You would think the one from the plant store with lots of blooms. But that's because we looked at the outside of the plant.

The heart of a plant is what is hidden, its rootstock. The beautiful plant was so root bound that it could never soak up any more water. Without the nourishment, it died! It died a slow painful death. I tried everything. I watered, I weeded, I deadheaded it. Nope it could no longer flourish. Why? Because it got real comfortable living in one place and became ingrown. It couldn't stretch out it's roots. It was only beautiful for a moment. It's gone now. Such a waste of my time and money.

Now the little pitiful cutting that had one leaf and a tiny root? It is beautiful. It has grown into a huge plant. It has stretched out it's roots, it has filled up lots of space. It has been nourished with only simple provisions. No extra care was needed. Well, it had to be replanted several times, because Katie was fascinated by it's little roots and she kept planting it! But it lived!

I will be able to share cuttings of this little plant with others. It will have offspring in other parts of my garden. Which plant do you want to model? It's so easy to want to just stay in one place and not venture out of our comfort zones. God says we are to move on out and experience all the joy and blessings He has for us in the deeper places. Even places that don't look so good!

Well that's all I have today friends, hopefully, I can get back on here again soon, but I'm not sure I can do pictures and blog stories at the same time. I'm just swamped. Love you all, have a great day with your precious families and look for ways to expand your borders!

Hilltop Blessings,
Sheri

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful Sheri, I so love you my Sister, I am so glad we both married the boys so we could become sisters. me

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