Monday, December 31, 2012

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Monday, November 26, 2012

And the winner is...Ezra!

The quarter is yours, my good lad. I was very impressed that you did not want to hold that accomplishment over your older brother's head. You really didn't want me to give you the quarter in front of him. I am sure that you had your reasons. He may have weadled you out of it in some, elder brother sort of way. So, I am not making too much of it. How, oh how can I get you fellows to do well and work together is the dilemma? For now getting you out of the bed and seeing the gleam of competition in your eyes when you have beaten your oponent in the most basic of skills is thrilling to me. I don't want "one up manship", I want the thrill of victory to motivate excellence in whatever you are able to do and the yearning to go to the next endeavor. I do hope that you will get that from this exercise of the wake up drill. Happy spending your quarter!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

At the very last second there is always something to distract us.

It is a delight of mine to watch my dear baby boy board the bus to go to school. Today, I thought that I had an extra second to get my coffee from the kitchen and get back before the bus pulled up. Something inside said, just wait a moment. I did and no quicker than I had said that the bus appeared and whisked my baby into his day. Just that blink of the eye, reminded me that we are readying ourselves for our Savior's appearing. One small thing, turning our head from His truth to our selfishness and we are left or missing it. Not the legalism of rites and rituals, but the settled loving expectations of His mercy and power over our sins and frailties. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, but we can be in Christ or not in Christ. We can miss what He is doing in our lives, for the selfishness of pity parties and grumbling. Help, dear Lord, that I not be going for my coffee cup, when the Heavenly bus appears.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Recipes for Rebellion, Talks about King David

We talked a little about King David this morning. He was his mommy's baby also. Sometimes that is an advantage and sometimes not. It wasn't an advantage the day the Reverend was coming to dinner. We laughed that the whole family knew that there was no way that God could have chosen David to be king. God had chosen their family, but there was no way that the baby could have been the one He was choosing. They sent him as far from the blessing as there could be. Don't even wash for dinner, you won't have to meet the Reverend at all, because you don't ever get that sheep smell off yourself, even after many baths. We big families have our own language of remembering and of forgetting. We have a way of showing and not showing love to everyone. David was close to God, if he wasn't close to the blessing of that day. God was showing us all something in and through David and the big family dilemma. Nobody slips out of God's fingers for lack of hands to care for them. He cares when mother is at the end of her strength. None of us are forgotten, in the morning or at any other time. He holds us all in the palm of His hand as only children and cares for us as specifically as the first child and babies us as surely as the eighth child. There is no limit to His show of love in the number of children. He alone is infinite and we can find His love in whatever family number we are. (Read the position in the family book by Kevin Lehman, if you can) Don't miss the similarities there are growing up 6th and don't miss any of the blessings of knowing God there.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The joy of going to AIG twice a week

WOW! You're excited aren't you. Are you smarter than a 4th grader? Not yet. I see you spending your twenty minutes of reading chomping at the bit, to put this book down. What's so wrong with reading? It's fun? You love it, as long as it's silly or funny. Thank God for teachers. The first week of school under the belt. Onward and upward!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Getting ready for 4th grade...

Thank God, aunt Lee provided a new computer with a videocam. Thank you Aunt Lee! God bless the fourth grade Ezra. Ready, set, here we go.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Oh, Beautiful for Spacious Skies---

America the Beautiful

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,

Melody by Samuel Ward



O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!



O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare of freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law!



O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife.

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine!



O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!



O beautiful for halcyon skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the enameled plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till souls wax fair as earth and air

And music-hearted sea!



O beautiful for pilgrims feet,

Whose stem impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till paths be wrought through

wilds of thought

By pilgrim foot and knee!



O beautiful for glory-tale

Of liberating strife

When once and twice,

for man's avail

Men lavished precious life!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till selfish gain no longer stain

The banner of the free!



O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

Till nobler men keep once again

Thy whiter jubilee!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry?---fecitious cliches of the queen of cliche's

Here's Your HAT?


This year's theme, "by default" was Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry---{circa Ruth 1900's} 

Each Day before school, we had a few stowaway moments to ourselves, just Mommy and Ez.   I tried to tell you a little about myself and in the words of my now beloved, least favorite Grandma Ruth.   I told you how I boycotted her home for years of my life, though we went there every week.  She always said, Here's your hat, what's your hurry? In fact, she had hundreds of cliche's that meant you are certainly not welcome here.   She didn't really mean it, but she was never at a loss for words saying it.  Her house was comfortable otherwise.  Always, there was alot of food and drink and the comforts of home.  Her words were almost always cross, towards me. {Later in life, Uncle Charles translated her to me, but as a child, I never could understand that. }
I am sure that I was her least favorite grandchild, also.  I used our love/hate relationship to remind myself that life is short.   She lived a very long and happy, though tumultuous life.   She exemplified a lot of good qualities of taking things in stride and life as it comes.  I learned from her, though I hated most of the classtime, we spent together.   Everybody else loved her so much.  Ethan was the last grandchild to meet her.  I try to tell you about her and remind us that we have to keep pace with the moments.   She always kept pace with the times.  She never dawdled and she encouraged us all in and out of her presence.  I liked the leaving time with her, so I was glad when the finale was sung, at her house.  We went there every week, for a long time.   I sat in the car, during my boycott.  I don't want to miss the time with you because of my neglect, or attitude, so I sing her song to you and hope that we can find common ground.  We are about the same distance in age and I am hoping that we can bridge the generation gap and love eachother deeply, inspite of the years.  XOXOXOXO

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Where are you?


Your father and I were searching diligently to find you. Up and down and around and around and you were right at the friend's house, where we thought you would have been. We missed you. We were worried sick. Thank you for being so consistent. Know that we love you intensely!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Learning to govern your own deportment.




It hurts me to watch your little hand turn red from a spank on it, in the morning. It makes me weak, like little else. I never really felt weak spanking anybody{certainly not my siblings} and my elder children. The Bible says don't let your soul spare for his crying. What is the lesson? I must ask myself as my mind is older and sometimes forgets to teach the lesson that the spanking is used to convey. Oh right, Don't think that you have reign over the computer of the house, you are under authority. Don't put technology before the going to school routine. Don't forget to brush your teeth and do the other necessities before going to school and the computer will distract you from these important priorities.
God has allowed us to have these modern conveniences and we must use them as under His authority and not under our own auspices.
I imagine the awe of the disciples when the rich young ruler was loved and allowed to go from Jesus. Who then can be saved? He seemed to want to do his alms and set his life under the authority of God and said that he had done this from his youth. Jesus showed us, this, self discipline is not enough to save us. If he isn't saved, thought the disciples, what is salvation? Only trusting Jesus, can these treasures of self-discipline be useful to the soul.
They may make you well liked in your social sphere and they are mommy's priorities and hopefully, erelong, they will lead you to love the Jesus that we are trying to show you, is Life Eternal!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

This year, I'm not your secret admiration :(

A long time ago, We went to the hospital for a baby to come home with us. It was eight years ago and we all agree that God was saving the best for last. Nothing about this birth was like any of the others. A tiny package of wrapped up wrinkles and smiles and hugs and loves. You smiled and grinned at the first moment we met. You were ready to take part in the tumult of Walkerisms from the very start, in fact you jump started the whole team thing by coming to us a month early.

We sat in the car one day thinking about this baby in the tummy and I told the children that the angels play movies to the baby about the life that they are going to live. We had a fun time thinking about what kind of a child you would be. The children said Ezra got sick of the movies and wanteed to start the real on stage scenes. We love you and are grateful that God sent you to us early and late!
I love that you put your feelings into a special card for your Crystal-secret love. Shhh! I won't tell her. We have to carry the card to her house, so that she can have the knowledge that you really admire her.
I can't give her the card, or she will tell everybody on the bus, you said this morning, over breakfast.

We come from a long line of love and I like that you have found a third grade heart throb and can't wait to see the other little sparks that grow you into the King of Hearts.

Happy Valentines Day, Baby!

Friday, February 3, 2012

"Don't plant butterflies!"

"Don't plant butterflies!"
Ezra At School 2008

Bear books I'm fond of

  • Winnie the Pooh, Corduroy, Paddington Bear, The Francis series.

Finally!

Finally!
First Day of Kindergarten