Katie's 13th birthday

We had a very special night last Thursday, and I just had to include it here. My beautiful daughter, Katie, turned 13. It's hard to believe she's that old, and even harder to believe that I'm old enough to have a teenager. Still, I am so proud of the gracious, talented and thoughtful young woman she is growing into. She is lightyears ahead of where I was emotionally and spiritually at her age. I can take none of the credit; I just stand in awe at what God has accomplished in her in such a short time.

I took her to get her hair done. She looked stunning, and much more sophisticated than thirteen. Then her father and I took her out to one of the nicer restaurants around--they don't even have a children's menu that I am aware of. After dinner and dessert (creme brulee. yum.), we gave her a special gift: a purity ring. We also presented her with a purity covenant that she and her father signed and I witnessed. Then we were off to see a local university production of La Boheme. Yes, our thirteen year old actually asked to go to the opera with her parents on her birthday. Isn't that sweet?

Here are some pictures of our special evening:


Katie opening her ring



Daddy puts the ring on her ring finger, where it will stay until it is replaced with an engagement ring or wedding ring.


Katie and her prince charming-for-now, Daddy


After the performance

It was a very special night for all of us. For so many, the teenage years are an expected and almost accepted period of rebellion against all authority. I know from my own experience that around the age of thirteen is when my own heart began to turn away from my parents and I became more and more enamoured with worldly ideas. I am so thankful for Christians who have worked so diligently to show parents effective ways to win the hearts of their children. I am grateful for those brave saints who have stood up against our culture and promoted homeschooling, courtship, purity and family discipleship. Most of all, I am humbled beyond words to a great and merciful God, who took this very imperfect, formerly feminist and career minded woman, and gave her a heart for her family and a vision of biblical womanhood. And even beyond that, He has blessed my feeble and stumbling efforts to pass on this vision to my daughters more abundantly than I could ever have hoped for.

Happy birthday, Kathryn Danielle. You are a blessing and a treasure. We love you more than words can say.

Chicken pox are no fun

So while her mom is out gallavanting about the countryside with her girlfriends, Katie, our oldest, broke out in spots. Lots and lots of them. On her face, on her stomach, on her back, on her arms, in her mouth...everywhere.

She is miserable, and I am suffering from a bad case of mommy guilt. Guilt that I left her when I knew she wasn't feeling well (I had no idea it would be chicken pox, or I would have stayed home) and guilt that I didn't get her the immunization that would have prevented this.

Here is my beautiful girl, covered in pox:


This was actually taken yesterday. She looks worse today and was in no humor to let me take her picture again.

To make matters worse, she is worried that she will miss our family's plans for Labor Day weekend. My aunt and uncle have a huge get together at their farm with music, food and lots of cousins and friends we don't get to see very often. I think my kids enjoy the Allen Hog Roast more than Christmas. To miss it would be heartbreaking.

Mackenzie is watching her sister in horror at what is in store for her. Elijah and Eleanor both had the vaccine, so they should be fine. It wasn't available back when Katie and Mackenzie were young enough to get their immunizations, so they missed out. I never considered taking them back to the doctor just for that, but now I wonder if I should have. I know there are worse things. I know she'll recover, But she just feels so bad.

Just the other day, Katie and I were doing a mother/daughter devotional together, and one of her questions to ask me was "What is the hardest thing about being a mom?" My answer was the feeling you get when your child is hurting, and you are powerless to do anything to change their situation. At two o'clock yesterday morning, whe I was up trying to get her comfortable enough to sleep, she asked me if this counted as one of those times when I felt that way. Definitely.

Bad Neighbors

We woke yesterday morning to some construction going on right outside our bedroom window. We were disturbed. Normally we are the kind of people who try to get along with anyone, but trust me when I say these were not the sort you would want moving into your neighborhood. We had to take matters into our own hands.




Being the homeschool mom that I am, though, I insisted that my husband wait until all the kids had a while to observe the wasps at work before he eradicated them.

It's not that I don't think wasps are fascinating. I just don't want a colony of them living under the awning of my bedroom window.

Katie's perm

My oldest daughter, Katie, has always wanted curls. Alas, she inherited my stick-straight hair, only even thicker and heavier. We had tried every tool available to curl her hair, all to no avail. If we did manage to produce a weak curl, it was gone within an hour's time.

So, I finally agreed to let her get a perm. She started 7th grade this year, and that's how old I was when I got my first perm. I looked at it as another rite of passage of sorts. She is less and less a girl all the time. She's growing into a beautiful young lady.

It took four hours for the beautician to roll her hair, and we had to go back after about a week for a touch up. That hair just didn't want to curl!! In the end, though, I think it turned out beautifully. Much nicer than my first perm, which was one of those frizzy 1980's poodle perms.

Music Recital

Last Saturday evening, Katie and Mackenzie had a music recital. Katie played two pieces on piano, "The Pink Panther" and "Whisper of the Heart" and two pieces out of her Suzuki book on cello. Mackenzie played "Romance" on piano.

They both did so well and I was really proud of them. Music is such a wonderful gift from the Lord. I pray that my children will use the talent God has given them for music for His glory.

We also recently learned that Katie has been selected to participate in the Illinois Music Educator's Association festival orchestra in November. She and her best friend auditioned a couple of weeks ago, and they were both chosen to participate. Hooray!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls with their instructors. These young ladies are also homeschooled, and with two other sisters play in a string quartet. Not only are they tremendously gifted musicians, but they are some of the sweetest, most goldy young women I have ever met. I could not have asked for better role models of grace, purity and excellence for my girls. They call themselves Eden String Quartet, and they just released a CD of hynms that is so beautiful. I bought several of them as pastor's gifts for this month.

Mackenzie with Therese Miller

Katie with Leah Miller

A giant golfball on a giant tee...

A giant golfball on a giant tee.

You don't see one of these every day, do you?

This picture was taken at the Rend Lake golf course in southern Illinois a few weeks ago. Dan had to attend a continuing education conference there for his funeral license, so we all went along as a little mini-vacation. Elijah was enthralled with this water tower, and every time he saw it (which was many, many times each day), he would say in his loud, shrill five year old voice, "Look! A giant golf ball on a giant tee!" His dad or I would reply, "You don't see one of those every day, do you?" and then he would respond "Nope, you sure don't."

This exchange occurred dozens of times each day, much to the annoyance of his sisters. In fact, I think annoying the girls may be the reason we kept doing it.

We had a good time. Dan was in class some of the time, but the kids enjoyed the pool and we got to go out on Rend Lake for a while one afternoon. It's so nice to get away, even for just a couple of days.

Here's Dan and Eleanor on the boat:

Indoor campout

The kids decided to "camp out" in the funeral parlor downstairs. Nothing like roughing it on carpet in the air conditioning.

No campout is complete without s'mores, even if it is indoors. The kids had a blast with this indoor s'more maker.

Even better with the lights out!!!