How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
This is such a beautiful song with deep meaning. Our youngest girls are learning it. Anna, who is eight, can play it on the guitar. Last night, Anna, Joy(6), and Mary(4) were on my bed playing and singing it, and trying to teach it to me while I nursed the baby. Noah(2) was trying to sing along as he played with a Playmobil man on my nursing chair arm.
It was a lovely picture. It was one of those precious moments in motherhood that I would like to preserve in a bottle. Then I could open it when times at home with nine children do not feel so sweet. Or I could show it to myself when I doubt that all we do really matters in Kingdom terms. ("Seek ye first the kingdom of God!") I asked them to sing it over and over while I tried to learn all the words, and hang onto the living treasure.
Kendal and Kelsey have played this song on the guitar and piano together for months. Anna was the second seat/string guitarist, if Kelsey wasn't available. Now the younger ones can sing it alone. In this case, Kendal and Kelsey started a "good thing".
Steve and Teri Maxwell have always taught that parents should wet their children's appetites for the right things. Giving our children guitars, encouraging them to learn to play, and learning alongside them birthed a lovely season in our life. Kendal plays fluently and plays so that our family can worship nightly together, and even for friends who spend an evening with us. Kelsey and Anna also play well. Not to be outdone by Kendal, Anna practices regularly and enjoys playing for while we sing.
Our first guitar book was full of praise songs and hymns. Our second, and thus far, final book, is a larger book of worship songs. Not by accident, the guitar students in our home use their new talent to worship God. They won't be performing for applause, except the applause of Heaven.
It was heart-warming to watch the three little girls last night. I'd love to include a video here but attempting to record it would've tainted the sweetness of our family moment. : )
Most of all, I pray the rich words of such songs as "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" will be etched upon their hearts forever and that they will always cherish these memories of their childhood!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Blessings of a Sewing Legacy
When I was growing up my mother always made our dresses for special occasions. As I grew older, people were calling upon her to sew clothes for their special events. She may have made her own clothing when we were little, but mostly I remember that she sewed costumes, dressy clothes, and hard to find items. Her mother and grandmother were both skilled seamstresses. "Granny" and "Mema" could make anything, thus, so can my mother.
I realized over the years that my mom was rare. Other girls' moms did not know how to sew. They purchased all of their clothing, including prom, wedding, and holiday dresses. Many of them couldn't even hem pants or sew on buttons! Their daughters didn't learn either.
I watched my mother sew sometimes. She probably did most of her work while we were at school to avoid being interrupted. She did not try to teach me how to sew. When I was fourteen or fifteen I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas. I think she had told me that I could not use her machine to learn and that I would need my own. My parents kindly bought a portable machine and I began to learn. I became easily discouraged as I tried to decipher the patterns. Often I would rely on Mom to help me understand. Therefore, I only sewed a couple times a year. That continued through my early years of marriage and parenthood. These days, I can usually find my answers on the internet. And I sew monthly, if not weekly. I am forever grateful for a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who sew(ed). I am not intimidated by any project that I determine to be worthwhile, no matter how challenging. I get that from my mother too. She has a "can do" attitude.
My eldest girls are sixteen and fourteen. They can both choose and buy their own fabrics and patterns and have made several dresses. They can repair and alter clothing. I encouraged them to buy their own machine to share, but only because we were all wanting to sew at the same time and had only one working machine. They are far ahead of where I was, as a seamstress, at their ages.
These days, Kendal made our many of our window treatments, designs her own clothes, makes her own patterns, and has made patterns for our littler girls too. She has even taught a friend how to sew her own dress. Kelsey has made a couple of dresses and altered/repaired many skirts from the thrift store. Most recently, I've made baby slings, ballet skirts, throw pillows, tee-shirt dresses, night gowns, maternity outfits, and baby blankets. We are blessed to know how to make things for ourselves.
When Kendal was very young we bought a small quilt kit for her from Vision Forum. Once she learned how to make a nine patch quilt, she began to make them from all the material scraps of dresses I'd been making for her and Kelsey. She then taught Kelsey and me. Her hope chest is full of nine patches made from our family's scraps. In fact, Kelsey and I also have strips from many projects that will later be converted into our own quilts. It will be such a treasure one day to look at each piece and remember the little girls in their homemade dresses.
I usually scramble and make dresses for every girl for Easter. Kendal and Kelsey made their own this year and I made one for my pregnant self and for Joy. But my favorite and most practical clothing to make is a tee shirt dress. We purchase high quality knit tops from Lands' End overstocks and find bargain fabrics to match for skirts. Until the girls are old enough to wear ladies' sized skirts from the thriftstore, our daughters wear these dresses everyday (from one to about twelve years of age). Most of those tee shirt dresses cost us $2-$10. Often times we were given nice shirts and sometimes fabric and we were able to match them up and make dresses for free. For cold weather or rowdy activities we add leggings or shorts. (We also keep a supply of jeans for the really cold or hardy events outdoors) I've especially enjoyed adding rickrack, lace or other trims that I found in a bargain bin or at a yard sale.
Material is expensive. Patterns are too. Bargains can be found though. And money can be saved. Most importantly, modest, beautiful clothing is still available if you are willing to learn how to sew! Even better, teach someone else how to do it too!
I realized over the years that my mom was rare. Other girls' moms did not know how to sew. They purchased all of their clothing, including prom, wedding, and holiday dresses. Many of them couldn't even hem pants or sew on buttons! Their daughters didn't learn either.
I watched my mother sew sometimes. She probably did most of her work while we were at school to avoid being interrupted. She did not try to teach me how to sew. When I was fourteen or fifteen I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas. I think she had told me that I could not use her machine to learn and that I would need my own. My parents kindly bought a portable machine and I began to learn. I became easily discouraged as I tried to decipher the patterns. Often I would rely on Mom to help me understand. Therefore, I only sewed a couple times a year. That continued through my early years of marriage and parenthood. These days, I can usually find my answers on the internet. And I sew monthly, if not weekly. I am forever grateful for a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who sew(ed). I am not intimidated by any project that I determine to be worthwhile, no matter how challenging. I get that from my mother too. She has a "can do" attitude.
My eldest girls are sixteen and fourteen. They can both choose and buy their own fabrics and patterns and have made several dresses. They can repair and alter clothing. I encouraged them to buy their own machine to share, but only because we were all wanting to sew at the same time and had only one working machine. They are far ahead of where I was, as a seamstress, at their ages.
These days, Kendal made our many of our window treatments, designs her own clothes, makes her own patterns, and has made patterns for our littler girls too. She has even taught a friend how to sew her own dress. Kelsey has made a couple of dresses and altered/repaired many skirts from the thrift store. Most recently, I've made baby slings, ballet skirts, throw pillows, tee-shirt dresses, night gowns, maternity outfits, and baby blankets. We are blessed to know how to make things for ourselves.
When Kendal was very young we bought a small quilt kit for her from Vision Forum. Once she learned how to make a nine patch quilt, she began to make them from all the material scraps of dresses I'd been making for her and Kelsey. She then taught Kelsey and me. Her hope chest is full of nine patches made from our family's scraps. In fact, Kelsey and I also have strips from many projects that will later be converted into our own quilts. It will be such a treasure one day to look at each piece and remember the little girls in their homemade dresses.
I usually scramble and make dresses for every girl for Easter. Kendal and Kelsey made their own this year and I made one for my pregnant self and for Joy. But my favorite and most practical clothing to make is a tee shirt dress. We purchase high quality knit tops from Lands' End overstocks and find bargain fabrics to match for skirts. Until the girls are old enough to wear ladies' sized skirts from the thriftstore, our daughters wear these dresses everyday (from one to about twelve years of age). Most of those tee shirt dresses cost us $2-$10. Often times we were given nice shirts and sometimes fabric and we were able to match them up and make dresses for free. For cold weather or rowdy activities we add leggings or shorts. (We also keep a supply of jeans for the really cold or hardy events outdoors) I've especially enjoyed adding rickrack, lace or other trims that I found in a bargain bin or at a yard sale.
Material is expensive. Patterns are too. Bargains can be found though. And money can be saved. Most importantly, modest, beautiful clothing is still available if you are willing to learn how to sew! Even better, teach someone else how to do it too!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Three weeks
It's hard to believe that our new baby was born three weeks ago! He's getting a little chubby and doesn't look as much like a newborn anymore. : ) He's finally starting to see our faces and maybe even smile intentionally. He chuckles in his sleep and has two dimples.
It is all very amazing to spend nearly every minute with a newborn and still look back and wonder how he grew up so quickly! It just happens minute by minute. Life truly is the accumulation of little moments. I'm trying to soak them up. I think I understand what the Bible means where it says that, "Mary treasured all these things in her heart." They are treasures.
Having a newborn is one of the best rewards of motherhood to me. I can remember as a very young girl being dissatisfied with babydolls. I really wanted a real baby to hold and love. I was ten when a baby sister was born and I adored her. My mother let me take care of her and I loved it. I had only been graduated from college nine months when I became pregnant for the first time. In spite of all the illness, lack of sleep, and breastfeeding difficulties I loved being pregnant and being a new mom. All of my memories with Kendal are good ones. She was a fussy baby. She wasn't an excellent nurser. But none of those things mattered at all. It was blissful to me. The same happened with Kelsey, Isaac, Daniel, Anna, Joy, Mary, Noah and Joshua. So far, no amount of pain, sleep loss or difficulty has lessened my joy. It is a gift from God and I hope to continue to appreciate it all.
I meant to watch very closely so that I could (for once) take note of all the subtle newborn changes...when the ears gain thickness and hold their shape, the toenails and fingernails harden and grow straigh out, the eyelashes appear, the eyebrowns can be seen, the last bit of newborn skin is shed. I forgot to write each one down when I noticed it. Maybe I'll remember next time, if I have another newborn one day...
On Joshua's two week birthday, a friend of ours took the following photo of him. They have ten (nearly all grown) children in their family and we had a wonderful time getting to know them last weekend. Our two large families got along so nicely. Mostly because their grown boys were very gracious with our younger ones. He (Jesse) also took about a hundred snapshots of our other children playing in their family's pool. It was a fun afternoon and we really love their family and this photograph. We hope that Jesse will one day take a photo of our whole family together, since he offered, and clearly knows how to take a great picture.
Joshua was three weeks on the day I took this picture.
It is all very amazing to spend nearly every minute with a newborn and still look back and wonder how he grew up so quickly! It just happens minute by minute. Life truly is the accumulation of little moments. I'm trying to soak them up. I think I understand what the Bible means where it says that, "Mary treasured all these things in her heart." They are treasures.
Having a newborn is one of the best rewards of motherhood to me. I can remember as a very young girl being dissatisfied with babydolls. I really wanted a real baby to hold and love. I was ten when a baby sister was born and I adored her. My mother let me take care of her and I loved it. I had only been graduated from college nine months when I became pregnant for the first time. In spite of all the illness, lack of sleep, and breastfeeding difficulties I loved being pregnant and being a new mom. All of my memories with Kendal are good ones. She was a fussy baby. She wasn't an excellent nurser. But none of those things mattered at all. It was blissful to me. The same happened with Kelsey, Isaac, Daniel, Anna, Joy, Mary, Noah and Joshua. So far, no amount of pain, sleep loss or difficulty has lessened my joy. It is a gift from God and I hope to continue to appreciate it all.
I meant to watch very closely so that I could (for once) take note of all the subtle newborn changes...when the ears gain thickness and hold their shape, the toenails and fingernails harden and grow straigh out, the eyelashes appear, the eyebrowns can be seen, the last bit of newborn skin is shed. I forgot to write each one down when I noticed it. Maybe I'll remember next time, if I have another newborn one day...
On Joshua's two week birthday, a friend of ours took the following photo of him. They have ten (nearly all grown) children in their family and we had a wonderful time getting to know them last weekend. Our two large families got along so nicely. Mostly because their grown boys were very gracious with our younger ones. He (Jesse) also took about a hundred snapshots of our other children playing in their family's pool. It was a fun afternoon and we really love their family and this photograph. We hope that Jesse will one day take a photo of our whole family together, since he offered, and clearly knows how to take a great picture.
Joshua was three weeks on the day I took this picture.
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