The Most Creative Job in the World....

Was called to my recipe files today for Baby Girl. She and Hubby are hibernating in the cold of northern Indiana, with school not is session and workplace still on vacation. So one's thoughts go to comfort food......right?!

Whilst looking for her requested recipes for her brand newlywed files, I stumbled across this bit of parchment. I believe in the winter of 1983, in a young woman's bible study, the leader handed these out to us, as kind of a new year's encouragement....

I had it framed for years; lots of pressure to this non working, stay at home mama in the women's liberation era......
It became my mantra of sorts...
And it's still applicable with certain technological updates....

Enjoy!

The Most Creative Job in the World:
It involves:
Taste, fashion, decorating, recreation, education, transportation, psychology, romance, cuisine, designing, literature, medicine, handicraft, art, horticulture, economics, government, community relations, pediatrics, geriatrics, entertainment, maintenance, purchasing, direct mail, law, accounting, religion, energy and management.
Anyone who can handle all these has to be somebody special. She is. She's a homemaker.

Snow Day!

Is there anything better than a Snow Day? (okay; I can think of MANY things better than a snow day but rhetorically speaking, in the winter, is there anything better than a snow day??
It affects me one of two ways:
1. I get very lazy.
2. I get very busy.
Knowing I didn't have to go anywhere today, all things being canceled, I knew today was the day to catch up on all the post holiday dirties. Floors that had many a footsie tread upon them. (yes, I realize that snowy feet would soon traipse across them. Oh well. Clean snow.) Stale looking things needing jazzing up. Bring the old mirror from sewing room and place in living room. Frame only three (of 112) of Vivie's photos that came in the mail Monday. Catch up on Sewing Room Things. Find an old bedspread in the basement, wash it and place it on our bed just for something different. Talk to Eldest/Admin and listen to The Vivers in the background. :D
I LOVE these kind of days!

As a young mama, Snow Days looked a bit different but it warms my heart just thinking of those long ago days.....
Children in and out all day. The smell of wet wool mittens, hats and scarves drying on the heat register. Mugs filling the sink after the hot chocolate is finished. Friends over and blocks, dolls, paints and papers spread throughout the house. Homemade egg noodles drying on strings near the kitchen ceiling. Chicken simmering, waiting for the hearty noodles. Bread rising and chocolate cake waiting for frosting. Something akin to domestic bliss overtook my senses on those wonderful Spontaneous Holidays known as Snow Days.

I hope you took advantage, to the best of your ability, your Snow Days...
Stay warm....

For My Big Grown Up Girl

Today is Admin/Eldest's 31rst Birthday.
She was born at 10:17pm, a Saturday.
Her labor was easy,but her birth presentation was, shall we say, 'topsy turvy'. Two days before her arrival, at our last Lamaze class, the little gymnast turned completely upside down. Nervous looking nurses kept coming in and feeling my upper abdomen, kinda avoiding the very large, swollen, pregnanty part. A trip to the xray department (I know; the 70's...) in my Lamaze sockies proved what they knew, Rhiannon Linda Cory was passing through my very dilated cervix, with her foot AND umbilical cord coming first.

The speed at which they zoomed me to surgery was crazy. Prepping, catheterizing at a lightning speed, charts and cords thrown on the space on the gurney not taken up by my large body, and down the hall we flew.

Looking backwards, upside down, at a very worried looking Mr. Cory waving weakly as he helplessly stared at his life flying down a hospital corridor, I had no chance to even consider what might/could happen.

Post holiday babies, all the hoo haa of those inclined to clamor for First Baby of the Year status had died down. No one really anywhere around the whole labor/delivery department. So when Miss Rhiannon made her very hasty and safe arrival, her parents were allowed to see her rather quickly, in the recovery room, since we were all alone in the quiet of winter in a hospital. It was near midnight of the 7th, when we heard the rumbling of the little incubator that our firstborn occupied. Rhiannon was not due till the 19th so we knew that she would be tiny. At 5 lbs, 11 oz and only 18 inches long, we could only imagine what that was going to look like. Expecting something like a little unfinished kitten or something, around the surrounding curtain of the recovery area, in peeps a very alert little sweetie of a baby. Her big eyes completely open and her mouth working like she was ready to tell us about her amazing journey. We spent an amazing hour staring at the perfection that was her, pointing out all her family's traits. She responded to her daddy's voice quickly; he had made a nightly practice of talking to her in utero for months. We had a blessed family time, the three of us, all alone, in the semi darkness and silence of the middle of the night. Sweet, sweet time.....

Rhiannon came home one week later. We had a the obligatory five day stay for Cesarean then and jaundice in the 70's involved IV treatment under bilirubin lights for several days. A blizzard came and went while we were in the hospital and the name for our next child came in the form of my roommate's son's name. Here I am, five days post-partum, already picking out names for my next child! And I followed through two years later. A cold, cold snap was approaching the weekend she arrived home. Our old house was known to be chilly and drafty so Hubby and I camped out in our bedroom the whole weekend. We cuddled under quilts and napped and rested and stared at this new little life, firmly entrenched between us in our bed and our hearts. It was a lovely time....

Which brings us today, thirty one years later and we still are in awe of her. She is an amazing woman, full of compassion, love and wisdom. We are so proud of all that she has taught us in each stage of her life and probably never more so than in her role as mama to our beloved Vivien and devoted wife to Jon.

It has been a privilege to be her mama.....A role I embraced thirty one years ago and still cherish today....

God bless my 'little' girl.....
LYSMICETY......

(mama's) collection of Ideas

It always happens.
When the New Year hits, I am hit with creative urges.
Whether it is the habit I had of removing the Christmas Tree the very next morning after Christmas Day, dusting, vacuuming and rearranging furniture to starting new house projects the week between Dec 25 and January 1, there is something invigorating to me about a new start.

This 'new' idea I've had for some time, but I wanted to wait till 'after the holidays' to bring it up...

So here it is.

I want to instigate a Women's Craft/Spiritual/Fun Retreat.
I want to learn your craft and hear of your disciplines.
I want to share my talents and philosophies (Yeah, that's a crowd pleaser!) with you.
I want to go to a nice state park where there are cabins and good views.
I want it to be financially feasible for everybody.
I want it to be uproariously fun.
I want small children with good manners (!) and nursing babies to come along.
I want good, healthy food to accompany the fun seekers.
I want to discuss God in our lives.
I want to share joys, fears, doubts and yarn. And Fabric.
I want relationships to be forged and galvanized so that it becomes a yearly excursion.
I want to learn. And teach.
I want your input.

Could you leave a comment or an email and let me know what you think?
Can you give me thoughts about you would like to see in this kind of retreat?
Can you tell me how long you could invest in this kind of adventure?
Can you tell me how much you could invest in cash? (park reservations, cabin rental, food)
Can you tell what would keep you from coming to something like this?
Could you tell me how far you would journey to make this happen?

I am excited at the prospect that this could happen this summer/fall!

I am overwhelmed and so impressed by the skills of so many young women. So many young mama's with such nurturing hearts towards their children. So many young women committed to their hubbys and their call as Godly wives. Such a gift to this culture and society. I want to meet you all and learn from you all.

Please let me hear from you.
Please let me thank you for all the kind notes and words of encouragement that I have received since I started this journey.
It is because you are special and unique that God has compelled me to encourage you daily.
He loves you and compels me.
There is hope.
There is joy.
Write me; let me hear from you.......

Journaling, Type 2

Another type of journal that I do has only a 20 year history with me.
These are my Spiritual Journals.
After going through a Bad Patch in 1989, I knew that I needed a discipline of meeting with my Saviour/Redeemer/Helper/Comforter but I had no idea how this was accomplished. I heard others more advanced in their faith refer to their 'Quiet Time' but I had no idea what that was and was too embarrassed/prideful to ask them to explain.
So, in 1989, while my precious neighbor watched my kids, I got alone in my living room, feeling like a nut, talking out loud to God, asking for direction, help and a plan.

This is what He gave me. (You really doubt that He spoke to me? Apparently, you are unaware at how unglued I was at the time and how positively sensible this simple plan was and that I was incapable of putting two rational thoughts together at the time yet here was an extraordinary plan for meeting with the one who had The Plan For My Life.)

He gave me a systematic plan for reading through the Bible, expressing my thoughts, concerns, noting verses that spoke to me, verses that I didn't understand and convenience of convenience, a To Do list as well. As a busy mama of four children, this just Made Sense.

I was used to getting up with Hubby with his early morning schedule, so I just began that next morning after he went to work. I was already up and thinking, the kids were still sleeping and all was silent; chores were not even yelling yet....
I opened my notebook and placed the date and day of the week at the top.
I read a chapter of Proverbs (a must for young mamas!) correlating to the day of the month, and listed that under the date. If a particular verse stood out that I might want to memorize (!) or tattoo on my being, I noted it there.
I read one Psalm, mostly picked randomly, for there is many, and noted it next. Again, highlighting good verses for the day.
Then I began in Genesis in the Old Testament, one chapter, and Matthew in the New. One chapter, reading like a novel, not like a heavy duty study. I would note words that perplexed me or statements that I didn't get in context. I would ask Hubby about it later or ask friends that I met that day, about it. It sometime spurred interesting conversations....If by chance, a child would awaken, he/she knew it was Quiet Time,called that for a reason. Youngest Son was one that joined me the most often. Being quite the busy boy, he knew that he had to sit still next to me with a book and wait till I completed my time with God. Oddly, he understood and acquiesced. He would sit with his books in his lap and watch me, asking me frequently, Mama, you still talking to God? I have cherished scribbles in my bible from his little hand. He would watch me underline and note in mine so I could hardly scold when he was copying what I was doing. I think he enjoyed this alone time with mama, sitting quietly, waiting for God to appear.....(If he would have been more knowledgeable of God's changing power, he would have known that, indeed, He did show up; visiting my Redeemer before I started my day, made for a much, much better mama, calmer, more patient and more loving. Without? Yikes.)

After reading, I would write out a prayer culled from the Ancient Words in the text. Sometimes very thankful and praise filled. Other times,I would rant and curse, a la David in the cave. Sometimes I asked questions but always I would acknowledge Him as my Lord. Following that, came my prayer requests that were prompted into my mind; details of needed intercession written down in phrases preceded with short lines or asterisks. It is these prayer requests, written so long ago, that are so special today. Seeing answers in all their different forms many years later, that stands strong for the sovereignty of God in my life.

When the inevitable interruption of day to day thought collided into my conscious, I would quickly write it down in the upper margin, reminding me to check the smoke alarm battery, pick up dry cleaning or thaw meat for supper. It was wonderful to unload my brain for later attention. And is God's plan, when I put Him first, He would prompt me to the minutiae of the daily. Oft times, He would prompt me to write: Invite Smiths for supper; Pray for Mary; rough day for her; Write thinking of you note to Jean. Always endearing, encouraging, helpful and not from me. From Him. I was 'too busy' to come up with this sweet things. I was too enveloped in my own things to look outside as often as He directed me. So these things got written down in the upper margin for later attention.

And that is it. Taking perhaps a half hour. Sometimes more; sometimes less. Never actually timed it. Never got legalistic or automatic about it. It was just something I did, Had to do, to get through this life. His comfort and direction and instruction. Ever put together a complex machine together without the manual? That's how I felt before I started this practice.

I encourage you to ask how your Quiet Time should look like. Ask Him. He has a plan for you and He wanted me to share mine with you.

Blessings on your journey....

The Diary/Journal Challenge

You may have made resolutions for the new year.
Perhaps you've already broken a few.
Not to worry.
Tis never to late at your own crack at immortalizing your life.
For preserving for future generations, whether they care or not, to put thoughts of this time at this era, onto actual paper.
(I know; it's now hard for me to use handwriting muscles; my hands now ache when writing for a lengthy period when gripping an 'old fashioned' pen. My muscles are strong for the keyboard.)
But it can be a completely satisfying thing to articulate in written form.
And here's a plan as to how to do it.

For FORTY YEARS I have kept a daily journal.
Yes.
My first entry was February 1970, the month/year I met my hubby.
Since that day, I have committed to the writing of snippets of my daily goings ons.
Most of it drivel and unimportant, but some of it, historical.
Guess who my friends call when trying to remember closing dates on homes long ago purchased?
Yep.
I am a virtual time line in human form.
An importance reference to a life lived.

One day, Eldest/Admin was lying on my bed, recuperating from a bout of morning sickness, when she noticed my assorted diaries/journals/notebook casually (messily) perched atop my bedroom bookshelf. (see photo)
She says in a moderated rage (post morning sick) "MOM! Is that all your diaries up there? Gathering dust and vulnerable to fire or flood? (okay; I made that last part up) I answered in the positive, concerned she was going to chastise me for my disorganized assembly of notebooks.
When I start to apologize, she clarifies, 'MOM, those books hold all my childhood and my brothers and sister! It's all your and dad's life together! What are you thinking not protecting those things better?'
What indeed.
Until that moment, I saw my scribblings as a rambling mess of ink on paper, compulsively copying the important and mundane of my day to day life for nearly 40 years. My daughter showed me the importance of those casual entries.
I see them now as an archive. A legacy to my children when I am long gone. I can picture them trying to decipher the hieroglyphics brought on my a string of sleepless nights with asthmatic children. I can see them understanding a pattern of hidden love language.
I can see them laughing about the thrills of recipes gone good and the heartache of friendships in transition.
In short, never underestimate the power of your life and the importance of preserving it.


Do you have a journal/notebook in your home right now? If not, plan on getting one tomorrow. No excuses; you can get even the most utilitarian notebook for less than a dollar. More fun to have a grand one from Borders but we can go economy.
A good pen you particularly like?
Put it on your bedside table. (What? You don't have a bedside table? really?)
Before you shut off your light, take less than three minutes to write in phrases (complete sentences are not necessary) highpoint, low spot of your day. Of course, date it an include the day of the week.
You can get lengthy but brevity is more successful for the long haul.
Four lines, tops.

The best new year's resolution you can make...For you and others....
Trust me; this is a good practice.....

Tomorrow, a different kind of journal....

My Wish for You this Year.....

'Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping and then, with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.'

Dinah Mulock Craik