Caring for the sick at the White house

Oh, my beloveds, how I hate to see you down.

No laughter, no feet running to and fro.

Fevers, cough, and headaches, a part of my

daily bread.

Thanking the Lord for comforts that

I can offer to my kids.

My bed

My time

My love

not to mention

Motrin

Popsicles

Movies

A warm place to lay their sick heads

with their brothers and sisters

who are also sick

Going by and kissing their hot

heads and telling them

how very much I love them

Looking forward to

tomorrow when my

Love is returned.

I missed his drawings today.

I missed his smile...........

Stopping what I had planned and

doing what God commanded

Taking care of the least of these.....

Holding Channie until her fever went down
Her body hot against mine.
A sweet time to send a prayer up
on behalf of my kids on behalf

of my house-hold.

Looking forward
to a new day
when
Lord willing
my home is
loud again...




"When Trouble or heartaches or sickness come....
trust in God and do the next thing."

~Caroline Anne Dunwoody

I had more than my share.

The notes left for me everywhere.

On my bed-side,

In my bathroom,

By my coffee in the morning.

Sometimes hand delivered by a

precious five year old.

I sure feel loved

and cherished by my

sweet kids and hubby.

When the day comes that

I find no more what a sad

day indeed that will be but I will

save the ones I have and post them

all around me to remind me I had

more than my share and so much

more than I deserve.

I usually leave them where I find them

as long as I can.

The one above has been on my bathroom

door for almost five years.

The paper yellowing,

the words faded only in it's ink,

not it's meaning.

Good days and bad days I have

read these words and continue to

read these same words everyday.

Words that remind me that

even when I don't feel very

loved I am.

Rainbows and sunshine

on the pictures he draws.

He and I walking through

it all with a smile.

Thank you Lord for the daily

reminders of love, family,

and sunshine even if there isn't any sunshine

to be seen.

The Diary of Sarah Chandler

Dear Diary,

I'm sitting here under this oak feeling

the wind blow and knowing that

I have to go soon.

My time is so little my own

but I wouldn't have it any other

way. There's always something to

do and someone to do it with. It's just

sometimes I want so desperately to be alone

with my thoughts and so I drift just a little

piece through the pasture to my tree and

dream. I dream about all kind of different things

but mostly about Steve Chandler.

I have to admit I feel like a silly girl with silly notions

but try telling that to my heart.

I miss Viola so much.

I haven't seen her but once since the wedding.

I still can't believe she married when she didn't even love

him really. Pa told me that love would come

for them. He said it would sneak in one night

and they would fall deeply in love over time.

He said "Sarah, love doesn't have to hit you

over the head."

I'm sure my sister will be happy but

she hardly knew him.

Yet, she was raised to be a mans wife and he was raised

to be a husband, so you get married and you work it out.

Pa said love will come and I believe him.

I'd rather not wait on love to come,

if it hits me first though, and it has

hit me hard.

Pa and Ma have the kind of love that could have only

been made through time. Love snuck in their house a long time

ago

and their hearts beat at the same time, I do believe.

Ma gets mad at him from time to time but she is always the first

to say "I'm sorry". She said it's her job to respect him and honor

him and so that's her way of doing it.

Pa has said that it's a mans job to make a woman feel cherished and

protected and mama is one of the most cherished women I know.

I hear the dinner bell

I will save my thoughts for another day.

The first entry from the Diary of Sarah Chandler

found under the oak tree on Kornegay Rd.

Dedicated to Chandler White

One, two, three, four, five...

Once I caught a fish alive.

Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten

then I let him go again.

"Why did you let him go?"

"Because it's ten below"

I know you've got them..

Friends who will do crazy things with you just because..

Friends who will stand out in the cold for an

adventure of the strangest kind.

How about ice fishing?

The cane poles bobbed in and out of the icy

water and came out with some of the

finest fish around.

We figured the rest of the fish were frozen to the bottom. :)

Jeremiah was the winner for catching

a nice looking beauty and he

received a fishing trophy. :)

Yep, you gotta love friends that aren't afraid

to hold babies,

To dress up like super hero's,

To wipe up a little spit up :),

to have a 'stress-free' dinner with

their 13 kids and our 8,

And to pile up like puppies and watch

a movie.

A spooky movie at that..

Yep, these kind of friends are hard to come by.

(sorry about the sideways picture, blogger wouldn't let it upload!)

Come see what the girls are doing...

The girls are growing so big.

They both weigh close to 15lbs

and are smiling, cooing, and

blowing bubbles.

I absolutely love coming up

with new and exciting things

for them to do.

We hang streamers from the fan

blades and they will lay under

them for a long time

watching them twirl and dance around

their heads.

I have hung toys all over their beds for

them to kick and reach for.

There is always music in their room..

I read today where Charlotte Mason

said in the 1800's parents let their

babies take naps outside in their pram.

So today, being a particularly warm day for Alabama,

I bundled my little sweet angels up

and took them for a long walk

and just as we started for home

their eye lids gave in to the warmth

of the sun and the sound of the birds.

They slept for almost an hour

while I was resting beside them

in a chair.

When they started stirring I watched

them as they gently woke up and

started looking around. They LOVED their

nap outside.

Having babies in the house is so much fun.

Always something to do, always someone

needing you.

Very tiring but also very rewarding.

They are double the fun,

double the joy,

and double Blessings.

can you tell who's who?

My floors are sleeping

The house is resting now. All the floors have a chance to breathe after

the little ones have laid down their tired bones.

The many hours spent running the halls have now given way to silence.

Their laughter now in dreams and their energy storing up for tomorrow.

Always loudness I seem to hear.

The quietness startles me somehow.

My thoughts are going from room to room, knowing who is where and glad they're

all here under my roof.

I go from one to the other and breathe in their sweet fragrance

and whisper the same

thankful prayer over each.

" I'm thankful Lord you brought Ellie into our life."

"I'm thankful Lord you let us raise Chandler."

The names go on until they've all been lifted up to my Father

and my thankfulness spoken.

Then my memories drift

to the little ones who are not with me

and I think of William.

William is lifted up as a sacrifice, given freely to Him now some

10 months later.

My child does not need my prayers anymore

but I give them anyway, as a way of showing honor to my little son whom I miss.

The girls fill such a huge hole

but his presence is forever etched in my heart.

That little boy who changed my life.

His resting place is still my favorite spot these days.

The kids have erected a small fort over his wooden cross

and I let them because I knew he would love it.

I know he would never miss the chance to play swords with his brothers

if he was here.

So the swords are sticks and they are covering his cross.

He is missed and

Chandler's prayers still hark heavens door on his behalf.

Cullen still cries when he talks about baby Willy and I can't help but to wonder what that little rascal would be doing if he were here now.

It's still a walk of faith, but it's a walk I make much more up right these days.

It is true that you grow more from the hard times and I grew when I lost my William

but sometimes I just want to remember who I was before I lost him

and I can't remember that person anymore.

I truly see others pain in a whole new light and I'm drawn to

help. I guess that's what our hard times are supposed to do.

Draw us from ourselves to others.

Just like my floors have scars from the endless amount of

traffic, my heart will carry the tiny boy named

William around forever ... to remind me......

The seasons of Life....

Lessons from the Farm....

Sometimes the feed buckets heavy....

but the animals will die if you don't get it to them..

I look out my window and a smile comes to rest on my face.

I see them walking across the yard headed for the chickens.

She's carrying a bucket.

It's heavy for her and yet she keeps on walking. I'm sure it's him saying

"you can do it." Just a few more steps and you'll be there I can hear him whisper.

I've seen this before. She'll finally make it and then the back

door will bang open and she will announce to all how

she did it. No mention of the one who walked beside her.

No remembrance of the words that were

spoken in her ear.

How often I'm like my little girl and how I

forget to give all the glory and honor to my

precious Saviour for every new day

and every breath I take.

Forgetting to thank Him for

the hard days when he walks beside me

and whispers "you can do this."

"Oh Lord, this is heavy. Maybe you've over-estimated

my strength"

He gently reminds me

that indeed He knows what I'm able to carry

and just keep walking.

There's sheep to be fed and they're His sheep

and He expects me to feed them so I can't

stop...

Hearing His words in my ear to keep

"picking up" my feed bucket and keep moving......

His sheep are hungry and they might

die if I don't carry my load..

Feed my Sheep.

John 21:15-18
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

A night in Italy on the farm...

The candle light and music sweeps us away

to a little cabin in Italy.

We ate under the glow of the candles
while we laughed and talked about our day and
our weekend coming up.
Water poured for their thirst
when so many don't have clean water.


The meal was simple

The prayer was for the people of Haiti.

Josie Claire enjoying the view from her

mommy's lap. Her mommy enjoying

the view of her daughter's smile and the absolute

miracle of adoption. Can I honestly say

"Thank You, Lord" enough?

Thank you!

Flowers from my beloved.

I love you so much and I love looking down

my table into your gracious, loving, adoring eyes.

My world is so beautiful.

My table so full.

My love forever growing for this bunch.

I love sitting my family at a table that

I've spent time decorating and pouring myself into.

My husband coming home after a long week

for me to rescue him from the stress

of the world.

So I create a little cottage in Italy right here

on the farm.

I hope they will always remember our fun

when they start their own families

and bring Italy to their homes one day...

The gift of his arms

She's resting in the arms of her father.

Safe and happy, belly full.

I wished she would be able to remember

the hours he has spent holding her

and feeding her.

His arms warm as

he keeps her close.

He holds her until she drifts off to sleep.

She will peek through every now and then

and make sure he is still there. and he is,

as he will always be.

The one that feeds her

and loves her like only a daddy could.

He is gentle.

He is soft with her.

Just like he is with me.

When he holds me, sleep also

comes easily because

I feel safe and warm

in his arms.

Today I'm so very thankful that

God picked me to be his wife.

That God picked him to be the father

of our children.

I will be able to remember

the time each of my children has spent

in this loving mans arms and I will tell them

over and over least they forget the gift he is.

er

Look into the eyes of a future mamma

I'm training my daughters

to be wives and mothers.

Against the back-drop of a world

where this is unusual and not looked upon

with eyes of approval. The question

is always asked "what are you going to be

when you grow up?"

The question hanging

there like a bad germ in the air. Taking a deep

breath my daughter says "I want to be a wife

and a mother. "

Channie, my three-year-old daughter was jumping on the trampoline

yesterday and she said "look mom I'm growing up

because I can jump really high"

"Oh, don't grow up

Channie-mae, I like you little." I responded

"I have to grow up mom

because I have to be a Mommy."

Oh yes you need to grow up then.

I wouldn't want you to miss out on the biggest blessing

in the world:

Being a Mommy.

Holding the hand of your child and with awe and wonder

thanking God for the privilege of being a wife

and mother.

It's happening less and less these days.

Happy Homes.

Happy Children.

I believe it's because few are being trained

to take the job of wife, mother, father,or husband

seriously. Few are choosing

to walk this road nowadays but we will press

on and Lord willing

Channie Mae will one day look into the eyes

of her husband and children and say,

mom was right

This is the best job in the whole wide

world ..