Frogs Vol. 3

The tadpoles two weeks ago:

The tadpoles a week and a half ago:

Today the tadpoles are bigger, of course. Their heads are the size of my (Renee's) pinky fingernail. Their faces are more frog-like and they swim fast! Hence, no picture or video today. Their bellies are white, but no legs yet!

Let's Play!

Hudson laying in the laundry

Josh and Rachel in a tree, yup

Mommy and Daddy getting silly

Rachel playing Uncle Ryan's drums

Joshua rock climbing!

He got up about 2/3 of the way

He did a good job rappelling

Rachel next to High Falls (tallest falls in MN)

Joshua's favorite thing to do at Uncle Ryan's

Nope, we're not getting drums anytime soon, we'll just visit Uncle Ryan.

Thanks for playing with us!

Love Never Fails

(This was taken from a friend's post)

The Invisible Mom

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and asks to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, "Can’t you see I’m on the phone?" Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I’m not a pair o f hands; I’m not even a human being - I’m a clock to ask," What time is it?" I’m a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I’m a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book and I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You’re gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Herb Adventure Update

Some of you requested for our experience of the outcomes related to this post.

Here is an update thus far...

Out of the four tinctures that I made, Joel and I have only tried one of them. That one was the adult pain reliever made from St. John's Wort. I had a migraine two mornings in a row and each morning I took a few drops of the tincture. By lunchtime the migraine was gone and I could see clearly again. To me that was great, migraines are hard to get rid of! I also rested more, I stopped reading so early in the morning and I tried to have better posture and keep my head up to keep from straining my neck. All these things helped and I haven't had a migraine since.

Since that first post I've also made some salves: A muscle salve and a first-aid salve. Joel's used both only a little bit, so it's hard to tell. As far as the first-aid salve is concerned: I have this strange excitement for my kids to get 'owies' - maybe it's just because now I have something that won't sting, is actually good for them, and will help to heal (homeopathic, I think, is the term).

I'm also in the process of making glycerites right now. Glycerites are a non-alcoholic alternative to the tincture (which is made from vodka). In the crockpot right now are: a lobelia glycerite which I'm hoping to help with the asthma in our household; and also a mixture of herbs that can replace our daily multi-vitamin that all of us take. We shall see...

I'm also excited about a natural bug spray that is easily made by steeping a few different herbs in vinegar and then in garlic.

Enjoying the Sunshine