Gone, But Not Forgotten

I guess you've all noticed that I've been out from the blogging scene for a while now. Pretty much since we got back from Oklahoma from our son's wedding. Since then, I've been using my normal blogging time for something else. I used to kiss my husband as I got him out the door and then hurry up, make my breakfast, get my cup of coffee and then sit down and read the blogs and write on mine.

But, while we were on our trip for the wedding, I spent a lot of time just watching my grown children interact. I wished so much for more time with them all. And realized that my time with them was slowly going away. They had each other and really didn't need me. What I found out was, I still needed them, and wanted to be with them. I took a good hard look at myself and how I was feeling physically. I'm not in any way old. But I wasn't feeling very good. Nagging feelings of different kinds were swirling around my head. I knew I wasn't exercising or eating right, even though I knew I should. Those guilty feelings kept being swept under the rug! But you can only do that for so long.

So, I came home and sought the Lord about how I was feeling. It kept being pressed on my mind that my labor wasn't ended yet with my children. I thought a lot about my lifestyle. What I do each day and what the Lord thought of me. How much I sought Him about what to do for Him. And also things like: What I eat. Why I eat. Why I didn't exercise. And how these two different kind of thoughts correlate. If I work against the Lord, and don't take care of the body He has given me, then will I be here for Him to use in my later years for my children...or my children's children?

I truly believe the Lord has given us the many blessings we all have in our lives. We live in an era of luxury here in America. We can all go to the store and buy the food we need. I say need; not want. Maybe someone wants lobster and they can't buy that. But we don't need lobster. There's a huge difference between need and want. And I think that's what the Lord began to really show me. I want to do many things, but do I need to do them? What do I really need to do? Or eat? And there I came face to face with myself. And it brought me to my knees.

So these past three months, I've been kissing my husband goodbye and then running and putting my exercise clothes on and exercising. I've lost 25 pounds. I have 45 more to go. Yes, you read that right. I have a long way to go. I just hit a milestone. I am now considered "overweight" not "obese". And I'm celebrating by writing this post.

Now, in no way would I want any of you to believe that this 25 lbs came off easy. I can't begin to tell you the many tears I've shed and the many times I have been on my face literally before the Lord, begging for His help to just keep going. There is no absolute way I'm doing this without Him. And then that brings me to another thought, over and over again. And here it is; I'm spending so much time on exercising my body... but what about exercising myself unto Godliness? Do I want His help getting spiritually healthy enough to seek Him as much as I've sought for His help in getting physically healthy? I'm still working on this. But I do know, I am going to keep working on it. Trying. Seeking for His help. Because, ultimately I have to present myself to Him. And I want so much to be a usable vessel. Both spiritually and physically.

May God help me in this endeavor.

Eight Pelkeys in a Two Bedroom House-

First thing this morning, bodies were lying all over the carpeted floors, suitcases littered the the dining room, and now here I am just trying to make breakfast in a kitchen with only Teflon pans...gasp! Oh and someone (?) cracked the coffee pot yesterday. Mmm...was it me? It's cozy here in the kitchen, knowing that my children (mostly) are all around me. Son #4, who is getting married, went off to work today. Son #2, got a chance to go work with the brethren that live here, which is exciting for him and I think the rest of the guys will go and have lunch with them later.

I made a sandwich for Son #4 this morning which I had to promptly throw out once I realized that the lunchmeat was icky. But I made another one with good meat and he went out the door this morning with probably his last ever "Momma made it" lunch, and that is making me sad. Son #3 is trying to get some more rest, he is our "headache boy". He gets such terrible headaches. My heart is sad and I'm praying he gets up soon and feels better.

The sun came out yesterday in the afternoon and the snow all started to melt. No more icicles. The Dad and I went to the airport in the late afternoon and picked up the other three sons. It was so nice to see their big smiles and camaraderie as we met up with them and packed them tight into the car to bring them to the house. Then, last night we went to a place called Freddy's Frozen Custard. After that, we went to see some of the brethren. When we got back to the house it was fun to watch and see everyone snuggle down and settle in for sleep.

Trip to OKC

We are here in OKC for Son #4's wedding! What a surprise to come down out of the clouds and find that the whole earth as far as we could see was white and covered in snow. Okay, I did know that they had a big snow storm here last week, but when we have snow storms in OR, the snow is gone in a day or two. Big surprise, this snow is going no where fast! There are the hugest icicles hanging from everywhere! Driving under the light signals is a scary endeavor. There are icicles hanging down from up there; what if one decides to fall down on our car as we travel under it? Yikes! Our new daughter-in-law, Daughter #5, confesses she has a similar fear after knowing someone who actually was killed by a falling icicle!

We are heading out shopping today, getting some things to help outfit Son #4's home. Especially since very soon there will be 8 Pelkeys staying in this small house!

Listening last night to the laughter of my children being reunited with their missing brother was such a joy to my heart. I can't wait until more of the kids get here later this evening to reunite with Son #4! I wish so badly that our whole family could have come, grandchildren and all. But, I'm going to enjoy every second I have while I'm here, cooking and cleaning and taking care of my loved ones all I can.

And the Winner is....!!!

Okay, so you all probably know that I am a librarian, (or at least a librarian wanna-be) and that I absolutely adore Children's Books. Well, late last year I found the most amazing book called, "The Lion & the Mouse" that I totally fell in love with. There are few words in this book, it's a retelling, by beautiful pictures, of the Aesop's fable. The wonderful thing is, this retelling doesn't need the words. Nope. The story is told through the illustrations. I can't say enough times how happy I am that this book won the 2010 Caldecott Medal which is given each year to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." Jerry Pinkney is the illustrator and his book is definitely worth the medal in my humble opinion.

If you want to see a few more of the pictures, click here on the Amazon link

http://www.amazon.com/Lion-Mouse-Jerry-Pinkney/dp/0316013560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264092207&sr=8-1

Or better yet,head to your local library and request the book! Then sit down and enjoy this wonderful book with your children that evokes words such as courage, valor, uncertainty, heroic deeds, loyalty and most of all enduring friendship.

Oh! And don't forget to enjoy the end paper!