Though the Sorrow May Last Through the Night

"He will cover you with his feathers.

He will shelter you with his wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

- Psalm 91

The night before Isaiah was born I made a receiving blanket/scarf printed with feathers;

That's because Psalm 91 was my pregnancy mantra.

It was the end of a long difficult pregnancy.  My doctor was sure I was having a 10 lb baby, because my stomach was measuring so big.

I had hoped to gain a little weight, be a cute pregnant lady. I hoped for no nausea and enough energy to finish my part time jobs of  teaching art and tutoring a homeschool class.

I ate lots of fruits and veggies, lots of protein. I hiked weekly, I had a prenatal yoga routine I did nearly every day. The last month I was eating very small meals, but still gaining a whopping 15 lbs that month.

I would often be so fatigued I thought I would pass out. I had stomach trouble for nine straight months. Having never had insomnia before, I was sleeping four hours a night or less by eight months pregnant, often waking up every hour.  Worst of all was defiantly gaining 50 lbs in nine months which left me feeling like a walking globe.

All my little jobs, all the kids classes and my personal activities and interests I let go of one by one.

I confided in my friends and husband that I wondered if deciding to have another child was a good choice. I deeply wanted to go through all early child things again, and wanted my family to enjoy another sibling. But this pregnancy left me wondering if I had bitten off more than I could chew. I was having trouble even enjoying the children I had. One of my kids even started comparing me with friends moms, wishing for one of them.

But God cheered me on
When I prayed and meditated I would hear;
"For (your) momentary, light affliction is producing for (you) an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison" 2 Cor 4:17

When I questioned why couldn't I look like the lady on the cover of "Fit and Pregnant"? He said;
"You are an apple, Allison. An apple tree bears heavy fruit, but that fruit is the glory of the tree in that season."

When I was so often in bed, I would picture myself under his feathers, protected and waiting for His faithful promises.

As I meditated on this once I could hear the quiet voice of  God tell me,

 "Your first child was a child of wonder,

your second a child of intimacy or closeness 

"Your third child will be a child of joy and will usher a season of joy into your family"

Can I tell you one look at him and joy had come? The horrible pregnancy was gone! All that was left was this;

"One may experience sorrow during the night, but joy arrives in the morning." Psalm 30

So I encourage you friends. If you are pushing through a hard season. Don't be afraid to complain to God to tell him your deepest desires and fears. Meditate on His word.  He is faithful and His promises are your armor and protection.

Then and Now

This is our favorite spot on the Appalachian Trail. We always see through hikers.  We are always amazed at how pretty it is. We've been here at least every year since I was pregnant with D.  This time we thought a lot about how the years are passing.

2015

2011

Then 

and Now

D raced over the hills saying, "Do you think the ladder will still be there?" Three different ladders used to lead hikers across farmer's fences.  Most were taken down this year. We were glad part of our favorite one (by the oak tree) was still there.

As cute as they were, I wouldn't go back.  I enjoy who these kids are becoming. The same sweet spirits, just bigger!

Next on to the Palisades!!! Birthday dinner for Ted.

We listened to a live Bluegrass band, and gosh these kids are so old they mostly entertained themselves. 

Happy Fall!

Hanging with the Pumpkins

We had fun thinking about the new baby who will join these two little pumpkins in the patch next year. 

Dorathea choose her pumpkin first.

 "I'm going to put a My Little Pony face on it." she said.

 Ted tries to get Dorathea to choose a squash. 

"I am NOT getting a SQUASH Daddy!"

Jonathan puts his beaver hat to use as a pumpkin holster.

Then he makes a Pumpkin man with this very useful hat.

 Ted chooses his pumpkin (after much more deliberation then the kids gave theirs).

Dorathea decided she is going to give her bunny this little pumpkin after she carves it.  

Then she acted out what the bunny will look like eating it.

Pumpkins loaded! We petted some animals in the petting zoo, played pumpkin bowling.  Then we saw our friends the Farmers! 

What an extra treat!

We left at sunset, finishing off the day with Due South BBQ and the music of a live blues singer performing there. We lingered there too.

We are growing by one little Key.

Forgive me for not posting in a while, I've been sick lately (since June God help me) for a very good reason. 

Meet baby Keys #3. When we told the kids Jonathan immediatly started referring to this new sibling as his brother.  

"When I am nine my bwotha can pway legos with me right mom?" 

I tried to tell him we wouldn't know if it was a boy or girl for a while.

Dorathea has told me many times that she is really excited about this little one. One day I asked her why and she said emphatically, "Because it's going to be a member of our Family!!" She has just started cooking for the family, and is excited about being my post partum chef. I can relate because when I turned ten I learned to cook too because my mom had twins that year!

Without further ado;

 Can I tell you Jonathan did a Ninja-type victory dance in the ultrasound room?  Then he said, "I win!".

 Thanks for celebrating with us!- Allison

Accessories for your cc Foundations Guide

 I am so excited about my new to me, tricked out Foundations Guide!

Last year when I was getting ready to tutor Foundations I had an old sorry 2nd Edition. This year a friend sold me her pristine 4th Edition and I wanted to keep it that way!  I worried about it's fragile cover coming apart from the spine and getting dog eared. 

 I wanted to cover it so I looked through some old office supplies and found this; A letter writing set my dad brought home from Egypt back in the seventies!  Now, the guide fits perfectly in it, It lives again!

I slid the guide into the place where paper is supposed to fit. 

My timeline cards fit perfectly in the pouch!

And it's Egyptian, perfect for studying ancient cultures this year!

Now to Cover the spine!

I had this lovely duck tape I scored at the Dollar Tree that matched (mostly).

I loosely measured the spine and cut two pieces then overlapped them parallel long wise.

Then I turned those two pieces over and put one piece in the center.  

If I were to do this again I would have used two pieces overlapped. It sticks just a tiny bit.

Still it works nicely enough that I'm not starting over!

I taped it carefully on the spine, then trimmed the extra tape at each end.

Im amazed at how lovely duck tape makes a notebook look like a  book book.

Bookmarks! 

I always floundered in class trying to get to the memory work, then tin whistle section, then science quickly.

This year I added 4 satin ribbon bookmarks for fast flipping.

I cut four ribbons about four inches longer then the book.

Then I opened to the last page and tied them to the second spiral. 

Very easy!

I also used this idea I picked up on Pinterest, you can follow my cycle 1 board here,

She used washi tape to edge her pages (again they have it at the Dollar Tree and Walmart).

I thought this would help me find the different cycles, and subjects, plus ITS SO CUTE!

I'm not quite finished yet though. So many washi tapes to buy.

I can't tell you how pleased I am with it.  Not only does it function better for me, but it looks like something the captian of a ship would use.

Hope some of these ideas work for you too, Enjoy!