What can I say....

This morning I've got the music festival syllabus out and I'm making sure I've got pieces for all my piano students to play should they want to enter. The internet is a wonderful thing. I can buy individual pieces of music and download them immediately. I love it!! It's particularly exciting as we have no music stores in our city...unbelievable!! And I put in another order that I'm hoping to pick up today.

Yesterday I finished up a piano arrangement for a song that my friend wants to sing for a wedding. She lent me her CD to see if I could do it for her so her accompaniest would have some sheet music to follow as she doesn't play by ear.

And now I've just been asked to fill in for the worship singing this Sunday. I said yes even though I have no idea how many of my team will be available. Hopefully at least a few of them will be able to help me out.

Now that my house is being kept so much tidier, I'm finding that I'm spending much more time practicing guitar and now I've even started learning some new classical piano pieces as well. Hurray for organization!

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Character Building Days...

These are hard days. Everyone has them at some point; when tension runs high; tempers run short. It is so hard to see so many combines hard at work and be stuck at home waiting for parts knowing that every day that goes by means our window of opportunity is closing - having harvest pushed back by a few days means much greater chance of poor quality and even poorer prices. It's been a real test of our patience and character. And yet, even as I write this, I know that there are many who have much larger, more urgent problems - like all those dealing with the Hurricane in the States. My heart goes out to those suffering from such loss and devestation.

We heard a very good exposition of Psalm 107 on Sunday. In it the Psalmist talks of different calamities that had befallen the people of God like wandering in the desert for 40 years, slavery/ imprisonment, storms, wicked rulers. Sometimes life throws such a curve ball that all our expertise, experience, confidence and courage count for nothing. And at these times we have the opportunity to call out to God. The last verse says that those who are wise will remember the faithful love of God. And that is something we can put our trust in no matter how tough our circumstances are.

In the meantime...maybe tomorrow things will look a little brighter again.

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Here's a map of where I've been in Canada. Looks neat to see it like this.

A Few Extra Gray Hairs....

Isn't it about time I wrote about harvest? Yeah...I thought so. It has been a difficult year with flooding and three different hailstorms. Lately it's been threat of frost early in August (which we've escaped so far) and too much rain. And that is nothing compared to the stress over having new machinery that isn't working properly. We got a new combine which is exciting until you try hooking it up to your headers and having nothing work the way it's supposed to. By the way, headers are attached to the front of the combine that cut the crop and 'suck' it into the combine to be threshed. Yesterday, Ladger was excited about running to town for a new part that should have done the trick but alas they sent the wrong thing. And who pays? Why we do...with more gray hair, wrinkles, stomach ulcers, etc. At least Paxton got a new toy tractor out of the trip. Apparently while Ladger was at the counter, Paxton found the toys and came over beside Ladger holding this one with a big smile. Ladger told him he'd have to put it back but the parts guy said he could have it - who can resist such a cute little guy!! Yes, who indeed!

So this morning, Ladger went dessicating our lentils. That means spraying to kill the plant so that it will dry down so it can be harvested. If one doesn't do that the weeds often stay green and cause problems and sometimes the crop ripens very unevenly with some being ready to harvest and some still green. I wish he could get on the combine and go...but it looks like we'll be waiting until Monday 'cause it's the weekend. And it's forecasting rain again. Yikes!

So we're all eager for this crazy year to be done with. And since I don't like dwelling on the difficulties...I haven't written much about farming at all this summer. I can just hope that once we DO get going, things will go smoothly and things will look brighter.

Meanwhile, I'm preparing for another year of music lessons. And guess what I got it into my head to buy. A classical guitar. I already have a really nice acoustic one but since I just love fingerstyle and have been getting into classical guitar music....well it just made sense to get a proper classical guitar. And I really do love playing it - so much easier on the fingers and a more expressive sound with the nylon strings. Thank goodness Ladger supports me in my little whims. He had no idea what I was buying when I stopped at the guitar store 'just to see what was there'. And out I come with a new guitar. I have a number of students that really like fingerstyle guitar and some younger students that could benefit from it as well - it's a little smaller and easier to play. I also put in an order for some new materials and I can't wait to get them to start putting together a plan for each of my students this year. So between that, housework, and homeschooling I really don't need to think about harvest at all!

Ugh my post disappeared...

And I'm too tired to write it again.

I can't believe the difference...

Once in awhile I look forward to the day when we'll build a new home. I don't dwell on it and most of the time I'm content in our mini home.

But over the last while I've been thinking I've not been faithful with the little so why should I gain something more. I've come to the realization that I need to do better...much better at keeping our home neat and tidy.

I've started a new housekeeping regimen through FLYLady and it's really working for me. I've done lots of decluttering and it's staying cleaned up. And my sink and dishes are always done up. I must say I'm amazing myself with how I'm enjoying housework these days. It just goes to show.... I needed a boss to kick me into gear. Well, if she's not a boss, at least she's great at sending out reminders via email about everything I'm supposed to be doing.

The downside is that I haven't spent nearly as much time online and while I hope to write more and keep up with my favorite blogs, I wouldn't trade the sense of accomplishment I've been feeling these days.

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Curious about Grammar...

Whatever happened to grammar? I started a new novel written from the perspective of a teenager growing up in a Mennonite community. And I can't help but find the punctuation (or lack of) very interesting. Here's an example:

When I got home my dad was on the roof. Feel safe up there, I asked. He shook his head. He was crouching and looking at something.
I put my fist around my mouth like a bullhorn and said please come down from the roof. I repeat, come down from the roof now.

Does anyone else wonder what happened to the traditional dialogue markings. For example: He said, "I'm cleaning out the eavestroughs." Have the rules changed?

Just curious.

BTW the excerpt is taken from "A complicated kindness" by Miriam Toews.

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It's been a good day...

I've been having fun getting myself ready for teaching music in the fall. I've got some new piano students and so I pulled out my old conservatory books and played some of my old festival pieces.I couldn't believe how much I'd retained - I probably haven't played those pieces for 15 years.

Today I really treated myself. I left the boys with Grandma and went for a rare trip to town on my own. I played with some classical guitars for awhile (am interested in buying one). I had my hair cut and styled. I bought three new books, 2 worship CD's and a songbook.

And I still managed to get lots of stuff in the house done (which almost never happens on a 'town' day). And yes my sink is still clean!! (see comments from yesterday).

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I'm not flying by the seat of my pants...I'm FLYing!

I am now dressed...with shoes on for my first day of FLYing lessons.

It's my first step in making a lifestyle change....to get organized in my home. I've had enough of flying by the seat of my pants and feeling a constant failure in this area.

The other day Rory said "Daisy (guinea pig)thinks I'm his mother." He's taking the mothering thing quite seriously. He held out two hands with a food pellet in each one and asked Daisy, "Do you want the cappuccino or the chocolate?"

We all enjoy our guinea pig so much that I find it funny that not all are so equally enthralled with this kind of pet. There have been a couple of people who have been less than enthused about the idea of a 'rodent' as a pet. It's funny but I really don't see Daisy as a rodent. And to be honest I actually think mice are quite cute...as long as they are not in my house!!! Sometimes I forget that not everyone feels the same way *grin* I had to laugh when Ladger said how much he preferred Daisy to a dog that 'poops all over the yard'. We're all so different and that makes life so very interesting.

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Gaza stripped away...

News of the Gaza strip bothers me these days. After all, aren't each of us responsible for what is happening there? It is our global community that has put such political pressure on Israel to give in to Palestinian demands in the name of peace. And if peace doesn't happen....what then? In the meantime, people's lives and livelihoods are being stripped away. I feel it deeply as a farmer - we love our land; we put so much into it that it becomes part of us - monetary compensation doesn't come close to the value we place on it. (Let alone giving it up to those who have made themselves so clearly an enemy). So it hurts to watch knowing that's all I can do....and pray.

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He can sing....

Rory can sing a tune!! I wasn't sure until he got two CD's this summer from 5 Day Club and DVBS. He's been learning the songs by heart and actually singing. And my heart is blessed as I would love to see my boys be involved with creating music in some way. So every night we put in one of the CD's and he and I sing for about half an hour as the boys settle down to sleep. Poor Paxton. I don't know how relaxing it is for him to be serenaded by his brother every night. *grin*

And now that's he's actually learning the lyrics, he's asking questions about some of them. He always points out the lyric "Satan is a liar.." It's really reinforcing what I told him a few months ago that Satan is the father of all lies.

It's making me wonder what lies I'm believing these days. I've been struggling with feeling way too unspiritual and unworthy to lead worship - for God to actually choose to work through me seems impossible. And so once more I need to come to Him as an empty cup and instead of believing the lies, I must hold to the truth of who God is - that He is more than enough to fill my cup to overflowing.

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I'm going to beat you up!

Rory's been saying this quite a bit lately. Now before you think I've got a violent child on my hands, let me explain. All of a sudden he got the idea of competition and everything has become a race. I can be eating my dinner and hear "I'm going to beat you up" as Rory gulps down his in a great effort to 'beat me'. Tonight, he and Paxton made a disaster of the toys in their room. I gave him half an hour to clean it up after which I told him I was taking everything I found on the floor out to the garage. Well he was in a great panic when the half hour was up and I started. It's amazing how fast he can go with a little motivation. Pretty soon he was saying with great elation "I beat you up, Mom, didn't I? I beat you up!!"

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DVBS....

Last night Rory said something that sounded a little funny. He said that the devil takes food away from children. He's been attending DVBS this week and I can only guess that he means that children are going without food because of the evil in this world. So he and I had a great talk last night. He was very concerned that there are children who don't get snacks like chocolate milk, ice cream or candies. When I told him that lots of kids only get a little bit of rice to eat in a day, he hoped they got some soy sauce on the rice. Then he decided that we need to share - to send some food in the mail. Well I explained why that doesn't work but I told him that we can share by giving money to those who provide food for those children and explained about our World Vision sponsor child. It was a thrill to see his concern. And this morning when we were talking about giving some of his money for the offering the DVBS is collecting for a missionary in Africa, he promptly picked out $3.35 of his total $4.37 to give. I was impressed with his generosity and tripled each of his coins.

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Thank goodness I'm done with Harry Potter! I did a marathon of sorts - I've read 5 of the six books in less than two weeks. I don't know why I do that to myself - what's the rush, eh? I ended up buying them because I didn't have enough patience to wait for them through the library system. It almost becomes a job that I have to get done before I can move on to something else. So now I'm free! And it's time for something other than reading!

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One kid can accomplish a lot....

It's just been Paxton and I this morning but as I look around my house after being on the phone for awhile and preparing for leading a worship team on Sunday, the evidence that I haven't been paying attention is all around me. Someone spread out some bedding and less desirable 'stuff' from our guiniea pig's cage out on my kitchen floor. Someone found the hardware odds and ends container under my bed and dumped out a whole bag of screws in my bedroom. Someone emptied out the dirty laundry from the hamper into the hall. Someone smushed candy into the socket Ladger was using to fix the toilet earlier this morning (because someone flushed too much toilet paper and plugged it).

The price of focusing on something other than the kids is a high one to pay...sometimes it's almost seems too high. But no, my life is enriched by relationships, music, reading, blogging, etc. So I guess I'll just remind myself as I clean up the mess, that life is nothing if not interesting...

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Mom's in trouble...

I mentioned previously that I put up a discipline chart for Rory on my fridge. The other day he put up another piece of paper and when I said something nice to him he promptly got out a marker and put an 'x' on it. He told me that I would get more 'x's' when I'm being good. This might just turn out to backfire on me.

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Halfway thru...

Most birthdays don't hit me too hard. I didn't struggle with turning 30. But turning 35 is at least making me think a bit. The Bible mentions man's lifespan being 70 years. That means I'm halfway through this life of mine (more or less) and so I've been reflecting a little bit today on my life and if I'm making it count.

But I haven't stopped to ponder too long - I just finished up Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix so I can start the latest one which I have just cracked open.

Later today, we're going to have a wiener roast and have Ladger's parents over for a little birthday get-together. It's hot today so all I really want to do is drink coke.... better make that water *grin*

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It was an odd feeling to hear about the Air France accident at Toronto's Pearson Airport the day after we'd flown from there. A day's difference....

I couldn't get over the difference in Paxton in the few days we were gone. He knows more words and speaks them more clearly then ever; amazing how they can just 'get it' and start talking a lot suddenly!

Rory disobeyed specific instructions three times yesterday. So I've finally implemented the discipline chart I've been thinking of for awhile. Basically, he has to obey, tell the truth, treat others(Paxton) with kindness, and treat things well in order to maintain the privileges he usually enjoys (e.g. treats like ice cream, toys, visiting at Grandma's without me, etc). I'm hoping that the visual aid of the chart will help.

Next comes a housecleaning and homeschooling schedule for me to get into the swing of things once Fall comes. I have come to believe that organization is absolutely key to not going 'crazy' while homeschooling. So here I go in my quest to be much better organized.

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Get 'er Done!

One of the wedding party was a maritimer and throughout the reception he would say this at different times throughout the program at opportune times...to the amusement of all. I heard one person refer to it as the theme for my cousin's wedding. I know of no one else who throws feminine pronouns in at every opportunity like maritimers do. Another example is "How's she goin'". And I also heard the plural you - "yous" a few times as in "Yous are all welcome to join me". Oh yes, maritimers are a unique group of people ... and proud of it!

It was really great to be surrounded with Dad's family for a few days. I miss him and I know they all do too. Several told me how much I look like him which pleased me very much. It was hard to say good-bye to everyone as who knows how long it'll be before I see them again. It was the first time many of them met my husband and he enjoyed talking about farming and politics with Dad's brothers.

Another highlight was meeting some of the newest additions to the family like my new little cousin (adopted from China)...my grandmother's namesake. And my cousin's two girls - the youngest is 3 months. And getting to wish another cousin a Happy Birthday on her 14th birthday.

It was also great to get home and see my own two little scalliwags. It seems they did great and the worst trouble was when Rory got his hand stuck in a gopher trap - ouch! Well, I'd better go and get unpacked. Go ahead and say it with me - "Get 'er Done!

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