Like Butter

It's fun making butter. I've even figured out how to make sticks of butter out of it.













That's it.
Enjoy your evening.

Yes I'm still alive... And loving it!

Well, it's been awhile and I don't really have any legitimate excuse.  But I will say this.  God is Good.  With A Capital G!

Besides letting all two of my readers know that I'm still alive, I wanted to share a little about what's been on my heart lately.

As I mentioned in my last post, we have made a change in our thinking about family planning.  It's been so freeing and so heart-changing for me.

I've always wanted a big family.  Before we got married, I told Mindy I wanted 6 kids.  I had this great dream of being the grandpa and surrounded with children and grandchildren and reveling in the large family reunions, etc.  But as much as I love the cuteness and adorableness of the infant and toddler years, I saw the diaper changing, late night rocking and snotty nose wiping as things I just had to do to pay for the great years later.

I was in hearty agreement with all those folks who rejoiced at being done with diapers, and was counting the years until we'd be diaper free.  The vision of no more naps, no more diapers, kids who could feed and potty themselves was all very enticing.

Then Mindy got us thinking about the quiver-full philosophy that I described in my last post.  And while I expected the challenge and change of heart about how many children our future held, I didn't quite expect the change that I've seen the last few weeks.  

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the perfect father now, nor was I a horrible father before.  But my attitude has changed about all the things that I may have been ready to be done with before.  I don't love changing diapers yet, but I'm seeing it in a different light.  It's a fun time to giggle and play.  Helping a little boy fall asleep, can be a sweet time of comforting him and maybe snuggling a little, instead of time to get frustrated. 

I'm not sure I'm describing it very well, but the bottom line is this:  Not only are children a blessing from the Lord, they're a blessing from the Lord all the time.  Not just when they're older.  Not just when they're sweet.  Not just when they're asleep, although that can be very blessed ;)

What joys of the present are you overlooking in anticipation of some future joy?

Overwhelmed but excited

If you've been keeping up with the saga of our changing lives lately, you probably have an inkling of the reason for my feeling overwhelmed. And it hit like a ton of bricks this afternoon around 5 pm

Why 5 pm you say?

Well, that was about the time we were signing papers to have our house listed for sale. It's something we've been thinking of doing for awhile for various reasons, but we finally put the wheels in motion. More on the reasons later; back to the house.

It started with talking to my Grandpa at Thanksgiving. He's a real estate agent in Lebanon, about 2 hours south of here. We wanted some advice on how to approach selling the house since we'd never done it before. It was great to talk with him and he started some leg work for us including recommending an agent for us.

So last week we met with the agent and talked to him about what we're looking for and what we need to do to sell our house. Today he was back and the ball is rolling.

I just can't help but feel overwhelmed by all that there is to do; touching up paint, shampooing carpet, cleaning out garage, fixing the landscaping, uncluttering (a daunting task in our house right now) etc. I also am struggling with the decisions we've made so far. Is the broker really going to work out for us? Did we set the right price? I have no reason to believe the answer to either one of those is no, but I just can't help but wonder "What if?"

But I also can't help but be excited at the possibilities and this is where I need to focus. Much has changed about our household in the last few months. No, we're not pregnant. Not yet anyway. The issue of family size has always been one where Mindy and I don't quite agree. Very close, but just not quite. It started even before we were married. I wanted 6 kids and she thought 2 would be great. Until late this last summer, she was very satisfied with our family as it stood and was ready to stop at 3. In my head, I agreed with all the reasons and had been having some of the same thoughts myself, but I just wasn't ready to let the dream go. Sometime in November, to learn about Quiver Full families. It's a philosophy that embraces the promise of Psalm 127

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to ^[a] those he loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate

The Bible has only good things to say about children. They are a blessing. As a friend from church put it so well once, "If money were called a blessing would you pray to God to stop giving some to you?? And yet the modern American goes to great lengths to reject God's blessings!" Kind of a deep thought. It really made us stop and consider our reasoning. So, that is all to say: We're giving God the reins in our family size. He will never give us more than we can handle and He is faithful to lift us up when we are weary.

And to top it all off, Mindy is homeschooling the boys now. It's not necessarily permanent, but the doors opened (or closed may be more accurate) to make it feasible for us to do so for the last half of Kindergarten for Ben and to start some preschool stuff with Kyle. It's only been 3 days so far, but it's off to a tentative, but good start. It really seems like they were settling in today and it's fun to see them excited about school. Mindy's done a great job.

To summarize, we're starting homeschooling, adding to our family Lord willing, and moving to a new house. It's a little overwhelming to me. I like to be in control. I like to know the outcome, or at least have a good idea of it. And while I tend to let most things roll off my back worry-wise, when I get my teeth into something, I can worry with the best of them.

Mike, our Pastor, has been challenging us lately to seek God's will and do things for him that are so big that the only way they can succeed is with God's help. That is how God's glorified. When we do stuff by our own strength, we can only achieve the ordinary outcome and don't allow God to work the extraordinary outcome.

So...

• Pray for me: That I can let go and trust God for the things I'm not in control of.

• Rejoice with me: That God has blessed us in so many ways that any of this is possible.

• Join me: What things in your life are you doing only with your own strength so that the only possible outcome is the ordinary one? Seek God and seek the extraordinary!

Snow Day!

So like everyone in the Portland Metro with a blog, I'm gonna post some pictures of the piles of snow as well as some of the fun the boys and I had this afternoon. I'll tell you what, I was worn out. But they say exercise is a good stress reliever, so I think it did me good. Helped me not fret too much about whether our pipes might freeze or when we'll get out of town to Idaho.

This is the grill that I cooked dinner on last night.
You can see that we got about 8 more inches after that.

The pile of snow on my car. That's not coming
out of there anytime soon.

Ben is getting a ride in his "One horse open sleigh"
Or in this case, "One daddy open tarp"
When you don't have a sled you have to make do.

The snow got in poor Kyle's eyes when he fell.
Isn't daddy compassionate to take a picture before he helps him clean up

My snowy adventurers at the top of the
mound of snow that I cleared from our driveway.

Ben's Great Invention

This is a video of Ben explaining his latest "great IDEA!" I was going to just try to write about it, but I asked him to explain it again for the camera, so that's why it seems a little staged.



So next time you sneeze and the tissue box isn't close enough, just give Ben a call and encourage him to finish the prototype and get started on production. ;)

Happy Birthday Ben

6 years ago today we welcomed Benjamin Wayne Isom into our lives.  And oh how they've changed!

What we couldn't have known then:

-That Ben would be such an awesome big brother

-That despite being a reluctant nurser, he'd turn into the boy that eats enough to earn dessert, finishes dessert and then asks for more of the main dish (especially if it's pizza)

-That he would love eating sardines with me even though no one else in the house will touch them

-That he would love to draw so much.  And often as a gift for someone

And now he's grown into such a little man.  Lots of big ideas an boundless energy and enthusiasm.  I can't wait to see what the next few years will bring.

So my Cousin's wife (Cousin-in-law?) linked to me on this, so I guess I'll give it a shot.  Better late than never.  And seeing how I don't know any other bloggers that haven't already been linked, I guess I'll just make my happy list, but if you feel so inspired please make you own happy list and put it on your own blog or in the comments below.

The rules: List six things that make you happy. Pass the award along to six more bloggers.  Do not give the typical answers and go for the less obvious, as you all know that family, friends, God, etc would be on the list :) 

1. A good book

2. A good puzzle

3. Finishing a project

4. Doing something techy (computer stuff, sound board at church, etc.)

5. A good backrub

6. Playing games

Time: Where does it go?

That's how I feel lately. Everyone says that it seems like just yesterday that their kids were little and to cherish every moment and I've experienced that first hand for the past 6 years, but it just doesn't seem possible sometimes to spend the time you want with all your loved ones.

Sometimes I look at pictures from when Ben or Kyle were Owen's age and wish that I could remember those times better. I know I was there, I'm in pictures, Mindy claims I was great, but I just can't help wondering if I could have done better. 

Is it our lot in life as parents to worry about these things? I don't know. Maybe I'm a worrier by nature. I hear I got that from my dad.  

But back to the topic of time.  I have this quote posted in my cube at work from Chuck Swindoll's book Come before Winter: "Listen-- God has given you (as He gave His son) sufficient time in each day for you to fulfill His perfect plan--including the interruptions!  If you're fudging on your sleep or becoming a frantic, nail-biting, hurried Christian, then you are adding to your day too many things that simply are not His will for you."

That's pretty blunt about our time and I'm convicted again that I should be more intentional about mine.  And maybe give myself a break sometimes for not being the "Perfect Dad."  

So in the interest of this not being a complete downer of a post, here are a couple pictures from adventures that I've had with my boys lately.  

Ben's reaction upon hearing that my frozen yogurt

was White Chocolate Mousse:  "Moose!!??  In ice cream?"

In the park a couple of weekends ago: 

"Daddy, here are some more rotten apples.  

Smash them against that tree again!"

I've recently started having adventures with them one-on-one (it just doesn't seem right to call them dates).  I try to do it at least once a month and I hope it can become a great ritual for us to share in the years to come as it evolves from roller skating and the pet store to hunting or fishing or just hanging out talking about our lives.  Just need to keep making time for these kind of things to happen.

Time.

It's a precious resource.  How do you spend yours?  And in what ways do you wish you could change that?

Crazy Kyle

Kyle got croup on Saturday night and so Sunday was an interesting day to say the least.  At one point, he woke up from sleeping on my chest while I was watching TV.  It was time to give him some medicine so we needed to get some food in his stomach.  He was eating some cheerios out of a little bowl while still sitting on my lap, then he just randomly sets one on his nose, tips his head back and balances it there.  He looks over at me and we laugh about it and it drops into my lap.  I pick it up and give it back to him and he puts another one on his nose.  This time when it fell, it rolled down the blanket that he was covered up with and went onto the floor.
"Boy, that was a fast one, Dad!"

I just cracked up.   Then a little bit later, out of nowhere, he turns to me and says:"Dad, if a superhero knocks on the door, I'll answer it."

And then not 30 seconds later:"Ben, just like I told Daddy, if a super hero knocks on the door, I'll answer it."

What a goofball!

Thankfulness (a little late)

I'm thankful for:
~ a wife that loves me so well
~ Ben and his tender heart
~ Kyle and his adventurous spirit
~ Owen and his patience
~ great parents and parent-in-laws
~ a wonderful church that I love being a part of
~ awesome extended family
~ a warm dry house
~ 2 cars that get us where we need to go
~ a job that I love most of the time
~ good friends

I suppose I could go on, but I won't. It's humbling to count my blessings and realize that all my whining and complaining is really pretty pathetic. Why should I have a scowl on my face when I have all these things going for me?

They say a man is wealthy when he is content with what he has, not when he gets all that he wants. I'm working to be more thankful for what I've been given and it sure puts the things I want into perspective.

What are you thankful for?

Like Butta'

Well, today I made butter for the first time. It was pretty cool. We skimmed the cream off of the raw milk we get from the farm and using this old Dazey Butter Churn





















I cranked and cranked until I got butter.













Haven't used it yet, but it sure smelled good and felt just like regular butter only smoother. Just another adventure in our family's foray into more natural and healthy food choices.

The Next Evening

It's amazing the difference a day makes. On Thursday the 23rd, I was so furious with my boys, I could spit nails as they say (See post Pushing Buttons.) They had just been pushing my buttons left and right.

But that didn't change the fact that I loved them. I didn't change the fun I have with them and it certainly didn't ruin the fun time we all had being silly and enjoying one another's company at Burgerville the next night.

So please pardon me if I wax philosophical again, but don't you think this is another parallel with how God sees us? We can push his buttons left and right, but it doesn't change the fact that he wants to be near us. Wants to spend time with us. Wants to hear from us every once in awhile. So don't forget that. No matter where you stand with God, he desires a relationship with you.

Are you drifting away? He'd love to hear from you!
Have you pushed him out of your life? He's waiting and watching hopefully for your return!
Have you never met him? He'd love to get to know you!
Have you just been too busy to give him any of your time? There's no time like now to tell him what's going on in your life!

It's so amazing that the Creator of the universe want to know us. Don't let that opportunity slip away

Gooey

The weekend before last the boys were getting dressed up stairs after breakfast and I was getting some stuff done downstairs. Ben came down dressed, but Kyle was still buck naked. Since Kyle still doesn't like to be upstairs by himself, so I asked Ben if he'd go back up with him for a couple minutes while Kyle got dressed.

Well, a few minutes later Ben came back down and Kyle still wasn't dressed. As I was finishing paying the bills, I heard Ben and Kyle conversing about making things "Gooey."

Yup, you guessed it. Toothpaste. I asked them what they were talking about, dreading what it might be and toothpaste was not the best answer, but it was better than it could have been.

So, I got them busy cleaning up their mess. They had "painted" the following:
* Bathroom door
* Both sides of the door handle in the bathroom
* Bathroom sink and counter
* Steps on Ladder to Ben's bunk
* Window sill
* Edge of Bookcase
* And they'd even managed to get a little on the railing and wall going down the stairs.

Needless to say, they haven't been using toothpaste for a few days.

Answers to Halloween Who's Who

It's been a busy week at our house, but I promised some answers.  

Top left - Kyle

Top right - Owen

Bottom right - Ben  

Sorry I didn't get as fancy as Mindy and put new recent pictures up in the respective spots.  I'll leave that to the professionals.  ;)

Simple Pleasures

There's nothing like your kids to remind you of the simple pleasures of life.  Saturday, Ben was making a paper airplane and I offered to help.  

As these things do, it turned into more and Kyle, Ben and I ended up out front throwing paper airplanes around.  We probably spent 30 minutes or more just throwing them as hard as we could trying to make them go across the street or get stuck in trees.  Then I had a great idea.  I ran upstairs with both paper airplanes and through them to the boys from our bedroom window.

But the excitement really started when they wanted to do it too.  Ben managed to clear the roof with his, but Kyle's didn't quite make it, so Daddy got to make a trip onto the roof!  Very exciting for the boys, especially when I acted like I fell backwards back into the window of our room when I was going back in.

So who needs a $300 video game system, or motorized/battery operated toys when 2 pieces of paper can keep you busy for a good hour.

What simple pleasure have you enjoyed in your life lately?

Halloween Who's Who?

So here are our 3 little Tiggers. Can you guess which one is which? I'll post the answers in a few days.

In Bed

Sleeping in a 12 by 12 by 12 box that is his "nest." Very sweet.

And not yet asleep, but laying quietly in his bed watching me take a picture of his brother

Pushing Buttons

The answer to this question may be obvious, but I'll ask anyway.  Do your kids ever push your buttons?

Oy.  How is it that they seem to know how to do it and sometimes, without even meaning to, they can send you through the roof in a nansecond.

Ben has this new habit of saying "I know, I know!" when we ask him a second time to do something, but continues to do something else.  It just makes me want to scream "If you know you're supposed to be clearing your place from dinner, why are you walking into the living room!"

And Kyle now says, "Daddy, I was on the top of the couch pwaying with mama's decowations too.  I'm sawy."  And very contritely I might add.  But does that mean he won't do it again?  Not necessarily.

It's enough to drive me batty!  But as I thought about it this morning, I wonder how much we push God's buttons.  "Yes God, I know you want me to share my faith," as we let another opportunity slip past.   "I'm sorry God that I entertained those impure thoughts today," knowing full well that it will happen again.  

I'm sure it probably drives God batty too, but I'm eternally grateful that He is so much more capable of handling it than I am.  The grace and discipline of my Heavenly Father is incredible.  He may be saddened by my choices, but he forgives completely.  And if we're walking with Him, He's faithful to teach us a better way.  

Lord, I pray that you would give me some small measure of your grace and wisdom in dealing with my boys and I thank you for your grace that covers me and the ways that you've been working in my life.

So how do you push God's buttons?  And are you open to his discipline to stop?

Pragmatic 3 year-old

When did my 3 year old become pragmatic? It's really fun to start seeing him make these little reasoned statement. This morning, Ben was wanting me to take him with me to church this morning. It just wasn't feasible this morning and Ben was very disappointed. Kyle was watching from his perch on Mama's lap he was very reassuring to Ben: "It's ok, you can ride with Mama, and me and Owen."

Flock of Dogs

There's a new show on Discovery Channel called Iditarod: Toughest race on Earth that I've started watching with Ben. It's pretty fascinating and Ben is very interested in the dog sleds and how they work.

At dinner that night, I asked Ben if he wanted to tell Mama about the show.

Ben got really serious and told Mama that the race was very hard. They had to practice lots! First they had to practice staying up all night. And then they have to practice staying up all night outside!

Mindy and I stifled our chuckles and asked him more about the show.

"One of the ladies fell off her sled and her flock of dogs kept going... but she caught up with them."

I love listening to him explain things! He was very astute about what was happening on the show though for the most part. It's so much fun to start to have more adult conversations with him. I can't exactly explain it, but there's just this new quality to our conversations that are not little kid conversations any more.