Today is Saturday in the U.S.A. and you’ll find many, many, many Moms and Dads frantically carting kids from soccer, to baseball to birthday party #1 for him and birthday party #2 for her, to the obligatory school fund raiser, through the drive-thru for some quick deep fried something with syrup over ice to wash it down, back to the house to pick up what you forgot and off again….THE RACE IS ON for lots of us.

I LOVE WEEKENDS WITH LEISURELY AWAKENINGS AND

THE FREEDOM TO BE SPONTANEOUS

don’t you?

Doesn’t that sound glorious?  Just imagine…coffee pot on…kids sleeping in…a BIG BLANK TO FILL IN any way you (and hubby) choose.  Sitting at the window, sipping, eating your sprouted whole grain toast with raw almond butter and honey with a sweet and delicious winter grapefruit while you ponder the hummingbird/robin/swallow/eagle/sparrow (depending on your region and the season) flittering about outside…kids wake and pick on the guitar, then pull out the Legos…run around in jammies til noon….pure and simple BLISS.

I don’t live in a fantasy, and every Saturday can’t always be unplanned and wide open, but lots of them certainly can, at least for LARGE PORTIONS of the day if we make strategic choices…

Perhaps it’s time to make some adjustments to all the commitments/obligations/pressures we’ve gotten ourselves into……

I’m determined to chat with my kids.  It takes an effort when we’re all pretty high-energy, easily distracted by life and stimulated by our surroundings - but I can’t bear to simply be ’ships passing in the night’ 24/7, which can easily happen in our chaotic culture. I wanna talk.  If I want them to talk, then I have to ask them something pertaining to what they like to talk about.

Mom:  “What is your absolute number one favorite meal?”

Seth: (without batting an eye)  “Garlic mashed potatoes with fresh Brussels sprouts and green beans cooked with a little bacon and New York steak marinated and grilled to perfection, a little red in the middle.”

Other questions:

• “What was the highlight of your day?”
• “What’s your dream job?”
• “What’s your favorite sport to watch?  Play?”
• “Tell me about a person you love to hang with.”

Setting….

Where do you get a conversation going?  Sometimes you gotta get them alone, or at least next to you, getting their attention, to get them to talk.  Even when it’s difficult.  Let’s say they’re feeling like ‘hermit-ing” which you are not willing to allow them to do regularly.  Some teens would prefer this habit and some personalities could live in an 8 X 5 foot room, curtains drawn, for a lifetime, I’m convinced!  If their bent is to be alone, then it’s time for an ‘intervention’. 

Mom:  “Jack, come to the kitchen and help me cook dinner.”

Jack:  (grumbling, huffing, puffing, groaning) “Aw, maaa…I wanna read my new book (which he already read 4 times this month).”

Mom:  “Be down here in 60 seconds or I’ll starve ya.”

Jack:  (visibly distraught, long-faced and dragging his feet, he pops into the room).

Mom:  “OK, you chop the tomatoes, tiny please and then grate this block of cheese.  I’ll get your brother to clean the cilantro and crack the eggs.  When that’s done, I’ll tell you what’s next.”

What I find is that while we’re working away in the kitchen, Jack is trapped and he forgets he’s ‘miserable’ and pretty soon, a somewhat tense moment turns into laughter, discussion, dreaming together and forming our godly worldview through all sorts of verbal exchanges.  Some of our happiest and most meaningful moments have been around one of my salsa-making schemes, a smoothie-making moment, pancake prep, or during the pre-barbecue preparations on Friday afternoon.  I love to get my boys in the kitchen: slicing, dicing, chopping, frying, shaking, measuring and creating something really tasty to eat while I get inside their minds and hearts.  Not only will you ‘find’ one another, you’ll cut your work time in at least half by engaging the help of your youngsters.

Let’s remember to STOP and CONNECT with these precious ones we care so much about.

How many boring, painful, missionary biography books have you made your kids read?!  Me, too.  The lives and adventures these heroes of the faith lived were anything but dull, however, the ‘reporting’ of their life stories is often dreary and lifeless.  Well, this is one book that you and your kids are gonna find to be a real page-turner, not to mention, life-changing!  It’s relevant, recent history and will capture your attention.

  Everyone in the Mira house has or will be reading this and fyi, Daddy couldn’t put it down!  (Let me know how you like it.  I’d love to hear from you!)

How many times do our kids come to us and say, “Mom, I need a button sewed on!”…or, “Mom, the seam in my pants split!”…etc., etc.  Well, just to let you know, our boys sew on their own buttons and repair their own seams by hand and you only have to teach them ‘how-to’ once and after that - they’re on their own and you have equipped them with a very valuable life skill.  I’ve had 16 year-old girl babysitters who couldn’t sew a button on.  Will they hire this work done for themselves when you’re no longer there to do it for them?  Hmm.  Here you see Levi Aaron, working away.  I think he kind of enjoys it now!

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING AT OUR HOUSE  This is the latest offering directed and produced by the brilliant, creative, historian-reporter Ken Burns and his associate, Lynn Novick.  Runs about $70.00 at Costco and is one powerful investment - I mean investment.  Every American should have to see this, but most will want to see this dvd series.  Loaded with first-person interviews, real footage, photos and all the rest of what Ken Burns ‘magically’ pulls out of his hat…my kids (ages 13 and 15-NOTE: there is some graphic war footage) were on the edge of their seats watching this true story unfold.  Ken Burns doesn’t ‘rewrite’ history, but creatively brings it to life on the screen.  I highly, like 5 star, recommend this for everyone mature enough to handle it.  Take it with you on vacation - we did - far more valuable than ‘just another movie’ and your kids won’t have a clue that you’re helping them form a right and Godly worldview.

  Celebrating 27 years at Bodega Bay with Gregory, the love of my life. (technical difficulties on yesterday’s post, so here’s the photo I referred to.)

BLONDE WARNING:  This little catching-you-up-diary makes the most sense if you scroll down to FEBRUARY 1 and read bottom to top, which brings you to today!  I KNOW…all my organized, techie friends out there are shaking their heads and groaning right now.  Sorry!

FEBRUARY 13

Back to the airport to pick up our friend, Matt, from Seattle who’s visiting for the next 2 weeks.  I took a wrong turn while chatting it up with my kids and their buddy and……almost ended up L.O.S.T…thank God for cell phones!  P.S.  Daddy is feeling better every day, but what a tough bug this flu is!

FEBRUARY 11-12

Back to the homefront where Daddy has been holding the fort, (well, actually more like ‘running a tight ship’) as he is one amazing leader and like I always say, “he can run this house with his eyes closed better than I could any day”.  The gift of administration goes a long way at home and I learn from him every single day.  Sidenote: This is a

great example of how he operates.  See Exhibit A above.  I returned home from errands one Saturday afternoon and my son had a friend over.  They were at opposite ends of the dining room table, playing ‘football’ with these little paper doo-dads they’d created because Daddy had said, “No electronics”.  They were having a blast, pulling this game of paper football out of ancient history (I remember my brothers playing this 40 years ago!)

Okay, back to my post-Boise trip: My homecoming meal was rosemary-lemon chicken breasts by Seth Daniel, Mashed potatoes, Corn-on-the-cob and lots of love!  But, unfortunately, Daddy has come down with the bad flu - so I simmered a big, fat, free-range chicken, chopped a pile of vegies and the house smelled almost heavenly as a big pot of homemade soup sat bubbling on the stove.  Exactly the medicine he was needing. 

FEBRUARY 8-11

Out the door at 4:30 am…Didn’t get lost going to the airport, but did park in the wrong lot (oh, well.  I’m blonde and some days - all the way to the roots.  Come to think of it, I hadn’t had my coffee yet.)  Boise, here we come!  Church of the Harvest (these guys are serious about evangelism and discipleship!), where Mark and Dee Dee Bryan lead, really came out to meet us.  My second-born, Benjamin, met me there, which was the icing on the cake since he now lives 12 hours north of me, in Seattle, WA. (here’s Ben chatting with Mark Bryan after the Parenting Seminar Friday night).

The Friday-Saturday Parenting Seminar was nothing short of an absolute blast - an audience of hungry hearts, ready for anything…and the two morning meetings on Sunday were wrapped in God’s grace.  The photo below perfectly sums up my long weekend in Boise-an absolute BLAST!

I luuuuvvv the local church!!!  I love seeing parents passionate about their kids’ destinies!  I love watching God work!  And I must say, I fell in love with Boise, a place I’d never had the pleasure of visiting.  Get this, Boise is crowned:

• #1 Most secure places to live with 500,00 or more residents by Farmers Insurance 2006
• #8 Best places to live by Money Magazine 2006
• #3 Best places for business and careers by Forbes Magazine 2007
• #9 Hottest cities for entrepreneurs by Inc.com 2007
• #6 Urban environment report card by Earth Day Network 2007

• Not to mention, beautiful, charming and surrounded by snow-covered mountains the weekend we were there - Boise rocks!

FEBRUARY 6-7

…catching up on laundry, home-cooked food and lovin’ my boys.  Then it was ‘unpack, pack and prepare’ for a big weekend comin’ up.  You can see my fashion prowess above as I work in the kitchen in my latest eclectic loungewear set (bottoms by Cosctco/top by Goodwill :)  Yep, this is how my dining room looks just before I come talk to you (see below).  I clean it all up before I leave for the airport, though, I promise.

FEBRUARY 2-5

After taking a wrong turn and going 40 minutes out of my way to the airport - how do these things happen to me when I’ve been to that airport more times than I can recall? - I took off for Hobbs, New Mexico, to speak to folks about the dynamic potential of their amazing children at Cowboy Junction Church where Ty and Heather Bean lead.

  It was a planes, trains and automobiles day as I departed Sacramento, landed in Phoenix, once more to Albuquerque and finally to Lubbock, Texas - careful on the loop -  one more wrong turn!  Then my friend Cindy and I drove the last 2 hours to Hobbs - the oil capital of New Mexico and home to lots of gifted rodeo professionals.  Well, let me tell you, it was worth every mile and minute it took to get there.  We were overwhelmed by the warm Southwest welcome, hospitality (great Superbowl party Sunday night!) and generosity, but especially by the hungry hearts of men, women and children, longing for all God has for them.  CJ all the way!

Well, February 1st was my birthday and my fabulous 50s smoking-hot friend Kathy and I went shopping because I do not shop, do not like to shop, cannot figure out the ‘fashion thing’ (see eclectic loungewear above) and do not have the time or energy to do so.  Well, she is extremely gifted in all these areas.  It seems that if I’m supposed to go talk to people about kids, especially people I have never met -  my clothes have got to match.  So she bravely ventured out with me for a few hours and helped me get  coordinated, God bless her.  Shopping with me is nothing short of hard labor!

Here’s Kathy  with her hubby and best friend forever, Rick, in San Francisco recently.

Where does the time go?  I haven’t even begun what I meant to do first!  Okay, it’s now 12:22; I’ve been up since before 7 (I always try to make my Word time/prayer time first or the day literally disappears without it),  I’ve answered approximately 10 emails out of the at least 30 I’ve received; I’ve made breakfast for the fam - kind of an ad hoc breakfast…Dad had homemade roast beef hash, an egg and baked beans (I know, but he loves it.  I think the baked beans part caught on when we lived in Australia.)…the boys had half a grapefruit, a quesadilla, yes, for breakfast ha!  (with the homemade salsa that Levi made - Mmmm good!) - some cereal - makes you wonder if the salsa will sit well with the milk?? oh well…and got on their school work.  Then the math tutor came-don’t get stars in your eyes all you home school moms out there, I’m desperate for help with math…he’s a friend of the family who happens to be really good at math and he picks up a little extra money by helping the boys because it would take me 30 minutes to figure out 1 formula because math is not my natural bent. He also saves me hours correcting.  “Bless him, Lord!”  About the time the boys turned 12, I always had to find someone I could hire to help us in the math department since we home educate.  So if you’re desperate, too, shake the bushes at church and see if you can hire/barter with someone to help you.  Then about the time I cleaned up breakfast, it was time to make fruit smoothies.  Smoothies are my way of getting fruit in our diet when winter fruit isn’t too exciting and Costco sells huge bags of frozen berries plus very cheap bags of bananas (so we ripen and freeze our own bananas for bulk).  While the smoothies had whirred in the blender,  I printed off a recipe from the web since I have all the ingredients for potato, broccoli soup but no recipe.   Upon consuming the mid-morning snack, of course everyone was hungry for lunch - so as I prepared lunch,  I broiled the bacon for the soup - we occasionally use pork as an enhancement for recipes and try to buy free-range.  (Fun facts with Denise).  Along the way I got Seth on the adding machine to add up receipts for me since tax time is just around the corner - ooh, fun.   I cleaned up the lunch, and smoothie mess (boys would help but math comes first today) and transferred the laundry load to the dryer - sound like your house? - in between answering the phone and bringing Daddy another cup of coffee plus running to the garage 6 times for ingredients from our second fridge.  Since I happen to serve on the board of our community, I caught up on those emails and put in my two cents’ worth on landscaping and parking issues - are  we having fun, yet???  If not, just think - even now as I type I can hear my enthusiastic teen upstairs in his room beating wildly on the drums - are you feeling this, mom?  He’s allowed 40 minutes a day between noon and 2 to play to his heart’s content - except Sunday ’cause we all need a rest since our house is just under 2000 square feet so the whole house VIBRATES - Chaos, beautiful, blessed, chaos!  Hurry up and enjoy every moment of your crazy day, Mom, because life is a vapor and before we know it, we’ll be 10 years down the road and onto the next thing…..

What was that I was gonna do????  Oh well, dryer just buzzed and time to start dinner!

…was actually in session yesterday.  First it was Dad, then Levi and now, Mom’s sick.  That’s about all you need to know and the rest is pretty clear.  Progress halts.   What’s there to eat?  Laundry?  Groceries?  Time-Out.  Push pause and make yourself a frozen burrito (if you can find one!).   Seth has excelled in Home-Economics for the last two days.  Cleaning, slicing, delivering, sweeping, dicing, dishes.  He’s our champion.  Upon further investigation, it appears that lots of our dear friends are experiencing the same bleak (thankfully, temporary) circumstances during this rainy, cold season.  We love you all and are praying you’re well soon!

Are all my homeschool-mom friends out there dreading Monday as much as me?!  I have to be honest - I’ve been luuuuuuuuuvvvvvving our holidays together and the thought of getting back to our normal schedule on Monday is just a bit daunting.  I find the holiday groove just groovy.  You, too?  I understand.  (For those of you perfect people who can’t wait to crack the calculus, Latin roots and biochemistry books, please go to www.mykidsagenius.com where you will find encouragement - after cracking the Greek-Hebrew code to enter the site - from other PhD’d mothers and their prodigies.) But if you’re like me, and ‘Sleeping In’ is a subject when necessary, here’s my strategy for the morning:

• First off, don’t expect too much!  I’ll probably cut the academic requirements by half on Monday, but follow my normal chore charts for the kids.  (you should see my dust!) Victory on day 1 is an 8 a.m. wake-up call for the kids’ Bible and prayer times, after 1 cup of strong coffee and some Bible and prayer time for Momma.  The time with God counteracts the potential caffeine-induced edge I might be tempted to yield to when encountering my not-so-gleeful students on the first day back to studies.
• Secondly, gird up for battle and require good attitudes.  You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that getting back on track with the normal schedule is like fighting the law of gravity on day 1.  And although I have every reason to believe the best of my children,  I will lead strongly and be ready to win any power struggles that might arise.  Peace and order must rule.
• Thirdly, ponder all that you accomplished during Christmas break so you don’t feel like you’re ‘behind’.  (as if some official were looking over your shoulder, evaluating all your moves in December-get rid of that imaginary set of little eyeballs sent to discourage you!)  If your kids baked cookies with you, built Legos, messed around with a digital camera, computer program or MP3 system, played with siblings, read, sketched, played instruments, built snow forts, hung out with Grandparents, Dad or church friends, and did chores, there’s a whole lot of learning and child development that took place.  Just the fact that they were home with you every day means they’re already ahead of the pack. 
• Lastly, praise God for the privilege of being home with your precious children, no matter how trying they can be at difficult moments.  Enjoy who they are and how unique God has created each of them to be.  The big yellow school bus can appear to bring relief, but God has called you to do what you’re doing, as imperfectly as you feel you do it.  You are a very rich woman indeed if you don’t have to hold an outside job to make ends meet, but rather get to work at home.  Resist the world’s mentality that children are a bother and you have much more worthy things you could be doing.  You get one chance at this job of training your tender shoots - decide to enjoy all the aspects of mothering while you’re in this season and you will never regret it!

I won’t tell you how much I spent on groceries (shhhh….)  but I will tell you I prepared every single meal idea on my list and enjoyed every single minute of it.  Lamb roast with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus, Homemade beef vegetable soup, Spaghetti e Gamberi with prawns, capers and spinach in tomato sauce, Homemade biscuits and gravy, Turkey feast with all the fixin’s, Thai curries, Spaghetti bolognese with meatballs, Italian sausage and  stuffed manicotti (that’s Seth Daniel above, stuffing the manicotti shells 2 weeks earlier so we could freeze the whole Italian feast since it’s a 3-day job) not to forget, Levi’s famous homemade Caesar dressing on the salad, Spiral sliced ham with scalloped potatoes, and more I won’t take time to mention.  (here, Daddy takes time to kiss the cook. This was Spaghetti night - his absolute favorite.)

Planning, shopping, unpacking, chopping, frying, boiling, dicing, serving and doing dishes later.  Pure enjoyment.  I was energized with the strength of my joy-filled heart at having the pleasure of all my children’s company for a very brief time; all of us under one roof, all of us around one table, all of us pitching in to help with dishes afterward.  What a rich woman I was this Christmas.  Good-byes were inevitable and then…..after the tears…the laundry!  Mountains of it strewn across the kitchen; bedding, bath towels and more bedding.  Didn’t matter.  Love compels us!  (and all the moms said, ‘amen’)  Tired didn’t matter; there’s plenty of time for sleep when the sun sets and the house is quiet once more….ok, well, sort of quiet - we still have two teenagers living at home, and one plays the drums :).  (But they do like to sleep in).   (to be continued)

SPEAKING OF LAUNDRY…

…have you seen this product?  You are gonna love me for this, fellow homemakers.  These are the answer to one of your laundry prayers!  A box of 24 sheets runs about $3.50 here in the U.S.  I tear them in half to double my money, and toss a half sheet into the washer any time I’m afraid something might fade.  (which, for me, is nearly every load) New jeans, bright sweatshirt, dark socks….you name it, these dandy little cloths absorb any dye floating around in your washer, to keep everything honest!  Your whites won’t turn grey and your lights won’t be dulled by those bad boys who sneak into your double load on Sunday night during your hurried sorting.