I’ve been waiting many years to see brand new baby pictures of me, and my desire has at last been fulfilled. Here are some of the pictures I took of slides we looked at this week. It was so special to see my family when I was a baby. And isn’t my Mama gorgeous for having just birthed an almost-nine-pound baby??
At the hospital:
And at home:
What a Week!
Monday, I planted 49 tomato and pepper plants, as well as the winter squash. I also got a whopper of a sunburn on my upper back, due to wearing the tank top part of my new swim suit. My arms and face have gotten a lot of sun this year already from working in the garden and running, but I kinda-sorta forgot that my back hadn’t seen sunlight in who-knows-how-long.
Tuesday, we had fun at Grant’s Farm with Mama Byrd, Dad & Mom Smith, Aunt Joyce, Sarah & her Blessings. It was a beautiful day, and there weren’t many people, so it was very relaxing.
I also learned a lesson Tuesday about sunshine and shirts. When you already have a sunburn, a t-shirt doesn’t keep it from getting worse in the sun. Tuesday night was much more painful than Monday night had been, and on Wednesday I actually felt ill and spent a good portion of the day in bed. The burn is finally starting to feel a little better today.
Thursday was the last day that we got to see Papa and Mama Byrd before they left to go back to North Carolina and Florida. Aunt Joyce very sweetly brought Mama out to the house while Papa worked in St. Louis, and he came out in the evening.
One fun thing that Mama and I have enjoyed this visit is looking through old slides together. When they were missionaries in Spain (where I was born), it was much less expensive to get slides than to have pictures printed. In my memory, I had never seen pictures of me as a newborn, and only a few as a small baby. I also had seen few pictures of the city of my birth, Valencia, Spain. So it was a thrill and a delight for me to see pictures of where we lived when I was born, of our family at the hospital when I was a newborn, of the team of missionaries with whom they worked, of a time when my Bubba still thought I was wonderful and cute, etc.
Something high on my technological wish list is the gadget they’ve come up with that can turn your slides and negatives into digital images at home. It’s not in the budget yet, though, so I contented myself with taking a few pictures of the slides on the wall. I’ll post those separately.
Last night, after a yummy supper of quiche, we let the kids stay up late playing and reading while Jonathan & I and Papa & Mama played Scramble (speed Scrabble). We all had a great time savoring those last hours together for a while. I feel so blessed that we are good friends with both sets of our parents and we thoroughly enjoy spending time with them. This was a sweet visit, and I’m already back to missing them. Love you, Papa and Mama!!
A Convicting and Encouraging Read
Time – thoughts from my friend Kathy on motherhood.
3 Appropriate Things
The following are some thoughts from Andrew that were included in May’s KBC Good News email. I found them to be a blessing.
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonders.
3 Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
4 Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
Psalm 105:1-4
~~~
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do. I was encouraged this weekend to find these three things in Psalm 105 that are always appropriate:
1) Sing to the Lord
I love to sing, and there is nothing better to sing about than our Great God and Father. Not only can I sing about Him, I can sing to Him. He loves to hear the praises of His people. He is always ready to hear my song.
2) Speak of His wonders
There is no end to the good things God has done for us, but the biggest and best is the wonder of the incarnation, death and resurrection of His only Son so that we might have eternal life in Him. I want to be ready in season and out of season to tell others of the eternal hope I have in Christ.
3) Seek His face continually
I feel prone to wander, but I know the One who saved me continues to preserve and perfect me that He might present me holy and blameless as part of His spotless bride.
On this Monday morning I hope you are encouraged, as I am, to sing to, speak of and seek our Mighty God. – APH
Fowl Play
Jonathan came home on Friday with 8 Production Red chicks and 3 ducklings. Very cute! They’re all in our room for now, but will be moving soon. A nice thing about buying chicks at a local store is that you can buy them a bit older and skip some of the less-than-cute things about newly hatched chicks. We’re guessing the chicks are 2-3 weeks old.
The ducks are probably a couple weeks old as well, but we are learning that ducks are much different than chicks. They are larger and seem further developed… except for their wings, which are tiny at this point. Ducks are more direct in their communication than chicks. The first night, they woke me in the middle of the night with piercing quacks to let me know that they were out of water. They had been extremely shy, but when I got out of bed to check on them, they crowded to the side of the box close to me, prancing and quacking eagerly. The next night, the problem was that they had turned their food bowl into a solid cake of food instead of crumbles. Same routine… they made me feel like I was their best friend when I came to take care of their need. I’ll admit, I didn’t feel much like their best friend; I just wanted them to hush so that I could go back to sleep!
Here’s some pictures of our new fowl:
A Mother’s Day Lesson
Last night/this morning I was blessed to be part of an encouraging and refreshing “conversation” via Facebook. I’m going to copy it here for your enjoyment and, hopefully, blessing.
Laurel – had a really lovely day with my family, including both sets of our parents for a grilled supper. Our moms liked their gifts; I got a forsythia bush from Dad & Mom Smith, a phone from J, and a visit from Papa & Mama. Is it okay that it stings that not one of my seven beloved children told me Happy Mother’s Day or acknowledged me in any way today? Or does my disappointment show my shallowness and need to grow up?
10:56pm
Becky at 10:58pm May 10
I think they should’ve been prompted! 🙂 I don’t think it’s a character flaw on your part.
Nanci at 11:03pm May 10
Know what I got? I did get a couple happy mother’s day wishes and my oldest fixed me a glass of water. But I am so blessed. My stinky boys love me, I know. No, your disappointment doesn’t mean you’re shallow. People need or expect different things on different occasions. Usually on mother’s day, my mom and I go play all day together. (shopping, lunch, pampering) and I don’t see my kids til evening. Go figure though, I enjoyed my whole day just being able to clean my parents’ house. I love you Laurel–you’re a lovely spirit. I miss those days in French class with you.
Jennifer at 11:11pm May 10
It is okay and be comforted that – it will come. They will learn to appreciate you and show it – eventually 🙂 Mother’s Day is only ONE day. I am thankful that I get to spend all the little moments with them all the time. Many moms don’t get to spend as much time as we do sewing into them! Happy Mother’s Day (every day)!!
Laurel at 11:21pm May 10
Thanks for the sweet thoughts, my friends. 🙂
I wanted to add that the Lord showed me years ago that Mother’s Days are always wonderful when I consider them to be a day for *me* to celebrate the privilege of being Mama to my Blessings. So my expectations are generally not for what I will receive or “get.” Perhaps I didn’t take the time to get my mind set quite right this year. Thankfully, the Lord is faithful, and He’ll help me do better next year!
Shawna at 11:26pm May 10
Great attitude Laurel! And you know what, the day isn’t over yet! There is still time to go kiss each of their cheeks and pray over them, thanking the Lord for the opportunity to be their mother!
Nanci at 11:38pm May 10
I think we just had a women’s Bible study and I’m thankful for that. See, FB IS good for something!
Wendy at 11:44pm May 10
I had to say something to both James and Shay–Dad was the first one to acknowledge the day for me. Happy Mother’s Day!
Angela at 9:23am May 11
God made us with a desire to be appreciated. He wouldn’t be telling us that He will reward those who earnestly seek Him or well done good and faithful servant if He didn’t make us with that need. We just need to remember that if our kiddos don’t acknowledge or affirm us that Our heavenly Father DOES! That may not take the sting away, but it certainly does remind me that my worth is from Him! PRAISE GOD!
Lynn at 11:14am May 11
Ya know Laurel, it takes quite a mother to take care of 7 kids and misplace a few now and then…Here at this Smith house I do all the coooking, most of the cleaning, takin the kids to dr appts., and all of the motherly things, but yet my wife get the credit for doing the moms jobs..so in a weird way i know how ya feel..but deep down my reward for my work is in seeing my children happy, and them not beeing afraid
Lynn at 11:15am May 11
oops hehe, that was suposed to say NOT misplace a few now and then..humm…
Laurel at 11:29am May 11
lol, well, I do misplace one every now and then, but usually not for long! 🙂 For the record, Lynn, I think you are a terrific father, and your kids are all blessed to have you.
I so appreciate the thoughts that all of you have shared, and I think it’s nifty that most of you don’t even know the others who have been part of this conversation. What a great use of technology!
Last night, I went in and gave each of my children a kiss/hug/pat on the leg (it was all I could reach!), thanking the Lord for them and praying that He will bless and guide them (and that they will follow). I am more thankful than I could ever express to be Mama to these precious children. Yesterday’s lesson made me even more aware of that, and more grateful than ever.
New posts and other news
…on my Yesterday blog! It’s been way too long, and I’m going to try to get with the program again.
Plus, I’m getting ready to post on As we walk by the way. I am just all kinds of crazy tonight!
We had a fun day today… we took a great walk (about 3 miles) with Papa and Mama Byrd and Mom Smith at Shaw Nature Reserve. Then, frozen pizza, apple salad, bacon/cream cheese/jalepeno things for supper, and a fun game of Farkle after the kids went to bed. Whew! Pictures to come…
Bubbles!
G’ma Byrd bought this great bubble gun (thanks, Sarah!) and brought it out for the younger kids, especially for Stephen. He had the opportunity to play with it yesterday with G’ma, Daddy, and Mommy, and he loved it.
Stephen and G’ma watching the bubbles:
Stephen and Daddy, with Stephen figuring out how to pull the trigger. I love all the iridescent colors!
Good News Club Dinner
Jonathan’s folks are the “directors” (read: workhorses) for the Good News Club our chapel sponsors at a local elementary school. Yesterday was the last Club of the school year, and was also the chosen time for the end-of-year dinner/celebration. We were honored to be asked to host the celebration at our house, and Mom Smith made it very easy to host by preparing virtually all the food. Mama Byrd and I fixed the dessert, and Jonathan grilled the meat. But mostly, I was able to simply enjoy a house full of people (20 of us!) fellowshipping and enjoying themselves. It was wonderful!
The grill chef:
Visiting on the front porch:
More visiting:
Washers game:
And there was fishing! Max got this catfish; he’s a catch-and-release kind of guy:
Visiting on the front porch:
More visiting:
Washers game:
And there was fishing! Max got this catfish; he’s a catch-and-release kind of guy:
A New Blog
I’ve started a new blog called As we walk by the way to capture our home education moments. Thought I’d announce it for those who might find it interesting.