High Yield

Today's Garden Yield - Butternut Squash

How do you say "thank you" to someone who has given you everything that was in their power to give, yet asked for nothing in return?
I pondered this question the other day on our long drive across state.  I was thinking first of my Grandmother, whose life is a lasting legacy of someone who thought of others before herself, who desired to help others, whenever possible, who wanted others to know the true meaning in life and where she turned for "her very present help in times of trouble." (Ps. 46:1)  That's "High Yield" living.

Then I was thinking of my own mother, who did so much for me as a baby and child and has continued to throughout my life, yet never asked for anything in return.  Perhaps we cannot fathom the true depth of love a parent has for a child until we ourselves become parents.  Thinking about these relationships in my life causes me to then think about the way that God loves me, perfectly, constantly, and completely, without me ever deserving it or asking for it.  And this in turn causes me to think...how can I be sure I am striving toward a "High Yield" life?

How do you define "success" when looking back across the years of your life and trying to determine what the outcome of all your efforts has been?  What does it mean to bring in a high yield?  Well, that all depends on the context.

The dictionary gives one definition of yield: to give a return, as for labor expended; produce; bear

When I'm looking at my garden, I anticipate a high crop yield every summer so that we will have fresh produce to eat every night as well as enough to can and freeze and store up for the winter.  Derrick and I put in a lot of effort and hope and expect to get a lot of produce out of that effort in return.

I want to have a "High Yield" life when it comes to the effort I put forth in raising and providing for my family as well...the kind of life that points back to God in everything I do...the kind of life that makes others wonder, what is different about her?  I want to have a "High Yield" life that does not categorize my children under the "liabilities" section of the balance sheet, but under the "assets" section.  I want a life that is not consumed with consumption or focused on acquisitions, but that delights in the little things...for often the smallest things, things that money cannot even buy, are where real and lasting joy can be found.  

My cousin who quit her job to stay home with two young foster children knows what it means to have a high yield life.

Another cousin who left all earthly comforts to move across the world and become a missionary, he too understands the meaning of a high yield life.

A friend who bravely started her own non-profit organization so that she can use her passion of photography to help victims of natural disasters...she knows what it means to life a high yield life.

The love passed down to me by my own mother and her mother before her...examples of High Yield living that I want to pass on to my own children.

High Yield living is not "natural" in any sense of the word.  It is a constant effort, it takes perseverance and patience beyond measure.  It reminds me of lyrics to a hymn that I love which talk about our natural human struggle to strive toward this type of living:

"O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be.  Let they goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.  Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.  Here's my heart, O, take and seal it.  Seal it for Thy courts above."

A crazy few days away

 Well, it was certainly an interesting visit to New Jersey this time.  Sienna had a really nasty bug with a super runny nose and persistent high fever.  It made for a very difficult, tiring visit.  But...in spite of everything we got to see Nani and Pop Pop, Great Grandmom, visit some other friends, and go to Longwood Gardens on the way home today (my FAVE!!!)  So it was not a total loss by any means!

Stinkin' Tired

At dinner tonight I got out some zucchini bread to offer the kids.  Reese said she wanted a piece but when I saw that she'd hardly eaten anything yet, I told her she had to eat some of her other food before I'd give her any bread.  She replied in her most drippingly dramatic voice, "I'm just too tired to eat anything, except zucchini bread."

I know the feeling!  Well sort of.  Being woken up every morning around 5 am by a certain someone...ahem, ahem, not naming any names...has a way of wearing a person down.  We are approaching the 1 year mark, so I do expect some major strides toward sleeping through the night soon....please????  The longest stretch each night is still only 6 hours....just not cutting it.  I assumed once she was crawling, there'd be better sleep.  Maybe when she starts walking?  Or enters 1st grade...who knows.  There's obviously no formula to figuring out sleep and the more I try to, the more frustrated I become.  So I'll accept my zombie-ish state as the new normal.

I guess next week is the official first week of Kindergarten...even though we've been working away at it all summer.  Next week is the first week of school of our school district, so why not make it official.  I have to confess, I'm having some major anxiety now that this whole homeschooling thing is becoming a reality.  I hope and pray I'm making the right decision for Carter, and the rest of the family for that matter. 

Silly Reese

Yesterday Reese noticed that a tree in our front yard is already loosing some leaves.  She was SOOO excited, she had to get a rake out of the garage immediately.  When she finished raking every leaf, she stood there looking at the little leaf pile and said, "I wanted to jump in leaves."  This pile was nowhere near jumping size, so she turned back to the tree and started to pull leaves off it to add to her pile.  Don't wish summer away just yet Reese...

Carter dug out his walkie talkies tonight and was so excited to play with them with Reese.  He was in the hallway outside her door and she was in her room and he was whispering very loudly into his device, "Reese can you hear me?"  Reese replied, "No!"

Carter asked her again if she could hear him and she told him, "That's just fabric." (instead of static)

Idlewild

 We took the kids to Idlewild for the first time yesterday and they really had a great time.  It is a really cute amusement park for younger kids and there was lots of shade, which made it more comfortable despite the heat.  I think we are now sufficiently prepared for Disney...haha

Blood Brother

I had the honor of seeing the film "Blood Brother" last night at a private showing.  It is scheduled to hit theaters in October and will also be airing on PBS in January.  It was amazing...heart-wrenching...tragic...inspirational.  I can't find the words to describe it.  It was so real and raw and thought-provoking.  I could not stop thinking today, what did I do to deserve to be born in the USA where I have SO much...and often take ALL of it for granted.  The movie is a documentary about a man from Pittsburgh, Rocky, who decides to move to India to work in an orphanage for AIDS kids.  To see the struggles he goes through on a daily basis, the emotional, physical and spiritual toil he goes through, watching the kids that he knows could die at any time...

The scene that struck me the most was of a little boy who was on the brink of death.  His whole body was covered in open and bleeding sores, his eyes were fused shut with pus, he was spitting out phlegm and blood whenever he tried to speak and his lips were so covered in sores they were like two open bleeding wounds. He was given a little superhero action figure as he laid there in the hospital in complete agony and he was able to squeeze open one eye to look at it.  And immediately his face changed in my mind to that of Carter's.  And I just tried to imagine if that was my little boy going through something like that....of course it immediately brought tears to my eyes.

Well, after the film the guy who moved to India (who the whole film is about, Rocky) and also the little boy who almost died were there.  They answered questions and everyone was able to meet them and talk to them.  I gave the little boy a hug, he is doing so much better now.  It is amazing he was able to make the 24 hr. plane trip to the US!

I hope that everyone will have an opportunity to see this film.  It was described as "harrowing" to watch, and I would agree, it is very difficult.  I felt so unimaginably blessed, leaving the theater though...and at the same time, so unworthy in a way.  What have I done to deserve the wealth, the comfort, the health, the peace and security that I have every day?  What do these children in India do to deserve being born with HIV in complete and utter poverty, unwanted and destitute?  It leaves me with many questions....it leaves me with a stronger desire than ever to make my life truly count for something, to look out for my fellow man, to be intentional about how I spend my money, and my time and to cherish the freedoms I have, living in the USA.


Blood Brother Trailer from Blood Brother on Vimeo.

Damage Control

I like being in control.  Who doesn't?  I like feeling like I've got my ducks in a row, like I can dictate the course of events throughout the day, like I know what to expect.  Well, let's rewind.  I used to like all of these things...and then I had three kids.

Take a simple game of mini golf, for example.  You envision it going a certain way.  Each person has their own club and ball and takes turns hitting the ball (in as few strokes as possible) into the hole.  They you all move on to the next hole.  But why keep it that simple?  Why not invent your own way of dragging/hitting the ball, hit anyone's ball that comes within a 10 foot radius of you, play each hole forwards and backwards and play it again, never stop running from hole to hole.  The less rules the better, right?  When I begged Carter not to hit my ball, he asked "Why not?" I told him, "Because now I don't know where it was."  Reese pointed to the new location of the ball after Carter had whacked it back to the start and said very matter of factly, "It's right there!"

The sights and smells of summer

 Have I ever mentioned how much I love summer?  Ha...I know, it's a little like a broken record.  Let me just take one minute to toot my own horn here...my flowers look SOOO good this year.  OK, there's my minute...now I will make an admission...all I did was dig a hole in the ground and stick them in in the spring...the rest is good old nature.  I do love looking out the window and seeing these beautiful dahlias though.  I'm sold on dahlias, I've never had anything grow this well in my yard before.  I may just have to plant even more next year!

Our pastor was talking about our uniqueness as human beings today, and just how mind-blowing it is that every person has a different, completely unique finger print.  I feel equally impressed when I stop to admire the things in nature and realize how intricate, delicate and beautiful they are, such as the petals on a flower. I do not do this nearly enough...take a breath, pause from the busyness of it all, and appreciate the beauty that surrounds me.

We've been plowing through the peaches in the last week.  Made some peach jam, eating lots of them fresh of course, and tonight I made these grilled peaches with cinnamon honey butter, which I thought were quite amazing!

First attempt at growing roses...smells amazing!

Busy day...

We had another very busy day today. Reese had her final day of dance camp with a little performance for the parents.  Then it was off to Kennywood for our annual trip...

 The carousel was a favorite!

 They loved the mini carousel too!

 I think I got wayyyyy wetter on the log flume than anyone else.