When One of My Birds Leaves the Nest - Temporarily

Most people who know me would probably agree that I am not a helicopter mom. In fact, I can sometimes be quite the opposite of that. I love my children, I try to meet their physical and emotional needs as best I can, I nurture them in my own way - but I don't coddle them and I'm not generally overprotective of them.

Disclaimer - My children typically wear helmets but had taken them off temporarily
to enjoy the rain falling on their head.

I let them participate in sports and activities where they could potentially get injured (and have). I don't immediately rush them to the doctor for every sniffle, ache or pain (even for previously mentioned injuries - yea, I won't be winning mother-of-the-year for that one). I strongly encourage them to handle communication with coaches, teachers, etc. on their own. (Disclaimer - these statements mostly apply to my two teenage boys. I do understand that a preschooler can not fend for herself. Although, I would argue that mine could hold her own. :-) )

Courtesy of Glenn Guy

But let me just say that when one, or both, of my little big birds is gone from the nest for any length of time, even if it's with grandparents, I find myself all out of sorts and wondering what they're doing, if they're OK, if he's behaving, does he miss us, can they figure out what clothes to wear, will he choose to eat at least one vegetable, did they remember their manners, will they make good choices and stay away from bad influences, and on, and on. It's exhausting!

If you haven't guessed by now, one of my birds is temporarily out of the nest - with his grandparents even. I know he's being taken care of and loved on, so it's not a matter of whether he's physically OK or not. To be honest, I think it's more about me and my insecurities as a parent. Have I done all I can to raise good, Christian sons who will remember 'who they are and Whose they are' when they're not under my roof - or at least not in view of my 'you better watch it' look any more? Have I adequately prepared them to stand up for what they believe, for what's right, when they're not necessarily among others who have been raised the same way?

Thank goodness I have a few more years - about 3 1/2 - before I have to worry about this on a more permanent level. That gives me a little more time to get it right, right? Is there a right? Will I be able to tell them/teach them everything they need to know? I'm quickly realizing the answer to those questions is an undeniable no. So I have two choices - I can completely freak out about it all or I can turn it over to the only One who does have the answers to all those questions.

God has really been working on me to relinquish 'control' in many areas of my life - including this one. I am learning to trust that if I follow His guidance as a parent, then my children will be prepared for whatever life throws their way regardless of my inadequacies. Now the clincher is that it's up to them to follow through - even without my 'eagle eye' on them.

So until my little big bird returns to the nest, I'll try not to worry about him too much. Although I was informed that he had eaten chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes for dinner last night. It's obvious that I still have my work cut out on educating him regarding what's a vegetable and what's not!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give you today are to be on your hears. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. ~ Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it ~ Proverbs 22:6

Exquisite Eggplant

Eggplant has always been one of those vegetables I just didn't quite know what to do with at home. I liked it when I had eaten it at restaurants but was baffled with how to fix it on my own - until now. My neighbor Suzanne texted me a picture and description of an eggplant dish she had eaten at the beach. She said it was delicious, so I attempted to recreate it. And I must say, the results were quite yummy! So good, in fact, I thought I'd share.

Ingredients:

Eggplant

Eggs, beaten

Panko Bread Crumbs

Canola Oil

Feta Cheese (not pictured)

Tomato

Bacon Ranch Dressing or Balsamic Vinegar

Peel and thinly slice the eggplant.

Dip in beaten eggs.

Dredge in panko.

Heat canola oil in skillet. Place breaded eggplant in hot oil and fry for a minute or two on each side. Remove from oil and blot on paper towel-lined plate.

Sprinkle with feta while still hot. Top with tomato slices and drizzle with bacon ranch dressing. Or if you prefer a lighter taste - which I did - drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!!

For a lighter version overall, simply 'oven-fry' the eggplant. Coat with bread crumbs and bake on lightly-greased baking sheet at 375 degrees until browned. Then top with the other ingredients.

What Are You - Am I - Waiting For?

I'm waiting...

...for our family schedules to slow down.
...for Princess Mia to get a little older.
...until I catch up on all my household responsibilities.
...until I'm not homeschooling any more.
...to grow up (is that forty, fifty, ...?).
...until I have acquired more wisdom.
...until I'm better at ______.
...until I have it 'together' more.

Why am I waiting? Because my name is Angela and I am a...............procrastinator. Well, at least that's what I tell myself. The funny thing is I'm also an idea person - I have a never-ending list of things I want to do, need to do, or feel called by God to do. Most of those things are not even 'bucket list' kinds of things, just cool things I'd like to try, hobbies I'd like to expand, passions I'd like to pursue.

So if I want to do all those things on my list so badly, why am I not doing them? Let's face it - I am an expert at coming up with fairly legitimate excuses as to why I'm not following my dreams, achieving my goals, pursuing my passions, or even just creating fun projects. Our family schedule is hectic; it is hard to accomplish a lot with a 4-year old underfoot; I do have household responsibilities to take care of.

Yes, those things are important; but are they just masking the real reasons that I don't make time to do some of the things that I know I enjoy - like writing more on this blog, dabbling in new art forms, facilitating an online Bible study, and the list goes on?

As I examine my list of 'excuses', I realize that the first half can be remedied with better time management, more delegation of household responsibilities, prioritizing and modifying expectations. But the second half is a little more nebulous. When will I know what I want to be when I grow up? Maybe I already do but am just too afraid to act on it. When will I be knowledgeable enough or 'good' enough or have it 'together' enough? I seriously doubt those things will ever happen. Does that mean I just say forget it and keep plugging along in life? It's not like I'm unhappy or dissatisfied with my life.

But the question I've been pondering for some time has been, "Am I striving to achieve my God-given potential in ALL areas of my life?"

When you take a question like that to God, it's kind of funny how He uses many different avenues to answer - even fortune cookies. This was the saying from my fortune cookie several weeks ago:
 

(Disclaimer - I do not typically put stock in random, oddly-worded phrases on little strips of paper in sawdust-flavored cookies.)

I translated that into, "If you don't have time now to pursue the passions/interests that I've (meaning God) placed in your heart, then when do you plan on making time?" That's a good question - and one I didn't have a good answer for.

In the mean time, I've also been reading Renee Swope's book, A Confident Heart. In it, she unpacks all the 'reasons' we don't pursue God's plans and desires for our lives. This has been quite convicting. I've never considered my self insecure. Perhaps that's because I've always chosen to pursue things where I don't doubt my abilities - where I knew enough, where I was good enough.

But what about those things that I'm less sure of? Is my confidence - or lack of - holding me back from God's plan for my life? Maybe - but I won't know until I try. And so what if I fail, God doesn't care. These aren't lessons that I'm learning overnight. I still have a lot of work to do. In fact, it took me days to even have the guts to write all my thoughts about this down. One things for certain though - I know that I'm not going to wait anymore. I'm ready to start fulfilling my potential - or at least give it a try!

What are you waiting for?

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

 and whose hope is the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 17:7

Happy Birthday, Princess Mia

Who knew that the small, sweet, cherubic bundle of joy that joined our family four years ago would become a larger-than-life bundle of personality?

Princess Mia, we were smitten with you from the very beginning, and you still have us all wrapped around your little finger. But that's OK because you bring a daily dose of joy to each of us. Your endless energy keeps us all on our toes and your constant singing reminds us to enjoy all life has to offer.

We love you, Princess Mia! And we can't wait to see what life has in store for you - it's sure to be something exciting!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  ~ Psalm 139:14

Hello September...

...my how you've crept up on me! But I welcome your arrival because you usher in one of my favorite times of year - fall.

Here are a few things I'm saying hello to this month:

Hello Labor Day - despite that it's still 90 degrees around here and that we've been in school for more than a month, Labor Day still signifies the official end of summer for me. Bring on the mums, pumpkins, and everything fall!

Today we labored by putting together all of our recent IKEA purchases (made my first visit to an IKEA store on Saturday and was completely overwhelmed!). I had lots of lovely pictures (ok - maybe not lovely) to include with this post, but as I was heading in to Target today I dropped my phone and - oops - it shattered. So I had to add in a trip to the Verizon store today, and while I got the phone replaced (thank goodness I was eligible for an upgrade) I had not uploaded my most recent photos :-( . So photos with this post are few and far between.

Hello homeschool reading/planning - I survived my first year of homeschooling and am a month into the second. I don't have quite as much to read this year (thank goodness) since I'm down to only one official pupil - and Princess Mia - this year. Right now, we're immersed in the Civil War.

Hello new dining room (aka, the classroom) colors - I finally changed my dining room colors after talking about it forever. Now to work on curtains and accessories.

Hello September birthdays - This month we're celebrating the birthdays of the oldest (Tim) and youngest (Princess Mia) members of our immediate family. My baby girl will be four - how did that happen?!?

Hello fall sports season - Soccer season is well underway and it's been so much fun watching Brandon play for his school. Joshua and lacrosse face off (haha - lacross pun there) this weekend!

Hello fantasy football - No, I do not play fantasy football (I don't even particularly like football at all), but my dearest hubby does. So this means that on Sunday afternoons/Monday evenings he will be connected to the computer/TV and whatever other electronic device he needs to keep track of all his 'players.'

Hello new TV shows - I am anxiously awaiting the return of Criminal Minds, but I'm determined not to get hooked on anything new. Do. Not. Have. Time.

Hello Downton Abbey Season 3 - You premiere in the U.K. this month, but why, oh why, must I wait until January to see you in the U.S.?

Hello big girl bed - Since Princess Mia is turning the big 4 this month, we decided it was about time that she slept in her own bed. (She's been on the floor in our bedroom for quite a while now - don't judge :-) . ) Here's hoping that every night is like this one.

Hello A Confident Heart - This is my Bible study for the month - so I'll leave you with these verses. "So do not throw away your confidence: it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Hebrews 10:35-36

Through the Eyes of a Child

From the title of this post, you might think this is some introspective piece on viewing the world with the innocence of a child and such. But, let me tell you right now - it is most definitely not.

A few days ago I decided my iPhone calendar needed syncing with my computer's Outlook calendar. When I plugged it in the little prompt came up asking me if I wanted to import photos. I went ahead and clicked on it thinking there were only a few because I don't use my camera phone very much. Well, it said that there were 284 photos to import. Hmmm - where had all of these photos come from I wondered.

As you'll see from the sampling I'm including here, they came from a 3-year old who obviously likes to play with mommy's phone (unbeknownst to mommy of course).

So if you've ever wondered what the world looks like through the lens of a 3-year old with an iPhone, here you go:

Random photo at big brother's batting practice

Another random photo at big brother's batting practice

Mommy cooking dinner (thank goodness that one was not a close-up)



Unlike this close-up of daddy eating at the Chinese restaurant (complete with blurry photo bomber in the background)



Random people at same Chinese restaurant

Very artsy angle of big brother #2 doing schoolwork in the car while waiting on big brother #1

Self portrait



Capturing her first attempts at 'drawing' people on her easel


I think she has some definite talent - don't you? It also makes me very cautious now when she has my phone because who knows what might show up the next time I upload photos.

Sharing a Little Blog Love

Homeschooling has been a bit busy this last week, so not much time to blog. But I wanted to keep myself in the habit, so I thought I'd just introduce you to one of my regular blog reads - Telling Stories. I stumbled upon Courtney's blog a while ago and just love it.

Courtney is a professional scrapbooker-turned novelist. Her first novel, A Sweethaven Summer, is being released today.

So if you love scrapbooking and reading, then this novel is for you. It looks like the perfect book to get you through these last few weeks of winter. Check out Courtney's blog today so you can enter to win some great giveaways that she is doing to celebrate her book launch.