In Which Mom and the Littles Take a Road Trip

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! A couple weeks ago, I mentioned I had a secret. Well, instead of coming to you from my home here in NW Arkansas, I was actually writing you all from a motel in eastern Colorado! Liam, Kynthia, Brenna, and I made an 8-day, 4,000 mile road trip to Oregon and Utah to see most of my family and some of Jamie's. I didn't want to tell anyone until I got home since Lynzie and Michael were home with the other kids during the days while Jamie was working. It was a great trip---but exhausting! The kids did great---but I don't think I'll be up for that again any time soon. Ha! This picture is our first day on the road in central Kansas.

Here we are the second day in Wyoming. Ha!! We found snow!

The second night, the kids were getting pretty homesick so we Skyped with the family back home.

Once we got to Oregon, things got easier as the kids were distracted by family and fun. Here they are with a whole bunch of cousins they met for the first time!

After a few days in Oregon, we went on to Utah to meet new baby Sammy, my first nephew. My brother and sister in law took us to Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. The kids loved feeding the Koi and seeing all the gorgeous landscaping. My favorite part was the Secret Garden---complete with wooden doors and a pretty fountain. 

On the way home, GPS took us through all the neat landscape of northern Utah and the Colorado Rockies. I'd never been through any of these places before so it was super neat to see it all!

We were beyond relieved to be home, though. We're a pretty tightly-knit family and it's hard separating and going our different ways. We celebrated Saturday with a trip to a baseball park here in town, as well as a picnic and a hike. More on that later!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party! I'm excited to see what you've got to share!

Lying in Bed, Afraid

My eyes were swollen and groggy when I came to, but I made a good attempt to open them and look across the room. He sat, perfectly relaxed, in the chair my parents gave us for our wedding. He was gazing at me with a smirk-smile when I discovered the little cut marks on the back of my hand. 

"What is this?" I asked.

"Just a little something I gave you to keep you still," he answered, lazily.

I couldn't wake up enough to be fully afraid and as acceptance once again took over my will to fight, I drifted off thinking, "Oh God, my kids. Please protect my kids."

I was so tired. Deep sleep wanted to come and I wanted it too. But I heard the footsteps again and when my bedroom door slammed open against the wall, I sat up, gasping.

Yesterday I attended the 7th annual Butterflies & Blooms luncheon to support Saving Grace, a Northwest Arkansas ministry devoted to helping young women who have aged out of the foster care system and have nowhere to go. It was an encouraging time to learn more about the ministry and how it's helped to bring vital hope and practical help to these girls in a transitional time. One message that really hit me was when a speaker began listing some of the "firsts" these girls experience through the Saving Grace ministry---things like a birthday cake, curfew, and someone to tell them, "goodnight, sleep well." 

I grew up as a typical 80s-90s American kid. Our family had its share of junk: My parents were self-absorbed, my dad had a heavy hand, and our family was split in half by divorce before I was 12 years old. Still, I had a loving home, a safe home, and any need or want I had was met by parents who loved me and wanted to provide the best life possible for me---even if they didn't always know how to go about doing that. 

In high school, I dated a boy with a pretty scary past. His parents had already joined rehab groups by the time he and I got together, but he'd grown up in an environment filled with drugs, alcohol, and physical abuse. This was his normal and our 2 1/2 year relationship was full of red flags that I finally stopped ignoring.

Now, almost 20 years later, I'm married to a gentle, happy, easy-going Christian man who brought to our family a generational legacy of following Christ. We have nine well cared for children, a clean, safe, and beautiful home, the finances to support ourselves and allow me to stay home, and we all go to sleep each night feeling peaceful and optimistic about what the next day will bring.

Still, I have recurring nightmares, like the one above, that I'm living a life of abuse and fear. In my sleep, I go from one frantic plan to protect my children to another---all of them crumbling with the thought that he (whoever he is) will find us, no matter what. My dream usually always ends with this sick acceptance that this bad-dream life is my fate and I'm powerless to change it.

Saving Grace of Northwest Arkansas is providing young women with that power to change. These girls are being set on a path to break generational cycles of poverty, abuse, neglect, godlessness, and negativity. One way this is accomplished is by assigning each girl a group of mentors who stick with her for life. I'm hoping one day to serve as a Saving Grace mentor, as this blessed life I've been given is not meant to be contained within the walls of this home. 

Would you consider supporting Saving Grace? If you live in the area, you can contact them at (479) 636-1133 for information about volunteering your time. There's also a list of material needs if you'd like to give something tangible, and anyone anywhere can donate monetarily.

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard." ~Isaiah 58:6-8

The Homemaking Party

Early morning in eastern Kansas.

Welcome to The Homemaking Party! Hope everyone is having a great week! I am...but I can't tell you why until next week! Stay tuned!