A Homemaker's Hallelujahs

Saturday, January 4, 2014

The Handmaid Dot Org

My new website, www.thehandmaid.org is up and running! So head on over there and see what's going on!

Friday, November 8, 2013

There's so much going on right now, I don't know where to begin. I'm storing up posts, thoughts, life events, and things The Lord is teaching me, to share in a few weeks when my new website: www.thehandmaid.org will be up and running.

There are big things going on. Big, humanly impossible things. I just can't wait to share all that The Lord has done and is in the process of doing! Wow.

But for now, I'll leave you with a few happies from lately...

And lots of handmade goodies can now be found at:

www.etsy.com/thehandmaidworkshop

Thursday, October 31, 2013

BIG CHANGES

No, I have not forgotten about this blog. There are some big changes on the horizon, and I have been focusing my mind in that new direction.

As of mid-November, I'll be launching an exciting new website. It will be where I blog daily about life in the Reed house, faith, adoption, homeschooling, recipes, and DIY projects. It should be up and running in the next couple of weeks. This blog (A Homemaker's Hallelujahs) will cease to exist at that point, and all further blogging will be done at my new website:

www.thehandmaid.org

It is my hope that I'll be able to offer more encouragement to a wider audience and raise awareness about The Jessica House, along with other goals, through this new venue.

The website will link out to The HANDMAID Workshop etsy, where my friend Denae Hula and I have teamed up to make various handmade creations.

I'll keep you posted! I can't wait to share with you all that's been on my heart!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Crazy, Beautiful Life

A couple of days ago the kids and I rode with Danny to get a tractor. When we bought our new home we knew we'd need to invest in one, as the property here, the pecan orchard and pasture, would require it. I must say, I had no idea what a joyous occasion it is for a man to get a tractor. I still can't wrap my mind around it entirely, but hey, cool! Danny grew up using and working with tractors, and he's pretty excited to have one of his own. I know there's plenty of "fun" to be had here on the farm in the coming months!

So anyhoo, back to my story.

We rode along to get the tractor and...

On the way home we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for supper. Eating out as a family is always quite the adventure!

As I looked across the table, Camila had taken the pegs out of her "Ig-na-ra-moose" game (classic peg game at all Cracker Barrel restaurants) and was building them into a rainbow. Salem was reaching for the pegs and Camila would holler out, "RAINBOW!" She was frustrated because he was ruining her rainbow creation. He didn't notice, and was bouncing in the high chair with delight. In the middle of this, he grabs a plate which slides across the table and shatters on the floor. Oops.

I here giggles at the other side of the table where I look up to notice my 4 year old son with a peg up each nostril. No, seriously. Of course, I immediately have him remove the, ahem, now contaminated pegs. I've decided I can use this as a future "You don't know where that thing has BEEN!" example.

It wasn't long after, that I realize there is a table behind us with a family the same size. Four boy children and one girl child. The kids are all sitting with a quietness and enjoying calm conversation. I secretly wonder if they were given a dose of Benadryl before coming to supper.

Truth is, this scene used to bother me. It would bother me enough to keep me from going anywhere. It would bother me enough to make me question my ability to parent and lead and direct my youngsters.

My children are all energetic, creative, bouncy, and loud, excluding Isaac- who is all of those except for loud and talkative. He makes up for it in loud laughter, though. None of my kids prefer to sit quietly in comparison with running, screaming, and making others laugh. I was the same way, and I must say, it's apparently a very dominant trait.

Nonetheless, I'm learning something. Our crew isn't typical. My kids can sit quietly when they have to. They can behave and they can listen. But our family is just not ever going to fit the "sit and soak somberly" mold, or that "children should be seen and not heard" ideal. And you know what? I don't want them to.

I love the fact that Josiah can convey his latest invention idea to me in the middle of background loud chatter or crying and never miss a beat. I love the fact that my kids can make a game of sorting laundry and it seems like their laughter can rattle the walls.

I am thrilled that my kids can find the craziest junk outside and create some sort of imaginative play land and that their joy could be heard a mile away.

I adore the fact that, if Salem is crying, his brothers will team up talking to him in typical squeaky baby fashion, but at about 300 decibels. He actually adores it too, despite the volume.

This gang rocks my world. Keeps me on my toes. Brings me to my knees in prayer and makes me raise my hands with shouts of thanksgiving. They bring me to tears of despair when I'm concerned and tears of pride when I see progress, compassion, and love coming out of them.

And despite how untypical or unlikely this family may be, some incredible things are happening here in all of the day in day out living and learning. We are ALL growing.

This life we live...it's truly chaotic. It's certainly not for sissies. It's hard work and takes all I have. But so far beyond that...it's incredibly fulfilling. I'm living my dream.

This bunch is loud and beautiful.

I wouldn't trade the chaos for anything in the world.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Designed to Fly

There once was a little girl. She was loud and energetic. Her Deddy said she was the fastest of all of her cousins. She could outrun her older brother, and all the older neighborhood boys in any foot race.

It felt so good to take off, with her wispy thin white hair, bleached by the sun, scraggling behind her. It felt so good knowing she could catch up, and move quickly.

One day something unexpected happened. She was playing a game of hide-and-seek with the same hope and joy in speed, when suddenly her left knee popped out of place. It stayed dislocated and she screamed as loud as possible hoping her mama would hear, who was inside cooking supper. Her mother soon arrived, just as the knee cap finally went back into place. It was the most physically painful thing that the small little girl had ever experienced.

Soon, there was scarcely a time during an all out race or game of speed when one of her knees were not dislocating. Whenever one of her knees popped out it would swell up and it would hurt to walk.

The girl's mother took her to many doctors. There was no real explanation, other than a few compounding factors were causing a muscle to pull her knees out of location when they were being used for more than basic walking. The natural shape of her legs and hips were the supposed root. Hopefully, she'd outgrow it.

Soon, the girl was afraid to run. She was afraid to allow herself to take off with the other kids. She was afraid of pain. She could run slowly, but she lost the races and couldn't keep up at that pace anyway. She spent a lot more time inside than before. She gave up the idea and hope that she'd ever run with the other kids again. What did it matter anyway?

The small girl grew into a woman. Life had gone on, and one day she woke up with hope. Hope that, maybe, just maybe she should try to run again.

It took her months to get over the fears that constantly bombarded her mind as she jogged at the very slowest possible pace.

"It will REALLY hurt if you dislocate your knee."

"How are you going to complete your daily tasks if you injure your knee again? You know you normally are in pain for a couple of weeks following one of these fiascos."

"Just quit. It's not worth the risk."

She was tired of quitting. She was tired of fear. So with each run, she'd hang on to hope. Hope that she'd go further than ever before. Hope that there would be no sudden pain or disappointment.

She was grown and didn't care about keeping up with anyone else anymore. She just wanted to believe again. She wanted to believe that she could have victory over all the pain and all of the fear. She wanted to believe that what was impossible for her, could finally be possible.

And the more she believed, the more she felt like she was flying. Her speed was irrelevant. She didn't care what she looked like. The more she believed, the more freedom she found from her fears. It was flying.

...There was a girl. The girl was free and creative. The girl had so many dreams. She was always working on a new plan. It often drove her mama crazy.

The girl would flip through the phone book looking for new classes to take. Dance, acting, music...

She'd spend hours making up dances on her trampoline. Practicing performances, making commercials, telling stories. She'd write out her plans and dreams.

She was never embarrassed about her ideas. She really believed in all of them. She was often called naive and overly optimistic.

Sadly, over time she began to listen to the voices. She began to realize how weird all the dreams were. Hard circumstances didn't help either.

She slowly began to believe that she had nothing of importance to offer the world.

Once she gave up hope, it was easy to make bad decisions. One bad decision followed another, until the girl was as low as she could possibly go. It was her darkest hour.

But then something amazing happened. A Savior showed up one morning, with His arms wide open. He was not mad at the girl. He had love and compassion in His eyes. He still wanted the girl, even after all of the bad decisions she'd made.

He forgave the girl. He healed the girl. He gave the girl a new start. She was truly new. She was more alive than ever.

The girl slowly began to believe again. It was still called naive optimism by the world, but she was learning the world could never comprehend what this "naive optimism" actually was...faith.

She began to believe that this same Savior could restore every hopeless situation. She began to believe that He could provide for impossible circumstances and could bless beyond measure. She began to understand that He loved her endlessly and actually wanted to.

She stopped comparing her past and her pain and her abilities to others. She didn't care about keeping up with anyone else anymore. What if everything she was believing for did come true? What if she saw the impossible become possible because of the great Savior who now dwelled within her?

And an incredible thing began to happen to her. The more she believed, the more her fears dissolved. The more she believed, the more she felt like she was flying. The more she trusted the Savior, the more she began to see impossibilities become miracles before her.

The girl was never made to sit inside in a cloud of fear and insecurity. The girl was never made to walk slowly through life, to protect herself from disappointment and pain. She was created by the Savior for an important task. When the girl was so focused on failure and people and opinions, the girl couldn't see the Savior and His beauty or the impossible dreams He had placed within her. But when she looked at her Savior, the object of her affection, she knew through Him the impossible was possible.

For she, like all mankind, wasn't created for fear or normalcy. On His wings, she was designed to fly. And the more she believed, the more she soared. It was flying.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Work!

We have been working non-stop on our new/old house. While I have been painting everything, Danny has been laying hardwood floors. This all has been a pretty big chore.

As I had mentioned before, we happened upon an incredible deal on cherry wood floors on Craig's list. It turned out to be almost enough wood for the downstairs of our house (excluding the kitchen) for $600! This was a huge blessing because there were so many spots that were very weak and in need of serious repair, being that they were 102 year old pine floors, our original plan of refinishing those turned out to be not a good one. We ended up a tad short on flooring to finish out Camila's room so we are trying to decide how we should finish out that room. But because the work has rolled on for three weeks and we seriously have got to MOVE, we are going to go ahead and seal the flooring that is currently laid, and finish Camila's floors in the next few weeks after we move in.

My sweet hubby literally stayed up all night sanding and buffing the floors to speed this process along. Here's the almost (not sealed) finished product.

The edges still need sanding around the perimeter of the rooms.

I've painted most of the downstairs (with the help of some awesome family and friends!) a linen color, or country white. I've always adored the classic white beaded board look. The living room was an aqua color and I love it. It's staying that color for a while!

More pictures to come soon!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Whistle While You Work

There has been lots of work going on this week. We are trying to get our new/old house to the point of being able to move in ASAP. At first we thought we were going to simply paint and, down the road, sand and refinish the hardwood floors. But there were several bad spots that needed repairing. After talking with my carpenter dad about the problem spots, and other soon to be problem spots, he suggested overlaying the current floors with oak wood floors. We could make the tongue and groove boards ourselves. It would be a lot of work but would be beautiful. We looked into that option, but did not want to drop the $7000 in wood it would cost to completely do wood flooring in the downstairs. We weren't sure what we should use. We began to go back to plan A of repairing the bad spots. Then I decided to look on Craig's List to see if anyone was selling wood floors. An ad came up for cherry hardwood flooring, 1800 square feet of it, which is about the square footage of the downstairs of our house. So for $600 we got 1800 sq feet of cherry flooring to totally cover the downstairs floors. Talk about awesome provision. The wood is GORGEOUS. That was a huge blessing! I cannot wait to see it all completed!

Lots of yard work to be done...

Picket fence around front yard

Going for a swim in the pool

Creepy crawlers

Dan my man, hard at work with the chainsaw.

The hallway and stairs

Cherry flooring going down

And new light fixture in hallway

Leelee helping me paint

My "Deddy" putting down the floors.

Since we are replacing the floors now, I decided it would be great for the boys to team up and paint as well. They did great!

Fireplace in kitchen. We are going to remove the gas heater from it... We are using this room right now for a make-shift living room as well.

Green counter tops follow me wherever I go. I can't figure it out. :/ I have big plans for this room! :)) It is the only room with a lowered ceiling, while the rest of the house has 11 ft ceilings. More to come here later.