Okay, Okay... I have to admit I was really uncomfortable with the whole "award" thing, and while I thought it was terribly sweet and heartwarming to receive such beautiful little mementos of encouragement, I was always too embarassed to post them or do anything about it. I'm sucking that up now, and I'm (humbly) posting my awards, as an expression of gratitude and appreciation to the dear women who have passed them on to me. But more than that, I am ready to "share the love". The worst part is that I am the kind of person who wants to give an applicable award to EVERYONE, and not just a chosen few. But just know I love you all.

That said, I am a diehard non-conformist so I will not be going so far as to track down and follow all the rules that came with these babies. I'm doing this my way =D


The Blogger Friend Forever Gold Card was presented to me by Dawn at P.S. He Loves You. I do consider her one of my Blogger Friends Forever, and alongside her I would like to pass this card along to;

Aimee at Living, Learning and Loving Simply
Andrea at The Flourishing Mother
Chris at Feeding Boys and;
Becky (whose blog is private but y'all know her as Mac n Rothaich here).

Two of whom tracked me down on Facebook and KNOW MY REAL NAME (horror of horrors, LOL!) and 2 others who are real life friends who I know will always be a closer part of my world because of our blogging connection, and I love that.


The You Make Me Smile Award was also presented to me by Dawn at P.S. He loves you.. There are two people that come immediately to mind on this one, and not just smile, but LAUGH. Almost anytime I read anything they say. And you both know who you are....

Berry Girl at Berry Bloggerific and;
Della at Dwelling in the Land


The Kreativ Blogger Award was awarded to me by Jenni at One Thing and I feel *so* inadequate to both receive this one, and pass it on to 2 women who are creative to the core, and so don't need an award to tell them so.... but I MUST acknowledge them here as two of THE most creative people I have ever crossed (virtual) paths with.

Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles and
Anna at The Pleasant View Schoolhouse


The "I've Fallen For Your Blog Award" was presented to me by Linda at Life on a Colorado Farm

This one goes to Jewels over at "Eyes of Wonder" and;
Susan at High Desert Home

two of my absolute favorite places in the entire world to visit. How many times have I wished I could crash on Jewels' porch, or lounge in Susan's comfy abode and just drink these women up in all their beauty and wisdom.


Last but not least, The Butterfly Award was presented to me by Linda at My~Poetry~Stop

That one I have to award of course to the queen of cow patties and calf nuts herself.... Ree at the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. of course. gotta love that woman.

The Path to Berry Girl's House....

I stumbled across a post of someone involved in a "blog mission" meme (I must admit, although I understand the concept of the meme I have *no* idea how to pronounce it... anyone?) in which people were to describe the "mission" behind their blog. I thought to myself; "mission? Huh. I don't have a mission, my blog's just me being me on the world wide web." Because I like to think, like to write and like to play on the computer =D. But upon further reflection I realized that is not completely true. I mean, those things are true , but they are not the WHOLE truth. The truth is that while my blog started out like that, it has slowly gained momentum and yes, even mission, along the way. As I dipped my toes in the water, then waded and dove into these blogging waters, I developed a desire to blog with purpose, primarily for my own benefit and to leave a written legacy to my kids, but since I choose to make my blog public obviously I hope it will benefit someone else as well. And not only that, I am benefitted by each one of you who crosses my path and chooses to leave your marker here on my journey. So as it turns out, I do have a mission and really, it can be summed up AGAIN in that wonderful quote that Savannah sent me on fellowship;

(Fellowship is) an expression of both love and humility. [It] springs from a desire to bring benefit to others, coupled with a sense of personal weakness and need. It has a double motive – the wish to help, and to be helped; to edify, and to be edified. It has a double aim – to do, and to receive, good. It is a seeking by Christian people to know God better through sharing with each other what, individually, they have learned of Him already. J.I. Packer.

I was so touched when Savannah wrote me offline with beautiful words of encouragement about how my blog is an embodiment of this type of fellowship. When I read her words I realized that indeed, *that* is a large part of the point behind this whole blogging experience. To "meet at the well" as Ann Kroeker pointed out some months back. Yes! This is my mission. To be faithful and true to my calling as a keeper of my home and children's souls and yet still find that moment "at the well", in the midst of my home duties to add my voice to the circle of fellowship and be blessed by those (you) who are gathered there. So I guess the mission of my blog is to create well moments, each day, to meet and fellowship, to bless and be blessed by YOU.

Within that broader purpose I can see how as things have developed here I have attempted to keep things well rounded, not just with one focus (only practical, or only spiritual), but multi-faceted. My week in blogging generally includes the following posts and purposes;

Monday's Musings; just that.. my mental musings. On anything from motherhood to fellowship.
Tricks of the Trade; practical tips and tricks for staying sane amid the chaos of housekeeping, homeschooling and trying to stay on top of it all.
Tell Me Tuesday; Gettin' to know my readers
Winsome Wednesday; appreciating the beauty in the every day
Thankful Thursday, a concentrated effort to develop a thankful and positive spirit.
Frankful Friday, just me, being.... frank.

Besides this I have also posted a couple mini-series of practical posts that represent my personal experiences in homeschooling and home-making which I will continue to add to as time/experience unfolds. I want to keep developing my Cookin' label with simply scrumptious (and frugal) recipes as well. So as you can see, this blog is about as eclectic as you can get, and after some reflection this week I would like to make it even more eclectic by adding another facet to my mission. Tell me Tuesday was kind of my lame attempt to practice "fellowship" here on my blog. To show you that I don't want to be the only talker here, but that I want to hear your voices as well. Since I started it I kind of dropped the practical Tricks of the Trade posts which is kind of a shame and I would like to start that up again.

Some of you have bared your hearts about struggling to be in the word regularly and longing for this kind of fellowship too. I have such a passion for this that I would love to not just "encourage" you to do so, but fellowship with you if you'll let me. I know that a lot of people feel they need a study or a "schedule" to hold them accountable to actually spend time in the Word. I shared a little bit about how Prairie Guy and I approach reading the word (I asked him to read the same passage as me so that we could encourage one another in the evenings over what challenged, encouraged and/or convicted us) and I would like to invite YOU to join us on this scripture fellowship journey if you feel that is something that would benefit you. I could post our weeks chapters on my blog on Friday for the proceeding week. Then, as time permits anyone who feels they have been encouraged, challenged or convicted by a particular portion of their reading on any given day can come and share, or if we have questions or burdens we can even voice those. So the one blog entry could become a "Meetin' at the Well" post for the entire week. Apart from that, for those who have no desire to "team up" with the actual readings, I would love it if people would come and fellowship (in the J.I. Packer sense) about whatever God has challenged or encouraged them with, not just in relation to the particular passages I may have posted for the week.

You up for it Joy? Leanne? Berry Girl? Anyone???

In a circle of friends we have one Father... In a circle of friends we share this prayer... that every orphaned soul will know and all will enter in... to the shelter of this circle of friends. If you weep, I will weep with you... If you sing for joy the rest of us will lift our voices too. No matter what you feel inside theres no need to pretend; thats the way it is in this circle of friends. Among the nations, tribes and tongues we have sisters and brothers; and when we meet in heaven we will recognize each other; with joy so deep and love so sweet; oh we'll celebrate these friends and a life that never ends; in a prayer that it will not be long before all will enter in - to the shelter of this circle of friends.

Circle of Friends, Point of Grace

Winsome- charming in a childlike or simple way-attractive - pleasing to the eye or mind especially through beauty or charm.

Scenes of Serenity from Sunday's Shin-dig (be sure to check out the not so winsome Muddy Monday pics that follow).











Muddy Monday
What's that about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, as you can see, Prairie Princess II got stuck in a nice mud bog, and while she found her big sister's antics in trying to rescue her quite humorous; my laughing hysterically at *her* not so funny.... Luckily this happened at precisely 4:30 and it was Daddy to the rescue while Mommy could keep clicking gleefully away on the camera...

Reflections on Motherhood, Marriage and Ministry.

Less of Me, More of Him.
I am not Wonderwoman. Usually I'm okay with that knowledge but sometimes, even though I know I'm not wonderwoman, sometimes I get weighed down subconsciously thinking I'm supposed to be. I can almost picture a shady and ellusive demon named Guilt slowly creeping up on me, closer and closer, attempting to set up camp on my shoulders. I know it was him because the message I kept hearing over and over was one of condemnation and I know that's not the way our DHF (thanks Dawn!!) speaks to me. He doesn't tell me things in a way that weigh me down and make me feel like a failure, falling short, incompetent. No, that's not the way He operates at all. He gives me a bright idea and even smilingly let's me think it's my own for a time, a joy and fervor to follow it through, and a confirmation that indeed, it was His plan all along, and I did or am doing exactly what He had planned for me to do.

That happens so often when I am sensitive and receptive. It's a great experience. Not so great the burdens I struggled with this week. But that's okay, that heavy fog that had descended over me could only be broken by a ray of heavenly wisdom bursting down and causing me to turn my gaze upward.

I have numerous friends in need right now. I've been able to "be there" for a few this week, but have felt heavy failure to be there for another. I keep feeling this weight, "I *need* to help her!" Everytime one of my friends has commented on how they have been there to support this friend in need and help her through, I feel this cloud of weight and failure come down over me. Then today's sermon came along like a heavy shake on the shoulder to wake me out of my guilty stupor.

The sermon was about roles, specifically John the Baptist's role to pave the way, and how he was to become less (decrease) so that Christ could become more (increase). It was not about John. It was about Jesus. The preacher touched on John's joy for the bridegroom, rather than jealousy over his ministry or guilt over not "being" more himself. How we should not envy when other people are better at doing things than we are, God has a special purpose and plan. From there my brain started racing. We're a body made up of many parts. Christ, our head, directs us to all work in special ways at special times to contribute to building and supporting His kingdom, to bring HIM glory. Replay; We are a BODY... MANY parts.... HE directs and gifts, and causes us to function as a body. Instead of feeling GUILTY because I was not able (or more importantly called, because those He *calls* He also *enables*) to meet a need this week, and like a failure because others of my friends did... I should have rejoiced that God called and equipped *others* to meet that need, and rejoiced for my friend in need that He met her needs.

I thought it was/is my *duty* as a christian, as a friend to be there to meet her needs no matter what my other circumstances were. Um... no. It's God's role as her DHF to make sure her needs are met, and if I think that just has to involve me, because I am one of the many people He's brought into her life; I'm an idiot!

Now, all that said, I do still hope to be able to be there for my friend, and bless her in the upcoming week. I don't know when that will be as circumstances still will not allow it even today, but I am comforted and encouraged by the knowledge that we are a body, that He is watching over His own, overseeing and guiding the members of His body to work together with amazing symmetry. He'll make it clear when it's my moment to move, I'll be waiting to hear the whistle.