Breakup

The Bering Sea is literally a stone’s throw from the apartment we’re renting. When we moved in the end of March the sea was frozen solid. Yes, salt water will freeze. At 28.4˚ F. 

But now that it’s mid-May the ice is breaking up in massive chunks. Late evenings find kids in tennis shoes and sweatshirts jumping from ice floe to ice floe, riding the flat bergs as they move up and down. Last night the Nome Police stopped to talk to our teens and warn them of the dangers of crushing ice and ask them to stay off the ocean. 

A few days ago the water was mostly flat, but as some ice is washed ashore (some pieces the size of a small car) and other pieces float out to sea, the tides are more visible and the waves are beginning to once again crash on the shore. In fact, I can hear the waves as I sit in my living room. 

This morning I stood mesmerized at the window watching a huge piece of ice, perfectly flat as the waves tumbled it about. First once side would rise into the air, then it would smack down as the wave washed over it. Up and down, ice chunk riding waves like a riderless surf board. 

I’ve felt like that chunk of ice for the last several weeks. Floating along, minding my own business, but getting hammered by waves. Feeling the icy cold water wash over my head when I wasn’t prepared. I’m not sure if I’ll float out to sea or if I’ll be washed ashore. Some kid might even stand on me. A sudden change in wind could alter my direction. 

But I’m not that sheet of foot-thick sea ice tossed around in an ocean of salt water. I’m me. I’m going to sit on the rocks or walk on the beach. I will listen to the waves, but they won’t pummel me. I will watch them, but they won’t drive me out to sea. 

Daniel and the four youngest jump ice floes several evenings ago. 

Instead I choose the room of grace. I’ll turn my back to the sea and its storminess. To its uncertainty. To its exhausting crashes. Today I desperately need the room of grace. I need its quiet. Its deep care for my soul. Its acceptance of my questions. 

The view from my deck just moments ago. Waves crashing. Ice moving. 

The room of grace just invites me to just be. Not do. Not perform. Not decide. Just be. It’s my safe place. And He is there. 

Does your soul feel pummeled? Are there more questions than answers about your future? Your kids? Your job? Or lack of a job? Run to the room of grace. Let your soul sigh. Grace is offered. Embrace it. 

about brownies

It was a great weekend. We spent Saturday night at camp with friends from church. Saturday night supper was a healthful diet of fire roasted hot dogs on white buns with plenty of ketchup and mustard, potato chips, green pepper slices (I tried. Really, I did.), and the famous smores’. Oh, and pink lemonade to drink. Very healthful.

Then today our congregation gathered at camp for our morning worship service followed by a fantastic BBQ chicken dinner with yummy side dishes. Everyone brought desserts to share. Eldest daughter made brownies. Mmm. Again, very healthful. Butter and sugar are good for you, right? And vanilla? Eggs? Flour? Cocoa?

So today upon returning home I surveyed the remaining six brownies left in the pan. Yes, I’m with you. I’m surprised there were ANY left. But there were. Someone was thinking healthful thoughts and passed by the brownies. Those must have been the people who decided instead on apple pie or the lovely cherry cheesecake or the rice crispy squares surrounding the brownies.

What to do with the brownies? I had to find a home for them. Ah! There were some chocolate chip bars left from the other day! I’ll just add them to that container. I pop open the Tupperware and here is what I find:


Hmmm. Wonder who took the last one. Wonder who took the last one and didn’t bother to add the Tupperware to the stack of things-to-wash.

Seems that food just doesn’t hang around this house very long these days.

And here’s hoping that my great friend Jo, over at Jo’s Kitchen Table, has some really great hints on healthful eating. I’m counting on you girlfriend!!


Parting shots:

The boys LOVE to hang out with the cows. One day last week I looked out my kitchen window and saw eldest son lying there just looking at the cows. He said the pavement was warm (it was a chilly day).

p.s. post about girls coming soon!

about a walk in the dark

Sunday.

The child was sick. So I let him take his normal nap. But then he was up for a while and wanted to take another nap. So I let him take nap number 2. Hmmm. Bad choice.

So at 10pm this is the face I see:



Well, ok. Not this face exactly. This was his birthday face with ketchup on it.

Happy as a clam he was. Full of energy. Wrestling with Papa on our bed. Not tired in the least. This is the kid who is exhausted at 8:30 every night.

So Papa Hobb(it) gave said child the option of going to bed or going on a 1 mile walk with Papa and Mama Hobb(it)--- our sometimes nightly ritual after the small Hobb(it)s are in bed.

He chose the walk.

It was a dark walk. But there were stars to see. And a possum ambling along the soybean field going in the opposite direction we were going. And the sillouette of the trees making a dark shape against the sky that looked just like an alligator with it’s mouth wide open, showing rows of sharp teeth. At least it looked exactly that way to the 4 year old Hobb(it).

He was pretty sure he wanted to turn around. His legs were suddenly tired. But he made it the whole way to the end of the driveway (a whole 1/2 mile). Papa Hobb(it) had offered to carry him home, but he walked it all on his own two very tired 4 year old legs.

Will you believe me if I told you he went straight to bed with no complaints at 10:25?

I can’t wait to hear the stories he tells the other Hobb(it)s in the morning about his late night adventure with Papa and Mama. On a walk. In the dark. All about the possum. And the alligator in the trees. With rows of sharp teeth.

We made a memory. He’ll talk about it for a very long time.

I just hope there’s not a repeat performance tomorrow night.

Cheap thrills. Very cheap.

Here I present quite possibly the best $1.97 I have ever spent at a thrift store in my entire life. My entire life. Nope, not the boys in the picture. Not the gun in the holster (although that was a great thrift store find as well). 

The Playhut. All $1.97 worth. 

I went online to price them. I found one nearly like this one and the original price was a whopping $31.50. Which means that quite plainly I saved exactly $29.53. 

Two smallish boys at our house (ages 5 1/2 and 3 1/2) have spent literally hours playing in their "tent". So far it has served as a tent to sleep in. A tent to hunt wild animals from (wildebeests and "b' giraffes" --Tristen's current word for giraffes). And many other unique adventures this mama hasn't even heard about or imagined. They LOVE the playhut. 

I'm really not sure how long it will last, but I do know it's been worth every $1.97 of hard earned cash we payed for it. 

"And suddenly!!"

Tristen has been telling stories lately. I mean “story”. Singular. He pretty much has only one story. And every time he tells it, it begins the same way.

“And suddenly. . .”

The story varies only slightly from time to time. Some things are always the same. It always has a bear coming out of the woods. And Papa always has a gun to shoot the bear.

“And suddenly. . .”

I think God likes “and suddenly” too. He can work in what looks like complete darkness to me “and suddenly!!!” Viola!! Look at what God did!! Or He can work for years. . . “and suddenly!!” Wow! What a God!

Perhaps God’s “and suddenlys” aren’t really “sudden” at all. As John Piper says, “In every situation, God is always doing a thousand different things that you cannot see and you do not know."

I’d sure like to have an “and suddenly” this week. There are places in my life that have been shrouded in darkness. God has been working there for years. I know He’s doing “a thousand different things”, but I sure can’t see them.

Patience is a virtue. And like a friend reminded us once, wait is a four letter word after all.

Two truths come to mind:

“His divine power has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness. . .” II Peter 1:3

and

“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” Ps. 86:12

God’s goal in every “and suddenly” is to bring glory to Himself. But He will also provide everything we need to wait for the “and suddenly”.

Tea for two

Elsa got this sweet, teeny tea set for Christmas. And she wanted so badly for someone to join her for tea. The only one who agreed was Tobin. 

Boys can have tea too.

They don't show up very well here, but that's a male and female cardinal sitting in the pine tree outside my kitchen window. 

Five-year-old Funny

We were driving Pennsylvania's hilly, cow-path roads the other evening. Five year old big brother shouted from the back seat of the Suburban "Faster, Papa!! Faster!" We were following friends en route to their home after a Sunday evening service and keeping up with them on country road unfamiliar to us was great fun. Then came the quotable quote of the entire evening. From the same 5 year old.

"These roads make my blood container go up and down!" he shouted. 

Do you suppose he meant his heart?

Overheard

"Do you have dizzy smells?"

T. age 5 

a bedtime conversation

The scene: Tobin and Tristen (age 5 and 3) have been freshly bathed and put to bed. Mama is tucking them in. 

Tristen: "I'm thirsty."

Mama: "Honey, you can't drink any more water tonight or you'll pee in your bed."

Tobin (from the top bunk): "And if you pee in your underwear you'll get radishes between your legs."

So maybe I'd better explain.

During the hot summer I had smallish children who put off visiting the bathroom for as long as possible. This foolishness resulted in many an accident. Which resulted in chaffing on their poor little legs since they didn't bother to tell Mama about the accident since playing outside was far more important than one little accident and changing clothes in the middle of the day. 

Surely none of your angels have ever done this.

Anyway, poor Tobin was greatly confused with the English language. The "rashes" on his legs somehow morphed into "radishes". 

May all your "radishes" be in your garden. And NOT on your legs. 

hApPy tuEsDaY!!!!

the mimic

We're at that stage in childhood when one of the most annoying things you can do to a sibling is to mimic every move they make. 

So tonight at the supper table the 10 year old big sister is mimicing the 5 year old little brother.  I should have seen the danger signs based on the age difference, but I didn't see this one coming. 

He crosses his arms. She crosses hers. He moves his leg. She moves hers. And there it ended. 

She looked over as he moved his hand toward his face. She began to do the same. Then a look of total horror and astonishment came over her face as she watched little brother stick his finger in his nose to search for some unknown treasure. 

She couldn't bring herself to mimic that and burst into laughter. I guess she'd been bitten on this round of "mimic". It might be a while before she tries it again. 

Funny  children! I'm sure I never did anything like that, right Mom?? 

nO MorE diAperS!

*sigh*

The three year old is FINALLY toilet trained. "I'm a big guy now" he reports. All this mother can say is Praise the Lord!! I honestly was praying about it. Son one trained rather easily and fairly fast. Son two has been a very different story. 

And if you were thinking of asking me for my potty training advice, don't bother. I don't have any. None of the advice I received this time around worked for me. So I just waited until he was ready. 

I feel a need to celebrate. We are now diaper free for the first time in 10 years and 10 days. Wahooo!! I think we'll have banana splits. Care to join us?

Three-year-old "isms"

Tristen is three. And three year olds say the funniest things. 

Here are several of my favorite quotes from the last week. . . 

"Mama, can we talk?" This was asked as we sat at the supper table surrounded by many other Hobb(it)s. As I'm sure you can imagine, mealtime with 5 children is not often quiet. I think that amidst the hubbub of conversation Tristen was wanting to make sure he didn't get left out of anything important that needed to be said. Or heard. 

The other "ism" was heard as we were discussing where Papa was (visiting someone from church) and when he would be home (in time for supper). Tristen was laying on the floor with his camouflage pillow and puppy blanket. "Mama, Papa's so wonderful!" Couldn't have said it better myself! :o) 

Another thing Tristen says rather often is "I'm thirsty for. . . " He hasn't learned the difference between hunger and thirst yet, so he's thirsty for M&Ms, thirsty for candy, thirsty of supper, thirsty for hot dogs, thirsty for yogurt (although when he says it, it sounds more like mogurt), and one time he even said he was thirsty for Walmart. Hmm. 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness, for they shall be filled." Jesus

The picture of Tristen was taken recently when we were in Ohio. Also in the picture is my cousin Seth Showalter. Tristen looks remarkably like Seth did when he was much younger. Seth, along with his parents and 3 brothers, leave next week for a two year assignment in North Africa. 

P.S. Daniel did some adjustments on Rosie's shifter and everything is back to normal. No more adventurous shifting. 

I'm here! I'm here. I'm. here. I think I'm here. Am I here?

Yes, I really am still alive. But it's summer. And for us, summer means family vacations (sorry, no pics of that coming), and extra ministry trips, and many, many birthdays. 

The last month has held more quaking of the deep places of my heart than I'm ready to share at this point. But maybe soon. . .  For those closest to me, you already know. For those of you who live farther away and would like to know before I'm ready to blog, just send me an email.

Yup. It's me and my best friend. I love nothing more than to be involved in ministry with Daniel. And God opens windows for that along the way. Last week was one of those.

Daniel and I were privileged to be leaders for the Yellow Bus Adventure, a four day, three night "overnight vacation Bible school" held in Gordon, PA and sponsored in part by FHC Ministries, a group pastored by Daniel's dad, Michael Hobbs. Daniel and I led the music, but were also involved in a campfire story (Daniel told the story of Gideon's Pot-- as first recounted by our dear friend Larry Guthrie) and I did morning coach time (devotions) with all the girls. 

YBA is for kid's in grades 2 through 8, so you can imagine the noise, the smells, the attitudes, the enthusiasm, the needs, the attention spans. Need I say more? 

I love YBA. We had a big mix of kids from church and kids from "town". Kids who know all the Bible stories already, and kids who don't. Kids from homes with a mom and a dad. And kids who have no idea where their dad is. It was incredible to send kids home having memorized Scripture, watched the Scripture acted out in a very memorable way and having learned songs that speak the truth of God's word in a way they'll never forget. 

That's me on the left, then Julie Bradford and my sister (in-law) Esther. We were the paparazzi, each with our own SLR camera, shooting anyone close to us. 

Here's William Straight, director of YBA. We worked with an incredible team!! Wow. So much creativity packed into a short time. 

Team colors!! Staff had black shirts this year, the boys team was green, and blue, yellow and red were girl's teams. 

Ready for YBA: duffle bag, sun visor, flashlight and Bible. 

Josh and Will: our faithful computer geeks. :o) Will has a gift for mentoring the young men around him. Josh is one of those. 

Putting motions to songs brings so much joy to the kids, and helps them to remember the songs. One hymn we did was written by Keith Getty: "Hear the call of the Kingdom". Hopefully it will be posted on youtube soon and I can share it. It was incredible!! 50 children singing "Hear the call of the Kingdom, lift your eyes to the King." And then the chorus: "King of Heaven, we will answer the call! We will follow, bringing hope to the world. Filled with passion, filled with power to proclaim salvation in Jesus name." There were times I could hardly sing, it was so overwhelming. 

chow time!!

adventure time!

Afternoon sports time on a soccer field close by. Tristen and I were waiting for the kids to arrive and Daniel grabbed the camera. :o)

Jake: all ready to run the 100 yard dash!!

The girls with some of their "bestest" friends.

Yes. That's me. The kids love to have adults join in the fun, so I was talked into the long jump. Imagine. No. Don't. 

At YBA we use a point system for everything from Scripture memory to good attitudes and our girls were on the winning red team!! 

Saying goodbye was NOT fun. 

Now, on to our first summertime birthday: Tobin turned 5 on June 23. We celebrated with a family from church whose son turned 14 the same day. With a river close by, what better way to celebrate than with a fire, hotdogs, mountain pies, marshmallows, cake and several hours in the river. Most of the time in the river was spent with snorkel masks on looking for "treasures". You know, things like broken dishes, old tire rims, large pieces of discarded, waterlogged rugs, snail shells, broken clocks. 

Tobin, Tyler and Tristen

And lastly, Grandma Showalter has been a caretaker of roses for as long as I can remember. In March she sent me a rosebush from Jackson and Perkins. It's a hybrid tea rose and has bloomed for the first time. I only wish I could include the smell. It's heavenly. 

That's all for now. There is so much more in my heart to write, but I haven't the time. Maybe soon. 

D.C.---Day 3

Last stop: Arlington National Cemetery. And we actually managed to be there on Memorial Day Weekend, which is the only time of the entire year when flags are flown on every grave. Any other day of the year only flowers are allowed.

Daniel and I had each been to Arlington before, and Daniel loves the place, but I'd totally forgotten how impressive the changing of the guard really is. 

The silence is amazing for so many people watching. 

A memorial to those who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger. That was a day I'll never forget. 

Yep. No stroller. Two tired boys. SuperDad!!!

JFK's grave.

But really, the whole point was seeing Kris. Thanks for letting us come visit you while you were visiting D.C. We love you!!