Reflections on Memorial Day

At the airport- Memorial Day 2008, minutes before saying good-bye.

For the last few years, Memorial Day has had a double significance in the life of our family. It was on Memorial Day exactly four years ago that my husband deployed to Iraq for 12 months.  This blog was born out of those difficult days and the need to focus on the blessings instead of the fears that threatened to consume us daily.

Today I remember and honor all of those men and women who paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy so many freedoms.  I am so thankful for their sacrifice.  I also remember and pray for the families that never had the joy of being reunited with their loved one.  We were so thankful that Paul came home to us, but I know that God had a different plan for many other wives and families, and I grieve for their loss.

"The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down."

-- Ps. 145:14

May the Lord uphold all those whose hearts are bowed down today, and may He bless those who serve so far from home.

The Three Rings of Marriage

A few weeks ago, we were sitting at the kitchen table, and the kids were asking me about my wedding ring.

Suddenly, Micah piped up and said in a goofy way, "There are three rings of marriage:  the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and suffering!"

I was absolutely stunned (and slightly amused, I admit!).  Where DO they get these things?

Knowing that he probably heard it somewhere, and knowing that he couldn't have gotten that idea from one of us, I started querying him to find the source of such a comment.

"I don't know.  I heard it on TV or something."

The kids don't watch a ton of live TV, so all day long I kept asking him if he remembered where he had heard that statement.

Finally it came to him-- "America's Funniest Home Videos"!

They've only seen that show a few times, but that one line stuck.  I'm so thankful Micah got the joke and knew it wasn't true.  Even at his young age, he is already beginning to understand that being married is a good thing- a blessed thing- and not a life-sentence of suffering and unhappiness.  Hard times and suffering will come at some point to every marriage, to be sure, but marriage itself is a gift, not a curse.

Now Paul and I have even more reason to make sure we love one another in such a way that the kids would never believe that one of the "rings" of marriage was suffering.  By God's grace, may our family and marriage be marked by these "rings" instead:

sharing,

remembering,

admiring,

adventuring,

adoring,

anchoring,

caring,

savoring,

persevering,

ministering,

cheering,

maturing,

considering,

endearing,
and

enduring.

Oh, the ways God teaches me truths because of that one other ring:

MOTHERING!

Silly Saturday- The War on Germs

I came upon this scene this week:

I had to laugh as I noticed that the soap container is completely empty.

All hope is not lost, however, because we have obviously acquired a mighty and fearsome squirt-gun arsenal.

Therefore, I have now concluded that we can just simply shoot any lurking germs and call it a victory!

1,003 Words- May 18

(Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I'll only add 3 of my own...)

Open

for

humming-business!

Who Knew?

Who knew we had a laundry room floor?


(It's normally covered with laundry, so I don't see it very often!)  


What a pleasant surprise to see it this week.


A reminder to myself and all of my friends to keep plodding on...

Gardens and Grace- May 11

I look up from my weeding when I hear the door open.

"Do you want some gloves?" asks the man that I love so well.

I look down at my dirty fingers, knowing that it will take days to erase the evidence of digging in the flower beds bare-handed-- filthy fingernails, brown outlines in winter-roughened skin, green stains from battling dandelions.  No, these are not model hands.  They're mama hands, garden hands.

"Thanks.  That would be great."

A few minutes later a pair of green gloves are tossed out the back door onto the patio.  As I pull them onto the stained fingers, it almost seems silly.  I'm already so dirty.

"How's it coming?"  he says with a smile.

"It's coming along well.  I'm about to quit soon.  The sticker weeds are bad."

Sticker weeds.  I'm sure they have some elegant-sounding Latin name, but you can't hide ugliness behind a fancy name.  They hurt to pull, they root deep, they pop out of the ground tucked under nice plants like lilies and irises, sneaking their way into the flower beds, stealing the sun and nourishment from beautiful things like dianthus and hollyhocks.

"Do you want some music out here?"

"No thanks.  I'm fine."

He's about to close the door, finish making lunch, feed four hungry kids-- the same four kids that picked fluffy dandelions all morning in the hopes that the few million seeds that have already blown all over the yard won't be joined by a few million more.

Suddenly, I have a burning thought, a confession.

"I know it sounds silly, but God talks to me when my hands are in the dirt."


Then comes the gentle reply from that man I love so well.


"I know.  He talks to me too." 

And wouldn't it be just like my God?

The curse was pronounced in a garden.

Sticker weeds, dandelions, dirty hands desperately pushing back the chaos for

a few more days.

My Jesus prayed and was arrested in a garden.

"Not my will but Thine..."

And yet God redeems the loss found in those other gardens by teaching me great things about grace,

  and little plants grown up,

and weeds that crop up in my heart under the things I like to think are beautiful and lovely,

and His pruning of the branches,

 and my bearing much fruit.

Oh, thank You, Lord, that gardens are not just for curses and loss,

but they are redeemed for teaching and blessing and beauty and speaking...

...speaking to Your daughter.

You know the one, Lord-- that messy one with the very dirty hands, who is ever so thankful

 that the winter is past and the time for gardens and listening has come.

A Completely New Look

I've spent a good bit of time lately pondering this little blog of mine and playing with different ideas to visually enhance the story of who we are and what God is doing in our lives.  As I have visited other blogs in the last several months, it has become very clear to me that you can often tell the worldview of the author the instant you reach their page.

I love to write about my family and the things that God is teaching us on this journey.  Lately I've realized that this blog has become my online journal and digital scrapbook.  As I have prayed about having this creative outlet, the Lord has impressed upon my heart the fact that since I belong to Christ, every facet of this blog should reflect His face-- from the title to the posts to the pictures.  After much trial and error (this girl is a technological work-in-progress!), I have completely revamped the look of "Chocolate Syrup and Cookie Dough"!  In the days to come, I will be adding some tabs at the top that will hopefully provide even more ways for the love and grace of Christ spill out all over this blog for His glory and our joy.

I'd love to know what you think of the new look!

Savoring His sweetness...

Pictures of the Latest Birthday Cakes

All of the kids have had birthdays in the last several months, so we've made some fun cakes to celebrate.  Josiah turned 11, Micah and Sarah turned 9, and Isaac turned 7.  How are they getting so big?  Didn't I just give birth to all of them yesterday?

I think we're up to 38 different cakes now including a couple that I've made for other events.  If you would like to see some of the other cakes we've made, you can check out the slide show entitled "Cakes, Cakes, and More Cakes" down on the right side, and you can also click on "Cakes" in my labels for pictures of more recent cakes that aren't in the slide show.

Here are the kids' most recent cakes:  (click any picture to enlarge!)

Josiah loves moose, so he asked for a moose cake.  I cheated and used figures for the moose because I truly had no idea how to do antlers in frosting!  The trees are sugar cones, and the logs are oreo straws.  The water is made with blue jello.

Sarah loves to play the piano, so she wanted a piano cake!

Micah LOVES the Denver Broncos, so to go along with last year's Broncos helmet,
 he asked for a Broncos jersey!

Isaac LOVES the Detroit Red Wings, so he asked for a very specific cake!  He wanted a polar bear in a Red Wings jersey with an octopus in front.  It is tradition in Detroit for people to throw octopi onto the ice after a goal.  The tradition goes back to when it took 8 playoff victories to win the championship.  The octopus is made with a lollipop and gummi worms.

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful kids I could ever imagine!