Up a Tree Waiting

So, you may have noticed Frodo Seven's new theme--or maybe not because of the super-small font in the header.  In any case, as I mentioned in an earlier post, 2010 got off to a fairly rocky start at Casa Doyle and life has changed a bit since then.  "Stepping Out of the Boat" didn't really fit anymore.  "Up a Tree Waiting" refers to another of my favorite stories about Jesus.  You can probably guess which one.  It involves an invitation and an eager response that changed everything for a lonely, sinful man.  

I have always loved trees.  I spent hours up the tree in our backyard growing up.  I would stand on the picnic table, swing myself up, perch and read.  I finished A Separate Peace, Little Women and Pride and Prejudice among others up there.  I nodded off once and almost fell out which would certainly have involved broken bones but fortunately, I woke up in time to avoid that.  As I said though, I love trees and being up one is a peaceful place to be.  And I do feel a certain peace in the aftermath of the recent struggles our family has  gone through.  Things are clearer somehow.

Then there are the big decisions looming on the horizon.  Between homeschooling, Chris working at home and our big family, we have outgrown Casa Doyle.  Space-wise, we could certainly make it work.  It's the multiple uses of the space that are a challenge and Chris has had a darling daughter burst in on one too many teleconferences.  So, we're replacing our roof, doing some painting and making the place shine as we prepare to put it on the market.  Please pray for a good buyer who will take good care of CD.  We will miss it.

"Up a Tree Waiting" is a good description of where we are right now.  Waiting for an invitation or at least the next step.  Waiting in preparation and enjoying the peace and blessings in our lives--in particular, each other.

(I will finish my re-introductions when we get back to Texas and I can take pictures of two of the three of us left to be featured.)

Photos of the Day:

Tara, our 8 kids and I met our cousin Rebecca and her five kids at a big, beautiful park in Haymarket today.  Mia and Grace made fast friends with Rebecca's two girls, Sophia (9) and Helen (7).  Mia and Grace typically share their friends so it was fun to see them head off in pairs.  It was crazy windy and parts of our picnic lunch blew away more than once.  Rebecca filled me in on the homeschool scene in rural, VA and it was great to catch up.

Rolling down the hill

Cloud Gazing

Girl Power

These guys are second cousins.  Tara and I have 30+ first cousins on our mom's side.