“Everything in life is a test of character.”
John Blanchard
{Our almond bush, just outside the kitchen window.
The blossoms are incredible! One of my favorites in spring time!}
“I suppose it will rain soon,” my eldest daughter said, pointing to the nearby hydro pole. “The birds are all sitting on a wire…”
The sun-kissed girls and two little boys were seated around our outdoor kitchen table, eating our dinner in the fresh May air … my husband was working late – (again … how do funeral homes stay so busy?) – but we were trying to make the best of a night missing our favorite Man. The night was beautiful and sparkling with May duskiness. The grass, vibrant in its beautiful glory, was bursting forth in green array while the trees lining the fields around our home were just beginning to show forth their lovely green carpeting.
We all looked at the line of quiet birds, perched above our driveway.
You see, the girls & I have been trying to figure out ways to watch the weather without using technology to anticipate weather changes …
So far, this is what we have learned …
If you see the following, it means rain or change of weather:
– cows, laying down in the corner of a field (and on that note, our animals usually are quiet and tend to just hide inside the barn or sheltered areas)
– leaves, flipped upside down on tree branches
– Cirrus clouds mean a weather change (usually to not so pleasant weather) – they say it means three days to rain when you see these horse-tail clouds in the sky
– birds sitting together on a wire
– quieter birds, less bird songs
– “Ring around the moon, rain {or snow, in winter} you will see soon.”
– “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morn, sailors be warned.”
– Ants build up their walls around their entrances before rainfall
-Pinecones close in cool weather, open in warm weather
-Morning Glories do not open their petals on the day of rain
-Smoke from a fire (or cookstove) does not rise as well
-No dew on the grass in the morning means rain is coming.
– And I truly believe you can actually SMELL rain coming!
And of course, we watch our barometer daily to see what it will tell us. It is a fun, old fashioned tool to have in the house.
My husband usually wakes up with a headache, as well, when there is a change in weather coming.
It is fun to think of ways to “do life” differently … even if it is just checking up on the weather …
Later that evening, I woke up to hear the lovely sounds of a spring rainfall outside our second story bedroom door – which was propped open so we could fall asleep to the sounds of the springtime frogs … the rain fell heavily and thunder crashed in the dark distance … three of our girls were outside, sleeping in their playhouse … in the morning, they told me they did not hear a thing.
“Oh, I guess it DID rain last night,” the middle girl said, as she held up her soaking wet boots which were kicked off with glee outside their little night time fortress. Amazing they did not hear the thunder!
{Lazarus just LOVES to feed our geese!}
Just as we watch the weather, I believe it is important to watch the temperature and “weather” of our own homes. With my husband working late nights, few days off and with those days off, burdened down with many chores and tasks, I could, rightly, have a little pity party every now and then. My workload can seem heavier when he is absent. Yet, I know the children are affected by negative attitudes, by complaining from the mother, by looking at the situation without the proper perspective. And so I choose to find the sunshine in the grey days!
“Everything in life is a test of character.”
John Blanchard
Thank you, Lord, my husband has a job!
Thank you, Lord, he can provide for his large family!
Thank you, Lord, for allowing the children to be raised out here in the fresh air, where there is always something fun happening … I do not need to run haggard, on my own, here and there to entertain the children … they will find their childhood busy and full of memories right here in their own backyard…
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of staying home with the children! If I were rushing off to a job, I cannot even imagine how our household would stay together.
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of being able to home educate! It is a challenging and rewarding task but one God has greatly placed as a priority. {Deuteronomy 6:5-9}
{Gilbert, Cordelia and Ophelia, our resident geese}
“There’s a difference between a terrible,
horrible, no-good, very-bad day
and a peaceful and happy one.
I think it does not depend nearly so much on what happens
as it depends on your attitude and response.”
-Elisabeth Elliot
In the meantime, the girls and I cleaned up the woodshed (which is also home to many, well-used bikes). It is like a giant family outdoor closet – it gets messy so fast with so many children riding bikes around here, wood leftover from the winter and garden rakes. I’m trying to teach the children to put their bikes back in an orderly manner, but when one girl wants their bike and there is another bike in front, it can be a domino effect and before you know it, all the bikes are a mess and tripped over everywhere.
We also surprised my husband by doing a pretty-decent clean of his workshop yesterday. The girls grabbed brooms, hammers and nails and we swept it clean, while I tried to hang up whatever was lying on the ground – from bike helmets to chairs and extension cords … it looks so much tidier. Although it is far from perfect, at least we can open the door and not want to cry (at least, that’s how I felt when we opened the workshop doors before we tidied!). We blindfolded my husband this morning, seated him on the golf cart, drove him around the property to confuse him in his direction and then delivered him to his workshop … we led him in and took off the blindfold … he was surprised indeed, but I’m not sure he will know where all his tools are when the time comes for needing them!
It would be easy to mope about and complain and whine during these long weeks of my husband working overtime, long days and nights, being on call 24-7 and only getting a random day off here and there … but I would rather use my time wisely.
So, now it’s time to go feed the geese with my little Gauthier boy and check the temperature of my home-attitude barometer …
by Gigi
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