The Middle of the Rainbow

Something Told

5 favorite photos from October.

One of my favorite places in our home is the kitchen table.

And here is Teddy at the table, eating a smore we broiled in the oven.

Annalise playing in the autumn leaves.

Ivan with parakeets on his head (courtesy Hovatter’s, our favorite family zoo).

And the children doing the dishes together. Not ready to take over yet, but they are learning. :)

I remember a book from my parents’ home titled All This and Heaven Too, and I think of it sometimes, because I feel I am living a little piece of heaven here on earth. Not in a sappy or idealized way; I am just genuinely, deeply content and so thankful to God for the life He has given me. I pray that He gave me such a gift for a reason–so I can help others step into heaven, too, whether now or in the future.

I thought the title of this post, along with the feature photo, is symbolic of that.

Something New

What I am learning or doing right now.

November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writer’s Month), and I plan to dust off the pages of the young adult novel I wrote 13 years ago and see if I can make something better of it. I’ll let you know how that develops, and IF it develops, because one never quite knows how these things will go.

Also keep your eyes peeled for a post on children’s books which I plan to publish mid-November.

Something Borrowed

I liked this; maybe you will too.

Marlene Brubacher, a poet friend whom I first became acquainted with across email, and whom I met for the first time last year when she graciously welcomed the children and me into her Ontario home during our trip to Deer Lake, is just out with a new book. I’ll share an excerpt from that in a second, but first, here’s a photo of Marlene and my two children and me.

Marlene’s book is titled Out with Joy, a title I love because “joy” is a significant word for me–my middle name and something I have embraced as one of God’s special good gifts and callings for my life.

I just got my copy in the mail.

I asked Marlene if she would be willing to share a favorite or signature poem for my readers and she gave me four to choose from. It was a hard pull between three! But here’s the one I chose:

THE LITTLE HILLS REJOICE ON EVERY SIDE

The winter hills are unison,
a soaring plainsong chant, 
a procession of identically tonsured and vestured
singers who flow through the vaulted gray chambers, 
matins and vespers echoing 
under eternal arches.

The spring hills are children's choir, 
each fresh young voice and fresh young face
eager to solo,
gleeful to sing truths 
too old to be understood,
too young to be mistaken. 

The summer hills are choral ensemble,
the professional, the calm, 
the uniformly gowned,
with cascades of lushly rounded motets
swinging over the far banks 
in undulating vernal tones. 

But autumn hills are an orchestra
and every moment a performance.
The harps and trombones
shoulder each other
and on every side throbs and thunders
the Hallelujah Chorus.

And here is one more I want to share, not at Marlene’s recommendation this time, but simply because it’s humorous and I like humor. And it sounds like a Canadian summer, and I like those, too.

Both these poems come from a section of the book called “Burnished Seasons,” but the book holds a variety of poetry types and subjects. Other section titles include, but are not limited to, “Ordinary Days,” “Daily Disciple,” “He Holds in Hope,” and “Sketches.”

And one more photo of Marlene with her nieces, reading one of their favorite books. Used by permission. ;)

Something Blue

A splash of color from the family journal.

A conversation as remembered after Annalise gleefully told me about winning a game of Candy Land with Teddy.

Annalise: Why do I like winning so much?

Me: Well, I guess because you’re competitive.

A: What’s competitive?

Me: That means you really like to win.

A: You mean you like winning as much as you like candy?

Me: Yes.

A: I like winning as much as I like candy.

And that is really saying something for this child!