Abundance

I mentioned in my last post that I am anti-stuff. This may have left the impression that I am not materialistic. While I wish that were true… it’s not exactly the truth. I am materialistic… I like nice things around me and own more clothes than one should be legally allowed… maybe our new administration will start taxing me on it, so that may change!

Anyway, I jokingly tell Seth that he should think my materialistic tendencies as a good thing because materialistic people are very easy to shop for… he never has to be one of those stumped husbands wondering what in the world to get his wife for Christmas or her birthday. I like everything!!! Basically, if it’s pink, pretty, has a butterfly on it, is supposed to organize my house or life better, if it guarantees to make my skin smoother and my pores tighter, if it smells wonderful, if it’s made out of chocolate, if it will prevent chocolate from making me fat, if it will add volume and luster to my hair, if it’s clinically proven to make my children geniuses by the time they turn 5, if it’s state of the art, or if it matches something I already have, I want it!!

I feel like I was just confessing to a priest my sin of coveting.

Lately I’ve been spending more time than usual shopping in stores or online or with catalogs as I scour the earth for the best deals on Christmas gifts, and gifts for a few family members with birthdays right around this time. Who has the nerve to have a birthday near Christmas?!!! My husband and my mother, that’s who! With this extra browsing time, I have developed a bad case of the “I wants”. I know that NONE of you have ever wanted to buy something that wasn’t an absolute necessities (which- please define for me… it’s a slippery slope!) or something that you could not afford or something frivolous. But I do… =(

I’ve been feeling convicted about my lack of contentment… I know God has been so good to me, and I have all that I need and more!! But that doesn’t automatically turn the “I wants” off. It should… my gratefulness SHOULD replace my feelings of dissatisfaction. All I can say is that I’m working on it.

Can I share with you something that does in a BIG way, put it all in perspective for me? Our church helps support the ministry of David and Debbie Bolos in Arequipa Peru. Along with a productive church, the Bolos’ also began New Hope Children’s Home. The stories of these precious little kids in this poverty stricken area are absolutely heart breaking. The tales we hear in newsletters or when the Bolos family visited our church send tears down my cheeks. Starvation, parental neglect, abuse, abandonment… children taking care of their younger siblings because mom’s new boyfriend didn’t want them, children living on the streets, children selling themselves as slaves for survival, parents selling children as slaves for alcohol, mothers hitting children as a last ditch effort to stop their crying out for food which she has none to give. And there are so many of them. In this month’s letter, Brother Bolos described his heartache as they had to turn away about 50 children for lack of room for them. They are simply maxed out. He also introduced their latest project and asked for our help. They intend to begin serving hot meals at least once a day and allow all street children to come and at least receive a good meal for that day. There is so much more that they need and that the Bolos want to do, but at the very least they can feel full in their tummies, feel loved by someone, and hear about the Jesus who died for them. Our church is collectively putting together a “Thanksgiving Offering” to help them with this endeavor. If there is a ministry on earth, aside from my own church, that I want to give to, this is it.

My life is blessed abundantly. I have a warm home, a loving husband, and two healthy daughters sleeping in their comfortable beds right now. We have food every day. We never have to wonder if we’ll eat today. I’ve never had to deny my children food when they were hungry because I simply didn’t have any to give them. I have a Bible all to myself. We don’t have to rip chapters out and pass them along with other believers as we might have to in a communist country. I have never been sold to stranger. I have never rummaged through dumpsters or stolen for survival. I have a washing machine and dryer that work wonderfully. Not one time in my life have a washed my clothes on a washboard in a creek. I don’t even have to use a laundry mat. I could go on and on, of-course. Abundance. That is a great word to describe my life.

“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” I Tim. 1:14

A lovely view...

As I sat in our church parking lot waiting for my husband (life with one vehicle...), I thought about what a pretty place this is. Upstate NY is really very pretty... not in a knock my socks off, dramatic way like so many California scenes are... but in a quiet, serene way. Fall is by far the best season here. My mother in law has often commented on the bare trees all around us in late fall and all winter. To her, they are elegant looking. When I see their silhouette against a clear blue sky, like I saw today, I tend to agree. I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination... but I do carry my camera everywhere because I'm a bit obsessed with taking pictures of my daughters (with kids this cute, I'm sure you can understand why!). I rolled my window down and took this shot... I'm sure it's all "wrong" but I love the sun shinning a crisp round glow through the trees, and I love the shadows across the asphalt. If you stand on top of Harts Hill, next to Harts Hill Baptist Church, every direction you look, you will see a similar sight. It's a lovely view. This is my window sill, the view that I enjoy several times a day, whenever I am working at the sink or counter top:

I was inspired to take of a picture to share with you all because I always look at the little mementos on my window sill and think "Man, what a beautiful view I have!" But then while taking this picture and considering the background, it for the first time occurred to me that (gasp!) I actually don't have a very nice view! My window... the one window out of all the windows in my house that I actually look out on a regular basis, is facing the side of our neighbor's house and backyard. Not exactly a sight one could sell tickets to see! The houses in our neighborhood are narrow and close together... so there is a 8 foot wide driveway separating us and this neighbor. But I still will share with you what I consider to be a "lovely view".

I am "anti-stuff". That is my term for my deep, strong desire to NOT have nick knacks and trinkets cluttering every surface in my house. I love to throw things away, or give them away, or any other means to get STUFF out of my house. I am not an overly sentimental person, and for a long time I wouldn't keep ANY tokens or souvenirs at all. I would ask myself "Does it have a function?" and if the answer was no, than the item was chucked! That would apply to cheesy giveaways at fairs to great grandmother's miniature tea cup collection. Well, my great grandma never did have such a collection, so no one get upset! It was a make believe example. My point is that I just don't like to hang onto things... they are just THINGS.

But the little tokens on my window sill are among the few to "make the cut" and have an honored position on my window sill! ;) Starting from left to right:

The handkerchief reads "Mother" and has a bundle of decorative old fashioned clothes pins resting on it. These were gifts from Cheryl Suddarth. Cheryl's daughter, Holly and I have been friends since we were 8 and 9 yrs. old! She was my maid of honor and one of the prettiest people on earth, inside and out. Their whole family was so generous and wonderful to me as a teenager and I'm sure I spent more time at their house than my own! Holly's mom, Cheryl is one of those rare people who loves everyone... no matter what. She'd do anything for anyone. She seems to always have one or two people in her life at all times that are having difficult times that she reaches out to. She invites them into her home and just loves them, feeds them delicious food, teaches them how to do something new and is just a friend. I was fortunate enough to one of those people a long time ago. Cheryl has a country style of decorating... every surface has a homemade do-dad of some sort, a handmade quilt over every arm rest on every chair or couch, dainty little flowers painted by Cheryl herself on every thing. It's just homey in every way. These country style little things are the only only country looking things I own but they make this house homey, don't you think? And most importantly, they remind me of Cheryl, and the scrawny awkward teenager girl that spent hours sitting at her kitchen table who grew up to me. Sometimes, those days seem like a past life... my life is so very different now. I feel like I somehow need to be reminded of where I came from, who I am deep inside regardless of geographical location and new roles in life, and who helped me along the way.

Clipped into those clothespins is a poem sent to me by Seth's Grandma McCoy. G'ma McCoy is as sharp and "with it" and I am, maybe more. She has a custom of sending a few of her old recipes in my birthday cards and one year, this was included:

Faith Always Has Work To Do

Thank God for dirty dishes, they have a story to tell-

While others may be hungry, we are eating very well!

With home, health and happiness, I shouldn't want to fuss-

By this great stack of evidence, God's been very good to us!

Next, is the blue wood wick candle, a birthday gift from my sister-in-law, Suzanne and her family. I love it and I love each of my sisters in law. It's so wonderful to have relatives that I not just related to but are my genuine friends. Sure makes things easier when you don't have to fake liking each other, huh?!

And lastly is that cute card featuring a couple of kiddos in love.... it's of-course from Seth. It's especially fun because I think those kiddies look similar to what Seth and I looked like as kids... him a toe headed blond and me silly and giggling.... okay that's still pretty much me! ;) I will not tell you what is written inside but I am blessed with a very romantically minded husband who lavishes so much attention on me, I'm a bit embarrassed by it! When we were dating and first began getting "serious"... you know... wink wink... (okay, I don't know what I'm winking about...), we were sitting in church with a good friend of mine. I left for a minute or two and while I was gone, he said to my friend, "Kayte is so pretty, right?" and my friend, being the Cheese Head that she was, prompted Seth to say that to ME... not just her. So unsuspecting me comes back to the pew and sits down. My friend occupies herself with counting specs on the tile floor and Seth leans in and goes into this 5 minute long speech about my beauty- Yada Yada Yada.... blah blah blah. I couldn't take it. What is one supposed to say after such a compliment? Um... thanks. You're cute too. That just seemed so lame. And I certainly wasn't about to go into a 5 minute long speech of my own... I'm not the Cheese Head here. Do you know what I mean by "Cheese Head?" A Cheese Head is a person who feels comfortable sitting in church with crowds of people everywhere around you and going into an exhortations of your love and affection and devotion. So at that tender precious moment with all of Seth's admiration right out there in the open, I said those three magical words that have never been forgotten: "Thanks Cheese Head". Seth accepted that as the term of endearment that is was and we moved on... much progress as been made on my part, I must say. After 5 yrs. of marriage added to the 3 years of dating, I am developing some Cheese Head tendencies of my own, and he has lost none of his original Cheese Headedness. This card if one of many that I receive often and for no particular reason. He receives some as well. but I guess husbands don't traditionally display their love notes on window sills, do they? That's fine by me. Wouldn't anyone to think I'm a Cheese Head or something.

So there is my lovely views today. I suppose it's just as everything is... the beauty of the view depends on what you linger your eyes on, right?

Questions... deep questions...

The wheels in my head are turning tonight but maybe they need some grease because this is all I can come up with! The unanswered inquirers of a silly girl:

If Maddie has two feet (and she does, thankfully)... one left and one right, and she has two shoes, one for the left foot and one for the right foot, doesn't it seem logical that she would get them onto the correct foot approximately 50% of the time, just by chance? But that's not how it happens in reality... we're doing good if she gets them right 15% of the time. Weird.

Why do my arms jiggle? It doesn't matter thin a woman is, unless she is a body builder who is taking testosterone supplements, our upper arms jiggle. Blach!

After how many years of marriage does a husband not have to call across the house things like "Honey, where do we keep the scotch tape?" Should I make him a color coded directory? Hmmm... Christmas present?

And speaking of the woes of womanhood, am I the only one out there who is in need of anti-acne treatments AND anti-wrinkle cream simultaneously?? There is something so wrong and UNfair about this...

Why is there shiny green Easter basket grass on my floor in November?

Why does thinking about jiggly body parts, zits and wrinkles make me want to lie down?

Is it "lie" or "lay"? I've never gotten that concept through my wrinkled, cratered, jiggly head.

Is it bedtime yet?

Have a good night and I hope your minds are a wee bit sharper than mine at the moment!

Nursery Fun!

Wanna see some serious cuteness?

Sanitary, no. Adorable, yes.
Now c'mon... doesn't she make you smile!?!!


A handsome young fireman:

Buddies:

The diva of the nursery:

Ring Around the Rosies with play hats on:

Prayer Requests

It seems that lately, there are many burdens... not so much on me, but on people around me. I feel like I could pray all day without ceasing and not get through all the many needs. That is probably the reality ALL the time, and I simply don't always realize it.

I'm going to have a prayer request list in the sidebar that I *promise* to keep current. I'd love to add your requests, too. You can put them in the comments or just email me at kaytemccoy@yahoo.com. For now, I will start with the ones that have been on mind the past few days:

Our cousin, Julie is overdue with her first baby. Waitin', waitin', waitin'... I'm praying that she does not have to be induced, which is scheduled for Thursday if this little boy doesn't get the move on!

My sister-in-law, Suzanne, is expecting boy #4. Being that this is her 4th C-section and she also underwent a major abdominal surgery a few years ago, she'll be cut vertically as opposed to the usual horizontal incision. Please pray for her safety and recovery. C-section scheduled for Dec. 14, which happens to my husband's birthday! Really, Suzanne, you didn't have to give him such an elaborate gift! ; )

Our church just had a phenomenal revival last month, and as was expected, Satan didn't like it very much. I won't elaborate but people are struggling and hurting. At the same time, there is a spirit of "we're not letting Satan have the victory", so that is encouraging.

The church has been in the process of purchasing a new parsonage for us to live in, a cute little house that is very close to the church, since April. The moral of the story is that "short sales" as they are called are actually really really long sales!

My friend, Amy's family has been hit by the flu. We had a similar flu here and I was couped with with sickies for 3 wks. Now, I have 2 children; Amy has 11. Pray for her sanity! Really, pray for them to all get better, and also her father in law is suffering with cancer and awful pain.

Please also pray for me as I begin teaching the teen girls' Sunday School class. I'm excited about it. Mostly I need prayer that I teach them what the Lord's wants them to learn and not "Kayte-ology".

Fords Bush Bible Church in Fort Plain, NY is in need of a pastor. Pray for the Lord's leading and for the church to remain strong during this transitional time. Pay for Brother and Mrs. Keever as they fill in as interim pastor.

Where would we be if couldn't take our burdens to the Lord?

Meet Eden Grace

The baby of the family (for now): Eden Grace. 18 months old and as cute as a button! She is tenderhearted, crying big fat crocodile tears when scolded or punished. She is not overly cuddley except when tired or sick. When she is the mood to give hugs, I stop what I'm doing and take them!! When I tell her that I love her, she blows me kiss. Her vocabulary is growing daily but I definitely remember Maddie communicating much more clearly at this age. Eden just seems "younger" at 18 mo.s than Maddie did. And that is fine...

She is such a good eater! She'll try ANYTHING. The other day, she picked black olives out of my salad... yuck! I hate black olives! But apparently, Eden likes them because she ate all my olives, and Seth's. Weirdo! What she is NOT good at is sleeping! She is a light sleeper and wakes up over any noise our upstairs neighbor makes. I'm hoping that when we (eventually) move, having her own room will help her (and all of us) get better sleep!
Eden is lanky and slight... just as dainty as can be. You may not notice than it the pictures I post of her... her face is nice and chunky, and she does have enough squishiness to be baby soft, but her legs and arms are so long, there are no rolls to pinch anymore. With bright blue eyes and equally as bright red hair, she gets attention every where we go from the mostly Italian community in which we live. Her red hair was a big surprise to us, and it almost tempted me to change her name. The "Eden" I had been picturing during my pregnancy had dark brown hair, like Maddie. Seth's grandma gets the credit for the red hair. I think it'd be great if we had a blonde next time around! (Seth was very blonde as a kid so there is hope!)

She loves to play with babies and purses... sometimes my purse, which is a no-no! Another area in which she seems "younger" to me than Maddie at this age is that Eden still puts everything in her mouth. She will sit in the sandbox at the park and shovel handful after handful of sand in her mouth! EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww! I remember baby Maddie tasting one clump of dirt, deciding it did not taste good and never did it again. But that silly Eden just loves it! ARGH!!!!! After 15 minutes of slapping her hand and saying "NO!" as she keep shoveling dirt in her mouth, with Maddie watching on, Maddie grabbed a handful, examined it, and threw it her mouth. Instantly, she regretted it and spit it out. I guess she thought she was missing something fantastic if Eden was willing her have a sore hand for this stuff! Needless to say, the sandbox was not visited again! Here she is again, in her element:

Eden is fairly friendly, being sure to say "bye bye" to every cashier or just any ol' stranger that we walk past. When she does get nervous around a stranger, she will lay her head on my shoulder but still look at the newcomer and smile. It's really very endearing to see.

She loves to play in the bath but does not like to share the toys or water with Maddie. Sharing is a MAJOR struggle for Eden... working on it! In the meantime, her future holds many "time outs" in the play pens in the church nursery! Unlike Madie at her age, Eden doesn't really like me to read books to her! :( She gets books out and stacks them and puts them in this container than that... she may flip through and look at pictures but once I start reading, she loses interest. A few books we own have different textures to feel and those hold her attention the best, but we usually don't make it all the way through.

The words she knows that I can think of right now:

Mama, Daddy, "May-Dee" (Maddie), "oooon" (spoon), "mik" (milk), "wow-er" (flower), yeah, no, "keeees" (please), "ta" always said with a nod (thank you), mine (not my favorite word for a toddler to learn!), "bay" (blanket), "tookin'" (cooking), "bay-bill" (Bible), "uuse" (juice), "nigh" (g'night)

Last Sunday she was playing at a play kitchen. Nana asked her what she was doing and she said Tookin'... which is cooking! Cute, huh?

Shopping, Muffins and Bible Time

I've started my Christmas shopping... it's half fun and half stressful. Fun because, hey, I like to shop and I like to give people presents! It can be stressful, though, to try to come up with gifts that our family will enjoy but also stay within the budget. In a way, I enjoy the challenge of staying in budget... just like for my weekly grocery shopping, it's almost a hobby to see how much I can get for as little as possible. But wouldn't it be fun to be rich if for no other reason than you could just go out and buy something fabulous for everyone you know!?!

I did make good progress yesterday, and had coupons and store promotions to help. Can you believe that it's almost Thanksgiving?? Where did 2009 go? I'm really beginning to get into the holiday spirit... I just want to make hot chocolate and eat cookies and watch "White Christmas" and "It's a Wonderful Life". Why does "getting into the spirit" always include massive calorie in take? Hmmm....

After dinner last night, I decided to try a recipe I found on this neat blog, Pioneer Woman Cooks. You know, I never read a single blog until a few months ago and now that I'm into the Blogger world, when I found things like this, I think "DUDE! What did I do before blogs?" ;) Yeah... I'm from California. I say "Dude". Anyway, these Pumpkin Spice Muffins came out deliciously! Maddie helped so I have to share the credit. These muffins embody all that is autumn and homey and comforting! Sadly, I forgot to add vanilla to the cream cheese frosting... my eye simply missed it because it was the only ingredient that printed on the second page. Still delicious but really... everything is better with vanilla extract! Somehow I still managed to eat 2 last night and 2 for breakfast.


This morning we got off to rocky start here at the McCoy abode. The girls have been getting up very cranky and very early (there is a connection there, if they could only see it!) for two days in a row. I foolishly stayed up late last night so I was particularly tired. Okay, I'll admit it... I was cranky, too. Eventually, everyone mellowed out... maybe those pumpkin muffins for breakfast helped! =) With Maddie playing in the living room and Eden playing in the bedroom, I decided to attempt the impossible: quiet time with the Lord while both girls were awake. I sprawled out on my bed (did you notice in my Texture post that we have a full sized bed? Two tall lanky people sharing one full sized bed. Insanity. But that's all that can fit in our bedroom.)... anyway, sprawled out on my bed with the door open to listen for knife drawers opening or furniture being dragged to climb up onto something, etc. I was actually able to have some time along and wasn't disturbed until after some prayer and a few chapters of my Bible were read. And then Eden decided that she had had enough alone time, and apparently, so had mommy! She climbed up with a bag of little toys and showed me each prized possession while I finished what I was reading. She was being so adorable, and looked so cute and fresh from her bath that I ran to grab my camera since it's been a while since I've gotten good pictures of my pretty little Eden Grace. The trouble is that she always becomes fascinated with the camera and stops her adorable activities. She wants to see the "baby" (her) on the screen on the back of my camera as I review photos. I guess it's the price we pay for the convenience of digital cameras!

Isn't she sweet?