A Plimoth Thanksgiving Party

Today, my little girl and I

attended a Plimoth Thanksgiving Feast

at the home of Kelly

for the home school group 

that we joined this year.

Making a Thanksgiving tree

One of my little girl's leaves

Trying out a quill pen

Our hostess, Kelly, 

loves Jesus and the Bible.

She wanted to share with the children

the story of the pilgrims of Plimoth

(also spelled Plymouth)

and the first Thanksgiving,

with an emphasis on

their devotion to God.

Telling the pilgrim story 

Reading Psalm 100 from
the Geneva Bible,
the translation the pilgrims used

Beautifully decorated home!

It doesn't take a fancy house to be beautiful!
I was immediately drawn to the coziness
and the artful placement of pretty and poignant decor.

I love the fact that Kelly uses her home

to encourage and bless others.

Such sweet hospitality 

really touched my heart.

It made me want to go home
and make my house just as homey.
And she inspired my faith.

Then there was the food!

These side dishes were scrumptious!
I made mashed potatoes from scratch.

Such cute turkeys!
Too bad I couldn't eat one since I don't eat sugar!
(I did have a bite of healthy pumpkin pie
sweetened with local honey.)

I'm still sort of new in the group,

but I love how these ladies have

welcomed me into their hearts.

Two of them took the time

to talk and pray with me today.

Kelly also shared a lot of 

helpful health and nutrition

information with me.

So thoughtful!

Lisa

Tira and Aracelis

CindyAnn

When I first arrived,

I noticed feathers all over the yard.

I wondered if they were for some sort

of Thanksgiving activity.

No, they weren't!

They are from the same birds 

as these eggs.

Have you guessed yet?

These are neck feathers.

Apparently, about 100 peacocks

live in this neighborhood.

Dozens of them roost in 

my friend's tree at night.

Imagine that!

Up on the roof!

We saw this male at another house

on the way out of the neighborhood.

I even brought 

a handful of feathers home.

I am very thankful that we went today.

I feel so blessed and refreshed.

Virginia Knowles

www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com

"The Golden Hour" by Joanna Knowles

​

“The Golden Hour”

An essay by Joanna Knowles

“Once upon a once a time, Max and Liz went to the grocery store and they covered themselves in salami and Swiss cheese, over their eyes and their belly buttons and…”

I felt the hot breath of my three little brothers pressed in close, trying to ignore the faint musky scent of their carpet and the solitary Lego poking into the small of my back. I was big sister, and I was silly distraction from various arguments one or two walls over. I spun a new Max and Liz story on many a night, for many months. My homework papers lay untouched for this sacred half hour or so, and in this golden window I was myself - not judged, but adored. They hung onto my words and giggled hysterically, scrunching further into their long stretchy t-shirts and rolling around on the carpet. The faint outline of their teeth glowed by night-light. I prided myself on my creativity, my fluid ability to speak directly from my imagination. I found identity in those moments. I felt a fierce loyalty to those little gremlins. 

I don’t know exactly what happened, or maybe it was dozens of little happenings when I noticed what normal 13-year-old girls did on their evenings. They giggled around lava lamps and played truth or dare, talking about crushes and periods and pimple remedies. I never got pimples and I didn’t know how to talk to boys other than my brothers, but I figured I should. And I started slowly learning the ways of normalcy, or rather, mass-enacted boredom.  

I found my mind going other directions, as I would half-heartedly settle into my storytelling position and merely say, “Once upon a once a time… the end.” And I would shrug my shoulders, saying, “I got nothing.” The boys would pester me, prod me, and even make up their own first sentence, looking expectantly at me to pick up where their words trailed off. I felt frustrated at myself, but I figured that the more distant I was from my silly imagination, the closer I was to being normal, to being cool, to being the new version of myself.

I then found myself making excuses about why I couldn’t tell any more stories. I feigned headaches and busyness. I watched the sparkle in my brothers’ eyes dim and their shoulders fall as they slipped into their bedroom by themselves.  

I didn’t simply lose my ability to tell a story; I temporarily lost my ability to be a part of a Story. I was a main character in these three boys’ lives and then I stepped off the stage. I drew the curtain too soon. I let the opinions of invisible and insignificant critics be my guide as I stepped into what I thought I should be, only to find deep disconnection within the increasingly frenetic search for outside approval. I grew to yearn for those magical nights, when my long hair fanned out on the carpet and I stared at the ceiling, continuing the adventures of Max and Liz and hearing my brothers inhale and exhale in three different rhythms. In my mind, I can still hear their choruses of “Tell another story, just one more, please!” and I know that there had to have been a last night when I obliged, even if I can’t pinpoint that night in my mind.

“Hey, Joanna, remember when you told us Max and Liz stories every night?” my now 17-year-old, six-foot tall brother asked me recently. 

“Yeah, yeah I do,” I said wistfully.

~*~*~

Joanna, my fourth daughter, is 21 years old. A senior at UCF majoring in Interpersonal Communications, she also works in the research library at a major technology corporation and as a Disney World photographer.

Moms, our children do grow up. I treasure the memories in our family, but I realize I'm not responsible for all of them. That's a good thing!

(It should be noted that I originally made up the Max and Liz characters and used them in a Bible based "Alpha Virtues" curriculum I made up for my kids. You can find the song I wrote for it here: "Alpha Virtues Song". I still think Joanna's stories were more fun than mine.)

Virginia Knowles

www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com

Autumn Grace #31: Thirty-One Days and One Very Busy Day

Dear friends,

So here we are at the end of October, and the end of my 31 Days of Autumn Grace series. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have! It's been fun thinking of something to post each day. I may try a series at a much slower pace - say once a week? - called Grateful Grace in preparation for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I'll do it on this blog, or on one of my others. I'll keep you posted. (Oh, here we go! Grateful Grace 2014 on Virginia's Life.)

It's a good thing my fever broke last night and I was almost back up to full speed (whatever that is) by this morning.

It's been a busy day between chauffeuring kids to bus stops or school, catching up on grocery shopping after several days sick, home schooling my youngest daughter, running to the store for more face paint, helping my kids with last minute costume preparations, carving a pumpkin, making spaghetti for dinner, taking two girls to a church's Trunk and Treat party, decorating our front doorway for the trick-or-treaters, handing out candy, editing my photos for a post on my other blog, etc. Oh, and hemming a pair of ROTC uniform pants for my oldest son for an early morning event, as well as cleaning up all the pumpkin mess and extra dishes in the dining room and kitchen. And so forth.  (You can see the photos here.) Yes, that's pretty much what I expected to be doing today. No problem there. I'm not complaining. Some days are like that, and moms all over the place just step up to the plate. This is how we do life. It did feel good to be back in the swing of things after being in bed big chunks of this week.

It's now after midnight, and technically November 1, but I'm backdating this post to keep it in October. Shhh! Don't tell!

One other thing I hope you'll look at? October wasn't just the month for an Autumn Grace series. It was also Domestic Violence Awareness month. People I love have been deeply affected by this issue, so it matters to me very much. I am simply asking you to check out the post, click on some of the links, and maybe share some of the graphics on social media. You can find it here: Let's End Domestic Violence - Not Just the Awareness Month.

I'd love to hear some feedback on this Autumn Grace series, as well as the domestic violence posts.

What was your favorite post and why?

Have you done anything interesting or fun or profound in response to what I've written here?

Thank you, friends!

Virginia Knowles
www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com

P.S. The photo at the top of this post is this evening's sunset here in central Florida. My daughter Naomi took it on the way back from Trunk and Treat. Always take time to notice the beauty.

Autumn Grace #30: To Feed Your Soul

Friends,

Nothing long from me today - just two more links to feed your souls. I've been in bed still sick, and my daughter just brought me some dinner she'd made. I decided to use a few minutes of quiet lucidness for my daily Autumn Grace. (My computer is in my nice dark bedroom.) 



The Pilgrim Life by Tonia Peckover at Study in Brown. (I subscribe through Bloglovin - and I'm always lovin' what she writes. She speaks to the poet in me.)





Are You Who You Want to Be? by Catherine Claire Larson at Live Expectantly (This one was shared on Facebook. Thank you to whomever did that. I am too foggy to remember.)




There you go. The flowers at the top are from an unexpected visit to Kewanee Park wedged in between errands last week. Like Tonia and Catherine, I like to take full advantage of my solitary moments and fill them with beauty and meaning. You can find other photos from that trip to Kewanee in my hymn post Kyrie Eleison, which also has some amazing music by Keith and Kristyn Getty.

Virginia Knowles
www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com

Autumn Grace #29: Success or Sabotage?

"Will this choice help me to move forward into the life I want to live, or will it keep me stuck where I have been?"

My daughter Joanna posted this on her Facebook, and I liked it so much that I downloaded it as the wallpaper on both my laptop and my iPod. She always posts such thought-provoking gems. 

I realize that I tend to self-sabotage mostly through procrastination and distraction. 

Of course, the first priority is deciding what life you actually want - what is in harmony with your core life values. You may already be on that path and reaping the fruits. 

This quote doesn't automatically mean you abandon where you've been, because it might be good and healthy. But we do need to identify where  we are stuck - what is holding us back. We've all got baggage of some sort or another. 

So take time to think:

Where do I want to be in the future? Ask this about various time intervals, like a month, a year, five years, a decade.

What attitudes and behaviors and choices are hindering you? 

What practical things can you do to not only remove (or hurdle) the obstacles, but make positive progress? 

I was typing this on my iPod in a very dark room since I have a light-sensitive headache. I got bored lying in bed with my eyes closed. Unfortunately, I had to get up and break up a sibling spat. One child certainly needed to be reminded that, "Your choices are your responsibility." Sigh.  Oh wait! What's this? It appears that they apologized to each other! Wow!

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be writing more on this "choices" concept in the future. Stay tuned.

But for now, as with yesterday, my best choice is to go back to bed. Good night, friends!

Virginia Knowles

www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com

P.S. This post is part of my Get It Done series, which includes these articles: 

• Move Forward in 2015
• Just a Few More Things to Do...
• Pull It Together and Push It Through: How to Get It Done When You Think You Can’t
• Success or Sabotage?
• My Cottage Dreams (Why Not Now?)
• Resilience (Big Words)
• If Each Day Had Four Seasons
• Brain Boosting: The Physical Factors

Autumn Grace #28: Hard Stories and Resilience

I'm sick and tired today. I think it must be the flu or a cold. I've spent a lot of time in bed. 

My daughter has been very good at staying quiet and even continuing with her home schooling. She did her grammar sitting on my bed. She read two books about George Washington to me this morning while I was lying down (I read a little, too) and watched Liberty Kids shows on YouTube while wearing her Spider Man mask. Why yes, we are studying the American Revolution right now! She loved the story of Molly Pitcher from a book yesterday - how she carried water to the parched soldiers in the midst of battle, and then took over the cannon when her husband collapsed. I can't even imagine living back then with all of the hardships, but two of my ancestors, Captain Samuel Ransom and Captain Alexander Quarrier, fought in that war. I reckon Spider Man might have come in handy.

All that to say that I'm not up to writing much of anything terribly complicated today. But that's all right with me! Here, instead, are links to two great articles by friends of mine on facing challenges in life. I especially appreciated these since I am not stranger to heartache, frustration, and even failure. It seems my mantra is, "Just pick yourself up and keep moving along." Of course, on days like today, it's more like, "Just lay yourself down and get some rest." I'll be back to that in a little bit.

Anyway, the posts!

Ruth and I taught the same bunch of middle school kids last year in a private school. She taught math and science in the mornings, and I taught English and American history in the afternoons. She has since moved back up north, but I still love reading the wise words on her blog. Here is her latest post: 

When a hard story is the best story // keeping your heart alive to hope 

(Note: The "God is Good All the Time" picture at the top of this post is of a sign hanging in the school where Ruth and I taught last year. I thought she might like that "blast from the past" and it fits so well with her post.)

Courtney and I go to the same church. I got to know her a little better at a ladies' night at a friends house, and it was so good to hear part of her story. You will be blessed to read her latest blog entry: 

Forget balance. Try resilience.

So there you go! 

Now I'm going back to bed!

Growing up, too!Virginia Knowles

www.ThisMomGrowsUp.blogspot.com

Autumn Grace #27: A Harvest of Fruit

But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control.

Against such things 

there is no law. 

Galatians 5:22-23

 

Sow for yourselves righteousness,

reap the fruit of unfailing love, 

and break up your 

unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the LORD,

until he comes and showers

righteousness on you.

Hosea 10:12-13

The fruit of righteousness 

will be peace;

the effect of righteousness 
will be quietness and 

confidence forever.

Isaiah 32:17

I am the vine; 

you are the branches.

If a man remains in me 

and I in him,

he will bear much fruit;

apart from me 

you can do nothing.

If you remain in me

and my words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish,

and it will be given you.

This is to my Father's glory,

that you bear much fruit,

showing yourselves 

to be my disciples.

John 15:5, 7-8

More fruit-filled posts...

• Two Trifles: Chocolate Strawberry and Caramel Apple
• Fruit Pizza
• Pineapple Pie
• Banana Cake
• Peach Pumpkin Muffins
• Volcano Cake (a mountain of brownies, cherries for lava, whipped cream for steam, chocolate chips for debris – very yummy!)
• Hope, Joy, andPineapple Coconut Bundt Cake
• Fresh Cranberries!
• Holiday Wassail
• Honey Apricot Chicken
• Orange Sesame Chicken (The Easy Way!)
• Fun & Fruity at the Grocery Store
• Fruit-Filled Memories: Fresh Citrus Juice, Blackberry Leather, Fancy Fruit Salad, and Raspberry Cookies

I know you are wondering

about some of these photos.

The fruits and post links...

Edible Arrangements bouquet from bridal shower

Strawberries & blackberries

Pomegranate

Sliced peaches

Strawberries

Horned melons

This is post #27 in my 

31 Days of Autumn Grace series.