Letter to a sister of the heart.

Dearest Jenny,

We are gearing up for our day here for school. Amelia has finished 2nd grade and Madeline 1st. Ethan is 4 and I am starting him on learning his letters. God has been faithful! Amelia is reading exceptionally well, and Madeline is just starting. Math is not great, but I have my marching orders and we will make that our 1st subject of the day for the next year and that should take care of it.

We are living in the same house. Andy has the same job. We are quite boring, but I like it that way. The thing I am most grateful to God about right now, is that my house if finally coming together. After living here 7 years, 11 years of marriage, and 3 children...... I am getting my act together and pulling out garbage bags and throwing the mess all out!!!! I am ruthless. If it doesn't have a place, it's outta here. By and large, besides my mom, this has been one of the most serious struggles in my life.

We are currently going to Grace Covenant here in Rke. It is part of something called the Grace Network. Kind of non-denom/charismatic. Not Andy's cup of tea, but the thing is, there is no where else to go. There are Baptist/Bible churches..... that is our past. There is the Episcopal thing.... past as well. House church thing (let's not go there). I really don't know what God has for us. So, this is a sweet little church and I am quite comfortable there,but DH is not. *sigh*

My days are filled with feeding kids, keeping up with the laundry, educating kids, trying to keep the house relatively clean, and in my spare time (ha ha ha), I knit and spin on my spinning wheel. Believe it or not, that hobby keeps me VERY content here in the home. Andy is so funny. He'll watch me doing that and he will actually say that he likes the fact that I knit and spin. That it is one of the most wholesome activities he can think of. (The wholesome note: What? Me? Wholesome? I'm not sure I would describe myself that way. Earthy? sure. Edgy? occasionally, yeesh Andy, you've taken the wind out of my sails).

Jenny, I really believe that God led me to the knitting and spinning. What else is there for a woman of God to do? I really feel called to be home. As in: be home, in the home, at home, working at home, living at home, tending my 'garden', and any other thing you can think of to describe being a fully present, in the home mom. I love the way 1 friend put it...."The industrial revolution took a lot away from women, and now, what was basic social, productive activities are being rediscovered by women of God."

One of the 1st things God ever spoke directly to me was, "I want you to keep your hands busy and your mouth shut." I think I was either doing dishes or sitting on the toilet when that flashed thru my head like an axe. I am good at keeping my hands busy, but my mouth...... well, that is quite a bit harder.

That is not quite a list of my day, but a generality of my life on a day to day basis. I miss you. You became in a short time, a sister of the heart. All my love, Catie