I Will Wait

Hello There Beloved Reader and Happy Halloween!

I hope this evening or morning depending on when you read this finds you healthy, happy and dressed in costume. 

I also want to say before I start my rant for today that my heart is heavy for all of you out there on the East Coast. You are in my prayers.

The other day I was driving around taxi-cabbin it up.  Driving my kids from here to there, I'm sure.  One of my favorite things to do while driving is to listen to my favorite bands, and turn up the music. I sing like no one is listening, because... well no one is, except for one. I sing loud. I sing proud. AND  I turn a lot of songs into praise. Sometimes that is what the songs are. Sometimes they are not, but I make them my praise songs.

I Will Wait,  is one of my all time favorite songs right now. It's from Mumford and Sons.  Have you heard of them? Well if you haven't, do your ears a favor and listen to the song below.  The lyrics of this song talk about feeling heavy like a stone, and being in days of darkness.  Sometimes I feel heavy with the burdens of this life. Not so much my burdens, but the burdens of others. I feel deeply "my peoples" burdens. I have a sentimental heart and don't easily let these heavy things go without much prayer and a sad heart.  This song talks of a new day coming and these burdens will blow away "with this new sun." Um.. I'm pretty sure that sun should be spelled son, but okay.  Moving on. Then the song speaks of kneeling down and waiting. And this is where the song turned into worship for me. Did you know you could turn any song into a song about God? Well, now you know. And that's what I did with this song, I Will Wait  by Mumford and Sons  has a whole new meaning to me now because after listening to it the other day and feeling what I felt when singing it, I am changed. I feel renewed by this song that I am now singing as a declaration. I WILL WAIT. Because the one I wait for is faithful and he "raises my hands" as I wait on him. I try not to raise those hands while driving, but ya know on the inside they are raised. And I came home
Like a stone
And I fell heavy into your arms
These days of darkness
Which we've known
Will blow away with this new sun

And I'll kneel down
Wait for now
And I'll kneel downKnow my ground

And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

So break my step
And relent
You forgave and I won't forget
Know what we've seen
And him with less
Now in some way
Shake the excess

But I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

So I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes
That tethered mind free from the lies

But I'll kneel down
Wait for now
I'll kneel down
Know my ground

Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
And bow my head
Keep my heart slow

Cause I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

Happiest Place On Earth

Good Morning Beloved Reader.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. 

We had a somewhat relaxing weekend. A couple of kid birthday parties, church, baking bread, arts and crafts time, carving pumpkins. The one below was the masterpiece of one of the Village People here, Dana. Isn't it awesome? And of course in MoNoSco's house there is always some great conversation going on somewhere.

I want to share one of those convo's with you all this morning.

My Giant likes to throw "fun facts" my way quite a bit. In fact, we have been together for so long that it's kind of an ongoing joke between the two of us. In our early days, I wouldn't believe him about some of the random things he would tell me, so I would say, "Sources Moses, Sources?" 

But, then over time I realized he does know what he's talking about, and time and time again when I checked sources sure enough he would be right. He has the brain of an elephant. Honestly, I don't know how he remembers these little "fun facts" or even why, but I love (honest I do)them, and HIM ;). The other night while I was standing around in the kitchen( Ha ha, I was doing dishes of course what else would I be doing standing around in a kitchen for?) he said, "Do you know where the Happiest Country or Place on earth is?" To which, I replied..."Of course I DO silly Disneyland!" No. No, that's not what I said. Because, somehow I knew deep down in my knower that he wasn't going to say, "Disneyland... let's go there for Christmas"  So I said, "No, I don't babe why don't you tell me?"

He then proceeded to tell me what that country is and why it is the happiest place on earth. I'm not going to give away the answer just yet because I want to keep you guessing til the end, but I will tell you so you just hold tight there buckaroo!
You will be surprised.   First,Let's talk about why My Giant was telling me about this country being the happiest place on earth, because although he does spew out random facts all the time there was a reason for this particular one.  He said, their happiness was due to a large portion of the country that lives in community. Now this is of interest to us, because WE live in community.

That's right. I said it. Out Loud. We live communally. We have a tiny cabin that houses our immediate family of 6. And then we have a family of 4 that lives right outside this cabin in a trailer (until they can build) and another family of 2 soon to be 4 who live in another small cabin. WE all share the one bathroom(right now) and WE all share the one kitchen(right now). Together there are 12 of us.  Now I know, you might leave my blog right here and right now to go on some normal person's blog, but let me just say although we are not the norm, we ARE very normal.  Many people associate communal living with Hippies, or strange cults and they don't understand it can just be normal everyday people who are sharing everyday life so that the burdens of life are hopefully a bit less for all. I don't talk often about this community here for their privacy sake, but I mention them here to you now to say, I knew what My Giant was getting at.

He wanted me to know where the happiest country on earth is and he wanted me to know why. Do you want to know what country it is? Now that you know why they are so happy?
I'm getting there, just hold them there horses people. (Ha ha, I'm practicing my inner southern lady drawl today)
The why behind what we do is important don't ya think? I often need to be reminded why we live this way because it can be quite challenging at times. Sharing is not easy on a 24/7 basis, but it can be beautiful. A beautiful mess somedays, and other days, simply beautiful. If you are interested in reading more about us my buddy Ryan, who was also a passer through villager for a moment, and who is also a blogger wrote a beautiful tribute to us HERE. 
But for now, I will leave you with this, the Happiest Place on Earth is not Disneyland as some would assume.
I bet many of you are guessing Italy, or Maybe some island where it's warm and beautiful like Jamaica. Not many of you would guess the real country because it's not sunny, it's not warm, it doesn't have Mickey or Minnie and it's not tropical.  Can I get a drum roll please.....
It's Denmark. Yep, good ole' Denmark. And if ya wanna check the Big Guys sources here ya go; ABC NEWS Linking up here

Flashback Friday

Here it is almost Saturday and I am just now sitting down to write this Flashback Friday link up. That should give you a good indication of the week I have had. And also I would like to invoke the right of;  "hey better late than never" right? At least I hope that's what you all will say as you link up your older posts and party hardy amongst yourselves ;)

This week the Fab 4 and I  wanted to watch some old Leave It To Beaver episodes on Netflix and I gotta say those are some good times. After every episode I'm left feeling all warm and fuzzy. And now for some "fun facts for ya"(Mall Cop fans your welcome). Did you know that Leave it To Beaver is one of the first television series that was written from a child's perspective? Before My Three Sons or Lassie, or even Dennis the Menace. The show debuted on October 4, 1957. Speaking of October 4th, that  is my son Solomon's birthday which brings me to what our house has been up to. Solomon is running for school president. I am going to help him write a speech this weekend to be ready for Monday and I'm a little nervous about that. No, not really. But I did say that he should just promise to give them all Chocolate Chip cookies every Friday and an extra recess on Monday and then he would be a shoe in ;) Ya know, nothing like making promises you can't keep.  Ouch. I'm really proud of him for trying and in my attempts to give him the real, raw deal of politics I told him what an awesome responsibility it would be to represent his whole school. I told him that he would need to set a good example in his speech, conduct, and grades. He didn't think it would be too hard, until one of the girls who is best friends with the girl who is running against him  for President told him that he won't get as many recesses because he will have to be inside for meetings all the time. Sneaky.
I thought that was gonna be all she wrote for his political career, but he's moving forward, and I'm excited for him. And with that... Let's Flashback shall we It's time for what I like to call a little FBF- if you are new here this is a link up for blogs that are a year or older. You find an old post that you want others to read or re-read and link it up. Then you read each others and I hope comment and get to know your fellow FBF'ers. Powered by Linky Tools
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Ordinary to Extraordinary

I remember before my first child Emma was born and I was preparing to be a stay at home mom for the first time. I made a list of all the things I would do for us to stay busy during our days together. Little did I know how busy a baby all on it's own was going to be, or how difficult it would be to just get out of the door with that baby. So I stayed home, A LOT! The more babies I had the harder it seemed to get out that front door, so there was this whole chunk of time when I would have given anything to just get out of the house. Our big outings every week were the Mommy and Me group that I led at my church and Costco with my Mom, and occasionally the Dollar Store if I was feeling really energetic that week. 

So now I find myself in this whole other season where I am literally in my car from 6:45 in the morning to sometimes 9 at night and I have to laugh. I laugh at the time when I was so anxious to just get out of the house for a drive that I would literally just buckle everyone up only to go through the Car Wash. Oh yes, the Car Wash was another big event. It was a good one too because it was entertaining as well as a safe place where I could have 2.5 seconds of mind space that wasn't cluttered with I hope Isaiah has a good nap today, where is Solomon, what did Chloe put in her mouth, why did Emma throw her cereal down the bathroom sink right after I just cleaned the bathroom sink ? ? ? It's like those lils have trackers for what was just picked up and scrubbed down. Trackers, Muddy Hands, and Cheerios.   You mommas know what I'm talking about. Never having any down time. Never feeling like you accomplished a single thing all day every day, except that really important thing...ya know... raising a family.

Now my days are filled with pick up and drop off times and the quiet that comes when one has been dropped off and the others are waiting to be picked up.   In these moments I pray. I pray for my kids. I pray for my Giant. I pray for my family. I pray for my friends. I pray for myself.
As I drive around in a constant conversation with my Creator I have moments that would be seemingly ordinary to most taxi cab driving moms, but because my eyes are open these moments are filled with extraordinary views. I try to keep my ears open to hear the extraordinary wisdom that I need for this time in my life. And I'm thankful. 

I'm so thankful for the seasons in this life, for although this season is completely the opposite of the one before it's Good. It is ALL GOOD. Picking up from Volleyball practice- It is good. Dropping off for band practice- It is good. Picking up from Clay Wheel class-It is good. Dropping off for Choir- It is good. Missing the bus and having that impromptu drive with one child at a time- It is good. It is good because it provides the ordinary moments that turn into extraordinary building blocks for futures that are bright with promise and hope. It is good because it means that my kids are happy and healthy and living a very full, rich life. What more could you possibly ask for? It is good because it gives me time to worship my creator and give him glory while I blast my worship music and thank Him for all that is GOOD! Linking up here;

Life's Duties

What we need is not new light, but new sight;

  not new paths, but new strength to walk in the old ones;
not new duties but new wisdom from on High to 
fulfill those that are plain before us.

I found the above quote in a daily desk calendar of quotes that I have sitting next to my coffee pot. If you know me well it's not surprising that I have a desk calendar of quotes next to my coffee pot, because I LOVE QUOTES. This quote, it doesn't have a person that I can give credit to for saying it, so that kind of sucks, but it's still a great quote none the less don't cha think?
Now of course if you are a Nacho Libre fan the first word in this quote that stood out to you is "duties." "Lunch making duties" "Dead guy duties" But, if you have no idea what I'm talking about then, hurry quick go watch Nacho Libre already, and then second let's move on to the real point of this post.

 That quote up there reminds me of one of my favorite words Tenacious or Tenacity.  So if you want to skip the rest of this long post then take this tip and go on your merry way;   "There are things in this life that sometimes need a tenacious attitude. Like marriage, exercise, gardens, careers, and raising children. But if you work hard and long enough the end result will be a beautiful garden of life." Noël ~  That quote belongs to me.  Don't go claiming it for yourself. 
But if you want to know more about why Tenacity is a favorite word, then here ya go;
 I first fell in love with the word tenacious when My Uncle Frank gave me some of the best marital advice that has ever been given. Before My Giant and I got married my Uncle Gene went around video taping different family and friends to ask what they wanted to say about marriage or just what they wanted to say to Moses and I before we tied the big knot. Btw- This is quite entertaining to revisit many years later, but that's besides the point.  So, My Uncle Frank on this tape said in a very East Coast Bostonian accent,  "What you need to have for a good marriage is T-e-n-a-c-i-t-y. " Say that word with an East Coast accent if you can, it won't disappoint you. Really exaggerate on the a-c-i-t-y part ;) for the full affect. Now, I have to say this pearl of wisdom from good Ol' Uncle Frank has really stuck with me all these years, and it was the beginning of my love for the word Tenacious.  Yes, I am in love with the word Tenacious. I really do love all things Tenacious. Tenacious children are a challenge. Tenacious weeds are a mountain to be conquered. And well, Tenacious D how can you not love music+ Jack Black? The guy is just one big ball of fun.

Another reason I love the word tenacious is for it's definition. Webster's defines tenacious as ; A- not easily pulled apart B-tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance C-persistent in maintaining, adhering to or seeking something valued or desired. I really want to point out the words in there that are key to my point here that I am going to make I promise. Words like cling, adhere, and maintain are so important in this life. My sister Jen once said, "Life is about maintenance" and I gotta tell ya in the exercise department no truer words have been spoken. Can I get a witness? But in the marriage and relationship department this is true also. Every day we make choices about what we will give our heart and soul to. Whether it's our jobs, our kids, our pets, our hobbies we give our time and attention to what we love.  We maintain what we love. We cling to what we love. We value what we love.
So whatever the reason you might need this word today or that above quote let me leave you with this;
stick with it hang on don't give up be tenacious  love the one your with stand by your man be patient good things come to those who wait and Don't forget your duties ; )

Irons and Bees

I'm working on ... working on things. Or you could say,

I have quite a few "irons in the fire" right now. Don't cha just love old sayings like that? I just love old sayings like that. When I looked up the meaning of that old saying it made me giggle.  You really should read the back story on that very famous saying,HERE so you can giggle too. It will be an especially giggly time for you if you are a busy bee like me.
Speaking of busy bee's I am one, but I still managed to find this quote for you;
"It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted." Mary O'Connor
The "why" to my busy is what I want to focus on here for a minute. That quote made me question whether all my busy is God's busy for me? Does that make sense? Cause if it's God's busy then there should be praise, but if it's my own busy then inevitably swatting will ensue.  I mean... I feel I am a bee and to be praised(I want some praise people this is hard work this mom to 4 kids work) while I'm busy about my Fathers business. But how does one know they are about their Father's business, and not their own business, especially when it's my new business that is keeping me busy. Did you know Our Father Who Art In Heaven has a business? Well, He does and I want to be that kind of bee that does it's Father's business. Ya know a bee that should be praised versus a mosquito who deserves to be swatted?

 It's busy, business, being a bee. 

Say that five times fast.

I am SO busy, but it's a good busy.  It's a healthy busy. It's a (I'm -right- where- I'm -supposed -to- be) busy. It's the kind of busy that makes my heart sing.

I'm driving my kids here, there, and everywhere, and they in turn are driving me nutts!  No, really I am throughly enjoying them and their very active, very healthy lives right now. But when I'm not driving the Fab 4 here, there, and everywhere here are some other irons I've got heating up;

I have my shop that I'm loving so much. I'm sewing up a storm to stock the shelves of NodotsShop just in time for Christmas. And I'm trying to really prepare for having a booth at the Farmers Market here next Spring. I'm a bit excited about that little dream come true, bucket list, adventure. I sure hope they like me and my stuff. I hear the jury process is a rigorous one, but I have all winter to prepare.
And then I have my son Solomon and his art work that I'm trying to get packaged and ready for Christmas presents(hold tight family your copy is coming) and possibly future retail. Yes,  He is my 11 year entrepreneur, artist, inventor child. He wants to sell prints of his artwork at the Market next year with me. Well, really he wants to sell them right NOW he's an ambitious lil fellow that Sol Doll ! He started his own little business at the young age of 10 and he calls his business Donut Productions. I wonder where the love for Donuts comes in? Psh... certainly not from his mother who buys them all the time!

This recent piece of art work that he and his dad worked on together  a few months back has gotten quite the buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz... there's those bees again.
Solomon came home from school one day inspired by Van Gough and he asked me what my favorite Van Gough piece was, I said A Starry Night, and that is where Rainy Night was born. He sat down with a Sharpie and drew with such detail that My Giant was super impressed. Mo finished the piece with some amazing color and I might be bias but I think it's better than A Starry Night.  Psh... totally better!!

And then I have that little writing project that I was working on, Brody the Bishop and The First Day of Spring is no longer on the back burner people. Nope.  I put him back up on that front burner and I have a goal to get him full blown cooking by next Spring. That's right you heard me, I have a GOAL.  Just one or two, or maybe a few more than 5 ?
Remember this guy? 
Well if you don't you can read more about that HERE or just stay tuned. You will be hearing more about him in the future.  

Of course I still have my everyday life jobs, laundry dishes taxi cab driving vacuuming  cooking taxi cab driving shopping cleaning did I mention taxi cab driving?

Really, I promise I'm a happy taxi cab driving mom.

Most of the time I'm a happy driver.

Clearly, not a happy driver here but.... 

There ya have it folks,  the Irons and   The Bees. Linking up here

Thankful Thursday

There are moments in life when you know someone, somewhere, somehow, should be recording the chronicle of events that you are witnessing. The other night was one of those moments. My oldest daughter had her first High School Choir concert.

Wait. I'm feeling a little Va-Klempt!! Talk amongst yourselves. No really, it was a circle of life moment. I was Mufasa telling my young Simba someday this land will all be yours. Or something like that. Ya see folks, I was a Choir student. That's right. I didn't play sports.  I wasn't a cheerleader.  I was Rachel on Glee, and I loved it. I was in my element in that choir room with Mr. Peebles. Yep, me and Mr. Peeb's we were friends. No, for real we are friends. 

And now almost 20 years later, my Emmer's well...  she's a Choir student. Sniff. Sigh. Vaklempt. I was so proud of her, and also Ahem... I have to admit,  I was VERY proud of my parents. Let me explain.  As I sat there for each and every performance, many of which Em  wasn't even on the stage for I realized, My parents did this for me. They sat through each and every painful, off key performance just so they could hear their daughter sing some Mozart song that says Hallelujah over and over, and over, and O-V-E-R again! As I looked up at her and then down the row with my other 3 munchkins I had a moment. Sniff. Sigh. Vaklempt. My other 3 kids were so cute to watch as their faces were beaming to see their sister up there on stage.  My boys were totally cracking me up as they were trying as hard as they could to make their older sister laugh. Yep, it was a circle of life moment that I was thankful for. Thankful for life. Thankful for Emma and the choices she has made to follow in my footsteps. Thankful for my parents and how incredibly supportive, encouraging, and amazing they have always been. Thankful for music. Thankful for music teachers. Thankful people who can sing on key, and even thankful for those who can't. Thankful for all of my kids. Thankful for my parents. Thankful.  Linking up here

Holidays,Costumes,and Making Faces

We love the holidays around here. Well, let me rephrase that, My Fab 4 and I love the holidays. My Giant just kind of tolerates them. He's never been a big fan, but I think I have begun to grow on him(ya know it's only been like 19 years).  He got all excited about the "Pumpkin Spice Candle Season"coming like all the way back in September.  Picture this...  A Big, Grown, Giant man named Moses ... giddy over a candle.  Giddy. It was a sight to behold people, and I beheld it long and hard.

My favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving, but I really love them all. Starting with Halloween and ending with what I call, Happy LOVE day or Valentines Day as some other people like to call it. My Giant calls it "Hallmark Makes A lot of Money Day"- to which I say Bah Hum Bug! Clearly, I still have more work to do there.

So with Halloween approaching this year I have very mixed emotions. 

For one, my Fab 4 are so much bigger now and the holiday just doesn't seem the same without little ones running a muck, in cute little costumes that make your heart go pitter patter.

And then, 

In the past I have always had help in the costume making department. Thank you Momma Nash and Gram Ellen. But, recently I find myself on my own throwing stuff together for these creative Fab 4 kids who don't want just your average every day costume.

This year my oldest Em, doesn't want to dress up. 

Do you even know how sad this makes me? 

SO so Sad.

But I'm trying real hard to let this young lady be her own person so I'm not going to force the issue, but this is what my face looks like; 

OO

^

So sad.

Ok, but Chloe is going to dress up as a cupcake and that makes my face look like this;

OO

u

Ha, ha sometimes I just crack myself up.

And then Solomon the one who is dressed as the giraffe up there, he wants to be Count Olaf from the Movie Lemony Snickets, Series of Unfortunate Events.

 Which makes my face look like this;

OO

o

Did I ever tell you He was Charlie Chaplin one year and sadly I only have one fuzzy dark picture because,  My Maccy took a crapper last year and with that BIG CRAP he took all my pictures that weren't backed up. To which I say, CRAP FOR CRAP!!

And then Isaiah wants to be A Ninja 

or

Nacho Libre

or

A Wrestler Strong Man

or ....

Which makes my face look like this;

OO

w

Help me out people any ideas for Cupcakes, Count Olaf, and Ninja/Nacho/Strong Men??

I Give

It was a long hard week over here, last week.  My Giant was out of town all week for work, and our schedules(me and the Fab 4) were border line crazy town. Do you ever have crazy town weeks where you can't remember if you are coming or going? Where you wake up at 5a in a panic thinking you forgot something or someone? Ya know, crazy town. Which, makes for a l-o-n-g week!
On top of this very l-o-n-g week there were issues I was dealing with that I'm not at liberty to speak of, but they were issues with a capital 'I' Like; 'I' need you Jesus to help me be kind. 'I' need you Jesus to help me be generous. 'I' need you Jesus to help me forgive. Little stuff like that ya know.(LOL)
Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes I feel like saying  Ok God I give. I'm so tired. I can't do it. It's too hard. There is too much work to be done on the inside of my heart.
But just when I feel something like that I read something like this;
"I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime- until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you." Isaiah 46:3-4
It's words like those that make me think God is saying to me, "Noël, I GOT THIS!" Sigh. Why do I ever doubt that He does?
Why do I try to walk this road on my own? This trying to follow Jesus in my own strength, well it's like pushing a dead car up hill, in the rain, barefoot, when all the while there is a tow truck right in front of me. And all I need to do is ask the driver to help me, and he will. More than that he's been waiting for me the whole time just to scream out, "HELP!"

"I will carry you along and save you."
In conversation with my oldest, Em Faifs this week I said sometimes all we need to pray to God is, "H-E-L-P!" and because he already knows what we need that is enough. It's more than enough for him to come and rescue us.
"I made you, and I will care for you."
So this week probably did give me a few more grey hairs, but that's okay because those words up there say, "I GOT THIS, even until your hair turns white with age" and that my friends makes me feel a whole lot betta.
How was your week? How was your weekend?  I had time to rest, to Selah, to Sabbath.  I hope you did too. Happy Monday Beloved Reader. linking up here

It's A Sale and A Rainy Day

It's a perfectly perfect Rainy Day here and that makes me happy.  I'm about to head out to the Farmers Market and support the vendors there despite the rain. It's days like these that you find out who the real Washingtonians are. Ya know, the ones that aren't afraid of a little rainy weather.

So while I'm strolling the isles of the Farmers Market here feel free to stroll the isles from the comfort of your home at

No Dots Shop

There's a sale on all headbands today only because... well... I like the rain. It makes me happy.
Put in the code "rainyday" and receive 25% off. 

Flashback Friday

I dedicate this song to all my girls at the Influence conference. It's such a great video that brings me right back to being a young girl and a time that was so different. It's a good Flashback song, and just an all around great song to start off your weekend. Check out those hair styles. They are just making me giggle right now.  What really happened to the other side of Cyndi's hair?  Did you ever hear jokes about her hair in the 80's? I remember one about her getting in a fight with a lawn mower or something like that.  Where were her girls to tell her that it probably wasn't the best look for her? Please tell me that you would have my back and tell me not to go out of the house with a hair do like that?  Ok, enough hating on Cyndi this morning. I really do thank for her this all time classic fun song, but I gotta say she's a tad bit strange to me. I hope it starts your weekend off right. It's time for what I like to call a little FBF- if you are new here this is a link up for blogs that are a year or older. You find an old post that you want others to read or re-read and link it up. Then you read each others and I hope comment and get to know your fellow FBF'ers.

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