A Poem by Ruth Graham

Alright all you girls! Here is something I found that voices my thoughts on my future husband perfectly! I only wish I could take the credit for writing it! :) It is a poem I found in a biography about Billy Graham that his wife, Ruth Graham, wrote as a young lady even before she met him! :) Here it is:

"A Poem By Ruth Graham"

"Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid

(As we're inclined to do)

I do not need a handsome man

But let him be like You;

I do not need one big and strong

Nor yet so very tall,

Nor need he be some genius,

Or wealthy, Lord, at all;

But let his head be high, Dear God,

And let his eye be clear,

His shoulders straight,

Whate'er his state,

Whate'er his earthly sphere;

And let his face have character,

A ruggedness of soul,

And let his whole life show, Dear God,

A singleness of goal;

Then when he comes, (as he will come)

With quiet eyes aglow,

I'll understand that he's the man

I prayed for long ago."

Isn't that just about the sweetest thing you have read for a long while? I love praying for my future husband, and this poem just captured the hope and preciousness of being assured the Lord is listening. Hope you liked it! :) -Rachel

p.s. Just so you know, that's NOT Ruth and Billy Graham in the picture.:)

Less Than Half This Long Till Christmas Again!!! :O

Hello guys! (Why do I always start posts that way?) Anyway, this morning, our relatives from NY (who were down here all weekend) went home. We had alot of fun with them! I don't know about you all, but it seems like the year is just whizzing by! I mean, we haven't done that much out of the ordinary, but I really can't believe we are more than half of the way done with an entire year! Seems kind of weird to think that months can pass this quickly! But there we are! Here is a sort of update on our family, generally, and specifically-
Daniel- home from iGovern camp-counseling, working on the documentary with the Tates, working with Dad, teaching a guitar student
Me- finishing up my math book, doing some office-managing, turning 18 in 13 days, writing/painting a book for Grace, editing, and sending off a book to a publisher in hopes of being accepted
Sarah- trying to get rid of a watch tan, becoming the reigning "ninja" champ., taking care of our chickens, working every Sat. with Dad these past 3 weeks, getting her hair cut for the first time in...years.
Leah- waking each morning at 6:30 to milk Daisy, turning 13 in Aug., playing soccer with Benjamin
Anna- milking Daisy in the evenings, catching toads for me, playing with Emily, cementing allies among youngest members of the T. family
Benjamin- living the life of a country-boy, playing "world-cup" soccer with the Walker boys
Abby- Becoming fast friends with Bethany, playing spies, learning to dominate the Walker's dog Windsor
Gracie- being 3. Swooning when we play "Ten minutes ago I met you" on the c.d. player, reading, playing "Sickness", watching clips from musicals on youtube with me or Sarah, dancing while we sing "I know you" or "Ten minutes ago", playing dolls, having teaparties, etc.
Family in General- gardening, berry-picking, Dad working very hard, Mama helping organize meals for a woman at church who just had a baby, hosting company, getting ready for 3 oldest girls turning 18,16,and 13 this summer, surviving the blazing inferno around here, running a household, going to music theory class with Dad, hosting church each Sunday, putting up food from the garden, making multiple trips a week to the feedstore for our ravenous chickens, etc.....We are one busy family right now! So that is why our posts haven't been quite so exciting or interesting as we could wish! It is as much as we can do to get normal life done- not much room for adventures at this moment in time! ;) Ya'll have a great Wednesday! -Rachel

Post-4th of July-Thoughts

"A toast- to high treason...that's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration of Independence.....So here's to the men who did what was considered wrong, in order to do what they knew was right. What they knew was right!"

-National Treasure

I love that quote! The movie, "National Treasure" gets some things wrong, but it has some slamming quotes! :) Independence Day for me, gets me thinking all about the Colonial era, and the great, looming choice the Founding Fathers were facing. Should they go to War against their mother country? Was that really what the Lord was leading them to do? I am sure it was a very confusing time. Nowadays, we do not stop to think whether it was a good thing that America rebelled. We take it for granted, that it was always such an easy choice. I don't want to be a "red, white, and blue" American- I mean, the kind of patriot who is one only on the surface- I want to remember the real historical facts, and learn lessons from the men who made this huge decision. It must have been an intense time. I mean, I can only imagine in our church fellowship the unrest caused by someone saying we should emancipate ourselves from our governing country. I am sure not everyone would agree on the wisest course to take! But I believe the Lord blessed the men who guided our country on a quest to become their own. I am SO grateful for the wisdom the Lord gave these men in making our founding documents! I am proud to be an American, but not because "at least I know I'm free". I am proud to be an American because of our freedom, yes, but more importantly, because I know my heritage as an American. Really, the American Revolution was entirely uncoventional. And as Christians, we are called to lead unconventional lives! Our whole country was founded on Christian principles, and they have served us well! Now that we as a country are slipping away from our base though, I encourage us to learn the facts for ourselves! Not just trust whatever sort of "shot heard `round the world" history we happened to remember from our history book! :) People are forgetting the facts in lieu of legends, or missinformation- for instance, Sarah and I were laughing during the fireworks last night as we listened to a grown man musing: "Just think about in Colonial times, that all this noise would have been shots of guns! Man, I wouldn't be fightin' out in front! I'd run the other way and climb a tree and start sniping people!" What that man doesn't realize is that really, his "great idea" of hiding and guerilla-ish warfare was exactly what the Americans did! The British, very accomplished in open-war-field strategies, were at a loss when they couldn't even see the Americans hiding in the forest. Anyway, that man's remarks were just a reminder of how the facts are slowly being forgotten. Everyone sort of imagines pitched battle in a sunny field, with calvary, and formations. Indeed, there was some of that, but we Americans had learned our new land, and the benefits of fighting as the natives do.

This is sort of a rambling post, but it is "Post-Fourth of July-Musings" that were tumbling around my brain this week! Hope I didn't bore you! :) -Rachel

An Infatuation With Costumes! :)

Hey guys! For a few weeks now, I've had an idea for a dress simmering in my brain. It was first inspired by a friend I hadn't seen for a long time, who looked so absolutely charming in her dress that I thought she belonged in some sort of painting. My brain started working...how to get a dress like that? Make it! Then, I watched BBC's Wives and Daughters. Oh my stars! The costumes Molly wears are so sweet and pretty! I really liked some of the bodices of some of her dresses, and the sleeves on her "berry-picking" gown. The only way to get a gown I dreamed up, seems to be to design it myself! So after reading Kendal Butler's post on the summer dress she designed, I figured it couldn't be too hard! With sewing, I tend to sort of make it up as a go along a bit anyway! :) So last night I sat down and drew a very basic idea of the dress bobbling around in my mind. I wanted to get a good image in my mind of Molly Gibson's dresses in Wives and Daughters, so I simply did a google search on "costumes from BBC Wives and Daughters" and came up with a great blessing! Namely, a blog called "The Dashwood Sisters", who had done an entire costume study on Wives and Daughters!!!!!:) :) :) I spent a bit of time poking around over there, and had to tear myself away after getting the necessary information! :) I could have spent all day looking at it, since when I watch any good old-fashioned movie, costumes are the area I scrutinize and moon over! ;) Here is a picture of Molly's Berrypicking dress! I basically, want to use the sleeves and over all idea of the bodice for mine! :)

Here is a really nice view of the sleeves- the main thing I wish to copy from her dress! :)

And here is a view of the dress as a whole! I really like the neckline too, but I was thinking I'd do the one that is rattling `round my brain, which i found out is called a "drawstring" neckline.

Here is the rough design I drew:

I am not sure, with the drawstring neckline, how the back would open up...any ideas? The Dashwood "study" suggested using Sense and Sensibility's "Romantic Era" pattern, and their "Ladies of Elegance" pattern has the drawstring neckline as one option....but I kind of want to avoid buying two patterns....tell me what you think! This is just a fun idea, I really, really like the dress! :( I hope I have enough money and wits about me to buy material, and somehow make it become a reality! What do you all think? Any tips on designing a dress and making a pattern for it? Should I just buy the "Romantic Era" pattern, and improvise the neckline? Help me! Oh! I didn't draw the sleeves quite how I want them! I want MOLLY's sleeves! :D -Rachel

Chances Are....

When Mama asks all of you to gather up old toothbrushes and rags and scrub every inch of the downstairs baseboard chances are...

You have misbehaved terribly in some way ;)
You live in the country with 8 kids and a dog
You have a dirt and gravel driveway
It hasn't rained hard in a long time
You are having company all weekend
You have cleaned everything else recently enough that you have time to look closer
You have run a "hotel" for the past 3 months and your house is still recovering
All of the Above and More! :D

-Rachel