Pogo stick

Briley saw a stick in my neighbor's garage and asked him, "Is that a poo goo stick?" Too funny.

As I was organizing his closet and adding shelves, he decided he should help me out by handing me the drill and hammer when needed. He was so proud that his closet was getting cleaned up and kept telling me, "Mommy, it is just per-fic, just per-fic, it is so boo-tiful. The most boo-tiful closet I have ever seen." It doesn't take much to make him happy, which always makes me sooo happy.
I love you little man.

While outside playing in the backyard, he was bitten by a mosquito and scratched it until it bled. I put a band-aid on it, but by bedtime, the band-aid had fallen off and he had scratched it until it bled again. I put another band-aid on it and started to pray with him. When we finished, he looked at me with irritation, cleared his throat with an umh-hum, and said, "Didn't you forget something?" "What?" I asked. "You forgot to pray for my boo boo!"
Lord, please let all his boo boos be minor and easily fixed with a small band-aid.

I confess, I love to steal!

Yes, I know this comes as a shock to most, but I am a thief. I love to steal. I know it is a sin and I am dealing with this issue, but I am getting worse as I get older.
Case in point, my friend, who loves to organize showed me her nicely organized closets and I immediately came home and stole the idea for my own closets. Another of my wonderful friends shared an idea of re-using leftovers and I stole that idea right away, also. All my home school ideas are stolen from anyone who gives me a great suggestion or idea. In fact, I can't think of one single idea I have had of my own in a long long time--they are all stolen from other people.

Yes, I love to steal ideas, so beware, if you don't want it copied, don't tell it to me. Although, it is said that imitation is the kindest form of flattery. So, maybe stealing is in this case, a blessing in disguise.

Too many chores

This is what happens when you assign your kids too many chores on the accountable kids system. They rebel.

A tribute to Fall

Accountable kids

This system has revolutionized our household. Gone are the days of yelling, screaming, and crying (okay, they are not gone, but they are much less frequent). I highly recommend it for any family (Mom) who is struggling to keep up with all the house work, school work, and daily chores of a busy household.
http://www.accountablekids.com/

I think the kids even enjoy contributing to the household and feel a sense of pride in a job well done (most of the time).

Benedict Arnold

With careful thought and prayer, we have decided that we are supposed to find a new church home. This is a bittersweet time for us because we love so many people at our current church home. We love the security and comfort that we have there. We love the programs that our kids can participate and the bible studies that a large church allows us to be a part of.

But, we are aware that God has a new direction for our lives, one of accountability, faith, hope, and love. We know this journey will take us out of our comfort zone and we do not like change. But, we love our Lord, and when He says, "GO!" We know we better sprint to our new destination with a joyful heart. I am excited about the possibilities in our future. He has moved our family in a HUGE HUGE way over the past year. Most of you know this story, I was working full time, kids in public school, no possible way out. Then God said "GO!" so, we sprinted to our new destination with a joyful heart and He has continued to bless it in abundance. Now, I am not working, we home school, and God gave us a way out. All things are possible with God.

We visited a new church this Sunday and the entire family loved it. The kids had to sit in "big" church with us and listen to a "hard core" biblical teaching from Revelations. I was scared going in because I just knew that the kids would "cut a shine" and we would hang our heads in embarrassment and walk out. But, God is good. The kids did good (just a few wiggly jigglies) and they all remembered the message when we left and asked questions about it--even Briley. No fluff, no frills, no overhead projector, no jokes, no personal stories to lighten the mood, just the beautiful word of God being preached. That is all it took for each child to listen and remember the message of the Lord and say they loved that church.

We loved it too, but we did feel like a Benedict Arnold for going to a church that we are not members.

Following the Call

Each day I become more aware of how much of a sinner I am and how much I desperately need God's grace. There are so many areas of my life that I want to improve upon and become more Christ-like--not forgetting people I should pray for, more time in my morning bible study, taking better care of the body God gave to me, training my children in all the ways of God, spreading the gospel to those around me, thinking kind thoughts about people who irritate me (don't judge me), keeping my mouth shut and my ears open more often, feeling more compassionate to others, being a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend, following in His will for me (even when my flesh is screaming "NO") with a joyful heart, a heart full of thanksgiving, and the list goes on and on.
As a mother, God can remind you in very powerful ways about your own failures as you discipline and train your own children. Do not disobey. Am I disobeying in an area of my life? Honor your mother and father. Do I show honor to those it is due? Work like you are working for the Lord. Do I always work as though I am working for the Lord? A wise man heeds discipline, but a fool despises it. Do I despise discipline? Love one another Do I model a loving life to them? Only say that which is edifying and uplifting about another. Do I speak ill of others in front of them? Restore each other humbly and gently. Am I humble and gentle?

I am humbly reminded of my need for God's grace and I pray that He will help me to be the daughter who one day receives the greeting, "Welcome, my good and faithful servant with whom I am well pleased."

18th Century Fun

We spend hundreds (billions) of dollars on toys each year for our children as a society. We are always looking for the best "brain builders" or the toy that will occupy the most time. But, all we had to do was step back a few centuries and we would have found that the best toys come pretty cheap.
The kids loved the old fashioned hoop and stick and ring toss games. And, that dead tree could have been a whole weeks worth of fun if we had let the kids stay to play. It became a ship at sea, a space ship, and a race car all within a matter of about 30 minutes. Can you say IMAGINATION?

How to discipline your children

There are many so called "experts" in the area of parenting who give us advise on how to discipline our children. But, this week I came across a fool proof method that is sure to never fail...

Wasp Killing

As we were leaving our house yesterday, a wasp flew in the door before I could close it. The kids were screaming, "Mommy, you let a wasp in the house. Hurry, you need to kill it!" "Okay, everyone just stay put and I will go back inside and kill it, " I said. But, before I could go inside, Briley says, "Wait, Mommy. I don't want you to get stung. Here take my gun and you can shoot it."
Thanks, son.

Wedding Reception

We were invited to a wedding reception tonight for one of Mark's best friends since he was knee high to a grasshopper. I was introduced to the groom's mother for the first time who told me what a fantastic husband I have. (I already knew this) She said she knew he was going to grow up to be a fine young man when she was introduced to him for the first time.
Her son brought him home from the school bus in kindergarten and he came up to her and held his hand out to shake her hand and with a huge grin on his face, he said, "Hi! I'm Mark and we (Russ and him) are going to be the bestest friends forever." Then he turned around and proudly walked away.

What a special privilege to see your best friend FINALLY get married. Congratulations Russ, may God bless your life together with much happiness and love.

Funny

We went to Colonial Williamsburg this Friday and had a great time. What a place to visit! If you have not been there, you must go. Make sure you bring your own colonial attire because the rentals are a bit pricey.
As we were touring the sites, we ventured into a 30 or so minute movie on living in the colonial days. I told Briley that this may not be very interesting for him, but if he can just sit still for the movie, then we will get up and go "exploring". About 5 minutes into the movie I hear him whisper shouting, "Mommy. Mommy!" "Yes, son." I whisper back. "When are we going to get the popcorn and drinks?" "They don't serve popcorn and drinks in this movie, sweetie." "Then it is not a "real" movie."
I couldn't help but laugh.

Hair cuts and Fire safety

Our local fire dept. was kind enough to allow us to come in and give us a fire safety class right in the fire dept. We heard the alarm sound, explored the trucks, toured the building, and had fire safety to boot. It was great!

A fireman suited up in full gear to show the kids what they look like and to ensure that they would not be scared if they were ever in a fire and this "alien" came looking for them.

The jaws of life and rescue truck.

Oh, yes and on a different note, Seviann's new haircut. She is so excited about it. I would show you a picture of my new haircut, but it did not turn out so hot. Yes, I did it myself and yes, I messed it up. Although, with a little tuck behind my ear here and a little gel there, you cannot see it. Thank you, Lord for ears. I knew they were intended for more than just hearing things.

More Truth

Sabree tells me about a time today when her sister was mean to her. She says she did not want to tell me because she knew it was talebearing, but she is just getting more and more upset about it.
I ask her if she thinks her sister deserves a spanking or just a "talking to".

She says, " Well, that depends. Are you going to do what I suggest or the opposite?"

The Truth

Mom says, " Sabree, do your school work."

Sabree says, "I did it already."

Mom says, "Where? I don't see it."

Sabree says, "Look back into last week and you will find it."

Paul's prayer

In Paul's prayer to the Philippians, he asked God to give them knowledge so that they may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless. I have read this prayer several times, but the truth of it never really hit me until today. Discerning what is best...
This discernment is different from day to day. Sometimes it is discerning to keep your mouth shut when you want to correct somebody about a belief, thought, or idea. This is my weak area, and I unfortunately fail a lot in it. Sometimes it is discerning to help a person who the world would tell you is a "lost cause" or "not worth it". Sometimes this discernment may be to just sit and listen to your children pour out their hearts about a situation when you know you have a million other things that need to be tended to. And, sometimes, it is setting aside the daily lesson and switching courses because you believe this is what the Holy Spirit is directing you to do.
Today, we did just that and came upon this very verse. I love our Bible curriculum and believe it has a very important place in my children's lives. But, today instead of the history in the old Testament book of Genesis, we decided to go with a heart lesson--as much for me as for them.
Sometimes we just have to go back to the basics of Christianity and get a strong foothold back where we are supposed to be living. Loving one another and preaching the gospels to the ends of the earth. Looking back in the definition of love 1 Corinthians 13--we see that love is patient, kind, not rude, not boastful, does not delight in evil, keeps no record of wrongs and so on...
I realize how all too frequently I fail to truly love anyone. Praise God for his grace. So, I pass on this prayer for you that we may all strive to be pure and blameless and filled with the fruit of righteousness.
Philippians 1:9-- And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

Where do I begin?

The gorgeous Aunt Carol. We just met our grandma Audrey's sister on this trip for the first time and we fell in love with her. She is a keeper. We love you.

Yes, they are drinking out of baby bottles

The handsome father to be.

My baby brother and his beautiful wife

My baby baby brother--Isn't he handsome?

The mother of the father to be. She was tired of being the one in front of the camera, so we had a dueling camera shot.

The beautiful host and soon to be mother of 2 with my gorgeous sister

Doesn't she just glow? My other gorgeous sister and mother to be.

My mom in the "time out" chair. She was very naughty this day. She is timeless and never ages. I pray God gave me some of those genes.




The bounty.

My adorable son and his handsome Papa. Briley never left his Papa's side. He loves him so much. He even had to get his Thomas watch out of the car so he could wear a watch "just like Papa does."

Timeless throughout the generations. My mom and her mother in law, our beautiful Grandma Audrey. The sweetest lady. We love you.

Look at this beauty. My adorable nephew. He is the spitting image of my brother at that age. Okay, he has a little of his mama. He smiled up a storm the whole time we were there, except when I tried to get it on film. He is such a happy baby.

It has been an exciting week. We had our first co-op, our first soccer practice of the season, and went to my sister's baby shower. What follows are some of the pictures of our week. It is always so great to see all of our family. Everyone came down to celebrate the upcoming birth of my new niece. We have a very tight family and love each other tremendously. We can fight it out in one second and be kissin' and huggin' the next. It is great. We have a special humor that only we seem to find funny and understand. Some of the things that will make us fall in the floor laughing, others find not the least bit funny. I suppose they are the weird ones, right?

Oh, well, we cherish our "weirdness" and call ourselves very blessed to have each other no matter how far away they are.

By the way, thanks for letting us borrow the book on CD, it was fantastic and we only stopped twice. We shaved nearly an hour off our travel time, yea! We made it in 7 hours.

We love you all!

They Found Me

I love to play hide and go seek with my kids. I love to play those hidden picture games in the Highlights magazine. And, I cannot resist a good word find puzzle. The point is that I love to find things. It gives me such joy and delight to find that missing sock on the side of the washing machine, or the hat that goes with my daughters favorite outfit from last year. (Yes, I keep every odd sock in hopes that one day I will find it's mate. And, I usually do find them--after my kids have outgrown them.) If someone quotes a scripture, I will hunt for hours, days, until I find it. By the way, Julie, that verse is in Mark, chapter 10. Yes, I could not let it go until I found it.
But, the one thing that I never wanted to EVER EVER find again was the 60 pounds I lost last year. I did not seek it! I did not want to find it! I did not look for it--and half that weight has already found me again! FRACKIN SMACKIN! So, I have decided that I need to enter another hide and NOT go seek game with my weight, yet again. I can't tell you how much I hate to diet--YUCK. So, for the first time in my life, I plan to do it the "right" way. Cut back, eat healthier, exercise a little each day (not 2-3 hours like before) and make it a lifestyle. I know this change will be s-l-o-w, but hopefully, it will be permanent. Pray for me my dear friends, I need all the help I can get.

CO-OP FUN AND FRUITFUL

Girl Scouts, creative writing, art, memorization skills, first aid, socialization and more= co-op fun.
The kids had a ball on their first day of co-op and so did I. They are so excited about their Girl Scout peanut sales, especially when they found out they might get to go camping if they sell enough. Dangling carrots!?!

Whirlwind week

We have had a whirlwind week. It has been slam packed full of activities and fun and we have loved every minute of it. The kids are just doing FANTASTIC with their work. I never in all my wildest dreams thought that it would go this well starting out. They are kids, so obviously, we have had a few little "issues" here and there, but overall they have gotten right to their work when told and done it all with a joyful heart. They are just coming along beautifully and I am so excited. I absolutely love my new job.
The only problem we have had is wanting to do TOO MUCH. The local homeschool loop sends down every activity under the sun and it makes you want to do everything. But, unfortunately, we cannot fit it all in within the 24 hours of our day. Oh, well, we do our best trying to fit it in. After you get plugged into the homeschool organizations, you realize that "socialization" is the last issue you will ever have to worry about with your children. Unless, you worry about socializing them too much. I cannot say enough positive and wonderful things about home school. At this point, I cannot find one negative in the batch. Just thought I would share our praise report. God is so good.
Question of the Day: Do you see the praise reports in your day?

The Beauty of Home School

One of the most beautiful glorious things about home school is that we can school any day we want. What does this mean for our family? This means we can school on Sunday and go to the lake on Monday! Woo! Hoo! What fun we had.

Local fun

It's always fun to get out and go to the fair. Our town does this once a year and we had a blast. It was sweltering hot--sweltering! But, we still had a great time and rode ponies, went down mega slides, jumping "thingy", petting zoo, and face painting.

Then, mom and dad dropped the kids off at our good friends house and went on a DATE. Yes, a date. We have always said that we are going to go on a weekly date night, but life just gets in the way of those plans. So, we go on a bi-annual date instead. Just teasing, maybe a quarterly??!? date. It was really nice. We always have the best time together. God perfectly suited us for each other. Although, there are those occasional moments where we both question that. Ha! Ha!

Proverbs 6:16

There are 6 things the Lord hates, 7 that are detestable to him.

Haughty eyes

A lying tongue

Hands that shed innocent blood

Hearts that devise wicked schemes


Feet that rush into evil

A false witness who pours out lies

A man who stirs up dissension among brothers