Snippets

I have so many things I want to say and no where to say them.

1. My cousin gave birth last week!  I am so excited.  My cousins are the closest things I have to siblings, so it's like the first cousins on my side of the family.

2. I've gotten very susceptible to the adoption bug.  There's a little boy that was recently removed from a very tough situation.  We REALLY need prayers for wisdom.

3. I've discovered over the last several years, that as much as I love giving gifts, the traditions of others and getting money instead of gifts is understandable but annoying at times.

4. I get exhausted when we are busy, but I get lazy when I have nothing to do and it isn't pretty.

5. Soccer has started, I have to get dinner ready by myself and sometimes I serve it alone too, and I haven't doubled recipes lately to keep stock in my freezer for January.

6. PSA: It is recommended by the APA to keep children in a rear facing position until the age of 2. In Texas they are also required by law to be in some sort of booster seat until the age of 8 or until they are 4'9" tall, whichever comes first. Here are the details and guidelines for buying car seats of all sizes in all states.

7.  Also in the car seat discussion: Coats are not to be worn with a five point harness.  There's too much space between the baby/child and the safety harness.  There's a big risk your child could get thrown from the seat/vehicle in the event of a crash.

8. Some friends of ours are experiencing Christmas for the first time as parents and she posted on her blog recently about their plan.  We had been following her plan for the most part, but I hadn't quite thought it through this year. It goes something like this:
       Something you want
       Something you need
       Something to wear
       Something to read
I found this on Pinterest and they added two lines to it that we already do, but thanks to their blog we may begin to change our tradition on giving.
       Something to hang on the Christmas tree
       and something to give to the least of these

9. We had our Christmas cards finished before Christmas last year, but I didn't stamp or close them, so they sat on our counter for 5 months.  One of those envelopes was for a dear friend, but she died before we got the letter to her. I hope we can get our cards out much sooner this year.

Adoption

I think I have stated on here that several of our friends are fostering or adopting, or both.  I have great respect for them.  With our family already having four kids close together, it's not in the cards for us right now to take on another child.  I work with a child that has gone through the foster system, and sure he's hyperactive, but he can read fairly well (but apparently not quite at grade level), and he seems like he's adjusting fairly well.  It's not until you try to talk to him about how things are going does he get defensive and shut down.  Some other people we know are waiting to go get their son, but the country is closed to adoption, so they can't get in country to bring him home.  My heart just wouldn't be able to bear the constant up and down of emotions.  I've gone through enough of that in my pregnancies, and we can't go through that again for a while.

I think what God wants us to do is to be open to Him.  Be receptive to His leading and obey what He says.  We feel it's best to not get pregnant right now, but that doesn't mean in a few years we would ignore God's instruction to expand our family, either by a child of our own or an adoption, I can't say. It breaks my heart to hear about children, not just orphans, who don't get to go to school, or don't have money for food.  I feel like I should care for them all, but know it's not reasonable for our family right now.

We are called as Christians to care for the widows and orphans, but that doesn't mean we will have them running all through our home. We keep praying about adoption, but we aren't there yet, and we may never be.

I have a heart for families with young children, but have to be content with my place now. My mother-in-law helps young families as often as she can. I keep praying that when my kids are older I will be able to do the same for the young families around me. I can't be if much help other than encouraging and praying for young and new moms while I have 4 little ones running around.

Parenting

So have you seen those kids in public who throw a knock down drag out tantrum?  You know the ones, usually 2-3 years old and the mothers are desperately trying to get them to stop throwing a fit and embarrassing her and themselves in public.

Well, I've been one of those parents dealing with a kid throwing a public tantrum lately, only the child of mine throwing the fit is five and a half.  I'm usually worried about if they think I'm trying to steal her or if I'm abusing her.  I do my best not to look at anyone for fear of the stares or comments coming my way.  Last Saturday at the game she asked to come off the field to go to the bathroom.  After coming off she refused to go, so I carried her, the ENTIRE way to the bathroom, and she grunted at me for several minutes in the bathroom before she relaxed enough to go to the bathroom.  At practice earlier this week, she threw a fit and refused to do what she was asked to do during a drill, so I made her sit in the stroller facing the baseball fields until she calmed down (it didn't take too long), and she was allowed to return to practice.

Today...oh today...she was warned because of her behavior in previous games that if she threw a fit she wouldn't get to go back in the game.  She started grunting and then she started screaming and stomping and flailing her arms about.  I tried to put her in the stroller to give her a chance to calm down, but she escaped and continued screaming, so we tried to leave.  I carried her all the way back to the car while pushing the stroller.  Thankfully my sister-in-law was there to carry Nathan to the car.  I set her down in the car, my SIL let my 3 y.o. in the car, I buckled my 1 y.o. in his seat, and closed the door.  She was still throwing a fit when I shut the door, but she can't get out of the vehicle without going out the front door.  For the record, she rode the whole way home with no seat belt on because I refused to pin her down to attempt to put her belt on. Today was probably her biggest fit in a while. I took her uniform off, put her on the potty and left her to put the other 2 in bed. When I came back, she had put her uniform on, went to the bathroom in a different bathroom than I put her in, so I took her uniform off again carried her to her room, put on her pajamas and diaper (yes diaper.  She doesn't stay dry during the day, who expects her to stay dry at night?) and put her in bed. She got up once and got in trouble because she was still mad, but got up a short time later crying a sad cry.  I got her pillow and her blanket (I figured with all the energy she used throwing the fit, I think she needed some comfort), kissed her, told her "I love you," and put her back to bed.  Thankfully, I haven't heard from her since.

Usually passersby are either saying or thinking "Bless her heart" while others are sitting there judging them for letting their children behave like that.  Don't they discipline them.  Sadly, I am guilty of the latter on occasion. Though, because of being one of those moms dealing with a tantrum on occasion, you would think I would have more compassion and understanding toward those who are in the trenches of a stubborn child. I have been trying to be more considerate, but only after my knee-jerk negative reaction to whatever situation I come across.  Being loving is something I struggle with, but I am working on it.  Swallowing my pride is something else that needs work, but, maybe later.

Snippets

I keep thinking of all kinds of things I want to say, but none seem appropriate for fear of offending someone on Facebook, so I let it go, then I forget about it, until I see someone else doing the same thing.

1) I apparently have several friends that are accountants, so Happy 2nd tax deadline!

2) It really bothers me when people don't follow the rules and recommendations of car seats and car safety of little ones.

     - In case you're wondering, you aren't supposed to put a coat on a child in a 5 point harness.

3) It really drives me crazy when parents are so excited to get rid of their kids for 7-8 hours a day so they are free to do anything they want.  Why do you have kids if you don't want to see them for maybe 5 hours a day?

      - This is probably more in reference to stay at home moms who choose to be stay at home moms so they can't see their kids more, and yet jump up and down and do a dance as they leave school.  I have a huge respect for families that have 2 working parents because I don't know when you get things done.  When I work, I'm exhausted when I get home, so I can't imagine being full time, caring for kids, making dinner for the family, shopping for food or anything else.  I'm impressed.

4) It's a little tough right now trying to teach my oldest to read while my 2nd child is reading at a 2nd grade level at the beginning of Kindergarten.  There's a very delicate balance between not getting frustrated that the older one doesn't remember words and sounds that I feel we go over daily and making sure my Kindergartener realizes that she has a lot left to learn.

5) We have lots of friends adopting locally or internationally or fostering with the possibility of adopting.  I have a great respect for them.  As a one income family with 4 kids already, it will likely not be a route we will take, but not just for money reasons.  A friend of mine has been sewing and embroidering all kinds of things to help raise money for their adoption, and their motto is "Adoption is the Gospel."  I'm sure it's not exclusive to them, but I like thinking about it each time I see a new shirt design they come up with.  Another couple we know is fostering 2 babies, they both have jobs, he is in seminary, and with all the appointments that must be made, I couldn't imagine maintaining our schedule at home and have multiple added appointments each week.  They amaze me all the time and I'm so proud of them and gives me a respect for those who foster.

6) I mentioned our schedule at home.  I've been feeling pretty good about our schedule right now.  We are staying (mostly) on track with school and extracurricular activities are keeping us busy.  I was feeling pretty good about myself until a friend of mine posted some pictures of their homeschool activities, and got a big dose of humility.  I am NOT a creative person, so artsy things and activities outside of the norm are difficult for me.

7) I must go and let my husband use his computer now.

Lifelong Enjoyment

When I was young, I took piano lessons.  I asked and asked for lessons.  Then we moved and my friends were taking dance, so I wanted to take dance.  We didn't have much money, so I had to choose whether I wanted to take dance or continue piano lessons.  I chose piano.  We moved again and was too busy with band and sports that the idea of taking piano lessons didn't come up.  Did I want to take lessons?  Occasionally I wanted to take lessons again, but never asked, and truth be told, I was terrible about practicing.  I had other things I wanted to do.  When it comes to learning, I haven't had many instances where I had to try hard, and because of that, I don't think I have a strong work ethic. 

In college, I played at a friend's house occasionally, but I never play within earshot of others.  I didn't want others to hear me play for fear of being judged.  I've played for judges during yearly tests about memorization of a certain number of pieces and the ability to sight read music.  Some years I did better than others, but after I stopped taking lessons, I quit playing for people.  I played in the mall, for church, and recitals, but I don't like playing for people.

My mom took my grandmother's piano when she died and it was understood that it was my piano, but it took 6 years before we finally made an effort to get it to our house (and by effort I mean my parents rented a Uhaul trailer to bring us a couch and the piano).  The girls enjoy playing on it once in a while, and I have taught them the note names, where middle C is, etc,.  I went through all of our piano books (my old ones and my mom's old ones) and got the itch to play.  I played this morning for a while the kids were playing outside and Jeff was mowing.  I played more after lunch too, and finally let the kids hear me play.  Two of them ignored me and the other just said why are you playing that?  I think I'll be playing more often for enjoyment and not worry about what it sounds like.  

This year, we are going to be going through my old piano books and I'm going to try to teach them a few things and set aside time each day to practice what I want them to learn.  We are also going to be taking dance lessons, so this should be interesting.  I know nothing about dance.  I am an athlete, but I am in no way equipped to handle kids in dance.  This should be an interesting year, but I am looking forward to it. 

Frustration

Thankfully this is not going to be a soap box kind of frustration that I want to talk about today.  One of the reasons we chose our current church is because they have Adult Bible study classes on Wednesday nights.  During the summer they have 2 "terms" and 3 classes to choose from each term.  We enjoyed our classes last year, and even though we didn't go to the 1 class offered during the school year (alone time, baby recovery, exercise time, grocery store, etc), we took the opportunity to attend classes again this summer.  The first class we attended was about families being under attack and ways to help build our families up biblically by knowing each other and improving our relationship by making sure our relationship with God was good.

The second class helped us identify our spiritual gifts (if you don't know what your spiritual gift is, you can take one here) and figure out how our gifts can be utilized in the growing/building up of the church.  Servants find a place to serve, teachers to teach, administrators organize events, etc..

Sounds like a great thing to do in a new church right?  Well not if your gift is prophecy!!  I am an introvert who sees most things in black and white and because of that I can be somewhat legalistic.  I am old enough and have been aware enough to realize I need to be careful and tell people what is right and wrong based on grace and love and not just yell at people.  Mercy isn't exactly my strong suit.  Did I mention that not many people have this gift?  This gift is not like the prophets in the Bible where God told them a specific

So now what?

I am not where I want to be or should be in my relationship with the Lord.  If I were, I would better understand scripture, be able to call out others' sin in a loving way, deal with my family better, serve my church in a way that builds it up in unity and help to spur each other on as we become more Christ-like.  As it stands now, I'm a (relatively) young introverted female, not completely in tune with God, gifted with prophecy.

Don't get me wrong, I see people breaking laws, behaving sinfully and say something about it, but not to their face.  I'm either in my car or tell my poor (and loving) husband about it.  I thought because I had rebelled in my teenage years, I might have something to teach teenage girls.  We were in youth ministry for a few years, but I never had the opportunity to share any of my experiences.  I'm a terrible speaker, so I would never be able to talk to larger groups of girls.

As of now I am just someone who wants to use her gifts to spur the church into greatness by challenging current believers to question their actions as their witness in an unbelieving world.  If you know how this plays out in today's church, I'd really like to know.

In other news...

Nathan is WALKING!
Julia is now 3!!!
School starts in 1 week people, 1 week!

Nurse for a Day

In the past I have worked as a substitute school nurse as a way to get out of the house, earn some money, and use some of my nursing skills.  This year I did not work for a number of reasons:

1. moved far enough away from family to make it really difficult to have them babysit starting at 7:15
2. We added a fourth to our brood
3. Our oldest started Kindergarten and I was unsure of how that would go with a new baby in the house.

This week I got to volunteer with our old church as they serve the kids of East Plano.  Plano Bible Chapel has teamed up with other churches in the area to bring Pine Cove's Camp In The City to kids who might not otherwise get to go to camp.  It's a great program you can read about here.

I enjoyed getting to be a nurse for a change.  I enjoy being a nurse when I can.  Sadly, I don't get to work the whole week because of our schedule, but it would be fun.  It's really amazing to see the love of God shared with local children through multiple churches working as one.  It was also fun to see familiar faces.

Pine Cove is an excellent camp with many different kinds of programs for all ages.  Check it out if you get a chance.

All Grown Up...well, sort of

My baby boy turned 1 today!  He got his 3rd haircut yesterday.  He started toddling around with our walking toy.  He's walking along the furniture more and has discovered cabinets.  He is my 2nd heaviest baby at 1, even after all that fuss about him not gaining weight fast enough.  We are transitioning to milk, which he loves much better than the formula he had for about 1-2 weeks.  He is in the screaming stage right now, so he screams a VERY high pitched scream a LOT!  He doesn't have to be mad/cranky, he just shrieks, and I will be glad to get him out of this phase.

Julia will be 3 in 2 weeks.  I still tell everyone she's 2, but if someone asks my kids' ages I would say 1, 2, 5 and 6, but really it's basically 1, 3, 5, 6.  It's just so weird to say she's 3.  I can't wait to see how tall she is when we go to the doctor in a few weeks.  She talks ALL THE TIME!!!  We decided to get her a preschool program so she has something specific to do while the girls are doing their work.  She will start Cubbies when school starts.  She is mostly potty trained (has an occasional accident, takes naps with no diaper, will some days stay dry overnight.

Bekah has been very vocal about her thoughts lately, usually in a rather rude manner, so she's been doing lots of thinking about her tone of voice and her words. She is looking forward to kindergarten and being old enough to do kids choir this fall and playing soccer with her sister again this year.  She was learning to ride her bike, but forgot and is now scared and difficult to convince to continuously pedal so she doesn't fall over.  She gives up and heads straight for the nearest exit off the road.

Rachel is changing a lot.  She has lost several teeth and her front 2 are finally coming in.  We all made it to the dentist and they didn't say anything about her mouth, so I guess we"re ok.  I'm hoping Rachel still enjoys school this year and I'm praying that I have the diligence to do the things I have scheduled for us to do and to have patience with her when she gets frustrated and wants to quit or not try.  She is determined to try out for a speaking part this fall with kids choir.  I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I will try to stay positive.

Throwback Thursday and Hashtags

I love that Jeff is a teacher and has summers off.  When he was a new teacher, we got questions all the time about whether he was going to get a summer job to add income to his salary and give us a little wiggle room in our budget.  He has never officially gotten a summer job, but he works extra days some years, volunteers to administers tests (for pay), coaches soccer camp, and a few other odd jobs.  It doesn't take away from our summer, but gives him something to do and adds income that we are thankful for.

That being said, and since I titled this post Throwback Thursday I thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos of past summers.

Brief side note: I know what a hashtag is. I know it somehow relates to twitter.  I have no idea it's purpose, why people put 3 or 4 of them at the end of Facebook posts, or why anyone would ever give their child the name hashtag.  I just don't understand.  I'm probably uninformed, behind the times, or maybe I'm just old.

Bekah 2009

Houston 2009

Wisconsin 2010

Wisconsin 2010

Illinois 2010

San Antonio 2010

Mamaw's 2010

Guam 2012

Summer 2013

Summer 2013

July 2013

Philippines 2012

Colorado 2012

Colorado 2011

DIsney Vacation

I mentioned in an earlier post here that we went to Disney and I was hoping to impart some wisdom onto those who are thinking of going.  Some is based on mistakes we made, things we learned while there, and some is based on different blogs we read before going.

1) Disney is currently transitioning into using Fast Pass+ bands instead of the credit card looking passes.  I'm not sure how the fast pass system works with those, but the new system only allows 3 fast passes.  The only way to get more is to book the fast passes early for what you really want to ride that has the most wait time and book them early in the day.  Once you have used all 3 fast passes, you have unlimited numbers of fast passes that you can book, but you have to book them 1 at a time.  It took us half of our week before we figured it out.

          a) While we enjoyed the FastPass+ system, we weren't able to use it to it's maximum potential.  We booked a fast pass for some rides that usually have short wait times.  For rides with short wait times, a fast pass isn't necessarily needed.  For instance, at Magic Kingdom, Peter Pan's Flight will have a wait time over 1 hour most of the day, but if you go early, there's very little wait time.

         b) Book early.  We didn't book our fast passes very early, but if you have kids that want to ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or see Anna and Elsa without a 2-3 hour wait, you will want to get a fast pass early or there won't be any left.

2) When planning out what you want to ride, you have to consider the weather.  Some of the rides shut down while it's raining and will remain closed for a while after the rain.  In the summer there is almost always an afternoon rain around 2:00.  Some of the indoor rides will be available during the rain, or it might be a good time to pop in to one of the many shows available, we did our shopping for souvenirs during one of the rains.

3)  We had heard that the portions were large and thought we would be saving some money by not having to buy a meal for everyone.  The portions weren't as big as we thought, but I'm sure it was still cheaper than getting a dining plan.  If you are going in September or October, I would plan on getting a  Dining plan and making reservations early, but assume they will offer free dining plans for those staying onsite.

          a) You can start booking reservations 180 days before your arrival date.  Take advantage of it.

4)  Character dining- we ate at 1 character dining restaurant and our kids loved it.  I would guess it's cheaper to eat at a character restaurant for breakfast instead of lunch or dinner.  We ate at Akershus in the World Showcase at Epcot.  This is great for girls.  We saw at least 5 or 6 princesses all during breakfast, it was interactive, and the girls got signatures for all of them.  The price you pay is not having to wait in line for each princess.  One meal you read about that is very popular is The Crystal Palace.  We wanted to eat there, but had some communication problems and didn't get a reservation.  We had a group of 8 eating, so it's a little harder to get reservations for larger groups, so that's why you book EARLY.

           a) One of the new restaurants in the Magic Kingdom is Be Our Guest.  A few characters come out during dinner if you book it for dinner reservations, but if you want to save a few bucks, go during lunch.  It's a quick service restaurant during lunch and it's very pretty inside.  We saw a blog that said go at 10:45 to get in line because it opens at 11:00.  This couldn't be more true.  We got there at 10:45, they were handing out menus so we would know what we wanted to eat when we got to the front to order and we were the last ones to be allowed in line until the line got shorter.  There were people who were turned away. We were told that it could be up to a 2 hour wait from where we got in line.  As the line progressed, more people came behind us to get in line. We ended up waiting less than an hour.

There's oh so much more, but it will have to wait for a later date.

August is Coming

Wow!

Summer is flying by.  We have had a fairly calm week at our house.  Nathan got a fever that turned out to be an ear infection, Bekah threw up our first night home, Julia had nightmares all night one night so she slept by our bed, Jeff has been rebuilding our fence that blew down in the spring, the girls went to the dentist, and now we are packing for our next adventure.

Yesterday Mardel had their annual 20% off education and curriculum sale, so Jeff and I went and bought almost all of our school books for the coming school year.  I had already started making out our schedule for the semester with some of our books, and now we have our math, science and phonics ready to go.  When I get the books for the school year, I spend days pouring over them, figuring out what I like, don't like, whether I think the girls will understand or not, and this year, I have teacher's manuals, so it gives me extra activities we can do without me having to come up with the idea!  I am almost completely ready for this semester.  We are waiting for a few books we had to order at the store, and when they come in, hopefully I will be ready to get moving.  Julia wants to do school this year, so I got her some papers to do while the girls are busy with their school.

On a side note...it has been under 75 degrees the past 2 days here in TEXAS, in JULY!  Who would have known we would ever get the chance to open our windows to cool off the house in the middle of summer.

Laziness

I saw a post on Facebook recently that included a link to a friend's blog.  Granted, it was my friend's wife who write's the blog, but the blog is about their life together.  My friend is currently in seminary and has been a youth pastor for the past several years.  They are currently foster parents with the intention of adopting.  Some of the stories they tell make me very blessed to have 4 healthy children.  We had a small glimpse of what it might be like for us to have a child with medical needs. Our needs were small and wouldn't require monetary commitments long term.  God could have chosen to give us a child with heavy medical needs, but hasn't.  I'm not sure my emotional state could handle it.

On with it you say? Well, on their blog they made a huge list of things they needed to do to their home to be ready for fostering kids.  They did lots of work, they both have jobs, and now they have kids to take care of and both have jobs.  In order to make their house run, they don't seem to have much time to relax.  I, on the other hand, choose to ignore my household responsibilities and have dirty dishes, a pile of laundry to fold and another large pile of clothes that need washing. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, toilets, showers, the yard, garden, school, cooking.  Who has time for it all?

The one thing I do know is that my spiritual gift is NOT service.  On the days that I am active and get several chores done I am exhausted!  I don't know if it's because I have 4 young children and trying to raise them is exhausting and adding in household chores is just more on top of that or if I'm just not cut out for serving others day and night.  I feel really lazy some days and flat out tired other days.  Maybe I should get a check up to make sure my iron isn't low or maybe that my thyroid is working properly.  If all is well, then I need to dig deeper into relying more on God's strength and mercy than my own.  I probably should rely on Him more as it is.  I'm hoping that since this is on the internet that I will be more inclined to follow through and not just put if off like our house projects.

Please pray for our family as summer winds down and get back into the grind of having Jeff gone during the day and parenting 4 kids and homeschooling.

Proverbs 15:19 "The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway."

Vacation!

We had an amazing time on vacation!  It was the BEST!  I'm not sure if I can say all I want to say about it, but I will get to that.  First, some things that have been on my mind.

1. We don't have cable.  The major networks have sub-channels that we get to watch and I'm obsessed (in a fun, not creepy sort of way) with their shows.  It's almost like having HGTV and the Food Network in 1 channel.  Anyway, so my favorite show is Knock It Off.  These 2 amazing Christian ladies from the northeast have a blog and it got made into a show.  It's a little like Trading Spaces, only with whatever budget you give them.  Their blog has lots of DIY ideas, and it got me thinking that I want to maybe tell people some of my ideas/things that I accomplished.  Only problem is, I don't do anything very exciting often enough to blog about it.

2. I have neglected my parental duties to send out a birth announcement for Nathan.  Am I going to regret this one day, probably.  I may have to go make a birth announcement and send it with this year's Christmas card, which hopefully gets out before last year's card that didn't go out until May!  Yes, I said May.  They were (mostly) ready in December, but we didn't make it to the post office.  To make matters worse, I had written a note to a family friend who is very sweet and had been battling MS as long as I've known her and she died at the end of April, before the letters went out.

3. When I plan something, or look to buy things online, I usually research it to death.  I probably read the same websites several times through.  We just got back from Walt Disney World and I feel like I have plenty of wisdom to give, but not nearly like those who have been several times and know all of the short cuts.  I may write other posts about our experience, even if it's with the hope that we may return in a few years when our kids are a bit older.  It will still be difficult to do Disney with 4 kids and only 2 adults, but nothing like toting an infant most of the day, a toddler who is always talking, whining, or crying about something, and 2 others who could ride most rides, but probably wouldn't.  \

4. Have I mentioned that it's summer?  It's already 1/2 over and going by WAY too fast.  We volunteered to teach in July at church because our schedule was fairly empty, but knowing us, our July has filled up.  Jeff has 3 days of work, a 3 day marriage conference, a 3-4 day coaching school/vacation, Nathan's birthday, and freshman camp.  It may not seem like much, but when you have a long list of projects to do at home, it would be nice to have full days to tackle some of these projects, so you can take a break.

Disney was amazing!  We didn't have enough time to see everything, but hopefully we can make it back someday and see the things we missed and make new memories.  There are  hundreds of pictures, but my parents have most of them.  We also spent a week at the beach.  It was very nice to relax and enjoy a slower pace while still on vacation and not at the upbeat pace of trying to see everything at Disney.  We ate a couple of meals in Seaside even though we were staying in Seacrest.  It was all very nice, and it wasn't super busy.  I've never been to Destin, but I hear there are lots of people around this time of year.  I will post more of our Disney experience later with some tips/advice that go along with it.

Summer is Almost Here!

We made it!  Only 10 school days left until Jeff is home (mostly) for 2 months. We also finished our school year.  My kids determination and God's grace are the only reason we made it through.  We will be adding a few more things next year, so I am hoping our schedules are a little more on track than they were this year.  Bekah is reading really well and Rachel is really close.  They love to write and spell words. They read everything they see.  Math has also been really fun for them.  They are working on telling time and counting money.  I've decided that letting the girls play a game on the computer that I thought would help them learn the values of different coins didn't work.  They just match the pattern or use trial and error to get the answer because it won't let them pick the wrong answer. Bummer!

Other than our MUCH anticipated trip to Disney, we thought we would basically be home most of the summer.  At least 1 other year we thought we would be home the majority of the summer because we didn't have plans.  That summer, we were home for maybe 2 weeks.  This summer is shaping up somewhat like that.  We have Disney, soccer camp, a marriage retreat, and coaching clinic.  Some of these days are partial days and we will be in and out, but we will be gone for quite a bit of the time.  Of course on the negative end of things, the project list for the summer is growing.  Not fun, but many of them necessary.

We can't forget about our summer babies.  Nathan will be turning 1 and Julia will be turning 3 at the end of the summer!  They are growing up so FAST!  Nathan is crawling and pulling up on everything. Julia wears mostly size 5 clothes at 2!  She is getting so big.  It makes me very sad to walk by all the super cute girl clothes while shopping for Nathan.  There are just not nearly as many options for boys as there are for girls.  Julia is super excited about her polka dot party that we may combine into Minnie Mouse also.  I haven't quite decided what Nathan's party will be, but I'm thinking we may just go with Blue.  The other girls' 1 year old parties were (in order): purple, red, pink.

We are really enjoying watching our garden grow, but it's not as fruitful as I had hoped yet, so I'm hoping we keep making progress.  I must run off to bed so I can get many things accomplished tomorrow before swim lessons.  I'm sure I'll be fighting the swimsuit battle all day!  I finally gave in and let them get ready after lunch, otherwise I'd have 3 girls running around in nothing but a swimsuit all day for no reason.  These next 2 weeks are going to fly by!

Socks

Socks aren't my favorite piece of clothing. In fact, they are probably my least favorite, because the older they are, the less elastic that is in them, so the further into the day you get, the easier they slip off of your feet or move sideways when you change positions or take your shoes on and off. If you don't wear them to bed you have cold feet that take forever to warm up in bed and if i do wear them to bed, I have to take them off and put them on the floor so I don't sweat to death. I will be happy when winter is over and I no longer have to consider whether or not to wear socks to bed.

Why socks? Because in our difficult decision to move away from friends and family while pregnant and me dealing with post partum depression, we have been welcomed into our new church and made new friends who have come to help at the drop of a hat. I think I had my first migraine about a month ago and it was so painful that when I called a friend to see if she could come help with the kids, I couldn't hardly talk because the pain was so bad and I was in tears. Today, after Nathan didn't sleep a wink past midnight unless he was being held standing up, which meant Jeff and I got very little sleep, we had several friends offer to bring me coffee (which I don't drink, but it's a nice gesture), and 4 or so people who were available to watch the kids if I needed a nap. I did end up napping while everyone was down for a nap/quiet time.  Thankfully all the kids are in bed asleep right now, and hopefully Jeff will be home soon and we can all get a good night's sleep to recover. Nathan has had a fever since about 8:00 or so and we have been alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol and his temperature has stayed over 100. In the process of raising 4 kids through nightmares, illness, teething, and the newborn stage, that's the most I have stayed up since my 1 almost all-nighter in college (not counting the 4 nights I was in labor and had babies). This is just something I'm not accustomed to.

My whole point being that our small group has really blessed the socks off of us, and we are so grateful to be doing life with these fellow believers who are willing to stick their necks out for us. I just hope we are able to be there for others within our local body of believers in their time of need as they have for us in ours.

Church

As some of you may know, we moved at the end of the school year to help accommodate our growing family.  Because of our move, we had to change churches.   I find it rather interesting that both churches began a series in January speaking about the local church and it's purpose in the big Church.  Clearly there has been a big exodus of people in the local church.  Before Christmas our former church posed the question to those who would listen why they or people they knew were leaving the local church.  I read a few of the responses and I shared it with my friends to see if anyone would respond.  It makes me sad to think of people leaving the church and still claiming faith in Christ.  I do not doubt their faith in Christ, but I do take into question their commitment to the commission Christ gave to the church and wonder how they justify their not going to church.

I realize Paul is not Christ, but many of the things the church believes and practices are based on Paul's teachings. Like Titus 2 telling older men and women to counsel and direct the younger men and women. Or in 1 Timothy where he gives instructions on prayer, church leadership, instructions on ministering to others and more.  There are many more instances in which Paul directs believers to come together to get encouragement from other believers, gain in knowledge and wisdom and to live in peace and harmony with others.

Clearly this is difficult to do perfectly because the church is an organization of sinful people.  The most common reason I hear for people not going to church is because of the hypocrites.  I'm not sure how to get away from hypocrites.  If you're looking for the perfect church, run the way you want it to be ran, you're going to have to start it yourself or wait until we're on the new earth and we're all praising God night and day.  I have decided, whatever the excuse may be, I feel it's usually a lack of faith in how intricately God is woven into our lives and how desperately we need each other in the battle with Satan while on this earth.  Another excuse that is common is they feel they have been slighted by the church, and that may be true, but chances are, both sides were sinning in the process and forgiveness must happen or bitterness will set in.

I have had trouble with being angry.  Angry at people for their lack of understanding, or for being self-involved, and at my kids and husband.  If I actually examine myself, I am being pretty self-involved.  I try to control things that are out of my control and I should be leaning on God for my understanding, wisdom, forgiveness and grace.  I think some people make excuses.  As a preacher's kid I heard the phrase, church would be great if it weren't for all the people, all the time.  It was a joke for pastor's and other people who knew the church was full of sinners, including the people who run the church.

I hope I've said before that I'm a really poor writer.  My thoughts don't flow together as well as I'd like and I get distracted easily.  I think the church should/does play a major role in a believer's walk with Christ.  Is any church perfect, no.  If the church is available to us, should we take advantage? Yes. Going to church should not become a habit, but it should make you want to stop and learn.  If you're not getting something out of it, maybe you will next week.  It's not about you all the time.  That's one of the things our pastor likes to say.  I also appreciate that he doesn't sugar coat it.  If the bible says it's wrong, he tells you that's what he believes and he has scripture to back him up.  Our church isn't perfect.  There are some things that drive me crazy, but I try not to focus on them, because we love our small group, we feel connected to the missionaries, there are many different areas where we can serve, and the kids have several kids their age, so they are making friends.