A Long Time Coming

Well, it's clearly been a long time. I think facebook, twitter, and instagram took over for blogging. I know there are blogs out there still active because I find them on pinterest regularly in my search of new recipes, hints about homeschooling, insider information about trips to Walt Disney World (WDW) and others. Where should I start? We had planned to go to WDW this past summer with my parents who had a conference to go to, but God decided to change our plans and give us a son instead! I (Teri) gave birth to Nathan Earl Lehmann on July 29th and he is a cutie! It was a little weird having a boy at first, but he hasn't peed all over the place like I've been told. It's only happened 4 times on my watch (not including baths of course), and I swear my girls would pee without a diaper on a lot more than he has so far. He's super sweet and a pretty content and happy character. He sleeps really well, which I love! The girls are getting bigger and we have been homeschooling the past (almost) 2 years. I can't believe Rachel will be 6 tomorrow. Julia turned 2 in August, and if her height is accurate and she really reaches double her height at 2, which will be 6'2"! Crazy tall! Of course I was supposed to be 5'5" and look how that turned out (I'm shorter). Bekah is just Bekah. She has a personality all her own, stubborn and bull-headed, but she has the heart of a servant at her core. She will be able to do anything she sets her mind to if she can channel that strong will in the right direction. Since we lived in a fairly small house, we moved! We were planning on moving closer to church without moving too far from Jeff's job. Just in case, we also kept our eyes on homes in Rockwall. Most of the homes in the area of our church were too expensive or too small, or both. Rockwall had some decent prices occassionally, but they were usually tiny yards, or needed too much updating for the price. One day I panicked and looked on the other side of Jeff's work in Forney. The first house I saw was perfect and a decent price per square foot. We ended up buying in Forney, but not the house I wanted, it was the house I nearly discarded because there was a view of the middle school football field from the house. So far, the lights haven't bothered us, and you rarely hear the crowd. We even get peewee football games on Saturday night that we watch occassionally from the upstairs window, or we at least check the score. Because I went crazy and we decided to move to Forney, we have had to put ourselves out there. We have found a church we like, have joined a small group, and are starting to find friends. The big girls are playing soccer and we joined a homeschool group. We have been hearing about lots of families in town that homeschool and have met several of them. They just don't seem to live in our neighborhood. I feel very alone and isolated. I go to Bible study, but we don't eat food, no one talks. They only mentioned their names once, so I don't know many of them. Of course there are only 14 total if they all show up and we are usually finished 15-30 minutes early for a 2 hours Bible study and Beth Moore talks for an hour. People are starting to chat with us at small group, but it still feels a little like we're the visitors. It seems so weird that we've been gone from our other church for 4 months. It feels like forever and like it was just yesterday at the same time. We're busy most days of the week and yet I feel like I'm stuck inside all the time. Not sure when this feeling will end.

Adult Interaction Please, Off and Away

Since it's been a little while since I've given a family update I have a few. The girls and I have been going to Jeff's soccer games, as evidenced in the previous post. I have been working some and going to Bible study. Bible study this year has been great. Most weeks I don't go for myself. I go for the girls who will ask me all week why they didn't go to Cubbies and Puggles (AWANAS) if I give up and choose not to go. We have been studying John this year, and I have enjoyed it immensely. Maybe not necessarily as learning as much as I should have, but through the relationships in our small group of 4. One of my favorite teachers came a couple weeks ago to teach in our class, and we had a great time. Rachel is slowly becoming less shy, or quicker to warm up, I'm not sure which.

We had a great Christmas with all our families. Rachel is 4 1/2 and is growing up a little too fast. Bekah just turned 3 and REALLY wants to help and do everything herself. Rachel has started playing soccer and Bekah participates in every practice. I think if they'd let us, Bekah would be on the team also. Rachel really likes it and her first game is next week. I have no preconceived notions on how it will go because they don't keep score and I haven't a clue how they will do when they get out there.

The girls got a Leap Pad for Christmas. It's like an iPad for kids. It has worked wonders. Rachel can recognize most letters on site and can write them too. She was getting there, but it was painfully slow. Now if she doesn't know it, I can write it and she is able to mimic it on her own paper. I'm not sure if she can write numbers just yet, but she's doing great! Bekah has learned to ride Rachel's bicycle with training wheels. We even went on a walk the other day and one girl rode down and the other rode back on the bike. It was really nice. Bekah is trying very hard to keep up. The girls help us in the kitchen peeling carrots and cutting the green beans before we cook them. We have been giving them a butter knife to cut the beans, but we gave Rachel the dull scissors and Bekah can't stand to not get a turn. She cries so desperately that she'll "Be careful!" Poor kid. She did the same thing with something else another day. One day while I did the dishes the girls were playing and Bekah started dusting with her kid broom, so I told her only on the floor, but I asked her if she wanted to dust with a towel. She seemed excited, so I gave her a towel, of course then Rachel wanted one too. They kept asking what they should dust, so they basically dusted the house for me. Kids are never too small to help. Believe it or not, I have gotten these helpful hints from the Duggars and others with large families.

Julia is just growing and changing. I think she might have brown eyes now. She's had some brown in her iris with the blue that was there, but lately her eyes seem darker and darker. At a recent 6 month check up, she was about an inch longer than Rachel was at the same age. Her weight is about in line with the other girls, but she's long! We have her mostly in 12 month clothes now. Some 9 month clothes fit still, depending on the item. We even went ahead and changed her into the convertible car seat because we would have had to switch it out in the next month anyway. She sits up by herself and can even kick her legs out behind her when she falls over forward, rolls over back to front and front to back, and talks all the time! She'll squeal or laugh. I think she's learning her high pitched scream, the good one of course. She should be able to sit herself up before too long and we'll have to lower her bed. She's started foods and likes them. She eats kind of fast most days and then wants to nurse after she's done. If she nurses before dinner, she acts like she's still hungry after finishing her food.

This week has been Jeff's spring break, and even though we have had soccer 4 days this week (including tonight), we have had a good time. We got the car fixed (it's now quiet! Who would've thought?), had a picnic in the park, played on the playground at the park, helped Uncle Drew with Grammie's watering, gone to the store, had soccer practice at home, and pulled weeds. The girls and I did some school work while dad was at soccer practice yesterday (Thursday) and we later make homemade soft pretzels. It was a little work, but so yummy, and I'll be it was super CHEAP! I also made green beans and carrots for Julia, hamburger stroganoff, and salsa. I haven't made salsa in a LONG time. I've had to cut back on the spicy food for the most part because I couldn't eat it when I was pregnant with Julia and Julia doesn't tolerate it well in her milk when I eat a lot of salsa.

The real reason I was writing this post was to let the readers know about what is going on with Jeff and I. We recently decided that we will be joining together with some members of our church to go on a medical missions trip to the Philippines. We are so excited about it. I must say that I'm probably more nervous than excited because I know how tired I am after 8 hours at the office, either school or the pediatric office. During this trip we will be running a clinic during the day and having an evangelistic program in the evening. I am already out of my comfort zone on this. I have not been on a mission trip EVER! I do not willingly walk up to strangers or even semi-acquaintance to speak to them. I have a VERY hard time presenting the gospel to people, and yet I'm going. I am fully expecting to be exhausted, have a breakdown midweek, and hopefully I can talk about it, get over it, and be energized to finish out our time there. We will be serving in a city/county just north of Manila and I think we will be staying in Manila while we are there.

More than a month ago we sent out support letters to our friends and family asking for their support regarding this trip. We also asked if anyone wanted updates. I think I will try to use this blog to send updates. I will also be sending an email to everyone letting them know periodically the new information we have. While there we will be working with a church called Christ Commission Fellowship, where one of the missionaries our church support attends church. They have a team in charge of the medical mission trips that they plan for people to come from all over the world and provide medical care for those without access to it. As we are planning and gathering their team, we are doing the same, so some of the details will come over time. If you have sent money to us and haven't received any notification from us, we will contact you about it, I promise! You are not forgotten, and we are more grateful than you may ever know. We are so thankful that God is faithful, just, and provides in such amazing ways. I'm so glad I serve a loving God, who is the Provider of all things good and perfect for us. Send us an email or message us if you have any questions.

Lofty Goals!

Hi everyone,

I know some read our blog, and I would guess that those who read it also keep up with us on Facebook, so you may know about all of this, but please bear with me.

Soccer season has created a whirlwind at our house, as it usually does, and so we have all been quite busy. I took on sub jobs twice a week for the 3 weeks in January in the middle of soccer tournament season. I even worked on Friday twice! I will not make that mistake again, I hope. It caused some chaos and we ate out a LOT. I did plan ahead a little and had a few dinners in the freezer. We were hoping to do that again during spring break, but alas, we have had other things to do.

To date, Jeff's team is 16-0 on the season, but that includes scrimmages. Jeff and I looked through the games to see how many goals the other teams have scored on the JV Yellowjackets and found that others have only scored 3 goals against us ALL season. You read correctly, 3 goals. Now, if you want to take out scrimmages, they are 13-0 on the season with 1 goal scored against during the 3rd game of the season in a tournament!

Coach Lehmann and his team!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Jeff's team plays their in-town rival Heath tonight at 5:30. The last game might be the worst of all. I don't know if I can take it. I'm going to have to take some friends to the game with me to watch my kids so I can watch the game and take pictures!! A few games ago, the players began asking Jeff what he would do if they went undefeated the whole season. Eventually the idea of throwing a pie in his face. He has not agreed to anything, but suggested that pies thrown in the face are usually whipped cream pies. Jeff also overheard them the other day discussing bringing ice chests to the last game. For now Jeff seems content with the idea of getting freezing ice water dumped on him like a professional coach might get for a great season. I can't wait!! (for the games, not the ice water) I do plan on bringing an extra change of clothes for Jeff if they do win next Friday!! I know, I know, one game at a time. Do I dare mention that they beat this team 7-0 last time? It is Spring break, which means everyone is eligible to play, so who knows what tonight will look like.

My handsome husband and his girls after a game

Circles in my Head

I've stated on here before that I discovered the hard way that I'm a terrible writer and it's because all the thoughts in my head are a jumbled mess. Not only are my thoughts a jumbled mess, but things tend to go in circles in my head, like they are now when I want to go to sleep, but can't get the thoughts to stop. I will try very hard to make my thoughts go in a straight line.

I've been pondering for a long time how we (Jeff and I), as shy people can share the gospel of who Christ is and what He's done for the world. I very much want to shout at people and say, don't you understand who Christ is? Haven't you heard His name? How can you not believe? I say this as someone who's been in church from conception until now, with a brief 1 year withdrawal my freshman year in college. Since then I have learned more than I could have ever guessed. (back on topic) I don't understand how people, gentile and Jew, can miss the Deity of Christ or the fact that he is the Messiah Israel has been awaiting for far too long. It seems so easy a child can understand, which is the simple part of the gospel. I suppose that's why adults find it so difficult to fathom.

Continuing in my semi-straight line (FYI-I've never been able to draw or cut a straight line): I don't know that I have ever shared the gospel. Maybe I have and I don't realize it. I have tried to be very intentional in sharing the gospel with our girls in a very real way recently. I remember talking with them this week while reading a book about Jesus' birth the the star of Bethlehem that the wise men from the east followed to find Jesus. They know full well who Baby Jesus is and that He's important. We were talking about Jesus and how he died on the cross when Rachel piped in and said Jesus didn't die. I think she knows full well that he lived and rose again, but that he died completely in order to offer Himself as a living sacrifice is a little beyond her. I think she loves Jesus and knows He loves her. I pray that someday soon she will trust Christ and welcome Him into her heart.

A couple years ago, our church went through a series for the whole church to learn about what the gospel is and how to share your testimony. We were even teaching our Junior High students how they can share their own testimony. We spent several weeks going through their testimonies by asking specific questions for them to answer and showing them that these questions are having them spell our their testimony. This testimony is the best way to share Christ with others. The hard part for me is actually telling people my testimony. It's not that I don't know what my testimony is, but it feels like it's uninteresting (which ironically enough we told the students that everyone's testimony is unique to them and important). -Testimony to follow at the end.

Onward in a sort of straight line- I want to be able to share the gospel with others, but I'm afraid their going to say, yea, I know that, or I'm a Christian (so I'll quit bugging them or because that's what most people say), or being completely comfortable knowing that all I have to do is tell them the Gospel or my testimony through the Gospel and leave the results up to God. I love the quote by the head coach in Facing the Giants " I've resolved to give God everything I've got. Then I'll leave the results up to Him." I just don't think I can be comfortable in letting God do the work. I have such a hard time letting God work in my life. I've decided too many times that I've got to do everything myself or it just won't get done, or at least done the way I want it done. I've been trying to let the girls choose some things on their own, knowing they don't matter, like picking out their clothes. I give them some parameters like it must be pants and long sleeves, but I try to let it go even if it doesn't match. It's a hard thing to let your kids not match, but it's even harder for me to let go of the idea that someone's salvation depends on whether I deliver the gospel in the right way or not. The good news is, it's not up to me. I'm just the vessel God chooses to tell others about Christ (if I choose to obey) and what He did on the cross to save the world from sin. Only the Holy Spirit can save a person by working in their lives.

Have I mentioned I have a hard time letting go? I think of the lovely movie with Bill Murray "What About Bob?". I just have to take baby steps. Not sure how straight that was, but I tried to stay on point with just a few side notes.

Okay, I promised my testimony.

As I said earlier, I've been in church since conception. My father was in seminary when I was born and was soon given a job at his first church. It was at this church that I accepted Christ as my savior. Throughout my youth I continued to learn more about what it meant to be a Christian and other pieces of history in the Bible. I fully believed that I needed God, but being the strong-willed stubborn child that I was, I chose to not listen or disobey in late adolescence. Thankfully, I came to my senses about the time I turned 20. I met this great guy (my husband) during my freshman year that really challenged me and asked me some hard questions that I should have known the answers to. I learned a lot by questioning my actions and beliefs and had to know first hand what the Bible had to say about all of this. I learned quickly that I didn't really know much about the Bible I claimed to believe was true and desired to learn as much as I could. This led me to a great church that we still attend, were married in, and treasure dearly. It also led to some great relationships and a great sense of awe in who God is. No matter how much I try to learn, I will never be able to fully comprehend God because of my humanness. I'm so thankful that Jesus, Emmanuel, I Am, was sent to earth to fulfill the Law that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). Jesus was born as a baby, lived a perfect life (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God-Romans 3:23), died on the cross as the sacrificial lamb of God, was buried, and was resurrected 3 days later conquering the power of sin and paying the price for our sins (For the wages of sin is death-Romans 6:23a). I am far from a perfect person living a perfect life, but I thank God that my sin (past, present, and future) has been paid for and I look forward to the day when either Jesus returns or calls me to heaven that I may be made perfect in Him.

Blogs and friends

Over the past couple years of doing my blog, I've felt that this blog hasn't really been an efficient way to communicate to others what sorts of things are going on in our lives. Pretty sure I've had less than 10 comments total. Maybe even less than 5. Today I discovered that someone actually reads what I write, and I'd like to say "Thank You."

When I was in high school I thought I knew how to write a paper. I did fairly well in English and had a teacher that I loved. It's a good thing too, since I had her 3 times! I also felt that she taught us how to use MLA formatting in papers. Sadly, I didn't do very well on papers in college and discovered how poorly I communicated my thoughts on paper. I say all of this to let you know how difficult it is to write a blog. I try too hard to make it this fun cool thing with a theme. I tried early on to make all my posts start with the same letter. Needless to say, my life has become extremely busy between a husband, 2 jobs, 3 kids, a house, church and family responsibilities, and chores that never end. I just don't have time to be cute.

I try very hard to be candid without writing things that may be taboo for certain people. At some point, when I was very down and out, I created a completely secret blog that no one would be able to find simply for the sake of writing exactly what I felt without having to be sensitive to those who might read it. In any case, thanks for reading my mundane, boring tales of all the happenings in a regular boring life. I suppose I should thank God for my life being boring instead of the many trials and tribulations of this life we could be facing!

Family Update

Last week, Rachel and Julia went to the doctor for their 4 year and 2 month well visits respectively. I must say, I have never waited in our doctor's office quite like we did that day. We were there for an hour and a half. It was ridiculous. It wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't known that they didn't have much staff present, but they also had very few patients there when we were there. We waited for more than 15-20 minutes for the medical assistant to come give Rachel 2 shots and Julia 3 shots.

Rachel was being fairly uncooperative as usual. The doctor asked her several questions that she wouldn't answer and flipped out if he came near her. She was fine once she was convinced he wasn't going to hurt her.

Julia did well after they measured her because she was hungry, but thankfully we had time to wait until the doctor got there for her to eat and Rachel also went first.

I'm not really sure about Rachel's measurements because they are off from where she's been the past 3 years, but here they are:

Rachel at 4 is 41 1/4" (80%) and 34 pounds (40%)

Julia at 2 months is 24 3/4" (97%) and 13 pounds 7.5 ounces (90%)

To give you an idea of how Julia compares to the other girls, here are the stats for them at 2 months:

Rachel: 23 1/2" and 11 lbs 6 oz

Rebekah: 23 1/2" and 11 lbs 13 oz

In other words...she's HUGE!!!

This weekend was my birthday and all 3 girls spent the weekend with Nana and Papa! We also had a party, went out to eat, slept in, and got plenty of things done. It was probably one of the best birthdays ever!

Here's pictures of all the girls about the same age.

Working Mom Guilt

Taking care of 3 girls is very different than taking care of 2 girls. Over the past 2 years I have been a substitute nurse for Rockwall ISD, where Jeff works. It has been a great joy being able to work 1-2 days a week on an as needed basis. After the year was over I had talked with my boss about not coming back until January since I would be having a baby at the beginning of school. A few weeks into school I talked with one of the nurses I work for regularly and found out there are only 4 substitute nurses available in district. Since that time I had gotten several emails and a couple phone calls regarding working for a few different nurses. Feeling the need to help out, I took a job 1 1/2 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed being at school, surrounded by adults and kids who speak in full clear sentences most of the time. It was so great to be back working again. It was hard for me to imagine that I had left my 2 month old for a whole day already. When I started working 2 years ago, Rebekah was only 10 months old, but she was eating more solid foods. The idea that I was willing to leave my 2 month old behind 1 day a week kind of scare me.

I have a mental struggle going on in my head. It's hard to decide who's winning and where the statements are coming from. I fully understand that God has blessed our family with 3 lovely children who need attention and care and discipline and instruction to know what is right or wrong and why. I know that I have been charged with these blessings to raise them in the wisdom and instruction of the Lord. I also know that I go completely stir crazy sitting at home because I feel all I do on a daily basis is feed the kids and correct/guide them all day long. I really like how Michelle Duggar is so candid in their first book "The Duggars: 20 and Counting!" as she tells of times where she felt she went through her day doing nothing but correcting and disciplining her children. Well, I am right there. I know that if I am not consistent or am harder on one child than the other, they might resent me later in life. When you have an EXTREMELY stubborn child who has a hard time calming herself down, it makes life very difficult, especially when she throws a fit/gets into trouble while I'm nursing the baby.

Okay, so this mental struggle has 3 parts: 1)knowing I'm supposed to care for my kids as God has called me to do, 2)being completely frustrated, depressed and desperate to get away from my kids, and 3)wanting to work because I absolutely love what I do, even if I don't start IVs, give shots, save lives, or bring new ones into the world. I relish the days I get to work and the whole way home I become anxious to tell someone about the day I had. Even if I have a parent gripe for some unknown reason, work is still fantastic. Here enlies the GUILT! Because of reason 1, I feel SO guilty that I want to work. I think it helps my mood, my kids enjoy visiting with their grandparents, it keeps my brain working and thinking about things I was taught several years ago, and I get to talk to adults in the real world.

Even though I am involved in a Bible study and we go to church most Sundays, I don't really feel like I get to have real adult conversation about life. Most Sundays you say hi to people as you pass by and some might ask how you're doing, but most won't ask any follow up questions. I usually answer truthfully. "Okay" in my book isn't great or good, but it's also not terrible. If I answer "Fine" it's usually because I am "Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional" (taken from the new version of "The Italian Job." How many people will notice if I say something out of the ordinary.

Hopefully I can figure out what God is calling me to do soon. There are a few opportunities for me to find out how much I want to work and I hope we can figure out what is best for our family. The girls are getting bigger. Rachel just turned 4 and is so grown up. :( We went for a run this evening and had to make her go inside. I think we'll start her in soccer pretty soon. Rebekah is a terror, and when I say terror, I mean wild and crazy and into everything she's not supposed to be in. She can be very helpful and is growing up, but the child has a 6-pack! She's crazy strong and built like her mom! She's 2 1/2 and I feel every minute of it. Julia is 10 weeks/2 months old now. She's getting so big! She's tall like her biggest sister. She's in 6 month clothes and can wear some 9 month, but it's mostly because the cloth diapers take up extra room. Hopefully we will go to the doctor this week for our 4 year and 2 month check ups and we'll know more specifically how big these girls are!

A couple pictures for you!