Thankful, inspired, ready for another round!

Whew! What a couple of weeks it's been! I've been dragging lately. And I mean seriously d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g! Physically and emotionally I've just felt absolutely spent. Yesterday it hit me, "Where has my smile gone?". I could just feel my face clenched in a big old scowl. Not a pretty picture!

I knew that something needed to change, but honestly I felt a little stuck and I didn't know what to do! The Lord is so gracious though and is always faithful to bring us just what we need when we need it! Without going into great detail let me just say that I am abundantly thankful for:

The Word~ I am continually amazed at how the Bible speaks to me in all areas. The joy of the Lord truly is my strength!

Encouragement~Even from unexpected sources. People I've never even met in real life! For all of you who read my blog, you are an encouragement to me!

Inspiration~ I just found a new blog that I could spend about two months on and still not have gleaned enough from it! Check it out if you get the chance.http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/

Today I feel a spring in my step, a smile on my face and a song in my heart. I know that this is prime time for the enemy to try and drag me down again, so please pray that I will keep my eyes fixed where they should be. I'm ready for life now!

Drive-In Fun!!

Last night we decided to join my sisters, dad and cousin and go to the drive-in! Believe me, we don't do this sort of thing very often! Bethany and Havilah had a slumber party at Grandma's house, but we let Lydia come with us since we were going to watch "Up".

She was one excited girl!!! It was quite the adventure for her and she was full of questions!

It was lots of fun but we are all very tired, hence the short post! My brain is till not functioning well!

Hmm. Not too much.

Well, I've come on here every day since my last post and tried to think if there was anything interesting going on to write about. I just couldn't really come up with anything. It's not as if life has been on hold or anything, but we are busily carrying on with our everyday activities.

Lydia attended VBS last week but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures!!! She had such a fun time. That sort of stuff is right up her alley. She's been singing to songs constantly now ad even Bethany is catching on.

We attempted potty training with Bethany while Lydia was at VBS, but we didn't get very far! Daddy really doesn't want to do the baby potty chair thing this time, but she was very uncomfortable on the big potty, so after getting some wise advice I decided to invest in a "Cushie-Tushie".

We'll see how it goes!

Havilah is still refusing to walk although just in the last few days she has decided to try standing on her own. I think we're close!

I went in today to have my hair cut. This is one of those luxuries that I absolutely adore! In an attempt to save some money, my darling husband has cut my hair the last two times. I must say he does quite a good job. Something for him to fall back on at least if the whole police business doesn't work out! Nevertheless, there is nothing so wonderful as sitting in that chair, having your hair washed, combed, cut and styled. Bliss itself!






Nothing too dramatic, just a trim. Nearly as good a job as my husband!

One lesson down. Many more to come!

The other night I got the urge to teach Lydia some more skills that will benefit her ( and me (sheepish grin!)) in the future. I decided to tackle the dreaded "knife lesson", with the firm resolution that if things didn't go well ( you know, blood, missing fingers etc.) we would stop.

My first born displayed her first born qualities and took to it amazingly well. She was very cautious and meticulous as she sliced her strawberries and celery into perfect, uniform pieces. I also let her have a hand in grating the cheese. It was such a fun evening and she was so proud of herself!

Bethany got to be the official "Pick up the celery and put it in the bowl girl". Anything to make her feel important and as far away from a knife as I can get her!

The next task that I'm dreading to teach: "How to crack an egg". I don't even know where to begin!

Family Pictures!!

One of the biggest blessings of having this blog has been not only keeping in touch with people I very rarely see, but also finding some new "friends" (that is what I call you!) who I've never actually met in real life. I love following their blogs and knowing what's going on in their lives.

One such "blogging buddy" is Alysun. She found my blog back at it's very beginning through her sister-in-law and has been such a great encouragement to me through it all as she is very generous with her comments and updates.

Alysun is also a wonderful photographer! I've drooled over her work for months now. We were always the "go to Penny's and hope for the best" type of a family, but I loved to see how creative Alysun's work was and how she seemed to get good pictures every shoot! When I found out how affordable she was (about half of what we would spend at Penny's!) I couldn't resist!

Yesterday we met at the park. It was delightful to meet her in person! We all had a wonderful time (even David said it was fun!) and I always felt so confidant in everything she had a us do. Havilah was not in the mood to be easily entertained and didn't hand out hardly any smiles, but still she was able to capture some adorable pictures of her.

Let me just say that I am 100% satisfied with the whole experience and would (and hopefully will!) go back to her in an instant! I can't wait to see all the pictures, but she has given a nice sampling at her photography blog~ http://www.paradisephotography.blogspot.com/ .

Thank you Alysun!!!

1....2....3....

I've been very conscious the last few days of how short my temper has been, how easily little things become huge things instantly and how my patience level has seemed to drop into the red zone, especially pertaining to the small inhabitants of my home. This evening I was feeling quite proud of myself. I found it quite doable (with prayer) to breathe deeply and pause before reacting and choosing to make better responses.

As a result of my new found forbearance I decided to try putting my younger two to bed at their usual time and let Lydia stay up a little longer for some special time with Mommy. (Daddy had a softball game tonight and we stayed home for fear of rain showers!). I was amazed how easily Bethany and Havilah went down, with very little protest about Lydia staying up. Lydia and Bethany share a twin bed and this is the only night I can remember where they have not gone down at the same time.

Lydia had a nice evening together. We washed her hair and put it up in socks to make it curly. Finally it was time for her to go to bed as well. As we entered the room I smelled something funny. I just couldn't quite place it. I was also very surprised to find Bethany wide awake. And I mean WIDE awake! We had entered the room in the dark (trying not to wake up Havi) and I was a little confused at what Bethany was saying.

In a very excited and somewhat nervous sounding voice, she kept saying " I drawed those pictures for you Lydia! I drawed those pictures for you.". I didn't pay too much attention at first until I started to make out some vague shadows on the wall. I turned on the light to find this...

Yes, that is permanent marker (hence the smell). Yes, she has learned that she will never do that again. And yes, I really did stay quite calm through it all! Thankfully we have not done one thing to that room since we've moved there and a can of paint should remedy much of the fiasco. I'm amazed as well at how much I am thankful for the sanity of a four year old! Not much mischief happens under Lydia's watchful eye! I guess we've still got a ways to go with the two year old!

Raising my Teasures!

If you know me very well, or if you ever had very many in depth conversations with me, you will know that I am very passionate about girls and women. I always have been. I firmly believe that Biblical femininity is under brutal attack. On the flip side, I guess that I would say that I am equally passionate about Biblical masculinity, but more as a cheerleader than a radical activist! I know that that will change if I am ever blessed with sons.

After marrying a man who comes from a family of eight boys, I was sure that I would have a houseful of sons as well. My current life is much different than I ever imagined it looking like.

I'm finding that it is one thing to feel strongly about something, say it, try and live it, speak about it, and something very different to be responsible for shaping these fresh little lives.

I'm trying to pay very close attention to the differences between my opinions ( the things I genuinely prefer), my convictions ( the things I very strongly believe make life so much more blessed and able to live surrendered to the Lord) and my foundational beliefs ( the few things that I cold never loose hold of without changing everything I believe about the Bible and my God). Now in everyday life, I should love everyone. I should love everyone who shares my beliefs as the family of God. I will probably have a great deal more in common with those who share my convictions. My opinions probably won't matter all that much to those who aren't very close to me.

But I am talking about my daughters! What things will I pass on to them and how will I do it in a balanced, God honoring, humble way? I've seen many "perfect" looking young women, dressed modestly, soft spoken, very accomplished, and as proud as anyone I've known. I've also seen many poorly dressed young women, with brash conversations, who truly loved people, but were very hindered in their effectiveness due to their lack of discretion. It would break my heart to have my daughter follow either of those examples.

I know that the heart is what matters. If the heart is wrong, nothing else matters. Truly nothing! And yet the heart clearly is not all that matters. If that were so the Bible would not have devoted so much scripture telling us as women specifically what His desires are for us. I often wonder if the Bible had said " Now I want teachers to always wear blue socks, nurses to never wear watches and postal workers to eat broccoli at least once a week" how we would respond. If we believe the Bible to be the living word of God I would hope that we would take heed of His clear direction. But why do we not take seriously things like "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety"or "I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man" ( 1 Tim. 2:9&12). Obviously God does not tell us to do ridiculous things ( like wearing blue socks or eating broccoli) but the things that He does tell us specifically as women I believe that we should soberly take a look at!

I am a firm believer in brain washing! I believe with all my heart ( okay, maybe not one of my absolute beliefs but at least a conviction!) that children are going to be brain washed by something. Always. The people or things that they are exposed to the most are going to be the main shaping influences for them. When we first got married I babysat a little five year old who had a potty mouth that came straight from "Sponge Bob" and parents that didn't take the time to train it out of her. This is the exact reason that we don't have any TV service. They do watch movies, but it is entirely in our hands what they are exposed to. That is also the reason we have chosen to home school. Please, PLEASE do not take offense if you are reading this and do not share our convictions. This is just what we have come to.

I feel like I could go on forever about the way I feel about headship, modesty, education, independence, submission and much more, but I'm sure that if you felt like reading a novel, you would have picked one up instead of coming here! Maybe I'll chop them up at later dates. But here we come to the original dilemma. How do I raise these precious little treasures in a way that I will not regret?

I know that it starts with prayer. I can do nothing on my own. I need to be down on my knees begging for wisdom from our loving Father who promises to give generously to all who ask for it.

Next, I need to work on myself! Many hours of talking about patience, love and unselfishness is so easily outspoken by a angry outburst from myself. Is the tone of my voice towards my husband backing up what I'm telling them about honoring their father?

There are many just plain bad days...

.... and many that don't go quite as planned......

.. but my heart is thrilled at the task that God has given me.

My goals for my daughters : That they would love the Lord with all of their hearts, souls and minds. That they would shine for the Lord wherever they go. That they would be prepared, equipped and surrendered to make as much trouble for the devil as they can. That their lives would be a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And that I would never think that these things could ever "just happen" on their own or without a fight.