~Crazy Good~

Life feels crazy.

I got a job.  I absolutely LOVE this job!  God couldn't have blessed me more.  It's with a missions organization called Christar.  The people are so sweet.  My boss is precious.  I'm having a ball...and using more brain cells on a daily basis than I've used in the 6 years I've been a stay-at-home mom.  I'm head tired when I get home!!! 

Mr. 5 is in Kindergarten now.  Mr. 4 is in K4. 
I juggle the emotions that come with watching "all the other moms" (you know, those who DON'T work outside the home) get to be homeroom Mom, if that's their choice.  I juggle the emotions of frustration of "how do Moms that work find time to work out?  Or do laundry?  Or the energy to play with their kids at night?"

So our family is in "adjustment mode".  And life feels crazy.  And yet good.  Because God is so good to us.

So, until God chooses differently for us...

life is crazy,

but God is good. 

~Summer of GROWTH~

How to even summarize where I've been....hmmmm...

• My kids are amazing....I've had such a fun summer with them.  They've grown.  They are so conversational. We've swam.  We've collected and traded silly bands with all our friends. (OK seriously...how BRILLIANT was that invention?!) We've just hung out.  No big plans.  No over-booked summer.  So sweet. 

• My relationship with Jesus has grown IMMENSELY this summer.  I cannot even express to you the precious time of growth I have had...and am in.  Our family is still in financial distress...and all I can tell you is that honestly, I wouldn't trade the spiritual growth for all the financial comforts in the world. God is utterly and completely amazing.  He has shown up in amazing ways.  This book, my Bible Study group and being intentional about memorizing God's promises have been significant in my life this summer. 
• It's also been a continuing journey of hearing God for what His plan is for our family....do I work outside the home?  Or do I work inside the home?  That's another post for another day.

Summer is coming to an end.  Can you believe it?  I hope to be able to post more now that my little men will be in school soon.
Until next time~

~Back to life~

Here I sit at the computer....on resurrection day.  The resurrection of this blog, that is.  Thanks to two of my sweet girlfriends (you know who you two are...), I "reconsidered" this blog.  This is what I've prayerfully come up with...

This will be my place to document my family, my heart and my love for and walk with the Lord.  I decided this blog should be written for my kids.  I want them to be able to see their life (since I'm a terrible photo-album-keeper/scrapbooker!), and I want them to truly know me.  Since at this time in their lives, my "job" is to be their Mom and not their best friend, I want them to be able to look back and hear my heart for them...and for the world the Lord has put us in.  So this is for them.  And me.  And you, if the Lord so chooses.

It's not to impress.  I will not allow myself to get trapped in comparisons.  I will not struggle to speak, if the Lord hasn't put something on my heart.  It's His, mine and my kids.  If you want to take the journey with us, we're blessed.  If not, we're still blessed. 

Right at this moment, I have a broken camera.  So I don't have the ability to take new pictures.  This could cause me much "blog anxiety".  But it is what it is.  And I give that anxiety over to the One who can free me from it.  For now, I'll just write until I can photograph, too.

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How me and my family have been since March:

(1)Healthy
(2)Growing in our trust of Almighty God each and every day.  We're still "touch and go" with paychecks.  They are spotty at best.  Some months (okay, only one month in the past 8) are feast, while most are famine.  But God knows exactly where we are.  And that's where He currently chooses for us to be.  So I trust.  I wait.  I do the next right thing daily.  And wait some more.  And know that God is good.
(3)The boys are changing, growing.  They are little people now.  Little people with wills of their own.  Hearts of gold.  Hugs that would melt a glacier.  Smiles that are heartwarming.  They are discovering who God is.  What his Word is...and means in our daily lives.  They are learning daily what it means to need God, by dealing with their own hearts bent towards rebellion, as are all of our hearts.
(4)My husband and I are working...lots.  He is continuing to press on in his line of work.  God is opening doors and will bless as He sees fit.  It's all in His hand.  I have re-picked up a home business I used to work when the boys were tiny and it's been fun to see God bless it.  I keep eyeballing Him.  He's never steered me wrong yet...in all my 40 years of livin'. 
 (5)Lastly, Bill and I are just enjoying being married.  We're relishing being parents.  We laugh a lot about the things our kids do ~ things that are easy and things that are "difficult".  We know this time is momentary...fleeting.  He's a great leader, that man.  And God love him...he puts up with me.  Not only that, he loves me well.

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I'm going to bed now.  I'm tired.  And grateful.  And blessed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wow...can you believe it?  Twenty-ten is here.  Two thousand nine is past.

Looking back on 2009, I see milestones of growth....huge financial obstacles to overcome, a new church, enormous spiritual growth, deep new friendships formed, a death in our family, blessings upon blessings to our family by the generosity of others and potty-training nightmares challenges. We were blessed with great relationships, health, and a rich family life.  I am thankful to God for His provision, care and protection.

I am so excited about twenty ten!  Are you someone who likes to make resolutions?  I so am.  I'm a list maker. I'm a freak for keeping track of life on paper.  (Which explains why we have a minor paper organization problem in our house...I make sub lists for my lists.)

I have chosen a theme for myself in twenty ten.  Believe it or not....it is S-I-M-P-L-I-F-Y.  Yes, I know that is hard to believe.  How often have I talked about it this past year?  I did actually begin the process of simplifying our life around here in two thousand nine...but that is my THEME for this coming year.  I hope to help make life for our family as sweet, simple, non-complicated and faith/family focused as possible!  I can't wait to share the process with you. 

We have had a low key New Year's Day around here.  I have a sicky little one...he has a cold.

He has a low-grade fever, a horrendous cough, a pillow around his neck, due to a crick...AND a nasty bruise on his forehead from a slamming door last night.  Happy New Year, baby doll!  May it only go uphill from here! 

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Did you have your black-eyed peas today???  We had our favorite black-eyed pea soup.   

OK...so it doesn't take the best pictures...but YUM!!!!

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP

16 -ozs. dried black-eyed peas

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 T minced garlic

1 small green bell pepper, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 T olive oil

6 cups water

32-ozs. can chopped tomatoes, undrained

3 cups chicken broth

1 T chicken bouillon granules

2 jalapeno peppers, unseeded and chopped

1 T salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Bring peas and water to cover to a boil in a Dutch oven; cook 10 minutes.  Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour.  Drain and remove from Dutch oven.

Saute onion and next 3 ingredients in hot oil in Dutch oven until tender.  Add peas, 6 cups water and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasinally, 1 hour or until peas are tender.  Yield:  10 cups

May twenty ten be a blessed year for you!  I look forward to all God has in store for us.

'Tis the Season

Well, I actually had some great Thanksgiving pictures.  I attached my camera to the computer, transferred the pictues to the computer, and then deleted them from my camera....only to find out they vanished into thin air somewhere on my computer!  Seriously?  I mean really.

So, I'll move on.

What has been heavy on my heart, rolling into this Christmas season, is that my boys truly get what Christmas is about.  Let me tell you (in case you didn't already know!) that a 3 1/2 and 5-year-old can be quite narcissistic.  I'm just saying.

So of course, Christmas all around us has become primarily about Rudolph and "what more, more, more can I get, get, get!?!"  It sickens me a little.  But really, my kids are exactly where we all were at their age....and quite honestly, exactly where they should be...developmentally speaking. 

But how can I at least begin to hide in their hearts that, without Christmas, we wouldn't have a Savior?

So, here's my plan this year:

(1)  Pray.  Pray with them.  Let them hear us thank the Father for the gift of his Son Jesus this Christmas.
Pray for them.  Without ceasing.  That they will understand the beauty of this season...and it's not because of what Santa is bringing down the chimney.

(2)  Speak Truth into their lives.  Talk about Christmas.  Remind them of why we celebrate.  Why we give gifts to one another.  Who we worship during this amazing time of the year.

(3)  Then, lastly, I incorporated a new tradition into our home.  We're on Day 3...and so far, it's a sweet addition to our day, our time together and our time with the Lord.  First of all, I'm really not that creative....but I'm an EXCELLENT copy-cat!  I read about this tradition in another family on someone else's blog last year and thought it was a wonderful idea that we, too, must do.  So, at the after-Christmas sales last year, I went looking for this:

I worked to fill each day with two sheets of paper (because, of course, I have two kids who each must have the same thing as the other!)  The first sheet of paper is an Advent reading.  I got these daily readings from Focus on the Family .  I explained to the boys that we would be reading out of the "grown-up" Bible (they each have their own kid's Bible) and that they would not understand it all right now, but that one day they would. 

I believe God's Word with all my heart...and in it He says His Word will not return void!  And He cannot lie.  So I trust, that every time I read His Word to them, it will plant seeds of Truth in their hearts. 

We read the daily reading...and then we answer a question or two...or have a discussion based on what we just read.  I'm actually amazed that they are engaging in this as well as they are. 

The second sheet of paper is an activity for the day.  This is the fun part (seeing as they are, in fact, 3 and 5).  Some of the activities were copied from the other blog I read last year....but I mostly had to make up my own, since my kids are much younger than the other blogger's.  Here are our days so far:

So, tonight we laughed and enjoyed being together as we played Chutes and Ladders and CandyLand.  I hate to admit it...but I won both games.  OK, so I really like to admit it..... I can be vicious.

I'll keep you in the loop on our holiday festivities around here. Keep it simple...and worship the King.

Whew...I'm behind! But not with what REALLY matters....

OK...I know, I know....

most of you have moved on past Halloween a long time ago. 

Us....um, I'm just now getting these pictures off my camera. 

Normally around this time of year, I am trying hard to be "Super Mom".  I am making sure I do all the right "holiday" activities.  I wouldn't, after all, want my child to get to college thinking, "my Mom didn't carve my pumpkin or make my spider cupcakes when I was 4...and I remember it!  I was robbed..."

Well, this year I took the pressure off myself.  I convinced myself that I probably won't get ousted by my kids for not doing the right "Mom stuff" this particular year.  And I'm fairly certain they will survive it.  If they do actually hold me to the fire many years later for not doing enough this year, then I will pay for their therapy! 

We did make our way to a couple of Halloween functions.  There was pumpkin painting, trick-or-treating, being with friends, more candy and sweets than should be humanly possible to consume.  But, there was no stress!

We didn't bake.  We didn't really decorate.  We slapped a hay bale on the porch and called it a day.

We had grandparents in for a great weekend.  We had close family friends join us for the activities of the evening.  And we joined friends for a picnic at the park prior to trick-or-treating.  It was easy.  Low key.  And stress free.

I enjoyed the costumes of others!  Have you ever felt like this???  I so couldn't relate.

We've eaten lots and lots of yummy candy.  Including Tootsie Rolls.  We love how it makes us look toothless!

But amidst all the holiday hub-bub, we mainly focus on Christ...and growing up these boys to walk the walk He has for their lives. 

I love this pumpkin Braden brought home from school.  He glued the face on. 

But mainly, I LOVE the prayer on the back.  You'll see why.

My motto for this holiday season is SIMPLICITY.  FAMILY.  FAITH. 

I look forward to a different kind of holiday.  One that isn't about impressing others.  One that isn't about how much STUFF my kids can get or go to.  Or how decorated my house is.  Or how cute my family is on a photo that we send out.  Or how many parties I can go to. 

Don't get me wrong...those things are all good.  And they, too, are gifts from the Lord.  But my striving this season is about being QUIET in my heart and head...and enjoying God's blessings of simplicity.  I choose to be intentional and worshipful this season, going into Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Well, we've closed out another year of costumes around here.  We have enough candy to last us well into 2010 (that is even weird to type!)  My boys have been filled with abundant energy and sugar! 

I can't show you the full pictures, so let me just paint you a  picture in your mind....

I am inside, doing laundry.  The boys have decided to play outside.  I hear them laughing within a few minutes...they have decided to pour a cup of dirt on top of Braden's head...and a cup of dirt into Blake's pants.  Then, within a minute, I hear them laughing hysterically.  They have proceeded to make mud in the dirt, strip naked, and put mud all over their entire bodies..and run around in the back yard, playing "Mud Men", Superheroes.  I'm quite sure I've never heard of those guys before...until now.

Life is good.  Mud is dirty.  Water can clean it.  They had a ball. 

That's all that matters.

How are you doing with what REALLY matters??

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Ramblings....

This will probably be a longer post than anyone would possibly want to read today, but that’s okay. I’m overwhelmed by God’s presence in our family and in my life right now…I can’t even begin to express it. So, in this feeble attempt, I’ll try.

There is nothing like need to draw you to the feet of Christ…which is so where we should be always, even, in our excess. But when we feel NEED, and are at the end of ourselves, that is when God shows up.

When your fear of God is bigger than your fear of your circumstance, then God says, “WATCH THIS!”

Tony Evans

In this trial, we have not panicked. But before you pat me on the back, know this…it is God. It is GOD who has placed us in the family, in the church and in the community of friends he placed us in for such a time as this. It is GOD who has revealed His Truth to us in His Word. It is God who hears our prayers…and answers. It is GOD who draws us closer to Him so we feel His presence in our lives. It is GOD.

So we have been faithful to take Him at His word. And He is showing up. He never ceases to amaze me. He delights in faithful kids, looking upward to the Hand of the Father. He is faithful. He said He would provide. He has. He said He would give us peace that passes all understanding. He has. He said He would guide our steps. He has. He said He will never leave us. He hasn’t. He is a God that doesn’t deceive and doesn’t lie.

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On a lighter, less “preachy” note…..


What have we been doing around here?

Well, this is who joined me for breakfast this morning….

Meet Darth Vader and the Storm Trooper

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Then a few days ago as we were outside playing...and the mosquitos were just awful, this is what Braden did.

I wish I had gotten a "final"picture...he was coated in mud!!  I found out later that he was protecting his skin from mosquitos, like Bear Grylls, on Man Vs. Wild.

Makes sense, right?

And truth be told, he's the only one that didn't get bites that night....

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In my quest to simplify life right now, I've been trying to FINISH some old projects that have been hanging over me, before I start any new ones. 

Last weekend, my strong man started on my (almost completely cost free!) compost bin I've been wanting him to build.  We planned this building adventure weeks ago and then Bill broke his knee cap and has been out of commission.  As you can see, he is back in "Honey Do" mode!  Can I hear an Amen?! 

He even had a little bit of help...

...until it was time to rest and dream about being a villian in outer space....

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Remember this project? 

I finished. 

(I think I hear the Hallelujah chorus playing in the background...)

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And remember this?

It turns out beautifully. 

I wouldn't recommend spending a whole lot of time taste testing....

not that I speak from experience....

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And now, I've finally started on this.

Stay tuned....

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Friends...

They are powerful in my life.  I am truly blessed.

I was able to spend many luxurious hours with my sweet girlfriends, Connie and Meleah, on Sunday, perusing the Canton flea market.  Under the circumstances, I didn't really have any money to spend, but enjoyed many rain-soaked hours, walking around (ankle-deep in water) with these amazing women.  They, along with so many other women friends, are treasures in my life.  But Sunday with these ladies was filled with encouraging words, sweet moments and precious conversation. 

And my sweet friend Connie blessed me with this t-shirt, that is so fitting right now...

Thank you, friend.

Contentment in spite of circumstances

I've needed some time to be away from the computer.  In fact, during the time away, we have also sold a television.  I have literally watched about 2 hours of t.v. in the past two weeks.  And I've been on the computer about 1 1/2 hours, at the most.  I must tell you....I needed it.  I needed to be away.  To be focused on hearing God right now. 

He has been so good.  So sweet.  I have no idea what is to come.  And I'm okay.  Yes, I have moments.  I wonder, "HOW is God going to show up for our family?"  And then I remember  CLAIM Matthew 6:32-34 as my own, which assures me that God knows exactly what I need.  He has never abandoned me or left me high and dry.  Ever.  All I have to do is put Him first.  And not worry.  No worrying allowed! 

So I've spent time with these guys.  And loved on them.  And let them love on me.  Here they were having some water time outside with Daddy.

Look at Braden' eyes.  Can you hardly stand it?  I look at him and melt.  And then I tear up thinking how much Jesus does that when He looks at me.

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I wish I could explain the depths of all God is doing in our family right now.  If ever we've truly desired simplicity, it is now.  And we are doing our best to make it happen. 

We don't need distractions that don't matter.  We need to be focused on all that God is growing us in. 

Hopefully down the line I can share some of What I'm Learning.

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These guys were intently working on a project together.  I thought they were adorable.

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As the day winds down and they are resting on the couch, my heart is overwhelmed.  And grateful.  And blessed.