Rocks

Have you ever noticed how rocks in a riverbed stay put?  They don't move even though there are rushing waters, sometimes raging, over them.  Sure, the pebbles might float away here and there, but for the most part the rocks stay in place. 

The storms of life are much like the flowing waters and we are the rocks stuck in the mud, and will not be moved, no matter how slow or fast the waters may flow over us. 

My family and I just endured a 90 day storm that we easily could have floated away like the pebbles and our family unit could have been easily destroyed.  But, I'd like to think that building our home on the rock of Christ kept us "stuck in the mud."  Clear as mud?  :) 

I was reading in Proverbs today and I usually do it corresponding to each day of the month and for some reason today, I felt compelled to move on from Proverbs 23 and go on to Proverbs 24:1-4 (NIV)

Do not envy the wicked,
    do not desire their company;
² for their hearts plot violence,
    and their lips talk about making trouble.
By wisdom a house is built,
    and through understanding it is established;
⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled
    with rare and beautiful treasures.


<sup>I stumbled upon a quote today and I wish I could tell you who said it to give credit where it is due, but I cannot...but here it goes: A carpenter builds houses but parents build a home.  That really struck me.  It's true.  We can have Easters for the past seven years in seven different homes (and we have!) and yet, as long as we are establishing our home on a foundation of Christ's wisdom, for lack of better words, we are good!  I have been sitting back, amazed and in awe of how strong my family was during our time of crisis and how God used this summer to bring our famliy even closer together. In addition, thinking  back to the past seven years of back and forth and making choices that may not have been the best and being just amazed at how we have grown as a family each together and as individuals.  That is all by the grace of God.  I can only imagine how much dissention there would be if we wouldn't be working together as a family to put God at the center of our home.  That's not to say we haven't made our fair share of mistakes over the years and some of them are areas of our lives that we are just learning now, this summer, that changes need to be made in order to continue establishing our home where there is love, unity, fellowship and harmony.  These changes are ones that are so crucial when it comes to modeling to our children a strong and healthy marriage. 

I hope that between my husband and I, we can give our children the opportunity to be understood by us, that they be able to pour out their soul and share with us any griefs or troubles, a place they can be their true self and no need to pretend to be different because here there will be nothing but love and patience, understanding and grace.  Here, I pray that with the wisdom of Christ, my husband and I can continue to establish our home on a firm foundation with the understanding that our home could and will be bombarded with fierce storms.  God expects us to as parents to build a home, build it on a firm foundation (Christ!) and do so with such care and attention to detail so that no matter how fierce the storm, no matter how the waters are rushing over us like the rocks of a riverbed, our house will stand against the storm and not be destroyed. 

I feel that we have been doing a pretty good job so far and of course there is always room for improvement on a daily basis.  I agree with the sentiment that families who reflect God's covenant are families driven closer together in life's storms!  And our little family of five couldn't be more proof in the pudding, or rocks in the riverbed.  :)</sup>

Distractions

I read a quote today; "I want to turn my eyes away from the distractions of this world, and turn my heart towards my home"

My home is my first mission, my full time job and has been for 10 years, whether some agree or not. This is where I have been called to be. For a couple years I was so distracted with trying to find a job and the pressures that went along with it that I neglected what I was really supposed to be doing. It wasnt until one day, four years ago, that it dawned on me that this is where God needed me to be. I vowed to be the best stay at home momma and wife there was. And I worked hard and was truly distracted with my kids and my heart was at home and I had peace. :)

Today, I am still a stay at home momma, but I am Soooooo distracted by the world. I work at night, 20 hours a week, I homeschool (that's a good distraction), I have financial needs right now, we live in a facebook, twitter, email driven world and have the world at our fingertips. My mission today is still my home and I said to myself last night on the way home from work that I am not doing my first job very well. To read that quote this morning was way too timely for my comfort.

Distractions can be anything from second jobs, finances, facebook, worries, emotions to anxieties. They tear us away from what is needed of us. I need to be distracted by my kids, husband and full time job of being a wife, homeschooling momma and the task of raising these little people. It's time for me to turn my heart back towards my home, keep my worries in the family worry jar, be a hands free momma and be distracted by what matters most. :)

(Look for my weekly posts each Wednesday)

Mother's Day

Let me just start by saying that motherhood is not for the faint of heart. I also don't put too much emphasis on Mothers Day, because just like Valentines Day, we should be expressing our love and honoring our loved ones every day of the year; not just when Hallmark tells us to. But, I digress...

Mother's Day for me is no different than any other day of the year; and in fact it is because of Mother's Day that I am reminded "slap in the face style" that I am blessed more than I deserve. I know that I am a blessed momma; I am truly rich and blessed.

Today I observed my family, my surroundings and events that occurred and soaked up all the little blessings, even if they were raindrops. Let me give you a tour of my day.

I slept in until 8 am, when I heard my husband on the phone with his Mom, and then his step-mom. He had been awake since 6:30 and decided to tackle laundry. At 8:30, my kiddos wake up, forget what day it is, and then suddenly scramble out of my room and shut the door. Then, Bubba comes back in and says "um, I want to make you breakfast, but we have nothing". Yes-I forgot to get stuff for breakfast last night. So, I immediately think to myself why didn't my husband go get stuff! In the meantime, the older kids are tidying up they living room and trying to make a 'Happy Mother's Day' banner, and thread yarn through it so they can present it to me. But, Bubba is getting agitated with Sweet Pea because she is not lining it up correctly and they end uo arguing. Meanwhile, Lilypie wants nums and I still need to go to the store. Give her num nums and then put my grumpy shoes on, expressing my disappointment to hubby, and head to Fry's. I get to Fry's and there are a ton of men getting flowers for the women in their lives. I was like "Oh, come on!!" Half in tears yet at the same time, I hate getting flowers because you spend all that money, and they die. So I get home, cook everyone breakfast, which the kids barely ate because they were so excited to go swimming at Papa's. We rush to get ready, because we have to be at Papa's at 11:00; we get there at 11:30. The air in the van quit; it's 102* out; it stinks. We arrive and get ready to go in the pool. Emma and daddy are in; I am lotioning up Lilypie. Get Lilypie ready, she grabs her water wings and walks to the pool. Daddy is in, but, he's on the other side with his back turned. I yell "Chris, she doesn't have her water wings on!" And next thing you know, she is under the water. Bubba is screaming her name and Daddy is rushing to get to her, and as he gets close, he falls pushing her to the edge, but she is still under. he finally yanks her up and she is crying and I am shaking. :( Bubba is trying to comfort me and tell me she's okay, Mom, she's okay. I go in the house and I start to cry. I compose myself, get my suit on and head out to swim.

Lily is stuck to me the entire time; and I to her. My husband made a joke, but it didn't come out right and I cry again.

The early afternoon hours were pretty quiet; I enjoyed some company, lunch and watched my Lilypie pretend she was on a safari with binoculars; she spotted wild horses that were red, black and blue.  The kids watched a couple shows and then we went home.

On the way home, we had disappointment come our way and it really bummed my hubby. the entire time hubby was down on himself, Bubba was our little evangelist, telling his father that God will never let us down, he is there the most in our darkest hours. I looked at Bubba and said "you are wise beyond your years".  I watch our Bubba, age 9, try to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, sometimes. He shouldn't have to. Somewhere in here, Lilypie drops the guinea pig, too. Oy!!

After some quiet time, I start some dinner and am completely blown away by my little woman in training, Em. She cleared off the table, reset it saying she needed to do it all fancy and put our bowls on out plates, and have us all cups, knives, forks and spoons. She took the baked potatoes out of the oven, put all the food on the table and plated everyone pasta salad and baked potatoes, cutting Lilypie only a half a potato. She also told Bubba that he had to at least TRY the pasta salad. lol She completely blew me away.

I clean up the kitchen with Bubba and settle in to relax with the family until it is time for bed. the older two are pretty compliant; Lilypie gave us a little trouble, but in the end after being strong and not caving in, she fell asleep.

I sit here thinking that yep, today is no different than any other day. Mommy duty doesn't stop because there is a special day on the calendar. But, I am glad my day was normal. I couldn't and wouldn't have it any other way. I am truly blessed, and every tear and every laugh brings us one step closer together and to God. I am seeing the fruits of our labor and  so proud of our kids. They are amazing little people and try so hard!

Being a Mom is tough, no matter what kind of Mom you are or what you do. You have a 24x7 job and its got highs and lows; lots of emotion and commotion. See how my day went? It was like a rollercoaster ride full of happiness, amazement, awe, wonder and fear. And, somedays, I do feel like throwing my hands up in the air and screaming.

Its the best job I have ever had and I love my family to pieces.

Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms out there! May you find joy in your ride.

A mom....simplicity.....a lesson relearned

Today a blog post hit me hard! It hit me like a ton of bricks. You can find it here
http://powerofmoms.com/2012/04/your-children-want-you/
and I have to laugh because this isn't new news to me! I absolutely know that all my children want from me is ME...I say it to me all the time! In fact, I don't know how many times I have told my husband that same thing! He has said to me countless times that he feels he isn't providing us enough, we don't own our house, we drive a 2002 van with 200,000 + miles on it, he wishes he could give us the world, and every time I say "All we want is all of you." And, it's true. I don't know how many times I have said "what do you think the kids will remember more? Our car, what you didn't provide or the memories made and time spent??"

Oh, yes, there are a few that have it all figured out. They were few and far between, and I applaud them. A serious question I ask myself is though, who are they doing it for? Is it more self gratification or for the kids/family? This is a question I may start asking. And that's not to say you can't pursue things to better yourself. But, I think checks and balances should be used.

I don't know why this blog entry hit me so hard. I have been saying this for years, yearning for simplicity and it took until today to realize I need to heed my own advice. To remember what I am after and hope to achieve - simplicity.
I don't keep a spotless house, I am NOT Martha Stewart, I do love my family to pieces, I do have a kid friendly home and I try to cook from scratch as much as I can, like my mom.

When I look at Pinterest or read other well seasoned blogs, I try not to let it make me feel inadequate, and it's hard. I need to remember that my kids are not the author of each blog entry I read, they are not the creators of Pinterest and certainly they do not make up all those pins. They, quite honestly, do not even know they exist; they have no standard by which to measure me by. We as individuals do that enough on our own! Of course it is so fun to look at Pinterest and it can be clearly beneficial to read blogs to inform yourself or make you think. :) I think for me, however, it is easy to fall into the trap even when I am actively seeking out simplicity. One thing leads to another and suddenly there I am with my measuring stick. ;)

It had taken as few "hits to the head." Why, just last week I read this: "motherhood is not a race. The only ones who lose are those who race to the finish." I don't think I necessarily compete; at least not outwardly. It's the internal competition and for why?

I am glad that I read that blog today. I think it's the final piece of the puzzle that I needed to fully see what I need to do and who I need to be, in order to achieve what I desire so much.

To go even further down this rabbit trail (LOL), I also think that it's a true testament of how things and ideas can become obsessions and turn into idols.

     Ex 20:3-4 reads (NIV)
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or the waters below.

This even holds true for anything that I have discussed above to finances to anything. Example. I constantly pour over our finances; look for new ways. In some ways, it had turned to an obsession, crossing the line into something I spent more time focusing on instead of the Lord. This means I am trying to control things and I don't trust God.  Doesn't God say to not worry about tomorrow? Does he not have control? God is intentional - there is my word of the year, folks. He weaves every command and every bible passage into one word. FAITH. :)

So lesson learned, once again?
1) My children want ME (and daddy). Not items and ideas on Pinterest or some self help blog writer.
2) Don't obsess.
3) Don't worry.
4) Faith like a child

Who knows if any of this made sense....it's 12:30 am.

Simplifying your home tip #1

Got a small bathroom? I do and I also have five people to share it.....I hung an over the door shoe organizer up and put all our daily toiletries in it, and then giving each kid a row for their stuff (brushes, bath toys that would fit, ponies/clips, etc.....then I also rolled up washcloths, since I have limited linen closet space. :)

Good Friday

It is said that although Good Friday is usually a solemn day, because we know the end of the story, we can rejoice and celebrate the Good News of Good Friday!
I will be the first to admit that until I started homeschooling this year, I had no idea what Good Friday stood for. Now I know! And thanks be to God for giving me the opportunity to learn along side my children! and not only just about this, but with everything.
I sit here often and think "Man, I really need to find a women's bible study" or " I really need an accountability partner with dieting or exercise." The truth is, God had shown me this morning, that some of the best, MY best, accountability partners are my children. God is intentional with their honesty and innocence. "Mom, why do you have wrinkles around your eyes?"..."Mom, if the bible says pigs are unclean, why do we love bacon?"...."Mom, you promised...."...."Mom, Dad said "this" while you were at work"....and the list goes on.
There is no greater accountability than that!!!
In my 2012 quest to figure out my word of the year, which is intentional and more on that in another post, I think I may have stumbled upon something. With intentionality comes accountability and with that comes responsibility. Ugh....one of the dreaded "R" words!!!
Anyway, these are just some of the thoughts I am having, and I will need to dig deeper. For now, I better stop because I hear one of my accountability partners singing "Mommy, mommy, mommy" from her crib. <3 It is now my responsibility to go watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates with her.
I am going to fully enjoy my three day Easter weekend with my family!! Have a blessed one and Happy Friday!

A new journey

There's no easy way to start this blog post; it's surely one that will raise an eyebrow or two and already has.  I've been second guessed and grilled by some from the moment I spoke these words but I have also had so much support from the majority of my family and friends that it totally outweighed the naysayers.  Aside from the support and the naysayers, the biggest, most important sign from God that this is the way he wants us to go is the support from my BFF; my husband.  :)  The mere fact that he and I are on the same page and made a decision that didn't involve one dragging their feet or having hesitation or humoring the other is a huge step for us and we needed to take action. 

Homeschooling.  :)

While growing up, hearing the word homeschooling had such a negative connotation to it.  It was left for the bad kids in school who just couldn't get their act together or were expelled from school.  It was a word that, for me, fell from my vocabulary because I just couldn't imagine ever being homeschooled nor being a homeschool-er.  Until now. 

For many reasons, we have felt led to homeschool our older kids right now.  It's a decision that we struggled with all summer long.  It's been a topic that has weighed heavily on my heart, specifically for quite a long, long time.  After much prayer, here we are.

But, after diving into our first week of homeschooling Bubba and Sweet Pea (and Peanut is right along side us!), I can honestly say that I feel this is going to be a good thing.  We will have our bad days, we will have fantastic days.  We will be tired, we will be full of energy and enthusiasm.  There will be days that we will say to ourselves "what are we thinking???" and then there will be days where we will be saying to ourselves "job well done!"  I will end this by saying that while we acknowledge concerns regarding this decision, we hope that those who are concerned can find a way to respect and support us in this new path. We are really looking forward to this adventure and would love to share it with you in a positive environment.

Now, if you would like to see how we spent our first week, please join us!  Sit back, enjoy your cup o' joe (or diet coke) and see what we did!  We are so excited!

Sweet Pea working on Johnny Appleseed day worksheets.  We learned that his real name was John Chapman and he wore a pan on his head.  :)  Or so they say.  :)

 For math this week we participated in the St. Jude Math-a-thon (email me if you would like to donate/sponsor the kids!!!)

 Sweet Pea worked on 1st grade math. :)

 Peanut in her cuteness, decided to take a break and watch Jungle Junction.   :)

 More Math-a-thon

 Fall art for their momma.  LOL

 Thanks Gramma Linda for the fingerpaints for Peanut ..she shared with big bro and sis! 

 And then Bubba decided to palm her.  LOL 

 A little time for fun!

 We studied Rosh Hashanah on Thursday.  The kids are doing their apples in celebration of the Jewish Holiday. 

 Bible study time.  Bubba has been reading to us.  He was waiting so patiently to read to us about Adam and Eve.  I had to tell him to wait until we finished our lesson first.  :) 

 Sweet Pea decorating the prize box for Fun Fridays

 I created word play bingo for fun Friday.  I used words from all the things we covered this week! 

 Bubba's pillowcase ghost he made.  It will become a chair cover.  :)

This is just a fraction of what we have done this week!  I can't wait to see what he next weeks have in store!