Christmas and prayer

How precious was this Christmas. We had a great time with the kids and my father-in-law came in town to spend some time with all of us. Since we decided to only do three gifts each (which turned in to two gifts with one large gift for all), we asked the kids at the dinner table to answer some questions about Jesus' birth. We thought this would be a great way to not only see how much they knew, but also allow the one with the most answers to be the first to open their present the next day. We were proud of some of the answers and some...well they were just plain old funny! KK told us that the wise men brought Frankenstein along with myrrh and gold. Will told us it was his birthday instead of baby Jesus. But, by far I laughed the most when MiMi was asked what day was Jesus' birthday. She thought real hard and then told us July 4th. I think what made it so funny was how serious she was. Christmas was great though. We had my family over at our house this year. Everyone came except for my sister who is still struggling after having her tonsils out this past Friday. It has been a week today and she still feels terrible:( I hate it for her. I had mine out when I was a senior and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It seems to be a new tradition in our family though. Will and Ben had theirs out last year just a few days before Christmas. Can I tell you how glad that is over with!!! Today has been nice until my hubby got some bad news. His aunt passed away today. Actually it is good news because she is a Christian and she was struggling so with dimensia(don't know how to spell). I bet she is so happy to have her mind back. I was feeling like tonight was going to be my emotional day because within 30 minutes of finding this out, my brother-in-law told me the most outragious story. He works for Bell South and while working, had to make a call to a call in center. Long story short, because it is a very long story. The man he spoke to wants to come to Memphis (he lives in Birmingham) to pray for my nephew. The quick version of my nephew is that my sister was forced to have a vbac (vaginal birth after caesarian) and she had trouble. He was left without oxygen and at 10 years old he has now been diagnosed mentally retarded. He is a precious child and so loving. He has a lot of issues though...communication being one of the top issues. His teachers are now just trying to teach him enough to get by, not worrying about reading, math, etc. How we have prayed for a miracle. There is a lot more to the story though. The man he spoke with told him he has been through alot healthwise. He has actually seen heaven three times on three seperate occasions. He truely has an amazing testimony that I wish I had more time to write about. I am excited to tell you that he is coming to Memphis to pray for Connor though. He said since his last "visit" to heaven, he has been used by God to pray over several people who have since been "healed". I know this sounds a little off the wall, but God can perform miracles and I know He has the power to use any and everyone. I will have to let you know about it once he comes. He said he couldn't promise anything, but that he felt led to come to Memphis to do this. Isn't that neat that my brother-in-law was at work and this happened?! Be praying for Connor. He is a special kid with a special purpose in life. I pray that God will use him to ultimately glorify Him! Pray on, my sisters!

Treasure and Christmas

I finally sat down and finalized my legacy letter to the family. I will be mailing these out tomorrow. Please pray for my family. Especially those that will really have to think about what I have asked them to do. I ended up writing it as a Christmas letter to let them know what has been going on with us as a family. I spoke of how this year has made me think of one word, treasure. We have a treasure with our family, our health, Philip's job, etc, but most importantly our Saviour, Jesus. I ended it with what a treasure it would be to me and the kids (as they get older) for everyone to participate. I am just hoping that this will open doors to speak to those that I am not sure about.
I can't remember if I told you guys I sew and monogram. I am sure that I have mentioned how busy I have been, but I have added monogramming to my already busy schedule. I love doing it and I go in spurts doing it. I mention it only to say that it is one more thing vying for my time. Sometimes I wonder if my time management issue will ever resolve itself. Because I am sewing, I have to admit that I am truely struggling to keep up with a self motivated Bible study. I feel like I am not doing enough, even when I am studying. I think God is answering my prayer to give me an unquenchable thirst and hunger for His mighty word. I just wish He would add an hour to my day!
One of my kiddos has had strep this week. I went around a bleached all the bathrooms today. I am determined not to pass this germ! Especially with Christmas around the corner. Aren't you excited Christmas is almost here. I am for so many reasons. The break in my schedule, the time with the kids, all of the special things that make Christmas so magical and most importantly to celebrate the birth of Christ. We are having my immediate family over for Christmas day. I am thinking only around 15 will be here, but possibly more. Hopefully, all will go smoothly and I will start cooking before too long! So much to do and so little time. I have to go to bed now. That is if I want to actually make it to getting up remotely on time in the morning. Night!

Safety and thankfulness...

I am having a thankful day. Thankful mostly for my children. Thankful that the prayer I say so often for my children's safety is answered everyday. A neighbor told me several weeks ago (when we were discussing car seats) about a story a lady did on Good Morning America. This lady lost her three year old when she was involved in a terrible accident. The car seat malfunctioned and the seat belt came undone. She has started a foundation to help others not only afford the car seats that are the safest but also just to inform people like me who are in the market for a new car seat. This little snippet on Kyle's story is powerful:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3674114
After watching it, I am pretty sure that I have the car seat that they show Kyle sitting in for my daughters. This will motivate you to make sure your kiddos are safe. Also, you can look up his site to find out which car seats are the safest. Here is that link:
http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/3013/Car_Seat_Info.htm
Please take the time to look at these...

Fight to the finish!

Have you ever felt like it wasn't meant for you to do something? I have just about decided that about my Christmas cards this year! After Christmas last year, I thought I would be smart and get ahead by purchasing all my boys red sweater vests. They were on clearance, which is my favorite word! I really thought by getting them early all I had to do was get the girls a couple of sweaters and life would be great! Well, sometimes I am really wrong. This would be one of those times. I have gone to what feels like 500 stores looking for something identical in both girls sizes yet to no avail. (They are size 6X and 7). Finally on Monday, I found the cutest little dresses for my girls at the Gap. How precious. I tried them on the girls and I just wanted to eat them they looked so cute! The dresses were knit green and white striped and I monogrammed them in red! Doesn't that sound scrumptious. So, I started laying all the clothes out on Tuesday after the kids went to school. When I picked up Ben's sweater, it had something on it. No big deal. I put it in the wash. Everything was organized and ready to go. When I pulled the sweater out of the wash, the stain did not come out. Have I mentioned that the boys are in to EVERYTHING? Guess what was on the sweater? Desitin. Have you ever tried to get Desitin out of a sweater? Let's just say I wasn't singing praise hymns while attempting to get it out! So, after much scrubbing and no luck, I called Pfizer (the manufacturer of Desitin). Guess what. They do not have any suggestions on what takes Desitin out of clothes. I thanked the customer service representative for at least attempting to get that information for me and went back to scrubbing! At this point I am getting desperate. All of a sudden, a light bulb flashed in my head. My last hope...Goo Gone. IT WORKED! Yeah. So the problem of the girl's outfit and the mystery stain have been solved. As soon as the kids got home, I started shouting orders. You get dressed. You, let me fix your hair. Don't touch that bow. Pull down your turtleneck. Ben and Will, come here and let me put on your shoes. Ty, help me! KK and MiMi, don't wad up your dress. Will and Ben, I said come here! Etc, etc, etc. We finally make it to the car. Half of the battle over, I drive to the Collierville Square. We get out and I am getting excited. I see a picture in sight. One thing I have learned over the years, many pictures are needed when you have a family this size. So, I am ready for this. I pull out the camera and shout a few more marching orders! I can do this! I get the kids posed and take the first two pictures. You won't believe this. My camera totally dies. I try to get at least one more shot. It works. Then, I realize my camera has died and resusitation is not in sight. I can't believe this. I take all the kids home and immediately plug in the camera. We are home long enough to watch an episode of Diego and we are off again. This time we meet with success. I got the shot! YEAH. But, it sure seems like it has been a fight to the finish. I think I will purchase everyones outfits for next year when Christmas is over this year. Also, if you get a Christmas card from me this year, realize that there has been alot of work in that little card. Post it somewhere. It will make me feel better.

Chip off the old block...

Are the holidays as crazy for you as they are for me? This weekend has left me with no energy, but full of the Christmas spirit! We have had something going on all day everyday for the entire weekend. I have to admit I love it though. I am not one to sit around and twiddle my thumbs. I love to be going somewhere, even if it is some little nothing errand. The thing is...when I had one child I could run all day. Now that there are five, I seem to be moving in slooooow moooootion! When I use to be able to run five to six errands in a morning, now I am really having a good day if I can run three. I wouldn't trade it for anything though.
I was trying to remember if I had a good kiddo story for you, but nothing is coming to mind right now. I am still studying Job. Yep, I am in slow motion on that, too! But, I am trying to absorb as much as I can. The main conviction I am getting out of it right now is that we need to be careful not to allow Satan to use us to hurt those we love. It seems like Job had enough sadness with loosing everything. Then the more you read about his wife and his three friends, you see that it just gets worse. I just so happened to read about his third friend, who also was the most critical of Job, the night after I had the most embarrassing thing happen. I was trying to take the kids to church to drop them off for a choir rehearsal when they all started bickering. I am a pretty patient person. Okay. Maybe I am just a somewhat patient person. We all have our limits and my limit was officially met when we drove up to church and they were still fighting. Just when my horns sprouted and I officially lost my temper by yelling at the kids, wouldn't you know that Ty just had to open the door. We were in front of the church and there sat one of the ladies that filled in for my MOMS small group leader several times. The look on her face could make me miss a few Sundays of church just from the shear embarrassment I felt! She blew it off and was quite nice considering I was verbally abusing my kids in the church parking lot! As I came home that night and was reading Job, my eyes were opened to how I am given moments with the kids to lift them up and make them grow emotionally and/or spiritually or to break their spirit and make them lose focus on God just from my lack of self-discipline. Can I just tell you how convicting that was? Satan allowed Job's wife to help at attempting to chip off pieces of Job's foundation of faith. Satan continued with his friends. Do I want to be that for my kids? Absolutely not! Yet, how easy is it for me to fall in to my old carnal ways. Please pray for me as this is not something I see just disappearing overnight. I need to be and plan on being in constant prayer over this issue. I think we, as moms, fall in to this quite often, so I will pray for you, too! I don't want my kids to follow in my footsteps either. How I desire to grow up great children of faith. Please stop right now and bow your head in prayer. Allow God to open your heart to this issue and let Him show you how damaging it can be.

Choo Choo!

We are starting this holiday season BUSY this year! Today, we went to the Collierville Town Square to see our sweet girls perform in the school choir. It was so cute. Then, we walked around the square to visit all the booths. Well, that is actually not true. I wanted to visit the booths. The twins found Happy Times Farm and we stayed there for 45 minutes playing with and feeding the goats, looking at turkeys and bunnies and just watching the kids faces with enjoyment. I literally had to drag the boys away to head to our next stop. We had lunch on the "Polar Express". My aunt has for several years had a cousins party where we get my moms siblings and all the kids together as well as some close friends of the family. This year, she rented one of the dining cars on the square and we all ate. They had the "conductor" read us the Polar Express story and we had lunch and dessert. It was really cute. Guess what. My twins didn't even sprout their horns. I was so proud! I am sure it has something to do with their fascination with Thomas the Tank Engine right now. Going back to the party though, I did find out that she paid $20/plate. WOW! The kids loved it though. I just bet her and her hubby's pocketbook did not like it that much! Then, we raced to basketball practice with the 10 year old. By the time we got home, I was exhausted! I can't figure this out, but I am still having that sleeping problem. I am wired, yet tired and can't sleep. When I finally do sleep, I crash. With that said, I have been going to bed after 1 am most nights and waking at 7:15 am. You have to know I am one of those people who is not very nice to be around without a full 8 hours of sleep. Maybe that is not the best way to put it. I am grumpy, on edge, moody, gripy, tired, and all in all not a happy camper. I am pretty sure my hubby is ready to camp out back tonight. In the back corner of the backyard. In a soundproof tent. Away from me. Am I making my point? I have not been especially sweet today! It is funny how we have those days. Girl, I tell you I really need your prayer too! I am slacking on my special time with God, too. The last two days, I haven't even cracked my Bible. You know what I don't understand? I love reading my Bible. I love feeling God's presence as He speaks to me through His awesome word. Yet, I fight reading. I am always thinking up something I "need" to do. But how I love it when I discipline myself. Seems like I am going over the same verses that I have got to memorize...
For discipline:
2 Timothy 1:7
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
For anger:
Proverbs 15:1(with the kids)
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
Proverbs 29:11
"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control."
For dependance:
Psalm 62:7
"My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge."
I am going right now to read my Bible and get in bed. Hope you have have a good night, too!

Beauty from within...

I am going to write quickly tonight. My hubby has been out of town for a couple of nights. As I am sure you remember, I seem to think he can protect me from anything and I mean anything when he is here. When he leaves, I am scared to death. Therefore, I rarely sleep. I have found a new plan at combatting this problem though. I stay up until I can't stay up any longer! So, you can imagine I am exhausted tonight! I just thought I would share one of my kiddo stories tonight. I had to take my 10 year old to the orthodontist this week. Yes, at 10 he needed braces. Ouch (that is my pocketbook talking!) Anyway, I had a very hectic morning that morning. The girls had to be at school at 7:45 (our school doesn't start until 9 am). So, my schedule was a little off. We made it to the 'dontist and I just so happen to look in the mirror. I really don't do that very often because I am usually scared by what looks back at me. But, this morning takes the cake. I had completely forgotten to put make up on. Have I mentioned that I have red hair? That means no eyelashes! Still, that wouldn't be so bad (maybe!) if I wasn't turning in to the pimple horror story! Why is it that I NEVER had pimples as a adolescent, but now my hormones are in overdrive!?! Well, I tough it out because at this point I am 3/4 of the way there and I really don't have the energy to go back! I really was quite embarrased. But what is a girl to do! So, I managed to smile despite my polka dots and get out of the office as soon as possible. Thank goodness the twins were behaving. That I am sure was a special gift from God as He knew I couldn't handle no eyes, polka dots and embarrasing kiddos! After we were in the car, I went on and on to Ty about how I couldn't believe I got in the car and almost there without make up. I even went so far as to ask him what he was possibly thinking allowing me out of the house like that. This all culminated into Ty asking me a question that struck my tongue speechless. "Mom, why are you so worried about make up? You look fine." (My sweet child!) "I thought you said beauty came from the inside, not the outside?" Sometimes the mind of a child can really shed some perspective, can't it! The funny thing is, I put makeup on in the morning, but rarely if ever apply any extra during the day. No lipstick, powder or blush. Unless I have a date with my hubby. Those special times require a little extra effort. Hey, I have to attempt to remind the poor man what I looked like prior to boogers being smeared on my sweatshirt, juice stains on my pants from my twins thinking spitting their drinks is the next best thing, and play-doh being under my fingernails! Anyway, that is my story for tonight. My hubby is already in the bed. I hope you have a good night and remember, beauty comes from within...
I Peter 3:3-4
3 "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight"

Blessings

The Thanksgiving holiday is over! We travel every year to my hubby's family and every year it seems like it is a little more hectic! Must have something to do with cleaning up the house while attempting to get the last few pieces of laundry washed that must be put into our suitcases, putting gas in the car and packing up 5 kids and myself. Those things wouldn't be so hard if remembering wasn't such a hard thing for me. Every year I forget something. This year I was quite impressed with myself though. I got all the way there and realized I had done well. No missing toothbrushes. I got the medicine for my seven year olds cold. I actually remembered diapers AND the wet wipes. We all had clothes, underwear and matching socks! Before you get too proud of me, I did forget something. There was a cold front that came through on Wednesday night and that is when I remembered I did not grab COATS! It was so cold outside! So we stayed indoors as much as possible. My hubby is the only one who had a coat. Now you know who the smart one is in our family! We did have a great holiday. I just can't believe it is already over. Can I ask for an extension on this break? I am exhausted. Traveling does that to me though. Also, sick kiddos play a big part of that exhaustion! I mentioned our seven year old had a cold. On Saturday morning, Will woke up with a very high fever. I did not have a thermometer, but I am guessing 104 or above. I was so glad PawPaw had some motrin at his house. I bathed him with a wet wash cloth until he cooled down. We came home late Saturday evening and now my hubby, Will, KK (the seven year old) and MiMi (the six year old) all have a fever. I am not complaining though. I have been praying for so many people lately that are dealing with much more than I. Cancer seems to be my top ailment for prayer, but I have also been praying for my hubby's aunt with Alzheimers. That doesn't even touch the tip of the iceburg on what has been going on with friends and family. So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for so many things. Health being on the top of that list. My family being very close behind. God has blessed me with a very loving family. Do we have our hangups? Of course, we all do. Do some of them make me want to visit the local mental hospital? Definately. But God chose each and every one of them to be in MY family and I am so thankful for each one and what they bring to our family. I am also so thankful for God. I was contemplating over this long weekend on how long it has taken me to not only see my true need for God in my life, but also for me to want to discipline myself to become what God wants for me. I don't know about you, but I feel like I am so far from what He desires for me to become. I am determined to push myself though. I want what He wants. I want to achieve what He wants for me. I want you to have that same passion. I pray you have had an equally enlightening Thanksgiving and that you see all the blessings in your life that God has so perfectly placed there. I will keep praying for you and please keep praying for me. Specifically pray that I will continue to be diligent to study my Bible. I am really struggling right now. I want to do so much, yet when given the opportunity of a few extra minutes, I seem to always find something else to do. There is always something I am behind on in my house and I hate feeling that toilet cleaning or laundry takes precedence over my time with God. Please keep praying for me! Thanks!

Time Management!

It has been a busy weekend. My hubby's uncle passed away on Wednesday and we went to the funeral on Saturday. Even though we left the kiddos, it made for a long weekend. (We drove to Decatur, AL.) I have a new ailment, too. My friend Ashley and I joke that we always have some kind of health issue. This week, I have a serious tummy issue. I have gotten up for the last three days with severe stomach cramps. They last all day and come and go throughout the day. Who knows. It may be a round two of the stomach virus we had recently. I will just be glad when it is gone. Makes me feel yuck:( Hope you liked the Job stuff from the last post. I wish I had more insight, but I have decided to start a new battle for my time. I have been stuck on reading Christian romance novels. You know, I quit watching TV and sewing for the time being. You wouldn't believe how much it has really helped with my time management issue. Now I guess I am needing some kind of entertainment though. Once I start a book, I can't wait to finish it. I seem to keep getting convicted that I don't read my Bible with that kind of intensity! It seems like I always have some need or want in my life that battles for my time that I would normally spend having a quiet time. Sounds as if I need to pray! By the way, I have finally gotten my legacy letter written. My hubby proofed it and made a few changes. I am hoping to pass it out at Thanksgiving and mail it to the rest of the family. I am really excited about this project. In case you are a new reader, I am referring to a project I am wanting to do to make a book for my kids that has our family members and their story of their salvation. I am going to do it on Shutterfly. I am worried that it will again take a bunch of my time, but I truely feel lead by God to do this project. He gave me the idea in church. To Him be the credit! Well, I am still not feeling well, so I will talk more later. Maybe I will have a good twin or kiddo story for you next time...

Just a quick funny...

We went to MOMS today (Bible study with Jean Stockdale). While we were driving, Will asked me if we were late. That is pretty bad when your two year old asks if you are late! Anyway, I told him no. He then preceded to get mad at me for being on time! I thought that was funny. It is truely a miracle because we were early. So early, the teachers weren't in their rooms yet. We set down our stuff and went to walk around. While we were walking, we saw our precious teacher that the kids adore. Will marched up to Mrs. Judy and said, "LdilidajffaohaothMrsJudy! Why you not home?" I wrote all the jibber jabber because when Will is angry, you usually don't understand anything until the end of the sentence. What made this so cute was that he thought Mrs. Judy lived in their little room at church! Anyway, I just thought it was cute and I had to share it!

Godly friendships...

Have I told you about my good friend Ashley? She and I have become very close over the years. We preface a many of a conversation with..."You know I tell you everything..." We have the normal girl talk and then we have the talk that you only share with a really good friend. For instance, when I had the stomach virus the other day, I told her how it was a really violent tummy virus. She proceded to say "Violent, huh." For some reason, I felt that was my cue to share in more detail. I am sure she appreciated it. I told her how I blew my nose after I threw up and broccoli and rice came out! Okay. I know that that particular comment can not be shared with just anyone not to mention it is just gross. Besides my husband, she was the only one to know until I have shared with you. Don't you feel special right now! The point is Ashley is one of my very good friends and I feel quite comfortable telling her about anything and she feels the same about me. I feel very blessed to have a friend like her. She listens when I am happy, grumpy, sad or anything inbetween. God has truely given me a gem to have her as a friend. I bring up Ashley because in reading about Job, I have learned about his friends. Job had just gone through losing his family (besides his wife), all of his possessions and finally, his health. Three of his friends came to him to sympathize and comfort him at his time of need. They sat with him while he grieved for seven days and nights without saying a word. Can you imagine? I can't imagine going over to Ashley's and just sitting with her and not saying a word FOR SEVEN DAYS! We see what good friends they are though, because they dropped everything to go to their friend and be there for him in his greatest time of need. Not only that, they were weeping for him and grieving with him. Read these verses in Job 2:
12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
These friends sound like my good friend. The next chapter is where Job speaks after these seven days. I talked about this chapter in a previous post. Let's just say he was not having a happy day. He was cursing the day of his birth. He wanted to die rather than to deal with the pain, although he did not blame God. The next chapter is the meat of what I have been thinking about this week. One of his good friends responds to him in this chapter. He, as I am sure I have done, was really speaking (in my interpretation) from his heart although his wisdom on Job's situation was only what he thought brought on Job's troubles. He continued to tell Job that he must have done something against God, a sin, so that God had chosen to punish him in order to correct him (chapter 5:17). I don't want to write a book tonight, so I am going to try to get to my point. Job had been through so much. He lost his children, all of his possessions, his health. Then, his wife tells him to curse God and die. His friends try to comfort him, but then decide to take the situation in to their own hands and provide completely inaccurate wisdom on the situation at hand. Telling Job that he must have done a grievous sin. I don't know about you, but it looks to me that the situation just keeps taking turns for the worse.
Eliphaz says in Chapter 4:7 "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? 8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. 9 At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger they perish."
Can you see how we, as friends, can sometimes speak from our heart but yet, not see the whole picture. Thus, our advice is not only inaccurate, but unneeded. I never once saw where Eliphaz prayed to God before he spoke to Job. Eliphaz does tell us that he saw a vision and that was where his great insight came from. Satan had used Job's wife in her flesh before. Who's to say the vision wasn't from Satan as well. I can't help but wonder how many times I have given advice without praying about it. Can I tell you just how eye opening this is to me? Be careful what you say. Not only with our friends, but also with our children. For we know,
James 3:10a "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing."
Guard your tongue. Memorize a verse that will help you to guard it.
Psalm 34:12 "Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies."
There are so many great verses for this. What I have taken from Job's friends is to number one, be a great friend. Be there for them. And secondly, keep God as your focus. I feel like I am still learning how to be a Christian. I believe wholeheartedly in Christ, yet that is not even a portion of faith. Letting Christ infiltrate your marraige, your parenting, your friends, aquaintances, and your life is easier said than done.
I pray that God will continue to open my heart to these instances in my own life where I fail to see the depth of faith I need to pursue a life of being devoted wholly to Christ. I will pray that for you too!

What's going on with us...

I feel like I have been making excuses for not writing lately! My heart is in it. Unfortunately, my lack of time makes me let some things go. Three of us had a tummy bug this past week. This will be the forth time we have had tummy issues in the past month and a half. I suppose it beats strep and colds since they usually last longer! I tell you what though. Have you ever had to clean up your child's throw up while you feel like throwing up yourself. It brings a whole new meaning to not feeling well. I hate to be graphic, but Emily, the 6 year old, ate a hot dog for dinner. Need I say more...I am pretty sure that is the worst smell I have ever smelled! Okay, enough about that. We also finished cheerleading this past week and have one more soccer game left for Ty. I love all the extra-curricular stuff, but isn't it nice when it ends. It is like the calm after the storm, so to speak. I am finally getting in to the holidays. I was afraid that my motto was going to be "Bah Humbug" a few weeks ago, but I did buy my first present today. I usually adore this time of year, but I feel like it is all about the gifts for our kids. I have been letting their attitude alter my perspective of Christmas. Last year, I woke up and asked Ty if he liked what he had received and he commented, "That is all I got..." I keep thinking about that. Plus, I am pretty sure Toys R Us located an alternate warehouse location at our home! I am looking for some new ideas on how to refocus our children's minds to seeing the meaning behind Christmas. A friend told me their family wakes up to read the Christmas story from the Bible and then, opens their three gifts each alternating between the three kids. We cut down the number of gifts last year. I am hoping that adding this to our Christmas morning routine will allow the kiddos some reinforcement for the true meaning behind the birth of Jesus. If you have any other great ideas, I would love to hear them. Also since my last post, we found out Ty needs braces. We have been going to an orthodontist periodically for about two years, but it was finally time. I am so thankful our insurance pays some though! Now that I see how much it is, I am going to add my other children's teeth to our prayer list! I can't imagine doing that for all five! Since the kids were out of school on Monday, not only did we get braces, but I took all five kids to the zoo. We parked, got out of the car and had just made our way into the zoo when Will decided to just sit down, scrunch up his little nose and tell me "I NO walk!" That should have been a sign on how well this little trip was going to be. I did not let it put a damper on the trip. I put on my big girl panties and told him we were going to have to leave and go home right then and somehow, he pulled himself together! So, off we go. It was a really good trip for the most part. Will scrunched that little nose at me several more times as well as plopping that little hind end on the ground and screaming, but I am thanking Jesus because I did not lose my temper or hold any of my children up by one arm and beat them like some of the mommas do in Walmart! Let me tell you that I was both physically and mentally exhausted that night. I was glad we did it though. I love those special times with our kids. Making time carved out just for them. I would go on to tell you some insight I have had on Job this week, but I am sure you are tired of reading me rambling again. I will tell you some next time. It is good stuff.

Felt like rambling...

I thought I would stop and relax for a minute and jot down a few lines. We had a great day today. My older kiddos went to school and the boys and I decided to have a little friend over to play. I should have known there would be trouble though. As soon as we got out of the car from taking the older ones to school, Will told me, "I no get out. I go bye-bye." I had to literally fight him to get him out of the car. He would block me and not let me unfasten his seatbelt. As soon as I had one part unfastened, he would refasten it. I finally just did it quickly and managed to get him out. He is cracking me up though with his latest. When he decides to be disobedient, he kicks while he says in a very agitated tone of voice, "kick, kick, kick." I suppose he is trying to drive the point home that he is quite agitated. Who knows! So, as usual, I am rambling. We had our playdate though and everything was going quite nicely. UNTIL. I had the bright notion to mention the trains upstairs. Have you ever seen three 2 year olds share and cooperate? Me either. Let's just say the train time wasn't the best of my ideas. Three boys all wanted the same trains and they all were either screaming or throwing train engines or tracks to let us know things were just not going their way. These boys! The more I think about my family, the more I realize one of the reasons God gave me all these precious kids is to make my dependence on Him greater! Can I hear an AMEN sista? Oh, I forgot to mention my marathon cleaning session. When my friend called about the playdate, we planned it very last minute. I offered my house. Have you ever done something like that and looked around wondering how you missed the tornado that somehow swept through the house? I hung up the phone to complete panic. Dishes were piled up in the sink, an entire family of rats could have lived on what the kids had dropped under the kitchen table, along with unmade beds, toys everywhere, nasty countertops, floors that needed to be vacuumed, laundry that needed to be started...need I mention anything else. Let me tell you girl, I finished it all before she got there. It took me 45 minutes and I was sweating when she got there! I wasn't embarrassed though...except for the sweat on my brow. Oh well, that is all for now. I haven't done my quiet time today and it is 10:48. Not to mention I need a bath! Sleep well.

Funny, but serious

I have to tell you my story of stories this week. I will warn you that it is totally gross, but one of those kid stories you will never forget. A few days ago, I came upstairs with one of the twins, Ben, to give him a bath. I started running the bath and getting him undressed. Wouldn't you know, he made a stinky. No big deal. Since I was getting toothbrushes ready and towels, etc, I sent Ben into his room to get the wet wipes. Meanwhile, my 10 year old had shimmied himself under our train table to watch TV. I am not sure why. He had only his head sticking out. I am pretty sure he won't do that again after what happened next! I rounded the corner to see Ben run up to Tyler and sit on his head...with only his diaper on. Tyler started saying, "Mom, my face is wet!" At this point, I am laughing hysterically. I told him to run as quickly as possible to the shower and don't look back. Well, he wasn't too quick, becuase he came by as I laid Ben down for the diaper change. As soon as I laid him down, I noticed his legs had that yellow color down to his knees. Now, I change my babies when they need it. But, I had evidently not noticed this diaper being stinky and Ben wasn't fazed by it. Can I just say this was the nastiest diarrhea diaper in the history of diarrhea diapers! Oh my! So since Tyler was walking by, I told him to look in to see what had just been on his face. He RAN and I mean RAN down the stairs to the shower. About thirty minutes later, he came back up to see me. His cheeks were bright red from all the scrubbing he had done! I had started this whole crazy night with a sinus headache. After laughing so hard for so long though, it felt like someone had hit me with a sledgehammer! Luckily, Tyler was good-hearted about it and didn't mind the constant giggle I had the rest of the night!
I have been studying about Job this week. I haven't gotten very far, but I am amazed at how many things Job had, what a Godly man he was and how blessed he must have felt. Until...God allowed Satan to attack him. How awesome is it that Job did not waiver in his faith. He did not sin and he did not blame God. What a powerful testimony of his faith! He went through some serious grief. Cursed the day he was born. In fact, I was stumped by verse 8 in chapter 3 "May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan." I learned after looking this up that in Job's day, their were actually people who were hired to pronounce curses. He was asking them to curse his birthday by calling up the sea monster Leviathan to swallow up that day. That gives you but a small glimpse into his grief. Through these few chapters that I have read though, Job has his faith where it should be. You can see by his responses to Satan's first and second attack on him that his first love was God. I have told myself I need to memorize the two verses where we hear Job's responses to these trials (chapter 1:21 and chapter 2:10). It seems like when I get angry with the kids, I always have the verse pop into my head, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer". Even though in that moment, I am usually frustrated to hear it (mainly because it goes against everything my flesh is telling me to do!), but hearing it makes me rethink my response to the situation at hand (at least most of the time!). I think memorizing Job's response may help me in the moments where tragedy hits, however mild or severe, to remember how God would want me react. I also noticed that Satan spared Job's wife. Why would he spare her? Think of how she responded to Job's second trial by Satan, "His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"" Wow! Was she being the helper lover that she was suppose to be as a wife. I think not! In fact, she was allowing Satan to work through her, in my opinion! We, as mommas and wives, have to allow God to work through us and the only way we can do that is by staying focused on God. How do we stay focused? I John 2:5 says, "But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:" How do you obey God's word? I am pretty sure you need to know it! So, we need to stay in constant communication with Him through prayer and studying His word. I have another tidbit out of the first three chapters. God has given us an alloted time here on earth. Make the most of it. I tend to think of me dying before my kids, but what if God chose to allow one of my kids or my husband to go first. Treasure the time we have been allowed with our family. Serve and love God with all your heart, with all of your soul and with all of your mind (Luke 10:27). Where is your heart? What is your goal for life? Check what is on the top shelf of your heart. If you have allowed something to overrule God, there is no better time than the present to change. I will be praying for you and I challenge you to read about Job. I have not even given you but a small glimpse into his life. Read on, girl!

Precious Moments...

Again, I must apologize for not being able to write recently! As ususal, we have been hectic. I really enjoyed Halloween with the kids though. We went to church for the fall festival. Church was alot of fun. We played games and did the cake walk. Then, we came home to brave the neighborhood with all of the kiddos. My hubby stayed home to pass the candy out and I took all 5 kids through two coves. No strollers or wagons here! We braved it to all of the houses that had their lights on. Will and Ben, the twins, could not have enjoyed it any more. They had a little trouble with the concept of waiting by the door while candy was brought to them. They thought it would be much better to help themselves to a little candy while walking in to complete strangers homes! Well, isn't that sweet! Meanwhile, the older kids ran ahead and would come by occasionally to ask if I needed some help. I must have looked helpless with my little twin Elmo's! With that mentioned, I want to tell you about the costume fiasco. My mom decided to hit TJMaxx to get some costumes for the kiddos. I was just planning on drumming something up we already had. I can be a little cheap at times. Anyway, mom was really sweet, because she spent alot of time trying to find something for each of the grandkids. She has 7. But, you must hear more about these costumes. Sometimes mom and I don't have the same taste. Sometimes we really do. She wears some really cute conservative clothes. In fact, she is really stylish. But, every great once in a while...lets just say she goes a little overboard. She stopped by Sunday with two devil costumes for the twins. I hated she seemed a little perturbed with me when I told her we were going to church and I was pretty sure they don't welcome Satan there! She wasn't too happy with me, but she did take them back. We liked our second choice of Elmo! She also brought my oldest daughter a really cute ballerina costume. She brought this one because my daughter had vetoed the one she brought her on Sunday. It was...well, I am still not sure what it was. My other daughter decided to keep hers though (they were matching). It was a leopard long sleeve leotard with a knee length skirt. I am not sure why, but it was surrounded by boa type feathers around the neck, wrists and bottom of the skirt. My hubby said he wasn't sure if she was a leopard or a bird. But she loved it and it did fit her spunky personality! All in all, Halloween was a success. How sweet are these moments we share with our kiddos. I was reading an email recently. It was actually a prayer request for a friend of a friend. She is 28 and is dying of cancer. I couldn't stop with just her email. I read her journal on her website and she says over and over to take advantage of these precious moment God allows us with our kids. Her little girl is only 18 months. Can you only imagine what she is going through? I cried and cried just reading about her. I am so thankful she is a Christian. Her testimony is so powerful throughout her writings. Anyway, take advantage of today. Read your Bible. Share what God has taught you. Make every moment count. You never know when your last will be...I am still praying for you!

Legacy of faith...

I feel like God has set me on fire today! We had a wonderful speaker this past Sunday at church. His name was Mark Cahill. He was asking us to not please man (Gal 1:10), but God through the sharing of our faith! After his talk, our pastor got up and asked us to be praying for those we knew that were not Christians and for our ability to be God's messengers of faith. As I was praying for some of my family that I am concerned are not Christians, I asked God to give me a way to put my faith out there for them to see. As I prayed, I felt God give me the strangest, but coolest idea. A legacy book. Just before I decided to write this post, I composed a letter to our family to ask them to share their testimonies as well as any tidbits of wisdom they have learned as a way to share a legacy of faith within our family to our children. I am hoping to have a good response. And to those who don't respond, I hope to have an opening to talk about their beliefs. This will be a big project. I am hoping to use shutterfly.com to scan in their letters and put a picture with each testimony. I can't help but think of how inspiring it will be just to read everyones testimony as well as their tidbits of wisdom they have learned through the years. Please pray that I will follow through with it and not be scared to step on toes as I am sure that it will with at least a few. I feel like God has set a fire beneath me right now as I am so excited about this. That's all. I just had to tell you about it!

Dust to dust...

For those of you who have been reading my blog, thank you so much! I am so sorry that I have been so busy over the past week that I have hardly written. It seems like we have all of a sudden had a thousand games and parties plus church activities. It looks like it will be like that until the end of this week. I thought I would at least check in and write a few lines before sleep was calling my name. Anyway, I have been so busy with everything that I am struggling to keep my house sanitary. Yes, you read correctly. I do not strive for clean anymore. We are just hoping not to be condemned. I think I am going to have to get better at getting my older ones to cooperate and help. We have days where we do that, but not everyday. Part of the problem is my extreme loss of memory. I can tell one of the kids to do something and then I won't remember until everyone is in bed (if then) that I should have gone behind whoever it was to see if it is done. I have thought about wearing strings on my fingers, but I don't think I would remember what the striings were for! I suppose I will have to get in a better habit of not being so busy and following the kids around to make sure they do everything I tell them. Back to cleaning though. It has been three weeks since I have had any time to myself during the week. Last week, Ben got sick again. Unfortunately, it was the same strange virus he had two weeks ago. This has been the strangest virus. He first threw up all afternoon Sunday. Monday, he had a fever all day and Tuesday he had croup. He is much better now, but is still coughing. So with all of this sickness, my house needs a HUD home sign out front! Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. I do reminisce of days when my whole house was completely clean. I have been using the five hours the boys are in school to clean. Usually, that doesn't even get the whole house spotless! I was telling my mom about how frustrated I was with always having such a filthy house and she made me laugh at her response. She said, "The way I see it is that we came from dust and we are going to return to dust. So, don't worry about the dust in between!" I like that. I think I need to paint that on my walls right by the front door, so that my visitors will not have to wonder or talk about me. They will know right away how I feel about cleaning! Oh well. I wish I had more time to write, but I still have some stuff to do before bed. Good night!

Fish Bowl of Life

A neighbor came to our house bearing two fish and a fishbowl the other day and asked if we would take care of it while she was out of town for an unexpected funeral. We kept the little "Nemo's" for a whole week and didn't kill them. I was so proud. I suppose I got a little full of myself, because I told my hubby that we ought to get the kids some fish. I need a few more mouths to feed and I love to clean...HA HA HA! Anyway, we took the plunge! Three fish and a cute little bowl later, we are now proud parents to Spot, Pretty and Rosey. These little fish have been living the good life. Yesterday, I came into the kitchen and found the twins with two kitchen chairs pulled up to the kitchen counter watching the fish. They tried to blow on the water. Which I tried to explain to them that the little fishes don't really like that. Then Will tried to put his hand in the water. I told him that they really don't like that either. Anyway, I gave them both two of my three quarters empty water bottles to get their mind off the sweet little fishes. I have gotten in a very bad habit of buying my water, but at least it is a little different than tap water. It has carbonation and flavor. I tell you that to finish my little story. Unfortunately, I left the room at this point. Can you imagine what those little guys decided to do? Well, knowing how sweet those little angels are, I know that you are not thinking any type of devious thoughts! You should! I did not even think about the water bottles when I found poor little Spot dead in the bottom of the fish bowl. We had a nice toilet bowl funeral and Ty said some nice words about him. It wasn't until my hubby and I were getting ready for bed and noticed that little Rosey had joined Spot in fish heaven that I remembered that the boys were hanging their bottles of water over the bowl earlier. As I was cleaning up the kitchen (at 10:30 pm), I noticed two empty bottles next to the fish bowl. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize those two had emptied their bottles into the fish bowl. Poor little fish. At least Pretty is still with us. I suppose I will be going to buy some more little fish this weekend. I think I will buy the Fancy Guppy type which is the same species as Pretty. She seems more hearty! Those poor other fish though. It is a shame I did not walk in sooner and catch those little boys in the act. I would have been able to save Rosey and Spot. It wasn't meant for me to catch the twins though. But just like this situation, we have many things that happen in our lives that seem to put us in a spot where we really want to ask, what if? or why? But this is when we have to remind ourselves of God's great and mighty plan for our lives as well as everyone around us...Jer 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." How easy is it to lose site of the big plan. Think of how Jacob (Joseph's dad) and his sons felt when there was such a great famine. (Genesis 42-43) They had no relief in site. Jacob had already lost one son at this time, now he was facing having to send his other son, Benjamin to Egypt. (He didn't send Benjamin the first trip to Egypt because he was scared that some form of harm would come upon him). Jacob and his sons could not see God's overall plan to reunite them with Joseph as well as being fed from Egypt's storehouses. So I am here to encourage you to try to look beyond the little picture and look to God's big plan. What you do not understand or can not see, trust God. And do not worry. For we see that so often as a momma. Remember Matthew 6:34 " Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. I will be praying for you...

Slap Across the Face!

I have been meaning to sit down and write for several days. Just a busy momma like you guys! I have had in my head to share with you what happened on Friday morning. We got up and ready to go to school as normal. We were, for once, not running late. Which I might add that Will has started asking me, "Running late, momma?" I suppose that is becoming the norm around here! Anyway, I noticed that the book that Ty had left on the stairs had not been put up. Normally, that would not be that big of a deal, but since I had asked him twice the day before, it was an official big deal at this point. As I was talking to him about that, my 6 year old comes crying to me telling me she has to have a library book returned to school that day. I asked here what the book was and what would happen if she did not take it today and she proceded to explain that the teacher said if she did not bring it that day, she would have to pay for the book. She had somehow forgotten to tell me about this at an earlier date, because she has evidently had this book for quite some time. I want to point out that our 6 year old is what we call a drama queen. When you think of a child crying, you probably have a much prettier version than my sweet child. She usually adds some moans along with throwing herself down on the floor and possibly a scream if needed for a little more effect. Just in case that wasn't enough, now the 7 year old has lost her shoes. This is also a serious offense in our house because of how many times it has happened in the past. By this time, my sweet thoughts of my kiddos have flown out the window while driving to school. So I offer a 5 minute lecture on responsibility. I explain why we have to be responsible as well as how important it is in our household. Well to be honest, I covered so much in my lecture, I won't bore you with the details. So, as I am wrapping up this lovely speech, I felt the hand of God slap me across the face. Not literally. I remembered how it hasn't been that long ago in my walk as a Christian that I was completely not following through on my responsibility to read God's word and to keep my focus on Him. You have read my post about the babies and how my life just felt like agony when I was fighting God's plan for my life. I was so glad that I had to drop the kiddos off, because I suddenly felt so totally ashamed of myself. Here I am getting on to these kids about responsibility, basically telling them how terribly disappointed I am in them only to think that God was that disappointed in me and then some, I am sure. I wasn't upset that I had gotten on to the kids. I just knew that God was allowing things that my kids did to let me see my faults. Remember how I mentioned the verse before about taking the log out of my own eye before working on someone elses splinter? My job as a mom was to correct the kids in their mistakes, but how sweet was it that God gave me that revelation by using my kids. Anyway, going back to responsibility. I have totally seen a change in myself now that I am making time for God. I still have not disciplined myself to the point where I think I am spending enough time with Him in His word, but I sure am working on it. My focus is where it should be and I love learning how God wants to use me, mold me and transform me. I am here to encourage you not to be laid back in your responsibility to Christ. Study His word. The payoff will be beyond measure! John 6:27a "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." I pray that God will be with whoever is reading this to help them to be diligent in their study of Your precious Word! Lord, speak to their heart through the study of Your word and allow them to find time in their busy schedules as mommas. It is so easy to put off our spiritual walk and I pray that each and everyone reading will have their hunger renewed. We love you Lord Jesus. Amen.

Sneaky little sins...

Okay, the boys are on a mission in the last two days. I am not sure why they want me to go to the mental institute, but I am pretty sure it is coming. When I had my first, he never got in to stuff. I am talking about magazines, drawers, the pantry, or anything else. He really had me spoiled. Well, now I am getting my payback. Two days ago, I caught Ben in the pantry with the Costco size Country Time Lemonade having the biggest time decorating the floor by taking the scoop and pouring it all over. Luckily, I caught him in time and the damage wasn't too bad. But, I have to share with you about yesterday. The twins are funny little things. If you don't watch them every second, they will find something to get in to. Well, yesterday we were busy pulling a tooth for my oldest when I thought, "Huh, I wonder where the twins are..." Although the caution flags should have been flying high at this point, I was taking the laid back approach that day. A few minutes later, after doing a little laundry, I realized that I did not ever see them. When I walked by the pantry, the door opened very slowly and here is what I found.

My hubby and I laughed so hard that we didn't even get on to them. They had snuck in to the pantry and had eaten and entire box of powdered doughnuts. You can see that Ben is so proud of himself. Will on the other hand, never quit eating. He stuffed his face while I proceded to take several snapshots. They sure are funny little boys.

I am sure that you are use to me trying to relate my stories to something in our Christian walk. After thinking on these little boys and how they love to sneak around to do the bad stuff, it has made me think of how often I have not necessarily snuck around, but have fallen back in to my old "flesh-like" habits. Those things that I really know that I shouldn't do, but the things that seem to creep up on me that I either did pre-Christian or just have managed to think up in my sin-filled head. You know what I am talking about. An occasional lie, usually to try not to hurt someone's feelings or trying to use an outdated coupon by tearing off the date (I am a coupon-hungry woman!). How about a bad attitude whether towards your kids or your husband. That one I really stuggle with...especially when I am tired. I also fight taking for granted all that God has so graciously given me. Failing to see the good in His wonderful and mighty plan. Lastly, I mention how I get so frustrated when I don't see my hubby helping. Nevermind the fact that I haven't ask him. You know as well as I do that he should be able to read my mind! I was so convicted by this when I read about Mary and Martha. Read this exerpt:

Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

The highlighted section reminds me of what so often has gone through my head. Thank goodness we have a good God that convicts us and allows us to see the error of our ways. How easy is it to shift the blame on someone else. Remember the verse I mentioned in Matthew 7 in a previous post, 3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" It is so easy to blame others or just get plain old angry at someone, my hubby in this instance. But, if I had my mind set on what God wanted me to set it on, being a "helper suitable for him" (Gen 2:18) and seeing marraige as a living symbol of Christ (Eph 5:23, 31-32), then I wouldn't have an attitude problem in the first place! I suppose I am getting rather lengthy on my own issues, but I am so thankful that I have married the man I have and that God has given us a quiver full of children. We are truely blessed. I hope that my endless "confessions" are an encouragement to any who feel like their lives aren't perfect. I see so many moms trying so hard to show everyone at church how "perfect" their lives are that it makes those of us who aren't perfect think something is wrong with us. Let's make a pact to grow together in the Lord. Are you in??? Let's run to the Cross to Jesus instead of the mental institute!

Stores, Prayers and Tattoos

I have decided that I need to speak to my pastor about a new idea for the church. It came to me after...well let me just tell you my idea. I think we should pick a day during the week, lets say Monday, for instance, and call a prayer meeting for a couple of hours. We would have to coordinate it with all the moms in the church. Why you might ask? Lets just call it mom has to do her errands...with the kids day. I know that it would have been beneficial to me after taking the twins to Target yesterday. We started our outing perfectly happy and content. But somewhere between the Halloween aisle and the light bulb aisle, the horns sprouted. I almost wonder if the boys sat in their room before I got up trying to see what is the best way to plot against me. I am pretty sure they decided to act like angels until I got a few things in the cart and they knew that I would not want to leave to "take care of business." The screams they let out could probably be compared to a torture victim. In fact, I got some looks from people that thought I may just be doing that. Well, I finally had to break down and spank Will in public. I absolutely hate that. Which is sad to say, but true. I am scared someone is going to call DHS on me one day. But, I dare to say if I let the DHS people take my kids on errands with them, they would do the same! Anyway, I need some good ideas on how to deal with screaming. I have been trying to redirect them by telling them they have to use words so that I can understand what is wrong, but that does not always work. Have I mentioned that I have really strong willed children? Four out of the five are like that. I am just trying my hardest to..
Proverbs 22:6
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
but I do have my work cut out for me. I tell Will to stop screaming and do you know what he responds with? "NO WAY!" That is another one of his favorite things to say. I have had to start ignoring it though, because we had a battle of the wills one day. I spanked him everytime he said it and all he did was say it louder each time. I know one day, with God's divine intervention, they will be strong in God's ways and will stand firm in what they believe in. Although some days it seems so terribly far away! I suppose I need to read again about not growing weary! I have already forgotten that lesson. I have been trying to remember the verse in James when I feel like I am going to visit the local mental institution...
James 1:2
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,"
But for some reason or another, it did not come to mind in Target. You know how kids love those little washable tattoos. Maybe I should check in to some with that Bible verse for my store trips! I think I am on to something!!!

Tired and Active

Today, I have been cracking up at the twins and how much they are imitating me. Will keeps telling me how sleepy he is. You know just as well as I do that most kiddos don't tell you how sleepy they are because they know that is a one way ticket to their bed! All day in the car though, he has been saying, "Mommas, Iz a sleeeeepppy boy" and his brother says, "Mommas, Iz tired." I wonder just how many times I have said this over the course of their life, because it has become such a regular part of their conversation over the past few weeks. In fact, I must say it quite often, because they are saying it just about after every comment. Their conversation is going something like this,
"mommas"
"mommas"
"Yes dear"
"mommas, tderes an aiplane"
"mommas, Iz sleepy"
"I saw that airplane. Isn't it cool?"
"mommas, tdats cool. Iz a sleepy boy."
"Are you sleepy?"
"Yeah mommas, Iz a sleepy boy."
"Did you see that train?"
"Tdats cool, momma. Like Thomas. Mommas, Iz a sleepy boy."
And so on. You get the point. Our conversation has made me try to think before I speak, because I am obviously making an impact on the imitating behavior aspect of parenting. My hubby had a funny experience the other day with them imitating him as well. He had gotten frustrated over something, at this point I don't remember what it was. (my brain is like an etch-a-sketch. There can be a wonderful picture or thought in my head to share, and somehow all the information in my head gets shaken up only to make the initial thought disappear!) Anyway, he said "deadgumit" and the boys kept saying, "gummit" for the rest of the night. As I was pondering these little things that make two year olds so cute, I couldn't help but think of all of my words and thoughts. What if these two little boys could imitate everything that comes from my mouth or goes through my head. Boy, was that a humbling tidbit! I am finding with age or possibly with lack of sleep, my thoughts can go from what I need to get at the store to thoughts I know God would be ashamed of. Hey, I am being honest. Maybe it is also because as you grow older you lose the innocent part of being young. All that is beside the point though. What I am getting at though is how much stuff goes through our heads. Imagine if we had a little person with a bullhorn on our shoulder telling everything that ever went through our heads. I am sure some of us would get a tighter reign of our thoughts and words! With all of this going through my head, I can't help but wonder what my kids pick up on that I say or do. I already see some of my bad habits and behaviors coming out in them and I do have to admit that it is so sad and humbling! I also read the passage today that talks about removing the log from my eye before trying to remove the splinter from anothers eye(Matthew 7:3-5). So, it made me think more of not trying to fuss at my kids when they imitate my bad behaviors, but to pray about my behaviors that need some serious attention, so that I can then help my children to work through their weaknesses in the same fashion. It is funny how I seem to see their weaknesses so easily, yet fail to see them so predominately in my own life. Pray that God will open my eyes as well as your own eyes to the things we do that are harmful in our children's lives. Let's not tell God we are "tired" in our walk of faith, but push ourselves to grow "actively" through His strength for the heart of Christ. Keep growing, sister!
Psalms 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Stop and Focus

Do you ever have just extremely crazy days? Sometimes I lose track of my days because I am running so much. Yesterday, we had a playdate, an errand, lunchdate, rest and clean-up time, pick up kids at school, homework, rushed dinner, church, bath, and bed. When I finally got into bed, I sunk beneath the covers and sleep just overtook me. UNTIL. One of the twins woke up at 1 am and 2 am throwing up. At 4:50 am he was moaning and crying in his sleep. I thought it sounded like a great idea and I really wanted to join him! Anyway, I woke up again at 7:30 am only realize it was Thursday. If I could just put into words how much I look forward to this day of the week, you might understand just how sad this was that of all days of the week, the baby choose this one to get sick! This is the day I use to get some of the things done that never seem to get done around the house. For instance, the cobwebs that are now connecting light fixtures from room to room, the dust on the blinds that I could write my name on or if I really had some extra time I would try to figure out what is a weed and what is a plant in my flower beds! My mind tells me to send them to school. Then, my foggy head becomes a little clearer and I decide that wouldn't be the right thing to do! Well, we at least had a little quieter day today and my dust may be piling up by the second, but I did have some good quality time with the kiddos. While I was in car line at school this afternoon, I did my quiet time. Only then, did I stop to think about how crazy life has become and how it seems harder and harder to keep my focus on what is truely important. I have enjoyed this blog for that reason, it allows me time to reflect on my day and see God working in my life, my husbands, my kids and others. How often do I allow things to get in the way of my walk with God though. Have you ever read the verses in Hebrews 12
12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
12:3
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
These are the verses I read in my quiet time yesterday, but they came to mind today. They are so perfect for us as moms too. For how often have we grown weary in our mothering. From the constant discouragement of leading a child in the way they should go only to see them choose the wrong path to the thousands of errands and activities we do for the sake of the family, we definately see weariness. I am hear to encourage you to set your mind on Jesus. Focus your day on Him and in your discouraging times look for His mighty hand on your life. It is so hard to discern His plan in our lives, but the more I seem to focus on what He is doing in my life as well as my family's, the easier it is in my heart to focus on Jesus. It also seems easier to find joy in the bad moments because your focus is not on yourself, but on the overall plan. I hope to encourage you to not lose heart in your high place of honor. God chose you and gave you those wonderful kiddos. Despite our crazy days of cleaning, laundry, chauffouring and the many other things that fill our day, focus on running this race set before us well. As my Bible study says, Run Well, Finish Strong!
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Praise Jesus!

Today has been a great day! Isn't it awesome when you can walk away from a day feeling rejuvenated from seeing God's hand at work in your life as well as others! Today, a great friend of mine that has struggled with infertility called to tell me she is pregnant! They were not even trying. In fact, they gave up about 2 years ago, I believe (maybe longer) and have been pursueing a Chinese adoption! How great is God! It is so funny to think of the prayers we all have and we pray them so earnestly, yet sometimes we don't get the answer when we want it. But, I tell you what, isn't it grand when God does choose to answer that prayer. It makes me just want to praise Jesus for all He has done for me and now for my precious friend! Please pray for her as she goes through this pregnancy. Her ultrasound is tomorrow at 9:30! The other great part of my day was just a special moment my husband and I had with our oldest. He came up to me tonight as I was grilling some chicken and out of nowhere told me he thought Satan was trying to convince him he wasn't truely a Christian. Can I tell you how sweet the moments are when your children let you see a glimpse of what is in their hearts. We had a wonderful, in-depth conversation with him and were even able to share from our own lives on how both my hubby and I had accepted Christ as young people, but were unsure at that time that it wasn't the real thing. It wasn't until I have gotten quite older and have taken the time to really think about it that I have realized I just didn't understand how to step from the infant stage of accepting Christ to growing in Him. When we finished talking, it just felt so good to know that he really felt confortable coming to us to ask his questions at his big age of 10! I hate there is not more quality time with each of the kiddos, but that makes me relish in those little moments when I feel their soul being poured out! I have a song in my head from all this good stuff going on. I am sure that you have heard it...Praise God from whom all blessings flow...Praise Him all creatures here below...Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts...Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost...amen. Take the time to worship God and give Him thanks for those little things in life that make us see glimpses of Him and His majestic glory!

Run to the Cross or to a Pity Party???

From the time I found out I was having twins, my life went into a whirlwind. My plans were suddenly not the same plans that God had chosen and to be quite honest, it just didn't sit well with me. When my hubby and I had talked about having one more child, I had visions of this child being treasured, cherishing and relishing in every moment that I was given to be with him/her. Well, then came the news that my husband felt led to not even try for another. God has blessed us with three healthy children and as he said, why test the odds with a forth. Approximately two weeks later, guess what I found out. We are pregnant. So, okay I am pregnant and trying to drum up a little excitment in between feeling sick and exhausted while keeping up with the other three children. Then at 9 1/2 weeks pregnant, crying frantically in the ultrasound room to the poor technician that had the awesome responsibility to tell me and my husband that we are having twins, I officially loose it. I was in shock for the rest of my pregnancy and then I cried every day for the first 10 months of their lives. After that, I just couldn't find joy in any of my children. All of a sudden, God was my enemy. Didn't He hear me when I told Him in countless prayers that I wanted A child? Did He have some twisted sense of humor trying to see if I could handle five children with two that looked completely alike? I tell you what sister, I can't even write a portion of the thoughts that went through my head. I was leading a life of self-inflicted torture. Everyday I found it difficult to step out of bed. My family was becoming a piece of baggage. Have I begun to put into words just how self-absorbed and tragic my life had become? All because I failed to accept God's plan. When this happened, I began to have so many other things fall apart. Basically, my head was not screwed on straight! Okay, I know this is a depressing post, but it is the truth. Christians go through struggles too and I hope that this is a lesson for anyone that has a trial in their life that really doesn't know how to deal with it or like me, instead of running to the Cross, ran to their pity party! I have often wondered if God chose to write a book in the Bible about me, what would He say? It would probably be a book on what not to do! But, I am pretty sure this would be in there. Because it is such a lesson on how not to handle things in your life when they do not go your way. Now, I can't imagine my life without any of my kids and especially my twins. I see God's mighty hand in my life and He has used two little boys to allow me to see the errors of my thinking. I failed to see the "big picture". God has plans for all of us and what we fail to see is the great illustration of how God is using all of us to accomplish His awesome and mighty plan. If the goal was just to become a Christian, we would die in our flesh immediately upon salvation. No, girl, God has wonderful plans for you.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "
Don't allow Satan to take from you what is rightfully yours. Keep your mind set on the things above, then you will find joy in times like these because you will have confidence that they are producing a more spirtually mature person in you.
Ro 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Hebrews 12:7 "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"
One of my sons is named Will. Now, what a perfect reminder that it was not only God's will that I have these two boys, but also that He got to use them to allow me to see how important my job as a mother is as well as how to better react when I encounter trials!
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward."

Standing firm or shaking in my boots...

This past week, my husband had to go out of town for a few days. No big deal. In fact, the first few days were nice. I got a few extra things done that I would normally not have time to do. Also, I slept really good, which is a complete abnormality! But come the third night, I was completely overcome with anxiety. I couldn't go to sleep and I even woke up all in the night thinking someone is going to break in. What amazes me is that I never have this issue when my hubby is in town. I am not sure what I think he would do if we were all of a sudden overcome with a swarm of burgerlers, a wild pack of dogs or maybe even a helicopter crashed into my roof, but I have no doubt in my mind that he could handle it! That is alot of faith in one person isn't it! Anyway, he was gone and what did I do but sit there and wonder what in the world was that noise I just heard? What about the shadow that I don't remember seeing a few minutes ago? After what seemed like an obnoxious amount of time worrying, I finally remembered to pray. I prayed that God would put an army of angels watching over my house and keep us safe all night. Well, I said AMEN and fell fast asleep only to keep on waking up all night! The funniest part about this whole ordeal is what happened once I woke up. Do you ever think deep, mind engaging thoughts upon waking up? Neither do I. I am usually thinking, "I must wake up, I must wake up, I need to potty, must wake up..." Anyway, immediately upon waking up I thought of Peter in Matthew 14:22-33. How he saw Jesus walking on water, had the faith to step out and join Him, knowing He was his Savior, yet still he doubted. ( 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." ) Why I thought this was so funny is because I know God gave me that thought. I knew to go to Him. I trusted Him by peacefully going to sleep, yet I doubted Him because I kept waking up (ie shaking in my boots). Yet, I have no problem thinking my hubby will conquer giants on my behalf. Isn't that amazing that my faith in my husband outweighs the faith I have in my Savior (at least in this instance). God has taught me a valuable lesson in where my faith should lie as well as how much faith I should have. "...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20b Stand firm in your faith for Christ. He will strengthen you, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9

Horns and Crowns...

I didn't mention that I am a Christian in my last post. Being a Christian and a mother has been some what of a challenge though. There are so many times in my experience as a mother that you probably couldn't tell I have any sort of religion. One of which was this morning. We were having a really good morning getting everyone ready for school (ie older three dressed, me dressed, lunches made, teeth brushed, etc.) when the twins decided to run like little cavemen screaming around the house. My house has what we refer to a "racetrack" between the kitchen, living room, dining room and hallway. It makes a perfect circle and the boys find it quite amusing to run in circles while laughing like little hyenas. It was almost funny until I realized we were running late for car line. I chased my little hyenas and caught one in the midst of a cackle! I ran him upstairs and went for round two. Ding!Ding!Ding! I ran and ran until I finally caught him all the while giving my two year old mommy's rendition of getting chewed out. Okay. They are finally dressed. So, we race to the car. Everyone is strapped in. But what is it about being late that gets me so worked up. All the kids are perfectly happy in the car, but mommy is fuming. That doesn't seem quite fair does it. The kids, who did the wrong thing in the first place, are just as happy and content. And here I am, brewing like a kettle about to blow. Well, I did a nice job of holding it in. UNTIL...my daughter decided to leave the door open to the car. Isn't it funny how such little things get you going. Have you ever seen the picture of a bomb exploding? I screamed, "EMILY, GET BACK HERE AND CLOSE THE DOOR?" (It wasn't pretty between the voice I chose and the look I was giving.) Then, the little lady who does car line comes from right behind my vehicle, saw the horns growing from my head and said, "honey, it is okay. I will get it for you." I was so embarrassed. Anyway, my point is that you should know that we are all human. Made in the image of God, but so totally in the flesh. I find it so easy to worship and pray when things are going good. But, it is scary when my horns sprout. Thank goodness God doesn't set a limit on how many times He forgives me. He chisils down those horns daily, yet they still find a way to sprout back up. Just telling you this makes me think of two stories in the Bible. Job for one. How he kept his horns from growing and spouting off at God when things were totally going wrong in his life. Instead, he told his wife how can we accept the good and not accept the bad. That hits me like a ton of bricks. Why do my horns sprout when I should be looking to Jesus? Secondly, I think of Paul. He was in prison awaiting his execution and he continued to pray and worship. Seeing the whole plan as God's perfect will for his life. Here come the bricks again. Anyway, I hope to encourage you to realize we are all human and we all have our moments. I will pray for strength for you and I hope you will do likewise for me!

Mothering...someone forgot to tell me something...

Can I tell you that in all my youthful years, I had absolutely no idea what it meant to be a mother. Don't you wish you could bat your eyes and truthfully say that you have the most precious, obedient children on earth. Well let me tell you, my kiddos are precious, but I am pretty sure they are only to me! First, let me tell you I have 5 children. My son is 10 going on 22! He is very intelligent and loves to joke around. Then there is my dreamer who is in 2nd grade. She is such a pleaser and gets so disheartened when things don't go her way. Fifteen months after her, we had our "passionate" child. She has more energy and zeal for life...which means she is in trouble most of the time! Then came the identical twins. I never knew the meaning of a busy life until they came along. In fact, I am sure that God has a sense of humor. I had maybe one brain cell left before the twins were born with which I already struggled to call the children I already had by their correct names. Then came two that looked completely and totally alike. Do you think I mix them up? YES! I have run across so many moms that sell me how easy it is for them to tell their twins apart. At this point, I just point at who is in trouble, explain that they know who they are and they'd better straighten up. Then, I hope that I caught the right one when they were running away from me! I am sure one day I will see past the craziness of these days. But it seems so far away!