Conversation with Peter

Mama - "Peter, is your nose running?"

Peter - "No.  It's just sitting there."

There's nothing in the world like 3-year-olds!:)

Summer 2012 Recap

The very next week after Isaac's first birthday, our summer began with a very big event - at least it was a big event for this mama.  Alana went to summer camp for a whole week.  In case you're not getting it, that's a whole week without her mama!  Or actually, a whole week for this mama without her little girl.  Of course, Alana had a wonderful time.  She didn't go completely by herself, she had her good friend Bethanie with her.  Alana was ready to be home by the end of the week, which comforted me only slightly.  I guess I was a little disappointed that she wasn't heart-broken without her parents:)

It may seem like small potatoes in light of things like camp, but Mr. Isaac had a milestone too.  He switched to a forward-facing, big boy carseat.  And just like his brother, he hated it for the first few car rides.  He loves it now though. 

After Alana's camp, we had VBS at our church and the Fourth of July holiday the week after.  Then came one of the biggest surprises (for me at least) of our summer.  We all went to youth camp!  Tom has been the part-time Youth Minister at our church for a few months and we had planned for him to take the youth to camp. The surprise was for the whole family to get to go.  It was a bit of a last-minute decision and I had no idea what I was getting myself into - going to youth camp with 3 kids!  But it turned out to be great.  We had a wonderful time as a family, as well as with our youth.  It was definitely stretching in some areas.  For instance, the A/C in our room didn't work too well.  We felt like we were sweating for a solid week.  And we had to eat our meals outside on a picnic table (in the heat) - not the easiest way to feed a family of five for every meal with a picky 3 year old and a baby.  But we did it.  And it really boosted my confidence for what I can handle with three children. 

After youth camp, our summer was supposed to start winding down.  Alana had horse camp the week after we got home and then the Olympics were scheduled to start.  My plan was for us to watch the Olympics (we LOVE the Olympics - especially gymnastics) and then to start homeschool a week of two after that.  The Sunday morning after the Olympics opening ceremonies, I woke up at 4 a.m. to a very hot house.  We survived the next four days without A/C, but were delivered the news we would need a whole new A/C system.  This was a blow we had certainly not planned on.  Also, we new it would take some time to work out all the details for that so we ended up at my parents' house for a week.  

This is my new best friend:) 

Let me tell you, air conditioning is a luxury and I know people not all that long ago lived without it, but we spoiled people cannot.  We LOVE our cool house!

The day after we got our new A/C, these two boys came down with some kind of nasty virus (and high fevers) that caused three trips to the pediatrician, two antibiotics, and lots of Tylenol/Motrin.  They are finally better. 

And boy do they love each other!  That's been another of our changes this summer, watching this fun, brotherly relationship develop.  There is nothing like boys!

So, there is our summer in a nutshell.  It was busy, hard, fun and at times - HOT:)

Back to School! 2012/2013 School Year

I have been so neglectful of my poor little blog these last few months, but we have had a crazy-busy summer!  I knew it was going to be busy, but it turned out to be jamm-packed.  Gone are the quiet days of last summer when Isaac was a newborn and we just stayed home and hung out together as a family.  However, even though this summer was totally different and very busy, it was great.  I do plan to recap some of the highlights of our summer soon, but until then.....today is BACK TO SCHOOL!

I've seen this done on lots of homeschool blogs and I think it's a great way to document the beginning of a new school year.

Alana is starting 5th grade this year.  That is just ridiculous.

My sweet Peter is totally potty-trained - last year's curriculum:)  So this year, we are going to focus on learning letters (by recognition and sound) and counting to 10.

My precious Isaac has grown up SO MUCH this summer.  I knew that would happen.  He has dropped the morning nap (but takes a wonderfully long afternoon nap) and uses only sippy cups now - no more bottles.  However, he is still not walking at almost 15 months.  He is definitely interested and practices with his walking toys a lot.  He's even taken a few steps here and there, but he is not really walking yet.  Peter was the same way.  We had to really encourage him to get him walking.  Isaac's school year will be working on learning this skill.  By the end of the year, he'll probably be running everywhere and I'll miss the days of no walking:) 

 

My class!  The sweetest class of children in the whole world!

Just in case we forget what we're supposed to be doing (not likely), we taped our school year goals on the door. 

Happy back to school!  It is one of my most favorite times of the year.

July 2012 Devotional

Fret Not!

I recently spent a week meeting with the Lord in the comforting words of Psalm 37. If you’ve never read or studied this Psalm, I highly encourage you to do so. The theme of the entire Psalm is that the righteous will win in the end and those that do evil will lose. Read carefully the words of the first four verses:

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The Psalm continues in that same truth for forty verses! The phrase “fret not” is repeated three times in the first eight verses.

I must confess that I was (unexpectedly) convicted upon studying this Psalm – actually, within studying the very first verse. I often fret because of evildoers. I fret about the evil being done in this country. I fret about evil being done to the church at large, as well as to our church. I fret about evil being done to my husband or to my children. But I must admit that I fret most often about evil being done to me. I am so inclined to give in to the urge of my flesh to get my eyes off the Lord and onto people. And people are oh, so sinful! Their sin affects me. So how do I respond? I fret.

The second phrase of the first verse goes on to say, “be not envious of wrongdoers!” Conviction upon conviction. I realized not only that I fret because of evildoers, but I am also often envious of wrongdoers. The realization of that truth crashed into my consciousness like a lightning rod. Not only do I fret, then I envy those that do wrong.

Jesus said that “in this world we would have trouble.” Trouble is a fact and often trouble is due to evildoers. We live in a sin-fallen world with sin-fallen people and we will encounter evildoers, often on a daily basis. We must remember that every single person is either surrendering to the Lordship of Christ, or pursuing the lust of their own flesh, which is evil. There are only two paths. Therefore, when those of us that are surrendering to Christ encounter those that are not, we are encountering those that do evil and often that evil is directed to us.

Tom and I are movie people. We love many different kinds of movies and Tom is constantly quoting lines from movies to me. One of his favorites is, “Good will overcome. Trust in that.” That is an accurate analysis of Psalm 37.

So, the next time you encounter an evildoer, what will be your response? What should be your response? Fret not!

Happy Independence Day (2012)

July 4, 2011

July 4, 2012 

I am very thankful for the freedom we have in this country.

But I am so much more thankful for the complete freedom we have because of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; His truth is marching on.

June 2012 Devotional

Fixed

We have had a lot of sickness passing through our house the last few weeks, nothing serious, just the typical for a family with little people. Because of that, Peter (age 3) has been doing a lot of talking about being “sick” and getting “fixed.” When Tom was having his turn with the stomach virus, Peter kept telling him to get fixed. He was very concerned that his daddy was sick.

Ever since Peter’s life hung in the balance when he was a newborn, I have known that if he lived, I would spend the rest of his life telling him about the miracle that he is, beginning with his earliest understanding. Sometimes at bedtime, Peter likes to talk with me for a few minutes and I’ve used the opportunity of having a household of sickness to share his story with him. I’ve kept it very basic with no details, just the facts that when he was a baby he was very sick and God healed him. I’ve only told him about this a couple of times because I’ve wanted to be careful not to lay something too heavy on him yet. It’s important for Peter to know his story, but also important that it be on a level he can understand.

Tonight, as we were having our usual few minutes of conversation at bedtime, Peter said, “I was sick and God fixed me.” No one has been sick for awhile and we haven’t talked about this in a few weeks, so obviously what I shared with him has stuck in his head. When he said those words, I was stunned – stunned that he understood so completely, stunned that he remembered, stunned that he has been thinking about it. Most of all though, I was filled with praise to God. To understand being sick and being fixed is basic to the good news of the gospel.

The same can be said of me. I was sick, actually dead – dead in my sins. And my sovereign God fixed me. He gave me new life in Christ.

How about you? Have you been fixed – really and truly fixed? Once dead and now alive in Christ? The course of your life changed completely?

We need the good news of the gospel in our lives every day. We constantly need to be reminded that we were dead in our sin, and then we have been fixed by Christ. This message is not just for the moment of conversion. This is the message that needs to sink deep into our souls. This is the message that makes life worth living. This is the message that should cause us to continue and carry on in faith. This is the message of hope and joy. We were once dead and now alive. Praise be to God!

Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:5

Scripture Memory - June 15, 2012

I'm running a bit behind, but better late than never....

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! - Psalm 37:1

I'm going to build on this verse for the next few weeks.