Kidney Stones, Crystals, Pillow Pets and Mimi's House

This week we have had to spend $500 dollars on car repairs and $200 on fixing our water heater......Merry Christmas and I hope a happier New Year. Oh well, things could be worse. The kids aren't sick anymore and Jason is feeling better. After he got sick with the same thing the kids had, he got better and then Christmas evening he started passing a kidney stone (which he does periodically...He finally stopped naming them because he has had too many to keep track of). He also had a fever and was throwing up, possibly with a stomach bug on top of it. Ugh. Well he is better now.

The kids and I have had fun playing war, go fish, Hedbandz, Sorry, and doing puzzles. We have also done some cool experiments with Max's new crystal growing kit. It is great. It was something he had been asking for, for Christmas. It has 13 different crystal growing activities to do. We have done three. We grew spikey yellow crystals on a paper cactus we cut out and made stand up. We also made some pretty blue crystals grow on a rock and we made a geode shell and are now growing glowing crystals on it. The geode shell we made has glow powder we put on it before it dried and hardened so now after the crystals grow it will glow in the dark!!! Really cool. I will show you pictures of them later when they are all done growing. And we still have 9 more left to do! Lots of Fun! The only draw back is that the crystals don't grow as big as you would like, but still I highly recommend this kit. It is "Ultimate Crystal Growing Kit" by Scientific Explorer.

One of the things that Sam wanted soooo badly was a dog Pillow Pet. He has wanted one for forever (at least 6 months) and talks about it all the time. We tried to talk him out of it, thinking he was too old for it and wouldn't want it once he got it, but to no avail. Santa brought it to him for Christmas and he has slept with it and played with it ever since. He named it "Hershey" and it is a "girl" dog, his first girl sleep buddy (stuffed animal). He says it looks like a girl dog to him (Maybe because our dog, Maizie is a girl?). Anyway, it is so funny to hear him walk around the house constantly singing the song, "It's a pillow. It's a pet. It's a pillow pet!"

Today Mimi came over and picked the boys up at around 10:30 and took them to go rent some movies, then to go see a movie and then to spend the night at her house. She will drop them back off tomorrow sometime. Oh sweet Mimi. I do hope they are good for her and don't fuss too much. I am sure they will have lots of fun. Mimi makes everything fun! This morning they woke up and both boys were singing the Sponge Bob song, "It's the best day ever...because we are going to spend the night at Mimi's house." It cracked me up. Yes they were excited. The last two times we planned for them to do this, they were sick and had to reschedule. Thank you Mimi and Papa for everything!

Always and forever, no matter what!

Yes, I am loving being off work and spending more time with the boys. This morning I was snuggling with Sam and he kept wanting to give me "married kisses". It is so cute and sweet. I will take his kisses any way I can get them. I know pretty soon he will be not wanting to do anything like that with his old and embarrassing mama. Anyway, I had sprayed my hair with hair spray and not brushed through it yet so he kept feeling my hair and telling me that he loved me even if I had dry, crunchy hair...no matter what. He would love me even if I was in heaven. Oh, I just melted. I hope he never changes his feelings. How I love my joy boys, always and forever, no matter what!

Let's Get Creative

Since I am off with the kids for Christmas break since they are out of school, I have been inundated with the cries of, "We want to do a project!" Here are a few we have done so far in the last 2 days. Yesterday I googled a blog site with kids craft ideas and we made "Snowman Poop" that we put on our neighbor's doorstep, as well as the kid's cousin's doorstep. We put large chocolate and white swirled marshmallows into a baggie along with some dark chocolate chips and sprinkled it with silver glitter. Then we wrote out this poem and stapled it to the bag: "You have been naughty so this is the scoop. All you get for Christmas is this snowman poop!" Then we added that we were just joking and hoped they had a fun Christmas. We also made some reindeer food to sprinkle on the lawn Christmas Eve. I just add libbed with what was in the cabinet and put several packets of dried oatmeal flakes and some frosted mini wheats in a baggie and then sprinkled it all with silver glitter. We also made a bag of chopped up carrots sprinkled with glitter to add to it later so it wouldn't make the other mix get moist.

Today we played with some stampers, making pictures and decorating a bag for papa's gift, then we played with glow in the dark bendaroos making things. We have also played lots of board games and hide and seek and I have also gone through thier closets and toy boxes to get rid of old things they don't play with anymore and make room for the new. Anyway, now that we are all finally healthy again it feels good to be productive. Have I mentioned we have broken three glass knick knacks in the last 2 days with all the wild play going on? The kids feel better and are bored, tired of laying around. Soooo I must get creative. Anyone have any other ideas? Have a fun and creative Holiday week!

Merry Sickmas---Ho Ho Achoooo

Well, for over a week now my family has been sick. Ugh. It started off last week on Thursday with Sam waking up at night with a fever and throwing up. He was sick all weekend. Max had a cold and coughed horribly and developed a fever also within a day of this. At the end of the weekend they seemed better and went to school Monday and Tuesday, but by 3:00 Tuesday afternoon they both had a fever and Sam now had the cold that Max had. So did Jason for that matter---and the fever. Sam had some virus and Max didn't, just a cold, but he also had swollen lymph nodes that were infected and couldn't eat or drink due to the pain. Ugh. Yesterday I hit a brick wall with the cold and am home today with Sam, both of us sick. The antibiotics worked on Max and he has been fever free two days now and was able to go to school. Whew. I am ready to sanitize the house and be germ free!

Anyway, Sam got angry with Maizie the other day when she tried to get him to play with her and nipped at him to get his attention. He yelled, "I'm so made at you! All I do is give you tender love and you bite me!" I just have to laugh about the "tender love" bit. I don't know where he heard that one. His current thing, which has been for the last 3 months, has been he wants to give me "married kisses". He holds my face in his hands and tilts his head to the side, seriously, and slowly gives me a long kiss on the lips. Jason and I keep telling him that that kind of kiss is only for mommy's and daddy's. But he is still enthralled by it. He also has to tell me 10 times a day in gestures (baby sign language) "I love you".

The kids have been sick and want me to snuggle with them so they have both been on either side of my lap coughing on me and snuggling. I love the snuggle time, but not the germs and ultimate sickness. Ooooh it is bitter sweet. As they get older I know I will have less of this snuggle time and am grateful for it now, but not the germs. I do have to say, though that looking back at last year at this time, this season is much merrier. Last year we were planning a funeral for Jason's grandmother in Coffeyville and wrapping up her affairs, our beloved dog Moses died two days before Christmas, Jason's job at Apache was having major upheaval with changes and people leaving so he was looking for a new job and stressed and our finances were in worse shape than now. So, each year does get better. I have to remind myself about the blessings and how God is providing and set my mind and heart on an attitude of gratitude.

I hope your holiday season is going well and is germ free and full of His blessings. Take care!

I Spy

In regards to the picture below with Max, Sam and Maizie in front of the Christmas tree...can you spot the two Maizies in the picture?

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Train at Dry Gulch

Yesterday we got up and had a brunch birthday party celebration for my nephew Carson. He will be turning 11 in a few weeks! Wow. I still remember vividly the day he was born. We love you Carson. Last night we went to Dry Gulch to let the boys talk to Santa and get thier picture taken with him. We rode the train that had a show about Jesus' life, rode the carousel, went on a wagon ride that told the Night Before Christmas story, saw a Christmas puppet show and got hot chocolate. It was lots of fun but verrrrry cooooold brrrr. Today we have church and tonight we have our bible study group's Christmas party. It is a Party Weekend! And I just got back Friday evening from two days at a work training in OKC. Whew. I hope your weekend is fun but not tooo busy to relax.

I am thankful for Thanksgiving. It was a fun and busy day. We got up early to cook then went to Claremore to my parent's house. My mom had made cute felted knit hats for all of us girls, hence the picture. As usual we all stuffed ourselves with food, except for my boys who ate nothing, not even a roll. I talked Sam into taking a tiny bite of potato out of a buffet potato casserole and he kept gagging loudly so the next room of people could all hear it. I kept yelling, "It's like a little french fry. You like french fries. Just swallow it! Finally Sam gagged super loud and threw up the tiny pinky tip sized potato piece and lots of mucus along with it. It flew across the table and hit me right on target, splattering the table and butter dish along the way. Gross. Thank goodness it was just the kids' table I sat at and not the adult table. Yes, we were all done eating after that and I cleaned up the gross mess. If only I could change places with my boys for a month, then they could finally gain weight and grow and I could lose weight. If only...

Oh, and speaking of eating, Yes! I did get the yummy bag of Chex Mix my Aunt Judy made! Yeaaaah Judy! You are the best. Of course my kids didn't eat lunch, but they kept trying to talk me into letting them eat the Chex Mix. Not on their lives! They had to wait until the next day until they had eaten a meal finally.

Well, after the lunch table fiasco, the kids all decorated Mimi's tree for her and put up Christmas decorations in her house. Later we went to Coffeyville KS to see Jason's cousins and aunts and uncles. Then we headed back to Claremore to get the leftover food we left there and then headed back to Tulsa. I was exhausted. The kids were fussing, wanting to put up our tree and Christmas decorations, but I made them wait until the next morning.

Finally on Sunday, I bribed Max into letting Jason pull his loose tooth. He looks so cute and sounds adorable with his tooth gone as he lisps. It is only his third tooth he has lost and the last one came out on Christmas Eve last year. This one has been a long time coming. I told Max I would buy him a puzzle once it was out. As we were walking into the store he said, "Mom, I know what I can do with the money the tooth fairy leaves me." I asked him what. He said, "It can be an offering." I asked, "You mean to God? Give it to the church as an offering?" He said, "Yes". I wanted to cry. How sweet. That made my Thanksgiving this year. What made yours?

Let Me Do SOMETHING!

Ok, so back to the book Crazy Love. If you are tired of hearing about it, sorry, this is the last blog. I finally finished the bible study. But it has really spoken to me. Since I was little, I have longed to be used by God in some way. I wanted to do Something to show him how much I loved him and how grateful I am...Something to show others about God and Jesus and how much they love them...Something to help others...Something! Not that I want to be famous, and I know I will never be Saintly...not until I get to heaven and become a saint and throw off this worldy, self-seeking rag of a body that weights my spirit...Anyway, back to the Something.

I think many people struggle with this good notion and aspiration, But What To Do? What am I supposed to do? I keep waiting for a divine inspiration from God and then many fleeces to confirm it and constrain my anxiety. Oooh. The reality is that God just wants me to do what I can when I see the opportunity. If He calls me to Africa to be a missionary then I need to respond in obedience. But not everyone is called to do that. So what do the rest of us do? Pray daily for God to open your eyes and heart to opportunities around you to step out of your comfort zone and serve Him and others. This life is not about serving ourselves, not even about just serving our loved ones and friends, but to extend ourselves out to others...the world, especially the difficult, unlovely, even scary people we encounter. We need to be purposeful about it to make it happen.

Now the danger is that we will make our relationship with God into a chore. Serving and sacrifice is not to be a chore, but a priviledge. We are honored by being allowed to be part of God's work and purposes. He doesn't NEED us...or anything from us. But it is His Good Will to make us in his image and prepare good works in advance for us to do alongside Him, not on our own but with His help. We can rejoice in this work, this sacrifice because it is a priviledge and God promises a Reward for it. The more we do this, we realize we are not the givers, but actually the recipients of the gifts that come from it. Just like when I have been on a Mission trip to Costa Rica. The two times I went, I went thinking (arrogantly) that I would go to be a blessing to others. But I was humbly shown that I was the one blessed the most. The people I went to serve and help, were much greater servants and served me and blessed me the whole time I was there.

I love this saying from George Bernard Shaw. "This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

We have a distinct choice to make...we can just let life happen (which is not serving or following God, just following our own desires and comforts) or we can actively run towards Christ. We need to WANT TO SEE GOD more than we want our own COMFORT. I fear I crave comfort more most of the time. I crave security more than seeing God move and work in my life and others. Ugh! If feel like a wretch. But that doesn't help matters. I must stop wallowing and start seeking Him and enjoying Him in the process. Yes, sacrificing and serving is Enjoyable when done with the right spirit. We must go out of our comfort zone to do this...this makes it God's work and power and not our own. This is when a witness is made and miracles happen and God is seen, not us. Having FAITH, stepping out in faith can be scary. That is what makes it require FAITH. But it is also exciting. There is nothing like it. I have to constantly remind myself that Comfort/Security and Excitement/Faith can't go together. Our security and comfort is to be found in God and Jesus alone. I admit, as awful as it sounds, that I like to surround myself with Things that provide me with so called Security. My anxiety pushes me towards this selfish response. I just need to remind myself of the TRUTH that God is my provider. It is only when I walk out this truth that I see God do the impossible. When we are out of our comfort zone and our abilities and power aren't enough, that is when God happens, He comes through to show what He and Faith can do. We won't see miracles until we are in a position to Need them! If we only allow ourselves to be in situations where God is not needed and we can do things on our own (which is where we tend to stay) then we won't see God. That is sad.

So we are called to Love others and we do this through serving and sacrificing. It is easy to Love if it costs us nothing, but that is not really Love. But is love and sacrifice worth it? YES. Wouldn't you do anything for your children? God and Jesus feel the same towards us. When we sacrifice there is a cost, but there is also a great reward and blessing from it. The more love we give the more love that grows in us. It is a direct response to our investment. When we invest ourselves in things we care more about them. The same is true in investing ourselves in others, especially those outside our family and friends.

So a big question is, what are we doing right now that requires Faith? What are we doing that takes us out of our comfort zone? There is more to faith than friendliness, politeness and even kindness. You may wonder, who really lives that way? There are many people who have done so and been a mighty witness to us: Rich Mullins (my fav), George Mueller, Elizabeth and Jim Elliot,etc.) and many heroes of the bible. Like I said before, though, not all are called to be a missionary in a foreign land, or sell their house to give the money to the poor,etc. We all have a unique call from God. Some are called to do these things, not all, but we are called to do Something. We have all been given different spiritual and physical gifts from God to use wisely to serve him. I love what Francis Chan wrote, that "Our God is a creator and not a duplicator!"

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. Thre are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." (Paul).

We need not read things and be just inspired. God gives us mountaintop experiences, but we can't stay there. That does us and nobody any good. We must then go back down into the valley to use the memory to spur us on to good works to serve God and others. Memories/Mountain top experiences are wonderful, but do we live differently because of them? Ask yourself, "Is this what I want to be doing when Christ comes back? Is what I am doing, where I am at in my work/life, benefitting God's work and others? What will people say about my life when I am in heaven? Will the saints in heaven speak about God being glorified through your life? Can we answer the Kings' question, "What did you do with what I gave you?"

These are good questions to think about. Now we must act on them and do SOMETHING...whatever God calls us to do. Ask Him daily to open your eyes to His work and where you can join in and enjoy the scary, exciting, blessing and priveledge of joining in His work.

Latest Pics

I am a little behind in posting Halloween pictures of the boys. They had fun. Max was a shark with a man's legs sticking out of its mouth, Sam was a bat, Carson was a Ninja and Sawyer was Harry Potter. My family went to Hallowzooeen for the first time this year. It was insane. It took us an hour and a half to get to and into the zoo. Traffic was backed up so bad we just sat trapped in our cars. Max was sooo sad and scared that we would not make it there before it was over. He was afraid that we would just give up and go home, (which is what Jason and I wanted to do). But we didn't because I had taken the kids to the mall by our house to trick or treat earlier that day since it was advertised to have a Halloween party there. It was a lie! It was a gimmick just to get people there. All it had was some teenage cheerleaders in the food court singing YMCA badly and a few games for older kids that you had to pay for them to be able to do them. They didn't even spend the money to have candy at the food restaurants. Dozens of angry parents and sad kids were there, confused.

Sooooo I had consoled my kids with the fact that we would go to Hallowzooeen later that day (Saturday). Little did I know how crazy that would be. But, we survived. Once we got into the zoo it was fun. But it was very dark and I kept trying not to trip. The exhibits set up by local businesses were neat such as haunted pirate ships you could walk onto. There was a big Pirate theme this year. They also had the ghost busters singing and all in gear next to the giant Marshmallow Monster Man, the Wizard of Oz and a few other ones. I just don't do well in crowds, I especially get annoyed with rude people that shove in front of you and your kids. Ugh! Anyway it was a test of my patience--which I failed at, by the way. I was exhausted and glad to be home when it was over.

We did that Saturday night and on Sunday our church had kids dress up in their costumes for church/Sunday School and encouraged kids to bring friends. That night we went to Brook's neighborhood and went trick or treating like we do each year. It is a great neighborhood where she knows all of her neighbors well and it is a simple circle we make that takes 1 1/2 hours. Whew. It was a fun and tiring weekend. I needed another two days to recuperate, but alas work awaited me and school for the kids.

On this last Thursday, Veterans Day, Brook and I had the day off work, but the kids had school so we and mom went shopping and made a major dent in our Christmas shopping. Yay! What a great feeling. The whole day we all kept salivating thinking of my Aunt Judy's Chex Mix that she makes---better than Anybody!!! It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is a few weeks away and then it is Christmas time. Where did the year go? Anyway, that's the latest update.

Do We Really Love?

The book that my bible study group has been studying lately is really kicking my hiney. I have mentioned it before, it is "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I really like it, but many parts are difficult to read. It is challenging, honest and straight to the point, which I need. God knows I have needed to be pushed and challenged out of my comfort zone. I feel like I have been in a safe hiding place until recently, in a season of recovery, healing, rest---spiritually, after the years that Jason was sick and our finances and marriage were a struggle. But it is time to move on. A season of stretching, trusting and challenging my walk with God has begun, albeit fearfully at times, but also joyfully. It is exciting to see what God will do in our lives when we step out in faith, trust Him and sharpen our focus on God. Sooo, after that lengthy beginning, here is some of the painful, uncomfortable stretching that God has been doing with this material I have been reading. It has actually taken me some time to sit down and write this.

Francis Chan talks about being "Lukewarm Christians". These are people that don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin (FIRE INSURANCE). They say they love Jesus and He is part of thier lives, but only a part. They care more about safety, security and being in control, being slaves to the god of control (Ouch---Me!) This focus keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God. Their focus in narrowed to only themselves and their family. The truth is their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Whoah!!! Are you convicted yet? I am. This gave me some serious thinking to do and self examination.

The BIG KICKER is this next statement Francis made. "To put it plainly, churchgoers who are 'lukewarm' are NOT Christians. We will not see them in heaven (Revelation 3:15-18)." OK, are you scared yet? Are you getting uncomfortable, starting to sweat a little, angry? You may have a different opinion, (I wasn't sure what to think about this myself) but it is still something to think about. At what point are we saved? I have said before, that even Satan and his demons believe in God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They have no doubt about who they are and the power of God and His goodness. They just don't love God or Jesus.

But do we? Really? We can't go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus. (James 2:19) "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that---and shudder." God doesn't just want us to know him. He wants us to love him, which means obedience. Isn't that what we want from our children? Is it enough for our child to just know us? NO. We crave their love. This is shown from obedience, especially when it isn't easy. Can we become Christians without becoming Disciples? We are called to make DISCIPLES of all nations, teaching them to OBEY all that God commands us. God's grace and forgiveness is a freely offered gift, but their is also a cost to it. God does not want stagnant, immobile, lazy people. God is worth more than that. It is a slap in his face when he gives us so much. A Christian is a person who loves God, obeys him and perpetually moves toward Christ. He can't direct and guide a person who is stuck in the ground. A moving boat is easier to guide and steer. You can't guide a stationary boat or person.

So what is moving toward Him? It is LOVING him. When we love someone, we spend time with them...we WANT TO. We listen to their desires and not just our own. Do we start out the day asking what God wants us to do? Or do we just ask him to bless us? Do our prayers focus only on what we want God to do for us? Or do we listen and focus in on what God wants us to do for Him? Following God can't be halfhearted. God must be involved in everything we do. Our priorities and decisions focus around Him, instead of us trying to fit God into our schedule and events. Whose agenda do we focus on? WHO do we focus on---Ourselves or God? Hmmmmm. Hard question. Do we really believe that God's agenda is best, more important than our own? Ouch! I hope this is hitting home with you as much as it did with me. Is Loving God worth it? YES! "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul?" (Luke 9:25). Besides salvation, His ways are Best. God will reward those who seek Him.

The answer to "lukewarm" living is LOVE. We must truly love God, and work on loving him more each day. Many of us believe that we have as much of God as we want right now. He is a REASONABLE portion in our lives compared to everything else. (We don't want to be Jesus Freaks now do we? YES I DO!) A portion isn't enough! We must want ALL OF HIM...and want it more than comfortable living. He cares more about our Character than our Comfort.

John Piper asks whether we are in love with God in his book, "God is the Gospel": "The critical question for our generation---and for every generation---is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?" Ouch! I had to think long and hard, but my answer is No. It would not be heaven, it would be hell if Christ wasn't there. To be without him would be a black abyss. It literally makes me physically feel sick to think of it.

Don't get too stressed or upset yet. If you aren't sure if you are truly in love with Jesus and God, then the answer isn't to try harder, it is to relax and let him in to your life. Keep inviting him in. (James 4:8) "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." Ask Him to change you and be open to it. Follow his leading even if it scares you. You won't regret it. Why do so few people genuinely find joy and pleasure in their relationship with Christ? Lukewarm living isn't fulfilling. It will never bring the joy and excitement of really loving and trusting God. Stop living in fear and try it!!! There is no one else worthy of our Love. He is the only one who won't dissappoint you! Thanks for listening to my inner, spiritual turmoil and challenge. I hope it challenges you to step out and love God and Jesus more too.

Fantastic Fall Break

This Fall Break has been very busy, but we have gotten a lot accomplished. Whew! Thursday was the first day we had off and Max had two of his friends from school come over for the day to play. Our home was Boy Central. Crazy. Friday, Jason took the day off and we went to Oklahoma City to go to the Leggo Store and then to the zoo. Since it was raining too hard, we opted to not do the zoo and to go to the Natural History Museum in Norman instead. On the way home we went waaaay out of our way and went to Anadarko to Pop's convenience store. It is pretty cool. But it took forever for us to wind our way home on small back highways.

Saturday it was still raining so I cleaned the house until 1:00, then ran a few errands. Then we rented movies and watched them as we peeled the paper wrappers off of a carton of 64 crayons for an art project we did a few days later. Sunday we went to church, then went straight to the pumpkin patch. Not a good idea to do it in Sunday clothes and shoes when it is sooo muddy. Oh well, live and learn. We went to lunch after that, then to the grocery store for the boys to each pick out their own pumkin (Much cheaper there than at the Pumpkin Patch!). Then Jason helped the boys build thier new Leggo toys they bought at the Leggo store in OKC with their point money they earn each week. That night we had bible study at church.

Woke up this morning and started in on the craft project we peeled crayons for. We melted the crayons and some extra wax I bought then put wicks in some empty votives and poured the colored wax into them. We separated out the colors and did them one at a time to make striped candles I had scented (added candle scent you can buy) with Cinnamon. They turned out sooo cute. I made them for my friends as one of their birthday gifts and for the boys teachers for Christmas.

I always make homemade gifts for my close prayer partner friends I have had for fifteen years now. They look forward to see what it will be each year. I do it all around Christmas break to have the time since during work and school I am too busy. It is my one big craft project for myself (not the kids) that I do each year. Last year I painted plates and made home made fancy beaded sachets and the year before that I knit scarves for everyone. I have painted stone tiles with different birds for a set of coasters tied with a bow, made beaded small bags to use for coins or to store jewelry,etc.

Anyway, after making the candles today, the boys made posters for an art contest at their school and then we made Christmas ornaments out of the beads you iron together. Whew. Did I mention we have Karate tonight and then school tomorrow---and my work. Anyway, we have to make the time off count to get our projects done and have some FUN! I hope your Fall break was great too! By the way, Brook and her family went to Disney World in Florida this break!!! Talk about a fantastic Fall break!

Cute Creepy and the Bible

Max and I were talking the other day while at Target. Sam was off enjoying the spooky, gory decorations for Halloween. His favorite! (This is perfect for the Spanish Immersion school program he is in because they have out on display the Dia de Muerto--Day of the Dead celebration decorations which has skeleton heads decorated and skeleton people in sugar candy, grave decorations, etc.) Anyway, Max was lagging behind with me, not particularly enjoying the extra creepy stuff unlike Sam. He said, "Mom, I like the cute creepy, not the creepy creepy stuff." I agreed with Max, he said it so well.

Well, I actually did make Sam's skeleton he bought last weekend into an educational thing. It hangs in his room by his bed, his friend he named Skulzie. The very night he got it we hung it up and he immediately asked me to get on the computer and print out a picture of a skeleton with all the bones named so he could know their names. I did it right away and we have had fun learning them. He already knows: skull (hence skulzie), rib cage, spine, mandible, coccyx, radius, ulna, tibia, fibia, femur, humerus, sternum, pelvis and phalangies. He has trouble remembering the clavicle for some reason. We made up funny things to remember them (e.g. the mandible eats meat, "don't break your coccyx", Max has broken his radius and ulna, Mimi broke her femur last year, Elvis the pelvis--and they shake their hips, the humerus is humorous because it is near the arm pit, and we wiggle our phalangies-fingers, the tibia and fibia help you from falling,etc. Anyway it has been fun. Skulzie has been a hit, and very helpful.

This last Sunday I did another project with the kids and we melted crayons together in the oven to make multicolored crayons. It was fun. We also saw my nephew Sawyer play a soccer game and Carson play a football game. It has been quite busy. Sunday evening at church, the boy's classes gave them a choice of activities they have to do throughout this week for a prize next Sunday. My boys are all about prizes and will do anything to get them. Sam chose reading his bible each day. He has been obsessed with it and wants to read it 2-3 times each day. He carries it around like it is gold. If I'm too busy to read it to him right away he opens it up and stares at the pages. He told me that it didn't matter that he can't read because just looking at it was wonderful. He spends a lot of time doing this dreamily and saying "Mom, I love the bible." Oh it does my heart good, only he does this and then a second later starts screaming and fussing about something else out of the blue he finds to get mad about, stomping and jumping while still holding the bible. Ohhh Sammmy. I guess I know what I 'm going to have to get the boys for Christmas, a kid friendly, easy to read bible for each of them. Sam is wanting to have his own---to stare at...ha, ha. No, he will soon learn to read and be able to read it on his own.

So there you have it; cute creepy beats out creepy creepy, skulzie is a hit and educational, and God's word is good, even for a kindergartener. Hope your week goes well.

Be a Blessing

God has been dealing with me lately about margins as I have said before. This week the pastor spoke about financial margins. He said that number one, we need to bring God into the equation and give to Him first. I have been convicted lately that I need to tithe more. I used to tithe more than the traditional 10 percent that is stated in the bible. That is the lowest standard we are given, but if we can it is great, even better to give more. The reason is that it blesses US the most when we give to others. Since we had some major financial difficulty about 4 or 5 years ago due to Jason's health, we stopped tithing 10 percent. It is time we go back, even if it hurts a little.

Of course once I made the decision, my job made it mandatory for me to accept a state vehicle to use for work. This sounds great, but it actually stinks. It is a loss of $500 out of my pay each month and cuts into my work time as I can't use it for anything personal, to drive home or pick my kids up from school. I have to pick it up and return it at the beginning and end of each day. I am used to being able to go straight to my first appointment and leave from my last home visit to go get my kids. This saves me a lot of time and hassle. Ugh. Despite that, I am sticking to my gun and tithing what I have been called to do.

And guess what? I have actually seemed to have more money this month, despite it all. Who knows what next month will bring, but I know that God is encouraging me for my obedience, despite my anxieties. It sounds awful, but one of my biggest fears and anxieties I struggle with is about finances. Not because I want sooo much, (not that I don't want more than I need) but because I want to feel secure and safe. But I need to find my safety and security in God and Jesus. No matter how much I save and work, the stock market, bad investments, anything could take that money away in a moment. I need to not worry and trust God to provide. Matthew 6 says that if He cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, will he not provide for us, whom he loves so much? (loosely translated by me).

Anyway, back to my pastor's sermon. He says that the issue isn't that we don't have enough income, but it is the lifestyle we choose and allow to chase away our income. Ouch! It is so true. I look at families I work with that have 5 children and have such a small income. I wonder how they do it? Somehow they make their money stretch. This is why. We need to have financial margin, otherwise we have financial tension. The margin gives us peace. God calls us to live with margins so that we have peace. Good things happen here. Our financial problems are really a spiritual issue. It indicates what is going on in our heart. Jesus said more aobut money than about heaven or hell combined! It is important. If we rob ourselves of margin we are robbing ourselves of God. We aren't the owner of our money. We are only the manager. When we die we don't take it with us. It is only ours to borrow and manage for a short while. We are responsible for what we do with it. We must not put ourselves first. God must come first.

God promises to bless us when we live in the margin and put Him first.

Proverbs 11:24-25 "Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

Proverbs 30:8 "give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs."

Money is not evil, but the love of money is evil. It pushes God out of the equation, the one who gives us all we have to begin with.

I was reading a magazine from Compassion International about a pastor who had been on a short mission trip to a poverty striken area (I wish I had saved the magazine, I think it may have been in the Sudan?). Anyway, he was so overwhelmed by the poverty and people dying of starvation and disease that he went back home to his church and prayed. He felt compelled to sell his house and downsize to a smaller one so that he could give more money to help the missions there. He waited to tell his congregation until he had done it, then encouraged them to pray about it and to think about downsizing their lifestyle in order to give more to God's causes. His church was so inspired that many have done the same thing. That one small church has done amazing things in that country and the area has totally been changed from despair and death to one of hope.

I was so blessed to read about all they were able to do and are still doing. How much more of a blessing it must be for those people to give to eternal causes than to a bigger house, newer car, more stuff... It is sooo easy to forget why we are blessed. We are blessed in order to be a blessing. When we get to heaven we won't think once about our lifestyles here on earth for this short millisecond. We will think about and actually see and hug and praise God with the people we bless. Lord help me to be a blessing. Simplify my life so that only you are my focus. Take away distractions and temptations. I want no regrets in heaven. I hope we can all be a blessing this week. Pray each day for God to show you how he wants to use you and be open to his leading. His love and mine...

My Little Spooks!

Yes, the Halloween season has begun. In just this last week we have taped 16 spooky pictures on the front window of the house. Each October my kids start drawing Halloween pictures to fill up the entire front window. Me and my siblings use to do this at our house when we were kids, so my kids are carrying on the tradition. We are 2/3 there now already. Sam especially is obsessed with it. He likes to draw his "Halloween pictures" as he calls them, year round. He is obsessed with scary monsters and "blood, dripping, splatting blood" as he calls it. He is just like his uncle Trent.

We just got back from Target and the book store. The kids got to buy something with the points/money they have saved up and earned for good behavior. Driving home, Max was in the back seat immersed in his Pokemon book, trying to read it in the dark. Sam was quietly sitting in the back seat content, hugging his Kid sized skeleton he bought. Oh my Sammy. I talked him out of scarrier things. Instead of a book or toy, he wanted more than anything to buy a Halloween decoration. So there it is, he has a huge skeleton hanging in his bedroom. I keep telling myself it will be educational and we can use it to talk about the bones in the body. Yeah, right. Oh well. So my kid is obsessed with scary things. I guess there could be worse things. He still has a heart for God and Jesus, it's jut that the gore makes me cringe at times.

Oh, they also picked out their Halloween costumes last Sunday. Max is going to be a shark with feet hanging out of its mouth. It is really funny looking. Sam is going to be a bat. He has talked about wanting to be a bat for months now. Happy Halloweening!

Number Your Days

In continuing the discussion I had two blogs ago about time and prioritizing to maximize our days, our impact for His kingdom, I have to review some thoughts I heard from my pastor. He said that God is the one who gave us our time. He is the only one who knows how many days, how much time we have to accomplish our purpose here on earth. Yes, our days are numbered and we must remember that. No matter how long we live, our lives are all short compared to eternity. We must be wise with our time. Understand that your priority determines your capacity. We must make our practice a priority. Our practice here on earth is our time alone with God. It is preparing us for when we get to live with him face to face. We must slow down, "Be still and know that He is God,".

This is sooo hard. Whenever I try to not just do all the talking in my prayer time, and actually get quiet to listen to God, my mind wanders or I start to fall asleep or daydream. Ugh! What's wrong with me? My mind can't turn off from overdrive and be still. but being still is what my soul needs the most. It is healing, renewing, life giving. So why is it sooo hard!? Still, I must practice it to get better at it.

My preacher said that each time we put on our watches in the morning we should say Ps. 90;12 "Teach me Lord to number my days that I may gain a heart of wisdom." What a great reminder to start our day with energy and the urgency we need to live each day for the things of God that are eternal and not forget with the distractions of the day. Let's try it.

One person that has inspired me for a long time is the singer/song writer Rich Mullins. He passed away about 13 years ago. He is one person I would like to meet and spend time with in heaven, besides God, Jesus and my family of course. Anyway, I have been googling his videos and watching him sing and share about his walk in his old concert video clips. He is so amazing. He took a vow of poverty and set up a group of men to be in charge of all the money he made. He lived like a pauper in an old trailer with only a few clothes. He had the group receive all of his money and then they gave him a small allowance to live off of because he didn't want to be tempted to spend more. He wanted to give as much as he could to help others and do God's work. That was what consumed him. It was a joyful thing. To give brings forth more joy. If you have ever given (especially when it hurts) you know what I'm talking about. Does my love for God and others consume me that much? Not really. I wish it did. Now not everyone is called to or given the gift of poverty, like Rich. but what an example he was and still is. His music lives on to inspire and point us to God, but even more so his life. No other singer inspires me as much a him with his music or life.

Anyway, I feel that God is trying to focus me and help me let go of my desire and striving for material things. Not that they are bad, but my frustration, bitterness and distractedness from wanting material things does draw me away from God. I forget how blessed I truly am and lose my joy. I pray for "Godliness with Contentment which is great gain." As Americans, we are truly rich. We have food to eat and shelter and education. Many in the world have none of these. Many don't survive. When we fuss and whine it is a stench to God. The irony of it. Will we ever have enough to be satisfied? If we did we would be complaining of being bored. Our wealth and comfortable living can disfigure us spiritually. We no longer have a healthy need for God. Our memories fade and we forget Him and all he has done for us. How sad.

So be content, give freely, thank God and Jesus and use your time wisely and joyfully. Carpe Diem.

My Top 29!

A friend of mine did a blog post on the 29 things that she wanted to do most this next year since it was her birthday month. Well it isn't my birthday month, and I'm not 29 (neither is she) but I guess I could pretend. It was just 1 1/2 months ago. So here goes...

1. Continue to grow more in my walk with Christ.
2. Have more consistent quiet times.
3. Do better on scripture memorization.
4. Tithe more.
5. Spend as much time with my kids as possible.
6. Start back up scripture memorization with my kids, we stopped at 3 just to make it easier to get them down well last year and it is definitely time to move on if I could just remember to do it.
7. Excercise more.
8. Eat healthier.
9. Lose weight.
10. Worry less and trust God more.
11. Step out of my comfort zone and allow God to challenge me more.
12. Read more books, especially THE BOOK/THE WORD.
13. Write more.
14. Simplify my life by prioritizing better and living with focus.
15. Want less/Need less/Be happy with less---realizing my blessings.
16. Be more giving to others.
17. Finish my birthday gift project for this next year.
18. Get more sleep.
19. Spend more time with family/relatives
20. Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (as the scripture says so wisely).
21. Purge my house of things we don't need to make more space. This is soooo Freeing!
22. Someday redo the carpet and tile in the house and freshen the paint.
23. Remember to praise and pray more throughout the day so that I can practice the presence of God.
24. Say "no" more and "yes" less to use my time more wisely.
25. Keep good boundaries.
26. Someday get a little bit bigger house. It doesn't have to be much bigger, just room enough for my parents to move in with me when and if they ever need or want to. I would love that.
27. Get a treadmill machine.
28. Someday get to be a stay-home mom, or at least work part-time and not full-time.
29. Go on another mission trip. I haven't been on one for a long time. It would really be cool to do one with my kids.

Handling It

God is doing a work in me lately. He is apparently up to something and wanting to help make a change in me. Hallaleuiah! It's about time, I sure need it. The only thing is...I don't like the painful process, the stretching and strain. Help. A few books I am reading and sermons I am hearing are all speaking to me in harmony, working together to speak the needed truth to my spirit. Anyway, here is some of what I am learning, or relearning.

I have been extra stressed and anxious lately about having enough time with my kids. I feel a weight of guilt for having to work full time and have always wished I could be a stay home mom. Some days I just want to cry, and do. Being so busy, I feel like I and my kids are always rushed. I have to be careful about committing to things and fiercely guard our time together. As it is, by the time we get home from work and me picking them up from aftercare, we have only 3 hours together to do karate classes, homework, dinner, bath, etc. The boys complain that they have no play time....sooo the knife twists. I feel guilty about it, as well as not feeling like I can do a good job at juggling all my jobs and duties. Some days I feel like I can't do anything right. Help me Lord!

Well, God is reminding me about the sin of stress and worry. Yes, I said it was a SIN. In the book "Crazy Love" it says it well, that WORRY implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives. STRESS says that the things we are involved in are importat enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control. Yep, that's me. Basically these two behaviors imply that it is ok to not trust God becuase the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. This reeks of arrogance and is a slap in Jesus' face, diminishing all he has done for us. It says that God's goodness is not good enough for us.

Wow, now I feel even guiltier and more worried. How about you? But we must stop and look to God and Jesus. Think about more excellent, worthier things and stop focusing on the negative. Then it is easier to trust God when we take time to remember him and who HE IS. The bible says we should be grateful for our weaknesses and boast in them for when we are weak, then we are strong, not able to rely on our own selves, but being forced to rely on God's more infinitely powerful and wise abilities. We may not be able to handle things, but God can. The unknowns and things we can't control are secret blessings making us run to God.

My pastor spoke on slowing down our busy lives and making room (Margins) for God. Asking God to give us more margins in our lives and ways we can do this. The biggest is saying no to the good to make room for the best---God's will. Ask God if you are to committ to things before saying yes. We must prioritize and put God first, then all the rest will follow, falling into place. It reminds me of Matthew 6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." I have always loved that verse. It helps focus me. Yet I still struggle to do it...why?

A good example given by my pastor was packing your car for a long trip or trying to fit as many rocks into a jar as possible. If you put them in randomly, fewer will fit and there won't be room for the big ones. But if you put in the biggest rocks (most important things of your day...e.g. time with God and family,etc.) first then add the smaller ones, the smaller ones fall in around the bigger ones and more can fit in the jar (your day). It truly works. I have worked hard trying to start back up on having consistent quiet times in the morning and a small, small ten minute work out. Normally I can't find the time, but it is working out. Yes, I am getting up a little earlier, but in doing so and getting my first priorities in, the day goes much better and is more productive. I can handle the load and stress of the day much better. The smaller things fall into place much better once the larger ones are already in/done. Anyway, it has been really helpful to me. I hope it is to you too. I hope I didn't get too preachy and teachy, but good info should always be shared to bless others. I hope you are blessed tenfold!

Boys Brag Blog

This last weekend was a busy one. Max and Sam both had Karate tests. Max moved up to a camo-black belt and Sam to a camo-yellow belt. Max is the fist kid to go all the way through the lower level belts (camo belts) at Trinity Martial Arts. Other kids have just switched over to the older class with the solid color belts and started there. The kids Max started out with in Karate are now farther along in belts in the older class, but I am so proud that Max had the patience to want to finish it out and complete the lower level and get his camo-black. Yeah Max.

Just today he started in the older class for the first time. I was surprised that the kids in that class were so nice. Several of the kids made comments about how they were impressed he got a camo-black and that he was the first one to do it, even though they were ahead of him in solid belts. Even Mr. Lance didn't say anything to the other kids about it, they just realized it and voiced it on their own. They said they thought Max should start out with a green belt and not the standard yellow to start with since he went so far in the lower classes. Mr. Lance has not said what he would start with. He is just seeing how he does in it first. But it was sooo sweet of the kids to be so nice to Max. I didn't expect it with the competitive spirit and all, but Mr. Lance is great with the kids and teaches them to respect others. He is a nice Christian man and great with the kids. Anyway, I was just so proud of my boys!!! They are both doing great in Karate.

As if I haven't bragged enough to make you stop reading this, they are both doing well in school also. Sam got a few "mastered" and all the rest "progressing" on his first report card. He is learning and teaching me new Spanish words daily. His accent is wonderful, just like Max's. They don't get it from me. I only speak a little Okie Spanish. Ugh. And yes, the boys let me know it. Max got all top scores "excellent" on his report card, except for his humanities (art, PE and music) on which he got satisfactory. Max has really listened to me about doing his homework early and not procrastinating. In fact his teacher gives him half or the whole math homework for the week on Mondays so they can decide when they want to do it, a long as they turn it all in on Friday. Max does all of it in aftercare before I pick him up---the whole weeks worth on the first day---Monday! I don't even have to ask him to do it! He likes to do it so he can get it done and focus on other things. It is so nice since it gives more time to do reading and spelling the rest of the week without rushing and being so busy.

Anyway, I am feeling blessed, but busy. I hope everyone else is doing well also. Oh, I forgot to mention that Max had his first camp out this weekend and away sleep over party---(that wasn't with a relative). The party had 30 kids camping in a cabin, squeezed together with several parents. It was a combined birthday party for three boys. We knew two of the boys. Anyway he had a blast and now wants to go camping again. So does Sam now for that matter. He had to sleep in his sleeping bag on his bed that night to feel like he was camping too like buba.

Well, take care and don't let the ugly bragging bears get ya.

New Shows I Like

New shows that I like...I just watched the show "Mike and Molly" tonight and it was really cute. Another show I saw for the first time was "The World of Jenks". I highly recommend it. It is on channel 39---MTV channel I think, which I normally don't watch, but happened upon this show. It is about a 23 year old guy who makes a documentary film 30 minute show about a person's life that he normally would not come across or get to know. It was really interesting and the guy did such a good job revealing the person and an essence of what they go through every day and how amazing they are. He was very kind and respectful in both of the back to back two shows I watched. One was about a homeless 23 year old woman who had lived on he streets for 10 years, since she was 13 years old. The other one was about a 20 year old man with autism. He makes the characters come to life and feel like you made a friend with them or rather he becomes friends with them, truly. Anyway you might want to check it out if you have some free time to veg in front of the t.v. on a Monday night.

Happy Anniversary!

Tonight my hubby and I went out to dinner (with kids in tow) for our ten year anniversary. The actual date was Thursday, the 16th. The kids were not too impressed that it was our anniversary since it did not have anything to do with them directly---they only want to know about their birthdays and their first birthday delivered in the hospital, etc. They don't realize yet that our marriage has a direct link to their existence. Oooh to be so young. Anyway, I am very blessed to have had ten years of marriage to a wonderful Christian man that I still love dearly. I still wonder how a old hag/cougar like me caught a cute, sweet, young thing like Jason. Yes I am three and a half years older than him. Ugh.

I will not lie and say the years have all been wonderful. Much of the time has been difficult and I wasn't sure we would make it through. But day by day, one day at a time, we have made it through and are blessed all the more for it. I would not want to go through our struggles with anyone else but him. I probably would not have survived it if it had been with anyone else. But with God, all things are possible and He can make beauty from ashes. The funny thing is, the day Jason proposed to me, I kind of freaked out later and went to the bathroom and got on the floor and prayed secretly. I asked God for His will and not mine. God answered with one of the clearest voices I have ever heard from him. He said that it would not be easy, but that this was His will, His choice for me. Now I loved Jason. I was smitten and was ready to marry him even before he proposed, but this premonition, and later confirmation from God, was a little unnerving. Still I decided to follow God's will and happily marry his choice for me. What else could I do...I was in LOVE! Besides, I had told God many years before that I would rather be alone than marry out of His will. I wanted nothing but His will, His choice for my life no matter what the cost.

The years were blessed with laughter and tears, sorrows and joys, and some times of heavy trials. Would I do it over now that I know these things? Yes. In a heartbeat. Times ahead may have more trials to come. In fact they most certainly will. Life is not easy for anyone. But I am blessed to have Jason to walk through each day with me and help me through them. Besides...How cute are my boys!!! They alone are worth anything. Yes, I am a woman truly blessed. Thank you Lord. You are Good!

Finally---First Day of School Pics!

The Joy of Crazy Love

I was inspired today by my pastor's sermon on Philippians 4:1-23. It was his final talk about Joy. He talked about how elusive it is for most people , but there are 3 steps to obtaining it. Number one was to PRAY. We need to worship God. It made me think of the book, "Hindsfeet on High Places" where the main character is tormented by her mean relatives similar to demons tormenting us in our walk with God, especially during difficult times. The character learns that when she sings praises to God it drives the tormentors away because they can't stand to hear it. The same is true for us. Satan and his demons can't stand hearing us praise and worship God and will flee from it. So PRAISE! Then ask God for what you need and thank Him for what he has done.

Second we need to FIX OUR THINKING. We need to think on what is TRUE. Only 8% of our worries are legitimate!!! The rest is wasted time and torture. Why live that way? Fill your mind with the Word Of God-THE TRUTH and the Holy Spirit will guide you and guard your heart.

Thirdly, we need to have RIGHT LIVING. We need to Put Into Practice what we have learned. We need to not be a victim or martyr. Paul who had legitimate reasons to worry and complain while beaten and jailed multiple times for serving God was the most JOYFUL person of all. He was content in all circumstances. His joy was not based on circumstances , but was based on perspective, which is what we need to do. True joy is found in the MIDST of trials and regardless of the circumstances, not in AVOIDING them. Joy is determined on what Christ is doing in and through me. It is not found apart from Christ. HE is our JOY.

Now I tend to be a worrier. I think of all the possible bad scenarios that could happen in order to prepare myself. But the spiritual view of worry is that it is a wrong thinking and feeling. It is the greatest thief of Joy. It pulls us in more than one direction, causing us to become stuck, stagnant and strangled. We need to realize How BIG our God is. God will supply our needs and take care of his children. When we have the peace of God guarding us and his presence guiding us...What is there to worry about? NOTHING! So put into practice Paul's Secret...Use Christ's strength! He will give us the strength we need if we allow him to help us by trusting and relying on Him.

Now that that is said, I also just started reading a great book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. It talks about how intense the love of God, the God of the Universe, is for us and how that should change us. Do we live striving for normalcy? Should we? Or should we allow ourselves to live greater than that as God wants us to and called us to? We need to fall in love with God. He has two great videos to watch online you can go to at www.crazylovebook.com . Click on this and then watch the two videos, "The Awe Factor" and then "Just Stop and Think". Enjoy and be inspired.

Honor God

Update on school. Sam is surviving. He has now been a Kinder for three weeks. Last year when Max was in first grade he spent the first two weeks in aftercare hanging out with a kinder boy who was having a hard time adjusting and cried a lot. After the first several days the boy's mom was thrilled because the little kinder kid decided he didn't want to leave after care to go home when she came to pick him up, he was having so much fun with Max and his friend Kellen who had befriended him. After he adjusted and made some friends, Max and Kellen no longer needed to help him out. I found out about this a few weeks after the fact. The aftercare lady told me about it. I thanked her for encouraging Max to do this and teaching him to be so kind. She laughed and said the whole reason she even told me about it was because she hadn't asked Max or Kellen to do it, they did it on their own and she thought I would like to know about it. I was soooo proud of my little man!!! When Max was a Kinder some kids did the same thing for him and he must have remembered.

Well, Sam was very anxious before starting his first day of kindergarten and I asked Max to help him out like he helped out the Kinder kid last year. He said, "Sam isn't nervous." I told him that yes he was and please help him and hang out with him before classes started and then in aftercare also. He said he would, but seemed less than thrilled. Of course I stayed until classes started (after walking them in the building) and of course Max bailed on Sam the minute we got to the cafeteria. Ugh! Why are kids so willing to help others, but not thier siblings? I can't complain too much, Max has hung out with Sam some, but just not all the time, but Sam gets upset and wants Max's sole attention. Max wants to play and see his friends. Ugh! But Sam is surviving.

In fact, after just two weeks Sam now has a nice accent when he says his (Spanish) vocabulary words. (He definitely sounds better than me.) They get 16 new vocabulary words a week to learn! But they aren't tested on them, just introduced to them, and we are given pictures of them to use at home for flash cards if we want to. Whew! Between all those new vocabulary words for Sam and Max having spelling words to learn and practice for tests and Math homework and reading assignments life is busy. (And all the homework comes written in Spanish, so I have to ask Max or look up words to figure out the directions since Spanish is their primary language at school as it is a Spanish Immersion program). Not to add Karate twice a week. I am amazed at kids who do three after school activities. And most seem to. I feel like I am depriving mine sometimes. Of course those kids don't have working mom's and have longer days to get it done. By the time I finish work and pick them up from aftercare, we barely have time to eat dinner, do homework, take a bath and get ready for bed at a decent time. I feel so rushed as it is, I feel we have to keep things simple. Only it doesn't feel simple, my head is always spinning. But...we are all surviving. Yeah! That in itself is something. Right? I had to explain to Sam today during one of his fuss fits that I hoped he was happy, but that, that wasn't what was most important to me. My goal was to teach him to be act right and love and honor God. He stopped and thought about it, so I asked him if he was honoring God with his fussing and he said No. Maybe he is listening! Lord please help me each day to use the time wisely for your purposes.

Vacation

I am a little late in blogging. Things have been busy with school starting. Sam started Kindergarten and Max started second grade. Right before school started we took a mini vacation to Kansas City Missouri. It was great. We drove down one morning, ate lunch when we got there at noon, then went to the Museum. It was awesome. The museum had Picasso's, Monet's, Renoir's,etc. We spent three hours there. To get the kids more interested we had them show us their favorite pictures, sculptures, etc. and took pictures of them. Sam really got into it and wanted to take a picture of just about everything! It was fun seeing what they liked and what they thought of it all.

After the museum we went to our hotel which Jason chose wisely, as it had a Coco Keys water park on the lower level floor which we had access to for free since we were staying there. After two hours of playing there, we headed upstairs and cleaned up and went to dinner. Early the next morning we ate breakfast and headed to Worlds of Fun, getting there before it even opened. We spent seven hours riding rides and then jumped in the van and headed straight home from there, snacking in our car the whole way home to Tulsa. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but very fun. I highly recommend it.

I do have to say a funny story. When Sam was riding rides at Worlds of Fun, he kept laughing and yelling to me. On one ride I was off and he rode it alone as I watched. I couldn't figure out what he was yelling and Jason looked at me and said, "Yeah, that's what he is saying." I laughed, because it was, "Mom, it's tickling my penis!". Yes, Sam yelled it at many of the rides. I asked Jason why he always said it, and he laughed and said, because he's a boy and it's true. Apparently I didn't realize this, but a boy feels most things first and strongest through his private part. Hugh. That explains a lot. So you see, the World's of Fun day was even more enlightening than the museum day.

Anyway, I wanted to post the pictures on a slide show that the kids and we took at the museum and at Worlds of Fun, but I am not computer savvy enough and my husband is very slow to follow through on his promises to me. So...sorry. Maybe someday.

Craft Day

Today I am off work with the kids in between summer camp being over and school starting. Max had his friend Elijah over for the day so I got creative and we did 4 craft projects. I looked up two online and then just kept going with two of my own I came up with. It was a fun day. First we made a rotocopter. It is a flying paper toy that spins in circles when it falls to the ground. The kids colored the paper template and then I cut and folded it and put a paper clip on the bottom. It reminded me of the helpcopter seeds that fall in our backyard. We made two per each kid (Max, Elijah and Sam), one plain and one with a feather on each of its arms to be scientific and experiment to see which one did better. The plain ones did better in a shorter fall, but if held up higher, standing on a chair, the ones with feathers on it did better.

We also made hot air balloons with cups we decorated then tied a balloon to the top of the cup. The third project was making door hangers for thier bedroom doors with cut out cardboard shapes they colored/decorated and then we wrote their names on it with glue and glitter. Pipe cleaners were strung through a hole punched to make a hanger.

The fourth and last project was making our spiritual eye patches. This was fun. I happened to have some clear green plastic paper (I can't remember the official name of the stuff). We cut out a circle and punched two holes on the sides of it then strung two pipe cleaners through and wove them together and around the kid's heads to make it like a pirate patch they could see through with a green tint. It was so they could see the world through their regular eyes and then through their spiritual eyes with the help of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Ok, Ok, I am very corny, but the kids don't seem to mind. It was fun.

Anyway, it was a nice day with the kids. Try out these projects and have some fun yourself!

Karate Belt Test

Good-bye Friend

Last night I went to the hospital to visit a friend who has cancer. I came back up this morning to help do a shift so that her husband could work getting their house ready for hospice. Connie is the friend I wrote about in an earlier blog. She is an inspiration. As friends visited her this week in the hospital she still prayed for her healing, but knew that whatever way God did choose to heal her (here or in heaven), it was ok. He was with her. She has a peace that passes all understanding that she always attributed to God's provision, it was not of herself. Well when I arrived at the hospital this morning she had just passed away. Her friend Rhonda has spent the last several nights at the hospital to help out. It had been a rough night. She has been in severe pain that is hard to manage even with medicine. At 8:00 she told Rhonda to keep on rubbing her neck (to help with the pain) and then she stopped breathing and passed peacefully to be with God and Jesus.
Those of us who were there this morning got to say good-bye to her one last time and we prayed and sang "It Is Well With My Soul" huddled around her body. We swapped funny stories and talked about the amazing faith, joy and love Connie had. She was one of the most amazing persons any of us have ever known in our life. She lived life every second it was given to her and glorified God at every possible moment. What a blessing it is to know her. So many lives have been touched by her witness. I can't thank God enough for putting her in my life and I can't wait to see her again in heaven some day. She will be singing and dancing (which she looooves to do) and grinning at me asking, "Girl, what took you so long?". Thank you Connie for so much. This is not the end, just a glorious beginning. God has not stopped using you to bless others. Thanks my friend and good-bye for now----until eterninty when we reunite.

So someone got a haircut . . .

Yes, Maizie just got a summer cut to stay cool. So did the boys. Sam told us a few weeks ago that, "Maizie loves us, but she loves God and Jesus more...Because she doesn't want to go to Hell." I just had to laugh. Anyway, she looks like an angel dog today. So do the boys (angel boys). It is quite deceiving. Just joking. I do love the way Maizie smells so good and feels so soft right after her bath. Same for the boys actually. Good time to snuggle. I hope you have some good snuggling this week.

Prayer Request

I just finished sending a querry letter to a literary agent for my novel. I had to change the name of my book from "Bitter Chocolate" to "The Tutsi and the Tsetse" since there is a book coming out in October with the name Bitter Chocolate. I was very bummed. Anyway, now I am waiting to hear an answer. If I get a rejection I will try a few more agents. I would love some prayer on the matter. I just want God to open the doors if it is His will for it to get published. If it is just my dream then I want to know to just let it go. It is His will or Nothing! Anyway, please pray.

Crazy Maizie and Crazy Boys

On Friday, Jason took the kids on a picnic at Woodward park. He took some cute pics of them. I had to work so missed out on the fun. The boys are doing ok. This afternoon, Sam told me he was already planning Halloween decorations for next fall. He is an angel/my special helper one second and a screaming banshee the next. Oh that voice! I woke up to him yelling this morning and he fussed and screamed for the next two hours. After that he has been wonderful. You never know what he will do or why. Max is obsession over a new DS game he bought with the points/money he saved up for the last few months.

Some recent sayings from the joy boys:

1. I overheard Max telling Sam "That sounds like a personal matter, Sam." I have no idea what they were talking about. When I asked him about it later he couldn't remember.

2. Sam loves to tell jokes, but they are a little hard to tell that they are jokes (examples: "You can't eat that Maizie." Just joking. "There is a hole in the floor!" Just joking. "It's a joke mom, I'm just joking."

3. Sam sounded out words that were color names. He sounded out (not spelled) r-e-d and then said "brown". "It says brown." Then he did p-ur-p-le. "I get it! Orange!" Other times he did better and got them right, but these two times I had to shake my head. I didn't get it. I guess we have some more work to do.

4. Sam likes to tell me often that, "My brain won't tell me what I want to eat." OR "My brain made me do it."

Yes they are crazy and fussy and fun. I just love them!

Chasing Lions

Today I am goint to write about a person who is an inspiration to me. Her name is Connie and she is a good friend of mine. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer about 2 and 1/2 to 3 years ago and given 20 months to live. When she was given the diagnosis at Mayo clinic she ministered to the doctors and nurses there, sharing her faith with them. Instead of being devastated by the news she smiled and told them it was ok, that she was in God's hands. She actually left the building singing the song "My God is So Good". They were amazed, just as I am daily by her strength. God had given her a message before she got the diagnosis that Man's verdict was not God's verdict and that she was already healed, so she was not surprised with the diagnosis and had a peace about it. She does not believe in the "Name it-Claim it" stuff, but does honestly feel that God has told her the outcome already.
At her last doctor's visit the doctor came into the room with her latest test results and looked crushed. He couldn't get the words out to tell her, but she knew. She told him it was ok, she knew the resulsts and he didn't have to say it. He apologized and she told him it was ok, she was in God's hands. He cried, amazed at her positive attitude. Connie told him that she was not naturally this optomistic, but that it was a gift of God. He had been so strongly with her, (his presence) blessing her and providing for her and giving her such a peace throughout it all. She said not to expect this with everyone, because not everyone was given the same gifts by God. He works things out differently with each person, and this wasn't of her, it was of God. The doctor told her there was no further treatment to do for her that could help. She is going back to Mayo for another consult. She told her doctor that sometimes God has to let us come to the end of our human efforts before a miracle occurs so that it is not of us, only from him.
She still believes that God intends to heal her. He has brought many people to her that have had stage 3 cancer and been miraculously healed. She feels that has happened for a reason. But she also said that if for some reason God chose not to heal her, that it was still ok, because she would be in a better place. Either way, God was holding her hand and walking her through this day by day and she has never been so blessed to expereince this closeness with God. Through this time since the diagnosis until now, she has fallen in love and gotten married. A group of us freinds put on her wedding for her to help since she was so sick. Her new husband is wonderful and treats her like a princess. She has a beautiful dream home and doesn't have to worry about working. She has never been so blessed with so much support and provisions. Despite her severe pain and illness, she praises God and sees all the good, all of God in this situation. I don't think I could ever do that. Not like Connie. She is truly a woman of God. I am humbled for knowing her and having the blessing of her friendship. I love you Connie! Keep on Glorifying Him!
A sermon I heard yesterday talked about the fact that sometimes God takes us straight through our biggest fear to reach our potential. The bigger our God is, the smaller the lion/fear becomes. The courageous person chases after lions, obeying God despite the fear. We need not look at the lion, but look at God. How big is your God? I know that Connie's God is HUGE, which is why her faith is HUGE and such a blessing to all who know her. I pray that my vision of God and your's increases so that we can reach our potential and Receive the blessings and Be a blessing. Now Go Chase That Lion!

A Poopy Day

Oooooh. I ended my blog too early last night. My hot bath didn't occur. Instead I got to give Sam an enima/sopository to help him finally poop to get out the blockage. Yes, it worked thankfully, but then I got to clean up two messes of poop off of the floor and later out of his bed last night. The floor had it the worst as Sam panicked and ran around then finally went to the toilette after I kept yelling at him to run to the potty. Poor guy. Poor mom. Oh, well. Hopefully today won't be so poopy!

My Goth Child

Today I had to take off work to take the kids to the doctor for their annual check-ups. It took an hour and a half which made me late for my first scheduled client---that I had to cancel and reschedule. Besides that, Max was late and missed his bus at summer camp so I had to drive him to Skateland to meet them for his field trip. This made Sam late so he missed his lunch at daycare---Ooops-school! (He likes to call it his school). Therefore I had to pick him up a kids meal at Wendy's. I dropped him off with his lunch and forgot his chocolate milk in the car. I went back downstairs to my car to get it, then up again and did the code to his hall, made it to his class and set up his lunch at a table and realized I had left his ketchup in the car. Sam is a Ketchup fanatic and was severely sad so I had to race back downstairs to get it, come back up, put in the code to get in his hall and squirt 5 ketchup packets (oooh I hate those messy things!). I kissed him goodbye and raced to work where I had hearing screenings to do all afternoon--1 every 30 minutes. Somehow I got double booked on the last one so had to push one even later. Then the last two I had a hard time getting results so they took twice as long to finish. I am tired and sweaty now. It was not the best day.
All that to say, when I was at the doctor's office and waiting and waiting I realized that Sam looked like a Goth child. His shirt had a monster on it and his shorts had a skull on them (given from a friend). His fingernails were painted black by his teacher yesterday since he wanted to have dog paw nails, monster nails and most of all Vampire nails, which is what he called them today. Yes, later the nurse commented on Sam's style. Ugh.
Poor Sam is so constipated right now. Besides that, the doctor's office messed up and gave him his last rounds of shots too early so he had to get them all redone today. He was not happy, neither was I. That is part of what took so long at the doctors. They were trying to figure out what happened to cause this mistake, but never had any real answers only a few possible scenarios of how it may have happened. Oh well, I didn't complain. There isn't anything I could do about it. He needs the shots to be effective and has to have them to start kindergarten in the fall. WHAT A DAY! Thanks for letting me vent. Now I need a hot shower and a good book. Well, that was my day. Hope yours was better.