in a million years what I just spent the last hour doing. :):):)
After The River (our Saturday night church meeting where we pray for revival)-which was awesome as it ALWAYS is- I went across the street to Walmart and bought.....a jewelry making kit. For real. I know that most of you are gasping. I also bought a watch and a few pieces of makeup. :):)
I have been getting a bit more girly lately. So, anyway, I just spent the last hour making 2 bracelets. They came out good for a beginner. I enjoyed being creative. :):)
Most of the rest of this day was WAY too busy for a Saturday. When we're busy doing family things outside on a Saturday I don't mind so much but today Michael had to deliver a garbage can and then "wrench on the truck" for most of the day. sigh.
I stayed in and loaded and ran the dishwasher, straightened my bedroom and the guest bedroom, stripped those two beds and put the sheets in the wash, folded 1 1/2 loads of laundry, cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast, supervised the kids straightening the living room (actually I didn't do much supervising. Judah is a A-#1 cleaner), cleaned 5 bathrooms, dusted, swept and mopped the entire basement, came back upstairs and folded another load of laundry, showered quickly, threw a bathroom rug in the wash, fixed lunch, nursed the baby, put him down for his nap, cleaned up the dining room and shooed the boys to bed. While they were sleeping and resting (Thomas slept, Judah just laid there for an hour) I worked on the worship music and Scripture reading for The River. Kids woke up! Nursed the baby, transferred the rug to the dryer, played with the boys for a little bit, took about an hour break while Michael played with them during which I fell asleep only to be awakened by the boys screeching and Gideon crawling into bed to nurse again. ( I think the chaos happened when Michael went out to check the mail) Nursed the baby and told him to go find Daddy, dragged myself up from the too short nap, got ready for The River, helped Michael get the boys ready to go ?? (not sure where they all went for dinner), drove to Walmart (yes I actually went there TWICE tonight. I dropped off film the first time and when I went back I decided to look for a watch and the jewelry making kit.) then I stopped at Sonic and grabbed dinner and headed to church and you know the rest...aren't you glad I blogged today. So enlightening. LOL
Have a blessed Lord's day tomorrow!! - Angela :)
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Our Day
Today our day was sort of Blah! I'm still not over the extreme exhaustion due to this thing that's still hanging on (BUT must GO in the Name of Jesus!!!) so it was a productive/unproductive/productive day.
(disclaimer- we don't always allow so much TV/ computer games every day!- LOL )
I got woke up around 7 am to the cutest 18 month old in the world trotting over to climb into bed with me for his beloved morning nursing time. OK I love it too. I am really going to miss nursing when he weans. :):) (Oh, just for the record I made it to the 6 year mark. I have been pregnant and/or nursing for 6 years straight now!! WOW! Since June of 2001. Amazing. ) Anyway, I drug myself out of bed and gave them a snack. Then realizing that chips and fruit snacks are lunch food made them PB & J sandwiches for breakfast and told them they could have cereal for lunch. We don't always have chips but when we do they want them first thing in the morning. So, sometimes we reverse meals. (lunch for breakfast, etc) Then I laid around and finished the Dee Henderson book I was reading "Before I Wake". It was a good one. I like Christian suspense novels. Speaking of which I CAN'T WAIT till July 2nd. I will be at the Christian bookstore early that morning to buy Terri Blackstock's new one that comes out on July 1. YEAH!
OK back to our day....so I read for a bit and Gid nursed again. :) If I lay down he thinks we're supposed to nurse. The boys were playing games on their computer that doesn't work most of the time but that does work every once in a while. I pried them away after much too long. I got engrossed in the book ( I was almost finished) and didn't realize what time it was. Oops.
Then they helped me straighten up the living room, unload the dishwasher, make the beds, and I folded 1 1/2 loads of laundry. I also started another load. I was too tired to do much after this so I actually let them watch TV so I could rest. After that we did school for a bit. School today consisted of.... Thomas: played with Little Leap going through the Alphabet sounds 2 times. Then came over and read an alphabet book with Mommy. Judah read 2 new beginning reader books that I got him. He is really enjoying learning to read.
Gideon actually played instead of fussed while we were doing that. That was really nice.
I nursed Gid and put him down for a nap while the boys played in the living room. I wasn't sure what they were doing until I came down the stairs. I almost laughed out loud but I actually had to tell them to keep it down. They were laughing at themselves. Here was the "game" they invented. For background let me just say that Michael and Richard (our driver) sometimes meet dogs who are vicious while they are on the route. Michael has always used dog bones as a deterrent because dogs generally like him (although he was bit on the backside once while trying to jump into the back of the truck with the garbage. -ROFL!!!) recently he also carried Pepper Spray for the more dangerous pooches. However, Michael loves dogs and hardly EVER used pepper spray. Richard however doesn't have the same rapore with dogs and was using the pepper spray liberally. It was costing us too much money and we were worried about him squirting himself so we got him an electronic dog thing. It sends off a pulse that hurts their ears. It's non toxic and quite effective. Plus, we only had to buy ONE of those and it doesn't run out.
Anyway, the boys were playing "dog". One of them had a small piece of the train track in his pocket and the other was the dog. The dog would approach the boy and the boy would take out the "electronic dog thing" (the track ) and make a LOUD beeping noise. Then the "dog" would run away across the room. LOL It was truly something to watch. They were never doing it meanly. It was all matter of fact. It was really funny but too loud so I had to put a stop to it.
They had cereal for lunch and then they laid down. Thomas to take a nap and Judah to rest. I scarfed a little down and then grabbed some ice cream and went back to the computer. The boys didn't settle down until Gid woke up so I didn't get a break today. Thomas also woke up EARLY from his nap so the afternoon dragged. We watched Design on a Dime together. LOL and then went downstairs where the boys played and I tried to rest but finally had to go make some coffee. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Michael came back from his route and took Thomas with him to deliver a garbage can to a new customer and pick up cans of some people who are cancelling.
Judah, Gideon, and I went outside for a little bit. We came back in at 4:00pm so that I could start dinner. I made stuffed peppers. It was great. I haven't had those for awhile. :):) I enjoyed making and eating them. I am really glad for the oven in our basement during the summer because I can bake without heating the house up. Yeah! We had salad to go with the peppers and the boys had fruit for dessert. They actually liked the peppers. I almost had a stroke. They normally don't like rice and meat mixed with things like onions. So, dinner was a success. I was also glad to feed my husband something relatively healthy and substantial considering he had had the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack; a coke, a goo-goo bar, and a small bag of chips. YUCK!!
After dinner Michael had to go back down to work so the boys got lucky and watched a little more of a video and I cleaned the kitchen. Then the boys came down and I turned on some worship music and we danced before the Lord. That was great fun. Michael joined us at the end and somehow the boys went from dancing to wrestling. LOL BOYS!! We played keep away with a fabric ball and then I put the baby to bed while Michael got the other two relatively settled. I read aloud "Hind's Feet" to them (Michael, Judah, and Thomas). They all fell asleep and here I am. That was our day.
Hope that everyone has a GREAT weekend! BLESSINGS!-Angela :)
(disclaimer- we don't always allow so much TV/ computer games every day!- LOL )
I got woke up around 7 am to the cutest 18 month old in the world trotting over to climb into bed with me for his beloved morning nursing time. OK I love it too. I am really going to miss nursing when he weans. :):) (Oh, just for the record I made it to the 6 year mark. I have been pregnant and/or nursing for 6 years straight now!! WOW! Since June of 2001. Amazing. ) Anyway, I drug myself out of bed and gave them a snack. Then realizing that chips and fruit snacks are lunch food made them PB & J sandwiches for breakfast and told them they could have cereal for lunch. We don't always have chips but when we do they want them first thing in the morning. So, sometimes we reverse meals. (lunch for breakfast, etc) Then I laid around and finished the Dee Henderson book I was reading "Before I Wake". It was a good one. I like Christian suspense novels. Speaking of which I CAN'T WAIT till July 2nd. I will be at the Christian bookstore early that morning to buy Terri Blackstock's new one that comes out on July 1. YEAH!
OK back to our day....so I read for a bit and Gid nursed again. :) If I lay down he thinks we're supposed to nurse. The boys were playing games on their computer that doesn't work most of the time but that does work every once in a while. I pried them away after much too long. I got engrossed in the book ( I was almost finished) and didn't realize what time it was. Oops.
Then they helped me straighten up the living room, unload the dishwasher, make the beds, and I folded 1 1/2 loads of laundry. I also started another load. I was too tired to do much after this so I actually let them watch TV so I could rest. After that we did school for a bit. School today consisted of.... Thomas: played with Little Leap going through the Alphabet sounds 2 times. Then came over and read an alphabet book with Mommy. Judah read 2 new beginning reader books that I got him. He is really enjoying learning to read.
Gideon actually played instead of fussed while we were doing that. That was really nice.
I nursed Gid and put him down for a nap while the boys played in the living room. I wasn't sure what they were doing until I came down the stairs. I almost laughed out loud but I actually had to tell them to keep it down. They were laughing at themselves. Here was the "game" they invented. For background let me just say that Michael and Richard (our driver) sometimes meet dogs who are vicious while they are on the route. Michael has always used dog bones as a deterrent because dogs generally like him (although he was bit on the backside once while trying to jump into the back of the truck with the garbage. -ROFL!!!) recently he also carried Pepper Spray for the more dangerous pooches. However, Michael loves dogs and hardly EVER used pepper spray. Richard however doesn't have the same rapore with dogs and was using the pepper spray liberally. It was costing us too much money and we were worried about him squirting himself so we got him an electronic dog thing. It sends off a pulse that hurts their ears. It's non toxic and quite effective. Plus, we only had to buy ONE of those and it doesn't run out.
Anyway, the boys were playing "dog". One of them had a small piece of the train track in his pocket and the other was the dog. The dog would approach the boy and the boy would take out the "electronic dog thing" (the track ) and make a LOUD beeping noise. Then the "dog" would run away across the room. LOL It was truly something to watch. They were never doing it meanly. It was all matter of fact. It was really funny but too loud so I had to put a stop to it.
They had cereal for lunch and then they laid down. Thomas to take a nap and Judah to rest. I scarfed a little down and then grabbed some ice cream and went back to the computer. The boys didn't settle down until Gid woke up so I didn't get a break today. Thomas also woke up EARLY from his nap so the afternoon dragged. We watched Design on a Dime together. LOL and then went downstairs where the boys played and I tried to rest but finally had to go make some coffee. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Michael came back from his route and took Thomas with him to deliver a garbage can to a new customer and pick up cans of some people who are cancelling.
Judah, Gideon, and I went outside for a little bit. We came back in at 4:00pm so that I could start dinner. I made stuffed peppers. It was great. I haven't had those for awhile. :):) I enjoyed making and eating them. I am really glad for the oven in our basement during the summer because I can bake without heating the house up. Yeah! We had salad to go with the peppers and the boys had fruit for dessert. They actually liked the peppers. I almost had a stroke. They normally don't like rice and meat mixed with things like onions. So, dinner was a success. I was also glad to feed my husband something relatively healthy and substantial considering he had had the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack; a coke, a goo-goo bar, and a small bag of chips. YUCK!!
After dinner Michael had to go back down to work so the boys got lucky and watched a little more of a video and I cleaned the kitchen. Then the boys came down and I turned on some worship music and we danced before the Lord. That was great fun. Michael joined us at the end and somehow the boys went from dancing to wrestling. LOL BOYS!! We played keep away with a fabric ball and then I put the baby to bed while Michael got the other two relatively settled. I read aloud "Hind's Feet" to them (Michael, Judah, and Thomas). They all fell asleep and here I am. That was our day.
Hope that everyone has a GREAT weekend! BLESSINGS!-Angela :)
OVERDUE
I know this story is overdue but we haven't been feeling well. Actually it's just Michael and I that aren't feeling well. Our chests still hurt from whatever virus that thing was. Considering none of the kids have what we have it may be an infection at this point. Who knows. We are trying Mucinex. Hopefully that will make our coughs more productive and get whatever congestion there is OUT. If that doesn't work I may need to find a family dr. Michael has one because he gets meds for allergies but I haven't been to a family dr since 1996. Sigh. I can only imagine the new patient fee; just to tell me there is nothing wrong. I'm not going till I'm SURE there is something wrong considering we are on the "get well or die" program. LOL
Anyway, here's the schedule change story. We are having probs with both our garbage trucks. The one Richard drives is less than 2 years old and still under warranty so it's not like we are being charged BUT we do have to drive some distance to get it worked on by quality mechanics. Michael told me on Monday night (RIGHT before bed) that we probably needed to take the truck in to Augusta (6 hour round trip drive) Ga the next morning. He had to be at a dr's appt at 4:00pm Tues afternoon so he wanted to leave at 6:00am which means we needed to get up at 5:00am- YUCK!! Since i don't get to sleep through the night hardly ever getting up 1-2 hours earlier is like torture to me but we had no choice so I said OK. Well, he woke me up at 4:00am Tues morning to tell me that he had changed his mind. We would go on Wednesday. AAUUGGHH
I had trouble falling back asleep for a small bit but finally did and then Gid woke up. LOL
The next morning we got up at 5:00am and travelled to Augusta, Ga. It was a very fast trip and I was a little sad that we had driven 6 hours and weren't "anywhere". I told him, "I could be halfway to my parents' house by now. LOL"
We will be going back soon in the near future to pick up the truck but I think the guy said he would meet us halfway. That would be GREAT!!
Anyway, gotta run. Gid just woke up from his nap. Blessings!!-
Angela :)
Anyway, here's the schedule change story. We are having probs with both our garbage trucks. The one Richard drives is less than 2 years old and still under warranty so it's not like we are being charged BUT we do have to drive some distance to get it worked on by quality mechanics. Michael told me on Monday night (RIGHT before bed) that we probably needed to take the truck in to Augusta (6 hour round trip drive) Ga the next morning. He had to be at a dr's appt at 4:00pm Tues afternoon so he wanted to leave at 6:00am which means we needed to get up at 5:00am- YUCK!! Since i don't get to sleep through the night hardly ever getting up 1-2 hours earlier is like torture to me but we had no choice so I said OK. Well, he woke me up at 4:00am Tues morning to tell me that he had changed his mind. We would go on Wednesday. AAUUGGHH
I had trouble falling back asleep for a small bit but finally did and then Gid woke up. LOL
The next morning we got up at 5:00am and travelled to Augusta, Ga. It was a very fast trip and I was a little sad that we had driven 6 hours and weren't "anywhere". I told him, "I could be halfway to my parents' house by now. LOL"
We will be going back soon in the near future to pick up the truck but I think the guy said he would meet us halfway. That would be GREAT!!
Anyway, gotta run. Gid just woke up from his nap. Blessings!!-
Angela :)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I'm Learning...
To ROLL with the PUNCHES. aka- schedule changes.
I am SO not a please change my schedule person. It's not that I feel the need for every minute to be scheduled- NO WAY but if I have a schedule I DON'T want it changed. I am happy to say that God must be working on me in that area (in answer to MUCH MUCH prayers for many years) because 2 maor schedule changes happened in the past couple of days and I got over them pretty much within a few minutes. (without throwing a fit I might add) :):):) I will explain more in tomorrow's blog.
Good night, sleep tight ,and ...don't bite the bedbugs!! LOL
I am SO not a please change my schedule person. It's not that I feel the need for every minute to be scheduled- NO WAY but if I have a schedule I DON'T want it changed. I am happy to say that God must be working on me in that area (in answer to MUCH MUCH prayers for many years) because 2 maor schedule changes happened in the past couple of days and I got over them pretty much within a few minutes. (without throwing a fit I might add) :):):) I will explain more in tomorrow's blog.
Good night, sleep tight ,and ...don't bite the bedbugs!! LOL
Monday, June 25, 2007
Calling All Homeschool Moms or Ladies Who Know Moms Who Homeschool or Just Really Creative People!! :):)
I want y'all to add your ideas into the comments. Let's see how many crazy things we can come up with....
YOU MIGHT BE A HOME SCHOOL MOM IF....
1. You buy M & Ms to use for Math class and/or learning colors.
2. When you're in the car you ask your kids to find letters on signs or colors outside.
3. You ask you kids if they want their lunch sandwiches cut into triangles or rectangles. :)
4. You get to pray before each school session and don't have to worry about the ACLU!!!!
5. You serve the kids waffles in four sections and see if they can make a circle.
6. You make pancakes in the shape of letters every time they learn a new sound in school. (this is very popular here and I'm convinced it's one of the only reasons Thomas is finally learning his letters/sounds. We're eating a lot of pancakes around here.)
7. You find yourself stressing beginning sounds of words in casual conversation. For example... Good Job Judah! Hey JJJJJOB and JJJJUDAH start with the same letter!!!
Ok it's getting late. Someone else add some. :):) Have Fun!!
Blessings!- Angela :)
YOU MIGHT BE A HOME SCHOOL MOM IF....
1. You buy M & Ms to use for Math class and/or learning colors.
2. When you're in the car you ask your kids to find letters on signs or colors outside.
3. You ask you kids if they want their lunch sandwiches cut into triangles or rectangles. :)
4. You get to pray before each school session and don't have to worry about the ACLU!!!!
5. You serve the kids waffles in four sections and see if they can make a circle.
6. You make pancakes in the shape of letters every time they learn a new sound in school. (this is very popular here and I'm convinced it's one of the only reasons Thomas is finally learning his letters/sounds. We're eating a lot of pancakes around here.)
7. You find yourself stressing beginning sounds of words in casual conversation. For example... Good Job Judah! Hey JJJJJOB and JJJJUDAH start with the same letter!!!
Ok it's getting late. Someone else add some. :):) Have Fun!!
Blessings!- Angela :)
One More Thing
I forgot this story earlier but I about busted a gut laughing when it happened. I'm fairly certain you had to be here to get the full effect but just try to picture it in your mind. My boys have the blue Thomas the train tracks and also some trains for it. Well a few days ago they realized that they could make some pretty good looking guns with their track pieces. :):) Yesterday Gideon had a dirty diaper. I smelled it and called him over to change it. He really did wreak! I was wondering where the boys went and then I heard them upstairs commenting on how much Gideon smelled. They leaned down and hollered out, "Is it diarrhea?" I replied, "No, it just smells really bad." I finished changing the diaper, disposed of it, and washed my hands. When I came back in the room Gideon was looking out the window and the boys were coming down the stairs. They approached Gideon and stuck their guns (gently) to his butt. They proceeded to make a strange noise. When I asked them what they were doing they replied, "We're sucking the smell into our guns." I was almost doubled over with laughter. It was so funny. Then I thought to myself..."We might be able to market that. They sell stranger things on infomercials." Well, after they had sucked up all the smell (Gid thought this was great fun. He kept running from them and making them chase him. HE was squealing and they were laughing. ) Judah announced, " Now we're going to take the smell and shoot it down the bad guys throat so they'll go away."
Very creative son and very BOY! :):)
ROFL!
Very creative son and very BOY! :):)
ROFL!
Random Thoughts
This will all be random stuff compiled in my mind over the last few days. Some of this will come across very strong. I don't care. I feel strongly about some of this...
Nothing To The Imagination:
I went to Whitewater Atlanta on Saturday with a girl from church and I have to say I'm SO GLAD that I'm not a guy. I saw WAY TOO MUCH skin at the park. Bikinis leave NOTHING to the imagination. I mean pretty much I could see what every girl's body looked like. Some things should ABSOLUTELY be saved for the honeymoon and the marital bedroom. I was really glad that longer bathing suit skirts came back this year. Mine is so long it actually looks like a tennis skirt. YEAH! I also was glad Michael bought me a rash guard shirt because now I don't have to worry about showing anything when I bend over:):) which happens a lot with 3 boys.
Funniest Whine I Ever Heard:
Normally I don't think whining is funny. I abhor whining. We don't allow it at our house. I don't like to hear it in public. It hurts my ears. However, I heard the FUNNIEST whine ever at Walmart last night. This may be one of those "you had to be there" things but I'm going to tell you anyway...
I was in the snack aisle and heard a kid whining for ....beef jerky. It sounded like this, "but I Waaannnt some beeeef jeeeerkyyyyy. " I actually had to walk several aisles over very quickly before I burst into laughter. :):)
Haircuts:
The older boys got their hair buzzed by Michael and Gid got his trimmed by me yesterday. I won't allow Michael to buzz any of my boys until they turn 2. I want to feel that baby fine hair as long as possible. Gid did GRRREAT this time. Last time he was the worst kid I ever cut for. This time he did the best. I think it was the chocolate chips. He was too young for them last time. :):)
Anyway, Thomas told me this morning that I should buzz my hair like them. I replied that most women don't buzz their hair to look like a boy. To which HE replied, "well you can just cut off your breasts too." Um, no thanks....:):):)
Speaking Of Chocolate:
Ca-ca (chocolate) is Gideon's new word; which he shouts at the top of his lungs when anyone is near the fridge. (That's where we keep the chocolate chips.) It's too funny. He likes chocolate almost as much as his addicted Daddy. :):):)
Well gotta get cleaning!! Have a great week. Blessings!- Angela :)
Nothing To The Imagination:
I went to Whitewater Atlanta on Saturday with a girl from church and I have to say I'm SO GLAD that I'm not a guy. I saw WAY TOO MUCH skin at the park. Bikinis leave NOTHING to the imagination. I mean pretty much I could see what every girl's body looked like. Some things should ABSOLUTELY be saved for the honeymoon and the marital bedroom. I was really glad that longer bathing suit skirts came back this year. Mine is so long it actually looks like a tennis skirt. YEAH! I also was glad Michael bought me a rash guard shirt because now I don't have to worry about showing anything when I bend over:):) which happens a lot with 3 boys.
Funniest Whine I Ever Heard:
Normally I don't think whining is funny. I abhor whining. We don't allow it at our house. I don't like to hear it in public. It hurts my ears. However, I heard the FUNNIEST whine ever at Walmart last night. This may be one of those "you had to be there" things but I'm going to tell you anyway...
I was in the snack aisle and heard a kid whining for ....beef jerky. It sounded like this, "but I Waaannnt some beeeef jeeeerkyyyyy. " I actually had to walk several aisles over very quickly before I burst into laughter. :):)
Haircuts:
The older boys got their hair buzzed by Michael and Gid got his trimmed by me yesterday. I won't allow Michael to buzz any of my boys until they turn 2. I want to feel that baby fine hair as long as possible. Gid did GRRREAT this time. Last time he was the worst kid I ever cut for. This time he did the best. I think it was the chocolate chips. He was too young for them last time. :):)
Anyway, Thomas told me this morning that I should buzz my hair like them. I replied that most women don't buzz their hair to look like a boy. To which HE replied, "well you can just cut off your breasts too." Um, no thanks....:):):)
Speaking Of Chocolate:
Ca-ca (chocolate) is Gideon's new word; which he shouts at the top of his lungs when anyone is near the fridge. (That's where we keep the chocolate chips.) It's too funny. He likes chocolate almost as much as his addicted Daddy. :):):)
Well gotta get cleaning!! Have a great week. Blessings!- Angela :)
Friday, June 22, 2007
Gardening Lessons
I'm not actually giving lessons on how to garden. I only remotely know what I'm doing at this point by advice from friends and Internet info.
What I'm talking about here is what I learn when I'm in my garden. God seems to speak to me every single time. It's amazing. He wants to do that all day long. :) This is especially encouraging for mothers with small children who are swamped during the day. Just keep your ears open and your Father will find many teachable moments to speak to you. :):)
Anyway, back to the garden...
Lesson #1- Weeds- get rid of them.
Just like weeds choke out the life of a plant anything that isn't godly chokes my spiritual life. I'm not talking about salvation here. I am talking about how I grow in the Lord. If I am permitting any little sinful indulgence in my life then I am robbing myself of growth. Get rid of the weeds.
Lesson #2- Rain is a GOOD thing.
Our garden really started to take off after the few good rain showers we had. Also, I planted a few more things today and the difference today and 6 weeks ago was NIGHT and DAY! 6 weeks ago we hadn't had rain for a long time. The ground was SO difficult to break. Today it turned right over. It was so easy. Soaking in God's rain will keep my soil workable. I will be more easily dug up and more usable. I will be more ready to hold the seeds God is trying to plant in my heart. I want to have moist soil in my heart for Jesus. The Holy Spirit loves to rain on all who ask.
Lesson #3- God is such a DILIGENT God
I was thinking today how the weeds I pulled last week were back today. As I was pulling I was thinking about how our Gardener tends our hearts. He is always diligently looking for the weeds that will choke out the life inside of us. Even when it hurts (me) for Him to remove something from me it is because He loves me and wants me to grow as MUCH as I can grow. He really is good. He really is faithful. He never rests. He is always concerned about us and hoeing, pulling, watering, and shining on our lives.
Thank-you faithful God!!!
"He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."
Blessings!- Angela :)
What I'm talking about here is what I learn when I'm in my garden. God seems to speak to me every single time. It's amazing. He wants to do that all day long. :) This is especially encouraging for mothers with small children who are swamped during the day. Just keep your ears open and your Father will find many teachable moments to speak to you. :):)
Anyway, back to the garden...
Lesson #1- Weeds- get rid of them.
Just like weeds choke out the life of a plant anything that isn't godly chokes my spiritual life. I'm not talking about salvation here. I am talking about how I grow in the Lord. If I am permitting any little sinful indulgence in my life then I am robbing myself of growth. Get rid of the weeds.
Lesson #2- Rain is a GOOD thing.
Our garden really started to take off after the few good rain showers we had. Also, I planted a few more things today and the difference today and 6 weeks ago was NIGHT and DAY! 6 weeks ago we hadn't had rain for a long time. The ground was SO difficult to break. Today it turned right over. It was so easy. Soaking in God's rain will keep my soil workable. I will be more easily dug up and more usable. I will be more ready to hold the seeds God is trying to plant in my heart. I want to have moist soil in my heart for Jesus. The Holy Spirit loves to rain on all who ask.
Lesson #3- God is such a DILIGENT God
I was thinking today how the weeds I pulled last week were back today. As I was pulling I was thinking about how our Gardener tends our hearts. He is always diligently looking for the weeds that will choke out the life inside of us. Even when it hurts (me) for Him to remove something from me it is because He loves me and wants me to grow as MUCH as I can grow. He really is good. He really is faithful. He never rests. He is always concerned about us and hoeing, pulling, watering, and shining on our lives.
Thank-you faithful God!!!
"He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it."
Blessings!- Angela :)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Funny Boys
I have the world's greatest kids. They are so funny and creative.
This morning I was in the kitchen finishing up waffles per Judah's request. I didn't make the waffles from scratch. I used a whole wheat mix but I did make the syrup from scratch and also....chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk per Thomas' request. More on that later.
So I was just finishing up and in comes Judah. He says to me, "This is a hotel."
I laughed and said OK. So I played along.
Me- Did you sleep well last night sir?
J- (giggling) yes
Me- Did you find your bed comfortable?
J- Yes.
Me- We are having waffles this morning.
J- Thanks cooker-lady.
Me (laughing) - could you go get your friend for breakfast? It's ready.
J runs off to get Thomas. He comes back with both Thomas and Gideon who follows them around everywhere.
Thomas starts a question with "Mom-"
Judah immediately cuts him off with, "It's not Mom. It's cooker -lady. "
Thomas looks confused but senses there is a game going on. I explain the game to him. He smiles.
Then they ask if they can eat on the back porch like a picnic. I get the blanket set up and tell them to please have a seat. I also put Gideon's highchair out there with them. This is the first time in WEEKS Gideon was actually happy to be put in his high chair. Even he enjoyed the novelty.
Me- Here you go sirs. Our special this morning is waffles with homemade syrup and also homemade chocolate milk.
Boys- Thank-you cooker-ma'am.
Me- what an adorable baby you have there. :):)
Boys- laugh and start to eat.
Me- Let me bring you some napkins. Enjoy your meal.
Boys- Thanks cooker-lady.
Then a few minutes later I hear them calling me. They want to know if the hotel pool will be available later. LOL I told them I would try to clean it out and get it ready for them. I probably wouldn't have done that today if we weren't playing "hotel" and I didn't want to destroy the game for them. But, I'm all for creativity so they will get their pool time later.
Hope that everyone has a blessed day! - Angela :) aka cooker-lady
This morning I was in the kitchen finishing up waffles per Judah's request. I didn't make the waffles from scratch. I used a whole wheat mix but I did make the syrup from scratch and also....chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk per Thomas' request. More on that later.
So I was just finishing up and in comes Judah. He says to me, "This is a hotel."
I laughed and said OK. So I played along.
Me- Did you sleep well last night sir?
J- (giggling) yes
Me- Did you find your bed comfortable?
J- Yes.
Me- We are having waffles this morning.
J- Thanks cooker-lady.
Me (laughing) - could you go get your friend for breakfast? It's ready.
J runs off to get Thomas. He comes back with both Thomas and Gideon who follows them around everywhere.
Thomas starts a question with "Mom-"
Judah immediately cuts him off with, "It's not Mom. It's cooker -lady. "
Thomas looks confused but senses there is a game going on. I explain the game to him. He smiles.
Then they ask if they can eat on the back porch like a picnic. I get the blanket set up and tell them to please have a seat. I also put Gideon's highchair out there with them. This is the first time in WEEKS Gideon was actually happy to be put in his high chair. Even he enjoyed the novelty.
Me- Here you go sirs. Our special this morning is waffles with homemade syrup and also homemade chocolate milk.
Boys- Thank-you cooker-ma'am.
Me- what an adorable baby you have there. :):)
Boys- laugh and start to eat.
Me- Let me bring you some napkins. Enjoy your meal.
Boys- Thanks cooker-lady.
Then a few minutes later I hear them calling me. They want to know if the hotel pool will be available later. LOL I told them I would try to clean it out and get it ready for them. I probably wouldn't have done that today if we weren't playing "hotel" and I didn't want to destroy the game for them. But, I'm all for creativity so they will get their pool time later.
Hope that everyone has a blessed day! - Angela :) aka cooker-lady
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Time Travel Cooking Stories
This was an interesting idea on a post so I thought I would try it.
Ladies and gentleman please fasten your seat belts and keep your arms and legs inside the time capsule until the machine has come to a COMPLETE stop. Everybody in....everyone buckled? Ok, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!!!
We are arriving in a small kitchen in the house I grew up in. The petite little woman you see is my gorgeous mother. The adorable chubby little blond girl is me. In this memory I am learning how to make eggs. I have always wanted to help cook but wasn't old enough. I'm not sure how old I am in this memory; perhaps 5 or 6 years old. My mom is showing me how much margarine to put in the bottom of the frying pan, how to swirl it around to get every inch of the pan, and how to adjust the gas to the perfect egg temp. (It took me years to learn to cook on electric ranges after I moved out to go to college because I couldn't "see" what temp it was.) She then shows me how to flip the eggs. It is great fun and I can't wait to learn how to cook more things.
We are now fast forwarding to about 6 years later. You will see four people at the dinner table. A girl about 12 years old, a boy about 10 years old, a mother, and a father. This is my family and we are eating dinner. The girl is complaining that she doesn't like it. (this was a VERY rare occurrence. She basically liked everything and wasn't picky.) My mother gets really upset and blows up at me. She then informs me that I can cook the next night since I like to complain. I answer with a smart aleck "fine!" I wasn't really upset about having to cook the next night's dinner. I was actually excited about it but I was hurt to be singled out considering my brother was a SUPER picky eater. Oh well, my mom had apparently had enough complaining at the dinner table.
The next night I got out my kid cookbook and made mini pizzas. Even though they were a tad burned everyone seemed to like them and I had TONS of fun making them. My mom was not pleased that I had used in the oven in the middle of he summer (we didn't have air conditioning) but I hadn't done it out of spite. It had just not occurred to me so she didn't make a big deal out of it. After the mini pizza dinner I talked my parents into not only cleaning up (because I had cooked) but also into going out for ice cream down the street. :):):) AND, it solidified my love for cooking. I began to experiment with more and more recipes.
Careful please our time travel is coming to an end. Please wait until the machine comes to a complete stop to unbuckle your seat belts.
To this day I still love to cook. I am thankful that my mom doesn't really like to and I got all the opportunities I wanted to practice.
There was one time that I used baking soda instead of baking powder in muffins and they tasted really funny but we don't have time for any more stories tonight.
Exit carefully please and have a blessed evening! - Angela :)
Ladies and gentleman please fasten your seat belts and keep your arms and legs inside the time capsule until the machine has come to a COMPLETE stop. Everybody in....everyone buckled? Ok, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!!!
We are arriving in a small kitchen in the house I grew up in. The petite little woman you see is my gorgeous mother. The adorable chubby little blond girl is me. In this memory I am learning how to make eggs. I have always wanted to help cook but wasn't old enough. I'm not sure how old I am in this memory; perhaps 5 or 6 years old. My mom is showing me how much margarine to put in the bottom of the frying pan, how to swirl it around to get every inch of the pan, and how to adjust the gas to the perfect egg temp. (It took me years to learn to cook on electric ranges after I moved out to go to college because I couldn't "see" what temp it was.) She then shows me how to flip the eggs. It is great fun and I can't wait to learn how to cook more things.
We are now fast forwarding to about 6 years later. You will see four people at the dinner table. A girl about 12 years old, a boy about 10 years old, a mother, and a father. This is my family and we are eating dinner. The girl is complaining that she doesn't like it. (this was a VERY rare occurrence. She basically liked everything and wasn't picky.) My mother gets really upset and blows up at me. She then informs me that I can cook the next night since I like to complain. I answer with a smart aleck "fine!" I wasn't really upset about having to cook the next night's dinner. I was actually excited about it but I was hurt to be singled out considering my brother was a SUPER picky eater. Oh well, my mom had apparently had enough complaining at the dinner table.
The next night I got out my kid cookbook and made mini pizzas. Even though they were a tad burned everyone seemed to like them and I had TONS of fun making them. My mom was not pleased that I had used in the oven in the middle of he summer (we didn't have air conditioning) but I hadn't done it out of spite. It had just not occurred to me so she didn't make a big deal out of it. After the mini pizza dinner I talked my parents into not only cleaning up (because I had cooked) but also into going out for ice cream down the street. :):):) AND, it solidified my love for cooking. I began to experiment with more and more recipes.
Careful please our time travel is coming to an end. Please wait until the machine comes to a complete stop to unbuckle your seat belts.
To this day I still love to cook. I am thankful that my mom doesn't really like to and I got all the opportunities I wanted to practice.
There was one time that I used baking soda instead of baking powder in muffins and they tasted really funny but we don't have time for any more stories tonight.
Exit carefully please and have a blessed evening! - Angela :)
Our Weekend
Well I finally have a bit of time to record about this weekend.
My kids are in the kitchen eating ice cream and sweet cherries for breakfast. After a bug, where the kids haven't eaten for days, my husband tells me to let them eat whatever they want. Usually that only lasts one day but they take full advantage. Now unlimited candy is not an option but most else is. So, the boys heard Michael tell me that this morning and said, "We want ice cream cones." I asked them if they could eat anything else and Judah said, "Berries." So we got out the sweet cherries. They are happy.
This weekend we left very early in the morning. Saturday morning we were on the road by 6:15 am. We got to Charlotte, NC about 8:45am. Then I got lost for about 5-10 minutes. I was REALLY proud of myself though. I was able to navigate using a map. I know most people can do that but maps have always been really hard for me to use in semi stressful situations (ie:when I'm lost in a big city). However, the business has really helped me in that area. When I was home with just Judah and some with Judah and Thomas I used to have to sign up customers. I would have to use a map to figure out what day they were on and also to check the directions they were giving me. :):) I guess it's good that I married a trash man. LOL
So, I found the place and we parked. I must also insert here that one way streets confuse me a bit because I grew up in SMALL town Ohio and now I live in MICRO town Ga. Then, we walked back to our spot (using a map) and found a Bojangles across the street from the theater. That was great because I didn't want to spend a lot of money for breakfast.
After breakfast we went over to the theater and hung around till the show. They have nice places to sit/stand with huge windows where you can sit and watch the city. The boys kept commenting about how they loved the buildings. I kept thinking how I would never want to live in a city. I'm happy on our 11 acres. :):)
The show was great. Most of the actors/actresses did a fabulous job. It was a bit hard for me to watch though. I was just ITCHING to be the one on the stage. :):) I really do miss it.
Before the show I was watching the stage and remembering all the times I was behind the curtain getting into character and waiting to go on. Ahhh memories. In fact I actually started to feel butterflies at one point and had to remind myself that I had NOTHING to be nervous about because I was only watching the show. (inside I was LOL at myself) One good thing about the show was that the boys took turns sitting on my lap. I love to cuddle with them. I know it won't last forever. I notice that during special things Judah likes to be in my lap. It's like it's even more special because he's enjoying it with someone he loves. :):):)
After the show we met Christy and her two oldest. We walked over and got lunch, watched the kids play at the fountain, and then went back to Imaginon for a bit. The kids had a great time. When Christy was walking up I was noticing that she was definitely taller than me. I couldn't remember ever noticing that before and then realized that most of the times I talked with her we were sitting down. (play group, nursing mother's room) LOL
When we left the city I can't tell you how many people were SUPER impatient. If you sat at the light for more than a second people started laying on the horn. I can't drive in places like that. It makes me frustrated. The even more annoying thing is that people were coming right up on my bumper, almost hitting us, and also cutting in front without turn signals, etc. People do that in Atlanta too but without all the rudeness I felt in North Carolina. It was like the worst of southern and northern driving combined. I was so glad to leave the city. We got to Monroe and stopped at Target to get swim diapers. The boys were upset about that but I couldn't have potential diarrhea in the pool. (Thomas had an accident in the city and it leaked through his shorts. Judah had to stop in 2 different places to go.) I also bought 2 soft pretzels (one for me and one for Judah) and a frozen dinner for Thomas.
We got checked in at the hotel. Immediately we went to the pool. I was glad the water was too cold and a bit too deep for them because it was VERY dirty and I was grossed out. We went back to the room. I had gotten a whirlpool room figuring that the kids would enjoy that. We were filling in up and trying to eat something. I noticed that Judah wasn't eating anything. He hadn't eaten anything all day except the small breakfast. I asked him to try the pretzel and he said, "I'm fasting." LOL I was encouraging him to try a bite when he threw up all over the floor. He kept throwing up and then had to go on the toilet with the ice bucket in his hands. Poor guy. At this point we'd been at the hotel a little less than an hour so I called the front desk to tell her that we were going to have to check out and go home and could I have my money back. She said no. They had a 15 minute policy. I calmly asked her to see what she could do considering the circumstances. I explained we were going home out of courtesy to the hotel and future guests. We certainly didn't want to spread germs around a public place. I was trying to be nice! My mistake. Her manager also denied my request "given the amount of time we had been there." (LESS than an hour!) I know why they have the 15 minute rule but c'mon people. I called Michael and he said he would call and try. Michael couldn't get anywhere either. He said the manager was insolent. Michael was frustrated and said to him, "Do you want her to take the sick kid and sit in your lobby?" (he was trying to prove that we were thinking of THEM not threatening the guy) The manager's response was, "That's ok. We have people to clean it up." YUCK!!!!
Anyway, I got the boys in the car. Judah really wanted to go home. I informed the clerk that we had used the ice bucket as a "barf" bucket and that I had washed it with soap but it was going to need to be sanitized. I also explained that I had laid towels over the vomit in the living area so that they could locate it. She said, "ok I'll tell the cleaning person in the morning." I wanted to throw up at that point. I was thinking, "they're actually going to leave vomit on the carpet overnight." YUCK YUCK YUCK. Anyway, whatever. The drive home was 3 hours and I was EXHAUSTED. When we got home we put the kiddos to bed and Michael said I should go up and check Gid's diaper. He had been having blowouts in the bed pretty consistently since the virus. So I told him to change Gid and bring him to me to nurse. Gideon was VERY happy to see mommy and VERY VERY happy to see that the "breastaurant" was back. He nursed very well, sat up, smiled at me, and threw up ALL OVER ME. Michael had fed him hamburger and fries for dinner so you can imagine the smell. Two baths later (for each of us) we smelled ok. I put Gideon down and finally went to bed at 2:00am. I had been awake for 21 hours by then. sigh.
All in all I'm very glad that we went and got to see the show and play with Christy and crew. I'm also GLAD GLAD GLAD to be back in a rural area. !!
Hope you enjoyed the story.
Blessings!- Angela :)
My kids are in the kitchen eating ice cream and sweet cherries for breakfast. After a bug, where the kids haven't eaten for days, my husband tells me to let them eat whatever they want. Usually that only lasts one day but they take full advantage. Now unlimited candy is not an option but most else is. So, the boys heard Michael tell me that this morning and said, "We want ice cream cones." I asked them if they could eat anything else and Judah said, "Berries." So we got out the sweet cherries. They are happy.
This weekend we left very early in the morning. Saturday morning we were on the road by 6:15 am. We got to Charlotte, NC about 8:45am. Then I got lost for about 5-10 minutes. I was REALLY proud of myself though. I was able to navigate using a map. I know most people can do that but maps have always been really hard for me to use in semi stressful situations (ie:when I'm lost in a big city). However, the business has really helped me in that area. When I was home with just Judah and some with Judah and Thomas I used to have to sign up customers. I would have to use a map to figure out what day they were on and also to check the directions they were giving me. :):) I guess it's good that I married a trash man. LOL
So, I found the place and we parked. I must also insert here that one way streets confuse me a bit because I grew up in SMALL town Ohio and now I live in MICRO town Ga. Then, we walked back to our spot (using a map) and found a Bojangles across the street from the theater. That was great because I didn't want to spend a lot of money for breakfast.
After breakfast we went over to the theater and hung around till the show. They have nice places to sit/stand with huge windows where you can sit and watch the city. The boys kept commenting about how they loved the buildings. I kept thinking how I would never want to live in a city. I'm happy on our 11 acres. :):)
The show was great. Most of the actors/actresses did a fabulous job. It was a bit hard for me to watch though. I was just ITCHING to be the one on the stage. :):) I really do miss it.
Before the show I was watching the stage and remembering all the times I was behind the curtain getting into character and waiting to go on. Ahhh memories. In fact I actually started to feel butterflies at one point and had to remind myself that I had NOTHING to be nervous about because I was only watching the show. (inside I was LOL at myself) One good thing about the show was that the boys took turns sitting on my lap. I love to cuddle with them. I know it won't last forever. I notice that during special things Judah likes to be in my lap. It's like it's even more special because he's enjoying it with someone he loves. :):):)
After the show we met Christy and her two oldest. We walked over and got lunch, watched the kids play at the fountain, and then went back to Imaginon for a bit. The kids had a great time. When Christy was walking up I was noticing that she was definitely taller than me. I couldn't remember ever noticing that before and then realized that most of the times I talked with her we were sitting down. (play group, nursing mother's room) LOL
When we left the city I can't tell you how many people were SUPER impatient. If you sat at the light for more than a second people started laying on the horn. I can't drive in places like that. It makes me frustrated. The even more annoying thing is that people were coming right up on my bumper, almost hitting us, and also cutting in front without turn signals, etc. People do that in Atlanta too but without all the rudeness I felt in North Carolina. It was like the worst of southern and northern driving combined. I was so glad to leave the city. We got to Monroe and stopped at Target to get swim diapers. The boys were upset about that but I couldn't have potential diarrhea in the pool. (Thomas had an accident in the city and it leaked through his shorts. Judah had to stop in 2 different places to go.) I also bought 2 soft pretzels (one for me and one for Judah) and a frozen dinner for Thomas.
We got checked in at the hotel. Immediately we went to the pool. I was glad the water was too cold and a bit too deep for them because it was VERY dirty and I was grossed out. We went back to the room. I had gotten a whirlpool room figuring that the kids would enjoy that. We were filling in up and trying to eat something. I noticed that Judah wasn't eating anything. He hadn't eaten anything all day except the small breakfast. I asked him to try the pretzel and he said, "I'm fasting." LOL I was encouraging him to try a bite when he threw up all over the floor. He kept throwing up and then had to go on the toilet with the ice bucket in his hands. Poor guy. At this point we'd been at the hotel a little less than an hour so I called the front desk to tell her that we were going to have to check out and go home and could I have my money back. She said no. They had a 15 minute policy. I calmly asked her to see what she could do considering the circumstances. I explained we were going home out of courtesy to the hotel and future guests. We certainly didn't want to spread germs around a public place. I was trying to be nice! My mistake. Her manager also denied my request "given the amount of time we had been there." (LESS than an hour!) I know why they have the 15 minute rule but c'mon people. I called Michael and he said he would call and try. Michael couldn't get anywhere either. He said the manager was insolent. Michael was frustrated and said to him, "Do you want her to take the sick kid and sit in your lobby?" (he was trying to prove that we were thinking of THEM not threatening the guy) The manager's response was, "That's ok. We have people to clean it up." YUCK!!!!
Anyway, I got the boys in the car. Judah really wanted to go home. I informed the clerk that we had used the ice bucket as a "barf" bucket and that I had washed it with soap but it was going to need to be sanitized. I also explained that I had laid towels over the vomit in the living area so that they could locate it. She said, "ok I'll tell the cleaning person in the morning." I wanted to throw up at that point. I was thinking, "they're actually going to leave vomit on the carpet overnight." YUCK YUCK YUCK. Anyway, whatever. The drive home was 3 hours and I was EXHAUSTED. When we got home we put the kiddos to bed and Michael said I should go up and check Gid's diaper. He had been having blowouts in the bed pretty consistently since the virus. So I told him to change Gid and bring him to me to nurse. Gideon was VERY happy to see mommy and VERY VERY happy to see that the "breastaurant" was back. He nursed very well, sat up, smiled at me, and threw up ALL OVER ME. Michael had fed him hamburger and fries for dinner so you can imagine the smell. Two baths later (for each of us) we smelled ok. I put Gideon down and finally went to bed at 2:00am. I had been awake for 21 hours by then. sigh.
All in all I'm very glad that we went and got to see the show and play with Christy and crew. I'm also GLAD GLAD GLAD to be back in a rural area. !!
Hope you enjoyed the story.
Blessings!- Angela :)
Monday, June 18, 2007
Non Functional Beauty
This will be quick because I'm still wiped out from the flu thing here.
I was thinking today as I vacuumed the boys' room that they have a really great room; nicely decorated, beautiful wood beds, nice looking dressers...but none of it is functional. Judah's clothes are in a huge pile beside the dresser and Thomas' are in a huge pile under Judah's bed. That is because their dressers are not expensive ones and the bottoms of the drawers are falling apart. Therefore, they are unable to put their clothes in the dressers. Their beds go un slept in every night (they either sleep in the guest room, in our bed [while WE sleep in the guest room] or on our bedroom floor because their mattresses are so cheaply made (they came with the beds) that they hurt their backs.
I don't want to be like their room. I don't want to only look good on the outside as a Christian but be worthless below the surface. I want to have depth. I want to be able to do the work of the kingdom and not just "look good on the surface".
Blessings!- Angela :)
I was thinking today as I vacuumed the boys' room that they have a really great room; nicely decorated, beautiful wood beds, nice looking dressers...but none of it is functional. Judah's clothes are in a huge pile beside the dresser and Thomas' are in a huge pile under Judah's bed. That is because their dressers are not expensive ones and the bottoms of the drawers are falling apart. Therefore, they are unable to put their clothes in the dressers. Their beds go un slept in every night (they either sleep in the guest room, in our bed [while WE sleep in the guest room] or on our bedroom floor because their mattresses are so cheaply made (they came with the beds) that they hurt their backs.
I don't want to be like their room. I don't want to only look good on the outside as a Christian but be worthless below the surface. I want to have depth. I want to be able to do the work of the kingdom and not just "look good on the surface".
Blessings!- Angela :)
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Major Relapse Here
Sorry I'm too tired to post tonight. Major relapse here. I've been doing laundry all day and scrubbing diarrhea out of carpets. I'll post more tomorrow. (I HOPE) Just wanted to put up a quick picture of the boys from our trip. Enjoy
Friday, June 15, 2007
Getting Better
Hello everyone!
We are getting better slowly here. The boys and I are changing our plans a bit. We were supposed to go to stay in a hotel tonight and then go to the show tomorrow BUT when Thomas threw up about 15-20 times yest afternoon and throughout the night I decided we would not be able to keep our current schedule. So, we are getting up EARLY in the morning and going to the show. After the show we are meeting Christy and crew to ride the trolley and hang out maybe at Imaginon :):) for a bit before heading to Monroe to swim in the hotel pool. When we get back Sunday around 12:00-1:00pm Thomas will go fishing with Michael and Gideon will probably be dying to nurse!! LOL After Michael and Thomas get back from fishing (Judah went Wed and Thomas was supposed to go yest but obviously couldn't.) we are taking Michael out to dinner for Father's Day!!
The boys and I are really excited about our adventure. Go Diego Go Live is supposed to be a great kid show. This will be their first "cultural" stage show. We have been to Ringling Brothers but other than that not anywhere they could see a live show. Although who needs a live show with me in the house? I'm such a drama queen there is ALWAYS a show of some kind going on around here!! LOL
Well, I'm still weak from this bug so I'd better go. I won't blog for a few days but I'll update as soon as I can when we get home.
Blessings!- Angela :)
p.s. thank-you to those who prayed. :):)
We are getting better slowly here. The boys and I are changing our plans a bit. We were supposed to go to stay in a hotel tonight and then go to the show tomorrow BUT when Thomas threw up about 15-20 times yest afternoon and throughout the night I decided we would not be able to keep our current schedule. So, we are getting up EARLY in the morning and going to the show. After the show we are meeting Christy and crew to ride the trolley and hang out maybe at Imaginon :):) for a bit before heading to Monroe to swim in the hotel pool. When we get back Sunday around 12:00-1:00pm Thomas will go fishing with Michael and Gideon will probably be dying to nurse!! LOL After Michael and Thomas get back from fishing (Judah went Wed and Thomas was supposed to go yest but obviously couldn't.) we are taking Michael out to dinner for Father's Day!!
The boys and I are really excited about our adventure. Go Diego Go Live is supposed to be a great kid show. This will be their first "cultural" stage show. We have been to Ringling Brothers but other than that not anywhere they could see a live show. Although who needs a live show with me in the house? I'm such a drama queen there is ALWAYS a show of some kind going on around here!! LOL
Well, I'm still weak from this bug so I'd better go. I won't blog for a few days but I'll update as soon as I can when we get home.
Blessings!- Angela :)
p.s. thank-you to those who prayed. :):)
Thursday, June 14, 2007
MORE prayer please
Please pray for us again. We have the raging stomach flu here. Four out of 5 of us anyway. (Thomas is ok-for now) I was so sick that I got very little sleep last night. I kept waking up with horrible stomach cramps and then the vomiting/diarrhea began for hours. I have NEVER in my life experienced a stomach flu like this with the terrible cramping. Nor do I ever want to again. Anyway, I stepped on the scale this morning and I lost 5 pounds and also lost 1 inch around my waist. (Just trying to give you an idea of how truly violent and thorough this flu is. )
Anyway, Judah and Thomas and I are supposed to go out of town tomorrow night to see Go Diego Go Live. We have already bought our tickets and they weren't cheap. PLEASE pray that we will be 100 percent healed by tomorrow. It would take God for that. Gideon is on day three and still having diarrhea.
Thanks-ADL
Anyway, Judah and Thomas and I are supposed to go out of town tomorrow night to see Go Diego Go Live. We have already bought our tickets and they weren't cheap. PLEASE pray that we will be 100 percent healed by tomorrow. It would take God for that. Gideon is on day three and still having diarrhea.
Thanks-ADL
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Let's Bring Back Feminism
oops...did I say feminism...I meant femininity!!
I want to be feminine!! I want to glory in how God created me. Does this mean that I am giving up my tomboy ways for good? No way! Not all of them anyway but I am striving to be more feminine these days.
Maybe it's overcompensation for all the testosterone in this household. heeheehee
I'm not sure, but I know that I want to show my boys that being a feminine woman is a GOOD thing.
I don't wear skirts all the time. I only wear makeup about 2% of the time.
BUT I do brush my hair- LOL and it occasionally has flowers in it. Or, um weeds-dandelions-that my boys bring to me and insist that I "put them in my hair".
I was very glad that skorts came back this year. I was wanting more skirts but I like shorts under them and that was going to be expensive. So, I was happy to purchase skorts. :):) I feel more feminine in those but still able to play football with my boys. Ok, so I'm not completely feminine. There is a rough and tumble, warrior woman inside of me. That is another way God made me.
Another Godly feminine trait is living in submission to your husband's authority. That's one I continually learn. It's been difficult considering what a strong, stubborn woman I am but I'm getting better.
My boys also like me to be feminine. Occasionally they will go into my closet and "pick" something for me to wear. Inevitably it will be the only floral, pink, dressy thing that I own. It's quite something. :):):)
Being feminine doesn't mean being a wimpy doormat or playing dumb like some woman do. The Proverbs 31 woman (you know the one we all "hate" -LOL) was certainly not a doormat. She was feminine and a hard worker. :):)
I'm glad to be a girl!!
Let's start a feminine movement! :):)
Good-night!
Angela :)
I want to be feminine!! I want to glory in how God created me. Does this mean that I am giving up my tomboy ways for good? No way! Not all of them anyway but I am striving to be more feminine these days.
Maybe it's overcompensation for all the testosterone in this household. heeheehee
I'm not sure, but I know that I want to show my boys that being a feminine woman is a GOOD thing.
I don't wear skirts all the time. I only wear makeup about 2% of the time.
BUT I do brush my hair- LOL and it occasionally has flowers in it. Or, um weeds-dandelions-that my boys bring to me and insist that I "put them in my hair".
I was very glad that skorts came back this year. I was wanting more skirts but I like shorts under them and that was going to be expensive. So, I was happy to purchase skorts. :):) I feel more feminine in those but still able to play football with my boys. Ok, so I'm not completely feminine. There is a rough and tumble, warrior woman inside of me. That is another way God made me.
Another Godly feminine trait is living in submission to your husband's authority. That's one I continually learn. It's been difficult considering what a strong, stubborn woman I am but I'm getting better.
My boys also like me to be feminine. Occasionally they will go into my closet and "pick" something for me to wear. Inevitably it will be the only floral, pink, dressy thing that I own. It's quite something. :):):)
Being feminine doesn't mean being a wimpy doormat or playing dumb like some woman do. The Proverbs 31 woman (you know the one we all "hate" -LOL) was certainly not a doormat. She was feminine and a hard worker. :):)
I'm glad to be a girl!!
Let's start a feminine movement! :):)
Good-night!
Angela :)
Jane had this published on her page and I was curious to see what my test results would be. Do you think it accurately describes me?
| You Are An ENFJ |
 You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed.Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections.Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down.You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine. In love, you are very protective and supporting.However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous. At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential.You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist. How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud |
Prayer Please
Would you faithful readers please pray for us today? I am specifically asking prayer for our attitudes. I want to be thankful in all things but today will be hard so I'm asking for some support. :):):)
Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. (Proof that God is alive and works among His people!!) :):):)
We had planned to spend this day with our precious children and celebrate our family. We were going to go to the beach, play mini golf, and then come back here to get a delivery for the business. For dinner we were going to go to Olive Garden in Anderson, SC.
Well, the A/C guy still didn't call us yest so someone has to be available to be here whenever he can come. We would have still gone even with that (because the beach is only 10 minutes down the road) BUT Gideon has some sort of stomach thing.
:(:(:( He started throwing up around midnight last night and I was up with him for a bit. This morning his eyes looked glassy but I was hoping that breast milk would help his stomach. (being that God made it so gentle on the digestive track) I'm really glad that he's still nursing. I love to be able to give him the "perfect" food while he's sick. Anyway, he finished nursing, turned around to smile at Daddy, laid down on my legs and threw up everywhere. sigh. no beach for the family. I am going to take the two older boys. Michael and Gid are going to stay here and wait for the A/C guy. Dinner??? Maybe take out somewhere. :):)
Please pray that we will come through this day victorious and not get sucked into frustration or self pity. Thanks!!
Blessings!- Angela :)
Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. (Proof that God is alive and works among His people!!) :):):)
We had planned to spend this day with our precious children and celebrate our family. We were going to go to the beach, play mini golf, and then come back here to get a delivery for the business. For dinner we were going to go to Olive Garden in Anderson, SC.
Well, the A/C guy still didn't call us yest so someone has to be available to be here whenever he can come. We would have still gone even with that (because the beach is only 10 minutes down the road) BUT Gideon has some sort of stomach thing.
:(:(:( He started throwing up around midnight last night and I was up with him for a bit. This morning his eyes looked glassy but I was hoping that breast milk would help his stomach. (being that God made it so gentle on the digestive track) I'm really glad that he's still nursing. I love to be able to give him the "perfect" food while he's sick. Anyway, he finished nursing, turned around to smile at Daddy, laid down on my legs and threw up everywhere. sigh. no beach for the family. I am going to take the two older boys. Michael and Gid are going to stay here and wait for the A/C guy. Dinner??? Maybe take out somewhere. :):)
Please pray that we will come through this day victorious and not get sucked into frustration or self pity. Thanks!!
Blessings!- Angela :)
Monday, June 11, 2007
I Wish You Could See This!!!
I wish that I could get a picture without waking them up....but I can't so you'll just have to imagine how cute it is.
Our Air Conditioner died yesterday and we are still waiting for the repair guys to come. The good news is that Michael installed 2 window units upstairs last week to help supplement the system. (It really needs a separate system upstairs but because of the way they did the AC on this house it's going to be very difficult to add another unit. It will require some "rigging". ) Anyway, we are praising God for the window units!!! Big time!
So, I went somewhere this evening and when I got home at 9:10pm it was dark downstairs. I turned the hall light on so that I could look into our bedroom and the guest room to see if the "boys" (Daddy included) were sleeping down here. Both rooms were empty. I proceeded upstairs and found them all lying on the boys' floor together. I guess they are "camping"out again in front of the window unit, just like they did last night. :):)
Adorable!
p.s. I on the other hand will be right where I was last night... in my 82 degree bedroom under the covers. aaahhhh I LOVE when I don't have to "die to myself" at night. Michael likes it cold with a fan going. heehee Tonight we can both have our needs met without bothering each other. Yeah!
Blessings everyone!- Angela :)
Our Air Conditioner died yesterday and we are still waiting for the repair guys to come. The good news is that Michael installed 2 window units upstairs last week to help supplement the system. (It really needs a separate system upstairs but because of the way they did the AC on this house it's going to be very difficult to add another unit. It will require some "rigging". ) Anyway, we are praising God for the window units!!! Big time!
So, I went somewhere this evening and when I got home at 9:10pm it was dark downstairs. I turned the hall light on so that I could look into our bedroom and the guest room to see if the "boys" (Daddy included) were sleeping down here. Both rooms were empty. I proceeded upstairs and found them all lying on the boys' floor together. I guess they are "camping"out again in front of the window unit, just like they did last night. :):)
Adorable!
p.s. I on the other hand will be right where I was last night... in my 82 degree bedroom under the covers. aaahhhh I LOVE when I don't have to "die to myself" at night. Michael likes it cold with a fan going. heehee Tonight we can both have our needs met without bothering each other. Yeah!
Blessings everyone!- Angela :)
Saturday, June 9, 2007
A Series of Unfortunate Events
I actually have neither read the book nor seen the movie but I thought the title fit. Plus, I figured that it would get every one's attention. :):):)
The last few days have been a series of schedule glitches. The Lord is using them to further His work of teaching me to roll with the circumstances instead of standing there and screaming (sometimes literally) "this wasn't supposed to happen NOW!" :):):) I have noticed as God continues to refine me that the less I get upset about the situation not being the way I personally wanted it or not being when I wanted it, the more peace I have as I work through the roadblock. I know that most of you are probably staring at your screen and saying, "Duh?!" but knowing something and living it are two different things. I have always KNOWN that information but actually living in this peaceful place is awesome.
Case and point this morning our schedule was supposed to be pretty easy. I was hoping to sleep in a bit because Gid is teething and waking up as may as three times per night even if I give him Tylenol before he goes to bed. Michael was supposed to have a light schedule this morning (including washing a truck we borrowed from another guy in the business) and then we were going to go pick up his truck from the tire store and be back in time for our load of wood to be delivered at 1:00pm.
So, what REALLY happened was that Gid fell asleep next to me in bed after Michael got him for me last night. He woke me up early by crawling over and over me to nurse. Then I heard the other boys get up at 6:00. Michael was already up (early bird) so I thought- Good! WRONG. I heard him usher the kids up the stairs and then he came into where I was sleeping and said we had a problem. The water pump for our air conditioning system stopped working and there was water seeping through the walls in the basement. SIGH!!!! HE took care of that and I took care of the boys. Then he washed Anthony's truck and the boys and I cleaned out our minivan. I haven't wanted to do that since we got home from vacation so you can imagine how messy it was. The boys were a GREAT help. They helped me return all objects to their rightful home (toys, books, shoes, etc-the extra things we took on the trip to amuse them during the long drive)and throw away the excess papers from Sunday school, etc. Then, to their extreme delight, we vacuumed out the van with our shop vac. They wanted to help so I straightened up the house while they vacuumed the van. Even Thomas who is normally a very hap hazard lazy cleaner was VERY meticulous about getting every little crumb. It looks GREAT! Not perfect but at least I don't feel so yucky when I'm inside of it now. LOL We drove over to the tire store to pay the bill and then we followed Michael to Cornelia to take back the borrowed truck. We jetted back over to Toccoa to pick up Michael's truck from the tire store and got home JUST in time for the wood guy.
Yesterday's interruption was more annoying to me...
I was standing in the kitchen, early afternoon, yest getting a small snack (what I REALLY wanted was a small nap but that wasn't going to happen) when Michael yelled, "HEEEEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I was like- OH NO, NOW WHAT! You see our boys play off of each other more than most children and like to do things together they normally wouldn't do alone. They were supposed to be upstairs watching TV. Since I didn't hear anything being broken and no thudding I was clueless as to the reason of Michael's outburst. I asked him what was wrong. He yelled- There's WATER dripping (more like a steady trickle) from the dining room ceiling. (We have a drop ceiling in there.) We sprinted up the stair to find them in the TV room. Michael asked them what they did in the bathroom. Judah replied, " I peed and we flushed the toilet but it didn't go down." So, apparently they flushed it again, several times. There was water everywhere in the two upstairs bathrooms (they are connected by a door) YUCK!! So, I had to go find enough towels (some had to come from the dirty clothes baskets- EW EW EEEEWWWWW) and sop up the urine water- which if you know me TOTALLY grossed me out. Then I had to get the water downstairs in the dining room. After that I had to bleach down all three floors, toilets, etc. and spray Lysol on the furniture where they were climbing after they stood in the urine water. YUCK YUCK YUUUCCKK!! This all was cleaned up rather quickly and the boys took a bath too. (then I took a bath) The REALLY amazing news was that except for pressing them to see if they played in the water in the floor and if there was really pee in the water- I didn't yell or freak out!! That's a HUGE victory for me and I attribute that ALL to Jesus! I was disgusted but relatively peaceful as I cleaned. Proof that God hasn't given up on me yet and is still continuing to refine me daily. :):)
The funny part is that they never told us about the water. They just left it on the floor and went back to watching television.
BOYS!!!
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the stories. Have a blessed weekend!
Love, Angela and boys!
The last few days have been a series of schedule glitches. The Lord is using them to further His work of teaching me to roll with the circumstances instead of standing there and screaming (sometimes literally) "this wasn't supposed to happen NOW!" :):):) I have noticed as God continues to refine me that the less I get upset about the situation not being the way I personally wanted it or not being when I wanted it, the more peace I have as I work through the roadblock. I know that most of you are probably staring at your screen and saying, "Duh?!" but knowing something and living it are two different things. I have always KNOWN that information but actually living in this peaceful place is awesome.
Case and point this morning our schedule was supposed to be pretty easy. I was hoping to sleep in a bit because Gid is teething and waking up as may as three times per night even if I give him Tylenol before he goes to bed. Michael was supposed to have a light schedule this morning (including washing a truck we borrowed from another guy in the business) and then we were going to go pick up his truck from the tire store and be back in time for our load of wood to be delivered at 1:00pm.
So, what REALLY happened was that Gid fell asleep next to me in bed after Michael got him for me last night. He woke me up early by crawling over and over me to nurse. Then I heard the other boys get up at 6:00. Michael was already up (early bird) so I thought- Good! WRONG. I heard him usher the kids up the stairs and then he came into where I was sleeping and said we had a problem. The water pump for our air conditioning system stopped working and there was water seeping through the walls in the basement. SIGH!!!! HE took care of that and I took care of the boys. Then he washed Anthony's truck and the boys and I cleaned out our minivan. I haven't wanted to do that since we got home from vacation so you can imagine how messy it was. The boys were a GREAT help. They helped me return all objects to their rightful home (toys, books, shoes, etc-the extra things we took on the trip to amuse them during the long drive)and throw away the excess papers from Sunday school, etc. Then, to their extreme delight, we vacuumed out the van with our shop vac. They wanted to help so I straightened up the house while they vacuumed the van. Even Thomas who is normally a very hap hazard lazy cleaner was VERY meticulous about getting every little crumb. It looks GREAT! Not perfect but at least I don't feel so yucky when I'm inside of it now. LOL We drove over to the tire store to pay the bill and then we followed Michael to Cornelia to take back the borrowed truck. We jetted back over to Toccoa to pick up Michael's truck from the tire store and got home JUST in time for the wood guy.
Yesterday's interruption was more annoying to me...
I was standing in the kitchen, early afternoon, yest getting a small snack (what I REALLY wanted was a small nap but that wasn't going to happen) when Michael yelled, "HEEEEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I was like- OH NO, NOW WHAT! You see our boys play off of each other more than most children and like to do things together they normally wouldn't do alone. They were supposed to be upstairs watching TV. Since I didn't hear anything being broken and no thudding I was clueless as to the reason of Michael's outburst. I asked him what was wrong. He yelled- There's WATER dripping (more like a steady trickle) from the dining room ceiling. (We have a drop ceiling in there.) We sprinted up the stair to find them in the TV room. Michael asked them what they did in the bathroom. Judah replied, " I peed and we flushed the toilet but it didn't go down." So, apparently they flushed it again, several times. There was water everywhere in the two upstairs bathrooms (they are connected by a door) YUCK!! So, I had to go find enough towels (some had to come from the dirty clothes baskets- EW EW EEEEWWWWW) and sop up the urine water- which if you know me TOTALLY grossed me out. Then I had to get the water downstairs in the dining room. After that I had to bleach down all three floors, toilets, etc. and spray Lysol on the furniture where they were climbing after they stood in the urine water. YUCK YUCK YUUUCCKK!! This all was cleaned up rather quickly and the boys took a bath too. (then I took a bath) The REALLY amazing news was that except for pressing them to see if they played in the water in the floor and if there was really pee in the water- I didn't yell or freak out!! That's a HUGE victory for me and I attribute that ALL to Jesus! I was disgusted but relatively peaceful as I cleaned. Proof that God hasn't given up on me yet and is still continuing to refine me daily. :):)
The funny part is that they never told us about the water. They just left it on the floor and went back to watching television.
BOYS!!!
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the stories. Have a blessed weekend!
Love, Angela and boys!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Sanctity of Life
OK, some of you may choose to disagree...This also may come off a little strongly...BUT, I just have to say this because I've been thinking about it off and on since Sunday Morning.
Last Sunday our Sunday school class was talking about growing old together. (specifically how to grow old and not grow apart as couples) The fill-in teacher is an EMT that teaches a class on geriatric something or other. He told us that the fourth leading cause of death in geriatric patients was suicide. I was like-WHAT?! I almost fell out of my seat. Ok that's a bit of a stretch but it did hit me VERY hard.
I guess it does make sense if you feel you are in constant pain or feel like you've led your life, etc. but what crossed my mind first was -
"This is one of the results of an evolution believing culture."
I really believe this. You see, in evolution the fittest, strongest, healthiest survive. They are the ones that matter. The survivors. The weak need to get out of the way. (FYI- Hitler was a big fan of Darwin) Also it feeds into our "me centered" culture. What can someone DO for us? Oh, the elderly can't DO anything, the chronically ill cannot benefit us in any way, they are simply "burdens on society". I submit to you that this is a result not just of evolution but about the way we view life. It is legal to kill unborn children, also Terry Schiavo (sp?), etc. The Bible talks about gray hair being a crown of beauty. It also talks about the older teaching the younger. Obviously God has a plan for the elderly. Their lives MATTER to Him. They are important. He wants us to take care of the old and to respect their wisdom. Nobody leaves this earth until their God ordained destiny is finished here.
Michael, my husband, also pointed out that their (the elderly patients who don't know Christ) thinking would probably be that if this life here on earth is all there is what would be the point of suffering here if this was the end- just get it over with. If there is no Intelligent Designer and eternity then- what's the point?
We also hear parents say all the time, "I don't want to be a burden on my children." Who told them they were a burden? I know that most parents are saying this out of love and some pride, but our society, as a whole, really does look on them like a burden. I think the Amish are, in this particular category, a beautiful picture of how God wants us to take care of the aging. I am not saying this would be an easy thing; particularly if the parent needed lots of care, but we're not always called to "easy things". Some things we walk out are HARD. We're called to think about others first. Our parents worked hard for us for many years. Are we now going to say to them, "Um, sorry, I know you gave and gave and gave but you are interrupting my life here." - :(:(
Am I saying that all of us need to take our aging parents into our homes? No. That's something God will have to show each individual person. Also, some parents need to be in nursing facilities because of the sheer amount of medical attention they need. I'm not trying to convict people of that. I'm simply pointing out that we need to take a look into our own hearts and see how WE view life. See if we've been sucked into the Smart, Fit, Strong garbage. Or, see if we truly do value ALL life no matter how "profitable" it is to our world.
I will close with a short personal story.
When I was in Zambia, Africa (on a missions trip) we saw the ravages of AIDS. Most of the kids in our school there were single or double orphans (The children there who have lost one parent are referred to as single orphans.) and lots of that was due to AIDS. We went to a crisis "nursery" to visit some kids and there we met Priscilla. Priscilla was born with HIV. She was 4 years old but looked about 2. She was thin and not expected to live very long. Most people would look at her and think, "What's the point to her being here anyway?" What struck me about this particular orphan was the glow about her. She was just glowing with the love of Jesus. It was amazing. She could sing, dance, and clap, with the best of them. She loved LIFE. God's Spirit and His love radiated from her. Some people would think her a burden. I thought her a special gift. Not many people have touched my heart as much as that little girl did in the space of a few hours one afternoon in the dusty yard in a crisis nursery in Zambia. Priscilla was PRECIOUS and her life made a difference to me. She also made a difference in the lives of the other kids and the workers there.
By society's standards she was a burden
but in God's eyes she was/and is a jewel.
Who's standards are you living by?
Blessings!- Angela :)
Last Sunday our Sunday school class was talking about growing old together. (specifically how to grow old and not grow apart as couples) The fill-in teacher is an EMT that teaches a class on geriatric something or other. He told us that the fourth leading cause of death in geriatric patients was suicide. I was like-WHAT?! I almost fell out of my seat. Ok that's a bit of a stretch but it did hit me VERY hard.
I guess it does make sense if you feel you are in constant pain or feel like you've led your life, etc. but what crossed my mind first was -
"This is one of the results of an evolution believing culture."
I really believe this. You see, in evolution the fittest, strongest, healthiest survive. They are the ones that matter. The survivors. The weak need to get out of the way. (FYI- Hitler was a big fan of Darwin) Also it feeds into our "me centered" culture. What can someone DO for us? Oh, the elderly can't DO anything, the chronically ill cannot benefit us in any way, they are simply "burdens on society". I submit to you that this is a result not just of evolution but about the way we view life. It is legal to kill unborn children, also Terry Schiavo (sp?), etc. The Bible talks about gray hair being a crown of beauty. It also talks about the older teaching the younger. Obviously God has a plan for the elderly. Their lives MATTER to Him. They are important. He wants us to take care of the old and to respect their wisdom. Nobody leaves this earth until their God ordained destiny is finished here.
Michael, my husband, also pointed out that their (the elderly patients who don't know Christ) thinking would probably be that if this life here on earth is all there is what would be the point of suffering here if this was the end- just get it over with. If there is no Intelligent Designer and eternity then- what's the point?
We also hear parents say all the time, "I don't want to be a burden on my children." Who told them they were a burden? I know that most parents are saying this out of love and some pride, but our society, as a whole, really does look on them like a burden. I think the Amish are, in this particular category, a beautiful picture of how God wants us to take care of the aging. I am not saying this would be an easy thing; particularly if the parent needed lots of care, but we're not always called to "easy things". Some things we walk out are HARD. We're called to think about others first. Our parents worked hard for us for many years. Are we now going to say to them, "Um, sorry, I know you gave and gave and gave but you are interrupting my life here." - :(:(
Am I saying that all of us need to take our aging parents into our homes? No. That's something God will have to show each individual person. Also, some parents need to be in nursing facilities because of the sheer amount of medical attention they need. I'm not trying to convict people of that. I'm simply pointing out that we need to take a look into our own hearts and see how WE view life. See if we've been sucked into the Smart, Fit, Strong garbage. Or, see if we truly do value ALL life no matter how "profitable" it is to our world.
I will close with a short personal story.
When I was in Zambia, Africa (on a missions trip) we saw the ravages of AIDS. Most of the kids in our school there were single or double orphans (The children there who have lost one parent are referred to as single orphans.) and lots of that was due to AIDS. We went to a crisis "nursery" to visit some kids and there we met Priscilla. Priscilla was born with HIV. She was 4 years old but looked about 2. She was thin and not expected to live very long. Most people would look at her and think, "What's the point to her being here anyway?" What struck me about this particular orphan was the glow about her. She was just glowing with the love of Jesus. It was amazing. She could sing, dance, and clap, with the best of them. She loved LIFE. God's Spirit and His love radiated from her. Some people would think her a burden. I thought her a special gift. Not many people have touched my heart as much as that little girl did in the space of a few hours one afternoon in the dusty yard in a crisis nursery in Zambia. Priscilla was PRECIOUS and her life made a difference to me. She also made a difference in the lives of the other kids and the workers there.
By society's standards she was a burden
but in God's eyes she was/and is a jewel.
Who's standards are you living by?
Blessings!- Angela :)
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Fun Fun Fun
We have been having some fun in home school. After all, that's what it's all about right? (most of the time)
We made homemade glue a couple of weeks ago. It was very simple and very fun.
You take 1 cup of skim milk
Add to the milk 1 TBSP of vinegar
stir it and then slowly heat it (not boil)
Take a coffee filter and place it over a bowl or cup (bowl worked better for me)
The whey and vinegar will drain through the filter leaving the whey.
Take about 1/4 tsp (to start, you may need more) baking soda and stir it into the whey.
The glue will actually be a paste consistency.
voila! natural glue!!
Cheap and fun.
The kids then made a tissue paper collage with the glue we had made. We used spoons to smear it onto the paper.
Thank-you Jennifer for your suggestion! We used starfall.com today for school. Thomas did A, B, C, D, and T. Judah read five of the short stories. It was a fun change for us.
Well I have 1 nursing toddler and 2 wild Indians. Gotta go!
We made homemade glue a couple of weeks ago. It was very simple and very fun.
You take 1 cup of skim milk
Add to the milk 1 TBSP of vinegar
stir it and then slowly heat it (not boil)
Take a coffee filter and place it over a bowl or cup (bowl worked better for me)
The whey and vinegar will drain through the filter leaving the whey.
Take about 1/4 tsp (to start, you may need more) baking soda and stir it into the whey.
The glue will actually be a paste consistency.
voila! natural glue!!
Cheap and fun.
The kids then made a tissue paper collage with the glue we had made. We used spoons to smear it onto the paper.
Thank-you Jennifer for your suggestion! We used starfall.com today for school. Thomas did A, B, C, D, and T. Judah read five of the short stories. It was a fun change for us.
Well I have 1 nursing toddler and 2 wild Indians. Gotta go!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Sights and Smells of Summer
I love summer.
The Sights...
Today I really enjoyed watching our kids having fun in the kiddie pool.
I also enjoyed watching Gideon eating his first solo ice cream cone. It dribbled down his chin and soaked into his shirt but it was so cute I didn't care. He had the hugest smile on his face.
The smells:
I leaned over next to Thomas' tummy while he was outside today and caught a whiff of the most heavenly combination of smells: fresh air, sunscreen, and ice cream cone.
I love summer!
The Sights...
Today I really enjoyed watching our kids having fun in the kiddie pool.
I also enjoyed watching Gideon eating his first solo ice cream cone. It dribbled down his chin and soaked into his shirt but it was so cute I didn't care. He had the hugest smile on his face.
The smells:
I leaned over next to Thomas' tummy while he was outside today and caught a whiff of the most heavenly combination of smells: fresh air, sunscreen, and ice cream cone.
I love summer!
Whew!
That one word sums up what I feel now that the morning is over. Some attitude problems and meanness this morning (my kids, not me- LOL) made it hard; augmented by the fact that I didn't get very much quality sleep last night. First Judah and then Gideon needed me last night.(Gideon was several times) So, this morning I tried to get up. I had a great wake up call. My 17 month cherub, about 1 inch from my face, said, "MAMA!" He was sitting on my belly, yelling Mama and grinning down at me. It was too cute. I smiled wanly and immediately fell back asleep. He did it again a few seconds later. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. The next wake up call was my oldest rubbing my cheek gently saying, "Mommy, I peed." (in the pull-up) sigh. My eyes still closed again. I just couldn't get up. I finally pried my eyes open and got out of bed and went about the morning- for about an hour until my body was about to give out and I put Gid in his playpen and let the other boys play instead of do chores. They had their backpacks and sleeping bags out and were playing camping. It was really cute. So I slept for about an hour (somewhere in there Michael came to get the fussy toddler and take him outside to watch him assemble garbage cans) and then pried myself from the bed to change another accident-different child- (big sigh) and fold 2 loads of laundry.
From there it did get much better. :):):) School today was writing practice. Thomas has better penmanship but still doesn't know his letters. He's just learning slower than Judah. That's ok. I have a feeling he won't be a "book" smart child but he is very bright. He is also very creative. So, over and over today he wrote A and B and we talked about which was which. He finally looked like he was catching on. Then he did an exercise that I knew he was getting them a bit better. I was so proud that he was finally getting them that I told them I was making a special lunch. They are eating it now...A and B shaped pancakes. They were thrilled. I was too, until I slid the A pancake on Thomas' plate and asked him what letter it was and he replied, "B". LOL Oh well. We'll just keep making learning as fun as possible and he will eventually get it.
No need for pressure- he's only 4.
Blessings!- Angela :)
From there it did get much better. :):):) School today was writing practice. Thomas has better penmanship but still doesn't know his letters. He's just learning slower than Judah. That's ok. I have a feeling he won't be a "book" smart child but he is very bright. He is also very creative. So, over and over today he wrote A and B and we talked about which was which. He finally looked like he was catching on. Then he did an exercise that I knew he was getting them a bit better. I was so proud that he was finally getting them that I told them I was making a special lunch. They are eating it now...A and B shaped pancakes. They were thrilled. I was too, until I slid the A pancake on Thomas' plate and asked him what letter it was and he replied, "B". LOL Oh well. We'll just keep making learning as fun as possible and he will eventually get it.
No need for pressure- he's only 4.
Blessings!- Angela :)
Monday, June 4, 2007
Nothing Special
Hello everyone,
I have nothing special or earth shattering to report. We're just living life over here in Martin, Ga. Actually, it's a pretty great life. I really do LOVE being a SAHM. What a blessing and a privilege. We got up this morning and I moped around a bit because I was awakened out of a deep sleep to go change a bed and a kid. :):) (not my favorite thing to wake up to) Eventually we got back on track. The kids straightened the living room while I cleaned up breakfast. Then, the kids dusted while I folded 2 loads of laundry. Together we vacuumed and then I loaded up the washing machine for the second time this morning (the first time being the sheets). After the chores were done I breathed in a HUGE breath and smiled. I love the sight of a clean house. School was next on the list. Today we were working on simple addition and also, I'm not sure what to call it, the concepts of beside, behind, below, above, etc. They did a good job with a little complaining from Thomas. I really don't even care if he is doing school at this point since he's only 4 but he wants to and then he doesn't want to (in the span of 5 minutes). I'm trying to train him not to be lazy in the jobs he does. He tends more towards that. We'll be sure to do a craft tomorrow. He loves those. I know he tends to be a audio/kinistetic learner so crafts that teach and, things he can memorize by listening are easier for him. Judah is a definite visual learner. I have to make sure he is looking at me when I tell him something I want him to do or he will not do it entirely correctly.
When I give the boys a command usually I tell them one time, then I ask them if they understand, and then I have them repeat it back to me so that I can be sure it's disobedience and not a misunderstanding. If I'm sure that they've heard and understood the directions I can be more consistent in discipline because I don't have to wonder if they didn't hear me or if they didn't understand. It cuts out a lot of stress on my part. It's also easier to be consistent this way.
Also while we're on the subject...the best boy raising tip I have ever received (well one of them anyway) is to LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF WORDS when explaining something to them or correcting them. Boys are like little men. Their brains are wired that way. If they reach the end of their word limit they tune out. LOL
I have found this info SOOOO helpful; especially because I tend to be wordy anyway.
Here is a great quote I read over the weekend that will resonate with all you home school moms-
“Let early education be a sort of amusement. You will then better be able to find out the natural bent of the child.” – Plato (427-347 BC)
I agree wholeheartedly; especially for boys.
Hope that everyone has a great week. Blessings!!
- Angela :)
I have nothing special or earth shattering to report. We're just living life over here in Martin, Ga. Actually, it's a pretty great life. I really do LOVE being a SAHM. What a blessing and a privilege. We got up this morning and I moped around a bit because I was awakened out of a deep sleep to go change a bed and a kid. :):) (not my favorite thing to wake up to) Eventually we got back on track. The kids straightened the living room while I cleaned up breakfast. Then, the kids dusted while I folded 2 loads of laundry. Together we vacuumed and then I loaded up the washing machine for the second time this morning (the first time being the sheets). After the chores were done I breathed in a HUGE breath and smiled. I love the sight of a clean house. School was next on the list. Today we were working on simple addition and also, I'm not sure what to call it, the concepts of beside, behind, below, above, etc. They did a good job with a little complaining from Thomas. I really don't even care if he is doing school at this point since he's only 4 but he wants to and then he doesn't want to (in the span of 5 minutes). I'm trying to train him not to be lazy in the jobs he does. He tends more towards that. We'll be sure to do a craft tomorrow. He loves those. I know he tends to be a audio/kinistetic learner so crafts that teach and, things he can memorize by listening are easier for him. Judah is a definite visual learner. I have to make sure he is looking at me when I tell him something I want him to do or he will not do it entirely correctly.
When I give the boys a command usually I tell them one time, then I ask them if they understand, and then I have them repeat it back to me so that I can be sure it's disobedience and not a misunderstanding. If I'm sure that they've heard and understood the directions I can be more consistent in discipline because I don't have to wonder if they didn't hear me or if they didn't understand. It cuts out a lot of stress on my part. It's also easier to be consistent this way.
Also while we're on the subject...the best boy raising tip I have ever received (well one of them anyway) is to LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF WORDS when explaining something to them or correcting them. Boys are like little men. Their brains are wired that way. If they reach the end of their word limit they tune out. LOL
I have found this info SOOOO helpful; especially because I tend to be wordy anyway.
Here is a great quote I read over the weekend that will resonate with all you home school moms-
“Let early education be a sort of amusement. You will then better be able to find out the natural bent of the child.” – Plato (427-347 BC)
I agree wholeheartedly; especially for boys.
Hope that everyone has a great week. Blessings!!
- Angela :)
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