Back to parenting 101.

As Luke and I discover what we feel we've been missing with Christianity in general, and learning to live IN Christ and in His glorious freedom, we are being challenged and stretched. We are learning that we've done a lot of things not according to how Christ would have dealt with things, and I don't simply mean W.W.J.D...I mean, I need to let the Christ IN me respond instead...my fleshly-ness will never be enough no matter how hard I try.

I know I've mentioned us reading "Loving Our Kids On Purpose"..it been a real eye opener and Luke and I are struggling through trying to make sense of the parenting style we've been practicing. One of strict obedience and punishment when said obedience isn't obtained. To be honest, I don't feel like our methods have been working. Sure, I may correct the issue for the moment, but we've learned once the authority is absent, the behavior continues which means, we have not accomplished anything other then showing our children "You do something we don't deem ok, and you will get punished for it.". Its really just about fear mongering our children into obedience instead of winning their hearts like the Father has won ours and knowing that in turn they will obey out of love..but even then, obedience shouldn't be the main goal of parenting, and to be honest that has always been how I've thought. Something I read really stood out yesterday when Luke and I read together..and its made me really think about how I'm approaching discipline.

Angry, fearful reactions to people's mistakes reveal that somewhere in our minds still lurks that fundamental belief of the Old Covenant, not only that people CAN be controlled but that they NEED to be controlled, and they need to be controlled through punishment. They need to experience the pain of our anger so that they won't make mistakes that cause us to feel out of control. We think: "I must control them so I can have some control over the quality of my own life."..

I am an admitted control freak. I hate feeling out of control or powerless, so this has been really hard to swallow.  But I know that letting go and letting Christ flow through me will be much more effective then the way I've been handling them.

We've been busy..!

We found renters a couple weeks ago and they needed to be in our house by the 27th...so we had to get real busy real fast. I barely had anything packed and had no boxes to even start with, but thankfully Publix supplied us with most of what we needed in terms of boxes. We also had to find a place to live! We thought there was soo much available till we started calling places..lots of the listings online were no longer available and some weren't vacant till January and so we were limited.We came up last Sunday and looked at a few houses we thought for sure would be great, and none worked out(one had a huge sink hole in the front yard, one was super small, and the other had a issue that we had a dog despite us telling them we had one the day before on the phone.) One house we ruled out because we couldn't get the owner to call us back, but after our meeting on Sunday our friend who happened to know the owner called him and he was at the house cleaning it up and we got to come and see it and its great! Though definitely smaller then our old house, it is just right for what we need right now and so we signed and moved in the following Wednesday.

Though Tuesday morning is when most of our stuff got moved since it was when a friend and my Dad could help the most..and I woke up having SUPER bad kidney pain and knew my body was trying to pass a stone. However by Wednesday I wasn't in pain really anymore..pretty sure I didn't pass the stone, which sucks cause it means its still there waiting to come out at some point, but I am thankful not to be in pain anymore.

A friend lent us a fake Christmas tree so we'd have one and we got all set up and had a great Christmas. It was lazy and wonderful...I REALLY missed seeing my family though. It was really weird cause this is the first Christmas ever I've not spent it at least in part with my family...but it would have been crazy to try and travel while having just moved and the such..so it all worked out and so glad I'll be able to see them this coming week for New Years since they are coming to me! :) I took 2 video's of them opening some gifts and then the camera got forgotten the rest of the morning, so I have none to share..sorry!

We also got snow 2 days in a row! It was so beautiful and we still have a snow man on our front lawn and a good bit on our back deck...enjoying the remnants!

Tomorrow Luke is working at a job here in Gainesville, so he won't have to drive over an hour to work..its so nice!

We let Olivia pick out a birthday cake today, she picked a Princess cake. Yeah you heard right..my little tom boy picked a Princess cake.Progress!!...Her birthday isn't far off and I can't believe she'll be 6! She hasn't had a real birthday party with friends in several years so we're going to do it up big this time. So excited that my Mom will be able to come this year! Hopefully we'll have a good turn out..

Oh you of little faith..

This week has been crazy and busy and emotionally overwhelming. As much as I want this change, its not always easy to make the step when the time comes. I'm so ready for our move to be over with and then done so I don't have to worry about it for a while. Last night was particularly rough..I'm having a really hard time letting go of having my usual ideal Christmas(with tree..), but also just all the chaos and having to sacrifice when it comes to housing.

As I was pouring out my emotions on my sweet loving husband, I was immediately reminded of when the disciples were out on the lake when suddenly a storm came up and they were scared and worried and afraid. They went to wake Jesus and he was so NOT concerned with the storm. He said "Oh you of little faith, why are you so afraid?"...but instead of getting on to them further, He rebuked the storm and it was completely calm. I feel like one of the disciples. I can see me there conferring with the others about whether we should wake Jesus..I can see the fear, I can hear them crying "Lord save us, we are going to drown"..and I can see their awe when the waters stilled and they said "Who is this man, that even the wind and the waves obey Him"..

My wind and waves may happen, but I'm so thankful for a Lord who rebukes the storms for me when I forget how to myself..

Weekend in Gainesville..

Some friends from Gainesville were going out of town this weekend and offered up their apartment for us to stay in for the weekend and we decided to take them up on it. It was pretty interesting trying to entertain the kids in a house that isn't necessarily super child friendly...but we made it work and only one minor mishap happened while there and so thankful our friends were gracious to us. We got to spend so much time with everyone and fellow-shipping with our fellow believers. Went to a fun ornament exchange party, enjoyed a couple dinners together and just interacting with each other throughout the couple days we were there.

Our meeting on Sunday was AWESOME. We were given assignments to do with a partner(I got one of the sweet older ladies in the group) and were given elements to have the Lord reveal how He was that element to us and what He wanted to say. Me and my partner got "Rest"...in the beginning I was totally intimidated by the project and kept thinking about all the ways I needed to present it just so to the group come Sunday, but by mid week I just got an awesome revelation about how WE are Christ's rest and several other things that are just too much to all type out on here...it was so awesome listening to what everyone else got and how the Lord spoke to them that week..I left so refreshed and encouraged and can't wait till next week!


We had a couple look at our house last week who really wanted it but then found out their lease wasn't up till February(wouldn't someone remember that??) and might like it then if its still available, but I'm hoping it won't be. We'll be showing it this evening to a lady who is pretty interested as well, so we shall see. Its going to take some drive for me to get everything unpacked, and spotlessly cleaned before 5 today when she comes though..we left our kitchen in quite a wreck and then just the usual unpacking mess that ensues. But it has showed me how much I can accomplish in a day if I set my mind to it! Only thing thats bothering me about having our house on the market is that I don't feel like I can decorate for Christmas. I want to give people the impression we are willing to leave quickly so I haven't put anything up yet..but I may soon if no one agrees to rent just yet. I can't fathom trying to do Christmas without at least SOME decorations. :)

Sorry...

I don't normally like to go long periods between posting but a lot has been going on. After months and months of prayer, Luke and I have decided to pursue moving north to be closer to Gainesville and the body that we've been meeting with. This decision wasn't taken lightly because I feel like our life is crazy enough without having to add this and now that my parents are moving up I hate being any further from them then need be, but we just have the most awesome sense of peace about moving. We are not trying to sell our house right now due to the economy so we are trying to rent it out....so this past weekend we did an overhaul on the house and painted, cleaned like there was no tomorrow, and purged/packed stuff. We know that it could be on the market for months or weeks, and living in a "can we show the house in an hour" state isn't fun when you have 3 small children and pets that make endless messes. But it will all be worth it....its only an hour away thankfully!

Showed the house today, sold some old toys on Craigslist which is nice cause I  needed some funds for a few Christmas gifts for the kids, homeschooled Olivia, comforted several boo boos and made several meals. I'm SO ready for a down day where we stay in pj's and eat cereal for dinner. :)

Luke and I just started reading "Loving Our Kids On Purpose"...its SO good. Its really really challenging how we've parented thus far but in a good way. One can never arrive and feel like you can't improve as a parent....

We're back!

We left last Wednesday to go down to T'ville...we had a wonderful visit. It was so nice to see lots of family on Thanksgiving, though we were missing 2 of Luke's brother's and their families, a sister in law and niece. Friday my Mom in law and 2 of my 5 sister in laws went and ate lunch out then window shopped and then decided to see a movie(we saw Morning Glory..)...then we got back and they shoo'ed Luke and I off for a childless date night...after eating Sonny's(GOTTA have some good barbeque!) we went to Grassroots which is the thriving local coffee shop..just so happens our friend works there and we got to see him while out(I also got to hug and see a few other friends as well!) then since the kids were snuggly in their beds by that point we decided to go see a movie ourselves! It was soo awesome to be able to go and see a late night movie without having to worry about rushing back for the babysitter.

Ate lunch on Saturday with my parents at Chik-fil-a and then packed up and headed back to the ATL. Yesterday we had a wonderful gathering of the Body and just enjoyed our day. It feels so wonderful to go and visit and see people we love, but its also so nice coming back to "normal" life again.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Pumpkin Muffins..

Here is a favorite recipe that I make pretty frequently now when I can get the ingredients needed...they are soo good. These are just plain ol' pumpkin muffins, but when you use these:

They become wonderful. A friend of mine told me about these and they are unbelievably hard to find and if you can find them at your local store, stock up! You almost always find them in Publix, but I've heard some other places have carried them and are seasonal.. Luke brought me back 4 bags of them from FL when he went down there for work a couple weeks ago. Soo thankful for them! :) I tried making these muffins with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips..none were the same even when I added cinnamon to the mix...

So here is the cast of characters-
Milk- 3 TBS.
Box of cake mix(any is fine really, but I like the yellow super moist one, you could also use a Gluten free version to make these palatable for those who are wheat/gluten sensitive.)
Can of pumpkin puree.(Or you can roast and puree your own if you feel so inclined. 15 oz..)
Bag of Cinnamon chips.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Being careful to make sure you clip the Box Top off of the cake mix box. Spoon into greased muffin tins.

You can make these mini or regular sized...I don't have mini sized muffin tins so mine are normal size. I fill about 3/4 of the way full...

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Or perhaps shorter if you are making mini versions.

I like to let me cool on a wire rack(this picture does not include the 12 in the muffin tin next to this.) and then devour them once cool....so tasty and moist! Enjoy...:)

Busy weekend..

This past weekend was busy! Saturday we spent almost the whole day cleaning the house. It was so needed and I just love going to bed knowing that everything is clean when I wake up! :) Erin and Wesley joined us for dinner and brought some super yummy soup to share, I made a red velvet cake which wasn't too bad and we played Kinect for a little while after dinner. 

Sunday we went and and celebrated a little guy's birthday from our Church gathering...and helped 2 families move into their homes that same day...it was a long day, but being with the Body is refreshing even amongst the chaos..haha..

Yesterday it rained all day, but Luke had to go out and get everything out of his car that was left(tools, some clothes, random other stuff..) and we got the call about the initial report from the assessment guy..which was not good. He took a whole bunch of pictures and told State Farm that there was no evidence of a fire. Lame! Cause it was!! So they said they'd tow it to a machanic of our choosing to have them look at it and point out the damage to the insurance guy...if they can prove there was a fire, insurance is supposed to cover either the repair or totaling out the car and paying us what it was worth...however if we can't prove there was a fire then we are just plain out of a car unfortunately. That car isn't really worth putting a brand new engine in it...nor can we afford that. Please pray that our machanic can find the fire damage and prove it was there.  We also watched the movie "Hachi"...oh my goodness. I think I bawled the entire movie..it was so sad, but also a great story.

Anyone else as happy as I am to see Conan back on the air?! I just LOVE his show and I'm so happy he's back hosting his show which is now on TBS for those interested...:)

Giveaway..

A friend of mine is doing a giveaway on her blog for 2 Klean Kanteens. We use these a lot at our house and love them...:)

http://babeigotanidea.com/?p=267

Can I ask a favor?

If I can get 15 people to enter for this contest using my link, I'll earn a $25 dollar GC to Amazon and we could really use the little extra this year..it would SOO help me and YOU get a chance to win a $500 dollar Amazon gift card! :)

Thanks so much for those that do..

http://www.itsThoughtful.com/christmas-gift-contest/5096/fb/

Snapshots of our day..

No, not actual snapshots. Sorry! Is anyone else as fascinated by other people's day to day lives as I am? I love just seeing how other people manage and handle their days.


My day consisted of rising with my children and serving them cereal. (They like it people...!) and I ate a pumpkin cheesecake cupcake and a granola bar for breakfast. Healthy eh? :) Had a parent/teacher conference with Olivia's assigned teacher. Went well and Olivia is right on schedule and has almost completed all her Study Island(like online quizzes) assignments which puts her ahead of the game in that area. Schooled Olivia for the next couple hours..Tried very hard to have a phone conversation with my mother before giving up due to call losing issues.

WOKE UP my sweet sleepy girl who sleeps like a college kid, served fish sticks for lunch, vacuumed the rest of the upstairs I didn't manage to get to yesterday, let my kids play Super Mario on Wii to accomplish this task, did dishes, put toys away and put cushions back on couch cleaned the living room, then told my older two to go have some down quiet time in their rooms.

Sat down and enjoyed a few moments at the computer, played some guitar, vacuumed the stairs, saved Kate from ingesting small Lego #1,460,002.., played dollies with Kate to distract from Lego incident, hollered at my kids to quiet down(wasn't QUIET time on the menu?), got mail-it was all junk. :(
Decided to indulge in a few minutes of Plants Versus Zombies on ipod, ate 2 pieces of candy out of leftover Halloween candy bowl, then greeted my sweet man home for the day..


Played outside for a little while, my Hubby surprised me with dinner, watched The Buried Life, and now we are getting the kids ready for bed...folding a load of laundry and another dishwasher full of dishes and my night will be complete. :)


Of course this is leaving out all the stuff like pottying, changing diapers and other small things such as taking out trash...It was a full day, but not too full.


What are your day's like? :)

Re-do..

I had started writing this post about something else and then decided it was coming out negative and ick...so I stopped. No need to dwell on the down sides of life..on to better things.

Olivia lost her second tooth. She was so proud this time as she wiggled it hard to get it to the place of being able to come out. She looks so cute with her big gap in the middle of the bottom row of teeth. She's also thankful for the 2 dollars those 2 teeth have given her. :)

Noah has decided to revert some in potty training. If we are out and he has to go, he tells me and we go..but when at home he waits till the absolute second to tell you or to just go himself and then ends up peeing his pants or the floor if he managed to get his pants down. I try to keep him in things he can easily pull up and down and we only use pull ups at night so as not to send too many mixed messages..and I'm sure this is TMI here, but Noah's almost always had runny poo..he says his tummy doesn't hurt but I can't fathom that having runny poos all the time is ok or normal...so I think I'm going to take him to see our new super natural minded pediatrician soon to see if its any kind of allergy thing. Maybe I'll be able to get suggestions from him about the potty thing. I'd hate to have to go back to a every 30 minute pee break...he's nearly 4...why am I still dealing with this?!

So thankful Luke is coming home today!! Its been a long 4 days and I'm so ready to see him. Being without him is like losing my right arm and our home just isn't the same without him around. However, I am so thankful for the work he was able to do while away and thankful for God's provision for it.

Happy November!

Its my 200th post today...pretty big milestone and yet I feel most of my updating is so mundane..haha..Oh well.

Yesterday we decided to go to Sonic. They were doing 50cent corn dogs..so we ate SUPER cheap..plus they handed out free ice cream to the kids. Got a ink cartridge from Wal-mart(who else has to buy ink ALL the time??) and headed home. We actually bought candy this year to hand out(we've usually not been around during trick or treating hours so its never been an issue) and had a few group of kids come...although not that many...so we'll have candy to ration out for a while. Tomorrow I plan on hitting up either Target or Wal-mart for clearance costumes...we've personally never done trick or treating but the kids are old enough this year to at least want costumes even if they are just for dress up.. Luke and I are having to reevaluate where we stand on Halloween...but that's a bucket of worms I won't open. Figured I could probably get some super cheap ones tomorrow..so we'll probably head out and see what we can get for under 20 bucks..:)

I've been doing Swagbucks for a while now and have been saving all my dollars for gift cards to Amazon for our big gift to ourselves for Christmas this year. Its releasing before then though and Luke's not into putting it in a closet for over a month...so we'll just get our gift a little earlier this year..But we preordered the Kinect for Xbox360. We already have the system, just not the Kinect part...looking forward to enjoying it. Thanks Swagbucks for basically paying for our gift. :) Though I will continue to keep Swagbucks-ing to maybe earn a few more extra cards before Christmas...Sure helps when our budget is as low as it is.

Speaking of budget..(like the segway there?) Luke and my Dad(who have been working together) have a few jobs lined up for a couple weeks. This is SUCH a blessing..in the line of work they're doing right now work can be plentiful or non-existent...so we prefer the former. :) God is good and SO faithful even when I doubt...

Olivia lost her first tooth this past week! It was lose for over a month and I thought that tooth would never come out. But it finally did and she looks so darn cute with a tiny gap...now if the other lose one would come out and she'll have a much bigger whole. We're doing the tooth fairy gig, but Olivia knows its us so I don't feel bad. She gets that its us that exchanges the tooth for the money. This was how it was for me growing up and it was still just as fun. I used to make it as hard as I could for my parents to make the exchange to challenge them...Hoping Olivia doesn't follow suit and makes it easy for me. Though you reap what you sow..haha..

Luke's going to be doing some work this week in another city...sometimes he'll drive but he may be away a few nights just depending on his schedule. I HATE when he's gone but I know him having work and getting stuff done is more important in the long run.

May November be a blessed month for all of us!

This past week..

Has been soo incredibly humbling..but we are just blown away by how amazing our God is. Its sad to say that I have pointed my finger in anger at the Lord more then once this week and yet He is so patiant with me. Sometimes I feel like I am like a little toddler who's throwing a tantrum to get what I want not understanding that my Parent was way more capable of knowing what I needed and wanted then I was...and yet I know the feeling all to well of thinking I needed something and not feeling like I got it..ya know? Even if the Lord provided another way..Ugh..that was kind of gibber gabber sorry! :)

Too much complaining.

As I was flipping through some old status updates on Facebook..I was realizing how often I complained. Its hard..I rationalize complaining by just saying that I'm stating the truth. While I don't want to lie or pretend that crummy stuff doesn't happen, I also don't want to dwell on them either or give the impression that I'm over at my house sitting in the pits of despair. When I look at my life I recognize that its not easy or how I want to live the rest of my life, but its far better then a ton of people's. I have much to be thankful for and I just have to stop myself and remember the things I am thankful for.

I'm so thankful that today Luke is most likely finishing up a job and then its the weekend! I plan on getting the house good and clean today and put me in better mood, trying to get Olivia's school accomplished before dinner time(and the park if there is time!)..haha..make a good dinner and enjoy a chick flick with my man tonight.

Tomorrow night our church fellowship is doing a pumpkin carving party/chili dinner..I'm really looking forward to it. I didn't go last week to our normal meeting and have missed seeing all the sweet people. So thankful for all the uninterrupted time with Luke as a family.

Sorry there hasn't been pictures recently. We still haven't gotten around to replacing our camera and our phone's just don't take very good ones...one of these days! :)

On a happier note..

Olivia was talking and walking before she was 1...Noah on the other hand was on his own time table as far as those went. He didn't walk till like 14 months, and didn't starting talking(besides a few signs) till later then that. I thought the kid would never talk. He now talks fine...but it also allowed me to not feel as stressed when Kate decided to follow suit. Though she was walking by her first birthday, her vocabulary has been slow going. She all but refuses to sign(EVERY now and then I will get one out of her)..In the last month she's taken off a lot. She rambles ALL the time..but now she can actually say-

Mama
Dadda
Doggy
Night Night
Hot(I cook a lot..it comes up!)
PopPop
Out
Down
ick
Bye-Bye
says Meow everytime the cat comes around
and occasionally she'll say Livvy or Noah, but its few and far between.

This list may not seem like much for a 16 1/2 month old's vocabulary, but she's learned most of these in the last month and I can tell she's trying very hard to copy things we say so I know its only a matter of time before she starts up with more words. I'm just so glad she's saying SOMETHING understandable now! :)

Not handling life..

I don't feel like I'm handing life very well right now. To be honest, its probably because I haven't been leaning on the Lord as much as I need to. I've taken it upon myself to worry and fret and over think everything going on in life right now instead of really and truly trusting Him. My emotions feel raw and I've thrown myself more then one pity party. I'm not proud just being an open book here. I have a really hard time having plans and then having them changed. Some plans I don't mind changing...like when friends want to hang on a night I didn't expect or something like that, but when they change for the worse its really hard for me. My daily struggle right now is focusing on TODAY. Knowing I did everything I could with a mostly positive outlook.

This cooler weather isn't helping..thought I love going outside in the evenings and letting the kids play while its nice and cool and the kids love crunching through the leaves that are falling off the trees..it also brings out this hermit crab type feel where all I want is a good book, a cup of cider(or tea) and alone time.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but please be praying for Luke this week. He's had a possible job opening and we are REALLY hoping it works out. Thanks!

The rest of life..

Yesterday we had Erin and Wesley over(and Lucy of course!!) and we enjoyed a super late dinner(sorry guys!) and just getting to talk for a while. It never fails to make me so thankful when we spend time with them. I love it..and so thankful that we have such a good relationship. Don't take your siblings for granted people!

Tonight we plan on being lazy. Eating a frozen meal(that I heat up) and then plopping ourselves down in front of our favorite night of television. Holla! The kids and I did school this morning and we managed to finish by 1:30 which is no small task for Olivia. She has a pretty hard time focusing for that long even when the lessons are fun and involved. I decided we'd so something nice for lunch and go to Panera...I ordered and then sat waiting for 15 minutes. Not sure why I waited that long before asking about my food, but its no small task to wait till almost 2 to feed your kids and then have to keep them quiet and contained while waiting! When I asked about lunch, they'd never even gotten it on their screen on the prep side of the place..arg. But the guy whipped it up super fast and gave me extra bags of chips for waiting so long. Then we went to the Library...Olivia and I are going to embark on reading the Little House series..I very vividly remember my mother reading them to me, so I can't wait to read with her.

Tomorrow we'll have Tyler and Kelly come over. We love hanging out with them..

On a awesome note! My children were approved for health insurance...!! I mean I didn't think we'd be denied seeing as how little money we make currently, but its just SO nice to know we have it if we need it. It takes such a load off my back...:)

Where we are. Part 3.

Its getting to the place in our story that is just simply hard to tell over the Internet. Intonation is lost and interpretation can be confusing. So bear with me and again like I said last time, if you have any questions, please let me know. God has opened our eyes to how much bigger this journey is then which building we are attending to get our messages. Its also hard to say that we have gleaned so much from Frank Viola without sounding like a cult or some sort of following. Let me say that neither Luke or I think this man is flawless or that he is the end all-know all on home church's. Frank and other apostles like him are trying to imitate the New Testament model of what an apostle is supposed to be to the Church. So like apostles in the New Testament he helps start and or equip local bodies under the headship of Christ.

One of the fellas working with him regularly is a guy named Milt Rodriguez(his book-The Community Life of God )
His website-http://www.therebuilders.org/
He is currently in South Dakota working with a body of believers there and in Nov, will be headed to Gainesville, GA to help the group we've been meeting with. He'll be here for a few months to help equip us like Paul did in the New Testament then move on to another group that needs help getting established.

In the New Testament, every church without fail was either started or helped by an apostle. Frank really tries to teach the body to meet under the headship of Christ without the need for human control. I know, it goes against everything I’ve been taught, though when I look at the Bible, I can’t disagree with him. It’s a revolution to our thinking to say that we are able to come together without a pastor there to do church for us. Well, what is a pastor? What is his role in the church. And why is he almost completely missing in the New Testament writing? What would a church meeting without a pastor look like and would it even be biblical? These are questions we’ve been asking for a long time but are just now getting some answers to. Needless to say, God is challenging us in new ways every day.


There is probably may more that I could say, but honestly it would take way way too long and this is just a summary not a play by play of every feeling or experience we've had along the way. I just wanted to give a glimpse into where Luke and I are and what we've kind of gone through over these last couple years.

(BTW, all book titles are links to their books on Amazon if you are interested in obtaining any for yourselves.)

Where we are. Part 2..

Our main focus for our "group" if you want to call it that was solely relying on following after what God wanted for THAT meeting no matter what it meant..sometimes we would worship the entire time, sometimes we would listen to a message from various speakers, sometimes we would pray the whole time, sometimes it was just us sharing what God was doing in our lives and encouraging each other in the Lord..or usually a combo of the above. We have had people come and visit and be part of the get togethers but no one consistent.. We met like this for about a year doing a once a week get together with a spiritual meaning and then we'd get together maybe another night for just random hang time.

I think it was around March when Tyler brought up a author(Frank Viola) he had been reading some of his books and said he was having a conference down in Orlando in July and wanted to know if we wanted to go. We really didn't know anything about him other then what Tyler had told us and knew he was kind of a forerunner for house church type gatherings(or organic church as he refers to it). He suggested we read some of his books, although we never got around to it..haha..So the 4 of us went down to Orlando and attended the conference. It was SOOO good..and that's an understatement. It is seriously hard to sum up what we learned at the conference.

Most of what we have come to learn about this process is its totally led of the Lord, just like most Christians are in different places in their life with God. It doesn't make one more holy or less holy or a better Christian or anything, its just a different place. Luke was way more on board with giving up Institutional church way sooner then I was. I only saw a small portion of what I do now...and I'm thankful that Luke was patient with me in allowing me the freedom to come around in God's timing and not Luke's.

We realized at the conference how much bigger the plan of Christ was then just our individual walks with Christ. That's a part of it because we are each a member of the Body, but its also about corporate. I don't feel I'm very eloquent with words and I find it hard to put my thoughts on paper(or on blog!) so I'm really sorry if this is all coming out disjointed.

While at the conference we met soo many people who were looking for something like this and everyone in different stages of coming out of institutional church..Every time someone would speak we would have a time of breaking up into our table groups and discussing what we'd just heard. It was SO rich. There is something to be said of an open participatory meeting, with everyone bringing something to the table. We felt instant connections with tons of people. It was like walking into a family reunion..seriously. The conference also had all the afternoons empty of speaking time so that everyone could fellowship and talk to each other and connect with people in your area. Most specifically we met a group from Gainesville, GA and we were so excited that there was already a decent sized group of people meeting fairly close to us who were pursuing what we were!

When we came back we read one of Viola's books called Pagan Christianity. Its all about exploring the roots of the church's practices. It blew me away. I'm still not quite finished with it, but I'm getting there. Luke has the audio version and listened to it in about 2-3 days in the car(drive much?!). Luke has also listened to Reimagining Church which I think is supposed to be the follow up book.

To be continued..

(P.S. If anyone reading this has questions, feel free to ask. I'd hate for someone to be confused or think I mean something instead of asking me about it.)

Where we are.Part 1.

I haven't blogged really about this much because, well it can be offensive to some, and I never want to offend people(even though I'm SURE I do sometimes.)....but its me, its us, its what our lives are about and why we do what we do.

About 3 1/2 years ago Luke and I left our church in Thomasville. It wasn't because we were angry or upset or anything. It was actually very hard to do. We had both been a part of this church for basically our whole lives. Everyone we knew was from there, basically our entire life revolved around this church and the people in it. To an extent this is not solely a problem. However we felt a discontentment and felt the Lord drawing us away. Its hard to say you left a church without people wondering what all went down..but honestly we left because God told us to, not for any other reason.

As we sought out what God wanted for our lives over the following year we continued to fellowship with friends from the church just not at actual church meetings. It was during this time we knew God was calling us to Atlanta. The Lord worked out a job and we moved up in March of '08. We still didn't know what God wanted us here for exactly, but wanted to follow after Him no matter what. To help get plugged in we started going to a church here. Which has some of the sweetest people in it ever..but it just didn't feel like that was where we belonged. We were discouraged and spiritually fatigued from not having a group of believers to fellowship with.

We struggled through till we started meeting with some friends for some Wednesday night fellowship. Sometimes it was games, worship, sharing, or praying..and usually we ate together. However over the course of a few months we quickly realized that everyone was wanting different things out of the group. It didn't end badly but out of it we had met Tyler and Kelly who moved up for a job as well after they got married. Over the months of our group meeting we really came to love them and we had so much in common. So we decided that we would continue meeting as just the 4 of us until the Lord led us otherwise...

To Be Continued..

One of my faves right now.

I have this thing about songs and lyrics. I love singing..and I love worshipping..so its no suprise I like songs with awesome lyrics...Here's a current fave.

Part the Clouds by Jimmy Needham-

I like, like to be liked
And no one likes to hear the truth
And I've seen what the truth can do
So I tried, tried to downsize
The part of You that's hard to tell
But the layoff didn't go so well
Beat around the burning bush
Till that fire went away
God was once so palpable
Before the shades of gray

We might as well just fold our hands
If we can't call a spade a spade
Cuz we will miss the heart each time
If we won't ever shoot them straight
These pleasantries shading me and you too long
Let's part the clouds
And show the world the Son

We think, think we're helping
By giving You a little flare
But it doesn't matter what You wear
Cuz runways aren't Your forte
You prefer the narrow road
Even though its not in Vogue
The gospel looked so very cold
One night as I passed by
So I gave Him my best sugar coat
And dressed it in a lie

We might as well just fold our hands
If we can't call a spade a spade
Cuz we will miss the heart each time
If we won't ever shoot them straight
These pleasantries shading me and you too long
Let's part the clouds
And show the world the Son

This living water will not quench us
If its watered down
Its not our place to hide again
This treasure that we've found

Cleanliness is:

- When I can see counters in my kitchen.

- When I can walk through my living room without wanting to scream due to stepping on a lego.

- When I don't have to wash a dish just so I can use it again right then.

- When my children still look and smell clean.

- When I look down and don't wonder what I stepped in and if I should be concerned.

- When I'm not forced to wear the underwear with tons of holes because its the only thing left in my underwear drawer.

- When I get to shower once a week. At least.

- When I can find what I'm looking for in the car.

- When I don't find toilet paper, poo/pee in the toilet when I go to use it.


Its amazing to me how quickly my level of what I consider clean changes with each child I have. I'm still a neat freak in terms of meat germs and the such, and I WILL clean up if I know people are coming over..but if you were to walk into my house on any given day without letting me know, I assure you, you WILL find a dirty diaper SOMEWHERE in the house...toys cluttering the floor..dishes in the sink/on the counter/in the livingroom...laundry, Everywhere.... I am not perfect. I don't like cleaning..though I do it often because if I don't my house will literally swallow me up and will make me not want to clean at all which just doesn't help. Accept my imperfections? :)

Thrown off "schedule"..

I wouldn't say our home had a schedule by ANY means. I try and keep myself and my children fairly flexible so that we can go and do without too many upsets, but there is a natural ebb and flow to our day that changes when we have been gone and out of a sort of routine.

We thoroughly enjoyed our amazingly relaxing trip to Lake Burton with all of Luke's immediate family(His 2 parents,3 brothers and 2 sisters, 3 sister in laws, plus 7 grandchildren), however it definitely threw us off a bit. Schooling was most of it. I'm required by the program we are using to complete assigned lessons for the day and to account for 4 1/2 hours of schooling each school day. We can usually finish the lessons pretty quick but then its up to me to be creative in figuring out what to do during the leftover time. We've been doing mostly starfall.com, pbs.com, or educational programming...but thats harder to do when you are at a lake and all your child wants to do is go play with her cousins..So that was interesting, but we got it done.

Yesterday we went and visited my Mom and the new house they are moving into. Even though she isn't up here permenantly yet due to finishing up some clients, it was nice getting to eat dinner over there and remember what's its like not to have to drive 4 hours to see family(outside of Erin and Wesley which is such a blessing to have them so close).
(We did healthy for dinner though..trying to get back to that after all our splurge meals at the Lake..we did baked Talapia, my cous cous confetti salad with Quinwa(sp?) instead of cous cous and steamed broccoli.)

Luke is back to work as of yesterday..they are starting to frame up on their project. Our unemployment runs out this week. I'm really sad and nervous because like I've said its kinda been our "at least we have this" type thing even if Luke wasn't able to work or draw from a job that week. So we are stepping into unknown territory and though I would like to say that I have absolute trust in God(which I should, cause its not like He's let me down..!) I am definitely doubting how it will all work out without that little extra every week. Specially since mortgage is coming up and thats a biggie. However Luke does have a potential job that we are REALLY hoping he gets. It would be something steady and that just would make me so happy to know he's have a regular steady job all the time. Pray God's will would be done.

I haven't had the funds to go grocery shopping yet since we've been back, but I'll update on menus when I finally do. :) Meanwhile, I'm staring at 2 jumbo suitcases that are still packed and needing to be unpacked..and 3 more lessons for Olivia to be done.

Thursday's menu..

Ok...so the only meals I can control today are breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast-
Everyone had cereal...I had multigrain with 1 % milk.

Lunch-
Will probably be more cous cous confetti salad. with maybe veggie burgers.

Snack-
If we have time for snacks before leaving, it will be yogurt and a piece of fruit for all.

Dinner's and other meals from here on out till Monday will be what Mrs. Susan makes..Hoping to get back on track when I'm back and will keep you posted. :)

Wednesday Menu..

Today was crazy busy, so our scheduled menu got thrown off a bit.

Breakfast-
Oatmeal(everyone ate it..it was supposed to be cereal but we were out of milk...ugh)

Lunch-
I was supposed to make and eat hummus with whole wheat pitas..but my pita's had mold on them as of last night(what I get for buying bread with no preservatives and not freezing it till needed.) However we weren't even here for lunch, so we ended up doing Subways cause its cheap for "healthy fast food"..I had a turkey(which I know is meat, but I'm not doing this to shun meat so much as to get used to eating heathier..) on wheat(no cheese!).

Snack-
We were gone till 6:15 out..so no one got a snack today..:(

Dinner-
Curried lentil soup was on the menu with more of the cous cous confetti salad..but we ran out of my first batch of cous cous, so I knew I'd have to make more of both and I'm also packing, homeschooling(cause it didn't get done earlier today) and cleaning because someone is staying at our house while we are away)..so we opted for what was planned tomorrow night which is tomato soup with grilled cheeses.

Tomorrow we will be eating what is made for us by my MIL, so we will be thrown off of our regularly planned meals till we get back on Monday.

Not food related, I managed to get tons of clothes today at Once Upon A Child for just over $50...I was soo happy. Neither of the girls had ANY fall clothes..so it was a much needed trip with the temps starting to change.

Tuesday's Menu-

On the menu today-

Breakfast-
Oatmeal for me(with a juice sized glass of orange juice), the kids ate waffles.

Lunch-
A Amy's veggie burger with a side of the hoppin johns salad I made yesterday.


Snack-
Either some carrots and grapes or another piece of toast with apple butter(which was AMAZING.)

Dinner-
Southern Beans and Greens(Kale) with a side of the cous cous salad from yesterday.

Late night-
Chai tea latte...

Today's menu..

Today we have or are eating:

Breakfast-
Multi-grain cereal with 1% milk and a banana. (The kids ate Quaker instant oatmeal)

Lunch-
Cous Cous Confetti Salad with a side of Carrot and Red(I'm subbing it with Yellow) pepper soup.

Snack-
Kids will have yogurt and some baby carrots. I will have a piece of whole wheat toast with apple butter and a banana.

Dinner-
Hoppin' John Salad(has black eyed peas, brown rice, green onion, tomato, parsley and dressed with Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt).
Side of Kale for me and kids..and probably some other type of veggie for Luke since I can't for some reason convince Luke he should eat Kale.

Nightly snack- Chai tea latte(decaf tea and with unsweetened almond milk) and baby carrots if I get munchy.

(Ok, so I'm updating to add that the soup was a no go. I made it and though it tasted fine I could NOT get past the texture. It was frothy and weird...However, both the cous cous salad and hoppin' john salad were SOO good..and the kale would have been great but I accidentily added too much seasoning so they were inedible because they were too salty. Lesson learned for when I make them again later this week. I went and saw my sister, brother in law and niece at the hospital today so I missed snack time, so I'm eating my toast snack with my latte tonight as we watch t.v...)

Coming up with titles is annoying.

Specially when you post pretty often.

Tonight we/I am having our last meat hoorah. I got a new york strip from the farmer's market(grass-fed organic of course), and some chicken breasts. I paired them with squash, onions,and yellow peppers. I also marinated the meat all day, so it should be tasty! We are going out of town on Thursday night up to Lake Burton for a Dave Fletcher family reunion. All of Luke's siblings and their spouses and children will be there. I'm really looking forward to it! However it does throw a wrench in the no meat thing..I'll be eating what's made for me(though not complaining AT ALL) by my MIL but I know all of them contain meat..so I guess I'll have to start back up when I get back on the veggie bit.

Thursday night my friend Carol George threw a Mary Kay party. I just happened to need some and it was so much fun. She had a friend who is in massage school come and practice on everyone and it was WONDERFUL. I've never had a massage before but it was soo awesome and now I'd love to have more in the future. Carol also did a make up makeover on me and then another friend(Talitha) said it would be fun if I let her cut my hair..so I figured, what the heck, why not? :) So she snipped and gave me a super cute do, to which all the ladies said made me look like an adult...though I'm thinking this may have been them telling me I looked like a 12 year old before. ;) Anyways..I stayed out way too late but had a blast and thankful for time with sweet friends.

If you guys wouldn't mind praying for a friend who's having some issues. She's had some unexplained chest pains despite having been in the hospital for the issue several times...please pray for healing, or for answers(or both!)

Love ya!

Me? A Vegetarian?!

Ok..so I'm not an actual vegetarian. I really don't like pork(outside of the occasional bacon on special occasions, and I can take beef or leave it, but I honestly love Chicken and turkey..and have worked my way over into using mostly ground turkey instead of beef...though I know we still eat fairly unhealthy in terms of meals. So we as a family are embarking on a 21 day run as vegetarians(though I have a feeling meat will get thrown in there at some point for my littles and Luke who love meat). I don't plan on becoming a vegetarian but I would love to train my body to appreciate healthier foods and foods that I might not think to eat/enjoy. So today I am off to the Farmer's market where I will be buying like 99% of the menu...which is crazy to me since I'm used to buying way more processed foods then I care to admit. Starting on Monday-

On this menu this week:
Carrot and Red Pepper soup
Cous Cous(whole wheat) confetti salad
Hoppin John Salad
Veggie burgers
Southern Beans and Greens(Kale)
Hummus with pitas and veggies
Curried lentil soup.

(Some of these dishes get served with each other.)

I know this will be harder for me because honestly I'm kind of a lazy cook. I don't mind baking from scratch, but there is something about cooking from scratch I don't like. Takes too much forethought and energy. So this will be interesting to see how I do having to make EVERYTHING from scratch. I'll probably still buy my little ones some waffles and lunchables so I don't have to worry about their breakfasts and lunches, but I will be expecting them to eat the same dinner as us.

Taking care of ourselves.

The last week and a half Olivia's had a cough, Kate had a runny nose(though she was cutting 5! teeth at the same time), then Olivia started having her nose run then Luke said his throat hurt and mine did too, and today I can tell that a full blown cold is trying to make its way into my body. Pretty much since I've had kids I rarely take anything for colds(I've been either pregnant or nursing for a lot of them!) and unless we have high fevers we don't usually blink an eye at most stuff..but I know we are just coming upon the edge of fall/winter and sickness seems to run rampant through the streets when its cold outside. (There are MANY reasons why this is so, but that would be another post.)...so today I finally decided to use the Elderberries that have been sitting in my pantry for all summer. Using this recipe-
http://www.youtube.com/user/mountainroseherbs#p/u/15/XOYzWyFGkqM

I made up a batch of Elderberry Syrup and hopefully will get my little family back up and at 'em shortly. Its time to up the anty in boosting our immune systems. Elderberry has anti-viral properties and lots of flavonoids(antioxidants) that help boost the immune system.
(Taken from Wikipedia)-
In a placebo-controlled, double-blind study, black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) was shown to be effective for treating Influenza B.[6] People using the elderberry extract recovered much faster than those only on a placebo. The study was published in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine.

A small study published in 2004 showed that 93% of flu patients given extract were completely symptom-free within two days; those taking a placebo recovered in about six days. This current study shows that, indeed, it works for type A flu, reports lead researcher Erling Thom, with the University of Oslo in Norway.[7]

You can also buy it already made and ready to go from people like Nature's Way-Sambucal or Vitamin Shoppe has their own brand(there are probably LOTS more places and brands..these are just to name a few). Kids also love it cause its sweet and tastes good. :)

Beautiful for Me..

This is a newer(like released last week) Nichole Nordeman song...she's already one of my faves, but this song is so pretty and the lyrics are great.

Every girl young and old has to face her own reflection
Twirl around, stare it down
What’s the mirror gonna say
With some luck, you’ll measure up
But you might not hold a candle to the rest
“Is that your best?” says the mirror to the mess

But there’s a whisper in the noise
Can you hear a little voice
and He says


Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen Me smile the day that I made you beautiful for Me

If it’s true that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder
Want my life and what’s inside to give Him something to behold
I want a heart that’s captivating
I wanna hear my Father say


Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen Me smile the day that I made you beautiful for Me

Close your eyes
Look inside
Let Me see the you that you’ve been trying to hide
Long ago, I made you so very beautiful
So I ought to know you’re beautiful


Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Yeah
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen Me smile the day that I made you beautiful
You’re so beautiful
Beautiful for Me
So beautiful for Me
Has anybody told you?

Also, Angie's post over at Bring The Rain that she posted yesterday really blessed and touched me. Thought you might enjoy it as well. (Link is in the name of her blog).

Hi ya'll...

I think this is the first year that I'm not ready for winter. I love the feel of the sun on my skin. I love that my children WANT to be outside, I love how "carefree" and wonderful and long the days are. I hate being hot, but I'd rather be warm then freezing cold as I'm already colder by nature. I've noticed recently though that our house is almost the same temperature as outside, and I can tell that Fall and Winter are creeping in. I let my kids stay outside and play in the last little bit of light there was tonight...to quote a fellow blogger to "suck the marrow of life"...

Its been an interesting week so far. Some sad moments, some very stretching as far as provision goes, some very happy and good times, and some moments that make you think..."really life? Us again?"..

My heart is on the precipice of something big. I can feel this with the actual changing of seasons, but also within my own heart. Its hard to look back at all the comfortable and good moments in your life and then not know what tomorrow brings and because giving up control has been so hard for me, this is a trying season...and how I would love for God to change that soon. My heart has long been unsatisfied and I can tell God's awakening it even further to more of Him and what He longs for me to experience in Him.

(My camera got dunked in water on accident this week and it killed it.. I'm pretty bummed as the finances just won't allow us another one right now and you know how it is with small children and how quickly they change. If you guys would please pray that God would provide another one so we don't miss out on catching some of life's wonderous moments.)

This week has been busy busy!

Monday was of course Labor day. I don't recall really at all what we did that day. Sorry..it happens. :)

Tuesday Luke's brother and his wife came up to visit. I had a dentist appointment(filled 3 cavities, and I'm officially DONE with dental work unless we choose to put on 2 crowns at some point..which we will when money allows). Did school with Olivia, cleaned the house and welcomed our guests. We just hung out and grilled that night.

Wednesday we went to the Zoo. They'd never been to Zoo Atlanta and loved it and its always nice going with people who have never seen it. Plus we went during the week, which is something I don't think I've done when school has been in, so it was nice and calm and we got to see lots of animals that normally we would have passed up due to crowds. We went to California pizza that night and it was super yummo.

Thursday they headed home, and then Luke's parents came in to spend the evening with us. We really enjoyed getting to see so much of Luke's family this week. Luke's Dad had gotten some really good Braves tickets to the game that night and my Dad watched the kids so we could go sans kiddo's. It was great! I'd never sat that close in all the games we've been to, and we had valet parking in the lot RIGHT next to the field...I felt like a rich person for the night. :)




Friday they left and Luke worked, then that evening Luke went to another Braves game with Wesley(brother in law), Olivia, and another friend of the fellas. Noah, Kate and I went to Old Navy and clearenced shopped(not for long though, as it was closing and only got 2 shirts), then to Starbucks where I was hoping that with enough drink and snack they would eat quietly. Noah did...but Kate didn't want anything to do with sitting down after about 3 minutes...and Starbucks just isn't the place to let your kid cry while you ignore them..(hmm..IS there a place where this is OK?). So I ended up having to head back home, but at least with a pumpkin frappacino and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin in tow. Got back, loaded my kids into their beds and read my book(Pagan Christianity) for a little bit...Luke and Olivia got back and showed me all the pictures they'd taken. She was so cute with her little backpack and showing me that they'd handed out Silly Banz type bracelets in Braves symbols.



Today, Luke is working. It sucks..I won't lie...but they had to due to this was when they could get a piece of equipment they needed for the job they are working on. Hoping our evening will be nice and calm. Tomorrow we're having a big dinner with our Church body and I'm looking forward to it! :)

I've been awarded! :)

Here are a few things that I need to do in order to accept this award:


1. Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?: I'd like to think I would go back and change something, but honestly, I'm thankful for the experiences I've had. They may have been painful or hard but God's used them to shape me..and I'm thankful for that.

2. The 2nd thing you have to do is, pick 4 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the people that they have received this award. (May I add, it was extremely hard to narrow down my super long list of favorite bloggers to just 4 people!)

Stephanie C.
Missi B.
Erin F.
Patti N.

3. The 3rd thing you MUST do, is thank the lovely individual who gave you the award.
Wendy gave this to me, and I'm ever so thankful. I've really enjoyed reading her blog. Wendy you are so great at showing life but with such a positive spin on it all. Its nice to know your not the only person in the mothering trenches so to speak and yet you still make it look effortless! :)

4. You need to share 7 things about yourself.(Most of ya'll probably know these!)
1. Luke and I got married when I was 17(almost 3 months shy of being 18.)..and I love all 7years of being married to him.

2. I LOVE baking. I could make a baked good every day if I knew I wouldn't balloon to 700 lbs. if I did. However, I am not a big fan of cooking meals unless in the mood.

3. This is contradictory to my above statement in the fact that I love feeding people. I love knowing people have left my house(or when I've taken things to people) that they are full and happy, and it probably blessed me WAY more then it blesses them.

4. I don't like phones. Like almost have panic attacks about using them. Didn't used to be this way..so not sure what happened.

5. I would really love to live out of the U.S.A at some point in my life. Even if only for a short time.

6. I have 2 Justin Beiber songs on my ipod. Don't hate me. :)

7. I bought the Duggars book yesterday. I may not plan on having 19 kids, but the principles of raising them well and just running a home well rings true even if you only have 3 like me. :)

Set me as a seal.

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave.
Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.
Song of Sol. 8:6


So I finally did it. I've been talking about getting a tattoo for quite a while and just never had the courage to go through with it...the pain involved I meant.

I'm going to be honest with you guys here. For a very long time I felt very unloved by the Lord. I KNEW He loved me, but I always felt like it was a forced love because He HAD to, not cause He wanted to. Or that He loved me because I was Luke's wife and because Luke is always pursuing Him. There have been moments in my life where I believed and trusted that He loved me for me...but never anything consistent. The past couple of months He's been reshaping my feelings on the matter. Something I read very recently really helped solidify my confidence in His love for me.

I would like for you to pause and think of the most horrible day you ever lived. The day when you did something you deeply regret. You can take great comfort in this one fact: Your heavenly Father saw that day when He chose you in His Son before time. He saw you and He saw me live our most regrettable moment on that non-day before time he He chose us in Christ to be part of His much-loved bride. What a wonderful Lord. If that's not good news, I don't know what is.
(And paraphrased 1st John 1:1-3 and 4:16-19...This is the apostle John talking.)

I have seen, touched, and experienced the love of God in Jesus Christ. I loved with Him for almost 4 years. My knowledge of this glorious One was born out of first hand experience. I tasted the love that He had for me. It was unflinching. I was flooded and consumed by it. As a result, I found no power to resist the loveliness of this glorious Person. So I cannot but love Him. He has captured my heart and possessed my being. His love is all-consuming, and it has ruined me. As far as I can tell, I'm the Lord's favorite. He loves me more then anyone else.

And getting back to the matter I started off with...this scripture reminds me that His love for His bride(me, and the rest of the body of Christ) is ALL consuming. Its so devastating that its stronger then death. It goes on to say further down in the verses that running waters cannot quench it. I have set my seal upon my arm. For I know His love for me....and I cannot help but love him back because of it.

We love Him because He first loved us.
John 4:19

Enjoy the pictures. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be, though it wasn't fun or enjoyable at all...haha..

19 things to say to your kids.

A friend sent me this list of things that are good to say to your kids. It really helped me. You'd think you wouldn't need a list to say some of these things, but I'm amazed at how often I just plain forget. Its a good reminder for me...Thought it might help or encourage some of you.

NINETEEN SOMETHINGS TO SAY TO CHILDREN
Author Unknown

1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you.
Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.

2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you
can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!

3. It's all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when
they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or
lonely. Big people cry too. I do.

4. You've made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do.
Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It's all over. You can
start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.

5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it
wasn't easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.

6. I'm sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake.

7. You can change your mind. It's good to decide, but it is also fine
to change.

8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up
with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!

9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that
person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!

10. I have a surprise for you. It's not your birthday. It's for no
reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.

11. I can wait. We have time. You don't have to hurry this time.

12. What would you like to do? It's your turn to pick. You have great
ideas. It's important to follow your special interests.

13. Tell me about it. I'd like to hear more. And then what happened?
I'll listen.

14. I'm right here. I won't leave without saying good-bye. I am
watching you. I am listening to you.

15. Please and Thank You. These are important words. If I forget to
use them, will you remind me?

16. I missed you. I think about you when we are not together!

17. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it.
Let's see. I'll help you if you need it. I think you can do it.

18. I'll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you?
If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it
by yourself, but I'm glad to help since you asked.

19. What do you wish for? Even if it's not yet time for birthday
candles and we don't have a wishbone, it's still fun to hear about
what you wish for, hope for, and dream about

I'm turning 25 tomorrow...

I don't feel 25..I seriously still feel like I'm 17..Hoping this is a normal feeling. haha..I mean I don't feel 17 in terms of maturity. I'm far more capable of handling life and situations now then at 17 but just in general. I'm no longer in my early 20's...and the idea of having to comes to grasp with the idea of being an official adult puts me in awe at how wonderful my life has been up to this point. This isn't to say I haven't had my fair share of crummy situations where I wondered why me, but my life has literally had the hand of God all over it. I'm so thankful for my 25 years and all that He has given me.

Today my sweet friend Kelly told me to show up at a location and then surprised me with a manicure(my first!) and some awesome yummy yogurt at The Yogurt Tap. It was a lot of fun..I was also given some money this week by Luke's Mom and decided to buy myself a new purse..I've had my other one for over 2 years now and figured it was time to get something different..Mine's a messenger bag and great for traveling, not so much for every day use.

Tomorrow evening I have an appointment with a tattoo shop in Decatur to get my first tattoo. I'm quite surprised at the amount of people willing to chime in on why I shouldn't be getting one, but just like every other choice in life we make, this is mine. I'm happy and at peace and though I'm not looking forward to the pain, I'm excited that I've finally worked up enough nerve to do it..haha..I didn't realize till recently that there is a good deal of aftercare that has to take place, so I'm probably more intimidated by that then anything else! I'll be sure to post picture(s) later tomorrow.

Also my brother in law is coming back to the States this week after being gone to Afghanistan for a year. We are all soo thankful for his safety while there and believing for a safe return this week.

My man has cleaned my kitchen and has gone out to get me a cookie cake for my birthday and said he wanted to stay up till midnight when he could have me blow it out then. Such a sweet guy I have!

Some things I love.

When I went through the crazy milk depletion issue, I dreaded switching to bottles because Kate was never a fan of bottles. Like have to hold her down while screaming almost to try and give her one. You had to wait till she was just hungry enough and have someone with lots of patience to try and give it to her..which resulted in very few bottles given. But when we needed to switch to donated milk, I knew we'd have to find a bottle Kate would take.

Tommy Tippee please step in! Well hello bottles that my child loves so much.


Kate took to them very quick and made us giving her a bottle pretty easy. (Just a side note, she also really likes and so did my other kids, the Playtex nurser bottles with the Latex nipples not the Silicon ones.) I love that these particular nipples are much more natural looking and are nice and wide for any mama's who like switching from breast to bottle sometimes.

Kate still gets a bottle(I don't care that she's over 1...!) and we still use these all the time. However now that she's big enough to use a sippy cup, we use these for the occasional juice and water.


Level 2 Tommy Tippee cups. They are seriously the only sippy cup I've ever owned in my 5 1/2 years of parenting that ACTUALLY don't leak. Plus it has a nifty little top that keeps the spout clean while not in use. Kate knows how to flip the top to use the cup if she wants.

Just thought I'd tell ya about a couple things I like in the parenting world today.
(FYI, I was not paid or told to leave this review..just doing it cause its nice to know what worked for other parents.)

Giving credit where credit is due.

I have been praying for healing and restoration of my teeth forever it seems. Its been a source of discouragement for a long time in the face of nothing happening and to have to almost admit defeat and put large sums of money down on my teeth. I seriously think my mouth is worth over 10,000 dollars. NO JOKE. Through it all though God's really brought me around and has given me the grace to deal with it.

When I went in today for fillings #1+2 out of 4, he got in there and said "Oh, there isn't a cavity in this tooth..We must have just seen wrong". Call it what you want, a glinch on the screen, a smudge on an x-ray. I choose to give glory to the One who made my teeth. Who is THE Restorer. I will give Him praise because He deserves it(in the good and the bad!). It may not seem like much, but I will take every victory I can get. Now if the other 2 would just close up, that'd be nice! :)

We have a need..

Would those of you who read this blog join with us in believing for a need to be met? Because of us doing our online schooling, we really need a laptop. Specifically one with a mic so we can use it during our online conferences with her assigned teacher. We haven't felt the need for a laptop till this year, but we know that part of the joy of homeschooling is being able to go and do and thats hard to do when you can't bring your computer along with you. Anyways...if you guys think of it and would just believe with us, we would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Today...

I can probably count on my hand the number of times I really and truly felt the Lord correct me...I mean I know He probably has lots of times but I've never made a real note of it. This past week has been one of lots of them.

Luke and I have over the course of him being "unemployed" talked earnestly about living in the day to day with the Lord in terms of provision. This month is the first time we've ever had to pay our mortgage "late"..meaning after it was due even if it was only a few days. It pushed us further into the trusting Him realm then we have ever been. I am SO thankful that its been over a year and a half before its happened and its only been by His hand that we've made it this far without a steady income.

I'm a planner, I like things in control..I hate change for the most part. So trusting Him...and I mean TRULY trusting Him is crazy hard. This past week, I have felt the Lord gently correcting me. I can't even begin to tell you how many times my mind has wandered to "how will be pay this?", "what about this coming trip we are taking", "where are the groceries coming from this week?"..and EACH and EVERY time, the Lord speaks softly but sternly. "Today, Kayla. You have what you need today.". Its so easy for me to get ahead of myself and forget to thank Him for what He did TODAY!

Today I have a roof over my head.
Today my stomach has food in it and my family is full as well.
Today my power and water are on.
Today I still have satalite and internet.
Today my oven still works(gas).
Today there is gas in my car.
Today my husband worked and earned money.

It seems God was wanting me to practice what I was preaching.

Thank You Lord for today..thank You for all the provisions You have given us for today. Thank You that I don't know how You'll take care of tomorrow, but that I can trust that You will. Thank You that I can rest and be at peace because You are good..Always.

Homeschooling day 1..

Epic fail. I had another dentist appointment this morning..which went fine and managed to make it back in time for an online schoolwide orientation that was live...tried to sign on several times and it kept freezing up my computer due to how many people were trying to attend...so they ended up recording it and sending it out later, but since my Mom was in town we all decided to go swimming. While I'm still super happy and glad to have spent time with my sister and my Mom, it definitely through a wrench in schooling plans. Came back and thought it would go smoother since Noah and Kate were both sleeping...but at this point Olivia was tired and cranky and wasn't retaining anything I was teaching her....Some lessons have online assesments that they have to pass before being able to move on to the next lesson...she failed 2 today. It made me feel horrible..As if I didn't have enough insecurities about how to teach her as it was. I was reminded by my loving husband that it was her first "full" day of schooling and only the first week of school, so he reminded me to give both her and myself some slack..

I really need to try and figure out what to do with Kate(Noah will obey and sit and watch a movie in the morning but keeping Kate out of our schooling room is hard to do and quite the distraction to Olivia)...and also try and figure out what learning style Olivia is and try and meet her where she's at. This may take trial and error so I'm trying to be forgiving of myself..but its hard. I hate failing and part of me has felt like a failure a good bit of my life so it hurts when I can't immediately see this shiny perfect image of a homeschool mother.

So thankful my husband took over kid care when he came home and even went as far as to make dinner for us. Gah I love him..:)

Green Toys Feeding set giveaway!

This is the sweet mama who lovingly donated lots of her liquid breastmilk gold to Kate for a few months...she's doing a giveaway! Go check it out and enter..! :) Or don't..cause that gives me better chances. haha..:)

http://tinyurl.com/24t5dv6

A night out..

Last night my Dad came and ate dinner with us, and then Luke and I headed out for our free date night. Luke's parents had given him a GC to Applebees for his birthday..we used it on his actual birthday night for all of us to go eat dinner, but there was enough left on the card for he and I to go and get dessert....but we decided to take an idea from our friends(Kelly and Tyler) and go to the book store to let our dinner settle before ingesting more..:) We ended up sitting and flipping through the "Awkward Family Photo's" book. They have a website so we'd seen some of them but we sat there and laughed soo hard that people were looking at us...haha..Then we went and got dessert...it was nice and also awesome that we didn't pay a penny for our night out. We rarely have the funds to splurge on dates and we're trying to learn to be more creative when it comes to time as a couple and special things.



Isn't she just the cutest??


Him too!


The kids all trying to play the Wii...Noah and Kate haven't fully figured it out yet. :)

Something that stood out.

Not this past Sunday but the Sunday before that when we met with some Brother and Sister's in Gainsville, one of our new sweet friends was sharing about some of her frustrations with her attitude and a friend of her's had led her to the passage about what love was(1st Corinthiants 12:4-8a)..God is love and Jesus is God(still have a hard time wrapping my brain around how that works! haha), and so she was instructed to read it as though it was talking about Jesus.

Jesus is patient and kind. He is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Jesus does not demand His own way. He is not irritable, and keeps no record of when He has been wronged. He is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Jesus never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. Jesus lasts forever...

If we are dwelling and living IN Christ all we have to do is allow Him to have expression in our lives and step aside to make room for Him. We are Christ's expression on the earth(Gen. 1:6,7) and I know I do a pretty bad job of representing Him sometimes. I'm trying to learn to set aside Kayla and welcome Him to talk instead of me..To love unconditionally instead of my conditional love..

In other news...

This past weekend was fun. We were fighting off a cold of some sort but we all seem to be on the mend now thankfully...just a little congestion and one little runny nose left. Saturday we went to get the boy's hair cut, went by and got me a few things of clothes and went to the park for a little bit.

Sunday we decided that since our kids would be in close contact with other small children that going to meet with the Body of Christ wasn't the best idea..so we stayed home and just lazied around all day...Then went and enjoyed Rita's with Erin/Wesley/Dad...thankfully I haven't heard of anyone getting sick over there...yay! :)

Monday morning started out early for me. I'm NOT a morning person..I've said it before but its totally true. But I needed to go to the dentist and I needed to get up and go as early as I could so that Luke only had to miss out on some of the morning work while watching the kids. Went for my first cleaning in like I can't even remember when. I'm almost always in for some sort of work so just doing a cleaning is usually pushed aside. I don't remember cleanings being that painful! Maybe its cause I haven't had one in forever but it hurt SO bad and it was a bloody site to say the least. They thought I had gingivitis it was so bad..but thankfully I didn't. They did find 4 cavities which they basically already knew about since my last visit. They went ahead and filled two yesterday and was thankful when they mentioned that one of them was super close to the nerve but they had put some stuff in there to help it reminerilize instead of just doing a root canal. They said I'd had cold sensitivity because it was so close but honestly I have only had it be uncomfortable like twice...so I'm hopeful that I won't need another root canal. I got back next Monday to get the other two filled and then its just deciding which next big thing needs to be addressed, like one of my molars needs a crown cause its got a tiny little crack in it..but they weren't concerned about it because the tooth and the filling itself looked so good. :)

Threw myself a pity party yesterday when I was watching everyone post pictures of their children going off to school. Part of me wishes I was in on that experience but thankfully one of my friends encouraged me and now I'm ok. There is a lot of fear of the unknown when it comes to schooling Olivia..I think once I start I'll be ok. :) It also helped that all Olivia's curriculum came in yesterday. I was AMAZED at the amount of stuff they sent. I mean I literally have everything I need outside of regular paper and maybe some crayons..they sent magnets, rain gauges, safety goggles..more books(regular reading type) then I could imagine, dry erase boards(with everything that goes with it), a magnet board and lots of little magnets with numbers and letters on them, blow up globes of the continents and of constellations, and lots of actual school work books. It made me so happy and I can't wait to be able to get a book shelf hopefully this week that I can put everything on and have it all organized.

Bzzz....

So I'm this member of a thing called BzzAgent..you sign up, take a couple survey's and then they pick Campaigns for you. They send you a whole kit full of coupons and products to try, review and give out to other people. I love it..its fun getting to try products and get to leave feedback and tell people about them.

This past week I got sent 5 packs of Orbit Gum(in different flavors) and a whole bunch of B1G1 free coupons for them. We've really enjoyed testing out the flavors and sharing the stuff with friends. My favorite is their BubbleMint. It taste almost exactly like Double Bubble but with a minty flavor too. Its hard to describe..haha..

There is no benefit to me in terms of getting paid or "I get points if you join" type thing..its just for fun and getting to try out stuff...so no worries. I'm not trying to hit anyone up..haha...but if anyone wants a B1G1 coupon for their gum let me know and I'd be happy to mail you one! :)