Mother - Daughter Tea

Today, Ruth and I went to a Mother-Daughter tea. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the skit and the presentation brought by a Mother and her 19 year old daughter. It was so inspiring. The whole theme was that our daughters need to trust God and wait what God has in store for them.

This is a message that I want so badly to get out to the young girls out there. Just like the mother said to us mothers, these girls need to learn to trust God and make the right decisions while they are very young, so that when they reach the age where they must make their own decisions then they will be able to make the right ones.

Another lesson in the skit that I found very good, was that when our daughters do get to be older and teenagers that we need to give them the chance to make their own decisions. We should be there to help them and guide them as best we can but they will have to decide for themselves whether they will follow God or not when they are older. They cannot just go to heaven on our faith in God but they need to trust Him and make the right decisions to follow Him for themselves.

Ruth also got something good from the skit. She said that the girl in the skit made the right decision not to go to the party that the other girls were going to. When I asked her why, she said that there might be bad people at the party and they might do bad things there. If Scott and I keep working with our children, with God's help I know they will grow up to make the right decisions.

I was so inspired by the whole event, I came home all excited and jabbery. I practically talked Scott's ear off. At least I didn't overload him with the details on what everyone was wearing or what all the different tea sets looked like. All I know is that I feel more than ever that I need to get serious about my writing.

I want so badly to have an influence on children, not just my children but all children. I want to help them while they are young and before they make life-changing decisions. The decisions these kids make in their youth can affect their lives for the good or the bad. They need to be reached before they take the wrong path. It's so much harder to take the right path after going down the wrong one. If these children can be directed down the right path before they get off it, they can live a life led by God and walk forever in His care. They will be ready for the good things that God has in store for them.

I'm not very good at speaking, however, I love to write. I believe the way the Lord would have me reach out to young people and to help them is through the words I write on paper. David said in Psalm 45:1 "...My tongue is the pen of a ready writer." For me, my pen is the tongue of a ready speaker. Take my pen, Lord, I'll write for You.


Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
(Proverbs 22:6)

Nobody Knows Noses?

Yesterday, Jonathan learned a new game. We ask him, "Where's Ruth's nose?" and he will go over to Ruth and point to her nose. Then we ask him, "Where's Joshua's nose?" and he will point to Joshua's nose. Then after being asked he will point to Hannah's nose, my nose, Daddy's nose. He will even point to his nose.

This would be a more age appropriate lesson for Ruth to teach Jonathan, instead of trying to get him to learn his numbers. I'm looking forward to him saying, "Nose" when we ask him. Right now he is just content to point.

He did say, "Mama," for Banana yesterday. The "a" is the short sound not the normal sound you would use for mama. So he is beginning to say some real words.

I got in an order of new math books yesterday, that I am very excited about. They are called "Practical Mathmatics" by Strayer-Upton. It is a Three book series covering 3rd through 8th grade. Now when I say 8th grade this is back in the days when you learned a lot by the time you were in the 8th grade. This set of books were first copyrighted in 1928. These are wonderful text books to have and I will be able to reuse them with Hannah and Jonathan. I only ordered one set for Joshua and Ruth to share, but I plan on buying another set. They are that good. They don't have a lot of fancy bells and whistles. They are simply practical, which I like. I plan to start them from the first book on Monday. If you are homeschooling or know someone who is, these are an excellent set to look into.

This is the website where I ordered the Math books.
http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/Catalog/Math_Books_73.asp

Tea for Two...

It's amazing how well our children are able to play together. This picture shows Ruth and Jonathan having pretend tea together. They just turned to smile at me while I took their picture but I had gotten this second picture as well showing Jonathan actually pouring the tea into Ruth's cup. It was so cute to watch.

Ruth has been doing a good job helping with Jonathan. Jonathan has been wanting to have a "lesson" also, while Hannah is learning. So Ruth has taken it upon herself to teach Jonathan his numbers.

Joshua and Hannah are doing well with their lessons. Hannah has learned the letter F today. She has been really bragging to everyone about how Joshua is her teacher. She considers it a really special honor that he teaches her. Kind of like she has her own private tutor, that no one else has. It is really sweet and I praise him for how well he works with her.

The only problem Hannah has now is telling Ruth that she's not her teacher. So I explained to Hannah that Ruth is Joshua's assistant. She can teach Hannah things too. There seems to be a misunderstanding with Hannah as to who a teacher is. I've tried to explain to her that anyone that knows something more than someone else can teach what they know. I think she thinks you have to be big to be a teacher. Little does she know how much she teaches Jonathan.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
(Proverbs 22:6)

Shave and a Haircut ... 2 Bits!

I cut Scott's and the kids hair today. No, I didn't get two bits for it. But I did think about it. This picture shows them all after their haircuts.

I started with Hannah's hair. It is hard to get her bangs straight, since she doesn't sit still very well. I used to try keeping a hair band in her hair and I hoped that she would eventually have her hair long enough to stay behind her ears, but the hair band would get lost and her hair wasn't staying out of her face at all. So out came the scissors. It's nice seeing her eyes.

After Hannah's hair cut, I cute Joshua's. His is the easiest hair to cut. I just use the razor with a fairly short guide and shave it all over the same length.

Then I cut Scott's hair. His is the most stressful. He likes his hair a certain way, but he's not sure what that way is. I know that he doesn't want it sticking up anywhere. He has very straight hair and it has specific calic spots. Which makes his hair rather difficult to work with. It turned out pretty good though and he seemed pleased with it. He's definitely pleased with the price, he doesn't complain nearly as much after I cut his hair, than with someone professional that he has to pay.

After Scott's hair, I cut Jonathan's hair. This was his first real haircut. We had tried to cut his hair before while he was asleep but it wasn't a very good one. This time I took him to the bathroom and stood him in front of the bathroom mirror. I showed him the electric hair shaver that I was going to use. I turned it on for him and let him hold it. I wanted him to get used to the sound and not be afraid of it. Then I turned it off and brushed his hair with the comb of the razor. Then I showed it to him again and turned it on for him again. Once he was used to it, he started playing with some of the combs I had set on the counter top. That was when I started cutting his hair. He didn't mind at all. I kept talking real cheerfully with him about how pretty his hair looked. I think hearing me praising his haircut and having seen that the razor wasn't going to hurt him, he wasn't scared and didn't mind.

Scott took Ruth with him to a Mission Rally today. I chose to stay home with the younger two kids and Scott gave Joshua and Ruth the choice to stay with me or to go with him. It was going to be a pretty long evening, since Scott was going early to play some music with another man from the church there. I didn't know what there would be for Hannah and Jonathan to do. They would get bored and 4 hours of trying to keep them out of trouble sounded tiring. Ruth brought her mandolin along. She also brought her book with her in case she got tired of playing and wanted to read. She had a good time.

Our kids are growing up so fast. God has richly blessed me with a wonderful family.

The Professor and his Student

Joshua and Hannah were having some major personality conflicts. Hannah would take great pleasure in annoying her big brother, who in turn would get incredibly upset with her. It was becoming quite a problem for the two of them. It even got to where Hannah didn't have to do very much and Joshua was just sure she was annoying him on purpose. Sometimes she did annoy him on purpose, but she didn't have to work very hard to do it. After much scolding and telling them they had to start getting along, I finally came upon the perfect solution.

Joshua is now Hannah's special Alphabet instructor. Everyday he is to work with her on learning her letters. They have to work together. She must listen to him and he must teach her without losing his patience with her.

I told them that learning to work together in this way would help them when they are grown and must learn to work with other people. So far they have taken to this project with great gusto. Joshua is constantly thinking of new ways to teach Hannah her next letter. For a reward he gives her an index card that he draws a picture on of all sorts of things that begin with the letter she remembers. Right now she has Aa and Bb down. Tomorrow they will be working on Cc. After she meets his expectations and he is satisfied that she knows a letter well, she then has to undergo a test that I give her. If she passes my test she then gets to add a sticker to her card that Joshua gave her. So far this is working well, and they have actually been getting along better.

When I first presented this idea to Joshua, his first question was, how long do we do this. I told him, until she learns to read. In other words he is to keep working with her for a long time. This isn't meant to be a torture session, but they are to have fun and work together. My goal for them is not so much that Hannah learns her letters, as it is for them to learn to work with each other. I'll be sure to give updates on their progress.

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)

How to live Happily-Ever-After...

This a picture of my husband and me a little over 12 years ago. A lot has definitely changed over the past 12 years. Just looking back on my life, I'm amazed at all the different experiences God has given us, and all the things we have learned during that time.

Marriages don't last 12 years very often these days. I remember the time I taught a group of ladies in a class and their one burning question was how do you find that right person to marry. This is a problem that many women, and men for that matter, find themselves shaking their heads and wondering how do you find that special person to spend the rest of your life with.

Too many people are looking for the wrong thing, when they look for a spouse. They look for someone that will lavish them with praise and flowers. They think that life long happiness comes from what they can get out of the other person. That isn't the way it's suppose to be though. Such a relationship will end, as so many are these days, in unhappiness, bitterness, and then the ugly bitter divorce, which breaks up homes and families. Leaving the hurt embittered person looking for the next relationship that will give them more, only to be disappointed yet again.

So today while love is on everyone's minds, I'm going to offer some advice. First to the singles that are still waiting and looking for the right person. God will provide you with the right person, however you must do your part too. You must be praying for God's will for you and for the person that he will send to you. Then pray for God to help you to be the person worthy of the one he will send.

Why would God give one of his jewels to someone that isn't worthy. When I was praying for a Husband, I had a list of things that I wanted and expected in a potential husband. If I met someone that failed in one of those areas I would not have given him even one date. Every young man I met in college went under great scrutiny. My Dad knew I had high standards and he too was keeping his eye out for someone. He saw Scott in Seminary and told me, "Stacie, Scott is different." So I agreed to one date. Of course Scott was quite different and after a short time I knew he was the one that God wanted me to spend the rest of my life with. Scott also had high expectations for a lifelong mate.

If you want to marry one of God's jewels you need to keep yourself polished. First make sure your saved. It helps to belong to the King of Kings before you can have the blessings he has in store for your life. Then live like God would want you to live. It is good to have high standards for your future mate and not settle for less, but you need to keep high standards for yourself as well. Because the right person for you won't settle for less either.

I know a lot of people that might read this and say, "It's too late for me. I've done messed my life up and I am undeserving of a jewel." Then let me tell you, that you have just made an important step, you admit your not good enough. It's not too late though. God may still have someone for you and what you need to do is starting right now turn yourself over to God. Don't worry about anyone else right now, you need to work on your own life and be all that you can be for God. Only then, can he offer you what he has in store for your life.

Now then for those of you who are married. What about you? Can you say that you are happily married? Would your spouse say that you are happily married? Do not look outside of your marriage for marital happiness. Leaving your spouse will not make you happier. Yes, you can be happy with your present spouse. It requires work, but you can do it. Don't look at your marriage as, "What can I get out of this marriage? What's in it for me?" No, look at what you can do for your marriage. Be a giving person. Don't just take, take, take. And don't give grudgingly. Don't do things for your spouse, expecting something in return. Give freely. Your making an investment into a happily-ever-after marriage. If your spouse doesn't seem to notice at first, think about how God notices. God loves you and knows what you are trying to do. He will reward your efforts in His own time. And believe it or not the more you do, your spouse will start noticing too.

God wants you to be happy. If anything must change in your relationships, it has to start with you. Only with God can you truly live happily-ever-after.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
(1 John 3:18-22)

Last but not least...

My "allergies" were giving me a terrible time yesterday evening. I went from coughing to having a sore throat. Then after having a hard time sleeping last night, I woke up with a headache. Then I started sneezing and finally succumbed to taking my temperature today. I am now taking my turn with a fever. Needless to say, I'm not too happy about it. Everyone else is feeling fine, why can't I? Oh well, I'm going to try being as gracious as possible, and rest as much as the kids will let me. Maybe tomorrow will be another pretty day.

A Beautiful Day

Today, is a beautiful day for everyone to be feeling better. Right now all four of my darlings are outside playing. Scott went back to work today, and all is good. I took the kids' temperatures just now and they were all normal. Which they were very excited, since I would now let them go outside.

Scott planted a couple of Blueberry bushes today, and a couple of strawberry plants. It will be really neat to have fresh fruit growing in our own front yard. I plan on starting a garden in the backyard soon as well. I already have a bean plant started in a butter dish. I will transplant it as soon as we have the garden spot prepared.

Spring is right around the corner. I'm looking forward to the warmer days ahead. Of course, come summer time, I'll be looking forward to the cooler days. At least there is always something to look forward to.

To Be or Not to Be Sick...

I have found in the course of this week that there are different ways that people endure their illnesses.

First there is the Groan and Moan sufferer. You definitely know that this person is not feeling well. You can hear his groans and moans clear across the house, and all you can do is pray that everyone gets feeling better, SOON!

Then there is the Royal Treatment sufferer. This person thinks that since he is sick that he should get everything that he wants. He requests to watch movies and eat cake, when asked if he feels like eating anything.

Then there is the Silent Sufferer, who doesn't say much but endures the illness with as much grace as possible. You can only tell that she is sick by her silence and the fact that she is shivering while everyone else finds the room a comfortable temperature.

Then there is the I want the Royal Treatment even though I'm not sick anymore child. The attitude for this "sufferer" is if they get their temperature taken, I need mine taken. If they get medicine, I want medicine. If they get to lay on the couch, I want to lay on the couch. You might can guess which of my young'uns that might be. :)

Then of course the baby just wants to be held the whole time he feels bad. The baby doesn't know why he feels the way he does, but he feels like he is being totally rejected if you set him down for even one minute to help someone else.

Then there is the Denial Sufferer. I'm not sick! I'm not going to get sick! I can't get sick! I'm not even going to take my temperature, because there is no way I can get sick! I have too much to do to get sick! I'm only coughing because of allergies. Never mind that everyone else is coughing in the house! I have to be immune!

So there we have it folks! There are six family members in our home and those of you who know us well, can probably guess which one of my descriptions is which.

Scott is doing better now, besides his congestion. Joshua and Ruth were running a very low grade fever this morning, and should be completely well in a day or two. Hannah is feeling quite fine and not sick after resting a couple days. Jonathan also is back to his old chipper self.

And as for me, well, I CAN'T get sick! I can't afford to get sick! I REFUSE to get sick! *Cough, Cough* Sorry, my allergies again! I better go check on the kids.

Be careful of what you ask for!

I planned to give an update on everyone's health sooner, but I allowed myself to get busy and not get around to blogging these past couple of days. Even now I should be sleeping, but had to tell this story first.

On our way to feed the horses and gather the eggs for our neighbors, Joshua was all excited. He said, "Maybe the rooster will attack me this time. " Thursday, I had taken Ruth by herself and Joshua offered to stay behind and help watch Jonathan, who was sick. When we got back Ruth told Joshua about the rooster attacking her. Thankfully it hit her boot and not directly on her leg. Joshua was intrigued for some reason by her story and was saying that he wanted the rooster to attack him today. I told him, "Joshua, you better be careful what you ask for. You might just get it." Joshua wasn't too concerned and for some reason I knew he would get attacked. I wasn't worried about it though, I figured he might learn a valuable lesson.

Sure enough, the main rooster was in no mood to be trifled with. I had to use a shovel to get into the chicken pen. The rooster attacked the shovel three times before I could get in to throw the feed to it. The feed I threw out was the only thing that kept him from attacking the shovel a 4th time. Now if I hadn't had that shovel that would have been my leg attacked that many times. I thought Joshua would have been less excited when he saw that, but it only seemed to excite him more. He said, "Wow, I saw his neck feathers get all raised!" The rooster finally left the pen while I gathered the eggs. I turned and saw him challenging Joshua. Or was it Joshua challenging the rooster, it was hard to tell. Joshua was trying to scare the rooster away from him but was only angering him all the more. So the rooster attacked him, and I heard Joshua say, "Ow! Hey!" The reason for these exclamations were because he expected the rooster to quit after he showed the rooster that he wasn't scared. So he wound up running from the rooster. Meanwhile, Hannah is in a panic over every chicken in the yard. I had her standing safely out of the way but she was still in a panic. I explained that it was only the rooster, she had to watch out for but in her mind every chicken was the same. So I armed her with a stick and told her to hold the stick and the chickens would leave her alone.

After we fed the horses we called the chickens all back to their pen. This time Joshua was a little more respectful of the rooster's position in the yard.

Now for a health update. Scott, is feeling quite a bit better, except for some congestion that hasn't completely left him yet. Jonathan was feeling better by Friday evening. Hannah just has a tired look, but never ran much fever. Ruth threw up Saturday morning, and that evening was running 103 degree fever. I gave her some medicine and sent her to bed. Then Saturday night before bedtime, Joshua was running a fever as well, his was 102 degrees.

Sadly, I think we will be missing church Sunday morning. This will be the first service for me to miss, since Jonathan was born. He was born on a Sunday morning. I don't remember missing a Sunday, since. We will see tomorrow how everyone is feeling. I just don't want the kids to get everyone at church sick and I don't want to leave them by themselves while they aren't feeling well. I plan on having them rest and do a small devotional lesson with them. I may even let them watch St. John in Exile performed by Dean Jones. I'm hoping they start feeling better soon. So far, thankfully, I have not gotten sick yet. I told Scott that a mother can't afford to get sick. I have no intention of getting sick if I can at all help it. Of course, if Scott realized how late I'm staying up in order to write all these thoughts down, he might think I were asking for it. So I better be careful what I ask for and get some sleep, so that I not get sick myself.

I'll try to write more tomorrow.

A Substitute for the Substitute...

Scott finally took my advice and called the school he substitutes for to let them know he was sick. I couldn't stand seeing him go into school not feeling well and then come home feeling worse. I also have to thank my Dad for suggesting that it might be the flu. Something about the word flu makes it seem a little scarier and the fact that if he doesn't take care of himself he might be feeling like this for ten days made him realize that he should stay home. It's hard for him to admit he's sick but to have to be this way for that long sounded like misery.

I think Hannah has finally decided that she likes being a girl. This morning she had watched a Strawberry Shortcake movie and said that she wanted to be Blueberry Muffin who is a boy. She gave me the normal because she never got to be a boy before. Then I suggested, "Why don't you want to be the kitty, you never got to be a kitty before either."
This of course was an exciting idea. She said, "I can be Pupcake. I never got to be a puppy before either."

Now she may want to be a Puppy or a Kitty when she grows up but at least she likes being a girl again. I tried to read her the story of Deborah out of her Picture Bible. I told her that she would probably like Deborah because she led an army into Battle. She decided that she didn't want me to read that one though, because she didn't like the blood from the battle. So thankfully, Hannah won't be a Joan of Arc. And she is still proud that her finger nail polish is still on her fingers. So I think I've convinced her to enjoy being my little girl.

Of course, Joshua dropped his guard over Jonathan today. Ruth had dressed Jonathan up in her pink sweater. When Joshua found out he shook his head and requested, kindly of course, that it be removed. I asked Joshua if he was glad that he was the oldest and didn't have older sisters dressing him up like a live Baby doll. He is definitely glad.

I'm afraid Jonathan may be catching a little bit of what Scott has though. He has been acting tired all day. I am hoping a good nights sleep will help him feel better. I hate it when Babies get sick. They can't really talk to tell you what hurts. They just want to be held all day long, and all you want to do is hold them. Ruth and Joshua have been a big help with Jonathan on that though. If I need to do something, I can pass Jonathan to one of them and they will rock him for me. They are such big helpers.

I'll try to blog more tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have better news on everyone's health.

I want to end this blog with a thought I find interesting about Deborah. It's relating to the verse which states.

The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
(Judges 5:7)

She specifically mentions herself as a mother in Israel, not a soldier, not a judge but a mother. Of all the amazing things God allowed her to do, she still sees herself as primarily a mother in Israel, that God used for his honor and glory.

God can do amazing things even with someone as simple and humble as a mother.

Ride a little Horsey!

I finally have some videos for everyone. Yesterday, the kids had an opportunity to ride a horse. They actually will be getting to ride horses quite a bit. We have a couple that have been coming to our church that train and raise horses to sell. They offered to let the kids come out anytime to do a few odd jobs around the place and feed the horses. This is great for the kids, since Ruth has always loved horses and has wanted one for a long time. It reminds me of when I was her age and wanted a horse. I love seeing the kids get to fulfill some of their dreams.

The first picture is of Ruth and Hannah riding on Daisy, a Tenessee Walking Horse.

This one is Ruth riding by herself. The lady that works with these horses says that Ruth took to riding so naturally. Of course Hannah didn't realize that the video was being taken and is talking the whole time.

This last one is of Joshua riding Daisy. He is learning to be a little more natural. He is doing real well for his second time riding.

I'm so glad that they are getting this opportunity to learn to ride. This will be a great experience for them as they get older.

Thank you, Ms. Laura for putting these videos on youtube!

I have to end with one last video, since I don't know when I'll get this chance again. This one is of Joshua unmounting. We had a good laugh. After this video was taken he had said, "Well, at least I tried it." It was so cute!

You're never too old nor too young, to reach for your dreams! Find what God has given you an opportunity to do and go for it!