Recognition Night

Our homeschool group had a Scholar's Exhibit and Recognition Night last night. It was a lot of fun. It is really great to see that many homeschooling families and to see the imagination that each of the students put into their Exhibits.

Joshua did his exhibit on different creatures. He has a collection of different bones and skeletons. He has a perfect tree frog skeleton and a coyote's skull. He also has a snake skin, a horn beetle, a turtle shell, and a sea snail shell. It was a really cool display. We even had a picture of him holding an anole lizard. He wrote a paper about the lizard and what it eats and about how it loses it's tail.

Ruth did her display about musical bottles and how you can pour water into them and make different notes. I printed a piano keyboard off for her to write the notes on the keys and on a music cleff. It was really neat as well. Scott helped her with the water pouring and the tuning. She held the tuner as he blew into the bottles so she could see the note on the tuner. She even wrote a paper on how the bottles work and the process used to make the music with them.

We were real proud of both of them. I let them pick what they wanted to do for their displays and I was impressed with what they chose. I probably would not have thought of musical bottles. I kind of figured Joshua would want to do something with his critters as we call them. As they were preparing their exhibits, I wanted them to do the majority of the work. I was just their for consulting and if they found themselves in a bind. But they did real well on their own.

I really like the homeschool group and when we move, I am determined to find another group to join. I like the friendship and encouragement we get from other homeschool families. I also like the opportunities for the kids to do things with other children under the supervision of parents who care about each one of them. I am looking forward to another year of homeschooling. I know that some parents give their children a break for the summer and I usually give them short breaks here and their but I will be continuing to homeschool through the summer months. Of course with plenty of breaks.

Scott bought me a copy machine/ fax/ printer. It is really neat. I am able to make posters from small pictures and everything. In just the one week I have had it, I have been able to do so much more. I was able to print in just seconds a whole pile of worksheets. It was great! I have so many reproducible homeschool workbooks that I have been wanting to use and now it will be easier to use them. Normally it took a whole day to print what I am now able to print in seconds. Yea!

Well, I better get busy. I have quite a bit to get done today before the wedding rehearsal tonight. The kids are all excited that they will be in the wedding tomorrow. They have been asking me about every time we get ready to go in the car somewhere. We'll take lots of pictures and I'll try to put a picture on here of us all dressed up.

Bad weekend, good week-beginning!

Well, I would like to say that I had a good weekend, but I did have a great week beginning. Scott was sick last week and had to come home from work and stay home the next day. He was feeling better by Wednesday night. He went back to work Thursday. He fell better by then and I took the kids to a Planetarium and an art museum with a homeschool group. That night I drank some water from Scott's bottle thinking he wasn't contagious anymore. Well, I guess he was.

I got sick Friday. Ugh! I felt horrible and thought I wasn't going to make it to y sister's shower that my cousins and I had worked hard to plan. After a broken nights sleep, I felt somewhat better but very tired. So I went ahead and went to the shower. I just wasn't going to get too close to anyone. Ok, that might have been a mistake. We did have fun though and I was feeling better. I did go home tired and with a horrible headache but I knew we would be driving for a while and would get some sleep. That seems to be the trick with that virus, sleep.

I felt so much better after I was able to eat the best tasting burger I had eaten in a while. The reason it tasted so good was that my appetite was back! Sunday I was back to normal without even a headache. My husband accepted the call to the church that we visited. And everyone was feeling great. But it looks like my dad may have caught it! Oops! Sorry, Dad! I hope no one is sick on Saturday or my sister may never forgive me!

Busy Days!

I just finished another busy day. Scott started the day sick. I was hoping he would get to feeling better but he wound up having to leave work early. I am hoping that he feels better tomorrow.

The kids were good today. I was trying to print them off some lessons I wanted to start them on from the internet. However, since my laptop is not working and Scott had set up this computer for me to use, I didn't have Adobe Acrobat on here. So the kids patiently waited quite a bit of the day for me to download all the files I needed. It gave me so much trouble. I even had to restart the computer at one point, which meant I had to re-download all those files I was trying to load. Thankfully, I have that done and should be able to print those papers for the kids tomorrow. I highly recommend http://www.learningpage.com. This is a wonderful resource that I have used with my kids a lot. You can find lesson plans and worksheets. They have lesson themes that have always captivated my children whenever we use them.

I have so many things I want to teach my children that I sometimes don't know where to begin, I just throw in a new lesson whenever I find an open opportunity. Thursday, I will be taking my children on a field trip to a Planetarium and an Art Museum. This is an activity that is planned with a homeschool group that we are a part of. My husband may accept a church soon and if he does I want to find another homeschool group like the one we were a part of here. I like the support we receive from other homeschoolers in the area. I also like how we can get discounts going to museums and things as a group. It also helps our kids see that they are not the only ones that are learning in their home instead of in a Public educational setting. So if I am able to find another Christian homeschool group, I will be really happy.

Yes, a church has finally voted to call my husband as pastor. He will be preaching there next Sunday and is planning, Lord willing, to accept their call. I won't name the church at this time but will just say it is another church in Texas. Some reason the Lord has seen fit to have us stay in Texas all these years. Churches are seeking Pastors all over the place. It is hard sometimes to just pick one location and say this is the place we are suppose to be. We just keep following the open doors that God gives us until he opens a new one.

Well, it is very late and I am very tired. I'm not even going to review for typos right now. I hope there are not too many. I will try to post another blog later. Good-night.

Back Online

A few weeks ago our laptop's cord quit working. So I felt a bit out of touch. I'm back now, and will try to catch up on events.

We just got back from a week and a half trip northward. We visited a church in Indiana, Michigan, and Arkansas. It's amazing the distance a preacher and his family will travel seeking God's will. This trip we used as a chance to visit Scott's mom as well. We had not seen his family in 2 years and they had not met Jonathan. We had a wonderful time. Joshua can ride a 4 wheeler through the woods by himself. It surprised me that he had gotten that big. He was so careful that we even let Ruth ride behind him. He ven took me for a ride. I told Scott that it takes a lot of will power to allow your 9 year old son to control the vehicle you are riding on. He did it though and didn't hit any trees nor flip the thing over at all. We're proud of him. He has sure been growing and maturing.

Uh oh, I have to change a diaper right now. I'll have to save the rest for later. Check back soon.

Doing More for God!

It is easy to get comfortable with things the way they are. If you own a shoe that is comfortable and you like it a lot it is sometimes hard to stop wearing it, even if it starts to wear out. It's easy to say, "This is my favorite shoe. I'll just patch it up and it will be fine." I know that it can be that way in life as well. "I don't want to change what I'm doing. It's been fine so far."

The day we are saved there is a change in our hearts. We should not be the same people we were the day before our salvation. We should desire the change and want to grow from the beginning of our new walk with Christ.

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

If a person prays for salvation but does not have that change of heart, are they truely saved? Or were they just praying for fire insurance? Now maybe a person did have a change of heart after they were saved. They may have become on fire for God, but then over time they become satisfied. "I've learned all there is to learn. There is nothing more I need. My friends and family know that I'm a Christian. I'm a sermon in shoes. Look at me! Life is good!"

Then they are satisfied. There is nothing more a person with that type of attitude can learn. They are content and do not want to change. They have done things that way for so long, they are afraid that it would mess something up if they changed and did something different.

I'm afraid that that might be happening to many of the Lord's churches today. Are we becoming complacent. Are we afraid of change? As I sit here I can think of at least 5 preachers who desire to pastor, but yet are without a church. They are all good doctrinally sound preachers. They have all been taught how to study their Bibles for themselves. They all have expressed a burning desire to reach the lost for Christ and seeing people grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The only problem that a church seeking a pastor could possibly have with any of these men, is the fear of change.

If people start seeking God with their whole heart, there is going to be change! It is going to happen, there is no stopping it. A good pastor will preach from God's word what God has laid on his heart to preach. That pastor should have a desire to see the people in his church grow spiritually. He should not be satisfied with his church not doing more. His sermons and guidance may cause the membership to feel uncomfortable with the change, however it is for their good.

A good parent should want their child to grow. They should teach their child to work hard, and to do the things that are good, even if it is hard at first. What they learn as a child will make them what they will be as an adult. My son does not like to write, however I make him write for his good. I cannot allow him to be content with just drawing pictures. I realize that he needs to develop his writing even if it is not comfortable for him. He may not like the work it takes to change, but I realize that that change is necessary, so I must as a parent lovingly push him to write more.

Shouldn't a pastor want the same for his church members. He knows what is good for them. As he studies God's word and tries to make changes in his own personal life, shouldn't he also desire the best for the flock God has intrusted to him. Should he stand back and allow them to not do what he knows deep in his heart would be better for them to do. But then there is also a fear that if he tells them what they need to hear, they will cast the man of God aside and seek another one that will not push them to change. This treatment has even happened to many prophets in the Bible. And will continue to be a problem according to Paul in his letter to Timothy his son in the faith.

2Ti 4:1-4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; (2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Scott preached a sermon last night from Revelation 3:14-20 on Lukewarmness.

Rev 3:14-20 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Too many of God's people are satisfied with being lukewarm. They need to change, but that change is uncomfortable. Jesus is standing at the door of churches today, knocking, desiring to come in. However if it requires change to allow the Savior into their midst many churches will not open their doors.

My prayer is that we allow God to work a great revival in our hearts and in our churches, and that His churches will listen to His messengers and will seek His will with their whole heart. If that does not happen now, one day it will happen at His return.

Rev 22:20-21 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

May we not get caught napping. (Mark 13:33-37)

Jonathan Video

Alright, as previously foretold, I am now uploading the video of Jonathan. I will try to get even more pictures and videos at a later date.

Joshua and Ruth are making a calendar right now as I write this. It was their idea, which I thought was a good one so they got out notebook paper and commenced to writing. When they get done with that, I'll be starting them on their reading lessons. Hannah turned my ironing board into a drum. She was tapping on all different parts of it with her pencil to see what different sounds it makes.

I just took a short excursion while typing this to help them with their calendars. They started them on the wrong day. Oops. :) I told Ruth hers would work for June. But she was almost near tears over it so. I got them started on a better foot. I just went to the marker board and explained the month to them. They were just trying to copy the calendar on the wall but got confused on where the first day should be. So I got them straightened up. They know there months from a previous days lesson. They knew the days of the week but I am having them further their knowledge. After today they will know that the week should always start with Sunday. And they will remeber that there are 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. At least I hope they remember that. I plan to drill it real good in their heads, so they won't forget.

Interruptions like that are good ones. I guess that is why blogging takes me so long. I answer kids questions, play with Jonathan, or hold Jonathan, or feed Jonathan, while many times typing one handed. And then I am constantly having to reconnect the computer, because Hannah knocked the phone line out of the wall or the computer. So if I don't get a blog done in a day, everyone knows why.

On to another topic. Scott has just about gotten the gas tank off his truck. He has only had a couple of hours this week to work on it. But he should have more time today. The tank he is removing has a hole in it. He found a tank at a junk yard for $50. That's a lot cheaper than a new one would be. So everyone pray with me that he is able to accomplish this task and the truck runs better than ever. If this happens he'll save us at least $200 dollars. I think he'll also gain a good sense of accomplishment as well in doing it himself. Of course his time can be a problem, it will help with the days getting longer, but if his time gets too cut short to allow him to finish working on the truck, I told him that it was o.k. with me if he wanted to take it to the shop. Maybe a little less pressure will make the job feel easier.

We've been getting quite a few preaching appointments. So far this month we have two Wed. night appointments filling in, and one Sunday in view of a call. We also have an appointment made with a church in Indiana in April in view of a call. I'm hoping we will have our van running by that time. Even if the van gets bad gas mileage it will be more comfortable for the kids.

Well that is all I have for now. I'll try to write more soon.

4 Months Old

Jonathan turned 4 months old yesterday. I wanted to post a video I took of him but dial-up would not allow it. So I decided to just post some pictures today. The first one is the only baby picture we have of Scott. I'm not sure how old he is exactly but I'm guessing he is at least 3 months maybe 4 months. I am guessing that age because of how well he is holding his head up. If he were younger, his mom would have been holding him differently. So i think that is about his age. I am also putting on here a picture of Jonathan. I thought it was neat to see their resemblances. I need to get a good baby picture of me on our computer. Sometime I'll try to put pictures of all 6 of us at about the same age. So stay tuned for more pictures.

And as soon as I get batteries in my camera, I'll take a better recent picture of Jonathan. The top picture was taken yesterday and the bottom picture was taken in January. Sadly I didn't take any digital pictures in February. But I do have some film that needs to be developed. So I'll eventually scan those pictures of our Zoo field trip onto our computer. I know everyone will be waiting in anticipation now. So I will definitely blog again soon.

Perspective

I had a wonderful visit with two of my cousins yesterday. We had all gotten together at McDonald's so that the kids could play in the play place while we all visited. We had a wonderful time. We had one fun discussion that I thought was interesting. I was holding Jonathan while my cousin was holding her baby. We were having fun talking about what all they are able to do at their different ages. She was looking at Jonathan and asked "His eyes look so far apart." Scott and I just found that so funny. We told her that all our kids eyes were that way. They have different parents than her kids had. Scott popped out a baby picture of Hannah and she said, "Well, I guess so!" It was so funny! Then I was looking at her baby a little later and leaned over to Scott and said, "Isn't her baby's eyes a bit close together."

I guess we all look at things a bit differently. Just imagine how much differently God's view on our lives must be.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

It's all a matter of perspective. We should strive to see ourselves from a little more of God's perspective.

The Rest of the Story

Well, the trailer is no longer here. It has been moved. It took a little work getting it all cleaned out but it is finally done and moved to its new spot for however long it is needed. That was one of the things I was planning to have accomplished this weekend and thankfully it is done. I was able to keep my word that I would have it cleaned out by the end of this week. All of our stuff was cleared out and I feel a bit of relief with having that accomplished. Although it wasn't moved on the day I had planned.

We also got the tools loaned out that I said we would let someone borrow. However, not on the day I told them we would get it to them.

Now all we lack is to take the kids to visit my parents, which I had originally planned for this weekend along with everything else I had planned. Hannah had been talking about getting to go to Papa and Nana's church all week. Hopefully, Lord willing, we will get to do that next weekend. At least my parent's were able to stop by our house for a short visit on Thursday. That helps.

So now, as Paul Harvey would say, you have the rest of the story.

Numbers 30:3-16

These were the verses that were on my mind today as just about everything I had planned went awry. I had so many things I told people I and my husband were going to do this weekend, and then today Scott told me that we weren't going to be able to do everything like I had planned. Yes I was a bit disappointed, but I also realized that I had overplanned again. I keep thinking that I will get everything done, that I plan. I go about telling people the order I plan to have everything done in and then to find out there is a glitch in the plan. I guess I go on overload sometimes thinking I can make everything work out for everyone and make all the plans fit together so everyone can be happy, yet I miss something somewhere and Scott has to stop me and say "Whoa, wait a minute."

This verse came to mind today because I thought I could get everything done that I told people we would do. And when Scott had to make a change in my plans, I thought, but I just told everyone... So I had to explain to all those I told, including our children why plans have changed. I'm glad that God understands my mind and has made it to where a wife can be submissive to her husband and yet not found guilty for the promises she made ignorant of the problems that might insue. I would not be a submissive wife, if I had to force my husband to help me keep all the things, I said we would do.

I kept one part of what I said I would do this week. Scott did not tell me I couldn't so I was able to do that part. But the part that he voided, I was not able to keep. I would have sure bent over backwards trying but Scott told me that we couldn't do things how I planned.

It is always interesting when I live out an example in the Bible. It makes it more clear to me, why God would say that the wife is not responsible for a vow that her husband voids.


Num 30:3-16
(3) If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth;
(4) And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
(5) But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
(6) And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;
(7) And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
(8) But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.
(9) But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.
(10) And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;
(11) And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
(12) But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.
(13) Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
(14) But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
(15) But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.
(16) These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.

Catching Up on Memories

Alright, alright, so it's been 6 days since I posted! :) So for my brother, I'll try to catch up. This past weekend we visited a church in Oklahoma. We enjoyed our visit with them. They put us up in a real nice hotel with an in-door swimming pool. The kids really liked that. We let them stay up a little late Saturday night to swim. Jonathan was the only one who didn't seem to like the water, but I think it's mainly because he was tired and wanting to go to bed.

Sunday, we stopped at a gas station on our way to church. The gas station wound up having a computer glitch and so he wound up charged twice but they wouldn't be sure of it until they counted the till later that day. So Scott told them he would be back after church and they can give him his money back if he was over charged. Thankfully we made it to church before Sunday School started even though waiting on the computer took a while.

The kids made a few friends at the church. We got to see a 9 month old baby, which got the kids dreaming of when Jonathan will be big enough to do that much. The church had what Scott and I call canned music. Their piano is played over the sound system off of a CD. We didn't tell them that I played the piano at the beginning. We don't like churches calling a pastor because of what his wife can do. Some churches may say they are seeking a pastor when they are actually seeking a piano player. I think more people should learn to play piano. I am going to have to get out my keyboard and start teaching my children how to play as well. They can play the Ukulele pretty well but I need to teach them the piano. I've never taught piano before but I figured it would be worth trying with my kids. It would be a good part of their education.

Let's see, what else is going on? Instead of blogging I need to be outside working on the trailer. After lunch I will probably start working on that again. I worked on it some yesterday but had to wait on some boxes. I now have the boxes and can finish the task. We are glad we have the trailer available to be used. We will be delivering it to it's new temporary location at the end of this week. I have a lot of fond memories of that trailer. We lived in it for a year. Even though it was small, we were actually able to manage quite simply. The only problem I had was figuring out where to put our 4th child.

From the experience of living in a trailer, I learned that a person can be content with little. Maybe we shouldn't ever sell the trailer. We should keep it around and whenever I feel discontented, I should go out to that trailer and sit in there and remember what life was like that year.

I need to occasionally remember all the trips to the laundry mat with 3 kids in tow. Laundry day back then was a once a week, all day event.

I need to remember getting the kids to bed and hanging a curtain up to wash dishes, so I would not disturb the kids sleeping on pallets on the floor, while I was doing dishes.

I need to remember the kids folding up their blankets and getting out their t.v. trays in order to do their lessons.

I need to remember all of us sitting around that small table reading our Bibles as a family.

I need to remember having to put thick curtains around the windows to keep in the heat from the heaters in the winter time. And the air from the air conditioners in the summer time.

I need to remember the time our electricity completely quit on us on the coldest day of the year. I remember making bedrooms for us in the church, for a couple of days, while Scott got it running again with a little help from his boss who was a former electrician.

I need to remember all those things and how much we learned from the experience. Now any house will seem big compared to that. I'm looking forward to the day that we are again in our own house, no matter the size it will seem big in comparison. God has definitely blessed us with always giving us a roof over our heads.

Jonathan Rolled Over!

Last Saturday Jonathan rolled over for the first time! I laid him down on the floor in the parsonage we were staying in for the weekend. I laid him on his back and I turned around for just a second and he was on his tummy looking around. I wish I had a camera! I told Scott about it and he turned him back over a little later and sure enough he rolled back to his tummy again. That time we saw him do it. They grow so fast! He's even smiling at me right now. He's too cute! I'll have to put some more recent pictures on here.

We enjoyed our trip to Florida. We took a supposed short cut that Scott's coworkers suggested but it took way too long. I think they had to have been speeding to go that route. We had to go 55 mph most of the trip because of the road we took. Although it was scenic it was dreadfully long. On the way home we took the Interstate and it was 70 mph the whole way. It was a lot quicker or at least seemed quicker since we were able to drive faster. It also helped on the ride home that Scott was able to drive more. He had caught a Virus and was not feeling well Friday, so I drove and let him sleep most of the drive. Thankfully he was better by Sunday.

Of course like a regular virus Joshua had to catch it as well. I thought of my mom the other night, while I was sitting on the floor scrubbing the carpet that Joshua threw up on. I thought about all the times my mom helped me when I was sick. You feel especially close to your mother in those times. Other than that we had a wonderful time in Florida. The members of the church were real nice. Of course I say that about everywhere we go. It seems like most everyone at our churches are especially nice. I'm looking forward to our visit in Oklahoma this week. The kids enjoy all these trips as well.

I took the kids to the zoo yesterday. They learned a lot. I had them read most of the signs themselves. They practiced following the zoo map. That was real good for them. They had to tell me which way we needed to go to see whichever animal we were wanting to find. So it turned out being a great learning experience for everyone. Joshua and Ruth got to participate in a class that the zoo had for homeschoolers. Ruth's class learned about animal senses. Joshua's learned about animal survival. Jonathan, Hannah, and I stayed outside with some other mom's with toddlers and enjoyed visiting. Hannah even made some new little friends.

I guess that catches me up a bit on my blogging. Now I need to help the kids with their lessons and do the laundry I didn't get done yesterday. I'll try to write again soon.


Luk 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

My Dear Sweet Scott!

Well, today is Valentine's day. Today is the day that most people spend the most time thinking about the one they love. So I want to dedicate today's blog to my dear husband who I love very much. Here are just a few of the things I admire about my husband, Scott.

I admire how he works hard to provide what he can for his family. He is not afraid of hard work. He is willing to work as much as he needs to provide for us, even working extra hours to make sure all our needs are met. If I wanted him to, he would even take on an extra job in order to provide more. However, I told him I would rather do without many things than to have him gone all the time. So he honors me with his time. He also has to do without some of the things he would enjoy, in order to have more time with his family.

Another thing I admire about my husband is his ability to lovingly discipline our children when there is a need. He is firm when he needs to be firm and caring when he needs to be caring. We work together in the discipline of our home and when one decides something the other backs it up. If a situation arises we are able to talk about it and determine what the best course of action is for our children's sake. I love his firm but caring leadership in our home.

I love his willingness to communicate. We have found that the most important thing in our marriage has been communication. We are able to talk and discuss any issue that arises in our home, family, church, life, anything. If we have troubles figuring out something, we talk about it. If either of us are having a bad day, we are able to talk about it. If there is a misunderstanding, we resolve it by talking about it. Communication has become a vital part of our marriage. You can't be selfish when you discuss things, or else it turns into an argument. Proper communication comes when we both listen to each other.

Another thing I admire and love about my husband is his friendship. We are best friends. He knows more about me than anyone else. He is not critical of my thoughts and feelings. He knows who I am and what I want in life. He may lovingly tease me about some of my interesting terminoligies and idiocyncrisies. But it is always in fun. He doesn't mind me teasing him back. We are friends and as such we have fun. We play music together. He even bought me a nice Ukulele since I liked them so much. We play games together. I enjoy occasionally beating him in a game of chess. I say occasionally because he tends to beat me more than I him, but I enjoy giving him a run for his money. :) I enjoy our at home dates. With four children, our dates are pretty much Frozen Pizza and a movie at home, after the kids have gone to bed. But as long as we spend the time together we have fun.

I also love the way he guides our family spiritually. He is careful and steady in spiritual matters. He is able discuss the Bible with anyone without getting offended at opinions and beliefs that may be different than his. He is well read in the Bible and has many verses memorized. If I have any question about the Bible he helps me search it out, even taking me through the Hebrew and Greek if I need it. He doesn't just let me fall back on just his own thoughts but lets me think for myself as well. He teaches me and our children how to look at the context of passages. He is willing to admit when he doesn't have an answer, and is willing to spend time researching it out.

Finally, I love his commitment to me. Before we married we agreed together that we would never leave each other. We know that if we ever have a problem that we must work it out or just be miserable for the rest of our lives. We quickly learned how to work out our disagreements. Now I couldn't ever imagine life without my dear sweet husband. We also have guarded each other's trust. We know that it doesn't take much to lose a persons trust, so we set up boundaries for ourselves from the beginning of our marriage, so that there would never be a problem with us trusting each other. Marriages fail many times due to jealousies within the marriage and so we guard against such problems. He will always be faithful to me and I to him. We will always belong together for the rest of our lives.

I love my husband and am glad that God saw fit to give him to me.


Pro 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Mar 10:7-9 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.


Col 3:18-24 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. (19) Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. (20) Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. (21) Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. (22) Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: (23) And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (24) Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Loose Teeth

We had a pretty busy day today. I took Joshua and Ruth to their Irish Dance class today. They are real proud of the stuff they are learning. Today when we Scott got home they had to show them some of the stuff they learned. They do need to practice more. I would love to take the class with them in order to help them practice but I have my hands full in the hallway with Hannah and Jonathan. So I stay out in the Hallway with some of the other mothers and watch through the windows. I really enjoy visiting with the other mothers though, so I have fun too.

Joshua and Ruth both have a loose tooth. So today they both have been spending a lot of time with their fingers in their mouth wiggling their teeth. Joshua is a little more experienced at pulling teeth than Ruth, so I think he will probably lose his tooth first. Ruth is trying to give it a pretty consistent effort though. She doesn't have any teeth popping through behind her baby teeth this time so hopefully she will be able to pull it on her own. Maybe her brother having one loose will encourage her to try harder as well. He's been giving her tips and tricks to tooth pulling so we'll see. I just hope Hannah will not get any ideas in her head and start trying to pull her teeth to soon. So far she hasn't seemed to notice them much, so maybe she'll keep her hands out of her mouth. We pay the kids for their teeth, but I may have to pay Hannah not to pull hers. Hmm... That might get expensive so maybe just talking with her will keep her from trying.

Scott has another preaching appointment this Sunday. So I need to pack and get ready for we are leaving tomorrow.

Ok, I like to end my posts with a relative verse but the only verse I can find is out of context and well it is about losing teeth but not exactly what I had in mind. However since I now have y'all's curiosity up I'll post on here anyway. If anyone can find a more relative verse please leave a comment and I'll check it out.


Psa 58:6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.

3 Months

Wow, it's hard to believe that Jonathan was 3 months old this past Monday. Time sure goes by fast and yet it's seems like he's always been around. We can't picture life without our Jonathan. Babies grow so fast the first few months of life. It's amazing to me that I had to buy him a size 3 diaper already. His other ones kept coming unvelcroed too easily.

It's also amazing to think that Hannah will be 3 years old in March. I still remember when she was the baby, in fact I remember when Ruth was the baby as well. I even found a shirt in a bag of hand-me-downs that used to be Joshua's and now fits Jonathan. Scott and I had Joshua hold it up to himself to see how big he's gotten in the past 9 years. Joshua thought it a bit strange but he humored us and held up the baby shirt to himself. It's amazing how they grow.

Today I have them working on their reading. They read a chapter in their readers and then they work on the workbook pages that go along with their reading. It's been real good for them. I'm glad I found this set of curriculum for them.

Whenever Scott gets a preaching appointment outside of Texas. I look on a website to see what their homeschool laws are. Some States are a lot stricter and harder on homeschoolers than others. If you are interested in homeschooling and want to know the Legalities in the state you live in or if you might move to another state you may want to look at this website to see the legalities and requirements for homeschoolers in that state. http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

You would be amazed at how many families there really are that have started homeschooling for various reasons. It's been good for my family and I don't regret having made that decision so many years ago, when our oldest was only 2 years old. At the time my husband was a substitute teacher in a public school system. He came home one day and told me that we weren't putting our kids through that. I was glad since I had already been thinking on homeschooling since I had friends that were homeschoolers. And now even when I get discouraged, I just picture my kids sitting in public school, and I'm glad I have them at home where they can learn and thrive without as many negative influences in their lives.

Psa 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.


Pro 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

"Where is my God?"

It is so cute seeing things through the eyes of a child. That is probably why Jesus said in Matthew 19:14 "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

Hannah is always saying, "This is mine!" Pretty much about everything. "This is my Pencil?" or "This is my coat?" Then the next question that usually follows is "Where did I get it?" It has become an ongoing conversation piece for her young almost 3 year old mind.

Just the other day, Scott was working on something, and Hannah came in the room to watch him, when suddenly she asked, "Daddy, where is my God?" So he tried to explain how God was in Heaven and he is everywhere just we can't see Him. She thought about that briefly and then she asked, "Where did I get Him?" Scott then explained that God made her, and that He was her God and she was His Hannah. This answer put a smile on her face and she was content.

It's amazing what goes on in a child's mind. We should be seeking for God also. It would be good for everyone on this earth to do a little Soul searching and ask ourselves, "Where is my God?" and "Where did I get Him?" Then we should go further and seek to be closer to Him.

Isa 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:


Mat 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

My Children and the Giant Popcorn!

I just had to share my kids lunch time conversation. I gave them popcorn to go along with their hot dogs today. Somehow they got into a discussion over "what if..." The question this time was "What if you had a giant popcorn the size of the whole house?" They discussed several possibilities as to whether or not they would share. Then they decided they could each have their own giant popcorn. So they commenced to discussing how they would eat it. First you would have to start from the bottom and let it fall as you eat it. Then they had a brilliant idea...A Popcorn House! So they were all satisfied discussing how they would eat rooms in their popcorn house. Aren't children fun! They come up with the most interesting ideas. It reminded me of a book I read before of Dave and the Giant Peach. It's a story of a boy that finds a giant peach and the adventures he and his friends go on.

We got our truck out of the shop yesterday. It seems to be running well. Scott is glad to have his work truck back. The man at the auto place told him of something to check on our van. We're getting to know the mechanic and secretary pretty well now. They have been good to us and trying to help us out the best they can. But I now know that there are 3 fuel pumps on our van, 2 inside the tank and 1 outside. If the problem is the outside one it won't be as hard to replace. We'll have to check that out. Still thinking a bicycle built for 6 is a good option. Scott is starting to talk about getting us a car dolly eventually.

On the ministrial side Scott has 3 possible preaching appointments lined up for February. He tries to be fair to all the churches involved. He schedules them in the order they call and then considers them individually. Pretty much the first church that calls him, if he feels it is the Lord's will he will accept their call and call the other churches lined up after that to let them know. He in turn offers to fill in for the already scheduled Sundays if those churches want him too. So far though we hadn't had to go through all that yet. A lot of churches seem to prefer to hear several preachers in view of call before selecting one. So we just keep setting appointments and figure the right church will give Scott a call when the time is right.

We have our Midweek Bible studies tonight. So better go for now and get the children all ready for church. I'll try to write more later. :)

A Windy Day

The wind has sure been blowing hard today. It's amazing to see such large trees swaying in the invisible wind. It almost looks as if the trees are dancing.

I think we should be getting our truck out of the shop today if they got the problem fixed, that is. And if they don't find anything else wrong with it. As soon as we get it back, I'll be able to use my parents truck, and Scott will have his work truck. Then it will be a matter of finding out what is wrong with the van.

We have a preaching appointment this Sunday. Scott will be preaching in view of a call. He is still thinking on the new job possibilities but also doesn't want to start a new job just to say, "Oh, Sorry I just got called to a church." So he has talked to his present employer about training in order to get a raise. His boss sounds favorable toward that end and Scott plans to work hard and see if he can earn a raise. With his present job he knows he can have weekends off for preaching, other jobs may not be so flexible. So we'll see. Since churches have been contacting us again, we may just hold tight and see what God might have in store for us.

It's easy to get discouraged and near sighted but I know God has something that He wants us to do. We just have to hold tight and wait for his timing.


Psa 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Car Troubles Again!

It seems to be an ongoing thing with our vehicles. Every month seems like at least of our two vehicles wind up in the shop. If not both at some point. Scott and are also joking whenever something goes wrong with one of our vehicles that it's going to cost at least $200. So here we are with our truck in the shop and our van needing to go as soon as we get our truck out. Hopefully our van will be an easy fix. Eventually with all these repairs we'll have new vehicles.
At least all of the parts will be new. The '80s weren't that long ago our vehicles should be in their prime.

Last night we were heading to our church from the Spanish Bible Study. We were maybe half way when our van just stalled out. Thankfully we were able to coast to the side of the road where Scott tried to crank our van up again. It sounded like something was blocking the fuel somewhere. The sun was about to set, so we decided to get out and just walk the few miles to our church and then maybe someone would be able to give us a ride from church. Thankfully we had a stroller in our 15 passenger van and some warm clothes to put on everyone. The main unspoken concern on both Scott's and my mind in walking was getting all 4 of our children through any dogs that might come out barking. We had only started walking a few feet when a young man stopped and offered to help us out. He had to get his mother's Quad Cab pickup and me and the kids had to share seat belts but we made it home and my husband was able to have a wonderful talk with him. He was a youth minister of a nearby church of another denomination. He just happened to be passing us when he stopped to help us.

Right after he dropped us off at our house, we had restroom breaks for the kids and then we all got into my parents pickup truck which we have been borrowing until we get our other truck back. After loading everyone into the truck (yes, two of our children had to share a seat belt again) we went back to the van with a fairly decent but not perfect tow strap.

I was sort of dreading the long drive down oil roads hauling the van behind the truck but I knew it had to be done. Scott and I have pulled so many vehicles that broke down on us that it no longer phases me as much to hear that it is time to pull another one. Thankfully we were able to pull our 1 ton, 15 passenger van and didn't even break the strap once. I breathed a prayer of thanks to God for helping us again with another towing.

When we finally made it home, Scott came to my driver side window and told me, "Wow, Stacie you're getting good at this!" I responded with a smile, "I guess practice makes perfect." I just wouldn't mind not having to practice as much. I now know when to go slower and when to speed up and how to keep the rope between the vehicles tight or it will snap. That snap is not a pleasant experience. Especially when the strap keeps getting shorter and shorter every time it breaks and we have to tie a new knot in it.

Well, we made it home with out a hitch! :) And now we will just wait patiently for our next step.

Scott is already starting to look for another job with better pay. We have been using up too many of his hard earned pay checks on vehicles. But I told him that I know that God has something in store for us and when we look back on this day it will seem like such a small thing that happened a long time ago. He still is looking for a church to pastor but so far God hasn't brought us to the right one. So until he finds the right church he is planning to also seek another secular job.

I just know God has a plan for us. All these problems are just building us up for something to come. One thing I do know is that when things get better, we'll really enjoy them even more because of the trials we go through today. So we just have to keep hanging onto God's promise to provide for our needs and keep praying for his help.

I like to end my blogs with a related Bible verse when I have time so here is the Bible verse for today.


Psa 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

Psa 34:17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

We had a pretty good day so far today. Yesterday after I had written we went to a Spanish ministry. I really need to improve my Spanish by quite a bit. The missionary needed Scott to read a letter he had written in English to see if it sounds right, so we will be going over to another location that this minister has a ministry to help him with his letter and see how there services are on Sunday afternoons. I'm not sure if we will stay at that church for the English services tonight or go to our services tonight. I guess we'll see. It's easy to get too many irons in the fire. There is so many directions that we can feel pulled toward.

Yesterday I had my sights a little too high as far as what we are able physically and financially able to accomplish in a short time. I try to rush things and then it is no longer done well. It's just done fast.

Scott and I have talked about what we would like to accomplish in the future. We want to teach the children skills that they can use when they are grown whether or not they choose to go to college. We want them to have a broad range of possibilities as far as carreers are concerned.

Scott would love to build and sell musical instruments. That has been a dream of his for a long time. I would love to see him pastoring and building instruments in his freetime. I told him that his building instruments will dedfinitely save us money.

I want to complete my education in Institute for Children's Literature and start publishing things for magazines. It won't be long and we'll see these goals accomplished especially if we slow down and watch what God wants for us.

Well, time to go to the Spanish Ministry. I'll have more to write later. Keep smiling!

No New Pictures

Ok, I know that in my last post earlier today, I said I would put up pictures of the days accomplishments. I was kind of hoping for more to be accomplished. The wood was too wet. So Scott and the kids just cleared some of the trees and came back to the house around lunch time. Scott was good and wore out. I wish I could have helped more but he said there wasn't much to do until the boards dry to build the floor joices. So we wait. I'm hoping that maybe more will be done next week. But there is more rain in the forecast for our area. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. In the mean time I'll try to wait patiently.

I'm sure looking forward to having a home of our own. I don't know what God has in store for our future, but I kind of hope it includes a home soon. Ok, I guess I have a lot of work to go on being patient and waiting. Which maybe why God has us here for now. I do know that once we finally have our own home, I'll be so happy and will appreciate it even more. So I don't know why the wood has to be so wet today, but I'm sure there is a reason.

We are also still waiting to hear from churches that want my husband to come in view of a call. We have one appointment in February. So I don't know if the Lord has a church for my husband or if we will build this house first. It's times like this that I would like to see into the future at what it is to plan for.

In the mean time I suppose I'll just wait and try to keep working on our present living quarters until the Lord provides us a more comfortable arrangement. Hopefully I'll post a little more encouraging news next time. Please keep praying for us and that God will provide us a home that we can really call our own. I'll just keep on smiling knowing that eventually God will answer our prayers.

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Building a House

Today, Scott and our older children are at the house site working on our new home. This picture was just taken this morning. I'll be going down there shortly as well. We plan to set up our tent for the kids to play in while we are working. Hopefully the weather will stay nice. Here is the picture. That's our 3 oldest children standing by a pile of bricks. I'll try to write more later and add another picture of what we accomplished today.

Psa 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Homeschool

Today has been a good day, as most days are. Today, I got up and got the kids their breakfast. I am amazed at how big Jonathan is getting. He is one big baby! I may have to give him rice cereal earlier than I did my other 3. He just seems to need to eat more often. The pediatrician had told me at Jonathan's 2 month visit that he would be ready for some rice cereal at 4 months of age. I waited until 6 months on the other children. I'll probably wait and ask the Doctor again at Jonathan's 4 month visit. Right now he nurses every two hours during the day time. At least he does sleep through the night. However I feel like I'm always feeding him in the day time.

The kids have been working hard on their homeschool lessons. I started them on knew readers yesterday. I found some wonderful readers at a Bible Book Store. They are really good readers for a good price. The workbooks were a good price as well and will be easy for me to upgrade each child to the next level when they finish. All I will have to buy is the workbooks for each of them but those are only $2.25. So that is not a bad price. I started Joshua on the 2nd grade reader and Ruth on the 1st grade reader. Technically they should probably further along than that but I wanted to start them off simply. This way we get through all the workbooks in that grade level and then by the next grade level they will be familiar with the format of this set of lessons. So when Joshua completes Grade 2, he will go into grade 3 and Ruth will go into Grade 2 and use his hard cover books and I will only have to buy the workbooks for her.

For math I found some reproducible workbooks. I like those for I will be able to reuse the lessons for each of the kids. When Hannah and Jonathan get bigger they will be able to use all these lessons as well. Right now Hannah has an Alphabet workbook that we found at the same bookstore. So far she has learned the letters "Aa" and "Bb". I'm trying to teach her the letter names and the sounds they make. The hard part is keeping her serious and keeping her brother and sister from laughing at her when she makes a mistake. She likes them laughing at her and so she will make mistakes on purpose just to make them laugh.

Jonathan has gotten to where he can chew on some of his toys. Here is a picture of him chewing on his Butterfly toy that he got for Christmas. He was so cute I had to take pictures of him. So I will include them on this post. Even Jonathan is learning. I guess we are all learning something new all the time.

I'm sorry this post isn't very neatly and probably has a lot of typos. Joshua and Ruth are finishing up there lessons for the day and Jonathan and Hannah are napping. I want to take advantage of this quiet time while I have it. I'll write more later.

Team Work

I am finally able to stop and blog a little bit. I have a hard time finding a "good" time to blog. So I'll just try to pop in and blog as best I can when I am able and the computer isn't tied up.

Yesterday, the kids and I worked a bit on our living quarters. I swept all the toys, clothes, trash, papers, etc. into a pile in their room and had them picking it up. I would love to be organized like a family I saw a website for that has 11 children. I like to glean tidbits of information from those families so that I might can incorporate a little bit of organization into our daily routines. I have quite a ways to go before I'm that organized, but maybe before I have 11 children I'll have it figured out. Until then we just have a massive clean up the bedroom of too many toys. It gets better though because they wind up breaking their toys and those get thrown away, so that makes less to pick up for next time.

While they were working on their room, I had my own challenge of clothing. There is 6 of us and a lot of clothes. So I spent the time they were working on their floor to work on sorting clothes. Winter clothes, summer clothes, church clothes, play clothes, outgrown clothes, torn clothes, for 6 people can be a bit daunting sometimes. Then on top of it being daunting I put the job off and it really becomes a disorganized mess. So that was the task I worked on yesterday and still have more to go on it. I have found though that when the children and I work together on tasks they get done pretty well. There are a few jobs that the kids wind up being "too much" help and slow me down, but if I get them on the right task then the job gets done easily and quickly.

A good example of team work was our moving a t.v. yesterday. We have a big t.v. that my brother had given us before he had moved to France. The t.v. was on our floor because we didn't have anywhere else to put it. We had been given a rolling t.v. stand and it was in the children's room. Hannah helped me roll it into our dining/ family/ bed room. Ruth helped hold the cart from rolling so that Joshua and I could lift this incredibly heavy t.v. Joshua held the back of the t.v. while I lifted the front. We had to lift it about two or three feet in order to get it on the cart. It didn't take long and we were real happy to be able to surprise Scott when he got home, instead of having to wait until he got home from work to pick it up for us. I was real proud of our team work. I couldn't lift it by myself so with the little bit of extra help, we were able to get it done.


Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
(Ecc 4:9-12)

It's amazing what we can accomplish when we all work together. Time to get back to work. Just wanted to share my thought for today. :)

District Ladies Auxiliary

Today, I woke up after hitting the snooze a couple of times and had to hit the ground running pretty much. After giving the kids their breakfast I had to get them and myself ready for the Ladies Auxiliary meeting that was going on at a church near us. It was pretty neat going back to the church I grew up in. A lot has changed and yet quite a few things remain the same. It was a good meeting and I enjoyed hearing my Aunt play a special on her harpsichord. I didn't even know she could play anything besides the piano. She is a wonderful piano player and played for the song service today. Next quarter our church will be hosting the meeting. There was only two of us ladies there from our church and so it felt a little awkward offering to host without knowing if everyone else would mind or not. So I went ahead and said we would go ahead and host it. I'll let the rest of the ladies know tomorrow at church. I wanted to sing a special but got there a little late to tell anyone. I was going to play my Ukulele and sing "Amazing Grace" and "He Looked Beyond my Fault" as a medley. It is really pretty together. I wish I had gotten there early enough to sing it. But there is always next time.

At the meeting we got to see a presentation by a man that had spent 3 months in Australia with his family helping a church over there. I think they are planning to go back there. It was a really good presentation.

Well, I guess that is all that has happened so far today. As soon as I get off the computer I plan to mail my next assignment to The Institute of Children's Literature. I have finally completed Assignment 3 and will be mailing it in to my instructor. I am glad that I am taking this writing course. I love to write and hope to see my work in magazines and maybe even a book written by the time I'm done with this course.

We had lunch at the Auxiliary meeting so I do not have to get the kids lunch fixed. However I do need to get them to work on their lessons. I also need to buy stamps sometime and I would like to get some laundry done before Scott gets home. I'll try to keep up my posts as often as I can. I may miss some days but seeing my dad writing a twice a day post has me wanting to try to keep mine going more regularly. It's good practice for my writing as well.

Must go for now. I'll try to write again tomorrow or later on this week.

Much needed Update

It's been a few months since I've written. Jonathan has now entered our lives and Scott and I have agreed we can't imagine life without him. He is only two months old but he adds so much to our family life. I mean homeschool lessons wouldn't be the same without the occasional "Isn't that right Jonathan?" He just loves it when any of us talk to him. He usually returns a big smile in response.
He also loves the attention of his doting brother and sisters at least until he gets a little overwhelmed by them. Then they all say, "Oh, Oh! We're making him mad!" then they run away from him. He usually calms down again when I pick him up.
I'm getting fairly proficient at typing one handed as well, being as the only time I really get to get on the computer is while I'm holding him.
Scott and I are very proud of our children. Every time I bring all four of them to Jonathan's doctor's appointment I receive compliments on how well behaved they are. The doctor told me that it is very unusual to have a room with that many children that quiet.

We are still waiting for a church to call Scott as pastor. We have been to several churches in view of a call but none have called as of yet. He is not the only preacher waiting for churches to call. We have friends who we go to church with on Wedneday's and we ask them, "Have y'all heard from ___ church yet?"
And they say "No. How about y'all? Have y'all heard from the church y'all went to?"
"Not yet."
So many churches say that they are praying for God to call more men to preach and yet there are men called by God waiting for churches to accept them. I don't know what these churches are looking for. My husband has preached some really good sermons and has the salvation message in each one. He answers all their questions honestly and makes sure everyone understands the answers. He has even stated he is willing to take a part time while pastoring if needed. But he still has yet to hear from anyone. I think these churches should hear a man at least twice before assuming he's not the one for their church. I don't know though. Someone suggested that it could be Scott's beard causing churches not to call him. That seems rather petty to me though. I personally like his beard and I don't think it should matter as long as he keeps it neatly trimmed.
Scott said that a lot of churches are looking for Saul when they should be looking for a shepherd. The other preachers in our church seem to agree. I'm tired of church politics. It's almost like preachers have to run for office in order to preach.
Anyway until God sends us to the church he wants us to be at we will continue to do our best where we're at. I'll continue to fulfill my purpose taking care and teaching our children and Scott will continue to work hard at his construction job and continue to organize materials for the house he intends to build for us. We will also do our best to help with any local ministries we are able to help.

Well, I must go for now I need to buy some more homeschool supplies. It's amazing how fast pencils disappear when it's time for writing lessons. Until next time!

One Month Left!

I just realized today that I'm on the last Baby on my Baby Ticker! For those who don't know what the ticker is it's the picture at the top of the page that shows which month the baby is in. It updates itself. I'm officially at 35 weeks! The baby can come any time this month and still be fine. I guess that does make me a little nervous but I'm ready. I'm really not afraid of labor being as this is my 4th child. All of my other children were born past their due dates so I half expect this one to throw us off and come before the due date.

This weekend my husband and I took our kids to the park. It was a lot of fun! We had a little picnic and then the kids all played on the playground while we watched. They are all getting so big so fast.

I started working on a baby blanket but haven't been the most faithful at doing it every day. I guess I need to get busy! I hope Jonathan likes yellow. The yellow and white yarn was so pretty to me. The yellow looked so bright next to the white! So I'm crocheting a pretty yellow and white blanket. Maybe after this blanket I'll crochet a more masculine color one for when he gets a little older. I know that yellow is suppose to be a neutral color but my older children all thought I should do blue. Oh well, I like the colors and will have a lot of fun making it.

I've been giving the children homeschool assignments. One of the things they do is memorize a bible verse for their class on Wednesday nights. They were told to pick one on their own for this next couple of weeks. Of course they were wanting to pick an easy one, but I'm insisting they rememorize Psalm 23. They still have it partially memorized from before but were starting to forget some of it. So I told them that they were smart enough to memorize a longer passage. Of course I've taken the fun out of their getting to pick their own verse but I'm sure they will thank me for it one day. Hannah is proud to be memorizing the verse 1. She says my turn after the other two are done and I help her quote the first one. She quotes her verse with a smile on her face.

I've also been printing off worksheets for them. Joshua is able to read his assignments real well on his own. It's been good for them to practice reading and following the instructions on their own. Ruth isn't quite as far along on her reading as her brother but she's not too far behind. She just doesn't seem to understand why I have her read it, when I'm right there and can read it for her. She'll eventually understand I'm sure.

Hannah has to have the same number of papers as her brother and sister. I have a table for her as well. She sits down there with her pencil, paper, and crayons and brings me her work just like her brother and sister do. When they finish a worksheet or have a question, they bring it to me and shortly after them comes Hannah saying, "Look Mom!" And I tell her what a good job she is doing.

Jonathan is even showing signs of being athletic. :) Hannah has a small soft football. Today she had the ball and I was sitting on the bed with her and the other children and my husband were sitting around the room. Jonathan started kicking and I took the football and sat it on the top of my tummy. We all had a good laugh every time Jonathan would kick the football and it fell off. It was so funny! Our little football player and he isn't even born yet!

Well, it won't be long and I'll have to get a sideways picture of me. We always get a picture of me sideways. It's also our family tradition to take a picture of my husband and children all standing sideways with pillows in their shirts. We always have a good laugh over those pictures.
It makes a nice memory over the years. I can see us telling Jonathan, "This is what mommy looked like before you were born. And this is what everyone else looked like."

Only 4 1/2 more weeks to go or so. I'm looking forward to getting to hold Jonathan in my arms. I'm also looking forward to letting my husband have a turn carrying him. I'll try to update pretty regular this month and let everyone know once the baby comes.

Psalm 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want."

Labor Day Weekend

I hope everyone else had a great Labor Day weekend. We had a wonderful time at my parents for the weekend. We enjoyed getting to visit. The kids enjoyed being spoiled a little bit. :)

I am blessed with wonderful parents. Of course for Hannah it wasn't enough. She woke me up this morning asking to see Papa and Nana. I told her we couldn't see them today but later. She was o.k. with that but she had to ask again later on. She is cute though. We were driving home and listening to a CD of Gold City singing "I'm goin' to read it again." Hannah was singing over and over "I wee 'gin, I wee 'gin". It took us awhile to figure out what she was trying to say until Ruth figured it out for us. Ruth said, "Oh, She's saying 'I'm going to read it again'." We all had to giggle over that one which of course Hannah loves the attention.

I plan to take the kids to the store for our Homeschool supplies this week sometime. This is the official week I plan to start them back on their more formal studies. So we will probably kick it off with a little shopping for supplies and organizing their "classroom".

I have a 3D ultrasound picture of Jonathan, that I was able to scan at my parents. It is amazing what you can see with modern technology like it is. Here is the picture.

He looks pretty healthy from the picture. :) You can see his chubby arm on the left side of the picture. On the left side under his chin is just part of the placenta. The Ultrasound technician told us that it is rare to get that good of a picture. She said that 80% of the time the baby is either in a bad position or has a foot or hand in front of his face. So we got one of the few babies that cooperated with the Ultrasound. :) My husband was able to get off work in time to be there for the ultrasound which made it extra special. I had felt bad about him missing out on the first ultrasound we had done. But this time he got to see the whole thing. It was pretty neat. Hannah kept growling though. She thought that the baby looked like a little monster. So she probably thinks the baby is a monster in my tummy. Aren't 2 year olds cute sometimes. :)

Well, that's most of the latest news thus far. My husband has gone back to work and has been getting quite a few calls for preaching appointments over the weekends. So we keep pretty busy. Maybe the time will pass by quickly 'til the baby is born. The last month is the month that is usually the longest. But maybe I'll keep busy and it will go by quickly. I wonder if Jonathan is going to come early or late. Scott will sometimes ask if he can help me carry anything and my usual response is "The baby." He just smiles and says he would but I get too nervous when he tries to pick me up! I guess he's right I'll just have to wait until October.

Mar 9:37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

I'm back!

Sorry about the long delay in posts. It seems that summers are already so busy and then to add moving to the summer just made it busier. We managed to get moved about 2 months ago. Everyone made it safe and sound. My husband has settled into his new job quite well, and now that he is being reimbursed for his gas mileage we are actually able to start saving up a little bit for clearing a spot and building ourselves a new home to live in. That will include getting electricity run and water hooked up.

My husband has sure been learning a lot about construction. He comes home just about everyday telling me of something new he has learned. Which will be real handy for getting our new home finished.

Since my last posting in May, the baby has been kicking up a storm. He stops and rests of course but he seems to be a night owl at this point because he especially likes to kick when I either sit down to rest or lay down to sleep. Oh yes, and we found out that we are having a boy! We are naming him Jonathan Paul.

We have had a good summer. I started taking a writing course in June. I really have been enjoying it. So far I have turned in two stories to my instructor. I read them to my older two kids, since the stories were written at their age level. They were actually impressed. Joshua told me, "I didn't know you could write like that. It sounds like a real story." I'm not sure who they thought wrote the other "real" stories. I guess they just didn't think that mom could write real stories too.

Our other 3 children have been having fun. I'll be starting Joshua and Ruth back to homeschooling next week. I found a homeschool group that do activities together in a nearby town and we joined the group. I'm hoping that our kids will be able to have some friends that are also homeschooled and still get to learn a lot in the process. As long as we can keep our vehicles going, I plan to take them on a lot of field trips and activities. Hannah of course won't be left out.

Hannah, our 2 year old, has finally figured out that baby Jonathan is in my tummy. We had a 3D ultrasound of the baby, and Hannah growled a bunch because she thought that the baby looked like a little monster. She is also putting more and more sentences together. She still has a little trouble pronouncing every word right, but she is so cute in how she says things. I'll try to keep a post of her new anecdotes on here. I can't think of many examples right now, but if I were posting more often, I would have plenty to write about.

So I intend to keep up my blogs. I hope no one gives up on me too completely. I'm going to post some links on the side. Since I'm going to be starting the homeschooling again, I thought everyone might like to look at some links to some of the resources I like to use. I'll probably put more links up as I go along.

Two more weeks!

Well, only 2 more weeks, before we move. We have been in our present location for about 5 years or so. However we are looking for to living closer to family and friends. Thankfully my father and brother will be coming down to help us. We will have to move our travel trailer and a trailer with a car on it. I was really dreading that long drive with 3 kids in the back and having to tow a vehicle on the back of our 15 passenger van. But my brother is used to hauling trailers so I really am appreciating his taking time out of his busy schedule to drive all the way down here to help us. Isn't family a wonderful thing?

We have been getting ready. We plan to take our kids to visit some of the sites around here and kind of get to say "good-bye" to the places we will not be able to visit again. They are looking forward to the move though. Since we homeschool, they will not have to change their routines too much. I'm sure I'll give them some slack at first, but I've already made arrangements for them to start in the Library's reading program in our new hometown. So they'll be having fun learning again.

Today, we bought a "fancy" lawnmower. I was tired of our other lawnmower stalling all the time, so I talked to my husband about it and he agreed with my idea of a new lawn mower. We now have a lawnmower that doesn't require gasoline, no motor, no oil. All we have to do to start it is push it. My son is the most excited, since at almost 9, he is actually able to start this one. All he has to do is push. After plenty of warnings about being careful for the blades, he was able to mow one side of our yard by himself. He was so proud! I'm amazed at how big he's getting.

Violin lessons are going well for Joshua and Ruth. Our goal is to get them able to hold their violins up without groaning and moaning at their lessons and during practice. Hannah is doing pretty well copying her brother and sister with her little violin. She can groan and moan just like them. They're getting stronger though. These lessons have been good for them. Our next trick will be to find them a new teacher, once we've moved. By the end of this month they should be able to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". That would really make them feel good.

Well, the baby hasn't kicked yet, despite my coaxing. But who knows any day now maybe I'll feel something. It still a little early I guess.

We've picked names! If we have a boy we plan to name him Jonathan Paul, and if we have a girl we plan to name her Joanna Lynn. So now to wait and see which it will be.

James 1:3-4 "Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

Things My Mother Taught Me

I have learned a lot of valuable lessons from my mother during my childhood. In fact, I'm still learning from those subtle lessons that are now more important than ever to me as I work to raise my children. I just want to share some of those wonderful things I learned as a child from my mother, and now as an adult trying to teach my own children.

When I was a child my mother taught many lessons of what is right and what is wrong. I remember my mom switching the TV channels and explaining how to know the sound of a Soap Opera verses another movie. She made sure we knew at a young age that Soap Opera's were not good for us and to switch from a station that sounded like that. (If anyone wants to know why Soap Operas are not good, let me know and I'll be willing to talk with you about it.)
She also taught us not to watch certain cartoons. She didn't just simply forbid us from watching something, she always explained why we shouldn't watch it and what the problems were with the cartoon or show.

My mother was also the one who taught me not to say "bad" words. I didn't get in trouble the first time I came home from off the school bus and asked my mother what a word meant. She simply asked me where I heard it from and explained that there were certain words that were considered bad words and that if I didn't know a meaning of a word that I shouldn't say it unless I look it up. So then she had me go to the bookshelf and look it up in the dictionary. That day I knew what to do with words I didn't know.

I learned so many other things from my mother. I learned to be quiet in church. I learned to be respectful. I remember several times my mother taking me aside and adjusting my attitude problem. Even though I may not liked it, I knew she was right. She always explained why I was being disciplined.

She taught me to be generous and giving. My mother would give of her time and money to many good endeavors. I knew she loved people by how much she did for them. She showed her love to us kids by giving us things we needed and quite often the things we wanted. I realize now that we may not have needed everything that she gave to us children, but that it was her love that made her want to give it. I don't remember very many things she bought for herself. She always wanted to spend her money on her children and now she enjoys spending her money on her grandchildren as well.

She taught us, how bad divorce was. We may not have known exactly why divorce was such a horrible thing at the time, but we knew that it was a cause of a lot of problems. Now as an adult I realize why divorce is so bad and am greatful to my mother for teaching me how to be committed to my husband and to talk over problems that we may have. My mom was always committed to my Dad and I knew she loved him and would back his decisions whenever they had to be made. She would give her opinion on a matter but always let him decide. He was always good about listening to her opinions on those matters and between the two of them, they would make the best decision possible. I learned a lot from her on how to be submissive but always willing to give advice in a loving way to my husband when it was needed. I am so glad that I have been able to learn from her great example. My husband and I are the best of friends, because of my parents' example.

Probably one of the most important lessons I learned from my mother, was the value of prayer. I learned that God wants to hear from us and no prayer is too small to be important to Him. I can even pray for a bad hair day and He listens. Although that doesn't mean he will always answer the way we want, but many times He will. For me prayer is quite a comfort when I am having a problem that I cannot solve on my own. I know he will listen and help me with whatever the situation may be.

Now that I am grown, I'm still gleaning from those and many other lessons I've learned from my mother. As I get older I find myself asking her for advice on life and how she handled the situations that I may be facing now. She has always been a patient ear ready to listen to my questions. I love my mother, and hope that I am able to pass on these valuable lessons to my children as well.

Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her.

Growing Up and Special Moments!

My children are getting so big! I'm amazed at how much they are learning and growing.
Joshua and Ruth have been taking Violin lessons for about three weeks now. The teacher said at the beginning that she may not have them actually bowing their violins for a few weeks. But they have been working hard and practicing exactly what she tells them to, that she has started them playing two notes with their bows. I'm so proud of them.

When Scott takes the other two to lessons Hannah and take time to do something special together. Today, I fixed up her hair and helped her get all dressed up pretty for going to Wal-mart. Ok, maybe most people don't get all dressed up for going to Wal-mart but for a two year old it can be as exciting as going to a theme park for a teenager. The dressing up and getting to take her own dollar to spend makes it extra special.

After we fix her hair and she picks out the dollar she wants to take. I help her put her dollar in her little backpack and then I help her put her backpack on. Then we head out to the van. Then we walk into Wal-mart and I smile as people tell me how cute my little girl is. Then of course I have to spend 50 cents to let her ride the bulldozer ride inside the store. (I remember when rides like that were only 25 cents.) She picked out a water gun in the toy section and we got some small ones for her brother and sister.

Then we window shopped in the maternity and baby sections. Then we happened by a display table with samples of Dark Chocolate M&M's! So we shared the five M&M's in the little sample cup. I have had a terrible chocolate craving the past couple of weeks to make up for any non-sweet cravings in my earlier weeks of pregnancy. So I had to get 3 packages of M&M's since they were on sale. Then Hannah handed her dollar to the cashier, and we checked out and carried our bags to the van. At home we ate chicken nuggets and went outside and shot the bouncy horse with water guns. I finally coaxed her back inside with M&M's. So we split a bag of M&M's. Then I had her take a nap.

Scott and the other two children arrived home by that time and I got to hear about their lessons. Then Scott went to work and during the second hour of Hannah's nap, I took a nap.

Today may have seemed like a simple day and like not much took place for it to be so special, but sometimes even the simple things in life can be fun. It's all a matter of perspective. Now my husband is coming home from work and is bringing me a milk shake!


Ecc 2:24 [There is] nothing better for a man, [than] that he should eat and drink, and [that] he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it [was] from the hand of God.

The weather is finally starting to warm up. The cold front kind of caught us by surprise last week. All three of our children became sick last Wednesday. I was hoping it would be just a 24 hour virus or something. But they continued to be sick on Thursday as well. I didn't get much sleep either of the nights and Thursday night, I decided that if they didn't improve then I would take them to the doctor the next morning.

Well, after very little sleep, one hour before the Doctor's office opened, I was praying that the kids could hold themselves together for one more hour. Well, they did and I loaded them all up into our 15 passenger van, and took them to the clinic. Of course, since it is a walk-in visit, we had to wait for a while. While we waited, we looked at magazines, I cleaned up after my middle daughter who spit up. Then I directed my son, to where he could go to the restroom.

Finally, their names were called, and after Joshua returned from the bathroom, we were able to see the doctor. Joshua's fever had already gone down, he was now left with a throat infection and diarrhea. Ruth, had throat infection and a high fever (103 degrees) and congestion. Hannah had a high fever, an ear infection, and congestion.

The Doctor called in prescriptions for each of them. We then stopped by the laundry mat to see my sweet husband, who knew I hadn't had time to do laundry all week. So he had gotten up early enough to go to the laundry mat, before he had to run off to work. I then took the kids to the house to let them all use the bathroom, get something to drink, and a light breakfast. Then we went back to the laundry mat to pick up the clothes.

On our return trip to the laundry mat, I smelled the van was overheating. So, I called my husband who had left for work and told him about the smell. I still needed to go to Wal-mart to pick the kids' prescriptions. He said for me to just drive slow, and not push the van too hard.

While I was paying for the medicine at the pharmacy, my son, suddenly shrieked that he needed to go to the bathroom. Too late, it was already coming, the pharmacist's assistant said that she would hold the medicine for us, and I rushed off with the kids to the bathroom, grabbing paper towels I found along the way for my desperate son. I felt so terrible for him. I'm not sure how embarrassed he really was, but I was embarrassed for him. He ran into the bathroom and I posted Ruth, at the door, to let him know, if he came out before I got back that I was getting him a change of clothes. She was a very willing guard. So I took the youngest with me to the van, I was so glad that we had just picked up clothes from the laundry mat.

Thankfully, my son changed, and we bagged up the dirty clothes, and went back to the pharmacy. The pharmacist gave me a run down of all the medicines, and I finally took the kids home. I have an index card system of who took what when. A tired pregnant mother can't rely on her memory all the time. The system has been working and each child has been getting the right medicine at the right times so far.

Who says, being a mother isn't exciting. Thankfully, after much prayer they are now feeling much better, and I'm finally getting some sleep.

Luke 5:31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

I hadn't written in quite a while. I guess by the end of the day, I would be tired and just felt like reading other's thoughts, or chatting with my family. But now, I'm back and ready to start back where I left off. My thoughts may not always be as deep as they sometimes had been. I'm not going to be trying to think too hard at the end of the day, as I was before. But I'm sure my deep thoughts will just come out on there own without my having to think about it, right?

Well, some things in our home are the same, and some have changed quite a bit. We are still living in the Travel Trailer. We are still happy with our trailer, although the older our three children are becoming, the more cramped the space seems to get. We are in the market for a futon bunk bed, to hopefully help on our space. So as soon as we find a good one, hopefully that will take care of some of our space issues. Our son will be able to sleep in the top bunk, while the two girls sleep in the bottom bunk. Then we will have a couch by day and bed by night.

One of the changes that have taken place in our happy home, is that we are looking forward to having to find space for a fourth child. I just had an appointment with my Doctor this week and confirmed that I'm expecting a Baby. According to the Doctor, I am at about 8 weeks. We're so excited! My son, wants us to have a boy, my daughter wants us to have a girl, my 2 year old just thinks we're talking about baby dolls.

Oh, there is a lot to tell about, and talk about, but that can wait for another blog. My dear husband is home and I want to visit with him. So check back. I intend to be more prompt on writing. I'll try to keep everyone posted on how our lives are growing and changing.