Evan holds on

I have been babysitting some this week as well as working at the training room for my sick boss. I was coming to the FLC to use the internet in Rick's office and as we were crossing the street, I grabbed for Evan's hand. It hit me, that usually when I do this, I don't have to grab him if we are going somewhere he wants to go, he holds my finger as tight as his little hand will wrap around mine and walks as fast as his little legs will allow. But if we are going and he doesn't want to go, like home from church, for instance, I have to hold his wrist as tight as I can and pull and lead him in the right direction.

Isn't that just like us and God. When we are excited about the direction God is taking us, man, we hold on tight to God. We wouldn't even think of letting go, for fear of danger or sadness, etc. But when God asks us to do something we don't want to do, like giving up a sin in our life, or forgiving someone we don't want to, or serving, etc. , God has to hold on tighter to us and lead us in the right direction.

Aren't you glad that God doesn't let go of us and that we can always hold tight to Him!

We had an awesome revival this week and I praise God for His goodness and His mercy. Please pray for all the lost people today, especially our family members. May we all be more concerned for the soul of the lost sinner.

Aiden cuts shirt

Aiden came home with a nice little note from school yesterday. He apparently decided that he would use his scissors to cut a nice hole in his shirt. When the teacher asked him what happened and why, he told her that he cut because he wanted to. Well, at least he didn't lie, but Rick had a long talk with him. The teacher said she explained how we need to take care of our things because Mommy and Daddy spent good money on our things. Maybe we won't have to deal with that again.

Daddy's REAL Job

Poor Daddy! Just to preface this post, I love my husband, and he does a wonderful job as the pastor of our church, the daddy of our home, and being my husband.

Rick was getting ready to go to his office and do "church stuff" like studying, phone calls, etc., and Allee asked where he was going. He said, I'm going to work. She asked where and he said, "To the office." She replied, "Oh, I thought you were going to your "real" job far away."

Rick got a huge kick out of that. Blessed as we are to have somewhat flexible schedules and our kids see us a good bit, what they don't see is what all we "really" do. I don't know why Allee is having such a hard time knowing what "daddy does." Daddy does a lot that she doesn't see. Maybe one day she will see the sacrifices we have made for "daddy" to be able to do the job he does.

We love you daddy and we appreciate ALL you do for us and others.

Too Busy

Is it just me, or do all of you feel as busy as I do? Life seemed so much simpler when I was a child. I don't remember going all the time and being a run ragged as I feel now. Last week is a blur. We try to take care of our families by doing activities and being involved, and yet, sometimes, our families are the ones to suffer the most. Let's just say, by Friday night, after a long week of craziness, a long day of church errands, picking up kids from school, room mom meeting, painting at the church, I think we ate supper and bathed....I was spent! Unfortunatlely when my youngest knocked over the toybox that I had just filled with toys before bedtime, I took my frustration out on him by screaming at him. Like he knew. He was just being a little boy. (Mischievious little boy, but nontheless...) When I realized how upset he had gotten, I got upset and was comforted by my oldest, who probably had the fear of God in him by this point and knew not to rock the boat. Afterward, I was able to find some alone time with God and talked to Rick and all was well.

I guess my point is, and I spoke on this a couple of weeks ago at a ladies retreat, be sure to not "busy" yourself out of a family and into a mental institute. Also, and we all know this but are still guilty of slipping up as I did, take time with God early! It doesn't have to be first thing, but early in your day. This reminds us that God is in control and not us. We can't function alone and we need His daily guidance to help us make decisions and not "crack up". Don't pour all of your energy into your family (kids, spouse, etc) and live no energy for yourself and your relationship with God. If we do this we may find ourselves waking years later to an empty home, but worse...an empty HEART! Let Jesus fill your heart with joy and transfer that joy to others. Let's all be a witness for Him today!

Corn is a vegetable....by Aiden

Life is busy at house. I know it is for you all too. Wednesdays are especially busy due to church. I try to get everything done before hand so the kids can go straight to bed afterward. Today, Aiden claims he was starving to death and couldn't get homework (reviewing numbers, writing and reading) accomplished until after a snack. I told him he could have a snack before I even thought about how close it was to supper, due to earlier eating for church night. He already had asked for chips and I was trying to convince him to eat a fruit instead so that he wouldn't spoil his appetite. As I was convincing, I stumbled across a small bag of corn chips and had a brain loss or something and asked if he wanted those. He said, "What are they Mama?" "Corn chips," I said. A big smile and eyebrow raise came across his face. "Mama, that will be good for me to eat, because corn is a vegetable and vegetables are good for you." He turned his little self around and marched off eating his healthy snack, never to know any different.

He has already learned so much in school. He has a wonderful teacher. I can't believe how he is picking up on the reading already. His teacher has them do a writing journal. They have to draw a picture and then write a sentence about the picture. She was sharing his folder (which stays in class) with us at open house. She encourages them to write the words they are trying to say, even if they don't know how. It is so cute to see the way they spell things. I am really amazed that she even knows what he means in the "sentences". One picture he drew and the sentence was "I went to church." He had drawn a stick man at a pulpit, (daddy of course) and several pews (straight lines) with stick people on them facing the preacher. Pretty impressive. He had packed the church full of as many stick people that would fit on the pew! That's what I like. Seeing a child with a heart for God! LOL!

Seriously, we have been studying obedience in Children's Church and it is really making a difference in my kids. We have tried reward charts before and they haven't worked, but along with prayer and a revived heart on my part, we have started getting stickers on a chart each time I "catch" them being obeidient...without whining, stomping, or a bad attitude. Their behavior overall has been better. We still have our fights, but it is a work in progess. Thank you Jesus. You are so good to us and we are so undeserving!

Evan mocks!

They learn fast! Doing what others do is not a good trait, but it is inevitable. Cute story from the Taylor bunch.

Sunday, in the midst of chaos as usual, I was preparing to leave for a meeting before p.m. service, leaving Rick to tend to the youngsters. Of course, there was whining to go with me. While I am trying to get ready and ignore the cries of the young, Evan comes running into my room screaming in pain. He had been playing in the living room with Allee, so I asked, "Allee, do you know what is wrong with your brother?" Very unconcerned and dry, she replies, "Yes, I shut his finger in the drawer." "Why did you do that, Allee?" "Because he put them in there!" Okay, I can deal with this. So I am explaining to her why it is important to be nice and help our younger brother, she is half way listening, Evan is still snubbing, and I am still getting my things together....Allee comes around the table and WHAM! hits her forehead really hard on one of the bar stools. The crying begins! I assume Rick will see how she is since he is closer, but he continues working, as if she needs no attention and really isn't hurt, so Mommy to the rescue. I squat down beside her to investigate the damage and spot a red area that seems to be okay. As I am kissing the boo-boo, Evan approaches my side, looks at Allee, looks at me, and I still can't believe I saw this from my 21 month old, but he takes his head and intentionally bops it on the bar stool, gives a really pathetic attempt at a whine/cry and lunges for me to hold him.

As I am cracking up out loud at what just happened, I walked out the door for Rick to deal with all the drama!

New Puppy

Well, actually we have had it for a month, but you know me and my updates. His name is Rosco (other names considered, Jack (by Aiden), Puddle (by Allee) and Porkchop (by Daddy). Aiden finally named him! My cousin blessed us with this adorable Jack Russell Terrier. We were excited to get him because we have a fence and all. Well, by looking at the pictures you can see the fence doesn't help. He can crawl under, through or between anything, he is so tiny! He is all puppy! Teething and biting. He is a great dog. He fetched for us on the first day, never barks and loves to run and play, AND all of the kids can pick him up easily! I can't believe we added something else to our lives, but so far he has been no trouble at all! Evan says, when you ask him about the puppy, "Osco bite me". But Evan is the one who shows the most interest. Now that he has starting nibbling on toes, Allee runs from him (she always has exposed toes in flip flops). Aiden tried to take him for a ride in the little coup car, which seems nice, except he put him through the hole in the handle and the poor thing was hanging there by his neck....not barking though! We had a long talk about that!