Mother of Seven + 2

Thinking about all the time I often mindlessly spend on the internet.  I may be catching up on Facebook status updates, looking for recipes I want to try, reading my favorite blogs, or writing on my own blog.  All of these things can be good, but I often waste away precious minutes that turn to hours.  This holiday season I'm putting my computer away for a week.  I want to spend every moment enjoying time with my family.  I want to be fully present, not half there.  I desire to just spend time soaking up this celebration of my Savior's birth.  Praying you and your families will be doing the same. So until the New Year.... Photo from freedigitalphotos.net  

My daughter, Kaytlin, worked hard and designed a new blog header for me.  Then with the help of her brother, Ryan, they redesigned my blog.  A big thank you to my kids.  I love it!  Photo from freedigitalphotos.net

 Claiming God's Word as my prayer at bedtime O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Psalm 63:1-5 Parched Thirsty Longing Up before dawn with a song in my heart My prayer for the day "Draw Me Close" [Chorus:] You're all I want, You're all I've ever needed You're all I want, Help me know you are near Driving down the highway Car lights penetrating the darkness Switching off the radio Desiring solitude Looking up the beautiful quarter moon shining Then there it was just to the le...

I just found the draft for this post that is a part of my series on the heart.  I never posted it.  There was a reason for that.  I was struggling with having a forgiving heart at the time.  God is good, and I am amazed by his timing.  He provided exactly what I needed through His Word.  I'm praying now that the time is right to share this post with you. "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17 There are times in life when there are wrongs that need dealt with.  These are never easy.  I've been in a few....

Kaytlin pointed out to us the other day that our neighbors might think we are just a little different.  I like to think we are pretty normal people, but perhaps she does have a point. We have had fire drills and had the children crawling through the house and climbing out upstairs windows onto the roof.  I might wonder a little bit about a family if I drove by a house and saw a bunch of children on the rooftop. To dry the onions from the garden, my husband put chicken wire over our garage windows (which had the glass broken out of them).  Then we poked the onion tops through the chicken wire.  It worked well.  However, I guess dried onion tops hanging out of the garage windows might look unusual to the neighbors. Then there is really no explanation for this.  We just like to have fun.   We may appear a little strange.  Some of us even look like aliens.  However, it's not all bad.  God calls us to live as aliens and strang...

Some days it feels like I can't go on. I'm tired. Life's burdens weight me down. I'm weary. The children's needs wear on me. I'm worn. There is no strength left to face another day. I'm weak. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28   Photo from freedigitalphotos.net Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?   My help comes from the LORD , the Maker of heaven and earth.   He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber;     indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.   The LORD watches over you--   the LORD is your shade at your right hand;   the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.   The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life;     the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and ...

Our daughter, Kaytlin, has always been expressive with her words.  Thought I would share some of her classic quotes from early childhood. After sleeping in the car one day and having drooled, "Mom, my cheek is leaking." age 4 The more kosher way she came up with to describe having gas.  "I have bottom bubbles."  age 4 About eating a food she wasn't sure of, "Eating lasagna is like eating slugs with sauce on them."   age 5 Kayt at age 4. Kaytlin continues to delight us with her descriptive language.  Now she's 16, and practices her writing skills on her own blog.  I know she would love to have visitors.  Her blog is entitled We are Windows .  Sometime when you have a chance, you might drop over and visit her.  I know she would love to have you. Our dreamy, Kayt.  Always imagining a new story.  

at The Purposeful Mom . I was asked to share a guest post today at The Purposeful Mom.  Jenn is running a series of adoption stories this week.  Jenn previously shared her story From an Adopted Child on my blog.  She was adopted and gives adoptive parents valuable insight. Meet Jenn from The Purposeful Mom  From my post today: "Our adoption story begins back when I was a little girl. In the Sunday paper each week there would be a picture of a little boy or girl who needed a home. One picture in particular I still remember of a little boy with a sweet smile and round cherubic face. He had on glasses with bottle cap lenses. It was obvious he had some special needs, but my young heart was tugged. I wanted him to have a home, and I remember begging my parents to take him.  It was then God planted a desire in my heart to help children who needed a home."  Continue reading A Desire, A Prayer, and A Dream at The Purposeful M...

The time of year is quickly approaching where there is a lot of focus on materialism.  The ads begin flooding the mail.  The commercials inundate us with the latest gadget we need .  And every year I get frustrated because a great deal of conversation amongst our children gets focused on what I want . Two years ago we came up with "The Notebook" to help ease my stress and frustration.  We use "The Notebook" in two different ways.  The first way is for each child to have a place where they can list things they would like for their birthdays or Christmas.  These are running lists that they add to all year.  They mostly contain sports items, electronic games, legos, art supplies, and books.  When a special occasion rolls around, we look at the list and figure out what things we would like to buy.  In addition, it is also helpful to refer to when Grandma calls and wants to know what she should buy. The Notebook.  As you can tell it's h...

We try to teach our children to apply the Bible to their lives.  Ryan decided to help Kaytlin with this task when they were ages seven and five.   Like a typical child or even adult, he was better at applying it to someone else's life. One day Kayt was doing her usual chore of picking up downstairs so Ryan could run the vacuum.  She was overwhelmed by all the toys.  With her own dramatic flair she said, "Mom, look at all these toys.  Just look at them.  I can't pick them all up.  Look, mom, just look!"  She carried on like this for several minutes. Finally having enough of his sister's drama Ryan stated, "Kayt, if your eye causes you to sin, poke it out."  Guess he thought looking at all those toys was causing her to sin.

Supper Menu #5   A – Crockpot Mongolian Beef B – Tuna Noodle Casserole C – Easy Ham Bake D – French Dip Sandwiches E – Egyptian Rice F - Primavera Pizza Grocery List #5 Dairy B – milk (1 c) B, C – cheddar cheese (1 lb) B, C – butter (4 T) D – mozzarella (8 oz) E – sour cream (8 oz) F – grated Parmesan (2 T) F – Italian blend cheese (2 c) Bread B – bread crumbs (2 T) D – 1 loaf French bread F – 2 cans refrigerated pizza dough Fresh Meat A - 1 ½ pounds beef steak C – 8-12 oz ham D – 1 ½ pound boneless round steak or a beef roast E – 1 pound hamburger F – 12 oz chicken breast Fresh Produce A – garlic (2 cloves) A – carrots (shredded ½ c) A – 3 green onions C – 6 med potatoes C, D, E – 3 onions C – 4-6 apples F - red bell pepper (1) F – red onion (1) F – baby spinach (1 sm bag) Canned/Boxed/Packaged A, E – rice, 2 lb bag B – 2 cans cr of mush soup B – 2 cans tuna B – 1 pkg egg nood...

Guess I'm feeling a little nostalgic today.  Thinking back there are many memories from when the children were little that I want to never forget.  I've written many of them down over the years, so I thought I might share a few with you over the next couple weeks.  The years slip by and our little ones grow up.  Those baby to preschool years are busy, but they are filled with delightful antics that brighten our days.  Here is a classic story from Ryan, our oldest.  He is now in college, but this is his interpretation of The Good Samaritan at the tender age of four. As we were walking one summer day, Ryan and I passed by a very flat squirrel lying in the road. Having a tender heart Ryan asked, "Is someone going to help that squirrel?" I explained to him that the squirrel was beyond help and we passed on by. On our way back home we once again passed the squirrel.  Ryan said, "Mommy, nobody has helped that squirrel." "That's be...

It seems like yesterday when our home was filled with these unending questions from Ryan and all the siblings that followed.  "Daddy, you wanna play with me?" "Play train?" "Daddy, wanna play ball?" "Play school on 'puter', daddy?" Every day before work, over lunch, and after supper Les was bombarded with questions like this.  Ryan would look up at his daddy pleadingly with those big brown eyes, and Les just couldn't resist at least spending a few minutes playing with his boy.  I loved watching Les and Ryan together.  It was just the way a father and son should be--spending every moment possible together.   Watching Les as a father over the years has reminded me of my Heavenly Father.  He desires to spend as much time as possible with me.   Seeing how eager Ryan or any of our children were to spend time with their daddy, reminds me I should be just as eager to spend time with my Father. I remembe...

The leaves are falling from the trees. Reminds me of the seasons of life. Time goes on.  Life changes. Husband went to bid a final farewell today. Beloved minister, mentor, and friend passed on. Time stopped.  Our lives forever changed. Changed because he took the time to love, Changed because he listened, Changed because he taught by example. Calvin and Betty are on the right-hand side.  Pictured here with just a few of the college kids they mentored over the years. He celebrated our wedding with us. He was at my husband's ordination. He held our firstborn son. I will always remember one sermon he preached. It was on the Lord's second coming. He was excited and animated as he described Jesus coming back in the clouds. Our son, then two, sat enthralled. However, at some point we had told him Jesus was in his heart. He suddenly looked in his shirt and said, "Uh-oh, Jesus all gone." No, Jesus wasn't gone.  Jes...

Walking this afternoon Thinking about our country Wondering about the future Praying for our land Heading out of town Fields lie barren after harvest Signs of autumn surround me The beauty of spring long since faded Here and there a few fall flowers bloom A blossom of yellow A patch of gold Brighten the browns and oranges Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net   Those flowers remind me of our children Seeds growing in a dying world Bringing beauty and life As they blossom in the midst of the weeds Oh, Lord, what a difficult life they face This country turning from its Christian foundation Giving away the religious freedom it once cherished Taking away the heritage the founders planned for them Pain grips my heart I close my eyes Then I hear it The sound of wind blowing through the native grasses Reminded me of the Holy Spirit Alive and well Changing lives Accomplishing God's work The Spirit is moving Blo...

This year I struggled a bit with wanting to start the school year.  Last year the whining and complaining, huffing and puffing, rolling the eyes and slamming into the chair stuff really was wearing me thin by the end of the year.  I was not anxious to start again.  I wanted to enjoy my children, but this attitude junk definitely did not spell out enjoyment.  It stressed me and made me anxious to just let them loose so I could get away from them. I worked and worked at not letting these attitudes occur.  There was discipline.  There were gentle reminders and sometimes not so gentle reminders.  There was practice of a proper response after an inappropriate response.  There were Scriptures memorized.   Despite my efforts it felt like I was banging my head against the wall.  Children can unwillingly conform on the outside, but the attitude still dwells on the inside.  It continues to seep out, but many times it just spills out al...

It was a lazy Saturday morning.  No one rolled out of bed much before 8:00 a.m.  It was nearly 9:00 by the time I called the troops to breakfast.  They came thumping down the stairs with everyone talking at once.  As we were taking our seats around the breakfast table, Troy looked up at his dad and noticed a problem. "Um, dad, you have something white on your face." "No, I don't.  I just looked in the mirror and there was nothing there." Troy reaches towards his dad's face to show him.  Dad pulls his head back.  "Back off.  There's nothing on my face.  You're just pulling my leg."   By this time the chatter has died down and everyone is looking at Dad.  Kayt chimes in, "Seriously, dad, there is something on your forehead." The agitated response fired back, "Now guys, I just took a shower.  I get clean in the shower unlike some of you.  I looked in the mirror.  And I know there is nothing on my face." A...