Summer Love

As I sit down to the computer to type a much needed update for our blog, and I am so filled with the knowledge and emotion of the Lord's presence in this place.  I hear the scratchy sound of our little man in the background strapping and unstrapping the velcro on his newest body attachment, his boot cast (more on that later). Add that to the bump, brush, bump, brush sound in between the scratches as he attempts to sweep up the kitchen floor once again after dumping the dog food all over the floor.  :)  In the other ear I hear the deep voice of a giant pickle teaching my daughter about why it is important not to lie.  And the click clack of our dog Peanut and my sister-in-law's dog Sassy competing with Bodie over the spilled dog food.  The sweet aroma of a ham cooking in the oven (for tomorrow) is making me hungry, and tonight's dinner, grilled veggies -- OH MY GOODNESS THE VEGGIES! I almost forgot them!!! -- are calling my name.  I love the feel of going outside into the HOT HOT HOT after being inside our air conditioned home.  And I love the feel of going inside after being in the HOT HOT HOT outside.  My toy-covered living room and messy kitchen remind me once again that I am so blessed to have a home that needs cleaning and that my children have an abundance of things to play.  Dear God, thank You for being in this place.

Bodie turned two at the end of May.  His vocabulary is blossoming and he has developed an amazing sense of humor.  He has a repertoire of phrases that he makes us laugh with every night as he repeats them over and over and over until our sides are splitting:  "Momma, are you mad?"  :)  "We need gas."  "It might rain."  and "Momma, your toenails are pretty."   He vascilates between having an extremely strong will and being the sweetest sweetheart on the planet. :)  He weighs 30 pounds, is 36 inches tall, and except for having my brown eyes and having blonde hair (who knows where that comes from!) he sure looks like his daddy.  :)  Acts like him, too.  I remember when I was in labor with Bodie, Joe's mom was encouraging me in the hospital when our family doctor came into the room to check on our progress.  She put her arm around him and he put his arm around her.  Angie asked him, "Rick, what do you think about us having another BOY?"  Dr. Rick didn't miss a beat.  He looked at her and smiled and said, "Well, we raised one (meaning Joe), and we'll just raise another."  Was he ever right.  Last week, we took our little guy to see Dr. Rick for his first x-ray and first broken bone.  I can't remember how many broken bones Joe had growing up -- six? seven?  Not sure, but I am afraid Bodie may give him some competition...

Joe keeps threatening to put a brick on Erin's head if she doesn't stop growing so much. :)  She is always measuring herself next to things and it cracks me up because she is so proud that she has hair on her legs!!! :)  She has a tender heart and we are seeing a bit of a prophet emerge as she develops more of an awareness of the Lord at work around her (she is more like her daddy than we ever knew!).  Things are very black and white to her, either completely right or completely wrong, either very good or very bad.  She told me the last time we had to chastise Bodie and her that she wished that we weren't born into sin.  Boy, so do I. :)  Thank the Lord for the precious blood of Jesus.  She performed in her second dance recital at the end of May, and I was so proud of her.  She begins Kindergarten (at home) in the Fall, and she and I both are so excited to begin!  And believe it or not, we had her first ortho consult -- who knew it started at age 4!? -- and feel so blessed to live in this community of professionals who love the Lord.

Our family just returned from an amazing vacation to the East Coast.  We spent several days in Greenville, SC (highly recommended, by the way), spent wonderful time with some wonderful friends we've not seen in five or six years, enjoyed the beautiful wedding of a precious couple, Nancy and Daniel Goodnight, and spent several days on the "crystal coast" near Emerald Isle with my best NC friend Cheryl and her family Stacey, Kaitlyn, and David Asato.  Bodie loved the "big sandbox" and "big water," and Erin loved jumping the waves in the salty water, catching fish with Stacey, riding the boat, and she came home with two hermit crabs, Rapunzel and Russell. :)  Shakespear's words, "Parting is such sweet sorrow," resonates in our ears.  David's descriptor of our trip seems the most appropriate -- "bittersweet."  So sweet to be together with friends.  So hard to leave.  I can't wait to see them again.


We are gearing up for three weeks of awesome ministry -- two 5-day bible clubs in local parks and a week at camp teaching children about Jesus.  I am so excited. :)

And now to enjoy a vegetarian feast -- corn on the cobb that my sweet sister-in-law gave to us before they left for their vacation and "shish bob" squash, zucchini, "may-mays" (tomatoes), red onions, potatoes, asparagus, and bell peppers.  Don't worry, vegetarian friends, you'll never convert us -- we will have a meat-filled diet tomorrow. :)

Love and blessings to you and yours and happy summer! :)

Been awhile! :)

Well, it's been awhile. :)

The teachers in this home were able to be students again in the last several months. :) Joe and I have been busy taking a Child Evangelism class called Teaching Children Effectively, taught by an amazing woman of God and a fabulous mentor for this ministry.  It has truly rejuvenated my passion for teaching children about Jesus and it has made my walk with the Lord more intimate.  I am so grateful for Tina for investing her time in us.  As part of our practicums for the class, we helped her with two "Good News Clubs" at the public schools here and in Booker and were thrilled and privileged to see many children come to receive our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Next year, our church has committed to do the Good News Clubs in the public schools, and we are very, very excited about it.  If you've ever felt insecure about how to talk to children about Jesus, or if you are uncertain about how to answer a child's questions about God, you should really consider taking this class.  When you sense the Spirit of God drawing a child's heart to Himself, it is the most incredibly peaceful and joyful experience.

Our little Erin has reaped some benefits from us taking the class as well. She can present all aspects of the Gospel to anyone at any time. :)  She understands that she is a sinner and needs Jesus and responds just about every time an "invitation" to receive Jesus is given.  But at four, her faith is evident but not quite clear enough that we would consider that she turned her life over to Christ yet.  But He's drawing her, and some day in the near future, we know we will be met with rejoicing for her salvation.  Several days ago I overheard her telling her brother her own version of the wordless book in the bathtub, and it absolutely melted my heart.  It went something like this: 
Erin --  What's your name? ... Say Bodie. 
Bodie -- Bodie
E -- Have you every been punished? ...  Say yes.
B -- Yes.
E -- Well did you know that there is an even greater punishment than that?  Because we sin, we will go to a terrible place forever...  Say sin.
B -- Sin
E -- But Jesus can make you white...Say white.
B -- White
E -- C'mon, let's get you white! (she gets the soap and begins to wash his little body!)
B -- Scream!!!

Speaking of sowing and reaping, I am so excited that we planted our garden this weekend.  We have beautiful flowers in the front and our favorite vegetables out back.  We aired up the kids' swimming pool and filled it up yesterday, and we are really enjoying the warm, summery weather.  Good thing the kids got my skin color because we've really enjoyed soaking up the sun, and no sunburns :)  As my sweet little niece Josie told me the other day, she, Erin, Bodie, and I all inherited the same disease -- we get brown in the sun. :)  But her momma only gets brown from the machine. :)  This is my favorite time of the year.

I posted one of our pics from Easter this year.  It's silly, I know, but I have this thing where we all have to match at Easter. :)  We really liked how the picture turned out, though.

Thanks for checking in on us!  Love to all of you from the four of us! :)

Hand-Me-Downs

This week, my entire philosophy of parenting has been challenged by the actions of a five-year-old.  If you know me at all, you know that when it comes to my husband and our children, I am fiercely protective, ready to strike at anyone or anything that even remotely comes close to harming them or hurting their feelings.  That's my instinct.  You probably have it, too.  I fight it almost every day and with much help from the Lord, I usually manage to release it to Him and keep my tongue at bay.  My thoughts, on the other hand, aren't always as bridled.  (That, by the way, is sin in my life, help me, Jesus.)

It was a simple conversation, and probably much more innocent than I've made it out to be, but my sweet little four-year-old simply asked a question to her five-year-old friend:  "Do you like my pretty sweater?"  The little girl's response -- nothing but a sneer.  This little girl in all likelihood meant nothing condescending, and probably was only doing to our Erin what had been done to her by another or what she had seen an adult in her life do.  She really does have a sweet heart and is a well-behaved child.  So why did this interaction cause me to examine my entire philosophy for our family?  Well, that's complicated, but I'll try to explain.

Erin's sweater was a hand-me-down, as are most of the items in her, Bodie's, and my wardrobes.  My precious daughter happily and proudly donned her "new" hand-me-down sweater (which we are very grateful for and WAS very cute) and was met with the condescending glance of her friend.  And even though my little girl doesn't have the understanding now of what happened, some day she will.  I experienced it as a kid.  You probably did too.  And sometimes the greatest fights we face as parents is that desire to protect our children from the hurts we experienced growing up. 

See, Joe and I have made very deliberate decisions regarding our careers in relation to the upbringing of our children, and it is clear that our children will have to live with the decisions we make as parents and in turn possibly face the condemnation of others because of them.  Who knew it would start at age four?  As I've re-evaluated our philosophy for our family, the Lord has ministered to my heart and has reconciled a huge struggle and insecurity within me, and this is what I've discovered.  It's not about me.  It's not about Erin.  It's not about an outfit.  If my genuine desire for our family is that one day our children will live in obedience and surrender to the Lords call on their lives, we can't raise them to experience that people or stuff will make them happy.  If Joe and I desire children who appreciate a good, hard day's work and who are sensitive to try to meet the needs of others, it's not our job to fill their lives with the false securities of worldy acceptance and financial gluttony.  As parents we have to be prepared that for our children to truly live godly lives in Christ Jesus, they will suffer persecution.  It's not my job to shield them from hurt feelings if it means sacrificing a lifelong lesson that God is their provider, comforter, and sustainer.   It is my responsibility to teach our children about eternity rather than gushing over their bling-bling. And when it all comes right down to it, I would rather minister to a child whose clothes were rejected than to try to retrain the heart of the child who rejected another because of her clothes.

The Bible tells us that He is able to do for us exceedingly, abundantly more than we can even ask or think in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:20).  That's what I want our children to see in us!  That's the kind of faith I want them some day to live out themselves!  That just doesn't jive with getting my needs met by giving my kids "stuff" or my daughter's outfit being complimented.  Rather, it is to appreciate that real treasure is found when our children find treasure in the Father and when they recognize that every good gift is from Above (James 1:17). 

Thank You, Jesus, for Your provision in our lives.  Thank You for our children.  Help us to raise them to know Your love and to love You because You first loved them.  Help us to raise our children to be content solely by Your side.  And thank You, Lord, today especially, for hand-me-downs;  You've taught me so much through them.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

First post for the New Year... Really?

 

Erin and her BIG kitten Boo. :)

 Coloring a tomato for letter T.

 E and B building a Tower. :)

 We had a small snow day, and Bodie's reaction to laying in the snow to make a
Snow Angel was this look, and one word: "COLD." :)

 Love this one. :)  His hands were getting cold, too. :)

 Making "Toothy smiles" for letter T.

Finished product. :)

I honestly cannot believe this is our first post this year!  Where has the month gone?!  I am not sure where even to start!  Right now, as one of our favorite children's books says, we have "the coughs and the sniffles and the sneeze, AH CHOO!"  Both kiddos made a trip to see our favorite Dr. Rick this week, and thankfully our ailment is only viral.  At the doctor's office, we submitted all our new insurance information (with me included, THANK YOU, LORD!) and I noticed we needed to change our emergency contact information...  Funny how the little things hit you so hard.  For the last five and a half years, I've listed Joe's mom as our emergency contact.  A flood of precious memories poured over me as I gratefully penned Joe's sister's name on the emergency contact line.  Thank the Lord we have her here if something were to happen.  Thank the Lord we had five and a half years here with Angie.  After visiting with our favorite Dr. Rick about having "the crud," I visited with the Great Physician about my once again broken heart...  I sure miss her...

The Lord has blessed us with a month of great joys.  Our Bodie-Man is a mostly big boy now!  I say mostly because he potty trained this month -- YAY!! -- but I can't seem to wean him from his pacifier!  The plan was to take it away this week, but I just can't do it when he's sick and pitiful.  :(  So that will have to come another week. :)  Erin and I began "school" again this month, and I am excited simply because she is so excited!  She is at that precious stage that I wish I could freeze forever, where she wants to marry her Daddy when she grows up and wants her Momma to be her teacher forever.  Last night she asked me if I would be her teacher when she was in high school, and I said I hoped so.  She said that that would be good because someday she wanted her job to be like mine.  I asked her what exactly she thought my job was (because it's not that glamorous most days!) and she said simply, "Us."

As one of our friends says, we are finding our "new normal."  And that's good.  This is the first time we've really "home schooled" at home since we had been helping care for Angie and taking our school stuff with us over there.  I really, really, really love being in our "classroom" and spending focused learning time with E and B each day.  Erin is reading, and Bodie is talking like crazy.  Erin is learning to tie her shoes and Bodie is learning "rhe, seh, go," and "one, two, free..."  :)   I think I have our house and school stuff all back in order now -- if only I could track down the centimeter cubes -- and am getting back in the routine of exercising, spending quiet time with the Lord, keeping our home, planning and cooking healthy meals for our family, teaching and training our children, helping Joe with his ministry, and organizing all the To Do's of the weeks.   I've had the great joy of substitute teaching for Erin's dance teacher this month after she had her second son at the end of December.  Oh, I have loved dancing again...  I am not sure how I am going to convince her to let me stay awhile after she returns, but my wheels are spinning in my mind with a plan. :)

Joe has had a little extra time now to reach out to loved ones in our congregation since Angie's homecoming, and ministering to them has been tremendously healing for him.  He has begun a few "new" ministries as well, and we've enjoyed a few evenings "just us," which has been nice.  He's gotten on board with our potty training and is quite the pro at scooping up a bare-bottomed Bodie after he says he needs to go "tee-tee" and before the mess is made.  So proud of him...both hims... ;)

Through a month of joys, my heart has also been heavy for many of our loved ones this month as well.  My precious mom (Linda) has still not fully recovered since having anaphylactic shock several months ago.  I hope she doesn't mind me sharing, but she is still very weak and needs our prayers.  She is anticipating several surgeries this year, and she needs to be strong going into them.  Her eyes are very dry after her cataract surgeries, and if you've ever experienced that, you'll sympathize because it is just miserable.  I am so hopeful that this year will bring great healing and joy to her, and it would mean so much to me if you would pray with me for her.  Also, dear friends of ours, the Peoples family, recently confirmed that one of their sons has some "special" needs, and though they are very strong in the Lord and fully trust in His plan, as you can imagine, this is quite an adjustment, if nothing else, in their thoughts and plans.  I can think of no better parents for this little guy, and he is in good hands.  I will never forget something they said to Joe and me when they announced they were expecting this little guy:  as it goes with most of us, when you make the announcement that you are expecting, people are sensitive to commit to pray for you and your pregnancy and encourage you with something like, "we're praying for a healthy baby..."  Their response was, "We are praying for our baby.  We don't care if it's a boy or a girl;  we don't care if he's healthy or not.  We are just excited God gave us this baby."  At the time, I remember thinking those were brave words and I admired them for speaking them.  Now, I admire them even more because it is clear that they were following the Lord's leading in their prayers for him. Pray for them now as they adjust and find great joy in this special call for their lives.  Also, we have other sweet friends who are so very close to finally holding their son in their arms "forever" through adoption from Ethiopia.  There are a few additional obstacles standing between them and that dream, and though they've met their precious son in person now, it seems from her blog posts that the days of waiting are only harder now that they've held him in their arms.  Pray for the sweetness of the Holy Spirit to minister to the Mullins in these last few months of "wait."  And finally, pray for my dear, dear friend Audrey and her husband Brian who announced recently that they are expecting a son in June.  To be sensitive to their circumstances, I don't want to offer any other details than this, but they need prayer in a most sincere way.  It would mean so much to me if you would pray for them.

I'll try harder to post a little more frequently.  Maybe monthly will be our "new normal," though...  Anyway, thanks for reading;  I look forward to writing and reading with you about all the joys and blessings, the trials and sorrows, and the God-willed and God-filled days that await us in 2011.