Posted in Family Life
Our weekend was peaceful again, with beautiful weather and happy memories made. Life is all about making memories that we can glorify God with. Many hours were logged on the trampoline, bouncing, sharing giggles and just simply having fun. My dear hubby bought the family a spectacular camera so that we can capture pictures and memories of the girls. They are growing up so fast, I'll blink and soon they'll be raising their own families.
You will notice the new look of my page. This happens when one is trying to edit two accounts on one computer. The other night I was trying to add something onto the sidebar of Juggler's page and I went into my editing page to view how I had placed the HTML codes. Somehow, this transferred her template onto mine. Thank goodness God was merciful that night, because I didn't lose any of my entries - only just the things I had on my sidebar. . . . . For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed," saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. Isaiah 54:10. Even though I should have felt utter anger and frustration for the task ahead of me of loading everything back on the page and creating a new template, I did not - I felt peace. Where once I would have errupted into a fit of rage for the inconvenience, God worked through the inner battle to comfort my soul and provide peace and strength for the task ahead. . . . . He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me. Psalm 55:18 I spent several hours that night reloading our pictures and updating the category labels. In the end it worked out fine and I even got my categories reloaded without too much difficulty. I even like the layout and color scheme better than my previous page.
I would ask for some prayer for my brother-in-law who was in a bicycling accident this weekend. He apparently crashed while on a bike trail and punctured a lung. He was not near home and is now in a hospital in San Francisco awaiting doctor's approval to travel home. Please pray that he will listen to the doctor and heed their suggestions as well as for healing on his lung. I hope your weekend was pleasant and filled with many wonderful memories. My prayers are with each of you that your days are filled with God's grace and mercy! Thank you for the kind words you leave. Blessings, |
Posted in Family Life
Today was the first day after a long hot, humid, southern summer that we could enjoy the outside. When we awoke this morning it was actually in the 60's. We took Little Woman to her first driver's training class. After 45 minutes of class they released us until Monday. At least they gave her some chapters to read and worksheets to complete. With only 10 classes, she is going to have an enormous amount of class work crammed into a small amount of time.
The afternoon was upon us faster than we could imagine. We picked up a donated baby swing and bouncer seat for the church nursery. The remaining afternoon was spent cleaning up the house for Daddy's return from his business trip. With a combined team effort, we tackled cleaning out Mom's car. While Little Bear played in the hose, Juggler was cleaning the floor mats. During our cleaning frenzy, hot, savory Sloppy Joe's were warming in the crockpot for our dinner. It's one of Daddy's favorites!
Daddy made it home shortly after dinner, and yes, there were still sloppy joe's awaiting his return! The early evening enticed the girls to go outside and enjoy the cool weather. One of my favorite pasttimes as a child was rolling down grass hills. Little Bear was toddling close at hand, watching every move, patiently awaiting her day of rolling down a hill. It reminded me of my own faith and patient waiting upon the Lord for all of my daily needs. Romans 8:25 . . . But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
The only way that I can even imagine making it through a day is by having faith that God will stregthen me in all that I do. 2 Corinthians 9:8 . . . And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound in every good work.
What a perfect ending to a wonderful day.
Did you get a chance to enjoy your children today and behold the beauty of the outdoors that our glorious Lord created? Romans 1:20 . . . For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
|
Posted in Family Life
What a lovely day it was today. Even though Juggler woke up sick with a sore throat and a visit to the doctors, God was present during our time together. He protected her by supplying the doctor with the opinion that it wasn't necessary to have a referral to an ENT even though her tonsils were inflamed. According to his expertise, he felt that her swollen tonsils were common for a child her age and he recommended to simply wait until she was having difficulty breathing before we entered into major surgery. Juggler thanked God for his intervention, because while the thought of having unlimited ice cream and popsicles for a week after surgery appealed to her, the thought of major surgery scared her more! Little Bear was taught a new skill today by Little Woman. She showed her how to drink refreshing water from the hose while Momma was trying to water the dry flowers in the front yard. She loves being in the hot summer sun of the south, playing in the water and if I didn't know better, I'd assume she thought that God created nature simply for her. It's hard to believe that she's already 11 months and walking. . . . . . .
What a beautiful face you shine upon our family! Your smile is a breath of fresh air. Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. . . . . Psalm 127:3
|
Posted in Family Life
Where did the weekend disappear to? We had an absolutely, wonderful time fellowshipping with friends. God graciously brought old friends back to us for a short while. So, for an evening we got to spend precious moments reminiscing and catching one another up on the last 4 years. Even better, dear husband got to smoke his all time favorite ribs. He's even found a new smoking chip that made the most mouth watering ribs yet (even I enjoyed them when I don't normally enjoy ribs! YUM :0) I think Tom consumed the most, so Juggler passed on her nickname to him to own, "Meatatarian." On Sunday after church we attended a double birthday party for neighbors of ours. The girls were enthralled with the water slide. Simple fun with the numerous amounts of girls in our neighborhood also provided hours of pleasure. Good company is a wonderful blessing from the Lord. The adults mingled among one another sharing stories, laughter, and smiles. . . . . The sun was intense, with the heat sweltering around us. We came home around 6 p.m. and collapsed in front of our fans and air conditioner. Southern heat will wear a person out . . . . but God will always strengthen us. May God bless your day and strengthen you. . . . God is my strength and power, and He maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33 |
Posted in Family Life
We spent our last day with my husband's Aunt Frankie and Uncle Glen. What a gorgeous home they have. They just built it about a year ago to be closer to cousin Sean's home. We got to meet Rascal, their adorable fuzzy dog (according to the Doodler) and he loved following the little girls around. We had two delicious meals, one of lasagna and salad topped off with gluten free chocolate cake and a second of hamburgers, corn on the cob, and homemade french onion soup (I so hope to get the recipe for that one!). The cake absolutely surprised me, because I couldn't even tell the difference. We had a wonderful night of sleep and a picture of the family for memories and scrapbooks
Our drive home over the next two days was filled with several moments of character strengthening by God. We had a 3 hour traffic delay in New York City, in which we traveled only 5 miles. Oh, by the way, did I add that all the girls fell asleep during this traffic jam? When we finally reached the end of the delay, we were met with a semi-truck that had gotten itself stuck in the lower level of the George Washington Bridge. We also got behind every truck towing tractors. We named a new holiday "Tractor Towing Day." We did make it home on time and everyone rejoiced and sighed relief when we pulled into the driveway. It never felt so good to sleep in my own bed again! Blessings, |
Posted in Family Life
Once the girls had Grandma and Poppa all to themselves at the cottage, they spent the majority of the time at the beach. It also included grocery shopping for another GRAND meal - YIKES - I need to lose weight, not gain it - but then again - What are vacations for if you can't splurge? Saturday, we spent the day touring the Mayflower and the Plimoth Plantation.
The details of the ship, from the solid oak timbers and tarred hemp rigging, to the wood and horn lanterns and hand-colored maps, have all been carefully recreated to give you a sense of what the original 17th-century vessel was like. We got to explore the 3 levels of the ship, only getting a slight glimpse of what it might have been like traveling during the 1620 voyage.
After touring the Mayflower, we headed over to the Plimoth Plantation. We first traveled to an authentic Wampanoag Village where we saw a traditional wetu (house). Surrounded by soft furs, flickering firelight, and artfully woven bulrush mats, we learned about traditional Wampanoag family life as well as the arrival of the English from an Indigenous point of view. We walked around outside and commented about the scent of sobaheg (stew) as it simmered over an aromatic wood fire. The men's clothing also threw us girls for a loop - it was a little more revealing than we were used to!
Our next stop was the 1627 English Village which is a re-creation of the small farming town built by English colonists in the midst of the Wampanoag homeland. We found ourselves immersed in the year 1627, just seven years after the voyage of the Mayflower. In the village we were surrounded by modest timber-framed houses, fragrant raised-bed gardens, well-tended livestock and fascinating townspeople of Plymouth Colony, the first permanent English settlement in New England. One of the townspeople even put the girls to work hauling manure! About time - can't you tell there was too much relaxing going on!
We were exhausted by the time we returned to the cottage, but we still had room for another GRAND meal!
|
Posted in Family Life
We spent a perfectly, peaceful day visiting with my husband's grandfather, who lives in Fairhaven, MA. We have not seen him for 8 years and for almost turning 90 he looks great! He really enjoyed meeting all of his great-granddaughters and even his first great-great granddaughter.
We took him to lunch and my dear husband got his fresh, fish and chips that he's been craving forever. He really wanted a Quahog (pronounced Co- hog) but the fish and chips began a trend for the rest of the week for him! We went back to the cottage and relaxed by the ocean for the rest of the day. . . . . . .
Stay tuned for more. . . . .
|
Posted in Family Life
We are back from a wonderful vacation in Massachusetts, but more on that story later. Those pictures are coming soon. . . . Before we left, we closed on our retirement home! Many of you know from previous readings here and here that my husband is retiring in one year from the Air Force. We will be moving back to California to be close to my family and my husband is taking over my father's John Deere Dealership. We have been living the military lifestyle for so long, it's very nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. BUT, on the flip side, it's scary to envision life without it. Believe it or not, it has been a nice security blanket over the years. We are excited to start this new adventure that God is taking us on. My husband's family pointed out that I failed to bring pictures of the new house on vacation. Hmm, I wonder where my head was forgetting pictures while packing for a 10 day vacation with 5 kids??? So, in honor of their request, I have created a slideshow with the only pictures that I have of my sight unseen home (my father and step-mom toured the home for us and sent us the pictures). Keep in mind when you are looking at the pictures, the furnishings are from the previous owner - my dad took them during the home tour. The beautiful part about the house is that it is 100% newly remodeled, so we don't have to do anything but move in when we get there next August. I'm going to especially enjoy the apple tree, 3 cherry trees, blueberry bushes, plum tree and garden area!  
|
Posted in Family Life
We went and explored the great outdoors today at a Nature Conservatory, Dauset Trails Nature Center. The southern weather cooperated for us too - it wasn't too hot. I
My dh and the Juggler then left us to explore the Farm Animals,
Now, since farm animals such as horses, mules, cows, goats, chickens and more excite our fancy, we had to mosey over to the barnyard exhibit and see all of the above. We finished off our walk by feeding the geese, ducks, turtles and carp fish in the HUGE pond by the visitor center; Rubber was disappointed because the baby turtles just weren't fast enough to catch the food she was attempting to throw down to them. That's survival of the fittest at it's finest! We finished just in time to catch up with the weary bike riders! Our afternoon wasn't complete without a stop here for lunch! YUM!
|
In the early 1980's, Dauset Trails was primarily a rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned wildlife. The animals were mainly native to the area and could not be released due to the severity of injuries. These animals were given exhibits for protection and display and gradually grew to become the Animal Trail, which is where we started our tour.
while they ventured over to the bike trails. The walkie-talkies came in handy to stay in touch with each other.
Posted in Family Life
No mother should have to hear what I heard, while holding her down (along with 2 nurses and the doctor), all the while she is moving her big toe and kicking her leg, making it next to impossible to remove the sutures: 1. First the intense, penetrating, blood curdling screams! 2. Mommy make them stop! 3. Ow, Ow, please stop! 4. I want my daddy! 5. Where is my daddy! (Sorry kiddo - he's TDY this week) 6. When I inform her that this pain is mild compared to child birth, she bolts upright and screams, "I never want to have any children - I'm not going to have kids (and she's only 5 and originally wanted 8 children)!" 7. Please, mommy, don't let them do this anymore. On the way home (it only took 15 minutes to pull the sutures out)she asked me how come I was crying. I explained that no mommy wants to see their child in pain or hurting! It hurt mommy that she was carrying on so, and I didn't know if it really hurt, or whether she was being overly dramatic (we tend to have that happen quite frequently in our house). I asked her how much it hurt and she said, "It hurt as much as I love you." Out of the mouths of babes," we now say (slightly misquoting), come the darndest things. Children sometimes speak, in their simplicity, more wisely than their elders. It tugged at my heart strings, just how sweet her words of unconditional love were for me. Imagine how God feels everytime we are in pain or hurting! We need to remember to tell Him how much we still love him unconditionally!
|
Did anyone in the south hear the screams of my Rubber this morning as she got her sutures removed? If so, do you still have your eardrums?Posted in Family Life
Our 2nd Annual Birthday Bash was a great success! The girls really enjoyed their party this year. We had around 70 people attend, which was double what we had last year. All was going well with the slide in the backyard and everyone just hanging out, until the rain decided to dump a downpour on us. So, in went 70 people to our quaint, but small house. We enjoyed cupcakes and the girls opened their gifts while the rain came down. We all fit, but it was a very tight squeeze! After the rain quit, they blew up the slide again and this time it was better than a water slide at a water park! We just couldn't enjoy the pinata because it was too wet, but that didn't seem to bother any of the kids.
|
Posted in Family Life
Emergency Rooms - a necessary evil, yes or no? Should we go back to the pioneer days where there was one doctor who knew everything and could perform any complicated task? We spent the afternoon and early evening with the Rubber in the Emergency Room last night. We went to our community pool in the afternoon. When she was walking out of the pool at the stairs, she sliced open her big toe on the metal cap of the railing (that should have been on the outside of the pool, but was for some reason at the bottom of the stairs on the inside of the pool). She said, "Ouch, I scraped my toe," but when we pulled it out of the water we were in for a bigger surprise. She had sliced it clean through on the underside of her toe and it was fairly deep. Her eyes bulged out of her sockets and then she began screaming! I don't do commotion very well, and trying to calm her down while having Doodler and Little Bear with me wasn't working! A very nice neighbor calmed her down, wrapped her in a towel and carried her home so that my husband could look at it. We decided to take her in just in case she needed stitches. Well, some 4 hours later, she did get 3 - 4 stitches to seal up the wound. My husband also said that she screamed the entire hospital awake! She's got a great set of LUNGS! She's doing much better today, but isn't wanting to walk. So, she has gone back to scooting around. Come to think of it, I don't think she ever did that as a baby, so this might be a first for her. She's decided to buy a robot to carry her everywhere! |
Posted in Family Life
My Juggler and Rubber participated in their ballet recital Saturday, as a final culmination to their year long ballet classes. It was entitled "Alice in Wonderland." It was an amazing show, but it went way too long. Amazingly, Little Bear fell asleep on Grandpa's lap for the first show, but then got a little fidgety during the second. They did two seperate shows, both which lasted around 2 hours each. Rubber was an adorable "Rubber Duckie" dancing to Ernie's famous "Rubber Duckie" song. She said later that she was really nervous which is why she didn't do her moves as well as she could have. Good thing everyone was only looking at her costume!
Juggler was in two dances, "The Caucus Race and the Lobster Quadrille." She was in a half ballet, half tap class. She really enjoyed the tap class and plans on continuing that next year! She has sure come a long way from her first recital where she cried the entire production.
|
Posted in Family Life
Recently, I read "A Mom Just Like You" by Vickie Farris, wife to Michael Farris, attorney for HSLDA. In her book she describes the journey that the Lord took her and her husband on in having their 10 kids. One of her comments particularly stood out to me and I will try and paraphrase it. She and Michael were discussing their first grandbaby that was due soon and she was lamenting that she might not have anymore of her own babies to hold. Her husband in his wonderful wisdom said that she shouldn't feel sad. God gives us the mandate, "Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth - Genesis 9:1" Mr. Farris considered them to have been "FRUITFUL" according to God's word, and now they were "MULTIPLYING." Becoming grandparents is the culmination to being parents and another opportunity for God to use us in ministering to one another. My father and step-mother are out from California, visiting us for a week. They are here to be able to see their granddaughters' ballet recital on Saturday. Last night they took the 4 older girls with them to their hotel to swim, watch movies, and stay up late. That left me with Little Bear (I really didn't know what to do with myself - the house was WAY TOO QUIET!). It is so awesome to see them loving on my children. I so enjoy when they visit us. Today we met them at Monkey Joe's for some bouncing and sliding fun. We had lunch at O'Charley's where I was able to capture a quick picture of them. Tonight they are going back for another round. I think my parents have fallen off the turnip truck, but they don't get to see their grandchildren as much as they'd like to (we'll be rectifying that in 18 months when we finally retire back to California and buy our dream property). Tomorrow, they will definitely need a nap! I meant the grandparents, NOT THE KIDS.
|
Posted in Family Life
I'm the first to admit, that coming from my extensive art background, both in growing up during my childhood and then during college, that I slack off when teaching art to my children. None of them have directed themselves toward the art of drawing, so I just seem to avoid teaching it and working on it with them. Yes, we do art projects, but nothing specific with precise instructions and details. That's why this class is so perfect. One, because I don't have to teach a thing - YEAH and two, because through an act of kindness by another and her obvious love for art, my girls are being taught some skills that will last them a lifetime. . . . You must check out the drawings that Mrs. Young posts on her blog. WOW and ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! So without further adieu, here are their masterpieces (that which they would not call them, but I would, even if they say, "You just say that because you are my MOM.") Can you see the resemblance?
|
My daughters are participating in a drawing class, sponsored by 
Little Woman 
Juggler 
Posted in Family Life
What a beautiful day it was yesterday. It is an exceptionally blessed time when Little Bear will peacefully sleep on my lap during the worship service. Even the Doodler was well behaved yesterday. The girls had BBQ hamburgers, thanks to their Dad, for lunch. They were all anxiously awaiting for the magical time of 5 p.m. when our friends from church were coming over for dinner. They also have 5 children, so our home was destined to be quiver-full! We had sloppy joe's for dinner, which is my husband's favorite meal. Added to that, cut up vegetables, fresh, juicy watermelon and of course chips. We had brownies and ice-cream for dessert! YUM! The kids went back to their rooms and played "Up Words" for awhile and then came out and filled up water balloons to launch in the water balloon launcher. We almost took out Grandma Nut's shoulder the last time we used this contraption. Kids love it - you just have to make sure that the people holding the launcher lock their elbows before anyone pulls it back to launch. While watching the kids play kick ball, we talked until 9:30. The little ones were melting down fast and furious, so we realized our night needed to close. I so enjoy when I can have a few minutes to talk with a Christ centered, like minded woman. Heather, is such a dear sister in Christ. I see God working in their family and she exhibits so many of the wonderful Proverbs 31 traits. Once company was gone, pj's were put on and snoring commenced within 5 minutes of the littles relaxing on the sofa. So dh and I got to watch The Bourne Supremacy, the second one in the series, with Matt Damon. While this one was good, The Bourne Identity, the first movie was even better. If you enjoy action packed, CIA type movies, you'll enjoy this one. Blessings, Michelle |
Posted in Family Life
Today was the girl's very first piano recital. They have only been playing for 2 months. First is Little Woman.
Next is the Juggler. They both did an exceptional job. We are very proud of them!
|
Posted in Family Life
"A man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done." "Her candle goeth not out by night." Proverbs 31:18
My Mother's Day was wonderful! I awoke (well almost, I did get in the shower first) to a scrumptious breakfast in bed of french toast, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. The girls gave me an adorable card with Hoops and Yoyo that starts out with a cheer, "M - O - M, spells Mommmmm" It was worth several laughs each time we opened it and it played the tune.
On Friday, I was treated to a fun afternoon at the outlet malls where my dear husband and daughters bought me a new mixer and blender to replace our appliance deaths! Now, I can get back to kneading my hot, fresh loaves of wheat bread the less difficult way. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the simple life, but I do enjoy some of the modern conveniences created for our pleasure! The best news came on Friday when we saw the news report on my most favorite family to watch: The Duggars! They are such a loving family, dedicated to serving the Lord - what an inspiration. You can't help but like them - well at least I do. . . . Congratulations Duggars on #18!
|
Posted in Family Life
Our Juggler turned 10 today. I thought I'd share 10 things about her that you probably don't know. . . . ►She was my longest L & D- 27 hours and then as her father tells it, the doctors still had to pull her out with a plunger. ►As a baby, whenever she nursed or fell asleep, she would wind her little fingers in my hair and twirl it. It was my favorite time with her. ►She loved TelleTubies - why? I have no idea, but it gave me an extra 30 minutes of sleep - AAAHHH! ►She survived on pepperoni and gold fishes, coupled with a lot of V8 splash and prune juice for a year of her life and she's still a picky eater. ►She had the most adorable lady bug rain boots that she wore EVERYWHERE and with EVERYTHING. ►She had her very first "best friend- April" while we were stationed in Louisiana. They were inseperable and could play for hours without a squabble. ►She had a very unique style of dressing when she was 5 and 6. Daddy used to say she looked like she got dressed in the Salvation Army truck. Thank goodness she outgrew that phase. ►I was petrified to teach her to read, but she attacked it with a vengence and now she outreads all of us in the house. ►She has the most elaborate imagination and can come up with numerous things to play and ►She loves the Lord. It is evident to me in the way that she cares for her sisters, loves to help her momma and dad, reads her Bible and does her devotions at night. She is so precious and such a blessing to her father and I. She will always be "Our Little Love Bug!" |
Posted in Family Life
|
