Good Morning Girls and Women Living Well

So this may be a bit more than I can keep up with but I am currently involved in two different Bible study groups and am SO excited about them both so I wanted to share.

The first is by a blog called Good Morning Girls and this is something I've taken part in before. It's an online study which is great for me as a working Mom because I can't get to the Ladies Bible study at my church like I would like to. I've been part of Good Morning Girls off and on for the past couple of years. You can follow along through their blog, and also I'm part of a Facebook group where we discuss the passages each day. The best part about this study is that it helps me be focused on reading from the Word every single day. Even though some days it may only be a couple short verses, it's getting in the Word every day.

And this session, which is about to begin {TOMORROW morning!!!!!} is called Intentionally Focused! I feel that the Lord had already placed the word Intentional on my heart before I heard about this study, then when it was announced it was even more confirmation that this was what I needed to be learning about and focusing on. So I am THRILLED about the topic!

If you are interested in joining, please go to the blog and SIGN UP! You will get emails which include all the study materials, you'll get blog posts, videos, etc. It's all included and I can promise it will be a BLESSING in your life!

Here is a little bit of how I set up my study materials. I use a basic spiral bound notebook and of course, if you know me at all, you know I have to 'pretty it up' a bit. {The second notebook is for counting 1000 Gifts, I could write another whole blog about that so I'll save that for another day!}

I printed out the reading schedule and taped it in my notebook:

Then I printed certain pages from the study guide where there are specific questions to answer or verses to memorize. Other than these few pages, the rest of the notebook will be filled with writing out and 'SOAPing' my passages each day. 

This is the first page in my 1000 Gifts journal, hoping to count to WELL OVER 1000 this year! 

And the second study I'm working on is from one of the author's over at Good Morning Girls - her name is Courtney and she blogs at Women Living Well. She wrote her first book last year and I bought it over Christmastime - I'm about 4 chapters into it now and really, really loving it. It's such an encouragement for every area of the Christian woman's life - The tagline is 'Finding Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids and Your Home.' 

You know a book is good when I have highlighting on just about every page! 

So Courtney has also started a study to go along with the book and those materials are also available to print out for free! I printed out the schedule, then each of the pages that has discussion questions for each chapter ... so far I am really enjoying reading the book and following along with the questions. If you're interested in jumping in on this study, check out Courtney's blog and order your book today! {I got mine from Amazon and it was very affordable! It's an easy read so I'm confident you could easily catch up even though you missed week one.} 

So that's what I'm up to lately. Many mornings having my quiet time and study time is a challenge as I'm trying to get the girls up and ready for school as well as getting myself ready for work and out the door. But I've been trying to set my alarm clock at least 15 minutes earlier and also stay OFF the computer in the morning. And if I don't finish it all in the morning, then I try to work on it when I get back home on my morning work break.

All of this doesn't make me superMom or superChristian - in fact I'm just a sinner, saved by grace who needs to keep learning and growing each day to become more like Christ. I feel like you can never know enough and always have to strive to grow more and more each day.

Are you currently doing either of these studies?? I'd love to hear from you!

The Transition from Homeschool to Public School - part one

So many people have asked me how our year went since we sent our girls to public school after 5 years of homeschooling. I have SO many thoughts on this so please bear with me as I try to put them in to some semblance of order.

The easy answer is WONDERFUL. The transition wasn't much of a transition at all and the girls adapted fabulously to their new surroundings. We are thankful and blessed that things went better than we could have ever hoped or imagined. Praise God for that!

Now let's back up. Our daughters both attended 2 years of Christian preschool. Then our oldest attended one year of public school. In the midst of her year there I was just not very impressed with the class environment. I went in to help many times and it always seemed there were so many distracting things happening in the room and my daughter didn't seem to be challenged much. That year I began to think about homeschooling. At first I was overwhelmed with the idea of it and really felt I wasn't sure it was something I could EVER do. But I decided to spend the rest of the year praying about the decision. My husband wasn't completely in love with the idea at first either, so we committed to praying and just waiting to see where the Lord would lead.

By the end of the year we felt the Lord assuring us and we had decided that we would keep her home the following year. One huge deciding factor was my husband's schedule, and the fact that once she was in school all day/every day they would hardly ever get to see each other. By the time she was home from school, he would be off to work. By the time he was home from work, she would be in bed. Being that we're such a close family and love spending so much time together we just knew it wouldn't work well.

So beginning with first grade we started homeschooling her. The following year when her sister started kindergarten we decided to just keep her home as well. So for 5 years we homeschooled. It was great and we had lots of fun but as with anything there were challenges. Some of the many bonuses were countless hours together as a family, making our own schedule and going on trips/vacations whenever we felt like it because no one else was in charge of our scheduling. It really was wonderful and we have SO many great memories from those 5 years. I also feel blessed that we were able to do it while the girls were young and so impressionable.

Last year, near the end of the school year our oldest started asking if she could go to public school in the fall. She was finishing her 5th grade year and would be entering middle school. In our town there are 3 elementaries but only one middle school. So 3 of her best friends from church would also be attending middle school with her, even though they had been in different elementary schools. Basically, she wanted to go to school with her friends and also began saying she just wanted to see what it was like to go to 'real' school. She really didn't remember much about kindergarten and her school experience and wanted to see what it was like.

Our youngest on the other hand, is most definitely a Mama's girl. And I don't say that to shame or embarrass her - it's a wonderful thing to be close to your Mom {or Dad} and she had really never known anything else as I had been her only teacher {other than preschool}. She would have told you last year that she was perfectly happy staying home with Mom for school for ever! That being said, she and I had almost daily battles over school work. As much as she loves me, it's hard to take direction from the one who you also live with day in and day out. Her struggles over spelling put both of us in tears on an almost daily basis. There were countless times I would cry out to my friends on Facebook for prayer to just make it through another day of homeschooling. So even though I LOVED having my girls home with me, it was definitely very hard at times and put a strain on our relationship at times too.

When our oldest first started asking about going to school, my first answer to her was 'nope!' When she asked why I said simply 'because that's not what the Lord has led us to do'. Unfortunately I hadn't actually sought the Lord about it in a long time. I had gotten into a comfortable groove where I felt that *I* knew best. See I am one of those control freak Moms who likes to think I have it all under control and that *I* am the only one who knows whats best for them. {I'm just going to put this out there and say that I see A LOT of well-meaning Christian Moms who try to control TOO much of what their children do - friends, we need to allow our kids to make their own choices and decisions and yes, even learn from their mistakes! Not saying we give them all power to choose everything in their lives, but still, we need to give up this false sense of security we call control!} **stepping down off soapbox** =)

Anyway ... so my first reaction was NO. Do you know why? Fear. Plain and simple. All those what ifs were slamming through my head ... all those ideas of all the 'bad' things that could happen or all the bad influences I thought they would have in public school allowed me to live in a state of fear. And fear is what made me keep them home! It wasn't at first, when we began our journey of homeschooling we truly did seek the Lord for the decision and felt truly at peace with it. But when was the last time I had honestly sought Him lately? Was I still listening to see what HE wanted us to do with our girls and not just what *I* wanted to do?? Or was I allowing my own irrational {OK, some things ARE legit} fears to guide our decision making?

So the more she asked questions about wanting to go to school, the more I was reminded that I needed to pray about it. Just as we had made the decision to bring them HOME after much prayer, we also needed to give the idea of sending them back to school much prayer. We also began to have LOTS of conversations with the girls. Almost daily we would talk about the pros and cons of each school environment, we talked with lots of friends who go to public school and we even went and visited both schools. We met with the principals and guidance counselors and took tours. Our oldest even got to go shadow a 6th grader for an entire day so it would give her a better idea of what a typical school day would look like.

Then one day I came across this blog post - When Fear is removed. I would highly encourage you to take a few minutes to read it, but basically it's about a woman needing to make a big decision and her friend encourages her to take fear out of the equation, then make the decision. It really began to sink in with me that I was allowing my fears to keep us paralyzed, where I kept the girls home with me citing that I know best when really if I took fear out of the decision I knew deep down it was probably best for ALL of us if they were given the opportunity to spread their wings.

Another line from the post hit me right in the gut "In its unhealthy form, fear is, at best, an obstacle … at worst, it is an agent of paralysis and atrophy. When removed from the equation, fear is left without power and the right choice rises to the surface." There it was. That paralyzed state of continuing to do the same thing year after year not because it was the best thing, but because I was too afraid to do anything else. I was paralyzed. Trying to maintain CONTROL. Choosing my kids friends, choosing their curriculum, choosing how their day went, all ME - making all their choices. Thinking I was in control.

I'm sure you already know this, but it took me awhile to learn. We're not REALLY in control of our kids. The Lord is. As much as we're given the chance to think we are, from choosing breastfeeding or bottle to what their first food will be, to what their bedtime will be - it's still the Lord above who ordains their steps and orders their days. Shocking, right? He's given us the amazing gift of being Moms and even allows us to make those all-important choices {how fun is it choosing a new baby's name?!?!} but He's still the One in charge when it comes right down to it.

Needless to say, after reading the blog post on fear, praying a LOT and even a whole bunch of tears we began to shift our thinking. Instead of an instant NO answer, we began to say 'OK, we'll pray about it, research it and see where God leads'. We asked our very closest friends and family to pray with us, as I mentioned earlier we visited the schools and we just kept the conversation and prayers going. Some of the events during this time we believe were absolutely God-ordained like when we went to the Board of Ed to ask some questions and it turned out that the Middle school orientation was set for the VERY NEXT night. Had we waited a few days we would have missed it. But the Lord planned it perfectly so we could attend and find out more information and our daughter could see many of the other kids who would end up being her classmates in the fall. There were several things that happened just like that where it just seemed that the Lord was opening doors and leading us through them. The timing of it all could not have been more perfect and again we felt these events were the Lord leading us to trust Him and see Him leading us towards this decision.

We still had our fears about our youngest daughter. Our oldest is quite confident and our youngest is much more shy and reserved. Would she get eaten up by the wolves in school?! ;) Would she be OK without Mom? Would she even WANT to go to school?! At first she was hesitant. Each time we'd ask her she'd say 'I don't know.' She couldn't express her feelings towards us about it and we worried about pushing into something that would overwhelm and upset her. But little by little she also came around. I know it may sound funny, but knowing our daughter's personality you have to understand how huge it was for us when instead of saying 'I don't know' she began to say 'well I MIGHT want to go to school'. For her, this was a HUGE step and for us it was a HUGE relief. No Mom wants to worry that they are pushing their child to do something the child is absolutely petrified of doing. And in her own little way she was showing us her confidence in making this decision and even her excitement when one day she began talking about having her own locker and what kind of backpack she wanted to get. ;)

And so with much prayer we made the decision that they WOULD attend school in the fall. In many ways it was such a relief to have the decision made and in a whole world of ways it was just the beginning of all my worries. But I knew the Lord was asking us to trust HIM and Him alone and that was what we were going to do. Little did I know that trusting God isn't just a one time thing - it's a constant choice we have to make every single day ... and there would certainly be times in the coming school year that would bring me to my knees and cause me fear and challenge me to recommit myself to trusting God, over and over again.

But this is getting VERY long already, so I'll close for now and share part two with you another time. =)

We're melting ....

And I'm NOT just talking about the snow outside!

Today was a rough day. It started out good. In fact, after I had my quiet time I logged on the computer and checked FB and a very sweet friend sent me a message saying 'not sure why, but the Lord brought you to mind today and just wanted to tell you I'm praying for you.' Awww, I was so touched. I jokingly messaged her back and said it was probably because I've had such a lack of discipline with my exercise and eating well lately!

Little did I know ....

Fast forward a couple hours. During school time we ended up with one girl in meltdown mode today. Crying, refusing to do school work, carrying on for HOURS.

Now, a lot of times I don't talk about the struggles of homeschooling. Many days homeschooling is a JOY, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that we have some REALLY hard days too.

There are a few reasons why I don't talk about the bad days much.

First, we ALL have bad days, and who really wants them documented for all the world to see? I mean, I'd much rather my kids remember the great things about their childhoods and not have to read about their every bad behavior on my blog.

Second, I sometimes feel like I'm throwing my kids under the bus when I complain or talk negatively about them. They're old enough now to know what I say or read what I write and just like I would never bad talk my hubby on here, I don't think it's fair to bad talk my kids either. I think it would shame them and make them feel bad and that's certainly not the intent of my blog.

Third, there are so many nay-sayers when it comes to homeschooling. Sure I've thought about calling up the school and sticking my kids on the bus at times - but in general this is a path that we believe the Lord has led us to take. So even though we have bad days and many times I might question what we're doing - it doesn't mean I'm giving up on homeschooling!

Anyhow ... the thing about homeschooling your kids is that you constantly question yourself. When they struggle with school you worry and you wonder if you're doing the right thing, if you chose the right curriculum, if you just don't have the ability to teach them. It all comes down on YOU.

I cried about it today. Sat right there on her bed with her and we both cried. It's hard. It's frustrating. I want to help her, I want to make school fun, I want to make life easy for her ... but having an EASY life isn't always part of God's plan.

Later tonight we had some time to talk and snuggle. I explained to her that life IS hard sometimes. We have to do things we don't want to do. We have to struggle through things in order to learn and grow and be stretched. We had a great talk. I'm so thankful that tomorrow is a new day.


And so thankful that the Lord KNEW how my day would go and placed my name on my friend's mind ... that HE cares so much for little ol' me and goes before me and orders my days is simply amazing! {And of course, thankful for wonderful, praying friends!}

Recipe for a perfect morning

A fresh-brewed pot of coffee

A nice cool morning (60 degrees! just how I like it!)

A warm, cozy sweatshirt

A sunny deck with a comfortable chair

My Bible, devotional and prayer journal

Sounds of God's creation all around me

Time spent with my Lord, uninterrupted

A sweet little 5 year old coming out to snuggle with Mama and say good morning

Katie Update

Just wanted to pass on more info about Katie's story and how she is doing ... I'm also going to give you a link to her friend's blog. Her friend is updating on her progress as often as the info comes in so that would be the best source if you want to continue following this story and praying specifically for the needs. Here is the link and below that the story from Katie's hubby.


"We had our little Sawyer on Tuesday, the 8th, and were allowed to go home on the 9th because things were going so well. Over the next week things were normal until this last Wednesday. If you know Katie, headaches are a consistent part of life, so when she began to complain of a headache we were not overly concerned. Her doctor prescribed some heavy painkillers for her (over the phone). After these really didn't have much effect, she went in to see him and he prescribed some other pain meds to deal with the increasing pain and stiffness in her neck. As a precaution Dr wanted her to get a CT scan at Methodist. She went in Thursday afternoon and the CT scan came back clear so she went home. I picked up the new meds for her later that afternoon and she began to take them.

However, around 10pm she woke me up and said something is really wrong. Most of you know, Katie has a very high pain tolerance. I've seen her take a kidney stone before, but this was different. Katie's vision was blurring and she was in intense pain. I rushed her to the ER where they got her in right away and the first thing they did was try to deal with the pain. So basically they started pumping her full of narcotics which did help some with the pain, but did not take it all away.

She started throwing up and her vision continued to blur. In about two hours she slowly drifted off to sleep, which we all assumed was a good thing as she was finally peaceful. An emergency room Dr came to see her after a little while and was concerned that he couldn't get her to wake up. He told me that this is not a drug induced sleep but rather a very deep coma, and he immediately ordered another CT scan. This one was bad. He immediately called in the Neurosurgeon for a consult.

She came in within 30 minutes and after reviewing the CT scan basically gave me two options. 1) let her pass away, 2) do surgery. The Neurosurgeon warned us that even if the surgery was successful in keeping her alive, it would not alter any brain damage that has surly happened. We obviously opted for the surgery which began around 5:30am.

The surgery lasted until about 9:30am and she was then moved to a recovery room as there was no room in the ICU wing. The neurosurgen informed us that the surgery went very well, but still did not give us any hope that she would ultimately recover. However, as Katie began to come out of the anesthetic there was immediately some very good signs. She was responsive to some voice stimulation (i.e.. squeeze my hand Katie, move your toes). In a few hours she was moved to ICU where she is as of now (11:30 Saturday am).

The good news is that Katie continues to advance in all areas. She as said a few words, has kissed my hand, as good strength in her hands and legs (in fact she actually pulled the intubation tubes out of her nose and mouth). She has partially opened her eyes, but that continues to be a concern. The surgeon who initially worked on Katie was in Friday night and was very pleased.

All of this is good, but we still have no real direction regarding the issues in the brain (i.e.. cause of bleeding). However, it really doesn't matter what the issues are as God is at work and is presently healing Katie. Please continue to pray believing prayers as God loves to honor the faith of his children.

Urgent prayer needed

I have much to blog and much to update you all on ... but today my heart is heavy because I heard that a girl I went to college with is in desparate need of prayer. So with that in mind I don't feel comfortable sharing all the good stuff that's going on in our lives until I know more about what is going on with Katie.

Here are the details as posted on Hope's blog ... I will update as I hear. PLEASE PRAY FERVENTLY FOR THIS SWEET YOUNG MOTHER AND HER FAMILY!
Bob and I went to college with Katie and her husband Davey. They are wonderful people with a real heart for the Lord. Davey was one of the recruiters that helped me decide that I wanted to go to Emmaus Bible College. Katie is one year older than me. Her girls are the same age as mine, her baby boy is just 10 days old. These precious kids need their Mama.

This precious mother is gravely ill. She had a brain aneurysm that burst this morning at 5 am. She has undergone surgery but the doctors are still not hopeful about her recovering from this. However, we have the hope of the Lord on our side, so pray, pray and pray some more. Laurel is posting updates at Grace and Glory.

Life seems very fragile, but we know that our Heavenly Father is holding us in His hands every moment. And that never changes.

Living Life ... Under the Microscope

Recently my oldest daughter has been full of questions. It seems like she's trying to figure out how the world around her works. And more specifically how her Mommy works. These are just a few of the questions she's been asking me lately ...

Mom, what makes you laugh? {{OH NO, does this mean I don't laugh enough??}}
Mom, do you like to wash dishes? {{Not really, but someone has to do it!}}
Mom, is driving a car fun? {{Maybe, but you still can't drive till you're 16!}}
Mom, why do you like to cook things? {{Because it's fun to make new things and provide for my family.}}

And on a deeper level ... I have just recently been much better about having a regular 'quiet time' with prayer and reading my Bible each morning. Prior to that I would always wake up and immediately jump right on the computer in the morning. I felt like I was really wasting so much time on the computer and felt such guilt over never making the time for the Lord.

So I have tried very hard to focus on my quiet time first, before I am allowed to 'log on'. It's been a wonderfully, rewarding time for me that I have really come to enjoy. I take my notebook, Bible and prayer journal outside each morning with my coffee and sit and enjoy the wonder of creation in the early morning hours (well, not REALLY early, but at the start of my day.) The girls have often wandered outside to find me in prayer or reading my Bible. I stop and chat with them a bit, or they snuggle up to me on the swing, then I continue on reading or praying until I'm done.

So now the questions have become ...

Mom, are you going to be outside have devotions every morning now instead of being on the computer when we wake up? {{WOW, talk about convicting!!}}
Mom, do you like to read your Bible?
Mom, why do you come outside and pray every morning?

OR, one day recently that I SKIPPED my devotional time and the youngest found me on the computer in the morning ...
Mom, did you read your Bible yet today? {{YIKES, they really DO pay attention don't they?!}}

At times over the last few weeks I have felt like my life is being lived under the microscope. I know that from birth the girls have been observing me and the world around them. But these questions have really challenged me to think hard about what I do and say every day ... and how my actions and words affect the little ones who are watching me.

Having a regular devotional quiet time has never been a priority to me ... I always wanted it to be a priority, but never made it happen. Which is my own fault and something I feel awful about. I am so thankful that God doesn't give up on me though. He is faithful when I am not. I'm thankful that He is using the innocent questions of my little girls to help me to be disciplined. Through their questions and watchful eyes I'm learning just how very important it is that I focus my life on God and living His ways.

I want to let you know that I'm not writing this to 'toot my own horn'. As I mentioned I have just recently begun making this a priority. I know it's hard as a Mom to make time to sit quietly and pray and read the Bible. There were many times when my 'quiet time' was simply reading "Our daily bread" while I sat on the toilet for 5 minutes. And even then, I'd hear the kids start screaming or crying or pounding on the door for my attention!!

Now that the girls have seen me in my effort to make this my priority they have really been wonderful at respecting my time. I usually wake up before them, and brew my coffee and head outdoors with my Bible. And if the girls wake up, which usually at least one of them does ... they wander out and say good morning and most of the time they will go back inside and get some cereal, or watch cartoons, or read a book or play. On rare occasions I'll have to say ... just give me a few more minutes to finish my quiet time. And they are great at respecting that.

I know my kids are a little older than those Moms who might have babies and toddlers. But even at the younger ages I think our kids have the ability to see when something is important to us and respect it. Or even to sit quietly in your lap while you pray. What a great example we are setting for our children when we do this! It's helped me teach the girls that it really is important to "read your Bible, pray everyday" like the old Sunday school song says!

I'll leave you with this poem that I recently received through email. It's all about how children observe things from us when we think they aren't looking. Whether we like it or not, as parents we are living our lives under the microscope ... what will it reveal about you to your children?

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each
other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing,
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn' t
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.'

Sad

I am sad to tell you that Bob's cousin Michael just passed away. Micheal has had several health problems over the past year and last week he was admitted to the hospital with not much time left. This weekend he was removed from life support and he died this evening.

Micheal was in his mid-fifties, a husband, father, grandpa, son, brother and more ... he will be missed. Please be in prayer for the family - the days to come are sure to be hard ones.

PLEASE PRAY for this family!

One of our nursery school Moms died on Friday. I just found out today. She was young, probably around 30 yrs old.

She leaves behind a loving Navy husband, Eric, two beautiful little ones - Tyler who is in Jilly's preschool class, and Morgan a little baby girl that is less than a year old.

Tyler and Morgan are two of the sweetest little ones I have ever met and my heart just breaks for them. The baby will never remember her Mom and Tyler will miss her deeply.

Susan has been very sick off and on for a while now but I never thought it would be so serious to take her life. I don't know many details yet.

PLEASE be in prayer for this family. And for the nursery school kids - my MIL is the preschool director and has to find a way to explain it to them in a way that they won't all be afraid. Jilly loves Tyler, he is a sweet friend and I know it will be hard to tell her that his Mommy died.

Pray for me too. This is hitting me hard. I wasn't really close with Susan but knowing that she is gone and thinking of her darling kids is just really hard. Thanks.

Thankful Thursday

Today, and every day, I am so thankful for the two Moms in my life. My Mom, Barb and my Mother-in-law, Robin.

It's funny because Barb and Robin are two very different people. They have different backgrounds, different interests and hobbies, and are just very different in a lot of ways.

But when I think about them, and being thankful for each of them ... my reasons are very similar!! Both of my Moms love the Lord with all of their hearts. They both serve God in every way they can and live out their faith every single day. They both are inspiring to me, they encourage me, they support me and they love me unconditionally. Both of my Moms have been through some tough times in their lives. But they both still choose to give all glory to God and choose to live for God every day, knowing that He has a perfect plan for their lives ... even through the hard times.

I love that they love their kids ... and even more so that they love their Grandkids. They both love doing special things with the grandkids and spending lots of quality time with family. If you were to stop at either one of their homes you would find countless pictures of Grandkids on the walls, fridges, cupboards, etc... as well as artwork by their grandkids hanging on the walls, the fridge, everywhere! I hope that one day I get the chance to be that kind of Grandma. (Not anytime soon of course!!) =)

I love that I have learned so much from these two women ... not because they are constantly throwing advice at me or telling me how to live my life ... but simply through their examples, the way they live every single day. The way they become prayer warriors on my behalf, or on behalf of other family members. The way they teach through example. The way I see them treat others, even strangers.

I love this verse and think of it often when I think of my two Moms:
TITUS 2:3-5. "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."


I also love that I consider both of my Moms to be two of my very best friends. The first ones I think of when I need to talk to someone or when an issue arises. I know they will listen and they will pray, and they will help in any way they can. And they will do it all without judgment or criticism. And they will love me through the whole process. And I love them both for that ...


Happy (Early) Mother's Day to the two most special Moms in my world!!

(Oh, and I feel totally horrible about this ... but I don't think I have ANY current pictures of me WITH my Mom or Robin!! Guess I'd better get right on that!)

News

So, I have already been asked by several people what our big news is. You know the big change for our family that I mentioned a couple of posts ago??

Well, now that I know more information for sure I feel better about sharing with all of you. Really, it's not THAT big of news, I hope you won't all be disappointed that it isn't something more noteworthy!!

Anyway, the day after Easter we went and visited this nice little Christian school which is right around the corner from our house. For the 7 years we've lived here it has been right around the corner, probably only a little over a mile away, but we had never been there to actually check it out. We'd heard that it was pricey and just sort of dismissed it as something we couldn't afford.

So we finally decided to check it out. And we loved it! It is small, only 88 kids from kindergarten to 8th grade. It is a nice facility and the staff were wonderful. We also got all the information we'd need about how much it would cost. And yes, it is expensive. At least for us with only Bob working full time.

So we decided to pray and see what happened. We weren't even sure that we wanted to send the kids there. We like homeschooling and might even continue to homeschool H ... but we wanted to pray and see what decisions we'd come up with in a month or two.

Well our answer came in 2 days!! We received news that we would be able to get financial aid that was enough to cover 3/4 of the yearly tuition! And for 1/2 day kindergarten it would be paid 100%. We were so excited! I truly couldn't believe that our answer came so quickly!!

So we are now sure that J will go for (at least) kindergarten, and are pretty sure H will stay home for homeschool for at least another year. For those of you that don't know, one of our biggest reasons for homeschooling her is that she would never get to see Bob (because of his work shift) if she were gone to school all day and he were gone by the time she got home. So we will probably keep her home for a while longer and see what happens. Maybe his shift will change sometime in the future ... maybe we will continue to homeschool for many years ... maybe we will just wait and trust that God alone knows the future and we have no need to worry about it right now!

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Matthew 6:34

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Thankful Thursday

Today I am so thankful that spring is on it's way! The girls have been able to play outside every day for the last week and it's been wonderful! After so many months of feeling cooped up in the house it has been great to send them out for some fresh air and fun. They have been loving it too and every day start asking me right after breakfast when they can go out.
Also, I have to add that I'm thankful for a HUGE answer to prayer ... more details will have to wait till later but we had literally just begun praying about a certain change for our family and within 2 days came a huge answer and blessing. I am blown away by how quickly the Lord has answered our prayers! There is a lot more to be decided and confirmed which is why I won't go into the details just yet. {AND NO, IT'S NOT ABOUT HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!!} =)

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for HEALTH. Seems funny to say that since this week my whole family has been sick ... but this is my train of thought ...

Yes, we have had sickness
Yes, we have had colds
Yes, we have even had a few minor ear infections and strep throat
Yes, I have had a couple trips to the ER (a few yrs back - long stories!)

(NOT ALL THIS WEEK! JUST IN GENERAL)

But despite all that, we have been very blessed by good health. None of us have suffered any ongoing conditions, none of us have suffered lengthy, difficult sicknesses in which we required meds and/or Dr's visits.

So many people I know have children with ongoing or recurring illnesses. I feel so bad for these parents! It's so hard to see your kids when they aren't well. And it's so hard to parent when everyone is not getting enough sleep.

I know that life offers no guarantees. I know that at any moment any one of us could be diagnosed with something serious, or could suffer a bad illness. I know this, but I choose not to dwell on those thoughts and I choose to be thankful and grateful for the good health that we are all enjoying right now.

Thank you Lord for good health! Thank you for protection from serious illnesses and for keeping me healthy this week so I could care for my sick loved ones. Thank you for your constant care and concern for each and every one of us. Please be with those who are hurting or suffering at this very moment. In Christ's name, Amen.

I've been carded.

My dear friend Pauleen has "carded" me, not sure exactly what that means, but I received these instructions so here goes!

Here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for the New Year. Following Pauleen's example I did more than 5 but I think that's OK. :)
2. People who are “CARDED” need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get “CARDED” and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they’re “CARDED”, and to read your Blog.

Spiritual Needs

*To be diligent with spending time in the Word. (me too Pauleen!)
*To spend time in prayer - specifically for my hubby and children.
*To set a better example for my kids by having daily 'quiet' time with God.
*To set a better example of Christlikeness by not losing my patience and yelling so much.
*To follow the Holy Spirit's leading in where I should be serving in the church.

Physical needs (as in my body)

*To be disciplined to eat right.
*To be disciplined to exercise.
*To set a good example of health for my kids.
*To go to bed early instead of staying up too late.
*To not give in to junk food just because it's quick and easy.

Fun needs

*To read through all the books I want to read.
*To catch up on my scrapbooking.
*To keep in touch better with my friends and family.
*To have more date nights with hubby.
*To have more fun with the kids.

You know it's funny ... as I read through this list of 'wants' ... it's almost like my list of New Years resolutions!!!

So I guess these are the things I'm going to resolve for the New Year. And now I get to 'card' the following people ...

Mary N., Amy D., Nicki W., Lynn W. and Carol T.

Happy New Year!

If you are reading my blog today...

Please pray for the Skees family. I have never met them, but found out about them through another blogging friend. Their little girl Ellie (8 years old) just died last night of cancer that she has been battling for over a year now.

I can't even fathom the loss of a child in this way, let alone the thought of planning a funeral and trying to celebrate Christmas in just a few short days. I can imagine this time of year will always be bittersweet for them in every year to come.

As her blog says "Ellie is dancing in heaven right now!" Praise God for that! She is now pain free!

You can visit their blog here if you wish to read more or leave your own comment.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31