Well, Howdy!

Hi!

I know...it's been awhile.

But I have not forgotten about my blog....honest.

It is one of those things always in the back of my mind. A nagging thought that never lets up.

But I had a goal these past few months that was very important to me and I purposefully let some things go during that time. The blog was one of them.

But now I am here.

I told my children I was blogging today. They went into their most dramatic acting as they faked heart attacks. If I wasn't so dead set against Hollywood I would nominate these kiddos of mine for an Oscar. (Do those come with a cash prize?)

So why the sabbatical?

I concentrated on home schooling.

We have home schooled for several years now. And I love it. I love spending my days with my children. I love teaching and working with them. I love organizing and filing. I love visuals and field trips. But I have always struggled with our schedule.

I know ladies who home school more children than me and still seem to have free time every day....but I could not figure out how to help every child get everything done each day. It seemed like we were always doing school and yet we were never as far in our work as I thought we needed to be. I sought advice and counsel, but nothing seemed to fit or work for us.

This year has finally been better. We have made minor changes. I gave up a few things. I relaxed a lot about the little things. And it finally seems to be coming together more like I thought it should be. It still is not perfect, but I am sooooo happy for the changes that have been made. We still have things we are working on to make better, but improvements are being made. I still need to learn to relax more and not let lists dictate my life, but I am making strides. And I am very thankful as children blossom better in a more relaxed environment. And so do the parents! ;)


A year ago a precious friend I have not seen in years sent our family a gift card for a photo session. What a thoughtful gift! The arrival of this card coincided with another arrival in our household...the swine flu. The first arrival was gladly welcomed. The second was not. So the gift card was set aside and forgotten. But during our Christmas break from school last month we finally got to use it. What a fun experience that was for us! Our last family portraits were taken before Joshua was even thought of, so we were way overdue!

So now for updated pictures of the six reasons why I spend my days like the Apostle Paul. (...I put away childish things. I Cor. 13:11) ;)

Ricky, Age 13



Ryan, Age 12



Rachel, Age 10



Jack, Age 8



Jonathan, Age 6



Joshua, Age 4



My life is full. My heart is content. I love being their Mommy!



I have missed you and I have missed being here. It is nice to be back.



Thanks for stopping by,

Precious Pictures of Precious Memories....

I love digital photography! I love being able to snap picture after picture in quick succession with no need to worry about running out of film. I also enjoy being able to scroll through all the pictures I took and pick my favorites on my home computer. Did we really use to have to use film with limited amounts of shots and then pay and wait for photos which many were of no use to us once we got them because they were bad shots? I love technology!

We had a photo shoot outside today. We took well over 400 pictures today. I wanted pictures of the kids for our picture wall and Mom is always wanting more pictures for the kid's scrapbooks. It was hot and sunny but we had a lot of fun with my Mom. She went home this afternoon and we miss her so much already! I am now surrounded with what seems like a thousand projects but I wanted to post some of my favorites from the day.

My daughter so enjoys her Grandma! I have enjoyed their shared laughter and giggles all week long. What a blessing for Rachel to have this fabulous lady to help influence and guide her through life.



Ryan and Mom had done a bunch of pictures together and then with no warning Grandma turned to kiss him. I love Ryan's expression here!




My handsome Joshua...




He is always wanting us to listen to him. Too cute!




Grandma and Jack sharing a special moment...




My sweet Jack...




Grandma and Jonathan...




Ricky...




This kid LOVES being in front of the camera...




We had a great week and made precious memories. I am so thankful for my Mom!




And I am very thankful for a digital camera!


Thanks for stopping by,

My Living Room

My living room has needed help for some time. When we moved in 8 years ago a man from the church came and painted it. Since I have very little "design-sense" and because all my furniture and accessories did not necessarily match each other at the time I had the walls painted white. Now eight years later my walls are very stained and some of my things match. So....Mom to the rescue! My husband and I both loathe to paint. My Mom is good at it and said she would do it if we flew her here. We were happy to do so!

We decided on a light brown for the walls. We needed to work with our couch, rug and curtains which are navy. The light brown shade was in several things I had hanging on my walls. My pictures did not come out very well but I was excited to show the improvements, especially for my sister. The pictures do not do it justice, but if you are somebody who has been in my living room you will know what an improvement this is.

Our living room by necessity is half living room and half office. That is what works for us in our situation and it is so nice that now it is pretty! It is amazing what a coat of paint, some new plants, lamps and picture frames will do to give everything a fresh look. And it is wonderful how these things have lifted my spirit! Functionality is a priority, but it sure is nice when functionality is pretty at the same time!



I love being able to display my Willow Tree Nativity Set. It is very special to me and I love the fact that my husband made such an effort to get it for me. It is another constant reminder of how very much I am loved. (It even has a small light for night time displaying!)



We rearranged our picture wall. I am going to do be doing a different size picture of the children than we had been doing so we got all new frames. On the next sunny day we will be going outside to take pictures of each child and I intend to have these frames filled soon.



I love this man! He picked out this wall plaque for us a few years ago. Isn't that a great saying?



My office corner....





We have done a LOT of projects around the house this week with the help of my Mom and some friends from our church. In the midst of it all Ricky suggested that every one of our kids put their hand print on our wall. My Mom found a perfect place in our hallway for such a project. I have to admit that I resisted a bit at first (I am a neat freak!) but am so thankful we did it! The children loved having Grandma paint their hands and then put their hand print on the wall. Later when the paint was dry I took my Sharpies and wrote their name and age next to their hand print. What a special memory we made today and I know we will enjoy our wall for years to come. (Thank you, Ricky, for such a great idea!)

Getting their hands painted....(I am sure my adorable Mom is thrilled that I took her picture while she was wearing her "paint clothes"....but she is always beautiful to me!)




The finished product...







We had boxes out to use while we were moving things around. Joshua took advantage of that! He says and does so many cute things every day...I love the age of three!




We still have all of our vacation pictures to sort through but we have been on the go since we arrived home. Next week we are doing our school order and prepping for VBS....but maybe in between the raindrops we will get to those pictures.

Have a ter-RICK-fic Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by,

My Praying Squirrel.....

As most of you know we live on the church property. It seems that even the animals on the property are spiritual enough to take the time to thank God for their food. But does this squirrel seriously think that God is going to bless his stolen lunch? There is a reason this is called a "bird feeder."



Or maybe he was praying that my squirrel-loving husband wouldn't notice how big he was (Obviously he has had a lot of stolen lunches!) and decide to have him next to some mashed potatoes...



Went to a funeral today...again. Our pianist and I were talking after wards and decided that we did not want to do anymore this year. Of course, only God controls such things, but I certainly love our precious people and am always sad to say "good-bye"---even though I know it is for a short while.

The precious lady who went to Heaven was not one of our ladies I knew as well as most. She started coming a few years ago on Sunday mornings. She and her friend had a certain place they sat and I always looked to see if they were in their place. Your typical "sweet, little, old ladies"---don't you just love those?

I listened as different family members got up to share their memories and I enjoyed getting to know this lady better. I learned she had a fascination for big fancy earrings. In fact, the daughters, sisters and granddaughters had gone through her 150 pair collection to each pick out a set to wear today. She loved shoes. I learned that she piled whip cream...lots of whip cream...on top of the grandkids cocoa. And I heard the story of how she got upset 3 years ago when her son bought a motorcycle....yet her son was able to talk her into taking some rides with him and she enjoyed it!

I was tickled to realize how many church members had loved her and had gone out of their way to visit her and call her-even go out to eat with her. I have such a burden to do so much for and with the ladies of this church, but cannot do all that I want to. My children are still young. The majority of my time is invested in them. What a blessing and encouragement to me as I realized I have ladies going about and doing good all week long...without anyone even knowing!

May I make happy memories today for my children to remember tomorrow. I pray the lessons I teach them today will be a strong foundation to build on in the future. And I pray that I am someone going about doing good all week long. Seeking to be an encouragement everywhere I can!

And I hope I am the kind of Grandma someday who knows how to pile high the whip cream!




My baby is growing up! He is now in Patch Club with the rest of us instead of going to nursery on Wednesday nights.....and he could not be more pleased! Where has the time gone? What a delight to have this smiling face to teach in Club. He certainly sings and smiles with great enthusiasm!



I hope your weekend is wonderful!

Thanks for stopping by,

The Best Boxes UPS Ever Delivered.....

Sometime ago my husband embarked on getting his Master's Degree in Biblical Studies. My husband finds great enjoyment in studying and furthering his education. (So much unlike me!) He finished and received his degree last year.

The final quarter of the school year required writing a very extensive and very involved paper. He has wanted to put it in book form and we just recently were able to financially do that. Woohoo! :) What an exciting day when UPS pulled in our driveway to deliver these very special boxes.



"The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul..." Proverbs 13:19a

This is the look of "the desire accomplished."



I had the privilege of setting up a book table for my ter-RICK-fic man at church. We set up a book table whenever a pastor or missionary comes through, but my husband was so self-conscious about us doing one for him! He even had to announce it from the pulpit. He tends to have this peaceful self-confidence about him all the time, so it was especially sweet to see him not sure how to promote his own book. ;) But I have no problems telling the world! And I loved running his book table!



Wow! Is that really my husband's name on there? Sweetheart, I am so proud of you for setting this goal and seeing it through. What a great influence you are on our six precious children!



Warm weather has begun to make an appearance here in our neck of the woods. I must admit that I love my air conditioners! I love having a cool haven in hot weather. I love nap times still being an easy and pleasant experience for my young ones even when the thermometer is climbing outside. I know I am spoiled. I love many of the modern conveniences available to us. You can keep the "good old days"....I like cars, cell phones, air conditioners, indoor plumbing and on the list goes. (Though I am well aware that the morals of the "good old days" would be a good thing!)

Putting in the air conditioners here requires some real effort and is NOT on my husband's "favorite things to do list." That list contains things like hunting and golfing. But he loves me and so he does it. Bro. George came to help him and I am grateful to them both!



By the way, please pray for our good friend, Bro. George. He and his wife have been a part of our church and lives since I was a teenager. His wife passed away just last month. He has a lot of adjustments he is facing.

Ricky and Ryan saw me taking pictures and went to great lengths to remind me of the important part they played in putting in air conditioners. They were the "go-for's" of the project as daddy kept telling them to "go-for" this and "go-for" that. So in the spirit of giving honor to whom honor is due.....




A few more years and they will be putting in those air conditioners themselves.....Wait until you see the smile on Daddy's face then!

Thanks for stopping by,



By the way....If you would like to order any books, they are $10 plus $2.25 for shipping. If you send me your e-mail I will e-mail you our address.

How are you?

It has been so long since I have been on my poor neglected blog it is taking me a few moments to remember what to do! I did not blog in January and February due to illness and a heavy school schedule.....and then was out of the habit and found it hard to start again. Why is that? My wonderful husband keeps encouraging me to update my blog so here I am! My mind is racing with all the ways God has been good to this family since the beginning of the year. I do not know how to even start! So....I thought I would drop everyone a quick hello before I go down for our evening service at church. I love our church!

I also hope that by putting this post out that I will feel more accountable to my wonderful family and friends. The children grow so quickly and I love having a place to post pictures of my growing children.

Know for now that we are all doing ter-RICK-fic and I am looking forward to chatting with you real soon.

Thanks for stopping by,