Our first Sunday was a pounding...

Today was our first Sunday at Lane Prairie.  Since it was the day after Christmas they were having just a morning worship service without small groups or the evening service.  And, it was the first Sunday in a LONG time that we didn't leave the house by 7am...I don't even think we were up by 7am!  On normal Sundays we will probably head out around 8 am...so that's still an extra hour for us...woohoo!

At the conclusion of the service we went forward to be introduced (again) and that's when we got the pounding.  Well, a food pounding that is.  I often joke that my boys (hubby included) have the love language of food.  Give them food, invite them over to eat, out to eat...whatever...they feel special when they are given food.  So, we were feeling the love today as we gazed over the sacks and sacks of groceries.  Casey and I unloaded them onto our dining table...and they are all still there.  Not sure where it's all going to go...but I'll find a place eventually.  (Under the sink perhaps?)  All the cans and groceries take up 1/2 of our dining room table (and it has the leaf in it!).  It was a very sweet welcome from a very friendly church.  And, we were hugged...a lot!  Josiah, who is not my shy child, was even a little overwhelmed with all the attention and hid behind me as people went by hugging and shaking our hands.  It was a good day.

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to my handful of blog readers.  I realize that my blog is probably not very coherent at times...nor on any topic in particular.  I started writing as a way to share with everyone when we were getting ready to move to Texas.  Now, mostly I write for myself...just a way for me to express what is on my heart, so thanks for listening, and commenting.  Sometimes I write to communicate with our family too.  It is hard to be so far from family, especially during the holidays.  I like that I can share what we're doing (or not doing) as a way to keep in touch with our families and friends. 
Merry Christmas!  May we celebrate the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, not only during this season, but each and every day.

Top 10...

Top 10 Things I hate strongly dislike about living in Texas:

1. Bugs - you name it they're here...and of course bigger and nastier looking than they should be. 
2. It's flat - no mountains or (real) hiking trails around here.  I REALLY miss the mountains.
3. Trees - Okay, so there are trees here, but not TREES like in the NW forests.  I miss big trees too!
4. August - is really miserable.  Over 100 degrees plus humidity for weeks on end...my hair doesn't like it either.
5. Coffee...the lack of it!  You know you've been in the south too long when you say, "Maybe I'll stop by McDonalds and pick up a good latte."  Now, to their credit, I think McD's makes a pretty decent latte and coffee.  However, it's no Caffe Mela or Coffee Cabin or D&M or well, you get it.  How can you have a donut shop, liquor store and/or church on every corner, but not a coffee stand?!  Let's get our priorities straight people!
6. Seminary - it's a love/hate thing.
7. FREEWAYS - Okay, this is probably, in all honesty the number one dislike!  DFW is ranked #2 for road rage after NYC...seriously!  
8. Fake Cheese in a box, otherwise known as Velveeta.  Everyone uses Velveeta around here, even restaurants for their cheese sauces and queso stuff.  Eeewww!  My neighbor jokes (when she uses it) that she uses the "organic" kind.  I don't think organic velveeta is even possible! 
9. Allergies - wait, maybe this is the number one dislike.  It turns out that North Texas is one of the worst places to live if you have allergies...yay me!  They are bad almost year round except for the couple of weeks where it is actually cold.    
10. Trains - Ok, it could be just our current location...but really, do the trains need to lay on the horn in the middle of the night?  Seriously! 

Well, there's lots to love about where we live...but that will be in a coming post.  :>)

making a difference

Tomorrow is our last Sunday at North Fort Worth.  I'm both excited and sad.  Excited that we are moving on to something new.  Excited that we've heard from God and know this is the direction He wants us to go.  Excited to meet new people and form new relationships.  Excited to "start over" yet again. 

Sad that we will be saying "goodbye" to some.  Sad that we didn't connect better with others...hence the goodbye.  Sad that I don't really think we made a difference...well, let me say that I didn't make a difference in any one's life in the year we were there.  Maybe I did...I don't know.... I guess in my own retrospect thinking  I'm asking myself "where did I make a difference?"  I'm leaving NFW having met lots of nice people.  However, I'm (honestly) only leaving with one or two (maybe three) relationships that I think will last beyond our time there.  Of course, there is faceook now where all of our faux relationships can exist.....okay, maybe I'm feeling a little cynical tonight.   I guess the one thing that has surprised me the most is that more people from the traditional service have talked to us about our leaving than those in the contemporary (the service that Casey's led for the last 14 months.)  So, maybe it is just a reflection on our generation that we are very poor at relating to one another.  That's something to think about anyway....

I will take away some great things from our time there though, like Ethan's baptism and teaching the 1st graders in VBS and the friendships that were made. 

Homeschool "Breakthrough"

I've been lacking the necessary motivation for homeschool since our Thanksgiving break.  We've been doing a lesson here and there, but haven't really put in a "full" day of school since the break.  It's hard with winter break just around the corner to go fully back into "school" mode. 
Even though my motivation has been lacking, we did have a really good day today.  Last year we used curriculum that introduced cursive (intensive) for Ethan.  Poor kid, we had constant struggles with cursive and about 3/4 through the year I finally said, "Enough, we'll put this aside till next year."  I couldn't fit a full English unit into this short period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, so I pulled out some other material that I bought but decided that I'd save for Josiah.  For something different I thought I'd pull out one of the English units and have Ethan work through it.  Today we came to cursive...and there were no tears.  AND, his handwriting was SO much improved AND he was proud of himself for doing such neat work.  Phew!  I was really dreading coming back to cursive.  Major breakthrough! 
The second thing was something Ethan said.  He was working on Roman Numerals (which, quite honestly confuse me and give me a headache)...adding Roman Numerals!  Yikes, I thought it might be a little too much for him (because it took him awhile to finish), but he loved it!  He asked me to make him MORE problems with Roman Numerals.  Seriously! 

Giving thanks to the "older" generation

This past week we attended the Deacon's Banquet for our church.  It was a nice event and I could tell it was something really special for the deacons and their wives, especially those of the older generation.  The speaker was a counselor who at one time was part of NFWBC.  I can't remember his name, but I remember a story he told.  A man he was counseling came to this part of his "life" story and broke down.  He was remembering the church he had grown up in and that as a teenager his father had just decided that they weren't going anymore...and that was it.  He remembered how the people at church had loved him and always had a cookie and juice for him (specifically some of the older people) and a hug.  He felt he belonged...and then it was gone.  The story made me think of some people in my own life, especially those of the "older" generation who have loved, hugged and given me that sense of belonging in the churches I've attended.  So, I thought I'd just mention them and thank God for them.  (Note:  older is relative, but I'm thinking mostly of those who are older than my parents or at least have children that are older than I am).

CSBC - (my church as an older child and youth through my college years) & Ronald Community

• Gene Wilson - Love this man!  He would always come up and give me the side shoulder hug and lots of smiles.  I knew he was ALWAYS glad to see me (because he told me so)...he even drove the bus that picked me up for a lot of my childhood years.
• Dr. Powell - there aren't enough words to describe this man...those who know him know why!
• Frank & Tommie Sue Johnson 
• Dwight & Janice Bolton

WVBC

• Byron & Iris Moore
• Katie Handley
• Treva Wilson
• Butch & Geneva Manry
• June Lamb - she rocked my firstborn baby in the nursery during his first year
• Dislcaimer:  the following I don't think are "older" enough but I will mention them anyway - Beverly Selland, Ann Lancaster, John & LauVonne Melton, Perry & Kay Peddicord
• I think there are others that I'm missing...but I'll add to it as I remember.

NFWBC

• Trinidad & Betty Ann - two of my boys favorite things each Sunday are going to the library (Betty Ann) and getting doughnut holes from the greeters (Trinidad). 
• Linda Renfro - has been so kind to our family.

Last 2 weeks - Fun in Fort Worth

Hello again.  It's been a crazy last two weeks at our house, but it was a good kind of crazy.  My memory doesn't keep up with our activity though, so I can't really tell you everything, but I will share what I remember.  Let's start with November 18th (Thursday) when Casey's parents arrived.  It seemed to take forever for them to get here...just ask Josiah.

This is how I found him.

I opened the blinds and he made himself comfortable.

On Friday evening was Casey's graduate recital.  And no, he hasn't graduated yet, but that's just what it's called (graduate level thing).  He did AMAZING!  We are SO proud of him and all his hard work.  His voice professor told him that he should be really proud of himself because he did so well.  From what Casey has said previously about his prof. (whom he really respects), he doesn't just hand out compliments like that.

Grandpa & Grandma w/ boys

reception

 

Me and my handsome man

 Saturday and Sunday were a little uneventful for me and the boys as they had come down with a cold.  So, we stayed home and Gma & Gpa went out and about with Casey.  Monday we visited the Botanical Gardens.  It was a perfect day, except that it was pretty breezy.  For lunch we went to Dickey's bbq and then drove around a little and fought our way through the grocery store to get everything for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Casey worked Tuesday, so the boys and I took the grandparents to the Museum of Science and History.  It's one of our favorite places to go.  The planetarium shows are great and there are so many fun things to explore and create.

Grandpa takes on T-Rex

Ancient Egypt exhibit

 Wednesday I spent at home getting ready for Thanksgiving.  I made a gluten free pumpkin pie that was really yummy and an apple crumble that was less than mediocre.  It wasn't awful, but definitely not great.  Thanksgiving was a nice day at home playing games and eating!  Lots of eating.
Friday afternoon we went to the zoo.  I love the zoo.  It's one of my favorite places to go. I've taken many, many pictures from our trips, but I'll just post this one cute little picture this time.   

The Meerkats are so cute! 

On Saturday the grandparents, Casey and boys left me at home with my heat pad (pinched nerve in back) and went to the movie theater.  They saw Megamind and I think they all enjoyed it.  That evening we all went Downtown (cue music).  We ate dinner at Uno's pizza.  They have a gluten free pizza...yay for me!  After dinner we walked around and browsed the coolest Barnes and Noble bookstore I've ever been in.  And, got a few books too!  Sorry, no more pics from me....
Sunday we went to church.  The youth pastor filled in for our pastor who was sick and brought a great Word.  For lunch we went to the Chef Pointe Cafe.  Now, this is no ordinary cafe.  It was featured on Guy Fieri's Food Network show called Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Chef Pointe is a gas station (still operable) with 5-star food inside.  YUMMY!  Well, at least my previous meals there have been fantastic.  However, now that I'm gluten intolerant it left me with a plate of greens and grilled chicken - BORING!!!  I did enjoy seeing everyone else eat their amazing food...I should have taken a picture!
And that was about the end of our crazy busy, but fun week!  We did a few things on Monday too, but by then I think we were all exhausted...I know I was anyway...and my kids too!  Phew.   It was so nice to have grandpa and grandma visit and spend some time with us. 

Choosing to SEE

Mary Beth Chapman wrote a book recently called Choosing to SEE.  I did NOT want to read this book.  I had seen it out on book shelves and heard a lot about it, but I had already decided that it was not something I wanted to read.  A little over two years ago their 5 year old daughter was run over and killed by a vehicle that their son was driving.  Devastating!  I remember hearing about it on the news when it happened and honestly just grieved for their family.  I don't "know" them, but have been very familiar with Steven Curtis Chapman's music and followed their story as they've adopted three little girls from China.  There are some things I just don't want to read about.  It wasn't because I knew it would be a sad story, but because sometimes looking at the frailty of our lives is just too much.  I can't fathom losing a child.  Just the thought makes my gut hurt and eyes begin to tear. 
So, I didn't want to read the book, until I heard the prologue.  In October a few friends from seminary were able (once again) to attend Beth Moore's taping at Life Today Studios for the Wednesday's with Beth program.  It is an intense weekend, but SO very good.  In the very last session before closing Beth brought up Mary Beth Chapman.  I don't want to give it away, but it was GOOD...arm tingling, not-a-dry-eye-in-the-place GOOD.  The sessions that we went to last year are just now airing, so this one likely won't be out for awhile yet, but the book is.  And, Beth Moore wrote out her "part" in the story and it is the prologue for the book. 
My friend gave me the book to read yesterday.  I started into it a little yesterday and loved it.  It is honest and real and it is more about her life and struggles with God than just about their little girl.  I got to the hardest part today and had to put the book down and walk away for a bit.  It is heart wrenching, but they testify to God's faithfulness.  As she shared about their adoptions and their heart for orphans I felt my own heart being stirred towards something I hope is part of our future.
So, get the book and read it!  If you tend to shy away from topics like this (like I do) because they are so hard, please reconsider.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

We ended up sitting to the side or behind her for all the sessions so I wasn't able to get as good of a shot as last year.  During the last session I could see myself on the camera whenever she came my direction...just a little distracting!

Storms

One thing about living in north Texas is that it is flat, very flat.  So, when a storm is coming, you can see it.  There aren't any mountains blocking the view.  When we moved here last August I was amazed at how routine the storms seemed.  I finally asked a "native" Texan, "Does every Thursday start off nice and beautiful and end with a magnificent thunder and rain storm?"  It had done that about 4 weeks in a row, so I thought maybe this was usual.  She was surprised and said, "Really, I hadn't noticed that."  Sure enough, Thursday rolled around and with it the storm.  It eventually stopped that cycle, but I was thinking how nice it would be if we could see the storms of life coming with such predictability.

Sometimes, we can see the storm coming and there is nothing we can do but hunker down and go right through it.  I kind of feel that way right now.  There is something brewing.  It may just pass over, but it could get powerful and kick up some stuff too.  I don't know what "category" of storm it's going to be, but I do know how I want to respond.  How I respond is all the "control" I have over the situation.  I can't control how others respond.  We've been warned in Scripture that storms are coming; it's a part of life.  Scripture uses "when" instead of "if" to prepare us for trials and troubles.  I think we prefer to read "when trouble comes" as "IF trouble comes."  Somehow "IF" is more comforting, but it's the "when" that grows us up in character.

So, at least now I know why I am camped out in the book of James (still).
"Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."
"...let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."
"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
"Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Responding to God

It's 9:45 pm and I just got my kids into bed.  Long day, longer night, but so worth it.  Josiah went to bed in tears, something to do with toothpaste, but I told him everything would be fine in the morning.  Two hours past bedtime and he is done in! 

Anyway, the boys and I headed up to the church tonight for an evangelistic "event."  The preacher is good.  He went on a little about how people in the "buckle of the Bible belt" go to church for 10,000 reasons and none of them have to do with hearing from God.  A few other comments too, but I did manage to refrain my "amens" and "that's right" to myself.  I've mentioned this to Casey a few times, but I feel so out of place at church.  Not sure if it's a "southern" thing or what.  But, if God speaks, heaven help me if I don't respond to Him!  Especially if I sense something during my quiet time and only kind of respond and then hear it again (a little louder) the very same night.  Well, let's just say, I've learned that it is better to obey right away.  (Isn't that what I always tell my kids too?)  Half the time at the response (altar) time I'm expecting the whole body to be down front, and I look around and see only a handful....  I know, everyone "responds" to God in their own way, but I kinda think that as a believer if you can't respond publicly IN CHURCH, then you aren't going to be responding much outside either.   I had this thought tonight and laughed a little to myself, but I wonder if people think I'm getting saved every time I go forward.  Sometimes I get kind of weird looks, but that could just be me too.  :>)  I just want more of God.  I'm not satisfied to just "go to church."  I want and need Him too desperately to take Him casually.

So anyway, after the service was over I sat and talked a little with Ethan.  We probably sat there for 10 minutes or so and I shared with him what God showed me and he shared with me some thoughts and prayers he thought of too during the message.  It blessed me like nothing else to hear my son sharing about God with me!  It was huge for me.  Thank you God for that time with Ethan!  We ended our time by praying for Josiah to respond to God too.  It was a very sweet time.  I am truly blessed. 

I don't get Halloween

Well, this might get me into trouble, but I don't think I can keep it in any longer, so here it goes. 
I don't get Halloween.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I don't get why Christians celebrate Halloween.  Please, someone, explain to me why Christians celebrate Halloween?  I asked Casey the other day, "Are we just super-conservative, weird, Jesus-freak type people for not participating?"  Most probably think we are.  I guess that's okay with me, but I really do want to understand why the those who love God think that it is just another fun day.  And, maybe more, why do churches have harvest parties and such and encourage it?  I've been told that it is to create a "safe" alternative for kids.  If we need a "safe" alternative then shouldn't that be the first hint that it's not a good thing? 

Now, I'm not getting into all the history of the day, because in modern day it's pretty irrelevant.  What is  currently celebrated in America on this day?  Ghosts, witches, vampires, blood, gore, darkness and death is what I see around me as we get closer and closer to the day.  A little trip to any retail place will reveal that. So why celebrate that?

I don't have a problem with kids dressing up and being cute.  Mine have a bucket of super hero costumes that they like to wear occasionally.  I don't have a problem with candy (once in awhile).  I don't have a problem with games and having fun.  I DO have a problem when the Church doesn't look any different from the world.  I guess mostly I just find it frustrating because I don't have an answer.  And maybe because I just don't get it...and yes, I think most things are black and white, so that's probably part of it.

And, just in case I haven't mentioned it lately, I love you dear, sweet friends (and family) regardless of whether or not you celebrate Halloween with your families. 

"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Phil. 4:8

Books!

I really love books.  I think my kids love books too.  Can you guess the one place they ask to go every week?  Yep, the library!  Well McDonalds too, but I try to ignore that one.  We try to make a weekly trip to our public library and every Sunday we stop by the church library and get more books.  I love that Ethan loves to read.  In fact, he's a lot like me.  Once he starts a book he hates to stop.  We've had to make rules for reading because we love it so much.  The first rule is no books in the bathroom.  I think that is pretty self explanatory.  The next rule is no reading while eating.  I can't tell you the number of times we'd be sitting at the table eating only to realize that a certain boy had his nose in a book. 
My reading rule (for myself) is no fiction.  At least not while school is in session.  I can really lose myself in a good story, so it's just best for me to limit my fiction. So here's what I'm reading right now:

• The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer - I'm not necessarily following a classical model to our homeschool but there is a lot a like about classical education.  It's been a great resource.
• In Step with God by Charles Stanley - I'm just getting into this one, but I think it's going to be good.  In the introduction he says his prayer is that we'd pray as Moses prayed in Ex. 33:13, "Let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight."  It really is my desire to know God, not just about Him.  
• The Rewards of Simplicity by Pam and Chuck Pierce - some great principles but not exactly what I thought it would be.  I do like how they define simplicity on page 37.  "The purpose of simplicity is not to prune away those things that bring us joy and enrich our lives.  Instead, the purpose of simplicity is to streamline our lives in such a way that we have more room, time and energy for the pursuits and people that God ordains for us."
• Wild at Heart by John Eldredge -  I just read through this book a month or two ago and want to go through it again.  It was really good.

What are you reading right now?

Creep crawly

We saw this little guy on the sidewalk outside our door last week so I thought I'd post the little video I took.  This is probably just a baby because we've been told they've seen much bigger ones around here.  I did not come off the porch and Ethan kept a safe distance. 

School today

We've had a great week of school.  The best one so far!  I told the boys if they finished their work well today we could do a little drawing project.  Art is NOT my thing, so it is always a special treat when we do art.  I checked out a book from the library on how to do things.  One of the sections is on drawing different things.  The lesson we chose for today was how to build a rocket ship.  It was fun to go through and give them step by step instructions on drawing it and then I let them color it and do whatever background they wanted.  It is fun to see their different personalities come out in the drawing. 

Here they are starting the coloring phase.

Ethan working on his details.  I think he is drawing the asteroid belt here.

Josiah always has his tongue out when he's working hard.

Josiah's completed page.

 

Oh James!

I am reading in the book of James right now.  It is probably my least favorite in the New Testament.  It's a great little letter, but it's hard.  It starts off with, "count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."  There is really nothing exciting about trials and testing, even if it does produce patience.  Can't I just have patience without going through the trial?  Ah, no.  It just doesn't work that way!  Thankfully patience isn't even the end result.  Because, honestly, I would rather choose no trials which would lead to no learning patience.  However, there is a blessing in acquiring patience, and that's what I want.  The next verse says, "But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."  Wow, that's what I want, to lack nothing.  I know it's not physical stuff that I lack, but what we call the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.  They don't just happen.  I am purified, refined and made more complete when I go through trials and look to God for everything.  By His grace, our trials are not in vain, but an opportunity for us to grow in completeness.  It's a hard thing, but the end result is worth it.

First weekend of October

It is pretty cool how the first weekend of October actually feels like fall is here.  The temps dropped to 70's with cool breezes.  So nice. 

Casey had vacation this past week and weekend so once we got passed the school week we actually were able to do something fun.  On Friday we had the weekly grill out with our neighbors.  It is such a great time to just sit out, eat, visit, relax.  I love it.  Saturday we slept in and then went to the Museum of Science and History in Fort Worth.  It was so great!  We just spent a few hours and did about 1/2 the museum.  A few months ago a family member sent us some money for the boys for home school stuff, so one of the things I used it for was passes to the museum.  I know we are going to use it and love it for special field trips.  Next time I will remember to take my camera!

Sunday we decided we wanted to sleep in again (Casey really needs all the extra he can get with his late nights).  We hadn't visited Travis Avenue, so we thought we'd go there for worship on Sunday morning.  It is just up the road from us.  During the invitation time the pastor asked just for a few moments of silent prayer.  At the end of that he said something about God moving and working around us.  So, right after church Ethan says to me, "Mom, he wasn't kidding about God moving because my legs had just started to tingle when he said that."  Ethan is always so serious when he talks about things like that and it sounded so funny.  Casey and Josiah went to use the restroom and so Ethan and I were waiting in the foyer where the pastor was greeting people.  Ethan asked if we could meet him so I always prep him by telling him what would be appropriate to say, etc.  (You wouldn't believe some of the things he's said when he's asked to talk to someone.)  Ethan asked if he could tell him about his legs tingling.  I said that maybe we could start by introducing ourselves and telling him we enjoyed the service. 

Sunday evening Casey took the boys up to our church for their kids choir practice.  It was a nice little break for me.  So, what did I do?  I started on cleaning the boys room.  Started is the key word.  I think it will take the rest of the week to finish what I started.  Let's just say that they like to keep EVERYTHING!  Thankfully we are all feeling better, though not quite at 100% yet. 

Confessions of a cranky pants

I haven't blogged in awhile.  There is a reason, but I wasn't sure I wanted to share it.  But, here it goes...I have been super CRANKY!  Ask anyone who has lived with me for the past couple of weeks, and they will agree, wholeheartedly! After one weekend home from our Washington trip we started school.  The first few days were rough, but we are getting into it now.  On the 2nd night, since we started school, Josiah woke up with that awful croupy cough.  It scares him and he panicked, which does not help the coughing any at all.  Of course, Casey was working this night too, so I was home alone (and with a neighbor) for the worst part of it.  So, that started the cold which Josiah so kindly shared with me and Ethan within the next couple of days.  We made it through the first full week home only to be greeted by a cold the following weekend.

Now, this past weekend we actually had quite a few plans, and we didn't get to do any of them because we were sick!  So frustrating for me.  Well, it turned out that Casey would be taking a week of vacation this week, so he basically worked ALL 20 hours over that last weekend anyway.   So, I'm sick, the boys are sick, and my husband was gone...for days.  Not exactly what I had planned.

So, that's my excuse....  Well, at least part of it.  For some reason I've been really anxious about our finances too lately.  It's all a trust issue of course, but I feel the extra added pressures to fit in and be like everyone else.  I hate to say no to eating out with friends because we really need the fellowship.  However, if we do that than there is the guilt of spending more than we have.  I had a minor (well, Casey might say it was major) melt down last night over spending $60 on groceries.  If I'd had the time, energy, etc. I could have planned better, organized my coupons and not spent so much.  However, the reality of the situation is that it is not so much when I remember that I'm feeding a FAMILY OF FOUR!  (The caps are me yelling at myself.) Anyway, that's me being cranky for the last week.

Note to self:  you can't do everything, stop beating yourself up, people won't understand your circumstances but there's nothing to be done about that, do what you can, remember that God has called you to homeschool, remember that God has called Casey to seminary, God never promised that following Him would be easy, eating junk will not make it better, smile more often, take a deep breath and slowly exhale...ahhh.  That's better.

Home again

It was quite an adventure spending the last 3 weeks on the road with the boys.  They were really great troopers through all of the traveling.  We had lots of early mornings and late nights, but we all survived.  Although it was a great time, we missed Casey very much and were so happy to see him last night when we arrived at the airport.  Hopefully after a few more full nights sleep in their own beds the boys will be well rested and ready to start school!

I wish I'd had the time and energy to blog while we were on the trip, but I didn't.  That and not having my own computer with me.  So, I'll just summarize our three weeks in a condensed version format. :>) 
We spent the first few days with the McCarthy's in Granite Falls (about 1 hour north of Seattle).  We took one day and went down to Mulkiteo to walk along the water and see the ferry boats.  On Friday, we left for Spokane, a 6 hour drive east.  The boys were great little travelers for that too.  In Spokane we stayed with Casey's sister and family and had a great visit with them.  The boys love Aunt Jeanie!  They also love Maverick, cousin Heather's German Short-hair puppy.  I confess, I might have fallen for the sweet guy too!   My brother was married that weekend way up north, out in the country area of Spokane.  It was good to see so many family members and some long time family friends.   On Sunday we stopped by to visit the boy's great grandpa Gene McCarthy and had a nice visit with him.

Tuesday we headed back west to Wenatchee and stayed with some very dear friends for the next three days.  Being in Wenatchee was good, but hard.  So much has changed since we left just over a year ago.  Lots of hurting friends and wounded relationships, but we know that healing is in progress and that was good to see.  There are some people in that town that are the dearest to me in the whole world.  It was good to see them and know that they are okay (with my very own eyes and ears).  I look at Wenatchee and know that spiritual warfare is real and a powerful enemy against the beloved of God.  The enemy may win a few battles, but he will never win the war!  Our enemy is not flesh and blood...ever, even though flesh and blood is often an instrument of our greatest conflicts and hurts.  I left Wenatchee that week weary and ready to leave. 

Friday I headed to Ellensburg, my hometown.  It was good to see my parents and spend some time with my mom.  Saturday was maybe one of the greatest highs of the trip for me.  A bunch of friends from college all came to town for a barbecue and we just got to visit and catch up a bit.  It was such a blessing to see these long-time, faithful friends.  We even got Casey on Skype and passed him around so everyone could say hi.  Sweet.  Sunday was a great day of worship and fellowship at Chestnut Street, my "home" church.  It was fun to be together with the "old gang" on Sunday.  Sunday night was a barbecue with my family and some aunts and uncles came over to visit.  Monday we drove up to my aunt and uncles cabin and spent a few hours there.

Wednesday we went back to Wenatchee for a couple of more days to get in a few last visits with some very special people.  Friday we headed back over the mountains to the McCarthy's home in Granite Falls.  We had some very nice days with them before we headed home on Wednesday.  It was good to spend a few days resting there.  It was good to arrive home refreshed and not exhausted.

All in all it was a wonderful time.  There were a few people we missed along the way, but we did the best we could. 

Adventures of flying with kids

The boys and I have arrived in Seattle, WA.  We are staying a few days with grandma and grandpa McCarthy at their home about an hour north of Seattle.  We will stay until Friday when we'll head to Spokane (six hour drive) for the weekend for my brothers wedding.  Next week we'll spend a couple of days in Wenatchee visiting friends and then be in Ellensburg with my family and friends over the Labor Day weekend.  After that we'll spend a few more days in Wenatchee and then head on back to the McCarthy's.

Our flight Tuesday left at 7:15 am so we were up early.  We got up at 4 am to get ready, left for the airport at 5 am and arrived at 5:40 am.  At the security check point Josiah's back pack caused a little stir with the security.  His backpack was searched because a dagger shaped item was detected on the ex-ray.  They found his toy airplane.  It has a metal body (shaped like a dagger?) and rubber wings, which did not show on the scan.  Other than that, it was good.  We got checked in and waited for our boarding time at 6:45 am.  This was the first plane ride for the boys, so it was all pretty exciting (for them).  I do not like to fly, at all, period.  But I guess I just have to sometimes.  I think I held it together pretty well.  After we got seated on the plane Josiah kept asking, "are we flying yet."  Or he would say, "have we launched yet?"  When the plane started moving, and then sat for awhile Ethan started asking about fuel and stuff.  His observation was that the plane was wasting a lot of fuel by sitting there.  And then he hoped that we didn't run out of fuel before we got to Seattle.  After take off Ethan started to comment on the next worst case scenario he had thought of.  I had grown tired of hearing of all the ways we could crash (I've thought about it enough myself) that I didn't need to hear any more of his ideas.  He said, "well I guess the worst that can happen now is...."  I held up my hand and said (firmly) "STOP!"  He did.  The flight was pretty smooth, not too much turbulence at all. 

After a year in Fort Worth, TX, Seattle is more beautiful than I remembered.  I love the mountains and trees!  It is also sunny and clear, but not too hot which is wonderful!  Yesterday we picked some blackberries along the driveway.  We saw two snakes.  The first one scared me, a lot.  I hadn't seen it and probably got pretty close to pick some berries.  The boys ran over to me and then the snake slithered away...I screamed and ran the opposite direction.  A little later the boys found another sitting in the sun.  They got too close and it slithered away too.  They thought it was "cool."  After dinner the boys fed the goats.  Junior, the big boy goat, does not seem to like Josiah.  He kept butting his horns against the gate whenever Josiah came close.  Bad Junior. 

Homeschool - Part 2

Curriculum.  The very word is overwhelming when you start looking at all the options available now for homeschool.  Last year I ordered from one publisher (Abeka) and used it exclusively for both boys.  This year I new we needed something different so I spent months (literally) looking at different publishers.  I talked with other homeschool moms to see what had worked for them and what they liked.  I read reviews where ever I could find them.  It was a lot of time and energy, but I didn't want to invest in something and then be miserable working through it all year. 

Here is what I am using with Ethan this year for 3rd grade.

• Math:  Math U See  (So far so good.)

• Grammar/Writing:  BJU Press English - so far we are LOVING this.

• Spelling:  Word Building Paces by School of Tomorrow (okay)
• Literature/Creative Writing:  School of Tomorrow Paces (not really impressed, but we'll try it for a few more weeks.)
• Science:  Switched on Schoolhouse (haven't started yet)
• History:  Abeka as an outline but I will supplement with extra readings and projects.
• Bible:  Exploring Genesis (so far so good.)
• Reading list:  created a list of books for him to read based on Sonlight's curriculum 

And for Josiah for 1st grade:

• English: School of Tomorrow Paces (like it)
• Spelling: Word Building Paces by School of Tomorrow (great) - Josiah finished the first one in just over a week and took his test and did great.  He was so excited to complete something already.  
• Math:  Math U See (so far so good.)
• Bible:  BJU Bible Truths (A Father's Care) - LOVE it!
• Science/History/Health - will use Abeka and supplement with making lap and story books.  He loves making books and projects so that will make those subjects fun...haven't started those yet.

For some reason, I didn't come across BJU press until after I'd already purchased most of their other materials.  I wish I'd come across it sooner!  We are loving both the English (for Ethan) and Bible (for Josiah). 

As far as cost I bought a lot of the books used (but in good condition) from Ebay.  Math U See cost about $130 total for both boys.  I won't have to buy the blocks again ($40) and I'll be able to reuse a lot of Ethan's material for Josiah when he gets there.  School of Tomorrow Paces cost the most (comparatively) since I bought them at a book fair - total was about $120 (I did buy some of Ethan's Paces on ebay).  Abeka books for both boys were used and total was $24 for Ethan's history set and Josiah's 3 books.   Switched on Schoolhouse was around $60 from CBD.  BJU Bible Truths lesson book and teachers guide was $22 off ebay.  Ethan's BJU English workbook was $18 from Mardel and the teachers guide was $8 from Ebay.  So overall, the cost was less than what I paid last year for the complete sets from Abeka.  I love Ebay for this kind of stuff.  

Homeschool - Part 1

I have had a few people ask me about our homeschooling so I thought I'd blog about it.  Our decision to homeschool was a hard one, especially because I felt I was being "forced" into it.  I wasn't really, but it was overwhelming because so many things in our life were changing at the time.  Another difficulty was that I always imagined I would go back to work when the kids were both in school.  My plans were not God's plans in that area.   Now that we have a year behind us I can say honestly that I'm glad we homeschool and I can't really imagine doing anything else (at this time anyway). 
Casey and I made the decision that I would be a stay at home mom while I was still pregnant with Ethan.  At the time is seemed like an easy decision.  We moved when I was 7 months pregnant and getting a job at that time was not really high on my list.  It was a little tough at times.  Casey had one permanent part-time ministry position and then had several other part-time jobs to make up the difference.  The ministry position eventually turned into full-time.  Now, almost 9 years later we are again at a part-time ministry position, other part-time jobs on the side and attending seminary!  And, I'm still a stay at home mom, except now I homeschool too. 
So, I guess I just want to say that you have to be committed to what you believe.  We made the decision for me to be a stay at home mom and raise our kids.  If you didn't, I'm not getting on you, I'm just saying that if you want it, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices (like the big house, new phones, cars, etc.).   It's not easy, but you CAN do it if it's what God has laid on your heart.  Okay, I'll stop there before I get myself into trouble.
So, back to homeschool.  We believe our first responsibility toward our children is to love them and train them to love and obey God.  So, for us, sending them to public school just does not fit into that equation anywhere.  We don't see public school kids being taught that.  So, do I "shelter" my children?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  That's my job, to protect their hearts and minds until they are ready and have the maturity to hear and talk about certain things.  Okay, enough said. 
I guess that covers our thoughts on why we homeschool.  Next I'll post on our curriculum and then how we homeschool. 

Josiah's Birthday

Yesterday was my baby's 6th birthday.  It is hard to believe that 6 years have gone by since his birth!  For some reason his special day came before we were ready for it, so we didn't plan a party or anything too exciting.  We did go out for an IHOP breakfast.  After that we went to the pet store in the mall looked at all the sweet little puppies, which we can't have.  We did however, let Josiah pick out a beta fish.  He was SO HAPPY!  All the way back to the car he kept saying over and over, "I have a pet now."  He's wanted a pet for a long time!   A couple of weeks ago we found a little lizard in the apartment and he was so upset that I wouldn't let him keep it as a pet.  Then, there was a beetle, and then a caterpillar, and the cricket.  So, I think a fish is a good thing!  And, the name of our newest addition is "Fishy."

At home he opened his presents from his grandparents and from one of our friends who had a little something for him.  We spent the afternoon at home just resting and playing games.  We were going to go downtown for the Barnum and Bailey circus elephant parade in the evening, but Josiah was looking really tired.  By the end of the day it was pretty obvious he was coming down with a cold or something.  So, we stayed home...it was 102 out so it wasn't too much of a disappointment to stay inside.  We ordered pizza and salad from dominoes and then played some video games "as a family," which meant I had to play too.  They draw me in by playing a couple of round of Tetris (which I can win) and then move onto the other games in which I have no talent.  It was fun though. 

In less than 2 weeks now the boys and I will be in Washington!  I'm really looking forward to seeing all our family and friends there, but I'm also really looking forward to driving through the mountains and cooler weather.  August is, let's be totally honest, miserable in Texas!  August 1st was 104 degrees and it's been over 100 every day since.  At 9 am this morning it is 90 degrees but with the heat index (humidity) it feels like 99 degrees! 

Casey's first day of class is next Tuesday.  We paid his tuition last week and it always feels like a punch to the gut.  Ouch!  Hopefully, he will get some of it back in scholarship money.  I started a little school with the boys on Monday.  It went well.  We will just do part-time for the next week and while we are traveling.

July Challenge Summary

I did not do well in posting this past week.  However, we've still been watching our budget and trying not to make any extra expenses.  Casey left for Hawaii this past Tuesday.  We are missing him a lot this week, but I know that it is an incredible experience for him. 

I was really struck today by the love of the Lord towards me.  It has been one year since we left Wenatchee, WA and moved down to Fort Worth, Tx.  Looking back over this past year I can see how much we needed a change, how much I needed a change.  I've been listening to a lot of sermons by Matt Chandler, a pastor down here in the Dallas area (Village Church in Grapevine).  He is going through chemo right now for a brain tumor.  He's a young guy, but I think the Lord has given him amazing discernment and wisdom.  One thing that has struck me in his teaching is on what he (or somebody else that he's quoting) calls Moral Deism.  Basically that if you want to be a "good" Christian here is your list of do's and dont's.  It is RAMPANT in the church today and basically it is living under the Law!  I may blog on it more a little later as I'm still digesting this one.   Anyway, look him up and take a listen. 

We have been so blessed over the past weeks.  These may seem like little things, but they were a direct provision from the Lord from His people.  First, one of my neighbors gave us a meatloaf and some muffins.  She does once a month cooking and had these left over and needed the freezer space for the current month.  The boys loved the muffins and snacked on those all week.  We'll have the meatloaf when Casey returns from Hawaii.  Second, we have really needed another dresser.  The boys were sharing a small four drawer dresser and they always had clothes everywhere because the didn't all fit.  Well, another neighbor is moving and offered us a dresser.  It was her grandmother's and it is old, huge and beautiful!  What a blessing from the Lord through this special friend!  So, we moved all our clothes around so I could use that one and now all our clothes fit!  Thank you, Lord!  Thirdly, yet another neighbor was moving and gave us some items to clean out their fridge.  It was all stuff the boys really like that I don't buy for them!  So, they thought it was special to bring home chocolate syrup, gogurts, hotdogs and ketchup (they love ketchup).  It is little things, but the Lord knows how much each meant to me, His special care. 

Okay, so about the challenge.  I had to get a few things for Casey before he left for his trip, that was about $40.  Also, spent about another $60 on groceries since I last blogged and then about $20 in toiletries too. 
So, did we succeed in not spending more than we made?  NO.  We went over by about $170, but that was WAY better than May and June!  Even though we still spent more than we made it was such a good exercise for me to look at every single dollar and be accountable for every dollar that the Lord gave to us.  Casey will work his second job when school starts up again, so hopefully that will close the gap on our finances a little.  I am learning to be content and to rejoice in all things.  This is good (TIG).

July Challenge: Days 18 - 20

Well, we've had an exciting few days.  I can definitely tell that the discipline of being on this challenge is starting to make we want to rebel.  So far we are still on track, but I'm going to really have to watch things closely.

Day 18:  We had a great day at church.  We are going through a video series on Philippians by Matt Chandler that is just excellent.  If you haven't heard of this guy, you should definitely look him up and take a listen. 
I don't think I wrote down our expenses from Saturday (day 17), but it was about $50 in gas and then $6 at the corner market for a couple of things.  I also went to CVS and spent $9 out of pocket and got back $18 in CVS reward dollars to use on my next purchase.

Day 19:  Spent $0

Day 20:  Well, I spent some today!  These last few days have been so much harder to NOT spend and I'm not sure why, other than I just want to rebel and do what I want.  I think part of it is that I got my (very little) check to cash from the mystery shopping that I do.  It doesn't pay a ton, but it does bring in a little extra and I get some free stuff along the way too.  Alright, so we did have a really fun day at a city waterpark in Arlington.  We started off at Walmart so I could get some snacks and flip flops for the boys.  Spent $20 there.  It was about lunch time and Rosa's was right there...and it was taco Tuesday...so, I swung through the drive through and ordered 2 taco plates and a pint of beans and the total was $10.  It fed all of us, so not a bad deal!  We spent from 1-5 at the waterpark and the cost for that was $23.50.  Well, by 5 pm we were needing some cold refreshment...our drinks had gotten pretty hot sitting in the sun for four hours, so we swung by McDonalds for drinks.  (See, I start spending and it just snowballs!).  Spent just over $4 there.  So, in one day I managed to spend all of my check!  But, I will say it again, we had a lot of fun!

July Challenge: Days 13-17

Happy Saturday!  Today is the last Saturday choir rehearsal for Casey.  I think we are both excited about that.  He's had a 3 hour rehearsal every Saturday since classes got out in May for the trip to Hawaii that the choir is taking.  He leaves in 9 days!  I'm excited for him.  He (and the entire choir) have put in so many hours of preparation for this trip. 

Today was our weigh in day and I was a little nervous about stepping on the scale.  I didn't really have bad days, but I didn't exactly have great days either.  However, I did lose 1 pound which puts me at the 50 pound mark in weight loss.  So, that is pretty exciting!

The boys had a great time at VBS this week.  We took them to a nearby church where they went on a high seas adventure. 

Day 13:  spent about $26 at Kroger on a few grocery items.  Milk, eggs, fruit, etc.  I didn't have too many coupons to use this round, but I did find some good deals on clearance meat and lunch meat.  Tuesdays are also what we call the "Food line" at the seminary.  This week there was lots of good whole wheat breads, so I was able to get a few loafs of bread, english muffins and hamburger buns. 

Day 14: spent $0

Day 15:  Ethan came down for VBS in sweat pants.  He said he had no shorts.  This is not good since we had just finished all the laundry a few days before.  So, I spent the afternoon going through their dresser and sorting clothes.  (They each have two drawers in one dresser, so sometimes things get "lost" on the bottom).  Well, sure enough, the kid has outgrown all but a few pairs of shorts!  I saw that Old Navy was having a good online sale so I thought I'd look around.  I went through Ebates (to get a percentage back) and they were giving 10% back on the purchase!  I had a promo code for 15% off my order and free shipping on $50 or more.  So, I got my cart total to $50 and then used the promo code to get my total down to $46 total, including tax.  Now, I will get $4.20 back in my August Ebates too!  Oh, and I got 11 items total: 7 for Ethan, 3 for me, 1 for Casey.  Now, that's a good deal!

Day 16:  Payday!!!
Paid phone, electricity, life insurance and tithe with NO bills remaining until the 1st of August!
Went to Kroger and spent about $48 on grocery items.  Found eggs, yogurt, turkey breast (raw) and lunch meat all on clearance and saved about $5 using coupons.

So, here is what we ate this week for breakfasts:  oatmeal, eggs, cereal, english muffins
Lunches:  chicken salad, taco salad, sandwiches, soup, leftovers
Dinners:  tacos, porkchops, baked chicken, hot dogs (boys), cereal

July Challenge: Days 9-12

Day 9:  I spent about $10 at Walmart (saved over $7 using coupons!) and then went to Kroger to get a few groceries.  Spent about $33 there and saved over $10 in coupons!  Here's another challenge to living on a tight budget: buying healthy food and not prepackaged, preservative, sugar and salt laden foods.  Sometimes I just don't understand how buying three small apples for $1 can be the same price as 3-4 boxes of store brand mac and cheese. 

Day 10:  spent $0

Day 11:  I have decided to give the "drugstore game" a try.  This is essentially getting the best deals (ie. free or cheap) items at CVS and Walgreens type stores.  I thought I'd give CVS a try and see how it would go.  CVS had two items (that we could use) for FREE after Extra Care Bucks (ECB).  So, Sunday I bought a pair of kid scissors and some ball point pens for .99 each plus tax.  On my receipt, I received ECB's for .99 for each item to be used at another time.  So, I spent $2.14 and received back $1.98 to be used at another time.  I also purchased a double coupon Sunday paper for under $3.

Day 12:  Well, today I officially overspent all that we had left until Friday!  I did get some good deals and some $ will be coming our way in rebates so that makes it alright, right?
Today's deals: CVS - bought 6 shampoo/conditioners, 2 body wash, 3 deodorants for just over $10 and got back $8 in ECB's to use on my next visit!  I was practically floating out of the store I was so excited! 
Office Depot deals:  these items I paid for out of pocket today, but will all be FREE and maybe + after rebate...stapler, Mr. sketch markers, sheet protectors and mechanical pencils.  The rebates all have a set price (not purchase price) and I used a coupon...so we'll see if I get back more than what I paid!  This was also a Mystery Shop place, so I will be reimbursed for up to $5 and will get paid $5 for shopping there today!

In other news...we took the boys to VBS at a nearby church where some of our neighbors attend.  They had a good time.  Since Casey and I do not hardly ever have evenings for dates, we are taking advantage of these mornings this week to spend some time together.  Today he went shopping with me. :>)  Which reminds me that I did spend another $14 at Half-Price Books today also (oops).  I bought 13 books for Ethan and Josiah at $1 a piece.  A few of them will be for school (like Charlotte's Web) and some are just for fun (Encyclopedia Brown).

July Challenge - Days 4-8

Okay, so daily blogging is not my thing!  I had a few days of not feeling well, so that will be my excuse.  So, here's a quick recap on the last days and how we are doing on our challenge.

Day 4 (Sunday) - Spent $0 - probably the first Sunday that I haven't spent money on either breakfast or lunch (sometimes both) in months.  I packed PB sandwiches and bananas for the boys and some oatmeal I could cook in the microwave when we got there.  (We get to church by 7:30 am for Casey's worship team rehearsal, but classes don't start until 9:30 am.)  Lunch is probably the hardest.  It seems the only fellowship we (or I) get is going out to eat after church on Sunday, so that's probably the hardest part of living in a really tight, living by faith kind of budget.

Day 5 (Monday) - spent $46 on groceries at Albertsons.  Used coupons and saved over $20.  Casey filled up the van and spent $50 on gas.

Day 6 (Tuesday) - Okay, here's the rough one.  We went with some friends to a Fort Worth Cats game.  I bought the discounted tickets through Groupon in June, so the game didn't cost us anything this month.  We had dinner before hand and said that we were NOT going to get anything to eat/drink while there.  Well, something about sitting in the heat for a couple of hours changes your mind!  So we dropped a $20 on 2 sno cones (for the boys), an ice tea (for me), and nachos (for Casey...I may have had a few bites).  Well, we had a good time anyway.  Our seats were right behind home plate.  We left at the bottom of the 8th inning at 10:45 pm. 

Day 7 (Wednesday) - Spent $0

Day 8 (Thursday) - Spent $0

July Challenge - Day 3

Well, we spent $0 today. So, that about sums up the financial update.    :>)

On another note, I'm pretty sure I have an intolerance to wheat or gluten.  So, for now, I'm going to avoid it all together.  I've been thinking that wheat was bothering me for awhile, but every week or so I would still eat something anyway.  Well, this past week I had one of those sandwich thins as a bun for my burger and felt miserable the next day.  Last night I had a whole wheat flour couscous and had some major issues last night and through today.  I spent some time this morning looking up symptoms and think I've had several over the last few months.  When I started the Prism diet back in late January I stopped eating bread and wheat products for about two months.  I've tried over the last couple months to have bread or pasta, but it never goes well with me.  Now, the symptoms are not really new, I've had some degree of them over the last year or so, but they are much worse now after not having wheat for so long.  

Speaking of weight loss, I lost 1.5 pounds this week and I was still feeling severely bloated this morning when we weighed! In all I've lost 45 pounds in I think 24/25 weeks.  Not too bad!

Casey's doing great too.  He just started and is down 16 pounds over the last 6 weeks.

Today's Menu (kind of eclectic today):
Breakfast - made the boys pancakes, Casey had toast & fruit and I had oatmeal
Lunch - Ethan had leftovers, Josiah had PB&H, C & C - chicken & spinach salad
Dinner - veggie meatballs with rice (extra lean ground beef with shredded carrots and zucchini)
snacks - yogurt, fruit, almonds

July Challenge - Day 2

It's raining...again!  Seems we've had a lot of rain and storms move through over the last week or so.  But, it's a good thing.  It had been so dry that the ground was cracking.  I was telling our neighbors that the rain here is different from back home in Eastern Washington.  Here, when it rains, it pours...none of that drizzle or sprinkle stuff.  And, it stays warm.  So, right now it is pouring outside and it is still in the low 80's. 

Okay, so DAY 2 of the challenge went well and I even did some shopping!  I took a stack of books to Half-price books and sold them for $10.50.  And, I resisted the urge to spend it there, that was hard!  Then, I went to Ross to return a pair of shoes that didn't fit.  I was over 30 days so instead of a refund I got store credit, so really I HAD to shop there.  I was given $10.81 in store credit and found another pair of sandals (that fit) for a total of $14.06.  So, with my store credit I only spent $3.25.  

My last stop was Kroger.  (Side note: the new Kroger at TCU is really cool!)  I purchased milk, bananas, spinach, yogurt and 92/8 ground beef and spent $12.57 total.  So, my total net spending today was only $5.32!!!  That should get us through the weekend.  Oh, and I did get an iced coffee at Starbucks, but I used a gift card for that so no extra costs.  

Today's menu:  

Breakfast:  eggs and cold cereal

Lunch:  boys - PB&H sandwiches  

              C & C - Greek salad with steak

Dinner:  baked chicken w/ spinach and couscous salad

July Challenge - Day 1

Well, here we are at the beginning of July already.  Casey finished up the summer class he was taking (Systematic Theology I).  I think he did well so, yay!!!  His next class won't be until Fall classes start up again mid-August.  At the end of July he will be going to Hawaii with the Chamber choir and singing at the World Baptist Alliance (or something like that).  Wish I could go too....

So, here's my summary of DAY1 of our challenge to not overspend in July:    
- added paycheck to checking account to give us a new balance $$
- paid rent, health insurance, tithe, and hospital bill (from Josiah's emergency visit in April)
- packed dinner for Casey while he's working (no eating out expenses)
- oatmeal (me) and eggs (everyone else) for breakfast and finished off all the leftovers from the last few days for lunch and dinner


Balance of $$ plus a little cash on hand until next paycheck.  The Lord provides!  Paid all of the bills that were due and all of the bills we have remaining for the month aren't due until after the next paycheck...cool!  

Our July Challenge

Last week we sat down and looked at our budget. It's been LONG overdue for us to take a few moments and look at where we are at financially. I really hate it! There is something about living in ignorance and spending freely that really appeals to me! However, the end result of that is no good and we know that it is not the way the Lord would want us to live. We believe that every area of our lives needs to come under the lordship of Christ, including our finances. After all, He is the one who gives us everything we have and so we should live within the means He has provided, whether it is a lot or a little. So, debt just can not be an option, I think Scripture affirms that.

My confession is that I haven't even really tried very hard to live within our means the last few months. The result? We've had to "borrow" from our school money, those funds we have set aside for tuition and books for Casey and for the boys for homeschool. Now, that in itself doesn't seem like a bad thing, except that if we continue at the rate we were going, well, that wouldn't be pretty!

So, the July Challenge will be for us to not spend more than what we have. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, I doubt it. I like to shop, but I know I need the discipline to not shop even more. Part of Sundays message from our pastor was about making choices. We have the choice to walk in obedience or not too. So, we are choosing to walk within the means He has given us and trust Him to make up for anything that we might find we are lacking. So, why am a blogging about this? Well, for accountability mostly, but more than that we want to be able to give glory to God for how HE provides for us in every way.

I survived VBS!

Looking at our apartment right now it is pretty obvious that mom (me) has had a busy week. There is stuff EVERYWHERE!!! So, today we will clean...probably all day! Oh well, the week was totally worth it. I'd rather be teaching a bunch of 1st graders about God's love than home cleaning anyway!

This year I thought I'd be brave (a.k.a. trust God) and volunteer to help wherever I was needed. I did say that I'd prefer the younger ages, and might have mentioned that I loved teaching missions, but other than that I was open. I honestly did not expect Heather (our awesome childrens minister) to say that she still needed a 1st grade teacher! I'd already had a talk with the Lord...Him telling me that I would do whatever I was asked to do...so I knew that I'd say yes, but with some fear and trembling on my part.

After a restless Sunday night I woke up early to go over my lesson again and get myself and then the boys ready to go. We left a few minutes after 8 am and arrived at the church around 8:30 am. And, "SURPRISE," there were already a handful of kids in the classroom! Here I'd thought I was early and would have a few minutes to get everything together. :>) It was a little crazy at first, but by 9 am (our start time) we were right on schedule with 16 first graders. By 9:45 we were on our way to rotations (Music, Crafts, Recreation, Missions) and by 11:35 we were in the home stretch at the W0rship Rally. At 12:30 pm I was heading home. I don't remember anything else from Monday! I think that was true by the time I got home everyday after VBS. I wasn't so much physically exhausted as I was mentally. Phew!

On Tuesday (and the days following) I was ready for my early birds with activities like a word search or coloring thing. Tuesday we had 19 kids and all of them were there for the whole rest of the week. Wednesday evening we had family night. The kids brought their parents by to meet the teachers (and get a ticket for a sno-cone) and then went outside to enjoy the bounce houses and dunk tank. I had some really good conversations and feel like I connected with a few of the families and I'm hoping will come back to visit on Sunday. "J's" family attends a catholic church near their home. His dad brought up that they were from the Philippines and I mentioned that I had spent a summer there (way back). He is from the same area I was in and we talked about that for awhile. It was "J's" first experience at a non-catholic church and they seemed very excited about everything that was going on at VBS. Another family attends one of the much larger churches in the area. They had three boys in VBS, 1st, 2nd and 6th grade. Their 1st grader "S" was great to have in class, but their 2nd grader "T" became Ethan's new bff during the week. On Tuesday Ethan introduced me to "T" and then I noticed that they were always together during the rotations (1st and 2nd combined for the rotations). So, on family night "T" came bouncing through the door to my classroom and said, "Mom, mom, this is Ethan's mom." Apparently "T" had been talking about Ethan as much as Ethan had been talking to me about him.

By Friday the kids were tired, and some a little emotional, but we still had a great day. I was telling the kids how much I'd enjoyed VBS and that we were at our last day when one little boy stood up and walked up to me and hugged me and told me how much he was going to miss me. It was SO sweet. Another girl wrote on her picture frame that we made in class "I love VBS and I love Miss Cathy." It was such a blessing to be their teacher. Sign me up for next year! Oh, and I would like to add that I had some wonderful helpers too! Thank you Jacqueline, Jayne, Katie and Lisa!

So, while we were at VBS all week, Casey finished a paper, had class, a mid-term and then worked. He was able to go to VBS with us on Wednesday and enjoyed a few minutes in the dunk tank at family night. He even forgave me for forgetting his "dunk tank" clothes and went in with jeans and polo on and then had to stay in them for the night! It was only 100 degrees out, so I think that helped too!

Alright...time to clean!

Lists

Some people love lists. Others, like myself, can do without them. I'll make a list for the grocery store or errands if I have numerous places to go. But for day to day living, I really don't like lists. Not sure why exactly except maybe it's I don't want to be told what to do, even by myself. Or maybe I want to avoid "failing" if I don't accomplish all I've set out to do. Well, for as much as I dislike lists, my sweet Ethan LOVES lists. He likes to know what's coming and the "safety" of a list.
The last two weeks, since we've been mostly done with school, Ethan and Josiah have made a list of the things they want to do that day. It really is the cutest thing. They spend the time together adding what things they want to do and Ethan writes them down. After breakfast they bring the list to me or their dad for approval. We had to start approving the list after video games, movies and all seemed to be added a lot. Now, video games are always listed at the end of the list and are a given "maybe." I took a picture of a couple of their lists and will try to add those later. (We've switched our computer around and don't have all the software installed yet.) Most of the time they do their list together, but occasionally one wants to do one thing and the other something else. For instance, Ethan wanted to make airplanes while Josiah would play the leapster. And, I think it's so funny that they give themselves a nap!

So, here's today's list (as written by Ethan):
Drawing 20 min.
Push ups
Jumping Jacks
Burpies
Crafts
Paper airplanes/Leapster 30 min.
Read 30 min.
Dominoes
Nap 30 min.
Mousetrap
Gilligan's Island 10 episodes
Snack
Video Games

Here's a list from a couple days ago:
Sword fighting
Read on the porch
Action Figures
Dominoes
Rest 30 min.
Drawing 20 min.
Play with stuffed animals 11 min.
Read Bible 20 min.
Snack
Legos 20 min.
Zoob 30 min.
Gilligan's Island
video games

Memorial weekend and other stuff

Well, here we are in June already!!! We've had a really nice last couple of weeks. I can't remember everything, but we enjoyed the time Casey had off from school. This Memorial weekend we played basketball, went swimming, and just had a fun time together. On Memorial Day we had a cook-out with a bunch of neighbor friends with a Luau theme. It was a lot of fun...but really HOT! The temperatures have been in the 90's all weekend and with the humidity it always feels about 5 degrees hotter than the actual temperature.
Memorial Day always reminds me of my Great-grandma Anne. I spent a lot of time with her growing up and I remember one thing we did every year was go and put flowers on Great-grandpa's grave on Memorial Day. I realized I didn't know much about his family so I thought I'd see what I could find online, if anything. Boy, was I surprised! After a little searching I found a book written in the early 1900's that was a geneology of the Tennant family. Well, I found my grandpa's mom's family there and it went all the way back to 1763! After a little more searching I found a link that had more information on another family and that connected me all the way back to Maximillian Jewett who came to and founded Rowley, MA with his brother in 1639. So, that was a pretty neat find for me.
Casey started his summer class this morning, Systematic Theology. He will have class Tue/Thur mornings from 8-12 through July 2nd. At the end of July he will be going to Hawaii with the chamber chorale and singing and attending the World Baptist Alliance that is being held there. Wish I could go too...another time I guess.
I spent a little time the other day looking at all the city aquatic centers around this area that are a whole lot cheaper than Six flags Hurricane Harbor! I think we will try to visit one each week. Should be lots of fun.

He's not a rock star...

Yesterday I was watching a few neighbor kids for their mom while she was packing and finishing up cleaning for their move. Their oldest is a girl who is about 61/2 years old. She was really fascinated with Casey's guitars so I told her she could touch them gently and listen to the strings. She asked why we had so many guitars, a question I have often asked as well. I told her that they all belonged to Casey and that he played. She asked again why they were different and just some more general questions. Next she asked what we did with all those guitars (there were three sitting in stands and another guitar shell without the strings). Josiah had an answer for her which was so funny I wish I had a video recording of it. Here's how it played out:

A: What do you do with all those guitars?
Josiah: Well, my dad plays them. He's not a rock star, but he plays them all.
A: A rock star?
Josiah: No, he's not a rock star kind of player. But, he is a cheer leader.
Me: Daddy's not a rock star?
Josiah: Well, not really a rock star, just the cheer leader kind.
Me: (trying not to laugh to hard) Josiah, what's daddy do?
Josiah: (very seriously) He's a cheer leader.
Me: (laughing hard) Josiah, do you mean a worship leader?
Josiah: Oh yeah, a worship leader. But that's not really a rock star right?

This is Good...

On Sunday our pastor started a new series based on the book of Ecclesiastes. He challenged us to find three "This is Good" (TIG) moments each day. Far too often we "live" for the weekend or something for the future, rather than looking at the good that God gives us each and every day. It has been a great reminder to stop and thank God through out the day for all of the good things.
Today at breakfast I had several TIG moments when I looked around the breakfast table. First, Ethan has his nose in a book, while he was eating. I love that he loves to read...TIG! Second, all four of us were at the table for breakfast this morning. It doesn't happen to often, so it was another TIG moment. The third, I fixed what my boys requested for breakfast (and what they request every day)...oatmeal! I cooked up the oats on the stove and then added their requested "fixins." Ethan had his with a little raw honey and dates. Josiah chose raw honey and prunes. As we sat there I thought, well at least they start of the day on the right track! My kids love dates and prunes and oatmeal! TIG!
And, Casey is taking his last final today...TIG!

When things don't go as planned...

I guess that it is part of life that things will not always go according to our own plans. For instance, right now I am supposed to be at a Beth Moore simulcast event with some ladies from our church. The boys are supposed to be having a fun day with dad, but dad is in bed and Ethan is having an albuterol treatment. So, what in the world is going on?
It started Thursday. Ethan has been fighting a little cold and started wheezing pretty bad in the afternoon. Thankfully, we were able to get him into the campus physician before they closed and got a prescription for what he needed (albuterol). Our plan was to go to the concert at the seminary that Casey was singing in, but the boys and I stayed home instead.
On Friday, Josiah was a little bit stuffy sounding, but Ethan was doing lots better. I was starting to feel the cold coming on too with a sore throat and runny nose too. But, I had Saturday to look forward to...Beth Moore simulcast...but more exciting, a day away from being mom. So, I thought lots of rest (ie. give the housekeeper the day off) and fluids would do the trick and I wouldn't have to miss a thing. Casey had a concert in north Dallas area following the long day of classes and work. So, I got the kids to bed early and headed that way myself around 9:30 pm, still looking forward to my Saturday. Casey called at 10:30ish to let me know that they were just leaving and would be home in about an hour. That's when it all went CRAZY! I got off the phone with Casey and was heading back to bed when I heard this loud barking sound coming from the boys room. Josiah was having trouble breathing and was just struggling for every breath following the awful cough. He was panicking...I was panicking...his lips were turning purple. It was scary! I brought him down stairs and tried to get him to relax, but it continued. I called my neighbor (she's a nurse) and asked if I should give him albuterol. They were on their way home, but she said yes. The treatment helped a lot...mostly to calm him down I think. He relaxed and was feeling better. Casey got home around 11:45 and we took Josiah to the ER, Ethan went next door with our neighbors.
So, we reach the ER around midnight...we leave the ER at 5:30 am. Yes, 5 1/2 hours at the ER. We spent 2 1/2 hours in the waiting area and the other 3 hours in the hospital room. Josiah was so much better that it seemed like a waste of time, but it had scared me so much that it was good to have him checked. Turns out he had a case of croupe. They gave him some steriods and sent us on our way. Oh, did I mention the copay was $150? Yikes!
So, we got home, got Ethan and Josiah to bed and by 6 am I was finally in bed for the night. I woke up in time that I could have made it to the event today (started at 9), but I feel pretty miserable now. The cold that I was fighting might be winning the battle.
The good news? Josiah woke up feeling great, so did Ethan; we have great friends and neighbors here at Seminary; I get more rest today; the housekeeper (in case your wondering, that's me) gets another sick day today; because Ethan had some wheezing on Thursday, Josiah had some medicine that helped him when we needed it on Friday; the sun is shining; I know my God sees me and knows me and He will provide what I need.