liFe aS uSuaL

The babe is awake, an hour early from naptime.

The middle is playing with the self inflating whoopy cushion.

The eldest is at school, having clean up time, getting ready to come home.

A candle is burning with the smell of apple cider.

A trip to Target is on the horizon.

I cut my hair 2 weeks ago and today it's in a teeny tiny pony tail.

Bible study is at our house tonight, but it's the men so I'm not overly crazy about cleaning.

The shower has not been turned on once today.

Too many kitkats have been eaten when today I was supposed to be good.

Pork is in the crockpot to make pork fried rice for dinner.

When I told the middle that she was having a hard time listening and following directions today and that frustrated me she broke into made-up-song about obeying your father and mother and included the words, "...obey them, obey your father and mother. Obey hey hey!"

The bathroom has been cleaned.

Only a 1/2 hour of work-work was done today.

The babe can now say several words consciously: "mama" "dada" "ball" "uh oh" "all done" "down" "more" and he sings "lalalalala"

The oldest got "advanced" reading books to practice with at home from his teacher... neither JJ nor I ever had advance reading books in school- we feel very blessed.

A lunch date is planned with my mom and bro for tomorrow.

I have to keep the kids quiet and busy tonight to stay out of the guys hair.

The middle is onto eating butterscotch pudding.

I will vacuum the family room.

The babe is back to sleep :)

Guest Blogger- Aphia!

My name is Aphia and I'm guest blogging for my mommy today. She's really busy and so I told her that I would write a post.

You see, she just started working a new job at our church. The nice lady who is the Director of Pre-School Ministries right now (who I just love and is so great!) is transitioning out of her job. Her daughters are a little older and need their mommy in a different way at home. She's busy bringing them to and from volleyball, piano lessons, awana, and other activities that they have. She's looking forward to being able to be a substitute teacher next year when her youngest is in 1st grade full time. My mom says that we'll miss her a lot, but is so glad for the opportunity to phase into this job also.

My mom will be transitioning into the position over the next several months. Slowly taking over bit by bit of the job. It is a big job, handling everything involved with pre-k ministries. That means anything inside the "pre-school circle" on Sunday mornings, Cubbies on Wednesday nights, pre-k VBS in the summer and helping with other activities that happen throughout the year- like the Birthday Party for Jesus that's coming up! She's so grateful for the slow phase in and not having it all plopped in her lap at once.

But this brings me to a new point. My mom keeps using that word- "transition." I feel like she's been using it since I've been born! It seems that every time we feel settled into a niche then it's up and there's a new "transition."

Right now and for the next six months we'll be transitioning into my mom's new job at church.
Six months ago we were transitioning into a new home.
Six months before that we were transitioning into having a third kid at our house.
Six months before that my mom stopped doing daycare, so we were transitioning out of that and into full time at-home-no-job mommy.
And so the story goes.

My mom said she feels overwhelmed right now, but not stressed and she said that must be God's grace. We all know she's a bit nutters some of the time. Someone said to her the other day, "I was thinking about you the other day, are you crazy?!" She simply answered, "Yes." But God is good and seems to be providing enough hours in the day... so far.

Today is my mom and dad's anniversary. My dad told us that last night and asked what they should do. My brother Jonah said that mom and dad should go to a hotel! That brother of mine is SO SMART! He said Grandma Lollie would come and babysit. Someone should let her know that. But my mom told me today that they wouldn't be going to any hotels anytime soon, especially because they still have to sell the old house. Boo. I'm going to help my mom make a fancy dinner for my daddy with candles and they get to use the China. They only use it on their anniversary since they only have two settings. I'm not sure how they have two China's because she told me a long time ago that China was a really big country on the other side of the world. I told you before that she is a bit nutters, we just always keep this in mind.

I should go. I'm supposed to be having quiet booktime in my room! Maybe my mom will let me write to you again sometime. Bye now!

Happy Birthday Isaiah

October 28, 2009- the day I fell in love for the 4th time.

He still melts my heart.

Happy 1st Birthday to my Baby Boy, Isaiah John.

Learning Much

This road of having our house on the market has been a long road. It has definitely not been what we expected, but has not been a surprise at all to God and in that I find comfort. He is not surprised by anything and he knows what the dealio is. So I shrug and say, "Meh!" Because that is a whole lot easier than kicking, screaming and crying (which I may or may not have done prior to today).

We were presented with a unique opportunity to rent out our house to a film crew who is in need of some housing in Buffalo for a short period of time. This is currently in the works and we will know more today or tomorrow. Praise the Lord for that!

So the other night I was laying in bed saying, "Why is this taking so long Lord? What am I not learning in this process that you want me to learn? I'm open to listening to you. I pray that you will open my eyes and ears to what you want me to know!" And with that I started to go over all of the things that I have learned. I'm going to bullet point them for you, because I love bullet points.

*It's not all about me. When I found myself saying, "Why wouldn't God sell our house right away? What could cause us harm in that? Nothing!" I remembered that it's not all about me. Maybe the family who is supposed to buy our house is not ready yet, financially. Maybe THEY need a few more days/weeks/months (let's not hope years) to save up and get into the position THEY need to be in to buy our house. Maybe, just maybe (sarcastic gasp!)... it is about them!

*Arrogance is not attractive to God. When listing our house I looked at how amazing and beautiful it looked and was sure it would sell right out from under us. We even got an offer, albeit a REALLY LOW offer, but an offer at that. And we said no. We said no! Were we crazy?!?! At the time there was many people looking at the house and through much talk and prayer we said no and decided to keep on keeping on. Even though this may have been the right decision at the time, I can't help but think we were being arrogant. I felt the need to confess that to God and apologize for that. It felt good after I did and I know that his mercies are new everyday and that he gives me new chances to not be so, ahem, snotty and arrogant.

*No matter what. There's a popular song that's played on Christian radio these days by Kerrie Roberts and some of the words are, "No matter what, I'm gonna love you. No matter what, I'm gonna need you. I know that you can find a way to keep me from the pain, but if not, I'll trust you, not matter what, no matter what." I love being secure in Christ and knowing that my faith in him and my salvation are not dependent on how I'm feeling on a particular day. Let's just say I can be a bit crazy and if those things were dependent on me... holy cats, we'd have real issues.

*Why me? (down trodden) vs. Why me? (in awe and priviledged). There was a wise woman at CBS the other day that said there are two ways to say "Why me?" I had to shift my attitude in regards to this question. Instead of, "Why me? Why hasn't our house sold yet? Boo hoo for me, I'm so down in the dumps..." I try to say, "Why me? Why am I fortunate enough to be able to live in a new home while trying to sell the old? Praise the Lord that THIS is my problem! That my problem isn't having NO WHERE to live, my problem isn't no food to feed my children, my problem isn't having a child or spouse with a terminal illness, my problem isn't lack of employment, my problem isn't watching a parent die, my problem isn't children who have turned their back on us or on the Lord. Praise the Lord for my "problem." I can just let the entitled attitude go right now, leave it at the door, and have an attitude of gratitude thankyouverymuch!

*Another little lesson that God is always teaching me, is to be content with what I have. We are in our new home with space to breathe and not feel like we're always sitting on top of each other! I've had to hold off on any decor solutions and agendas because that would require some extra money, for which there is none to spend on such things. But again, it's something I need to let go of. We have this home and we have our family. My kids really don't care if there is stuff hanging on the walls as long as I'm snuggling on the couch telling them stories. My kids don't really care if the wall is painted the red I want as long as I let them paint (on paper) with water colors. My husband doesn't care if we have chipped counter tops, as long we have food on them to be preparing!

*And finally. God always provides. He does. It's as simple as that. Does he not feed the birds of the air, and does he not love us much more than that? God always provides and he is doing just that.

Gleaning and Playing Monopoly

Dictionary.com defines "glean" in a few different ways. I'm going to combine two similar definitions to fit into my thought process for today. Glean: To collect or gather anything, to learn, discover or find out usually little by little or slowly.

From the first day that I stepped into my CBS (Community Bible Study) class, the word "glean" has frequently popped into my head. From these amazing women, I glean. Each day that I am there I absorb so much wisdom and knowledge from their minds and hearts. So as I looked up the word "glean" I agreed with most of it, except the "little by little or slowly" part. The women impart a LOT of wisdom, but it is also somewhat true due to the fact that I can be rather thick skulled and sometimes knowledge does not seep through so easily.

This morning was no different than the days prior. I gleaned much from the incredible hearts of these women! One bit of wisdom that I walked away with was this: You can't play Monopoly with Yahtzee rules!

Shocking- I know.

Back in the day, there was a really big set of rules and regulations that the peeps had to follow. They were rather cumbersome to say the least, but they were there for a reason. God knows what he's doing and he had the rules there for guidance and to teach his people. Somewhat like a parent does. The rules aren't always easy or fun, but they are in place to protect us.

Someone said today that it's like a fenced yard for a child. Not that you can't climb over the fence when you're told to stay in, you sure can, but when a parent tells a child to stay in the yard, it's usually for good reason. Maybe they live near open water or a busy street. When the child is older they can usually leave the confines of the yard to go ride their bike, walk to a friend's home and to explore this great big world.

And so it was, just like that, when Christ came. He came that we might have LIFE!

Colossians 2:13-15 says,

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave your sins, having cancelled the written code, with it's regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

Jesus busted open the gates of the fence so that we could have life to the full! So we could go out and explore the wide open world. To have freedom to go, knowing the fullness of God's love and forgiveness of our sinful nature!

We mess up. Daily. Hourly. By the moment. But Christ took that junk to the cross with him. We do not need to hang on to our bags of garbage anymore. Let them go, because Jesus tells us to. He tells us to hand them over, for he has already paid the price of our sin. Why do we continue to go back to our trash heaps? Why are we slow learners? Christ came to set us free from trying so hard to be good enough. We will never be good enough on our own, that's the simple fact of the matter. Being a good person won't be your ticket to ride. We can only be redeemed through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus- believing that he is Lord and Savior.

Of course I don't think that we should throw out all the laws! That would be foolish. We are still not to put other gods before God. We are still not to murder. We are still not to covet. You get the point. BUT! When we do screw up, we can know that forgiveness is just a prayer away.

So let's go back to Yahtzee vs. Monopoly. Yahtzee= old laws and commands. Monopoly= freedom in Christ and forgiveness of sins! Yippee! Let's say "so long" to the old self, the old laws, and "heyoooo!" to new life in Christ. Let's try not to play Monopoly with Yahtzee rules, it just won't work.

Second Cousins Moving In!

If you've read previous posts you know about Aphia's imaginary friend Ellian that came over one night. But that is all she did, was come one night. Then she never came again. However for several weeks now we have had some other visitors who are frequenters at our house, playing with Aphia! They have practically moved in!

Their names are Hunter, Charlie, and Greta. Now if you are part of my mom's family, you know that these are actually my cousin Molly's children. They are great kids and Aphia got two chances in late July & August to play with them. She ADORES them. And now they are her new imaginary (kind of...) friends.

They have been making daily appearances at our house since Jonah has started being at school all day long. I put two and two together today when Aphia and I had this conversation in the car:
Aphia: "Mom, Hunter is old enough to be home alone, so if you and dad want to leave you can."
Me: "Oh really? (laughing, because that was darn cute!) He's old enough for that huh?"
Aphia: "Yep, he likes to come over and play and so do Charlie and Greta."
Me: "Yes, and you like to play with them too, don't you?"
Aphia: "Yep, I do. They always come over to play because Jonah goes to school all day."

It kind of broke my heart because she misses her older brother. But it makes me smile that she is creative and using her imagination in "playing with other kids."

Some of the recent, imaginary activities that Aphia has had with the three second cousins are:
*going to the movie theater to see Toy Story 2
*all three of them had birthdays (with a huge party that Aphia was at!) last Thursday
*at least one of them always travels in the car with us
*one or more are usually sitting at the table with us
*Aphia frequently talks or texts one of them on her play cell phone
*And if she is not doing something "with" them, she is telling me about them in one way or another, ie: things they do, like, say, play.

In 9 days we are going to Lamb's Resort on the north shore with my mom's whole family. I am PRAYING that Hunter, Charlie and Greta are there (or at least Greta- who Aphia actually plays with the most) so that she can have actual face-to-face play time with them!

First Hair Cut

Today was a big day for the "Big-o-Boy"... that's what we call him. He lost his long, Justin Bieberesque locks as Grandma Lollie turned him into a little man. I held it together and didn't cry, only because he was so darn cute during the process AND because I was busy helping to hold his head still. He did amazingly well for being 10 1/2 months old and not really knowing the meaning of "Isaiah, hold still."

So without further ado... The hair cut!

Before...

After...