Summer Sweet Summer

Today we celebrated Gwen's 7th birthday. 7! Here are some friends. 

 We recently lost our minds and got a trampoline. Here's Paw Paw giving it a try.

 Her birthday this year was butterfly themed. We made butterfly food and put it outside, but no butterflies could make the party....except this butterfly pinata.

 We've made a renewed effort in chores. Here is a little boy with great bathroom cleaning skills. He is going to really bless his wife one day with these skills.

We also have lost our minds and are repainting the den. We took the plunge and painted the brick fireplace.

Gwen got a thing you suck bugs into and inspect them. She loves it.

3 generations of homes for hackers fans.

Ben is brilliant. He designed for the pinata to hang over the trampoline. It was fun watching kids jump and swing. (One at a time)

 Reading sweet cards from friends. She can read!

Toothless neighbors and Zeke.

She was so very excited to pull her front teeth herself. I personally can't get enough of her toothless grin.

 We saw a baby bird learning to fly. Cute! I am enjoying the kids and gardening and swimming lessons and all that summer holds.

Poem

I found this poem in a collection of songs on a CD we rented from the library.  It makes me smile.

Bed in Summer

By Robert Louis Stevenson

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer, quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

How Do You Prepare?

How do you prepare to be an adult?
For the amount of mundane tasks that latch
Like a fanny pack that you never wanted to wear but you have to
Cause you gotta move your hands.

Folding of clothes, picking up shoes, sweeping floors
Dishes, dishes, silverware, silverware.
How do you prepare for the feelings?
I feel forgotten, I feel blessed. All at the same time.
A walk after dinner. Smell of grass and purple flowers.
Tomorrow there will be more dishes, more everything.
Look forward to the everything.

Gwen's Faith

Tonight was another night of questions from Gwen about the things of God. I find it a hard thing to answer her questions because I feel like I have to be truthful. She asked if hell is real. She asked who the leader of hell is. She asked if people die in hell. She says she feels bad wanting to be baptized because she doesn't love Jesus with all her heart yet. I told her that it comes with time as she gets to know Him better by reading the Bible and praying. We read the story of the eunuch that Phillip explained the scripture and who Christ was and afterward he got baptized. She liked this story and she was able to articulate her thinking better tonight. I am hesitant to write about it because it is so tender of a moment and because I'm sure I'm leaving many things out that were said. But I want to remember... She prayed and through tears told God she wanted to obey Him. Nothing is like hearing that from your child's lips unscripted.

I remember when I gave my heart to the Lord at 7. That night dad told me that it was the most important decision of my life, and it was. Later that night beside my bed I knealed down and thanked Him for what He did for me. My sister actually was concerned for me because I was crying and went to get mom. (We shared a bed) Mom knew somehow that I just was processing what had happened. Coming to Christ is a stumbly path sometimes. Gwen said tonight that she was asking in her mind questions and then opening her heart. I assured her that God wanted her to use both her brain and her heart and that He must have an amazing plan for her life. So...31 years ago I was by my bedside crying in thanks to God and now I am crying again for the same reason. Thanks.

Zeke's Preschool Graduation

 Zeke graduated from preschool yesterday.  He has gone on Mondays and Wednesdays this year.  He has learned a lot!  Getting all ready for kindergarten next year! 

Here he is with his friend Luke.

These were his teachers. 

A little fuzzy, but they sang songs in the program.

Mother's Day- zoo trip

Penguins are so shiny and beautiful!

 I really love gorillas.

Gwen

This last week Gwen has been asking questions about how to be baptized which lead to other discussions about how someone gives their life over to God. I would come downstairs after those discussions and cry just thinking of her trusting in Christ. Ben and I have had many hushed conversations about if we think she is getting ready to make a decision. We have explained that people come to the Lord at different times in their lives. I did at 7, daddy did at 13. It is a very important decision that can only be made by her.  We felt she wasn't ready so we encouraged her to pray about it and we would pray too and to keep asking questions and we would try to help her get answers.

Yesterday morning she asked to pray with us and so we did. I still wasn't sure she understood enough yet, but I never say no to a request to pray with her. She was very interested in baptism and I explained that it was a picture of something that has already happened in someone's heart. Ben stayed home from church last night with Zeke because he had a fever, so it was just Gwen and I. She looked up at me at the end of the sermon while they were passing out communion elements and said "I'm not ready to be babitized" (that's how she says it) I told her it's ok and it takes time. She started crying, I started crying. So, Gwen is seeking. Gwen asked me last night before bed to pray that Jesus would come and talk to her in her dreams. I did. It's funny how Gwen latches onto things. She heard that Elijah went to heaven in a fiery chariot and that Enoch didn't die either, but was taken up to heaven without experiencing death and she brings that up a lot. So, we are waiting and watching what God does with Gwen. 

Catch Up

The days fly by recently and the dishwasher gets loaded and unloaded and diapers are changed and I go look at the garden and tuck kids in and poof... a month has gone. 

We disciple a lady who has three kids. One night when our babysitter couldn't make it we decided to do a kid's activity. We used toothpaste tubes and told them to squeeze out the toothpaste. Then we showed them a $20 Bill and told them if they could put all the toothpaste back in they'd get it. We read scripture in James about the tongue being a small part of the body, but able to do big harm or big good. The lesson was once you say something you can't always easily take it back. 

 Here's a random thought... I noticed that I have a palette. What I mean is colors I naturally gravitate to. Here they are:

Ben's brother John is having a wedding here in a couple of weeks. He technically is already married, but he didn't have a wedding ceremony with all of the family yet. My job is decorating a wall in front of the bathrooms that is metal. Glamorous! I love garlands. They are festive to me. I made this one and I'm going to use magnets to hang photos of them interspersed. The great thing is I've decided to do a butterfly theme for Gwen's 7th birthday coming up so I can reuse the dye cut one. 

Praying for Your Kids

I got this from a friend today and thought you mamas might find it helpful too.  This is praying Scripture for your children alphabetically. I'd like to start doing this and taking one letter a day.

A- That he would AVOID all kinds of evil (1 Thess. 5:22)
B- That he would BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved (Rom 10:9)
C- That the COMPANY he keeps will develop godly CHARACTER (1 Cor 15:33)
D- That he would be DISCIPLED for godliness (Heb 12:11)
E- That he would be EQUIPPED for doing God's Will (Heb 13:20-21)
F- That he would be a FISHER of men (Mark 1:17)
G- That he would be GRACIOUS (Prov. 22:11)
H- That he would be HOLY (1 Peter 1:16)
I- That he would have the INTEREST of Christ (Phil 2:4)
J- That he would be JOYFUL (1 Thess. 5:16)
K- That he would have the KNOWLEDGE of God's Word (Prov 10:14)
L- That he would LEARN to do right (Isa. 1:17)
M- That he would become MATURE and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4)
N- That he will declare God's praises among the NATIONS (Ps. 96:3)
O- That he will make the most of every OPPORTUNITY (Col 4:5)
P- That he will be a PEACEMAKER (Ja. 3:18)
Q- That he will have a gentle and QUIET spirit (1 Peter 3:4)
R- That he is RADIANT to others (Ps 34:5)
S- That he exercises SELF-CONTROL (1 Peter 1:13)
T- That he would be THANKFUL (Heb 12:28)
U- That he would UNDERSTAND what the Lord's Will is (Eph 5:17)
V- That he would know what true VALUE is (1 Tim 4:8)
W- That he would have a godly WIFE (Prov 31:10)
X- That he would think on things that are EXCELLENT (Phil 4:8)
Y- That he would YIELD his heart to the Lord (Josh 24:23)
Z- That he will never be lacking in ZEAL for Christ (Rom 12:11)

She Doesn't See

She doesn't see how her disappointment affects me
how I admire her big feelings and talents
what hope I have for her future
my fear when she says "I don't believe in God" one day
and then the next day relief and interest
when I catch her crying in the back seat to a Scripture song
and she says "this song is helping me believe in God."
She is walking contradiction- fire and ice
She doesn't see how my heart warms when I call out
"I love you" from the car window as she walks into school
and she turns to me and smiles that little knowing smile.
At bedtime when she says "will you ever leave me?"
"Will you always be my mommy"
I can't guarantee a lot of things in this life,
but this I can- I will always love you Gwen.

Our Lives

We have just planted our garden this year.  Here is Ben looking at our strawberry patch that has come up.  This is year three I believe with these plants.  They have blooms so I hope to have a good strawberry run this year. 

I chose yellow squash, romaine lettuce, bell pepper and herbs for this planter.  I've decided not to grow herbs in pots this year.  It takes up too much space and this way I can water all in one place.

In the other two planters we have watermelon vines.  Here's to hoping we get one edible watermelon!
Here are my three gardeners.  I made them come out and help. 

I moved the little potty up for Romy.  She is able to tell me when she has poop in her diaper so I figured why not give the little potty a try and see if she catches on.  She pee peed in the potty for the first time yesterday and we had a little celebration.  It's never too young to try. :)

We discovered a new park over the weekend... one with a zip line.  The kids really enjoyed it.

Amazing Grace

So, I am singing this solo on our next concert.  What a joy to sing about God's Amazing Grace.

Everyday Magic

Gwen recently had a musical at school that the first graders performed.  It was called "squirm" and she was a snake.  She did her lines very well and understandably.  Cute!

This past weekend we did a garage sale.  I didn't make that much, but I got a lot of clutter out of my house which is always a relief.  Here is Romy trying on a hat.

Now I am busy painting the upstairs hallway and decorating that.  I'm also making goals for each kid for the summer.  I want to have a more structured day in the summer.  I think that would help us all maximize our time and learn new skills.  Now the hard part is sticking to that! 

Brief Moments

Brief moments at the beginning of day
Before requests and small feet
Hot coffee, the Bible, satisfy.
Brief moments.

Brief moments when the baby is down
And miraculously so does the five year old.
Slumber. Silent. Grocery list to be made.

Brief moments when I have labored long
But house is quiet once again with little ones
Tucked in and kissed and prayed over,
Still so much I could do, but maybe another day.

Brief moments.

Romy Feeding Babies

 Here is Romy feeding her babies. 

Owlets and Fancy "e"

This is how Zeke signs his name.  Look at those fancy "e's"!

Yesterday we stopped by to check on the owlets.  If it weren't for the poop on the tree it would be very hard to detect them they are so camouflaged.  They are coming into feathers now and I don't expect it will take long until they will need to fly out of their nests.  I think they are great horned owls.  I still haven't seen mama.  She stays away during the say.

Easter 2015

We had a good day celebrating family and Jesus rising from the grave. I'm so thankful for the resurrection.