What kinds of things can you see at the zoo?

Quote of the day..

"Mommy, don't cut Veggie Tales!" said Thomas when he saw me chopping up some cukes.

Dogs

We can't catch a break when it comes to dogs. Last night Garrett startled Jasper and he bit him on the neck. To be fair to Jasper, he was sleeping. However, we just can't risk that happening again, especially with Anna. So back he went to our niece. He seemed to be a great dog and I know all dogs can bite but...we are just going to take a break from dogs for a bit.

It is a gorgeous summer day...I bought some of my favorite flowers from Lowes....zinnias. They have amazing ones of all colors. I would love to buy a whole bunch and fill up my flower beds.

Tomorrow, Jesse and I celebrate 19 years of marriage. We were reminiscing about our wedding rehearsal dinner at the Czech Point Cafe in Big Sandy, Texas. It was a tiny little place in a tiny little town, but we both remember that it was good. We have had a wonderful life together. God has blessed us in so many ways.

Please pray for Stellan...

Stellan


Father, please bless that sweet little baby. Hold him in your arms and heal him, if that is Your Will. Please send Stellan and his family loads of peace and comfort.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Today...

Jesse and the older kids are off to help a family get their house ready for painting. They are going to scrape, trim, etc. today. Katie and Garrett have their last swimming lesson today.

We got a new dog over the weekend. He is an Australian shepherd cross..named Jasper. 8 months old with one blue eye, one brown eye. He is very friendly but still a puppy at 8 months. Our niece gave him to us...he didn't get along with her older dog.

Children's Book Reviews...

God's Outlaw..The Real Story of William Tyndale and the English Bible
written by Voice of the Martyrs with A. Paquette

God's Outlaw is an excellent picture book for ages 4-10, although it would be profitable and enjoyable for all ages. It tells the story of William Tyndale, the scholar who translated the Bible into English, so it could be read by the common people. It is inspiring to read about Tyndale's great faith and determination against all odds. He obeys God rather than men and is pursued relentlessly by his enemies. Tyndale was certain that reading God's word for themselves would change people's lives and it did! The book mentions (at the end) all the people in the world who still are not allowed to have Bibles in their own languages. It exhorts us to pray for these Christians. It also gives a scripture, questions for study and a prayer at the end. Voice of the Martyrs Book Store

The Hedge of Thorns
Rewritten by Mark Hamby

The Hedge of Thorns is one of Lamplighter Publishing's Rare Collector Series. It was first published in England in the 18th century and it supposed to be a true story. It tells the story of a young man raised by Godly parents who encounters various obstacles on his Christian walk. It is full of Godly counsel, scriptures and help for Christian living as well as an excellent story. The Hedge of Thorns refers to a real hedge, but alludes to a spiritual hedge that the Lord uses to keep His people on the right path. I have enjoyed several of the Lamplighter Press stories and love reading them aloud to the children. This is a small book with an old fashioned binding and pictures. Lamplighter Publishing

Great post...

Here is a great blog post about Faith and prosperity....so many have bought in to this lie. When Jesse and I were losing our business we had a well meaning relative tell us we needed to tithe and give to God so we wouldn't go bankrupt. Huh??!!

Fun with photos..

Garrett took lots of pictures yesterday with Julia's camera...he was having a blast! Isn't our new baby, Remy, so adorable?

Good morning....

It is a cool morning. Garrett went to Grandma's last night. He absolutely adores his Grandma. I told him (tongue in cheek) that Grandma was going to adopt him and he was going to live there forever (he was totally okay with that). It hurt my feelings, lol. Jesse said that would last about a week and then he would want to come home. I think it is great that he loves Grandma so much, though. My Grandparents were never around as a kid, so I am thrilled that my kids have both their Grandmas and step-Grandpa nearby. Jesse's dad has never taken an interest in the kids and now that he is in the nursing home, he treats them worse then ever when they come. He just can't take the noise and activity. But Grandpa Terry (mom's hubby) is great with the boys.

Carlina and Julia went to a sleep-over with church friends and I will pick them up later this morning. Katie said she didn't feel good, that she might barf. So, looks like swimming lessons are out today. Jesse finished his 5 night shift stint...he is exhausted. I hope he can get some rest.

I stayed up too late watching "I didn't know I was Pregnant" on TLC last night. Most of that is just hard to believe. I guess because my cycles are always so regular (when I have them which is almost never due to pregnancy and breast feeding) and I get slammed by morning sickness at 6 weeks pregnant, I would never miss pregnancy. I did have a friend who didn't know she was pregnant until 16 weeks. She never had a cycle between her first and second pregnancy and not many symptoms except some fatigue and a little bit of weight gain. She was shocked when she found out she was carrying her second baby girl. That little one was born a premie (8wks early) , so she always jokes about how short that pregnancy actually was.

Homeschooling...

I think it's fun to hear what other moms are using for homeschooling. I like to hear what works/doesn't work etc for each different family. Shel at Life with Seven has posted what they are using and that inspired me:)

Thomas (3) will be doing some preschool activities from My Father's World. This includes shape sorting, color sorting and number and letter recognition. It will be very basic, as his attention span is about 1 second.

Garrett (5) is doing Horizon's Math K, Horizon's Phonics and Reading K as well as Handwriting without Tears level K. We will integrate other subjects in with library books.

Katie (8) is doing Horizon's Math 3, Horizon's Penmanship 3 (her penmanship is still atrocious!!!), BJU Reading, Language Arts, Science and History. I borrowed most of Katie's books from Jesse's sister (her little girl is going into 5th grade), just had to buy the workbooks. Saved quite a bit of money, which I love!!!

Alicia (11) will be doing Teaching Textbooks Math 6, Easy Grammar 6, Abeka Book Language Arts, Creative Writing, Spelling, Science and History.

Julia (13) will be using Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra, Easy Grammar, Wordly Wise, Apologia Science, Abeka History.

Carlina (15) is doing Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, Easy Grammar, Wordly Wise, Apologia Biology, Writing Strands, BJU History, Abeka American Literature.

Colton (17) will be doing Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, Easy Grammar, Wordly Wise, Apologia Marine Biology, Writing Strands, Abeka Economics, Sonlight Government, MacBeth and Pilgrims Progress.

They also do Bible Study each day using various books and curriculum. We plan to do art projects and some unit studies together....

Only through God's grace...

Wow, this article is amazing. My favorite quote from it is below---

"A doctrine of salvation that’s built upon anything other than the personal relationship with Jesus that comes from being born again rests precariously on sinking sand. (John 3:3) He alone is the foundation of our faith, and unless our salvation is built exclusively upon this Rock, it will be of no avail to us when we stand before Him on that Day." Jack Kelley

The Fair...

I am so proud of my girls who did an excellent job sharing the gospel at the county fair. They also had great fun painting faces. Colton got his face painted and scared everyone to death:) Also, my little red-headed cutie enjoyed being outside and seeing all the action.

Spectacular..

Rainier Cherries

We had these delivered to town recently...$30 for 15 pounds....they were tastebud ticklingly terrific!!!

Do all for God's glory..

Today, Jesse was mentioning how most of his summer (when he was a boy) was spent walking beans. In laymen's terms...that is simply walking through a soy bean field with a hoe or machete and killing weeds. There were no chemicals back then to do the job, thus it was all done manually. Jesse's mom and 4 siblings would all take part...sometimes his dad. His dad was usually in the tractor cultivating, however. He reminisced how cold the fields were in the morning and how wet their clothes would get from the dew. Then by afternoon, it would be sweltering hot. His dad would drive them all intensely...pushing to have a weed-free field. Jesse was wondering today what that brought his dad. Perhaps a few extra bucks at the time and the glory of having a beautiful field. Yet, his attitudes and actions alienated everyone. There is nothing wrong with hard work and Jesse, along with all his siblings have a great work ethic. Yet, there was no kindness on the part of his father....it was work hard or you were worthless. I was thinking how even the smallest tasks take on eternal significance when done for the glory of God. Changing diapers, washing dishes, tying your toddlers shoe....things I do over and over. My attitude means so much. If done with a terrible attitude, it is all for naught. If I do it for my own vain-glory....(i.e. keep my kids looking perfect--simply doesn't happen!)....all for nothing.

Gorgeous day..

Wow, what a beautiful Fall-like day! Cool breeze, sunny sky, 70's. We skipped swimming lessons this morning because of a steady drizzle (65 degrees is just too cool to get into a pool in my opinion). Then off to the county fair. A perfect day to eat cotton candy, popcorn and yummy fried oreos. We watched a friend give her presentation in the 4-H booth and looked at the cow and vegetable exhibits. The boys oohed and ahhed at the tractors, disks and skid loaders on display. The girls are painting faces and sharing the gospel with kids in the CEF booth...we will go back and pick them up tonight at 8pm.

More photos....

Anna Rose is 9 months old...she is the delight of all of our lives. Such a happy baby with an outgoing personality. Her favorite thing right now is the little kitty. She screams with joy when she sees him. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would have a 9 mo. old baby at this age, I would have scoffed. Now, I can't imagine life without my little Anna Rose.

Testing..

That last batch of pictures was a test...I have been posting pictures and only some show up. I posted 10 last time and only 2 showed up, bummer.

Garrett and Katie have been doing swimming lessons this week and both love it. This is the first time for both of them. It was breezy this morning and the kids were freezing after-
wards.

Carlina and Julia are going to help out at the county fair this year for Child Evangelism Fellowship...they will be painting faces and teaching children the gospel...this will be Thurs and Fri of this week.

We took the kids to the cheap showing of Ice Age 3 last night...everyone liked it, Garrett laughed hysterically.

On a terribly sad note, my friend Brandi lost her sweet baby girl on Saturday...born sleeping into the arms of the Lord. Baby Chloe Elizabeth was 9 ounces and 10 inches long. I can't imagine the sadness she is experiencing and I crave prayers for her and her family's comfort and peace.

Recent summer photos

Yummy..

Yesterday we made homemade fettuccine alfredo...decadent! Cream, butter, cheese...fattening and so tasty. Sometimes I crave it.

I was pondering my life yesterday and praising God. When I was a little girl/teen I had a bad attitude about homemaking, mothering, etc. I am not sure why I developed that attitude. My mom was a wonderful homemaker, always there for my sister and I, plus she worked part-time jobs while we were in school. She was a good seamstress, cook and her house was always very neat. I didn't want to have anything to do with cooking or sewing (how I wish that I had learned!). I think (perhaps) my dad was a bit hard on mom...not giving her credit for her wonderful role in the family. I don't blame it all on him...society's ideas were also pressed into my mind. I saw myself as a career woman...instead of home-ec, I took every journalism class that I could take.

It was hard when Jesse and I first got married. I still intended to finish college and have a career. He supported me in that. I wasn't very good at cooking or keeping the house clean and he tolerated that. Then I got pregnant with Colton. I managed to take some online college classes. Then came Carlina, 2 years later..closely followed by Julia and Alicia. I can't say that I had an instant epiphany...it has taken years and prayers to find myself extremely content with my role as mother, wife, homemaker, etc. I have had to renew my mind with the Word of God...pressing to find out God's goal for me and breaking down the walls of the world's goals. I recently read Passionate Housewife's Desperate for God. That is an amazing book that I wish I would have had in my hands years ago. It would have saved me much heartache and worry. God works all things out for good and I am so happy that I can teach my girls about God's wonderful plan for their lives.

Man wants to be in charge...

Can we control the Earth's temperatures? This is an interesting article.

Bloggy..

I haven't been feeling very bloggy lately. Sometimes I just want to stay away from the computer, it is such a distraction.

We had a big storm this morning...lots of rain but not severe. Jesse had to go to work tonight, poor guy. He and Julia got the bathroom painted over his 2 days off. Always so much to do around here.

Good news--my sister and family rented their house and are now able to move back to Bend. We have been praying for that. They have rented a nice, big house in Bend. I am so excited for them.

We have been going through the Good News/Bad News method of telling people how they can know for sure that they are going to heaven with the kids. It is a simple, easy to remember method for them to use to reach people. We are also going to use Way of the Master, which I have watched while in Florida. Some of them have been witnessing to other children at the pool/park with their friends.

Tomorrow Colton has an MRI for his ankle. It has really been bothering him lately and an X-Ray didn't show anything. Anna also has her 9 month well-child visit and it is the Driver's Ed final exam....busy! Colton and Carlina have one more driving class after tomorrow and then they will be done.

Happy 4th of July!

It is not a typical 4th of July here in Iowa....cloudy, cooler. I guess that will be perfect for the parade but not so much for swimming today. We are going to tour the museum and historical house here in town (only open on certain holidays) and then watch the parade at 3pm. Lots of candy given out, of course...the kids are so excited. I have lots of great memories of the 4th. I came home from the hospital with Colton on the 4th. He wore a little blue and white outfit with red socks, lol. Jesse always went all out and spent tons of money buying fireworks. We lived out in the country and had a blast. Used to have a dog (Sadie) who would actually fetch the fireworks and sometimes before they went off... scary. She wasnt' scared a bit. Another dog (Worf) would tear down the door (he was a huge Samoyed) trying to get inside away from the fireworks. Many times we combined Colton's birthday and our 4th of July party. When he was little he thought all the fireworks were just for him. In Florida we would go down to our neighbors and shoot off fireworks....they weren't illegal in Florida and the neighborhood would go nuts. They are illegal in Iowa but people still cross the border into South Dakota and buy them. We live in town now, so don't do the big bash. Our town does put on a great show and we are looking forward to that tonight at 10.

Lunchbox..

By the way, I did not own that delicious Land of the Lost lunchbox as a child...instead I had one of these....

Brain cells falling out of my head...

Remember how cool and scary Land of the Lost was as a kid? Okay, I'm probably dating myself and the shows I watched were re-runs. The sleestacks were soooo frightening!!!!

The recent movie was extraordinarily dumb and boring!! It was playing at the one screen cinema in a little town close to us. Cute little theater with a real ticket booth and a giant prairie statue out front. Ten other people chose to watch the film with us. The only slightly funny parts involved Matt Lauer playing himself.........

Thoughts.....

I have been feeling really down about Oliver but am trying to focus on other things. Jesse thinks my Grandma's death combined with giving up Oliver has really hit me together. He is a great counselor to me and is right...usually I hold things in and worry until they build up and I have an emotional melt-down.

I have enjoyed working outside today....beautiful day in the low 80's. I even had a zinnia bloom, the first one. That is therapy...digging in God's earth and thinking about all the beautiful plants that He gave us. I asked God for comfort yesterday and He showed me several verses in the Bible where He cares for animals:

Job
³⁹ “Do you hunt for food for mother lions?
Do you satisfy the hunger of their cubs?
⁴⁰ Some of them lie low in their dens.
Others lie waiting in the bushes.
⁴¹ Who provides food for ravens
when their babies cry out to me?
They wander around because they do not have anything to eat.