Well Said: March & April Links

A Prayer for Parenting Our Kids by Faith and Grace on the Gospel Coalition Blog - what a great reminder, and one that the Lord has brought to my attention many times over the last couple of weeks. Thank you, Lord, that they are yours, not mine, and help me to steward them well. 

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story I posted a while ago a documentary on Gosnell's story. Since then his trial has started and while so many of the details of this case deserve front page media coverage, it has failed to receive it…. why? Here's one writers overview of the case. (warning this is a disturbingly graphic article - that you should read!) 

Rushing & Pausing by Angie Smith - I've always loved Angie, this post hits particularly close to home and is something I'm praying about and working on. 

After Steubenville: 25 Things Our Sons need to Know about Manhood by Ann Voskamp - wow, I sincerely pray that we are able to teach our little men these same things. God values both the man and the woman and all that comes with them, but they are different and must be taught the differences and how to respect one another. Women, we are treasured in the sight of God - don't forget it, and don't allow your sons to leave your homes not knowing it. 

9 Things You Should Know About Female Body Image Issues - Interesting 

Why Daily Reading is so important for me and the kids!! 

The Socially Acceptable Sin convicting article, a much needed read for me. 

The Atheist's Dilemma a refreshing read and something to reference for the future as well as to read the kids when they get a bit older. 

Alexa-ism: Keeping Audrey

Alexa: Are you planning on keeping Audrey? 

Me: What? 

Alexa: Like, are you planning on keeping her?

Me: What do you mean? 

Alexa: Are you going to bring her to a new house?

Me: Why would I do that? 

Alexa: Like would you bring her to a new house to live? 

Me: Why would I do that? 

Alexa: Or shoot her? With a gun, ya know? 

Me: Why would I do that? 

Alexa: I'm just wondering if you're going to keep her or not? 

Me: Yes, I'm going to keep her. Why wouldn't I? 

Alexa: Well, because she's bossy and stuff. 

Me: Is she? 

Alexa: Yeah

Me: Well, I still plan on keeping her no matter what! 

Alexa: Oh, okay. 

I was just wondering because Dad said he was going to keep me, and I know he'll keep me, so I was just wondering if you guys are going to keep Audrey or not. 

Me: Oh, I see. 

Creativity Displayed

Last night, we had a winter thunder storm. 

This morning after talking to my kids about it, I saw once again, through the "little" things their beautiful personalities revealed. 

Throughout the night there were periods of pretty loud thunder and lightning. 

Audrey, our light sleeper woke up and crawled into bed with us 4 or 5 times. The first time legitimately scared, I believe she had had a nightmare about Titus and something about outside. I consoled her and cuddled with her for a while and we brought her back to bed. The next three times, I'm sure the thunder had woke her up, but she didn't seem to be scared of it as much as enjoying cuddling in mom and dad's bed. 

This morning when I asked the older two kids if they had heard the thunder Treyton (our heaviest sleeper) was like "What? There was a storm?" 

Which is funny, considering the thunder at one point seemed to shake the entire house and the frozen rain was like little nails hitting our house most of the night, but whatever, I'm not bitter, I'm just glad one of us got a good nights sleep. :) 

Alexa said "I didn't know it was raining, but yes I saw the thunder and lightning in my dream! It was all different colors and beautiful like it was dancing." 

 

I love it…. same storm, three different kids, three totally different experiences. 

What a creative Creator He is!! 

Family Easter Celebration

What a blessed weekend we spent as a family, celebrating the resurrection of our Savior.

The goal was to focus was on Christ and what he did, to remember the pain and suffering He bore, for us. 

We borrowed the idea from Ann Voskamp using a grapevine wreath and toothpicks for each rebellious act that needed repentance. To our shame, the wreath filled more quickly than one would hope. 

Saturday morning, was a time for just our family to celebrate and remember what this holiday means to us. 

We started with the resurrection eggs to tell the incredible story of a grace that we cannot possibly understand, but that through faith we believe. 

The kids were given baskets and a lego set to represent the greatest gift ever given. 

We spent most of the morning assembling and creating together, it was a lot of fun, to just hang out and play with nothing else pulling at our attention. 

Audrey received her first normal sized lego set of her own, Alexa added a convertible to her Friends ® collection, while Treyton got a gas truck (and tank) to add to his city ®. 

Next was the meal, begun by breaking bread together and the man of steel lead us in a symbol of remembrance. 

 

After a small discussion and prayer, each member ate and drank. 

So grateful for all He has done, and the unmeasurable greatness from which He has blessed us with. 

 

Remembering Grace

Titus sleeps. 

Right now, in his little yellow chair, in the darkness of the bathroom he sleeps. 

I breath a sigh of relief. 

Maybe you would too if you realized how little sleep he (and his parents) got last night.

He has a nasty cold, his second in only a few weeks. He has been sneezing and dripping snot like you wouldn't believe and his cough…. oh the cough. It's the raspy bark-sounding kind. The kind the doctors warned us about. 

I'm trying not to worry. 

It's just a cold. 

Right? 

I stood next to him sleeping for probably 10 minutes, just listening to his chest rattle. Watching him strain to breath in and out, hearing the gurgle of his lungs.

I worry.

I know I shouldn't, I thought I was getting better. At the worrying, I mean. By number 4 you would think a mom would learn to be a little more laid back. And I was, I really was with Audrey (number 3).

But then the NICU happened.  

And I got HELLP, and then I got bronchitis. And the road to recovery is tough. 

We're moving on. We know how blessed we are, truly we do. 

I've learned to be grateful for the NICU, for being sick, and for the tough road of recovery. 

But then he gets sick…. twice…. and I'm tired.

I'm tired. 

And when I'm tired I struggle to remember.

To remember that He is in control, and I am not. 

That He is all-knowing, and I am not. 

That He loves me and He loves him and He does what is "good" for us.

This Thursday I am reminded.

Reminded of His last week. Of the meal He ate, this day, with His closest friends, and His betrayer. 

Reminded of the King, who washed the feet of those He came to serve. 

Reminded of the night He spent in the garden with the sleepy disciples. They failed to keep watch. They got tired, too. 

 

My Savior, crushed, wounded, despised, rejected, oppressed, afflicted and all for me. 

He struggled to breathe too. Drowned by His own blood.

All for grace. 

 

I remember, and even in my sleepiness I know that I will worry less. 

 

Audrey's 3rd Birthday

Time is flying by. I can't believe how fast it goes, truly. I've heard people say that my entire life, but when it's happening to you personally it's surreal, really. 

Audrey turned 3 on March 11th. 

Thanks to her Dad, her day was very special. I'll out myself a bit and say that while I did do all the birthday shopping and present wrapping, her birthday snuck up on me.  The night before, I was exhausted from a church event we had and really didn't want to decorate - Tim stuck it out though and decorated and even put her "big present" together staying up until well into the night. 

I'm so grateful for his selfless actions because it proved well worth it - this is the first year Audrey seemed to actually "get it". She was very proud of herself for turning 3! :) 

When she woke up and saw the decorations her eyes lit up and she literally jumped for joy - I can still see her reaction in my minds eye, and I treasure it. 

We made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and while they baked we had her open her presents. 

She got a few educational games, a bike helmet, a jewelry box, a soft bat and ball and doll house people. 

That's right, just the people - the dollhouse came later. 

After breakfast. 

We researched doll houses for about a month before I finally decided on the one we got. It was a tough decision, but in the end I wanted one that could grow with her, and that I didn't have to keep adding to (I never do well with those types of toys). This one was large, so all the kids could play with it together, it came with all the room furnishings and could fit all different size dolls. It's a rather large dollhouse, and coincidentally we recently separated the girls, putting Alexa in the nursery with Titus, which gave use plenty of room to put it in Audrey's room. 

The kids (all of them) loved it. And Audrey did to, which is what really mattered. 

After Audrey opened her gifts Daddy went to work. 

We spent the day playing with toys :) 

That evening Treyton had piano, we went as a family. Afterwards we took her to the local Japanese restaurant for hibachi (we do this for every birthday our family has ---- we can't get enough and it's always a good time!!) 

It was a great day, celebrating her birth! 

I love that it was the first year she actually understood that today we were celebrating her and the gift that she was to us from God. She sang herself happy birthday several times and spent most of the day singing or jumping --- for me, I think that means a happy birthday. 

Kid's Questionares March 2013

I had each of the kids answer a questionnaire that I used a couple of years ago with them. 

Treyton at 7.5 years old answers:  

What is your name: Um, Treyton,

When is your birthday: August 26th

How old are you: 7 and 1/2

Who is your Mom: Amber 

What does your Mom do: She home schools me. 

Who is your Daddy: Tim

What does your Daddy do: Works at S.I. Metals What does he do there? Works for steel Doing what? He gives people steel 

What is your favorite color: Blue

What is your favorite song: Boom-Ba

What do you want to do when you grow up: Play sports (smile) 

Where do you want to live when you grow up: Texas

What is your favorite food: (thinks for a while) I have to think…. corn on the cob 

What is your least favorite food: um, oh, tomatoes

What is your favorite animal: a horse 

What is your favorite thing to do: play sports 

What do Mama and Daddy do after you go to bed: watch tv, or talk together, or dad will go to the store 

What does Daddy say: these questions I always get stumped on, in the morning he says "hi, good morning" he says that like every morning. 

What does Mommy say: Ready for school? or Do your school and if you want to know something you say a lot you say "thing-a-majiger" 

Who does our family love the most: Jesus 

Where do we go to church: The Vine Christian Fellowship 

Why do we go to church: To praise God

What is your favorite book: Superhero collection 

What is your favorite movie: The Perfect Game 

What is your favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Oreo

Where do you like to eat: Culvers 

Who is your favorite person: You

Who is your best friend: Alexa and Audrey then Caleb 

Who is your brother: Titus

 Who is your sister: Alexa and Audrey

Where did your sister come from: From you, from my mom

Where did your brother come from: From my mom. 

Prepare yourself for Alexa's (she's a talker :))

What is your name: Alexa A-L-E-X-A

When is your birthday: July 8th 

How old are you: 4, 4 and 1/2

Who is your Mom: That's a hard question, she's my parent 

What does your Mom do: she works and she helps me, another thing about my mom - she helps me and she loves me and she helps me listen, you know why? (Spankings help me listen) 

Who is your Daddy: My daddy is a worker and he doesn't steal stuff, he works for people and he works for his own people, he gets steel for his car and he um builds stuff, and he helps them build stuff, he helps them build new things, and he helps them create things. 

What does your Daddy do: He helps people and when it breaks, he helps people. Maybe he's too big to sit on it and he breaks the chair up. 

What is your favorite color: my favorite color is purple, and i love blue and I love pink, okay, get that down. and I love yellow, and red and black, get that all down. I love a lot of stuff, don't I? 

What is your favorite song: That one is a hard one, If I can't say all of them Amazing Grace oh actually, Amazing Grace and the ear one "do your ears hang low do they wobb to the top?" (she sings), and the chop-chop-chop to the hop-hop-hop

What do you want to do when you grow up: I want to be…. I don't want to be a homeschooler, if they do something wrong I'll have to yell, I don't want to preschool my kids, I would miss them, huh? I don't know…… I want to be a mom. I want to be a homeschooler. 

Where do you want to live when you grow up: I want to live…. Florida? No, I don't want to live in Florida. Tennessee. Why Tennessee? I don't know, do they have a downstairs? Because that's where our school is going to be ---- well duh, every place has a down stairs, duh. 

What is your favorite food: Pizza, the orange pizza with olives, not pepperoni, the sausage with the orange cheese on it. 

What is your least favorite food: I do not like… I forget sometimes, I do not like red salmon actually I change my mind, I do love that. I don't like tomatoes. 

What is your favorite animal: a cat and a sheep and a dog 

 What is your favorite thing to do: I love playing my d-d-s and my kindle and to talk to Titus, those are my 3 favorite things. And to eat with mom at olive garden - a girl night. For dad and Treyton and Audrey to stay here and for us to go to Olive Garden and have a meeting. 

What do Mama and Daddy do after you go to bed: They sleep 

What does Daddy say: He says "play toys" and "go out to the living room", some days He asks questions to me. He prays to me when he talks, and he says "yes, yes" a thousand times in my prayer. And he gives me kisses and says "I love you" - he cooks and talks to me and to you too.  

What does Mommy say: I don't know, what dad says, you say. 

Who does our family love the most: Jesus or I don't know, I think it's me. 

Where do we go to church: We go to the Vine 

Why do we go to church: To learn stuff to God and Jesus 

What is your favorite book: Princesses 

What is your favorite movie: Aurora, Sleeping Beauty? You can call her sleeping beauty or Aurora.

What is your favorite Ice Cream Flavor: ohhhh… mixed, I like chocolate mixed and granila. Vanilla? Yeah, Vanilla. 

Where do you like to eat: Sushi 

Who is your favorite person: Mom, and dad, and the person who cooks fast, he's the awesomest, Mommer and Toni and Amelya and Breigh and Mr. Shaun….. Treyton I love, o and Pastor Kevin, Natalie, Madaline, Oliver and Lewis, too, and Caleb and Jon. 

Yes, but who's your favorite person? The fast cooker. Wait a second! I actually love pastor kevin in the whole wide world. 

Who is your best friend: maybe papa, Amelya and Natalie, I have to agree on those, you can just write it down, those are hard ones. Treyton, too, and Audrey. 

Who is your brother: Treyton and Titus 

Who is your sister: Audrey and my mom (giggles) she's a kid 

Where did your sister come from: belly (laugh) no actually your pooty, it was in her belly and came out your pooty, some people don't know that maybe. 

Where did your brother come from: your pooty (laugh) I know who came first - Treyton, he is older than me because he came out first, then I'm older than Audrey because I came out second, and she's third because she came out last, and then Titus came out he's the littlest tiniest baby in the world because he came out fourth. 

Wow…. you had a lot to type Cause you had a lot to say (laugh) I know I could go on-and-on. 

Audrey had a hard time understanding the questions, but did the best she could :) 

What is your name: Au-ee

When is your birthday: day (I think she is saying today)

How old are you: tee (and she hold up three fingers) 

Who is your Mom: you

What does your Mom do: ---- look of confusion 

Who is your Daddy: went bye-bye 

What does your Daddy do: ugggghhhhh two 

What is your favorite color: (she went and found the colors) I help her pull them out and ask again, she points to pink 

What is your favorite song: she sings me a song, but I'm not quiet sure, it might have been the ABCs 

What do you want to do when you grow up: go potty 

What is your favorite food: num-num-num (she pretends to eat) 

What is your favorite animal: she acts like a kitty cat and puppy dog when Treyton and Alexa mention these animals, but doesn't tell me her favorite. 

she is now distracted and not willing to listen to any more questions…. maybe we'll try this again in a few months :)

I am so glad I did this!! It shows the kids personalities in action - Treyton, straight the point, factual. Alexa lots of ideas and thoughts to share with the world. And Audrey, working to communicate the necessities and letting the rest go - easy going with few worries. 

Love it!!