Well, sit down... Are you sitting???? OK....
We are expecting!
Baby #5, yes, #5, is Due in mid to late December. Tim and I have had yet another lesson in the Soverignty of God and His ways are higher than our ways. We are excited to have this blessing, and hope to be found faithful to God in parenting 5 children. Please pray for us as we prepare for this new one, continue to raise the 4 others in their various stages of life, and still be sain! God is gracious in His provision, so we trust in Him!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
One year, already
This past weekend we celebrated TJ's first birthday. It was a great time. We had a small party here at the house on Saturday with a barnyard theme. Farmer TJ had a great time playing, opening presents, and Oh, how he loved the cake.
This little man has been such a blessing, as all our children have been. TJ, being the only boy in the house, has brought a new element of fun and excitement. We have to think differently of how to raise a boy than our girls. We have the joyful responsibility of teaching him how to be a leader in his own home some day where with the girls we are raising them to be helpmates someday. It really is different.
We look forward to what God has in store for us in the next year with TJ and all the many new things he will do. Pray for wisdom for us both as Tim models leadership and I model being a helpmate. Oh, how we desire to fully understand our roles God has for us so that we can teach them to our children so that they may know and
understand all that God has called them to.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Gearing up for summer
Another year of home schooling is complete. Praise be to God! It is only by His Grace and Mercy that this task is even possible. The girls have done very well, and are learning so much. The studies we have for them are quite challenging, requiring them to think outside the box in a lot of cases, and to apply logic to their answers rather than just memorize and recite. Brenna is headed into the 8th grade, and Taylor into the 6th. To me, that just seems impossible. It was only yesterday that they were Kara and TJ's age. It is even harder to believe that TJ will be one at the end of the month. Wow...
As Summer days are quickly approaching, I am realizing that finding time to breathe will be the challenge of the season. May has always been busy with birthdays, anniversaries, special events, graduations, and more, but it seems these days that it has extended itself into the months of June, July, and even August. It is all good though. God is teaching me that it isn't necessarily about having peace and quiet all the time, but sometimes managing chaos. Having kids in different stages of life has many blessings, but its challenges as well... Mainly logistics. I am looking forward to what this summer holds for us. Some of those things are:
Tim and I will begin teaching in Youth again. (11th and 12th grades)
Brenna will be accompanied by her Daddy for her first mission trip. Mission Arlington is the destination where they will do apartment ministry in July. (It is gonna be hot!)
Taylor will be doing choir this summer for a special music program our church is doing. She will have several practices and a day camp to attend in July.
VBS is going to be exciting this year. I am going to be the director for 2nd grade, Brenna is a helper in the pre-school area where TJ and Kara will be, and Taylor will be a student in VBS for one last year.
Somewhere in there we are trying to schedule a trip to Texas to see family and friends.
Before we can blink, August will be here and school will be back in full swing.
As Summer days are quickly approaching, I am realizing that finding time to breathe will be the challenge of the season. May has always been busy with birthdays, anniversaries, special events, graduations, and more, but it seems these days that it has extended itself into the months of June, July, and even August. It is all good though. God is teaching me that it isn't necessarily about having peace and quiet all the time, but sometimes managing chaos. Having kids in different stages of life has many blessings, but its challenges as well... Mainly logistics. I am looking forward to what this summer holds for us. Some of those things are:
Tim and I will begin teaching in Youth again. (11th and 12th grades)
Brenna will be accompanied by her Daddy for her first mission trip. Mission Arlington is the destination where they will do apartment ministry in July. (It is gonna be hot!)
Taylor will be doing choir this summer for a special music program our church is doing. She will have several practices and a day camp to attend in July.
VBS is going to be exciting this year. I am going to be the director for 2nd grade, Brenna is a helper in the pre-school area where TJ and Kara will be, and Taylor will be a student in VBS for one last year.
Somewhere in there we are trying to schedule a trip to Texas to see family and friends.
Before we can blink, August will be here and school will be back in full swing.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Playing Catch up....
Needless to say, our lives have been a little bit more than busy lately. Winter has finally lifted its heavy hand upon us here in West Plains, and Spring is in full swing. Living life with an almost teen, a pre-teen, a toddler, and a baby has been incredibly challenging in so many ways, but still a blessing. I must admit that there are days when life would seem so much easier if I had two in school, one in Mother's Day Out, and only one at home to lug around, but I know that we are where God wants us to be for now, so we will continue to walk in the light that we have, trusting in Him, and counting our blessings.
We took a family road trip to Nashville, TN in early April with a family from West Plains. We had a blast! We visited several museums and parks along the way and had a great time with the Lewandowski's. We got a flat tire on the way home and had to drive 55 mph almost the entire way home. It took forever, but we got EXCELLENT gas milage!
Tim has been traveling quite a bit since his job responsibilities have shifted some. He is still doing a fantastic job, and his efforts are apparent in the companies continued growth. I know that it isn't Tim that is responsible for this, but God is , and is using him in this field to encourage and assist his fellow co-workers in growing business.
Tim at the Great Wall in China, December 09
Brenna is very involved in the Youth ministry at our church and is looking forward to her summer mission trip to Arlington, Texas where they will participate in apartment ministry. She still loves tumbling, and is continuing to develop those skills. Watching her long legs flip around is quite beautiful. She has made some new buddies at our home school co-op, and is enjoying developing those friendships as well.
Taylor had oral surgery mid April, and is healing up so well. I praise God that she has recovered from this much better than I did when I had the same thing done at almost her same age. It is amazing how well she has done, and we know that is all because God heard our prayers! She LOVES tumbling, and is so athletic. She has no fear when it comes to doing the tricks, and is doing so well. She has enjoyed co-op as well, making new friends and spending time with old ones too.
Kara is.... well... Kara... she is growing so fast. Her vocabulary has gone from words and sentences to paragraphs and dissertations. She loves to play outside on her slide, blowing bubbles, and picking up rocks... yea, rocks... She is doing so well with her potty training and we hope to soon be 100% diaper free soon. She still wears them at night. She loves to be with her sisters, and loves to mother TJ. They have really started interacting more, playing together, and laughing together. That sound just melts my heart.
It is hard to believe that TJ will be one year old in a short month. He is such a joy. He says mama, dada, ba-ba, bye, hi, and has the signs down for "more" and "all done". He loves to smile, laugh, give kisses, and play. He is already "all boy", as I say, in his need to tackle, throw, and play rough. He is almost walking, and I think hasn't done so yet because he has his sisters who will pick him up when he reaches up for them.
As for summer, we don't have any specific plans yet. And I am ok with that for now. With everything that has been going on in life, it would be nice to have some down time. Reality is that I know we won't have that for many more years to come with our kiddos in 4 different directions. Until then... this is the season.
Brenna, Taylor, and Kara, April 10
"The little man" TJ Easter morning, April 2010
We took a family road trip to Nashville, TN in early April with a family from West Plains. We had a blast! We visited several museums and parks along the way and had a great time with the Lewandowski's. We got a flat tire on the way home and had to drive 55 mph almost the entire way home. It took forever, but we got EXCELLENT gas milage!
Tim has been traveling quite a bit since his job responsibilities have shifted some. He is still doing a fantastic job, and his efforts are apparent in the companies continued growth. I know that it isn't Tim that is responsible for this, but God is , and is using him in this field to encourage and assist his fellow co-workers in growing business.
Tim at the Great Wall in China, December 09
Brenna is very involved in the Youth ministry at our church and is looking forward to her summer mission trip to Arlington, Texas where they will participate in apartment ministry. She still loves tumbling, and is continuing to develop those skills. Watching her long legs flip around is quite beautiful. She has made some new buddies at our home school co-op, and is enjoying developing those friendships as well.
Taylor had oral surgery mid April, and is healing up so well. I praise God that she has recovered from this much better than I did when I had the same thing done at almost her same age. It is amazing how well she has done, and we know that is all because God heard our prayers! She LOVES tumbling, and is so athletic. She has no fear when it comes to doing the tricks, and is doing so well. She has enjoyed co-op as well, making new friends and spending time with old ones too.
Kara is.... well... Kara... she is growing so fast. Her vocabulary has gone from words and sentences to paragraphs and dissertations. She loves to play outside on her slide, blowing bubbles, and picking up rocks... yea, rocks... She is doing so well with her potty training and we hope to soon be 100% diaper free soon. She still wears them at night. She loves to be with her sisters, and loves to mother TJ. They have really started interacting more, playing together, and laughing together. That sound just melts my heart.
It is hard to believe that TJ will be one year old in a short month. He is such a joy. He says mama, dada, ba-ba, bye, hi, and has the signs down for "more" and "all done". He loves to smile, laugh, give kisses, and play. He is already "all boy", as I say, in his need to tackle, throw, and play rough. He is almost walking, and I think hasn't done so yet because he has his sisters who will pick him up when he reaches up for them.
As for summer, we don't have any specific plans yet. And I am ok with that for now. With everything that has been going on in life, it would be nice to have some down time. Reality is that I know we won't have that for many more years to come with our kiddos in 4 different directions. Until then... this is the season.
Brenna, Taylor, and Kara, April 10
"The little man" TJ Easter morning, April 2010
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