love to paint

My kids are all sick, so I can't write all that I had hoped to today. There were 2 main things that struck me today. The first is from my Bible study this morning. I just started Becoming a Woman of Faith by Cynthia Heald and it was interesting the connection that the passages I was to read helped me realize. The passages were from the Gospels and were about how Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and walked out to him, but then doubted when the wind came up, the second was about Thomas refusing to believe Jesus was alive unless he saw Him himself, and the third was when Jesus was in the boat sleeping and the disciples woke him because of the storm. The question about the passages was what did the disciples do and what was the consequence/result of that. I struggled with the consequence part, but then I realized as I reflected on the third passage that the disciples were putting their trust in Jesus--who they could see and not God. So, they cried out to Jesus to save them in...

My last post was a quote that I read in this book and one that I thought was really good. I've finished it now and I did enjoy the rest of the book... I enjoyed this book because it caused me to reflect on my own childhood and my responsibility for my decisions and who I am. But, let me back up a moment. This story is about Jade Fitzgerald who owns a vintage shop in a small town and is about to get married. She has significant baggage but is about getting married. She and her fiancee had decided that they would let the past be the past and not dig into each other's baggage or dredge up the past. But, Jade isn't able to avoid this because of several circumstances in the weeks leading up to her wedding. The story flows smoothly and easily. It is interesting and I enjoyed the characters. There was only one major flaw for me but it has to do with how little attention her fiancee received and his baggage. It seemed very disproportionate. I have noticed that in our soci...

I am reading a fiction book called the Sweet By and By by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck . It easy for me to feel cynical when Hollywood folks write books, so I haven't looked up who Sara Evans is or anything about her. I just want to read the book. But, last night I came across this quote that I thought was interesting... The youngest daughter (shes about 19, I think) of a hippie mom (who is 59) says this to her mom: "For a generation who claimed to be all about peace, you sure started a lot of wars. Not with guns and bullets, but with words and ideology. With your parents, with your kids. Your generation didn't bring anything together. You tore everything apart." Hmm... I'm sure historians have said things like that before, but it's interesting to think about what happened with that generation. It made me think about our sinful nature and how we naturally want to rebel. The generation who were teens and young adults in the 60s outwardly rebelled again...

Just like a child, I want to cry out, "It's not fair!" Do you ever feel like that? I know that God is sovereign--I trust Him, but I still find myself sad tonight. I haven't seen my mom since last Christmas. She was supposed to fly in tonight, but then a snow storm decided to hit us which cancelled all flights. I hoped, but expected it to get cancelled. Still, I didn't expect her not to be able to come until Tuesday. Tuesday!!! I will only get to see her for 4 days before she has to head home. My heart is heavy and sad tonight. My mom means a lot to me--she is my very best friend and I have missed her and so have the girls. I trust God and His plan in all of this.

There are moments when I can feel the tender love of God's grace for me in my life because He knows exactly what I need. This week has been hard for me emotionally as I've sorted through some things in my heart and head. But, at the same time, I've been working my way through Becoming a Woman of Grace by Cynthia Heald (the Bible study I reviewed a few days ago). I saw God's grace for me in this study. It encouraged and blessed me as it drew me to God's Word. The quotes she included were thought provoking and wise. The study was filled with wisdom, rather than simply knowledge. And that wisdom was extended graciously without strings or criticism. If I had the chance to thank Ms. Heald for writing this study and seeking the Lord--and extending grace to me through this book, I would. I wish I could.

I have really enjoyed Sami's Cubbies book activities this year. This morning we walked out paces to see how big Noah's Ark really was. I think this was a great idea. I was blown away. First, I walked out 75 paces (the width) and then only could get to 125 at the end of the hallway at the high school (it was way too cold outside). To think that the ark would have been 3 1/2 times that length was pretty crazy to realize!

I've written several times before about how I've had a hard time finding Bible studies that I really feel I can trust (and not be cynical about). I am really thankful for the one I'm doing right now for that reason. I am only half way through this study and I felt compelled to leave this review even before finishing. Every day, I look forward to doing this Bible study for my quiet times. Every day it challenges me to dig into the scriptures. A few years ago, I tried to do one of Cynthia Heald's studies and I set it down. Honestly, I think I was young and I wanted to be spoon fed. I put more stock in feeling and dwelling on my feelings as a woman. I used to do a lot of studies that encouraged me to infer into the Word and only ask you to look up single verses. But, over the years, I've learned a few things about not taking verses out of context, not inferring into the Word, and not being misled by how an author tells a story (take it to the Word). =) Remembering...

My daughter Sami is a very picky eater. It's been hard over the past two years as we've gone back and forth with her trying to get her to eat fruits and vegetables. We finally realized that we really needed to back off. I'd started giving her vitamins even. Then two months ago, I was in BJ's when a man was demonstrating the VitaMix blender. I had never taken the time to talk with someone about it before that day. But, the kids and I tried 3 different smoothies (2 smoothies and 1 ice cream/sorbet). They had spinach in them and Sami drank them right up. It made me think about what was most important to me--whether Sami ate fruits and vegetables in their original form or that she ate them at all =) I was tired of fighting with her and feeling bad for her continual constipation. So, I brought it up to my husband. He was skeptical and I dropped it. A month later, he realized that we also needed to give Sami a break and so I brought up the Vita Mix again. He was ske...

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...

Wow. It's been an interesting week for me in this regard. I have never before felt convinced that there was a certain toy I wanted for my kids. But, this year, I realized this week that I wanted to get them the Best Friends Club, Ink Dolls Addison and Kaitlyn. I started calling around on Tuesday and everyone told me they were out. So, I called a friend and asked if my girls could come over while I went to buy their last few Christmas gifts. I drove from her house to the nearby Target and they had 2 left--just the ones I wanted to get them. But, let me back up... As I was driving to the store, I sensed in myself a stress about this and I prayed. I realized how quickly I had gotten caught up in that feeling that I needed to f ind a certain toy for m y kids. And wow! It is a powerful consumption! After finding the dolls, I headed to Toys R Us because I knew they had the clothes. I found them and saw a sign that they were free with the dolls--if only they had the dolls. Aft...

A friend emailed me and asked what I thought of the Message as a Bible, and these are the thoughts I shared with her... I do have a copy of the Message. It is an interesting thing to me in our culture is that so often we want things to be easy for us. The Message is a paraphrase. When it first came out, everyone knew that and looked at as such. But, with the popularity of The Purpose Driven Life (which doesn't differentiate between translations and paraphrases, but says at the back of the book how good it is to read different versions so that we can understand it differently), the message came to be viewed (I think) in popular Christian culture as much more of a Bible that can be read as a primary Bible, essentially as a translation. That is disconcerting to me. I believe that it is God and the Holy Spirit that help us to understand the Word. I don't think the NIV or ESV are culturally irrelevant and hard to understand. But, I think it is easier to read and digest the mes...

The Best Books I've read this year as a Book Review Blogger... Most of these books have been from the programs I've been a part of this year. Last week, I realized that I've read and reviewed about 70 books this year. I realized that really has been my hobby this year. =) I wouldn't have read most of them on my own and have been so thankful that I did! I post my reviews on my blogs, but I was talking to my husband about my favorite books from the year and he encouraged me to write a list. So, here it is =) for me: Love in The Driest Season by Neely Tucker : Powerful memoir about his life, marriage, interracial marriage, Africa, foreign press reporting... I wish everyone would read it. It was that good and made that big an impact on my view of the world. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges : Jerry Bridges explains how and why we trust God and what that means to live that out and truly believe God is sovereign. He doesn't use Christianese. He explains the words he uses...

The kids and I bought the least expensive fake Christmas tree and decorated it yesterday and today. They have loved hanging the ornaments (and making them!). I have to be honest and say it's the first time that I've actually gotten a paper chain made long enough to decorate a tree! I can't imagine how much work it must be to string popcorn and cranberries the way my husband's family did every year growing up. I am so impressed! The chains were enough for me to tackle this year =)

At night time, we read a Bible story or devotional to our kids. Autumn is now 6 and Sami just turned 4. For several years, we read the stories from the Read Aloud Bible Stories (v.1-4) and the Tell Me Jesus Stories by Ella K. Lindvall. These are my very favorites for 2-5s. I can't wait to read them to Eli soon. After that, we tried a few books, but found they were too old for the girls. My favorite this year has been The Jesus Book and the Read and Share Bible. But, I really like the book we are using right now. It is Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth Taylor. It has new pictures (instead of the original ones from the 70s). It is perfect for Sami at 4 yrs old. She was just a little young for The Jesus Book. But, we will soon be done with Big Thoughts, so I'm always on the lookout for a new book for our devotional. I think we will likely go back and read through the whole Read and Share Bible. It is perfect for both girls right now and great for 4-6s. But, o...

This morning at breakfast Autumn asked me, "When is Thunder Cane season?" Thunder Cane? What's a Thunder Cane, sweetie? You know, like Tornadoes, Mommy. Oh, you mean Hurricanes. Yes, Hundercanes. No, sweetie, Hurricanes. Well, it's July-September or October. Oh. The funny thing is that Autumn is very well spoken and is great about pronouncing her words, but that made me laugh. I never knew Hurricane could sound like Thunder Cane! =)

I read the author's bio before I read this book and realized it is his first book. I have to say--I have read a lot of books this year and I have really come to appreciate how hard it must be to write a book. I've tried several times, but blogging is all I have time for right now. When I blog, I only write short entries. Undertaking an entire novel would be a very different thing. All that said, I think Dan Walsh does a great job his first time around the block! To read an excerpt from this story: http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719241.pdf The story is set in the 40s during World War II. I believe it is set in Baltimore (I don't know of any other town with a Baltimore Pike). It made sense to me in light of the details included, because Baltimore is just south of the Mason Dixon line--it's not exactly in the North and not exactly in the south--but somewhere in between. A young boy has just come to live with his grandfather. His mother has di...

I am still figuring out how to post images and for some reason this one gave me a bad time today. This is a picture of the book that the excerpt below is from! =) Sometimes it seems to come up and sometimes it doesn't!

http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719395.pdf I've heard so many people say--I want to remember Christ this Christmas season! I want to remember why we celebrate! If you have time, please read the excerpt above--just click on the link. It hit me hard this morning. The forward is so well written--at first, I thought it was going to be just a feel good collection of Christmas stories, but the forward is all about Christ. Then read the preface. You may be taken aback at the rudeness of the first few paragraphs, but soon you'll see the point. I don't want to give away the point, so please trust me and just read through to the very last paragraph--then it will make sense. I have not read this book in its entirety. But, I want to. And I want to pass on this excerpt because I think it reminds us of what really is important this Christmas Season--the joy of Christmas--that Jesus loves us and that He came for us!

When I watch Hallmark movies, my husband rolls his eyes. When I read cheesy, cheesy Christian fiction books, he also rolls his eyes. I am not ashamed that I enjoy both. But, I have found that many movies and books follow a formula that always centers around a romance. I think we all love the ideas that love conquers all, that love is greater than everything else, that love heals all wounds, that the love of a significant other is what will complete people's lives and make them happy and enjoy life. I love a good happy ending--where the conflict gets resolved and peace is found. But, I think we have to be wary and not get caught up in these ideas. A few years ago, I read a book called Seduction of the Lesser Gods. It was quite a good book and it has come to my mind many times over the years. Basically, anything that we give more importance to than God becomes an idol. Anything can become an idol--friendship, children, jobs, and even love. There are different kinds of love...

A few months ago, I received the Read And Share Bible for Autumn and I wrote a review of it that I posted it on this blog. I'm not sure exactly what I wrote--but we have loved this Bible Story Book! It is very biblical and has really caused me to think about what the Bible says and what it doesn't. I don't have the DVD version of the Bible, but have been curious about it. So, I was very excited to receive a copy of The Christmas Story storybook from Thomas Nelson. It includes a DVD with a sampling of the stories on the Read and Share DVD Bible. This storybook is a larger sized storybook than the read and share Bible that includes the stories about Zecharias, Elizabeth, and John, as well as the stories about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus' birth. My 6 year old enjoyed the pages at the end which ask you to tell the story with the pictures (which are out of order). The stories on each page tell a story (they don't have to be combined all together and then put in order)...

Letting Go is always hard. Trusting is even harder. They should always go hand in hand, but sometimes they don't. It's easy to turn inward sometimes when we let go of things instead of turning to God and trusting. In our hurts and struggles, we cry out to the Lord, but we can also harden our hearts if we don't choose to trust God. I love Jerry Bridges definition of what that means (in my words) to choose to look to God and glorify Him by trusting His love, His plan, and His goodness instead of giving in to ourselves and our desires to wallow in our struggles and pain. I come back to the verse in Psalms that God laid on my heart when I had miscarried Hannah before Autumn. It was "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." I find great comfort in God's reminder that He will heal my heart in His timing and in His ways.

Maybe I should have just titled it A truth about people pleasers. It's hard being a people pleaser. I am one. It messes with your motivations and why you do things. It also makes you feel horrible when you think someone doesn't like you. I feel like God is really challenging me in this area right now. I feel like I'm being faced with it right and left. I find myself afraid of what people have said and haven't said. I talked to my mom about something that someone said to me last week via email. My mom knows my life and what I have to cope with and my mom (who is a people pleaser and loves people a lot! with such a loving heart) told me to let it go. I can ruminate about things, because I just want to please everyone and I know my mom was wise to say this to me. Yesterday at church, a woman spoke with me about the church nursery at the new church we are attending. Over the past few months, God has been laying it on my heart to submit to authority and love my f...

We have come to the place where we have realized that we really need to decrease the stress at our dinner table. So, we're going to give Sami one serving of everything and then not give her another serving when she's done unless she's eaten her vegetables. We both know that means she will likely not eat them, but we're going to stop fighting her on it. I know little kids tastes change and there are lots of things she does eat. It's just vegetables, mainly, that she won't. So, we're going to save up for a Vita-Mix and add vegetable/fruit smoothies to our diets. I think that will be a good thing =) It will get her the nutrients she needs and make life less stressful for us!

Autumn told me that I needed to turn off the lights so that they wouldn't blow out the birthday candles...Hee Hee =) She's silly!

When I was in college, I chose to take History of the New Testament. It was taught by a liberal Chaplain who was also a professor at the small college I attended. He looked at the New Testament from a purely historical perspective. When we studied the synoptic Gospels (Mathew, Mark, and Luke), we focused on the discrepancies between the Gospels. The differences were called discrepancies . Little rabbit trail... Yesterday on the way to church, my husband cornered me and challenged me to sit through Sunday school. In the process of having and nursing 3 children over the past 5 years, I have gotten out of the habit of being able to focus and sit and listen (without talking) for any period of time. I haven't been able to sit through a church service in a long time without one of my children needing me. And I have seen this in myself, but it took my husband's challenge and encouragement to go and sit through Sunday School. I am so thankful I did! I left that college class u...

This morning was my eldest daughter's first piano recital. She played after several other people had gone. It was sweet. It never crossed Autumn's mind to be nervous about being on stage---hmmm...what does that mean =) Ms. Kay called Autumn up and said to Autumn, And are you six now? Autumn replies in a clear, confident voice. "Yes, I am already six." Everyone burst out laughing. It was very cute. Autumn played Old MacDonald with no mistakes. Then she smiled and walked back to her seat. Afterwards, everyone commented on how cute Autumn was but when I spoke with one woman, she told me what her niece said after Autumn's six statement. She said, "Wow! She looks great for being six!" The cute little girl was only 7 herself. She said it the way a young woman would say about an older woman Wow! She looks great for her age! Such funny things they say...

You know it's a very funny thing that spam is the word used for junk that we don't want sent to our email accounts. I think Spam would also apply to totally irrelevant comments on a blog =) My last entry got the most bizarre comment (the second comment). I had gotten one very random post before from a guy named Mike to a gal named Barbara--so funny!--my name is definitely not Barbara. =) Anyways, I am activating the comment moderation on my blog--just to avoid "viagra" spam like someone or some computer program posted on this blog today. Anyways, I just thought I'd explain... =)

A few weeks ago, when I asked Autumn what she wanted to eat on her birthday this is what she wanted: Breakfast: Golden Grahams Lunch: Macaroni and Cheese and grapes Dinner: Chicken Fingers and sweet potatoes This morning I asked Sami because her birthday is on Sunday and this is what she said (this cracked me up) Breakfast: Pancakes Lunch: Cereal Dinner: Eggs and Biscuits She is my little breakfast eater. She is a horrible dinner eater--but if she could have breakfast all the time, she'd be as happy as a clam! =)

I just finished Respectable Sins. I included a quote from this book a few days ago while I was in the process of reading it. It was a thoroughly good book to the end. Over the past few years, I have found a few authors that I resonate with--who seem understandable, knowledgeable, and biblical in their counsel. I find myself at peace when I read their books because I know I can take it to the Word and not find that the Word contradicts what they have written. And I know that what they have written is grounded in the Word. I also have found myself more and more drawn to authors who rely more on translations than paraphrased versions of the Bible for the scriptures they site and talk about in their books. Paraphrased versions already have been interpreted by the authors who wrote them. I appreciate Paraphrases at times, but when I am looking to do a Bible Study, encouragement, or counsel, I prefer that to come from a Translation. Before this summer, I had never read a book by Jer...

I think one of the hardest things about having sick kids is that they just don't act like themselves. For a week and a half, Eli was mostly cranky, sour mouthed, and crying. Yesterday, I watched him giggle when I tickled him, sign "please" for his milk, smile and laugh, wave good bye to a dog at the park, light up at the sight of all of the squirrels at the park, and just generally be in a good mood. What a blessing! And it helped my patience with everything else a lot too =) Sami is getting over her cough still so I think it will take her a few more days. But, with her it's different--her tears. On one hand, older siblings help children grow up and then on the other, younger siblings keep them young. Sami so often acts like Autumn, but then so often acts like Eli too.

The other day I was talking to a fellow from our small group about the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I have the second book he wrote called Forgotten God, but for some reason just haven't picked it up yet. I believe the premise of the book is a call by Chan urging Christians to realize what it really mean to love God wholeheartedly. One of the strongest chapters, so I've been told and have read in reviews, is the fourth chapter about Lukewarm Christians. From what I've gathered, Chan asserts that the scripture in Revelation 3:16 "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." that there are no lukewar m Christians--such people are not saved. The day after I had this conversation, I was reading Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges and the chapter I was ready was about the respectable sin of ungodliness, which Bridges describes as "an ungodly attitude toward God." later, in the chapter in more detail-- ...

I just finished this Bible Study, but my thoughts are a bit jumbled. So, please be patient with me as I sort them out... I think I'll back up first. A few years ago, I read an amazing book called Seeing Through Cynicism by Dick Keyes. It hit me hard--like a brick! And so many lights went on for me. I was able to see that my struggle with many mainstream Christian books stemmed from growing feelings of cynicism about the "church", mass popular Christianity, and mega churches. It was as if there were books that gathered cultish like followings (which always makes me think of brainwashing) and mega churches that were/are about checking in on Sunday and putting in your time without any accountability and personal relationships--with God or others. See? Can't you just hear my cynicism in those few thoughts? I saw it and didn't know what to do about it. My cynicism was beginning to permeate my entire world view--which is deadly! I read the book by Dick Keye...

This has been a hard weekend. Eli likely has the swine flu and Autumn either has a cold or a milder version of the flu. I'm hoping it's a milder version of the flu so she'll be done with it. One thing that meant for us was that the girls couldn't go to the Fall Festival at the church where they attend Awanas yesterday. They've been looking forward to it for weeks. I prepared them on Friday and explained that we would try to have several surprises for them the next day. I felt bad for them, but knew there was nothing I could do to change that Autumn and Eli are/were sick. I was talking on the phone yesterday morning and the friend asked if the girls were really disappointed and how they were doing. I told her they were okay. And thankfully, they really seemed to be. I'm sure they were disappointed but I am so thankful that they still enjoyed their day. I got out the puppet theater in the morning and made coffee cake for breakfast. After breakfast, they ...

We lived in the south for almost 4 years. I never expected to live there. But, I grew to really love and appreciate the south. There are still a few things though that I still haven't understood--like "Pit Beef". Surprisingly, though I have many cookbooks, I didn't have any Southern cookbooks. I have had no desire to own a Paula Deen cookbook. I once saw an episode of her tv show and it made my arteries cringe--I say that very kindly. But, I've always wanted a Southern cookbook with recipes from the real south. This week I received in the mail the Jack Daniels' Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook . The cover to the left is not what it looks like now--that is the previous edition. It is now a paperback, rathe r than a hardback. I actually like this because it is easier to fit on my bookshelf. It is a very nice sized cookbook. But, back to the cookbook...I had no idea there were so many drinks and recipes one could make with Jack Daniels! But, what I enjoy...

Now we've gone back to 1 computer instead of 2, but I think it's a good thing. The tricky part is finding all of web sites I had bookmarked. It's funny how something that is supposed to make our lives easier can create so much work for us when we get into using it! =) The one fun thing about all of this is that I did discover that I can now watch the old Bionic Woman on nbc.com =) I'm silly, aren't I? =)

Wow. Autumn turns 6 today. Sadly, she has a cold and we will be spending the whole day at home, but we are going to try and make the best of it!

Sometimes there is great wisdom in sticking to what you know rather than venturing out and trying something new. Such is the case of what happened to my new laptop that we had bought at the end of July. It had worked just fine until I decided to try a new antivirus program because it was free via the Amazon program I'm a part of. It was called Bitdefender. I had problems with it from the beginning. I'm used to Norton and have used it for 8 years. I've always stuck with it--I shouldn't have changed. Because of the problems with Bitdefender, I thought I would try McAffee when I had the chance to try it for free. Bad, bad choice. In the process, it broke my computer. It turns out that you have to completely uninstall any antivirus program before you install a new one and there's tricks with Norton and the others that only well trained computer folks know about. Ugh! If you don't completely uninstall them, the new program see the old program often as a vi...

First, I have to say, "wow." I feel like a kid saying that, but I had no idea growing up what the big deal was about Chuck Norris. Then, over the past few years I started hearing about these internet rumors about him and I didn't understand the fascination. I think I got a clue about all of that in reading this book. This book is a collection of Chuck Norris's 101 favorite internet rumors about himself. I learned a lot of interesting things about Chuck Norris in this book. First, his first name is Carlos--he got nicknamed Chuck in armed forces. He got married 10 years ago (He is now 69) and has twin 8 year old boys. He loves God. A lot. And he loves his family and this country. With each rumor, he shares either a story about his life or some of his perspective about life. He does talk about God a lot in this book which was very interesting to me. I realized as I read this book that I really had known nothing (!) about Chuck Norris before I read this book....

I enjoy reading. And I know it's good for me. I was just notified by one of the publishers that I review books for that I will need to state in my reviews that the copies of the books I've read have been complimentary. It's a new regulation from the Federal Trade Commission. My husband thought this might change folks opinions of the reviews they read on my blog and elsewhere, but I wanted to share some things with you. 1) I only read books I want to. I choose them. 2) If a book is bad or if I don't like it or I have a concern, I will say so. There is no motivation for me to be untruthful in this. On the contrary, there is motivation for me to be truthful--I desire to walk rightly before the Lord and walk with integrity and honesty. It is an interesting thing about the books I've read and reviewed on this blog--some of them might not have been my first choice for reading material--rather my second choice--but God has used them in huge ways in my heart and mi...

Recently, I read and reviewed Max Lucado's new book Fearless. I liked it very much. There is a snippet in that book of a new children's book that he just published called "The Tallest of Smalls". It is often interesting reading stories with my children because it makes me aware of how sheltered they have been. My girls are homeschooled. Sami goes to preschool two mornings a week at a local high school where Autumn went for 2 years. They now go to Awanas, dance, and P.E. But, Autumn has seemed to remain largely ignorant of when she is not included by other children. She hasn't been hurt yet. I know the day will come though when that will happen. I don't look forward to it. As I read the Tallest of Smalls to my girls, I knew that they wouldn't really understand most of what it was about. They don't have a lot of personal experience to connect it to. Although, there was a little girl who, when Autumn asked her to play with her one day at the ch...

It seems very surreal that Molly got lost on Saturday. You'd never know by the look of her. She acts just like normal--not really phased by it. Thankfully, I think we've recovered too. I can't even fathom what it would feel like to lose a child after losing Molly. It was so scary to me! With Sami being one who must touch everything, she spends a lot of time in carts. My husband and I had an interesting discussion about kids and dogs and this was the kids part from my end. I have come to feel that as much as I would like to give my kids the freedom to walk and not hold my hand, it isn't safe. If we are in a store, 90% of the time Sami travels in the big part of the cart and Eli in the top. If the cart is big enough, Autumn also sits with Sami. It's just easier and safer. No one gets lost. More than that, it's lots less stressful for me. Sami just doesn't seem to be able to control herself yet and not touch everything in the store! That can make...

Praise God! Someone found Molly and just called, so my husband is on his way to go pick her up. I am so thankful that she is safe and that she will be home soon. No more complaining for me about how much work she is =) !! When she went missing, I just cried. As much as I may struggle with her some days--just as I do with my kids--I love her and very much don't want anything to happen to her.

Our puppy, Molly is missing as of this afternoon. Please pray that someone will find her. My husband was out hiking with her when she ran away. She loved him so much--and he her so I don't have any idea why she didn't come back! She has tags on her, but I have no idea the liklihood that someone will find her. I hope someone will--else my husband will be deeply heartbroken. Please pray that someone will find her and help her get back home to us.

Every year after we go to the Pumpkin farm and bring home a pumpkin, I make a pumpkin pie. This year I decided to make a Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie. I'd tried one before, but wasn't super impressed. But, I had a new recipe from a cookbook I love, so I thought I'd try again. I never read recipes thoroughly before I start in them--this time I should have! First, I had to make the cornmeal crust and partially prebake it. Wow! This involved a lot. It involved baking it for 10 minutes and then pricking the bottom with a fork. Then, I baked it another 10 minutes. Then, I had to whisk an egg white until it was frothy and paint the poked holes with a pastry brush--and then bake it for another 2 minutes. Wow! Then, I was supposed to let it cool (I didn't have time, so I skipped that step.) I made the filling which was really quite easy. That part wasn't so bad. I am thankful I used a deep dish pie pan so it didn't overflow and make a mess in my oven. Then, I p...

When I was in high school, my Sunday School teacher Janet Church had the idea of looking for baby miracles in our lives to help us see the work of God in our lives and to help us remember how much we have to be thankful for. Here are my baby miracles for this morning… 1. That my foot wasn’t broken when Autumn dropped a 28 oz. can of peaches on it last week. I really am thankful for that. 2. That I feel well enough to go on the field trip for the homeschool co-op we’re in that I planned and have to collect the money for today. 3. That all my kids are well enough to go on the field trip and haven’t caught my cold yet =)