We are a family of six. Two parents and four kids. "J" is 12, She is super creative and artsy. "T" is 10 and our little jokester. He's always cracking us up. "I" is 8 and he is our wild man, full of energy and as smart as a whip, and little Sweet Pea is 6. She is our spirited one, a very independent girl.
Sweet pea is a spunky little girl. Shehad me laughing all day today. Here is a little snippet of our conversations today.
"Mommy I think someone pushed me right in my eyes!"
"Daddy! I am the servant of all children!"
While telling daddy about her eye doctor appointment today she says "and there was one really really small picture and I couldn't really see it so I just said Dog and I was right!!" (This one is just too funny)
Conversation between her and "J": Her: "when I get bigger I'm going to marry daddy" J: "daddy is already married, you can't marry him" SP: "well when I get big, he can have two marries and I will marry him".
Then the conversation that follows after her big sister convinces her she cant marry daddy. She tells her she will meet someone new and maybe marry them. J: "so who do you think you will marry?" SP: "maybe Ben? Nah I think I'll marry the new guy". (Sorry Linz, Ben may not stand a chance against the new guy).
She certainly is a sweet funny little girl. When I look back at my blog posts from this time last year, they were full of despair and hurt because I just didn't know what to do with my spirited little girl. If only I had known what the year would hold and how we would come through it closer than ever, I think I would have been a little more hopeful. Maybe someone should remind me of these words when she becomes a teenager. I have a feeling she's going to give us a wild ride!
It's been a long time since I have written on here. There are lots of reasons. The main reason is that I've been struggling with some health issues for the last couple of months. Ear troubles and mostly sinus issues causing headaches. I have had a headache everyday for the last 10 weeks at least. It has gotten to the point where everyday tasks are a struggle. I have really been trying to keep on moving despite the pain. To keep life normal for the kids and for Jeff.
Today at church, my head hurt so bad at times that I couldn't help the tears from coming. At one point opening my eyes hurt more than keeping them closed. I was squirming in my seat, trying to find a comfortable place. Leaning on Jeff's supporting arm. I found myself getting so angry. Getting bitter. And then for some reason I lifted my head, opened my eyes and looked up at the screen above the stage.
There written was Psalm 46:10:
[10] "Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world."
For the last six months I have really been striving in abiding in Jesus. I have had so much emotional healing, He has shown me so much about myself and I have grown so much. I have seen too much to not know how GOOD Jesus is. So looking up in the midst of my anger and bitterness and seeing that was like God speaking directly to me. Saying "Take it easy Tash. I am the one who made you. Be still Tash. I am here. I will be honored".
And so in the midst of my struggles I will honor Him. I will always be thankful of his goodness. And I will continue to abide in Him. To wait on him.
Thankful for my Jeff who has taken on way more than his fair share. For the kids who are so sweet and helpful. Who offer to pray for me all the time. For my sweet friends who always ask how I am doing. See Jesus is so good to me. He is faithful even when I am not.
It's 8 a.m. and I have already laughed enough to make me cry. These kids of mine crack me up. As a matter of fact, right now, I have a toy phone propped up to my ear talking to Sweet Pea's imaginary friends mom. Apparently "Boo boo and Callay" are sick and she is going to a restaurant without them.
Anyway here are some of the conversations I have already had. With "T", I told him he better go get breakfast so we could get started with school. He says no I never need to do school again. I say you need to learn stuff if you want to grow and be a scientist he says " no I am going to be a mechanic like Pepe and I will use calculators and cash registers." Haha. What a guy!
That conversation led up to Sweet Pea saying she wants to be a mommy and a ballerina when she grows up. I asked her why she wanted to be a ballerina and she says "cuz they are pretty" and I told her she doesn't need to be a ballerina to be pretty. She says "oh I know, I just wanna wear those little tutus"
She then asks me if I was going to get up . I told her soon, I was just waiting for my headache to go away. She offered to pray for my headache and proceeded to do so. After she finished praying, she puts her hand on her head and says "Now I've got your headache!" Haha. I'm pretty sure that's not how prayer works!
Just after this conversation, "I" walks by the bedroom and says "Burp ya later!"
And just now he comes in and says "can we go to legoworld?" I say someday maybe. And he says "maybe on Saturday?" I say to him "You do realize it takes three days to get there". He says, " well it's Monday, we have time!"
And there you have it. Life with these kids sure can be silly sometimes! I love it! With a silly start like this, I look forward to laughing much today.
I was going to do a post of our goings on last week but to be honest, our week was fairly uneventful. We learned, we played, we cooked, we loved.
What I really want to post about is the heaviness of my heart right now. At church, they are already going through applications for the next trip to Africa. Unfortunately, my application was not in among them. As much as I wanted to desperately go. Jeff and I knew that it would not be possible this time around.
This is Izak. He is 12 years old. He lives with 70+ other kids in a children's village in Meize, Mozambique. We sponsor him.
I had the opportunity to get to know him for 9 days back in November when I visited his home. Look at that smile. The smile got me every time. He is a beautiful boy. Although I didn't speak his language and he barely spoke mine, we bonded. Whenever our team was in Meize, he was by my side. He acted as my bodyguard sometimes when other kids got too close or grabby. He was also so sweet with the younger kids and I could tell he really looked up to the older ones. In those short 9 days, I fell in love with this boy.
I miss him dearly.
Yesterday, we found out that a sponsored child in his orphanage had died of Malaria. All we knew was that it was an 11 year old boy. When I read the email, my heart sank. It filled up with worry that maybe it might have been Izak. And when I found out that it wasn't him, I was relieved but filled with so much sadness. You see Izak seemed the type of kid that everyone liked and was friends with everyone. Chances are Izak is grieving the loss of his friend now. Those kids in that community were like brothers and sisters to each other so not only have they lost their friend but their brother as well.
I get so frustrated that we can't do more for these kids.. We sponsor them, we get secure in the fact that they are taken care of, and loved in the place they are in. But we can't protect them with money. We can't love on them from so far away. We can't prevent them from getting sick or hurt.
All we can do is pray and trust that God knows what he is doing.
One thing I do know from being surrounded by these kids is that they know Jesus, they are happy and they are loved.
I guess I'll just keep praying. It's all that I can do.
And take heart that little Joao is now sitting at the feet of Jesus and being loved on by the Father himself.
I'm hoping to post every weekend on our activities for the past week. We will see if this sticks. We have had a very eventful week.
Obviously it was Easter this past weekend. Sweet Pea was quite excited to go look for Easter eggs in the backyard. I think this is the third year we have been able to have our egg hunt outside and I really prefer it!
Not only was it Easter but it was this boy's 8th birthday! I can't believe how grown up and handsome he looks in this picture!
We had several box days this week! After tax time, comes the constant research on what school books we will use for the next year and then the ordering! We had boxes arrive three days this week and we are still waiting for our big order. Which will probably come on Monday which is the one day that I won't be home most of the day. Oh well. We will get it soon.
More reading practice for "I". He is my first child that will just pick up a book and read for fun (without me suggesting it!) This book that he is reading here, he has been reading all week because he loves superheros. In fact, he is reading it as I type right now. He is a great reader for a 5 year old boy!
This week "T" was learning about the Black Plague in his history. We decided to dress him up in a black plague doctor costume. He had a great time with this costume. He even met the mailman to receive a package in this get up!
This week I also tackled a job that I have been putting off for a very long time. Cleaning out the school closet and the living room closet. Our living room closet is not opened often at all, mainly because we have our couch in front of it. It basically was our junk closet. We kind of threw everything in there that we didn't know what to do with. As a result, it was a disaster and too overwhelming for me to even think about cleaning it. Thankfully my newly 8 year old boy is saving up his money to buy himself an ipod so I offered him 5 dollars if he would help me clean them. He gladly excepted the challenge! He worked so hard that I gave him 6 dollars! lol
I didn't think to take a picture before I started cleaning it but this is half way through. I had to do both closets at the same time pretty much because some things had to be transferred to different closets.
There was so many things in that closet that I had to lay things in piles on the back of the couch.
The school closet was another disaster.. This one I usually clean and organize every couple of months and try as I might to keep it that way, it never stays that way... especially with four kids and a husband who believe that any paper they see must belong in the school closet.. after all we use paper during school time. As you can see, we have a problem with the kids knowing how to stand books upright so they lay them down where ever they can find a spot and everything gets crazy very quick.
Sooo, "T" and I starting pulling all the books and papers out.. Papers go in the big white trash can and "T" made piles of books down the hallway according to who they belonged to. The picture below was just the beginning of it all.. eventually there were book piles all the way down the hallway.
It was a huge mess and it took us from 2 in the afternoon til 7:30 that night (with a supper and Karate break) Eventually though we got it all organized. Top shelf consists of extra packages of paper, notebooks, file folders, envelopes, books that are for later years and science kits. Next shelf is my stuff to the left and "J's" books will fill the right. Next shelf down is "T's" books to the right and books that we do together on the left. On the next shelf , "K's" books and the crayons are on the right and "I's" books and the math manipulatives on the left. The drawers in the middle consist of stickers, art supplies and card games. The drawers at the bottom is art supplies and construction paper. We also have some art canvases and the astronomy lab kit tucked in there too. On the door, I used an old shoe rack to store all the office supplies like pencils, pens, glue, staplers, rules and other such stuff. I'm very happy with how well it's organized but I know it won't stay that way.. booo!
Yesterday between chauffeuring "J" to and from rehearsal and a birthday party, I sat "I" and Sweet Pea down to make a bird feeder out of a milk carton. In the midst of cleaning my closets this week, I came across a Tupperware bin of bird seed. Here the kids are painting it to make it pretty.. Apparently birds like pretty bird feeders.
So there you have it.. That was this week at our house!
When she hears a worship song, her arms go up, her eyes shut and she worships. She is constantly singing.
Oh to be like her. This little girl who worships so effortlessly. Tonight as I was putting the little ones to bed, instead of regular kid songs, they wanted worship songs. What was meant to be a bedtime routine turned into a half hour of worship. There lying in her bed I was able to soak in HIS presence. Amazing. I thank God for this girl who teaches me so much.
This Easter day... the day he rose from the grave so many years ago. From this day forward, I make a conscious effort to be more like my little girl. One who will drop what I'm doing for the chance to worship the King.
Occasionally I try to sneak the video camera out to capture her worship sessions without her noticing. I have compiled some of them into a short video. Watch and be amazed at her spirit.
Sitting in church today, "I" was with us because he has a cold. We were coming towards communion time and his eyes just lit up. He turns to me and says "Mommy we are going to get a treat!" I laughed but you know what? What a treat it is! What a treat to have a loving God who gave his only son for us! For him to lift us up out if the pit of despair and sit us up on a rock. (Isaiah 40) We take communion to remember what Jesus did for us. His blood spilt. His flesh torn. All for us. So yes "I". It is a treat to remember what a faithful God we have.
Ever have one of those days that when it comes to close you feel simply exhausted from the busyness of the day. But you just can't help but feel so thankful. Here are some of the things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for the chant my two girls say with each other. "BEST SISTERS EVER!" For my ten year old who still wants me to tuck her in at night. For my boy who turns 8 years old on April 1st. April fools day. He certainly lives up to his birthday. He is such a jokester. I'm thankful for my super energetic "I" who lately had taken a liking to the nickname Ike and wants us to call him that. He is pretty miserable with yet another cold but he is still so snugly and love able. I'm thankful for my littlest princess. Who has made a major turnaround behavior wise in the last month or so. She takes after her brother a bit becoming quite a little trickster herself. I'm thankful so much for my Jeff. The way he works so hard so that I can stay at home and home school. I'm thankful for the rest of my family and friends who support me through everything. Most of all, I'm thankful that I can enjoy these blessings. I've had a lot of health issues for the last month and a half. I'm still having issues but I'm so thankful that I'm healthy enough and starting to get a bit better to live this life with my family.
YI realize that I have used this blog as a venting space for a bit so I thought I'd write about what we have been up to.
She wasn't so sure about this fire truck business
This weekend while "J" was off at her normal Saturday activities, Sweet Pea, the boys and I took in a winter carnival in a nearby town. With friends of course. As we walked up to the school where the carnival was. a fire truck pulled up and the nice fireman asked if we would like a lift. Riding in the firetruck was the main reason for us going and we thought we'd have to wait in a line. How fun was it that the fire truck picked us up before we even got to the carnival! The boys were especially excited. Sweet pea however had some reservations about it but with the promise that I would not let go of her, she was okay with it. (You know that meant that I had to climb up into a big truck while holding a 3.5 year old. A tricky task to say the least!)
I love this picture because she's putting on a smile but she's really still not so sure.
The older kids got to hang out in the back!
They even got to sound the siren. "I" was the only one that looked back at me so I could take a picture!
After the fire truck ride, we went inside the school and the kids decorated cookies, played with balloons in the gym, got their faces painted and the girls had their nails painted. It was a great way to spend part of our afternoon.
After the carnival, we went back to our friends house for some play time. The kids usually see these friends every week but with all the sicknesses we have had this winter, we haven't seen them as much and they have really missed them. It was great to have everyone healthy so we could finally have some play time. We even made arrangements for Jeff to pick up "J" from gymnastics and come out so we could all have supper together. Beth and I spent the afternoon talking homeschool resources and planning supper.
For supper we decided to play around with some egg roll wrappers that I had Jeff bring from our fridge. We made cheeseburger egg rolls and they were so delicious. Here's what we did!
First we cooked up the hamburger with some onions. When it was cooked, we added ketchup, mustard, and bbq sauce. We also added in some chopped up dill pickles.
We then rolled the meat into the wrapper. It took me a few times to get it perfect but Beth got it the first try! As you can see from the picture below. The first two rolls were mine.
Once we got them all wrapped, the only thing left to do was to put them in the oven.. oh and to make this amazing looking salad!
Take the egg rolls out of the oven and a perfect supper! We also made some spicy fries to go along with it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of my plate.. I was too busy scarfing down the deliciousness. I did get a picture of the egg rolls after they came out of the oven.. don't they look delicious?
On Sunday, we braved a storm to make it out to my sisters house to celebrate this little guy's first birthday!
The rest of the week has been spent at home... I haven't been feeling well... My asthma has been acting up and it's been making me feel very weak. Thankfully I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow for it. Plus we had two storms this week that would have kept us home anyway.
OH I did want to mention this. As you know from my previous posts, I have been at my wits end trying to get Sweet Pea to make good choices and to keep her glasses on. So I fell back on an old trick that I had used when "J" was this age. A good choices chart. When I see her making good choices or even doing nice things for others, she gets a heart. It also works the opposite as well, when she makes bad choices, is defiant or mean to anyone she loses a heart. When she gets 10 hearts she gets to pick something out of a treasure box that Jeff and "J" put together. What a difference it has made. It took her a while to get to 10 hearts the first time. Understandably since she didn't quite grasp the concept of the reward at the end but she finally did reach ten hearts after about a week and she was soo proud.
She got to pick from the treasure box and she chose a pencil case with a ruler, eraser, pencil and sharpener in it.
Once she realized the fun of getting the reward, her behavior has been extraordinary! The next morning, she was dressed and had her glasses on before anyone even asked her to. Her only requirement is that we clean her glasses whenever she needs them cleaned. Which is acceptable to me even though she needs them cleaned three thousand times a day.. I don't mind so much if I know she's going to put them right back on!
This chart has really saved my insanity! It has turned us around. I used to lay in bed in the morning strategically planning how I could get her to put her glasses on and how I could avoid meltdowns. Now I lay in bed in the morning trying to catch a few more winks of sleep! lol
Anyway, that's been our life these days. Now the kids are ready to start school and so our day begins!
I wanted to leave you with a song that has been really speaking to me lately...
Kari Jobe ~ You Are For Me
I am weak all the time. God is strong... What a wonderful thing to remember....
I'm sitting lingering at our supper table. Blogging on my phone. The boys and Jeff have wandered off to the boys room to clean up the Lego. The girls are still here with me enjoying the last remains of their supper.
What's for supper you ask? Nachos! A classic Friday night meal. We will round it off later with some popcorn. Yes I know, not so healthy but fun for the kids and we all need some fun once and a while.
I just wanted to talk about the feeling I got while we sat around the table. As the kids get older we will have fewer moments like this. As it is, on Tuesdays and Thursdays both older kids are running off to various activities and I as the usual chauffeur am running as well. Supper time is hurried and split up.
So to have a meal time together is like a treasure possession. I cherish it. I looked around the table as we talked about our day and laughed as we tricked "T" into getting his picture taken by pretending to look at something else with my phone. I listened to the noises of the two littlest ones who make the cutest noises as they eat things that they enjoy.
Then it hit me. This is my life! I can't hardly believe how wonderful it is. How did I get so lucky to have such a kind caring and oh so funny husband. Two smart, handsome, funny boys who take after their daddy. Two beautiful, creative, clever daughters who love each other so much. These people. These are my people!
This is everything I dreamed of from the time I was very young.
I have to tell you that it wasn't luck. I believe that I am the daughter of The King of Glory. That makes me a princess. Why shouldn't I deserve good things. Why wouldn't my Father in heaven want to give me good things. It's hard to always believe that sometimes. But I know that it's true. It says so in His word.
Matthew 7:11 (NLT) says "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him."
It's right there in the bible. I once had someone tell me. There is no sense in doubting God. It's all right there in the bible. Just read it. Just do it.
I began this blog post telling about how wonderful my life is and how much I love my family but I think what I really want to tell you is how much God loves us and wants us to seek him. He is like a daddy who is just longing to spend time with us. I am pretty sure that he is feeling the same way looking down on me as I do when I look down on my children. And there are times when my children disappoint. When they don't make the right choices. I can be disappointed in their choices but that does not mean that I don't still love them with everything that I have. After all they are human just like me. We all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. The great thing this is that God knows that. We can beat ourselves up for the choices we make but Jesus keeps on loving us. Me? I will just keep trying to make the best choices possible and ask forgiveness for the wrong. Anyway. I'm off to spend the evening with my wonderful family.
Here's some fun pictures we took at the table tonight. Sorry about the quality.. they were taken with my phone.
"T" hates getting his picture taken.. We tricked him by pretending to look at the picture on the phone already
My sweet boy
The little princess
My big girl stuffing her face!
And Jeff, looking up non acidic foods on his ipod while eating some pretty acidic foods! haha!
I'm very late with this review. I received this book from Tyndale the day I was leaving for Africa, Sweet Pea flipped through it right away and enjoyed the pictures. We didn't get a chance to pick it up again obviously until after I got back. So here is the review!
This book is best suited to kids between 1-5. SP liked it the best. It has 74 bible stories that are 2 pages each. Each story is in a language easy to understand and engaging. They are broken up into paragraphs so I can interact with her as I read. It also has questions to ask your little one. In every story it ends in giving the person you love a hug. That is the fun part.
It's a really great little bible story book. It has cute pictures and is a joy to read. "J" loves to read this to her little sister. And Sweet Pea loves to be read to. I'll definitely be putting this by her bed for bedtime every night.
This book was sent to me by Tyndale publishing for review. I was not required to give a positive review in exchange for this book.
Isn't it amazing how parenting can be so up and down? It is down right crazy at times. I started out this morning pretty good. I was still running on the highs of yesterday which was a pretty good stress free day. Still so proud of my "J" who got some solo singing parts in her musical theatre class and my boy "T" who rushed out the door to help our neighbor shovel her driveway.
Even proud of myself as I had been successful in avoiding meltdowns from a certain little girl.
We got through the schoolwork really easily and I even managed to have supper made with homemade French bread all before 4:30.
Imagine how I felt!! I have to say the pride-o-meter was pretty high. Boy I had it all together today. HA!
No mom has it all together. Just when we think we do, the rug gets pulled. My rug was in the form of a two hour long meltdown from a very screamy spirited girl. By the time the hubby came home from work, it was all I could do to throw my beautiful supper on the table and give him "the look"
You know the look. The one that says, if you don't step in right at this moment.... I will scream. This look my husband knows well. He took his cue like the awesome husband and dad he is. He took on the screaming one (who by the way had moved her meltdown from the bed room to the supper table). He hugged her and soothed her. Things I had been trying to do for the last two hours. There is something to be said about being held in daddy's arms.
I needed to do that. I was tired, worn out and in need of daddy's love and comfort. I left the house for some much needed alone time. I went to my dads (who wasn't home) and quietly painted the dresser I was refinishing for the girls room. I soaked in my heavenly fathers love. Then, even though I didn't really feel like it, I went to the women's life group that I go to every Wednesday night. Once again as we shared and talked about faith, I was reminded of Gods love. The way that he places people in our paths to encourage us, to lift us up when we are down and to love us.
Father thank you for wrapping your arms around me tonight. For helping me through the rough spots.
I have just re-read some of my latest posts. I realized that lately I have labeled my girl to the whole world on this blog and on Facebook. Even in talking about her to friends. I have called her a challenge, stubborn, defiant, demanding, unpredictable & explosive...How can those words with such negative connotations do either of us any good. These traits are the kinds of traits we look for in an adult. As adults we call it being assertive, committed, flexible, analytical, perceptive & dramatic. Those words bring a more positive light. Don't they? The problem is, these traits that are so desired as adults make for difficult child raising.
So what do I do? Well first of all, these traits are all traits that I want her to retain as an adult so I will try to view them in a more positive light from now on so that she knows that they are not bad. I will try harder to help her to manage her outbursts into more positive forms. I will apologize to her for labeling her. She is a smart, sweet, persistent little person. This doesn't mean that she won't see some discipline in her life. How else will I help her learn to channel those traits. But I will listen to her, show her some respect and I will pick my battles. We will come out of this. She is a good girl and I am a good mom. I will constantly remind myself that she is not doing any of the things to annoy me or to get a rise out of me. I do believe that she is testing her limits and I need to place those limits there to make her feel safe and secure.
I am not a perfect person. There are going to be days where I fail. Where I lose it. Where I need to vent about her. When those days come, please remind me of this post. When I feel as though I have failed. Tell me that I haven't. When I say something negative, remind me of the positive. I have come to realize that I need people. That everyone needs a helping hand along the way.
I have had people say to me that they have read my blog and realized that they were not alone. If you are reading this and you have felt alone I want to say you are not alone. Your child is not the only child to fall apart over their cracker being broken or their sibling touching them. My child does too. Sweet pea has completely fallen apart over "J" giving her a spontaneous hug and kiss. There are millions of moms & dads who go through these same things everyday. Just take a step back and breath. Tell yourself that they are not out to get you and that you can do this. You are a good parent. Be consistent and your child will grow up to be a successful adult.
I have a dilemma... My children are missing something.... It's called Literature! haha! Seriously though, it's that time of year again where I go crazy trying to figure out what the heck I am going to teach them next year. "I" is going to be in Grade ONE this coming fall! He's breezing through his kindergarten year. He's already reading small books and doing addition and subtraction like a pro.
This year I am taking a more classical approach to their language arts and history programs. In order to do this, I need to get my hands on some classic books. I would love to own these books so that I don't have to scramble around looking for them for the upcoming kids. So I created a book list, researched them all online for prices and found that some of them I can't even buy anymore. The ones that I can buy will get pretty expensive if I have to buy them all new.
So then I had an idea... what if some of my lovely friends and families had some of these books just laying around not being used? What if those said friends and family members would love to get rid of those books for a small price. I am going to put my book list out there and hope that someone somewhere has at least a few of them and is willing to let me take them off their hands. I will try to link as many of the books to Chapters or Amazon as I can so that you can see which versions I need. Keep in mind that these books are going to be read to a 6, 8 and 11 year old so the versions that I need have to be adapted for those ages. Here goes!!
So there it is.. there you have it... If you could be so kind as to look on your bookshelves for any of these books, Please contact me through email, facebook or comment on this post!
