Halloween

Photo Shoot

Here are some pictures the girls took when they had mom's camera in their room:




Yes, I think she's pretending to pick her nose.

 








I'm not sure what to say??



The Greatest Great-Grandma

We recently took a trip to see my husband's grandma.  The kids had so much fun helping Great-grandma, having a tea party and playing.  One of Great-grandma's specialties is fruit with sugar to dip it in.  The kids love it.  This time we even had to bring home some of Great-grandma's "special" sugar because ours isn't the same at home :)  Here are some pictures.

Precious Thoughts From Precious

Thought #1
This morning in the car on the way to school Precious told me she wants to go to Paris.  Apparently Barbie went to Paris in one of her movies.  I informed her that I will probably never go to Paris because I don't like to fly, so Sissy said she would go with her.  They planned their trip to Paris when they are "grown-ups" and even thought to make sure Dad stayed at home with me so I wouldn't be lonely.  I pray that some day they actually do get to go to Paris together.  I want them to know that they can do whatever they want to do.  Even spend a crazy amount of money to go to a place where I hear everyone is rude :)

Thought #2
I love taking my girls out to dinner.  I especially love taking each of them out separately, just the two of us.  I love the conversations we have, the things they share with me and getting to concentrate completely on them, no distractions.  Saturday night Dad went to a football game with a friend, so I got to take the girls out to eat.
Don't ask me how this came up, but Precious told me that she feels funny when boys look at her.  When I asked her why, she said that she just wants them to like her.  She is 7, not 13, not even 10, SEVEN!  I was totally unprepared and didn't have any idea how to respond.  I simply said that all that really matters is that God loves us and our family loves us.  Any suggestions on what an appropriate response would have been.  I love that she feels comfortable enough with me to share and I hope she will continue to come to me for advice when she gets older.  If we had not gone to eat she probably never would have mentioned that.  I plan to keep taking my girls out to dinner because who knows where the conversation will lead.

Brad Paisley - Anything Like Me (Lyrics)

Dear Baby Bubba (that's what I'm going to call our baby boy until he makes his appearance),
I am so excited for you to join our family. I prayed about you long before you were conceived. I knew God had a plan for our family and that He would reveal it to me in His time. The day we found out you were a boy, I was in complete shock. I bounced between excitement and panic. I have only been around girls. How am I going to handle a boy? I trust that God will prepare me for all of the challenges we will face together. This song reveals many of the things I look forward to. I can't wait to see the relationship that you and your dad will have. I have a special relationship with each of my girls, but I know it will be different with you. That's one of the things I look forward to the most. This song's for you, Baby Bubba.
In Great Anticipation,
Mom

U

Our Sunday school class is doing the iMarriage study by Andy Stanley.  It's been great so far.  The concept is that everyone starts a marriage with certain desires and those desires can turn into expectations if we're not careful.  Eventually those expectations will lead to disappointment.  "I" marriages exist when all a person can think about is what "I" deserve and what "I" am owed.  Well, what I discovered yesterday is that I also have a big "U" in my marriage.  The "U" for me is when I read a study and all I can think about is what you (meaning my spouse) need to do better.  Nothing in the Bible teaches us to examine others to make them better.  In fact, it tells us the opposite. 

Matthew 7:4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

Isaiah 11:3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see,or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you be not judged.

I shouldn't worry about what my spouse is doing wrong, while I myself am not a perfect mate.  Well, pretty far from it actually.  I have struggled to focus on what I can do to make my spouse feel good about our marriage.  It's like I always tell the kids, "You worry about you."  Nothing gets accomplished by simply telling others what they need to do.  We are called by God to follow his commands and He will take it from there.


Psalm 50:4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people

Isaiah 11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

"Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate." - Barnett R. Brickner