Trip to the Mountains...and Chopped

We had a wonderful afternoon in the mountains yesterday...


It seems like most often the spur-of-the-moment ideas are the best for our family outings.  The weather was wonderful with a bit of a cool breeze, so it was perfect weather for a hike.

We found wild strawberries growing along the path

Little punkin always trailing behind...but wanting to walk on his own

His big brother adores him

At the General Store halfway through the hike

I love taking pictures of this watermill!  It's so beautiful in person.  I almost like the pictures of it in B/W just as much

We're in the process of looking for a church right now.  A bit frustrating, but exciting at the same time.  I'm excited about what the Lord has for us in the future.  Our family is really hungry for Christian fellowship and in need of plugging into a Christian community.  We have several close friends, but don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like to.  We know regular weekly fellowship is so important.  But for now, a different church each Sunday is getting a bit old...can't wait to be a part of one, and not be the "visiting family" every Sunday.


On another note, as I was sitting alone the other night, I was thinking back over the day/weeks/months,and reflecting on our life...specifically our children that are growing sooo quickly!  Every now and then I'll sit down with the girls and we enjoy watching "Chopped" together.  As I was reflecting, I realized how I feel that so much of my life as a mother feels like I'm in a "Chopped" competition.  Not in the sense that I feel like I'm competing with others, but more in the sense that I feel our time is so short to get things "right".  As I'm seeing personal struggles in each of the children, there is so much that I'm wanting to pour into them and so much discipleship...mentoring...encouragement etc. etc. Like in "Chopped" I can just feel the clock ticking.   At some point the judge is going to call "time is up", and I'm going to have to step away from the table with my hands lifted up and pray that I did my job well. 


Then, this morning, driving early in the morning, I heard again that gentle voice saying..."You don't have to stress over getting it all done...just point them to Me".

Train them to come to Me.

  I love it when God comes and crashes in on my stressful thoughts and gives me His truth.  It's always freeing.  Liberating.  An easy yoke.  A light burden.  A good reminder that when things begin to feel way too difficult...well, there's a good chance I'm taking things back into my own hands again, where God never intended them to be. 

We are called to proclaim Jesus Christ.  The fact that He saves from sin and makes us holy is part of the effect of the wonderful abandonment of God. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)

Lest I Forget

Thinking of this...

As we're experiencing another snap of cold, rainy weather right now, it makes me pause to think about our wonderful Florida vacation this last winter.  I can feel the sunshine and the warm water by just looking at these pictures once again.  For our two youngest, it was the first time they had ever seen the ocean.  It had also been many years since the four oldest had been to the beach.



I only wish I'd had the video camera with me to record the expressions on all of their faces and the sounds of joy coming from them...



There's no way to describe to someone the power and majesty of the ocean when you're seeing it for the first time.  When we first arrived in Florida after a 2-day long drive, it was our 9 year old's birthday, and the first thing he wanted to do was go see the ocean, which is just two blocks away from their grandparents'.  I will never forget how COLD it was that day!  If I remember right, it was in the 40's...very unusual for Florida.  We all walked to the beach, with our winter coats on.  It's so comical to me now to think back on the "talk" we had with the children ahead of time, telling them that we were only going to look at the ocean today.  When it was warmer, we would get in and swim.  Ha! What were we thinking??!!  Before we knew it, they were all running in the water with their winter coats and jeans on, squealing and loving every minute of it. 

 A very sweet woman who was passing by offered to take pictures of the children with her cell phone...

Even though the pictures aren't the best quality, the memories that they bring back are priceless!  I have to be honest...for many years now I haven't been much of a beach girl.  I was pretty happy to move away from it several years ago and get more into the mountains.  All that to say, I was pretty awestruck after being away from it for several years.  It reminded me of how the power and majesty of God is so strongly felt in the ocean.


This little winter trip will forever be etched in my mind.  It came on the heels of a very dark time for my husband and I.  It was only by God's grace that we were even there. 

We embraced every moment as a gift from God.

May you see His gifts today made with you in mind!




  

It's a quiet morning here...


My husband has taken the five oldest children to the dentist this morning, and little Gabriel is still in bed (he loves sleeping in...yay!).


It's been a steady rain all morning, which I normally enjoy.  However, we have five children of some dear friends coming over in just an hour, so now we're needing to switch gears and plan for some indoor activities for the day!

A Special Evening...

This is a bit of a random post, but I wanted to add a few pics for memories' sake of some special moments.  The three older children and I were so blessed to get to go to a concert back in February by Casting Crowns, Royal Taylor, Matthew West, and Lindsay McCaul.  The really special part of it all was that Lindsay McCaul (pictured w/us, below) has been a dear friend of ours for many years.  She  was a close friend of our oldest daughter growing up, so it's so exciting to see the Lord using her talents for Him.  If you get a chance, I highly recommend her latest disc, "If It Leads Me Back".

Getting to visit with Lindsay

The kids with Mark Hall from Casting Crowns

The other day Noelle wanted to try rolling Annabelle's hair... so that it would be nice and curly for the following morning.  She got the idea from the internet to use socks.  I was skeptical of how well it would turn out, but as you can see, they looked lovely the following morning. 

Just like sponge curlers, the curls stayed in for a couple of days.

All of our children have gone through this stage of being very silly for pictures!

Easter Celebration

We had a wonderful Easter/Resurrection Day!  I hope you did, too. 

The weather was just beautiful...sunny

 and a little bit cool.

I had hoped to get a picture of everyone dressed and looking so handsome and pretty for church...but, I've learned, when you wait too long, and little ones begin to have "meltdowns" as we call it, it's more stressful trying to force a picture.

Later on in the day, I got a few of these while the kids were having a good time having our annual Easter egg hunt.  I don't think it matters how old they get...they never outgrow it.  We like to put not only treats in the eggs, but add a little note in some of them, such as "movie night with movie of your choice"...or "hop on right leg three times and run around house five times!" 

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.”


In a few weeks, our yard will look like this...
(pictures taken last year)

God's creation never ceases to amaze me!


Always a symbol of hope and new birth.  Always an opportunity to share with the children what an awesome God we serve.  I can't wait to dig in and work on some very untended gardens...Welcome, Spring!

The Table

About 10 years ago as we were moving into a new home in Georgia, we bought our dining room table sight-unseen because it was offered with the home we were buying. We needed another table, so it seemed like perfect timing. Well, as we moved into our home and discovered the table...yes, it was very nice and attractive, but not at all what we were hoping for. With four little ones at the time, it just wasn't a practical one for our family. Laminate that would eventually peel, cane-backed chairs that would eventually shred to pieces, and fabric seats that would be stained over and over again.

Fast-forward 10 years. We have had many memories at that table, but I am excited to say we now have not only a much more sturdy and practical table, but one that my very own husband and son made! We have enjoyed it so much already.

We're praying that this will possibly turn into a small side business.  What a blessing that would be!

Where has the time gone?

I certainly didn't intend on this much time passing since my last post!  So much has been going on.  And although I've treasured each moment, and captured many in pictures, I haven't taken the time to sit down and write about them.  We've celebrated seven birthdays in our home, just since the last post!  Our 1 yr. old has turned 2, our 3 yr. old has turned 4, our 8 yr. old has turned 9, our 10 yr. old has turned 11, our 12 yr. old has turned 13, and Mom and Dad have well...just gotten a little bit older!  The older I get the more I try to appreciate each day as a gift, because these days surely do fly, and before we know it, another year has passed.  Here are a few of the birthday pictures...

We now have the longest break between birthdays...three months...before it all starts over again.  Been busy in this new season of juggling teens at the same time as juggling toddlers and those in-between.  It's a great mix.  A good reminder of the different seasons that we all go through.