Be My Valentine

So I am a little behind in posting this but life doesn't stop for the blog, now does it?

Here is FaithLyn and her friend Layni at the preschool party

Here she is with her booty. They really do it up for these parties!
This was a great Valentine's Day! Dan and I made the girls some coupons. We had to get creative this year and I think it may become a tradition. I found some coupon templates on the Family Fun website and then filled them in. Each girl got an Ice cream date, Donut Date with Dad, and Movie Night with Mom. Then they all got one for us all to enjoy together; A real treasure, Treasure Hunt; Afternoon at the Park of your Choice; and Living Room Camp Out
We have one donut date to go and tonight Olivia and I will have our movie night after all the other kids go to bed. It has been lots of fun.

We also spent V-day morning making cards for Daddy and a cookie cake. Then Dan and I took advantage of the parent's night out at church and caught a movie. It was a great day! We really enjoyed all of the activities.


You are probably wondering about the following picture. Well, We are SOO proud of FaithLyn. During our family worship we have been working on memorizing the books of the New Testament. She got them all with out help on Tuesday. We rewarded her with a new game! I wish I had it on video but our camcorder is on the blink. Anyway, the joy in her face at accomplishing the goal set before her was priceless! We played a quick game yesterday before church.

We are so proud of her! Elise is almost there! She is working hard at getting all of those books down all by herself! Next we are moving on to the Ten Commandments. I want them to know the basis for where so much of our discipline standards are created.

A Birthday Party!

The Guests: Aunt Angie and Cousin Luke (Papa got sick so Nana and Papa couldn't come)

The birthday girl

The gifts

The yummy cake

The Excitement!

The aftermath!

Happy Birthday, Elise!

I can't believe she's FOUR years old!

Our Trip

Well, I don't have nearly as many good pictures as I would have liked. I believe my illness had a serious affect on my ability to take good pictures. The girls had so much fun meeting some of their cousins. They hit it off pretty well! FaithLyn and Rachel Elizabeth were like two peas in a pod. Here James is showing my girls what it is like to live in the desert. It was so sad to leave our new found friends.
Everyone chipped in to have a special birthday party for all the Feb. birthdays. Uncle Chuck, Aunt Ellen, and Elise. It was so sweet for Elise.
She got to open a few early birthday gifts.
James and Shelley even brought a pinata! It was so much fun!
The bridge lovers even got in some good card time!

I wish I had a good picture of everyone. Alas...I only have the memories. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family that is like minded and Christ-centered. Everyone was so thoughtful and loving. There are so many people that I didn't get pictures of! Rats!

My God Is So Big, So Strong and So Mighty

We made it back safely from New Braunfels. It was a wonderful time of remembering and celebrating Grandpa Ramsey. I will have a proper update full of pictures and fun stories as soon as I get them on the computer.



Today I just wanted to share a few of the ways that God has been meeting our needs.

Can I just say that if you doubt that God cares for the details in your life, then keep reading!! I have LOTS of proof that that is just not true!

Elise is having a birthday on Saturday. Dan and I have been talking about what to get her. Today was the day for me to go shopping with out her so I loaded up StudMan and we were off. I had a few ideas; a doll house, a baby doll, anything imagination play.... I also had a $ amount. I knew it was unlikely that I would find a doll house for the given amount. But I went and looked anyway. I couldn't find anything remotely close to anything we thought she might like. I was sad, discouraged, and running out of time. I didn't have time to run all over town and shop at thrift stores. My time is WAY more precious than money right now. Dan and I were on the phone brainstorming ideas and I looked down some random row and saw clearance items. I turned in and to my delight was THE doll house. It was marked down $25. To the EXACT price we had agreed to spend. Now tell me God doesn't care about the details!!! It was the only doll house and the only thing at the right price. My God is SOOO GOOD!

We also recently got our cash reward on our credit card. It paid for all of the gas for our recent trip to see family. We even have a few dollars left over. My God knew whe hadn't budgetted for that extra expence, but he got us there!

We have also received several money gifts over the past few days. We will be able to go out for Valentine's Day!

The biggest surprise came tonight at church. We are having our winter bible study. It's kind of like a revival with meals and a speaker afterwards but a lot less hellfire and brimstone. We are studying Romans. Anyway, I was digging in my purse for a pen and I come across some trash. I pull out a piece of notebook paper folded up. Then I see my name. I open it up to see what it is because I don't remember having a note in my purse. Before I can read the note I see the wad of bills that the note was cloaking! The note was, of course, anonymous. But this was the good anonymous; the get your reward in heaven anonymous. Not the this is what I really think of you but don't have the guts to put my name on it anonymous.

I can 't say it enough. My God is SO GOOD. He can meet our needs. He always has. It is hard to have faith when you can't see how things will work out. But it wouldn't be faith any other way! Believe me, this is one area that God doesn't mind us testing him in! I dare you to trust him to meet your needs. Go to him for everything. Even the things that you think won't matter. He listens and He cares! He is ever so faithful!

Sick again

*UPDATE:
Dan went to the doctor today and got some meds. He has bronchitis. He's feeling lots better today but not well enough to go to work. Dan NEVER misses work so that should tell you how bad he feels! But he is on the mend. Elise is running a low grade fever but she's eating again! That's a plus. FaithLyn is doing great! Looks like we will be making our trip to New Braunfels after all. That is, unless I come down with something in the next 24 hours. Thanks for your prayers!



Half of the clan is down for the count. Dan is really sick. High fever, chills, body aches and a deep cough. He doesn't even have the energy to get out of bed. Elise has a stomach bug and FaithLyn has a mysterious fever. Olivia had the fever last week and Judson has been a little fussy, too.

Dan 's Grandpa passed away and the funeral is this Friday. If you feel so inclined please lift up a prayer that we will all be well and able to attend.

Walking to the Mailbox

I love the immediacy of email. I can email my sister several times a day and feel like she is involved in my everyday. That's great! But there is just something magical about receiving snail mail. I can hold it and see the thought that was put in to it. I can keep it or throw it away. I can get my window shopping fix by just looking through the many sale flyers that come my way.

One of my favorite times of the day is when I hear the mail truck pull up to our house and my heart starts to do a little dance. I start to wonder, "Will there be bills today? What about a magazine? I wonder if it will just be junk?" I usually try not to hope for personal mail. It just doesn't come that often. But when I get out to the mailbox and open that little black door I am, for a moment, a child again.

Then there are the days that I hear the mail truck pull up and stop the motor. That is even more exciting! That means we have a package that is too big to fit in the mail box! He walks it up to the door and knocks. I usually make myself wait at least until he is back in his mail truck before I run out and grab it.

Yesterday's trip to the mailbox didn't disappoint! I wasn't expecting anything. No bills, no magazines, I wasn't sure there would be anything. But the moment I opened that cold metal door my heart skipped a beat. Not one but TWO cards! It's not Elise's birthday for at least two more weeks so who could these be for? One was addressed to me from a new friend here in town and one was to our family from someone special. Two personal cards sent with thought and love. I practically floated the rest of the day!

Dan dropped by in the middle of the afternoon which hardly ever happens and those two encouraging notes turned his whole afternoon around!

Something that seems so simple made a huge impact on our family. It made me even more determined not to lose the art of letter writing. It's such a small thing, but there is just something about the hand written word that speaks so much louder than the keyboard.

I hope you can enjoy your mail collecting today!

Kicking the Fast Food Dependancy

In the last 6 years, years I affectionately term my birthing years, our family has fallen into the dreadful habit of eating out. Not only will eating out pack on the pounds it is incredibly expensive! Granted it was an ebb and flow of eating out. If I was pregnant or had a 6 mo. old or younger we were much more prone to load up and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning up. I am so grateful for a husband that will support my need for help in what ever way!

But now, I am fast approaching that 6 month mark with Judson. I am more rested, or at least used to less rest, and not to mention trying whole-heartedly to live as frugally as possible. Sometimes you just don't have the choice. You have to save money some way. There gets to be a point where the only way to save is to stop eating all together. (this is sarcasm ONLY!! We have never been so financially strapped that we couldn't eat!) Thankfully we aren't there yet but we do have to sinch up the belt a little tighter these days. There just isn't any wiggle room in our budget. Not even for eating out. We know ourselves pretty well though so we did make an allowance for a mail order movie rental but even that is way cheaper than going out once every two weeks.

So how do I compensate when I have gotten lazy in the kitchen? What do YOU do when money is tight and you need to LOVE cooking again?

I have recently fallen back in love with my bread machine! It saves lots of time and those fresh made goodies keep mouths watering and hoping for more. I recently made some cinnamon rolls. It made two batches and I froze one. I also am loving this soft italian bread sticks recipe! See, for us it's the little things that make meals yummy. I am making an effort to make special things or if we are really craving something I head to the computer and search out a recipe that will fulfill our wildest dreams!! It is amazing how many different recipes you can find on the internet for any given thing. Ellen turned me on to Recipe Zzar and it's great but I usually just google what ever it is I am wanting to make and get tons of different web sites.

Some other tried and true tricks for making meal prep easier are the crock pot, freezer meals, and early prep. I realized that the reason I had gotten lazy in the kitchen is because I wasn't doing any work on the meal or putting any thought into it until about 4:30 or even 5. That's obviously too late! SO for days that still happens I have some 10 min. meals handy on stand by.
Things like tacos, grilled chicken fettucine alfredo, spaghetti and mac and cheese. ( my kids are 5 and under so we can still make a whole meal from one box of mac&cheese;) Every time I shop I make sure to get the ingredients for these meals. So I always know I have a stand-by that both Dan and I can make in a pinch.

Some other time saving tips :
-When I make cookie dough I usually bake a pan and then roll the rest into balls and freeze them for future use. That way I have something for dessert if someone shows up at dinner time AND it saves me from eating cookie dough all afternoon!
-My family LOVES french toast so I always buy a loaf of french bread for breakfast. To keep it from going bad I slice it up the night I shop or soon after and freeze it. Then when ever we want french toast it's cut and ready.
-I also buy green peppers on sale and cut them up and freeze them.


Baby steps! But I AM loving to cook again. It is so much fun to cook when your husband can tell you at lunch how excited he is about dinner! The girls are getting better about eating and it is just more fun to cook for people that eat!

My biggest problem is getting in a menu rut. I need some easy, yummy meals. What are your favorites? What meals do you always keep on hand for those crazy days when there just isn't time to cook? What are your crowd pleasers? Do you have a dish that you are famous for? Do share!! You don't have to give me Aunt Ethel's secret recipe but at least tell me what it is and I can google it!

Maybe I will share some of my most requested recipes as well......

The Stud Man is a SUPER STAR!

Not so much of this any more
A WHOLE lot more of this!

Yeah!! Our sweet boy is REALLY a sweet boy now! A few weeks ago on the crazy day that I took all 4 kids to the doctor we had a catastrophe! I spilled Judson's reflux medicine. That was the straw that broke the camel's back! I lost it. The girls were worried about me as I sat in the Wal-Mart parking lot crying my eyes out. Up to this point that medicine made life bearable. Judson had just started sleeping again and not very well. I was just starting to feel like I was getting my feet under me and then I spilled the liquid gold. My insurance wouldn't allow me to refill it since I had just refilled it two weeks earlier. I was devestated!

I just knew the ugly cycle was going to start all over again. Instead of trying to pay for the medicine out of pocket I decided to see how things would go. He is supposed to grow out of the reflux anyway. Well it's been about two weeks since I started to wean him and he is still doing great. Even better than before for that matter! He is more alert and he started rolling over like crazy. He is like a new baby! Thank you, Jesus. I know now you don't have to cry over spilled medicine.

A Dream Coming True!

FaithLyn has been asking me for a while to teach her to read. She is getting pretty proficient in her letter and sound recognition. The last couple of weeks she has been trying to put words together with her magnetic alphabet so today we took the plunge. Mimi gave us some of her A Beka books so I dug them out and we got started. FaithLyn did so GREAT!!! I was amazed at how well she did. She made it through this first book. It was just about the best thing in the world to see the moment every word went from being sounds to an actual word in her head. She finished the whole book. It goes through all of the vowel sounds a,e, i, o, and u. They are all three and four letter words focusing on the basic vowel sounds. It goes through them all twice. She was so proud of herself. I was pretty proud, too. By the end of the book she was a little tired and had a harder time concentrating but she powered through it. You can see from the grin on her face that she was pretty excited to reach this landmark in learning!

I know we have lots more to learn but I am just so thankful! I have always wanted to teach my kiddos to read. I wanted to be the one to see that "AHA!" moment. It is so exciting and gratifying! It was nice to be able to encourage her and tell her how great she was doing. Unfortunately, I find myself nagging more often than praising.

Thank you, Lord that I got to experience this first flicker of a love for reading that I hope to instill in my children. Thank You, Lord that I was available for this teachable moment. May there be SOO many more!!! Bless FaithLyn as she develops a desire to learn and may she never grow tired of learning. Please protect her from ever thinking she has learned enough!

Checking in From Glorieta

Hey all- We are enjoying our time here at Glorieta. It's been a nice change of pace for me. I am sure the girls are having a blast at Nana and Papa's too. We are here for the National VBS Training Conference. We come here to get trained to go home and lead our own conference, state wide or associational. I am in charge of Younger Children, that's 1st-2nd grade. Then I will also be in charge of the adults who will actually be leading our VBS 1st and 2nd grade classes. I am pretty excited to use my brain again on something besides the family budget but it's a daunting task. You see, my problem is that I am really good at seeing all the work that will go into any given task. Even though I am really excited about leading a conference I know what kind of work it will take to do the kind of job that I will be satisfied with. It's a blessing and a curse really. I have a few months to prepare so maybe I can do a little at a time. That will be my best intention anyway!

Judson came with us and that has been . . . . . .interesting. He is the ONLY baby here. I used to do this kind of thing ALL the time when we worked at the camp. They really appreciated the fact that our whole family was a part of the ministry and they accomodated to that A LOT! Plus it was a FAMILY ministry, so it worked. I am realizing how uncommon that is. No one has made me feel unwelcome or even a distraction but it is very apparent that we are the exception. Which really makes sense, this is meant to be a time to get away and prepare for VBS. But for me, it IS time away. It also helped me realize that no matter how much we want Youth Ministry to be our family ministry, it just can't be the way we originally envisioned it. My first and foremost ministry is to my husband and children. My ministry to the youth group would come at the expense of my kids. It's just not a price I am willing to pay. SO we are having to revamp our view on our family involvement. It's a good thing. We are growing and learning. That's always good. We have realized how niave we were coming in to this ministry. I do what I can but I have to keep to focus on MY ministry to my family and THEN if it fits I can do ministry elsewhere. And there have been lots of things that I CAN do. They just look differently than we thought they would.

Back to VBS. It's going to be fun to dust off my old teacher self for a little while. I was really nervous about having to decorate my room, I was a Secondary ed. person so I didn't take classes in bulletin boards and the such. Thankfully there is a decorating team and they will just give me the stuff and I will put it up. The Lord is graceful! It takes WAY to much effort for me to do that kind of creative thing. I could do it but I am SOOO thankful I will not have to. Now I better go and try to catch the session on conference leading 101! Every one deserves a little refresher, right?

Weekend in Review

She's not looking so sad anymore.
"MOOOMMMMYYYY, I need more milk, please!"
On the road to recovery. Our sweet Judsocerous.
WHAT A WEEKEND!! We had three ear infections, breathing treatments, coughing fits, a haircut and a visitor! BERGNER! had to be the highlight of the weekend. Oh, and the time alone at the beauty salon for me!

You know I realized that when you are inside the four walls of your home for a few weeks your world gets pretty small. I needed a fresh perspective. I got one tonight. I can gladly deal with ear infections, snotty noses, chronic coughs, and minor skin infections! Thank You, JESUS that my kids are healthy. They do not have any long term illnesses. When this bit of sickness is done I will be able to leave my house and resume regular life. But even if this was regular life....I would do it. I would choose this and I would learn to make it productive and exciting for the kids and myself. But THANK YOU, LORD that I am not faced with that particular challenge. My world got pretty small. I lost focus and I forgot that it could be SOOO much harder. Life is good and we are so blessed.

What's Taking Up Room in Your Cupboards?

Sad Little Sickies

Ok, seriously Y'all! We need some prayer. All four kiddos are sick and I am not sure I can handle the prospect of a 4th Sunday at home! They are all coughing. FaithLyn, Olivia and Judson all have fevers and it looks like Elise has an ear infection. This is how we spent most of nap time. pretty sad. They both fell asleep but Elise was woken up by her aching ear and FL woke about an hour later. Olivia was playing in her bed, but that's another story for another time........

Please pray that we will all be feeling better soon. Perhaps Judson is only teething? He has all the tell-tale symptoms; runny nose, LOTS of loose stools, fever, cranky. But Olivia has similar symptoms and there is the cough.

With four kids we are bound to have sickness run its course through our family. I just hate it when my kids are sick and I can't do anything for them. They are looking pretty pitiful.

Those are my sentiments exactly, Judson!

Now granted, I am super grateful that it's not worse. I know it could be. Thank You, Lord, for that. Besides the fact that I am about to become a shut-in by choice rather than face the world again, I mainly just want my babies to feel better! You hate to keep pumping them full of medicine. I know there are some prayer warriors out there. Would you please offer up a prayer on our behalf?

The Sick House

We are well into our third full week of confinement. The impetigo isn' t contagious anymore but now all three girls have croup! Today was the first day FaithLyn was going to get to go back to school but she has a fever. She was pretty sad. I was pretty sad, too. Today was the first day of the Women's Bible Study at church.

You know being stuck at home I found out just how selfish I really am. I *LOVE* being a mother to four kids. I admit I am frazzled, four kids five and under is harder than anything I have ever done. I often get covered up by dirty diapers, laundry, dishes, and the ever present mantra ringing in my ears, "Mommy, MOmmmmy!" But I wouldn't change it for anything. I also have to admit that there are days that I wish I could switch jobs with Dan just to get some adult interaction but if I was actually given the opportunity I would never really have the nerve to take it up. So I find myself thinking I NEED to get out. I NEED to have adult interaction. I DESERVE to leave my germ infested house. I have been putting in serious overtime.......where's my overtime pay to show for it? Know what I'm sayin'?

Last night I woke up to hear Olivia barking like a seal and I almost started crying. I knew my chances for getting out were shot. I didn't even hear Dan taking care of FaithLyn when she started barking later in the night. It's times like this that I find myself dreaming about what I want to do when the kids are grown. I would like to go back and get my Masters in Library Science.

What I remembered, or more likely God reminded me, is that the job I am doing now, no matter how absolutely draining and repetitive is the MOST important job I will ever have. I made the choice to stay home. There have been lots of times that I could have needed to work. But we CHOSE to have me stay at home. Are we suffering? Not in the least. Do we have to be careful with all that God has blessed us with? Absolutley. Just like every one else. You see, we believe that income does not determine your lifestyle. It may determine some of your choices but our happiness is not dependant on what kind of car we drive or if we have all the latest stuff that advertisers are shoving down our throats at the time. I am the first to admit that some of those things are nice, fun, and convenient but life goes on with out them.

At the same time we have been so blessed. God has provided for us in crazy amazing ways. Just ask about how we got our minivan or any of our cars for that matter. Then it's also pretty amazing how God led us to ALL of our (Dan's)jobs. Even the job Dan worked in Fort Worth.

We have never gone with out. Our needs are continually met by THE Provider. Dan works really hard too. He is a wonderful provider and an amazing father and husband. He continually puts this family first over his own "career goals." For that I am SOOO thankful.

All that said, it's easy to lose focus of the end goal. It is easy to forget why I choose to stay home. It is easy to forget how much I love changing diapers and taking care of sick kids. I know that one day when all my chicks have flown the coop I will look back on this time and wish I had cherished it more. I will NEVER look back and wish that I kept my house cleaner or that we had driven new cars or that I had spent less time with my precious children. So WHY do I so often find my self wishing I could be somewhere else; that I could finish my shower with out someone peeking in the shower curtain letting in the cold air; that I could finish at least one task with out having to rescue, change a diaper.....whatever. It must be cabin fever.

Even though I can't get anything done with out doing three other things at the same time I am so thankful that I get to be the one doing it. Because that also means I get to see my kids grow. I get to shape their worldview. I get to kiss their scraped knees. I get to watch them learn to play together and become friends with their siblings. That FAR outweighs the long nights and the endless chores.

I was reminded today that just because I am in a job of service doesn't mean I will have a servant's heart. But I want more than anything to enjoy this role that I am in. I want to be able to put the needs and wants of my children first with a good attitude and giving spirit. I don't want to WANT to be doing anything else. I really want to enjoy giving of myself for these precious little people even if I never hear "Thanks, Mom!" But that's the funny thing, I do hear that in a thousand ways every day! Smiles, laughter, so many things that make me know that my kids are thankful. Especially when a sad little sick girl walks into the room and says, "Mommy, I not feel good." and then reaches up for you to hold her........there's nothing better than being able to comfort a baby!

Worst Mom of the Year Award Goes Toooo.......

ME! Yep. I am officially a loser mom! I finally took my poor daughter to the doctor today to see if she was clear to go to preschool because we just couldn't seem to beat these chicken pox. Well, obviously, I knew three weeks was too long for chicken pox but I had no idea it could be anything else. She has a skin infection, impetigo. It probably started as chicken pox and then just kept going as impetigo. The only difference is hers was SUPER itchy. Oh well, she is still supposed to stay away from others because it is contagious but should clear up immediately with her atibiotic. SO, we will see won't we?

And Elise has croup and is feeling awful. But we know about this and she doesn't have it badly enough to need to see the doctor but it looks like my self imposed quarintine could have been a few weeks shorter if I had just gone to the doctor! Lesson learned!

Here is our version of Cindy Lou Who. (The Grinch, Dr. Suess)

Sweet Boy

We stayed home today from church. FaithLyn has chicken pox, we think. This is our second Sunday to miss. I think she is better and then a new bump appears.
But we took this opportunity to enjoy a quiet morning at home, just FaithLyn, Judson, and me. We also thought it might be a good opportunity to try out our new camera. And since we have some one who likes to take pictures, FaithLyn, and someone who likes to smile, Judson, it worked out pretty well.


These are the pictures I took but FL took some good ones too.

It is amazing to me how much he has grown. It happens overnight. One day he just layed and slept then the next thing you know he is smiling and crying just to get you to hold him. He has me wrapped around his finger. That smile just melts my heart. And you just better forget about me doing anything else when he starts cooing at me, especially when we are singing. I could stay right there singing to my little man FORRRRREVVVVVVVVVVVVERRRRRRRRR.

Christmas Count Down

Here is our version of the "Official" Bragdon cookie decorating contest. It's just not a contest it's a free for all!











As you can see we take it pretty seriously.......Olivia couldn't let something petty like clothing get in the way of her artistic genius.











We had so much fun at FaithLyn's school Christmas party. The little sisters think it is pretty cool to get to come to FayFay's class. They especially like that she always shares her special treats with them.









Big sis is taking her job pretty seriously!













The highlight of the party.....the concert. We have been talking about this party and singing the songs FOR WEEKS! Elise and Olivia knew the songs! It was fun to see her in action.

Merry Christmas!

COUSIN LUKE! We had so much fun with Luke. He is such a sweetie! I worked long and hard to win his affection. I love to hear him say Telli. He gave me lots of kisses and loves to be tickled and always asks you to "top, pease." He is so very polite. He and Olivia are only one month apart. It has been fun to see them develop and grow. It has also been interesting to note the differences in gender. They were lots of fun!

FaithLyn was so very good to include Luke. She made sure to try and get him involved in what ever they were doing. It was so fun to see them enjoying each other.

We had so much fun at Nana and Papa's house this Christmas. We love that we get to see Memaw Crabb every day!

Nana had some fun things for us to do. FaithLyn loved making hamburger cookies! Hmmm....

The girls are having fun with their Star Station. FaithLyn always tells us we are going to see her on one of those singing shows some day and now we can when ever she chooses! Lots of FUN!

Olivia was pretty excited to try our her big girl panties.

PawPaw Wayne had a brief moment with Judson before the little man got cranky.

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. We miss our family already and we just got home today. But it's always good to be home. We wish we could have been with ALL of our family. And all of you that we love so dearly, we love and miss you all. May Jesus grant us all another year to cherish those that we love and learn to love better all that are in our lives. We are grateful for the only gift that really matters this Christmas........

Jesus, the Christ, who came to the earth to live and die so that we all might live.

Merry Christmas!

Dan's Special Gift

I wish I had a picture...I will get one soon, but last night was one of those nights that makes "it all" worth it. You know what I mean? You love what you do but you wonder if you are making any difference. Sometimes you feel like anyone could do the work you are doing and it wouldn't change things much. Last night we were so blessed by our youth group. At the end of the night right after the closing prayer a few of the Seniors left the room and ALL of the Jr. High started filing back in....hmmm curious. Then a couple of theSeniors walk in with a LARGE gift wrapped in shiny silver paper.

A little background....during the month of December, Dan has been teaching a series on the gifts of God. At the beginning of each lesson before the High school and Jr. High split he got two volunteers. Each one got to pick a gift. One was usually small and the other big. They both had to promise to eat, wear, or use what ever they received. One week it was sardines or a Sonic gift card, the next it was cute reindeer head band or cool t-shirt and a CD or one of the Seniors popping out of a box to sing a song, and so on....He was trying to express that some of God's gifts are so great but you have to wait to use them or how we often take the immediate instead of taking the more useful and desirable gift that God is preparing for us.

Back to last night....When Kaleb got the big package up front he said, "Now Dan, do you promise to accept this gift no matter what it is? You HAVE to accept it."
"OK"
So Dan started to tear into it....First you see a really nice hard case for a guitar. It was signed by lots of the youth. But that wasn't all.....It was a new Alvarez acoustic guitar with hook ups for amps! Dan was so pumped! I was crying. It was just too much!

Then we found out that they "the youth" had been planning this and collecting money for months! They couldn't have thought of something more meaningful for us. Dan loves it! I love the fact that now Dan has tangible proof that all the work and time he is investing in these kids who seem so different from himself is making a difference. I was blown away by God's goodness.

I can't believe that everyone kept mum about this from us for so long! What a blessing. We truly are blessed to be ministering here with this amazing group of teenagers and families!

Eight years and FOUR kids ago........

PEACE...PRAISE be to GOD!!!

I may be counting my chickens before they hatch, but I have to say a HUGE public Thank YOU to Jesus! Judson slept through his morning nap!!!!!!

Ok, here's the background. We had two weeks of beautiful schedule mastery. He slept when he was supposed to for as long as he was supposed to. IT was BEAUTIFUL!!!!! The only problem was that he wasn't eating like he was supposed to. After two weeks I felt like it was safe to change his schedule to a four hour. That way he would only have two and a half naps and less feedings. A break for me for sure! The first few days were like a dream then the floor fell out from under us. I think it was a combination of things but this momma's heart was in distress. It is OOOOHH so hard to go back to lots of sad crying baby when you had fallen so in love with sweet smiley well rested baby. Not to mention well rested and less-tense momma who's back had finally started to feel normal again from regular peaceful not worried about being jolted from sleep by a crying baby sleep.

We have been praying for Judson to slip back into his wonder baby sleep patterns during our breakfast prayer time. I have learned over the last four months that you NEVER- NEVVVER say "oh, listen, he went to sleep!!" Because inevitably every time you do that he starts screaming as soon as your exclamation leaves your lips.

Today, at 10 when it was time for me to give sweet boy his medicine for his reflux, which has to be given 30 mins. prior to a feeding, it had been quiet ALL morning! I just finished reading a chapter of Little House on the Prairie with the girls and I dared to say those few words.....

I asked the girls if they had noticed that Judson hadn't been crying this morning and FaithLyn said, "OH, Mom, God answered your prayer!!!" And the icing on the cake is that he didn't even wake up after I gave him medicine!! WoostinkinWHO!

I realize this may just be one step in the lengthy process, but Thank You, Lord for one step!!!

Grumbling...

Today I found myself grumbling. It all started because we have a family of racoons living in our attic. Racoons are nocturnal. That means they are playing and chasing each other in the attic above my bed at 5 am. Judson hasn't been sleeping so well lately either. Then right after I FINALLY fell back asleep, the loud obnoxious alarm went off. BLAST!

All morning I have been grumbling. Why isn't Judson sleeping. . .why are racoons living in our attic. . .why can't we make continuous progress on our savings. . .why won't my two year old obey me(? Uh..because she's two, genius!). . . why did my space heater have to die right when it got really cold. . .
You know, grumbling.

Then while I was grumbling God laid on my heart the memory of a family who had a baby right around the same time as we had Judson. Their little girl is going to have heart surgery soon, and she just recovered from lung surgery. I realized it could be so much worse. That prompted to me look at all the areas that are causing me to grumble and I was able to see all of the progress we have made. Not only COULD it be worse......it was. Not that long ago. No matter how painful it is to move in the wrong direction at least we have been making progress in the right direction. Despite our backsliding we are still making forward progress.

BUT it is so easy for me to get my eyes set on the END goal and become totally disatisfied until I reach it. And unfortunately the joy and satisfaction that comes from that success is way too short lived.

Maybe the answer is to focus on the principles, the process, not the end goal. I mean, it is important to know where you are headed. Goals are good. But the principles and discipline and motivation for setting the goals are usually more important than the goals themselves.

We usually set goals to help us reach some bigger ideal. Like, we choose not to buy what ever we want whenever we want it so that we can pay the bills at the end of the month. We believe it is important to pay the bills every month because we want to be trustworthy. We want to be trustworthy so that our lives will reflect the glory of our Lord. I get it all mixed up and start thinking, "if only (first mistake!) we made more money, then we could afford to eat out when ever we want....or insert any fleeting, unsatisfying desire."

Instead I should be thanking the Lord that my son still sleeps through the night! It really wasn't so long ago that he wasn't. I just totally take for granted how hard we worked to make it that far! Now I am belly aching because he won't sleep during the day like I want! Really the truth is, I just want it all to be fixed. I want the drive-thru version! My way, right away.

I am realizing that the reason we have to take two steps forward and then one step back is so that we will keep working towards that goal. Most things that happen easily are not cherished. Sometimes we fall back a step because we got comfortable where we were. I know that in this house....there will always be some goal to work towards. I will never be satisfied with myself in this sinful state. At least I pray that is the case.

Christmas Goings On

My new favorite Christmas tradition is celebrating Advent. Since our Sundays are pretty full already we decided to do our advent readings and candle lighting on Monday. Maybe some day we will make it to the everyday readings and candle lighting but once a week is just right for us now. Everyone loves to help light the candles. Tonight we lit the candle that represents peace.

Last night FaithLyn sang in her preschool choir Christmas musical. It was strangely absent any actual Christmas music but cute none the less. Then she had her acting debut as Mary in the manger scene of the Children's Choir musical. She was pretty pumped to get to be in the big kids show!

Here's what our front porch looks like these days.

Here's what our four month old looks like these days. Some of my favorite pictures of all the girls are taken in this very Johnny-Jump-Up.

The doctor told us to work on upper body strength so we pulled this old faithful friend out.

HAPPY JUMPING!

Christmas picture...@#$%!

WHAT WAS I THINKING?? That is only half of the pictures taken! I can't reveal the actual Christmas card picture....