Just another day in Paradise

Little Lady update

2012-01-10T20:37:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to give a quick update on the pinkest member of our family. She is thriving! She's gained 3 pounds since coming here at Thanksgiving (which is thrilling for a baby but not so great when it can be echoed by the mom =/) She is delighting us all with her baby babbles (and none too quiet I might add), her clapping, waving, saying "uh-oh" and her beginning to walk. She is a joy to have around and we are relishing our time with her.

As far as we know there are no family members who have been approved to have her placed with them. We are really out of the loop as far as what is all going on with family members but I think too much information is sometimes too much information. We are here to love on her today so that's what we're doing as long as it's still called today.

When talking about this journey with people I often hear "I could never do that- not knowing if you have to give her back?" or "I don't think I could handle not knowing if she was going to be yours or not". I won't pretend to know how I will actually be emotionally if she does end up having to leave but for TODAY and each day since we've had her I have had this - truly supernatural- peace and assurance about her. Not assurance as in "I'm SURE she'll eventually be ours..." but as in I know that God loves her more than we ever could and I have only ever prayed that what is best for her will be done. We never see the whole picture of our lives or the lives of others but I know He does and He is trustworthy enough to cast all of our cares onto. God also, very gently, reminded me that we are not guaranteed tomorrow with ANY of our family members- not just this one "temporary" one. This led me to ask myself if I knew that I wasn't going to have Seth around after tomorrow how would I treat him today? What about Jaedon or Brad or Owen? It was in that mix of thoughts that we decided that our already-family of 5 needed to be a priority in this venture. That might sound harsh but for our family it has already been a breath of fresh perspective. We are thrilled having Little Lady (or whomever else God allows) being part of our family but we cannot allow that to interfere with what God has already given us to build, train, teach, tickle and read to.

A lot of people have asked how the boys are liking having her around and while they might respond "good" if asked - they are LOVING her to pieces...sometimes almost literally. Seth, I think, is the most tender towards her. He genuinely loves to play with her and make her laugh while the other 2 enjoy her in shorter spurts. As of now we have not seen any regression or negative behavior effects because of her presence. It's been a smooth transition as far as that goes- which is a huge blessing!

And the long awaited Egress Window which legalizes our basement for use (after 8 years of apparently using it illegally??? ;-) is DONE. We have to figure out some safety measures and creative landscaping for the outside well but we're happy to have that over with.

So thanks for your interest and continuing to pray for our family.

Christmas sum up

2012-01-10T20:11:00.004-05:00

This December is a bit of a blur for me. Adjusting to life with 4 kids threw me for a loop! After 6 weeks (isn't that the typical maternity leave time? =) I am starting to get a grip of it now. Our Christmas time, however, was very sweet albeit fuzzy for me.

I am loving the kids getting older and remembering silly and sappy traditions like making monkey bread, reindeer food, nativity scene hunting, balloons on Christmas morning for Jesus' birthday, sleeping out under the Christmas tree on Christmas eve and getting glowsticks for the church's candlelight service.

Then there is finding and giving THE perfect gift. Oh the JOY in giving!

Seeing the older kids take the lead in wanting to play more strategical games, organizing a play or teaching your cousin the sign language to Silent Night.

And don't forget about the girly Christmas clothes! =) That was a bit of fun this year too. ;-)

North Pole Diaries

2011-12-13T21:03:00.004-05:00

I know I am a bit biased but I think he's a pretty good lookin third grader- heading to his Christmas concert called North Pole Diaries. His music teacher is pretty good looking too ;-)

I Egress....

2011-12-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

So the dilemia of our Egress window is not so much a dilemia any longer- it's more of a pile of dirt in our front lawn, a big gaping hole, a slab of concrete cut and removed and the window (on order) waiting to be installed HOPEFULLY as soon as we get back from PA for our Christmas break.

A very Howells Christmas

2011-12-13T20:50:00.002-05:00

This year the 6 of us adult Howells thought it might be fun to book a weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge and do our Christmas weekend together there.

We were right- it was fun. =)

Here are a few pics of our time together...A ceramic tea-set for Katelyn with a promise for Aunt Amber and her to have a tea date together.

Becoming a traditional gift- the family picture calendar. Fun to make- fun to see.

Fairly safe to assume that all 6 kiddos had a blast in the waterpark.

Thanksgiving break

2011-11-26T16:32:00.002-05:00

The cousins making a "bunny nest" in Grandmas backyard on Thanksgiving. If dirty fingers are an indicator of fun then this was a super successful adventure. =)

Lest I forget the other 3 miracles in our midst... we have really enjoyed this past few days together as family. The thanksgiving tree was (obviously) overflowing which is just a visible sign of the truth of our abundant blessings in our lives. These days off have been a really nice blend of getting things done and playing together too.

Little Lady is doing so well. She is sleeping good and is actually going right in her crib to sleep. She doesn't eat a lot - but that might just be the difference between her and my boys who couldn't eat fast enough! She is very laid back and crawls around like she knows where she's going. The boys love interacting with her but they do a nice job of not overwhelming her either. They still go off and play on their own because...afterall...she is still a BABY. ;-) This weekend has been just awesome for doing a lot of "nothing" to see what sort of routine she likes.

Her caseworker and I meet on Monday so I hope to get some more information about her situation then. Until then...thanks for your continued prayers.

November 21

2011-11-25T06:08:00.003-05:00

Oh how fast life can change!
We got a call on Monday at 2pm from our fostering agency asking us to consider taking a little 9 month old baby girl.
Enter heart aerobics.
After talking with God, Brad and asking for some prayer from friends we said yes. She was brought to our house (after a lot of waiting) at 9:30 that night.
Since then I have been a very humble recipient of an overflow of generosity. I had very little information about her from my 2pm call - I knew she was 9 months old but what size diaper was she in? What size clothes was she wearing?
When we saw her we quickly saw that she at least is a healthy girl- wearing 12 month clothes already and got her weight to get her the right diaper size. She came with the outfit of clothes she had on, a hat, coat and blanket. I had 1 12 month sized sleeper for her and 1 size 3 diaper. =)
However, that was just exactly what I needed.
We had friends give us clothes, a monitor, onesies, pink bears, barrettes, diapers, wipes, dresses (!), swimsuits, burp rags, and socks. My list of "things I need" is very small. What a blessing.
Perhaps a bit invisible but just as meaningful to me is the love, support and acceptance we have witnessed these past few days. When we went to my in-laws for Thanksgiving yesterday there was already a framed photo of this little girl on her shelf with her other granddaughters. What a tremendous feeling to be so covered with support and unconditional love not only for us but for her.
So as I watch my "resolve to not become TOO attached" sail happily away into lala land I can't help but admit I am afraid. This little mocha colored baby is winding herself into all of our hearts already and the fear of the unknown future with her is a dangerous dwelling for me right now. Please pray about that with me. The words to this hymn came to mind this morning in my sleeplessness....

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
(I love those lines!)
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

November 16

2011-11-17T13:06:00.003-05:00

Our case worker called me yesterday to let me know that we are officially licensed for foster care!

I was quite surprised since we still have to install our Egress Window (which is slated to be worked on the week after Thanksgiving). She, however, told us if we signed a waiver that stated we would agree to not use the basement as living quarters with a foster child that she could open our home for care.

We signed.

And now we wait.

I have neglected blogging for awhile simply because it seems too overwhelming to sit and actually journal (I don't do very well in maintaining my own journal!) so I've decided not so much to go back and try to update but just carry on from here.

In my bible study time we are studying Acts. There are many good lessons to pull from but one thing that has stuck out to me is that Christians are not called to a life of ease.

Consider the early church -individuals who were lucky to only be shunned for their beliefs and more often were beaten or killed because they dared to believe that Jesus was who he claimed to be; the first missionaries -who walked for hundreds of miles to spread the gospel in some cases it was not accepted, they were laughed at (in good cases) and beaten (in not so good cases) yet they kept spewing Jesus because...oddly enough...they believed him to be who he claimed to be too. Consider those I have heard about, read about who believed Jesus' claims to the point that they spent all their lives attempting to align their way of life to mirror that of the one they serve. I see a very disturbing similarity... they lived hard lives.

So these observations beg me to ask myself- do I believe Jesus' claims? Do I believe him to be the Son of God, the perfect provider of salvation, the Word made flesh, the only Way, the only Truth and the only one Life?

If I do then am I willing to embrace a hard life in a culture that screams for us to treat ourselves because "you're worth it"?

I am challenged also by the fact that my actions pour out of the well of my beliefs. (This is something we've discussed recently in the Young Marrieds class at church. ) Similar to the idea that how I spend my money is what I value... how I spend my time, the words I use, the shows I watch, the music I listen to, what I view online... all of that and more are indicators of how much I reverence Jesus as God. Convicting to me at least...

So... all that to say... this fostering journey has me both excited and terrified. I am very aware (although naive at this point) of the sheer ugliness of the fostering system. It is both triumphant and tragic. We are going to need you to be praying for us - for a listening ear in tune with the Holy Spirit (because I have no idea how I'm going to say "No, we don't want THAT child" !! yikes). Please pray for increased unity in our marriage- we are already experiencing it but we haven't even started yet so please pray for that. Pray for our kids- that we will love on any child we have in our home and that we will be willing to grieve as a family when/if a child leaves our home. We were talking with the boys last night and said "This is not an easy way to live. But we love Jesus more than we love ourselves so this is what we are going to do together....".

Thanks for your partnership in prayer. I'm reminded too that the prayerless life is a powerless one and we need all the power your prayers afford us!

Octoberish

2011-10-18T18:11:00.003-04:00

So at school the teachers take turns recognizing 2-3 students from their classroom that they feel has displayed the months moral focus of the month. October's focus has been respect and Jaedon's teacher let us know that she was going to have Jaedon recognized (they call it "being fished") Proud Mama moment. =)

Owen experienced his first dentist visit... and subsequently was "thankful" for the dentist for the next 3 days. He did great. =)

Besides the 1/2 day, every day drive to kindergarten I am THRILLED with him doing afternoon k-garten. We have been able to enjoy some slow, lazy, puzzle and story-filled mornings.

I can't remember if this is our third or fourth year doing our Thanksgiving Tree- but a recent family night had our tree making attention by taping, coloring, cutting, hanging and reciting.
I read a book recently called One Thousand Gifts (www.onethousandgifts.com/thebook). It was a personal story about the author's journey on the road to learning not just the act of thanksgiving but the undeniable need we have to foster a life of gratitude. One of my favorite ideas from these poetic pages was the idea that becoming a person of gratitude takes practice. Maybe not oh so profound- but it raises the question for me: How am I practicing a life of thanksgiving today? What am I thankful for TODAY- and every day- throughout the day?
I love being prodded.

My punkins in the pumpkins...

2011-10-02T15:30:00.004-04:00

We spent some time this weekend at a local orchard and had a lot of fun exploring the world of apples, corn mazes and pumpkin patches.

We had SO much fun walking around cornstalks... who knew!?

The not so itsy bitsy spider

Words

2011-09-27T20:33:00.002-04:00

I can feel a lot of prayers that are being lifted for us right now and I want to thank you.
Today my heart is heavy and burning for orphans.
I told our boys tonight- "I miss our little girl. We need to pray for her today."
Jaedon said "But we don't even know who she is how can you miss her?"

I don't know! It sounded crazy to me too. All I can say is that that God is answering your prayers so keep it up!

I read this today in a blog posted over 2 years ago:
"The longer I wait on Him to whisper His wisdom, the more He is breaking my heart for His orphans."

It's true.
Thanks for keeping tabs on us. I can't wait to look back on these posts one day!

Actively waiting...

2011-09-26T14:30:00.005-04:00

I've started my Bible study time again and have been enjoying it immensely already. We're going through the book of Acts this year. Already, the first week into it there was some nuggets to roll around.
Acts 1: Jesus is alive, tells them to "wait for the Spirit" and then ascends to heaven. What do his disciples do? Shocker* they do what he says! They wait. But! What struck me is that they did not just sit around, twirling their fingers together while they waited. They met together ("continuously!") for prayer, they appointed leaders- they were ACTIVE waiters.

My mind is all jumbled about this whole adoption thing.

Here's the deal- Way back while we were doing our fostering classes I kind of felt like God was saying "wait"- but I wasn't sure 1. if that was God or me or 2. Wait for what? So we finished our classes but were not in any real hurry to keep pursuing licensing (hence our summer of back-burner-ing it!)
Then we hear about the Egress- about the $3000. I, again, THINK I hear God saying "wait". So I say, Ok, God, if you want us to wait on this then you need to tell Brad that too!"
We went on a date, talk about the money for the Egress and he says "I guess we'll just wait." (OH! Was that what I needed to hear? BRAD saying wait...God is that YOU telling HIM to wait too???)
Then we find out about an opportunity to qualify for some financial aid thru a grant. Again I say, "Ok, God...if you really are telling me to WAIT (for what I don't know!) then have this grant option fall thru." Today I find out...it's denied. Didn't go through.

So my mind automatically goes to .."but wait... you could still get it done... you could borrow the money... it could still happen!" Is this just a roadblock to test my resolve? My desire? Or is this a genuine roadblock telling us to back off?

Part of me wants to jump and say "yes..Egress...let's do it (b/c technically we COULD)" while there is something in the back of my mind something doesn't quite sit right yet. Part of me says "yes, let's do this thing b/c I want to get the ball going already." And part of me says...keep waiting.(and please keep in mind I'm the "mother" with ZERO mothering intuition...as in I thought all 3 of my BOYS were girls...so do not typically rely on " I just FEEL like we should....")

So I need you to pray...
1. pray that Brad and I will have unity in this- that if God really is telling ME to wait...that he'll tell Brad that too! =) OR if we should move ahead that there will be unity there too.
2. Also pray that I'll grow up. There have been (too many) times lately where my selfishness has been SHINING through and not Christ. I KNOW I have such a small view of God and I KNOW that pursuing adoption is going to broaden that view- pray that I will be teachable, adaptable and spirit led.
3. Pray that I'll be an active-waiter- going about doing God's business while we...well, wait.

Perspective

2011-09-13T10:34:00.003-04:00

So I've had a few days to think, talk and pray about this whole Egress Window issue.
After thinking about the whys, wheres and how much-es I realized that this initial jolt that I previously wrote about has more to do with my heart than my bank account. The ugly truth is what return for this investment will there be? Surely a child we are able to Lord willing, eventually adopt will not wake up one day and resound with gratitude over the fact that we may have skipped a vacation, or some activities so that an Egress Window could be placed in our house! Ridiculous notion but deeply buried nonetheless.

I count myself as very blessed to be able to have people in my life that will help give me perspective, wisdom, advice or a butt kicking every now and then. This was a gentle reminder I received recently:
When is the last time I resounded with gratitude over Christ's sacrifice (of oh so much more than mere money)
so that He could adopt me?

He certainly grasps the concept of enormous sacrifice with no guarantee of returned affection or appreciation and, in fact, knowing quite the opposite would occur.

Oh, forgive me of my own nearsightedness and enlarge my heart today!

Anyone have an extra money tree?

2011-09-10T10:42:00.002-04:00

Our internet is out at home but as soon as it's back I promise to get some school days pictures up here for you, Mom. =)

I'm asking for some prayer for some wisdom for us right now. We had 3 companies come by our house this week to give us bids on making an egress window. They range from $2,000- $3,000. This is a bit of a shock to us and we're not quite sure what to do with that. For us this is a lot of money that we are willing to spend (once we locate it of course ;-) but it's also a bit disheartening because it likely means we will have to delay our licensing until we save up for it (probably by way of a tax return). I am assuming that if we were to pursue adoption from any other means that this would more than likely have to be done as well - again, just a bit of a shock value for us. So pray that we will be united in our decision, that the funds will be provided and that we are sure of our calling!

Long time...

2011-08-18T19:31:00.002-04:00

Confession: "blog writing", while it has been on my "to do" list hasn't made my priority list lately. Sorry, Mom. I am finding that posting pictures on Facebook is a lot easier but I concede that the person (s) that I opted to begin a blog for in the first place (namely my out-of-state parents) are not Facebook-ers. So, alas, there may be repeated pictures and such for you who stalk me properly. ;-)

I am SO glad I've taken pictures of life this summer...otherwise I think I might think it never happened...just some crazy, busy, lovely, relaxing, running around dream.
Here's a few highlights
June:
Owen turned 3- in body and spirit. He also decided potty training was acceptable. *whew.

Jaedon participated in Kids Games and had a few hours of karate for a week. He LOVED it.

Fathers Day was a fun day with family and friends...and beach fun.

10th Anniversary trip to Colorado! We saw Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, ate at the Melting Pot (fondue restaurant), hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park, ate at Casa Bonita, and went White Water Rafting. Not exactly relaxing but OOOOOh so fun!!

July:
Fourth of July fun -
We (as in Brad) built a shed.

Yep. That about sums up our first 2 weeks. We also manged to squeeze in Jaedon's first soccer camp, some kitchen dancing, homemade ice cream and corn dog making, merry go riding, impromptu park dates (followed by inevitable ice cream outings!), bike riding, a ladies tea, backyard camping, and a family reunion too.

Long time take 2....

2011-08-18T19:30:00.003-04:00

Then the last 2 weeks of July:
Brad went to bandcamp and Zambia.
The boys and I went to PA.
We're working on a letter about Brad's trip but for now here are a few select pictures...
Since Brad and his friend Shawn were headed out to Zambia together our families together got together for an evening of African fun. We colored some pictures, went on a safari (do you see the Crocodile with Owen??), learned a Zambian handshake and had a time of prayer together.

Like I said...more to come soon!

Fostering update

2011-08-08T11:01:00.002-04:00

Ok I have been SOOO delinquent in writing to my faithful few! =) But thanks to those of you who have asked recently what is going on with the adopting process! I appreciate your following up with us!
All of our paperwork is in, the case worker is writing her report for approval to the state, however we need to build a "legal escape" (or Egress window) into our basement before our house can be approved by the state. This just means we are on a bit of a stand still until we can scrounge up the contractor and the funds in order to have this work done. We are hoping to at least get some names of people from our church family that may be in this line of work and then we just trust God to provide the means to have it done.
I will update here when things move along too.
Thanks, though, for asking!

The VBS song Jungle Adventure -

2011-07-07T13:16:00.002-04:00

Good morning, God

2011-07-07T10:32:00.003-04:00

This is our morning prayer/song- I just love little people voices....

Thoughts on moving

2011-06-12T16:02:00.004-04:00

9 years ago (as of August) we moved into our house completely penniless and unaware of the decision we just signed agreement to. I remember our realtor mentioning the presence of our neighbors dogs which we just shrugged off. He mentioned the school district (ours is considered "troubled" I'd say) but we were not even pregnant with Jaedon yet so again we just shrugged off the concern. We were thinking we MIGHT be in our house for 3-5 years.

Considering the plan to add one more child to our rather box-like and smallish house has sent me into panic mode a bit these past few months. I mean- our kids are NOT getting shorter! So we started to pursue the IDEA of moving. The problem is our house is not only not worth what we paid- it is worth less than what we owe! Never a good thing. It would still be doable if we REALLY wanted to keep pursuing it but then we have spent a long time thinking about our motivation. Why were we considering moving?
1. better school districts? well, we don't even attend our slotted school district but that brings up a whole other blog post about training and raising our kids to be missionaries- kid of strength and substance so that we might even be willing to put them in "rough" situations on purpose. Like I said, another post for another time. ;-)
2. Another reason to leave- we have weird neighbors. Ok- who doesn't? Our neighbors like (and share) their VERY loud latino pop music ... often. It's better than a few neighbors ago who liked (and shared) their very loud Metal music that had words in it I really don't want to kids to learn. I'm ok with my kids knowing the Macerena. ;)
3. We simply wanted a bigger house- when adding another child to the mix it makes sense. But really- it's more to clean, more to maintain, more furniture to buy, walls to paint but when it comes down to it- if I am not content with what I currently have - I will not find contentment in anymore more.

When it came down to our reasons I think I've discovered them to be more like excuses. As I've talked with friends about this idea of moving in the back of my mind there was a little voice saying "I know you'll go where I want you to go...but will you stay if I want you to stay?" Moving( for me) turned into SO much more than looking into school districts and landscaping. It became an issue of my motive for living. It became an issue of contentment vs. comfort, the idea of a house (being just a structure) vs. a home, an issue of the temporary vs. the eternal.
In our culture it's almost a crime to be content. Everything we see, read, hear and talk about it about getting "what you deserve" because "you're worth it". What a bunch of bunk! I'm SO thankful that I'm NOT getting what I deserve (hell!) because I am worth it. (or at least I was). I know, my mom says I think too much- perhaps that's true but I'm grateful for the insights we've had while considering this too.

I also don't want to make this seem like I am opposed to anyone who ever moves! I hope that we DO move sometime. I just found that the reasons typically go deeper than "we need more space". =)

So- all that to say- we have found unity in our decision to stay here for now. I'm not sure for how long- and I'm not all that concerned about it.
In the meantime we hope to 1. de-clutter and reorganize to help make this space all it can possibly be!
2. build a bigger shed! With no garage, our little 8X8 unit is pretty packed
3. grow deeper in contentment- not for this structure necessarily but for the provision that it is. 4. Learn some Spanish and the motions to the Macernea. ;)

Seth

2011-06-08T09:20:00.004-04:00

It hasn't slipped my attention that I had a post about Jaedon and Owen recently. Poor little middle child ...always getting the shaft! =)
Seth has been interesting lately. I'm looking for some suggestions. He has been quite devious in several circumstances recently. Fortunately he is not good at hiding it (yet!) so I can usually tell SOMETHING is amiss but it won't take him long to discover how to "hide it better"- which, obviously I really don't want to happen!
He will hide things he shouldn't have,
not do something right but tell us he did,
and sometime outright lie about it.
Ugly huh?
Any suggestions/creative ideas on how you have dealt with lying and deviousness?

Girl update

2011-06-08T09:10:00.005-04:00

Just thought I'd throw out an update about where we are in the fostering licensing process. We have our case worker coming next Friday morning to review all of our paperwork, check out the house (which is moderately intimidating) and to interview our kids (which is highly intimidating!). After that she begins to write a report about us that she will submit to the state for approval of becoming foster parents. So it's waiting for documents, meetings and time basically at this point.
I have had a lot of fun getting girl things though! My generous neighbor gave me bag fulls of fluff- from shoes to dresses to hats and sunglasses! So surreal!
And my Mom in law made the "Howells girls" blanket- it's too special of a blanket to give to just anyone! ;-) Isn't that beautiful?

Owen

2011-06-06T15:22:00.005-04:00

My youngest

turns 3!

We had a really nice time celebrating Owen's birthday (which really just lends itself as a good excuse to get together with friends!)
We met Daddy and Jaedon in the park for a picnic lunch. Jaedon thought that was pretty cool to "get out of school" to eat lunch at a park.

We had some friends and family over for a party on Friday. I'm not a kid but I kinda wish I was for this night- it was a water balloon tossing, Nemo fishing, sloppy joe eating, water dumping, cupcake inhaling kind of time. Sounds just right for a 3 year old! This was some jello jigglers I made- note to self- DON'T put jello in direct sunlight. The effect was good though- it was supposed to look the fish were swimming and after about 30 minutes...they were!

Jaedon

2011-06-06T15:07:00.003-04:00

This is the last week of school for us. I know everyone says this but it just doesn't seem possible for us to have a THIRD grader and a Kindergartener next school year!

Jaedon has done really well in school this past year. He has stayed on "green light" (aka no teacher reprimands) since the end of MARCH! Wahoo! He LOVES to learn new things- his favorite type of books are educational ones- like ones all about sharks or dinosaurs or whatever he deems worth of his interest for that day. And he REMEMBERS it too! This has come back to bite us a bit when we watch our Animal Planet movies that tell us all about these "most extreme" animals which he loves learning about- and then insists that they are all live in our backyard! =)
A buddy of his from school invited him to go camping with his family for the Memorial Day weekend. It was a weird experience but we were really excited for him to have fun with his friend. He even lost his tooth there.

I don't get to do a lot with him in school right now. Perhaps it's my own excuses but the times that I've tried and have taken my other 2 with me, it's been much more frustrating than helpful. I'm hoping next year I'll be able to be with him a bit more. I did, however, have a fun morning with him during field day a few weeks ago. It's fun to watch him on his turf. He certainly is ALL boy and wow do I ever appreciate his teacher!
I am looking forward to spending time with him- between water fights and library visits- this summer!

Life round these here parts...

2011-05-22T15:25:00.006-04:00

Did you ever look at your calendar and wonder who keeps writing on it and then secretly plot to hunt them down and whip them with a wet noodle?

Hmm... the handwriting looks awfully familiar though....
Anyway- we're busy but what else is new? That seems to the mantra for every and any one. The question is- what am I busying myself with? I'm often reminded (and convicted) that my calendar is a much of a proclaimer of my priorities as that of my checkbook. How am I doing at sharing the resources God has given me? My time, my energy, my backyard, my food, my money, my thoughts, my kids, my husband, my evenings, my coffee-
We have so much don't we?
As our family launches into this "busy" summer season I hope I can find ways every day to remember to align my calendar with God's priorities.

Brad and the boys built their own climbing wall a few weekends ago. It rocks!

Even SuperHeros need a potty break-
This was the garage sale find of the century (according to my boys). And while they have only been recipents to about 1/30th of the stash it has already been able to occupy them for HOURS. I DON'T GET IT. =)
Popcycles with some friends
The Young Marrieds class picnic.
Complete with a rousing game of Bocce Ball, friends and food.

2011-05-22T15:01:00.004-04:00

"Cousins are many. Best friends are few. What a delight to find both in you."

We had SoooOOo much fun with our cousin visiting with Grandma and Pop-pop from PA!! Here's a quick look at a VERY full week together-

Moms Day with my crew-
and a special treat of spending it with my mom for the first time in... a long time.

Jaedon had his music concert during the time Mom and Dad were here.

A day with friends, boats, and dragons.

Easter continued

2011-04-25T10:49:00.009-04:00

This was the end of our confession cross. On Good Friday after reading the book we've been going through we took some streamer and had 'Jesus' blood' cover our sins. And since it was after dinner and the boys were a bit rambunctious we also played "He's Dead He's Dead He's Alive" (variation of Duck Duck Goose). I'm still deciding if that was irreverent or not.

Brad and Jaedon went to practice at church early so we had our first (and hopefully not our last) "Easter Sunrise" breakfast. These resurrection rolls were fun. You roll a marshmallow around in some butter and cinnamon-sugar then wrap it up in a cresant roll. The mallow melts when you bake the roll and it's empty when you eat it. Brad had fun making the bacon crosses and the empty tomb pancakes were a last minute addition. Not sure why the picture posted sideways...sorry.

There's not too much cuter things in the world than little men in little suits -

Our afternoon egg hunting and coloring with cousins and friends. But my very favorite part of the entire weekend was Jaedon saying in his ever-growing wisdom, "Ya know, Mom, searching for the eggs if kindof like what we're supposed to do with God and then opening the eggs and eating the candy is too because God is sweet like candy. Right?"
Right on, buddy.

Advent for Easter

2011-04-18T08:16:00.005-04:00

We've been reading through an Easter devotional book called the Journey of the Cross for the past several weeks. It's been a neat time to spend more than just a week or a weekend to remember the significance of Easter. We've done a few activities to go with the stories including acting out Palm Sunday (Brad played the donkey role- which was purely practical- no hidden meaning behind that one), "painting" our doorpost for Passover, carrying some 2x4's (this was after reading about Jesus carrying his own cross...not just manual labor ;-), eating unleavened crackers (along with some funny looks when they discovered the tastelessness of it!).
We didn't want to get behind in our readings so we actually even took it with us on vacation over Spring Break. It was a bit strange because our story was about Jesus washing his disciples feet. So we used the hotel rooms ice bucket - hey I'm not nothing if not resourceful. ;-)

but my very favorite thing we have been doing is what I've called our "confession cross".
In November we have a lot of fun doing our Thanksgiving tree- we write out what we're thankful for on little leaves and our tree is full and overflowing by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. These past 2 weeks we've written our sins on a piece of paper and are making it in a cross shape. I wouldn't exactly say this is "fun". In fact, it's very sobering. Humbling. Not only are we writing them down but we're reading them to each other- many times it includes someone sitting at the table with us that we need to apologize to. It certainly isn't as easy and fun as our Thanksgiving tree- but no less important I think.

a new adventure-

2011-04-12T13:24:00.002-04:00

I posted this note on Facebook earlier this week. So, because my MOM doesn't do facebook ;-) I thought I'd paste this here for you.

Today we are going to our second class in our fostering licensing training. If you happen to be one of the 4 people who read this and don't know what I'm talking about... you must've just accidentally found my blog ;-) Read on...

So WHY are we adopting? I mean we already have kids right?

Well- here's the long answer:

As people of faith, Brad and I are continually looking for ways to put our faith into action. I mean really- what good is professing faith if you're not possessing it? (to quote my bible study leader)

James 1:27 says

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress ..." So if God thinks they are important- why shouldn't we?

Now, saying this I want to make it clear that we are NOT saying that doing enough good things (i.e. going to church, donating to charity, adopting) is enough to earn us a gold star with God. The Bible is very clear that the ONLY way to God is by realizing 1. you sin 2. sin means there is a debt on your head 3. Jesus is the only one who can (and has already) paid the debt and 4. Every person has to decide to accept their debt cancellation for themselves. Because that debt has been paid for us- we then choose to "do good" things as an expression of our appreciation for our own adoption.

The short answer?

Brad (and company) would like a GIRL in the house! =D

- the DETAILS:

at this point are that we have decided to pursue adoption through our foster care system here in West Michigan. We have our licensing study underway and as of today completed 1/4 of the training required to become licensed. We are being a bit picky as we are looking for a girl and we want to keep the birth order intact- so 2 and under. We have NO idea of a time frame and it also includes quite a bit of risk as the nature of the foster system is to first and foremost reunite kids with their birth parents. This is going to be a huge time of growing for us. We would greatly covet your prayers for our whole family (and any kiddos and families) that we get to meet.

And oh yeah- if you have any hair bow, barrettes, tights, little girl tips... bring it on!

Family time

2011-04-12T12:58:00.004-04:00

So I'll spare you from the obnoxious amount of pictures and try to pick a few to let you have a glimpse of our family time in Indianapolis. Our adventure started with a new little (borrowed) gadget named Garmin. All the boys were enamored with her...and Seth especially liked the directions being given in the "squirrel" voice. (Did you know it says "I wonder if they sell walnuts at the gas station?")
So Garmin eventually got us to the Children's Museum in Indy. (Although, I did end up vetoing the squirrel voice because I'm mean.) We had a great time exploring and playing here. It was a bit more "museumy" (yes I know that's not a word) than I expected but there were plenty of hands on/no-reading-required displays for the little guys too. This glass display was awesome. We laid down and looked at this ceiling (which was really the bottom of a 48 foot high display).

We found a hotel with an indoor waterpark. It was ridiculously overpriced but we enjoyed it anyway. Jaedon told me the slides were "monstrous". I think that is a good thing...?

We spent our last day at the Zoo. It was the perfect weather for it. We had a lot of fun seeing the Africa animals (and reminiscing about our elephant ride that happened a year ago). The boys loved the water animals - the shark touching being a huge hit! We collapsed on the way home- and discovered that Garmin may be a bit off at times but overall she was a trustworthy traveling companion. ;)

Lego Lovin' Birthday Boy

2011-03-28T09:40:00.004-04:00

The cake-

new Legos!

A lego scavenger hunt. We do a lot of these hunts- easter eggs, thanksgiving turkeys... it never gets old.

Lego candy!!

Celebrating with friends, pancakes and ice cream sundaes!

He gets ALL the phone calls on this day!

Some nighttime decor for a birthday morning surprise.

Daddy Dates

2011-03-27T20:32:00.003-04:00

Brad began taking Jaedon out for monthly breakfast dates when he turned 5. Turning 5 meant that Seth would be ready to start his regular monthly breakfast dates too! When I asked him what he thought about that he said "Dat's so cool, Mom. I hope we got to Chucky Cheese!"
;)

Girls weekend!

2011-03-23T18:59:00.002-04:00

I've heard it said that doing something once it a good time.
Twice and it becomes a pattern.
Three times makes is a tradition.
So that would mean that this second annual girls weekend is officially a pattern for Becky and I.
A pattern we're a fan of. =)
We have the GReaTeSt hubbys who graciously allow us the entire weekend (from Friday night until Sunday afternoon!) to get away, relax, recharge and refocus.
One of the things I appreciate so much about this sweet friendship is the time and energy we spend "spurring each other on in good works". Coined phrase but really so true. We spend our efforts in brainstorming ideas of how we can be better wives, moms, friends, daughters, and servants. It's a sweet time.
Oh- and we go shopping.
Without kids.
=)

All this- for just us two! Yikes.

Doing some scrapbooking-

I can't quite believe I was brave (or dumb) enough to include this LOVELY picture- but really- what's a girls weekend without a facial mask, pedicures, shopping and Chonda?

Wha???

2011-03-23T18:57:00.001-04:00

Not sure how he grew up so fast...

Kindred Spirit

2011-03-23T18:48:00.003-04:00

I've decided that in life there are friends.

And then there are kindred spirits.

Laurie is one of those kindred spirits. We met in college and just clicked right away. Even when we lost touch for almost 10 years- we were able to pick up where we left off -despite her living in Buffalo and me in West Michigan- and have been able to enjoy a true friendship of the soul. She is an amazing, godly woman that I deeply admire. She challenges me and has such an authentic, lived out type of faith.
She's neat. =)
She opted to come out to our place for a visit this past February. Yes, I was a bit stunned that she would decide that coming to my boy-infested, ruckus of a house was a VACATION!!!- but I thoroughly enjoyed that she was able to come and enjoy some time of relaxation, ruckus and (hopefully) refreshment.

X-tra kids

2011-03-23T18:45:00.002-04:00

They are determined to have fun outside- despite all the gear that is required to enjoy it!

So here's the crew I am watching - this day was a few weeks ago when we had PJ day.
Anna-6, Seth-5, Chessie-4, Brady/Owen-2 and Timmy- 8 mo.

Gym time

2011-03-23T18:40:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago we spent a few hours playing at a new-to-us gym here in town. The kids and their friends had a ton o' fun- jumping, running, climbing- what's not to love?

Enjoying the toddlerness

2011-03-23T18:33:00.002-04:00

Because someday all too soon- these chubby little cheeks will be gone...

Because these baby blues will always steal my heart...

A Fathers prayer for his son

2011-03-08T12:30:00.001-05:00

The following prayer was written by General Douglas MacArthur -

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee….Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain.”

Remember

2011-03-07T12:34:00.003-05:00

Brad and I are attempting to read the Bible through in a year this year. Brad found a cool reading plan that has you read the Bible in chronological order. Right now we're in the middle of Numbers. Can I just say- HOW in the world did these Jewish men memorize all these names, numbers, places???
Amid all the mispronunciations though I am very aware of God's repeated attempts to gather his children near by and to tell them their story- HIS story. In my study of Isaiah as we are reading I see it time and again how God is reminding his people...remember, remember ...REMEMBER!
I'm a visual learner so I love reading about the very physical acts of remembering that God sets up for his people. The feasts, festivals are all about remembering. The stones he had the Israelites set up to remember their crossing of the Jordan- He is passionate about our remembering him.

So why is that?

Perhaps because he knows his sheep.

We're dumb.
We're forgetful.

So if God is so desirous of our remembering his faithfulness not only in the story of our lives but his story of all lives- then what am I doing to remember?
Last night was a sweet time of remembering for us. We were able to share our stories/testimonies/journey with our small group. The neatest part of it though was realizing that in our own rehashing we were able to see God's faithfulness more clearly than we would have had we gone on and not remembered!
Do you have any habits of rememberance? I'd love to hear about your "pile of stones".

A song to hear

2011-03-07T09:11:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w6YG2NZguc

Learning to read!

2011-03-03T15:30:00.004-05:00

Our MnM weekend

2011-03-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

MnM stands for our "Marriage Maintenance" weekend- although we are firm believers of the chocolate coated goodness too (as per pictured!) We stay at a close-ish bible campground and conference center- this year we had a whole 2 bedroom apartment to ourselves! We didn't know what to do with all the space (and quiet!) We enjoyed/huffed a stroll out to the lakeside- in waist-deep snow drifts. I'm thankful that we have this set aside time for us.

Our "InterGenerational" Valentine banquet

2011-02-12T10:05:00.004-05:00

Last night was awesome.
I may be a bit biased but my opinion stays the same. =)
Our co-leading couple for the Young Marrieds class suggested the idea of doing a valentine banquet for the young married group only with a slight twist. Instead of just inviting the young married couples in the class to invite some more experienced (aka older marrieds?) couples from the church to join us for the evening. We had approx. 13 "young" marrieds and about 8 "older" married couples for our potluck event. One of the couples owns their own flower shop. They made these really beautiful centerpieces for us! So generous- and such a stunning addition!We played a nametag game we called "Duos and Kisses". Everyone had a nametag to wear that had the name of one of a famous duo. You were to be called that name all evening otherwise someone could steal a "kiss" from you (there were hershey kisses by their seats). It made for some interesting company consider we had Adam/Eve, Batman/Robin, Sonny/Cher, Tarzan/Jane and Bob and Larry- just to name a few. Brad and I were Dorothy and Toto.
We also played 2 rounds of the Newlywed game- what valentine banquet is complete without that standby? =)
It was a neat evening of getting to know others (even by funny names) who are more experienced in the world of married life.
Like I said, it was awesome.
=)

Our supermen's fortress-

2011-02-09T16:04:00.004-05:00

One of many things I love about my husband is that he loves to play.
Here are some pictures of the snow fort he and the boys (including an added buddy)
built with the abundance of snow we had recently.

A day to play

2011-02-02T14:15:00.002-05:00

Our neighbor (eventually) loaned Brad his snowblower to help dig out- =)

Owen won (he just didn't know it!)

Sleeping arrangements for a mid-week campout. So nice that they cancelled school the night before!

Yes, I do realize that he has his jammies on inside out and backwards- it was on purpose and part of his "Snow Day Dance". It worked this time. Not so much in May.

My girl friend and I had a date to one of my favorite places- a thrift store! She had SO much fun finding and trying on silly little things- and finding this very precious new friend. =)

My new "to do"

2011-01-27T08:46:00.002-05:00

I have a lot of things I should do every day.
I should get out of bed, make my bed, feed my children, read my bible, shower, excercise, get dressed, bathe children, brush my teeth, sweep the floor, pray for friends, reach out to neighbors, write notes of encouragement, call my mom, make meals, put laundry away, read to my kids, laugh, memorize scripture and floss. This is not an exhaustive list- just exhausting.
But yesterday I heard of an idea that I think is worth of adding to my list.
Repentance.
It seems to me that just perhaps if I can cultivate a habit of repentance in my daily life that perhaps God will find a softer soil to do his work in all the other "to dos".
I think it's worth a try.

whew

2011-01-26T13:11:00.003-05:00

I love how personal the Word of God is.
In my past weeks study we were reading about God calling himself the "Sovereign God" and the "gentle Shepherd". I spent some time reflecting on the two contrasts and similarities between these two titles.
Sovereign- reigning over all, in all, through all. A bigger-than-life concept that is a bit hard to grasp.
Shepherd- ranging from a fierce protector to a tender guide.

So how do I see these titles living out in my own relationship with God?
And then it struck me.
I don't.
Not because God isn't these things to me- but because I tend to look for them elsewhere- namely my husband.

As a woman, I LONG to be treated tenderly. I want to be taken care of, provided for, sheltered. Perhaps that is not true of every woman but it certainly is true with me.
Then oh so gently I heard God say- it's me! I can fill these desires that I've given you!
I'm asking my dear husband to treat me the way God longs to and already does!
I am looking for this perfect, tender protection that Brad simply cannot give simply because he is human! He certainly DOES treat me oh so very well- please hear that! I am so blessed by my humble, and gentle husband. But I cannot and should not expect him to fill that need that can only be completely satisfied by Christ.

Maybe I'm just a bit slow on the growing up part of things but I'm thankful I have a patient teacher.
Wait- oh just wait...I can hear Brad sighing with relief. ;-)
*whew*

Darth Tater and Puke buckets

2011-01-24T14:34:00.003-05:00

We had a run in with the flu this past week.

Not a pleasant meeting.
While I will spare you the gory details let's just say I'm glad I had carpet cleaner, laundry detergent and lot of love for my boys.

If there can be much good of anything from a week with the flu (besides the boys getting to watch a LOT of movies!) it was a neat time to be able to take care of each other. There were times when one boy was...uh...sick...and I would ask his brother to come rub his back or get him a drink. It was neat to see them helping each other out. It was also very gracious of God to allow Brad to be sick first and then me following a few days later....at least there was one mostly capable adult around. ;-)
We've decided to try a new approach to teaching about money with the boys. We're still in experiemental mode but it could be promising. We have a list of jobs that help benefit the family that they can get paid for. One of them is unloading the dishwasher (which really isn't all that helpful other because I still have to put them mostly away ;-)
If you know anything about our Seth - you know he is constantly playing. Even while doing his job of dishes he opted for Darth Tater for a tag along. I'm not sure if he was using the force on the dishware but the job did (eventually) get done.

My newest read

2011-01-17T14:27:00.002-05:00

A few months ago our church had their missions highlight weekend. We have some pretty creative people on our staff- last year they handed out a bag of lentils and rice "meals" for every family in the congregation. The point was this is the meal (or something similar) that the majority of the world would be eating today. Pretty eye opening.
This year they handed out a copy of this book:
Wow- what a worthwhile read this is!
It is an easy read (although long) but just full of information that will 1. awaken you to the realities of life in the rest of the world and 2. challenge you with what you're going to do with that information! Although it is impossible to sum up a read such as this I would dare say a statement for this book would be :
If we consider ourselves people of faith- then we also need to be people of action.

He very thoroughly describes is own journey from CEO of Lenox to president of World Vision (a non-denominational charity that supports child sponsorship as well as a HOST of other hands-on ministries in the world) He humbly describes his own realization that his view of God's Word was flawed- it had a Hole in it. Basically- it was easier to write a check to a mission than care about the people the mission encounter. It is easier. But what did Jesus do?
I was reading thru Matthew recently and looking for action words associated with Jesus.

he came
he was purposeful
he was obedient
he was led by the Spirit
he fought with Scripture
he preached
he walked alongside
he saw
he talked
he fed
he taught
he called
he cared
he healed
And that's just the first several chapters. Jesus was a man of action. And, as the author of this book mentions too, Jesus takes care of the peoples physical needs - food, healing etc... before addressing their spiritual needs. What a challenge- if we allow it be one and not just gloss over it- to examine our own view of the Gospel- What does my life say that I believe about God?
yikes.
The author also addresses the Hole in our Churches-
This quote just blew me away:
"A church that lives within its four walls is no church at all."
What does our church activities, classes, and outreach say about what our church believes about God?
yikes.

Here is a Franciscan benediction to reflect on (and pray if you're really adventurous!)

"May God bless you with a restless discomfort
about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationship, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you reall y can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done. "

And hey- I don't even get PAID to promote! =D

The Owenator

2011-01-11T12:49:00.003-05:00

2 Years old is a wonderful blend of stubborn independence and insecure snuggles. One moment I am in awe of his growing up and the next moment wanting to pull my hair out in frustration. Owen is cracking us up lately. Last night he handed Jaedon a napkin and said "Here Daden, you messy." Then (after being handed back the used napkin) he handed it to Brad and said "Here, Daddy. Dis is gross." He is fun to watch as he does his thing. Here's some pics for ya, Mom. =)

a few of my favorite things...

2011-01-02T16:50:00.005-05:00

These past 2 weeks have been a truly enjoyable blend of the busy and the nothing. Other than my much-earlier-than-lately wake up call tomorrow morning, I am a bit excited to get back to life as usual. I think it makes these special times all the more special-because they are not the usual.
Out of the many moments spent together one of my favorites include one specific "advent adventure" (as our December devotions became to be known by). Jaedon read the verse about the shepherds going to look for Mary, Joseph and Jesus- so we did too! We all piled in the van, drove around looking for nativity scenes and enjoyed Christmas light looking. We were singing and counting (30!) - it was such an enjoyable time together.
My other top favorites were the times I was able to spend talking and laughing with friends (usually with some coffee or tea in hand for added sweetness). An added blessing- calling family "friends" - a gift in itself.
So here's my token pictures that in no way sum up our life- but are just what they are...a snapshot about some of my favorite things:

A picturesque mantle to enjoy my morning coffee and cuddle

the joy of GIVING

Trying something new... and yummy. My personal favorite was the chocolate dipped cherries.

The Nerf-ing boys- the tall and the small...

Games, games and more games!

Silliness with friends and family alike-

It's Christmastime- part 1

2010-12-14T15:32:00.004-05:00

I have the GREATEST in-laws.

Ever.
Every year since we were dating (which is 11 years total now ;) Brad and I have been in Pennsylvania with my family for Christmas. It's not a preference thing- it's just it works out well with Brad's time off of work. Not once have I heard my dear in-laws complain about the Christmas day absence. Partly due to the fact that complaining just isn't in their nature and partly due to the fact that they ROCK. Being a mom I can only imagine life with adult children but I hope I am even half as gracious of an in-law as what mine are to me!

So the Howells' family celebrates Christmas early. Here's some pics of this past weekend.

Joseph and Mary made an appearance ;)

Nerf Nerds

Complete with Happy Birthday songs to Jesus, games, and time spent together.
Precious gifts indeed.

It's about the Cross

2010-12-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

2010-12-10T13:08:00.003-05:00

Anna and Seth just built Frosty completely unassisted!

Any one else disturbed to see a de-bobbleheaded Yoda in the nativity?? ;)

We enjoyed having some friends over last evening. I got to pull out my Grandmas glasses to serve this red-themed punch in.

Making time for play at the childrens' museum too-

Jaedon's class was responsible for assembly this past week. Jaedon (in the brown/orange stripped sweater) got to play the part of "music director" and got to lead his class in their song.

As our days run one to another and December goes by we've been reminded the absolute necessity (and FUN) of just making time to PLAY- together. Nothing you can wrap will be better than that!

The new dirt-catcher-

2010-11-29T14:22:00.002-05:00

This was my kitchen floor when I woke up on Saturday morning

This was a tired husband after 5 hours of work...

And this was our kitchen on Sunday morning:

Hard-working little elves at our place this weekend ;-)
I'm a bit disappointed though. I was hoping this new floor would be self-cleaning. Apparently not. It still catches milk, carrots and crumbs just fine and I'm fairly certain the "joy" of cleaning it will wear off...sometime soon. ;)

A long time coming

2010-11-28T21:51:00.002-05:00

I was so impressed with the missionary family we met in Zambia for- well, alot of reasons. One that has stood out to me though was how well they spoke to one another. It seems like a little thing but after we got home and reintegrated into our reality I realized how a "little thing" like being polite, courteous and respectful to each other- specificially in our own home- is not such a little thing at all! In fact, after some disheartening observations of our speech we felt like this was a huge problem that we needed to address. We thus began a "sweet speech" jar. Anytime we caught one another being encouraging, using manners, saying "ok" instead of arguing etc... they could put in one coin into our jar. The goal was to fill to the line and then have a Sundae Supper- I mean, what's sweeter than ice cream for DINNER??!! =)
So what began in April we finally made it to our Sundae line this past weekend. We all got to choose an ice cream flavor or sundae add-in or topping. It was a long time coming (believe me- the added calories were NOT on the agenda for Thanksgiving weekend!)but there has been a noticeable change in the temperature of our tone in our home which, to me, is the sweetest of all.

Online shopping

2010-11-28T14:49:00.004-05:00

I am loving doing some Christmas gift shopping from the comfort of my house- thank you, Amazon.com for free shipping!! =)
I have found some sites over the past few years that I just pour over wondering how we can best spend a bit of extra money set aside for a "birthday gift" for Jesus. This is seriously my most favorite thing that we do together this entire month. So these are a few that I've found- I would LOVE if you have some of your own favorites that you could pass along to me too.

Gospels for Asia:
http://www.gfa.org/gift/browse/gifts-of-compassion/

Heifer International:
http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/?msource=QTAK100001

Compassion International:
http://www.compassion.com/

World Vision:
http://www.worldvision.org/home.nsf/pages/home.htm#/home/main/christmas-gift-catalog-items-1-1271

Show Hope- specifically orphan care:
http://www.showhope.org/

Woman At Risk- This one is neat. They have jewelry, clothes, home decor that you can buy with the proceeds going to saving woman caught up in the ugly world of sex trafficking:
http://www.warinternational.org/store/

Deck the halls....and kitchen...and living room...and bedrooms....

2010-11-26T18:09:00.002-05:00

We had a delightful morning of tree-trimming, train-wrecking fun-
Complete with hot cocoa and a few snowflakes.

Gratitude

2010-11-23T16:28:00.002-05:00

I think Veggie Tales had it right when they sang:
"A thankful heart is a happy heart. I'm glad for what I have that's an easy way to start..."

We have thoroughly enjoyed this month leading up to Thanksgiving- a holiday I feel gets short changed. We have found some fun stories, devotions, audio books and hymns to help us in our quest to generate a more deliberate sense of gratitude in our home. The fun thing about having kids is that while they may be the reason why we do these intentional spiritual lessons- we are discovering that-as it turns out- I need these lessons just as much (if not more) than they do! A heart of gratitude and contentment is certainly not something I have on my own! So these measures we've found this past month have just been so neat to see how God is changing my heart into one of more purposeful gratitude. I hope as our family continues to do "hands on" spiritual nurturing that it won't be something we pursue just "for the kids"- Infact- I hope that when we've been married 30 years and our kids are gone that Brad and I will still have our own thanksgiving tree since I'm pretty sure generating and maintaining genuine gratitude is a lifelong pursuit.

Life on the Edge

2010-11-15T13:12:00.002-05:00

So, I have a two year old.
Need I say more?
Let's just say that in the past few weeks Owen has felt the overwhelming urge to make, define, push, draw and fight about boundaries. Our biggest challenge if sleeping. While I know many other moms who have MUCH bigger problems in this area- it is our own challenge right now. The plain truth is this: to the mind of a busy 2 year old boy- sleep is for the weak! So last week after a rousing 20 minutes of he gets of a bed, I swat his bum and put him back in ...repeat and repeat and repeat... I stood outside his room with the door slighly ajar and watched him. The little stinker would crawl to the verrrry edge of his bed, lower his feet until they alllllmost touched the floor, then pull them up and try it again. He wasn't "out of bed" right?! I stood outside his room for another 30 minutes and watched this with as much amusment as exasperation- until he finally fell asleep like this:

As I watched him finally give up and close his eyes it occurred to me- aren't we the same way with God?
I tell Owen: "Stay in bed or be spanked." Seems like "well, duh" choice doesn't it?
What is God tell me?
"Don't gossip."
"Oh- that wasn't gossip, God! It was sharing a concern."

"Don't judge others"
"I'm not judging! I'm simply saying that they need to be doing this..." (because oh don't I know their needs better than God???)

"Love your Neighbors"
"Sure- as long as they don't interrupt my life or make me uncomfortable. Oh, and who exactly would YOU say my neighbors are anyway? I mean...just to be specific."

"Forgive."
"Ok. I'll forgive. As soon as they ask me to."

"Don't lie."
"I'm not lying- I'm just exaggerating a bit."

"Spend time with me."
"What? I pray at meals and tell my kids to pray. Isn't that enough?"

And on and on. It seems God give us (ME) commands and I want to push them to the verrrry edge of all reason. Meanwhile our Parent is standing outside our life shaking his head (I wonder if he's amused and exasperated too?) thinking, "Child! Just obey and all will be well!"
I think of that nice, big, cozy bed that Owen COULD choose to climb into and blankets he COULD snuggle under for warmth and comfort- but he instead wants to sit and sleep on the very edge.
And you know what- he fell.
Jaedon went to wake him up from a nap last week and Owen had fallen off of the bed.
And we do too.
I was also reminded last week as we talked in our Young Marrieds class about how some of these above issues (and so many more) become the foothold Satan can use to begin to tear us down. It is a slow fade- to quote a popular song.
We don't turn into judgemental people overnight- it a process of making one judgement after another.
Affairs typically don't happen in a day- it begins with an understanding conversation and an unguarded heart.
Distance in my walk with the Lord doesn't happen in a day- it happens one "busy" day after another until it's been a month since I've been in the Word. Our falling off of the edge happens because we continue to slide our feet off the edge of the bed to see just how close we can get.
If I continue to not engage God in my heart and only engage him in my actions- I will always be pushing and fighting his boundaries... much like my 2 year old.

Brides and Birthdays

2010-11-11T14:59:00.002-05:00

Apparently when I was younger I would attach my mom's tea-towels to my head and pretend to be a bride. My ultra-talented aunt decided to make me a wedding dress complete with a veil- a little girls dream come true- no? While I don't remember things very well I DO remember this dress! I tucked it away in my hope chest- HOPING to save it for my girls someday. I pulled it out for my flower girl to use and then I completely forgot about it when my oldest niece would've fit it. For some reason I remembered it this past week, pulled it out, cleaned it up and was able to put one of "my girls" in it. My second (out of 3) niece Katelyn- She is having as much fun as I remember having with it.

Yesterday was one of my favorite birthday-days that I can remember having in a while. It was a nice blend of normalcy and spoiledness. =) My man takes good care of me.

The list-

2010-11-03T13:34:00.000-04:00

So in September I came across the idea of posting a picture a day on the blog- which was fun- but I have some battery issues lately- (namely I don't have any batteries and I never remember to buy more and when I DO remember I talk myself out of buying them because they're so blasted expensive!) See..issues!
Anyway- this month I'm posting a 'thankfulness a day' on my sidebar.
The neat thing that I'm experiencing already is that I'm having problems coming up with just ONE thing!
It seems like thankfulness is a disease- I hope I'm contagious!

Life lately

2010-10-30T12:32:00.004-04:00

3 Michigan State fans watchin' the game....

Our small group got together and spent time filling 20 shoesboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Pack_A_Shoe_Box/

Our halloween-type get together with some spidery salad (they are fake just FYI), some goblin juice (aka sherbet and sprite), yummy "witches brew" (aka tortilla soup), an eyeball hunt and of course- just fun dressing up with friends.

I was going to label this post "our busy life" and then thought- everyone says that! It's true- our excuses for not doing something, not getting back to someone, not volunteering for something etc.. is "life is just so busy right now"- and it's true.
But do you ever wonder what it would be like to say ( and hear)
"I have all the time in the world for....(fill in the blank)"
or
"Our life is just so boring lately"

I'm challenged lately with the thought of how I steward my time. There are so many things screaming for our attention- personally- and as a family unit- and so many of them are GOOD things. But what if I'm so busy doing "good things" that I miss an opportunity to have a conversation with a neighbor?
What if I'm in such a hurry to get to my next "to do" that I forget to read THAT story to one of my kids?
Am I too busy to hear my kids laughing and join in?
Hmm.. deep thoughts for a Saturday afternoon.
So I think I'll sign off and go grab that book while it's still today.

Variations on a theme

2010-10-22T13:04:00.002-04:00

I tried. Really I did!
I tried to think of something a bit more original than doing a thanksgiving tree again this year.
I thought of a turkey.
Nah.
I thought of a wreath.
Nah.
I even thought of choosing another Psalm for memory work other than Psalm 100 that we've been doing every November for I think 4 years now.

In the end- I decided some things are okay to keep the same.
So here is year 2 of our Thanksgiving Tree- a bit bare with leaves just yet but as we each add one after supper it's fun to watch the tree bloom-
and I think it'll be fun to see how much the kids will remember from doing the Psalm 100 again.
I guess the point isn't necessarily to do "something new" - but to do something.

The Owenator

2010-10-18T08:54:00.002-04:00

Some recent shots of my littlest hotshot:

This is what I get for leaving my cleaning tote (and a 2 year old) unattended -
Not only did he empty my comet and spic and span- he thought spraying the Windex cleaner was grand fun. It was very hard to look sternly at him and tell him "no" when I was cracking up!
His newest favorite activity: puzzles. He will sit and do the same puzzle 5 times in a row (and ask for help for the same piece each time ;-)

Although he decided that 2 was an acceptable time to give up naps- (which his Mama does not agree with)- when he does decide to sleep- he's OUT!

2010-10-16T10:30:00.002-04:00

So I rearranged my living room this morning for no other reason than I wanted this view from "my chair" -Not bad eh?

Isaiah

2010-10-14T14:12:00.003-04:00

This year is a first for me. I am in Bible Study Fellowship for a first time. I've heard things about it from people over the years and decided to pursue it. I'm really impressed with how organized they are. The curriculum that they have for kids is so great- basically they teach what we are learning too. Which, considering we're studying Isaiah this year, is not exactly an easy task. It was too sweet to hear Owen sing "Owee, Owee, Owee" (Holy, Holy, Holy) yesterday while packed away during carpool.

I don't know about you but I've always put the "prophet" books on the "interesting and important but not necessarily applicable" category in my mind.
Oh how wrong I was!
Not only am I finding great nuggets of application I'm seeing a lot of parallel with the nation of Israel and our own.
In Isaiah chapter 5 he has a list of "woes" that he is telling the straying Israelites. God tells their nation to end their pursuit of materialism, alcoholism, pride, greed, injustice and ignoring God's laws. Hmm- sounds like another nation I'm familiar with.
Then in chapter 6 Isaiah "saw the Lord".
His response?
"Woe is ME."
He didn't point fingers at his culture, his country, his neighbors, his 'church', his family. He didn't have any other judgments to pass except that which he was most familiar with- his own sin.

So what is my response when I catch a glimpse of God?

Do I compare my sin with others?
For some reason we tend to think OUR sin is acceptable and THEIR sin is disgraceful. We shake our head when we hear about someone elses poor choices, someone elses straying family member, someone elses marriage problems, someone elses struggle with greed. Meanwhile our own choices, family, marriage and our own pursuit of anything other than God- goes unchecked in our lives and is deemed "not as bad as them" by us.
That's just the ugliness of plain ole pride!

So what then we we have a moment to glimpse his glory?
What happens when we "see the Lord".
Would I be one to acknowledge my own sin- to understand the depth and depravity of it each day-not as be oppressed by that knowledge but to be humbled by it?
Oh that I will be made completely aware of my own sin- and completely in awe of the cleansing that follows.

Fun on the Farm

2010-10-10T15:17:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was my idea of a perfect day.

We were woken up to a tiny tot snuggling in our bed, joined shortly after by a not-so-tiny-tot-who-still-is-ok-with-being-snuggled-once-in-awhile.We mozied about with some coffee, some pancakes for breakfast and assorted chores mixed with playtime.We met up with some friends to go to a farm that hosts some fall-activity fun. They have animals to see and pet, a pumpkin "train", hay for play, corn maze, fresh donuts and cider and, of course, hayrides out to the pumpkin patch. Seriously- can you stuff any more fallishness into an day? My typically I-could-care-less-about-sports type husband reeeeally wanted to watch the MSU vs. UofM football game. So we did! We ordered pizza, watched TV (in the middle of the DAY! which is very unusual in our house). I felt completely irresponsible- and loved every moment. I went on a bike ride with just Jaedon and truly enjoyed his company.
The weather was gorgeous, the leaves were stunning.
Really- a perfect day.
It occurs to me that "perfect" days are really a matter of our perspective. Obviously, any days that involve dealing with other people are likely to be very not perfect- we are, after all, all imperfect people. I'm learning that it's not so much about how to have the perfect event, plan the perfect party, be the perfect mom but how I deal graciously with my imperfect life- starting with those I live with (very imperfectly) every day.

Deux

2010-10-04T12:34:00.002-04:00

Not only have I just been amazed at the physical similarities between Jaedon and Owen since birth- but as Owen gets older it seems he favors his brother in the book-loving way as well. This ABC puzzle is a newly discovered favorite around our house.

Solo Saturday

2010-10-02T12:18:00.002-04:00

Brad had a band competition on Saturday so we decided to go to Home Depot for a bit of fun. They have a building project the first Saturday each month- not my thing at all-but Brad has taken the boys on several occasions. We have gathered a lovely assortment of ...uh... very USEFUL wooden projects around the house. Birdhouses, rain gauge, firetruck, boats, Foosball table, matchbox car storage. They are quite creative and it was fun to see Jaedon doing his project mostly by himself.
They had face painting as well. Jaedon asked for "a grizzly bear with sharp teeth standing on his hind legs". Seth was a bit simpler: a snake with a tongue stickin' out". I was impressed with how they turned out.

Spiritual Birthday Party

2010-10-01T12:11:00.002-04:00

Since Seth and his new bestest buddy Isaac both accepted Jesus into their hearts within a week of each other- we decided to have a "Spiritual Birthday" party. It was a bit confusing to Seth that he wouldn't be turning 5. ;)

Borrowing

2010-09-30T12:28:00.002-04:00

I have come to terms with the fact that God gave Brad and I three handsome men to raise for him. Although, I have wanted a girl from the first pregnancy- I really love my houseful of testosterone (check back with me in a few years ;-)
However, I am also lucky enough to have family and friends that have little girls!
This little lady, Adrianna, is a special friend. For her 6th birthday I decided to take her on 6 dates over the course of a year. This past week we went on our 3rd date- to an American Girl Party! How cool for me to be able to borrow a daughter for a totally girly night!

Coffee, Kindle and Candles

2010-09-30T07:43:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Brad's birthday. The boys and I had a little "party" at home with some gifts and whoopie pies. Then we went on a double date with our friends. We went to Kobe where the cook the food in front of you- I was personally proud of the chicken tossing from the chef to Brad- he didn't miss a single one!
Since I'm a working gal now ;-) I decided to splurge (like a lot for me!) and get Brad a Kindle for his gift from me. If you don't know what a Kindle is it's a little handheld devise that you download books on and read it from there. It's super lightweight and easier than carrying a book around. Although it might seem a bit silly- if you know ANYTHING about my hubby- you know he's not only a HUGE bookworm- but he's a techy geek too. Combining them just made sense! =)

Happy Birthday!

Take two...

2010-09-28T14:06:00.002-04:00

While putting away some things on a top shelf in my closet I was surprised to hear water dripping. I looked further to discover the ceiling of the closet was cracked and discolored from water damage. Fortunately, (for me at least) it was a Saturday that Brad was home. He found what he thought was the problem- but just an hour ago Seth and I were hauling out soggy supplies from the closet again. Soooo... take two.

What can I say?

2010-09-27T14:37:00.002-04:00

There was a party going on in my living room today.
We had Snow White, Cinderella, Dorothy from Oz and an assorment of other various princess creations being chased my a power ranger/pajama man. Then there was Superman and Buzz Lightyear "playing" with bracelets.
Oh the blackmail opportunities... ;-)

Project continued

2010-09-25T15:27:00.003-04:00

See yesterdays post first.
Today we (finally) went to retrieve the goodies from her garden to bring them back to our own. This is what we came up with. I can't wait to see it in the Spring with fresh mulch and new buds!

A new project

2010-09-24T15:24:00.000-04:00

My dear Mom in Law told us in the spring that she wanted to get rid of her perennial garden and we could help ourselves to anything we wanted!
Soooo- it's almost October and I started to clear our front yard area about a week ago.

2010-09-23T09:09:00.003-04:00

Yesterday in the Meijer parking lot Seth wanted to pray for "Desus to come into mine haht."
Sacred Sweetness.

Outdoor Art

2010-09-22T08:57:00.000-04:00

Art Prize began here in Grand Rapids yesterday. It's a huge assortment of art that is on display literally all over the city. We decided to go while my mom was still visiting with us. We spent an hour and half walking around and only saw a handful of some really... interesting...and neat things. This copper man was a favorite- He's very much real and startled the kids by talking to them after they were staring at him a for a bit. Seth said he "yiked the talking statue the best."

A morning person in the making

2010-09-21T12:58:00.003-04:00

I remember my Dad teasing me when I was younger about his need to wear protective headgear when he came to wake me in the mornings. I am NOT a morning person by nature- I was quite surprised then when recently asked my favorite time of day I found myself saying "early morning". Now, I know "early" has different meanings to different people. My "early" is anytime in the 6 o'clock hour.
In my quest for developing a consistent quiet time I have discovered- again, with surprising pleasantness, the joy- and brevity- of a quiet morning. My sister-in-law deems it her "Coffee with the King" time - I like that. Granted I quite often have a little prince or two join in on my visits to the throne - but I'm pretty sure the King is ok with that.

Homemade yumminess

2010-09-20T13:08:00.000-04:00

And to quote Seth's prayer last night:
"Deah Desus,
Dank you foh today and dank you foh Mommy and Daddy and dank you foh yetting Gamma come so she can make donuts foh us. Amen."
Amen.
=)

My freezer runneth over

2010-09-19T21:48:00.002-04:00

Although my mom did drive the 10 hour trek to our house by herself- she certainly did not come empty handed. Her backseat was (literally) full of produce from their garden- squash, watermelon, potatoes, pumpkin, peppers, tomatoes- as well as canned soup, and some frozen berries and corn. Such a blessing for our family.
Oh- and I was very faithful about labeling this time! =)

What happens when Daddy plays...

2010-09-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking I may never be asked to play "trains and houses" again...

A visit from Grama

2010-09-17T21:44:00.000-04:00

Less than 3 hours of her much anticipated arrival we had a roaring fire going on Friday night.

Piano lessons

2010-09-16T09:24:00.001-04:00

Subsisting or Satisfied?

2010-09-14T13:20:00.002-04:00

I had a rare evening last night-
I was alone!

The boys were asleep and Brad was at band practice.
After seriously considering going to be at 8:30, I decided instead to pull out a devotional DVD that Brad had gotten me for Mothers Day....yes Mothers Day!
It was an hour-long devotional by Beth Moore. I have so enjoyed previous studies I've done led by her and last night was no exception.

She had me looking up several passages- including Psalm 63- but the heart of her time was quite simplistic-
Am I satisfied with God ALONE?

In Luke 4 it states that Jesus came to tell the Good News to the poor- or literally- the "ones who subsist on the alms of others".

She then held out an empty cup. What does it look like for us to have ourselves- our cup- full of satisifaction? How do we go about filling our own cup? God created us with a longing to be satisfied and we spend our lives going around trying to fill it up.
Perhaps we have a good husband who affirms us, tells us we're beautiful, appreciates our work.
That's worth a few coins in the cup I think. Chink.

Maybe even our kids thank us unprovoked (hey- I said maybe! ;-) or somehow affirm our parenting efforts are not in vain-
chink. chink.

Maybe a friend encourages us, a co-worker builds us up, someone we respect acknowleges us...
chink. chink.

Even after all that goodness- and let's be honest... ain't no WAY all that happens all the time every day or sadly at all... to any of us... but even if that DID happen - the cup is still relatively empty.

The question being- am I going to be one who holds out my cup for people to fill- collecting any alms they may be generous enough to throw at me- or can I say with David from Psalm 90:14-"Satisfy (me) in the morning (as in this is a daily thing to ask for!) with your unfailing love..." Perhaps if each morning I am to begin my day holding out my cup for God's richest of alms to fill- then perhaps as I go through my day and I receive others "alms" that they may offer- then perhaps because my cup has already been filled those will allow my cup to simply overflow!
May it be so with me.

Schooling Seth

2010-09-13T14:27:00.003-04:00

Seth and I have started a daily "schooltime" together. Since I am not sending him to pre-school I am trying to be very intentional about giving him opportunities to socialize as well as learn some basics. I am, however, of the opinion that it's more important for me to teach him Jesus than his ABC's. I know he'll hone his counting, cutting, writing and reading skills while in school- but he won't be taught about the kindness of Boaz, the friendship of Jonathan and David, or the wise sayings of Solomon. I know that's our choice because we chose for our kids to go to a public school. But I'm hoping I don't loose sight of teaching my kids what really matters- along with the skills for life stuff too.

Sundays are for...

2010-09-12T15:33:00.001-04:00

snoozing,
snuggling,
reading,
ready-ing,
laying,
and lazing.
What's not to love?

Goodwill Hunting

2010-09-11T12:16:00.002-04:00

I call is good stewardship.
Brad calls it an addiction.
Maybe it's a bit of both.
Goodwill/thrift store shopping!!
I have found so many treasures I'm almost embarrassed by it.
Almost.

These two costumes were the find of the day today. The mask was a Christmas gift for Jaedon so he was ELATED to get a costume to go with it.
Now to find an Optimus Prime mask...

New Friends!

2010-09-10T13:41:00.002-04:00

Today is my 4th first day of a not-so-new job. I'm going to be taking care of a friends kiddos just 2 days a week. We already had a fun filled first day of painting, coloring, walks, tumbling, swinging and reading.

Slight cheating

2010-09-09T13:13:00.002-04:00

Sometimes there's just nothing like a loaf of homemade bread. I feel like I cheat a bit though because I use my bread machine instead of mixing, kneeding and rising. The yumminess factor is still huge and this single loaf was devoured easily enough by my crew.

Family Nite

2010-09-08T07:53:00.002-04:00

I've been inspired by another's blog about posting a picture a day. It intrigues me if for no other reason than for me to look back over a month and see my life in snapshot form. So- I think I'll try it for a month and see how well I accomplish it.
Last night was our re-instituted family nite. We found a new disc golf course (actually 3 of them) and enjoyed our time together.

Second Grade

2010-09-07T10:46:00.003-04:00

He looks the part doesn't he?
I am reminded to me that he may be the one going to school but we all have learning to do.

Confession

2010-08-30T13:09:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to get organized.
Such is the state of the rest of my life- emphasis on the TRYING.
I married an organized messie. I tend to be a large portion of impulsive with a side of routine that sometimes resembles organization.

So our family devotion time was mainly- "oh hey yea we're done eating. What book is close by that we can read and oh, Honey, by the way, your the MAN of the house so you should be doing this."

It wasn't working well.
=)

Hence my attempt to organize- beginning with our devotional time.

So I chose the verses typed out on the sidebar for our September memory work. Romans 12:9-13. We've worked on these before but they're just good and worth re-instilling.

My confession?
I wanted to drop some of the words in the verses!!
Ok- I wanted to drop the last sentence: "practice hospitality"
Isn't that wretched??
Don't get me wrong- I enjoy having people over! I do!
But I like having people over that I invited over when I invited them!
Just plain ole ugly truth.

Truth be told- I'm having a hard time with neighbor kid drop-ins.
When the older neighbor lady comes in our backdoor I really don't think anything about it and have no problem asking her to stay for some ice cream or iced tea. So maybe my hesitancy on wanting to actually have to TEACH my kids the scripture (and thus needing to actually DO it myself *shock*) is more of the out-of-my-control influence that other kids bring. It's not always bad (altho certainly not always great!) Oh what a long journey I have in front of me if I can't get a handle on this.

So, yes, I did print out ALL the verses for our memory work- including those that may be a bit harder for me to swallow.
So how do you "practice hospitality" ?

The Shrine

2010-08-20T15:09:00.002-04:00

Ok, so what exactly is the point of hanging up pictures of people who LIVE in our house anyway? Anyway- I do and did. My (very talented) friend took some amazing pictures of my gang and I finally got around to picking out the frames, mats, etc. My detailed husband is the hero of this story as I would've just "eyeballed" it but he was meticulous in hanging- which I so appreciate! I like how it turned out. What do you think? =)

Another Repost- =)

2010-08-18T13:14:00.002-04:00

I was jabbering away with a friend a little while ago and the subject of "peer pressure" came up. It has just occured to me recently (because I am admittedly a bit slow) that peer pressure if not something that really ever goes away! The intensity of it may wane in a season but it is certainly not something just for the teen years! So then I read this post and well, it pretty much sums up EXACTLY what I was saying- only much more neatly. =)

From Jill Savages' blog (www.jillsavage.org)

After spending the past year writing our newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More, I’ve really been thinking about the reality of adult peer pressure.

The words “peer pressure” usually refer to the pressure to conform that teenagers experience. But if we’re honest, peer pressure doesn’t stop after the teen years…it continues right on into adulthood.

If we’re not aware of the demand to conform, we’ll likely find ourselves pressured into a lifestyle that requires we work more to give our family more. At the end of our life, though, what we give our family materially isn’t nearly as important as what we give our family relationally. Bigger isn’t necessarily better. Less really can be more.

We can’t resist peer pressure if we don’t recognize it’s there. Watch out for these types of adult peer pressure:

Pressure to have debt—Our culture seeks immediate gratification. We want what we want when we want it…even if we have to pay double the price in interest to have it. Believe it or not, there are middle class people who pay cash for a car, refuse the concept of 12 months same as cash, and other than having a mortgage for a home would never take out a loan for anything.

Pressure to give our kids every possible opportunity—In our activity centered life too many of us forget that the best opportunity we can give our kids is simply the opportunity to be a kid. In the preschool years, our kids need to play in the backyard sandbox rather than on an organized sports team.

Pressure to move up the corporate ladder--We have to weigh carefully how much time and energy we want to pour into our career, especially if it will take away from our family. There are those who resist this pressure and choose to step off the corporate ladder. Yes, it limits their earning power, but it increases their availability to their family.

Pressure to live in the right neighborhood and drive the right car---Too often we allow ourselves to be defined by things that we could lose in the blink of an eye…especially in the economic challenges we’ve experienced over the past few years. Those who resist this peer pressure may drive older cars and live in a house and neighborhood they can easily afford.

Adult peer pressure is real, it’s controlling, and it will influence us far more than we realize. Take a minute and think about the impact cultural expectations have on your thinking. Talk it over with your spouse. And then stand firm on what's right for your family...regardless of what others think!

What about you? Where have you experienced adult peer pressure? What helps you stand firm against the pressure to conform?

My rent-a-sister week

2010-08-14T18:52:00.005-04:00

I was treated by a visit of a sweet friend of mine from my old stomping grounds in PA. Janelle and I literally grew up together. Many-if not most- of my memories have one or more members of her family in it. While we don't live nearby any long we still share a kindred friendship. We spent the week gabbing as much as we could and enjoying our little boys (4 in all). In the midst of our many conversations it occurs to me that we are STILL growing up together. What a tender blessing. Yet another treat was seeing some....more mature friends of ours who lived in PA for 14 years and now live in Schoolcraft (about an hour from here). I used to look forward to my weekly Randy hug at church - and I got TWO during their brief visit for lunch.Here's Javin and Owen together. Owen is a bit of a bully to youn
ger kids - probably because he finally CAN be- but not so much to the liking of his mama. They had some fun playing at each other though. Aren't they cute? =)

Jaedon turns 7

2010-08-14T15:15:00.003-04:00

The toothfairy finally had to get directions to our house lately. Jaedon actually lost his first tooth ON his birthday. He was very excited because he is convinced that he will really remember the day he lost his first tooth now.

Jaedon was (like really a whole lot) excited to get a new game for Wii. I may never quite grasp the thrill of gaming systems. I do, however, see that it is a bonding time between Daddy and son so I am learning to appreciate it for that at least. Anyway, thanks, Mom and Dad- it is loved by all!

We were going to go bowling for big J's birthday- but instead we had a buddy over, played some Apples to Apples and ate some Peanut Butter meltaway cake. Sounds like a pretty decent plan B to me. =)

Star Wars legos and a Nerf gun- the boy is lacking nothing!

Gettin' wet-

2010-08-14T15:03:00.002-04:00

We were able to steal away to Amish Country, Indiana with our friends the Gurks. We found a really sweet deal on an indoor waterpark and overnight stay at the hotel. Needless to say, we had a blast.

Naptime for Owen (and Daddy?)