Our Family Circus

There I go again! I have made the same mistake! A status on Facebook or a conversation about shopping gets me almost every time! Why is that? As Mama Bear Berenstain of the children's books would say, I get the "gimmies!" When I get "a bad case of the gimmies," I have to remind myself of these things: 1. Debt is bad, get rid of it. 2. Orphans in Vietnam 3. Women who chose life for their babies. 4. Hans Peter has a full belly in Haiti tonight. 5. Homeschooling my children. 6. Growing students to a relationship with Christ. 7. Supporting our missionaries 8. The more I have, the more I have to take care of. 9. If it is not broke, why replace it and if it is broke, why replace it? (no, that is not a typo.) My frugal friend, Shannon's oven broke. She has searched for a used one with no leads. She remembered an old toaster oven her mother-in-law had given her in their camper. She has been cooking for her family for probably a month in a toaster oven! She made peca...

Ole' Faithful, You have been in my life for 13 plus years, from the moment I said, "I DO." We have traveled together through 5 cities and 2 states building a home. You have always been there for me. You provided the oxygen I needed to go on when times were hard. When we lived in the "mountains" you provided an escape from my lonely reality. We have been together in times of great light and times of darkness, but you hung in there. It obviously wore on you, but you stood proudly with what you had when others fell. Your presence in my life has made it more beautiful. Thank you. A baby was born, then another, and another. More times then not, you were neglected-shaded and deprived of the nourishment you needed from me. You continued your stuggle to stay strong. A piece of you died with each poor decision I made on your behalf. The children have loved you so. Infact, you have given yourself for them. For that, I thank you. Thank you for offering all of ...

Linny at aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com has Memory Box Mondays with a tangible object in their home to remind them of what God has done. Check out her blog to learn more about it and the scripture reference. I am aware of blessings that God gives me but I have not kept good records to share with my children or grandchildren. I am considering keeping record in photos. When God things happen such as these, I am reminded of Psalm 37:4, Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Here are our recent DESIRES turn DELIGHTS! I was gifted this really cool wall decoration made by Uppercase Living but our room arrangements were still in limbo due to baby Blake. With Clay having his own room, we were now able to hang this. Weeks went by and I was still insecure about hanging it but so badly wanted to. You see, I can't cut a straight line! Well Nana T came to see us and she took care of that! Nana also looked it up to learn that there had been a mistake an...

No matter how tough the day has been, there are so many stages in my life that I want to savor and not forget. I am constantly reminded how quick 18 years can pass and each step of the way, our children will need us less and less. This morning, I walked around my nicely swept kitchen and rounded the bar to where our son had prepared a bowl of Cheerios. When I sat down, my socks had Cheerios clinging to them. Usually, it is my midsection food hangs on to but now it is my socks. One day my house will be tidy and Cheerio free. I took the above picture this summer when the neighborhood boys came inside to play. I don't want to forget the young feet that have felt welcomed and safe in our home. Nor do I want to forget how Lydia's pink shoes fit into the pile. I don't want to forget the piles of bibs that come out of a load of Miss Blake's laundry. I usually have to wash just to keep her in bibs. I treasure the memory of crawling into bed one night and My Dear's feet bein...

Miss Blake turned 2 last week! At 2, our darlings amaze us with what they say and the connections they make. The kids bought B. a few gifts. We have a tradition of taking the children's last picture at one age and first picture of the new age. I love sleepy smiles and Daddy bought a box of muffins for a special treat. Just the quick food we needed for a Sunday morning. Blake opened hair bows first and wanted them all in her hair. She LOVED the book Lydia got her. She and Lydia both checked it out again and again at the library. I found a copy for $5 with shipping on ebay. YEAH! The electric toothbrush is to help with her oral motor issues. In other words, I am over the bibs but B. is not liking that toothbrush. For now, we will use our cheap toothbrush-without the therapeutic effect. Clay bought her a toy cellphone. She talked to daddy for awhile and then started telling everyone "cheese" as she took their pictures. I could not shake that old song by Alabama called, ...

We have pet names for our children, not anything we planned it just happened. Lydia is Wilma, I think she got it because it goes with wild! Wednesday night was Wacky AWANA where the kids were encouraged to dress WACKY! Lydia began planning immediately. Clay was uninterested in participating but had plenty of good ideas for Wilma and she of course went for it- All or Nothing! The soccer socks are 2 different colors, she has capris on under nightgown, 2 different shoes, a bib, an apron on her back and to top it off, a swim diaper on her head! She put her uniform vest on backwards under her bib. Blake was not happy about Wilma taking her new bibs out of the drawer so we asked permission for the Turkey bib. Even B thought it was pretty funny.

On the way to my brother's wedding, Lydia asked why it took so long for John and Katie to get married. I was not sure what was going on in her little head but she answered it herself and said, "It must be the dress. It takes a long time to get the dress." I think Lydia approved of the dress as much as she does the Aunt. We take our kids to weddings and funerals and just about anywhere we are going. My Dear conducted this ceremony so all I had to do was take care of our youngins'. The wedding was entertainment enough for the big kids but here is the secret weapon for the toddler. She picked them out at the store the night before. We do not usually buy them making them even more special. It was a HOME RUN! I even saw big brother Clay grab a couple. The outdoor wedding was wet and beautiful. The rain let up just enough to allow the bride to walk in. She is pretty anyway but she was RADIANT! The groom thought so too! There was a lot to do after the cer...

My Teddy Bear of a little brother got married this weekend!!! So that meant my parents headed North! My mom is diabetic so proper foot care is important. I wanted to take her out for a pedicure with J's wedding as an excuse. J is not his name but that is what I call him. Why complicate things with 3 more letters? Miss Lydia and I took Nana to a nail salon. We enjoyed talking with the lady who was taking such good care of mom. I know she was of some type of Asian decent but did not know for sure. She later mentioned Vietnam. I heard a cry for the backroom and out toddles a chunky little fella. His mama said, "He loves the customers." He came right over to me and snuggled up against me. I reached down and hugged that baby and was immediately filled with love for him. Oh my....is this what that orphanage will be like!? I so wanted to ask to take his picture but I was afraid mama was already creeped out by my baby obsession. The hug from this little fella was not just a hug....