Our Family Circus

My Dear and I have been encouraged to look for God Moments! God is at work, we need to be watching for that work, join in, and praise Him for it! Last week, our AWANA ministry hosted Hope For the Holidays for families who send their children to us but do not attend church with them. Many of these families have financial needs as well. It was such a cool night! Families had their pictures made together and a delicious spread of food laid in front of them. A church member was seated at their table to build relationships, carols were sang, craft and the Christmas story for the children, and a message of Hope from the Manger for the adults. It was one of those nights when you wondered who was blessed most, those served or those serving! I had asked my friend "Co Co" to be a table host. Co Co sings-beautifully I might add. She is in front of people often using that gift. She really wanted to be behind the scenes because of that. I tried to convince her otherwise wanting her to be...

When my parents moved south leaving my brother the blessing of their "stuff." I asked about the nativity my mother set up when we were children. No one knew exactly where it was, but had their ideas. This summer, I ventured into my brother's attic to find Barbie, Little People, and Strawberry Shortcake that my mother had saved for her grandchildren. But among the rubble, I saw the old nativity. It was so beautiful to me as a child and was always placed higher then our little hands could reach. My mom was there, so I immediately asked if I could have it. The nativity is not expensive. It is not exactly Biblically accurate, but I love that I only found 2 magi because we know of 3 gifts does not mean that there were 3 men. The men are not in this picture because they did not see the baby at the birth spot but at his home. I enjoyed setting up the nativity. I looked at each piece noting the price tags of simple amounts on the figures and displaying it as accurate...

Anybody else married to "the dad life." (minus that awesome lawn mower!)

When I went to test for my driver's permit, I failed the vision test. I did not know I had a visual impairment. I had always had it and did not know my vision was "different." Since My Dear and I have only been married to one another, we did not know marriage could be different. We would both agree that we have a good marriage because we truly love and care for one another and.... that is all we know. As I begin to unload my baggage, it is like I am sitting in the courthouse for the driver's vision test. I see there is a problem. With each passing week, I am able to shovel up another heap and pitch it! As I dig, I unearth 20/20 vision! I see this precious gift that has always been there but the blurry vision of my past has kept it hidden. But no more! What is weighing you down? Do you believe that the God of every good and perfect gift has something better for you? I know He does! I am proof!

So much for being a blogger! I guess my post are now once a month! We are still here! Life has taken over and my hobby of blogging is taking a back burner. My heart and head get full and there are notes jotted with what to blog but it does not always happen. So, here is what is going on..... We just returned from a trip south to visit precious friends and their cherubs....10 people in a house keeps the kitchen and the dishwasher busy. I sure love those people and am awaiting the arrival of a package containing the items we left at their house. That package will be full of all kinds of surprises and a pair of little, pink, fuzzy boots. How can a person over look packing pink, fuzzy boots? From there we went to the grandparents. Our children are blessed with 3 biological sets of grandparents all living in different parts of the south as well as a couple of adopted sets living in the North. We enjoyed our time with family and My Dear always get some fishing or golf in regardless o...

Last week, I was kneeling at my washer and dryer doing laundry and thinking about the people who wear the clothes I was handling. I would very much like to protect them from ANY hurt in the world. But then God showed me how shallow their faith would be if they never had to rely on Him. I am going through a time where I have to rely on God for healing. Because of the "dirty work", I am falling even more in love with God as He shows more of who He is. His mercy and grace overwhelm me! It is because of the hard times, that I have fallen into this communion with God. Why would I want to keep my children from this type of relationship! I wish they could just have it, but I know it comes from God revealing Himself. So I prayed that He would protect their hearts, bodies, and minds as He grows them in deep faith in Him. Last night, tummy troubles made Billy anxious. He was probably more scared then hurting knowing that 2 things would likely happen to ease the pain in his belly. He di...

What an exciting weekend! Dolly enjoyed her first sleep over. We ate and laughed with our small group and I got to share once again about what I saw God doing in VNam and in my life while I was there. AND the girls took their stuffed animals to have a sleep over at that library. No, the girls did not sleep over but the animals did! B. chose to take Sharky . She took a BB type blanket along with Sharky for the night. She did not like the idea of leaving Sharky there but, did not realize we had done so until it was too late . Mental note, 3 year olds are more then willing to take their toys places but they want to come home with them as well. The girls made picture frames while they were there. They returned this morning to get their animals and the picture frames they made along with a little treat! (sorry for the poor scanning job.) Surprisingly, Sharky likes the very same book B. does! He also sat at the computer and listened to Mercer Mayer's Just My Grandma and Me while h...

A lady in our church had a vision for her neighborhood and the hurting people in it. She went door to door inviting children to AWANA. She said with each door the kids got excited and then followed her to the next door. She said she looked like the Pied Piper! At the end of the walk, she realized she needed help and enlisted, a more then willing, bus driver to collect the children to bring them to church. One specific family has 4 little boys whose names all start with the same letter. Last week, only one little boy came. I had those leaders asking me if I knew where the others were. This week I prayed specifically for that family. This morning at church, I popped into KIDS Church to help cover for teachers who would not be there. I was reading over the scripture preparing a lesson when I head the "NEWBIES" announced-those are the kids that are there for the first time. I heard a familiar name paired with another familiar name and then another-I turned around quickly...

Do you see your "name" on the wall? YOU ARE MORE!

There was a little confusion at our house recently....this strip sums up a similar conversation that I had with Miss B.

While we were in FL, we went to Orlando to meet Lien, a young woman I met in Vnam. We had to drive through all of the entertainment excitement. In doing so, the children noticed a skywriting and we guessed at each letter. They were thrilled to read "Jesus Loves U!" I wished I had taken a picture but I did not. Thankfully, a friend on Facebook had been there too and gave permission to use her picture. (Thanks Betsy!) Again and again, this plane would minister to all of those folks scurrying to get to what is likely to be the family entertainment capital of the East coast....all of those people! This pilot used what God had given them to go about their Father's business. Makes me think of 1 Corinthians 12, that we are all a part of the body with a different role. In Romans 12, we are reminded that we all have different gifts. No need for me to want to be a skywriter in FL, cause someone is already taking care of that and I will be real honest, I am so THANKFUL it is someone...

We usually leave our shoes at the door when we get home. All three of the children, as toddlers,made note of this and would ask us where we were going if we had our shoes on. I recall them telling My Dear to take his shoes off as soon as he got home to insure he would not be leaving. With cooler temperatures, the tile was cool yesterday and I wore flip flops in the house. As I was seated with my flip flops on, Miss B. sat at my feet and asked me to take my shoes off. She has been a bit needy and I knew she wanted me to stay put. She was so needy in fact that she had hauled her precious blanket around all day. The blanket is small and was pink, once upon a time. She calls it B.B. It is the essential tool for boo-boos, hurt feelings, and for a sleepy little girl. I explained to her that the floor was cold on my feet and I would continue to wear my shoes. She again asked me to take my shoes off. I repeated why I had my shoes on. She then took her precious BB and laid it at my feet and sai...

This is what we have been up to this Fall....so far, so good! Dolly lost her first tooth. She actually pulled it herself! It is that time of year, especially because it did not happen this spring-window cleaning! As a family, we participated in the Walk For Life fundraiser! Dolly's BFF and her mom joined us to make the walk even more fun (esp. for Dolly and me.) We, by far had the cutest wagon load there! The night before a birthday, we take some fun pictures of the birthday child while they are still "young." Miss B. turned 3!! She is still trying to form her little fingers into 2 for her last pictures as a 2 year old. This is my favorite picture of that night! She is about to be "caught" by daddy in a game of "You can't get me." Love that face! She and Dolly now have bunk beds and no more toddler bed. For our 3rd annual B Day, Miss B. chose to go to Monkey Joes! This picture is a reminder of why those inflatables are not always for adults. But th...

A lady invited me join her for prayer once a week. We met a few other ladies and since we live close to one another and the location. We decided that we would walk together to meet the others and pray. Our walk is about 30 minutes so we have that time there and back to talk with one another. As we joined together to pray, we share what we see God doing and what is on our hearts. We then pray-aloud together. Praying aloud seems so intimate. It is listening to someone else communicate with God-just them and their Savior and Lord. There is something about praying with a person, you begin to see their heart. In walking and prayer time with this lady, I have grown to love her. God spoke to my heart so clearly when I thought of this "grown" love. He said, "This is what I want....this love....this loves that grows from time spent with Me." God wants us to love Him, to know His heart, to enjoy fellowship with Him. For me to be in that love, I have to Show-Up! God is there a...

My Dear and I have supported our local Pregnancy Care Center since moving to this community. We have donated items, we walk in the Walk for Life, and host a table at the banquets. We get their newsletter and try to know what they are up to. My Dear has volunteered time teaching and has used the center's educators for youth events. We pray for the centers and with church members working there, we have learned even more about this ministry. With all of that being said, we know about this organization! Today, I joined the staff of this ministry for my first meeting as a part time team member. It is way cool! God has been preparing me for this ministry for years, although I was unaware of it. In fact, if the opportunity to work for them had been handed to me at any other time in my life, I likely would have walked away. Well, let me tell ya! Today as I sat at the table, for the first time with these amzing people, I heard testimony after testimony of the WONDERFUL things that...

Nana purchased the children sand pails and shovels to have at the beach while we were there. The kids were looking forward to using them. They used them in the house holding their goodies but B. really wanted to go to "Nana's sandbox." We went to the beach and the parking area of course had sand in it. The children hopped out of the car and grabbed their buckets while My Dear and I unloaded the rest of the comforts for the afternoon. They collected sand into their buckets and were content to play with this small amount of sand. They were completely satisfied with the sand in the parking lot but an entire beach of sand was just beyond their sights. Made me think of how long God has been waiting for me to come to the beach instead of "settling" for the sandy parking lot. What about you? What is it that He is calling you to do, to step out and trust Him? What is it that you are throwing into your sand bucket when He has a beach waiting for you? Wait no longer! Kic...

I know I have not be around much but God has been busy blessing me and teaching me. I wonder if I will look physically different soon! More on that later... When God calls couples to ministry it often means that we are to leave our extended families behind. We miss out on Sunday lunches and holidays together. We miss out on the free babysitting services. Birthday gifts are mailed and since your time together is limited it is sometimes hard to know what to purchase for one another. God fills those gaps for me. We have friends that fill in those roles for our children. They hug, cheer, congratulate, babysit, and one even baptized for our family! So thankful for those people but they do not replace our family. My Dear went to Puerto Rico this summer. On the way back, the flight was overbooked. So My Dear and a few others opted to stay the night in a hotel and give their seats up. My Dear was rewarded some sky miles so we put those to use. God blessed us by allowing our family of 5 to fly...

The little ladies enjoyed a picnic lunch this weekend. We awoke to cooler weather and both girls were excited about wearing jackets. The hood was likely not necessary but hey, they are excited about jacket weather! I noticed this little Barbie shoe in the back window of My Dear's car. Made me smile! We would have never dreamed we would have a single Barbie shoe in our possession 10 years ago and that it would be on display in our car window. I know it is fuzzy but for some reason I love this picture! Took several pictures of those tiny hands wrapped around the neck of her hero but just could not capture the innocence of them. The little girls sure loves that man, but so do I! Proof that even princesses need an education. It was way fun to go to a couple of yard sales dressed as royalty . Seeing that Dolly has never met a stranger, she and her dress made lots of friends. Each child had a dollar that they received in the mail. Billy bought ski gloves for a quarter. Dolly...

I have used The Power of a Praying Parent as a guide to pray over our children. But God has spoken to my heart specific prayer request for each of them. For Billy, I pray that he will have a love and deep understanding of the Word. I recall when I saw it being answered. Billy was reluctant to do his school work. I began reading the next chapter we had been reading in the Bible. Billy begged me to read more even though he had finished his handwriting assignment. By no means, is this prayer fulfilled but I see it playing out in Billy's life. When she was just an infant, God spoke to my heart on Dolly's behalf. My prayer for Dolly is that people would be attracted to her so that she could share salvation found through Jesus. We pray that God will use her pretty face and beautiful heart for His purposes. My prayers for Miss B. are that she will love people with the love that only Christ can give and that she looks upon people with compassion. As you can see, in her atte...

Before I homeschooled , I wondered how it worked-what does it look like? Now, I wonder from year to year, what it will look like with Miss B. in tow! So here is a shot from the first day! She wanted to be like the big kids. So she has her own journal, stickers, markers and a shelf of activities that are just for her. Yesterday she learned that, she has to put one thing away before she can get another out. (I hope that information transfers to her room and the rest of our home.) As I looked her journal, she also taught herself same and different. She placed colored smiley face stickers in her journal-yellow with yellow, blue with blue and red with red. I am glad I stepped out of her way so she could show me what she is learning. Today when Dolly finished part of her work, she helped B. with this activity to add to what she did yesterday. It was so easy and kept this little one busy. Both big kids wanted to work with her as well. Dolly chose a sticker for B. B. took the stick...

For our anniversary, My Dear and I set out to shop for a new fridge. Our chest freezer had died while we were saving money to go to Israel so it did not get replaced. Out little fridge was getting the job done but sometimes the door would not catch when we shut it. It is likely an easy fix but we were out of room. We bought the fridge 14 years ago when it was just the 2 of us. It has served us well. We have a kitchen of mixed matched appliances as well. Not that we would run to the store just for that, but it would be nice. We also would love to have an easy way for the children to drink purified water and not have to buy gallon jugs of water at the store. With all of that in mind, we thought we would shop. We decided a side by side, black with water and ice in the door would work best for our wallets and our needs. BUT we left the store without it. Neither one of us could handle the price tag. I am sure it was a good price, but that was a lot of dough for us! My Dear boug...

While at camp, I was asked to entertain the campers while the staff had a meeting. The camp dean came to me afterwards and asked if I was a teacher. I smiled but had a sense of pride from his comment. He liked what I had done with the kids. God began to remind me of humility. He has spoken it to me several times over the past couple of weeks. I needed to turn my pride into praise to Him and thank Him for what He was doing through me. The last day of camp, the Dean recognized the volunteers. He called them by position and thanked them. Bible Study leaders, cabin leaders, camp nurse, the music team, the craft lady....I know my position would be named too and I would stand and the kids would cheer wildly-cause what kid does not LOVE game time!? After all of those were recognized, he announced that the next person had done more to make camp a success that week then anyone. I thought that was pretty strong to say but I would take the compliment. Then he said, "and that person...

Dolly and I were heading to camp. Billy did not want to go so he thought he might like to stay with his cousin in another state. I drove him and the little sisters there while My Dear was away at another camp. We had a quick, but fun visit! Billy had been so excited, but when it was time to leave....he did not want to stay. He was caught between wanting to stay and wanting his family. We headed home-with Billy in the backseat, head hung in disappointment and questioning his decision. Poor little man is struggling with growing up. We hit city traffic at rush hour so I pulled off to eat dinner. Billy's stomach was too upset to eat so he ate a piece of bread and sat quietly. The girls and I finished our meal and the server brought our ticket. When she laid it on the table she looked at Billy and said, "Remember, no matter what, you momma loves you." I quietly thanked her for speaking the truth to my little Man Cub who needed to hear that. The children chose treats ...

I fell in love with the most precious woman in Vnam. Lien is in her early 20s and is engaged to a minister here in the states. Whenever we talked about him, she lit up! Mr. Lien, her soon to be husband, sent me a friend request on Facebook so we could get to know one another. I knew that Lien was having trouble getting her VISA to come to the states. I asked Mr. Lien why that was. Turns out that he did not make enough money to be her sponsor and he needed a co-sponsor. I gave Mr. Lien My Dear's phone number and we were in business! During the process, I realized I did not know Mr. Lien. But God reminded me I needed to trust Him to take care of Lien. Mr. Lien had asked me to help prepare Lien for being a pastor's wife. I had no idea what to tell her because I did not know what it was like to be a pastor's wife in Vnam. I did know that those wives (in rural churches) prepared lunch for their entire church prior to service-yeah....no kidding! I am good to feed our tribe of 5 a...

Dear nap time, Thank you for the precious couple of hours each school day that I could focus my attention on 2 sweet students. Thank you for the opportunity to hide away in the tiny classroom away from the phone, computer, door, and the dishes. Thank you for all of the exploring and discussions we had as we dove into books, charts, and maps. Thank you for the "pin drop" silence as we read through the wanderings of Moses and the battles of Joshua. Thank you for summer when school was eased to reading and relaxing on the couch. Thanks for the 2 days that I actually took a nap myself! Oh, thank you nap time! I saw what I was missing! I did not care to miss out on the free movie at the theater or the school aged activities at the library because nap time was well worth it. Thank you for allowing me some one-on-one time with a sweet little blond and instructions in Legos from our Man Cub. Thank you for the clean floor that I was able to find within those sweet hours. Thank you f...

This Friday Nana (who was visiting from the Sunshine state) and I took a pink haired Dolly to get her ears pierced. Seemed like the perfect time to do it since another BIG event was to happen in her life. This piercing was to remind her of this....... Isaiah 53:5 But He was PIERCED for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. Dolly was baptized on Sunday. Daddy was in the water but Dolly asked " Mami " to baptize her. Since we have no family around, Mami and Dolly kinda adopted one another while Dolly was in the nursery. I could not help but thing of Mami'a past year. The word cancer leaked into Dolly's vocabulary and came out in prayers and then celebration! Thank you God! We told Dolly as little as possible so that her hugs and behavior toward Mami would not change but be medicine to her. This celebration of one life became the celebration of 2 lives an...

I am a child of a piler so I guess I can say I inherited it! I will be honest, the piles on the bar in our kitchen make me nutty but there is always stuff there! My friend commented on how clean the drawers are in our home but her counter tops are always clean. She finds a spot for things but I have to put them in THEIR spot. But many times I don't know where that place is...therefore, I pile. I am reading all kinds of teaching inspiration-organizing for homeschoolers, Cathy Duffy just to make sure I am on the right path, and Diane Hopkins of Love to Learn. I am dreaming big! I have materials to do for Social Studies and pulled books off the bookcase to read with the children on related topics we have in Science and Social Studies. Thus, I have created another pile! By the way, I am loving reading this summer and PRAISE GOD my reluctant reader has become a bookworm!!!! We are doing more Social Studies and Science this summer and it is totally working for us and drives our reading a...

When I step out our door in the afternoon, I know it is hot. The children want to check the thermometer in our trusty 'ole van. Everyone is saying, "IT'S HOT!" But when I look at the numbers it is still cooler than what it was in Vnam this Spring. It is much, much cooler then it was indoors of the churches and the training centers where we served and were served. We complain about the heat and head into our air conditioned homes. While..... my friend Lisa is sweating it out in Haiti right now along with 100s (if not 1000s) of other volunteers. Hai and Quang are traveling Vnam hosting Bible Schools with enough children to represent the adults that would fill the seats on a Sunday morning. a young mom receives chemotherapy. youth leaders and camp staff are giving all of themselves to teach your children about missions and leading them in Bible Studies. children in the US are going without lunch because there is no school. children, around the world, are being treated as...

A dear sister in the faith hopped on an airplane this week to take care of herself. She found herself in a hospital that carried the name of Christian but had no Bibles. She used a few of her minutes for phone calls to call me to send Bibles for others there. I KNEW it was a God thing....all of it! I posted the need for 17 Bibles on Facebook . A family member had already stuck a check in the mail to help out (I am so blessed with my family!!) Got a message to contact a lady in our church. She had boxes of new Bibles stored at her home that the manufacturer was unable to sell due to damage to the boxes. Right there God handed me 18 Bibles! " FOR FREE!" (that was a joke in Vnam that our Vnam Pastor would say in his limited English.) They are leather bound, study Bibles. I am sure those Bibles cost about $50 a pop! When the boxes were handed to me, I physically felt the concern of shipping such a heavy box. Even if I paid $50 a box for shipping, there was still a...

I am still here! Not so much writing, but living. Tis summer ya know! Friday night had us going in 2 different directions (probably because there are just 2 adults to get 'em there!) Billy had a ball game while Dolly and B. and I were in charge of the end of the year program for our school group. My Dear put some time into it as well. It was fun to look over our school year and recognize a mom who is graduating from Homeschooling. A sweet friend had a humorous but love filled tribute for what to do with a homeschooling mom when she is no longer a homeschool mom. B. has not even started school but I had the sore throat and watery eyes through this part of the ceremony. Directly after, we jumped in the vehicle to get to KY to love on My Dear's "brother." He and Jesse met in college and his family became ours....adopted by love! Jesse reported for duty to be a military chaplain . They usually have about 80 in a class but his class will be 188! How cool is ...