Our Family Circus

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...

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...

Dear Baby Blake, Tonight, I watched you clean your brother and sister's room. You spotted my doing so and joined in, putting things in their proper places. I left the room, but you did not stop until the Little People toys were in their place. You picked up dirty clothes to place in a drawer until I told you they were dirty, then you turned to the hamper in the closet. The big kids were preparing for bed, each in a bathroom, they did not see you, but I did. As they got into their beds Lydia requested water. I assured her I would get it but you left the room to retrieve an empty cup and brought it to her. We continued to read and pray together when you left and returned again with an empty sports bottle assuming Clay would need a drink too. When Clay suggested cough syrup instead you accompanied me to the kitchen. You waited as I prepared a tiny cup. Then reached for it to make your delivery. I walked away with the medication-you will understand this as you get older. Yo...

Man Cub defines a sin as anything we say, think or do that makes God sad. One day, as we were discussing a verse he was learning for AWANA , we talked about sin. As we talked, the THINK part really clicked with him. I probably did not get that until like, LAST YEAR or something! He looked at me so serious and said, "You mean if I think about something like, punching my mom , that is a sin?" First off, I am pretty sure that is not just some random example! I sat and listened and smiled inside that he used such specifics for his example. I asked, "Well, what is a sin?" He repeated the definition and when he said THINK, he froze with a look of shock that he had been sinning. It was so precious to me! Not because he was busted for the "punch mama" part but because he understood and had reached another level of spiritual maturity. To follow up this discussion, I began confessing some of my sins out loud with the children at bedtime, the ones I t...

I have a confession. I love the Internet ! I keep up with our family and friends via email and now my friendships have expanded to Facebook where I am reintroduced to childhood, High School, college, and well, "I have seen you around" friends. When I need adult time with no adult around, I go to the computer to check on my friends. Yesterday was a blah day! Whenever I needed a moment, I plopped in the computer chair. What was to be 5 minutes turned into more and I got NOTHING done. I bet I was not very nice either. I was disappointed in myself because it was clear to me, there was a problem! This morning, the kids asked to play on the computer but I said no. I kept the computer turned off all morning. Morning turned into afternoon. Laundry and dishes were getting done. Teaching was done. Student willingly did school work. Baby was read to. Marble contraptions were praised and experimented with. Names were written in chalk on the driveway. Girls were pushed on...

We don't do Easter baskets or eggs-freaks, I know! The more I learn about the way we celebrate holidays, I realize it is less about Jesus when it should be MORE about Him. My friend Lori has a great idea for teaching her girls about the death and resurrection of Christ. The girls took a doll and wrapped it in cloth. They laid the body in the tomb (clothes dryer) and sealed it (duck tape.) Two other dolls were placed to stand post as the soldiers guarding the tomb, Rescue Heros and army men have held this position in our home. This year is will be dollhouse men. The family reads the story together from the Bible or a children's Bible. If you can live without your dryer long enough, you can do this 3 nights prior to Easter. When our children come home from church on Sunday, they run to the tomb where they find that Jesus is no longer there! The soldiers are laying to the side and the cloth is nicely folded in the tomb and a gift awaits them. They know the story and know that Jesu...

I read a blog recently about jealousy. I have been so guilty of that. I allow myself to become jealous of others who have more money or those with family close by. They can go shopping with their sister and drop the kids off at mom's. I too see where others may look at me and think how easy I have it. We have adjusted our lives for me to be at home. We are abundantly blessed with friends that help with our children when needed and sometimes when we don't need it. What have I to be jealous of-NOTHING!! Our Lydia received a kite as a bithday gift. Conditions were perfect yesterday! The kids wanted to fly it so we did. I thought how carefree we must look in the front yard playing. People driving home from work or picking up kids from childcare- those peope who had been stuck inside all day while we were flying a kite. Those people do not know that inside our home is ripped apart as we prepare for a trip. Clothes and suitcases are scattered. The dishwasher was full of clean dishes ...

When Mark and I were engaged, one of my mother-in-laws used only cloth napkins. She mentioned how easy they were to launder and how much cheaper they must be as well. I decided to try it! I even remember someone laughing at my bridal shower when they heard we were going to use cloth napkins. Well, almost 13 years later--we are still using them!! They are so easy, I just throw them in with the towels to wash and the kids help fold them. I can not even imagine maple syrup without a cloth napkin! Napkins are usually sold in bundles of 2 or 4. Since there are 3 of us here all the time using napkins, we end up with a mismatched table at times. When this began, we allowed the person with the odd napkin the honor of saying the blessing. Now even when there is a set, the kids grab an odd napkin to bless someone. They love to give this privilege to one another and sometimes even Dad and I get the napkin. You are allowed to choose someone else to say the blessing in your place if you said the bl...

When our Lydia was a baby I had a digital clock in her room. It helped me to decipher her cry and know what she needed. For several nights in a row the clock read 3:33 am. When I saw it, I recited Jeremiah 33:3 : "Call unto me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know." It was nice I know the scripture but I needed to DO the scripture. So as I fed my infant, I talked with my Savior. Whenever you see the numbers 333-PRAY. Have the kids watch for the numbers and pray with you. They can be on a clock, a house number, phone number....where ever Just go 333-its God's phone number!