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...

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...