Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Knee Deep……….

boots

 

I am in the trenches of parenting these days.

I mean KNEE-DEEP in tons of issues.

Half-way up SEVERAL mountains.

Facing down my fears and trying my hardest to keep my head above water.

My kids are growing up which means DAYS of sorting out feelings and LOVING them thru it.

Gone are the days of just “keeping them alive”….

Those were the days…nurse,sleep,change. Repeat.

No…..

Now we are going DEEP into the heart of the issues….in the muddy trenches.  Sifting thru a mess of changes.

Sticky places that shape them for LIFE.

It is EXAUSTING.

And most of time I feel like I am failing…..

Flailing on all fronts.  And not succeeding in ANY of them.

Some days go by with little or no drama.

Well…little or very little drama.

There are rarely days with NO DRAMA…who are we kidding???

And some days ROCK ME.

Some days I feel like if I have to referee ONE>MORE>FIGHT, answer 1 more question, cook 1 more meal, teach 1 more lesson, or solve 1 more problem….

I will FREAK .

And some days I do…..freak.

More often than you would believe …trust me.

But more than anything I am learning thru these days that I am growing up too.

I am learning new things about myself and my journey everyday.

I am learning that sometimes the lessons are more for me to learn than they are for me to teach.

They are reflections of me.

I guess that is life right?

We ALL grow.

We ALL change.

And we ALL get a new chance tomorrow.

Thank goodness that we get re-dos and make-ups.

And thank goodness that if we truly pay attention in this life we realize that…..

We

are

forever

HIS

children.

We are given these struggles and “trenches” …

because we NEED them.

We need to constantly examine and look inside.

We need to continually check ourselves.

If we don’t…..

We soon realize that….

The mud in the trenches is heavy and suffocating.

And if we don’t KEEP MOVING…

We are bound to get STUCK.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Keeping our options open....

(WARNING: this post contains opinions that may be different from yours. AN..every situation is different. I KNOW that not ALL moms have a choice. I HONOR YOUR CHOICES.)



I was talking to a homeschool mom in my co-op last year, and when I asked her what her 15 year old daughter wanted to "be when she grew up"???

Her answer was something that was such a blessing to me.

"She doesn't want to "BE" anything except a good wife an Mother."

I stood there...
BAFFLED.

My eyes started to tear up.

In a world where women at taught that in order to be "of value" they have to "be equal" to men. They have to earn the same(or more). They have to be able to do the same things(or more). They have to be "as good as men are" at "men things".

THAT was unheard of for a MOTHER to say about her daughter
THAT was refreshing.
It made me HAPPY.

Not because I was glad she was making the choice NOT TO go to college.
But...
Because I was delighted in the fact that was a YOUNG woman, she looked at being a mother and a wife AS A CAREER CHOICE.
She saw it as something OF VALUE.
She wasn't brought up to believe that she HAD TO GO TO SCHOOL to be fufilled.
That doesen't mean she WON'T.
It means she has a CHOICE.
She can ALSO make a choice to go to school and then NOT USE HER DEGREE ..if she finds a husband and becomes a mother.
And that would ALSO be HONORABLE.
She was brought up to KNOW that in life being a GREAT MOTHER and WIFE...CAN BE A CAREER.
It can be JUST As FULFILLING to raise a family...
as it is to raise your bank balance- if she has a choice...
or KNOWS she has the OPTION.
If it IS an OPTION...FOR HER.
Sometimes it is an sometimes it isn't.

I made me really think about the daughters I have.
I want them to know that college is an OPTION.
But...
so is being a mother an a wife.

I want them to know that sometimes fulfilling your GOD-GIVEN role has JUST as many PERKS, carries insurance, and PAYS well...as long as you accept LOVE as a payment rather than MONEY.

Being a SAHM is the best decision I ever made...because I had the OPTION.


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Proverbs 31:10-31
[1] An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She dresses herself [2] with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet. [3]
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Today....

Outside my window today I saw a peculiar sight...

I looked out there and saw a gleaming light.

It was some of my children....laughing joyfully.

What a sweet, sweet sight it was for me to see.

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Friday, December 31, 2010

Mental Math Mania!!!!!!!!!



"Mom..I know what 20+90 is...110!!!"

"Mom..Do you know what 140+90 is????"

"Mom..you know what 70+55 is?"

"Mom....I bet you don't know what 60+57 is!"

THAT is what Malachi sounds like lately.


It is hilarious.

He is in 1st grade and has a MATH MIND that won't quit.

He is like an ACTIVE VOLCANO...of Math problems.

He spews and spats them out like they are LAVA hot....FAST and furious.

There is not a day that goes by these days when he doesn't come to me ....at least 50 times and challenge me with his mental math.

LOVE IT!!!!

And the best part......Sheba came up to me yesterday and said,

"Mom....I bet you don't know what 7+3 is."

I just smiled and said, "No...but I bet you will tell me SMART GIRL!!"

SWEET!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Changes.........




Times are changing.

It was bound to happen....I knew I wouldn't be ready.

No matter WHEN the time came.

Wasn't it just yesterday that they were born?

Now they are half way grown.

Wasn't it just yesterday that they were taking their first wobbly steps?

Now I couldn't catch some of them ....even if I tried.

It feels like only a few weeks ago that they were starting to babble.

Now they get in trouble for talking back.

Life is a journey.

Sometimes it goes by so fast that yesterday seems forever ago and 10 years seems like yesterday.

Lately I have been noticing some changes our family is going thru.

Weird, Scary, New.

Changes that you cant prepare for as a mother.

Changes that CREEP up on you and take you by surprise.

Things like Zeek(10) saying things like, "Mom, do I have to do that craft???"

Seriously....this was HORRIFYING to me.

I mean ...when do they stop doing crafts. I thought we would be making a diorama when he was in college. I was prepared for toilet paper MLK figures in 11 grade.

sad...so sad.

Then there is Shasha who has recently decided that she likes her hair a NEW WAY.

The NEW WAY is way to grown up for me.....
She likes to hold a piece of her hair down on 1 side of her face...and have me put the rest up in a ponytail.

Sniff. Sniff.

Then there is Malachi.....hes almost 7.

What the heck?????

How is our WILD CHILD almost 7????

When?
Where?
How?

Even Sheba...the BABY is growing.

She is starting to say things like, "I can do it!!!!!"

It is a hard change....
I am not ready.

But then again...would I ever be?????

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Blessed.....WONDERfully!!!

Sometimes GOD shows himself to you in different ways.

Sometimes it is something HUGE.

Sometimes it is something small.

But...no matter what....GOD always seems to DELIVER.

That is exactly what happened to us.

We WANTED to go to the "Winter Wonderland" at the ampitheatre in St. Augustine...
but-
for a family of 6...it would cost a fortune.
LIKE:
Ice skating: $10 X 6= $60
Bounce house: $2 x8 = $16
Ice slide: $3 X 10= $30
Train: $3 X 6= $18

Total: $124 for JUST our family to go!!!

There was NO WAY we could justify spending $124 on something like that.
Don't get me wrong, we would LOVE for our kids to experience the "snow" but....
NO WAY could we afford it.

THEN....
A friend of ours GAVE us these:
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Which was not only ENOUGH...but MORE than enough.

We took Jays twin brother and two of his kids also!!!!

And once again....GOD provided.

It was such a blessing to be able to give the kids such a gift.
And
SUCH a show of how GOD does provide ....
sometimes he provides not just for a need, but for a WANT!!!

Sweet!!!

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Winter Wonderland...

It worked!!!!!!!!!

We woke up this morning to a WINTER WONDERLAND.

Thanks to a SWEET DADDY who was willing to BRAVE the FREEZING weather to set up a SPRINKLER.
Shasha woke up first and got all bundled up with Jay to go see IF it worked.

She came back in with an icicle about a foot long with a HUGE grin on her face!!!

AWESOME!

Then she proceeded to WAKE UP ALL the others and by 7 am...the whole family was up and OUTSIDE in 23 degree weather.

But...after admiring Daddys ICY creation, we started a fire and had a quick Science lesson on weather and temprature.

Then we watched the sun rise and had hot chocolate.

Freezing never felt sooooo WARM.

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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Life lessons......at WALMART.


Change.

Growth.

Those things are HARD for adults to handle.

And lets be HONEST...sometimes we SUCK at it.

Learning to "go with the flow" is not necessarily an EASY thing to do.

It takes TIME.
and
PRACTICE.

And sometimes even when we are "adults" we still struggle with it.

And then you throw in little souls that we were "LOANED" to us by GOD, and it becomes a LIFE LONG JOURNEY.

A journey that we walk together because we are LEARNING together.

This time of year is what the kids call our "birthday season".

They call it that because ALL 4 of the kids birthdays are so close together.

Sheba: Sept. 8
then
Zeek: Oct. 12
then
Shashamane: Nov. 6
then
Malachi: Jan 2

Yes ...I know...
WE WERE BUSY.
LOL

Anyway...
during their bdays they inevitably get birthday money.

And they are always sooooo thankful for the money they get.

BUT....
as they get older things change.

The lessons that they learn change....because they GROW.

The lesson you teach the 5 year old is not the SAME lesson you teach the 10 year old.

or the 8 year old.

This year....
they have all gotten SOME money for their birthdays.

And they all handle it differently.

Zeek likes to HANG on to his....AND he likes to buy things for his brothers and sisters. He LOVES to have money in his wallet "just in case". AND... he is ALWAYS willing to GIVE. He has such a sweet, endearing heart. This lesson has been EASY to teach him....because GOD made him that way. He dosent STRUGGLE with it.

But.........
Then there is Shashamane.
Sweet girl has had a HARD time this year.
She got money but COULD NOT figure out WHAT she wanted to do with it.
She is a little reserved and INDECISIVE about the whole thing.
I took her shopping with her money and she just WANDERED the entire St. Augustine walmart while I walked behind her and said,
"What about nail polish? You love to paint your nails. No? ok."
"What about new CRAFT SUPPLIES? You LOVE to do crafts! No? ok."
" What about CLOTHES??? You LOVE clothes! No? ok."

She COULD NOT decide.
Then........
She started POUTING!
I mean like sad eyes, arms crossed, feet dragging, POUTING!!!!!!!!!

Uugggggghhhhhhhhhh....

If there is ONE THING I can't STAND...it is an UNGRATEFUL child!

I mean seriously....
I am the QUEEN of , "You say your STRAVING??? Come here...Let me show you STARVING!"(Then I get on the computer and pull up some totally scary picture of a REALLY STARVING child . I know...Im weird. crazy. harsh. I wont apologize.)

I think that it is SOOOO IMPORTANT for children to have a REAL WORLD VIEW of life.
They need to know that the life they lived is BLESSED. The life they live is something that is UNIMAGINABLE to MOST children in the world.

They live in a house...not a tent.
They have running water....not a well- 3 hours away.
They have electricity....ALL THE TIME.
They eat 3 meals a day...........not 3 times a week.
They have access to medicine when they are sick.....they dont do without because they are POOR.

They are SOOO EMENSELY BLESSED.
And they should remember it.
EVERYDAY.

I want then to remember that GOD granted them these gifts....they are not to be TAKEN FOR GRANTED.
They are not to be EXPECTED.

Because......
Today is today.
but-
tommorow.....things could change.

Tommorow....WE could be the ones truly STARVING or living in a TENT.

So right there in the middle of WALMART we stopped SHOPPING and had a little "reality check".

We stopped and talked about how It was not RIGHT to be upset because you cant figure out HOW to spend your money...
We talked about how we were going to GIVE THANKS for the fact that we have money to spend at WALMART...when so many are FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES!
We talked about how GOD wanted us to be GOOD STEWARDS of our money...so we didnt want to WASTE IT on something....just because we wanted to BUY SOMETHING!
We talked about how it was NOT ACCEPTABLE for her to frown and act that way .....EVER.

simply because......
we are TOO BLESSED.

It was such a TEACHABLE MOMENT and a LIFE LESSON.

We ended up walking out with BOTH some money in our hand, a panda doll, AND....
a lesson that I am sure is not OVER.

Because....
It is a lesson that is a life long journey.
A lesson that takes a while to be IMPRINTED on your heart.
For some of my children, it comes easier that others.
But ..I am determined that NO MATTER WHAT...
It is a lesson that they WILL LEARN.
It is a lesson that will SAVE them from so much heartache and disappointment.


We need to appreciate our BLESSINGS...
and OUR JOURNEYS for what they are...
Even when they come to us in the TOY isle at WALMART.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:8-10

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Narrowing it down…..

School.

Its starting to CREEP up into my mind.

Slowly….I’m TRYING to force it back.

Although I KNOW from experience that If you think about it a LITTLE at a time ….It is easier than thinking about it ALL in AUGUST.

Been there ….

Done THAT.

No thank you!!!!!

I have narrowed it down to My Fathers World….

This is what the MFW website says about the Curriculum:

  • Recognizes the Bible, God's truth, to be the foundation of wisdom and education.
  • Utilizes hands-on, unit studies with daily lesson plans that are easy-to-teach.
  • Enables families and multi-age groups to learn together. Many of our programs may be taught to a range of ages simultaneously.
  • Combines the best of Charlotte Mason's ideas and classical education with a Biblical worldview, an international focus and our own observations of how children learn.
  • Uses a comprehensive, sequenced learning program beginning with preschool learning toys to develop readiness skills. Our complete unit-based curriculum includes a phonics-based learning-to-read program and focuses on God's amazing creation (kindergarten), the world of the Bible (first grade), and U.S. history (second or third grade). Then a year of geography sets the foundation for four years of chronological world and U.S. history (through eighth grade). Our high school curriculum provides a Biblical framework for English, history, and other subjects.
  • Provides easy-to-teach, integrated curriculum that is enjoyable, academically strong, and focused on character development.
  • Is committed to the Lord of All, who tenderly searches for people from every tribe and language. A portion of our profits helps support mission work overseas, especially Bible translation projects. Our heart's desire is that someday soon all people would be able to read of God's love in their own language.


AWESOME!!!

I think I am going to LOVE IT.

And because it was DESIGNED to be taught to MULTI-age classrooms , I think it will fit us well.

I will supplement Math and LA from Lifepacs.

ALSO…

I am DEFINANTLY going to use Prepare and Pray!

It is based on the Swiss Family Robinson book.

Again…

Here is what they say about their curriculum:

Prepare and Pray! is designed to be useful in a missionary hut, an urban homestead with container gardens on the patio, a travel trailer, or a cabin in the wilderness. It is flexible because we have done all these things and made it work and you can too. You will not find cutesy paper plate puppet projects; instead science will be studied by gardening, health by growing herbs and making tinctures or learning wilderness first aid; art is learned by basic knitting and sewing skills, basket making, journaling and identifying wild edibles. History consists of stories of great movements, martyrs, and true heroes.

And THIS:

Based on the Swiss Family Robinson , a classic novel for children written by Johann (David) Wyss, a radical believer who used every available opportunity in the story to emphasize character training and true godliness. The written original version has little or nothing in common with the Disney version. There are no pirate battles, squabbles over a flirtatious young lady, or allowances for laziness. The curriculum was originally developed in 1997, has been widely and successfully distributed, with endorsements from many homeschooling veterans, experts, and publications. It was never intended as a "y2k" curriculum, as we have clearly and repeatedly stated that judgment upon the ungodliness of our nation could clearly take many unpredictable forms. So we cover a variety of scenarios, including natural disasters, economic downturns, terrorism, plague, etc. It is a miracle, but we have managed to develop a curriculum preparing for these events that children and families consider fun! Your child's life may depend on skills he learns while having fun.

I LOVE it…A “Y2K” curriculum.

Yeah!!!!

Happy Homeschooling!!!!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

BIG WORDS…..

Today our dear friend Lara was here with “Coco” her sweet Baby.

The kids LOVE her and LOVE the baby.

Well …Today they were all out on the trampoline and Lara said, “I need to take the baby in because it is SOOOOO hot.”

Malachi looked at her and said, “Why??? Will she DISENTIGRATE??? “

Later on I asked Malachi if he knew what DISINTIGRATE means…

He looked at me as if I WAS CRAZY.

“It means to turn to DUST.”

OK.

I  love it when LITTLE PEOPLE use BIG WORDS…..

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Batidos and Blessings….

Kids Spanish 101 + Fruit = Batidos(Smoothies)

YUMMY!!!

Awesome Senorita Shawna came over again today for Kids Spanish 101.

She arrived with a HUGE bag of FRUIT….

and Spanish flash cards….

and a blender….

and her 2 kids….

AWESOME.

She started by laying out the fruit on the floor and asking the kids to cut the Spanish words for the fruit and “label” them.

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THEN the kids took turns acting like they ran a restaurant ( a CRAZY restaurant) but a restaurant none the less…LOL.

They ordered their BATIDOS(smoothies) and waited NOT SO PATIENTLY for the COOK(Me and Shawna) to make their TREATS.

SWEET!!!!!!!!  (Literally)

The kids LOVED it.

They are like sponges….they SOAK IT UP.

They LOVE learning Spanish and as I have said before –I hope that THESE LESSONS help them to BE BETTER.

Better  people.

More WORLDY people.

More WELL ROUNDED.

More AWARE that AMERICA and ENGLISH are NOT the end all be all.

There are LOTS of places in the world where SPANISH is a VALUABLE COMMODOTY.

A treasure.

A SKILL.

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Then

I appreciate these lessons and the FRIENDS that can teach them.

What a blessing these classes are.

What a TREASURE these children will hold if they actually end up BI-LINGUAL.

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THEN I got to THINKING…

Is is too much to ask that AFTER they are  BI-LINGUAL they NEVER LEAVE  or TRAVEL to use their skills????

PROBABLY….

But- A mother can hope right??????

LOL.

Arriba!!!!!!!

 

Friday, June 18, 2010

Datil Do it…….

 

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Its funny how even kids raised in the same home, same parents, same LIFE, can STILL  be soooooo different.

All of our kids are sweet.

Most of the time.

All are obedient.

Most of the time.

Last night I was getting the kids out of the bath and I told Malachi to get out.

“No.” he said.

I said, “Get out before I count to 3.”

“No.” he said.

I said , “Now your getting out AND getting a spanking.”

He laughed.

So I got him out and spanked him.

He laughed…AGAIN.

I said , “Well , I guess I will have to use the Datil Pepper HOT SAUCE.”

THAT got a  reaction….

“No Mom, PLEASE. No MOM!!!!!!”

He begged .

He Pleaded.

He still got “Sauced”.

Please pray for us.

Pray that we don't need to plant an EXTRA Datil pepper plant….JUST FOR MALACHI!!!!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Kids Spanish 101

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There are some things in my life that have been BURNED into my mind  from the past.

Some things that affected ME so much that I am DETERMINED to make it different with MY CHILDREN.

One of those things is NOT BEING BI-LINGUAL.

There was a time when Jay and I were living in Costa Rica(the 1st time)and we were sitting around a table of travelers.

They were from everywhere:England,New Zealand, Germany, Brazil.

As I sat there listening to them ALL speak Spanish AND their native language, It was a real EYE-OPENER for me.

To be honest…they all spoke at least 3 language…FLUENTLY.

I was STUNNED and SHAMED that in AMERICA, the land of ALL PEOPLE, we were only taught OUR LANGUAGE.

As if it were the ONLY LANGUAGE.

I know, I know…we have Spanish and German as an ELECTIVE in High School.

BUT---We are not STUDYING THESE LANGUAGES for fluency.

We are not studying these languages from a YOUNG AGE.

In Texas we studied CONVERSATIONAL SPANISH in HS …mostly to communicate with the people around us.

But not for real fluency.

I sat there and was SAD and MAD all at the same time.

I decided right there…when we had NO KIDS, that my children would NEVER sit around THAT table again.

I never wanted them to feel THAT WAY.

BEHIND, NOT AS SMART, AT A DISADVANTAGE.

I felt all those and more sitting at that table.

Sooooo……………..

Because of that experience I decided to make a change.

This summer we started KIDS SPANISH 101 with my friend Senorita Shawna.

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It was awesome.

She taught them to introduce themselves and greetings and then she taught them colors.

After class we had a SPANISH LUNCH.

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We will be alternating btwn Spanish and art this summer.

I love SECRET SUMMER SCHOOL!!!

ARRIBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Karma.

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All of the children are PRECIOUS.

All have their own STRONG POINTS.

Ezekiel's’ strong point is DEFINANTLY his SWEET NATURE.

He is always helpful, gracious, and loving.

He is a LIGHT in this family and the other children are BLESSED to have him as an example.

So when this happened the other day I was NOT SURPRISED.

But I was AWED.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

We were getting ready to go to the gym the other day and we were LOADING UP in the van.

Zeek was sitting in the front seat and the other kids were in the back.

Shasha was arguing with Malachi about SOMETHING.

I was just getting in the car and I was about to give my best “If you don’t stop arguing , we WILL NOT go swimming after Yoga” speech when Zeek jumped in for me.

“Guys….if you treat people nice , nice things will happen to you. Its called KARMA.  There is GOOD KARMA and BAD KARMA.  If you do something GOOD, GOOD comes back to you.  And if you do something BAD, BAD things will eventually happen to you.”

As you can imagine…My heart was starting to MELT.

THEN he took hold of my hand and looked at me and WINKED.

As if to say…”I got this, Mom.”

You could have MOPPED ME UP.

I was so in love with that child at that moment.

I was so in awe.

I feel SO BLESSED to have been GIVEN such an AMAZING GIFT.

And so HONORED to be able to watch him GROW INTO A MAN.

What an EXCITING JOURNEY we are on.

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1Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.

Psalm 112:1-6

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Mini Zeek….x3

I guess It happens in every house full of kids.

We had them pretty close together…9,7,6,4.

Stair steps.

They are sooo close in age that they CLOSE to each other…

MOST of the time.

I mean …don’t get me wrong…they DO argue and fight.

BUT-------

They also IDOLIZE the children that are older than them.

CUTE.

The other day they were REALLY QUIET for about 20 min.

SCARY.

VERY SCARY.

And…ALTHOUGH we were worried, Jay and I decided to TALK instead of GO FIND THEM.

Lucky for US…THIS is ALL   they were up to……….

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They were dressing up as EZEKIEL!!!!

All of them.

In his clothes.

His hats.

His pants.

AWESOME.

Its a good thing he is a GREAT  EXAMPLE for them to follow.

LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Sweet, sweet kids that LOVE their big brother.