Redeemer

Today was the first meeting of Redeemer Church at Lake Nona.  It's been almost 14 years since my dad has led a church.  I have longed for this day for so long even when it seemed like we would be at Metro forever.

I enjoyed our 10 years at Metro Life Church.  There are aspects of a large church that are fun and convenient, but until the process began of beginning Redeemer, I had forgotten what it was like to be a part of the beginning.  To be a part of the planning and dreaming of a new, small church.  I love that my kids will be a part of this.  I pray one day they will have a love for the church like I had when I was younger.  Not just because their friends go there or it is "fun", but a true love for His people and His church.  A desire to serve the community, to want to serve on missions, to give their life away for others.

I pray PJ and I are an example to them as well.  I have watched my dad serve through thick and thin.  Not allowing circumstances to affect how he serves God's people.  I pray my children will learn from him, but also the two of us.

Inspired

I have been inspired by my mom to blog again. The great news is no one will know that I am, so it can almost be like my own personal diary. If I feel the need perhaps I will share I blog again.

For now, an update on my kids.

Kayla - 10 years old

Friends, basketball, horses, reading, and riding her bike are some of her favorites.

Wyatt - 7 years old in two months

Wii, JJ, basketball, riding his bike, Titus, Legos, and Battleship are his passions.

Anniston - 5 years old

Barbies, Pet Shop, bikes, animals, writing her letters, and playing with Danae are her favories.

Danae - Almost 4

Titus, getting dirty, barbies, Ellie, chasing neighborhood cats, playing with Annie are some of her favorites.

Titus - Just turned 3

Anything with Wallace, playing with Danae, annoying Kayla, laying with Wyatt, footballs and swimming are just a few of his favorites.

As for me, these people are my favorite.

A Boy's Life

It amazes me the difference between boys and girls. Wyatt's new obsession is Lego Star Wars. I tried and tried to get Kayla to like some sort of video game. I tried VSmile, Wii, and DS. I don't care so much for gaming, but it does have it's place.

Wyatt started playing Wii about a year ago, but we only had one game since Kayla never really enjoyed it. As a reward for him one day, I took him out and he chose Lego Star Wars to purchase. Dear Lord, it takes everything to keep him off that thing. I didn't even show him how to use it (since I had no idea how to use it), but somehow the child taught himself and was rejoicing today about making it to level 19 or something.

I guess now is the time to start making some rules about playing. When I was a kid, our rule was we could play video games on rainy days. Since we live in the "sunshine state" I am going to have to come up with something different.

Thankfully he still likes to run, romp, and swim outside because, although I enjoy having something quiet for him to do, I do not want a lazy, fat, sit in front of the t.v. type of boy.

I wonder how often most people let their kids play video games? I guess I should start asking around to see what other families do to keep this stuff under control.

Mom

I think I appreciate my mom more this year than ever before. I wanted to take a moment to honor her and tell my kids what she has meant to me.

Kids, your grandmother is one of the most amazing woman you will ever have the privilege of knowing. She has sacrificed her entire life to serve her God and her family. There are maybe fleeting moments she thinks about herself, but when she does you never know it.

She has laid down her life for her husband. She has laid down her life for her kids and she is laying down her life for you guys, her grandchildren. Mommy has watched her go through trials you may never know about, but her faith and trust in God is unwavering. She is a woman of great faith. A faith does not not end when the storms come, when trials overwhelm and when pain increases. Her body may tire, but her faith does not.

She has helped your mommy through some trials. God has used her to help me to love your daddy more, love her God more, and love you guys more. Not only from her example, but from her wisdom.

One day I pray you guys admire and love me the way I love Granma. I pray you will look at me and think "My mommy is strong. My mommy has faith when there seems to be no reason to have it. My mommy loves my daddy and gives her life to him. And my mommy laid down her life for me. My mommy loves her God."

I pray you know your Granma for many years to come, but when the Lord eventually does take her away, I pray her legacy is lived through my life. And through yours.

Just Checking

Does anyone at all still read this blog? Just curious.

I have been reading back over my past posts and realized how wonderful it is! I love reading about my life, my kids life, my thoughts at the time. I was cracking up at the things my kids said and loving reading what was going through my mind. A ton has happened over the past year and I easily forget what happened even 2 or 3 years ago. It is good for my soul to read it.

Therefore, I am going to start posting again. For me and my kids. I want to remember the times of my life. The good and the bad.

Even if no one reads it....

Kittens

Anyone want a kitten? Nate and Amy Graham's cat had some a few weeks ago. They are trying to talk us into getting one.

My kids have already named "their cat".

Quote of the Week

“You must regard parenting as one of your most important tasks while you have children at home. This is your calling…There is nothing more important. You have only a brief season of life to invest yourself in this task. You have only one opportunity to do it. You cannot go back and do it over. You live in a culture in which there are opportunities for you to do things unheard of in history. You are presented daily with scores of opportunities. There is more than you could ever do. [But] to do this job of parenting well, it must be a primary task. It is your primary calling.” Paul Tripp

Prayer

I have been thinking a lot about prayer. Mostly how I pray more often, harder, and deeper when there is something "wrong". Either something going wrong in my life or others.

I do think a lot about how God is in control, that I trust Him, and that all things will work together for my and others good. The problem is that sometimes these, overall good thoughts, should not take the place of prayer. My trust in Him should not make me feel less of a need to pray.





“If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word- Prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell.”

Charles H. Spurgeon

Update

I am not sure I could have taken any longer to update my blog. I certainly hope to be more consistent, but am making no promises. I think my schedule pretty much fell apart during the holidays and I have been unable to catch back up. So, to start off my new found desire to blog, I decided to start with an update.

Kayla - Continues to grow, and learn, and be mommy's little helper. I am amazed at how competent she is with Danae especially. It is nice when that I can send her to give a bath, feed breakfast, or just keep her happy while I get whatever done. She is doing well in school, and her only downfall is her own mothers lack of consistency.

Wyatt - My little buddy turned 4 the end of March. Crazy that it seems like only yesterday he as my crazy, collicky baby and than my out of control toddler. He has really matured here recently and seems like such a little boy. He pretty much talks constantly, which can be interesting at times. He always has the most wonderful questions.

Anniston - Not much has changed with Annie. She is still as cute as can be and loud, and mean, and all the other awesome personality characteristics she has. I do love my little stinker and so enjoy cleaning up her various messes and destructions every day.

Danae - My sweet baby love is now 1. She still does not walk or crawl. Yeah, she is a little slow. I blame it on her eye infection last year. I figure all babies that have eye infections don't learn to walk until they are 5. Right?

So there you have it. I am doing well, already planning for next homeschool year (I WILL be organized, I WILL be organized) and plan on hopefully joining a small co-op to help me keep motivated for the year. I am pretty excited about my curriculum choices, actually, and looking forward to checking everything out at FPEA. Hopefully.

That is about it for now. Thank you for your patience, if you are still out there, whoever you are.






Wyatt and our newest addition, Titus



Anniston and Elsie



Kayla



Danae at her first birthday

Day at Disney

You can see all the pictures on Facebook. There are some really good ones, especially with Annie and Mickey. I think Mickey was in love with Annie. It was so cute!

We had a great day, all the kids did wonderful, and I realized that it really is the most magical place on earth. I just love it there around Christmas time. We also saw the Osborne light show at MGM. That was pretty awesome.

Thanks to mom for working all that out!! You are the best Granma ever!

I do not know how to get my kids back to normal life after The Magic Kingdom. Good thing it is Christmas time!

Tragedy

We had much sadness in our home on Saturday.  Our bird, Benny, passed away.  What makes this sad for Mommy and Daddy is we just bought the bird 4 weeks ago!

Apparently, Benny got a cold and died on Friday night when the weather was cold.  I forgot to turn on the heat that night and it got down to 65 degrees in our house.  I guess when birds (more specifically cockatiels) catch a cold, they die very quickly.

Well, Kayla and Wyatt were up for about two hours on Saturday crying and crying.  Kayla especially really did love the poor bird.  She played with him constantly and loved walking around with him on her shoulder during the day.

We had a beautiful funeral in our backyard at about 10pm Saturday night.  We talked of our memories of Benny and what we loved most about them.  We ended with a prayer.  Wyatt prayed that Jesus would make sure and tell God to be careful with Benny. He said "Jesus, make sure to tell God that Benny might bite his ears sometimes."   We are grateful Wyatt is looking out for God.

Since PJ and I had already decided that cockatiels are awesome pets for young children, and we want it to be a Merry Christmas around here, Daddy went out and replaced the bird.  The kids are thrilled that we now have Tweety.  

Benny will always have a special place in our hearts and we look forward to maybe seeing him in heaven since Kayla is convinced that he will be there.

May he rest in peace.  (and hopefully not be dug up and eaten by a stray cat)

Happy Veterans Day

Sleeping

I love watching these two sleep. They pretty much sleep together every night. So cute.

Change

Tonight was a difficult night for me as a Republican. It was hard to watch not only a liberal president being elected, but also the house and senate being pushed further left. I do fear the next four years, but I want to reflect on something historic.

The majority of Americans just elected the first African American President. No matter the reasons he was elected, this is truly amazing. I do not have to agree with what he stands for, nor do I have to agree with why people made this decision, but the fact that our country has come far enough to look past the color of skin really is something we can find to be happy about.

As I watched Obama give his speech tonight, I realized that perhaps my children will grow up in a time that the majority of people do not judge on color of skin. We do have to agree with his politics, or be happy this has happened, but I do think we can hope this is a sign that racial tensions in our country are subsiding. I would have been proud to vote for the first African American President. I did not because I do not agree with what he stands for, but I would have loved to have been able to.

The reality is, God has chosen Obama to be President. It does not make sense to me at this moment, but all I know is that it is for our good. I will pray for him. I will pray God uses him to help our country. I will pray that he is not as far left as he says he is! I will pray that God uses this to bring many people of all different colors and cultures together.

I may not be happy he was elected, but I can be grateful that we do not live in a world where he was not allowed to be elected. There was a time a man like him could not even vote, yet alone be elected to the highest office in this country.

As I listened to my neighbors celebrate Obama's victory, my initial reaction was to be upset, but I realized that I should be happy for those African Americans who are most excited for this President. I may not agree with them, but I can with all sincerity, say that I am happy for what this means to them.

I sometimes forget that my own sister is a minority. I just think of her as my sister. Could we all one day be that color blind?

I am so grateful that Julia will grow up in a country where she has the same rights and opportunities as me. This has been a wonderful reminder of that!

There is a bright spot in this time of change and I will attempt to stay focused on that.

Do Your Part!

If you have not already, don't forget to get out and VOTE tomorrow!

Palin Rally

This Sunday we took Kayla to, what you would have thought, was the greatest place on earth. According to her at least. No, it was not Disney World, it was a Sarah Palin Rally.

Are We Ready?

I love politics. I have enjoyed watching the developments of this presidential race, critiquing the different journalists and their views, and hoping each day that maybe, just maybe, McCain has a chance at winning. I do not agree with everything McCain says or has done, but I believe he is the best candidate. On the other hand, this political, race and the current economic situation, has put some fear in my heart.

I do wonder what will happen if we end up with a very liberal President, Congress, and Senate come January. How will that effect our paycheck, the business my husband works for, and just the consequences of having a far left government. "I will give tax breaks to 95% of Americans." Yeah right. How then are you going to pay for healthcare for everyone and pay for all the other liberal agendas you have? You may give us a tax break (even though we do not pay federal taxes due to our income and children), since we are the "middle class" but that tax increase to my husbands business will effect us worse. I will stick with the nothing we pay in taxes now and hold out hope for some decent raises, thank you very much. If you take my husbands bosses money, you are taking our money too. Think about it.

Anyway, that is not the point of my post. The point is, I am concerned for my children's future. What will the world they are going to live in be like? As America moves further and further left, I become more and more nervous. What will be normal for them? Same sex marriage? (Vote Yes on Amendment 2, by the way!) Socialist ideas? Will Christianity become more and more hated?

Are we preparing our children for the struggles that are going to be inevitable? As I think about why I homeschool, I am more and more aware I am not focusing on the most important things. It is not reading or writing or history, it is teaching them to wage war against the enemy. We could raise the smartest, most successful and bright students, but if we do not educate them primarily in God's word, it will not matter. I should not be weighing my children's success by how much money they might make, what job field they go in to, or what their SAT scores are. If my daughter can stand up for what she believes, to a world that hates what she believes, that is true success.

My kids may face some of the worst of times and I want them to be ready. I want them to be ready to stand up for their Faith in a world that will be against Faith. In a society and education system that indoctrinates children in liberal ideas, I want my children to know and be able to speak Truth.

I hope and pray my children will be ready. I refuse to sit back in fear and allow an economic or political situation to scare me. Right now I choose to let this remind me of what I am here to do. I am here to raise some of the next generation to love God, hate sin, stand up for what is right, and be, I pray, a light in the darkening world.

One thing I will do is take Kayla to the polls with me. She will watch me vote, she knows why I am voting for McCain, and she needs to see me involved in this process. But Kayla will also know that McCain is not our savior. She will know that God is in control of this election, even though all Americans think they are. Mommy will vote and pray, but God ultimately has chosen the winner. He knows what this country needs, even if what we need are hard times.

This political season is yet another way God is reminding me to love the season I am in and not take for granted what I do. I am a mentor, a teacher, and a mother. I am who my children look to for answers and my job is to get them to the point where they look to their Lord for answers. Presidents are not the answer, journalists are not the answer, government is not the answer. I homeschool and stay home with my kids so that no one can tell them any differently.

May we all be reminded to pray for our country, pray for our church, and pray for our children. Be reminded to teach them what is most important, even if that means skipping out on some of that math.

Will our kids be ready for what is to come? Maybe a more important question is, are you ready? I have four swords to start sharpening at a much quicker pace then before, and I plan on doing that with more intensity and focus, starting now.

Politics

I love this.



Bar Stool Economics



Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:



The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.



The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.



And so:



The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).



Each of the six was better off than before And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.



'I only got a dollar out of the $20', declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'



'Yeah, that's right', exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'



'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'



'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'



The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.



The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!



And that, boys and girls , journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.



David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics,

University of Georgia



For those who understand, no explanation is needed.



For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Update Soon

We are alive and well, just very busy. Between the wedding, family visiting, and my house being trashed due to new flooring, it has been crazy. Pictures to follow at some point soon.

Also, if you need any handy man stuff done, or flooring put in, we now know a guy. He is an incredible worker and does an awesome job. He and PJ worked until 5 this morning to get the floors done. He knows how to do pretty much anything and is amazingly cheap!

Off to Dr.'s appointments since I cannot seem to have a day off!

What We've Been Up To

Getting bigger




The Army Dr. and Cowboy hanging out during school time.





Cleaning up water intrusion in my dining room. It is lots of fun living on concrete!




School time! Kayla loves Astronomy.




And history. She is very proud of her pyramid.







Doing the timeline is the highlight of the week. Except for when Daddy does the history reading with her. He pulls out the laptop and shows pictures. She told me yesterday, in a very sweet way, "Mommy, I like it when you do history, but Daddy is way better." Oh well, Daddy is heroic in all sorts of ways that I am not. Taken for granted once again!

School has been going very well this year. She is enjoying it a lot more than last year. Probably because I am attempting to do a lot more of hands on stuff that she enjoys. She gets through math and handwriting and the "not so fun" stuff to get to the history and science.

Besides that we have been painting our house to try and help with the water intrusion, praying for enough money from the insurance to fix the dining room, getting ready for Joey and Lauren's wedding, and looking forward to my cousin and his family to come to town in a couple weeks. Life is busy, but we are having fun! Most days at least....