Today was take your picture with the baby day.







Here is Devorah and Ben.












This is Daniel with Ben.



















Here is Abby with Ben.













Here is Charlotte, fresh from camp and happy to see her brother again.


















Then there is Tim. I didn't trust him holding his brother without help- so I tried to prop Ben up on the couch next to him. The only problem is that Ben is only 4 months and can't sit steady. Evey time I snapped a shot Ben was moving and came out blurry. So, I ended up taking one of the shots and editing out the blur of Ben and using just Tim.

Thursday's Thankful Thirteen

I saw this idea somewhere else and thought it a very worthwhile exercise in keeping myself focused on the good in life. I am going to try to put out a list every Thursday of 13 things I am thankful for. Here is my first list-

1. God's provision- I don't know how he does it, but I do suppose that if my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills He can surely get our bills paid and food on the table, right?

2. For a husband who has the strong desire to take care of me no matter how much pain he is in or how it cost him physically.

3. For all the help and work my girls are willing to do to keep this house going. I know I have said this before, and no they aren't perfect in this area- I still get flack once in awhile, but they have done so much to help out around here.

4. For the wonderful support group we have surrounding us. People keep up with when we have Dr. apt.s and stuff and call to see what happened and what is going on.

5. That support group also has been so wonderful in offering all sorts of help that we might need- from mowing the lawn to babysitting while we go to apt.s.

5. For baby giggles and smiles to brighten my day.

6. For God's healing- though He hasn't miraculously healed my husband's back I have seen Him do a lot of healing for others I know and I know He could heal Dan if He wanted to. I am thankful for the healing He has done for those around me.

7. God's abundant wisdom that surpasses my own- He knows why He does what He does and when is best to do it. We just need to remember that and keep trusting in Him always.

8. For the variety of food we have to enjoy. Even though it isn't necessary and even though our country is a little too into food and all, I do enjoy the variety of foods God made for us to enjoy.

9. For Grandparents who pay for our daughter to go enjoy a week of camp.

10. The freedom to school my children at home instead of being forced to put them in government run public schools.

11. Music- the variety of different types that we have to praise God and sing about how wonderful He is.

12. For God allowing us to falter and have times of questioning as we work out our journey of faith.

13. For God always remaining by our side even when we have our times of faltering and questioning. He is always there and never leaves us- ever.

For the love of a child

I have been meaning to type this up for the past few days but life has been busy. Monday we dropped our daughter off at camp. Driving her down and saying good-bye for the week made me realize how quickly time flies. This isn't the first time she has gone to camp, nor the first time she has went away for a week but for some reason this time it feels like my little girl is growing up too fast. Maybe it has to do with the fact that she is turning ten in just over a month- am I really getting old that quickly? I don't know what it is but my little girl is growing up and I'm not so sure I like it!
The other thing I have come to realize in the couple of days that Charlotte has been gone has to do with just how much I have come to rely on my girls. The oldest two have helped me out so much. Each child takes a turn helping mom in the kitchen. When it isn't Charlotte or Devorah's turn they are taking care of the baby for me. Devorah hasn't been able to do much in the kitchen while Charlotte is gone because I keep needing her to help with the baby. I am so thankful for my girls. While Dh is out of commission with his injuries they have really stepped up and helped a lot. I think I need to take the two of them out for some mom time and show them a little appreciation.

Hitting you when your low

Today I have come to the conclusion that the devil is a very smart being. It seems that he so well knows the human race and so well knows me. Today I was not having a good day emotionally. I have really been struggling lately with life. Nothing really big, just tired and drained from all of the junk that has been going on around here. So, knowing just how I have been feeling, Satan gave me a blow I didn't expect.
Knowing that he is smart, the question is- How am I going to react to this? The devil wants to get me so out of focus in life that I become ineffective. If he can get me so wrapped up in my doldrums and keep me concentrating on the junk then I wont have the time or attention to give to the parts of life that really matter. My husband, my kids, those around me who need to be ministered to.
Not only will the devil succeed in getting me off focus and away from the things I should be concentrating on, but what little attention I do give them will not be positive. I know many times when I have been so caught up in worry or trouble that I have allowed it to sour my mood. Kinda like when the bills are piling high and the stress builds, all of a sudden next thing the kids are getting yelled at. Its not that the kids are doing anything wrong its just nerves are frazzled.
Did the devil succeed today? Unfortunately yes, for a few hours or so. However I am back in gear now. I need sleep, but I have pulled myself back under God's sheltering wing. Whatever is going on is nothing that He can't handle. I may not understand it, or know what the next step is, but He does and that is what is important.
Isaiah 40.31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

This site has a newsletter. If you subscribe then they will send it weekly and each newsletter has a link to something on their site they are giving away that week. All of their materials are e-books. Next week they are having a big multi giveaway. For Mother's Day they tried to give about 12 titles away in one day and there was so much traffic to their site trying to get the books that most people weren't able to get any of them. They have switched their servers and are going to hold the giveaway this coming week (6/25) spread out over a few days.

What can you remember?

The three girls (ages 9 1/2, 8 1/2 and 6 1/2) have been memorizing Psalm 139. They add two more verses to their memory each week and have gotten through verse 10 this week. Our goal is to memorize at least the first 16 verses. I think Daniel (4 1/2) would be capable of this as well but I haven't pushed him to do it. I think I am going to though. I really want to have them remember these verses for more then the week they work on them. I know someone who has her son repeat back old verses throughout the week instead of just the one he is working on.

Working as a Family

I hear a lot of people who complain about the lack of help they get from their kids around the house. Then there are the people who complain about always having to clean up after their kids. Then I think about a book I read- the lady was Amish and had six children. When asked if having more children was too much work her reply was that the more kids you have the less work you should have to do.
Children are a part of the family, it is the family's job to keep the house running and stomachs fed. They need to be taught the value of responsibility and they need to learn to take care of themselves and others. Doesn't it promote a better sense of togetherness when you all work on household work instead of leaving it all to one person while the others go off and do their own thing?
Having said all that, I just want to take the time to really appreciate how much my girls do around the house. My oldest three (all girls) are almost 10, 8 1/2, and 6 1/2. They all have their daily chores and (mostly) do them without a hassle. There are even certain jobs they each love to do and want to do more then they need to (why is washing the walls with a spray bottle of vinegar water and a rag so enjoyable?). When some people hear that I have had the last two babies at home they remark about how if they were me they would want the few days in the hospital to have some time off. When I had our last baby in March the girls stepped up and really helped daddy out around the house. I was able to be at home *and* have the rest and relaxation I needed because they all worked so hard together.
I have a list of chores that are for the kids to do. Each day I write down what they have for them that day and they check off everything as they do it. The only problem is that they are suppose to read a book for 30 minutes a day and they tend to want to read before chores and also try to extend their reading time past the 30 minutes. However, having children that are addicted to book is a subject for another post on another day.