What's up

I finally got the pictures off my camera.  I mentioned a few weeks ago, we got to go to my grandparents to visit when my cousin and her kids were there. 

We had such a good time.  I didn't take a lot of pictures, but these are some fun memories:
*  having ice cream in the fancy dishes!
*  hearing the kids play hide and seek
*  playing on and "cleaning" Granddad's saddle
*  playing Fast Track
*  sleeping on the big feather beds
*  We were cleaning up from supper, and Grandma wanted to throw some greasy/soapy water outside.  I opened the door for her and barely stepped out of the way enough.  Granddad is my witness, she tried to throw it on me!  ;)
*  the kids, especially SweetTate, discovering the door bell.  The door bell has chimes at the top of the stairs.  The kids had asked me what they were and I told them, but right before we left, SweetTate was outside and couldn't get in so he rang the doorbell and he heard them!  They asked what that music was and I told them it was the chimes at the top of the stairs.  They ran to the door, pushed the button, and ran up the stairs to check it out.  SweetTate probably did that 15 times, and every time Grandma and Granddad just smiled and enjoyed the kids being there.  It was the same smile they wore the whole time we were there.  "This old house came to life!"  It was a nice reminder to enjoy my kids and worry about fingerprints on brass chimes later!

We also stole away after VBS and between ball games to go to SweetHeart's home town, and see our new nephew!  He is so precious!

All the family got together to celebrate recent and upcoming birthdays, and we took time out to take a picture of the grandkids.  (Yes, I know better than taking it in front of window, but that is where they landed and when you are trying to herd 12 kids, you take what you get!)  :)

Then it was Father's Day.  SweetBoy was visiting grandparents, so he was not here--we'll get him later.  SweetTate was very proud to be wearing a tie like Daddy.  "It's not a working tie, Mom."  Ok, SweetTate, you'll have plenty of time for working ties later!

Swimming lessons started this week for SweetTate and SweetDoll.  She didn't really like to jump off the side of the pool and anytime we swim he is attached to me.  Day 1 and they are already little fish, going off the diving board and down the slide!  By the end of the week they will be able to jump and get to the side of the pool by themselves!  I see camping out in the deep end in my future! 

A Horse Adventure

This is a story that SweetDoll wrote.  (I think SweetBoy started the first sentence and then she took it and ran.)  I thought it was a pretty good story for someone just out of Kindergarten!  I left her spelling to keep the spirit of it.  And I only added some breaks and interpretation to help understanding here.  The rest is all hers.  Enjoy!

a hors advender
written and ilustraited by SweetDoll
age 6

Once a pon a time in a land far away there lived a hurd that was very smAll but it got biger and biger and it got so big that they had to move and get a biger pese of land

so the hurd just grased (grazed) on it but sumone found a formula that made horses talk and that person spild that foromula on the grass and the horses ate the grass that the persan spild the formula on and the horses All started talking in All sorts of languages

but the persan tride to teach the horses how to speek Einglish but the persan tride so hard that ever day they got beter at speeking Einglish and one day the persan tride so hard the horses All noow how to speek Einglish and sum of the horses spoke drefrent languages on perpes (purpose) just to Eerutat (irritate) the persan

but sooner then you wood think it had ben a years and one of the horses broke a bone and that got beter and beter and tell (until) it was heeld

but more truble kame

the persan kept the horses in a vakeed (vacant) lot and taer (there) was a cowBoy and bekus taer wasent a fents (fense) the cowBoy thot that they wer loos horses and he cot All of them but then the master kame runing out to save his horses

after that the horses wer very tierd and thare master was very tierd from runing so hard

the end

Scripture Memory Team #11

Today is a catch up day.  It is the first day I've been home with nothing in the imediate future I had to prepare for in about a month.  Anybody else feel like they have been barely treading water lately?  I do have things to get to so let me jump to the task at hand.  The next four weeks I'll be memorizing 1 Corinthians 13.  I chose The Message because it is not quite so familiar and it speaks to the heart of some of the attitudes I need to work on.

1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)


1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Long time no see!

Wow!  Where did May go!  I have wanted to jump on here several times, but there was just no time.  Here is what we have been up to lately, and at this point a list is just easier.

1)  First, for the June 1st Scripture Memory team...I'm still working on the last one.  My goal is to learn 1 Corinthians 13 with the kids this summer.  We'll see how that goes.

2)  The end of the school year activities included a field day that was very fun!  SweetTate even got to participate.  SweetDoll's class needed another person for the three-legged race and he was standing there so he jumped in.  Um...he and his partner won...SweetDoll and her partner got second.  SweetTate even got a ribbon!  The faculty and staff did a great job organizing it and the kids had a blast doing all the activities.

Have I mentioned that SweetDoll loves to run!  And she is FAST!  One day she was skipping down the road and told me, "When I get tired, I'll just run."  She does not get that from me!

Little Miss Hula-Hoop

SweetBoy on the obstacle coarse.

SweetBoy in the Sack hop.  He and his partner in the three-legged race were quite a pairing.  They are both very competitive and pretty independent--they were headed two different directions before they got to the finish line! 

3)  Mother's Day

4) Then it was the last day of school and Kindergarten graduation!

5)  We had a birthday boy!

Cool Dude!

6)  Baseball is in full swing!

7)  Mom and I set a record for scrapbooking!  Her parent's 60th wedding anniversary is this summer and we wanted to do a scrapbook for them.  We did one for my dad's parent's 60th last year and it turned out really neat.  This one is very cool too!  I can not wait to see it!  You know, we had a year to do it and we waited until the last month before it was due, but we got it done! Yea!

8) Lucy is growing and doing good.  She is becoming part of the family.

9)  Let the summer begin!

10) My cousin and her girls went to our grandparents for a few days and we got to go up there while they were there.  That was fun to reconnect with them.  And it was good for this mom who is already tired of being referree all day, to have someone point out the good in my kids and cherish the time even when they were being loud and crazy.  I don't even have the pics off my camera yet, so I'll have to share that one later.

11) VBS week...I have never been so not-prepared, but with all the craziness I just haven't put that on the front burner.  Now it is "due tomorrow," actually today.  It is a little bit different to have five in a class that is Kindergarten and under, rather than 3 classes of kindergarten, 2-3 classes of four-year-olds, and all the workers kids babies through three years filling the nursery area.  It is less stressful, but I miss my homegirls working together to pull off a very fun week for the kids.  Don't get me wrong, the people are great here too.  It is just different, and it is something that makes me think of old friends.  Miss you guys!

Scripture Memory Team 2010 #10

This time I'm a little ahead of the game!  I guess it will all average out.  I will be attending my brother's graduation this weekend, and it will be kind of crazy, so I wanted to go ahead and jump on here and put down my new verse.

Romans 8:15-17

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear; but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

This chapter starts with teaching about living in the Spirit with a new nature, and what you have your mind set on is important (v. 5-8).  Then verses 15-17 kind of transition into a discussion of struggles and that life with God is worth it.  You probably know verse 28...
 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him...

Then it concludes with this
 

35-39  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:
 
"For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." (Ps. 44:22)
 
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And that love is powerful!  In Ephesians 3:16-21 Paul prayed that God would strengthen the believers to have the power to grasp and to know His love.  Then according to that power at work in us, He can do immeasurably more than we can imagine!
 
I have a thousand things to do to prepare for the weekend, so this is short and sweet, but I needed to get my heart and mind set on these things today.  I just love His Word!

The Springtime News in Pictures

I'm saving the best for last here, so if you don't have a lot of time, scroll on down.

With Spring comes one of my favorite flowers--bluebonnets.  When we went south for Easter, the bluebonnets were not out yet. I was a little bummed that we wouldn't see any and that we wouldn't get our annual picture.  Then we found some right here!  And they were gorgeous! 

Spring also means baseball at our house.  I have learned to enjoy it.  I even look forward to Opening Day.  (Yes, that is capitalized because it is an official celebrated holiday--at least in our house!)  Little league happens a little differently here, and SweetBoy has moved up a league to kid pitch and that is different.  SweetDoll is still waiting to hear when they start, so for now it is just SweetBoy playing.  He is playing some really good defense and has gotten several hits so far.  Play ball!

So here is the big news.  Two years ago, SweetDoll began to understand what it meant to be a Christian--that God is the only true God, Jesus is God's Son, Jesus took care of our sin on the cross, He rose again, He lives in us, and we will be with Him forever in Heaven one day.  Last week she decided to tell everyone and show that she was a Christian by being baptized.  So this last Sunday, our family came in to celebrate this very special occasion with us.  Our pastor said parents smile and are proud when their babies are born, but it is even more so when they become Christians.  I believe that is true.  One of the sweetest moments was when SweetDoll came back into the sanctuary after being baptized, SweetBoy met her half-way with a big hug--he was pretty proud of her too. (He held her even before I did when she was born, so it was appropriate that he got this first hug!)  We had four generations present and it was a sweet celebration!

After lunch we had a few gifts for SweetDoll.  She gave her brothers hugs for the necklace they gave her.  I missed the first one, but I got these!

Scripture Memory Team 2010 #9

Here we go with our verse for the first of May...a few days late.  We had a busy weekend with baseball starting up and a very exciting Sunday for the Sweet House, but I'll have to tell you about that in the next post.  I had this verse written in my spiral for a while, so I have already been thinking about it.

1 Peter 3:8-9  (NIV)
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Here are some thoughts about it.

Peter had to say all of you didn't he.  For the most part I can get along and live in harmony with just about anyone.  Occasionally people cross my path that I would just as soon not be around or would just like to be exempt from the command to live in harmonty with.  But no, Peter said all of you--no exemptions here.

He also had to say humble.  My toes are getting sore here!  For years I have had a warped view of humility.  I thought I was being humble to put myself down, but in reality that is just a twisted version of pride.  I struggled to understand that verse that says "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought" (Romans 12:3).  I have heard it explained that you shouldn't think of your self as often.  With a spotlight on insecurity lately, I have become aware of how often I checked myself in the space.  I was constantly thinking do I look ok, was what I said stupid, are they talking about me, they think I'm ___, and on and on.  Humility is loving and serving while understanding who I am in Christ.  (My favorite picture of this is John 13:3-5.)  Now I find myself thinking about me less often.  And when I'm out of the way, I can be sympathetic, compassionate, and think of others.

In a house with children, I often hear crying and the cause is usually a hit and a hit back.  It is just in our nature when we feel pain to want to inflict pain in return.  As adults we hopefully grow out of the hitting stage, but insults can fly.  In Christ I have a new nature, so I don't have to act according to the old nature, but I do have to react in a new way intentionally.  It won't just happen.  Ephesians 4:22-24 says "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."  Choose to put on the new self and react according to His divine nature. (look 2 Peter 1:3-9 too)

What does the new self do instead?  Bless.  I knew that in this relationship with the occasional person I have a hard time getting along with God had been doing a lot of work on my heart, but now it is time for an action step.  And the action required is to bless.  The problem is I don't know how to do that.  Thankfully I have a big God who loves to teach me!  A few weeks ago I went on a ladies' retreat and met a lady for the first time in our small group.  One of our group assignments was to say something we admired about each one in our group.  This lady didn't know any of us, but she spoke to the heart and motivation behind our actions that she had seen that day.  That really touched my heart!  What a blessing!  I want to learn how to bless like that!

We were called to live intentionally in this way.  It is part of the purpose of our lives.

And it comes with benefits--inheriting the blessing of God.  Wow!  If what that lady said was so special, can you imagine how much more it will be when God is speaking the blessing!  That is worth it!  It gives me the desire to obey and do this action step even if it is difficult at first.

Beth Moore used this verse in her "Inheritance" study.  Here are a few quotes from session 9.
     "The whole concept of inheritance can change the way we react to evil and insult."
     "We were appointed to manifest Christ when someone is ugly to us."
     "We can not do this on our own nature, but only because we are inhabited by Christ and He makes us super natural."