HOW CUTE ARE THEY!?!?!

I have always LOVED cabbage patch dolls! I have 4 of my own-Ginni, Pearl, Fredericka, and Rory. I have passed that love on to Keslee-who now mothers my 4 plus 2 of her own. My dad heard on the radio that these dolls were available on EBAY. He really wanted to get the Sarah doll(yes my dad collects dolls but also he just really loves Sarah) and I would love love love to have all 4. I checked it out for him but found out there is only ONE of each and the proceeds go to a toys for tots charity. The auction will end on election day. With four days left bidding is at......

Barak-$825

Biden-$600

McCain-$1025

Palin-$3100
I guess it is out of the question to add any of these to my collection(unless anyone out there spreads me some wealth in the next few days).

ps...should we read anything into the fact that Obama/Biden are trailing miserably in the bids?!?!

UPDATE:I missed the end of the sale and did not get to see how much the guys went for but Sarah Palin Cabbage Patch sold for $19,000!

CUTE THINGS KIDS SAY

Kenyon was telling Jacinta about the time he plugged in the vaccum cleaner and got shocked. Kalysa was listening in and asked.....

Kalysa"YOU GOT SHOCKED?!"
Kenyon"Yes"
Kalysa"Were you dead?"

SPREAD ME SOME WEALTH!!

Obama has talked several times about spreading the wealth around. How we would all benifit from it. Of course all(it seems) of hollywood is backing Obama. Since a large percentage of the wealth is in hollywood, this seems kinda odd to me. Personally I believe that you should be able to keep the money you work so hard for. I am trying to understand why so many wealthy stars are so on board with Obama's socialist views. Aren't these same people a large part of the "freedom of choice" group. Freedom to choose whether or not to have the baby you got pregnant with. Freedom to choose who you want to call your spouse regardless of each parties gender. So why would they not want the freedom to choose to spread their wealth around? Why are they backing a candidate that is going to mandate where and to whom their wealth will go? Do they truly believe that we will all benifit from the spreading of wealth? If they do believe that, why do they need a president to do it for them. It would be more effective if they took it upon themselves and cut out the governmental middle man. For less than $100,000-We could be completely debt free-no house payment-no car payment-no outstandig bills of any kind-and even have a little left over for a nest egg. So here is my proposal..........
HEY OPRAH-SPREAD ME SOME WEALTH!
HEY MATT DAMON-SPREAD ME SOME WEALTH!
HEY BRAD PITT-SPREAD ME SOME WEALTH!
HEY ALL YOU RICH HOLLYWOOD STARS THAT HAVE SO MUCH. IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE IT IS BETTER TO SPREAD THE WEALTH-SPREAD SOME MY WAY. DON'T WAIT FOR OBAMA TO DO IT FOR YOU! DON'T DO IT ON NATIONAL TELEVISION SO THAT EVERYONE CAN SEE HOW MUCH GOOD YOU DO FOR PEOPLE-DO IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO-DO IT BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!-DO IT ON THE DOWN-LOW WHERE NOBODY KNOWS BUT YOU AND ME! AND IF YOU CAN'T-THAN SHUT-UP ABOUT HOW MUCH GOOD OBAMA IS GONNA DO FOR THE COUNTRIES MIDDLE CLASS!!

Politics in Medicine

What was sooo wrong with the days of old where the doctors were doctors because they truly wanted to help people. When they would make a house call so you did not have to take your sick baby out on a cold winter night to see a doctor. When they would stop by in a few days just to check on their patient and have a cup of hot chocolate with the family. The days that the doctor would accept what you could give because he just wanted to help and you would give all you could because you truly appreciated him. Of course, I have never experienced those days in my lifetime but I have heard the stories. The transaction was between the doctor and the patients family-NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND THE GOVERNMENT. The doctors did it for the love of people and not the love of the money. Things are so ridiculous now and there is nothing in history that will ever make me believe that government controlled health care(Obama's or anyone else's) system will improve one single thing. Insurance requirements are so strict now it is easier to live sick than see the doctor. You can not even see a doctor without filling out about 10 pages of information. If you need a specialist-that is more paperwork and waiting for referrals to go through. You have to be there on the day and time they can see you regardless of your schedule. Don't even think about trying to reschedule! Don't stand too close to the counter, privacy policy, you may hear someone say something. We can't fill this perscription...it has only been 28 days since you had it filled and it can only be filled every 30 days. We can not schedule you an appointment before you pay you outstanding balance of $1.35. When my mother had surgery last year, the doctor would not fill out the FMLA papers she needed to be able to take time off of work DURING her office visit($25 copay). He would only fill them out later and fax it to her job. For this fax (across town, not long distance, only a page or 2, on the same day as her office visit) she was then billed ANOTHER $25 copay. How crazy is that?!?! Well, I took Kalysa to the doctor on Tuesday to see the next step we need to look into about her leg(her muscle is really tight and she walks on her toe). Her medical records were still all at the pediatricians office that she went to when I had insurance through my job. Now we all see a doctor here in town. I asked the receptionist what I needed to do to get her records so that the doctor could see what all we have done in the past. "Oh just sign this medical release form and we can get them for you" I was told. No problem! Wow, something as simple as me signing a paper. This is a little more like it. That afternoon I got a call from her past pediatrician's office..."We received a request for Kalysa's medical records and I just wanted to verify the address of the office you want it sent to." Verified...."We'll get those out"...Thanks! So today is Thursday-just 2 days since our appointment-and I get mail from the pediatrician.......
INVOICE
MEDICAL RECORDS $29.50
POSTAGE $ 2.78
TOTAL BILL $32.28

ARE THEY SERIOUS?!?!?! Why do I have to pay for my own child's medical records? Can they really keep your medical records from you? Don't we have a right to see our medical records whenever we want? Is it not our right to let any future doctor see the records to ensure the best medical care? I am outraged! I am supposed to pay a doctor that my child has not seen in 1 1/2 years for dropping some papers in the mail? Some papers that they recorded information in every time I did take her and they were paid AT THAT TIME for the service. This just really feels like I am being charged for things I have already paid for! If the issue was postage, I could have just as easily picked the records up myself. All they had to do was let me know. Shouldn't I have been informed of the charge? I could have opted out of getting them all together. I mean, I KNOW what all we have done and every detail of what she went through in the NICU. I could have just relayed all the info to the new doctor. I kept journals-my records probably contain most of the same info anyway. Could things get any more ridiculous than this? OH Wait! Of course they could! We could let the government completly control our health care. Things never get better with complete government control! If Obama is our president, and the government is controlling our health care-what all will we be paying then? I know one thing-I am pretty sure I can not afford it!!

THE votes are NOT in YET...

I do not go by or trust the polls but I think I would put more stock into this one because it is so random-anyone on yahoo homepage can vote-not mainly democrat-not mainly republican-just random Americans. Also it has almost 40000 respondants(as of 3:50pm today) and not just 1000 hand picked by the pollsters. Dont give up hope!! It has not yet been decided-regardless of what the media trys to tell you-BARAK OBAMA IS NOT OUR PRESIDENT! (and he does not have to be.)


Poll on the Yahoo homepage.......
Who will win the presidency? Results
Q. Barack Obama may be ahead in the polls (see a rundown at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/), but John McCain vows to pull out an upset win over his Democratic rival.Who do you think will win on Election Day?
John McCain 50%
Barack Obama 47%
Too close to call 3%
39583 votes

BLESSINGS!!

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS-NAME THEM ONE BY ONE. COUNT YOU BLESSINGS-SEE WHAT GOD HAS DONE.....MY BLESSINGS FOR THE WEEK.....

1.Kalysa asking questions about getting saved.
2.Kenyon and Keslee force feeding Kalysa every bit of Bible knowledge they have.(they really know quite a bit!!)
3.Keslee reading me about 6 pages from her 1st grade Bible reader.
4.Kalysa reading me about 15 pages from the same book(DON'T TELL KESLEE!)
5.Seeing Preacher and Bro. Jordan hug Monty and tell him "I love you". (I know what it means to Monty-maybe that is the part that is the biggest blessing for me)
6.Kenyon really loving the SRA reading lab and getting through about 2 grade levels already(I started him out at the beginning to work on comprehension so they were pretty easy but still benificial)
7.Monty going on the paper route with me Sunday morning-after the kids fell asleep in the backseat we had about 2 hours to talk and sing and just be silly together-it was fun!!
8.Seeing Carson and Caiden and Lucas collect the offering-sooo sweet!
9.Gabby and Keslee praying together at Wednesday night prayer meeting.
10.The Petricks-when the kids got up to sing Keslee perked up and said "I just love to listen to them!" so that is what we have been doing all day (by CD)
11.Knowing that God is in control of Everything-that knowledge is what is getting me through this election season for sure!

Hope you all have a great week!! Love Ya !!! Char

I WILL SURVIVE!!

Most of us are familiar(at least kinda) with the song "I will Survive". If I am not mistaken, that song is referring to suviving after a break up. Well I found this version of the song today that really fits perfectly for me(especially the 1st year!). I am sure there are plenty of other homeschool moms that can relate......

Thought this was cute! I Will Survive (the first year of homeschooling) *Or* any year homeschooling Originally written and produced by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris
Originally performed by Gloria Gaynor
Mercilessly altered with apologies by Natalie Criss

First I was afraid
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never teach
´Cause I´m not certified.
But we spent so many nights
Reteaching homework that was wrong.
I grew strong,
so now I teach my kids at home!
We study math
and outer space.
I just kept on despite the fear
with a big smile across my face.
I bought a set of Base Ten blocks.
I bought books with answer keys.
My parents think we´re nuts,
but they don´t even bother me
Come on, let´s go
walk out the door.
We´re on the road now,'
cause we´re not home much anymore
My friends would laugh and say
we´d be unsocialized
I heard one mumble
that I´d give up by July.
Oh no, not I!
I will survive!
As long as I know how to read
I know we´ll be alright.
I've got all my life to learn.
I've got energy to burn.
and I'll survive.
I will survive.
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart.
Decided to attenda play date
at the local park,
and I met oh so many moms
who offered eagerly to help.
They used to cry.
Now they hold their heads up high,
and so do we!
My kids are cool!
They´re not those chained up little people
stuck inside at school.
So if you feel like dropping by
and just expect us to be free
you´d better call ahead first
´cause we´re probably busy!

CUTE THINGS KIDS SAY

I guess the days of "time out" are gone. Keslee was chasing Kalysa through the house in some sort of game of tag and Kalysa got to the kitchen with no where to go so she stops and yells.....

"I'M ON PAUSE!!"

DISCIPLESHIP LESSON-PRELIMINARY STUDY

taken straight from our worksheets-we filled in the blanks using the Bible verse provided. I encourage everyone to read each Bible verse for themselves!!

WHAT I WAS?
1. I was spiritually dead in trespasses and sin-Ephesians 2:1
2. I was condemded already-John 3:18
3. I had the wrath of God abiding on me-John 3:36
4.I was a servant of sin-Romans 6:17
5. I was headed for the Lake of Fire-Revelation 20:15
6.I was Lost, yet sought by Jesus-Luke 19:10

What God Promised Me
1. The gift of eternal life- Romans 6:23
2. The forgiveness of sin-Colossians 1:14
3. Salvation through His grace-Titus 2:11
4.To dwell in my heart-Ephesians 3:17 and John 14:23
5. The Love of Christ which passeth knowlege-Ephesians 3:19
6.The Joy of Jesus Christ-John 15:11
7. The Peace of God which passeth all understanding-Philippian4:7

What I Did to Recieve Salvation
1.I called upon the name of the Lord-Romans10:13
2.I believed in my heart-Romans 10:9
3.I received Him (Jesus Christ)-John 1:12
4.I repented of my sins-Acts 17:30

What God did
1. Justified me freely-Romans 3:24
2.Washed me from my sins-Revelation 1:5
3.Secured my name in the Lamb's book of life-Revelation 21:27
4.Adopted me as a son of God-Romans 6:14,15
5.Accepted me in the Beloved-Ephesians 1:6
6.Sanctified me-1 Corinthians 6:11
7.Made me a new creature-2 Corinthians 5:17

What God expects of me
1.read John 3:1-8 The Bible calls becoming a Christian is to be Born Again. read John 3:6
2.read 1 Peter 2:2-Scripture says new Christians are like a newborn babe.
3.read 2 Peter 3:18 God expects us to grow in grace.
4.read 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 The Lord calls christians that down grown spiritually carnel.
5.read Ephesians 4:13-15 answer in your own words-What does the Lord want His children to grow into?

DISCIPLESHIP LESSON-INTRODUCTION

Monty and I(and about 20 other church members) are currently taking a discipleship class at church. We are going through "The ABC's of Christian Growth-an A to Z guide to Christian maturity". Each week we have a lesson with one lesson for each letter of the alphabet. These classes have already been greatly beneficial to us and I thought I would share the knowledge I am gaining. We are only a few weeks in, but Monty has commented on how much better he can find things in his Bible and I can see how these classes are really clarifying a lot of what God's word tells us. I will give an overview of each lesson here and would be more than willing to answer any questions I can. Let's all grow together in the Lord!

A GOOD DAY FOR GARAGE SALES!

I never go to garage sales and I guess this weekend is exactly the reason why. It all started today when mom called with the most exciting news!! She was at a garage sale a block from my house and had found an SRA set. In case you do not know what that is, it is a reading labratory that has 12 cards per color and 12 colors in all. Each card has a story and then you answer a set of questions. Each time you finish a color you move on to the next color which is a harder level. It really works on reading and reading comprehension. When I was in elementary school, we did SRAs and they were my absolute favorite thing. I have often told mom that I wish my kids could do them but they no longer use them in schools(the revised set came out in 1960) and I never guessed I could have my own set. Anyway, mom called to say she found them and I walked down there to verify it really was the same thing. When I got there I saw a beautiful chair that would do great as a desk chair for the desk that is finally usable since I rearranged the living room. It was marked $20 and I am sure it was worth every penny. Next I look up and sitting on the porch is a gorgeous solid oak table for $45. My kitchen table has one leg that has about had it and I wonder each day, as we do school around it, it this will be the day that it falls. I borrowed mom's cell and called Monty to see if I could spend about $50. He oked it so I asked the man if he would take $50 for both instead of $65. He said he would take $55 so we had a deal. I am so excited! I just asked God yesterday or the day before for a chair I can use at that desk. GOD IS GOOD! To celebrate our great day.......

I made MISSISSIPPI MUD PIE!!! YUUUMMMM!

BLESSINGS!!

I KNOW I AM RUNNING BEHIND BUT HERE ARE MY BELATED BLESSINGS....

1. FINALLY GETTING THE LIVING ROOM REARRANGED!! :)
2.MOM HELPING ME MOVE THE FURNITURE.
3.DAVID GETTING SAVED AND ASKING QUESTIONS AND JUMPING IN WITH BOTH FEET WITH WANTING TO LEARN AND GROW IN CHRIST.
4.HAVING 2 DAYS WITH NO NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS AT MY HOUSE-I REALLY NEEDED A LITTLE BIT OF PEACE.
5.REALLY STARTING TO SEE HOW MUCH MY RELATIONSHIP HAS GROWN WITH KENYON SINCE I TOOK HIM OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL(LEAPS AND BOUNDS!).
6.LEARNING ABOUT THE BIBLE IN HOMESCHOOL-IT IS ONE THING TO READ A VERSE AND ANOTHER THING TO HEAR A SERMON ON THAT VERSE BUT SOMETHING COMPLETELY NEW TO READ IT TO THE KIDS AND EXPLAIN IT AND EXPLORE HOW IT RELATES TO OUR LIVES.
7.FINDING SOME GREAT BOOKS THAT I WANT TO READ BUT FORGOT I HAD UNTIL I MOVED THE BOOKCASE.
8.LOOKING THROUGH PHOTOS AND BABY BOOKS AND TELLING "WHAT DID I DO WHEN I WAS A BABY" STORIES WITH THE KIDS WHEN WE FOUND ALL THEIR BABY BOOKS ON THE BOOKCASE
9.DISCIPLESHIP CLASSES-EVEN THOUGH WE ARE ONLY ON LETTER B, I ALREADY FEEL MORE CONFIDENT WITH THE KNOWLEDGE I AM GETTING OF THE BIBLE!
10.MONTY LOVING ME!

CUTE THINGS KIDS SAY!

Tonight Keslee is trying to sing a song and comes to me for clarification....

Kes:What is the rest of that song that goes "The door bell rings, the toilet sings..."

Me:I have no idea honey! (the tune sounds kinda familiar but I am laughing too hard to even think about it)

Kes:Yes you do! We sing it at church.

Me:I don't think so!! I have NEVER sang about a toilet singing at church!

Kes:YES WE DO!!-(she sings it several more times trying to remember)-Next time we go to church you just ask the preacher!

Me:I WILL ask the preacher!

Kes:(still singing it but getting nervous she may be wrong due to my uncontrollable laughter)-NO MOM! NO! DON'T ASK THE PREACHER! PLEASE DON'T ASK THE PREACHER! PROMISE YOU WON'T TELL THE PREACHER ANYTHING!(now she is cracking up just as much as I am!)

awww! good-times! If any of you have a clue as to what church song she may be trying to sing PLEASE let us know!

I GOT ONE (FINALLY)!!!

I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED ONE OF THESE COUNTER TOP MIXERS!!! My Aunt Darla had a garage sale today. She always has the best garage sales because her step daughter and her sister in law always bring things as well and they always have really nice things. This afternoon we stopped to see what all we could not live without and I found it! (along with a couple of sets of sheets for my bed, a few really cute magnets for the refrigerator, a coat for Keslee and the few items Aunt Darla gave the kids for free). When I saw the mixer sitting on a table I was immediately drawn to it. I looked it over and then walked around then looked it over again and then walked around again. I was trying to decided if I should really spend any money at all (it was priced at $10 and was Darla's step daughters). About the 3rd time I was looking it over, Paul(step daughter's husband) said "that works really good and we will go down to $7". I was pretty much sold then but I did take it to a plug in and try out all the different speeds. They all worked. It is really old and I think that is probably a good thing as well. I have had 3 mixers in the last 10 years(my last one went out about a month ago and I have been doing without one-lumpy mashed potatoes and all). They just do not make things to last like they used to. I can not wait to try it out!

OH CANADA!!!

We are completing our trip to Canada this week. It took us a little longer than planned because we had a few days off so we just took our time. I did not want to travel to the next country in the middle of the week. While in Canada, Kenyon and Jacinta learned about the Inuits and how they live. We looked up some really neat pictures of real igloos and then tried to make our own(Kenyon's is pictured above). Between the two kids, they used 3 boxes of sugar cubes and tons of glue. It is really a lot harder than what we had anticipated. At least if we had been using snow, we could have molded and shaped it to seal any holes. Sugar cubes are not moldable! It actually took us 2 days to get the igloos finished. The kids got a few rows up and then could not get the roofs to stay still long enough to dry. Mom helped Jacinta finish the top of hers and I helped Kenyon. Lots of people use icing to hold the cubes but I already had problems with Kenyon eating his, if I would have added icing to the mix I am sure we would have nothing left to photograph. Next week we are off to Brazil!!

IS HOMESCHOOL A PRIORITY FOR YOU?

The other day I was searching for information about what the candidates views on homeschool are. I came across another homeschool mom's blog that was asking the same question(sorry, I failed to write down the name of the blog). She had posed the question to her readers in regard to what they had seen or read about Obama's views on education. She had not been able to find any solid information that stated his views specifically on homeschooling. That did not surprise me. The thing that did surprise me was found in the comments left by her readers. A number of the comments were homeschool moms that said that they believed there were bigger, more important issues to consider in this election than education. They did not really care to know his views on homeschool because it was not a top priority concern for them. I was shocked by this. Why do they homeschool their children in the first place if it is not a top priority? Would they really list things like the economy crisis and unemployment rates as a higher priority than their own children's best interests?

Since reading their comments, I have really been thinking about why we homeschool and how far am I willing to go to keep it. I have pulled my children out of the public school system because I truly believe it is in their best interest. I do not agree with many of the things they would have been taught in public schools. I do not believe that the way things are taught in school is the best way for kids to learn. I want my children to learn American history they way that it happened instead of the way it has been rewritten(3 or 4 times) in today's text books. I want my children to learn to be thinkers and not just someone that can memorize answers for a test. I want my children to learn about God and his creation through the Bible and also through hands on experience. I want to have a relationship with my children to where they will turn to their parents for answers and guidance instead of going behind our backs and turning to a teacher or their classmates. I want to share ALL the experiences that learning new things will bring instead of letting a teacher relate a few of them to me at a meeting a few times a year. I TOTALLY LOVE HOMESCHOOLING MY KIDS!!! I could not imagine EVER sending my children back into a public school setting. I would consider myself a really new homeschool mom(this is our 2nd year) but I can not see our life any other way. I pray that God will not see a need to test my convictions but I believe I would do whatever it takes to keep my children home with me. I have to! Homeschooling represents my children's life and their future. How could I put the economy or unemployment rate or any other issue before them? When I decided to homeschool, it was because I had been shown, through God's grace, His will for my life as the mother of my children. It is not something I take lightly and not something I am willing to set aside; therefore I would have to say that homeschooling is at the top of my list of priorities! What about you?

GAS PRICES

Finally the gas prices are coming down. Here in town it is (was last night) $2.59 but in parts of Oklahoma City it is down to $2.29. Personally I think this is great. You would think that everyone would think so but that is not so. The news stations are trying to tell us that the drop in prices is just proof that our economy is failing. They are saying that since Oklahoma is largely an oil and gas economy, falling gas prices are a bad thing. There is even talk of slowing down production because of the lower prices. They want us to feel bad that we can almost afford to fill up the car again. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! The Oklahoma and Texas economies both have strong oil and gas ties. It is something that we have taken pride in as a state. We are proud of the number of jobs that these industries provide. I have several family members that have worked in the oil fields for many years and they make a decent living. They have always made a decent living, even when the gas was $1.00 per gallon or $2.00 a gallon. We were just as proud of the industry then. The industry was just as large a part of our economy then as it is now. The only thing that the dramatic drop in price has proven to me is that there was never a valid reason for the dramatic increase! People can finally relax a little. We can afford to go back and forth to work and maybe even have a few dollars left over to SPEND elsewhere. Before the huge increase, we would "run" to Tulsa(about 2 hours away) to see family several times a year and they would, more often, "run" here to see us. We ended up being together every month or at least every other month. This past year of crazy gas prices has drastically reduced that. I have gone to my niece's birthday party, then went to work for my sister in law while she was on vacation(she paid me) and then went to watch my sister's kids (she paid me). We have not even been able to go out to see Monty's mother in El Reno(about an hour away) in several months. I prefer to do my grocery shopping in Edmond where the taxes are cheaper and I can often find really good prices at Crest. I have not even done that in the last year. The 20 minute trip is just too far for me to use the gas. We have had to be sure Monty was gonna be able to make it to work every day and that is a 20 minute drive-I could not waste any gas on a trip to Edmond. With the gas at a slightly more reasonable price, maybe we can start to live a normal life again. Maybe we can "run" to El Reno to visit Nana or take a trip into Edmond for better grocery deals. Maybe we can take a field trip to the Cowboy Hall of Fame all the way in the City(by the way I know the name has changed-just don't remember to what. Also free admission in October on Wednesdays{I think}). I may be able to spend a few dollars in a store or a museum or a drive through because I did not have to put it in my gas tank. Could someone please explain to me how this is hurting things?!? The News has followed the gas prices and reported on record profits for the large oil companies. They have made comments about being hurt by the prices just like we all were. They often report or have links on their websites that track the cheapest places in town to purchase gas. They acted like they were on our side but as soon as we get a moment of relief, a second to take a breath, a glimmer of hope-They start reporting on what is so good for us is really bad. Instead of letting the fears of "how are we gonna keep gas in the car" rescind; They immediately start injecting fear of "Oh no! Why are the prices dropping? Something must be wrong!" GIVE ME A BREAK!! I AM NOT BUYING THAT!!!

CUTE THINGS KIDS SAY!

This one actually came from my 16 year old brother John. He left yesterday with the men of our church for the men's advance. When mom got home from work she found his tennis shoes sitting on the washer with a note laying on them that read...
"Please wash us! (for more details, smell inside)"

WERE YOU RAISED IN A CHRISTIAN HOME?

This past weekend, at the lady's retreat, we were asked that question. Everyone who was raised in a Christian home was asked to stand up. I was not immediately sure whether to stand or stay seated. I finally chose to stand. Since then I have been thinking about why I faltered. I know that I was not raised in the type of Christian home that I see in our church family or the type that I am trying to raise my children in but I would still say that I was raised in a Christian home. It was probably more like the Christian homes a lot of people are raised in. A more lukewarm Christian home.
When remembering back, I always knew God was there. I never remember a time that I did not know that Jesus died on the cross to save me. Before I was born, my dad thought he was gonna be a preacher. We went to church at a Nazarene church. I remember seeing both of my parents baptised. I was active in CYC with my uncle some when we were at my grandma's house in the summer. I have pictures of me from about 3 years old on in church Christmas programs. My first grade teacher was also my Sunday school teacher. When we were in Guthrie, we went to church with Grandma Brock. When we were in Missouri, we went to church with Grandad and Grandmother. I spent one summer making all the bulletin boards for my Grandmothers classroom at the Christian school she taught at. I was in charge of puppet shows in our youth department when I was a little older. I said my prayers at bedtime. I was taught to have faith in God. I knew God was in control. By the time I got into jr. high, our family had stopped going to church. A few years later I started going to First Baptist Church with a friend from school. I officially got saved when I was in 8th grade and continued to attend that church all through high school. When I went to college I did exactly what I had seen my parents do, I set God aside to do my own thing. How true it is-Raise up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it! Just because I didn't walk with God like I should did not change what I knew. I knew Jesus died for me. I knew God was in control. I knew God was with me. More often than not I still said my prayers at bedtime the entire time. I KNEW THE TRUTH!!! I could not have KNOWN if not for being raised in a Christian home.
So how is my children's home different? I don't want them to have that gap. I don't want them to go off on their own and set God aside, and if they do, I don't want it to be because of my example. We go to church-and we are not gonna stop! We say bedtime prayers-and breakfast,lunch and dinner prayers-and help me make it through the day prayers-and thanks for making the game cube work prayers-and help us finish school prayers-and prayers for people we see on tv-etc. etc.etc. My kids see God in everything from the moon to the lightening to getting to see their cousins to mom buying something they like at the grocery store-EVERYTHING! When something good happens, God is their first thought. When something bad happens, God is their first thought. When they don't know the answer, God is their first thought(that one can get kinda funny because they will answer "God" to any question you ask if they have no idea). We learn about God everyday in school. We talk about God everyday in life. Their friends either go to our church or live in our neighborhood and have been asked to go to our church. They memorize Bible verses in church. They memorize Bible verses in school. They see mom and dad read the Bible. The songs they know and sing are about God(about 90%-they like classical music and of course some songs off their kid movies). They are included in the decision to do or watch something based on if they think it glorifies God, and they know if it does or not. They are being raise in a Christian home. A stronger Christian home than either of their parents were raised in. Raise up a child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it! With prayers and faith and continued trust in God-I can't wait to see the homes they will raise my grand kids in someday.

CUTE THINGS KIDS SAY!

So many times the kids say something that is just priceless. I have decided to start documenting some of those sayings so I can always have them. This first post is a few things that I remember them saying recently and I will try to list new ones as they happen. Please feel free to share your own kids cute sayings in the comments!!

Kenyon: One day when we were driving along in silence we saw a squirrel run out in the road in front of the truck that was in front of us. While under the truck, he got scared and turned around and then jumped up resulting in getting smacked by the truck. Kenyon and I both gasped at the same time and looked at each other. Kenyon broke the silence with "I sure hope he got saved at squirrel church!" We laughed for miles!!!

Kalysa: While getting ready for a bath one night, she needed help to take her shirt off. As soon as I pulled it over her head she looked down and said "Nope! My b***ies haven't grown out yet!" I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE HAD BEEN WAITING ON THEM!!

Keslee: One day she was getting a little restless in church and was making a little too much noise. I explained to her that we had some new kids sitting with us and she needed to be the example of how to sit in church so that they could learn how Christian kids are supposed to act. She said Ok and straightened up. The next week she asked "What am I supposed to be again?" I said "An Example." She said "oh yea!" and sat quietly for a few minutes. Then she leaned over to me and asked "Mom, what IS an example?" I guess her knowing what the word means would help!

MEMBERS OF SOCIETY

We have become members of society. Up until this point in our lives, we have just lived our lives with ourselves and our small circle of friends. I have often thought about the days of old when everyone in your neighborhood knew you. When people looked out for each other. When a neighbor was out of town, everyone knew where they were and when they would be back. When you are baking and notice you have no eggs, it is fine to run next door to borrow one. Wow! Wouldn't that be neat. Growing up, my mom's best friend was our neighbor. It was a natural way of life for us then. Only problem is that I have never had the opportunity to live next door to my best friend. Well guess what?! Olga and my mom were not best friends before we moved in next door!
Three years ago when we bought this house, our neighbor across the street (Ms. Barbara and her husband) would always wave when they saw us. Then I had a pampered chef party and dropped and invitation in her mailbox(I did not even know her name the). SHE CAME TO THE PARTY! Oh! So that is how becoming a member of society works! You actually talk to the people around you! I was starting to get it. Ms. Barbara became the kids best friend in the neighborhood(she is in her 70s). They rake her leaves, she makes them candy, they bake her cookies, she brings veggies from her garden. It has been great!
This summer 3 families with children have moved in around us and our membership in this society has grown. A young couple with 2 little girls are right behind us. We gave them some of the girls dresses that had gotten too small and Colton(the dad) plays ball and gives all the kids rides in a wagon behind the riding lawn mower.The kids met Carly next(an 8 year old girl catty corner from us). They would play out in the yard but she could not come in because her mom did not know me, so we had to meet. Next Jonathon(8) and Cyrus(4) moved in across from Colton. Their mom, Jodie, is going through a divorce and didn't have any furniture for the living room. Down the street was an abandoned house that had been emptied out and a couch was sitting at the curb. We all got together and put that couch on the wagon behind Colton's lawn mower and pulled that couch to her house. Since then all the kids are always at my house(unless Colton is outside-he is the biggest kid of them all and he runs, chases, plays ball, sprays with water and just plays with all the little kids). Christine, Colton's wife, locked herself out of the house one day and Jodie, me and the man that lives on the other side of her helped her get in. After that she called me to see if she could borrow a coke(she did not want to have to load the babies back in the car to run to the store.) Yesterday someone driving by stopped and took an ice chest the kids had in the front yard to help them get up in the tree. Maria, Carly's mom, saw it and followed them to a house up the street. We called the cops and had them go up there to retrieve it for us. All the other neighbors ended up coming over to be sure everything was ok when they say a cop car here. Of course all the kids thought it was the greatest day because we had a police man here. I thought it was a pretty good day because I learned that we now really are members of the society(at least in our neighborhood). We talk to each other, help each other, look out for each others kids, borrow from each other, and look out for each other. It is pretty neat!

OH NO, NOT AGAIN!!!

Well it rained all night last night and when I got a call this morning there was a distant humming on the line. I had to deal with that little annoyance all day. It started raining again tonight and has continued for about 2 hours now. Guess what?! Now the static is sooo bad on my phone that I can not hear anything else. The lines are obviously wet. I went 9 days without a phone last month for the same problem. Well now I know that they did not fix it then, WE JUST HAVE NOT HAD MORE RAIN SINCE THEN! I have put in another trouble ticket and it should be fixed by Thursday. When I do have service again(I want to be sure they hear me), I will be calling to get some serious credits applied to my bill!!

BLESSINGS!!

BLESSINGS FOR THE WEEK.....

1.LADY'S RETREAT-I LOVE SPENDING TIME WITH OUR LADIES AND GOD USED IT TO SHOW ME TIMES WHEN I AM GIVING OTHERS FRUIT FLAVOR INSTEAD OF TRUE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
2.HEARING THAT DAVID(9 YEAR OLD AUTISTIC BOY) IS READING!!! WOW! GOD IS GOOD!
3.THE JORDAN'S HAVING A BABY BOY!
4.THE PRINCIPLE(MONTY) CALLING FOR "TEACHER IN SERVICE-NO SCHOOL" DAY. HE KNEW MORE THAN I THAT I REALLY NEEDED THAT TODAY.
5.PREACHER AND MS CONNIE-I LOVE THEM BOTH! I KNOW THEY ARE A GREAT ADDITION TO OUR CHURCH BUT SOMETIMES I THINK GOD BROUGHT THEM HERE JUST FOR ME.
6.GETTING A PHONE CALL FROM MY BABY BROTHER (JOHN) JUST BECAUSE HE WAS BORED-I LOVE TALKING TO HIM AND REALLY NEED TO SPEND MORE TIME JUST TALKING TO THAT BOY.(PRAY FOR HIM-HE NEEDS ENCOURAGEMENT!)
7.MY 3 MONKEYS!-THEY REALLY LOVE ME AND THEY REALLY LOVE JESUS!
8.TEACHING CHILDRENS CHURCH-I THINK I AM FINALLYGETTING THE HANG OF IT AND I AM FALLING IN LOVE WITH THOSE KIDS.
9.FALL-I LOVE THE COOL WEATHER AND THE SMELL OF FIREPLACES BURNING AND RAINY DAYS AND EARLY NIGHTS AND COLORFUL LEAVES AND CURLING UP IN A BLANKET WITH A BOOK AND- AND- AND- I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT FALL!
10.SWEET WORDS ABOUT MY FAMILY FROM A NEIGHBOR-IT FEELS GOOD TO BE REASSURED THAT WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

PINATA UPDATE

THEY ARE BUSTED!!!!
In trying to bust the pinatas, we discovered another problem and I am not sure what we could have done different to avoid it. Our strings pulled out when we had them full of candy! We ended up duck taping then to a metal pole and Danny(my stepdad-Jacinta's dad) held the pole. Keslee hit hers several times and got some cracks in it then Kenyon wacked it a few good times and the candy came flying! Next we taped up BOB and Kalysa had a go at it. It took her a few minutes to get her to swing while blindfolded-she does not like not being sure about anything-but finally she got several good hits in. Jacinta was up next and got one good hit and it exploded. CANDY! CANDY EVERYWHERE! The kids had a great time. I am so glad we took the extra time to make the pinatas. We may do it again sometime for birthday partys or something(but probably not real soon).

MaMa's BIRTHDAY!!

Yes, today was my birthday. Last night on the way home from church Keslee was wondering what we were gonna do for my birthday. I told her I would get a cake mix and we would make a cake. That upset her because she said I can not make my own cake. Then she got upset because she did not have any way to get me a present. I told her the best present I could get would be for the kids to finish their chores, get the living room and play room cleaned up, their rooms cleaned and no fighting all day. So that just made her cry! I asked her why she was crying and she said "WE CANT WRAP THAT!" I just told her that it would be ok. Kalysa asked me what I wanted to have on my cake? I said(not realizing I needed anything besides icing) I did not know and asked what she thought I should have on it. She said "Maybe like blue icing and rainbows!"
Monty got home from work waaaayy early and surprised me with a card and a gift card for wal-mart with instructions that I was not allowed to buy for anyone but myself. This morning I headed out to shop for myself. WOW how long has it been since I have done that?!? Well I got myself a few presents and when I got home I gave the sack to the kids and some tissue paper. They got to pick what they wanted to give me and WRAP it. Kenyon baked the cake, with a little help from Keslee. I also bought 4 tubes of writing icing and gave them to the kids. They decorated to cake together. They had drawn some pictures and written "happy birthday". Of course they had to use EVERY drop of the icing in the tubes so, due to the lack of space, they had to write over everything. The end result looks kinda like an explosion of confetti.
So there ya go! All problems were solved! The kids got to give me Wrapped presents, I did not have to bake my own cake, and there was "something" on the cake in the way of decorations. My dad brought the ice cream and we had a party!=) The kids were happy! -and i was happy that we only had 25 candles in the house!