Silence

It's been a while since I blogged really from my heart other than sharing things about the kids. This is partly due to the fact that I have been dealing with kids stuff and partially because I didnt really have much to share, spiritually speaking.

I am preaching again at my church on Sunday July 6th and have really been just trying to get some direction from God about what he would have me to share. I still don't have total clarity but am trying to differentiate what God is teaching me for me and what is for the church body. I feel like I know how the Spirit wants to minister but not quite sure how God wants me to get there. I am sure God will lead me as he always does, but it just isn't all together yet. If you think about it, please pray for me as I try to get it all at least some what together. I know God wants me to trust him to lead, but would really like to be able to prepare a little more between now and then so that I can follow however he leads that day.

My parents were out of town yesterday and I led worship in their place. I really wasn't as nervous as I usually am and really feel like I was able to worship more freely and therefore lead the people into worship better than times before. I am so thankful for God's anointing that goes before me and makes a way.

I plan to blog some about vacation soon. Maybe this weekend. And that blog will even have pictures. I am sure you are waiting on pins and needles for that. We had a greats time, but more on that later.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

How is it possible that as of today I have a 10, 9, and 7 year old and a 19 month old? My sweet Daniel turns 9 today.  They are all growing up so much, but since Daniel is the topic of this post, I want to take a moment and document how much my boy has changed. 

If you're new to my blog (and I'd guess that is very few of you if any at all), I have only had the privilege of being Daniel's mom for 2 years 8 months and 9 days. We adopted he and his older and younger sisters a few years back. I remember when we first met him, he was all smiles. His foster dad said something about Daniel that I will never forget. He said "When Daniel hugs you, you can really feel it." In other words, he loves deeply. I have since found this to be true in all areas of life. 

Daniel lives life to the fullest. He is completely loyal almost to a fault. He is very passionate and will defend his family and close friends to the death. This can be problematic when a simple bump turns into an intentional attack in his mind, but we are working on forgiving others and giving others second chances.

He is very gentle and sweet with Seth. Having a little brother has brought out the best in him. It has taught him that he is a leader and others are watching him. This has helped him learn to make better decisions. He is looking forward to the day when they can share a room and have bunk beds. He is such a good big brother.

Daniel is very compassionate with people he sees need help. His teacher told me that he stayed with the new kid at school all day, even giving up his recess to pat him on the back until he was okay and had stopped crying. He has the biggest heart!

Daniel is very good with math and his brain works so fast he struggles with showing his work or explaining how he got the answer, but he is usually right. He is also a very good reader. I expect that if he can get a work a bit on being distracted and paying attention that he will be an honor roll student next year.

Daniel, you seemed so little when we first met, but you at definitely growing up. You are learning to be a gentleman from your daddy and are a delight to have around. You are my oldest son and have taught me what that special bond between a mom and son is all about.  It excites me to hear you talking about helping Daddy lead the men's fellowship where you get a little older. I pray you will learn to love God more each day and never lose your compassion for others. You are loving them like God does and it is a gift that not everyone has. I love you, my big, strong Daniel!

Another Year Gone

My kids have made it through another year of school (well, except for their half day tomorrow that they don't even need to take their back packs for) and we as parents and grandparents have survived as well.  This past week, I had 3 different awards ceremonies on 3 different days.  I am so glad that I am able to attend these for my kids.

 Katelynn's awards were first. She got the excellent speller award, helping hands award, good citizenship award, and science award. She has really loved having Mrs. Brittain this past year for 1st grade. I talked briefly with Mrs. Jones (Daniel's 2nd grade teacher) today and I have a feeling Katelynn will have her next year.  She is such a good student and really thrives in a school setting, so I am sure she will do great with whatever teacher she gets. Mrs. Jones would be nice just because I feel like I already know her some.

Daniel was so excited to receive the art award (that would be the medal around his neck that he almost doesn't want to take off.) He also received the award for mastering his multiplication facts. He had Mrs. Grimaldo for 3rd grade (the same teacher as Haley had). He has also matured to the point that I have stopped giving him his focus vitamins and he has (for the most part) been able to still do well in school without being all over the place. (Honestly, he would have bad days even with the vitamins, just fewer of them.) I really hope he is maturing and just learning to make better choices and letting God help him when he is anxious or frustrated about something. We have been talking a lot about self-control being a fruit of the spirit and how when we are close to God, the fruit of the spirit will be more present in our lives. He is really growing up.

 

Haley received a medal for completing the multiplication and division parts of Big Brains (a computer based video game that helps the kids practice their math facts.) She loves that game and it shows. She spent many hours on it and I'm glad that it was able to help solidify the facts in her brain and that she received a medal for her hard work. Haley really likes Mrs. Roysdon, who she initially was a little unsure of. She is going to miss Mrs. Roysdon a lot a the new school and I think Mrs. Roysdon will miss her RG (random girl). 

We have decided to let Haley move on to 5th grade which means a new school for her next year. She has done a ton better in the month or so since we have had a diagnosis and she has received more help aimed at her learning disability. I am not sure if it is because of the help or because she now knows that I will hold her back if I need to in order for her to learn what she needs to so she can succeed in school and life. Either way, she seems to have matured a lot and realized that she needs to try her best, with or without a learning disability.

I am looking forward to a great school year next year. I really feel like things are normalizing around here and that they will all excel in the future.  My kiddos are growing up and I am so grateful for God's hand in their lives.

No kids!

B.J. and I were able to take a trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary with no kids the weekend of May 22nd.  Did I mention there were no kids?  This hasn't happened since before we had the kids the summer of 2011. We have been on date nights on occasion but we haven't been totally childless in a long time.

We were able to go down to Port Aransas for a few nights and really had a great time. On the way down, we went zip lining around Lake Travis which was awesome!  We have been before, but I would say this was the best course I've been on. The longest cable was 2800 feet. It was a ton of fun! I am always trying to figure out the best way to go the fastest on these things, but BJ always seems to beat me. I say its because he weighs more than me so he has more momentum. He says he's just better at it. I am right and he is wrong. (Ha!) This is one of the things we really enjoy. You get to be outside, usually hiking between lines and then just enjoying nature.

 The condo we stayed at was awesome! One of BJ's friends let us use it and we will definitely be back. Maybe next time with kids. It is 306 Mayan Princess if anyone is interested in going down that way. I would highly recommend it.

This picture is taken from the ocean looking at the condo, with our little beach setup in between. BJ is reading a book in the shade.

It was very relaxing and really a good time of reconnecting with my love. We had great conversation and got to play some games and read some and just do whatever we wanted with no kid interruption or input required. Its a great thing I tell you.

BJ is not the same person I married 10 years ago and I'm sure I'm not the same either. We are better. God is changing us, growing us, and making us into the people he has called us to be. I love spending time with the man God has blessed me with.

Here's a little throw back picture to our 5 year anniversary. I don't think we've changed much, besides my ever increasing grey hair.

Surprised by God

As usual, there are some things that I have been praying about and just trusting and waiting to see what God was going to do. I have learned that God knows best and that it is not worth me stressing about it or carrying a burden, but rather I have learned to give it to God and just pray for his will in every part of my life. (This may make me sound like I never struggle with believing God, which is definitely not the case, but honestly, my life is very full right now, which can definitely keep me from worrying about things unnecessarily.)

So Sunday when Pastor asked me when I wanted to preach again, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. You'd think since I was trusting God to open doors in his timing that I would have been expecting God to do just that, but God's faithfulness was way above my belief level. Not because I didn't think it would ever happen, I just wasn't expecting it so soon.

Right after I brought the message last time, I was asked when I was going to preach again. Without hesitation, I answered whenever I was asked to. And so God facilitated that for me. This time I have no idea what God wants me to speak about, so I am waiting for direction for that, but I know God always equips us to do what he has called us to do, so that doesn't worry me.

I am looking at some time at the end of June or beginning of July as far as dates, so please pray with me as I prepare for this opportunity God has given me. If any of you (that don't normally attend church with me) are interested in coming, please let me know and I will keep you in the loop as things get finalized.

Happy 18 months!

Seth had his 18 month checkup and for what I think is the first time ever, they weren't concerned about either his weight (too little) or his head (too big). He weighs 22 lb 14oz, is 30.5 inches long, and is such a sweet boy. He is wearing a size 18 months in shirts and one piece rompers and still 12 months in pants/shorts and some jammies.   Since he is so small, he usually outgrows his pants by getting too tall rather than being too big around. Last week he wore size 9 months shorts with no problem at all. He is wearing s size 4 shoe and size 3 diapers, but I am about to buy size 4 today since he is borderline with those sizes. He has a mouth full of teeth (13-15) and can eat just about anything if he will.

Dinner time is interesting because he is trying to lose his afternoon nap so he is tired and hungry and doesn't know what he wants. He is usually taking a 2 hour nap in the morning, some times longer, but once the kids are home, he is too busy to take a nap. He is still nursing when he wakes up and before bed, but I think we will lose the night time feeding this week and the morning feeding after Thursday ( when BJ and I are getting away for a few days to celebrate our 10 year anniversary ). He has been taking 3oz of milk from a bottle after he nurses most evenings, so he is definitely a growing boy.

He is sleeping like a champ. I don't really know when I started laying him down awake and he starting putting himself to sleep, but maybe about 15 months or so. If he is still hungry, he won't let me put him down without a fuss, but as long as he is full, he may fuss for a second but is fine by the time I make it to the door of his room. I am so grateful that I am finally getting a full night of sleep. I had gotten used to waking up for him, but I noticed the change when things resumed back to "normal".

Seth is getting more clingy to me, but not so bad that it isn't manageable.

He is at such a fun age. He is learning new things every day and is able to sign and talk many words. He can say mama, dada, ama (grandma), all done, more, ball, up, and bubba. He also says uh huh for yes and uh uh for no. You can tell the difference by his facial expression and animated eyebrows. He can sign all done, more, please, help, and amen. He knows what sound a cow, cat, monkey and dog says (his dog noise resembles panting more than a bark). He counts (with grunts or hums) and points to items in a group one at a time. He loves to sing and play a rhythm on anything he can turn into a drum.

I sing a round and round song I made up and he will turn in circles and make himself dizzy. He loves to wear shoes he finds lying around, which is usually mine. He loves to kick a ball around and will wait for  " ready, set, go!" and then start running. He loves to be outside and swing at grandmas or the park. He gets mad when the big kids are outside playing and he can't join them. We try to let him play outside some, but its hard since the mosquitos love him so much.

He loves to give hugs and kisses and snuggle. 

Although he is only 18 months, he has started throwing little fits. I keep reminding him that he isn't 2 yet, but it doesn't seem to matter. He has started this frown or pouting look and I can't help but laugh at him. It is so funny to me.  He can be pretty stubborn when he doesn't want to do something.

Being a mom and watching him grow up is so rewarding.  He brightens my day and helps me keep things in perspective. I see how good God is in his sweet smile every day.

Yo Yo

Emotionally I feel a little bit all over the place. After I was so glad to get things resolved about Haley, I got a phone call from her principal on Wednesday evening. She basically apologized for not being in the first meeting and wanted to meet with me and share her opinion on the whole ordeal. I knew this meant they wanted me to reconsider my decision to retain Haley and that made me mad and frustrated. Nonetheless, I decided to meet with her on Friday morning.

Without getting into too many details, she basically felt that with Haley's grades being so close to passing, and the fact that we can attribute the deficit to her learning disability, holding her back would be more detrimental than helpful to her. She shared some more information with me and some of her experiences and I really felt like she wants what is best for Haley. Some how we got on the topic of prayer and trusting God and I found out that she too is a Christian. She was in tears (as was I) and I really feel much better about the 5th grade option after the meeting.

The second meeting was much more helpful to me than the first. They shared with me how the support system/extra help for Haley will be different than it was before and really made me feel better about her going on to 5th. Since they started the new help (and since I initially told Haley that we were holding her back), Haley 's grades have improved dramatically. Those two items among other things are making me rethink what we are doing for her.

I am praying about what to do. I feel weak for even considering changing my mind, but I guess new information can change any situation. Haley has been trying to pry info out of Bj about what we are doing. I know she wants to go on to 5th and is just anxious to know one way or another. Honestly, I don't know what we will decide. Either way there is always a "what if" to think about. I am just trusting that God will give us wisdom to make the right choice for my sweet girl. I love her so much and just want to do what is best for her.

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