Fep's Feathers....

Cause when Fep grows up, she wants to be like Ms. Jen :) All photos taken by Fep. And we are not clever enough to think of captions for every picture like Jen does, but we've put them where we could....

Where there's a will, there's a way...

Hello, Mr. Bluebird!

The Bluebird is The Bob's fav...

A face only a mother could love...

Ummmmm...I got nothin' here. No caption. Again, I'm no Jen.

Happy Birtday!!

A few weeks ago, we had a birthday party for a close friend. And I made him a cake. This cake...

(Rustifer is his nickname. We live by nicknames around here.)

And yes, I do homeschool my children even though I apparently cannot spell birthday correctly. There's a real reason I messed up, but I won't bore you with the details. The laughter and joking throughout the evening over it was so worth the mistake. It was the kind of laughter that makes you loose your breath. The kind of laughter that makes you cry. I just love that kind of laughter. We embraced the mistake and really got into it, because then we changed the signs....

Everybody has a birthday. But not just anybody can have a birtday ;)

Psalm 38:7

This past Thursday, we were supposed to go see Tim Hawkins. If you don't know who he is, he's a Christian stand-up comedian. My friends have raved and raved over him and all but forced us to get tickets to go see him in our area. The night of the event we couldn't go, so I sent my children with my friends. They brought us back one of his DVDs, and we watched it last night. This was one of my favortie skits on the whole DVD. I've been chuckling about this even a day later. This video quality is not good, and it looks kinda older. The DVD was just a smidge better (funnier) than this, but this still should give you a good chuckle....

Held...

For Beth...who went to let Jesus hold her on Mother's Day 2003...



Thank you, Jesus, for holding me, too....

Organize....

"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up."

Winnie-the-Pooh/A.A. Milne

My favorite blogs and sites for organizing and homemaking inspiration:

Small Notebook
Inspired to Action
Keeping the Home

The Pearly Gates....

For the past year, our pastor has been taking us through the book of Revelation. He preaches what I would call "John MacArthur style" or expository preaching. We are finally toward the end of the book. Tonight he preached from Revelation 21:9-22:5. We've all heard the stories of the pearly gates. I think we've reduced them to something they are not. As my pastor noted, we picture a person standing at the little pearly gates with his checklist of those who may or may not enter. We must never forget that our God is so much bigger than that. And that He is a God of order. Revelation 21:19-20 goes through all the gems and stones found in the building of our heavenly home. Sapphire, Topaz, Amethyst, and Emerald just to name a few. Revelation 21, verse 21 specifically talks about the gates of pearl. A single pearl massive enough to form these great gates. Tonight in his sermon our pastor read us this quote:

"How appropriate! All other precious gems are metals or stones, but a pearl is a gem formed within the oyster - the only one formed by living flesh. The humble oyster receives an irritation or a wound, and around the offending article that has penetrated and hurt it, the oyster builds a pearl. The pearl, we might say, is the answer of the oyster to that which injured it. The glory land is God's answer, in Christ, to wicked men who crucified heaven's beloved and put Him to open shame. How like God it is to make the gates of the new Jerusalem a pearl. The saints as they come and go will be forever reminded, as they pass the gates of glory, that access to God's home is only because of Calvary. Think of the size of those gates! Think of the supernatural pearls from which they are made! What gigantic suffering is symbolized by those gates of pearl! Throughout the endless ages we shall be reminded by those pearly gates of the immensity of the sufferings of Christ. Those pearls, hung eternally at the access routes to glory, will remind us forever of One who hung upon a tree and whose answer to those who injured Him was to invite them in to share His home." (Exploring Revelation, rev. ed. [Chicago: Moody, 1987; reprint, Neptune, N.J.: Loizeaux, 1991], 254)

How like God and how appropriate, indeed. May we not take for granted what He has prepared for those who He loves.

"The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl...."
Revelation 21:21

Five...

That's how many weeks of homeschooling we have left. Five. Five long weeks. This time of year, every year, I suffer from burn out. I don't know if it's because we've been going for 8 months now, and we need to let our brains rest? I don't know if it's because the beautiful Spring weather beckons us to lay aside our books? Nah, it's not the weather. Today is cloudy and stormy, and I still dread the school hours today. Yesterday, I started thinking of a plan to shorten those five weeks. I haven't thought of a good plan yet. And then there's the dread of testing. Love it or hate it; we are testers. I both love it and hate it. Well, love is a little strong. I like it and hate it. I worry have I taught them enough? Will they do well? Will they bomb? I'm worn and weary I'm telling you. Worn and weary. But in five weeks, I'll find Summer Bliss! The countdown has begun....

Sunday's Comin...

Monday was surely a Monday. I spent a good part of the day worried and depleted. That evening I watched this clip on facebook posted by my Worship Pastor. When I first started watching, I thought, "Not really sure I like the look of that artwork." But what it said overpowered how it looked. And I must warn you that if you watch the clip, "It's Friday, but Sunday's comin'" may get stuck in your head. I went to bed right after watching with "It's Friday, but Sunday's comin'" rolling around in my head, and I thought about the disciples and those that loved Jesus so, and how absolutely dejected, discouraged, depleted that they must have been after Jesus died . Surely they must have felt like all hope was gone. And then I thought about my day...feeling some of those same emotions. I may be in a season of my life that "It's Friday"....but I know "Sunday's comin'"!!!




Yes, It's Friday...but Sunday's Comin'

Celebrate his Resurrection!

The goal is not just good choices...

I had the privilege of going to a Mother/Daughter type conference with Fep yesterday. The speaker was outstanding. She had three children: an oldest son in college, and daughter in her first year of college, and her third son in his senior year in high school. She said that when the first two were teenagers, starting to branch out on their own, able to leave home and go do stuff, stuff with their friends, that one of the last things she would say is "Make good choices." And then with her 3rd she realized was that the goal? Good choices? Because even the world's best choices are not necessarily even "good choices" for a Christian. So with the last son still at home, but ready to branch out, she tells him before he leaves the house, "Remember the Cross". Remember the Cross. Mmmmmm. I love that. Because if we remember the Cross in all we do, we will not just make "good choices". We will, hopefully, make "His choices". So, when my children are of age that they are branching out, I can already see them walking out the door, with my voice reminding them to "Remember the Cross."

You can find out about the speaker at our conference here.

And with this being Palm Sunday, read Dawn's post here. I thought it was lovely. Embrace Passion Week with your family this week!

Pesky...

Pesky, they are. More than just getting in our bird feeders. Here is a snippet of a recent conversation between The Bob and I:

The Bob: (working on truck, has the hood up) "Those darn squirrels are chewing on wires in my truck. They've chewed on this here. This cable has been chewed on. Look at this...."

Me: "How do you know it's the squirrels. Maybe it's mice?"

The Bob: (putting his hand into a foam covering in the top of the hood) "Because he's left his nuts in here!" (Pulls out acorns...)

Me: (walks away giggling)

:)