I have a FOUR-year-old!!!!

Last Thursday (the 22nd), Philip celebrated his 4th birthday!! It has gone so fast and I am continuously amazed by the wonderful boy God is shaping before my eyes. We have such great fun together, and I so enjoy his inventive stories. I am likewise being shaped by God as I try to discipline Philip daily so that he might grow into a godly man.

Although Daddy was far away at Disney World for a work conference last week, I wanted Philip to have a special birthday dinner. We invited over Grandma, Aunt Elise, Nana and Papa. I decided to pour the cake batter into my Bundt pan thinking I wouldn't have the two layers as I normally do to ice. Upon icing the round cake with chocolate frosting, I realized the cake was perfect. Philip's favorite snack are chocolate doughnuts, and now he was getting a HUGE one for his birthday.



Grandma gave Philip this very appropriate new ballcap. And look at those baby blues!



On Saturday, we had his "friend party". Since seven little girls happened to be the only guests at his party last year, this year we decided to only invite boys. It was a hit. They each came dressed in a superhero costume (as was suggested on the invitation). We played Red Rover, ate pizza and cupcakes, and attempted to smash into a Transformers pinata. The pinata was not scratched by the boys' bat hits and then the ribbon pulling which was supposed to open the hidden secret trap door didn't work either (I think the candy I used was too bulky). Therefore Matthew kicked the side of it off and the candy then fell to the floor causing all present to shriek (me, from almost getting a pinata in the head as I was standing right in front of it and not knowing Matthew's intentions!!).





And here's Philip feeling very proud after completing his new wooden dinosaur model with help from Daddy. Thank you, Hannah and Madeline!

God... big and small!

Tonight our youth pastor Jason did an amazing job of describing how awesome the God we serve really is. He began with something he knew the youth (and I) have heard a lot, "Almighty God loves you and has a plan for your life." He said tonight he wanted to help us see exactly how true that is and how God has placed His fingerprints on everything throughout the universe, all bringing glory to Himself. Just seeing the snow fall yesterday and the leaves turn from green to yellow to brown and then fall to the ground a few weeks before that, it all really takes more "faith" to think it happens coincidentally than the simple faith of believing that God really did create it and controls it all.

We can clearly see this world all around us, but Jason showed this picture of the Whirlpool Galaxy to explain that God displays His love for us to the far ends of the universe. His love was first perfectly displayed when Christ died for us on a cross.



Wikipedia lists this description, "The nucleus of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51). The Cross marks the location of the black hole at the center of the galaxy. The cross was first interpreted as two dust rings circling the nucleus. It was later determined to simply be foreground dust lanes silhouetted by the active nucleus. Bright ionization cones can be seen extending perpendicular to the largest dust feature." The photograph was taken by the Hubble Telescope.

Jason then spoke about how people can believe God on the big things, but not find peace in the little things in life. Jason used an inspiring video clip to demonstrate the degree of miniscule detail the Lord went to in creating us as humans. Our physical make-up comes back to the Cross by the basic "glue" which holds all of our bodies together, a protein called laminine. Here is a picture of the laminine molecule.



Wikipedia says this about laminine, "a protein found in the extracellular matrix, the sheets of protein that form the substrate of all internal organs also called the basement membrane. It is the major non-collagenous component of the basal lamina, such as those on which cells of an epithelium (a tissue composed of cells that line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body) sit."

I have not done Jason's message to the youth any justice as it brought me to tears thinking about how I let petty things of this busy life distract me from the Lord's majesty. If I focused on how amazing He is and miraculously loves me unconditionally to a degree I'll never understand, not a thing in this world should be able to pull me away from a constant state of worshiping Him.

I praise Him for my husband and children and yet they are whom I lose my temper with most often. I praise Him for my home and the opportunity to stay home with Philip and Braewyn and yet I get frustrated with all the cleaning and upkeep it requires. I praise Him for saving my soul by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and yet I rarely tell others how much He loves them and that He died for them too.

Jason said God uses every single thing to bring glory to Himself. Every single thing except one thing... your heart. God allowed our hearts to be left to our decision, whether to bring glory to Him or to seek to please only ourselves. Oh how so very, very thankful I am to have chosen to follow Him and experienced the multitude of blessings He has poured out on me.

One More Photo

I left this photo off my last post. It captures the most common moods of my kids: Braewyn being impish and cute, trying to convince you she hasn't done anything wrong; and Philip being an action-packed superhero with some really enormous mission to attend to. They're my Sweet Muffin and Munchkin!!

Philip and Braewyn

January has already contained lots to post about. The kids have been enjoying their Christmas presents including comfy new pillow and blanket sets from my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Greg.



Philip had his first basketball game last Saturday morning and he participated very well for being still so new to the sport. The Upward Basketball league is a great way to introduce kids to a sport because it's not so competitive. The 4-6 year olds don't even have scores kept during the game. Also it's cool the way they teach them "man-on-man defense" by using matching wristbands. Philip was to "guard" Kendall, a little girl he knows from Sunday School. The only problem was that her dad is her coach and at this age the coaches are on the court leading the kids around in plays. Kendall followed her dad around and Philip had to follow Kendall around. She had the ball one time and Philip tried to get it but backed down. Later he told me he didn't like playing with her because he didn't want to take the ball away from his friend. He got a yellow star for good sportsmanship!!







(Thank you so much, Jessie, for taking these great pics during the game. I videotaped every moment Philip was on the court as the first time "basketball mom" that I am. I'll try to get a few minutes of that posted soon.)

I've also begun using a great book called "Before Five in A Row" to guide us through some preschool like activities in preparation for homeschooling Philip next year with a real K-4 curriculum. I find one of the listed books and read it to the kids. Then we do all sorts of fun activities explained in the book which ties other learning opportunities to the storyline of the book. Our first book was "Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?" Such a cute book. Our activities included matching outfits for a Jesse Bear I made from cardstock and material (very fun but long on the preparation end, however I look forward to pulling it out again with Braewyn next year too!) and sorting colored pieces into groups. This week we're reading "Blueberries for Sal". To let the kids "pick blueberries" as the little girl in the book does, I poured dry kidney beans over the livingroom rug. They had fun hearing the beans "kuplink" into their pails.







Finally, Braewyn took Walmart photos off our to-do list yesterday after she tripped right in front of Philip's bed and sailed nose first into the metal bedrail. I was scared she had broken her little nose as it turned blue and was swollen. Today there is no swelling but a nasty rubbed spot. It doesn't help that she has a fierce runny nose which of course she doesn't want me to wipe. I very carefully dab.





Girlfriends stick by you even when your nose is scraped up!

And to not leave you with that awful image of Braewyn in your head, check out these curls!





Matthew is naturally curly and I have some body to my hair. We'll see if Braewyn will want to use gel to keep them bouncy when she gets older.

Clean Bill of Health

Thank you so much to all friends and family who prayed for me this morning. My colonoscopy went well and my doctor said he did not find any polyps. Thank you, Jesus! I can now rest easy for five years and know that I'm not crazy for wanting to keep on top of this as my doctor recommended I come back in five years. Aside from feeling cleaned out, the best part of this procedure are the comments I make in my pre-colonoscopy nervousness and post-colonoscopy drugged state.

Before hand I told at least one nurse and my doctor, "I ate green jello last night so I hope my insides are not green. If they are, that's why."

Afterwards as I was coming around from this awesome anesthesia (Jo Ellen, how badly did I spell that?) which knocks you out in less than 5 seconds and then wears off in about 15 minutes, Matthew tells me I said this to the SAME nurse FOUR times as she came in and out of my recovery "stall" (I wasn't in a room but more of an alcove behind a curtain but everyone is put in that kind of "room"). "I have two preschoolers at home. I'd love to just stay here for the rest of the day and sleep." There's deep truth behind something you say FOUR times!!!

Feeling Good but Hungry

I'm pretty calm about tomorrow's procedure. It really must be the prayers I've requested from friends and family. And probably also the fact that I'm STARVING! Now I just want the colonoscopy to be over so I can eat something. My heart really goes out to people who have gone through medical issues which kept them from eating for an extended amount of time (Mom and Jessie are who I think first of). Today I've had a mug of hot tea (no milk so it didn't taste quite right), a mug of chicken broth, 2 servings of Jello at one time (a box makes 4 servings and I ate half of what was in the bowl I made it in), a glass of white cranberry peach juice, and at 2:30pm, 4 Ducolax laxatives. At 4:00pm, I begin drinking 8 ounces every 15 minutes of a lemon-lime Gatorade and Miralax concoction until all 64 ounces are down the hatch. Interspersed during that drinking process, I'll begin going to the bathroom, a little at first and then a lot towards the end. When I had my first colonoscopy , I remember thinking that last cup of Gatorade went in one end and immediately out the other.

Sorry if this was too much information. It's honestly not a bad process at all and I do remember thinking last time, "I might just do this every other year just to clean out my insides."

I did get a call from the outpatient nurse today and I am to report tomorrow morning at 8:45am. Thank you, Lord, for letting me have an early appointment so I can come home and EAT something!!

My Colonoscopy on Tuesday

I had a colonoscopy six years ago due to some bleeding which turned out to be due to lifting some heavy boxes. Since then Mom was diagnosed with colo-rectal cancer which means I have family history of that disease. Mom's surgeon recommended that my brother Mike and I have colonoscopies at age 40 instead of the standard age 50. It is recommended to begin checking 10 years prior to when your family member was diagnosed (Mom was 50). That would mean a span of 13 years from my first check until the next. As a worrier and hypochondriac, I wasn't comfortable with that. Also just the fact of having two children and the changes those events brought to my body, the colonoscopy will settle my fears over random aches and pains I experience.

With that said, I ask for your prayers for me to have peace leading up to the procedure on Tuesday morning, precision of my doctor in using the scope, and for God to take away my cough which I've had for about two weeks. My crazy mind wonders what can go wrong if I cough while sedated with a scope up my insides! I pray to report back with a great report.

My Mental Journey Through the Topic of Educating My Children

If you had asked me two months ago if I would consider homeschooling my children, I would have quickly said no. My reasonings were truthful yet selfish: I don't know anything about teaching school, I'm not organized enough, I look forward to the day I can send my children off to school so I can have some time to myself again, and maybe I would like to get a fun job at Hobby Lobby or something! I love Philip and Braewyn completely, but there are days when I am very ready for Matthew to come home and "take over". The idea of spending everyday always together seemed a little overwhelming when I thought about it being for YEARS to come.

Well, around the first week of December, I kept hearing friend after friend mention she was planning on homeschooling her children, the subject was mentioned in a magazine article I read and a brochure for My Father's World homeschool curriculum was on the information table at our MOPS meeting. I thought to myself, maybe God is really wanting me to think about this! I knew this was definitely not something to make a spur of the moment decision about. I mentioned to Matthew that the idea of homeschooling was in my mind but not in any formal fashion and I would just be pondering it over and "researching" it by asking friends who do homeschool and/or are planning to do so.

The more I thought about it, the more I got excited about the idea. At the same time, I continued praying for God to show me His clear direction as I didn't have a complete feeling of peace about it. Also, I struggle with getting Philip and Braewyn to comply to simple requests when they're not in the mood so I wondered how taxing homeschooling really would be. Philip was also showing signs of failing to obey authority figures outside our home (didn't do his craft in Sunday School, sat down during basketball practice because he was tired) which made me wonder if keeping him home would only perpetuate that problem.

I continued talking with friends about which curriculums they use and planned on getting together with a few in January. As I do with anything that perks my interest, I next went to the internet and searched for "homeschool curriculum". Boy, did that blow me away. I spent a few good hours reading over all sorts of plans and honestly became overwhelmed and confused about which I would choose if I did so.

That feeling of peace was still not in my spirit, but I knew my God is faithful and so continued to think this subject over until He sent me my answer. I then also spoke with some friends who have children in our public school system. They all told me they really felt good about the experiences their children have had. Many of the teachers are Christians and although they cannot teach Christian material in the classroom, they display a wonderful Christian example to the children.

Thankfully, God has brought me my answer just in the last few days with a peace that is so comforting. Matthew's opinion on this matter was obviously a key part in my decision as well and this whole process has been "verified" by something I read while studying the Bible. First Matthew favors the idea of public school (I don't want to misquote him, but I think he basically believes that kids become most well-rounded socially and academically in that atmosphere). I would never overrule him on such a substantial decision for our family as this so that came into play. Secondly, I was reading about David being told by God to attack the Philistines while he was in hiding from King Saul (1 Samuel 23:1-6). He told the people he was with who asked him if he was sure about that. David went to God and asked again if that's what he should do.

About these verses, Beth Moore writes in "David: 90 Days with a Heart Like His" (pg. 135), "David did not ask God a second time because he doubted God, but because he needed to be certain. In the same way, you or I might ask God to reconfirm His direction -- not because we doubt God's Word, but because we question our understanding. To doubt God in the face of clear direction is disobedience, but to double-check our understanding and interpretation of God's will is prudent." I did not want to disobey God is He truly wanted me to homeschool, but I just didn't know if that's what He was really telling me

All that being said, God has helped me re-evaluate my motives, and the "plan" Matthew and I have (unless God speaks to us again) is for me to homeschool Philip for preschool (a.k.a. K-4), and then send him to public Kindergarten and further grades. I feel complete peace about this decision. I am certain that God wanted me to think about homeschooling because it brought me to saying that if yes, He wanted me to do so, yes I would do so. What God is suggesting is not always what He wants you to really do, but He just wants to see your faithfulness in saying yes to do so (i.e. Abraham almost taking his son Isaac's life).

This spring, I'm loosely doing K-3 preschool homeschool by using a book entitled, "Before Five in a Row" (activites are provided to use along side a children's book), learning letters and numbers by playing Old Maid and Go Fish, coloring, etc. Next schoolyear, I will be using an actual preschool homeschool curriculum (still working on deciding which one) for him on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as we continue to attend MOPS on Tuesdays and his last year of BSF on Thursdays. This will give us a lot of time together, much of which Braewyn can join in.

Now the question is which elementary school will Philip attend. We are selling our house this spring to move into a different school district. There are four elementary schools and so the location of our new house will determine which he attends. I am excited to see where God leads us and what experiences He has in store for us down the road. It is an amazing feeling to live in the center of His will!!

As my favorite Bible verses say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

Another Video

This video almost brought me to tears. Brittany, one of the teenagers at church, mentioned to me that there was a video for the song "Everything" by Lifehouse on YouTube that was actually a youth skit about all the things that try to tear teenagers down. I've just watched it and it breaks my heart. Matthew and I have been teaching youth Sunday School for 8 years. Teenagers are dear to my heart because the world they live in today is so much more blatantly trying to drag Christians down, really anyone who doesn't want to get caught up in the drinking, drugs and sex. I shudder thinking about what they face everyday not to mention trying to keep my mind from thinking about Philip and Braewyn being in that atmosphere one day. I pray to the Lord almost daily for guidance in raising them and that they might each accept Christ as his/her own Savior so they would seek His guidance for themselves.

That being said, even if you don't come into contact with teenagers regularly this video can make you think about your own life too. What is Satan using to draw you away from God? Is God even a part of your life?

Time to start over!

January 1st has always given me that feeling of taking on huge projects, goals, dreams, etc. because this is a brand new year and the possibilites are endless!! Normally the daily grind of day-to-day activities wears that "everything is possible" energy level down after a few days, but I've found something that might help. I've always loved watching good movies and this video contains clips from some of the best. Hey, Mel Gibson is in it. That would make it worth watching alone. Seriously though, God has an amazing plan for you. And He does want to help you find out what that is. Here's one of my favorite verses from the Bible because it clearly states that God is for us, not against us.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4