I just wanted to share some fun pictures!
Katherine after a bath. June 2016
Katherine playing with the hose and getting soaking wet. June 2016
Jonathan while on a mommy son date at the park. June 2016
Phil and kids when they went to see Eric Metaxes. May 2016
Katherine SLEEPING while being half way out of her bed! Sound asleep! June 2016
Kids at park June 2016
Psalm 33:21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
We have had an incredibly busy couple of weeks but especially the last 7 days. We always attend the annual homeschool conference put on by Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC). We look forward to this 3 day event in June every single year and this year marked our 7th year in a row attending. Truly it is more then a homeschool conference as they have sessions on everything from homeschooling to math is a language to the father’s role in the leading his family to family discipleship. It truly is like a weekend getaway for us…. except we come home every evening!
The conference is also host to an extremely large vendor hall with dozens upon dozens of companies set up to demonstrate, ask questions and sell every curriculum you could think of . I could spend hours in the vendor hall alone! They also have a youth vendor section and this year our two oldest girls really wanted to have a booth. After Phil and I prayed and discussed we decided to let them have a booth. So, we had to come up with a product. After much discussion and research we settled on homemade lotions, soaps. bath bombs and lip balm. For weeks we’ve been making (after lots of experimenting) lots of fun stuff to sell. Not being an entrepreneur type I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing but I truly did not want to squash their desire to run their own booth.
We settled on a business name of Busy Bee’s Creations, created a logo and started printing labels, business cards (the girls wanted the verse at the top of the post on their business cards) and product tags. It was a TON of work but I have learned so much in the process! The girls are already planning for next year’s booth! We did better then I expected we would and it was such a wonderful opportunity for us. CHEC requires their youth vendors to submit a business plan and take 2 hours of training during the conference. At the end, they award the top 3 business plans with gifts. The first place winner won a tablet and the 2nd and 3rd place winners won what they call vendor bucks. Money that can be spent on any vendor in the hall. The girls were really hoping to win but they did not…. considering I’m the one that submitted the business plan late (really late!) one night I figured it wasn’t going to be good enough to win!
On Friday, as we were setting up our booth I noticed that we did not have a table cloth or something to cover the table. I assumed they would be provided and as I looked around the room I realized we were the ONLY youth vendor table to not have it beautifully decorated. However, my dear husband, after reading my slightly stressed text, left work and bought us a cheap tablecloth from the store and brought it to us! What an amazing blessing and our table looked much better with a cover. We sold out of all of our bath bombs on Friday so when we got home from the conference that evening we set to work to make 30 more thinking Saturday would be much busier. Saturday was not as busy as we expected but we still did well. With an hour left of the conference we decided to do a half price sale to reduce our inventory. We still brought home product but now I have some really great lotion and soaps to use! I’ve made the lip balm before and I use it all the time. I love it!
Overall, the conference was a blessing (have any of you heard Todd Friel speak? Oh my goodness… you must!) and the booth experience was enjoyable and an amazing learning experience. I too have plans of what can we do better next year!
The girls at their booth.
One of our homemade soaps.
“Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
A few months ago a dear friend of mine said while meeting with her Pastor’s wife, the wife asked who in my friend’s life she looked up to spiritually. I was blown away when my friend said I was the first one she thought of! Me?? I have so much to learn and so many ways to grow spiritually. I remember thinking ‘I need to earn that title.’ So, when I was recently invited to take part in a book study with another friend of mine I immediately jumped at the chance as doing bible studies with this sister in Christ is very encouraging, convicting and refreshing. She loves the Lord with all her heart and even more, loves to share the Gospel. She is passionate about her family and ministering to other moms. She truly is a light in such a dark world.
She came across a book titled God Up Close: How to Meditate on His word by Doug McIntosh. The book is no longer in print (because, I believe, that it does not tickle the itching ears of the average church in America today) but I was able to buy a used copy on Amazon. There are about 11 ladies in the group ranging in age from 38 to 86 with many different life experiences and biblical knowledge to share. Course… being the introvert… I don’t share much! I’d rather listen! I’m determined to share next week though!
I’ve read the first 3 chapters twice already and have really been convicted on what are my priorities. The author, Mr. McIntosh, makes several good points of what we value and love we make time for yet many many Christians do no read their bible and pray every day… many barely once a week. This book addresses the phenomenon that being a Christian just means being a good person or believing in God. That’s it… that’s all you have to do…. hmmm. If you actually read the bible that’s not the truth.
I love this quote in chapter 1: “Meditation is the adoring believer’s interaction with the God of the Bible by means of the Bible.” I want to be the adoring believer! Here are the 3 steps Mr. McIntosh uses to meditate on God’s word:
The author makes a point; if your first question when deciding if you should meditate on God’s word is ‘how long will this take’ then you can’t afford it. Truly, if I could spend at least an hour every day pouring over my bible and journaling I would! I love being in God’s word and I love my children being in God’s word. I can’t expect them to do it if I do not make it a priority. He also points out that many obstacles present themselves when someone makes a decision to meditate on God’s word. Satan is not happy about a Christian actually reading her bible and makes every attempt to sabotage her efforts. Facebook, movies, TV (which is 98% crap anyway), video games all take time away from God; not to mention the effect on our families.
Ok, I’m getting on a rant… I’ll get off my soapbox for now.
Some of the last words of Moses were “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall commend your children to be careful to observe – all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life.” Deuteronomy 32:46-47
Meditation calls for honesty and reflection. Express your concerns and stresses of this life to God, always with reverence and He will listen. He’s knows your heart anyway but wants to walk with you through this life. Reflect on how God has shown His kindness to you or to others.
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
Another favorite quote from chapter 1 – “Meditation is not a casual activity. Only those who esteem (delight in) the Word will spend the time and energy required to mine it’s treasures.”
I’ll end with this praise from David from 2 Samuel 22:1-4
Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said: The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from my enemies.
I can’t believe it has been so long since I’ve posted. There are so many things that I want to write about but I just haven’t had the time!
Our sweet 2nd born turned 11 a couple of weeks ago. She is such a creative, intelligent and beautiful young lady. We are so blessed to have her in our family and I’m certainly blessed to be her mom!
A couple of days before her birthday she decided she wanted to donate her hair to Wigs 4 Kids again. So, I took her to a salon and got her a super cute short do and mailed 14 inches of her hair to the organization. What a blessing to be able to help other children with something many of us take for granted!
Happy Birthday Mikayla – we love you so much! Thanks to family and friends for celebrating with us!
Before!
After!
Daddy and Belle on our birthday dinner.
Belle’s 11th Birthday Cake
14 Inches!
Beginning in August of 2014 I started working towards getting my real estate license by taking online classes. Due to my busy schedule I didn’t get very far so in early November, 2015 I enrolled in evening classes to complete all the required coursework in 5 weeks. It was a tough schedule on everybody since I was in class Monday through Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 10:30pm (and I’m a morning person!) and Saturdays from 9:00 to 1:00 for 5 weeks. I took the state licensing test on December 18th and I passed on the first attempt. It was such a relief to have that behind me!
On March 2nd I hung my license with Cherry Creek Properties, Property Management Group. I have to work under another broker for 2 years before I am allowed to work on my own; even if my focus is property management.
So, should you know of anyone looking for a Property Manager in the Denver Metro area please keep me in mind!
Earlier in March we celebrated 2 of our children’s birthdays! Pooh Bear turned 13 (can you believe we have a young adult in the house?) and Chewy turned 2. It’s hard to believe that our youngest child was born 2 years ago!
Pooh did not have a specific cake theme in mind so she let me surprise her with my own idea and it was a hit! I’ve always wanted to do a topsy turvy cake and this was my first attempt. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun to make as well. Thanks to all that joined us to celebrate these 2 wonderful daughters of ours!
Birthday dinner at Chili’s.
I enjoyed the Sally Clarkson women’s conference I went to this past weekend. Her theme this year was the Lifegiving Home – Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming. She shared with us (over 1000 women!) how she and her husband went about creating a Godly home where her 4 homeschooled children were taught the Scriptures and to love one another, to be a servant (meaning as Christ was a servant… I’m not talking child labor here), to be confident in who God made them to be and to share the Gospel with passion and conviction with the world.
Her oldest daughter is studying writing at Oxford in England. Her oldest son is an accomplished composer and plays many instruments. I can’t remember where he studied but he composed a number that the Pope selected to be played at one of his recent events. Her 3 child is an actor and filmmaker and made the movie Confessions of a Prodigal Son. Her 4th child completed her bachelor degree at the age of 20. Joy is taking a year off from college to work 3 jobs, save her money and go to Oxford for her masters degree. All of Sally’s children are successful adults but what I found most interesting is their love of the Lord and their conviction to share their love of the Lord with the world.
Here a few favorite quotes:
And my favorite quote from the weekend is: Right is always right even if no one else is doing it. Wrong is always wrong even if everyone is doing it. I find this quote especially true in our current society. We live in a time when evil is called good and good is called evil. Without God’s word as our moral compass who decides what is morally right or morally wrong.
As my girls and I were delivering newspapers this afternoon I was thinking about what I am thankful for today. Here is what came to mind….
Oh I just thought of another one…I get to go to a women’s conference tomorrow (Fri) evening through Saturday evening. I don’t typically like going to women’s conference but I’ve heard this one is different then the kind that I’ve been to in the past. I know several other women that will be attending and am looking forward to a night away.
Katherine riding the scooter that J got for Christmas.
The van is loaded and we are ready to deliver the newspapers!
I wiped the tears away as I continued to untie the 2 dozen or so cloth ties attaching the Noah’s Ark themed crib bumpers to the only crib we have used for our 5 children. Our sweet Katherine (possible nickname of Chewy) has officially graduated from her crib to a toddler bed. I realize it might be somewhat silly to shed a few tears over such an event. But as we were taking down the crib the realization hit that, unless God blesses us with a baby to adopt (which I am open to), we most likely will not be using the crib again. This chapter of our lives appears to be closed.
It’s been so fun to watch our youngest grow and it’s hard to believe she is already 22 months old. As I watch Katherine walk around the house, play with her toys, dance (she LOVES music) and chase her siblings I realize we no longer have a baby; we have a toddler! Where has the time gone?
As for the crib I have a few idea floating around in my head. Since the crib has a side that slides down we cannot donate it, nor can I sell it on craigslist. These types of cribs are illegal now. I’m excited about the possibilities of converting it to something quite usable.
For now, enjoy some pictures of our family.
Katherine wearing mommy’s reading glasses.
Katherine and Alex.
Jonathan at build a bear workshop.
Alex working on her reading lessons.
Jonathan working on his daily notebook for school.
Alex spending time with Katherine.
Katherine wearing one of Natasha’s hats.
Katherine’s new bed!
Katherine wearing a hat that Grandma Joanne made for her.
Natasha reading to Katherine in her new bed.
Date night!
With the new year I wanted my own personal bible study and devotion to take on a particular theme or direction. There are dozens upon dozens of ways to study through the bible. I’ve tried the read the bible in a year thing and still haven’t completed the schedule. (As a side note, reading through the bible isn’t necessarily the same as studying the bible.) In the past I’ve also chosen a particular book in the bible to do an in-depth study. I wanted to study something that would challenge my every day walk with the Lord. It’s easy to get in a rut and just go through the motions. After much prayer and contemplation I decided to study the commands of Christ.
John 14:15 says “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
In order to keep his commandments I need to know what they are, study them and apply them to my life. According to the sources I reviewed there are approximately 49 commands of Christ. Some resources have a higher number but after reviewing the list I feel like several of them are very similar so I’m going to use the list of 49 commandments.
The first commandment of Christ I’m studying is the call to repent. The Webster dictionary defines repentance as: the action or process of repenting especially for misdeeds or moral shortcomings.
Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus calls us to repent of our sin. Now, for those who call themselves Christian, down play sin and say Jesus was all about showing love to the world how do you handle this verse? If sin is not really that big of deal why would Jesus call us to repent of our sin? Yes, Jesus did come to show love to the world but no where in Scripture does it say sin really isn’t the issue as long as we show love (and by the world’s definition tolerance) to everyone around us. It’s one of the ways many churches all over the world are watering down the Word of God. Instead of preaching about the hard issues and holding their congregations accountable they want to soften it up and be liked and get more people in the door.
Acts 3:19 Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. In this verse, Peter is calling on those listening to repent and be forgiven. Again, if sin wasn’t an issue why would Peter be telling people they need to repent? Why would forgiveness be needed if there isn’t truly sin in the world. And, if there really isn’t sin in the world what did Jesus die for on that cross?
II Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. A Christian is saved by faith but our deeds, both good and bad, will be judged by Christ. You can’t read this passage and not realize that without true repentance, the judgment we receive will be harsher. Even if I’m saved by faith, if I sin and do not truly repent I will be judged for those deeds. It’s kind of like saying “I know God, what I’m doing (fill in the blank) is sin but… it’s ok, you died on the cross for my sin so I don’t really need to repent.”
And finally, Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent. Again, Jesus is speaking here and specifically says to be zealous and REPENT. Hmmm…. I’m seeing a theme and the command to repent!
For me and my walk with the Lord, I realized through studying repentance that the almost 16 years I’ve been a Christian I’ve kind of skipped this command. When I think of repenting I think of those ‘big’ sins… you know… I’ve never killed anyone, I’m not a thief, etc. However, this past week the Lord has shown me I need to repent of ALL sin, even the ‘small’ ones. The ugly thought I had about a family member, the cross words I said to my children, the disrespecting comment to my husband, the snarky comment to my mom (Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12), the snarky comments about my mother-in-law.. the list could go on and on. I need to repent of all my sin, not just if I’m an ax murderer.
Dear Precious Lord,
I’m in awe of your creation; all of it! I’m overwhelmed with thanksgiving of all the mercy, forgiveness and love you have shown me since capturing my heart many years ago. I can’t imagine the path I would be on had I not heard your call. Lord, reveal to me the sins in my life and grant me the courage to confess and repent. Thank you for the hope I have in Jesus.
Amen!
"The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands." Psalm 138:8
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Sharing thoughts on Jesus, family and anything that fits my fancy.
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