Abigail is NINE!

Abigail turned 9 yesterday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET ABI!
Your smile is contagious.
Your songs tell a story.
Your care for your little brothers is admirable.
We love you!
xoxoxo




Overjoyed at getting to hold her cousin Emmie.

Excited for her birthday breakfast (it's an all day affair around here...okay, all week affair!)

The birthday hugs start!

For birthdays we allow the kids to pick out whatever (within certain attainable limits) they want for breakfast. Abi picked eggs, sausage, bacon, donuts and strawberries. One of the small blessings to having a large family is the abundance of birthdays, hence the abundance of donuts...Momma likes donuts but only on birthdays. Whew, we need some more kids! ;)




The day before Abi's birthday we took a trip to Luray Caverns in Virginia. We left our house at 6:30 am and didn't arrive to Luray until 11am. It's a good thing we travel with a porta-potty. We sat in turn-off-the-engine traffic for a while. The destination was worth the journey. We listened to Jonathan Park the entire way.
The kids love it and it is packed with Creation Science.

We love it when Daddy is home and field trips are possible.
Thank you Head of the household. You really do R-O-C-K.
No pun intended, really!

Kid Quote

Today's kid quote is from Daniel.

"Maybe if you say Obama is nice, he not gonna take all your money."

Extravagant Worship

What does extravagant worship look like to you? To me it is not worrying about what others think. I only want to worry about what my Lord and King thinks. I can't feel self-conscience if I feel pulled to my knees in worship at my occasionally-a-few-people-hand-lifting-church. I enjoy worship at my church. It is good. People just need to get outside themselves and give God "the glory due His name." (Psalm 96:8) Extravagant worship will cost you. It will not be easy. You may be criticized. You may be rebuked. But you will be remembered by our great God! (John 4:23)

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz

Thanks to Mary over at Owlhaven I took the Mom quiz.
Take it and let me know your Mom parenting style.
Some of the questions were difficult to answer for me...
But I found out something that I kind of already knew and that
my family might agree with... :)


Take the fun, Mom to Mom quiz and discover your parenting style.

"

Kid Quote

This afternoon, Abigail and I went out for our annual date to pick out her birthday plates, napkins and party favors. I happened to have my husbands iPod with me so I scrolled through as we sat in traffic. We listened to Phantom of the Opera and sang loudly with the windows down. Then I came across something a little different. I am not sure of all the words to this song, so forgive me if there are some bad parts which neither one of us would approve. Also, forgive me if I am getting my husband in trouble right now. ;) I stopped at a song that I remembered was kind of a whistling type, so I threw it on to play for Abi.... "Will you still need me? Will you still feed me, when I'm 64?"

Abigail: 64!!! That is sooooo old.

Mom: Well, that's close to Oma and Papa's ages. (sorry Dad's and Mom's, just truth but we don't think you are old at all)

Abigail: What?!?! No way.

Mom: How old do you think Papa is, Abigail?

Abigail: 40 (how's that make you feel Daddy?)

Mom: Well, if that's the case he had me when he was about 6.

Abigail: What?!? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (she finds this very funny!)

Mom: Abi honey, Daddy and I are closer to 40 than Papa.

Abigail: Really?!? (still totally shocked and mouth gaping)

I certainly remember when 30 was old. How about you?

The Graduate

Congratulations on completing 5th grade sweet Ashley!
We are so proud of you!
xoxo, Daddy and Moma

Ashley and Gramommy pose before the big event.

Daddy and Moma get to talk about our wonderful daughter!

Daddy presents Ashley's diploma!

Daddy and daughter share some laughs.

Moma gets a photo with her Daddy!

We feel so blessed that Jesus entrusted us with the care of His Ashley. She is joy to us. She is loving, respectful, a good leader, a good example, an obedient daughter, a fun friend and a wonderful student. I am bless to be her Moma and to share the
teaching responsibility with her Daddy. (We couldn't do it without you Peter!)

"Did you bring the neighborhood?"

It was time to hit Sam's Club again today. We haven't been since this. Today I braved it without Mr. Muscles. Just me and the kids, our full cart and many questions from strangers. The title of this post was my favorite. It was followed by, "Wow" "What do you drive?" "Do you have to have car seats for everyone too?" I have to tell you, I am very polite when strangers come up to talk to my children without so much as a glance my way. I am also very polite when they just open mouth gape at our intimate grouping of 7. That is what really cracks me up. What are these people going to do when we are walking in with 10 kids?!

No Compromise

With every thought and deed I am an example. I can be an example of what to do or what not to do. Whether my actions glorify my Father in heaven, or whether they come from selfish indulgence, I am an example. What do my children see? Do they see their Moma living a life of white lies, bad character, disobedience and strife...or do they see their Moma living her life to the glory of her Father in heaven? It is easy to let little things slip. It is easy to say, "Tell them I am not home" in order to avoid a call or "Just say you are only 11" in order to skip paying the adult price on a ticket. But to what end? Why compromise? If you haven't read the 10 Commandments in a while, here they are, from Bible Gateway, for your review. Read them, consider them. As for me, I want to be light for my children. I will not call evil good and good evil. I will not compromise.

Exodus 20

The Ten Commandments

¹ And God spoke all these words:

² "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ "You shall have no other gods before ^a]">[a] me.

⁴ "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

¹³ "You shall not murder.

¹⁴ "You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ "You shall not steal.

¹⁶ "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."

²⁰ Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

Home Sweet Home

My home is a place of refuge. My desire is that when people walk in they feel the Prince of Peace ruling here. This is, of course, despite the five children running wildly through the house and vying for the attention of whoever has paid a call. We have focused this past year on how to greet people at the door. I am convinced that many things we teach our children need to be practiced in the home before they are capable of successfully completing the task outside of the home.

This past week the seven of us flew to Cali. Our trip was last minute due to a funeral. We laughed and cried with Grandpa and Oma. We rejoiced in face to face friendships with like-minded family. We traveled with a beloved cousin who cared for our children during the funeral events. We relaxed. We swam. We ate. We hugged good-bye. We came home. Home Sweet Home. Now we miss them all.