The Fly or the Spider?

Today the boys learned that God charged us to care for the world and all the animals.  Clark found a little spider on our porch and decided to help her by finding her food.  We hunted and hunted and found a big fat juicy fly.  I caught it.  Clark carefully placed it into the web for an evening meal for our eight legged friend.  Clark was so thrilled that he has helped out God's little creature.

Then Joel walks up and begins panicking that the fly is in harm's away.  He begins to wail and beg us to rescue the fly from the dangerous web. He takes matters into his own hands and destroys the web and probably kills the little spider in the process to save the fly.

The boys are both upset and disturbed.

As I stand back and look at the emotional mayhem, I begin to see.  I explain to them that they are both right because each boy is taking care of God's creatures.  How often in life will they face the same dilemma of fighting against another over equally worthy causes.  Oh how often, Michael and I have gone round and round, but we both were in the right or at least sort of.

This is our little buddy that builds her nest in front of our window.  We watch it catch all kinds of bugs all day long!!

So the next time I find myself tied up in a conflict, I need to remember to take a step back and try to see the other's perspective. Chances are we are both right, or we both have strong points that are worthy of respect and consideration.

Back to Home School Party

It's back to school time at the Adventure Academy for Boys!  And we just had to throw a party to celebrate the beginning of this amazing school year.

So Clark planned all the details, and he threw his first ever get together!

The boys picked out these cupcakes from Pinterest. Clark did the icing, and Joel added the details.

We put out the bounce house for recess time!  We also had scavenger hunts and played hide-n-seek.

For the math part of our party, we built towers, made patterns, and build symmetrical shapes.

Then we had music class with Seeds Family Worship!

For reading time, we read Morris Goes to School.  We had a fun time laughing at that silly moose and his adventures of his first day of school.

We ended it with a commitment time.  Moms committed to their children to teach and love whole heartedly and to give grace freely.  Kids committed to working hard and learning a lot. 

Kiddos went home with baskets full of leftover lunch treats and little back to school goodies!

Clark, you did good!!!!

A Day (or Two) at the Beach!!!

Our family has not had a vacation... ever. So we finally got one!!! Whoo hoo!  We went down to Destin, FL this week and had a good ole time on the beach!!

It was an adventure packed with lots of firsts!

We attempted our first photo on the beach, but the boys really were not into it. Oh well.

First time to see Destin.  It is absolutely beautiful!!!!  Water is crystal clear.  The beaches are white!  God did good!!! 

Building sand castles sort of...

First time to taste salt water.

Clark loved the water and the waves, but he didn't like the salt water in the mouth. 

Michael had to save him a few times, but he kept going back in!

Our little family among the crowds!

My sweetie Levi in his sun hat for the first time

Here's my super brave water lover. 

Clark absolutely loves the water!

It was his first time to "swim".

My attempt at a cute foot shot.

Oh...how I could eat these boys up!! 

Wait...I do everyday!!!

Just look at his gorgeous eyes....I love this boy.

Action shot of Clark playing in the waves with his nice clothes!!

The best part...Grandma and PawPaw were there to share it with us!

                                                  Sunset on the beach is the best!

First time to see a crab.

Mr. Crab provided lots of entertainment

We had a great time.  We wore ourselves out having so much fun.

 (I praise God that we spent less than $400 dollars for everything plus the one time we ate out!)

It's the Little Things

It is the little things that can get to me.  They sneak up when I am not looking.  They steal my joy and drive me to a unthankful place that just seems to pull me deeper and deeper into anxiety.  I wish I was strong enough to resist. 

Today is a great day, but it's one of those days.

This morning I have a lot to do.  I decided to wash some clothes, and my barely holding it together 11 year old washing machine leaks water all over the floor.  It is just too much for me.  I cave in to the wave of worry.  I begin to sink into the what ifs....

what if the washing machine can't be repaired by Michael...
what if the floor is rotted now....

what if we go bankrupt trying to keep up with this house and all our things...
what if......

I begin to feel like I can't catch my breath, literally.  I try to gasp for oxygen, but I feel the weight of anxiety heavy on my chest.

I pray.   It's all I have left.

Then I hear in my heart, the words I have buried deep with Scripture memory....

"Cast your cares on the Lord.  He will sustain you.  He will never let the righteous be shaken."
Psalm 55:22

"In everything with prayer and petition submit your requests to God." Philippians 4:6-7

I feel the darkness lifting.  Light begins to shine into my heart.

My breathing returns to normal.  Peace fills my body.  I begin to smile, and then giggle, and then laugh with joy.

Yes, this house may fall apart around my head.  All my fears may come true even.  But I have a God in Heaven who will hold me in the palm of His hands and breath love and mercy and grace on me.

His grace is sufficient. 

These little words are all I need to keep me from going crazy.   It really is the little things.

Mowing the grass is one of my many things on my to do list today.

What's for dinner?

The boys and I harvested some of our goodies this morning, and we ended up with red potatoes, white potatoes, tomatoes, okra, corn, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, and two pumpkins!!

So dinner will be fried zucchini, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and cucumber roll ups!!
ALL STRAIGHT FROM THE GARDEN TODAY!

Levi decided to start a carrot pile on our couch pillows.

Half of a Bag of Chocolate Chips and a Path of Destruction Later

A view from above



What am I talking about??  LEVI!!!! He is officially my little tornado this week.  The big boys were in VBS from 9-1.  Levi didn't know what to do with himself, so he decided to pull the house down with his bare hands. 

For example this morning only,  I needed to write a couple of emails.  While I was doing that, this is what Levi was doing:

• grabbed my mouse and clicked send to an email that should not have been sent out (for the second time this week), 
• broke some decorations, 
• pulled out every single item from the kitchen cabinets, 
• ran with scissors, 
• ate glue, 
• got on top of the kitchen table 20 plus times,
•  stuck a spoon in the printer, 
• poured a box of cereal on the floor and crushed the cereal with his feet,
•  pulled out all the paper from the printer and scattered it across the house, 
• yanked and ran with all my important documents,
• poured water on the floor, fell, and hit his head
• threw all the dirty dishes and toys into the sink (I expect to find broken glasses and plates later)
• ate a half a bag of chocolate chips AFTER ALL THE ABOVE FUN!!!! I stepped away to go to the bathroom and run upstairs for something, and I came back to an empty bag of chocolate chips and a  Levi grinning ear to chocolate covered ear

I can't even imagine what the afternoon will hold with all that sugar and caffeine in his system.  


Life with boys is full of joys!!!



Can I come to your house next??? 

The Best June of My Life!

That's a pretty bold statement I know, but I have to be honest and say I have never been more blessed than today!  I have so much to praise God for.  Here's some pictures of my blessings in the month of June!!

 

My boys love playing together.  Here's Levi trying to get on the action too!  15 months and nothing stops him.  His favorite activity: dancing on top of the kitchen table when no one is looking. Oh and eating everything on the table while dancing!

 

 My Joel: independent, exploring, helping, so sweet!

 Here are the two big ones working together.  Clark and Joel have a very special relationship so far!  I pray Levi will be included that in tight bond.  I know he'll push his way in if he must. 

 

 Mister Smiley!!

Levi taking the bribe

 We are now on the homeschooling journey!!  We started year round school this month.  So Clark is officially a kindergartener!!  We take it very seriously as you can see with Clark learning at the table without his clothes!!  :-)  Levi loves to help by taking  Clark's papers, scissors, crayons, etc and running away with them.  I try to bribe Levi with food to give us some time to work.   

 Joel wants to be part of the fun too!!

I love the serious concentration!!

My Surprise Pumpkin Patch!

I don't know how, but we had pumpkin plants spring up in our backyard this growing season.

And we love it. They have taken over the yard and are loaded with pumpkins big and small.

Here's Clark watering our little pumpkin patch.

Our one and only apple!

Our little crazy garden!

What Is Success?? And a few cute photos

I love finding good quotes.  Here's one that I found a long time ago.  Warning: It is a little radical which I love.

Taken from Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson page 105

" If we teach our children through our actions or instruction, even subtly that being successful in this world is somehow a measure of their importance and success, then we will miss the point of all the Lord's teachings.  We are given one chance to live on earth, and the one true measure of our success will be our faith, our faithfulness, and our obedience.  If they live with eternity in their eyes, they can live with hope no matter what happens in this life."

I hope that I am able to teach this truth to my boys and build them up in the strength of the Lord. 
Pray for me. 

My boys and their affinity to things with wheels!

13 Years of Blessed Ups and Downs and Counting

We recently celebrated our 13th anniversary.  I have to say it has only gotten better and better as the years roll by.   I love looking back at my life and seeing how much we have grown closer and deeper in love.  Yes we still have conflict and times that I think, "how in the world are we going to get through this."  But I am so glad that we have stood together and created this beautiful life together.

This is right before we started the journey of parenthood over five years ago!

Starting the Tennessee Adventure!

What adventure will today hold??

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