She Found Her Sweet Spot

{Disclaimer...if it bugs you when people brag about their kids, don't read this one :o)}.

We weren't sure how things would go when Karis decided she wanted to try out basketball. I mean, for the most part, elementary school basketball is comical to watch...and girls' elementary basketball can be more on the painful side. Karis has loved gymnastics, but did not love soccer {made me sad, because she is good at it}. We kind of figured she'd feel the same about basketball. Well, she really seems to like it. And she's pretty doggone good! Absolutely gets it from her daddy. I thought maybe we'd lose her after the her earring got ripped out in one of the games, but she surprised me at how well she bounced back! She hits at least 4 shots a game, she can move the ball, and the girl can jump! She found her "sweet spot" in Saturdays game with a minute left in the first half. Three beautiful baskets!    

Honestly, I don't want this to sound bad, but I just love that I'm able to get on here brag about Karis' athletic skills. Mark and I have such a hard time because Ethan gets applauded for so many things athletically and academically {by us, and many other people} and Karis hears/sees it. It is really hard being only a year younger than a brother who is as talented and gifted as he is. They create a lot of competition between themselves. And Ethan is not easy on her at all. Even when we make a point of not comparing them to each other, they are doing it themselves. God has not been as quick to reveal all of Karis' strengths to us, not that we doubted they were there, but her shell has been hard to crack. I love what it's revealing, though, as we are able to break it off, piece by piece.  

A little rant

I was forwarded this article by a friend the other day...and it fired me up! If you don't have time to read it, it's from The Christian Post and talks about an athiest activist who plans to target FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) in 2012 for their "proselytizing at public schools while targeting the impressionable minds of our children.""

This paragraph really got me:

‎"Regardless of majority demographics, not everyone is Christian and these two groups in particular use nefarious methods of passive-aggressive proselytizing that affects the children of non-Christian parents who should be able to send their kids off to school without the worry that they will be exposed to religious propaganda (magazines, tracts, fliers, etc.) that these organizations leave behind, or via the training they give school teachers and administrators to integrate into their daily activities..."

Really?? Then we should be able to send our kids to school without worrying that they will be exposed to secular/liberal propaganda {"safe" sex education, evolution. etc.} as part of their educational experience. Shouldn't it work both ways??

At least FCA and Good News Clubs aren't a required part of the educational experience.

I think this hit close to home for me because, this school year we made the hard choice to give up attending our church's Wednesday night "Adventure Club", so we could get involved with the Good News Club at Ethan and Karis' school on Wednesday afternoons. For those of you who might not be familiar with this program, it's an after school club, similar to a VBS or Awana Club, run by volunteers from CEF. In our district, the schools will not advertise this club. The only way to let kids know about it is through word of mouth. {We've gone from having 5 kids at our first meeting back at the end of October to having 30 registered kids...and we've passed out 6 Bibles to kids who didn't have one!} 

When a kid is invited to Club, a permission slip goes home clearly stating what the club is all about...if a parent doesn't want their kid there, then they don't sign the form {contrary to what this guy seems to think, we are not handcuffing kids and dragging them into this club without their parents knowing what's going on}..simple as that. I wouldn't like it if there was an "athiests' news" club meeting at the school, but since I value my First Amendment rights {and I want GNC to be allowed to meet} I'm not gonna put up a stink {or at least a huge one :o)}...and if someone invited one of our kids to it, we obviously would tell them that's not what we believe, why we don't believe it, and we wouldn't allow them to attend.

I'm not sure I see why this same logic would be so difficult for an athiest family that might find their kids invited to a Good News Club?

As Christian parents who send our kids to public school, we're well aware that they are going to encounter things that go against the core of what we believe. We already have every intent of pulling them from the standard "sex education" course provided by the schools. We have plans to purchase some of our own supplemental materials to help provide our kids with a more "rounded" study of some eras of world history and fields of science. We fully realize that we have to counteract the parts of the education system that don't align with our way of thinking...that we have the responsibility to make up for the areas where we feel the schools fall short {while these are some of the very reasons some pull their kids from public schools, they are part of the reason we feel like the Lord wants us there}.

Again, would this same philosophy really be that difficult for an athiest family? 

It's our prayer that the Lord protects these organizations from the attacks of {Satan} this group....that we will be able to encourage the students that call on the name of the Lord to stand firm in their faith each day...and that we will continue to have the opportunity to feed those children who are hungry for something that they aren't even aware of.       

Projects Lately...

So, here comes an attempt to bring the ol' blog back to life. Here are some of the fun things we've worked on recently while I could have been blogging {:o)}:

Craft Stick Snowmen
I was in charge of Ethan's class Christmas Party and we made these for the craft. I came across something similar to them while looking for ideas online, but these are really my own creation. The kids loved at school loved them and we had fun making more here at home to give as Christmas gifts.

Slouchy Slipper Socks
Karis signed out a fleece craft book from the school library and picked out this fun project. Of course, Natalie is making a pair, too. They are super easy...Karis {who has never sewn before} picked up the backstitch really fast. I'll have to post pics of the girls wearing them when we get them all finished.

Wall Verses
I finally finished the verse in Karis' and Natalie's room. Love the way it turned out {...now to finish the flowers around the room!}. I also started on Ephesians 6 around the front door. I went with a simple all caps "font" and a paint marker. Goes so fast if you're looking for something a little more subtle. Of course, after I finished the main part of it, Ethan pointed out that I forgot the "s" on the end of Ephesians...so there will be some touching up happening!

Sled Riding and Snowmen
Okay, I know this isn't really a project but the past two weekends we've spent probably a total of 6+ hours sled riding!! We were getting worried for a while there that we weren't getting any snow this winter, but we've had two snowy weekends in a row. We're still waiting for the BIG snow, though :o)!

5...going on 15....

Our Natalie-girl turned 5 on the 29th of December. Such a crazy time to have a birthday. {I had every intent of completing her slideshow on time and getting it posted on her actual day because I hate that it seems like her celebration gets lost in the hustle and bustle, but, of course, I forgot to take the computer on our trip to my parents' house and failed on the supermom gig once again.}

At five years old, Natalie often has the attitude you might expect from a 15 year old {which I never expected from one of our kids}. With the attitude, though, comes a unique maturity and ability to communicate that our first two didn't have. It is so interesting to watch her express herself. There were days in her younger years when we had worried that she might be the trouble maker of her class at school, but she has proved us wrong. Her teacher has stopped me more than once to commend her obedience...doing the right thing even before she is told to. She is a people watcher and people pleaser...constantly observing what is going on around her. She is a girl of prayer...often catching on to a need in a passing conversation and then bringing that need to the Lord later in the day. We love her like crazy and can't wait to see how she'll grow this year.   

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I contributed to a blog post on homemade Christmas gifts for Mommy and Me Fitness (a company owned and run by several friends of mine). If you're looking for some fun, creative, homemade gifts check it out. We've done the cinnamon ornaments in years past and LOVE them. In fact, I realized the other night that we need some new ones...so it might be a project for this weekend!

Any ideas for homemade gifts you'd like to share??

A Mom Who Acknowledges Answered Prayer

{continuted from previous post}

Because God will answer your prayers, I challenge us to be moms who acknowledge the results of prayer. I think this helps us pray expectantly and it reminds us that we are not doing this on our own. When we watch for God to answer our prayers, and acknowledge the answers when they happen, we see that He is faithful. When we experience His faithfulness we will expect Him to continue being attentive to our prayers. Even if we cannot see anything happening, God is working. Answers might come days, months, or years from now, and in a way we’re not expecting, but God will answer according to His plan. Acknowledging God’s answers to our prayers keeps us humble, too. Did you pray that prayer before you took the kids to the grocery store…and did things go amazingly well? Remind yourself and your kids it wasn’t because you’re supermom…it’s because the Lord answered your prayer, so thank him out loud on the van ride home. Have you prayed diligently for protection for your "wild child" two year old? And did he only rip his fingernail out of the nailbed instead busting out his front teeth and giving himself a concussion when he tipped the jogging stroller? Acknowledge the results of your prayers even when you would have expected something different...like no injury at all. When we look for the answers and results, we become fully aware that it is not our work that is accomplishing things in our families…it is our reliance on God that gets things done and ensures their protection.

{I left the following three paragraphs out of my talk for time's sake, but figured time isn't an issue here :o). This story actually comes from a post I wrote a while back.}

I want to share a quick story about something that happened in our home about a year and a half ago. I don’t share it to make you think that things always play out this nicely for me…believe me, there are many times I’ve offered sarcastic prayers in moments of frustration and dealt with a mess of a situation as a result. There have been times that I’ve been too self reliant to remember to pray and paid the price. This experience, though, turned out to be great example of how things can go when we pray continuously, specifically, and expectantly…and then acknowledge the results. I share it as a call to myself to face this challenge to be a praying mom with renewed fervor.

Just to give a little background, we had a 2 year old in the house for the fourth time in our lives...and it really wasn’t any easier than the previous three experiences…in fact it might have harder. Levi had recently formed a strong opinion about wearing clothing with balls on it...like if it didn't have a ball on it, he's wasn’t wearing it and, once he got it on, he wasn’t taking it off. He had fallen asleep the previous night on the way home from church and, therefore, slept in his clothes, so I felt it somewhat important to change him that morning since he had sat in a puddle of bubbles, hiked the nature center, dribbled milk, and done who knows what else in those clothes the day before. He, of course, did not think taking off the ball sweatshirt was a good idea and proceeded to throw a fit, fighting me tooth and nail about getting dressed. In an effort to reach a compromise, I had taken him up to his room (where Natalie was still sleeping) to see if we could find something he was willing to put on. He continued to fight and, sure enough, he disturbed Natalie, who, of course, flipped out because I couldn't stay up there while she fully woke up because while all of this was going on I was still trying to get Ethan and Karis ready for school and out the door for the bus.

At the time, I had been trying to get myself in the habit each morning of asking Jesus to just wash over our home and help us fight the battle against Satan as we went through our day. Although I had had my quiet time that morning, I hadn't prayed that prayer and, in that moment, knew I needed to because I was ready to lose it. I left both babies screaming in their room and prayed that prayer as I walked out of the room and down the stairs to help Ethan and Karis…waiting to see how the Lord would make this work. As I got breakfast, juice, lunches, etc. ready, Ethan went up the stairs in an effort to calm Natalie down. Levi had made his way down the stairs, half dressed and still crying, and Karis purposefully caught his attention with a few small toys. I hadn't asked them to do this (as I had on some occasions), but it was almost like they knew it would take that big brother/big sister love to change a situation that could have unfolded much differently. Peace settled quickly into the house. I hadn’t expected that God would use Ethan and Karis to answer my prayer, but I know He did. And maybe the most amazing part of it was that when I realized what He had done, I thanked Ethan and Karis for their help and told them that God had used them to answer my prayer. If you could have seen the smiles that crossed their faces...it still gives me chills when I think about it.

I want to leave you with one last verse...perhaps my most favorite on the topic of prayer. In Matthew 18:18 Jesus tells this about prayer: “Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” He’s given you authority, moms, to impact those eternal souls of your children. I pray that you will do just that.

A Mom Who Prays Specifically and Expectantly

{continued from previous post}

Praying through our house brings me to my second challenge…that we be moms who pray specifically and expectantly. I have used the Power of a Praying Parent book when it comes to this aspect of my prayer life as a mom. She goes through 29 specific things that we can pray for our children and I’ve used it as a tool to make lists of things to pray for and to find Scripture to claim as I pray. Scripture is your weapon. In Isaiah 55:11, God says “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” God’s word is living and it always has an impact when we speak it.

For me, getting specific has been the easy part. I could easily go on for pages with examples on this one. Here are just a couple ideas: When I pack a lunch, I don’t just pray that they’ll have a good day at school, I pray that God will find them a seat next to the right friend at lunch, that they will make wise choices in the words that they say and the things they laugh at, that they will remember to put their name on their paper {we've had an issue with this this school year}, that their hearts and minds would be protected from bullying or false teaching. A verse that I love for these “off to school” prayers is Psalm 91:11 “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!”

For those of you with babies, especially girls, I encourage you to, at each feeding, pray against eating disorders and food addictions. Pray it now before they’ve developed the insecurities or habits that will lead to these things. Include Romans 12:1 in your prayer…put your baby’s name in the verse. “Lord, I pray that Karis will honor you with her body because of all You have done for her. That she will be a living and holy sacrifice-one that You find acceptable.”

When you see your baby boy play with his tool set, pray that he will grow into a man that values hard work and is willing to work to provide for his family. Pray Colossians 3:23… “God, I pray that Ethan will work willingly at whatever he does, as though he is working for You, rather than people.”

When you wake each morning, pray that your children will come to know Christ as their savior. When you tuck them in at night, pray that God will reveal to you the gifts he’s given each of them and that, as their mother, you will seize opportunities to grow those gifts in them. When you wake in the night with a fussy baby or toddler, pray that they will live a life free of fear.

When you pray these specific prayers, be sure that you are praying with the expectation that God will answer them. This expecting part is important. Praying expectantly is about having faith that God is listening and trusting that He is working. All too often, I have underestimated the power of God to really answer all the little prayers I send up as I go through my day...either I have felt like He's got better things to do than pass me some extra patience for the 800th time or He’s too busy to give my 2 year old more self control in the throes of a tantrum.

I can’t give you a formula for expecting God. The thing that has made a difference to me, is reminding myself who I’m praying to. I am praying to the God who designs each snowflake, hand paints each sunrise, raises up kings and takes them out. He is the God that selected every personality trait our children have, every strength and every weakness, and He is the God that placed them into our care for a reason. He is the God that sent His son to die for me and my children. Would this God really not be attentive to the details that I pray over? I think not. He is about details and He is about the hearts of His children. He will answer these prayers.

A Mom Who Prays Continuously

{Continued from previous post}


My first challenge is that we be moms who pray continually…or without ceasing…as some versions of I Thessalonians 5:17 read. I’m sure this sounds like an overwhelming…maybe even impossible task…especially with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers running rampant around your house at all hours of the day and night. But I want to encourage you that it is not. For a while I believed the lie that Satan fed me…that I didn’t have time to pray. I was too tired to wake up before my munchkins, too busy dealing with the results of the day after I put them to bed, and too distracted in the hours in between. It was true that I didn’t have time to spend an hour on my knees praying every morning, but I learned that I did have time and opportunity to pray continually throughout the day. I had two minutes here and four minutes there…I just needed to train myself to use them for prayer. Here are some of the ways I’ve kept myself praying throughout the day: I have done things like set my watch to beep on the hour every hour. At least 10 out of the 18 times a day I heard that watch beep, I’d be doing something where I could mentally say a 1 minute prayer for one of the kids, my husband, or even myself. I have taken bath crayons and written the Scripture that I want to pray for one or more of our kids on the wall of the shower so I could wake up praying that for them. I pray for the next day as I lay clothes out on bedroom floors the night before. I pray at school desks at the beginning of a new school year. I pray as I fold laundry. I pray as I pack lunches. I paint Scripture on the walls of our house and pray those verses for our family.

Here are two other big things that have made a difference as to how often I’m praying during the day…and I fear I may step on some toes with them, but just know that the Lord has laid this on my heart: One thing we do is keep Christian radio on in the van and many of the hours we are at home {sometimes it's even on when we're not even there} and I pray the songs over our home and the lives of my children and husband. Take a minute to think about what the background noise is in your vehicle or at home. What’s on your TV…Dr. Phil, Days of our Lives, Keeping up with the Kardashians, The Office, Bones {I don’t know…maybe some of these shows aren’t even on air anymore? Tells you how much TV I watch}. What’s on your radio or in your CD player? Y105, Taylor Swift, U2 …I don’t even know who’s popular in this realm either, but I am certain these things….these things that we believe our children are too little to understand, that they’re not even really paying attention to or that really aren’t that big of a deal…play into the attitude and behavior of our kids {and us} so much more than we are aware. I’m not saying get rid of your TV or CD’s, but imagine the impact you could have if you exchange even just half of those minutes or hours of background noise with life-giving prayer and praise through music.

The other thing is one that I’m still working on...it required me to take inventory of ways I’m investing or wasting time. It’s the computer or phone… or whichever gadget you access the internet on… Facebook, blogs, and I’m sure there are some of us onto this new thing I’m hearing about called Pinterest. I fall victim to these time wasters so easily since I teach online classes….I’m waiting for a student to Skype or need a quick distraction from grading papers and before I know it I’ve lost 30 minutes of my life reading about who’s making homemade spaghetti sauce from their homegrown tomatoes or the life story of some mom across the country who’s struggling with whether to stay home or go back to work, or even updating my own status and vigilantly waiting for comments to affirm whatever I’ve posted. You know how it goes. I’m determined to redeem those minutes and give them to the Lord on behalf of my family. When I need a distraction during my work time, I have a list of things to pray for the kids that I leave next to the computer, and instead of heading to Facebook, I pray for one of those things. I’m laying my Bible out on the table opened to the Psalms or Proverbs and praying a few of the verses for myself when I have just a minute or two between phone calls. I’m quite sure we’ve all got opportunities to exchange some of our activity for time in prayer….redeeming some of our time to better carry out this mission God has laid before us.

If we really want to be praying continually it’s also so important to incorporate our family and pray with them. Let your children hear you pray frequently over day to day things. No detail is too small. God is always bringing things to our attention through circumstances and interactions. These are perfect opportunities for us to teach our kids how to pray. As you’re driving down the road and your three year old notices a beautiful sunset, take the chance to let him hear you say a prayer of thanks to the Lord for this amazing world He created for us. How about if before you make that dreaded trip to the grocery store with kids in tow, you let them hear you pray for their behavior, for your patience, for wisdom as you make choices about what things to spend money on, and give thanks that the Lord has provided the means for you to even make this trip to the store. Pray out loud during colicky crying fits and temper tantrums. Pray as part of your discipline process. Pray at mealtime and bedtime. Something that we tried out recently, and will definitely do again, is praying through the rooms of our house as a family. I know that Jesus was walking with us as we moved from room to room praying for all different sorts of things….like discretion in our choice of television viewing, gratefulness for a full pantry, kindness as we play together, protection for our home as we burn fires in the fireplace this winter…our 4 year old {who I truly believe the Lord has revealed that He has given the gift of prayer to} even prayed that mommy and daddy would have fun in their bedroom….which, of course, gave us a good laugh. If she only knew, right?!

A Mom Who Prays

This past week at MOPS I partnered with two amazing {inspiring, challenging, beautiful, humble, Jesus-lovin'} mommy friends to share on what we see as the mission of motherhood. It was probably one of my top 3 or 4 favorite meetings in the 8 years I've been doing MOPS. The Lord just "brought it" on Tuesday morning! It was so awesome to see the moms going away from the meeting with a fresh challenge to be the moms that God created them to be! I thought I'd share my notes as a few blog posts. I talked about prayer {Andrea talked about intentional mothering and legacies. Brooke talked about discipleship and evangalism}. Now, mind you, praying is something I'm passionate about...but I'm definitely not perfect at it. There are days that only one or two prayers will cross my lips. Other days, my conversations with the Lord are frequent. My challenges were as much for myself as the rest of the moms.

Motherhood provides us with an opportunity to lay down the things you cannot keep on behalf of the people that you cannot lose. They are eternal souls, they are your children, they are your mission field. 

-Rachel Jankovic

So, if your children are your mission field, then prayer must be a part of the work you do for and with them each and every day. I liken parenting, without expectant and intentional prayer, to running on a treadmill….you might be working hard and racking up the miles, but you’re not really getting anywhere. Prayer is a key to making good things happen in our children’s lives today and in the future…it’s a key to growing them into adults that chase after God’s will for their lives. We live in a day and age when we cannot afford to leave the destiny of the eternal souls of our children to chance.
As a mom, you should be covering as much of your children’s lives in prayer as you can. I love how Stormie Omartian describes prayer in her book The Power of a Praying Parent, which I highly recommend. She says “Prayer is much more than just giving a list of desires to God, as if He were the great Sugar Daddy/Santa Claus in the sky. Prayer is acknowledging and experiencing the presence of God and inviting His presence into our lives and circumstances. It’s seeking the presence of God and releasing the power of God which gives us the means to overcome any problem”.
When we pray, we are recognizing our need for God’s power and His presence…that we can’t do this mothering thing on our own. This means that each of us have the privilege of being used by the God who created the universe and knit each one of our children together, to focus His power on the people or circumstance we are praying for. How amazing is that?

Each day, especially now that my two older children are attending public school, I’m becoming more and more aware of the unseen battle that is going on for the lives of our children. Praying is my chance to get into that battle alongside of them…to hold a shield in front of their tender souls. It’s my way of foiling Satan’s plan for my children and helping God carry out His plan for them. Don’t think, though, that just because you’re a mom who only has a newborn, and that baby isn’t even mobile yet and is rarely out of your site, that this battle hasn’t begun for you...that you’re exempt from this part of the mission for a couple more years. Satan seeks to destroy those precious souls from the very first day that the Lord entrusts them to us. If you haven’t already started praying for and with your children it’s never too early and it’s never too late to embark on this part of your mission.

Lamentations 2:19 says “Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children.”

So here’s my challenge for all of us...

{Come back tomorrow to read more :o)}

In Eight More...

....she'll be asking for the car keys! I'm almost a week late getting this posted, so for all of you {grammies} that were anxiously awaiting, here it is.

Last year sometime, Karis wrote us a note and, with tears in her eyes, made us promise not to laugh when we read it. The note told us that she was the only girl in her class that didn't have her ears pierced. We told her we weren't going to run out and get her them pierced just so she could be like all the other girls in her class, so she patiently waited...and waited. We decided to let her get it done for her 8th birthday if she wanted. As the day approached, she showed a mix of excitement and nerves {I have to admit I was super excited myself}. We went right to Claire's after school on Tuesday, and she played brave as she climbed up in the chair, but didn't make it through without quite a few tears. A week later, she's taking care of all the cleanings and can't wait until she gets to change them for the first time. I think they've added the perfect sweet little shimmer to her beautiful face.

I'm pretty sure that in another eight years, we're gonna be pretty glad her daddy knows how to use a gun :o)! {Of course, I'm kidding...maybe. a little.}

For EVERY Parent

I came across this blog post the other day, and even though it is geared toward {Christian} Homeschooling parents, I am confident that, no matter how you educate your children, most of the points of this article pertain to you. I'm storing a copy to come back to, as a reminder for myself in the coming years.

Even There....

Psalm 139:10...Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

I'm having one of those weeks where I need to remind myself of what the Lord has shown me in the past year and half....what He's assured me of about who I am, and why I'm doing what I do. Because it's one of those weeks where I'm feeling like we are the Hunter Family Cyclone. One of those weeks where I'm sure you'd judge me on the condition of my house {No, really....you would}. One of those weeks where I wash loads of laundry twice because they sit in the washer too long and four other loads of laundry sit in the baskets waiting to be folded for two days and yet another load waits at the top of the steps since the weekend to be put away. One of those weeks where the battle cry for Mark and me is "Divide and Conquer". One of those weeks where I can't keep up with any of my email accounts. One of those weeks where I look back on last week and look ahead at the one to come, and realize they aren't any better. One of those weeks where the piles of papers multiply and divide and then multiply again. One of those weeks where I ask the Lord {again} if we're really not supposed to homeschool and why our kids can't stay pre-schoolers forever.

In May, I shared a testimony about how the Lord is right where I'm at. So I'm reminding myself, He's in the questions and the hurry and the shortcomings. He's in the group hugs and family cheers. He's in the school morning prayers. He's in the bleacher conversations at the soccer game. He's in the scheduling of gymnastics classes during the same hour. He's in library books on the swing in the backyard while dishes are put on hold. He's in poems that Karis reads to me each night before bed. He's in MOPS steering team meetings where huge prayers are answered. He's in the in the van on the way home from school. He's in the trading off of keys to get from one activity to the next. He's in leftover pots of potato soup and sauce and meatballs that are shared with friends. He's in Story Time connections. He's in the kiss good-bye in the morning and the kiss good night, too.

He didn't bring us to this week by accident and we didn't get here because we ignored Him. We've walked hand in hand to this place...and I know He's got plans to use it.       

Halfway to 18!?!?

We celebrated Ethan's 9th birthday yesterday. It was a sweet day. I love that kid. There was nothing extraordinarily amazing about the day. Surprisingly, Karis, Natalie, and Levi played together around the house, while Mark and I played a game of LIFE with Ethan, which he handedly won {he's just lucky I had to give up my career as a doctor to become a hairdresser so I could spend more time with my four kids}. We had the dinner of his choice {breakfast, of course}. He had already gotten on of his presents last week {an MP3 player that we wanted to give to Karis and him at the same time since they were both getting one and we wanted them to be able to load them before school started}, so the only thing left to open was a card {which he read each word of with a smile and assured us it was going on his dresser so he could save it...I love that he "gets" the message in it} and a game for the DS, which he was thrilled to see under that wrapping paper. And, of course, we all enjoyed huge slices of ice cream cake.

As low key as the day was, at bedtime, we put to bed a 9 year old boy who was absolutely satisfied with his day. He said good night to us with a huge hug and kiss and an "I love you, Mommy and Daddy...thank you so much." I pray we still hear those words nine years from now, when we put an 18 year old to bed on September 4th.

Mark and I played around with creating this video for a while yesterday. We still can't figure out why it cuts off the "e" on the end of cause on the last slide when it publishes {it's not cut off when you preview it in the creator software}. Oh well...still makes me tear up after watching it 25 times yesterday.

In the Blink of an Eye...

...this...

...grows into this.

I thought for sure I'd be able to hold it together, seeing as this is the third time we've sent a kid to pre-k. Then I turned around and walked out that door, and it was hopeless.

Should I start charging?

"Hi, we're Mark and Valerie. We're your neighbors. The ones with four small kids already. Yes, we'd love a couple more, but, no, we do not want yours." 

We've struggled with this issue at different times over the past year or two {sort of natural when there are almost ten kids the same ages as ours within 300 yards of where we live}, but nothing like it's been the past few days.We're not quite sure how to handle it. We're both introverts and despise conflict, but it's getting slightly out of control. We feel like maybe we should say something, but when you live across the street from the people and see them 400 times a day, it's awkward. And on the other side of this, these kids...this family...are a big mission field.

The household is made up of a set of grandparents, their daughter, her five kids, and her {18 year old} daughter's three year old son and her boyfriend {not the little boy's dad}.  The "adults" are in and out of their driveway several {or 50} times a day. There are also 4ish dogs and at least 10 birds living in the house/garage. The youngest of the five kids is the same age as Ethan and Karis. She and the three year old have taken to coming down to our house at every opportunity possible. If we step out of the house, they're in our yard in a matter of minutes. I think she rang our doorbell three or four times yesterday...one of them was after 8:30pm. Another time the little boy was playing in our yard for a while...it was dinner time for us, so I wanted to send him home, but no one was out at their house...no vehicles in the driveway. I had no idea if anyone was even home.  As I was walking him home {and my family's dinner was getting cold} a couple of rough looking guys pulled up at another neighbor's house to do some landscaping. No one came out to meet the little boy, but he said his mom was inside...I asked him to go inside to make sure she knew he was back, but he didn't go in. I couldn't in my right mind just leave him there, with these guys I didn't know right next door watching the situation. I waited a couple of minutes and thankfully Grandma came driving up the road.   

I don't mind them stopping by to play for an hour or two a couple days a week, even if the "favor" isn't really returned {I wouldn't really be comfortable even if it was}. But several hours everyday. Inviting themselves to eat lunch here and go on outings with us to the Nature Center. Seems a bit much to me. Natalie {our extrovert} enjoys playing with them and so do Levi and Karis sometimes. But this other little girl can be very bossy and rough, and that makes me uncomfortable...especially since Natalie just does whatever she says. 

I'm tired of making up excuses for them to go home or hesitating to go play in our front yard. Last night I dreamt that they were standing on our front porch looking in our windows, waiting for someone to let them in.

My memories of how often we played with our neighborhood friends as kids have faded. But I definitely remember that things were reciprocated...some days we played at our house, some days we played at someone else's {and I'm pretty sure my parents were comfortable with that}. It's one of the reasons that I wanted to live in the "burbs" for this season of our life. Mark grew up in the country, miles from anyone else his age. He's a huge fan of privacy. If he gets his way, we'll be on 20 acres sometime in the next five to ten years.

All that said, the opportunity we have here is not lost to us, but where do we draw the line? What is the boundary between being a good neighbor/ministering and being taken advantage of? Can we charge a boarding fee { :o) }? 

Reading for a Purpose

One of the many things we've been working on these past few days is a little service project/fundraiser to help raise support of my sister, who will be heading to the Philippines next year (Lord willing) as a missionary.
Last Friday we started our local library’s summer reading program like we do every year now. As part of the program the kids get a reading log to track every 15 minutes of reading. They get five logs…one for each week of the program. Well, by day two of week one, and Ethan had already filled two and a half logs and Karis was half way through her second one. Needless to say, they’ll probably be able to turn in most, if not all, of their logs by the end of their first week in the program. We were trying to think of a reward they could earn here at home (even though they don't really need the extra incentive) once they’d collected their prizes for the logs they turn in at the library. We threw out ideas about earning 25¢ for each log or maybe 10¢ per book. It got us thinking that maybe this would be a way they could do some fundraising.

Our plan combines two lessons that we’d love for our kids to remember: First, reading is fun and rewarding. Second, if we are unable (or not called) to go to the foreign mission field, then God calls us to support those who are.

We'd love it if you would pray about sponsoring Ethan and Karis on their reading adventures this summer. This will be a combined effort, because the Lord knows there is already enough competition between the two of them. You can pledge per book (they will mostly be either chapter books or longer non-fiction books) or per reading log (each one equals 105 minutes of reading). We’ll keep track of both through the end of July and your donations can be made in August so that they will be matched by One Mission Society.

You can make a pledge by filling out this form. You can read more about Lauren's ministry plans here.

They are my Sunshine

(Cookie puzzle treat from the neighbor lady!)

Our Little Athletes, Part II

Ethan's first baseball game...here is one of his three doubles.

Karis' gymnastics recital.

Our Little Athletes

Here are some highlights of the older two in their recent athletic endeavors...

Karis perfecting her back handspring.  She has landed it, without help, a couple times at home.

Ethan kicking the game winning goal in the last 3 seconds of the game against his teams big "rival". 

Last week we ran in our church's Hustle for Haiti 5k.  We had every intent of getting some training in beforehand, but that didn't pan out with our crazy schedule and rainy weather.  We ran once the week before...at which point Karis decided she no longer wanted to do the full 5k.  The morning of the race, though, she changed her mind, so I pushed Natalie and Levi in the double jogger and ran with her. I was proud of her for running more than she walked and we came in in right around 37 minutes. Over 200 people participated and we were in the top 90!  Ethan took off after the first half mile and we cheered him on when we saw him around the half way point.  He finished in just over 28 minutes, for third place in the 12 and under age group!  

I have two more videos I want to upload, but I think I'm overloading this post.  If you care...look for Part II in the near future.

Happy Birthday, Levi!

Our baby boy turns three today. Yes, three years ago today, I called the school to tell Mark he better not leave for his away track meet, and I drove myself {plus the 5,4,and 1 year old} the 25 mintues to my OB-GYN {and soon after, the hospital} appointment while 6-7cm dilated and contracting. Feels like it could have been just last week.

I was kind of hoping this day would have taken much longer to get here. I'm just not ready to say good-bye to the baby days...there are many days where I still wish God had it in the cards for us to have a couple more, but since that doesn't seem to be the case, I'm so thankful that Levi is the munchkin that he gave us to be our "baby". He's such a perfect mix of mischief and sweetness. There are moments where he forces me to ask myself, "Really...you think you could handle another one of these?" and moments where I say to myself, "How could I expect God to give me a better last born than this?" {I mean, I know He can do anything, but this is my expression of contentment at what He has given me...if that makes sense.}

We've loved watching Levi find his voice this year. He hardly talked at all a year ago...to the point that pediatrician suggested having his hearing tested. I knew he was just waiting. We all talked for him so much, I think, that he just didn't feel like he had to. Now, any conversation with him is so animated and enthusiastic.  I just love the way he draws out certain words and his eyebrows...oh his eyebrows...I'm in love with the way he uses them to make his point. He's always the first to make sure you're okay if you pinch a finger or step on a toy. He hardly ever sits still, often challenging the laws of physics, but when he does rest, he gives the best snuggles.

As much as I'll miss having a baby in the house, Lord, I'm so ready to see what you have planned for this amazing little boy. I pray that You continue to protect him physically and grow his compassionate little heart.