Ephesians 3:20 and a Chiefs Game

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  (Ephesians 3:20)

This verse has been running through my head.  The blessings we have received this year are so much beyond what I could have imagined.  We ask God for the big things, but it's the little things that have surprised me.  Things that we don't even think to ask about.

Specifically, over the last month.  Three things we got to enjoy - for free.  I feel they are blessings straight from God.

Paul really wanted to go see a concert before the baby gets here.  He looked up some different artists, but they were all out of town and out of our price range.  Then my brother texted me about a Matt Redman concert.  Completely free, and only a half hour away.  Paul and I were able to meet after he got off work and enjoy a night of praise.

We also had talked about trying to get away for a vacation.  Previously, almost every vacation has been to see his grandfather in Colorado.  It made for very affordable vacations - free place to stay, take our own food, and it's central to places to explore.  All summer we kept saying, maybe next month, but it just kept not happening.  We also wanted to try to get away for some time alone.  That hasn't happened since before Zadie was born.

Then Paul's parents invited us to go with them to Branson.  They reserved a condo and paid for tickets for us to go to Silver Dollar City.  We were able to spend 3 days there, enjoying lots of family time.  The boys had a blast and are still talking about it.  Paul and I got to spend a morning together, and he let me go in all those shops that I love, but are not good to try to take kids in to - the furniture shop, the candle shop, the Christmas shop..... I really enjoyed it.  I came back from the weekend tired but completely refreshed.

As we were driving to Branson, Paul's supervisor texted him and asked if he wanted two tickets and a parking pass to a Kansas City Chiefs game.  Umm...... YES!  I have wanted to get tickets for Paul to go see the Chiefs ever since we've been married, but just couldn't get over the price of tickets.  And these seats were AWESOME.

Row 23 on the 30 yard line!

I decided that being 7 months pregnant, I wouldn't be the best companion.  So Paul took his dad, and it sounds like they had a great time.

These things are physical blessings that I feel like are straight from God - and they're only things from the last month!  But I can't describe how spiritually blessed we feel.  I am just so happy and peaceful, and looking forward to what God has in store for our lives next!

Quote to Consider:

Rules without relationship will always equal rebellion.

The only reason you have to scream at your kids is because they know they don't have to take you seriously.

-Dr. Tony Evans


Ouch to the second one.  I'm really bad at not following through. :S

Cracks Me Up, Every Time

Mom, I'm a cheetah!

Of course, I hear it like he said it, "I'm a shee-tah," as he runs into the room and slides to a stop in front of me, which is why it cracks me up.  I don't even remember why he didn't have any clothes on.  He was drawing on the window with dry erase markers, and decided to draw on himself as well.

And, seriously, look at that smile.

Here We Go Again!

So, my boys both potty trained early.  Nathan just before he turned 2, and Jacob just before he turned 18 months.  (Jacob's motivation was getting to pee outside like his big brother.)  (And these are their starting ages, not when they were accident free, obviously.)
So, naturally, I figured Zadie would be 5 before we got her potty trained.  Because the other two were too easy.  I wasn't even going to start trying until after the new baby is born.
However.....
On Tuesday, we had a rare Mommy/Daughter afternoon while Paul and the boys went and "helped" cut silage at my parents'.  I took Zadie's naptime diaper off and was letting her "air out" before I put another one on her.  I went to do something in the kitchen, and in a few minutes she came to me, jabbering at me like whatever she was saying made complete sense, and then turned around and walked back to the living room like she expected me to follow.  She led me over to the bookcase, where there was a puddle on the floor.  She pointed to it, and then to her crotch, jabbering like she was explaining herself.
Okay.  Apparently she gets the whole potty thing.
I let her go naked for another hour, because we were the only ones home.  I decided it was time to get out the potty chair, just to get her used to seeing it, and we'd start messing around with it.
Later, about 10 minutes after I put her diaper on, she came to get me, again jabbering and pointing at her crotch.  I felt her, and yes, she was wet.
Okay.  She definitely gets it.
So I guess we're starting potty training!
(To spare you the math, Zadie is 18 months old as of this week.)
She was just a little bit wet when we got home from practice, so I took off her diaper and put her in training pants until bedtime.  I sat her on the potty and read a book to her, and..... SHE WENT IN THE POTTY!!!!  (I get a little bit excited about these things.)
I do the naked method.  Some think it's gross, but it's what I've found works.  I put her in a dress and just leave her naked underneath.  We've only had moderate success in the three days hence - none in the potty the first day, and once each yesterday and today.  (I'm a little distracted most days, so I don't always see her when she stops and gets that contemplative look on her face.)  And about half the time, she comes to get me to show me the puddle.  But she's holding it, because she's only peeing 3 times a day (not counting naptime diaper).  And being able and aware of holding it is the first step.
So we'll continue.  It may be 6 months before she gets there, but I figure it's fewer diapers I have to buy or wash in the meantime.  Especially being just 8 weeks from having another one in diapers!
Go, Zadie, go!

Tomorrow

He was going to be all that a mortal should be
     Tomorrow.
No one should be kinder or braver than he
     Tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary he knew,
Who'd be glad of a lift and who needed it, too;
On him he would call and see what he could do
     Tomorrow.

Each morning he stacked up the letters he'd write
     Tomorrow.
And thought of the folks he would fill with delight
     Tomorrow.
It was too bad, indeed, he was busy today,
And hadn't a minute to stop on his way;
More time he would have to give others, he'd say
     Tomorrow.

The greatest of workers this man would have been
     Tomorrow.
The world would have known him, had he ever seen
     Tomorrow.
But the fact is he died and he faded from view,
And all that he left here when living was through
Was a mountain of things he intended to do
     Tomorrow.


© Edgar Albert Guest. All rights reserved.



(I heard this on Truth for Life with Alistair Begg.  Yeah, it kind of hit home.)

"I Just Stay Home."

How many times have I said that, in response to insurance forms or acquaintances asking if I work?  "I just stay home."
Because I don't do anything for income.  I don't babysit or do cleaning like I used to.  I don't do bookkeeping or sales.  No part-time job.

I do just stay home.

But I had the realization today, "just" staying home is the hardest work I've ever done.

I have no down time, all day long.  I mean, I do take sanity breaks (and lately, naps).  But it's at the expense of not getting something else done.  I get to the end of the day, and there are things looming over me, reminding me that I chose to take a break rather than push on.  (I'm looking at the laundry piles that need to be folded, while I sit here blogging.)
I don't know if it's because I make my work harder than I need to by not being organized.  If we're a messier-than-normal family.  If I'm a bad mother because my kids don't know how to clean up after themselves.  Maybe we're home more than most, so as a result the house is in a constant state of being destroyed.  (It's like bailing water on the Titanic with a teacup.)
They say to save yourself time by doing that two-minute job now, rather than put it off til later.  My problem is, I find fifty thousand two-minute jobs every day.  My one-year-old scattered the bath toys all over the bathroom.  We had an exceptionally crumb-y lunch and the floor needs swept.  The 3-year-old spilled the dog food when we was feeding the dog.  The DVDs have piled up on top of the TV cabinet and need put away.  The blankets in the living room need folded.  The mail needs sorted.  That shelf needs dusted.  The kids' books need straightened.  Here's a piece from Uno Moo that got left out when we put it away.  
All of those little two-minute jobs.  All of the other more-than-two-minute jobs, like cooking (3 times a day) and laundry and scrubbing the tub.
Then add in the time it takes being a mother to my kids.  They say at this age, parenting is 90 percent teaching and discipline.  I definitely feel that.  Which makes me feel like I need to spend even more time on good parenting like reading, talking, and playing.
Not to mention, we homeschool.
And I teach violin to my boys, 5 or 6 days a week.
Oh, and I give piano lessons to my nieces.
And occasionally, I'm a good wife and pay attention to my husband, and help him out.

But, nope.  I don't work.  "I just stay home."

Quote to Consider:

I'm going to say "no" to something that's important to me, so that I can say "yes" to something important to you.
-Dr. David Jeremiah, on giving our kids our time and attention
(but it also applies to marriage, am I right?)

Does Anyone Else See the Resemblence?

My eldest......

......is Sheldon Cooper. 

I don't watch Big Bang Theory often (and I definitely don't condone the anti-God, pro-evolution dialogue, which is why I don't let my kids watch it, at all), but every time I do and watch a scene with Sheldon, I think to myself, "Oh my gosh, that is so Nathan!"  From his "you people are so beneath me" attitude, to his laugh when he's proud of and amused at himself, down to his facial expressions, it is my son.