Just for fun...

Hi there!  Sorry if you have been waiting for me to get back on here.  I've been slacking. : )

Jacob is 11 now, and these little quotes are all from when he was about 3 and 4 years old, but still, they are hilarious, so here you go:

"Mommy, I could squeeze very hard and go in your mouth, and go down and look at your bones.  You could go too!  You could just take off your head, and go down.  I would put a ladder down there so you wouldn't get hurt."  Honestly, I have NO IDEA where he came up with this stuff!

"Mommy, say, 'Hi, Jacob.'  Don't call me Sweetie, or Honey, or, What else do you call me?"

Me:  "Jacob, do you see how you're acting?"  "No, I can't see my whole self at the same time!"

He was doing something with his mouth that sounded kind of like a whistle...  "Mommy, we should put a sign on our house.  You could paint it and we can read it.  It says, 'Whistling Boy.'"

"Someday, Josh is going to turn into something....a real boy like me!"

We were riding home at night--  "It's like we're under hair.  And then in the morning someone cuts the hair."  ???

"Scott built the boys a fort for their Rescue Heroes.  Jacob yelled, "Daddy--You're the best maker!"

"Mom, are you really Jesus?  Because your hair looks like Jesus." 

We visited a different church and he commented about the pastor, "I thought he was the president.  The president of the Bush."

He would always say, "Mommy, guess what?  I love you.  And guess what else comes with it?"  And he'd give me a kiss. : ) 

Out of the mouths of babes...

In case you have not figured it out by now, I really love the Lord.  I want to love Jesus so much and to be so filled by His Spirit, that He just overflows and blesses others through me.  I want to share with others how He changed my life, and how He will change their's too.  I want to use my talents for Him, and truly live my life with gusto for Him--giving generously, and going wherever He leads.

The problem is, I'm a grown up, and sometimes all these years of living on this earth have clouded my thinking.  Fears and inhibitions sometimes stop me from saying things I want to say, or giving the way I would like to.  Sometimes I am afraid that something I do for God might turn out silly or I might look foolish, or it might turn out badly for our family--so I don't do it.  Sometimes, I do not have faith that God will answer my prayers.  Sometimes, sadly....being a grown up just gets in the way of my dreams of living for God.  I continually need Him to help me overcome these doubts and fears that too often plague me.


And then, there are my children.  I know kids have a long way to go in some areas, but in some ways I'm afraid to say they leave us in the dust.  Sometimes I think that if kids had the resources we do--money and transportation, etc.,  they might do a better job of reaching our lost world! 


For example, my nine year old, Josh, decided the other day that he needed to lead his friend across the street to the Lord.  So he got his Bible, headed over there, struck up that conversation, and shared Jesus with that little boy.  And he did accept Jesus as his Savior! : )  Josh was so excited about it, he was telling me that night he wished he had MORE friends who did not know Jesus.   And, he continually reminds me that I need to get together with his friend's mom, and invite them to church with us.  Never mind that I don't know them very well.


And, last night before bed I was reading the boys a true story about a little girl who spent her spare time passing out tracts and Bibles to people.  With a sweet smile, she bravely gave a man who was drunk a gospel of John.  He took it and read it, and it changed his life.  He accepted Christ, and ended up serving in a church from then on.  After I finished that story, my six year old said, with conviction, "Mom, that's what I want my job to be--while I'm a kid!"


Kids get it.  They understand the mission, and they know God will equip them.  If God says it, then we should do it!  It makes total sense that God says we need to be like a child in order to enter into His Kingdom.  Such perfect faith, untainted by years of the world and the devil crowding his lies into our minds.


Here are the lyrics to a song Josh wrote earlier this year.  I think you will like it...

I will remember You, even in the darkest time.

I will remember You, every hour of the day.

I will remember You as I sing this song,

'Cause You are the Ruler of the earth.

And I will praise You,

And I will never be scared with You, Lord.

I sleep silently every night, with You.

Oh how I love You all the day.

You make me a room to stay every night.

You give me water and food.

Oh how I love You.

I'll sing Your praises.

You will always be my God.

You give us blessings every day.

You are the one and only God,

And how I love You.

Let's pray that God will make us a little more like children this year.  What do you think?

Birthday party pictures! : )

The big PAR-TAY!  In case you are new to our blog, Sarah's favorite thing this past year was ITSY BITSY SPIDER!  She is getting over her obsession with it now, but we still decided to make it the theme of her party...and she really, really loved it!

 Pretty girl...ready for the party!

 She was happy. ; )

 She got a pretty playhouse!

 She loved it!

It's a Spider party!  (There's a big, pink spider hanging in the corner.  She loved it!)

 Taking her spiders for a little walk

 She loved her froggy swimsuit from Big Sister!

 She sang along with us. : )

Happy birthday, Sarah!

Happy birthday, Sarah!!! Our miracle girl!!!!

Our precious Sarah turned 3 today!!  She was pretty excited that it was her birthday, let me tell you.  She was going to eat cake, and she mastered the act of putting up 3 fingers to tell you how old she is.  This has been a mighty big year for our girl.  She learned almost all of the letters and their sounds, all of the major shapes, the numbers by sight, and how to count to 20 with hardly any mistakes.  She can count to ten in Mandarin Chinese, which she learned with barely any effort at all, and pretty much mastered the art of using chopsticks!  At the beginning of this year, she didn't really sing songs, she mostly just made us sing them, and she followed along with the motions.  NOW...just listen to her.  She can sing most of them all by heart.  She is speaking in full sentences, pottying on the potty chair, running and jumping, and trying to skip.  She does puzzles like a pro, and can diaper a baby doll like a regular little mommy.  She is THREE!  And she learned all of this stuff while spending probably 1/3 of the year in the hospital and the clinic.  Beat that!

Please join us in wishing a happy birthday to our amazing little shining star...We love that little peanut so much!

Last year...she was not too sure about this, maybe?

February.  Such a tiny little thing

March.  Check out my new bike!

April.  Hanging out at camp

May.  She got a new prosthetic eye, but it didn't fit, and we didn't know why.  Yet.  : (

June--Pigtails!



June--Reunited with brothers after her first chemo/hospital stay

July.  Fun at the park!

August.  Surgery.  Still smiling!

September.  Camping!

 October.  Playing outside before the long hospital stay

November.  Home again!

December.  Pretty Princess

Birthday Girl!! 

I'm Three today!!



I'm running away!

So, a few days after Christmas, we were home enjoying new toys and things, and Ben, who is six, decided to run away from home.  We are not sure when or why the idea popped into his head.  I suspect the seed sprouted when I made him write a pageful of sentences saying that he would be kind to others, and then made him write quite a few more since he didn't do the first set correctly.  (By the end of the page it looked like he was writing something like I of the sldk...or something like that.  Not even close.)  

However, when he decided he wanted to go, the sentences incident was long done and over with, and he insisted it had nothing to do with that.  He said he had gotten the idea based on a story we had once read, and thought it would be fun.  So, with all seriousness, he packed a backpack. I'm not even sure what he put in it, but a lot of thought was put into it.  We were all trying to help him think it through.  Extra socks might be important, Cassandra and Uncle Greg who happened to be over, advised him to bring a toothbrush, but I don't think that made his cut.  He said he would walk to fast food restaurants and explain to them that he had run away, and he was sure they would give him food. ; )  When we asked him where he would sleep, he wasn't really sure, but he thought he might knock on people's doors.  (YES, we DID tell him how dangerous that would be, and yes, we have warned him about strangers many, many times.)  When we asked him how long he intended to be away, he said probably until he was seven.  (That's a few months, folks.)  

So, he put on his coat and backpack, gave everyone hugs, and left with a big smile.  

I peeked out the front door at him as he went...

And I reminded him to zip up his coat...

And no, we are not crazy.  We sent Josh to follow him with instructions to not let him go too far.  We were all curious to see exactly what he would do.

He walked to the neighborhood school playground--where else?--and then Josh told him he'd better come home.  And he did. : )

He informed me that he really was planning on staying gone for at least a day.  Not sure how that would have worked out for him...   Jacob asked him why in the world would he want to leave all of his new legos??  Very good question.

And then I started thinking about that.  Why would a little boy decide in his little mind to leave a warm, comfy home, plenty of food, a warm bed, all the love and hugs you could want, AND brand new Christmas toys??   Because, he just wanted something different.  A new adventure.  And unfortunately, that's what so many people, even Christians, so often do.  Sometimes we don't want to follow the rules, love our neighbors, etc.  Sometimes Christians just want some adventure.  Adventure that really is dangerous, and honestly doesn't make sense.  When God has promised to meet all of our needs, and even gives us so many "Christmas toys," why would anyone want to run away from Him?   That is a very good question, indeed.

WHOO! WHOO!

Tonight I am going to let you in on another resolution.  Part of me doesn't want to tell you, because then I feel like I will have some accountability--but accountability is a good thing!  If I tell you, then maybe I will ACTUALLY follow through on this resolution which I can't really imagine myself doing.  Tonight is the night I am going to start!  Tonight, I am going to.....GO TO BED EARLY!  Well, earli-ER than I usually do.  And I am going to continue going to bed early every night.  Except maybe Friday nights. : )  You want to know what my new bedtime is going to be?  12:00!  I know, that doesn't sound early.  But trust me, our family is an entire family of night owls.  We basically coined the term.  Hubby and I don't normally hit the hay until around 1 or 2, and honestly, sometimes it is 3!!!  I know, it's terrible.  This is true confessions, right here.  Just keeping it real.  And I am going to get up earlier too.  I really really need to!

And this goes along with another resolution--a much more important one.  I've been so focused this year on Sarah, of course, but also on what this Christian life is all about.  In the back of my mind, I think, I had it a little confused, even though I knew better.  When I have been considering what God wants from us this year, I kept focusing on people.  My mind was always buzzing with thoughts of how I can reach out to people, how can we as a family show love and share Christ, how can we help orphans and the poor...  God gave me a great idea that I will share with you soon.  All of these things are important and right, but I missed something even more important.  I realized the other day that I spend so much more time thinking and planning about how to impact OTHERS, and less on how to grow my OWN relationship with Jesus, and on my children's spiritual lives.  I get up too late each day, and then I'm forced to scramble to fit in all the necessary stuff like appointments, school, laundry, meals, and family fun.  Real, quality personal time with God often hasn't made the "cut", and unfortunately, my perpetually tired state from lack of sleep has left me too weary sometimes to really spend that time teaching and training my children correctly.  Too often we have taken the easy road in disciplining our kids that doesn't necessarily reach their hearts.  Does that make sense? I know, I'm probably the only one who struggles with this kind of stuff, but bear with me.  ; )

Sooo...here's to new beginnings!  Don't you love how gracious God is?  I can just hear Him cheering me on! 

Oh dear.  It's already getting close to that bedtime hour.  Ugh--this might not be easy!

Let the diets begin!

It's 1-1-11!!  How are you doing on your New Year's resolutions so far?  I am sorry to admit that I ate too much chocolate today, but I did eat a very yummy salad for dinner tonight...romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, strawberries, chopped walnuts, and a splash of olive oil and lemon juice.  Mmmmmm.  Good for me!

Yes, I would like to lose 5 pounds.  It is one of my resolutions.  Actually, the weight really isn't.  I truly, truly do want to eat so much healthier.  I am bound and determined this year!  You see, when I was sitting in the hospital for 3 weeks, people were bringing us desserts every day.  AND, the nutrition people were bringing Sarah food that she would not eat, including the best chocolate cake and pies.  So, you do the math.  That's a lot of desserts.  And, a whole lot of just sitting in a hospital room putting on pounds. Bad, bad me.

I got some inspiration from our old friend, Ben Franklin, from his Poor Richard's Almanac.  Did you know they were most likely making healthy eating New Year's resolutions almost 300 years ago?  Here's a sample of what he had to say...

"Eat few suppers, and you'll need few medicines."

"Many dishes, many diseases."

"I saw few die of hunger;  of eating--100,000."  (I thought that one was pretty interesting...)

"A full belly makes a dull brain."

"Eat to live, and not live to eat."

"A fat kitchen, a lean will."

"He that never eats too much, will never be lazy."

"9 men in 10 are suicides."

Hmmmm...I think old Ben was advising us not to eat so much.  What do you think?