Gone Fishing....

Like father like son........

A Girl's Best Friend

My mom bought Harper this monkey last Christmas. She loves it! It sits on the floor in her room and sometimes when we rock in the rocking chair our "friend" has to be included (it is about 4 times her size). Yesterday when Jody laid her in her bed she wanted the monkey to come also. When he went in to check on her a few minutes later this is what he found.....she was sound asleep!

Yeah Me!

Here is my Mother's Day gift! We have been swingin' the day away! Look at my man working so hard to hang it for me......

Happy Mothers Day

"God designed mothers to partner with Him in His eternal work, and He has promised to reward our faith and our faithfulness. The precious children He has placed in our hands are hoping that we will be faithful and endure so that they will have a reason to hope and an example to follow in their own lives. It is for the children's sake that we give our lives. We are protecting future generations so that they might be strong for the battle of life. We are the real, in-the-flesh, tangible picture of God's loving hands, strong arms of protection, and encouraging words of hope to our children." Sally Clarkson

I have had several experiences over the past several months that have reminded me that I am clearly dealing with two very different stages of life. For example, yesterday Carson and I went to the mall to buy some summer clothes (because NOTHING fits her from last year.....she has gone up two sizes in the last 3 months). She wanted to go to Hollister to look for some shirts?!? Ok, I thought, "We can do that".....but all the while I am thinking, "What about Gymboree"? Have you ever been in Hollister? It is very dark, the music is extremely loud, the mannequins are half-naked, the cologne will knock you over, and there is NOT ONE PERSON working in that store over the age of 14! I didn't want to be "uncool", so I put a smile on and off we went. She did find 2 t shirts (on sale in the back....how we ever found them I do not know since there are no lights on in the place), we paid, and we left...whew!

When we got home we discovered that one of the shirts did not fit! Shoot! So this morning Harper and I head back to the mall for an exchange. This is where I get to the "baby" stage of life I am in........I forgot until I got there that there are 2 sets of stairs you must climb before you can even get in the store. So here I go, hiking her stroller up and down those stairs. I make my way back to get another shirt and Harper kicks her shoe off. Well, I can't look for it because I CAN'T SEE....remember IT'S DARK! Finally some 12 year old (I guess the 6th grade is out today) brings it to me.....I'm sure he knew it was mine because there were no other moms with strollers in the place. I take my new shirt to the counter and have a 5 minute "yelling" match with the boy behind the counter.....remember the music is so loud you can't hear! As I am hiking the stroller back up those same steps to leave I hear an employee say "have a good day." I turn just in time to see the underwear of this young girl that is laying on top of a half-naked male mannequin as she was dressing him for a display!! At least she used some manners.......

Ticked Off!!!

The last few days have been miserable, I mean MISERABLE! I have strep throat, ear infections in both ears, have thrown up in my car, and gotten two (not one but two) shots in my hips! I have not been handling this very well. Being sick makes me mad, and I don't remember ever feeling this bad.

Early one morning (3:30 a.m.) I woke Jody up and told him that I was driving myself to the Emergency Room. I could not take it anymore. He wasn't fond of my idea. In his defense I must confess that just a few hours before I was a little out of my mind and saying strange things about ducks on our front porch and dogs on our bedroom floor.....pain medicine and I don't mix!! I did what any mature 34 year old mother of 4 would do.....I stomped upstairs and cried! "I don't understand why you want me to feel this way?" Nuts I tell you!!

I am happy to report that I am much better today.....if my right ear would cooperate I would have no complaints!!!

"Family Driven Faith"

Wow! I finished this book in just over 24 hours! (You can imagine what kind of disarray my house is in right now.) Voddie Baucham, Jr. (the author) stepped on my toes and got in my face all at the same time??? After I finished the book last night I could not sleep. As soon as Jody got up this morning I was shoving it under his nose asking him if he thought he could finish it by this afternoon....no comment!

According the Voddie, "It is as though Christian parents in America have been lulled to sleep while the thief has come in to steal, kill, and destroy our children right under our noses." (see John 10:10) According to researchers, 70-88 percent of Christian teens are leaving the church by their 2nd year in college. He puts the responsibility for this crisis on the parents.....according to the Bible it is the parents job to teach, disciple, and raise up their children in the Lord....not our Christian schools, youth leaders, or Vacation Bible School teachers. "A family without a commitment to the God of the Bible has no hope of stemming the tide of cultural onslaught.....Unfortunately, this is exactly what many Christian families do. We do marriage according to Dr. Phil, raise our children according to Dr. Spock, govern our sex lives according to Dr. Ruth, and only run to Dr. Jesus when things have gotten so bad we can't find another doctor to help us." He also had so many other good points. He challenges the way we "do"church today. He encourages families to have worship time together at home in addition to prayer and Bible study. "Why is it that Christian families think nothing of a lifestyle that demands hours per week traipsing across town (ball games, gymnastics, birthday parties, etc.), blood, sweat, and tears from children, and thousands of dollars each year from our bank accounts, but the idea of a twenty-minute daily commitment to family worship immediately strikes them as too much to ask? I fear that we have lost our way..."

I am going to have to let this really sink in! I can't wait for Jody to read it.....I just prayed last night that God would open our hearts and minds to any changes we needed to make for our family! I pray that we will live boldly for His kingdom and that we will raise mighty warriors in His name who know why they believe what they believe....to the very core of their sweet little souls!!!