Time together

As my children get older, it can be harder to have that one on one time that they need (and I need too!)  But, I'm finding it is getting more and more important.  I'm realizing anew that time together can be as simple as running to the store, or out for ice cream.  It can be time on the porch or on the couch.  The place doesn't matter.  The activity doesn't matter either.  It doesn't have to be something grand.  Even the amount of time doesn't matter,  It could be 10 minutes or 100. 

Here is what I have found does matter:

To make it happen.  

This is where it's easy to let the busyness of the day and all we need to accomplish overwhelm us.  It's easy to let days pass by and think, "Did I really look into their eyes today while they talked?"  

 I'm realizing afresh and anew that time goes very fast.  Soon my baby will be 10.  I won't have any more children that are single digits in my home.  I feel like we are on the cusp of being empty nesters....I know that's how fast it goes.

So today I purpose to:

Not be overwhelmed with the little to-dos.  It's okay if there are crumbs on the floor and my list isn't all crossed off.

Not be too busy when my kiddos want to tell me something.  Eye contact, and a listening heart is what they need.

Smile.  A lot.  To be a fun Mom that truly enjoys her children.

Cherish these moments.

It's really going to be a great day!

Christmas and Birthday...in March?

With the passing of my Mam-maw in January, things have been rearranged slightly.  One of them was Christmas with my parents.  The first time it worked for them to come for a visit was last week. So, we put up a tree real quick and celebrated!  It's never too late!

My parents always shower us with so many gifts.  They are so good to us!

They even created a cavenger hunt for the men in our family.  At the end was a frozen water bottle with a 50 dollar bill in it.  My Mom is always so creative!

The next day was my Beth's 24th birthday!  So glad thye could be here to celebrate with us!

 

Such a beautiful lady with a heart for the Lord!

Beth wanted to get burgers at Bev's drive thru and take them to the park.  It was the perfect weather for it !  So fun!

Then, we ended the evening with pizza and a murder mystery game. It was fun and family time is always so precious!

 Love you Mom and Dad!  Come back soon!!

Lingering over tea with the birthday ladies

Our church is growing.  It's amazing and exciting!  There have been a few adjustments we've needed to make in the process.  I'm finding it harder and harder to have plenty of individual, or smaller group time with the ladies of our church.  I love getting to know these precious sister friends that God has called me to!! 

So, I decided to start to have a "Birthday Luncheon" every quarter.   We had our first one and it turned out great!  The ladies that have a birthday in that quarter are given an invitation to tea. For the first quarter we have the smallest amount of birthdays, so 4 ladies were invited.  Tabitha and I loved hosting them!

We made homemade gifts for the birthday ladies.  Tabitha made them homemade lemon cookies.  Wow, they were good!!  I crocheted dishcloths for each of them, and, of course, we gave them chocolate. 

We prepared turkey cranberry sandwiches with smoked provolone, cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad, loaded baked potato salad, fruit tarts and angel food cupcakes.  Pretty food, that's for sure!

We also had fresh fruit and whipped cream along with teapots of hot water for making tea, and iced strawberry tea.

It was so nice to sit, chat, and linger over goodies and cups of tea.  I tell ya....VSIBC has the sweetest ladies ever!!

 

Victory Belle turns One!

 

This sweetie pie turns one year old today!  Happy Birthday Victory Belle!!

It seems like just yesterday that we were announcing the arrival of our 3rd grandbaby.  They say time flies when you're having fun and we are having a blast over here!

Can you tell how loved this little girl is?

It's always so fun to watch a one year old with their birthday cake.  Tabitha made a cute little one for her.  She was so happy!  She patted it a bunch, then Josh helped her to know she could eat it.  She was excited when she realized the frosting was sweet. :o)

I wanted to take pictures of her next to the rocking chair that was mine when I was little.  I did this with Liberty and Freedom, too. It's definitely a tradition now!

Can you tell she is walking, walking, walking!?  Everywhere!  It's hard to keep her still!

Victory, or Vivie, or Vicky Belle...is an easy going baby.  You usually find her very content.  She recently started carrying around baby dolls and it is so cute!

Her hair is starting to curl up, just like Freedom's did at this age.  So adorable!!

I posted, when she was a baby, that she makes us work hard for her smiles.  Still does.  That stinker!

Oh how I love this sweet baby!!!

They needed me!

Things are moving along with Josh and Tabitha getting into a home of their own.   The camper that they live in has gotten smaller and smaller as their family has grown bigger and bigger.  It's exciting!  It's been so exciting watching God open doors for them.  They are so close to being homeowners, and with Patriot's arrival less than 2 months away, it's time!

Patrick and I deeded them an acre of our land.  It's a smart Mommas way of keeping her kiddos near. ;o) Actually, the Lord has shown us that this was His will, and I'm so excited about that!!   Patrick and Josh went to the Clerk's Office to fill out the paperwork.  We joked that maybe I should come since my name is on the deed.  A few weeks later we got a notice that indeed I did need to sign, too! I had fun with that! 

It's so excited watching God provide in the life of your children!

 

Filling Up and Growing

Amazing things are happening at VSIBC!  Our seats are filling up and we are growing!  For the past 4 weeks we have averaged over 100.  This past Sunday we had 124!  It's exciting and amazing and we are so thrilled to be right in the midst of it and watch God work! 

If you've been to our building, you know how many we seat.  We've tried to think of extra ideas and be creative.  We're putting extra chairs here and there.  We're adding extra rows.  I think we might have to open the side garage doors and seat some outside.  So exciting!!

What is really great is that each age group is growing.  Nursery, Children's Sunday School, Teens and Adults rooms are overflowing!

The property we have bought is almost cleared. Are we building too small?

Pray for us as we move forward with growing in the days ahead.  It's exciting to watch God work!!  (I think I used the word exciting and amazing a whole bunch in this post!  I love that!)

 

100 Stars and Alligator Heaven!

In Homeschooling you have to be creative.  It's easy this time of year to be stuck in a rut.  We usually have fallen a little behind by this time and feel like the summer will never arrive.  I always try to have some incentives along the way and rewards for diligence.  It makes the last half of the school year have more purpose and keeps my kiddos driven to finish well.

This year we have been earning stars.  I have a chart on the wall where they can see our progress.  We earn stars for starting on time, for A's on tests and for 100% on quizzes.  Once we reach 100 we have a special prize.  This past time it was to go back to Fanning Springs.

We decided to first go for a little hike through the park.  The kiddos said it looked like alligator heaven!  It was very swampy, that's for sure!

On the other side of the park is beautiful boardwalks.  It led on the other side of the spring and towards the Suwanee River.  So many things to see!

Yup, they are as tall as me now!

Then we had a little picnic.....one of my favorite things to do!

 And then we swam!  I'll be honest...it was cold outside and I was fighting having enough courage to just get in!  The spring water stays a consistent 72.  So, it took me a looooong time to actually get in.  But, once I did it was so fun to swim around with my kiddos.  We had such a good time!  And we enjoyed the Florida beauty all around us.

So proud of my children and how hard they've been working!

What's filling your life?

So many things occupy our thoughts.  Our attention.  Our minds.  As women in 2022, we are busy!!  In the midst of our busyness, I'm afraid that we've lost our priorities in some things. Without a doubt one of those things is our time spent in the Word of God.  We've become satisfied with a chapter or two in the morning and we've crossed it off our list for the day.  Devotions?  Done.

But, is that really how the Lord would have it to be?  I think we can all agree an astounding 'No'.  His love letter to us should be read, reread, cherished and thought on throughout the day.  In "To Revive Womanhood"  we've talked about our love.  Now it's time to revive our time spent in God's Word.
 

I've thought of a few ideas that will help all of us to redirect our focus and our time.  We really do want (and really do need) to have God's Word fill our life.  When we do then we will have success as talked about in Joshua 1:8.  

~Make your devotion time in the morning your most important appointment of the day.  Guard it.  Plan for it.  Just like if you were to meet with the President of the US at a certain time and wouldn't forsake that appointment, don't forsake this one.  The Lord would love to guide you and instruct you at the beginning of your day!

~Don't get in the rut of thinking that just because you read some in the morning that you are filled up on Scripture.  We need God's instruction throughout the day!  Throw away the mindset of crossing devotions off your list.

~Listen to Scripture.  We have many minutes throughout our day that we could be listening to God's Word.  Even as a busy Momma, you really could listen more.  There are great apps and Youtube videos that you could turn on throughout the day.  You can listen while doing dishes, while doing your makeup or driving in the car.  

~When you do have those few moments to sit and relax, what do you do?   In this age we live in it's so easy to get caught up in scrolling through Facebook, or Pinterest.  We might research a new recipe, or check our email. While those things in themselves aren't wrong, they shouldn't be filling our lives. We could listen or read a chapter of Psalms, or Proverbs, or any other wonderful book in the Bible.

~Read to your children or grandchildren.  SM Davis has videos of the reading of Proverbs called Picture Proverbs.  My kiddos love those!

The point is to use those available minutes that we think we don't have.  When we look at our time, we really could fit in more of God's Word. So, lets try to implement one or maybe all of these.  Let's fill our lives with God's Word!