Helene is coming

 We've spent the day prepping and getting our home ready for Hurricane Helene coming our way. I'm making extra pancakes to put some in the fridge so we'll be able to have something yummy to eat. Prayers appreciated!

Vacation Part Two

After a great time in DC, we drove south.  We were able to stay in a Prophet's Chamber for a couple of nights in Statesville, NC.  While there we went to Zootastic.  We had fun at their drive thru Zoo.  

Then we toured Fort Dobbs which was really cool too!

For dinner we went to Longhorn Steakhouse.  Someone had given us a bunch of giftcards. We divided them up and each person had $30 to spend on their meal.  Wow!!! We feasted and feasted, it was unbelievable!!

Then, it was time to head to the Mountains!!! Blue Ridge Mountains are some of our favorites.  This is our 3rd time to vacation in this area.

As we looked for a cabin to rent, we knew we wanted one with a creek to fish and play in.  We also wanted a nice game room.  We played lots of pool and air hockey together.  We tubed and waded in the creek.  We fished.  It was so relaxing!!

There is just something about having devotions by the water.  It was so peaceful and refreshing.

Our cabin was amazing!!!

We went to McCaysville and had to stand on the Georgia/Tennessee line.

It was an amazing time away.  We really were able to do it all:  City life with the Metro and busyness, traffic and tons of sights to see.  Then time in the mountains to relax and recharge.

Send your Pastor on vacation.  He needs it.  His family needs it.  They come back ready to tackle life again and be the best they can be.  It was so good for all of us!!
 

Vacation Part One

Our church family is so good to us.  They recognized that their Pastor and his family needs chances to get away and refresh.  Last year in our raise, they gave us a budget to be spent on a vacation.  We were so excited!! We planned and saved extra and finally the time came for our family vacation!! We had so much fun!

Our first stop was Washington DC.  My younger 3 had never been and Beth was little when we took her while on deputation. 

We stayed in Virginia and walked to the Metro Station to get into the city.  We are definitely country folk and had to get some help to figure out how the Metro worked.  It was an adventure!  But so fun!!

We saw so many sights and walked for miles!!

Callie and Beth were super excited to visit the Library of Congress.

Micah was excited for the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.

We all wanted to see the FBI building for sure!  One of our favorite Episode type shows is Sue Thomas FBI.  A lot of the sights we saw are on that show so that was pretty neat.

Museum of US History was so neat!!

Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

 

The next day we saw Arlington National Cemetary.  This was probably a favorite of all of ours.  It was so moving. 

We had a wonderful time in the city.  Amazing.  And so memorable.

After that we decided to head south.  Part Two coming soon!
 

A Step up to Teens

 I'm definitely in a new season of life.  My little ones aren't so little anymore!  Not too long ago my Micah moved up to the teen class. 

For our church, we do promotion time in the summer right before school starts.  Even though he is 12, he is in 7th grade.  So he gets to move to the teen department.  He was so excited!!  Silas and Callie were too!!

His first activity was actually at Josh and Tabitha's house.  So it was just a short walk next door to get there.  Of course I watched the whole way.

Cherishing the moment.  That's what I'm trying to do.  Life really is a vapor and time is going fast.

Lollipops

If I'm not careful, my blog could quickly become full of pictures of my grandchildren. ☺️ I do try to even it out though and keep things a little balanced. But they are just so cute I can't help it!
 

We've been having so much fun lately...at the park, baking together, playing toys..m

All of them are growing and changing so much!

They love to be together and are growing into best buds!

We are loving life as Lollipops. So blessed!!

Who is He?

 What does your day look like today?  Will it be busy around your home or in your city?  Do you have mounds of laundry to wash or will you find time to have a quiet moment to read a good book? Will you have time to have coffee with a friend or to spend some extra moments with your husband laughing?  I was challenged today about those moments that I have and how my responses will answer a question.

I was reading in Daniel 3 the amazing story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  When Nebuchadnezzar made the idol for everyone to worship it says that he called "all the people" to worship.  It's important to recognize that by worshipping this idol created byt he King, they would not be worshipping the true God.  "All the people" had a choice to make.  There were many nations there and many beliefs represented. But don't think that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were the only ones that knew the True God.  Many had been taken captive at different times and some sources say there were most likely around 7,000 or more jews at that time serving under Nebudchadnnezzar.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego weren't alone.  But we only hear of these 3 standing up to the king.

It's interesting Nebudchadnezzar's response when these 3 men were brought before him for not worshipping his idol.  He asked them, "Who is that God that shall deliver you??"  Who is that God??

He was about to find out!  I love the story of how all 3 were thrown in the fiery furnace.  And while the onlookers thought they would see a horrible sight of men burning alive, they instead saw 4 that day in the furnace.  They saw the God that the king had asked about.  

Who is that God?  He is the one that stood with the 3 men that day.  

Who is that God?  He is the one that didn't forsake his children when they faced tribulation. 

 Who is that God?  He is the one that gave them peace in the midst of  the biggest storm of their life!

If we put that in perspective of our lives today, let me ask, Who is that God to you?  Prayerfully, none of us will face a trial like these 3 men did.  I know the women that read my blog are a lot like me.  Our days can be filled with serving those in our home as we prepare meals, do laundry and make sure to keep our little humans alive as we go about our day.  As my children have grown older my days are starting to look different as we are filled with school and serving at VSIBC.  Yet, I know that there are those watching us and asking, "Who is that God?"  

Who is He to me?  

Do I live like He is the one walking right beside me? 

 Do I live as if He is the only one I worship and adore?  

Do I live serving others because that is how I show I love Him?

No matter the size of trials that come our way, our responses and reaction answer that question.  Our children are watching.  Our friends and family and neighbors are watching. 

I love reading the king's response in the end.  He says, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego."  and then he said, "because there is no other God!"  Their response mattered!  They answered his question of "Who is that God?" by their actions.

So let me ask you, Who is that God to you?

To instill a love for reading.

Books. We really do have a ton of them. Patrick jokes that most of what we shipped to the mission field was books! Forget household goods! 🤣 

As we've been organizing our schoolroom, we've noticed our supply of books has creeped up even more. And then we realized that everyone of them has been read!!

My kids all love to read. Some read more than others, but each one loves to find a cozy spot with a good book.

So how did this happen? I can't really pinpoint one thing that caused my kids to be readers, but I can tell you what I did that may have contributed to their love of reading. 

*We started reading to them very young. When Joshua was weeks old we began to read to him. He loved to hear us read. We would use lots of expression and make different sounds for different characters. These were precious times. Then when Beth came along the tradition continued, and has continued with each of my babies.

*We brought books everywhere. In the car, to the store, to a picnic. Books were always in our bag ready to be read at any time. 

*When my kiddos began to get older and started to outgrow naptime, we would still have an afternoon quiet time. We did this until about 6 or 7 years old. Even though they wouldn't sleep, they would be allowed to pick a few books to read during their quiet time. They treasured those books!

*Limit screentime. It's a fact, if they have access to a screen they will pick it everytime. It's easier to watch something and takes more effort to read. We naturally want to pick easy. 

*Take them to libraries and bookstores galore!

*Recognize that everyone is different. My children have different genres they enjoy reading. Find out out what they like. For instance, Callie loves a good mystery, Micah likes to read books about planes and adventures, Silas loves heavier theological books and joke books.  

* Encourage reading at bedtime. I try to give them an extra 15 minutes in bed before lights out so that they can read. 

I want my kids to read for fun. I want them to read to grow in knowledge. Reading is so important!

 

Stormy Flight Exit Game

 For Christmas we bought Silas, Callie and Micah an Exit game called the Stormy flight.

We had a great time preparing for them to take a flight to the Caribbean!

We all dressed up, got into character, acted silly 🙂, ate fun food, and played the game.

We are still trying to decide if we like the exit games. They can be a little bit tricky and sometimes the answers aren't easy to arrive at.

But by the end we were able to solve the mystery and repair the plane so we can get home safely.

 I love our family times together 🙂