So far so good...

Well a lot has happened since my last post.  My eldest daughter turned five.  I turned...also had a birthday. Oh, and I had a baby!  Little Josiah was born at the end of August bringing our family to a grand total of six.  We are now blessed parents of two girls and two boys (in that order).  

The last several months have certianly been a whirlwind.  I had my first home birth (which I loved!) and started "officially" homeschooling.

First for Josiah.  He is the sweetest little bundle of joy!  And I mean that literally.  He has been smiling and cooing at us since he was a little over a month old.  Even when he was born, he barely cried he just cuddled up on my chest and took his first breaths.  It was such a calm and peaceful experiance having Josiah at home.  It was just the midwife, my husband Daniel and myself present.  Not having ten people you don't know in the room with twenty beeping machines, half of which are attached to you, was such a blessing!  

Disclaimer:  I know that many people are not "for" home birth.  I chose it for several reasons. 1) Cost.  2) I have very easy births.  3) My last hospital experience was miserable.  4) All of my prenatal care pointed to a healthy baby and mommy.  

I would not ever knowingly put myself or my child at risk and I am not writing this as an advertisement for midwifery.  I am simply recounting my experience.  

Anyways, my water broke about 9 p.m. We called the midwife who told me to go to bed and call when the contractions wake me up.  She knew I have quick labor and was going to come over as soon as they woke me up.  I woke up at about 2:00.  I woke up my husband at 2:20 and we called the midwife.  She got to our house and set up her supplies and shortly afterward I was ready to push.  He was born a few minutes before 4:00.  Shortly after we got the baby and mama cleaned up and back in bed the kids woke up (they are early risers) and met their new baby brother.  Short and sweet.  It was a truly ideal birth experience.  Especially since my other son was born after 16 hours of hard labor, through the night.  For the record, I would never advocate being induced unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!   

Now for homeschooling.  I was a home educated kid from 6th grade through high school.  You would think I would be confident as I approached educating my own children.  Really, I was terrified!  However, it has been a joy.  I decided to take the advice of some older home educating moms and not to stress too much and try to make learning as natural as possible.  We are focusing on westward expansion this year by reading many different books on the subject and doing projects that would relate to those frontier days.  It is actually really fun!  We made baked beans and cornbread, and made play sunbonnets.  When their dad went hunting this year the girls instantly connected to the Ingalls' girls (we are now on book six of the series and my girls really enjoy them).  We are doing math with manipulatives and are starting a new math book in January.  We read a bible story in the morning and a devotion with dad at night and memory verse throughout the day.  I try to it in some music, but I am not to consistent at that.  We don't always have perfect days and I am definitely not the most patient, but I am truly enjoying my littles.

Well, so much to say, so little time.  I can hear my little guy calling.  Until next time...

Who Knew? The Feast of Succoth

Well the girls are outside with their Dad and Ezra is in the bath...the perfect time to sit in the bathroom and blog right?  =)

Well, I have been reading a book lately called "Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles" by David Brickner.  I have not finished it as of yet so I will reserve the recommendation until later, however so far it has been fascinating and very easy to read.  Anywho...the book was talking about the sacrificial system in the Old Testament and the number of sacrifices at the feast, pretty dry stuff right?  Wrong!  I have studied this before, but he shared some truth that was completely new to me and reminded me of some other things that are such a blessing to see the consistency of scripture, old testament to new.

As to the new stuff, did you know that there were 70 bulls, 14 rams and 98 lambs sacrificed in the feast?  I know what you're thinking...where is that interesting part?  Well if you notice, all of those numbers are divisible by 7.  Not only that but Passover is 7 days long, Pentecost is 7 weeks after Passover and Succoth (or Tabernacles) is 7 days in the 7th month.  Are we seeing a pattern?  Seven in the bible is typically a picture of perfection.  Well the next thoughts are kind of rough, probably because I haven't finished the book yet and I haven't read the one on Pentecost to see how it fits in but here you go. =)  Passover is packed full of symbolism of the death of Christ.  In the same way Succoth is full of symbolism of the final harvest and rest.  It seems to me that the festivals as a whole are a picture of God's perfect plan to save those who are lost, from the sacrifice of Christ to the final day when the church will all be together is His presence!  Pretty cool right?  Who said the Old testament was boring?

Well the other part that I knew, but is always good to be reminded of, was that of the sacrifice for sin.  In the sacrificial system when someone would bring a sacrifice for their sin, they would lay their hand on the head of the sacrifice and confess their sins, in a way transferring those sins to the animal.  The offerer would then, with the direction of the Priest, slit the throat of the sacrifice.  This impressed upon the offerer that the cost of their sin is blood and death.  This process is called substitutionary atonement.  Isn't this such a beautiful picture of Christs death in our place.  Of Him taking our sins upon Himself and shedding His blood and giving His life for us!  

My husband is a hunter (no PETA comments please).  He told me once how valuable his early hunting experiences were to his Christianity and coming to understand death more closely and the shedding of blood.   He plans to take all of our children hunting when they are old enough, even the girls, so they too can come to a greater understanding of that sacrifice.  It is not a pretty thing...it is really heartbreaking, but it was and is necessary for blood to be spilled for our sins to be forgiven.  Thank the Lord that He shed that blood once and for all so that we no longer have to keep the sacrifice.

Also it is so powerful that the offerer had to lay their hands on the animal and confess their sins.  It is a far cry from "I believe in a higher power, so I must be going to heaven."  The offerer had to confess and repent of their sin and the sacrifice had to be personally known to them.  A cryptic belief in God was not enough.  

I also find it interesting that it was the hand of the offerer that actually sacrificed the animal.  It is such a perfect picture of how Jesus, who had the power of the Godhead available to Him, gave Himself to be sacrificed by the hands of men, those He had come to save.  

So that is my current journey through old testament imagery.  When I study this stuff, it just makes me want to dig deeper.  =) Well, I pray that your substitutionary sacrifice (Jesus) will be personally known by you in a greater way today!  That we have a God that can and wants to be known is so amazing isn't it!  Be blessed and enjoy Him!

A Rebellious Heart

When I was a young woman I went to college at a small Bible college here in Southern California.  Being a christian school they obviously had rules on dress and decorum that you would not find at a secular college or university.  I remembered a few of the rules the other day when I was having a discussion with a friend about the prevalence of pajamas being worn in public these days.  The first rule was: no pajamas were to be worn outside of your room and the second was no wet hair in class.  Both rules were given because they wanted to avoid any distraction or temptation for the young men at the school.  They essentially did not want anything that would tempt the young men to think of the young women in bed or in the shower.

Honestly I had completely forgotten about these rules until just the other day.  At the time I heard them I thought they were frankly...stupid.  I didn't wear pajamas in public anyway, and honestly I viewed them as my most unattractive clothing.  However when I thought about these rules the other day,  I realized that may heart had changed.  Now the question was not whether the school was silly to make such rules (which is not really a topic I am going to discuss at this time) but, is my heart really so hard as to not care about another person's struggles?  Am I really so rebellious as to not care about rules that can be easily followed?  The answer to both was yes.  I was hard hearted and rebellious in the midst of bible college.  I did not have an attitude  of a loving and modest woman.  Looking back I am almost embarrassed to think of how "good" I thought I was when I was really so far from the heart of God.  I really did not care about those around me.

This was not my only issue in bible college...I kept an unauthorized piercing (my belly-button) my whole first year because no one would see it anyway (As a side note:  these days I am not really a fan of most piercings.  It was an obvious outward sign of rebellion.  Also if anyone is considering it I will let you know it is not so cute when it is a huge stretch mark after having babies.) I also listened to music not allowed on campus, sneaked on campus when I missed curfew and many other infractions.  I know all of this may sound silly to a lot of you, but I believe it was evidence of my rebellious heart.  It shows that I thought my sin was okay because no one knew and it wasn't hurting anyone...as far as I knew.  This thinking was a slippery slope that led me further and further from the heart of God.  

Thank the Lord for his goodness to me.  He did not rest from working in my life during that season.  That was a wonderful season of building my knowledge of God and the scriptures, but also He continued to work on my heart.  I don't know when or how but somewhere along the way he has taught me to take sin seriously no matter how big or small.  He has shown me how all sin affects others and is done out of selfishness rather then love.  And now as a parent I can see how it breaks our heavenly Father's heart to watch us choose things that will ultimately hurt us.  I think I have said this before, but God does not call things sin because He is a cosmic kill-joy, it is not sin just because He said so.  It is sin because it will ultimately hurt us and God did not want to leave us without warning, that is why he gave us the scriptures as a guide.

So as you can see from this testimony, I am not now nor have I ever been perfect.  Oh boy...ain't that the truth!   However the point is not my hard heart, but rather His masterful refining work.  His goodness and patience with me.  And His amazing grace to take this hardened sinner and turn her into His treasure.

Well, there is my rambling thoughts for the day.  I hope it blessed you.  Let us do as the Psalmist declared when he said "I have hidden thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."  Psalm 119:11.  How powerful is the word of God!

Boy am I Thankful!

Right now I am peacefully sitting in my living room enjoying a glass of iced tea.  My children are playing happily together on the floor and the windows are open allowing the wonderful 70 degree weather and the sound of birds chirping to come dancing through.  Yeah right!

In reality my home looks like something out of sci-fi movie.   Literally...there is a huge plastic wall and men are coming in and out in full protective suits and masks on. And all because our roof on the back of our house blew off in a huge wind storm and the rain came pouring through before we could get the roof covered.  So now workmen are diligently ripping out my drywall in the kitchen nook (Kitchen?  Oh, I almost forgot I had one!).  As you can note from the previous sarcasm our kitchen for the moment in most regards does not exist.  On top of that we have the drone of not one...not two...but three huge dehydrator units, a hepa filter and one big fan running day and night.  My ears literally ring when I leave the house.  Throw in homeschooling a kindergartener, a frequently cranky two year old and a very curious 1 year old, a husband who struggles when it is too noisy (he has been doing okay but I can tell he is struggling), having to eat out constantly and some occasional nausea from the pregnancy.  Needless to say my plate is full and my patience is being tested.

However  I have a plaque on my wall that sums up what my attitude should be in this saying: "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for."

So here is my list of why I am thankful:

1. I have a home in the first place.
2. I have insurance that is paying for the work.
3. I have the ability to obtain food even though I don't have a kitchen.
4. We are still together as a family.
5. It really is a beautiful day outside.
6. I have a wonderful mother-in-law who was willing to take the kids and let them play at her house for a little while even though her plate is full too.  =)  Thanks Tammy!
7. My kids love going to their grandma's and were excited to go.  Literally jumping up and down clapping kind of excited.
8. I have a wonderful husband that tries to help as much as he can.
9. We are all healthy.
10. We will have a beautiful new paint job.
11. It was only the back of the house and not the whole thing.
12. We were and are all safe.
13. It is almost Easter...how fun is that!
14. God put it on my heart to get organized so the house is pretty clean (on this side of the plastic of course.)
15. I got to visit with one of my best friends, who I haven't seen in over a year.  This also allowed us to escape the noise.
16. The workmen have all been very nice.  They even let my four year old follow them and tell them her life story (which was very cute by the way).
17. My husband just called and said the insurance will get us a hotel suite if we need to run the machines again tonight.  Praise the Lord!
18. He also said they will reimburse us for meals.
19. God has shown me my own heart in this and areas I need to seek Him more.  But mostly...
20. God is still on the throne!  He has a plan and does nothing in vain!  And regardless of how stressed or frustrated I may get in the process, He is teaching us and growing us and all of this is for good!

Well there you go...I feel better now!  I know that being thankful will usually make all the difference, but sometimes it is the putting it into practice I struggle with.  Maybe this is one of the areas He is growing me in right now.  Praise Him for He is good!!

The Great Example

One of the blessings of being a home school mom is all of the wonderful things that you are able to learn!  My daughter and I read a wonderful book today called "The Yellow Star" by Carmen Agra Deedy.  While the actual story is credited as a myth it is incredibly valuable in teaching character and compassion to those around us.  

The basic storyline is this, that during World War II the king of Denmark, King Christian X, showed solidarity with the Jews of his country by wearing a yellow Star of David on his own clothes in defiance of the Nazi's.  His brave example lead to the entire country also wearing the stars so that the Nazi's could not tell who was a Jew and who was not.

As I said this story has been claimed to be myth while there are many facts that are also amazing.  It is true that King Christian was very outspoken in his defense and protection of the Jews.  Also I found out in further research that Danish Fishermen actually smuggled 7,200 Jews and 700 non-Jewish relatives to Switzerland to safety.  Only 500 Jews were actually captured by the Nazi regime and fewer then 120 actually were killed.  This is an absolutely amazing for such small country with a small military force.  Also in 2005 the country of Denmark publicly apologized for the Jewish deaths that occurred during that time despite the fact that it was against their will.  Apparently in Denmark one innocent life lost is too many.  

I read a quote once and I don't know where or who said it, and I will probably totally mess it up, but the premise was if one mans human rights are violated, it threatens the freedom of us all.  I would like to believe that we are better then to stand by and watch even one mans human rights to be violated and that we would boldly stand against any regime that would dehumanize any human being,  whether it is Islam in its truest nature, or those who threaten the lives of the unborn.  May we stand together to protect those who around us.  Let us show love and compassion to those who have been deceived by Satan and seek to restore to them the life and humanity that God desires us all to have.  Let us truly show love to all our neighbors regardless of race or creed.  Let us show the love of Christ to ALL!

My Long Break

As many of you have probably noticed, it has been over a month since my last post.  Many of you are probably wondering how the house cleaning is coming.  Well...um...lets just say we have had a few set backs.  

First we have had two more attacks from that lovely cold everyone has been getting.  Around here we affectionately refer to it as the boogie monster.  As a matter of fact he has currently assumed residence in my children's noses.  Arg!   

Next my vacuum broke and as a spoiled middle class housewife how on earth am I supposed to clean without a vacuum?!  Please don't remind me that vacuum's have only existed for about a hundred years and for thousands of years before that women were perfectly capable of cleaning their homes without one...I already know.  Thankfully my dear friend Sarah gave me a vacuum last week.  Yeah!

Then my washer broke.  Thankfully it was an easy fix, but I am still trying to catch up.  Who knew five people had enough clothing to make a pile the size of Everest!  And I'm not a fashionista.  I would hate to see what their piles look like!

Lastly, I was having problems keeping my energy up.  I couldn't figure out why I was so exhausted all the time...and then we found out...Mommy is pregnant.  Yep, baby number four is on the way!  We are very excited to welcome our newest blessing!  

So all that to say, I am not done with the deep clean, however I have made huge strides toward a cleaner home.  My home is now more organized and easier to get into order.  My home is far from perfect but I do believe God put it on my heart to reorganize and deep clean in order to prepare for my current season of early pregnancy.  Praise the Lord for His foreknowledge!

Day Two: Conquering The Beast

Well I am on day two of this crazy house cleaning project and I have already hit a few set backs.  =(  I am still working on my room but have made definite progress.  The closet is almost done and the room is completely straightened.  I pretty much just have dusting and carpet cleaning left.  I also managed to fold and put away five loads of laundry...and then my washing machine decided to go haywire so the bedding will have to wait.  I again have an extra baby today which is a blessing but does require more time.  Also I was reminded that we have three birthday parties to go to in the next 4 days.

But am I discouraged?! No!...well maybe a little.  But I will not give up!  The house may have won this battle, but I am determined to win the war.

So for all of the above listed reasons, my goals are significantly smaller today.

1) Finish the bedroom.
2) Vacuum and sweep living room (mainly for the crawling ones)
3) Cook and freeze the Mozzarella meat balls.
4) Decorate some wrapping paper with the kids (just for fun)

Prayerfully I will get it all done!  In the next blog I will post a before and after.  Hopefully... =)