Mar. 4, 2006 - My heart breaks
for the Gray family. I did not "know" Missey as so many of you did. I simply found out about her by clicking on the featured blogger. But it does not matter that her husband and children are "strangers" to me; being a sensitive Christian woman, I still feel the pain. And I am grateful for that. It is an awesome thing to hear of a stangers loss and feel a heavy burden in your own heart. I have shed many tears already and have sent up many prayers. It is the Holy Spirit that unites us and I look forward to meeting so many of you, including Missey, in Heaven someday. Her death is a hugh priority assessment. As stay at home wives and homeschooling moms we can moan over so many little things, but what really matters? How will we be remembered? As a stressed out mom who had to have all her ducks in a row at all times or as a mom and wife who just loved her family? I pray that when those "times" come up and I am about to lose it emotionally and "vomit" all over my family, I will remember Missey and what really matters. And I pray that I will be grateful that I still have a chance to love my husband and kids. Attitude is everything and I think a grateful heart is a great place to start.
My prayers go out to the Gray family.
Nancy
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Mar. 3, 2006 - And the Angels Rejoiced!!!
My son Michael, 4 years old, asked Jesus in his heart last night!!! It all started with a piece of bread. We were at the dinner table and I was cutting a loaf of bread. One of the girls asked for the heel and Michael laughed and said something about hell. So his sisters asked him if he knew what Hell was. They told him that it was the place were Satan lived. Well he said he didn't want to go there, he wanted to go to Heaven instead. (He actually has been talking about going to Heaven quite a bit lately. He is rather excited to go there.) I explained that he had to ask Jesus in his heart to go to Heaven. I explained about Jesus being Gods Son and dying on the cross and rising again for our sins. He said he knew all that already. So I told him that whenever he was ready to say the prayer to ask Jesus in his heart to let me or his daddy know. He said he was ready then. So I said the prayer right there at the table and he repeated it after me. It was so great! I almost lost it when he asked Jesus to come into his heart and live as his Lord and Savior. His sisters and I clapped and hurraahhed. 
I told him that the angels were rejoicing.
P.S. Daddy, unfortunately, was working late that night .
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Feb. 24, 2006 - Wow!
I just finished watching Sasha Cohen skate in the Exposition Skate at the Olympics. She is incredible. If she had not fallen last night, she would have taken gold for sure. It was amazing how she came back from those two falls and took silver. She is beautiful to watch on the ice. The Gold Medalist ( I won't even attempt her name) was beautiful also.
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Feb. 23, 2006 - Ten for Tea
We celebrated my oldest daughters 10th birthday with a tea party on Wednesday.
I wanted to have it at a tea parlor, but it would have been too expensive, and she really wanted it at home. I was a big success. We started out with strawberry soup, then scones, mini quiches and fruit. The girls took a little break and came back for sandwhiches and more fuit. We ended with dessert pizza. We had some old hats that had belonged to my husbands grandmother. The girls had fun dressing up and taking pictures.
The table
The girls
Michael (my son) and Kaylee (my niece)
Fun with hats
The birthday girl
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Feb. 16, 2006 - The only marriage book a woman needs to read - besides the Bible, of course!
Hi to all my fans out there (LOL)! It has been awhile since I last posted. So I just wanted to write a quick post while I have time. ( Yeah right... As I attempt to type my 11 month old is trying to play with the mouse. - oh no... here he comes again.) So now you all know why its been so long since my last post. I have kids!! Ok, quickly onto serious business. I have been reading an incredible book that is changing my life. It is Created to Be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl. I am so serious about this book that my husband and I went in with his brother and wife and bought a case to hand out to people. My half is gone and I think I need more. Be warned, Mrs. Pearl holds no punches. She tells it like it is, straight from the Bible. It is not always easy reading, as I am constantly seeing my mistakes of the past 14 1/2years. But, along with the conviction comes hope that I can change and things can be much better. Heavenly, according to Mrs. Pearl. The book can be ordered from the Pearls website www.nogreaterjoy.org. Well, happy reading!
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Jan. 5, 2006 - Patience and a shower
I just received my newest issue of TEACH Magazine (I highly recommend this magazine) and the theme of this issue is Patience. It couldn't have come at a better time. We are all (except dear hubby, thank God) just getting over the flu. (Dear hubby has thus far escaped it.) Well, it is the first day for all of us to finally be feeling better (except the baby, who is on day 5 of diarrhea) and I was patiently waiting to take a shower. Between coddling the baby and babying my 7 year old, who was still feeing a little ill (once she burped, she was fine), washing the blankets and pillowcases, paying the bills (some overdue), and overall just being a mom, it was 1:30 in the afternoon before I finally got that much needed shower. But I was practicing patience, and trying to read as much of my new magazine as possible. It felt so good to shed those barf, poop (the babies) and coffee stained PJ's I'd been living in for the past few days and wash the germs and stink down the drain. Thank God for indoor plumbing, hot water, pretty smelling soap and shampoo and clean underware!! I emerged from my bedroom a clean, pretty, sweet smelling and much more relaxed mother. It is amazing how being dirty can cause stress. At least it does for me. I think it is the same in our spiritual life. Unconfessed or unresolved sin can make us stressed out, but a good cleansing in the precious blood of Jesus can do wonders for our soul. And we don't have to wait for the right conditions to take that shower! God is ready and willing to bring forgiveness anytime of day or night. 
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Dec. 11, 2005 - J.C. - Umbrella Repair Shop
Well, Praise the Lord. When I started this blog I was hoping it would be a place of encouragement and it is!!! I am so blessed by all the comments; people I don't even know praying for me. That is awesome. Well, the Lord is working on repairing our umbrellas. We still have a long way to go, but I feel we are on the right track. We went through the house praying over every room and annointing the door posts with oil. This is something I've wanted to do for years. It was a very beautiful experience. But, some habits and patterns are hard to break. It is a daily (sometimes hourly) choice to have the right response. I sense a constant battle going on in my mind. I have to ask God constantly for His strength and help.
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Dec. 3, 2005 - Holes in our umbrellas
This will not be the easiest post to write, but I want my blog to be one of honesty. My husband and I have huge holes in our umbrellas of protection over our family. Our house is one of caos and uprisings. There is no joy or peace in our home, but there is much yelling, fighting, arguing, complaining and discontentment. And it is not just from the children! I am tired and feel myself giving up. Physically I have no strength; the baby still has me up during the night and I put my back out a few days ago (much pain). I am also drained spiritually, mentally and emotionally. There is no structure or consistency in the home (except consistent fighting). I keep trying to bring about some sanity and at least be consistent in doing Bible Study. But I am failing. I sense all the seeds I am feebly throwing out falling by the wayside. I can't do it by myself and I don't have that sense of protection and security from my husband. My brother-in-law has fourteen kids and has always been good about keeping his umbrella hole proof. He used to get his family up at 4a.m. to do devotions before going to work. I always thought this a little extreme and certainly did not want this for my family (I am not a morning person!). But I have seen the fruit of his efforts in that his kids all love the Lord and spend their own private time in the Word daily. His fruit is deffinitely sweet. I fear my fruit is sour, bitter and rather bruised. I am very distraught about all this, I cried myself to sleep last night after letting my husband know that he does not have a happy wife. I am crying out to God for help. I pray my husband and I will be able to patch our umbrellas. This will not be easy as we both are selfish and full of pride. But it must be done for my family is falling apart. We simply cannot go on like this.
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Nov. 26, 2005 - My First Thanksgiving
Well, I finally did it! I had Thanksgiving at my house. Of course there were only 12 of us all together, so it wasn't too hard. Those in attendance were my parents and brother Mike, Michaels parents and his brother Rick and my family. And we didn't even have a turkey! We had ham, salad and (I got brave and tried a new recipe) butternut squash lasagna. And a lot of appitizers and dessert. But most importantly we had a lot of fun and laughter and I don't think anyone got stressed! The girls made us proud by playing the piano and singing for everyone. We all enjoyed that very much. We did miss the cousins though. Hopefully they'll be here for Christmas. Overall, it was a great success. And now my house is clean! Maybe we can keep it that way.
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Nov. 20, 2005 - First things first
The other day spunkyhomeschool commented on one of my posts (thank you so much! it was so fun to have someone respond
) and reminded me of one of my favorite sayings from one of my favorite women, Elisabeth Elliot. That saying is "Do the next thing." This is great advice for a stay-at-home mom who is constantly surrounded by things to do. My only problem is that I get caught up in "doing" and always being busy yet I forget to do the First Thing. And that is to spend time with my Lord. I am concerned as a homeschool mom about my kids character and moral training. I feel like I am really lacking in this area. The Lord keeps showing me it is because I'm not spending the time with Him that I should, as an individual and as a family. I can tell my kids the right thing to say or do, but I want it come from their heart. I think the only way that will happen is if the Word of God is instilled in them. I think if I do the First thing first, the next things will fall into place and the attidtude and obedience I want from my children will come from their hearts and not from a fear of making mom mad. Oh Lord, if I could just apply this daily. Why is it so hard?
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Nov. 18, 2005 - Homeschooling with a baby
I am trying to homeschool my two daughters, 2nd & 4th grade. I also have a 3 year old and an 8 month old baby. I find it hard to get anything done during the day. I am often nursing the baby or changing a diaper. And I still try to do the laundry, dishes, fix meals, pick up the house, do Bible study, and list goes on and on. God finally (I think) got it through my head that YES He does want me to homeschool and YES He did give me this baby and YES He does know my limitations and NO He does not expect me to do ALL the things I did pre-kids. And, praise the Lord, neither does my husband!
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Nov. 18, 2005 - My first entry
Well, I'm trying out this blogging thing. It seems like a lot of fun, but do I really need more fun? I already spend too much time on the computer playing while the dishes and laundry pile up and the baby cries and the kids fights. Oh yeah, the kids. I'm supposed to be schooling them - right? Isn't that what I'm here for? But I think I would love the support and encouragement that I hope to get this from this blog stuff. Well, God is good and does give us rays of hope every now and then. We did do Bible and piano already today and one girl did Language ( sort of). Ok, I have to go pee pee really bad, so that's all for now.
Nancy
