One night I had a creepy dream.  I had a baby, but refused to properly care for it.  I was so neglectful that the baby died in an ocean! Good grief!

The weird part is that I walked around with a sense of guilt afterwards.  How ridiculous! But then again I have a tendency to take on false guilt and then blame others when I am truly at fault.

I pray that the Lord will give me a realistic view of godly accountability.

Also, my struggling heart and mind are trying to learn to trust and surrender my full weight upon God and God alone. May I not only bow my head and bend my knee unto God, but may I also reveal my back to Him knowing that He will have my back and will not betray me.

May I allow the blood of the Lamb to be applied to my life and may I stay within its protection and cleansing every second of every day.

I pray that God will train my willfulness into HIS hands so that I will run to HIM and STAY in His capable embrace.

I don’t to struggle in my false sense of independence, but I want to find my niche in God’s shoulder…  that perfect place to rest my head.  I desire my heart to beat in the same rhythm with His and to serve others with love, humility and patience that acknowledges HIS presence in my life. 

Saturday, June 14, was the day we packed up and headed home. 

Dad decided to head home a different way because he wanted to make a stop near Atlanta, GA.  We stopped at Stone Moutain.

The last time we had been there, there wasn't anything there.  Just a few nature trails, and the mountain.  Now there is a bunch of little shops and basically a little town and other attractions.  We were slightly surprised.

While there we were able to see a glass blowing demonstration.  The boys were fascinated.  It was amazing to watch the transformation of the changing glass.

We also watched the smithy for a while.  It was very interesting!

We were on the road for 11 hour Saturday.  We found a motel for the night and hit the road again early in the morning.

Then the *fun* began.  We had different opinions on the correct road home, and of course Dad's was the one that counted. ::wink:: That took us a little off course, then we missed a major highway and that put us WAY off track.  According to the *trusty* map we could take XYZ road and it looked like a fairly straight shot back to where we wanted to be....WRONG.  We were TN, up on a mountain, lost. LOL  Our 10 hour drive home turned into 15!  It was a VERY long day.

I took one of Cameron's free read books for second grade and we read part of it on the way down, a chapter a night there, and finished it off on the way home.  Good thing I don't get car sick (I was reading as we were going up the switch back turns of the mountain in TN.  ROFL)

The other evening we were just working
around the house and Carl leans over and
says "You are so beautiful."

I say to Superboy. See Son thats how you should
talk to women.

Doesn't he just get that twinkle in his eyes and
with a smirk on his face he says...
"Oh, Should I lie like daddy."

Little bugger. lol

Nikki

Café Chat July 5^th

Do you have a godly (woman) mentor in your life? If so, describe your relationship with her… If you don’t have a mentor, would you like one and what would you hope to gain from the relationship?








I did have some one I once looked up to as
a mentor. (still do)I was  young and didnt think
of the relationshipin that way. I was only 21 years
old. I had a little one and my husband had left.
I was alone and working part timewhere ever I could.
Jean took me and showed me the ropes
at our church. I had gone there since little on
up butstopped during the teen years. I just didnt
have the backingand support I needed to keep my
faith Strong. I was completely lost. I cried myself to
sleep most nights. I begged God to come and help me.
I didn't realize he was there all along. I
began working in our church nurseryfor a
little extra money. I needed
all the help I could get. Jean took me and helped
me with the children. She showedme how to be
organized and how to teach them. I grew
stronger in my faith and I lead just by watching
things that she did. We became very good friends
even though I was younger than her. We spoke on the
phone often. We planned together to keep teaching
our children about Christ. Jean eventually was
diagnosed with Cancer. She passed many of the
church responsiblities to me. Saying that I was who
she could trust to take over. I took that very seriously
and to this day still work in the ministries she passed
on to me. Even passing she was a figure of strength
for everyone she spoke to and met with. I felt lead
by her even to the very end. Even though she has
been gone seveal years now.. I still try to model
my life to hers as it all fits to me. I used to
tell her when I growup I want to be just like you .
I miss her terrible but hope that she sees how all
her work paid off. That I can do and keep the
faith and the churchon its feet. I hope I am doing
all she would do. Sometimes
learning as I go. There will never be another
like her and maybe one day I can mentor someone
else in the planning and preparing of our church family.


Nikki

Will strutting after a spike on one of his best buds in volleyball....and the shirt was a gift....I know this looks like a really cocky picture, but its a fun one for our family and just wanted to share.

Will and I will be out of town this week for youth camp.  His parents will be staying here with the kiddos, but I probably won't get much chance to update the blog, unless it's in the wee hours of the morning.  I will try to check back in, but can't promise.  Otherwise, I will see you when I get back...I will miss you all!

Charity

We have been home for about two weeks and I am just now getting around to posting about our trip to Northern V.A. and D.C.  The point of this trip was to see my dad and stepmother and get some sight seeing in.  My dh was not able to make this trip but blessedly my mother was able to come.  Having her along made the trip much easier.  We were also blessed that my dad paid for the gas and my parents next door neighbor moved out of her house and into my dad's house so that we could have her home for our stay.  How very kind that was and made our trip much easier.  It takes alot of planning to travel with 4 kids, especially when 3 have special needs.  Even with all the planning the travel part of the trip was pretty rough this time.

Day 1~The first day of our stay we went to the Natural History Museum.  I grew up in the area and new all about the museum so I had gotten the kids excited about seeing certain exhibits.  Unfortunately, the giant whale was in storage so my dd who loves anything ocean missed out on that.  Anyhoo, Day one at the Natural Hustory musuem was the hardest day by far.  I forgot how overwhelming that museum is (loud and crowded) and the kids were very overwhelmed.  They are used to small hands on musuems and with their special issues just could not get alot out of it.  I am surprised how much they have mentioned about it after the fact.  I think the first picture says it all.

As you can see, I am like "take the picture !", Goldilocks has her tongue out of her mouth and her shirt is wet from her chewing on it (common for FAS/PDD kids), Little Red Ridinghood is making a break for it and the boys had already escaped.

The day was saved by eating popsicles from an ice cream truck and sitting at the statue garden fountain for a nice cool off.

Day 2~  We went back downtown to my parents work.  They work at the National Gallery of Art.  This day was special for my boys who both really like art.  My stepmother took us behind the scenes and we were able to see a Leonardo Da Vinci up close and personal.  We also got to see my dad's Photography lab and how the Matting machine Roberta works.  "She" messed up some of the mats for the day and they were given to Tom Sawyer so he could do art with them.  They look flawless to us...  I grew up in that museum and it brought back pleasant memories as always. We also had lunch at the gallery, shopped in the gallery kid's gift shop and saw a few great exhibits.

(the kids playing ring around the rosey in front of a wall fountain.)

Day3~ Found us at a VA water park.  Oh Boy was this fun!!  There was a lazy river, lots of slides for all ages, obstacle courses and lots of shallow water to play in.  The kids had a blast and the adults could have stayed on the lazy river forever.

Day 4~ MY 36th BIRTHDAY!  We were able to see lots of extended family on this day.  It was nice to catch up and for the kids to play with their cousins. The day was finished off with a Baskin Robin's ice cream cake and driveway fireworks!  We all fell into bed very late!

Day 5 Time to head home.  I just had to take a few pics of my parent's neighborhood before heading out.  You know how they say, "You can't go home"....  Wow! Everytime we go up there it is different.  In recent years folks have been buying up the older homes in my parent's neighborhood and building "McMansions".  They just look absolutely ridiculous next to the modest homes!!!  They tend to have ok front yards but the houses have 15 feet  wide side yards and 15 feet backyards.  Here is a glance at what they are doing.

Many of these homes are now forclosures and are vacant monstrosities (sp?).  In Northern VA people aren't just keeping up with the Joness' they are trying to out do them all the time and it doesn't often pay off.  Everytime my dh and I go up there we are so relieved we picked a slower paced life that concentrates on our children instead of our belongings.

Blessings,

Dawn

Become A Homeschooled Mom

(Prepare Your Mind for a Lifestyle of Learning)

By Marilyn Howshall

Every summer, I like to read books on homeschooling, and I often only need to pull some good ones from my own library shelf.  This book is one of those.  I’m not sure if this is my 2^nd or 3^rd reading of it, but it is full of valuable insights, It has caused me to stop and think many times.  It’s the kind of book you can read over and over.

A comment made by Marilyn has really captured my thought processes this weekend.  She says that the mind is the gate keeper to the heart.  She encourages us to become as a homeschooled mom, one that is always learning, so that we have a lot to impart to our children.

She suggests not using a packaged curriculum.  It’s not that she says never to use one, or that the using of one is wrong.  It can be used as a starting point, but there are much more effective and long lasting ways for one to teach our children.

She advocates teaching our children principles in which they can live by.  This gave me some food for thought of things to ponder and mull on. 

Since the mind is the gateway to the heart, she challenged me to be more qualifying in the books I read, and what I let into my heart through them. 

We can only make judgments on what is good for our children based on our own experiences and what our mind has been exposed to.  That is why she urges us to become homeschooled ourselves, and chiefly through the study, not just the reading, of God’s Word.

As much as I have been attempting to paraphrase what she has said, I like the way she puts it much better.

 “We are governed and ruled by the heart.  The heart acts upon what the mind feeds it.  The mind is the door to the heart through which knowledge and ideas enter.  As our minds accumulate impressions over the years they settle deep within us and actually govern all that we do.  The decisions we make and the way we respond to life’s situations right down to the most insignificant happenings are based on what our minds have been fed.  Every decision we make, however minor, stems from what we have been taught.”  (pg. 14)

 When we start homeschooling, we love all the freedom and the choices that we have.

We are walking counter-culture-traditionally.  But because our minds our limited to our own experience of school, we really don’t know what freedom and choices we really do have.  I know that this is a struggle I’ve always had, and continue to search to expand my understanding of better ways to impart knowledge and learning.  I like Marilyn’s thoughts because they help me to go in the direction that I already feel an instinctive need to do so.