Dec. 3, 2009 - Happy would have been 8 today.
Our sweet Happy dog would have turned 8 years old today. At the first part of September we found out that Happy had cancer. The vet told us she might live two days or two months but her time left was short. She lived just over the two month mark. She gradually got worse and worse. Her sight was the first thing to go. It was amazing how well she adjusted to being blind though. A short time later her hearing would come and go. On Tuesday of this week, Happy couldn't walk. Her back legs would still work but she couldn't get her front legs to move in the position she needed them to to be able to actually walk. So on Tuesday afternoon we took Happy to the vet. The children each wrote a note to Happy and put it in the box with her. The notes were so beautiful. I wish I had known how sweet and precious they were as I would have copied them. I didn't read the notes ahead of time. Each child read their note at a little funeral we had for Happy. So here is a little walk down memory lane of our sweet Happy dog.
Dec. 1, 2009 - Take My Cup And Fill It Up!
After months of serving outside my home I am taking a much needed break to pull “in” and fill my cup. It’s hard to explain what that means because my cup truly is filled when I am able to serve outside my home as well?
What I am learning is that my life has a rhythm that I have to be very aware of. Too much downtime depletes my energy and makes me lazy, but too much time outside my home can do the very same thing.
Right now, I am enjoying the holidays as I pull in to spend time with my family and focus on my Savior. Last night was a precious and perfect example of how I fill my cup. We put our Christmas tree up while Avalon blared Christmas music through our house. I was cooking fajita’s and the smell of sauteed onions and green peppers mingled with my evergreen candles. I heard my boys engaged in laughter as they worked together to put the tree up. My heart was so full I thought it would burst.
I am beginning to see the rhythm of my life. I have come to realize that “spurts” are a good thing for me. I finally get that my personality does better with “spurts”, whereas, I have friends who need daily balance.
Neither is better or worse, right or wrong. It’s finding out who you are and then engaging it without apology. We shouldn’t spend our whole lives striving to become what we admire. Our goal should be to thrive in who God made us to be.
It’s funny that I always worry that I’m not home enough during my busy season and then in the down time I feel like I am home too much. Does anyone else ever struggle with that? Balance is such an elusive creature. I know that it doesn't come naturally, I have to be thoughtful, purposeful and most importantly prayerful. Finding balance gets me to the very throne of God where HE pours out, wisdom and direction.
"Therefore, God elevated him (Jesus) to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father....," Philippians 2: 9-11
Father, as I quiet my heart and bow before your throne may I always keep my eyes on "you" and seek only "your wisdom", "your direction". Show me where to say, "yes" and more importantly where to say, "no". I only want to do your will Lord. Help me to decrease so that you might increase.
Dec. 1, 2009 - Mark's first Black Friday experience
On Thanksgiving Day while at Nana and Papa's house, Mark was looking through the advertisements. He found one for an Nintendo DS Lite for 50.00 (pre-owned) Off and on he mentions wanting one of these but Brooks and I didn't have any plans to make this purchase for him. He has been saving his money this year and had saved $60.00. He said 'if this is 50.00 then I'll have $10.00 left over -- well, a little less with tax" Yep, that's right buddy. He asked if he could purchase it and we told him we would discuss it.
Brooks and I decided that we would let him purchase this if that's how he wanted to spend his money. We told him he would have to get up early on Friday morning. So at 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning, I woke Mark and asked if he still wanted to go. He was in a sound sleep but he flew out of the bed in no time. He looked outside and saw that it was still dark and asked me "Can you drive in the dark?" 
We got in the car and off we went. While the store was crowded, we didn't have to wait in line outside the store or anything. We returned home and he is very happy with his purchase.
We have rules for it and he has been obeying the rules without any problems thus far.
Nov. 27, 2009 - Bethany Grace
Bethany Grace continues to battle on-going sinus infections. It's not uncommon to find her like this in the middle of the day:
So I am beyond thrilled when she is feeling better and can make it through the day without a nap or needing a rest. She has been feeling really well the past couple of weeks. Last week I snapped this picture of her as we were getting ready to go out for the evening to enjoy the "flipping the switch" of the lights at Gaylord Opryland and then off to see the Rockettes.
Nov. 27, 2009 - Strength's Based Living! Change Your Life!
Strength's Based Living!
Mary with Linda Werner at the FPEA State Homeschool ConventionIn his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Loosely based on Romans 12:6-9
Last May I heard Linda Werner speak at our convention on Strength's Defined and it has truly changed my life. Six month’s later and I am even more in love with the heart of this message. Strength’s Defined was an introduction to Strength’s based living.
Strength’s Based living is all about being purposeful with those talents God has given you. It talks about stepping back and looking at who you are, who you really are. Imagine if you quit trying and striving to become something or someone you admired and instead threw yourself passionately into who you already are? Sounds simple doesn’t it? It’s NOT!
Our society has programmed us to think that overcoming our weaknesses is character building. Though I don’t totally disagree with that concept, I do think that we as a society have given that way of thinking too much room in our lives. Overcoming our weakness is all about “striving” and embracing our strength’s is all about “thriving”.
Strength’s based living does not have you ignore your weaknesses, but instead it tells us to manage them. How do I manage mine? I look around me and take note of the people God has put in my life. Most often, those friends who I cherish and adore are strong where I am weak, and so I include them in my management plan. What does that look like? Sometimes they offer words of wisdom, other times they hold me accountable, sometimes they simply listen and pray.
If you’ve noticed I am blogging two days in a row after lots of time off. Last weekend when I spoke to leaders at the "Leadership Tea" I realized that I had been too busy and that I love doing this. Facebook seems to get more attention, because it takes less time and nets lots of immediate feedback, yet it's not the same thing.
Blogging allows me to put thoughts together more completely. I can take my time and process, plot, plan what I want to say. The truth is I've missed it. I have come to learn after 4 1/2 years of blogging that there are seasons when I can and seasons when I can’t. Right now, I am in a downtime schedule wise, and plan to use the next few weeks to catch up and fill my cup through blogging.
If we’re not engaging and embracing those things that fill our cups, energize us, empower us, than our cup runs dry and we begin performing as we try to pour out what we don’t own.
So my Christmas break goal is to share those things I’ve been learning this past six month’s about Strength’s Based Living. I plan to write about my personal experiences because I think real life stories are more powerful than any how-to book.
Not only will I share my triumph’s, but I want to be real and share my hurdles as well. It’s not about getting it right, never making mistakes, but instead this journey is helping me to live out our family motto, “Fall Down, Get Up, Fail Forward, Finish Well.”
Nov. 26, 2009 - I Give Thanks
“And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18
Lord Jesus, I give thanks today for so many things. At the very top of my list I am most thankful that you called to me and I heard your voice. What an incredible honor it is to be your daughter. YOU never forsake or abandon. I thank you that you breathe peace and healing deep into my soul and that I am never a victim, but always victorious because YOU are in my life.
I thank you that when my biological father walked out of my life to begin a new life w/ a new family that you were faithful and gave me an amazing earthly dad to step in and raise me. 
I thank you for my mama. I have so many precious memories. The one that always brings tears to my adult eyes is when I think back to when I was a very young girl and she had just gone through a divorce after her husband had walked out of our lives. She would sit with me while I ate dinner and not eat. I would ask why, and she would tell me that she already had. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized my mom went without, so that I wouldn’t have to. How faithful you were Lord to bring my adoptive dad into her life. I can't imagine it having been any other way!
I thank you for my amazing husband Scott. It seems like yesterday that we were teens working for Publix. Every time they would call the stock boys to the front my heart would beat out of my chest. I can only imagine how nerve wreaking it would have been if I’d known then that we would marry and have four children. (smile) I thank you that he loves me like I’ve never been loved. He believes in me, cheers me on, keeps me safe, protects me, takes care of me and gives his whole life to making sure that I am happy. I pray that I am able to give as much as I get. He is my very best friend and I love him forever.
I thank you for Brandon my first born son. I still remember finding out I was pregnant. I had been married for two years, but was only 21 years old. I loved that child from the very first blue plus sign on the pregnancy test. He has brought his mama so much JOY, so much gladness. Lord, I believe in him and I pray this morning that you would direct and guide every part of his life. May he grow up strong in YOU. May he never favor in his faith and trade the things of heaven for this fleeting life.
I thank you for my Colton. Colton was our second born, but he is our third child. We found out we were expecting exactly three months after a horrible miscarriage. I remember being so scared to get excited or to trust that everything was going to be fine. But little by little, I began to bond with this child as he grew bigger and bigger inside me. He was the only one that I worked full time with and my patients loved him as though he was going to be their grandchild. He was the perfect pregnancy and delivery. I thank you that he was born with learning disabilities because you make no mistakes and that is a part of who He is. It has gotten both of us to your throne and you’ve equipped him in other area’s that blow my typically learning children away. I love his eye for art, his ear for music, his heart for others. I pray that He would always hunger after you.
Lord I thank you for my Seth. Oh this child has a special place in my heart. Once again, I entered into this pregnancy on the heels of another miscarriage. This child came out with his own little personality. Where the first two made me think I had parenting down, this child humbled me and wrapped himself around my heart through lots of learning curves. He is my most academic, but also my most headstrong. I love how much he favors his daddy in personality and looks. I love how he is his mama’s boy. I love how fiercely loyal he is to those he trusts enough to call friend. I love how he loves to snuggle with Scotty and I more than any of the other children and wants to have intellectual discussions about the world around him. 
Lord I thank you for my Jacob. My baby, my Omega. I still remember that my progesterone levels were low and how the doctor thought for sure that I was losing him. I’ll never forget going for that ultra sound. I still smile as I remember Scotty meeting me at the doctors office. He had come from work in his uniform and when I reached out to hold his hand he pretended that I was one of his prisoners and said, “Maam, I need you to keep your hands to yourself please”, “Maam, please don’t make me call back up”. He was so good, so convincing and I can still see those patrons in the waiting room not sure whether to believe him or me. (laughing as I type) It is this exact story that illustrates his sense of humor. It made me forget why we were there. Then when they did finally put that wand to my belly they could hardly keep up with Jacob because he was happily jumping all over the place with a strong little heart beat. Jacob is so much like Brandon. He is sweet and outgoing. He is my most positive child. He loves life and others and never has a bad attitude.
Lord, I thank you for my Grandma. Oh this woman is so very precious to me. She has been my rock through everything. When her son walked out of my life, he walked out of hers too. I became her everything as she threw herself into helping me grow up. (and vice versa) I love how close she is with my mom and that though her son abandoned her she gained a daughter. (to this day) I love the example she is to me. She is such a strong woman. Widowed twice before forty. Went back to school at 40 and earned her Masters degree in education. I still remember her 3rd grade class coming in first place at the Pinellas County economics fair. One of my favorite memories is when I had Brandon and he was only two days old. She came up on a Friday evening after everyone else had gone home and we had girl time. We took Brandon for a walk around the maternity wing, ate dinner together, laughed together, remembered together and bonded together. Lord, you already know my heart. I am so scared that I am going to lose her. As she approaches 90, I want her to live 90 more years. My life will never be the same once she goes home to be with you. 41 years old and I still need my Grandma.
Lord, I thank you for my friends. One of my greatest joys in this life has been the amazing women you’ve brought into it. They inspire me to be my best. They believe in me long before I do. They pray for me and encourage me in my walk with YOU. It overwhelms my heart when we can share and relate on a “girl” level. I am so blessed! 
Lord, I thank you for Kidney Stones....., “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Don’t ask why I’m including this, but the Lord keeps putting it on my heart. I had been thinking about this over the past week because I’ve been quietly passing another kidney stone on the heels of my big one from a couple of weeks ago. It’s been 31/2 weeks and I am feeling weary and tired. This second one is not as bad as the one that put me in the hospital, but no stone is “easy”. Why am I thankful?
Because it doesn’t let me get too comfortable with my place in this world. It reminds me that heaven is my home and only there will I live a life without any pain or worry. I love kidney stones because I draw closer to you than when things are wonderful. Pain breeds intimacy w/ my Savior and humbles me. I still see your hand of blessing as you’ve given me the greatest doctors and nurses in the whole world. Dr. Morris and his staff always make the experience less scary, no matter how many kidney stones I pass. (Over 20 thus far and still have 8 left) I just adore them and their hearts for others.
Lord, I thank you for Homeschooling. I’m so glad I didn’t know that I was going to homeschool my children when I was a new mama. It might have freaked me out. Now, I cannot imagine “not” homeschooling. What a joy it is to be with my children as they have their “aha” moments. What satisfaction it gives me to be purposeful in their socialization. I love spending time with them. I cannot even imagine my life without the incredible friends I’ve met through this journey? We are a tight knit community and it’s a place where we can come together and support one another.
Lord, I thank you for allowing me to serve in our support group. You give me a place to pour encouragement into other moms. It fills my cup so much more than what I could ever give away. Thank you for the incredible people who I serve with. I love them and cherish the friendships we’ve built. Thank you for the members who’ve prayed for me, encouraged me and loved me through my growing process. It’s all about the relationships. (smile)Lord, I thank you for Time4Learning. YES, I am thankful to our curriculum publisher. Not only was Time4Learning the first curriculum that my children with Processing issue’s could thrive with, but it eventually became a part time career that allows me to use my passions. I thank Time4Learning for hiring me to be one of their freelance writers. I have learned (continue to learn) so much through this experience. It allows me to offer encouragement and I get paid? Life doesn’t get better than that, LOL;-)
I could go on and on, but I need to begin cooking and preparing for a feast-filled, memory-making day. I lift up each of my family members and friends to you this morning and ask that you would capture their hearts to pause and reflect on you. Lord, be with those today who may not have the money to do anything special. I stop this morning and thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an amazing and incredible God and I adore you Jesus. I know that one day I will close my eyes here and open them there. Thank you for pursuing me with your Holy love....,
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever...., 1 John 2:17-18
Nov. 22, 2009 - Speaking Engagement- Leaders Tea
This past Saturday I was honored to speak to homeschool leaders from all over the Tampa Bay Area. I was so blessed to meet so many precious women.
Alice Paquette, who is a dear friend, partnered with Linda Oberg from Prodigy and together they blew us away with their strong organizational and detail skills. The tea was catered by a very popular tea house called, “Miracles”. There were finger sandwiches, Scones, Chocolate brownies, several types of tea, coffee and bottled water.
The Lord spoke to us from Romans 12 about how He purposefully made His body, His family with different gifts and talents and how when you put us together we make a complete picture. I loved how the leaders participated by sharing those things that energize them and assessing how much they have on their plates of responsibility. I came home energized and “full” of JOY!
Lord, may I never take for granted your gracious heart. Thank you for allowing me to engage in those things that bring me great joy...., Being your daughter, a wife to an amazing man, a mom to incredible sons and homeschooling. You are AMAZING Lord God!
Nov. 22, 2009 - a fun time with our sweet friends
We recently were finally able to get together with our precious friends, The Hall Family, -- well, a portion of the family. We had a great time catching up and are reminded how very sweet our friendship is. God is so good to bless us with so many wonderful friends.
Mark enjoying some time in the pool:
The group gathered to pose for a quick picture before we had to leave.
We've been close friends with this family since Mark was born. It's so great to reconnect. The children can't wait to do it again.
Nov. 20, 2009 - Calls needed to stop intrusive health care bill
I recv'd this today from HSLDA e-lert service:
November 20, 2009
Senate Will Vote on Health Care Bill Creating
Home Visitation Programs--Urgent Calls Needed!
The U.S. Senate will vote at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 21, on whether
to proceed regarding H.R. 3590. If 60 senators vote for cloture,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will then substitute his 2,074-page
bill, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act," in
place of H.R. 3590. This bill will become a shell for the Senate's
version of health care reform, which it will debate and may ultimately
approve.
Majority Leader Reid's bill, the "Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act," is the fifth of six health care bills created by
leaders in Congress that has included federal funding for new home
visitation programs.
While HSLDA does not normally urge its members to act on legislation
relating to health reform, we see the "Patient Protection and
Affordable Health Care Act" as a serious threat to parental rights.
This $848 billion bill calls for home visitation programs which would
empower government officials to teach parents how to raise their own
children. Although these programs will not be mandatory, parents may
feel pressured to participate, allowing the federal government
unprecedented access into private homes and involvement in early
education. To read more on how "The Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act" threatens your right as a parent to raise your
children as you see fit, please see our preliminary analysis on the
bill at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7260 .
ACTION REQUESTED
Please call your senators today and urge them to vote against cloture
on "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" in H.R. 3590. You
do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can use some
or all of the following message:
"I am opposed to 'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,'
substituted in H.R. 3590 because Section 2951 creates home
visitation/early education programs through grants to the states.
Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child-rearing
decisions for their children. Please vote no on cloture."
You can reach your two U.S. senators by calling the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Or find contact information for your
senators by using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at
http://www.hslda.org/toolbox .
Sincerely,
J. Michael Smith, Esq.
President, HSLDA
Nov. 11, 2009 - Fall soccer is over
Our fall soccer season has come to an end. We had another wonderful season with some good life lessons along the way.
The girls had a great end to their season. They won the championship. It was even better because Brooks was their coach.
Here's the team giving high 5 after a goal:
We had an amazing goalie, Hannah.
Here's the whole team with their championship trophies:
And my girls --
Bekah was feeling really good and had asked Brooks if she could play. He told her that he would put her in toward the end of the game. She can run and play but she is supposed to avoid falling. Not too long into the game, one of our players got hurt so Bekah went in and played the whole game. She was out of shape from no activity since the end of August but she did a great job and the girls really enjoyed playing the final game of the season together.
Mark had a great last game. Here he is with his buddy, Jackson:
And Mark and Brooks:
Sam's team almost made it to the championship game. They lost in a shoot out in Friday night's game. Sam's coach said a small little something about each player as he gave the trophy. When the coach gave Sam his trophy he said "Sam I can play any position (last name)" Here is Sam receiving his trophy:
We have a couple of months of no soccer. Sam will play indoor winter soccer and that begins in January.
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