We are home. We are whole and we are slowly getting back in to the routine of things. It’s both nice and sad that all the kids survived without us for a whole week. I missed them so much and got the largest hug from Ceili Rain when we returned. As soon as we know more about what is going on, I can share…sorry to be so vague. I will share as soon as we can.
More later but now on to schoolwork again!
I hate when people do this on their blog but sometimes it’s just required! There are possibly some big changes coming for the bunch (besides the birth of a baby). This week will be a big determining factor so prayers for wisdom and safety for all are much appreciated. I’ll write more when we know more but suffice it to say that it’s big things from a big God for our crew and we’ll have to leave it at that right now.
At our church, if the father of the house is a Christian, he is encouraged to be the one to baptize his children and those under his house. The premise being that the husband should be the head of the home especially in spiritual matters. Mark and I had never really thought much about him baptizing our children until we started attending this church. After looking through the Bible, we realized that God’s word does not say, “Thou shalt be ordained within the ministry of the church to baptize others.” And realized what a blessing this would be to us and to our children if he baptized them.
So, Ace was the first one to be baptized by his father. And it all happened last Sunday. And, believe it or not, I did not cry buckets of tears. Mainly, I was too worried that my camera would die before I could get pictures and video.
But it didn’t! And I did get pictures and video!
And I’m so thrilled (are you tired of seeing And’s at the beginning of my sentences?)!
We had a lot of firsts that day…church at the lake under a pavilion in the semi cool weather. Ace getting baptized. Our kids and us having a wonderful time of fellowship and amazing food afterwards (no joke…at the end of this pregnancy they’re going to have to roll me around if our church keeps fixing amazing food).
Labor Day weekend our local (okay, it’s only local because it’s the closest one and it’s about 45 minutes away), drive-in shows a ton of movies. Last year, we were able to see two kids movies for very cheap. This year, they only played one. And I tried to express my dislike in that. However, we were able to get home before midnight so it worked out good! We surprised them with the trip and they were all thrilled.
I, however, was less than thrilled as they played on the playground and I got attacked by fire ants. That was none too fun.
Anyway, they all enjoyed the pre-show playground and the during show snacks. And then we high tailed it out of there before the other movies started.
This was Bryant’s second drive in movie. The first he was but a mere babe and totally didn’t care one way or the other as long as he got fed and relaxed.
We were blessed with decent weather too! It was a slight bit warm before the sun went down but cooled off considerably afterwards. Even though it’s a drive-in, it was still too warm to sit in cars so the chairs and blankets came out!
We took advantage of the change to not so humid weather and went bike riding in the not too far distant past.
Giveaway: Marie Madeline skirt or $50 gift certificate
If you have not seen Marie Madeline’s skirts, fabric, and patterns, you are totally missing out! I’ve oogled and ahhhed over their skirts for quite some time. And right now, a lot of their patterns are 50% off. I personally, love the Street Fair skirts. Totally adorable. Anyway, go check them out and check out Life in Shoe who is giving away a skirt or a $50 gift certificate!
I’ve not kept it a secret that Liam is a challenging kid to work with. He’s set in his ways and knows what he wants to do. And he gets very upset when what he wants to do doesn’t comply with what I want to do. I say he’s passionate…about everything. And, well, it’s hard most days. We work really hard at focusing our heads and hearts on God. Sometimes we work overtime with Liam. He’s an amazing kid and is going to do some amazing things.
But, it happened today. It all started with Liam waking up, getting dressed, grabbing his clean clothes and putting them up. It continued with Liam starting school with a joyful heart and only needing a few reminders throughout the day to have a joyful heart. It was so odd that I called Mark at work to see if something happened last night while I was out to have him change his attitude. He said nothing.
And he’s not sick! Woohoo!
And I praised…and praised…and praised. We talked a lot about how his attitude was effecting everyone else today. We talked about how we please God and others with joyful hearts, etc. So, as we were talking, I asked him if we could keep this Liam.
He replied, “You have to!”
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I continued to talk to him and then he just popped up, “I love you mama!”
And that’s more than my hormonal heart can handle and I just cried.
I love this little boy dearly and I’m fully aware that tomorrow we may wake up and have to work harder than ever to keep joyful hearts and practice immediate obedience. But today, today I saw that God is working in his (and my) heart. We both are seeking Him and wanting to please Him. Today, God showed me that He is here and that He is in control. I’d love to take credit for his good day. But I can’t. Only through God’s love did we have a day like today!
Now on to rest for whatever challenges await us tomorrow!
It’s now a month until we have the ultrasound, so we want to know what you think…will Seven be a boy or girl? Here’s some clues that may or may not help:
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We decided to go to Ikea on the way home from visiting my parents. We went with the kids. For the first time. I was a bit nervous and it was packed. And, we had some digestive issues with one child which resulted in me running through most of the store holding that child’s hand searching for the bathroom. That wasn’t fun. Besides that, the kids thought it was really really cool and they get big props from me for being totally family friendly even down to the parking!
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While in Ikea I told Mark that I had seriously been considering moving the school room into the living room and moving the living room to our bonus room. For once, he didn’t make a shock and awe face and agreed that it just might work.
Now, we are trying to figure out how to do it. It’s going to be a challenge but if we can get it to work and make it look nice (our living room is the room you see when you walk into our house), then it’ll work.
Either way, we’re committed to it because we moved our giant sleeper sofa down to the playroom and there’s no way my pregnant self is going to try and lug that thing back up the two steps!
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I’m anticipating a wonderful night out with other moms from our homeschool care group. So excited to get some mom time to visit with these amazing ladies!
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If I’m going to leave this house sans kids, I had better get supper done asap.
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Before I go, make sure you go to my actual blog and leave your opinion about what our baby is!
I have two flowerpots that I keep in the kitchen to make dirt cake (oh yes…and it’s good too). Bryant has found that these plastic flowerpots have another great use.
Bryant’s Hat Part 1 from justabunchofcharacters on Vimeo.
But wait, there’s more:
Bryant Hat pt 2 from justabunchofcharacters on Vimeo.
He not only likes to put it on his head so he can’t see. But, he also likes to run around the house, with it on his head (so he can’t see), making noises. At least we know when he’s coming and to steer him clear of any danger.
But he’s totally adorable when he does it!
(Pictures courtesy of Zoe).
