the view from out my window -

sometimes i look out and see them and wish there was some way to get a picture of what they're doing or what is going on but i know that going out would only disrupt what was happening.  but this shot was one i had to try for . . . regan paid for it as she was left crying on the couch while i tired getting close enough and yet staying far enough away.

- - -

you reap what you sow, you reap later than you sow and you reap exactly what you sow.

get used to confrontation or get used to sin.

live Jesus.

give Him His rightful place in your home - the chief Cornerstone, not just some brick in the wall.

sometimes its ok to neglect what is urgent for what is important.

fail forward - anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, at first.

never underestimate a child's natural capacity for God.

self esteem vs. self worth - you don't have anything to do with your worth, God decided that when He died for you.

God is consistent with us - be consistent with your children.

influences matter - lot escaped sodom, his children didn't.

simply training behavior is like mowing weeds.  train their hearts.

you represent God when you discipline.

teach children to obey out of a heart that loves Jesus.

'i'm sorry' denotes an accident. 'will you forgive me' acknowledges ownership of the sin.

don't beat them with your words when you pray.

the heart is like deep waters - prov. 20:5.

no excuses but maybe reasons - learn to draw out deep waters.

children aren't good or bad they are trained or untrained.

foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child . . .

communication is an art and it takes TIME.

be an active listener.

don't finish their sentences.

know how your children learn - teach them that way.

guard their eyes & ears.

discipline them back to Jesus.

bleed the bible.

perfect practice makes perfect.

set high expectations - they can & will live up to them.

disciple 1st - discipline later.

discipleship:
  - walks a child through their heart's motivation for their sin.
  - asks questions to lead the child back to Jesus.
  - uses scripture to wash the child and correct the sin in the child's heart.
  - gives the child time to practice the right heart response & behavior.

you don't have time not to do this - the problems only get bigger, more expensive, more heartbreaking.

effective discipleship all hinges on how you view your role in your child's life.

reasoning with a child gives them the authority not you.

be a good steward of time - fill time, don't waste it.

speak truth & blessing into their lives.

you could say the old testament was written for boys - swords, wars, giants being slain, fire coming down from heaven. 

don't rob boys of being men.

uphold your God given title of parent - not the weak title of friend.

never give up on your kids.
never give up on your kids.
never give up on your kids.
never give up on your kids.
again, never give up on your kids.

Jesus didn't give up on you.

show grace. show mercy. show forgiveness.

model Jesus.


----------- some cliff notes from a challenging & encouraging weekend rex & i had together.


- - -

some regan thoughts -


for my six week birthday mom dressed me in  . . . drum roll - a white oneies! i spent the day pretty fussy, actually mom says it was my fussiest day ever.  sailor didn't get a lot of school done that day 'cause mom couldn't talk over me crying.  till daddy came home anyway.  he carries me like a lot like i am in this picture, kinda like a football. i like hanging out there. i make bubbles and his arm gets wet - he doesn't mind though.  i still wear newborn diapers - mom likes that, it makes her think i'm still pretty little.  but really i'm growing - even mom admits i don't look super tiny anymore.  i like to smile - mostly for mom. i smile at daddy and sailor too.  the others  . . . well you just never know what they'll do next!  i'm pretty used to noise.  the other night after dinner jacky boy was just full of way too much extra energy that daddy turned on the wii and had him box it out. i sat in my bouncer and watched.  benny sometimes forgets my name - i know! i've been here 6 weeks already! when he does he just calls me 'our new baby'.  molly is learning to share the jogging stroller with me so the other night when mom took us on a walk i got to ride in the baby carrier for the first time - really i'd be ok with molly always getting the stroller.  i like being close to mom.  i like it when she falls asleep feeding me in the middle of the night and i get to snuggle up on her shoulder by her neck . . . at least till she wakes up and then puts me back in my bed.  she says as much as she likes snuggling with me she likes daddy best.  i don't really like our cat too much, he tries to sit with me in my bouncer.  i've been a lot more places in the last 4 weeks.  i've been to grammy's house, i've been out to eat, on mom & daddy's date nights, to napa, on an all day girls shopping trip. to bible study.  i've met lots of my aunts. i'm still waiting to meet auntie amie - random people tell mom i remind them of her.  mom says she's really really wonderful.
mom calls me a pretty dreamy baby, i'm not totally sure what that means but i like it when she talks to me.  i try singing blessed assurance with her when she sings to me but no sound comes out yet.  there are times daddy says i'm already an emotional girl - but i'm pretty simple, i like to eat, sleep and be held!

- - -

the wind today is making it feel cooler and more like november weather.
time for a run before naps are over - even though benny likes to ride along on his trike : ) running is a 'kill two birds with one stone' sort of event, exercise & time alone!
happy weekend -

- - -

amie actually called tonight saying she hadn't heard from me in awhile - i.e. there's been no posts or texts in over a week : )

and i actually said i was going to try & post something.  i'd probably stay up . . . since obviously this is the small bit of 'free' time i have but the computer is ridiculously slow tonight and instead of spending my free time waiting for it i think i'll spend it on a hot shower and sleep.

more coming - we are alive, really!


 

 


that could almost sum up the days around here -

always, always!! something to do.  any room you walk into has a dozen things that could be done in it and those things remind you of dozens of other things to do other places - and that's when there is no child in a room : )

but it's important to remember that life is not a to do list or more importantly that the kids are not a to do list! 


'please can we go in the water, mommy?'  um, no not a good idea today, guys. 

on second thought - what really is it going to hurt?  the never ending laundry is already never ending!

go for it! molly looks a bit tipsy cause she tried climbing up the side only to roll over backwards and fall face first into the water - they all rushed to help pull her out.


yep regan is with us - she's laying in the wagon.  our road is bumpy in a cadillac much less the old red wagon . . . she fell asleep.


this was molly on the way back - talking on the phone : )  and those are regan's polk-a-dot legs.


she's pretty chatty -

- - -


dump truck races!


on your mark. get set. go.



- - -

'do you know what i was thinking about today, mom? i was thinking we could do another tea party.'




her fancy table.

i am always told to bring -
 ~ treats
 ~ a bible
 ~ and myself

she sets the table, brings the tea and has the jewelry.



she picked the order. first we had 'tea' (her & i don't really like tea, we just drink water) and then one of our treats. then we read - she picked the story of esther. then we had more treats and tea. and talk about her friends and the color of her eyes, which she says are 'kinda hazel'.


her eyes : )


our tea -



 


it was a sweet time.

- - -





its already been a month . . .


- - -


say cheese! for crazy hair night.

- - -

it's the 3rd night in a row of being up past midnight - it's time for bed. that to do list will just roll over to the next day . . . or maybe even monday.




- - -

i wouldn't call the last 4 weeks a roller coaster - but its been a ride, that's for sure : )

i get hung up over towels sitting in the washer for days & the back porch being covered in cat liter & regan's insurance card not being filled out and mailed back or pulling out of the drive way and running over who knows what or that we owe over $50 in late library book fines . . .

i admit to being a little bit anal over wanting to sweep the floor after each meal and thinking it best the kids go to bed with at least clean faces and not loosing pacifiers and not having my space invaded when nursing a baby,  i've had a good handful of post-pardum moments . . .

i'm in love with rex

and sailor, jack, ben, molly & regan.

therapy for me comes in a few different ways . . .

blogging, actually is one
frozen chocolate chips, a given
spending money, not practical : )
being alone, again not practical
taking pictures, just because
and running - something i haven't done in a while, for obvious reasons

i needed some good therapy today -

  

this afternoon the shoebox got dusted off & the ipod got a quick charge. i put on my barbie tank top, because 5 kids later that's so what i don't look like and told myself i was going to the end of the road and back. no stopping no walking slap the stop sign and make it back to the mail box.

my sides didn't start hurting till the plowed cornfield on the way back and the lungs  . .. well : ) its been awhile. 

but it was exactly what i needed.

- - -

we totally redid the kids rooms last weekend - in the name of making room for regan.  nothing like turning the house upside down & working like crazy.  that picture of molly sleeping in the highchair from the last post is testimony of the craziness. days of missed naps & she was that tired to fall asleep eating.
the results are very worth it.  the fresh paint, the swapped closets, the added bed - regan won't have to sleep with the boys.  we are becoming expert at making this small house bigger : )

what else from those pictures . . .
rex's birthday - we've pretty much told ourselves that our 31st birthdays will be done up more than our 30th birthdays were!  at least maybe he'll get a real birthday post.  he told me the night before what he wanted for the day and we did our best to make it happen.  we gave him the red birthday plate at dinner and sang happy birthday off key.  i'm glad he liked his day.  he pretty much lives his life for us - providing for us, taking care of us, making sure we're ok.  i'm glad he's mine.

i think one of the biggest things i've realized in the last 4 weeks is how much our life is changing.  we've been quite a few years now with little kids and we obviously still have them.  i love that regan still wears newborn diapers and newborn oneises and has tiny skinny little arms & legs. i love little molly dolly and her growing vocabulary.  but the last few weeks have proved to show that the others are growing up.  in 6 years sailor will be 12 and in another six after that 18 when just 6 years ago she was laying in my lap like regan is now, smaller than the pillow she's on.  the world of diapers, nights of interrupted sleep, buckling and unbuckling carseats, and even selfish fits thrown on the floor are easier than what we see coming ahead.  or maybe its just that we've had those years of experience with the little ones and we're back to square one on the next set of years.  also might have something to do with her being so much like me and yet so different. we are alot alike and yet we need to be 'handled' differently.  so we're just praying like crazy for wisdom to figure out the difference.  to 'know well the condition of our flocks & pay attention to our herds'  . . . .

- - -



sailor's art -

- - -

regan is sitting with me. she's got the hiccups. everybody else went to awana - with crazy hair.  the living room smells like crazy amounts of hair spray : )

she is 4 weeks today. actually in about 20 minutes she'll be exactly 4 weeks old since its almost 8:31.  i didn't really take her picture today, running was my therapy instead : )

we need to get ready for bed and everybody coming home.

- - -



- - -

 
a lost photo moment : )

from inside looking out at her rocking her dolly in the mud it was an adorable picture but by the time i made it out to take a picture she was very done sitting there.

california storms for you - lots of wind and rain for a day then sunny with lots of great puddles.  jack is right now outside shoeless & shirtless in cutoffs in the lake of a puddle with sailor and benny : )

- - -


and speaking of adorable . . . .





- - -