sailboats in monterey (with the camera strap in the corner)

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we went to monterey last weekend to cheer really loud for dad, chad & lisa.
 
yeah, with his .00%  body fat - chad was alittle cold before the race. 

 
jack's picture of regan & i.

 
very cool for the boys.

 
ahh - we didn't even stop in.

 
'cause we were on our way to bubba gumps.

 
dad coming in & chad and lisa showing off their medals.

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today i told her in ten months she'd be 1 already & rex told her i could be over the top sentimental at times.
 . . . maybe  . . . at times : )  but she is 2 months old already.  2 months. and i'll just say it since i can - she is absolutely precious.

















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 the backyard campfire with the wolfe's.






trying to keep up with april's songs : )



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i guess there's been very little commentary with this post - that & completely disjointed events : )
and i think that's the way we're going to leave this post. 

we sat on the couch after dinner and kinda both wished we didn't have to be responsible but that wasn't exactly practical so rex sent them to come up with animal creatures for us to guess. the rodgers kids version of charades - good times.

one by one they came crawling down the hall growling.  ben just flat out announced what he is - 'i'm a bear!' jack says - 'guess.' followed immediately with - 'i'm a bear!'  sailor was a lot more creative . . . crawling slowly with a green blanket over her back - a turtle.  jack came down once dragging a rolling suitcase with his foot - he was a tractor pulling a plow.  ben would come with blankets over his head proclaiming he was a different kind of bear, or lion, or elephant. molly just ran back and forth excited.  we laughed - not at them . . . well yeah, at them. it was delightful entertainment.  sailor stumped us pretty good on her penguin outfit - the wooden block she had sticking out of her mouth threw us off : )

 
here they are in the get up. sailor is mary, benny a different kind of something : ) and jack - not sure!!

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he wanted his picture with her. my little hoodie kids.

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old poodle skirt, socks & hardwood floor - she loves to spin.

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time to feed regan & put her to bed.
happy weekend.


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ahh, i just laid regan down to bed. she was so warm and we were so cozy sitting in the chair that i didn't want to get up.  i was falling asleep and thought it sounded nice to put her to bed and then crawl directly into mine! . . . . till i remembered the unfolded laundry that is covering our bed. we had a play day of sorts today. rex had to go the the bay area and i thought we could all go along for the ride. he thought just taking me sounded like a better idea : ) so we cleaned up, started laundry, called grammy and took off - and were gone hours & hours longer than we thought we'd be.  we came home and very quickly put 3 out of 5 kids straight to bed.  benny for some reason still had lots of happy energy so he stayed up a bit and we read stories.

somehow all that was to explain why there is laundry on our bed ??!?  : )   like we were gone most of the day and instead of having time to fold it, i just had time to switch it, or something!

anyway, i'm not in bed. rex is hundreds of pages deep in a novel he's reading. the house is calmly quiet. there was just a loud pack of coyotes howling outside - they sounded closer than usual.  and i am here - typing - instead of clearing off our bed!

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we try & always start school with reading something from the bible. sailor gets to pick the book - lately it's been leviticus.  in her bible leviticus has sub-titles like:
purification after childbirth.
laws against eating blood.
punishment for child sacrifice.



yes, all scripture is profitable for teaching but for now we have skipped over those and read ones like:
the Lord is holy
you shall be holy
etc.
since she has asked more than once for leviticus we will keep talking about the holiness of God . . . that is after all what the book is about - God calling His people to set themselves apart for Himself, albeit in very detailed ways!







from leviticus 19:2

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little miss 7 weeks old.  she woke up this morning with an overflowing diaper (part of the reason for that laundry!) and rex thought the easiest way to clean her up was with a bath.  i guess she normally has baths after the other kids have already gone to bed, cause they got the biggest kick seeing her hair wet : ) rex told her this morning that it looked 'taller' - it really does do its own thing, i sadly anticipate many bad hair days in her future!!  she is too little for product, i think, so for now it'll just do its own part curly, part wavy, part funky thing - and we will love her and kiss her and tell her she's beautiful and growing WAY to quickly!

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to say molly loves jewelry is a bit of an understatement. 



she loved having open access to my drawer and helping herself to whatever she could reach & find and having her daddy help her fasten all the ones she couldn't do herself.


helping regan learn the art of accessorizing : )

 

she was sent outside in green frog boots to play with the boys when she was done and i saw her out the window boots nowhere in sight trying to put on a pair of sailor's shiny red mary-jane's. 

she's beautiful.

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i've indulged long enough -
i figure at this point i'll be tired in the morning if i go to bed now or if i stay up and pick up - and i'd rather wake up tired with a picked up house so that's what i'll do. what will take a half hour now could take 3 times that long tomorrow : )
good
night.

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.

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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.


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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!

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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 -

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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!