Merry Christmas 2015!

In the slim chance that there's anyone out there that reads my blog and is wondering where our Christmas card is this year, don't worry - we didn't cut you from the list.  Unfortunately I had to choose between keeping my sanity in December or doing Christmas cards, and I'm not really sure I did either one! Ha! But I like doing a letter, it kind of chronicles my year and one day I'll try to make sure I have them all saved. 2015 has flown by for us. The kids are 2,4,6 & 8 and I'm not buying diapers anymore! It kind of makes me sad. My mom says I'm in the "Golden Years," but I'm not really sure what that means, maybe I'll figure it out next year. 

David finally got to play his long-awaited soccer and he did great. His dreams were a little bigger than reality, as you can imagine, but it was adorable to watch nonetheless. He often wore his soccer clothes the day before, to school, just to make sure everyone knew he was playing that weekend. My little clothes horse is still very picky about what he wears. He still loves his shorts but will willingly wear his "cool pants" which are some twice patched slim jeans. I finally broke down and bought another pair this week - his other jeans are loose fitting and just won't do, apparently. His clothes now live in my closet, lots of tears have been cried, and it's just not worth the battle for me. David is in preschool 3 days a week and seems to really enjoy it. He even has a wife picked out in his class, a cute little red-head. 

I'm still homeschooling Sadie and Eli, and the year is going well. Sadie is my little procrastinator, she is just constantly plagued with one great idea after another of exciting activities (I don't think I've ever heard the child say she's bored), and she's slow to learn that if she just gets her work done she can have all the free time she wants. It is fun to do life with her, though, she's learning some things in the kitchen and helps me with projects and with her little sister. Eli is doing great with his school and still loves his sports. He continues to jump and climb things, often to the amazement (or nervousness) of strangers around us. I read an article this year about kids not getting to move enough these days and how it's causing motor, balance, and coordination issues. Eli might not be able to read as well as most 6 year olds his age but I have no doubt he excels at the gross motor area. 

And I can't forget our little caboose. Mary Jo is another little climber and once she learned how to climb out of her crib we decided to go ahead and put her in Sadie's room. They've done great sharing a room, other than occasionally I'll find them both in Mary Jo's bed, which is just cute. She also recently potty trained, and is quite proud of herself for that. She is definitely the baby, though, I find myself carrying her around way more than the other kids would've been carried at this age, and if I don't do something for her one of the other kids will. They really do all dote on her and she loves her big siblings.

Steven is working a lot, preaching a lot, but still manages to squeeze us in. We might not get quantity when it comes to his time but he makes sure we get quality. He took me on a cruise in September and put his phone away for 4 days - it was great! He's also started helping out with wrestling again when he can, his nephew is a Freshman and is quite the stud on the wrestling mat. 

I'm still working a little at the hospital, just enough to keep my skills up. I've started a new weekly bible study called CBS (Community Bible Study) which I love. The kids do AWANA and this year we started helping out with a ministry at Sadie's old elementary school. It's been fun and exciting to see the Lord working in these schools. We're still meeting at our little church in Randleman on Sunday nights, Steven is preaching at different places most Sunday mornings. We've recently gotten a bigger space for our church and have some new families so we're thrilled about that. As I recently saw on FB or somewhere lately, Jesus is not just the reason for the season but truly the reason for everything. There is no true life, no true joy, without Christ. May you find Him this holiday season if you don't already know Him. Love to you all and Merry Christmas!! 

Kids and Weddings

I had the privelege of going to a wedding a week ago of some dear friend's we have met through Steven's preaching. Unfortunately Steven had a prior speaking engagement and wasn't able to go with us, but I was determined not to miss it. The bride and groom made a point to tell us it was a kid friendly wedding, so I decided to take all 4. Thankfully my sweet Mom was willing to go with me and we made a fun weekend out of it. I had talked about my Virginia friends so much that she was excited to meet them and put faces to all the names. 

The day was beautiful, a little on the warm side, but exactly the kind of sky and day you pray for with an outside wedding. The setting was gorgeous, as well. Even though the kids are young I was excited for them to see what a wedding is like, other than Sadie being in a wedding as a not quite 2 year old none of them had ever attended one. It was pretty cute to see their responses. 

One of the musicians in the wedding got lost so the ceremony was a little late getting started. The wise planners had passed out water bottles and made the programs into fans to accomadate for the warm sunshine. 

The bride had 3 little sisters that were Jr. Bridesmaids and they came walking in arm and arm with the nephews of the groom. David, my 4 year old, asked me with an incredulous tone, "Are they getting married?" 

And Eli, oh Eli. Such a sweetheart, but still a 6 year old little boy. As we're watching the beautiful processional I knew he was playing with the string that ties in the back of my dress, but I wasn't paying great attention, I was mainly trying to keep Mary Jo quiet. As the beautiful bride walked in everyone rose to their feet.....except for me. I could only move about 6 inches and then realized with horror that Eli had TIED ME TO THE CHAIR! I calmly turned around and tried to untie the knot to no avail, so I had to sit there smiling, pretending that it was because I was holding my 2 year old that I wasn't standing. He did seem a little embarrased, at least....and maybe a little proud of himself. 

Mary Jo really did pretty well during the ceremony since she's just now starting her "church training" to sit still and quiet during meetings. I let her play in my purse and the diaper bag to keep her occupied and at one of the more sweet, poignant moments I looked down to see my feminine products laying in my lap. Once again a reality check that I had my kids with me!

Here is the beautiful bride and groom. Such a sweet, sweet young couple that truly love and honor the Lord with their lives. It was an honor to be there for their special day!!

At the reception the pressure of keeping them quiet and within social norms was off, the bride and her helpers had an awesome lay out for the kids - bubbles, games, a coloring tablecloth, candy, you name it. It was great to let them play so I could visit with everyone. The boys were happy to sit on the ground and eat their chips and salsa in the shade. 

It was a fun and interesting combination to bring the kids to the wedding. Usually weddings are places you dress up, try to look nice and put your best foot forward. You smile and greet everyone, use your silverware correctly, and practice your best manners. We actually took our kids to another wedding tonight, a very casual but sweet backyard wedding near here. Bringing kids made me realize that part of my job as a parent is to somehow teach them these societal norms. You don't stand in the middle of a party and cry "I want to go home!" or smear the cupcake frosting on your head on purpose (2 things David did tonight at the wedding we went to). It can be a humbling thing to raise these kids the Lord has blessed us with but it's fun, too. It helps me not take things so seriously and just laugh at the funny things they do. All too soon they'll be adults and I'll miss these embarrasing days!

16 years ago today

So we had a date night planned tonight because of a special showing of this movie I wanted to see - plus Steven wasn't working and his Mom was able to watch the kids (we are so blessed!), and I realized today that it was August 13th. Not only is it my dear niece's birthday (Happy 13th!) but it also is the day, 16 years ago, that Steven and I started dating. It's kind of a neat story, if you've heard it before I'm sorry, because here goes....

So we met when I was 15, almost 16, at a youth rally in Durham, NC. Steven claims he wanted to marry me the minute I turned around in the pew and said hello, and about 9 years later he did just that. We liked each other immediately, I wrote in my journal "I met a boy named Steven this weekend, he's really cute, he has dimples, and he winked at me." True story. But despite our chemistry the timing was just not right. By the time I saw him again at summer camp I had already started dating a boy from my church and dated him for the next 3 1/2 years (which did not stop Steven from calling me every 2 weeks or so, showing up unexpectedly at my dorm room, and convincing me to take a trip wtih him to Raleigh during our Freshmen year in college). High school boyfriend and I broke up right before Christmas our sophmore year, but it wasn't until the next summer that Steven and I started dating. We were 20 by this time and I had finallly starting figuring out this mysterious, cute guy that kept showing up in my life. I remember standing in a Bojangles parking lot in Boone one Spring day, telling him bye, and he looked me in the eye and said "I'm going to marry you Sallie Nash." At that point I couldn't really figure out what I wanted in life but had switched my major and transferred to Libery University after my sophmore year. Days before I was moving into my dorm room I was supposed to have LASIK (eye correction) surgery. Steven was in Charlotte, staying with his sister, but was planning on coming to see me that night after the surgery. I took the drugs but unfortunately the machine wasn't working so I had to go home disappointed and sleepy with bad eyes - not to return until after the semester was over. I took a nap and woke up to hang out with Steven, who literally made me sit on the kitchen counter to stay awake while he talked to me. He asked me if we could just date. I said yes, then handed him the book I'd been reading, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." (I don't think he ever read it :)). He drove home in the wee hours of the morning and wrote me a sweet letter a few days later. Within a matter of weeks he had my heart, still does, and always will. 

Ironically, the movie we went to see tonight (called "Princess Cut" - buy the DVD in November when it comes out) was about a young girl in her early 20s hoping to find love. It was a sweet movie and in it she checks out the book from the library "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." I loved the story in the movie but I love our story even more because it's all ours. The good Lord is Sovereign in all He does and I love to look back and see how He was working in my life even when I was not living fully for Him, not trusting Him, and trying to go my own way. I'm so thankful for our marriage and that my husband loves the Lord and seeks to honor Him. What a blessing he is to me. 

Even though this hymn, "Immanuel's Land," is ultimately about our salvation and our blessed Savior, the words from the 2nd verse always make me think about my life thus far and feel so thankful. Here's the whole verse, I can't just share part of it.

"With mercy and with judgement, my web of time He wove, And aye the dews of sorrow, were lustered with His love. I'll bless the hand that guided, I'll bless the heart that planned, When throned where glory dwelleth, In Immanuel's land."

We have a camper!

Sadie has been going to Mountaintop Youth Camp since she was a baby. When she was 6 weeks old I started working as the nurse at Jr. Boy's Week, with Steven either speaking or counseling. But this year she turned 8 and was old enough to go stay in a cabin - a big deal!

I decided to ask the director of the week if they had the nurse spot filled.....and needless to say I got the job! My best friend from home, Julie, was also coming up to counsel (she had Sadie in her cabin) so it was a fun week to be there together with her girls and my crew. We have a lot of memories of camp together - she brought me to Jr. Teen Week when I was 13, the first of many fun weeks for me at Mountaintop. 

Sadie was thrilled to have a different agenda than Jr. Boys, which included crafts every day! Right up her alley.

The boys did little to no crafts - but thanks to a fabulous Kid's Club worker (one of the staff girls who's job is to do fun stuff with the worker's kids who aren't campers) they got to do exploration hikes, bible stories, cookie making, and swimming. Especially the day Julie's boys came up they had a blast. 

Eli absolutely loves Mountaintop - and I love it for him. He goes an entire week without looking at a screen and he is sooooo happy. He is outside 90% of his waking hours and pretty filthy the whole time. The last night I was reading to the boy's before bed and trying to talk myself out of it but I finally gave in and made them shower - they smelled awful.

David had his moments, as always, but he loves camp, too. And the "titty-tat", as Mary Jo loved to say. He pretty much followed Eli around all day and as long as they were together I was ok with that. He loved that freedom!

Mary Jo did what Mary Jo does everywhere - took care of her babies. Here she is in the hall of the staff cabin, where we stayed, and the campers came if they needed me. It was bedtime, I guess, for her babies.

She even shared her babies with napping staffers during their naps, in case they needed one. :)

She enjoyed the pool, although her motto at camp was "I only walk downhill," so coming up the mountain from the pool, carrying her and our towels, was a workout in and of itself (it's completely uphill, on the side of the mountain). 

She also loved the "driver," (golf cart) as she called it, even when it wasn't moving. 

She has some little plastic keys and tried her best to get those keys into the keyhole!

I was able to have some sweet time in the Word every day and once I looked down and realized she had tucked a baby in my arm. Sweet girl. 

Camp work is hard work.

It was very fun to watch Sadie as a camper. Thankfully I saw different clothes on her every day (a change from Jr. Boys!) and most of the time she was very happy. 

 

The last couple of days she had some tears, mostly just exhaustion, which she proved on the 1 hour drive home by falling asleep almost immediately. Camp is a wonderful place. Such a sweet time to spend with other believers, sharing the gospel with over 100 little girls, and watching them have fun. As the nurse I have had to learn some tricks. Working in the NICU the job is very different - my patients are usually very sick and they don't really need verbal compassion (their parents do, mind you). Every year the first few campers that come in with complaints like "My arm hurts" or "my toe feels funny" I just kind of look at them like "Ok....what do you want me to do about that?"  But after a while I've learned to show compassion and just treat them like I would my kids if they came in from outside with a complaint (probably treat them nicer than I'd treat mine). After careful observation I have found these things to be true. 

1. "My tummy hurts" = "I'm homesick"

2. Bandaids make kids feel better almost 100% of the time. 

3. Give them a bandaid, a vitamin, an ice pack, SOMETHING, so they feel their trip to the nurse's station was worthwhile. 

4. Having a toddler at your feet is a great distraction, for little girls especially.

Praise the Lord for Mountaintop, and the work He is doing up there. I'm so grateful for the weeks that I get to be involved in this ministry.   

The Possum

A few weeks ago we were first introduced to our possum, the kids and I call her "Shirley". The first couple of times she came around we found her in the trash can in the little bathroom right outside our bedroom- both times in the middle of the night. The first time I didn't see it and Steven didn't get a good look so we thought (hoped) it was just a mouse. The second time as it ran scared to death around Steven's legs, out of the bathroom, and towards a screaming me, we got a good look and it was definitely a baby possum. A couple of days later I went to Charlotte for a sweet week with my folks- taking the big three to VBS at my parent's church every morning and getting to spend some time with my BFF from growing up. While gone Steven hired a "possum guy" who came, set out traps (all we caught were squirrels), but assured us a couple weeks ago that nothing else could get in. All is well, so we thought.
Tonight, after the kids were asleep, we were watching tv in the den and while fast forwarding (gotta love DVR) we both heard a noise. I fully expected to maybe just see a little mouse so I bravely walked in the pantry and flipped the light on. This is where my bravery ends. I looked at a spice jar knocked over and then eye to eye with a possum. Steven has been trying to get me to stop the reactionary noises (gasping, etc) over minute things, such as realizing I forgot the sugar or anything minor in the car. Tonight was an exception- he holds no hard feelings toward my screaming. He very bravely took that possum on, what a man. I assisted by grabbing an empty trash can, throwing it at him, then jumping on top of the washing machine while yelling that he should call our neighbor Patrick. He actually shut the pantry door behind him, and it was a scuffle I tell you. Amazingly, he captured the thing in between a bucket and trash can and threw all three things out the back door. As the little creature was running away I actually yelled "and don't come back!" I'm sure she'll take that to heart. Previously, I didn't really think Steven's bravery was much greater than mine but my opinion has changed tonight. I think he can do anything, now! Hopefully our possum days are behind us, though.
It's funny, we just spent an amazing week at Skyland Bible Conference. We go every year, but this year the speakers just really challenged me to live unconditionally for Christ. I was struggling a bit with the fears that come along in this life- maybe the Lord is trying to start small with me to show me that by His grace I can face scary things. On a serious note, He truly does equip us with what we need, when we need it, be it facing a possum or a true trial in life, suffering or persecution. I know I serve a mighty God and He is faithful, praise His name!

Soccer, Indian Mounds, and Things I Learned this Week

We finished soccer season with a bang, all three big kids played, making for busy Saturdays, but I was proud of my little soccer players as the ran their little hearts out each game. Sadie might be our most competitive of all.

Steven coached David this year - he says it's his last coaching season but we'll see.... David finally got to play and it seemed to live up to his dreams - most of the game he'd have a huge smile on his face. I absolutely love 4 year old soccer.  

Eli has come a long way from climbing the goals and trudging across the field after the ball like his feet weigh 15 pounds a piece. He really wanted to score a "hat trick" (3 goals in one game) and by the last game he met his goal. Here he is with 2 buddies and his "game face" on.  

After soccer we took a family "field trip" to the Town Creek Indian Mound. The kids were fascinated with the Native American history and after we'd watched a little video and were walking towards the mound David asked us "Are the Indians in there?" He was actually pretty brave if he thought we were really going to interact with the Indians.  

Mary Jo couldn't stop fixing her shoe to stand up for the picture. It's always someone that ruins it. 

However she made up for it in this one. 

I loved how excited my kid's were to learn new things at the Indian Mound. I really hope to instill in them a love of learning, and make it fun when at all possible. Eli really has a nice smile, I don't know why he refuses to show it in pictures. Not sure if he's just not photogenic or trying to be cool. Probably the latter.

I completed my latest project this week - painting the girl's room. It's been one of those "goal-oriented" weeks for me (I don't always operate that way) and I'm a little tired from all of it. Monday night I went to a freezer meal workshop and prepared 10 meals for our family - it was a fun night out but a lot of work. Mary Jo got sick Monday afternoon and throughout the week has continued to spike a fever off and on, had some vomiting early on, and has been pretty pitiful. Here are a few things I've learned - some the hard way.

-Little kids can paint. And take off wall plates. And help move furniture. I was literally on my bottom, pulling a chest of drawers through the hall, depending on Sadie pushing every time I pulled (she weights like 45 pounds and her arms are about an inch in diameter). Not sure why I couldn't have just waited for Steven to get home. I just couldn't. 

-Once kids are old enough and really asleep they will sleep through anything

-These 2 are buddies.

-You can be really cute without front teeth. 

And that's not all I learned.......

-Easy Mac will nearly catch on fire and possibly ruin your microwave  if you (or a 7 year old who will remain unnamed) put it in the microwave without adding water.

-Mary Jo will swing on the swing no matter what - even with a fever of 105.3. 

-Painting a bathroom is not easier than a bedroom, even if it's smaller. 

-A 6 year old boy is capable of fixing bowls of cereal and waffles. 

I know this post is kinda random, nothing deep...sometimes after a long week and some sleep deprivation that's the best I can do. I'll try to be a little more focused and eloquent next time. I'm finishing up my homeschool year so will try to give a recap. Until then, hug your loved ones and thank the Lord for another day to live in His grace. 

Tis so feet

The pastor of my parent's church has 6 kids and one of their traditions is to pick out a beloved hymn for each of their children to make their own. I decided it was a good idea so we've done the same for ours. For Mary Jo we chose "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" which I heard the story behind the writing of the hymn a few weeks ago at a baby shower and am even more glad we picked it now. Look it up, it's worth reading.
For the longest time "Jesus Loves Me" was what I sang to Mary Jo when I rocked her at night, it seemed to be the only one she liked, but in the last few months she's started requesting different ones. She also loves "Holy Holy Holy" which I thought was just from BSF, but apparently when she was a baby my mother-in-law would sing that to her and it was the only song that would get her to sleep. So this is usually how our bedtime routine goes with our now very vocal, opinionated 2 year old-
First we read her book of choice, her favorites right now are "Bow-wow Peep", "Siwwy monkeys" and "Doodnight moon." After we read I turn out the light and ask her what we should sing. She answers "Jesus wuvs me," ...so I begin. Just a few words into the song and she's requesting the next song "Ho-wy Ho-wy....sewafim" (her attempt at saying seraphim) and if I don't stop the current song to begin the next one she just gets more and more adamant in her request. The other night I was belly laughing as I was singing, determined to finish the first song before I started the next while she kept chanting "Ho-wy! Ho-wy!"  My favorite is how she asks for her hymn, she says it all together and it sounds like "Tis so feet". I have always prayed for her at night but just in the last week or two I've had her pray first and she loves it, like the other ones I've just taught her to say "Thank you God" to begin with but she takes it very seriously, bowing her head and folding her hands. I love that sweet time with my sweet girl.  My prayer for her is that one day she will know, for herself, just how sweet it is to trust in Jesus. Here's my favorite recent picture.....

She's 2, snow, skiing, and sickness.

Well, it happened. My baby girl turned 2. And for the first time, I don't have a newborn or a pregnant belly ready to pop! I would have kept her at 1 forever but we don't get that choice. The good Lord put time in motion and I'm just trying to enjoy it while it passes. Sweet little peanut (weighing in at a whopping 21 pounds!) didn't quite know what to do with her party. 

Maybe it was because there were so many little boys!

She liked the cake and the presents.

Here are the girls! It was a sweet time with family and friends, who doesn't want to to celebrate a 2 year old's birthday on Valentine's? 

The next excitement was the long awaited snow. Here we are when the first snow/ice started....Eli getting a lick of the road. Yuck. 

When you're the 4th kid in the family you're lucky to get any of the right colors for your gender. She doesn't mind.  

The kids discovered powdered sugar (or "power sugar" as Eli likes to call it, probably more appropriately) on their pancakes last year and I finally put a stop to it by telling them they could have it only when it snowed. I was hoping they'd forget. They didn't. Mary Jo figured it out, too, and was dipping her finger in it just like the rest of them. Thankfully my kids burn off that energy pretty well, they are in near constant motion. Our latest favorite family activity is playing tag, in the house, thanks to Steven. It seems that nothing is more fun that being chased by your Daddy. We got a little too into it the other night, I was trying to tag Sadie and we both crashed to the floor, then Steven was running through the house and his ego rose to "super-hero status" as he attempted to scale the loveseat. He failed, but thankfully no serious injuries resulted, other than his pride.  

Another first this year was my parents and I got to take the big kids skiing! I love ski trips and have so many great memories from them. Somehow I let Eli fall off the lift (right at the beginning, he didn't get hurt thank the Lord) but other than that it was a great day, the kids picked it up quickly and were racing down "the swopes" by the end. On the way home they were saying that they wanted to snowboard next time. I was trying to tell them that it's harder, they would have to start all over with the learning, etc (I'm terrible at snowboarding, my brother is great). Finally Eli said "It just looks cooler, Mom." I had no comeback for that one - he's absolutely right. But since I'm not that cool in real life anyways, I'll just stick to skiing.  

Our little 2 year old now thinks it's funny to take her jammies off, so Steven remembered his brilliant plan he came up with for Sadie - put them on backwards. She can't outsmart us....yet! 

The other morning was a sweet, rare moment of quiet playing, everyone getting along, no T.V. I just sat and basked in the glory, praising myself for raising such sweet kids, deciding to put off school until the afternoon. MISTAKE! Mornings are just their best time....so the wiser thing to do is just bribe them with fun activities or food to motivate them to work quickly in the morning, then have these sweet moments after school is done. I'm learning, slowly but surely. 

This girl is growing up super fast - here's her sassy new haircut. The bangs were her idea and I have to admit I like them.

Mary Jo got sick the other day, running a fever and threw up once. She was so pitiful, she slept on my chest on and off for 5 hours or more, and did not want me to put her down. I actually pulled out the Bjorn around suppertime so I could hold her and fix supper but thankfully my sweet mother-in-law came over and put some pizzas in the oven for us. She finally started feeling better that evening, enough to play with her baby dolls a little. It warmed my heart to see her holding her dolls close to her, just like I had done with my baby all day. As I rocked her to sleep that night I thought of how sweet it is to be needed by your littles, and of how our Heavenly Father holds us. I know we don't tangibly crawl up on His chest and wrap our arms around His neck - yet He provides the comforts we need when we're going through trials, through His Word, His Spirit, His saints. What a blessing it was for me to love and comfort my sweet girl, to look in her sleepy eyes and tell her she would feel better soon. But how superior is the Father's love for us, he cares for us, knows our burdens, and will one day wipe away every tear. Praise the Lord and goodnight!

Funny conversations

If a comedian wants good material he need only have a few young children - I feel like I'm in a comedy show most every day. Mary Jo makes me laugh with just about everything she says these days - if someone's having a brownie or has been asked a question she will quickly answer. She walked around the house singing a lot today, at one point it was "All About That Bass" and later tonight it was "Holy, Holy, Holy." (she doesn't listen to pop music, by the way, just heard her Daddy singing that on occasion, and of course she picked it up!). When playing with her siblings she has quickly changed from being a doormat to screaming, "No, Mine!!" She's become a little pistol, but is still a sweetheart.

David is currently asleep in his bed in a tank top, shorts, and soccer socks pulled up above his knees. Soccer season starts in just under 2 months and he is SO ready! The other night we were talking about what he and Eli were going to be when they grew up - Eli decided on a police officer and David was torn between "A policeman, a bad guy, a firefighter, and a power ranger." We need to work on the "bad guy" aspirations, although recently he's been telling me "I'm going to listen to you tomorrow!" 

Eli is starting to read! It's been so exciting and I've used lots of praise and encouragement (if it took me as long as it took him at first to sound out words I might just give up and be illiterate). Early on he was sounding out the word "pal" and was slowing saying each letter sound - as I was struggling to stay patient - he said "papapa aaaa alalalal....eloise!" Not sure where it came from but it provided the much needed comic relief in the school room. My Mom gave me some old phonics books from when she taught Kindergarten a few years ago. The first one is called Mac and Tab, and Eli has gotten pretty comfortable with reading it. I tried to introduce book #2, The Tin Man, the other day and he really protested, he said he only wanted to read the first one forever. I laughed at the thought of him in college curled up with a very beat up copy of Mac and Tab. :)

Sadie is my work in progress, we are deep in character training. She is a pendulum, having very sweet moments then some very challenging ones. Sometimes I question my decision to take her out of school, worrying that I've created a monster, but I really think the Lord's given me this time with her, much needed time, to re-establish her boundaries, her authority, and nurture her in the admonition of the Lord, as the Scriptures teach us. The other night we were doing her devotion and it was about staying on the right track, but if we fall, we can always call to the Lord and He will put us back on the right track. I looked at her, smiled, and said "Was this devotion written just for you?" She answered with "I know! I really needed to hear that!" 7 going on 25.  Below is her precious little self, sick, from earlier this week. Thankful for my 4 little blessings and treasuring every conversation we get to have. Goodnight!