My (heavenly) Father's Disciple

Sometimes I think the reason God allows us to have children is to teach us more about Him.  I have learned so much in the last 6 1/2 years of being a mother.  I feel like my children have been used to help me see my sin in ways that would not have been exposed.  I see it in the way I respond to them on a bad day.  I see it in the way I see them behave and respond to others (as they mirror my own bad attitudes and selfishness).  I also catch glimpses of unconditional love, forgiveness without guilt and acts of simple kindness that pierce the heart.  I am so thankful for my children!

The other day, my son was having a bad day.  He was struggling with his emotions, throwing tantrums throughout the morning and afternoon.  Finally, it was nap time.  I knew he needed it.  I even knew he wanted it.  Sometimes it is best to give them what they really want and need...rest. 

The problem is....he was having such a bad day, that he decided to fight even his rest.  For the next two hours we struggled.
 I would remind him it is nap time and ask him to go to his room.
He would sit on the stairs and stare at me.
I remind him that with disobedience comes disciple.  "Please go to your room."
He would sit and stare, maybe even throw is body one step down with an attitude of defiance.
I would walk into the kitchen (he would know what I was getting).
He would scream NO! (but continue to sit on the stairs).
I would gently remind him again that it's time for a nap.  "Please go to your room."
He would again, sit and stare.
So, up the stairs I would climb. 
At this point, he would jump up.  Scream NO and turn around running, covering his little behind.
By the time I made it to his room, he would be under his covers. 

I would spend a few moments talking to him about his disobedient heart.  I would remind him that when he disobeys me, he is disobeying God and that it will not go well with him.  I would tell him that I love him to much to allow him to disobey.  Usually at this point, discipline would come in a couple of different forms.  We would hug, and I would tuck him into bed.  I would then walk downstairs...and within 5 minutes this would happen all over again.  For almost two hours!

I finally became so discouraged and was ready to give up and walk away.  I was upset and frustrated with his defiant attitude.  With his desire to live in disobedience.  I stood in another room and cried.  I told God that I gave up and wanted to quit.

Then I remembered a Bible verse I had quoted to friends that very morning. Romans 1:28-32
²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Romans 1 is an interesting chapter that reveals the sin of man.  How God has made himself known through all time, yet mankind continues to go his own way.  To ignore God.  To not follow His ways.  Nope...mankind continues to do what we want, we even chose to not acknowledge God, worse yet, we know his righteous decree, yet we do not follow them.  For centuries, God pursued His people.  He was always there to give comfort, peace, hope and love...but he was also there to invoke disciple when they strayed, when they disobeyed.  Hebrews 12 tells us that God disciplines those he loves.  All throughout the Bible we find stories of God's people disobeying him.  He then disciplines...in lots of different ways (check out Numbers 16).  But, as a loving father he is there to show forgiveness and seek reconciliation then to teach and guide his people.

You see, it struck me yesterday when I was ready to call it quits.  I was ready to "give" Nathan up to his disobedience...until I was gently reminded that that is a last measure.  For almost 32 years God has been patient with me.  I am not always obedient....in fact, I'm disobedient far more than I am obedient.  But, for 32 years He has sought to discipline me as a loving father.  He has not giving me over to my debased mind.  I know that because I see His work in my life.  Yes, I rebel....but I then repent and become reconciled again with the One who died for that very sin. 

If God has been patient with me for so long, and I pray will continue to be patient for many more years, then I can be patient with my three year old.  I must be patient with him.  I pray that God would be patient with Nathan as well (and all my children for that matter), and I know He will.  Even as a young boy, it's important for my son to learn that with disobedience and defiance, come disciple.  But Godly discipline does not stop there...no it continue to repentance, reconciliation and is done with much love and compassion.

So, for the final time that afternoon...I took my sons hands and prayed with him.  I thanked God for his patient and loving dealing with me and prayed that He would rescue my son from his sin.  I prayed that God would continue to discipline me with love as I sin and that He would teach me to discipline my own son with love as he learns to obey. 

After two hours of fighting and crying, sleep finally fell upon my sweet boy.  He woke up revived and refreshed.  His attitude had completely changed.  And I was given another chance to know my God in a way I had not known Him before.

How often do I run away from God, covering myself, knowing discipline is coming, but running away none the less, instead of acting with humility and obedience towards my God who Saved me. 

Grinch Week

Grinch...through the years, the Grinch has somehow become a symbol of Christmas time traditions.  I hear people called a Grinch more often than a Scrooge (also a famouse Christmas tradition ;)

Yep....I drew him

We had  a lot of fun with our Grinch week.

We watched the newer version of Grinch with a family movie night. 
I read the Dr. Seuss book to the children.  We talked about the main idea of the story.  The girls had to come up with a list of adjectives for the Grinch.  This was the first time they had done something like this.  They finally understood what I was asking for after some prompting.  Then, it seemed they couldn't stop thinking of adjectives.

We talked about the portion of Ezekiel when God tells Israel that he will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh and try to relate that to Grinch's small, dead and spider web covered heart to his brand new, huge, beating, loving heart at the end of the book.  Although The Grinch wasn't redeemed, it was a good opportunity to remind the girls that God is the only one who can truly change a cold, dead heart.

The pinnacle of our Grinch week was our Grinch Dinner.  The girls spent all day helping me plan, decorate and prepare our Grinch Dinner.

They are making their "Grinch" faces.  You know...mean.

Nicole insisted upon putting the fork and knife in our "Roast Beast", just like the Who-villes

Green punch and Green cookies.  I forgot the green beans

We all wore green, since Mr. Grinch is green.  We served a "Who Roast Beast" (A whole chicken, which is rarely cooked around here).  "Who Hash" (the potatoes and carrots around the chicken).  We had "Who Pudding" (Pistachio pudding, otherwise known as Watergate Salad), Green drinks and Green Chocolate Chip cookies.

The girls helped to make everything!  We spent the day cooking in the kitchen.

Who Pudding

Love Nicole's eyes here, hahaha

Nate helped scoop the sherbet into the punch

They also decorated the table with a green table cloth and a village piece to represent Who-ville.

I included this special surprise on their plate.  I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who "got it".  But, I loved the idea of the Grinch licking the candy canes and turning them all green, hahaha.

Click on the picture to read what it says.  I got it here.

Finally, we played "Pin the Heart on the Grinch".  This was a blast.  The kids laughed and laughed...and kept asking to try again. Nate insisted on wearing the blindfold, then would get upset because he couldn't see!  Even with the blindfold off, he couldn't quite get the heart where it belong.

Nicole is up first

You can see all of our adjectives we used to describe the Grinch

Hannah...being So Silly!  She had so much 'flavor' to our family;)

Finally found the wall

Love this picture again...check out Hannah cracking up!

Daddy!!!!  That is NOT where the Grinch is!!!

It seems I got a little lost as well.

I can hear her laughter, can you?

One more go 'round

Nate insisted upon wearing the blindfold....

....then pulled it off because he couldn't see!

Nicole came up with the idea of drawing the spider web on the Grinch where his heart should be.

It was a fun week!  I actually think the kids learned some interesting fact, they certainly had fun.  Maybe it will become a tradition ;)

Reindeer Games

It is December - already!  I am not sure where this year has gone.  It has flown by!!!  The thing I hate about getting older....time goes much faster.

I decided for the month of December that we would take a break from CC.  We would have a theme that would last 3 days to a week that would drive us through this month.

Of course we doing a lot of reading from Luke and being sure that we have a solid understanding of why we celebrate Christmas.  But, we are also doing some silly and fun lessons as well.

Our first week was all about reindeer, or Caribou as they are more widley known.  Nicole and I read several books together that taught us a lot about Caribou.  She was fasinated by all the special ways God made Caribou to live in the Tundra ( like covering every square inch of their body with hair...even their nose).  She gave Jeremy a very strong dictation of everything she learned one night at the dinner table.  I was quite impressed.

We also use Santa's Reindeer as a catapult to learn how to alphabetize words.  We read "If you take the Mouse to the Movies" and then wrote our own version "If you give a Reindeer a Rootbeer float".  Of course, we had to make root beer floats that night.  We watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and finished our week off with a special Reindeer breakfast.

Our Reindeer pancakes

Hannah is my egg cracker.

Nicole made the pancakes for us

Great-Grandma Mimi comes to visit

Last Wednesday, my grandma....my kids' Great-Grandma (known to them as Mimi) came to stay with us for 5 days.  We were excited because we have never spent that much constant time with her before (OK, we were a little worried too...what if the kids were to crazy?  What if we woke her up?  What if she fell and hurt herself?  What if Nate is in a bad mood and throws tantrums all day?  What if....What if.....What if....).  I have a fairly firm philosophy that we don't live our lives in fear of the "What ifs" (although they do at times keep me in check).  So....we went for it. 

Great-Grandma Mimi and Hannah

The kids and I picked grandma up  and brought her to be with our family for the rest of the week.

Let me just say that We Had A Wonderful Time!

Grandma's new little buddy

The kids all stepped it into high gear.  Nicole made certain that grandma was always comfortable (and well fed).  Hannah made sure that grandma always had a smile on her face and Nathan became grandma's BFF.  Seriously...that little boy was Always at grandma's side or sitting next to her as we watched movies together.  He really, really enjoyed his time with her. 

loving on Mimi

Best Friends Forever!

Grandma's reaction to Nate's kiss to her...smack on the lips!

The best moment was when he asked her to come in the bathroom with him and help him go potty.  Nathan was "grunting" and Grandma was laughing.  They really 'bonded' in that moment. 

Nate even took a flying jump of a hug at Grandma and nearly made ME have a heart attack.  Thankfully....her "motherly instincts" kicked in and she was anticipating the jump...but it took me a minute to regain composure, hahaha. 

We took grandma to Target and out on a picnic in the neighborhood.  She watched movies with us, laughed at the children, listened to Nicole read each day, laughed with me at night, and truly had a great time with these kiddos. 

Grandma and her girls!

I am so grateful she came to stay. 

Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace and Boyhood Home

Any good homeschooling mom would see the incredible opportunities for learning about some of America's greatest people while visiting Tennessee and Kentucky.  We took the opportunity to stop at Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and boyhood home.  It was a wonderful stop that I highly recommend!  It is near Hodgenville, Kentucky, about 45 minutes south of Louisville.  The rangers gave my children a workbook.  If they completed the first four pages, they would receive a Jr. Ranger pin.  I really enjoyed and appreciated that.  It made me take more time to visit the display areas and read more of the information on the walls.

 

This was just the welcoming sign at his birthplace

Weird picture of Nicole ;)  but they were intrigued by the spinning wheel.

I know it's hard to see because of the light reflection, but this is a portrait of Lincoln made out of pennies.  Pretty cool.

His "symbolic" cabin.  This part was kind of confusing.  I don't know if they just scaled the cabin down and used original logs, or if it's all new wood.  I guess it doesn't matter.  But, they say that this area we are standing was where the cabin would have stood that he was born in.  The cabin is inside of the magnificent marble structure that you will see below.

Obviously I didn't take the crooked picture (however, if I did take it...it would have been just as crooked, hahaha).  We are standing on the steps in front of the memorial that holds the "symbolic cabin".

Yep, see....my picture is crooked too.  There are 56 steps to represent his 56 years of life.  Nicole only counted 54 though ;)

working on their workbooks so they can earn their badges.  They had Lincoln logs in the corn for Nate to play with ;)

The next day on our way back from Lousiville (we should have been in Ohio, but weather kept us from getting there then Nicole got really sick, so we had to head back south.  Nicole was in the car during this stop. She's not in any pictures.  We stopped about 10 miles away from his birthday  at Sinking Springs, in Knobb Creek.  Lincoln's family leased land here for several years while undergoing a legal dispute of land at their former residence.  They lost the dispute, and their land.  Lincoln remembers living and working at Knobb Creek.

This was Lincoln's best friend's house, Austin.  This was the actual house.  It was moved from further back of the property, up to the front so we could see it.

We even got to go inside this one!  Look how big that fireplace was for cooking.  The whole cabin was smaller than our upstairs "bonus" room.  Could you imagine a family of 4, 5 or 6 living there?

This is Knobb Creek, where Lincoln played with his friend Austin (and apparently almost drowned)

Nate enjoyed throwing the rocks.

The view from the creek.

 

Another outside view of Austin's cabin

This is a statue of Lincoln in the center of Hodgenville, KY.

And a boyhood statue of him reading

This was such a cool town. They have a museum about Abraham Lincoln, but we didn't get to go in it.  I didn't Nicole out of the car all day, she was so sick.  The museum is cheep....just a couple of bucks to get in.  Maybe next time.

If you are ever passing through middle KY, you should take about 2-3 hours and stop by these places.  They were wonderful!

Tennessee Trip with the Kids

A couple weeks ago, Jeremy suggested to me that I take the kids on a road trip to Ohio to see my Mama Pat because she couldn't come down and visit like we had hoped.  On the way we had planned to stop in Tennessee for a few days to visit Jeremy's parents and his sister and her family.  We ended up staying longer than we anticipated and had a terrific time!

 

First of all, I got my mother-in-law (and myself) hooked on Geocaching.  Geocaching is basically a world wide "treasure hunt".  People all over the world hide 'geocaches' in various locations.  Some geocaches are just big enough for a small piece of paper for people to sign and log that they found the cache.  Others are larger and full or trinkets that you can take and leave new ones as a reward.  We had a fun time!

This was my first geocache ever. It had a surprise in it, that I think hooked me for life ;)

It's probably wrong to post this, but I wanted to show how clever these caches can be.  This was a small tube connected to a bolt in a pillar.  The GPS coordinate along with the hints help us figure out the bolt had something to do with the cache.  This was our second cache and the creativity hooked us even more:)

 We had a lot of fun hanging out with the cousins.  Their ages were fun, Nicole (6), Seth (5), Hannah (4), Suzie (3), Nathan (2), and James (1).

This cabin is dated around 1790!

The sign says this is a portion of the first wagon trail to the Cumberland Settlements in East TN.  Blazed in 1787.

There was a geocache down that old wagon road.  We had to walk through this creepy cemetery.  I had to keep my thoughts to myself as I walked through this old lot.

I loved that Nicole was picking flowers and sticking them in her pocket!

How I felt after the hike!  hahaha...just kidding.

These kids were always together.  They would just sit around and play pretend, make up games or talk. They loved spending time with one another.  I hope they always have close relationships.

We found another geocache!  This one had some great goodies.

Cousins

Grammy's got "King James" in there as my kids like to say.

James is SUCH a cutie!

Our cold toes.  It was in the 50s!!! Brrrr.

I have more pictures that will be posted later.