Helping a friend out

Today Bob and the kiddos helped Uncle Dave pour a cement patio for Melody. They live next door to us. This was a fun project and the kids loved every minute of it. It was the highlight of the day. What a beautiful day for it too!

Maggie, always liking to serve in creative little ways:)

Gracie totally into this project...the dirtier the better!

the boys working together to level it all out

the cement truck

Bob, showing them how it's done!!

Who is YOUR advocate?

I am reposting this from one of my bloggy friends. Andrea is a fellow sister in Christ and I am so thankful for our new friendship! Through her devotion to Christ and sharing her love for the Word she has blessed me! This post spoke to my heart and I pray that it would to yours also.

I Samuel 23:13-29; Psaml 54; I Samuel 24-25:44

Saul is chasing David... and David is literally running for his life. Just as Saul is about to catch up with and trap David...the Lord intervenes. The Lord sent and urgent message to Saul through his army that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. Saul had to immediately leave to go fight the Philistines...the Lord showed up in perfect timing.

I can imagine David thought for a moment that this was it for him-he could see that Saul was cornering him...and then you get one of those "are you kidding me" moments. God knew it would have to be something big to distract Saul-so...God did something big.

And David gave glory to God...

4 But God is my helper.

The Lord keeps me alive!

5 May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them.

Do as you promised and put an end to them.

6 I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you;

I will praise your name, O Lord,

for it is good.

7 For you have rescued me from my troubles

and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

But it wasn't over...the minute Saul was done fighting the Philistines-he came right back to finish David off once and for all. And then something funny happens. Saul needs to relieve himself-so he goes in a cave. (Don't you love God's sense of humor?) David sees Saul go in the cave, he sneaks in behind him and cuts off a piece of his robe while Saul is taking a leak. (Hey, it's in the Bible...not those exact words...but that is what was happening.) And I have to say I love David's conscience here. He chooses NOT to kill Saul...and he even feels guilty for cutting a piece of his robe.

And THIS is my favorite part of this...

9 Then he shouted to Saul, "Why do you listen to the people who say I am trying to harm you? 10 This very day you can see with your own eyes it isn't true. For the Lord placed you at my mercy back there in the cave. Some of my men told me to kill you, but I spared you. For I said, "I will never harm the king-he is the Lord's annointed one." 11 Look, my father, at what I have in my hand. It is a piece of the hem of your robe! I cut it off, but I didn't kill you. This proves that I am not trying to harm you and that I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me.

12 "May the Lord judge between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish you for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you. 13 As that old proverb says, "From evil people come evil deeds." So you can be sure I will never harm you. 14 Who is the king of Israel trying to catch anyway? Should he spend his time chasing one who is as worthless as a dead dog or a single flea? 15 May the Lord therefore judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and he will rescue me from your power!"

David could have easily taken matters into his own hands. He could have easily defeated Saul. He could have easily given Saul what he deserved...and no one would have thought badly about him. Because....really....justice would have been served. OR...David could have trusted the Lord to be his advocate. He could choose to trust the Lord even though finishing Saul right then would be easier. And He could have chosen to let the Lord be his advocate and fight for him....resulting in God being more glorified in the end.

I don't know about you-but I can really learn something from this.

Can I love someone that doesn't love me?

Can I turn the other cheek and trust the Lord to be the justifier?

Can I close my mouth and let the Lord be my advocate?

Too often, in our world, we want our feelings to be heard, we want to justify what is "deserved" and validate our feelings...and how we were wronged and what should be done to make it right. How our children should be treated or how they were mistreated...how business should be done...and before you know it-instead of allowing God to advocate for us and for His light to shine-we catch ourselves being hot heads, road-ragers, gossipers and wasting more time complaining than living. But I love how David was tempted in this passage-but he didn't go there....and he was bold enough to give God the glory.

Let us challenge our hearts this week to allow God to be our advocate and to trust Him to fight for us. After all, if He is for us-really, who can be against us?

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom he foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8-28-31.

Let your light shine this week and may He live richly in You as you trust Him to go before you and with you.

Themed Birthday Party...fun stuff!

Maggie and Gracie went to their friend Marissa's birthday party which was a themed party(as you can tell) They dressed up in the 60's era. They had a blast!

Neil and Jackie are baaaaaaack!

Last night our church held a "meet and greet" for one of the new pastors who will be joining the staff . We are so excited that Rev. Neil and Jackie Kulp will be coming back! While I was in youth group, Neil was the youth pastor. I have many fond, silly, exciting, and awesome memories of both he and Jackie. For many years they were a part of the crazy Shore weekend where Neil would lead us in worship around the pool on Sunday mornings(maybe they'll come again:) Neil was also the leader on two of the missions trips I went on to Nova Scotia. Memories that will last a life time.

Last night, their eldest, Melissa was their with her two beautiful(they take after their pretty mama) children, Eowyn and Caid. They are absolutely adorable...just precious. My kiddos got a kick out of Eowyn, she is just personality plus!

We took a snap shot last night and little Caid joined us:)

Bob took the pic and as you can tell he wasn't concerned who or what was in the background....hee hee!

My silly girl!

Before you write us off as some crazy homeschooling family let me explain these pictures! One never knows what's going through your childrens minds as they watch t.v. Gracie has some favorite shows that she really enjoys watching. Some of them she has "learned" several new tricks that she likes to re-enact.

She loooooves "I love Lucy"! I mean, come on, who doesn't. What could possibly be harmless about that show you might say. Not much, mostly slapstick, funny, goofy, humor. Until one day when Maggie came to me saying, "Mommy, Gracie is smoking again". Alarmed I rushed to Gracie and said, "where did you learn to smoke"? she very confidently said, "Lucy smokes". Well, we "caught" her a few more times, and after explaining the ins and outs of the time period and how they didn't know it was hazardous to their health. She stopped. Although, come to think of it, it could have been my frantic rant on what lungs look like from smoking.

Next, her love for Gidget. Ahhhhh, I remember growing up and watching re-runs of Gidget starring Sally Fields. I loved her and thought she was the cutest thing(some of you probably don't even know who I am talking about..geez). That's when my longing for dimples and a round face with brown eyes started. Simply adorable. Gidget did a lot of surfing with Moon Doggy(her beau), LaRue and her little group of friends. One day as I was passing by the girls room I caught Gracie "surfing" on the ironing board(thankfully, it was folded down). Makes sense, right?

Then there was the Andy Griffith show. The week Don Knotts died was a sad one...they had a marathon of the show all weekend and anyone who came to the house was told that Barney Fife had died.

She likes all the Little House shows and more than that she is completely enthralled with the "Love Comes Softly Series" on dvd's which are set in the 1800's. She can't get enough of these shows and I think she's been watching them too much......take a look for yourself!

she's getting on her horse(that's bob's belt)

whooaaaaa!

giddddy up!

this is a common spot to find her! I had to get a picture because who knows when she will stop doing these things...they grow up too fast!

Creation Museum and Homeschool Convention

Finally, getting back into the groove around here....ahhhh! We had a great time away with Megan and Greg this past weekend! We learned many new ideas and were inspired and encouraged to keep homeschooling. Friday night at the convention we got to hear Tim Hawkins....who, I think is hilarious on you tube, but that doesn't even come close to being live. The guy is naturally funny, you can just tell. He and his wife homeschool their 4 children and so he wrote a special homeschool song for the conference. I hope to find it on you tube soon!

After the conference, we headed to the Creation Museum which was just a couple miles down the road. This was our first time there, Meg and Greg had been there before, and how incredibly refreshing to walk through a museum where God's handiwork is acknowledged! Scientific evidence and facts and answers to questions are all backed up by God's Word. It was so amazing and I have learned so much. It made me realize how deep I want to teach my kids about the beginning of creation in order for them to understand why we believe the entire bible. The beginning is so crucial for them to fully comprehend so they have the foundation for the rest.

Here are some startling quotes posted around the museum:

"In the Garden Of Eden, the serpent questioned God's warning about death. He asked the first woman, "Did God really say.....?" The elevation of human reason above God's Word is the essence of every attack on God's Word."

"Scripture abandoned in culture leads to Relative morality, hopelessness, and meaninglessness."

"A minority of born-again adults 44% and even fewer teens 9% are certain of the existence of Absolute Truth."

"Only 1 in 3 teens say they will continue to participate in church life once they are living on their own."

"As dark as things appear, God's Word gives us the foundation to rebuild.

The place to start is......at the beginning, six thousand years ago.

My heart is overwhelmed and so thankful for this man's vision, Ken Ham and his passion to educate and "go and tell the world" is inspiring to me, you can't help but feel this way. He answered a call by God....one that wasn't easy, one that has put threats on his life and those around him, even bomb threats on the museum. But we serve an Almighty Creator and because of that there is no need to fear! I am so thankful for his faithfulness, because it has impacted me and my prayer is it will to those around me. Praise the Lord! "Go ye and tell the world..."

Ken Ham address (http:/www.answersingenesis.org/) Get educated!

Here are some pics of our weekend:)

they had a little..little petting zoo

we need to be educated so we can educate our children!

yes there were dinosaurs on the ark and they weren't all huges sizes...most were about waist high.

Tim Hawkins!!!!!!!!!! :) twinkies were something he throws at the end of a show. I caught one!

3 rows off the stage!

My love!

Greg and Meg:)

My cup overfloweth! (pun intended)

It was Wednesday afternoon, exactly one day before leaving for Ohio to attend the homeschool convention, which I was sure was going to solve all of my parenting and homeschooling woes. A lot to do and so little time to get it done. Nate and Gracie had to be at practice at the same time (of course 2 different places at one time), then pick each one up at the same time to quick rush them to church then run back home to get packed and 5 million other loose ends to tie up before the next day. So typical for me. My head was spinning!

I realized that Nate did not have the "necessary" baseball equipment, well, let me back up, we had already been to the sporting goods store earlier that day....trying to find this "necessary" item but to no avail. I was pinched for time and overwhelmed with the choices. Many shapes, sizes and styles. I paced back and forth between the aisles and then just went for it. Did I mention that I was pinched for time??? I asked the college-age salesman....which "one" is the most comfortable? (don't judge me).........I was desperate people!!!! I believe my children could have disowned me in that moment.

Fast forward to 5pm, the aforementioned item does not fit and apparently, according to my boys, I had bought the "necessary" equipment that might fit Shaquile O'Neal. Soooo knowing that he had to be at practice by 6pm, I said to the kids, "hop in the car" we are running back to Dick's Sporting Goods to get the proper size. I run out to the car to see my kids looking at me with fear in their eyes....."what...what....ohhhh noooooo"......"are you serious....really?" One of my sweet, precious, children had started the car with the remote start and left the keys in the car which locks automatically! I thought I was gonna looooooose it! I walked away.....knowing that if I didn't I would not be saying loving things to this child. I turned around after somewhat getting control of my anger and saw all 4 of my kids frantically working on the car with every type of plumbing paraphernalia they could find. Thankfully, we had a vented window on the side that was open. I couldn't help myself but laugh at the site of them all working on this window. I resolved that there was absolutely nothing I could do at this point but make it a picture moment and jump in to help with this predicament. After about 20 min. and 5 scratches on the car, I was able to hit the button that puts the windows down and retrieve the keys. Yeah! One catastrophe solved.....onward we went....back to the store to solve the previous mentioned dilemma!

"yup, they are in there...I can see the keys, mommy!"

discussing how they were going to go about this

trying with a coat hanger first....

the scratches that came from the various implements used

that is a piece of copper pipe....is that a problem?

working together....Robbie guiding him on how close he is to the button.

What's growing in your garden?

We have been so blessed to have some absolutely beautiful weekends to enjoy outside. Bob loves to do anything outside...he gets in a mode where he just can knock out all kinds of projects and fun things and has the kids join him. I'm not sure where he gets all the energy....I sure could use a little scoop of it!

Anyway, he got up one particular morning and gathered up the kids and headed out to Lowes for all the supplies he would need to make a greenhouse. I think he gets almost as excited as the kids do. They returned and worked on the greenhouse for a little while and then started planting their seeds. They planted sunflowers, watermelons, carrots, and an assortment of all kinds of flowers. They had so much fun! As I snapped some pics of them planting I was disturbed by the fact that I wasn't into it....I mean...I had great joy watching them have a great ol' time but it certainly didn't look fun to me.

Ya see, I really don't like the whole "planting seed thing"....I like the finished product. So, in other words, if I am gonna plant anything I am gonna go buy flowers that are blooming....and bushes with flowers that are budding....I need to see something to make me feel good about the work put into it. With seeds, there is no instant return....you have to wait and hope that they take root. After all, they might not have been planted with enough water or the soil could have had too many rocks or weeds in it and then once it grows a little it's then transferred to a bigger pot or a bigger area of ground and will it take then.. or will it wither and die?! I seem to think sometimes it's too risky....why not go get something more stable and pretty and just plant that...something where all the work is already done for you and you just get to enjoy the beauty of someone else's hard work.....sounds good to me. Instant gratification.....baby, that's me!

Oh how this hit home for me in my own spiritual walk.....

So many things in my life are seeds waiting to be planted or seeds that have already been planted but are waiting for me to water them and patiently care for them. But my own human nature grabs hold of me and I feel like no progress is being made because I can't see it so I sometimes give up and walk away from that situation looking for something else that will make me feel better...a more stable plant. I wonder just how many times I have missed out on the Lord's blessing because of my lack of faith, my fear of the unknown, my fear of failure, or fear of rejection. How big could my garden be...right now...if I had just trusted? I won't know...and looking back will not help me..but looking forward though...I know this..I want to be a gardener who loves seeds and takes every opportunity to plant what God gives me and to learn through the process of the unknowns. I am uncertain if I will ever get that beautiful flowering plant or whether He decides I need to just be faithful and water it and care for it no matter how it turns out in the end, whether it grows to be a big beautiful tree or remains a little plant that helps produce nutrients for the soil to support those big beautiful trees.

My deepest desire is to be exactly what He wants me to be....nothing more and nothing short of that. My heart longs to be faithful to my God in all circumstances and through the uncertainties of life and I desire to serve Him and to have that garden designed by Him and not by my own choosing.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:3

Maggie making little peanut butter covered pinecones

Bob hanging the birdhouse up

what a fun daddy! love him so much!

preparing their soil

planting their seeds

putting them in the greenhouse

so excited! she kept checking back during the rest of the day to see if they had grown yet.....(too cute....guess she takes a little after me that way....oh dear!)

the beautiful greenhouse!

More painting pictures

Here are the painters "helpers" thinking they are way cool up on the roof!

Giving a little attitude up on the roof!

The barn before.....

and now after....it's ok if you don't notice a huge change...it doesn't show up well in the pics but it really looks beautiful and is quite noticeable from before.

Mom's little cottage....pretty yellow

her dining area......

went to take pics of her bedroom and saw a sweet little princess fast asleep(with thumb in mouth...shhhh don't tell)

this is mom's pretty bedroom.....lovely....i just love the quilt!

Oh my, what wouldddddd we do without a painter in the family!

Easter Pics

We had a wonderful Easter! Went to church and had such a great time celebrating our Risen Savior....with an incredible great message! Came home to have an Easter egg hunt with a bunch of family, friends, and neighbors. 21 kiddos in all from age 13 down to 19mos.

Bob was in charge of the egg hunt...it was totally all him. I take no credit whatsoever for it....he was so excited while planning this event. He decided that he was going to have golden eggs, one for each child, and in the golden egg was a number. When the hunt was over each child would open their egg and whatever number they had would be the order in which they would choose a prize from the "prize table". We had a blast!

Easter baskets

240 eggs

The crew(Forgengs, Little, Kullmans, Shays, Hirschbergs, and neighbors)

Bob explaining the rules

and they are offffffff!

Maggie one of the first to finish

Marissa and Gracie still hunting

Gracie helping Ian

Mason and Ellison...cute as ever....hunting for their eggs

the prize table:)

Ryan checking out the prize table

Declan with his football

the yummy food

the kid table

fun times with friends!