25 uses for a wipey....

1) the obvious - diaper changes! :)
2) clean the counter
3) wipe faces (get all the stickies off!)
4) wipe hands (specially when you've just used a port-a-potty!)
5) clean mouths (I know this sounds like it should be included in #3 but I promise it is entirely different! Keegan calls pacifiers "mouths"! so this # is talking about cleaning off a dropped plug, usually in the instance that your mouth won't do, like when it has been dropped in sand! lol)
6) wipe off seats before you sit
7) wipe off the table before you eat
8) clean off clothes when you want em to look nice and you aren't going straight home and you don't have a change bc somehow one didn't make it in the diaper bag. (this doesn't work on diaper blow outs though, in those cases they either have to go clothesless or a wal-mart trip proves a necessity!)
9) wipe of cuppies
10) clean toys (specially ones that have just been bought at a garage sale or goodwill and can't wait to be played with)
11) clean the car (inside, not the outside! specially cupholders that a McDonald's cup has leaked in!)
12) wash window (not perfect but will do in a pinch)
13) wipe noses!
14) sponge baths when a real one isn't an option
15) get yuckies out of hair!
16) clean shoes
17) wipe off buggies
18) clean pay phones or borrowed cells
19) wipe off the spoon or fork that belongs in the diaper bag, we usually try to carry ones for the littles that aren't quite ready for the adult size ones but insist on having their own bc they want to feed themselves.
20) clean a tongue (ok, I know this sounds cruel at first glance but please let me explain, this method has been used when they have eaten something they think is NASTY or have put something in their mouth they shouldn't have and I didn't have anything to eat or drink for them to get the taste out of their mouth and they were crying and all upset, sticking their tongue out and looking at me like mama, aren't you going to do something!? so I said here let me see your tongue and wiped the nasty taste off with the wipee, hey it worked, they were happy after that!) (another slight disclaimer: this is NOT an everyday occurance! it has only happened a few times!) :D
21) clean books (the board ones)
22) clean nasty, sticky, little-fingered DVDs to get them to work again!
23) wipe off my iTouch or the iPad after sticky fingers have touched them! They have screen protectors on them so the little bit of wet won't hurt em.
24) they also make a most excellent toy (so thinks my very littles!) pull out and throw, pull out and throw, pull out and throw, over and over again, nevermind that we spent good money on those! :)
25) last but least, they also make a good decoy for the little that wants to help clean but can't be trusted with the clorox wipes yet. They don't realize the difference! :)

Hospitality

H elping others find the love they seek
O organizing a space for comfort and healing
S nacks - food is a way to the heart
P ersonally making others feel welcome and cared about
I nviting others to be a part of something special
T aking your mind off of yourself
A nswering others questions and needs
L iving an example of giving and service
I is not in SOMEONE ELSE
T ruly being loving and caring, polite and kind
Y ielding to leading and authority of God our Father

I didn't write this but I had it in my journal and thought it needed shared, I'm not sure where I originally got it from. Sounds a whole lot like how we are as mothers and what we strive to accomplish for our babies, doesn't it? We all fulfill it in different ways, wouldn't this world be boring if we were all the same, all of our babies have different needs that only we can meet, not the mother down the street but us! God knows when he places your children in your home, He knows those things that are not "like everyone else" and that is why you got the little ones you did. I'm not saying that there aren't basic needs that every child has, every child needs fed and clothed and housed and loved but the other things that we tend to compare and beat ourselves up over, we need to let those things go and just love and cherish our babies. We don't have to wear the best clothes or always be manicured with the latest haircut (not saying there is anything wrong with it, we don't need to feel guilty if we ARE manicured and styled either!) or bake everything under the sun or always have a homecooked meal, or the perfect curriculum and schedule. Let's help encourage on another, let's lift each other up. Let us learn to cherish our own strengths and better our weaknesses with God's help and His leading and enjoy our families. And practice HOSPITALITY! :)

Christmas Service

We had our Christmas service yesterday! We are so blessed and felt so joyful to have some friends visit, I was so excited when they called to say they were coming, I had thought my babies only audience for their program was going to be their daddy. :) I think having someone here was God's gift to me! I was having a hard time bc I just love to celebrate with people! We worked on a program and cleaned our house and made sure everything looked festive. The Christmas dishes were ready and the cloth on the table, the tree up and presents underneath, everyone was bathed and in Christmas attire, breakfast was ate, scentsy was on and coffee was brewed, also the visitors had arrived, we were ready for service (a tad late but ready none the less!)! :) We began with the children's program, Cayden told us about the colors of Christmas even though he froze for a minute or so after the first color! Then Joy to the World, a reading of the legend of the Christmas tree (that really is a neat story!) and We Three Kings. We Dressed up Chris, Cayden and Keegan using safety-pinned blankets and homemade construction paper crowns and had them walk in carrying wrapped gifts from under our tree while we sang. Then Chris read a story and we sang Silent Night (I found an awesome video of it on YouTube performed by Sixpence None the Richer). Kirsten read Luke 2:1-20 and we sang Away in a Manger. That concluded the children's part and Honey preached his message. He showed a YouTube video about if Mary and Joseph had facebook. Really made you think. Then we had lunch and fellowship and just enjoyed some laughter and fellowship with God's people. I so enjoy our relaxed atmosphere and seeing my babies enjoy worshipping with us. I really feel closer to God. May you be blessed this Christmas. I just love Christmas! Thank you Jesus for being willing to come to earth so humbly and small to fulfill Your Father's will!

25 years from now

Kirsten will be 36, Chris, 34, Cayden, 30, Keegan, almost 28 and Kayson, 26. I really just can't imagine having adult children! That just seems so incredibly far away. I had a paper of journal starters and this title was one of them but really how much can you say about that far in the future? I mean I know I could make a bunch of predictions or say a bunch of grand things and we all have dreams but we really don't have any idea what the future holds and we need to live in the now. I do pray that each one of our babies are happily married and serving God and following His will. I know Kirsten dreams of being an artist. I wonder if everyone will be driving electric cars by this time? if gas would ever become obsolete? Think facebook will still be around? I wonder if I will have a clean house? lol maybe I will actually be able to keep up with the laundry? I would love to be able to crochet better and someday we dream of building a house. I think it would be fun to own a Christmas tree farm. Maybe I will feel like I can think straight, sometimes I feel like my mind is going crazy, like I can't remember anything. I wonder if that's a normal mommy feeling? I hope it gets better. I just feel so tired all the time too, I hope that gets better as the babies get older. Well, I think I am out of things to say. maybe my next post will be better?

5 years from now........

Let's see in 5 yrs Kirsten will be 16, she will be learning to drive, now that's scary! I just can't imagine having a teenager, it scares me a little bit. Chris will be 14, now that's even scarier....2 teenagers!!! The longer I homeschool, the more I can't imagine sending them to school in high school, I don't think I will be ready to let them go! I love having them home with me. I love being their mommy! Cayden will be 10, hopefully he will be an excellent reader, that's what he is learning now, I think we are doing ok with it! Keegan will be about to turn 8 and Kayson will be 6. Wonder if anyone else will make an appearance by that time? God knows :) I do wonder where Hallsville Family Fellowship will be by then, if we will have other families joining us, where God is going to take this journey, I hesitate to even make any wants or predictions on that point, I want God to lead and guide, I want this to be His work, not ours. I just want to live in His will because I have that to be the best place, when we are out of His will things are just crazy mixed up. I am also learning that when we delay to do His will, there are consequences. My prayer for the next five years and beyond is that our family will continue to grow in our knowledge of our Heavenly Father, that we would continually draw closer to Him and always seek to learn from His word.

Sermon Part 2: Youth ministry

There are three problems with youth ministry: 1) there is no clear mandate in the Bible that we should have youth ministry 2) It takes the God-given responsibility from the parents and then also from the church as a whole 3) youth ministry has not accomplished what it started out to and now needs to be "reformed". Many churches have switched from having a youth group (ages 12-18) to what they now call "Students Ministries" and has expanded to include the college age "kids" too. Seems young adults no longer want to grow up and join "big" church bc there are no games and the songs are boring and the elders "just don't get it!" So a church within a church has been created, a sub-culture that does not include parents. They are being taught, whether out-right ot inadvertently, that "big" church is not relevent, the pastor doesn't understand you, only the youth minister fully understands, there is simply no place for you with the "big" church or place for your parents or church elders in your service. That the old ways no longer work, everything has to be new. No hymns, I think hymns are very relevent to us and it saddens me that so many churches simply refuse to ever sing a hymn anymore. See Colossians 4:2-6, Ephesians 2:10 and 4:11-14. I find it interesting regarding that last reference that some use these verses to back up "student ministries" but they cut it off before verse 14, that clearly states there comes a time to put childishness behind you. Hmmm..... We cannot find ant scripture supporting age seperation in church, instead we see many verses that would support integration instead. For example the Titus 2 mandate for the old women to teach the young women, you cannot have that happen if the older women are never around the younger women. You cannot OUTimpact a parent! Someone named Christian Smith did a survey on the theology of our youth to see what they believe: 1) a god exists - created and orders the world and watches over life (note though that this does not define God as the one and only, the Alpha/Omega, only acknowledges that a god does seem to exist) 2) God wants people to be good, nice and fair as taught in the Bible and most world religions (but there is none good - no not one, none righteous except God! This basically states that today's youth believe all religions are basically equal, that we all serve the same god, but this is simply not true! There is only one true God, the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The Great I Am!) 3) central goal of life is be happy and feel good about oneself (what about all the verses about serving others and not seeking self?) 4) God does not particularly need to be involved in one's life except as needed to resolve a problem (so we just ignore Him all other times?) 5) good people go to Heaven when they die (but the Jesus clearly states in the Bible, "no one comes to the Father but by me") This is the product or our youth ministries. I want to leave you with a few more thoughts. If you win a father's heart, you will gain his family! but churches try to do this backwards, they want to gain the children to get through to the parents, when it should be the other way around. Let the fathers lead their families, teach the fathers and encourage them! Trust that the Word, God's Word, is sufficient!

Why? Why a family-integrated church? Part 1

Here are some of my notes and thoughts on my Honey's Sunday sermon, please keep in mind, these are MY notes and MY thoughts on what he taught. :) There are two reasons for a family-integrated church: 1) The Bible shows us a family-integrated example, 2) we want our babies to know what the Bible says about how a family should operate. In this day and age of professionalism, it seems like the trend is to trust everyone but yourself. You need to read better, hire a tutor; you need to build a house, hire a contractor; you need to be healthier, do everything the doctor tells you; you need to your children to learn the Bible, hire a sunday school teacher! Society has this mindset of leave it all to the professionals, forget using your brain or searching out answers for yourself, leave it all to the professionals and that attitude is seeping into our churches. They are the professionals in theology, they have ministry degrees and parents are left with the belief that these are the ones who should be teaching their children. That we need to leave our children to the experts, it's for the best, parents no longer believe that they are equipped to teach and nurture their own children. I hear it over and over in reference to homeschooling; "I could never do what you do", "I just don't have the patience", "I'm not that smart". It saddens me when moms tell me these things bc I just want to say but YOU are what's best for YOUR children, God chose you for them! He knew your weaknesses and wants to strengthen you for this task. I am not always patient! There are plenty of days that just fall apart! Don't think I don't question our decisions, sometimes weekly! However, I trudge on, I pray, I cry, I laugh and then I look at my babies and there are moments when it all works and in those moments I have the peace that we are right where we are supposed to be and that God is with us on our journey and has not left us alone, that He and He alone eguips me with all the things I need and all the things my babies need. The church (in general) is trying to conform to an unbiblical society. Instead of shaping society, the church is letting society shape it! We are supposed to be seperate from the world, we are supposed to be light in the darkness, to shine out! The professionals will do it for it, so you can sit back and just relax, leave everything to those who know what they are doing. The church will teach a politically correct view of Christ, the schools will teach government propaganda, and the cops will be our protection, no need to study your Bible, worry about what your children will learn or to bear your own arms! Children NEED correction and this is the parent's God-given responsibility. Psalm 78:1-8, Glenn stopped at verse 5 and asks, "What is this saying?" and Kirsten answered, "that you are to teach YOUR own children" and she added an emphasis on the your! Deuteronomy 6:6-7 We are to teach our children at all times, in all things. Then my mind wondered from the sermon a bit and I wrote this in my notes, feels so peaceful this way - Kayson is sleeping in my lap, laundry is going, lasagna in the oven, kiddos coloring while listening, Mama and Daddy are here too. Then I tuned back into the preaching. :) Is this only an Old Testament concept? Ephesians 6:1-5 fathers, bring them up in the NURTURE (not nature!) and ADMONITION (instruction) of the LORD! Salvation is NOT genetic! Our children need to hear the gospel. They need to know Christ! in their own everyday lives! They need to see Him in their parent's everday lives too. There are two differences in the traditional church and the family-integrated church. 1) There is no segregated sunday school. One person, among others that has influenced age segregration is Plato. In 380 B.C. he wrote that children should be seperated from their parents, he even went so far as to say that children should not even KNOW their own parents! That children should be raised by the state and they would be better for it! This goes directly against Biblical principles and mandates that fathers are to teach their own children in the ways of the Lord! I know children will not understand every thing they hear in every sermon every week but that's not really the point, The babies benefit from learning how to sit in service but also from seeing the example of their parents sitting in church, by seeing their parents engaged in the sermon and soaking up Biblical learning, they may learn more from witnessing their parents' reactions to church than any sermon could ever teach them. :) 2) There is no youth ministry. To be continued, Honey says, "come next week to hear why I changed my belief on youth ministry (what I believed I was called to)" I am looking forward to hearing what he has for us next week, he has already been working on it! :)

Fresh

Saturday we took a trip to Tyler, to the new grocery store by Brookshire's called Fresh. I was so excited, I had heard so many wonderful things about it. We wanted to have lunch there bc they have an area with ready made food and places to sit, inside or out. As we are pulling into the parking lot, I am seeing this beautiful building and Kirsten notices a John Deere tractor outside one of the doors. That's the door we decide to walk into so I can get a pic of the babies standing beside that beautiful piece of machinery. :) If you ever decide to visit Fresh, you might want to take a jacket, the first thing I noticed upon entering was how cold it was! And then the local produce sign. We walk past the produce and the meat (sampled a smoked turkey and discovered they are $40!), past a fix your own salad area with all kinds of fresh chopped veggies or salsa to buy and then we get to the ready-made food area, they had chicken parmesean, twice baked potatos, spaghetti, quesadillas, all kinds of food! They said we could taste anything we wanted and as many things as we wanted! One thing I found interesting is they keep it all cold and don't heat it unless you are going to eat it there. Then we see a sandwich making station and a dessert station and there was an outside grill. The babies and I decided on Turkey sandwiches, mmmm, were they good! They really loaded on the turkey! I got mine on some kind of rosemary bread with bacon and toasted. It was so good! We decided to eat outside, it was so windy, the babies had to keep chasing the napkins! Then began our shopping! My that store is huge!! They had samples everywhere and employees everywhere! In produce we were told that they would cut anything we asked them to for tasting, they carry knives in their pockets for slicing! We decided to taste the cheapest apples and oh, they were so good! We bought some! bought some HUGE grapes after tasting them! Found some bins that were full of organic sugar, spelt flour, pumpkin seeds, animal crackers, sesame sticks, wasabi peas, granola, just all sorts of things with an employee present to help or to give you samples of any of it! There was a bakery with $30 cakes! and all kinds of breads, you could taste any or all and if you bought a loaf, they would slice it for you. You should have seen us there! We had Kayson in the stroller with an older child pushing it, a big racecar buggie with Keegan and Cayden *driving* and a small "costumer in training" buggie with an older child pushing it! lol, I am sure we were a sight to behold! I told the babies we were a parade! We sure got plenty of stares that day! lol only one stare seemed malicious, everyone else was smiling or curious. All the employees seemed very patient with all my kiddos, talking to them, making them feel special, making sure they got samples too if they wanted them. Once when Glenn took Cayden to the restroom, I was kinda looking lost I guess (I was wondering which aisle the canned pumpkin was on) bc a worker asked what I was looking for, took me straight to it and even asked how much I wanted, took it off the shelf and put it in the buggy for me! took us at least 4 hrs to eat and shop and just enjoy the experience! Every grocery store should be so enjoyable! We came home exhausted, with a van full of groceries and heads full of memories! :) I am already wondering when I can go back and if I can skim grocery $ out of every check to save for another trip out there in a few months.

some questions

I started out this morning by asking the babies some questions about God and how they see the world, kinda testing to see if we are teaching them all that we should be. I wanted to find out their views of God, man, truth, knowledge and ethics. So I started with Chris by asking him what do you believe about God? "He gave us Jesus, made Heaven and angels, there is only one" He was a little stumped at first, like, unsure of what he thought I wanted to hear bc he wanted to answer correctly but I was just like just tell me what you think, the first things that come to mind. I didn't want to put answers in his mind, I wanted to know what he was thinking. All that to say that my babies answers are there own. :) what do you believe about man? "God made him out of dirt" what do you believe about truth? "the Bible is truth and always will be, no matter what people say" how do we know what we know? "the Bible says so" how do we know what is right or wrong? "bc our heart tells us" to which I was thinking uh oh do I need to clarify how we decide morals so I started my question so if my heart says, and before I could say anything else I hear, "no, God tells us, He talks to our soul and our heart and the Bible tells us too" I didn't need to continue my question about if your heart says one thing and mine says another does that mean it is wrong for me and right for you, he answered it on his own. Then it was Kirsten's turn, I did them one at a time so they didn't influence each other's answers. God - "He's all powerful, only one God" man - "God created them from dust and His own breath, I believe the Bible" truth - "in the Bible" knowledge - "God told someone to write the Bible" ethics - "we know it in our minds, the Holy Spirit tells us" I am so glad to hear to talk about the Holy Spirit and watch her relationship with Him grow! on to Cayden, God - "we pray to God, only pray to God" he talked about how we say our night night prayers, he really likes night night prayers. man - "God made us" truth - "we should always tell the truth" knowledge - "our schoolwork" I thought since I get Bible-based curriculum and he is only 5 that was a good answer. :) ethics - "God" Now Keegan, who entered the room about this time announcing that "Jesus died like a dinosaur", God - I thought about not asking this question bc he already compared Jesus to a dinosaur! lol he still had an answer though, "go to church" he really loves to go to church :) man - I had to tell him that God made people, God made you and me (he is only 2, well almost three!) to which he says, "God made Chris-y too!" truth - I just told him to always tell the truth knowledge - I asked him who's your teacher and he pointed to Kirsten and I was like no so then he points to me ethics - I asked how do you know if something is wrong? he pointed to me, so then I asked, what does mommy do if you get in trouble? he said, "spank" yep, I think he understands that concept well! :) And then there was Kayson, lol, he's just one but bc Kirsten said I needed to question him too, I did and he actually *answered* every question! I have no idea what he said but he sure was telling me all about each one, even pausing his jabbers so I could ask him the next one! I love my little family and feel so privileged to have the chance to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord our God! Our wonderful Saviour! How blessed we are to be able to homeschool and make sure they get these most important foundations early on!

100 things I believe in

1) God, the Almighty, my heavenly Father, omnipotent, omnipresent and all knowing
2) The Bible - the infalible word of God (see above)
3) Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior who died on the cross for my sins to save me from eternal damnation! yep, I said it.
4) Holy Spirit, comforter, guide and imparter of truth
5) tongues, a personal prayer language, powerful
6) family-integration in church, I am really loving this new journey we are on! :)
7) homeschooling - we love it
8) large families - define it how you will :)
9) modesty, I mean, seriously, girls, cover it up!!!
10) discipline - let your children know who's in charge and stand firm, make them take responsibility for their actions and teach them obedience!
11) Easter
12) Christmas (my favorite holiday!)
13) Bibllical submission - wives to their husbands, husbands to the Father, nope this is one female that is NOT a feminist!
14) murder is wrong! Yes, that includes abortion! We do not get to decide who lives and who dies, who has the privilege of being born and who doesn't, that is God's decision!
15) pumpkins! :) I love them, all bright and orange, I just love decorating with them.
16) church membership
17) paying tithes, the whole 10%, sometimes it may seem impossible but if you will take it off the top, no matter what, God will bless and provision will come from unexpected places, Godplaces! :)
18) family, family, family!
19) government - order in all things
20) that the government needs to get their noses out of our business!!
21) marraige is defined as one man and one woman joined together for life
22) divorce is a dirty word!
23) friends, we were meant to share this journey together
24) facebook isn't to the blame, the people who use it wrong are to blame
25) generosity
26) SNOW! too bad it doesn't much here in Tx!
27) baths not showers, cleanliness by immersion! not by small little drops coming out of the wall! :)
28) speaking of immersion, let's add baptism to this list
29) and speaking of baptism, let's add standing up for what you believe in to this list!
30) CHOCOLATE! :)
31) that this list is harder to make than it at first seems like it will be, seriously, 100 things?!? :)
32) smiles - give them freely
33) exclamation marks bc seriously, shouldn't we be excited about life!?!
34) question marks bc how else will you find out necessary information?
35) a good story
36) some good country music!
37) if I change the word things in the title to people than I can list each person I believe and this will go a tad faster :)
38) Honey, my Honey, Glenn David Derr III, my DH, just learned that stood for dear husband! :)
39) Kirsten, my oldest, my only daughter, she is so beautiful and such a great help, I am so blessed to have her!
40) Chris, my clown, the one who believes in a good laugh but will protect me from all those evil bugs!
41) Cayden, my middle one, oh, my, you never know what's he's thinking, what will pop outta of his mouth next!
42) Keegan, my two yr old, such a strange child, I was told today that he is an entertaining child, I'm still trying to figure out if that was a compliment or not as he was running circles around her children who were minding their own business, riding their toys when she said it!
43) Kayson, such a sweet, happy baby boy!
44) music!
45) you need to be careful what you're allowing into you're children's minds
46) entertainment is NOT just entertainment!
47) Horror movies are NOT ok! they are not fun, they are evil.
48) halloween should be taboo in your home
49) park days
50) mommy dates
51) courtship - teens have no business dating!
52) abstinence till marrraige - maybe you should consider not kissing till your wedding ceremony
53) Biblical judgement, if the Bible says it is wrong, then, it is wrong!
54) on the other hand, there are times when people just need to mind their own business!
55) LOVE!!!!!
56) Hymns! I love them, well most of them, if they are sung right, wow, some powerful pretty words in the old hymns
57) poetry
58) It's a slow fade, look up the song on iTunes
59) the virgin birth
60) Don't mess with my family, especially my children!
61) Heaven
62) hell
63) Dancing, tastefully, even an infant will move to the music!
64) laughter
65) TRUTH!!! liars will find their place in the lake of fire! God hates lies! the truth fitly spoken in love will set free!!!!!!!!
66) go to the source
67) adult time!
68) PRAYER!!!!
69) annointing with oil!
70) obedience
71) eating meat
72) reading well, everyone should
73) not every person is good, there are those that mean things for evil and while I think in most cases we should believe the best of people, there are times that we need to be aware of wolves in sheeps clothing
74) black friday shopping, it's fun! but children don't belong in the stores that day!
75) good strong names, go ahead ask me what my babies' names mean :)
76) kisses
77) hugs
78) affection in general
79) No electronics day, we have one once a week
80) sometimes good people need assistance, even government, and that doesn't make them bad people
81) sometimes you just need quiet
82) flowers, I love flowers, mini roses
83) living in the country
84) the CROSS!! PTL! thank you Jesus!
85) butterflies, they are so beautiful!
86) SLEEP!
87) naps
88) fun!
89) boys and girls are different! they are made different in the womb! its nature, not nuture, a boy is a boy is a boy and vice versa!
90) courage
91) nail polish! :)
92) broccoli
93) chips and dip and comfort food!
94) it's not the holidays without lumpias!
95) some people change
96) the Trinity!
97) breastfeeding, natural = yes, always easy = no!
98) the creation as laid out in the Bible, God did it in six 24 hr periods!
99) a day of rest! God did!
100) finishing well! yea! this one is done! :)

Bad Looks for Large Families! :(

posted this status on FB yesterday upon leaving Wal-Mart: "How do you explain society and why we get bad looks in wal mart for having a large family to an 11 yr old?" Which prompted a discussion among my friends as to why people stare and maybe cause they're curious, I don't mind the curious stares and have even answered the curious questions, usually when people are staring out of curiousity and you catch them staring they will smile or look slightly embarassed or say sorry or something of that nature and you know they aren't having mean thoughts and then I smile back or say that's ok, or have the babies say hi but they were very few smiles for my babies yesterday, maybe cause it was monday, remind me never to visit Wal-Mart on a monday again! lol The question of are we a large family also came up in some of my friends comments, we starting getting all the are you done yet, oh you have such a sweet family, why would you need more, don't you know what causes that, just how many more are you going to have etc when I was pregnant with #3!!! yep the norm in the US isn't even 2 babies per family!! So by society's standards we are a large family, even though quite often I still think of us as a little family! How's that for irony. So I decided to tell my whole Wal-Mart story in this comment that I posted: "yesterday was a no electronics day, so everything I was doing was on my phone and I didn't feel like typing a long comment from my phone. :) so here goes, my kiddos were being (by my standards) distracting at times and the afternoon had already been a rough one (eye appt before that and the glasses place giving me the run around and explaining everything to me 2 or 3 times, I mean do I look stupid?) but I needed groceries, so we found ourselves in the middle of the frozen food aisle, we had already been through most of the grocery section as we had started at the milk and on almost every aisle there was someone (never the same someone) with a not very nice, shall we say scowl, for us and some of those times my kiddos were actually behaving! and mind you, while my boys were frustrating me, I have seen far worse behavior by others children, like I said, I have pretty high standards and expectations for my children's behavior, I had also already ran over the foot of the one that kept trying to run around the buggy (he had already been swatted for this after having been sternly spoke to several times). I did get a good laugh on one aisle (might have been what actually got us ALL out of Wal-Mart in ONE piece! lol) I was giving Chris the "eye" for not getting Kayson's stroller out of another lady's way fast enough, she had 2 kiddos of her own with her, and she goes "oh, I understand!" and we both just laughed, it was a good tension breaker! :) so we are in the freezer aisle and Chris and Kirsten were being a tad louder than I wanted and this old lady shoots us a look dripping with disdain and that was the last straw! I looked at my olders and said, "look, everyone is looking at us! they already look bc we are a big family and now they are looking bc you won't behave, and they're NOT smiling! and I'm getting a headache and I just can't handle it today! so just be nice so we can get OUT of here!" The looks on my babies faces when I enlightened them that we are indeed a large family were good! wish I had that on video (not my rant, but their looks! LOL). so anyways, this must have stayed on Kirsten's mind the rest of the store and she must've known better than to ask before we were all checked out bc as we are walking out of the store (thankful that daddy came by on his way home from work to help us load up! He got their right as we started checking out! I was soooooo thankful for a friendly face!) she starts asking about big families and why would people stare and why would anyone else care how many babies we had and how can you control how many babies you have (I skipped that question!) and I said that society thinks you should only have 2 or 3 babies, which prompted the what is society question and I found myself stumped as to how to explain society in 11 yr old understandable terms. that prompted my status, searching for how I can explain what society means and why it seems to dictate so much of what people do and believe. Sorry so long but that was the reason behind my status. :) thanx for reading if you made it all the way to the end. love you, my friends." and so I leave you with this question, "How do you explain society and why we get bad looks in wal mart for having a large family to an 11 yr old?"

Our First Service

This morning was our first service as Hallsville Family Fellowship. I know it's been a few weeks since I have posted and I neglected to tell you that we are starting a Church in our home. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us. We pray that He will guide us through all this. We all worked really hard to make our house presentable. I see God's blessings and hand upon us. We got up this am and the kiddos cleaned their rooms, we had breakfast and did baths (bc cleanliness is next to Godliness :) right?) and lunch was in the crock pots, Honey worked on his sermon some more and we were ready to praise our God. My daddy came to our first service (mama is still with my Meme and Papa, she took them to Santa Fe last week) and he made our bulletins. Since it was just us this first Sunday, Honey decided we would watch a video sermon and he would preach his on a future Sunday. We started with prayer and went right into P&W. Oh, I so enjoy hearing all my babies singing and watching them fell free to express their love for God. Even my two year old was singing "power in blood, power in blood"! So, precious! We enjoy being not so...ummmm...formal. :) We then had an old testament scripture reading, we read Deuteronomy 6 aloud. We are still learning how we want the order of service to go, forgot to take up an offering this am. Then as we settled in to watch the message, the little boys sat at the school table (yep, it's in my living room!) to color in coloring books, daddy sat down to hold a sleeping Kayson, Honey sat down with the DVD remote, pen and paper for note taking and I and the two olders sat on the floor with a big pile of socks for sorting (no sock sorting will not be a weekly practice, LOL, but it seemed like a good way to keep hands busy and minds listening). Occasionally someone would have a question and we would stop the video and discuss. We had Bibles open and Strong's out and us three adults were engaged in a time of scripture searching and you could see the older kids watching us discuss and I know they were listening. We ended in prayer and had lunch, Roast, potatoes, greenbeans and a store bought pumpkin pie tart thing. I so enjoyed our time in the Lord this morning and really look forward having other families join us. Daddy headed home after lunch and we watched Flywheel together as a family and then had "quiet time". Thank you, Jesus for all you have done for us, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and for us to worship you together as a family. Amen!

more church visit, a lake and a birthday!

So much has happened since I last wrote to you. I will start with our visit to the Presbyterian FI church. Did you know that they don't use grape juice for Communion?!? ok I know, go ahead, laugh at me but that was an experience for me! I'll take grape juice from now on, thank you very much! :) Either way, praise Jesus for what he did for us! We owe our lives to Him. Jesus, I love you! I was thankful also not to hear another sermon on Romans, lol, nothing against Romans but that was starting to get a little, ummmm, shall we say thought provoking? now, I don't consider myself superstituos or anything (I believe in a WAY bigger GOD!) but if I heard a 4th sermon in a row on a passage from Romans I was about to go home and disect the chapter and try to figure out what God was trying to tell me! :) fast forward to this weekend, it has been a BUSY one but a funfilled one! Kirsten turned 11 on Saturday, wow, my baby girl is 11 already, that just doesn't seem possible, where, oh, where does the time go?? We took the kiddos to a pumkin patch, ok, I confess, that was for me! Don't get me wrong, they enjoy picking out the pumkins but I'm the one that wants the pics in a sea of orange! :) They get to pick them out but once we are home, I confiscate them all for decoration! :) Kirsten chose Red Lobster for her bday dinner and I surprised her by asking her bff to join us! :) Then Glenn took the girls for a shake and Kirsten got to spend her bday $ on art stuffs at Hobby Lobby while me, the boys and my bff came home to watch the Rangers lose! So glad they won the last two nights though! GO RANGERS! :) Then Sunday we went out to Church at the Lake with my sister's church in Texarkana. That was such a restful day, Roseanne and I with Kirsten, Cayden and Keegan took a walk along the lake. Kirsten collected shells and bird feathers, we saw a lake urchin, sank in the wet sand (once I stepped and sank at least 6 inches! that was a weird feeling), saved a little fish that was out of water, and enjoyed taking our shoes off and walking in the water! :) Then I got baptized in the lake, that was a first for me. I have been baptized before but not in a lake. Kirsten got baptized too. Then we finished the weekend off with a trip to the zoo yesterday. Honey took a vacation day and we just enjoyed a family outing. I love times when we can just relax and enjoy being a family.

thoughts on last week's sermon

Hello all, it has been 2 weeks since I posted, oops. We did visit another family-integrated church last week, one right here in Longview. The message was based on Romans 1, what is it with Romans? we have now heard threee messages in a row at three different churches on Romans! Romans 13, Romans 11 and the end of Romans 1. What struck me about the sermon we heard Sunday was the pastor spoke about the mentioned sins(covetousness for one) and how these things are not to be present in the lives of believers. The closest I've heard to a hellfire and brimstone message in a very long time! Some times I think the church needs more of those! Now I'm not saying we need them every Sunday but i am saying even Christians need to hear that there is a Biblical standard that we are supposed to live by. We have God-given mandates and expectations that we are supposed to uphold and strive to live by (perfecting holiness!) I thought about all this when the pastor said at the end of his message that he wanted to make it known that he didn't see any of these things he preached on as problems in their church and I had the thought that maybe those things aren't issues in the church because he has the courage to take a stand from the pulpit against them! If more Christians knew where their pastors stood on the hard/difficult subjects and knew that they would be held accountable for them, then maybe more Christians would feel the need for change and for living more Godly lifestyles. This leads my mind to thinking about other areas as well, our men, our husbanda, what if they were encouraged to be the spritual leaders of their homes by their pastor and friends and wives. What if they saw respect in the eyes of their wives and children? What if wives were taught the Biblical mandates for submission and in turn taught their children to respect daddy? What if men really loved and cherished their wives as Christ does the church? What if we really grabbed ahold of these concepts and ran with them to truly have GOD as the center and foundation of our families?! What if our children understood that obedince was expected and disrespect would NOT be tolerated? These are just some things to get your brain moving, some of the things I am thinking about. We are heaed this morning to visit another family-integrated church and will try to post an update before next Sunday! Today's church is a presbyterian church. :) I have never been to one before. We are driving all the way to Nacogdoches (an hour and a half) today. Almost there so I will tell you more later! :)

the next FI church

This weekend we found ourselves in FW and decided to visit another FI church in Desoto this morning, Covenant Community Church. We wanted to visit a smaller church than last weekend. This one meets in an office building that houses a bank too. When we pulled up, Kirsten said, "I didn't know a church could be in a bank!" The kids were so excited to have their Aunt Roseanne join us too, as was I! :) We walked in with our zoo and immediately felt welcome. The first thing I noticed was that they had an area baby gated for the mamas and young ones. Then we turned the corner to find a seat and we were greeted with a roomful of couches! Very homey, I loved the atmosphere right away! One of the couples moved off a couch so we had one to sit on. I must aside here: I learned something about one need that a church should always meet, The scriptures says not to forsake the assembling of the saints and I always thought that we went to church for learning first and then for fellowship but today I wonder if I had that backwards. I must confess that I was feeling pretty broken this morning when we arrived and I didn't hear much of the sermon but enjoyed so immensely the fellowship that I left there glad I went and full of the feeling that God was with us and did indeed still care about us, I left there with renewed hope. That is how we should leave church, changed! I love that service included old and new testament readings. I loved how the pastor gathered the children around him to discuss catechism with them and pray with them before the sermon. After the sermon we all ate frito pies and just visited with one another, I think we were spoke to by every person there, I have never visited a church and been able to say that. Our children felt so at home and Kirsten even exchanged email addys with the pastor's daughter! :) Kirsten was begging to go back next Sunday! That would be an awfully long drive though. :) I love love love the idea of having lunch every sunday, I love walking into a place where we do not feel out of place because the size of our family. Cayden got in front of one of the moms when we first arrived and of course our first reaction was "I'm so sorry" and she responds "you don't need to ever apologize for children here", it was so refreshing to hear. I even gained a Facebook friend today! :) I also love that homeschooling in FI churches seems to be the norm. I loved how at this church everyone truly seemed like family, they were all laid back and accepting, really just made us feel so welcome. I do not know what next Sunday will bring but I know that we were blessed to be in His presence today with His children and truly enjoyed this Lord's day.

Our first visit to a family integrated church

Upon arriving at Grace Family Baptist Church (held in a seventh day adventist gym) the first thing we noticed were several vans, many of which were large 15 passengers! YES, we are in a cool place! A place that will accept our large family and even be genuinely excited to see it/us! How, refreshing! We walk into the building and you can already smell lunch. We sign in as visitors, send children to the restroom, receive bulletins, gather hymnbooks and find seats. As we sit waiting for the service to begin, we read through our bulletins and find a few interesting things that I will share here. There is an order to their worship involving hymns, prayers, scripture (which you stand for) and catechism (baptist version! who knew their was such a thing?) readings. Also they have a hymn of the month, a prayer gram and catechisms that they encourage families to use in their homes during the week. a few quotes: "At GFBC, families stay together." "Children are Welcome" "Don't bother looking for the nursery; we don't have one." "Cooing babies don't bother us one bit." my fav = "If your children are practicing their sin nature, you are welcome to remove them from the room and practice discipline in the back." Then starts the service, a few things I noticed while standing in the back with my Kayson during the very timely, well-spoken message were: several strollers in the aisles next to the parents, I saw three *rods* of correction (I am sure there were more but those are the ones I saw), several women with babies in carriers and one young girl (about 8 or 9) with a baby in one, women (covered) breastfeeding right there *gasp* (that was sarcastic by the way, I think this is an excellent thing!) in front of God and everybody not hidden away like it was something to be ashamed of and how willingly the young girls helped with the siblings and the serving of the lunch. It was all so very refreshing. After the service there was a dinner and then a q&a time where the men could ask questions they had about the sermon.

children's church musings

Wow, it sure has been a long time since I have written! A lot has happened (most of which can't be disclosed here in a public setting), maybe someday I will be be able to more openly share about and be able to show someone else in a similar situation encouragement and hope but for now the wounds are still too fresh, however I know the Lord will see my family through this and the things He is teaching us now may change our lives forever! We value your prayers as we seek our Heavenly Father's guidance as He shows us His truths! We are learning about what it means to be a family-integrated church and how God sees children. The modern idea of Children's church has bothered me for sometime bc how are children supposed to know what a church service is if they are never in one? you know when I was a child, I attended sunday school and usually children's church on sunday mornings but on sunday nights, wednesday nights and any revivals in between, I was in service, sitting right next to my parents on the bench or when I was little at their feet! :) When I aged out of children's church there was no youth group with seperate services, I was in "big" church. How funny that we have this idea that there is a "big" church and a "little" church. So we have been introduced to this idea of a family-integrated church where there are no age seperations in their services and families worship together. We have been listening to some sermons by pastors of these types of churches and found one in the Houston area, which brings us to this weekend's adventure! As I type I am sitting here in a Houston hotel room, watching Free Willy 2, waiting for little ones to fall asleep. We are excited to be visiting a family integrated church in the morning! I expect to tell you all about it tomorrow on our way home. There is so much more we have been learning and I am still digesting a lot of it so I hope in the weeks to come to share more with all of you.

to my precious Kayson

Oh my precious beautiful baby boy, you are so amazing and so special to me! you bring so much sunshine into my days. I hope your teethies come in soon and don't hurt you anymore. When are you going to start walking? I think soon because you are standing more everyday. Oh, my, you look so much like your daddy! that red hair of yours and my you can have a temper! I don't think I have ever seen a baby get so mad so young! :) I love you so much, the other day I thought you might have said "eat" and you do say mama and dada and I'm not sure that you haven't called Kirsten mama on occassion. lol you are so smart and I love to see you trying to think things through. and you love your daddy so much! you want him whenever you see him. I fin it so hard to believe in less than two months you will be a year old, wow, this year has flown! I really need to start thinking about your first birthday party, I wonder what you would enjoy? We are very blessed to have you in our family and I thank God for you. I am so excited to watch you grow and to see all that God has planned in your life. We all love you so much! I pray you grow up knowing that our love for you is so strong and that you grow up knowing that God wants you and that you love Jesus ans accept Him as your saviour and your Lord. I pray that you follow God's word wholly and completely.

My Keegan!

My precious Keeegan, how I miss thee! I hope you are getting better under Marmie's care, there is a piece of me missing without you here with us. I didn't get to go to church tonight bc Cayden is sleeping so I thought I would write to you. You have so much passion and I just love your smile. I hope I don't start crying while I type. I love your hair! I know some people want me to cut it, but I love it! especially how it curls when it gets wet. so cute! Sometimes I wish I could see in your brain, what you're thinking! like why do you call Kirsten "Dorothy"? You can say Kirsten and you used to call her Mimi! the only place I can think of that you have heard that name is wiggles but I can't figure out why you would associate your sister with a green dinosaur! ha! I was so scared when we couldn't get your temp to stay down and had to take you to the ER. I am so glad we didn't wait! when I think about what could've happened, it just scares me to pieces! We chose you're name for you bc it means fiery, passionate and you are! I know you love Kayson but he ix very sensitive and just doesn't ike to be yelled at right in his face, I know you are just playing but it scares him! I was just thinking if you were here at camp with us, we would have probably already had you at the nurses station for rolling down the hill on the way to our cabin! You would've needed your monkey on just to walk from the cabin and back! I pray protection over you and that you would learn some caution (without any serious side effects!). It really scared me to hear how you jumped in the pool without a floaty on! I am so glad Chris was there to save you and that he moved quickly! I pray next time you wait for a floaty and for mama or daddy! We first heard your name in the movie No More Baths and loved it. Your middle name is after your Uncle Kelly. Sean, just spelled different than his but y'all both have the same initials. I think that is neat! I love you baby boy! love your mama!

to my precious precious Cayden

aw my little Cayden, what shall mama say about you? wow, I just love to see your brain working and talk to to you. I never know what you are going to say next, I love those little windows into your brain! I am so proud to be your mama I just love you so much! I hope you start to really listen and obey me because you are testing my patience right now! I love though to see you interact with your little brothers, I love how you care for them and love them. so sweet. I wonder what you will be when you grow up? I know you love music and I was really amazed yesterday when you were bouncing the soccer ball off your head. I am so sad that you haven't been feeling well this week, I hope you are well soon. I wonder if you are excited about going to camp, do you even understand what that means? I am sorry you have to wear glasses and a patch but I am so proud of you and how easily you have adapted to them. I know you get tired of them sometimes but my prayer is that they prevent you from needing surgery on your eyes. I remember rocking you to sleep every night and you wanted that warm bottle of milk till you were about 2 and 1/2 but you never took a pacifier, you are the only one that never wanted one. Oh, but you loved your "rainbow" laying under it with all your toys hanging, you would just play and play. You are my little Linus, always carrying your daddy's baby blanket everywhere. :) I wish I could fix it for you or find you another one similar. That and your piggy that is exactly like Kirsten's. :) I am still amazed that we found it at goodwill and that Meme and Papa just happened to be with us that day so they could buy it for you since they bought Kirsten hers. I have no idea how y'all tell them apart!I love to cuddle with you and hold you and kiss you. You are so smart. I loved how concerned you were when Sis. Tichia took Kayson outside the church and you made sure we knew! :) always take care of your little brothers. Never forget how special you are. I believe that God has wonderful plans for life! Everyone says how sweet ad kind and smart you are and that just makes me so very proud and I really feel extremely blessed to play a part in making you the best Cayden you can be. I know sometimes you want to do things your way and sometimes that is ok but sometimes I really need you to listen and obey and you need to do it my way. sometimes I just need you dot do what I say when I say it and save your questions for later! but I know you are only almost 5 and one day you will get their. wow, I can't believe you are starting kindergarten in a month! you can already right and spell your name and you will be learning to read and do simple math and you are just getting so big! I love you my baby boy! love. Mama

to my dear Chris

hey, my baby boy, I love you soooooo much, and you sure know how to make us all laugh! you have ever since you were little, always wanting to see people smile and laugh, maybe you should be on America's Got Talent! haha :) You are so amazing at math too, just like you're mama! I remember once when you almost fell off the stage at the State Convention and I had to watch from seat bc the place where we were you couldn't get down to the stage without going out the door and going in another one so I had to just pray that the the ladies would see you, oh, I was so glad when you didn't fall! :) you were only 3. I think you are so special and I am proud of you for standing up for your beliefs. Are you helping your daddy fix grandma and Papa David's sink? I know Papa Mike loves to have you hanging around and helping him do things on the property. I hope you understand how much we all love you. Mama is always so sad when she has to discipline you but I have to bc I want you to grow up to be the best Chris you can be, I want you to be loving and caring, to know how to study and learn well, to be able to clean well and take care of babies, to help others in times of need, I want you to have compassion and above all else I want you to know Jesus, I want you to search the scriptures and understand them, I want you to be a Spirit-filled God-fearing man that walks in all the ways God has planned for your life. I know things get crazy here and maybe we don't seem to pay much attention to you sometimes but we love you and I am so blessed to get to be your mama. if you ever need to talk to me I am here or your daddy. remember when you taught yourself to swim, you are so smart. I love when I see you taking care of your brothers and being so caring with them, like the other day when you thought someone from church was leaving with your baby brother, Kayson and you were so worried, I was glad to see how concerned you were and how much you cared. When you rescued Keegan from the pool, he just has no fear, jumping in like that! I am so glad you had already got in and rushed to him like you did. It was a brave thing to do! Speaking of brave, I am so thankful that you are my spider killer! you are my hero. :) I get so scared when I see a spider and and then you come in and rescue me and kill it and I don't have to be scared any more. :) Thank you so much! The more you help with Kayson, the more he wants you. It is so sweet when you carry him and rock him. Love, your Mama!

Dear Kirsten,

To my precious baby girl, I want to tell you how much you mean to our family, just how precious you are, you are so smart and beautiful and such a huge help to me. Wow, you are growing up so fast, into such a pretty young lady. I pray you will always feel free to come talk to me about anything. Your attitude the last few days has not been pleasant and that just breaks my heart everytime you act that way. Cayden's teacher at VBS told me that you have been so great at making sure everyone is with you and together when I come to pick y'all up. I think Keegan is missing y'all this week! He is about to drive me CRAZY this am, even Kayson is fussy! I type this and then Keegan picks up a Bible and starts singing "Hallelujah"! :D just has to share! You are such a talented artist! I love your paintings and how creative you are and your attention to detail! I hope we can find a way for you to go to that music camp at IBC, we will see! I wish I was a better mother to you. I know we need to do our nails, maybe sometime soon we can get some crackle nail polish! :) Maybe this next year we can spend more time in the kitchen together, cooking and talking and making delicious memories! would you like that? Do you know how much I love you? I remember when I used to braid your hair, little braids everywhere with beads. I remember when you came home from kindergarten with a chunk of your hair missing. Oh I love you so much! Love, Your Mama!

Letters

I have decided to dedicate my next few posts to my babies. I want to write each of them a letter and share some things with them. I really want each of them to know just how precious and special they each are, that they each add a unique dimension to our family. It doesn't matter how many I have, there is a piece of me missing each time they are not all with me. It seems so quiet when even one isn't home. Each child is so unique and different, each has their own ways of bringing joy to our family. My prayer for my babies is that they would grow to love God and give Him their all, that their lives would glorify Him. I pray for wisdom in what they need and how to raise them, I pray for the strength to discipline when needed and for Him to tell me when mercy is more important. I pray that I know when they are lying, or disobeying, that they would not get away with things that need attention so that we can take care of the issues at hand while hopefully they are tiny ones before they are damaging, hurtful and dangerous. Oh, I love each one so much, I tell them all the time, I want you to be the best person you can be. I have always said that one of my parenting goals was that others could enjoy my babies, I never want people to think oh no here come those Derr kids, I want people to know that my babies are taught to be polite. I've told my boys before, you may be boys but you will be MY polite boys! :) So for the next few posts enjoy my thoughts too and about each one of my precious, priceless blessings!

Night Night Prayers

I never really thought much about how to teach a child to pray or needing to tell them more than oh, just talk to God, that's all prayer is and I never thought much about night night prayers being anything more than the now I lay me.....Lord bless so and so and so and so till one day when #s 1+2 were little and I realized they really didn't understand how to pray or what prayer really was and I wasn't sure they really got the point of prayer. Then I thought you know how can they see that prayer works, that prayer changes things, that God really does hear their prayers if their prayers have no substance, if they are always the same empty words?? What about the scripture Matthew 6:7 "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they thing that they shall be heard for their much speaking." All this really bothered me so I started praying about it and God spoke a plan to me and I brought it all before Glenn and he liked the idea and so our night night prayers forever changed! We now gather as a family and start with Glenn as he is the head of the house (except the occassional night that he decides to let the youngest go first and we pray backwards) and he prays out loud whatever he feels led to pray about, whatever he needs to speak to God about (pg of course! afterall there are little ones present!), never the same rote words, always from his heart. then we follow by age oldest to youngest in the same fashion, speaking all of us one by one from our hearts. It really has been a wonderful thing and amazing thing to watch, such a blessing to see their prayer lives developing, their faith being built up. I know it sounds so simple but it really is one of the most amazing times we have as a family. When we first started Kirsten and Chris didn't know what to say, I know they mainly just listened but over time I could see them gain confidence and really start to open up to our heavenly Father, and we have got to see their prayers answered. I will never forget Kirsten's ending prayers after my miscarraige when I got pregnant again with Keegan, "and please don't let this baby die in mommy's tummy" through the WHOLE pregnancy! and God did protect and Keegan is here with us! and the almost nightly prayer, "and help us have good dreams, no bad dreams" and I watch it get answered bc it is on the nights that that part is forgot that there are sometimes bad dreams but not (that I remember) on the nights it is prayed. Since this is the only way Cayden remembers night night prayers, we have watched him go from baby coos during everyone's prayers to holding his hands together while we say a simple prayer for him to repeating the simple prayer after us to adding his own words as he repeats the prayer, to saying and adding all on his own to now saying his own prayers from his heart. On nights when for some reason (life happens) we haven't done our family prayers he will come out of his room, "we didn't pray!" and he won't go to bed till we do! and now Keegan has started repeating his prayer and even saying parts of it all on his own. It is sooo sweet to see. and Chris, he still will name everyone by name, thanking God for his family and asking for sicknesses to be healed. It is such a blessing, memories that I will always cherish!

weekends

I have a list of thoughts/topics to blog about and I just write down whatever pops into my head as it comes but then if I write about everything in the order of the list sometimes it is weeks (sometimes several) before I get to sit down and type about it and then sometimes I have forgotten what I originally wanted to say or it just seems so obsolete at the moment bc that is soooooo not how our lives are going at that moment. Well, this is one of those times. See, I wanted to write about how we let some thins slide on the weekends and try to take time to just enjoy each other, especially since Daddy is home on the weekends. Some things that we (in theory) work so hard on throughout the week, I choose to not be worried about on the weekends, however, these last few crazy weeks have found these things creeping into our weekdays too. I think it is the summer syndrome!
Our weekdays:
1) no TV in the am (start school packets (that mama set out the night before) when you wake up!)
2) no mouth (pacifier) except at bedtime and naps
3) patch on 2 hrs daily (Doc said we can skip weekends)
lately, though, we have been very lax on the weekdays and have had to use weekends to get things done that didn't during the week. We will be out of town the next two weekends and won'y have those days to play catch up. O-well, I guess that's just life.

more randomness

just a few things I want to write down/remember: Keegan will say, "mouth back" when you try to take his pacifier away. I have to take it sometimes though or he will talk with it in his mouth. on 3-15-11 I talked to Kirsten about washing her face and the importance of lotion also Kayson sat up for a few seconds but he is just now getting to where he is crawling and trying to sit up more. He has been slower than the others, I think bc he hasn't had as much floor time. Keegan would try to pounce on him! Kirsten got up with Kayson for his early am feeding, she wanted to! She gave him a bottle and played with him and got him back to sleep! :) she is such a huge help to us, she has such a sweet heart and is just an amazing little girl! I know this is very random, but I love the word anon. We went to visit our friends on 3-17-11 and Keegan decided to paint their whole den (tv, chairs, coffee table, fireplace, etc.!) in vicks!! bet they breathed good that night! Cayden can write his Kks very well. He is good at his school, when he tries! :) On 3-28-11 Chris's school work talked about a haiku and what it was and told him to write one, so here it is:
Flowers spring
Birds sing
Spring has sprung
by Chris Derr
age 8
Kirsten's work asked her what do you think God has planned for you to do with your life? she answered: I think God wants me to be an artist. I love to paint, draw, sketch and crafts. I used to want to be a missionary , or pastor. But my mama told me that only boys can be pastors so I am going to tell the world about God through my paintings.
3-29-11 Cayden took Kayson out of the exersaucer and brought him to me! we were so shocked he could do it!
3-30-11 Keegan decided to share with Kayson, Kayson ate his first goldfish cracker!!
3-31-11 Keegan said "Bible" :)
I didn't write down as many notes to type up for april or may but here's two and then I think Kayson wants mama's milk! :)
4-27-11 Kayson got his first tooth! and on bottom too! :)
5-13-11 I took Kayson out of his exersaucer to nurse him and Keegan had been playing with him (nicely this once and making him laugh) but had walked away, well he must not have seen me take Kayson out bc he walks back over to the exersaucer expecting to play with him some more and he says, "Oh, no!" when he finds him missing and gets a pouty face. He just loves his brother sooooo much! and I love that! It was like he didn't know where he went and was worried, then he saw Kayson in my hands. lol
Well Kayson is really crying now so I am going to go take care of him.

The Gift

Here is a true story about a nine year old boy who lived in a rural town in Tennessee.

His house was in a poor area of the community. A church had a bus ministry that came knocking on his door one Saturday afternoon. The kid came to answer the door and greeted the bus pastor. The bus pastor asked if his parents were home, and the small boy told him that his parents take off every weekend and leave him at home to take care of his little brother. The bus pastor couldn't believe what the kid said and asked him to repeat it. The youngster gave the same answer, and the bus pastor asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the living room and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs exposed. The bus pastor asked the kid, "Where do you go to church?" The young boy surprised the visitor by replying, "I've never been to church in my whole life." The bus pastor thought to himself about the fact that his church was less than three miles from the child's house. "Are you sure you have never been to church?" he asked again. "I sure haven't," came his answer. Then the bus pastor said, "Well, son, more important than going to church, have you ever heard the greatest love story ever told?", and then proceeded to share the Gospel with this little nine year old boy. The young lad's heart began to be tenderized, and at the end of the bus pastor's story, the bus pastor asked if the boy wanted to receive this free gift from God. The youngster exclaimed, "You bet!" The kid and the bus pastor got on their knees and the lad invited Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift of salvation. They both stood up and the bus pastor asked if he could pick the kid up for church the next morning. "Sure," the nine year old replied.

The bus pastor got to the house early the next morning and found the lights off. He let himself in, snaked his way through the house, and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up the little boy and his brother and helped get them dressed. They got on the bus and ate a donut for breakfast on their way to church. Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church before. The church was a real big one. The little kid just sat there, clueless of what was going on.

A few minutes into the service, these tall unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up some wooden plates. One of the men prayed and the kid, with utter fascination, watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still didn't know what was going on. All of a sudden, like a bolt of lightning, it hit the kid what was taking place. These people must be giving money to Jesus. He then reflected on the free gift of life he had received just twenty-four hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets, front and back, and couldn't find a thing to give Jesus. By this time the offering plate was being passed down his aisle and, with a broken heart, he just grabbed the plate and held on to it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the aisle. He turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind him. And then his eyes remained glued on the plate as it was passed back and forth, all the way to the rear of the sanctuary.

Then he had an idea. This little nine year old boy, in front of God and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked about eight rows back, grabbed the usher by the coat and asked to hold the plate one more time. Then he did the most astounding thing I have ever heard of. He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church floor and stepped into the center of it. As he stood there, he lifted his little head up and said, "Jesus, I don't have anything to give you today, but just me. I give you me!"
Taken from my Godvine email

Baby-wearing!

I love my babies so much and just can't stand to hear them cry, I just don't believe that babies are supposed to be put down and "learn" how to entertain themselves through endless tears and screams in their first year of life. I'm not talking about the occasional cry for 5-10 min while mama takes a shower, spanks a sibling, etc. and once they are 5-6 months old they should be having some floor time or how will they learn to sit and crawl and such. So, this philosophy has made it hard to get things done around the house and it is hard when the baby is screaming bc you have to fix the others lunch or something that really is a two handed job and some things that can be done onehanded still aren't done very efficiantly with just one. So, I was introduced to a sling and had one with baby #4 but he wasn't real fond of it. Then baby #5 was on his way and I was wondering what to do and saw someone with a carrier that looked like 2 large cloth rubberbands where the baby could be outward facing and I loved it but it was $70 and had to be ordered offline. :( one day shortly after Kayson was born I am walking through Target and I see a Moby, looks like the same as the other one on the package only it is $40! :) so we buy one. get it home and it is just one LLLLOOOONNNNGGGG piece of fabric that has to be tied on! I am thinking oh no I may never use this it looks way to complicated but one day my bff comes over and helps me figure it out and guess what? It really is easy! and he loves it and we love it and we use it all the time! and the more expensive one had sizes and we coiuldn't afford 2 (one for Glenn, one for me and we both couldn't fit in the same size) so I would have been the only one able to use it! With the Moby, since it ties on it is one size fits all, even Kirsten can wear Kayson. I love wearing my baby, I can cook, do dishes, wear him through a store pushing a buggy, plant the garden, let him nap at the zoo and he doesn't have to be in a plastic babysitter screaming! I love it! :) I think everyone should practice baby-wearing! :)

Journal entry from 5-23-05

Wow this was 6 yrs ago! Parenthesis are what I have just added, enjoy! :) this was also a Monday, written at 8:55 pm, was 81 outside.
Honey is working late tonight. (you would think I would be used to theses nights by now but I still HATE them!) I was laying here thinking - do we really know each other? He doesn't know who I am during the day or what I do most of the time. (some things never change). I need another baby so that I have someone to spend all day with once Chris is in school. (3 babies and the decision to homeschool later and I am definitely not lacking for people to spend the day with! lol) I don't think I write enough, I don't put enough memories down on paper. Chris likes to "fly" off of things onto something soft like his bean bag. Kirsten napped on her top bunk for the first time today. I am working on potty-training Chris. He had his bday party sat. Dustin gave him a big tonka dump truck. (we still have this! The boys LOVE it!) we are blessed. I love you Lord Jesus, you are so amazing I am so thankful for my babies and their daddy. Bridgit and MJ are moving into the empty 3 bedroom trailer next to us. (this was when we were renting a TINY 2 bedroom on a trailer lot just outside of Marshall). This should be interesting. We are going to start story time @ Longview again tomorrow. (used to only do Longview in the summer, now we just don't have time for Longview or Marshall, sometimes I feel so guilty bc I think maybe I did more when I just had the 2 and now my little ones are missing out on on vital parts of life). Kirsten is old enough for a library card this yr. That will be neat. Did I mention I am almost done with the laundry? (that seems impossible these days!) that is an awesome feeling. The babies are watching tv now. (this was back when every day started with music on and tv almost never got turned on till after naps, which everyone took! My how life has changed!) they took late naps - they probably won't be ready for bed till close to 11 pm. O-well at least they should be able to see their daddy for at least a few min. Lord help us. Honey left my keys at his mom's house. I have not been anywhere today. (I can imagine I was pretty upset about this! I hate feeling stranded, especially with little ones!) I want to sleep right now. Well I better go now you (Honey) just called and am coming home and the laundry buzzed. Tata for now. :-) (wow we were so young, it is fun to go back and see what we thought and felt and relive the memories, isn't it? Have a great Monday!

Rio: my movie review

So tonight we decided since Glenn's semester is over a celebration was in order! We wanted to take the babies bowling but kidsbowlfree was over at 6 today. So instead we thought dollar theater 50 cent night but nothing worth seeing (with babies) was playing. Well we ended up $50 later at the 3D movie Rio. I was floored that it cost $3.50 on top of movie tickets to see a 3D movie! They ask that you donate your 3D glasses after the movie, for $3.50 we brought ours home! So many previews and my babies want to see them all! However I do NOT think we will be seeing Cars 2 in 3D! I am not spending that kinda $ on that movie! However there is one that I have every intention of saving curriculum $ for as a field trip. DolphinTale looked very inspiring! The babies want to see kungfu panda 2 in 3 D so we told them they would have to save their $ to pay for their tickets and enough to split a parent ticket or two. So I would like to share a few thoughts on the movie we saw tonight: Rio. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was hilarious and I think George Lopez is so funny, not always clean in his show but funny. He is clean in this movie though (hello, it's a kid's movie!). We had the theater to ourselves which was neat as two of my boys wanted to be birds through half of it, complete with arms out and flying noises! lol. It was also a good thing as there was more than one spot that "close your eyes" was necessary! I said I enjoyed the movie and we all had a great time (thhe babies deserved it, they worked so hard today in the house!) but there was more than one seen where the ladies were very scantily dressed. Now I understand that these are cartoon characters but I do NOT want my babies, boys or girls, to think that nakedness is ever ok, alright or in any form acceptable! Also at one point in the movie the barely clad girl is told to shake her tail feathers (this was NOT said to a bird but to a human!). HELLO, KID'S MOVIE!!!!!! Highly inappropriate if you ask me! This would be one of the parts where "CLOSE YOUR EYES" was very firmly enforced! There was another scene that really bothered me as far as this being marketed to children, the man and lady are dressing like blue macaws (except they could have used a few more feathers!) and she walks out (in the equivalent of a very skimpy bikini, complete with a belly button showing and she looks like she hasn't eaten in weeks) and his eyes fill with, well shall we just call it what it is, lust! Fireworks going off behind him, glassy eyes and as an adult you now he only thinking about one thing! Yes, this is all in a CARTOON! A cartoon we are supposed to accept as appropriate family entertainment! I DON'T THINK SO! Rest assured that movie will NOT be owned in this house! I even told Glenn to close his eyes in a few scenes. It just really grieves me that nakedness has become such a way of life. So, if you want a good laugh or two, you will get one but at what cost? And I don't mean $. I would probably watch it again in the presence of all adults but NOT with my babies!

the terrible, horrible, very bad wal-mart trip!

I wanted to share about my nightmare trip to wal-mart a few months ago. I still can't believe the nerve of some people, they say whatever pops into their not-so-pretty little heads and don't care how it affects others. and really, you want to give a mama of 5 one more thing to worry about, really?? I thought about titling this the wal-mart trip from _ _ _ _! but wasn't sure that would sound very "Christian-like"! :) After talking with this woman I posted the desperate cry for prayer on facebook: "Please say a prayer for me! Panic attacks at WalMart are NOT fun! :(" I explained a little later after assurances of prayer were sent my way: "thank y'all so much! sometimes I wish people would just keep their diagnoses to themselves, you have never seen my child, why do you think you can tell if he is losing hair or not, seriously, my 2 yr old needs genentic testing?!?" I was absolutely floored at the audacity this lady had! I was almost in tears right there in wal-mart! We did manage to get done what we went to wal-mart for, letting Kirsten buy a vibrating toothbrush with $ she had earned and letting all the babies spend their earned $. They enjoyed that! Cayden was using a $1 ball as a seat in the buggy and Keegan was playing with dinosaurs he picked out and Kayson was sleeping away in the Moby and Glenn met us there after work. We had already been to park day and I was feeling pretty good till that happened. Here's what I posted after I got home: "Good day but after park day, a trip to WalMart with all 5 (wearing one and now hurting where my incision is) and a lady's comments that started panic attacks, I am EXHAUSTED and want to cry!" when someone asked what she said, I answered: "she was asking about kids toothpaste and then asked Kirsten's age and told her she was small, which prompted a discussion about my small boys and the endocrinologist and growth hormones to which she then told me that Keegan's hair is receding and I need to have him checked for genetic diseases!! I think Kirsten almost started crying bc she thought the lady meant cancer!! I was so tired that I started feeling panicky after that!" She really scared my baby girl and for that I just wanted to punch her! She actually reached out to show me Keegan's hair, I looked at tall the boys and Glenn after we got home and their hair ALL grows the same way and is a little thinner on the sides towards the front! I cringed when she touched him (yes, he has since been annointed and prayed over!) and I don't usually mind others talking to my babies or patting their heads or touching their hands but she really made me nervous! I am so grateful for my fb friends that have encouraged me, so I leave you with a few of their comments: "Hello-moron!!! Most 2 yr olds haven't gotten all their hair in yet. Receding hairline, WHATEVER!!!! Sorry Lord, just needed to vent a little." and then she says,"Hollie I'm so sorry. It's a shame when people think they are so wise and feel compelled to share that with others. What an awful thing to say in front of your kids. We'll just have to pray that the Lord will control her tongue and noone else will have to endure this type of attitude. But I always try to remember, there but for the grace of God could be I." - Sally Stoops Dixon and another family member says, "Take a deep breath and enjoy your lovely children. People can be so insensitive, heartless, judgmental...don't let them rob you of your love and joy in your beautiful family....pray for these persons who can be so quick to speak that their ...heart be filled with kindness, compassion and a helping hand instead. Love and prayers to you and yours. What a lovely day it was today, too! I'm glad got to have a park day. ♥xo♥xo" - Virg Crawford and my best friend says, "Crazzzy!!! Kirsten is normal from what I've seen!!! She is exactly where she should be!! And don't worry about the boyz. They and energetic and amazing! Probably a good thing that I wasn't there....lol.....Seriously remember God forme...d them in your womb...He created their DNA and he doesn't make mistakes. They are exactly the size, energy leve, hair color, and eye color God intended them to be.... He is failthfull and with you through thick and thin....And I am so glad He has blessed you with each of them... Hollar if you need." HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! :)

The love of Jesus

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at their church, the Pastor and his 11-year-old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said "Okay Dad, I'm ready."

His Pastor Dad asked, "Ready for what?

"Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out."

Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain."

The boy gives his Dad a surprised look, asking, "But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?"

Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather."

Despondently the boy asks, "Dad, can I go -- Please?"

His father hesitated for a moment then said, "Son, you can go. Here's the tracts; be careful son."

"Thanks, Dad!" And with that he was off and out into the rain. This 11-year-old boy walked the streets of the town going door-to-door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel tract. After 2-hours of walking in the rain he was soaking bone-chilled wet and down to his very last tract. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell -- but nobody answered. He rang it again and again bit still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally this 11-year-old trooper turned to leave but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again, and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad looking elderly lady.

She softly asked, "What can I do for you, son?"

With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU! I came to give you my very last Gospel tract which will tell you all about Jesus and His great love." With that he handed her his last tract, and turned to leave.

She called to him as he departed, "Thank you, son! And God bless you!"

Well, the following Sunday morning in church, Pastor Dad was in the pulpit and as the service began he asked, "Does anybody have a testimony or want to say anything?"

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face. "None of you in this church know me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband has passed on, some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart as I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live.

"So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. "Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted, I was about to leap off when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.' "I waited and waited -- but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be?! Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me!' "I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder. When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes! "There on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life! His smile! Oh, I could never describe it to you! And the words that came from his mouth caused my heart, that had long been dead, to leap to life as he exclaimed with cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.' "Then he gave me this Gospel tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little angel disappeared back out, into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more.

"You see, I am now a happy child of the KING, and since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel tract I have come here to personally say, 'Thank you to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time, and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in Hell.'"

There were now no dry eyes in the church. As shouts of praise and honor to the KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took him in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment and probably this Universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love and honor for his son, except for one: This Father, God, also allowed His Son, Jesus, to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of Heaven shouted praises and honor to the King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named. There may be someone, reading this, who is also going through a dark, cold and lonely time in your soul. You may be a Christian, for we are not without problems, or you may not yet know the King. Whatever the case, and whatever the problem or situation you find yourself in, and no matter how dark it may seem, I want you to know that I just came to tell you, "JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU!"

From my Godvine email!

New Children's Church Classes

I am so excited about our new children's classes at our church (Marshall COGOP). I really enjoy working with the kiddos and we are growing! We now have two Sunday School classes, one for 3-9 year olds (2s can come if they bring a parent!) which I teach and one for our tweens (10-13 year olds) that my sis teaches. We are starting a VeggieTales unit on the Pirates that don't do Anything movie in my class. Then we go out and join the adults for P&W and right before preaching they are dismissed to nursery and children's church. Nursery is for 8 months - 3 years old and I have 4 teams of 2 volunteers that rotate each week. I am so thankful to my daddy, and Amy and Charlie for fixing the wall and painting and vacuuming and putting it all back together to get it so nice for our first sunday. Also to my mama for getting a changing place for it. Children's Church is for 4 - 9 year olds and taught by 3 teams of 2 volunteers that rotate each week. I also teach a children's class on Wed. nights. I really enjoy my time with all our precious children at church! I must say though, I don't know if they are just tired or what but ALL the children's seem extra wild/talkative on wed nights! yes, even, mine! like last night I had to send Keegan out to his daddy bc he wouldn't stay in one place and the last straw was when Chris caught him with an open marker in his mouth!!!! lol, oh, that boy!

some words of homeschooling wisdom

Saw this on fb and liked what she had to say, I have added my own thoughts in double parenthesis. ((like these))
Not necessarily in order.......

1. Know your State's laws on homeschooling
2. Decide how you children learn best (visual, kinesthetic.....etc..)
3. Decide what type of homeschooler you want to be (unschooler, eclectic, school at home etc..)... I find that this changes yearly at our home. ((each year unschooling sounds more appealing! lol))
4. Find some local homeschool groups for fun and support ((don't know what I would do without ours: CHEC))
5. RELAX and BREATHE :) ((I forget this quite often!))
6. Ignore all the dumb questions on how your children will be socialized. ((as if we actually wanted them "socialized"))
7. Do not rush off and purchase curriculum. There is no such thing as a perfect curriculum and they are expensive and occasionally a waste of good money. We use some......but I have purchased them at local homeschool swaps or traded. If your kiddos have special needs, it will be difficult to find the "perfect" one. I suggest you start off with the library and check out some of the amazing sites that offer it for free. We LOVE unit studies and lapbooks. Gives my son freedom to chose what he wants to learn and the I can add what we need/what I want him to learn. Loads of fun.... ((wish someone had told me this 3 yrs ago!))
8. RELAX and BREATHE LOL!! ((lest we forget! lol))
9. Read......read.......read..........read. LOVE our local library. ((and used book sales!))
10. Remember......school doesn't have to "Look" like other schools or even other homeschools. Personalize it to your families needs. ((I always forget this one! need a constant reminder))
11. Remember there will be good days and bad days. It is okay to have some bad days and just skip school. Watch an educational DVD, take a field trip........so many options. :) ((does PBS kids count as an educational DVD, and is it ok that this year we have had days and days of it?))
12. Have fun and enjoy!!! Learning should be fun! ((AMEN))
many blessings and enjoy the ride!!

Big day (not) at the Derr's house

Wow, what an incredibly busy, busy day and yet as I sit here completely exhausted I find myself mentally refreshed, loved my time with my babies today, even got thank yous for taking them places today! Wonders never cease! We started out the day getting everyone out the door for CHEC (our homeschool group) field day. We actually made it there on time!! The babies had a blast, there was so much planned, frisbies, water balloons, races, snacks, face painting (I ended up with two pirates and two Indians and one that didn't want painted till the painters had cleaned up and left!)......just so much fun. Then Glenn brought us pizza for lunch, the babies always love to see their daddy! One of the mama's at the park had a pack n play so knowing that we were in town for the whole day I had Keegan take a nap. Then she volunteered to watch all my babies so I could run to the bank to get change for tomorrow's Book sale in Tyler! I love, love, love books and used book sales are soooooo exciting! I was so glad I didn't have to take all 5 babies into the bank lobby for change! After we left the park we ran by a house to pick up my secret sis gift and then by a garage sale that benifited some youth going on mission trips this summer. After that it was chick fil a for dinner, I love chick fil a! We even had time for ice cream. And then......and then it was time for the African Children's Choir!! Saw them a few years ago, those children are amazing and the fact that they can worship and praise in their situations, just wow! Patsy and David came too and I was so glad to have help with the babies (Honey was working late!). Oh, I just love to see those children praise! Patsy and David bought the babies t shirts and a DVD. I got Kirsten and me some necklaces made out of paper, I will have to post pics on fb. I also got the boys bandanas which one of the ladies helped the two little ones tie them on their heads like pirates. Appropriate considering the earlier face paintings. On the way home we listened to the cd I got for Glenn. So beautiful. Got home and Kayson decided to be hungry after feeding him I sit here typing with him asleep in my lap, Glenn asleep on the couch and watching CSI. wow some people are so strange! I must add that the other babies are in bed too, they CAN'T watch CSI! Kirsten said she almost fell asleep on the way home. :) think we wore them out? I sure missed having my camera today, I need to get the memory card emptied so I can room for more pics! As I close this, I leave you with a question I keep thinking about, can angels drive cars? :)

To grandmother's house we go....

Over the rivers and through tornados, from grandmother's surgery I come....... Wow what an eventful day! PTL, that Meme's surgery went well! Her little brother made it there just as they were taking her back and the guy waited on him to get inside and say hi before wheeling her away! Thank you to my Honey for staying home with the babies! Had to go buy a handheld breast pump though bc I forgot mine electric one at home and thought I was going to burst! Left the hospital around 245 and met Roseanne at a mcdonalds for coffee and cinnamon roll. Watched clouds roll in that had a tornado warning in them, decided to wait it out. Left about 415 thinking I would miss the storms, got to Terrell and realized they were forming and strengthening all across the area! I was so scared! It felt like tornados were everywhere and I was all alone! Stopped in canton at one point bc of a warning, then left there just ahead of another severe storm, drove through some VERY heavy, heavy rain, got down to 40 mph at one point, had another car following me with their flashers on. Spent most of the trip alternating bt phone calls with daddy, Roseanne, honey and mama! Also spent some of it panicking and in tears! PTL, I finally made it home just before 830p. I am so thankful to my daddy for watching all the babies tonic while honey went to class. Oh yea and after leaving canton and getting out of the heavy rain daddy calls and says you might want to drive the speed limit if you can so beat the storm behind you, so I am trying to make good time and realize I NEED GAS!! Had to stop in liberty city but still managed to stay ahead of it till about 3 min from home but I beat the worst of it home! I was also so touched bc Roseanne's parents spent all evening watching the radar and keeping me updated too. I was so touched by their caring. :). Now all is quiet here, boys in bed, no storms, only the clicking of my letter keys, even the weather radio seems to have decided now would be a good break time! I am so tired, mama and I didn't sleep well last night and stayed up talking some. So I should be going to be, probably will be going to bed uon finishing this. I really hope the storms are through for now and I can get some rest! I am so thankful for our weather radio since we cannot hear the cities sirens. I leave you with a few prayer requests of the day; 1) pray my Meme gets to go home tomorrow and that she keeps feeling great! 2) that the men would be able to figure out our wall problems! It's leaking again. :(

From my Godvine email

What Can God Do With 57 Cents?

A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it "was too crowded." "I can't go to Sunday School, "she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by. Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday School class. The child was so touched that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.

Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings and the parents called for the kind hearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note scribbled in childish handwriting which read, "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday school. For two years she had saved for this offering of love. When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion. He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.

But the story does not end there! A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a Realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands. When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered it for 57 cents. Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00 a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.

When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300 and Temple University, where hundreds of students are trained. Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of Sunday scholars, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time. In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, "acres of Diamonds"---a true story. It goes to show you "What God CAN Do With 57 Cents."