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.