Clothes Vomit!

**Farm Hunting Update:  Well, we have begun the insane paperwork process for the mortgage company!  Stacks upon stacks of paperwork need to be done and of course we have a question about almost every single page.  We are trying to go through all of our belongings and get rid of a lot of stuff.  Tomorrow is garage sale day!!**

Clothes Vomit

Okay, I guess I did not have to use such a gross title, but honestly, that is what we have at our house!!  Clothes everywhere!  I know we have six people in our family and we all need to stay dressed, but REALLY!!  Do my two oldest girls need 26 sweaters?  Ummm.....I think NOT!

Much to some of my children's dismay, we are cleaning up the puke and scrubbing the floors in regards to clothes.  I searched and thought, and thought and searched for a list of clothing that the average child, teen and adult need.  Looking at all I found and thinking about our individual family's needs I came up with the following list:

Clothing List

• 7 pairs of white socks
• 1 pair each of black, brown and navy socks
• 1 pair of play shoes
• 1 pair of tennis shoes
• 1 pair each of dress shoes - black, brown, white and navy
• 1 pair of waterproof slip on shoes (we camp a lot and need these for the showers)
• 1 pair of boots
• 3 pairs of jeans
• 5 pairs of shorts
• 2 casual outfits of choice
• 2 nice outfits for church, meetings, etc.
• 2 pull overs
• 2 sweatshirts
• 7 long sleeve shirts
• 7 short sleeve shirts
• 4 play outfits (2 for warm weather and 2 for cold weather)
• 1 winter coat
• 1 dress coat
• 1 light jacket
• 4 pairs of pj's (2 for warm weather and 2 for cold weather)
• **now we also need undergarments, but my girls would probably take me out and beat me with a wet noodle if I discussed that number with you guys!!! :)**
• Debate Suit (this is for my older girls that compete in debate)
• 2 swimsuits
• 1 cover up

Now we had this great list (well, I thought it was great!!) and we gathered together to go through everything.  Boy howdy did I get a range of reactions.

Daughter #1 is my more practical child and she thought that my list was too long and we really could get by with less.  As she is explaining why, daughter #2 is looking like she is going to pass out at the mere thought of having to part with some of the gazillion outfits she owns!

Daughter #3 could really care less as I have to practically force her to even change clothes!  If it were up to her she would sleep in the clothes that she plays in.  And my baby girl, daughter #4 began to cry at the fact that she would have to try clothes on!!

Oh what great fun we had!!  :) 

So, we now have a list, four miserable daughters, trash bags, and donate and sale boxes.  I told the girls that anything they kept must be in good condition (stain free, no rips, etc.) and must fit well.  No use in wasting space on clothes that make you feel uncomfortable!!  And so we began!

It took stinking HOURS to go through everything!  Oh and to hear them think aloud through their choice process.  I was highly entertained just by sitting back listening to the self-discussions, crying, moaning and so on!  (If you have kids, you will totally get where I am coming from!!)

Finally they are done.  The stack of clothes that are keepers is much smaller than the stacks of non-keepers.  Not one of the children were harmed in this experiment (no matter what #2 says!) and I even took them for ice cream cones when we were done. 

 The final rule is that the clothing number stays the same. So if you get new clothes, you must get rid of old clothes. #4 received a beautiful shirt and sweater yesterday, so she had to choose a shirt and sweater, that she already had, to get rid of. She was happy to do so due to her excitement over her new clothes.  Perfecto!!

What I am left with now are clean dresser drawers and closets, yet heaping piles of clothes in my living room just waiting to either be sold in our garage sale on Saturday or donated to our church clothes closet on Sunday!!  And I, my dear friends, am looking forward to the best benefit of this clothing purge.....LESS LAUNDRY!!!!

Of course, if they stay and play as messy as they are now, we may need some of those extra clothes back!!!  :)

Terrible (Or NOT) Teens

**Farm Hunting Update:  I see progress!  We have signed the contract, locked in the interest rate, scheduled inspections and moved up the closing date to December 13!!  Plus.....we emptied out the attic last night!!  Woohoo!**

Terrible Teens

As a young mother, I heard horror stories of teenagers.  Heck, I remember making my own horror stories as a teen!!  I was told to expect rebellion, pulling away from the family, smart mouths, rolling eyes, and general disobedience.  As I looked at my precious little fat checked baby girls I brushed off the dread thinking that my babies would never even grow up out of preschooldom!!

Well, I have entered the land of the teenager.  My oldest daughter will be 18 in January, followed by her sister who is 15.  Finally, my third little baby girl will turn 11 next month, so she is following close behind!!

As my oldest began to edge toward the dreaded 13th birthday, or otherwise known as the beginning of the end, I would worry about how we would survive the next several years.  I worried how our family dynamic would change and what would become of us!!

Well, lo and behold, she just got better as she got older!  I figured she was a fluke and I began to hold on tight for the ride that my next oldest would bring us on.  Guess what, we enjoyed her even more the older she got too!

Now, I had no idea why this was happening!  You see, I am not super-mom.  I mess up and I mess up a lot.  There is no set of standards that would classify AcCOWntant Willie and I as perfect parents...nope, not one!

So now that we are all in agreement that this teen phenomenon has nothing to do with Willie nor I, let me tell you what I figured out....it has everything to do with God!  When my youngest was a baby, I read every parenting book I could get my hands on.  After reading a few I became frustrated because what sounded like great advice in one would be shot down by the other author and I would be given new advice.  Finally we decided...No more parenting books!!!!  We would simply turn to the ultimate example of a parent and let Him guide us. 

So what I want to share today are some of the guidelines that the Lord gave us for raising our children.  I believe the particular guidelines I will mention today had a direct influence on raising teenagers that we can not only stand being around, but we LOVE being around!!

Okie-dokie, here we go.....

1. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself - No commandment is greater than this one and no parenting guideline is either.  Submit to the Lord's will daily and listen!!  Let Him guide you through the situations that will arise
2. Love you husband and keep your marriage strong - When my children were young, I had a hard time going out on dates will my AcCOWntant Willie because I felt bad leaving them.  But the Lord really showed me that taking time to keep your marriage strong is of huge importance to being a successful parent.
3. Capture your child's heart - Capture it early and hold on to it tight!  When you capture your child's heart, they begin to obey not out of fear or duty, but out of trust.  This becomes really important as they become teenagers and you want to influence who they hang out with, what they listen to, watch, etc. (I will post later on steps to help a parent capture their child's heart)
4. Say yes as frequently as possible - This is a big one!  Try to really think about what you say no to.  There are times when we just must say no, but don't let that be the first word out of your mouth.
5. Chores!!!! - They may not love them, but assigning and expecting completion of chores shows your children that they are a functioning part of the family.
6. Be consistent - Follow through on what you say whether it is something they want or if it is a consequence.  This demonstrates your trust-worthiness as a parent.  If you tell your child that they can't do something and you let them whine/talk you into it, you start to become unreliable in their eyes, someone that can be manipulated.  So say what you mean and mean what you say!!
7. Listen to them when they are young - If you breed good communication when they are young, their habit will be to come and talk with you when they are older.  So take the time to listen.
8. Guard their hearts - This is much easier to do when they are young, but guarding their hearts early on is so helpful in teaching them to guard their own hearts when they are older.  (Another thing that I will post more detail on later.)
9. Love, love, love on them!!! - Tell them you love them as often as you can.  Hug them, kiss them, cuddle with them!  Take the time to snuggle up with them in bed and read a story together or just talk.  Show them that they are loved and end each day and each encounter like it is your last.

Again, these guidelines are coming from a pair of imperfect parents with four precious, but imperfect daughters. Every family is different, but I believe that we can all use general guidelines to help us keep our parenting in focus.  Focus on what you might ask??!!

Him!!!!  It is all about Him!!!  Changing diapers, playing dolls together, listening to them talk and talk and talk, helping your teen get dressed for Prom,  it is ALL about Him!!  And that is the best advice I can give you...focus on Him.  The Lord knows your family and the needs of your children.  He knows your past and your future.  You have the ideal parenting guide and advice hot line at your disposal!!!  Use it....it is just a prayer away! :)

And remember, teens are awesome!  They are our future!  Don't put them down or discourage them, build them up, educate them and love on them!!  Your future depends on it :)

Lessons Learned - Debate Tournaments!

**Farm Hunting Update:  Yesterday brought about the scheduling of home inspections, septic inspections and water inspections!  Friday we will meet all of the inspectors and give the house a good once-over.  I am really excited about having this time to look at it more closely and this time I will remember to put the card in my camera so I can take pictures!!  Our closing date is December 17!**

Lessons Learned - Debate Tournaments!

 

 

 

My two oldest girls are involved in debate.  It is something that they have found they really enjoy doing together and they especially have a blast at the tournaments.

This last Saturday they attended a practice tournament (the official season does not begin until January) and they debated ALL DAY LONG!!  It was definitely a very long day, but again, they had a lot of fun, met a lot of friends and had a lot of laughs.

I was able to sit in on their last round of debate and watch.  Before I tell you my opinion of what happened, let me tell you that unfortunately, I tend to lean on the critical side when it comes to my girls and stuff like this.  My mind seems to jump to what they need to do differently instead of what they did correctly.

Anyway, back to Saturday.  They blew me away!  They each spoke so eloquently  yet with authority and they had great evidence and logic to back them up on every point.  The team they debated consistently said things that, in my opinion, were not true.  Some of it I believed was common knowledge and others it was up to the girls to make sure and lead the judge the correct way and they did a great job of doing that.

Out of all of the rounds, they were most sure that they won this one, so imagine the shock when they received the judges ballot at the end and saw that the judge voted for the negative team and left not one single comment on the ballot sheet explaining why this was so.  I must admit that I was pretty shocked myself!

I woke up in the middle of the night that night and my "mom-thinking" kicked in!  I was frustrated for my girls.  They had presented what was "in my eyes" a perfect round of argumentation, refutation, speaking, etc. The judge even ranked both girls as the first and second speakers in the round.

As I lay in bed tossing and turning and thinking, the Lord spoke to me and pointed out that this is an example of life.  In our lives, we each sit ready to judge the winner of the round.  The two speakers in this eternal round are Truth (God) and Lie (Enemy) and it is strictly our call to decide which one we will choose.  Truth stands before us with evidence, logic and eloquent speech and Lie spouts out untruth and attempts to trick us with his words.  We can choose to be deceived and give the win to the Enemy, or we can choose to see truth and give the win, and our lives, to God.

Of course, I am not saying that the other team my girls debated was lying or that the judge was wrong.  Debate is a subjective event.  You learn to present your case to the judge in a way to convince the judge that you are right.  If you lose, you obviously failed to do that.  And there are many things that my girls will and have learned from that last round.  So please don't think I am making a straight comparrison, because I am not.

Moving on.....I began to think about how frustrated I was for my girls and I thought that might be a bit of how God feels when his creation chooses to listen to the other side. 

Then I began to think about my part in this eternal debate.  Since I have already chosen the winner of my debate round and have given my life to Christ, I am now an active participant.  I am to become part of God's evidence and words.  I am here to let His light shine through me and into all of the world, helping all who sit to judge for themselves see the truth.  How am I doing?

Do I take an active role for the Lord in presenting His truth?  Sometimes.  Sometimes I feel the call so strongly that it overwhelms me and I can't help but jump in and shout truth!

Do I take an active role for the Enemy in presenting His lies?  Sometimes.  There are times through my actions that my life screams "Do as I say, not as I do!"  which many times just causes people to turn and run into the enemy's lies.

Do I take an inactive role and just sit in the audience and watch it all go down?  Many times!  How many times to I choose silence and inactivity over participation??!!  Many!!  So many times I get so wrapped up in my own little world that I don't even think about presenting truth.  So many times I get involved in deep thought and just rush past people that are in the middle of judging their debate round without giving them another thought.

I don't want others to go to hell.  I don't want the Enemy to win a round.  I don't want my Lord to feel sad over the loss of one of His creations. 

Now the question is ....Am I going to choose to do anything about it?  Will you?

Menu Monday-Finally Some Cold Weather Food!

**Farm Hunting Update:  We have signed a contract on a farm!!  We received authorization to have two VA loans on Friday, went and looked at the house and property again on Sunday, visited with the couple a bit, signed the paperwork and gave them our earnest money.  The usual processing time is 4 - 6 weeks, but the agent that is working the sale is trying to have them push it through faster due to the man having terminal cancer and wanting to hurry and move.  So our hope and the hope of the seller is that we will be in by Christmas!

Now the daunting task begins of going through 13 years worth of stuff, having a garage sale, packing, cleaning, and preparing our current house for renters.  We are praying, praying, praying for great renters!!**

Menu Monday - Finally Some Cold Weather Food!

We finally have cooler weather this week and I am so excited!  Cooler weather brings snuggling under blankets, lighting fires in the fireplace, hot chocolate and cold weather food!! 

Our breakfasts, some of our lunches and snacks usually stay the same from week to week.  We will occasionally mix things up, but for the most part, I try and keep some consistency.  This saves on money and time.

Monday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Banana Muffins/Eggs/Melons
Monday Lunch - We usually meet my mom for lunch on this day!
Monday Dinner - Sandwiches/Fruit (We have deep cleaning as a family after dinner on Mondays. We have found that if we all work together, we can get it done in about 1 1/2 hours and then we have a special "clean house" dessert!!)
Monday Snack - Mix of nuts, seeds and chocolate chips

Tuesday Breakfast - Eggs/Whole Wheat Biscuits/Hash Browns with Peppers/Citrus Fruit
Tuesday Lunch - Vegetable Soup/Homemade Bread
Tuesday Dinner - Baked Chicken/Brown Rice/Steamed Broccoli/Honey Roasted Carrots
Tuesday Snack - Sonic Happy Hour Run for Slushies

Wednesday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Waffles/Peanut Butter/Strawberries
Wednesday Lunch - Triscuit Crackers/Cheese Cubes/Fruit/Yogurt
Wednesday Dinner - Loaded Baked Potatoes/Leftover Soup From Tuesday's Lunch
Wednesday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls

Thursday Breakfast - Whole Wheat Cinnamon Bread/Cream Cheese/Apples
Thursday Lunch - Sandwich/Fruit (we have speech/debate club all afternoon, so we go easy on Thursday!)
Thursday Dinner - Tomato Cream Soup/Grilled Cheese Sandwiches/Salad
Thursday Snack - Peanut Butter Balls made on Wednesday!! Still good on day #2!

Friday Breakfast - Yogurt/Granola/Fruit/Nuts
Friday Lunch - Cream Cheese Wraps with Strawberries/Mixed Nuts/Red Pepper Stips/Organic Chocolate Bar
Friday Dinner - Lasagna/Roasted Vegetables/Garlic Bread
Friday Snack - Popcorn with Fresh Mozzarella

I hope this helps give you some ideas and, as always, I would love to hear yours!!

Big Rocks in Our Schedule

**Farm Hunting Update: Ugghh!!  We are STILL waiting for authorization for 2 VA home loans.  Apparently most people don't know that you can have 2 and you can use your VA benefit more than once!!  They just have to approve our reason for moving.  I know that the Lord's timing is perfect though!!**

Big Rocks in Our Schedule

I heard a sermon once about scheduling.  He talked about a time when he took a glass jar and filled it with large rocks, then asked his congregation if it was full and they all said "Yes!"  He then took a jar of small pebbles and proceeded to pour them into the "full" jar of rocks.  Then he asked again if they thought the jar was full.  With a quiet chuckle, they again said "Yes!"

Pulling out another container filled with sand, he poured even more into the glass jar.  This time when he asked the congregation if it was full, they had caught on and said "No!"  Finally, he took water and filled the jar to the top.

The lesson, he said, is that if he had first taken the water and filled the jar to the top, he would not have been able to ever get the big rocks in there without spilling the jars contents, and the same applies to our life.  We need to figure out what our "big rocks" are and make sure that we get them in first, then the pebbles, followed by the sand and water.

What actually caught my attention in this sermon was a statement he made at the beginning, "Our schedules are too empty."   I thought the man was crazy!  I was wondering if he had ever bothered to look at the schedule of a mom!  So I wanted to listen to the sermon and see if I could pick out any other craziness!

His teaching really gave me a new insight into scheduling our day.  Later on, I sat down with the girls and went through the whole demonstration with the jar, rocks, etc. and we started a master list of our Big Rocks, Pebbles, Sand, and Water.  We defined our Big Rocks as things that we must do to be able to be usable in the Kingdom.  Some of these were:  Time with the Lord, Bible time, time with family, Bubble and Baby's reading and math.  We had homemaking, exercise, Baby's speech therapy, assembling with the church, and sleep. You get the idea.

Our Pebbles list included things such as service, friends, personal callings, writing, history, science, math for Rose, piano, alone time, and the like.  Finally, our Water list had things on it such as entertainment, some extra-curricular activities, etc.

After making this list we looked at the schedule that we had been functioning under and quickly saw the flaws in it.  A large portion of my older girls' schedule was full of extracurricular activities.  My two youngest had days full of fun schoolwork.  Though both of these activities are great, they are not our big rocks, yet they are taking up a HUGE portion of our day.  Changes had to be made. 

So we pulled out our wipe-board and sticky notes, cleared off the dining room table and got to work! We made pretty substantial changes in our schedule and in our commitments. What we are left with is a schedule that if full of big rocks, pebbles, sand and water where before we were overflowing without even fitting in all of the pebbles!

Moral of the story, don't waste time drowning in the water or shifting in the sand!!  Stand firm on the rock!!

A few schedule tips that have helped our family....:)

1. Pray before you schedule anything.
2. Put God first!!  We believe in tithing our time as well as our money, so 2 1/2 hours a day are spent focusing on the Lord through Bible study, prayer, quiet time to listen, and family devotional.
3. Make meal time family time!  Like we looked at yesterday, it is important to sit together and share a meal.  Try to do this with as many meals as possible.
4. If you home school, remember that you don't have to do every subject, every day, especially in the early grades. 
5. Another home school schedule tip, allow your older children to help teach the younger ones.  This is especially helpful in subjects that the older child might struggle in.  If you have a student in algebra that is still a bit slow with the multiplication facts, allow them to teach that to their younger siblings.  It breeds cooperation with the children and responsibility with the older child while allowing them to work on a subject where they struggle!
6. Combine activities.  When Baby has speech therapy, I bring the books I need to read for history and my lessons and work on that during that hour.  If you have a long car ride somewhere, try to find a book on cd that will be a blessing to everyone in your car.  When you do service projects, do them with family and friends! 
7. Be flexible!!  If you wake up late, just adjust your day.  If you have a field trip or appointment planned, move things around.  Don't become a slave to your schedule, it should actually help you feel better, not bound.
8. If you want free time in your schedule, write it in!  When your free time has a definite start and end, it helps you not fall into the trap of that free time spread into your entire day and you get nothing done.

I have a tendency to make a schedule, look at it, and become overwhelmed that I have something scheduled every minute of every day!  But what I always remind myself of is that every minute of every day will be used for something, whether I schedule it or not.  The benefit of scheduling is that it allows me to make sure I am filling those minutes with the activities that are most important and needed instead of wasting them.

There are two main thoughts that I would just LOVE to leave with you!!

First, is for those of us with children. A wise teacher once told me "If there is a bluebird on your classroom window sill, you had better be teaching about bluebirds." Teaching moments come up daily and we should take advantage of them. Don't let one pass just because it is not on the schedule. If you home school and your curriculum has you covering ancient history and it is an election year, make sure during the end of October, beginning of November, you are teaching about the election! If you are in the car with your children and you see a rainbow, take the time to point it out and talk about it! Life is full of teachable moments just waiting for us to seize!!

Second, your day is not your own if your life belongs to Christ. Look for the opportunities that He gives you to shine His light into this world that He loves so much. And do it all, even down to the scrubbing of your toilets, for His glory!

Be very careful then how you live-not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.  (NIV) Ephesians 5: 15-17

One Dinner Table at a Time

**Farm Hunting Update: We are working on a contract for a house! We have had a few issues arise, but they have steadily resolved. Now we are just waiting on an answer from the lender as to what type of loan we can get. We believe that we are going to be able to keep our current house and rent it out, but since we are acquiring a VA loan, we need to get approval on this. I will keep you updated!!!**

One Dinner Table at a Time

 

 

Isn't the election season exciting!  What a blessing to live in a country where we have the privilege of choosing our leaders!

I have read and heard many people talking about their opinions on the election.  Some were excited and some were sad.  But regardless of your feelings on the results of this year's election, many people feel like our great country is seeped in wrong choices and sin.  And...it is!!  As is every person who lives in the country, or any other one for that matter.  Because this world is full of imperfect people producing imperfect societies and imperfect governments. 

But don't despair!  We are the light of Christ and we can let His light shine through us and into our imperfect lives, societies and governments!  I believe that this change starts at home at the dinner table.

You can easily search the internet and find studies that show dinner time together as a family has health benefits for children.  You are able to control their portions better, encourage them to eat their veggies, etc.

What you might not know are the other benefits to having dinner as a family. In a study by Columbia University (http://www.casacolumbia.org/upload/2010/20100922familydinners6.pdf), it was found that when you compare teens who eat together as a family 5-7 days per week as opposed to those who eat together 3 or fewer times per week, the later group is:

1. Twice as likely to use tobacco
2. Nearly twice as likely to use alcohol
3. One and a half times more likely to use marijuana

They also reported that teens who have family dinners 5 - 7 times per week are almost two times as likely to talk to their parents about what is going on in their lives.

Isn't this amazing!!  Such large return on such little effort!  You don't have to cook a 4 course, gourmet meal to reap these results, you just have to sit down with your frozen dinner, or whatever, and share a meal with your family.

When you turn off the tv, phone, computer, texting and gather together as a family around the table and share dinner, it is a way of letting your child/children know that they are important.  That you WANT to know what they think, what they are doing, how they are feeling.  This gives your family time to discuss current events, schedules, things happening within the family and just time to laugh and share together. 

So what does this look like?  How do we make it work?

1. Make a commitment as a family to sit down at the table and eat together every night:  If you don't make a commitment to this, the first "bump" could knock you off course.  In our family, there are occasional nights where this does not happen, but it is a general rule in our home that from 6-7pm, you are with the family either eating or cleaning the kitchen together. 
2. No interruptions:  If the phone rings, don't answer it.  What a strong message this sends to your children about their importance!  No tv.  It is really hard to have the tv on and not be distracted by it.  Don't bring internet, texting and the like to dinner!  Feed them in a different room by making this be their charging time! :)
3. Plan your dinners:  This is not a must-do, but it sure makes dinner time less stressful if you have a menu or a plan as to what you are going to eat. 
4. Allow your children to help you in preparing the table:  I have found that they enjoy setting the table more if you allow them to make it beautiful in their own eyes.  So we take turns with the girls providing the center-piece for the evening.  Sometimes the younger girls will place a favorite doll in the middle and arrange a scene.  The older girls have made center-pieces with fresh cut flowers.  At some time during the meal, they get to share the idea behind their piece.
5. Take time to be thankful:  We have so much to be thankful for as we look around our dinner table.  We have food, when so many do not.  We have family, when so many eat alone.  This helps breed appreciation within the family.
6. As you dig into your food, dig into your childrens' hearts:  Ask questions and LISTEN to the answers.  If they are hesitant to share, ask fun, light questions such as "Would you rather be a bowl of mashed potatoes, or a baked potato?"  They may look at you like you are insane, but go with it!!  A teen can look at you like you are the craziest person they have ever encountered, but in their heart they are getting the message that you care.
7. Share some of your life with them:  This is a great opportunity to share your ideas on many issues.  Just make sure that you are doing a lot of listening too!
8. Bless your children by having them help in clean-up:  Chores let children know that they are productive members of the family.  Besides teaching work ethic, and team work, they give a clear example of how each family member is needed.  We have six people in our family and it just won't run well if we don't all do our part and work together.  We are all needed.
9. Don't let it stop there!:  If anyone shared prayer requests, remember to pray for them and let them know.  Take what you learned about your family and use that information throughout each day.  Remember to ask about and keep track of what you have all shared.
10. Ditch Perfection!:  Please don't make the mistake of getting hung-up on perfection.  If you don't have a meal planned for one night, eat sandwiches together.  If dad has to work late and can't make it home, make him a plate to save for later and still eat together with your children.  Don't become discouraged if dinner time does not look like what you want it to.  Sometimes our "vision" is off and we need to adjust it.  Sometimes, things just happen and we need to roll with it.
11. Throw in something special at times to mix things up!:  If the weather is nice, eat together outside one evening.  If the weather is cold, have a picnic in front of the fireplace.  Have themed meals, such as fingerfood night, cold foods night, and so on.  We have a special plate that we bring out any time someone needs to be celebrated.  This can be a celebration of a birthday, an accomplishment, or just because we want to!!

So tonight, turn everything off, except your mouths, your ears and your hearts and enjoy dinner together!!

Let's begin to change the world one dinner table at a time!!

Lessons Learned - Trust and Obey

***Farm Hunting Update:  We looked at a property last night!  Kinda neat how it worked, but Emi came up to William and I yesterday morning and said she had found THE house!  We looked at the pictures and though we thought the property was pretty good, the house was not really ideal.  But, since we care more about the property than the house, AcCOWntant Willie made the call. 

 

Turns out it is for sale by owner and the owner was a friendly man and his wife who welcomed us into their home last night to take a look around.  We were all six swept off our feet by the property and the house!  This property and home met our minimum requirements as well as every one of our "ideals."  The house was so welcoming and the space was fantastic!  We ended up staying for almost two hours just visiting with this sweet couple.

 

They have lived in the home for over 30 years, but recently found out that the husband has terminal cancer.  So they are moving to spend his last years on a trout stream!!

 

We are seriously praying about this property and are very excited about it.  Now, I am not sure if this is the one God has picked out for us, or maybe He just wanted us to meet this sweet couple so we could pray for them.  But it was a great evening and we are excited!***

Lessons Learned - Trust and Obey

We have lived in our current home for over 12 years.  I love my house!  It is definitely on the small side, especially for 6 people, but we have never felt as if we were cramped or needed more space.  The Lord has met our family's needs through this house.

I still remember the day we walked in the front door to look at the house!  My husband, AcCOWntant Willie (I still crack myself up with this!!), immediately said, "This is the house."  I was not really digging it!  The house had nothing to really set it apart from every other one we looked at and in the middle of the back yard there was a really strange looking tree that looked like a bullet!  Me, being the good, submissive (ummm....well, at least I try!) wife, went with it. 

One thing I have failed to mention is that I am a weeeee bit of a control freak.  It is a huge weakness that I struggle with.  So as we are buying this house 12+ years ago and things started to happen that I could not keep up with, much less control, I got a little stressed!  Okay, maybe more than a little!  I ended up breaking out in hives and having parts of my face go numb!!

Long story short, I ended up in the hospital for a week.  Not because of my hives, but because a test they ran to check on the hives and facial numbness came back indicative of meningitis.  Turned out it wasn't, but I am REALLY trying to keep this long story short!!

Once we finally moved into this house, I had no desire to ever move again!  I ended up loving my house and really, REALLY not wanting to go through the buying process again. 

Over the past year or so, we really began to feel that this might be the time to go.  Not because we are not satisfied with what we have been blessed with, but because we just felt it was time.  Then AcCOWntant Willie said..."It is time."  In all of the time we have prayed about moving, he never had a peace or a clear answer to go, now he does.

So....move up to a couple of days ago on Sunday.  I woke up wayyy too early and decided I would do some mortgage research.  We went ahead and pulled our credit reports and scores.  Well, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that they were lower than what I had expected.  You see, I am learning that credit scoring is a bit of a game and there is a certain way to play.  We have not played correctly.  I thought our scores would be as high as they come!  We pay our bills on time, we had several credit cards early in our marriage, but we paid them off and closed them up.  Our cars are paid off and we have paid a sizable amount of our current house off. 

Guess what the reason is for the low score??!!  Go ahead, take a guess!!  Is it because we are in too much debt??....no!  Maybe we pay things late??...no!

What we owe on our home is lower than the average amount for our income and our house payment is lower than the average amount!!!  CRAZY!!  So, because we have not gotten in over our heads in a mortgage payment, they penalize our credit score!

This set my control freak self off into a bit of a tizzy for the morning.  I  kept thinking that I had just let the whole Internet world (or at least the 10 of my faithful family and friends who try to appease me by reading this!) know we were going to move and now our credit scores are low!!! 

Well, I might have become a bit distressed and grumpy!  I also began to doubt that we should move.  I mean, who can go up against a low credit score??!!  Our Sunday morning was definitely NOT conducive to worship.  Luckily, we are a family who laughs, so by the time we got to church, everyone was making "loving" fun of me and my behavior.  That being said though, I was still doubting.

Then worship began.  Immediately the Lord touched my heart, softened it and gently impressed on me the flaw in my behavior that morning.  Then the sermon began.  He talked about when the Lord told the Israelites to move.  They sent twelve spies to look at the land and the spies came back and reported a great land flowing with milk and honey!  But....there was a LARGE obstacle.  The current residents were big...REALLY big.  And really powerful!  In the end, they did not obey the Lord because the obstacle looked too big.

OUCH!  We got in the car after church and everyone was looking at me!  "I know, I know!  I got the message!"  I asked the Lord and my sweet family for forgiveness. 

You see, I too heard the plan!  The Lord has clearly said...move.  I saw the first obstacle though and wanted to run in the opposite direction, just like the Israelites. 

We found out yesterday that though our score is not as high as it can get, my panic was for naught, because it is still considered high.  Though I still think it is crazy that you are penalized for managing your credit well, but that is for another post!!

I am thankful for a Lord who loves me enough to lovingly point out my sin and He doesn't leave it at that!!  No, he gently picked me up on Sunday and put me back on His path, forgave my actions and is ready to walk ahead with us on this journey that He has planned!