Do You Ever...

Do you ever just stop and think about what is going on in your life in the very present? I mean just for a second, hit pause on your life...kind of like the special affect used in movies and commercials where everything is stopped mid-motion, but the actor is free to look and walk around. Imagine that, on a large scale, where you could see your children's lives, your spouse, your friends, -loved ones. As I hit pause, for just a moment, I see my husband probably almost asleep at the Staff Academy- now I think about the dreams I had of him being my knight in shining armor, I remember times where I should have encouraged and instead criticized- I write a note to myself, "treat and speak of my husband as my knight in shining armor- love him pray for him...always always lift him up and not tear him down". Next, I am in my children's bedrooms and, as I look at their angelic sleeping faces, I remember all the fun things I imagined we would do, how I promised never to yell in anger again, how I forgot to look at the picture one of them had drawn for me because I was too busy, how I have shushed them because I wanted to hear or read the news...in my mind's eye I can see their disappointed little faces as they quietly turn away and find something to do because mommy is just not interested. I remember tears that had gone undried, promises not yet kept- note to self, "list and prioritize my goals for my children, schedule the activities I want to share with them, make eye contact and listen". I think of people in ministries who I have been too busy to thank and encourage along the way- I imagine them as they probably stay up late cutting out pictures and studying lessons for the 3 year old's Sunday School class. How I, without a thought or care just toss the papers in the trash sometimes -I make a note to at least notice and appreciate the efforts of my fellow brethren. The truth is- I don't let people know enough that I appreciate them, that I notice when they are hurting, that I am praying for them, that there is so much more I would like to do to be a blessing to them...
The truth is- when I examine a "paused" past argument, I don't see love on my face, I see selfish desires and pride. I see a spouse who longs to be admired and respected.
The truth is- when I look at some of my motives for training my children -it is for self glory and not God's
The truth is-there is nothing good unless it has God written ALL OVER IT. I will never be a successful wife and mother unless God is at the reigns. My life will be filled with regret unless I allow HIM to direct my paths.
I wonder, if, when I release that pause button that I will make it a priority to heed my mental notes, or will I continue to put it off until...it wouldn't make a difference.

Thank you!

Do you know how amazing it is to receive a box filled with such wonderful things from someone you have never met in person?! I was so blessed! Thank you Miss Karen for your love and thoughtfulness. The children could not wait to get it home and tear it open! Ayden wore one of his little outfits this morning! I will get a picture when he wakes up :)

Little Mommy Blessings

I was pleasantly surprised the other morning to wake up to a busy busy little HIT (homemaker in training), Brianna, who had quietly gotten up before me, had pulled the laundry out of the dryer and was folding it. She had tidied up the livingroom, put toys away, and she was sooo cheerful! (hmm she must have read my post about the morning olympics) I was so surprised, that all I could do was hug and kiss her! She is going to be a wonderful wife and mother Lord willing.

The motive behind it, I believe, stemmed from a new little idea I have....I bought the girls some plain little aprons to cover their dresses and promised them that with each new task they learn, I will sew a frill on it. Well, we started to attend a sewing class for moms and daughters at church, and the girls wear their little aprons to class. So, I sewed on a ruffle after their first class..as you can see in the picture. I also have buttons and ric-rac and some other ideas as incentive for them to learn homemaking skills. So, each sewing class, they get to wear an apron that grows more and more beautiful...like their skills! Going a little over-board, I thought about having t-shirts made for them with the caption "I'm a HIT with my Mom!" I would love for my girls to see homemaking in the true beautiful light that it is: it is a beauty and blessing to keep the home. And, I feel blessed to be the one to teach them, as I had never in the past been a very good homemaker...I am learning too!

I feel like I am enjoying this too much ;) I don't know what in the world to do with Ayden!!

The Kids

We are doing ok. I am still feeling very sad about my Grandma...I will miss her so much on my trips home. I thought I would post some recent pictures of the kids for my parents...I love you guys!! Something funny Anjolie did recently: Anjolie asked if she could pray for her pinky that she hurt while we were at the table eating lunch..."Dear Jesus, thank you for my pinky, please bless it to our bodies, in Jesus name Amen" ;)

A Minute With Ayden

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Ayden is 3mo now :)

And...I cried..

I just got off the phone with my mom and she told me the news.... my dear Grandma passed away today. Though unexpected, I felt the Lord had prepared my heart to receive the news. Now, as I look through pictures, such as the one above which was taken almost 5 years ago, my heart is breaking. I am grateful for my tears and to be able to express my sorrow because if I couldn't, I think my heart would just burst. It is so hard to be away from my family during this. I don't even have anything else to say right now except that I am curled up in prayer at Jesus' feet asking for the flood gates of peace to be opened and poured out on my mom and dad during this...they were very very close to her and would visit her every other weekend. Not to mention they are in the middle of a very difficult move. Please please pray for them because this was unexpected...I so wish I could be there. One of the hardest things about military life...I can't be there for my family when I want to be.

The Beauty

Every morning I wake up and I forget to stop to think about the beauty of my life. I concentrate on the noise, on how I have to get breakfast ready and the fact that soon after breakfast I will have to immediately vaccum so that the little armies of ants don't attack in full force. Then, it is the race against the girls...can I indeed get the dishes to the sink before complete mayhem breaks out in my living room where Anjolie, dives like an olympic athlete (who has been disqualified for questionable hyperactivity) from couch to couch, determined to be quicker, more accurate in hitting the same cushion with just the right force to send my blankets topsy turvey. Brianna, who is not quite as talented in the sport of couch diving would much rather endeavor in the popular 5 year old grace of : look at me, talk to me, listen to me... me me me me- right now right now right now....*ahem* and not necessarily in that order mind you, she is not picky as long as the main focus is -her-. Then, there is the Lilymonster, named in the beginning, out of affection and love for her NON monster like ways, but with the arrival of the 18th month of life...we have seemed to name her more accurately than we had originally planned ;) Not that she so much acts in monsterous ways, but in the amount and skill of tearing up, Lily, by far outranks her older siblings. Not only is she quick, she is creative! Who would have thought that dipping toilet paper in toilet water and rubbing on her own little baby head with it would tickle her in such a way that you would think there was a clown somehow involved.... Yes, and did I mention that she eats books? Perhaps I was too ashamed to admit it before, but the child eats almost anything, I know, because I change her diaper. What a piggy bank she is! Well, not quite, but she has a beach front in her belly, let me tell you, because I have seen some evidence of erosion. They are going to start charging us to go to the ocean because she takes so much with her. So, each morning she races me to empty the bookshelf, the video cabinet, and the craft drawer. I follow those chubby little legs around swattin' and pinchin' them trying to get her interested in something else, but alas, I fail as she is more interested in the sport of tearing up the house. When they each get tired of their morning sport practice (which can only be fit in while mommy cleans up or prepares breakfast), we settle down for our prayer and devotion most every morning. Their little faces so happy and shining because they get to spend time with me. Even Lily, in her highchair enjoys the time. Little voices talking about God and singing their little made up songs about how they love Him. Random questions about why the moon changes and how did God make the buildings ;) Other than an occasional little spat between Brianna and Anjolie about whose foot touched who, the time together is beautiful. I get to see them in a different light..I get to see a little bit of their natural love and curiosity for the things of the Lord. My heart begins to ache due to my lack of patience and understanding for my little ones and I promise myself that each morning as I prepare for the day, I will not focus on the childish nuisance of my morning, but I will be thankful and praise the Lord for the beauty of the lives of my children. What a blessing they are.

Please Excuse the Interruption...

...as I adjust my schedule :) Brian leaves for the Staff Acadamy today and things have been a little hectic. He will only be home on the weekends until August. :( So, I am having to completely adjust my schedule and be a better steward of my time if I am going to be a successful wife and mother. I have a Home Mangagement Notebook which has become very idle and outdated over the past year with the move, new baby etc so with the inspiration found on some other sites...I am redoing mine so that it will be more detailed. I am so tired of stopping short when I see the cost of being a virtuous woman who tends to every matter. So, the Lord is doing a little housekeeping in my heart on this area right now. Love to you my friends and family, and thank you for your patience during this little hiccup. I will leave you with a couple of recent funny things Anjolie said:

When I was finished giving Lily a bath, I told Anjolie I needed to get Lily out and she said "Why? She's not going to shrink!"

Ayden would not "cooh" for Anjolie the other day, so Anjolie was frustrated and said "Well, he talked too fast and now, he's all out of talk!"

My Song Today

" Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

The strife will not be long;

This day the noise of battle,

The next the victor's song:
To him that overcometh,

A crown of life shall be;

He with the King of glory

Shall reign eternally."

What Do YOU Do?

Ok, this will be my last post today :) I think I am already over my 25 min posting limit ;) I was just curious. What all does your daily devotion time involve? Do you do your Bible reading and devotion at the same time? Do you study at that time? I know it is not the same for you every day, but if you could have a perfect set aside time with the Lord every day, what time would it be, where would it be, what would you do? I am asking because I need to do some reaaranging in my daily schedule (which has turned into a non-schedule) because of my adjusting to little Ayden who is almost 3 months and awake more. I would like to have some inspiration for a time that can be very special with the Lord and works with my 4 little ones. I already know I am going to have to beat my early bird out of bed...she gets up as early as 6am sometimes! Thank you!!!!

One of Those Days

It is one of those days where my little Anjolie, bless her heart, just won't bend her will! I have tearfully corrected and corrected her. Part of the dilemma is that we got home late last night from visitation and my little early bird decided that she still needed to be my alarm clock. So, even though I know she is tired and having trouble obeying, I still have to correct her. I put her down for an early nap and I am hoping that will refresh her.

The trouble today also shows me that I have not been consistent with expecting first time obedience..she has been waiting to hear the warning tone in my voice, and she then pushes it a step further. So, I reviewed with her again what I expect, and that is for her to follow her 2 rules: Obey (immediatelyand cheerfuly) and Respect her parents. And, because I love her, she will be "corrected" every time she breaks these two rules. I know that once her will becomes one with the Lord's, she will be "on fire" for Him...so there is that. In the meantime, I could use some prayer :) I love being a mommy, it is so incredibly rewarding when we do it God's way...I just need to keep reminding myself of the second half of that- God's way.

Oh, a praise! Anjolie is not ready yet, but she asked my husband how to get saved. She has all the "head" knowledge...but not the "understanding". For instance, she could tell someone what they need to believe and pray to be saved, but she does not have the true understanding as she is only 3 . We know that the fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom..so we will continue to pray to that end for our dear little Anjolie.

A Touch of CHAOS

..in the Flylady sense of the word ;)

-trying to bake 6 boxes of brownies (I'm super hungry ;) )
-the house seems to be undoing everything I DO today...with the help of Lily of course
-Anjolie is having a "tantrums solve everything" day
-1 spilled can of unattended soda
-3 messy diapers (so far in the last 5 hours)*edited to say I smell Lily!! that makes 4!!
-2 vaccum required messes so far
-mommy doesn't have any food we like today ;)
-1 PB sandwich found squished between the couch and the end table (I found it before the ants did PTL)
-Everything I can do, they can tear up better....

OOOhhhh! Head smacking moment. Must be VISITATION NIGHT!!!
Yeah...hindrances are out in FULL FORCE today. (BTW that is what the brownies are for) So...judging by my day...we will have some receptive hearts tonight Lord willing!! :)

The DaVinci Code

Not that the Catholics agree with this, because they don't, but what if we wrote something about the Pope which said he had a secret affair with Monica Lewinsky and was secretly plotting to kill our president. Would it be received as well as this is? Would people rush to see the movie and read the book? Why do people think they can write fiction about a LIVING, ALL POWERFUL GOD? Ok, say the book were even about *John F Kennedy*...one of the most beloved presidents...people would be outraged that someone would want to smear the name of such a wonderful man...and to die such a senseless death....puuuhlease! Jesus Christ, our God become man for us -DID NOTHING! But, He is written about as if he is some deceased criminal at best...truth be known, anyone who would write about Him in such a way, DOES NOT TRULY BELIEVE. ANY untruth about our risen SAVIOR is putrid and heinous, and YES we SHOULD TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Oh,...I'm sorry, should I NOT say anything so as not to "peak" someone's interest and they might want to run see that TRASH? People will do what they want to do regardless, and will justify themselves to death for it...at least that's what I do, let's be honest. Our reaction to this outrage should equal that outrage we would feel if it were written about our own spouse (worse really). WE ARE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST (those of us who are saved). Would we stand for some pathetic resemblance of our husband to be splattered on a wide screen using his name and doing awful things...then excusing it by saying "oh, well, it is just fiction...who cares that people are watching LIES about my husband" Yeah, who cares that God has REDEEMED souls, who cares that this may cause people to question the DEITY of Christ...is NOTHING sacred?! Do you really think there is ANYTHING God honoring about watching or reading such falseness? Can't we see they are paving the way for "THE LIE"? Be honest, would you sit and watch it with your risen Savior by your side? Ok, (just got convicted) honestly,... would I watch half the things I watch if HE were sitting with me...would I treat my loved ones the way I do sometimes if HE were standing in plain view...with the holes in His hands, His feet, His side, would I stand before Him and say "it's too hard to obey, to read Your Word..." Of course I know He IS there, but I don't always BELIEVE IT. What we read and watch contributes to what we believe, and what we believe controls how we act...ouch. Wow, the Lord sure showed me some things...I did not plan on ending my rant with something that applied to me..;) (why would I want to do that? :) )amazing how God works. But what it all boils down to is why do we feed our minds things that influence our beliefs in such a negative way? Again, WHAT WE BELIEVE CONTROLS THE WAY WE ACT...what we believe is influenced by what we read, hear, and watch. Pondering upon that could reveal tremendous truths about ourselves. ...gonna go pray with my tail between my legs *sigh*
*edited to say "uh duh" I had Robert ;)

About the Picnic

Brian teaches the young couple's Sunday school class, and we decided to have a picnic to get to know everyone since most of us have only been on the island for less than a year due to recent rotations. Anyway, we reserved a pavilion with a BBQ, a jumper for the kids etc. It rained all last week, and even when we started setting up the picnic it started to rain again! We prayed and prayed that we would have the Lord's blessing on this function, and when it started to rain and Brian could not get the coals going (no one was there yet) we started to think maybe the Lord's will was to postpone the picnic ;) So, we prayed that the rain just move "around" us....do you know that is exactly what it did!! The wind changed direction and the rain clouds moved around us!! The sun even came out for the entire picnic as you can see in the pictures!! It was just beautiful, and as we packed to leave...it started raining again :) God is so good!
(Brian took this picture the weekend before last...it is the east China Sea)

She says "Hi Pop-pop"

little stinker would not say anything else, but she did say that :) Are you proud Pop-pop?

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Picnic at Torii Beach

Ok...

Does the fact that I am posting this at 11:22pm give a clue as to what kind of day I had today? Well, Ayden is sick..poor little guy so he is not sleeping well at all. I have him across my lap right now, and that seems to be working for the moment. But, the big news for the day is that our toilet overflowed and flowed and flowed and flowed...until it had succeeded in touching every single room in the house except the laundry room. Luckily it was "clean" water, but Brian about flipped his lid. He had been up since 3am because of qualifying on the pistol range...so I sent him out to "relax" ;) While I crawled around cleaning up the mess, I remembered how upset I was that this house did not come with wall to wall carpet, and do you know how happy I am now that it doesn't?! With the humidity, I never would have been able to dry it out and it would have molded (like everything else does). Kind of a funny praise, but it truly was to me. Anyway, it was a very trying day with the kids and the "flood". And now I am up with a sick little baby. S Please pray for me as I have ladies' visitation in the morning. BTW, we had a great picnic this weekend for our Sunday School class. I will post pictures soon!!

Weather Underground

Well, if you are ever curious as to what time it is here on Okinawa, what the temp and weather are, I have a "sticker" in my footer...scroll to the bottom and check it out! :)

KID STUFF

Anjolie woke me up this morning because she wanted to give me a piece of candy. I tried not to be grouchy and smiled as I sleepily let her put the candy in my mouth. As I chewed, she watched me intently (to see if I was enjoying it I guess) then cheerfully said "yeah, it was on the floor.... but it still tastes good!!" *ahem* greeeaaat.

Yesterday Brianna and I were playing "opposites", and we would take turns saying a word and giving the opposite to it. I asked Brianna what the opposite of OLD was , and she thought for a moment and cheerfuly replied HEALTHY!! On the second try at a correct answer: ALIVE...LOL...guess I'm in trouble!!

Blog Bog

Ok, for 2 days now I have been stuck in the blog bog to "escape" my daily routine...so, I am not going to post for 2 days to "unstick" my bottom from this CHAIR!! I have already repented of my waste of time *sigh* if it's not one thing it is another. So, I am allowing myself to check email, but only if standing...I am not allowed to sit at this desk for 2 days, and to check the news...while standing. And, after the 2 days are up, I am going to set the timer to allow for 25min of blog time. I am telling you so you can hold me accountable when you see mile long posts (like the one below which allowed for my kids to destroy the living room) and numerous responses to your blogs.....pray for me :) Oh, and somehow during the chaos one of my kids (ANJOLIE) caught some disgusting bug in her babydolls sippy cup and put it in the fridge...*sigh* I THOUGHT there was supposed to be a difference between boys and girls...oh well, I guess it WAS in a babydoll cup...see, here I go again!!! Bye for now!!!

Haditha RANT

For a more balanced view...

http://hotair.com/archives/vent/2006/05/31/haditha/

If it turns out that the killing was revenge, they deserve the worst, but if it was due to fog of war which no one can understand unless they have been in combat action- then it needs to be explained. I am so sick of the media spouting out rumors and incomplete pictures of this war. Please remember these are 18,19,20 year old kids who have been well trained in everything except how to react in a 100% rational way to a completely horrific inhuman occurance. A BOMB went off and blew up their vehicle...ok how many Americans have ever heard a bomb go off...ok now imagine it going off just a few feet from you. I was a Marine myself (94-98) and I had absolutely no war experience...I was trained, but never had to "go"; I would never presume to say I know or understand what these guys are going through.
I have detonated bombs (mines) and thrown grenades in a training environment and the percussion of it is nothing you can be prepared for. I cannot imagine the horror they are going through...especially when the enemy is USING the children and women to scout and gain intelligence for them. At times, they use them as human sheilds and shoot from behind them. In secured cities, children will come out and count the patrols so they can run tell insurgents. The people, at times, will purposely allow military to step on or run over an explosive device without warning them. It is almost impossible to tell who the enemy is over there, most of the time. The media also fails to mention the Iraqi people who are so thankful for the military presence and for the liberation of their country. They hug and kiss and cry and cheer for our troops, and they are thankful for the work the military are doing...why is this RARELY if ever in the news......So, back to the bomb (IED improvised explosive device), it goes off, kills one guy and another guy, it blows his eyes from their sockets and crushes and breaks many of his bones to include his back and perforates his eardrums. The other guys were probably momentarily blinded, definitely deaf from the noise but left with a ringing in their ears, and...they were still receiving fire. So now, they need to react to the death of a buddy who was blown to pieces, another who looked as if he was going to die and get him airlifted out, count who was left, find out where the fire was coming from, and secure the area all in a matter of minutes from almost being blown to bits, they were confused (the explosion would throw their equilibrium off)...that is just to name a few things about the "fog of war". Imagine your ears ringing and trying to determine who was shooting at you and your unit who you must protect at all costs.... Remember, the terrorists know about our media and our affection for women and children...they have none..so they are using it and our ignorant media to paint a sordid picture of what we are trying to accomplish over there. Are mistakes made? Absolutely. Do some of our guys lose their sanity in all this...most definitely. To react rationaly would mean to collapse in complete horror over what they have seen and had to do--that is not an option, so they have to be desensitized in order to get the job done. There is no training for what these insurgents are doing...it completely blows their minds that they would use women and children... we could not fathom the experience. How dare the media focus on everything but the valiant service of 99% of our troops whose lives are on the line...these are sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, they are part of us. None of them goes out to commit heinous war crimes - the terrorists DO! Let the military report the bad news when it happens...AFTER their investigation. The media needs to focus on keeping America behind its troops before we end up with a situation like post Vietnam. THEY are commiting heinous crimes against our troops by not getting the WHOLE story and reporting it accurately all for what...RATINGS. The media needs to leave the investigation to the military believe me, they are harder on their troops than any other judicial systems. If they want news, look at the HEROs and tell their stories.

Touched my Heart

I saw this on a fellow blogger's site...it just choked me up. Remember to pray for our troops.

Need a Lift?

http://blueletterbible.org/morneve/05/0531am.html

Word Cloud

Snapshirts.com will compile words from your current blog page into a word cloud! This is mine. Thank you "Thimble Thoughts" for such a neat idea!