We've moved...(again!)
Happy weekend to you!
How to get a puppy dog kiss.
1. Ask puppy for a kiss.
2. Receive kiss.
3. Laugh. Because puppy kisses are hilarious.
Embrace the Camera with Daddy
(He grew up as the youngest of two boys, living in a male-dominated household and is now the only male in his home. He's tough enough to take it though.)
Baked Taquitos
(Food stylist I am not.)
So easy, yummy and kid friendly!
Beans and cheese, or taco meat and cheese, or anything you want.
Tortillas
Olive oil
Lay filling of choice in the center of the tortilla, wrap tortilla tightly, place seam down and well oiled pan. Brush olive oil on top and bake in 350 degree over for about 15 minutes, till tortillas are crispy.
Serve with guacamole, rice, and a side salad. (And a big slice of watermelon for dessert to finish things off!)
Girls are the best
Girls are so sweet.
Pigtails.
Need I say more?
Tuesdays around here are the first day of the week for us, Sunday is our busiest day and Monday is our Lazy Weekend Day.
So, on this Tuesdays list:
Laundry...washed, folded and put away! (riiight)
Baking for the week
Water newly planted sod in hopes that it doesn't die in the intense sun. Where did all our rain go??
Keep up with three rascally girlies, and oh yeah...school, school, and school.
What's your Tuesday looking like?
Our Menu this week
Monday: Mexican Pot Roast Tacos
Wednesday: Red Kidney Bean Curry
Thursday: Avocado and Black Bean Salad
Saturday: Leftovers
I have to say, I'm most looking forward to Sunday's sandwich, we are a family that can appreciate a good sandwich. What are you eating this week?
Tips for Bible study when you have small children
Fast forward a few years and I'm a wife/mom/missionary combo with a pack of children and very busy days. I miss my hours up in the loft with my Bible and Spurgeon.
What is a mom to do?
My Bible study habits have had it's ups and downs. There have been good seasons and bad seasons.
In interest of full disclosure, two years ago when on furlough I, the missionary wife, was asked in front of a group of ladies at a church's missions conference how I found time to read my Bible.
My answer? "I don't. I'm not sure if I even packed my Bible in my suitcase for this trip. I think I forgot it." It was not an answer I was proud of, but it was the truth. I went on to tell them how happy I was that I had committed verses to memory as a child and teenager because many days that was all I could do was say a Bible verse over and over in my head. I told them I had been blessed and encouraged by reading my kids Bible storybook to them. I also told them that biggest lesson I had learned during that very busy, hectic year was that my children are not a distraction.
On the rare occasions that I did get up early to read my Bible and found a small child had woken up too, the best thing to do is pull them up on your lap and read it aloud to them. Don't huff, don't puff, don't get angry. Seize that teachable moment. No, you won't be reading for hours with a squirmy toddler on your lap, it will most likely only be minutes, but it will help.
A few things I've learned in list form (because I LOVE lists!)
1. Do your best to get up early before the kids and read your Bible. Or read it when they're napping, if you're not a morning person. Maybe it's just one verse, but read something!
2. Leave an open Bible on your kitchen counter, dining room table, or someplace prominent where you can walk by and get a quick glance. This will help instill the habit and practice of seeking out God's Word.
3. Have a plan. Plan to read through God's Word in two or three years. Take it slow and be realistic.
4. Have help! The Busy Mom's Guide to Bible Study - A 15 Minute Daily Plan by Lisa Welchel was a big help to me when I had two babies. I was hesitant at first, the cover looked "fluffy" to me (I know that makes me sound snobby. ugh) but it wasn't sweet nothings in the book, but more of a diving board for you to jump off of. Tips and tricks for how to study your Bible. I really enjoyed and was pleasantly surprised!
5. If you find your day whisking by and you haven't had personal quiet time yet, gather the littles around and read two or three verses to them. Explain it simply and pray. Five minutes may be all you have, but God can work wonders with five minutes.
6. Memorize, memorize, memorize. We love the Fighter Verse app and are having a great time learning verses together as a family. Next time you find yourself standing at the sink with a mountain of dishes recite your verses. That time is not wasted.
7. Saturate your home with Bible verses. It could be pretty print-outs or just scribbled on Post-it notes on your bathroom mirror, but put His Word everywhere.
8. Don't feel guilty when it doesn't happen. God loves you and knows where you are right now. He sees the spit up stains on your shirt and dirty socks all over the floor, and he knows you're oh so very tired. He loves you anyway and will be waiting.
A few more devotional books and helps I have found and loved for Bible study:
Now things have settled down a bit for us, I am able to wake up an hour before the girls and read my Bible. I am reading through one book at a time, one chapter at a time, until I read the whole thing. It may take me months, it may take me years, but I'm in no rush. I keep a basket with all my Bible study supplies in it so that when an opportunity pops up, I don't have to rush around looking for my stuff. Pencils, a journal for my thoughts, my Bible, and whatever devotional or theological or helpful book I am reading through at the time. I usually only read about a paragraph or two before it's time to make breakfast. I'm currently reading through Standing on the Promises by Doug Wilson.
While I would like to say that I read it every day, it simple isn't true. If I was up too late the night before, I sleep in and the day slips by awfully fast. But I'm trying and every week is getting better.
So let me hear it from you. What works? What doesn't? Any tips?
(And if you're reading this and thinking..."uh...it's been a long time and I'm not even sure where the Bible is..." trust me, I've been there too.)
On loss and grace
Last Sunday I had my first miscarriage.
Miscarriage is one of those things that so many women have gone through, and every woman hopes she doesn't have to go through it. Prior to this I have had three healthy, full term babies. I assumed I would never have a miscarriage, until I got pregnant with my fourth. And somehow, after the first two weeks, I just knew that this baby would not be here on Earth with us. My symptoms left suddenly, and I just knew. I was at peace with this and felt God's grace washing all over me. On week nine, which is when Baby is supposed to be as big as grape, I had the miscarriage. It was hard, and sad, and yet...I'm amazed at how many blessings God gave me through the experience.
I saw my church family gather round and show me love and care through emails, text messages, phone calls, and many prayers.
I received emails, Facebook messages and comments from people all around the world. Kindness abounded from everyone.
I met a wonderful Christian gynecologist who took the time to hear me, respected my decisions, and then gave me wallpaper for my bathroom. Random, I know, but I walked into her office, told her much I loved her wallpaper and then she gave me some extra rolls of it she had in her cabinet. This almost made me cry. Here I am going through a miscarriage and receiving a pretty gift from a total stranger, a gift that I had secretly been hoping for and knew we could not afford anytime soon...God is kind and loving to me, even in the little things, like wallpaper for my bathroom.
All the food I had stocked my freezer with, the food I had made and frozen and planning to use for after the birth of the baby, came in handy for those days while I recovered.
I'm thankful I didn't miscarry two weeks ago while Brian was at camp. I'm thankful it didn't happen while we were in Asuncion doing paperwork.
Thankful that, as Elena put it, "This baby gets to spend his or her WHOLE life with Jesus and will never sin like we do."
Thankful, that when it happened, we did not get angry at God or question Him.
Thankful, that no D&C was needed.
Thankful, that I'm healthy and feeling well again.
God is good and sovereign! What a truth to hold on to.
Panic mode!
"Broken" faucet dillema.
Should I tell her that she didn't break the faucet? That it has a hose which pulls out?
(This is Lexi when she is panicked.)
Life is now
Feeling overwhelmed and distraught today with the condition of my house. It's never clean or organized and I'm always looking for my keys. I know what's for dinner but I forgot to get it out of the freezer and we don't have a microwave (but I'm starting to really want one!)
I spend all day wiping faces, making sandwiches, filling cups and changing diapers. You know, the basic survival stuff.
And like every other woman (person?) on the planet I convince myself that if I could just freeze all the little people around me for a day I could catch up. I could clean up the mess around them, find those crazy keys, and organize my desk. Oh, and thaw dinner.
I start to feel snippy and desperate and head over to Ann's wise words (there are so many to choose from...) and I am reminded by her that this mess is life. Life is not waiting for me to get organized so that it can start, life is here...now, all around me.
It is all from Him, it is all good, and it's happening now.
(But I'm still glad Brian took the girls to the pool for the afternoon so I could make a nice dinner in a quiet house.)
Time for a phone dump.
I love taking pictures with my phone! Love, love, love!
But they stay on my phone. Bad, bad, bad.
Do you use Instagram? Do you love it as much as I do?
Embrace the Camera
This weeks Embrace the Camera is all about my baby girl, Lexi.
We just found out that I am expecting baby 4!
I'm still early on in the pregnancy, not even throwing up yet, so it doesn't quite feel real to me. Once my head is hanging in a toilet I'll "feel" pregnant. :)
Thinking about the arrival of New Baby has me hugging on Current Baby a lot more.
Never have I had a child as attached to me as this little one.
We are, without a doubt, best friends.
How will she handle the change?
We shall see!
Go to Emily's for more Embrace The Camera!
A smelly summer
Summertime means lots of good things like popsicles, ice cream and pool time.
But here in Paraguay where temps easily go over 100 degrees on a daily basis, summer also means stinky.
I fight two battles every summer: Kill All Ants and Keep House from Stinking.
Why does summer smell?
Well, the house is hot. I mean, H.O.T. So every little crumb, every little piece of toilet paper in the trash can, every sweaty child, every dirty diaper (be it cloth or disposable), every wad of dirty clothes, every piece of leftover food in the trash, begins to fester and steam in 97 degree house.
A trash can that is only half full of used paper towels will be ok at bedtime but by morning? It smells like a pig pen.
Here's what I do to help, but the problem is never really solved to Fall weather wisps in sometime in March.
1. Empty every trash can, every night, no matter how empty it is.
2. Flush every toilet many times a day. (My children are unable to flush. I don't know why...but they never do. Annoying.)
4. Take the trash out to the street every night. This makes the front of the house stink, but hey, we spend more time indoors than outdoors.
5. Spray all sweaty children down with water house about three times a day.
6. I had to switch Lexi back to disposable. In order to keep the cloth from stinking I had to wash a load every night, this was using up too much water and for me right now, taking the trash out is easier than doing yet another load of laundry.
7. And speaking of laundry, keep on top of it! That stuff is smelly!!!
8. Light candles all the time.
9. Open windos and turn on every fan.
And once all of the above has been done...
TURN ON THE AIR CONDITIONER.
Any other ideas? Please share!
On getting organized
I always get bit by the organizing bug in Janurary. I want to declutter, throw out, and deep clean just about anything in site!
Here's a few things helping me keep on track.
Declutter Calendar
What tools are you using to stay, or become, organized?
Sunday tantrum and Tim Tebow
Here is Lexi throwing a temper tantrum on Sunday.
Yes, I dress my kids to go to church, but she decided to play with the water bubbler, when told no, she threw a fit and spilled water all over her dress.
Nice.
She had to sit in the "happy chair" till....happy.
Aaah...that's better! Snotty nose and all!
She ended the service by throwing up everything she had eaten all day, in front of everyone. It cleared the room fast. Sorry folks! Fellowship time is over! The pastors kid just puked in the middle of the small and crowded room. See ya next week!
Then we went home and watched Tim Tebow win and win good.
Yay for MK's! And big double Yay for MK's who love Jesus!
Go Tebow!
This week in review
What does a week in our life look like?
1. A firework show in our friend's backyard.
2. Brian helped light the fireworks and kept us all alive.
3. Many (many) failed potty attempts. I give up for now.
4. A ladder. On top of my dining room table. To install the ceiling fan. I left the room, because I didn't want to look.
5. A late night snack of peanut butter sandwiches in their bedroom. (Moments like these are what make being a mom awesome.)
How was your week?
Determined to keep trying!
I am joining Emily's Embrace the Camera again.
I am determined, DETERMINED, to take more pictures of myself and my husband with my kids.
And since the main purpose of this blog is for my girls to read in the future...Here girls, this is me! Twenty-six years old.
Next week I'll try to include some of the kiddos (or the husband!) with me.
Some messes are not nice, but some look cozy. Like this scene in the girls room. Pink, sunshine-y, and glowy. It makes me happy to see remnants of their creativity and playfullness laying around.
(Most of the time, anyway. Some days it drives me crazy!)
I've been organizing, tidying up, cleaning out and sprucing up the house. I always seem to struggle with finding the balance between home and others. On the one hand, I realize the importance of making my home a haven for my family. I can glorify Christ through welcoming others into my home, helping them enjoy their stay, feeding them,etc. On the other hand, should I really care about hanging pictures on my wall? Should I spend less time inside and more time walking around the neighborhood with my girls finding people to encourage and help? When do you stop one good thing and move on to the other?
It reminds me of how important the Holy Spirit is in a Christian's life. Every day is so different, and my role as wife, mother, missionary can change on an almost daily basis. I'm learning to follow His leading and enjoy the balance only He can give. 
New Years Eve around these parts
Isn't my new kitchen artwork beautiful? My friends gifted it to us for Christmas and I couldn't possibly love it more. That constant reminder of Christ's sacrifice for me and the growth that He gives us, placed in my kitchen. The room of the house that gets the most use.
I hope your New Years Eve celebration was a sweet as ours. We kept it simple with all of our littles running around. They did get to stay up late. Ten o'clock. Wow!
I am thankful for:
The look on her face when she sees ice cream being served.
The joy these two have. Their excitement is contagious!
Homemade ice cream cake to ring in the New Year
Because what could be better than ice cream cake?
A Crazy Costume Competition to end the evening? (Lexi decided to wear her Birthday Suit)
How did you spend your New Years Eve?
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