Josh and Jesus

Josh asked Jesus into his heart tonight! We are so proud and excited for him. For the last couple of nights our topic during our family devotions  has been about the second coming. They have been asking a lot of questions about this and are very concerned about those that will be left behind during that time. Tonight Livy reminded us that she will be going because she already asked Jesus to be her Savior. Before we laid the kiddos down Josh asked if He could ask Jesus into his heart. So we all gathered around our little man and Jeff prayed with him and Josh asked Jesus to be his Savior. I don't care how old you are, when you feel Him calling you,  you should not put it off another day. It's funny because I am having the kiddos memorize Matthew 18 and  we just memorized the first 5 verses where Jesus says,: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Whom am I to tell my children they need to wait until they are older to ask Jesus into their hearts when He tells us we all should have hearts as innocent and trusting as little children. 
We love you Josh man and we are so proud that you made the most important decision you will ever need to make!

Happy Birthday Jeff

Happy 37th birthday to my sweetie today....I think it is 37....

Last weekend Jeff was filling out some adoption paperwork and I was checking over it for corrections and noticed he had my age down as 34. I tell him he needs to correct that.

He says, "That's right your 34."

"No I'm 35." I say back

"No your 34 and I'm 36." He says

Do you have one of those moments when your mind goes blank and you can't think and process anything. I'm having one of these moments at this time and say to him, "You mean for the last year I have been thinking I'm 35 and I'm only 34!"

He says, " Yeah. You mean for the last year you thought you were 35."

Ok, my mind is back and I know I am right. I ask him what year I was born and he gets that right. I tell him to do the math.

"Oh, that's right I'm going to be 37 and so you are 35." Now I'm the one laughing.

I guess the closer to 40 you get the more the mind goes. Oh well. I was hoping that maybe this one time I could admit happily that he was right. I love you sweetheart!!

Date Night

I  wanted to invite you all to our church, Upper Deer Creek, for a Valentine's Day Date Night. On February 11 at 6:30 join us for a catered dinner and telecast entertainment with singer Michael O'Brien, comedian Jeff Allen, speakers Dr. Greg & Erin Smalley, and Rev. Samuel Rodriquez.

Cost is only $20 per couple. Deadline to register is February 4. Just let me know if you are interested and I will be happy to sign up you and your sweetie!

 

Need a laugh

Ok, the kiddos are so ready for their little sister to arrive. They are now dressing up Nathan in princess clothes. Daddy is not happy....but I can't resist taking his picture. He will get a kick out of them when he's 16. Hope this makes you laugh today.

What a pretty little princess.

At this point he is asking to take it off.. But not before I get one more full size picture for laughs someday.

Schoolroom

For all  SCM moms...here's a look at the redecorated schoolroom.  Four years ago when we  started homeschooling I  had a vision of how I wanted the schoolroom to look like. I  never  mentioned it to Jeff, but right before Christmas break I let him in on my vision. The next thing I knew he was off getting the materials needed in order for it to happen and he told me to order the things I needed. So today he finished up the nature/science table and I am very pleased with the results. The room is only 11'x12' so I really took advantage of every inch of the walls I have leaving enough floor space to sit and do activities.  I really thought of how I could use every inch of space without it looking crowded  but making sure we weren't wasting space. Here's a peek of our little schoolroom.

Kiddos new 7 foot desk. Plenty of room for all of them to work at once with me on the other side teaching them. It has also been nice for painting, doing crafts and even cooking. I got their chairs at Wal-Mart for a good deal. They love them.

   Teacher's desk which connects to kiddos. Plenty of room for all my stuff.

Storage above my desk. I can't stand having piles laying around so on the shelf  I added paper trays for kiddos work and different types of paper. Under the shelf  I added some cork boards for notes, upcoming field trips,  and to-do lists.

Our morning board. To the side are  art pieces of the artist we are studying. I found the frames at the Dollar Store. Changing the pictures in them is so easy.

We got them beanbag chairs for Christmas. They have really enjoyed using them for their reading time and doing activities on the floor.  I just added the magnetic board for them to use for spelling and other activities.  I would like to add some kind of  shelving for their magnet pieces and map tools under the maps . Above that is is the  Charlotte Mason  I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will which we recite every morning. There is also wall storage above the maps the length of the wall.

Wall storage keeps all our manipulatives,  paints, books and other odd things. Above them I keep the kiddos binders that holds their finished work. I take advantage of all the wall space up to the ceiling.

Other wall has two storage cabinet with our nature/science table in the middle. On the front of the storage cabinets I attached clips to hold the kiddos paintings.

Nature/Science table.  The bottom part is holding puzzles and some activities for my preschooler,

Just sharing

I just came across this and thought I would share. Love it!!

Thanks!

On Thursday we asked for a prayer for as we decide if he should switch shifts. Thursday night before Jeff left for work we once again prayed together about it and he left. A half hour later he called me and said that they asked him if would like to go to days for a month to fill in. I know it's not exactly what we were looking for as it is only a month. However, it is a month for him to be on a regular sleep schedule and to determine if that is why he is so tired. Also, it also gives us another month to make the decision about the afternoon shift. So we want to thank any of you that prayed for us on Thursday as we feel it is an answer for the time. He's so awesome!

 “What is impossible with man is possible with God." Luke 18:27

Need Prayer

Jeff and I would greatly appreciate any prayers we could get right now. Jeff has not been sleeping well for the last month. He can't fall asleep half the time leaving him totally exhausted and not feeling like himself. We feel that after being midnights for over ten years his body is not doing well adjusting to sleeping during the day then on his nights off sleeping during the night. It has taken a toll on him. So now we have been praying if he should go to afternoons until he is able to go to days (hopefully by next year). Neither one of us feel that we have heard Him give us an answer. We are weighing the pros and cons of this undetermined change, and we are at a loss as there are benefits and losses to both options. So please pray that He will show us what we need to do. If it is to go to afternoons please pray that we will have a smooth transition and that Jeff will start to feel better soon.
"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Happy New Year

Bringing in the new year with the Zeck's and Chamber's at our traditional New's Year Eve Party at the Zeck's .Always a time filled with laughter and making great memories.

Silly girls. 

So yesterday I was reading Joshua chapter 1 where God tells him to be Strong and Courageous as he is about to go to take over the promised land. It made me think that I don't want to continue to go back to the desert taking up any bad habits, fears, etc. I want to go to the promised land He has in store for me. Pastor Joe reminded us this morning that the evil one already has his traps in place for this year. In Joshua 1:7-9 it says "Be strong and courageous. Be very careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." So this year press on to the promised land in has in store for you. He will not leave you to face those trials alone. Be strong and courageous!