Lovin a life....

Without Cable TV!  Yes, I am loving not having cable.  The TV is almost NEVER on.  It is so peaceful, we get more done, kids are NOT glued to something that might not be appropriate and I don't even have to think about it...it is just nice for so many reasons! We get the basic channels and John and I will usually turn it on after bedtime and if we are chillin...but like today....TV has not been turned on since 9 am this morning when John watched a little of the news show and it is 9 pm at night.  I love it!!! 

Then and Now~~Medieval Times

John and I started dating in High School as most of you know...we were in the band together.  During our Senior Year, on a Band trip, we went to Medieval Times theater in Orlando....the very one we took our kiddos to this past weekend...!!!  I thought these pictures were awesome....THEN and NOW..15 years later!!  My, a lot has changed...not to mention the pounds and different hair and clothing style!  The kids had no idea where we were taking them.  It was on a whim...  They absolutely loved it!!!  J.D. could not believe the amount of food they plopped on his plate and Emily and him both were fascinated with the knights and the princess and the music.  They loved that they could eat with their hands.  Our Knight, the Green Knight, threw Emily a rose that he won during one of the battles...she was elated!  Molly loved watching the horses and looking at the action and listening to the music!  We got to sit directly across from the King and the Princess.  It was just us...I asked if they were special seats..the "winch" said.."sometimes for royalty, sometimes for handicapped."  Anyhow, they were great seats!  Emily now says, "My favorite restaurant isn't Bonefish anymore...it's Medieval Times."  She has expensive taste!!!!

Almost One!

Molly is almost 1 !!!!  I can hardly believe it!  I really do feel like I just gave birth a couple of months ago!  She is just precious!  I love every minute with her!  She doesn't go to the doctor until next week but I thought I would give a little Molly update.  Molly is a happy happy baby but VERY busy!  She wants to be on the go, exploring her surroundings.  We can pretty much close both bathroom doors, the big kids' bedroom door, and block off the dog food (yes, she has tried to eat it!) and then she can roam freely in the kitchen (where she likes to pull the tupperware out), dining room, living room (where she likes to pull out all the DVD's), hallway (where she bangs on the big kids' bedroom door if they are in there, and our bedroom without getting into too much trouble.  She eats shoes so you can't leave those around!  She eats pretty much all kinds of food and spaghetti is still a big favorite.  She loves yogurt, chicken, and the baby gerber granola bars.  She likes all kinds of fruits and veggies....hasn't been a big fan of pasta yet except when it has sauce all over it.  She is at a really great age.  She is walking every where...it is her favorite and most preferred method of getting around now.  She dances to any music...sways to lullabys, waves to total strangers, will blow kisses, do a high five, gives big slobbery open mouth kisses, loves loves her siblings and will "run" to tackle them, she is very attached to her Daddy and they do itsy bitsy spider their very own way that is really cute...she likes a pacifier, goes to sleep by herself, sleeps all night except on occasion, takes two naps a day, drinks from a sippy cup, still nurses in the evening and in the morning and sometimes late afternoon, will not keep her cute bows in, likes to "play" with hats but won't keep them on her head, pretends to use a phone, gasps when she sees something cool or new, says bye bye on occasion and says dog.."gog".  She says dada and mama but not all the time...."gog" is basically her most frequent word and every animal (even the polar bear at SeaWorld) is a "gog."  She laughs and smiles and make all kinds of funny faces...loves snack time...and now plays with her baby dolls and will sometimes rock them.  She shakes her head back and forth to say no no no....and has started to arch her back when she doesn't get her way.  She is my smallest baby...she looks kind of funny walking because she is the size of an 8 month old...kind of short and petite.  She has four teeth and will use them on your lips when she gives kisses!  LOVE HER LOVE HER LOVE HER!

The Tent

I'm doing a really cool study right now on the book of Revelation.  I've studied it a little before but this time something is different....it excites me...it makes me yearn for more....and it actually is pretty cool that there is no way and no body that will totally understand this book and that is the way God meant it.  This book is sooo interesting...it has drama and glory and splendor and battles and death and so much that I could go on and on because I am learning so much.  Number one, I am glad I have the mark of God and I have doubted my salvation in the past but overtime I have learned that my salvation cannot be taken nor lost.  Something else I understand right now is that Righteousness DOES matter on earth.  I cannot read these pages in scripture without thinking this.  We serve a God that gave his ONLY son.  In the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan he describes the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is pleading with His Father to do it differently..he is sweating, crying blood.  Could any parent look at their child crying tears of blood and not do something differently...what AGONY, what TORTURE our Father must have gone through.  I had never thought of it from God's point of view, always from Jesus'.  This same God in Revelation 6: 9-11 tells the souls under the alter after the 5th seal is broken to rest for a little while longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be complete.  The souls are crying out to Him to PLEASE take judgement and avenge their blood but God WILL NOT until the very LAST one that will come to HIM (and I guarantee he knows the number to a tee) does....I just love that.  It is God's timing and He loves us so much that he will not judge until the very last person that will come to know him does. 

I guess that was a little deep but it is sooo cool to me!  I love reading about the unknown.  I am no longer afraid nor scared.  I feel a great peace about Heaven and dying.  Another thing Francis Chan writes about in Crazy Love is Heaven and he asks this question.  Some of us find it easy to accept Christ and we love him but do we really love him...if Heaven were full of the people that we love, no hurt, no pain, etc etc. etc but Jesus was not there...would we still want to go..????  I think what he was trying to get at is that we tend to love God for everything he can do for us at times, we can throw those prayers up and feel better but do we really desire Jesus??? so much that we want to give our day to him not just our 20 min quiet time?  It was thought provoking to me! 

One more thing...I just love this b/c it gave me such a great picture and I could relate!  In Revelation 7: 15-17 it says...For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His TENT over them.  They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes. 

When we are camping in a tent or in the small pop up camper...my whole family, the ones I most love are right there under me..under the same roof...I know John would protect us all at the drop of a hat and risk his life.  It is a very comforting, protective, peaceful feeling to me to have everyone under one TENT!  As soon as I read the above scripture, that is what I pictured....How satisfied that our God will be to have us under His TENT...his very being will being in all His Glory will be covering us!  I think about the children in underdeveloped countries like Haiti with the sun beating down on them, eating mudcakes to survive and it made me think about how awesome it will be for them to be covered by His Tent!!! 

Today I read in Chapter 11 of Revelation vs 7 where it says, "When they have FINISHED their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them....Finished here in Greek (our teacher explained) means complete....She made the comment that no one single servant and true witness of God is going (dying) prematurely...God has the last word...if they leave this world, then their witness was complete....

There is so much we will not understand until we meet our Saviour and that absolutely makes me totally excited....if we could understand everything then he wouldn't be GOD...

"His wisdom's vast, and knows no bound, A deep where all our thoughts are drowned"......Isaaac Watts

J.D's latest picture

The Pioneer Woman

One of the blogs that I "not so frequently" follow is called "The pioneer woman."  I happen to read it tonight and she had a funny yet interesting and enlightening post about why she homeschools...it made me laugh and I thought I would share it. 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2010/03/why-i-homeschool-and-what-my-approach-is/

She is really funny!  Marlboro Man is the nickname she has for her husband...and yes, they live on a ranch. 

Vacationing

This post might raise some eyebrows coming right after my "big decision" post but one of the great things about homeschooling is the ability to come and go as you please.  I KNOW!!!! Homeschooling is not all fun and field trips but here is what John and I have talked about.  We work a crazy schedule!!!  John has the best and worst of shift work....worst being six LONG 12 hour shifts a month and then the best being six DAYS OFF at once per month.  We love to travel.  I think we both just realized this more this past year....I mean our almost 12 month old has already been on three camping trips and 4 vacations.....we like to go and explore!!  Now John and I absolutely loved our Colorado ski vacation together but we said on many occasions how we wished the kids were there to see the snow and the mountains and ever since John has been looking into getting them somewhere to see snow.  We talk about all kinds of vacations that we want to do with them.  They are great vacationers and love to see new things....even if it is a pretty lake beside our camping spot!  A few months ago John and I started writing down places we wanted to take the kids....and then when we decided to homeschool we have talked at length about how we can include our trips in our schooling.  I am very excited about teaching the kids and then letting them explore and experience hands on what they have learned!  I realize that this all may be very dreamy and it takes a lot to make it actually happen but here is our list thus far!

1.  Cumberland Island tent camping
2.  New York City around Christmas
3.  Go see snow and take them skiing
4.  Washington DC
5.   Some sort of cruise
6.  Itchnetucknee Springs
7.  Out West (this will be many many different areas)
8.  Sea World/Disney (going this weekend)

There are others but this would be our top 8 right now.......as we start to homeschool and learn about different places, I'm sure others will arise!

A big decision

Thought I would go ahead and share a big decision that we have made...we will begin homeschooling Emily in the fall.  I could go into a really long epost as to why, how, etc. etc. etc....but honestly I don't have the time nor the patience to sit and write it all out...if you really want to know my heart..I have written it in letter style and shared it with my parents and brother because I am never able to sit down with them without interruptions from the three little blessings in my life.  I would love to send it to any of you that are interested but to make a very long story short....John and I feel like God is calling us as a family to homeschool and there are many other specifics as to why but we are excited and scared and happy and nervous!  John Daniel will continue at Celebration Baptist Kinderschool for Kindergarten and I will use the 4 hours that he is at school to do school here with Emily.  We are soooo excited about our new adventure and right now my head is spinning with all the possibilities!!!  There are literally sooo many curriculums, styles, ways to do things, schedules, extra curricular activities, co-ops, groups, etc.  It will probably take us all summer to just figure out what will will do and how our day/month/semester will look.  BUT the great thing about homeschooling is if something ain't working then you can change it up!  I have interviewed homeschooling moms, adults that have been homeschooled, and critics to homeschooling and I do not have all the answers and I do have some concerns but I am trying to have big faith and put my trust in my Father that wants the best for my children and believe that if I am doing my best, then HE will take care of the details!  I covet your prayers. 

some recent pics