She's Back!

Erika is back home with us.  She had a WONDERFUL time in Winter Park, Colorado, Skiing.
Everybody said she tried everything and did not hold back! :)  That's our girl! :)

After we picked her up from the airport, we took her out to dinner and just enjoyed being together once again. :)
In the car, Erika and Sarah couldn't stop talking and giggling. :)

I asked Erika, "What was the absolute HIGHLIGHT of your trip?" 
She said, there were many highs and she loved it all.... but the VERY BEST part was, on the second night. 
She said the first day and night, everybody was shy and there wasn't a lot of talking.  But the SECOND night, everybody couldn't STOP talking and laughing.  She said she observed Dr. Herring, with such joy on his face, watching everybody interact, and that just made her so happy to see Him so happy. :)
That is OUR ERIKA!  :)  She is very perceptive and such a sweetheart of a girl. :)

For Talent Night, Erika played guitar and they re wrote Taylor Swift's Song "Mean".....
"Some day I'll be chilling at the Denver Airport, waiting on a rental car"......
etc. etc. etc.  :)
Erika will post the song in it's entirety on her blog when she wakes up tomorrow. :) (actually, after church)
And TOMORROW, I get to see pictures! :)
Too late to down load tonight.
These are from the airport. :)

 Alli telling Erika, "I've been waiting forever!" :)

 Together again!

 Somebody checked their legs! LOL  The Duct Tape was because they got broken on the slopes. Duct tape is just AWESOME!

 Back in Daddy's arms. :)

Some Exciting News KINDLE EDITION!

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and you will receive all blog updates directly to your kindle. The first 2 weeks are free.

HERE IS a LINK if you are interested. :)

Thanks for reading!  And please give a review! :)

But What About Consequences??

An Alternate Title Would Be....
"What About Punishment?"

"If you were pulled over by a policeman, because you were speeding, shouldn't you get a ticket?"

What I DESERVE vs. What I HOPE for, can be very different.  Would you WANT a ticket?  Or would you WANT mercy? 
I know for me, I would want mercy!  I have gotten both. :)

In the movie,   Les Miserables, the problem with Jarvet' was that he was a "law follower"; carrying out the letter of the law with no mercy.  He demanded consequences, when he himself  transgressed, because he didn't understand grace or mercy and eventually, it destroyed him.  He was a fear based, consequence based follower!

One of the biggest hurdles to get over, when talking about "Grace Based Parenting", or "BCLC" type parenting, is what about CONSEQUENCES?
Don't they NEED consequences???

I am going to attempt to answer this, but it is both THEOLOGICAL and POSITIONAL.

If I were to ask a Christian, what they deserved because of sin.... They would go to Romans 6:23
"For the Wages of Sin is Death... (what we are deserving of)

But the SECOND half of that same verse says, "But the FREE gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE in Jesus Christ our Lord!"

What we DESERVE vs. GOD'S MERCY AND GRACE, freely given is an amazing TRUTH in Scripture.  John 3:16 says, "This is the way God chose to show His Love for the World. HE gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have Eternal Life" 
17- For God did not send His son into the World to condemn the world, but that the world through HIM, might be saved.

(the world was already condemned back in Genesis.)

King David, whom God said was a "Man after God's own heart".... a "Righteous man"; was also a sinner.  David committed Adultry with Bathsheba while he was king. Her HONORABLE husband didn't want to dishonor the king by going into his wife while there was a battle, so he slept by David's doorstep.  The King tried to get him drunk.... he still refused, so David, trying to cover up His own sin, sent Uriah to his death in battle by putting him on the front lines.  He then took Bathsheba to be his wife.
The Prophet came to David and told him a story....
"There was a man who had a little sheep.  He loved his lamb and treated it more like a pet.
The rich man, wanted a feast so he came and TOOK the little lamb from the man and had a feast !"

As David listened to the story, he became angry.... "This man is DESERVING of DEATH!"
And the prophet said, "That man is YOU!"  "You took Uriah's wife, and had him killed"!
David was DEVASTATED by the words, and repented before the Lord in sackloth and ashes, asking that the Lord not remove His spirit from upon him and that He would wash him and cleanse him.

(This is one of my favorite worship songs, taken directly from Scripture in Psalms)

David also had many "Natural Consequences" that took place in his life.  Because of his leadership in some areas, he battled his entire life, and His family was a mess.  
But He was STILL a man who passionately wanted to serve the Lord!

As I pour through the scripture, I find case after case where those who are struggling are helped....
by the Lord.  I see the Prostitute, the Blind Man, the Lame Man, and many, MANY more...
All people with personal sin that needed forgiven. 

I see in my OWN life, so many failures and mistakes, sins, wrongs..... But GOD.....
He is FAITHFUL AND JUST to forgive!  My standing before Him is FORGIVEN. 
Why?  Because He sent His SON to take on the SIN of the World.  HE BECAME SIN FOR US... and a Righteous God, poured out His wrath upon His son, Raised Him from the Dead and IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED..... He took MY punishment.

With this in mind..... I will try to answer why we do not use "consequences", and yet our girls are thriving.  We are not raising little monsters who are demanding everything, but respectful and kind girls who love the Lord, and love us. They are not perfect, but neither am I....

I remember when Alli and I were in North Carolina in the hotel.... her confession that she needed to tell me," I have a secret to tell you, I have a really bad side"....I thought to myself.... glad she knows this.   "I have a secret to tell you.... "I have a really bad side too!"  I know I have mentioned this a few times over the last 2 years.... 
(All of our first posts on Miss Alli start in March of 2011)
I told her our bad side is called a "Sin Nature", we all have one. :)

She seemed almost relieved that she was not the only one.  I cannot find the post where I mentioned this first, but it is down there somewhere! (I need a better search engine)
The VERY FIRST thing we want to do with our children is to teach them all about forgiveness.
It is a concept that is misunderstood even in the church.
Forgiveness does NOT give license for the person forgiven to go on doing whatever they want. Forgiveness brings about LIFE CHANGE....
It doesn't happen all at once, but it has happened for EACH of our girls.

The concept of being FORGIVEN....is FREEING. Our burdens are lifted.  The heavy burdens of shame are removed and we are surrounded in unconditional love.

When our children, even our children who have had the hardest hearts, that were doing everything in the world to keep from being vulnerable again, because they didn't want to hurt again, have succumbed to unconditional love.  And they LIKE it!  THEY LOVE IT!  But it was very scary for them at first.

Their lives have CHANGED and so have ours. 
If we can talk to our girls about wrongs when they come up, and they repent, and we forgive, it doesn't make much sense to punish.  Our grace is not cheap, nor is God's.  LOVE COMES WITH SACRIFICE.  We lay down our lives each day.
We also INSTRUCT and TEACH.... as Christ said, "Go and sin no more"......
We can tell our girls after a talk, "Let's do our best not to do that.... instead, let's work on doing this!"
And we give an example.  They are willing to try, even when it is hard.

I HONESTLY do not think we would have the same results if we laid down the law and punished.
Instead, we allow natural consequences to take over.
Society does not tolerate a screaming child in the market.  (Or I should say I don't)  So when they were younger, they knew, unacceptable behavior would lead to an immediate trip home, no matter what stage we were in the market.  It has happened once to EACH of our children except for Miss Erika. :)  There was no punishment or scolding; just a following through on proper behavior.

Instead of punishing a child for talking back, address the talking back and teach them a better way to express themselves.  Sometimes, they just don't GET HOW to communicate.  Remember where your child came from.  Ours came to us, as I have always said, "Potty Trained and Talking Back!"
In Karyn Purvis's book "The Connected Child", chapter 8 addresses the issue of correct communication.  She has a short list of "good words" "bad words" to teach appropriate communication.
Instead of "I hate you!"  "I feel sad or angry".   Instead of "That's not fair!"  "I feel jealous".
etc. Redirecting from inappropriate to appropriate can happen by saying, "That is not ok!"  "Let's try again."  IF you have been practicing and teaching (disciplining/discipling) on appropriate responses, your child will be prepared to respond correctly.

DISCIPLINE IS WHAT YOU LIVE OUT! IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG, BUT IT IS CONTINUAL TEACHING WHILE THINGS ARE GOING RIGHT!

Stay away from the bossy "Because I said so's".   Instead, if a child asks why, offer them an answer.
Why not? 
If we are building relationship, they need to be able to trust us, and asking why, is not a bad thing.
I used to tell my boys that I don't mind answering why, but I want you to obey first....
With the girls this has worked  LATER, but not in the beginning. I needed to answer the why and then I had to go the second step and teach them why it is important to obey first, especially because it could be a safety issue.
"Mama will ALWAYS do what is best for you and keep you safe!"  "Trust me!"

So back to the police scenario.... "When your kids grow up, they won't be pampered by the police or job etc."  This is VERY TRUE, and it is something we TELL them and teach to them, giving examples of what COULD happen in the job market, or in general society, preparing them that you might GET that ticket.  And when you do, it will be according to the LAW, and it will be deserved, and you must be respectful and take responsibility.

As they have learned to be responsible at home, this will carry over into society as they get older.
We are to teach the statues and laws of the Lord to our children when they wake up, as we eat, as  we walk together and talk together...and as they go to bed. 
What are those laws?  They are laws on how to honor God and treat mankind.
They can be summed up in 2 commands.  "Love the Lord your God with All your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself.

In order to love your neighbor as yourself, you have to LOVE yourself!  It isn't the self satisfying love of pride.... it is a healthy love, a right perspective that we have value, because GOD values us.
And then, we teach our children that the golden rule ISN'T do to others what they do to you!  It is NOT and eye for an eye! 
It is, "How do YOU want to be treated?"  Treat others in that way.

I have actually had a girlie tell me one time.... I want you to hit me. :(  This was a long time ago.
I told her, no. I don't want to hit you, I want to hug you.  She sobbed.  Her shame was deeply ingrained.
We have come a LONG ways from those days.  In fact, it was almost 2 years before her heart truly softened.  She sat on my lap one day and said, "Mommy, I want God to take my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh". 
She knew what this meant because I shared it with her all the time.
The day came, where she was able to put her guard down, leave her RAD behind and move into GRACE and MERCY.  

Looking back on the last 9 years of our lives has taught me more about LOVE and GRACE than I have ever learned in my entire life, and I'm old. :)

What some do not understand about Grace based parenting, is that you are NOT SPOILING your child by choosing to disciple them.  Disciplining them is TEACHING them all about the ways of life, teaching them about the narrow way that leads to life and the broad road that leads to destruction.
When we love them through their confessions and do not grieve them, or shame them, they GROW.
They grow in relationship to us, and they grow in themselves, learning forgiveness and HOW to forgive! We grow as people and it spills out into other relationships, including our marriages,
work relationships and how we deal with others.  It is a new set of lenses to view the world through.

Forgiveness is PARAMOUNT to healing in the life of the traumatized child.  It is PARAMOUNT to healing in the life of any person.
If you are harboring resentment towards your child, even secretly, it could quite possibly be coming out in your parenting, and your child will pick up on it! 

FORGIVE them and Heal Together. :)

More Birthdays

Mike and Alli already celebrated their birthdays in early February.  But two of our sons and our daughter in law also have birthdays in February.

Happy Birthday Timothy, Joseph and Rebecca! :)

Tim and Joe are not quite a whole year apart.  I remember when Timothy was 4, his brother turned 4, so he decided he would be 6 like his big brother.  When we explained he was turning 5, not six he was very upset... "How come HE gets to be MY age and I can't be Chuckie's age?"  LOL
I loved those little years with my boys. 
And now I enjoy seeing them with their own children, explaining things to them. 
But for our grandson Sam..... whoa! 
His question today, at the ripe age of 5..... "If God is a loving God, why do bad things happen?"
Ummmm....wow, at 5! :)
I know that Joseph and Rebecca will handle this question just fine!  After all, they already covered if God was a Spirit or had a body. LOL

Y'all are getting OLD!

Valentine's Night.....

WE had a WONDERFUL time at our friend's house.   There were 7 couples that all met together for a very special evening.  
Normally, we invite one couple to our home and have a special dinner. But another of our friends, decided, let's do a bigger get together. :)

We played the "Odywed Game"..... the guys and gals separated and had to answer questions about our spouses and ourselves.
We also guessed how many years of marriage were between all 7 couples! 
And lastly, besides the wonderful dinner....

We danced the Virginia Reel!  Here is what the dance looks like.....

But we were older than all these kids. :)

The children were all at another couple's house having a Pizza Party and playing together.

When we were headed to pick up the girls, we saw what we THOUGHT was a burning plane in the sky! It was sooo odd, we pulled the car over expecting a plane to crash!  3 other couples stopped with us, and we couldn't quite figure out what we were seeing.

When we got home, we looked on the internet and read that a large asteroid had passed by and lit up the Texas/Oklahoma sky, but it was at 8:00, NOT 10:50!
THEN.... about an hour ago, we read that a meteor struck Russia, injuring several people!

What a night!
I am thinking we were seeing that meteor entering our air space.... It appeared to be hovering, but maybe it was just coming down.... and then across the sky it went!
Here is a link to what happened in Russia. 

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I Don't Think She's Excited Enough!

Erika is in Winter Park Colorado..... They have figured out how to get her down that hill! :)
Her latest email:
I hoping I can send you some tonight. I long to hug you and dad. I am really missing your cooking. Dr. Haring so helpful and so has his wife.  My ski trainers are fabulous. I love you very much.

Erika M.
She is such a special sweetie! :)
I miss her..... So happy she is having a great time but can't wait until Saturday! We get to be back together! :)
Here she is going down. Thank you Dr. Ellis for sending this. :)

Turning a Failure Into A Success! OR The Bathroom Floor SAGA....

It was just today that I read part of a devotional by Sally Clarkson where she talked about praying in her room, spending time with the Lord and then came out to see her boys having a pillow fight by some precious keepsakes.  She asked, "How can I be praying one minute, communing with the Lord and be angry the next!"  
That so rang true today in my life.  (Alli gave permission for me to post this. She said, "If it helps other people...."  Love my girl.)
(yes, it was really that dirty!) 
 Miss  Alli has been home almost 2 years!  March 2nd is coming up very soon, and the stresses of the years before her coming to us, were apparent today.  We have been seeing some hyper vigilant behavior, some old behaviors that have not been around for a long time and a general sense of anxiousness. 
She had been holding it together quite well, with little bits of fizz from that shaken bottle of soda coming out just a smidge at a  time, until today.  It sorta poured out.

Today was one of those moments where I felt we needed to push through on a matter, even though I knew she was stressed. We always address behaviors that are disrespectful or dishonest. 
Today it was BOTH.... I think, know I could have chosen a better time, as in.... not when she was upset.... that is standard! But no.... I had to go and shake that bottle and open the cap!  duh...

We have not seen her so upset in a very long time.  She had been called out on a 1/2 truth; and as you know, a 1/2 truth is a whole lie.  It was a very simple thing. 
She was supposed to sweep and clean the bathroom floor.  It has looked the same since Sunday.
So, I called to her and said, "Sweetie, you need to sweep and clean the bathroom floor." 
She was very annoyed and said, "I DID IT ALREADY!"
Ummm. Really?
"YES!"
So, I pointed out to her the obviousness before both of our eyes, but she refused to look.  Instead she got mad. 
So I tried a different approach.... "Maybe you THOUGHT you swept the floor?"
"NO, I ACTUALLY DID IT!"
Instead of saying something like, "I see you are out of sorts, let's take a few minutes so you can calm down, it's ok and reassure her that she is safe.....I chose to address the obvious that was before me, right then.... 
"Alli, I'm sorry, but you are not being honest!"  "To say you swept the floor when it is OBVIOUS that you didn't is not telling the truth, it is a lie."
Now, had I waited, all would have gone well, I am convinced of that.  But I didn't feel like waiting.

The lie and disrespect needed to be addressed, just not in the heat of the moment.

I want to say that I ALWAYS want to err on the side of grace when it comes to issues like lying. I want to make SURE they fully understand and get what I am saying and what they are saying.
So if I wasn't SURE.... I would not call somebody out on it.
OH BOY! She was hoppin' mad!  Then came more disrespect. "You're are just TRYING to MAKE ME MAD!" "YOU PUT THAT DIRT ON THE FLOOR!"   (I'm not kidding)

And then I became angry. "NO! I didn't... and YOU are being disrespectful now!" 
I told her I was angry and that it was wrong for her to be so out of control.... (as I felt like I was losing control).  And then I told her, mama needs to take a break here. I'm not happy about raising my voice.  She remained in the bathroom and I went in the other room.

She was sitting on the bathroom floor angry and defensive.
I threw up a prayer and went back in with the broom.  I asked her to please show me how she had swept the bathroom floor. I really wanted to see. Maybe I had not taught her well enough.  After numerous refusals, she finally did.  It was almost humorous that she showed me truthfully how she did it.  It was  basically two limp swipes with a broom and that was it.

So, I replied, "I see."   "You didn't sweep or clean the floor." 
She said, "I never said I did the corners or under the rug or cleaned up the spot!"  "I just said I swept the floor!"
By then she was much calmer.
I tried to use an object lesson.....
"Let's pretend you were in a court of law and you were on trial for not sweeping the bathroom floor.  Pictures of the floor were passed around to the jury to see, and it was time for them to make a decision.  What decision do you think they would come up with? 
She said, "They would say I didn't do it. But they would be wrong!" LOL

So I gave her more analogies:

If I were to ask, "Did you do your math and you said yes, but there were only 2 math problems done out of 50, would you be telling the truth?
If somebody brought their car to daddy to change the oil and he took out the filter and oil and then went on to something else, would that person's oil be changed?
If you did 10 dishes and put them in the dishwasher but there were 20 dishes in the sink, would the dishes be done?
She FINALLY said, "I understand mama; I'm sorry I didn't tell the truth." 

While I was talking to her, I began to clean that floor and sweep it and show her once again the proper way to do it. We went on to the sinks, and toilet, trash, and putting out fresh towels.
I sat down with her for a little while longer and told her how much I want her to do well; how much I love her and SOOOO want her to succeed!  And that we will NEVER, EVER, EVER, GIVE UP, NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER! EVER.
We snuggled a little bit and then addressed the disrespect.  She said she felt like I was just trying to "get her in trouble" so that is why she talked back. 
WHY would you think that?
"I dunno?"  And she probably doesn't know.  Reassuring her that it is not in my heart to do that was all I could do. " I don't like chaos! I like peace!"

She said, "ME TOO!"  HORRAY for those little words! :)

It was a good talk..... She apologized once again and there was a sense of peace as we prayed, confessed our fault to our Lord together, and prayed to heal her heart once again and create new and positive memories for this time of year.

And then, I said, "Did you clean the bath tub?"  :)

Movie Making

The girls were at it again making a new movie. This time, they invited their  friend J along with M.  He enjoyed getting all dirty, and creating. :)

 Alli and Erika, the Makeup artists.

 J was a good sport!

 The Whole Crew!

And here is the finished product. :)

UP UP and AWAY.....

 Erika departed Texas for Colorado today!  It was a HUGE send off for 13 very fortunate teenagers!
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children staff, surgeons, prosthetists and the children are on a Ski Trip until Saturday.

 She said her goodbyes

 She started writing in her journal on the way

American Airlines donates the plane ride, but they also threw them a huge party! There was food, games, media, the American Airlines mascot, and even a dog who lost his leg in Afghanistan!
She was pretty excited to go.  She knows two of the kids going, and that made her feel comfortable.

 Erika and Dr. Herring

 The group!

We watched as the plane taxied to the run way and then the fire department blew water cannons over the plane!  She'll never forget this.  I know I won't!  Wow!

Another Movie with Friends!

\

The girls had such a fun time today making a new movie. :)

 Introducing JOHN. :)

 REAL mud being applied.....

 The CAST

Duck Tape Fun

Alli went out for her special time with Daddy last night. She came back with a gift for Anna!
Justin Bieber Duck Tape! LOL
So what does a girl DO with Justin Bieber Duck Tape??

She decorates her Bunk Bed Ladder. LOL

Support Group

Tonight is Support Group!  If you are local and would like to come, you are welcome!
We meet at Saxby's Coffee House on Hwy. 544 in Murphy, right near Sprouts 7:00-8:30.

Tonight we will be finishing Chapter 8 in the book "The Connected Child".
You can download the study guide for free from the website: www.empoweredtoconnect.org

Chapter 8 is a WONDERFUL Chapter!  The Connected Child is also available online in paperback or Kindle edition.

Gluten Free Egg Drop Soup

I don't know about you, but I really REALLY enjoy a nice bowl of Egg Drop Soup.  I haven't had an egg until our date last week,  in over 4 months, so I figured it was ok to make some delicious soup. :)
Mike and I went to P.F. Changs and had soup last week and ever since I was wanting some more!

So I fiddled around in the kitchen and came up with this recipe! It is wonderful!

            GLUTEN FREE EGG DROP SOUP
4 cups of chicken broth (organic gluten free) (reserve 1/3 cup for cornstarch)
1/4 large carrot diced into small pieces
1 green onion chopped
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
2 TLB corn starch
2 large beaten eggs

Pour all ingredients except corn starch and eggs into a pot and heat to a rolling boil.
Stir in beaten eggs to spread around. They cook instantly.
Mix the 1/3 cup of NON HEATED chicken broth with the corn starch until smoothe and then pour into soup stirring until it thickens a bit.
Serve HOT.

For non gluten free eaters, you can use the chinese noodles to put on top of the soup.
For gluten free eaters, it is just as good plain, or you can use fried rice sticks.
I just ate it plain.

A February Funny

"Mom, she's going to give me 'shaken teenager syndrome'!"
Anna said this as Alli was picking her up to give her a morning hug.... LOL

Sometimes .......

Sometimes we have to just stay and be..... today was supposed to be "Bright Lights" group.  Erika, Anna and Sarah all went.  Miss Alli needed to stay with mama for some mama time.

She had planned to go, but it was quickly evident that she needed to stay home.  So I took the other girls down the street and dropped them off at the Bright Light's location and came back home with Miss Alli. 

We sat down to have our talk about what had happened and she listened quite well.  I am proud of her for that!  We really DID have a great talk. Right before we were done, she was looking intently in my eyes and I said, "Sweetie, Don't be a dull bulb! Be a Bright Light! "  And she burst out laughing!
"Mama, you are so funny!" :)

Goats and Doritos

My favorite commercial of the super bowl was the Dorito Eating Goat.  :)

I wanted to see if goats really LIKE chips and if they really CRUNCH that loud.
The answer is Yes and YES!  We didn't use Doritos, but we did use Tortilla chips. :)

One Of THOSE Days!

Yesterday was one of THOSE days, where you wonder if somebody put something in the koolaid!
We started off the morning with some agitation and bossiness, and I THOUGHT it was all settled, until the afternoon when  we had a repeat of the very same thing!

It had been a VERY BUSY weekend, and many times, too much activity can wreak havoc on a certain young lady. :) 
But I was also tired too!  I looked at Mike and said, "I think I need to go for a drive!" 
He laughed and said, "I think you need to read your last blog post.".  :)
He was right.... We need to be very careful how we phrase things.  It would be much better to say, "My window of tolerance is closed!" <------link  My girls understand what this means.  But to say, "I need to go for a drive",  sends the message that I am rejecting; and I don't want to send that message.  What I really wanted needed was peace. 
The window of tolerance is such a good picture to remember, and it works for both adults AND children.  If we can recognize it in ourselves, a quick solution could be just taking 5 minutes to go and breathe, walk on the treadmill and pray, or get a quick shower.  It is MUCH better to excuse one's self from a situation for a brief moment by saying, "Mama's window of tolerance is closed right now. I'll be right back! I love you!"  Otherwise, things may not go so well in the communication department.  We need to remember this for our children too.  Sometimes giving them a 5 minute break before talking to them about something, or if you are in the middle of talking to them, and things break down, saying, "How about if we just take 5 minutes to think!"  This is very helpful.

So, after a few minutes, we sat down and together worked things out with our daughter; helping her understand once again, TONE of voice, and reminding her that she does NOT fully understand English, and in fact MISUNDERSTANDS much. 
Because we have a relationship with her, it makes it easier when we need to correct her behavior.  It is never pleasant to point out one's faults.
What was really great though, was the Sunday morning Prayer time was on Psalm 78. The Sunday School class discussed how our WORKS are not what bring salvation, but it is a GIFT, to us, FROM GOD, because he chooses to give, and chooses to love us, not because of anything We do!
And then the final service was all on Luke 6:43-49.
(the wise man built his house upon the rock)
Our pastor, Justin, is so wonderful and HUMAN in his approach to teaching each week. He is able to rightly divide the word of GOD and get to the HEART of the issue.
He reinforced once again, that we are all flawed human beings, with sin natures, and that GOD is rich in mercy and grace.

I am so thankful for such good teaching!

Idioms! Why English Is So HARD To Understand!

Idioms  <------link are a MAJOR part of English communication!
It is amazing how often we talk in Idioms.  We tell our children "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"  ""Don't put the cart before the horse!" "A stitch in time, saves nine!"  And many, MANY more!
Our children who are foreign to English have a LOT to learn in regards to Idioms!
Communication is SO important! 
I remember our son Tim coming back from his Russian Missions trip and telling us that when he gave his testimony to a group of young people they all Laughed when he said, "When I was born, the doctors' said  I was a vegetable!"  
What he was saying didn't translate well into Russian. :)  He was saying "I was brain dead".....
The young people who heard what he said thought he was saying that he was a literal vegetable! And they laughed!

I remember SO WELL when Erika was home just a few years and I saw a man walking a dog.... I said, "Oh Look! there is a German Shepherd! "
Her reply was, "Oh yes! And he has  a dog too!"
LOL
Communication with our children is so important!   It was very evident in Sunday School recently that children who had always lived in America understood Idioms much better than Children who didn't originally come from America!
This makes me wonder how many times we have said things to our kids,  using Idioms, and they totally DO NOT UNDERSTAND what we are saying! :)

My Mike

Today is ALSO Mike's birthday. :)  I am so thankful for him.  With two birthdays on the same day, we structure things a little differently. :)
FIRST: We started out with a Birthday Hair Cut!

 (this was his Martian Child imitation)
 Mike's received an old book and  the "Frank Capra" movie  collection.
I believe we will be watching "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" tonight. :) The girls also wrote loving notes to him, and he was smothered in daughterly love. :)

It was a relaxing morning and then Mike had to go out to work.

Mike requested his favorite Dinner.... "Christie's Chinese Fried Rice.  He also requested a "Cherry chip" cake.  I couldn't find a cherry chip cake mix, so we made one up.  I sure hope it tastes good. It looks good! :)  Sorta funny, Alli has a brown cake and Mike a pink cake!  :)


Happy Birthday Sweetheart! :)

Happy 13th Birthday To Miss Alli

Today is Alli's 13th birthday AND her 23 month Anniversary! :) 
Erika made this video for her.  Thank you Erika!