Another Week!

Meet sweet Stella!

Stella is my sweet cousin!

She looks JUST like Amy to me!

Soooooo pretty!

I LOVE HER!

She has been coming for half days this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday!

So far....so good!

She comes from 8-12

She eats, snuggles, and naps.....and goes home.

Such a sweet little dose of sugar!

She loves to listen to Lydia read!

It is nice having a little baby to snuggle!

Lots of people to play with!

But boy oh boy....do the days go FAST!  We start promptly at 7:30....and it takes every minute of the day to get school done!

However I do count moments like this as PE, Playtime, and Cleanup....

The kids are dancing and jumping around.....which equals exercise!

Sweet Linc....is having a good ole time.....which equals playtime!

and

Mindy is eating all the crumbs from under my couch cushions....which counts as cleaning!

I say multi-tasking ROCKS!

and

So does my job!

Look at the view of my world....

wouldn't trade it!

While I keep busy at home....I feel good knowing that these two fine men are keeping the City of Durham humming!

Seriously though....Randy loves his job!

He loves working for Rick!

They are a lot alike......in more then just their Sunday attire!

This weekend we had a quick trip with my parents and sister and brother and sister in law and their kids.....plus Sophie's friend Hannah to Pullen Park!

My parents treated all the kids to a ride on the carousel

SMILES!

They also treated the whole crew to a train ride!

LOVE Gray's smile!

I left the park with some VERY tired, hot, and thirsty children....

So we stopped at the closest gas station and got slushies!

YUM!

We have also spent our fair share of time at the doctors offices this week:

Orthodontist....

Checkups....

and Follow up appointments at the Dermatologist.....and Nose doctor.....Whew!

Lots...of....waiting....rooms!

Highlight of Jack's week.....

When we were headed home from one of our appointments we passed by a golf course near our neighborhood....and the sprinkler was on....he said PLEASE let us run through it....PLEASE!

I almost said no.....I'm glad I didn't....

They LOVED it!

And all this activity....and fun....and peoples....equals LOTS OF MESS!

Now...don't ask why the milk is in the sink....because I don't know????

This is just how I found it!

Things are hopping around here!

Love,

Kim

The Late Easter Post

We had a good Easter.

We gave the kids their Easter Baskets on Saturday.

They were all smiles!

After church on Sunday we went to Mama's

We tried to get a picture with all the cousins....

It proved to be more difficult then we expected!

Everything was beautiful!

Sophie had fun playing in Nanny's high heels!



Aunt Stacy had hid eggs for all the kids to have an Easter egg hunt

They had a great time.

The weather was beautiful!

I wish we could have stayed longer.

However we are blessed with ALL our families living here and we really do LOVE that but it does make for busy holidays!

So we jetted out of Mama's and headed to the lake to have Easter with Randy's family.

I don't have any pictures though.....I left my camera :(

HOWEVER we did have a great time.

The kids played on the camp playground.

We went on a sunset boat ride on Randy's parents new boat.

FUN!

All the grandkids got to take a turn driving.

We had a great dinner at a really neat restaurant on the lake.

We headed back and the kids had a campfire.

The grandkids spent the night with Grammy and Pepaw.

(all except Andrew- he had to come home with us for an early morning followup from his surgery)

The kids had a GREAT time and came home dirty and exhausted!

Looking forward to more good times at the lake this summer.

We're Expecting!

We Are Expecting.....

PUPPIES!

Sorry-I just couldn't resist :)

Today has been a BIG day for BABIES at RBC!  Baby Bennett, Baby Jake and Ella, and looks like Baby Reese will make her appearance later today too.......

LOVE THESE BABIES!

CONGRATULATIONS

Brooke and Kevin, Jenny and Mike, and Kelly and Brad!

So no I will never be making that wonderful announcement again....but our sweet dog Mindy is indeed expecting!

She is due at the end of the month and if you are interested in one of her puppies you can contact Susan at Golden Creek Kennels

Don't know if there are any reservations available but all Susan's dogs are precious!

My kids are BEGGING for me to let them keep one.....

The Answer:

NO!  Absolutely No WAY!

My House is CROWDED!  Wouldn't trade Mindy for anything.....but no more puppies for me!

Happy Weekend!

Attitude Adjustment

I am in the thick of it right now.  Like so many other mom's.  Andrew's surgery and the barrage of birthdays and fun family celebrations piled on top of  the crunch of school and upcoming EOG's plus the mess of spring.....can we say sand, dirt, scraped knees, the constant in and out= MESS x 5= HUGE MESS!  Not to mention the big closet change from winter to spring x 5.  It is easy to get overwhelmed.  It is easy to feel unappreciated.  It is easy to feel overworked and underpaid!
My want list adds up: select curriculum for school next year, plan Sophie's party, make lesson plans for History for the rest of the co-op year, finish switching the closets, take my van to the car wash, exercise, take a nap, have a yard sale......and on and on and on......work in the yard......go to the farmer's market.......go to the Homeschool Gathering Place......Have a coffee date......Have a date......Watch a movie without falling asleep.....I get focused on me. I get focused on self.  What I want.  What I SHOULD have.  What I SHOULD be able to expect.

So while I was coloring my hair at 6:00 am, because a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do, and waiting for it to process.....to a nice magenta.....but that is a whole other very sad story....UGH......I read this quote:

"When the laundry is for the dozen arms of children or the dozen legs, it's true, I think I'm due some appreciation. So comes a storm of trouble and lightning strikes joy. But when Christ is at the center, when dishes, laundry, work, is my song of thanks to Him, joy rains. Passionately serving Christ alone makes us the loving servant to all. When the eyes of the heart focus on God, and the hands on always washing the feet of Jesus alone-the bones, they sing joy, and the work returns to its purest state: eucharisteo. The work becomes worship, a liturgy of thankfulness."

I LOVE this quote. It comes from a book called: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where you are One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. You may want to read it.....good stuff!

Thank you Lord!  I needed a change of perspective!

This IS my ministry.  So as I went through the day today it was the same.....the cooking, the dishes, the teaching, the cleaning, the picking up, the putting away......I realized I am not doing it for the multitude of children....I'm doing it for the Lord.  It is my worship.  Wow....does that change my attitude or what? 

My whole day....my whole attitude....my whole perspective changed when my focus went from self, and family, and others.....and went to HIM alone!

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to serve right where I am!

Update

Sophie had a BiG fashion decision for Saturday.  She couldn't decide whether to paint her nails with flowers, for the wedding.....or puppy dog prints, for her sisters birthday party.

So after much debate she decided to make a pattern: flowers, puppy prints, flowers, puppy prints.

Sophie has been a bit excited about THE WEDDING!

The girls all LOVED the wedding.

I LOVE this picture!

After the wedding....we rushed home to get ready for the party.

Audrey's 5th Birthday!

We decorated eggs.  Had an Easter Egg Hunt.

We ate!

Made a Mess

She had a great time!

Love my girl!

Unfortunately when you turn 5 you also have to go to the doctor and get a checkup :(

And 5 year old checkups are not fun!

Poor Girl....

4 shots....and a finger print.

OUCH!

At least we have the best nurse ever.....: Mrs. Pam!!!!

She gave Audrey a little bear...how sweet is she?

Well....now that that is over....she hopefully won't have to get any more shots for a long time!

Happy Easter!

He has Risen!

Darkness before the Dawn....Yes I'm going to blog about it

You know what struck me this morning as I have been pondering: Darkness comes before dawn.  Death comes before the resurrection.  That Friday on the Hill had to be a heart wrenching time.  It had to devastating for disciples to see their leader, their friend, their Lord hanging naked nailed to a tree.  He was being spit on, mocked, misunderstood, made fun of.  Can you even fathom?  This was their Savior.  This was the one they had left family, jobs, their lives for.  Yet he died.  They didn't have the luxury of the rest of the story.  They didn't have the perspective we have.  They just knew he had died.  They must have wondered, "Is this really it....is this the way it ends?"  They had to be so disillusioned.  They had to be confused.  They had to have questions, doubts, fears.....can you even imagine?

Yet we, thank God, know that Sunday is coming.  I am so grateful I live today and get to know the end!  I love the perspective of time.  This reminds me constantly that I don't know the whole story.  Especially in the midst of it.  However I do know that God is always working out his redemptive plan.  Always.  It reminds me when things are dark......when I am confused.....when I have doubts and questions and fears.....He holds the answers.  He holds The End.  And He IS FAITHFUL.  I don't have to know why and I don't have to understand how.  I just need to cling to him.  I don't have to be understood.  I don't have to be right.  I don't even have to be heard.  I don't have to defend.  I just need to cling to him. I need to cling to him....and die to myself.  It is ALL about him.   It is all about His plan.  It is not about me.  It is not about my best theories.  It is not about the law versus grace.  Republican versus Democrat versus Libertarian.  It is not about contemporary verses traditional.  It is not about Sunday School versus Small Groups....it's not even about pews verses chairs...:)  It is ALL about Jesus and his redemptive gospel. 

So this Good Friday....I am thankful.  I am thankful that in the darkness He has proven faithful.  I am thankful that I have God's Word and that I know the resurrection is coming.  I am thankful that we don't have to agree, we don't have to understand, we don't have to be right.  We just need to cling to the Redeemer.  He is right.  He understands us better then we understands ourselves.  He understands when we want to reach sinners with grace and he understands when we want to be a light in a dark world for his truth.  I think he loves the hearts of his people when they are passionate and rightly motivated.  However how Satan would love to use this to divide.  To destroy.  To ruin.  He would love to side track us on political differences and worship style differences, and personality differences.  Yet Jesus is the one who restores the ancient ruins.  He can restore broken relationships, shattered hopes, crushed dreams.  It may not look how we hoped.  It may not be where we want.  It may not be when we want.  It may not be how we want....but when life is dark.....we can cling to him because we know Joy comes!  He has a plan.  He can handle it and yes today may be dark.......But Sunday is coming.  Praise the Lord who lived to die and died so that we may live.  His plans are good even when they look bad.  He can be trusted.  I am praying for a restoration.  I am praying for hearts to be soft.  I am praying for redemption.  I am praying for peace.  I am praying for healing.  I am praying God will be glorified in how we live as individuals and as a body.  The world is watching.  The lost are looking.  May we be found face down clinging to TRUTH: Jesus is the redeemer!  It is all about him.  Yes today is dark.......but Sunday is coming!

Love,
Kim

Why I Quit Facebook

I quit facebook this morning.  Why?  Several reasons.  I've been toying with the idea for a while.  I don't even think I fully know why.....

This is what I do know:

1.  It is a distraction from my real life.  I am easily distracted....and I don't need any distractions!  I get on throughout the day for 5 minutes here...and 5 minutes there....and 30 minutes here.....and all the sudden I've spent an hour or more of my life staring at a screen.

2.  It gives me a sense of relationship....without having real relationship.  I know what is going on with everyone....and everyone knows what is going on with me.  I don't even have to talk to anyone.  It seems to stifle real relationships.  I want real, authentic, deep relationships.  Not status updates.

3.  I get a bit paranoid.  I wonder if certain status are talking about me.  I wonder if someone is mad because they are taking what I say personally.  I worry if I am offending someone.  I worry I may lead someone astray with a passive comment.  I start to wonder why so and so didn't "like" my comment.  I don't want to be like that.

4.  I think I am more self-centered when I facebook.  I always wanted to use facebook to encourage others and to be a witness to my lost friends.  I think I have done that to a degree.  I also wanted to keep up with Andrew and what he was doing.  However there are other ways to do that without having my own account.  I have noticed that when I post I am often not focusing on others...but on myself. 


So....I disabled my account temporarily.  I don't think facebook is wrong.  I disabled my account BEFORE Bible Study tonight.....but after Bible Study I was certainly encouraged.  I don't think it is best for me right now.  I'm not saying I won't do it again.  I may....but I need a break. 

So.....now the question is....What about the blog?
For now I am going to keep blogging.  I may end up quitting that too.  I get quite a release from writing.....I really enjoy the blog.  I think I can share more fully in this format.  It doesn't cause me the distraction that facebook has.  I think it does give others a sense of a relationship with me....because those that read it do "know" a lot about me....but it doesn't give me a sense of relationship with others....so perhaps I will be faithful in seeking relationships and blogging doesn't bring out my paranoia!

SO....that is what happened!  I must admit....I feel a bit empty....disconnected......strange....but I think in the long run it may lead to more connection and fuller relationships.  We shall see.