My oldest boy turned 10.

We shelter our children.  They are homeschooled.  They stay at home with me most days.  Most of their interaction with other children is supervised and happens in Godly homes and at church.

Nolan's request for his 10th birthday was that he and his dad go hiking in The Smoky Mountains.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to begin the discussion that a parent should have with their children, as they get older.

You know the one I'm talking about....

Our goal as parents is that this be an ongoing discourse that goes on for years.  We hope that our answers to the many questions our children will have, would be God-glorifying, and truthful.  There shouldn't be embarrassment when explaining how our bodies were created and what happens to them as we get older.

We wanted to begin discussing basic body changes and see where that would lead....here is what the conversation was like that took place in the car, on the way to the mountains:

Daddy: Nolan, now that you are older, your body is going to start changing.

Nolan: Ooooh, look!  It's a golf course!!

There was a complete lack of interest on Nolan's part.

I'm thinking we need to take some advice from Amy's Humble Musings!

With 12 weeks to go....

I figured it was time to start sewing for Millie's arrival.  I've already made her several crocheted items...a couple hats, some booties, and a blanket.

I've had the flannel chosen for awhile.  I've had her towel material ready too.  I just had to sit down and do it!

Tonight, I had that opportunity!

Here is her hooded towel....the rest of her siblings have one, so she needed one too!

Here are two double-sided flannel blankets.  I can't wait to swaddle her up in them!

A response to the viral video "Does Jesus Hate Religion"

There has been a video that has gone viral titled "Does Jesus Hate Religion".  I couldn't bring myself to watch it because the title itself rubbed me the wrong way.

I was happy today to see that Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition wrote a response to it.  I found it to be very thought out and a good way to put into words what I was feeling.

You can read it here.

A great blog post about Tim Tebow

I like Tim Tebow as much as anyone else....but really, this article spells out my feelings on the whole situation!

Stephen Altrogge writes:

This past Sunday Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos beat my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

And believe it or not, it actually didn’t bother me that much. Of course, I wanted the Steelers to win, and I wanted to see the Steelers defense put Tim Tebow through the mulcher, but it didn’t happen. I’m okay with how things turned out. If it had been Tom Brady and the devil-spawn Patriots, I wouldn’t have been okay with it. But I like Tim Tebow, and I don’t despise the Broncos.

What does bother me is the way that many Christians are getting all weird and freaky about Tim Tebow. For example, on Sunday Tebow threw for 316 yards. Tebow’s favorite scripture verse is John 3:16. The NFL would not let Tebow write “John 3:16″ on his face. Thus, God let Tebow pass for 316 yards as a way of sticking it to the NFL and highlighting John 3:16. Get the message NFL: you can’t shut down God, and you can’t shut down Tim Tebow when God is on his side. Right?

You can finish the article here:
Can we please stop being weird about Tim Tebow?

To all my coffee loving friends....

Free Coffee Tasting Event at Starbucks!

A must share cooking website!

Over the past several months, I have weaned our family off of many processed foods.  I prefer cooking and baking from scratch, so it has been a joy.  It also helps when you have some great recipes to work with!

I was on pinterest awhile ago, and found a great website called Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

I have since made dozens of her recipes and have not been disappointed!  It helps to read the comments and see possible changes you may want to make or just to read other experiences with the dish.

Have fun and Happy Cooking!

Good News

At my follow up ultrasound, we discovered the placental previa has resolved itself!

As long as the baby assumes a head down position, there will be no c-section!

Baby Millie measured at just over 2 pounds and was hiding from the camera....so no profile shots for us.  She looked like she was in the cannonball position, ha!

And yes, she is still a she....if there is one good thing from all these ultrasounds, it's the re-confirmation that it's still a girl!

God is so good and has protected both of us!

Merry Christmas from us!

Idolatry

It's been awhile since I've shared a story from the kids.....thought you would enjoy this one!

The kids are allowed to play the Wii for about an hour or two, 3 days a week.  They were getting ready to play a few weeks ago, when they realized that the light on the Wii console wasn't lit up red, and we were unable to figure out why it wasn't on.

The first thing Gideon did was to pray.  He said "Please God, please fix our Wii!"

To which Nolan responded..."Gideon, you shouldn't really pray that God fixes your IDOL!"

To which I responded....."If it really is an idol to you guys, then maybe God broke it for that very reason!"

The boys were not thrilled with my response.

It was working just fine the next day!  Gideon was happy that his prayers were answered.

Please Pray

Last week, I went to my ob for a routine appointment and anatomy ultrasound.

Once the ultrasound begin, the technician immediately asked me if I have had any placental problems before.  I told her no.

She then said that I have what is known as CPP or Complete Placenta Previa.  Which means that instead of a high implantation of the placenta in my uterus, it is completely covering my cervix.  Because I have Complete Previa, there is only a small percentage that it will move up and out of the way.

I ask for prayers that it does move up as my uterus continues to grow.

Because of this condition, some complications can arise...and I've put myself on modified bedrest, in hopes that these complications are prevented.

I go in for another ultrasound in January....where, hopefully, we will see some movement.

If it doesn't move, I will need a c-section, probably about a month before my due date.

The good news is that baby Millie is doing great and looks perfect!  She is a fiesty baby that is a quick mover :)  She's already preparing for being in a very active house!

Please pray!

It's a.....

I went in for an ultrasound this week and.....SURPRISE....we're having our second GIRL!

Her name is: Millie Taylor!

My great-grandmother's name was Amilda, so she is named in her honor!  Millie also means gentle strength, which is an attribute we hope she will have as she grows into a woman of faith.

Taylor comes from the great missionary to China: Hudson Taylor.....you can read about him here.

We are very excited and can't wait for April to arrive!

Halloween 2011

We have:

Gideon the hiker, Haddon the clown, Jamison the fireman, 

Nolan the superhero, Judson the pumpkin, and Paysie the rainbow!

Baby #7

Yes, baby #7 is set to arrive in early April!!

“Oh!  I love God’s ‘shalls’ and ‘wills.’  There is nothing comparable to them.  Let a man say ‘shall,’ what is it good for?  ‘I will,’ says man, and he never performs; ‘I shall,’ says he, and he breaks his promise.  But it is never so with God’s ‘shalls.’  If he says, ‘shall,’ it shall be; when he says, ‘will,’ it will be.  Now He has said here, ‘many shall come.’  The devil says, ‘they shall not come’; but ‘they shall come’.  You yourselves, say, ‘we won’t come’; God says, ‘You shall come’. 

Yes!  There are some here who are laughing at salvation, who can scoff at Christ, and mock at the gospel; but I tell you some of you shall come yet.  ‘What!’ you say, ‘can God make me become a Christian?’  I tell you yes, for herein rests the power of the gospel.  It does not ask your consent; but it gets it.  It does not say, will you have it, but it makes you willing in the day of God’s power… 

The gospel wants not your consent, it gets it.  It knocks the enmity out of your heart.  You say, ‘I do not want to be saved;’ Christ says you shall be.  He makes your will turn round, and then you cry, ‘Lord, save, or I perish.’  Ah, might heaven exclaim, ‘I knew I would make you say that;’ and then he rejoices over you because he has changed your will and made you willing in the day of his power.

If Jesus Christ were to stand on this platform tonight, what would many people do with Him?  If He were to come and say, ‘Here I am, I love you, will you be saved by me?’ not one of you would consent if you were left to your will.  He Himself said, ‘No man can come to me except the Father who hath sent me draw him.’  Ah!  We want that; and here we have it.  They shall come!  They shall come!  You may laugh, you may despise us; but Jesus Christ shall not die for nothing.  If some of you reject Him there are some that will not.  If there are some that are not saved, others shall be.  Christ shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands.  They shall come!  And nought in heaven, nor on earth, nor in hell, can stop them from coming.” Charles Spurgeon

Summer 2011

Cookies and Cream Fudge

WARNING: I will NOT be held responsible for overindulgence!!!

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or marg
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 cups tollhouse premier white morsels
1 jar (7ounces) marshmallow cream
1/2 cup finely crushed oreos
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup crumbled oreos

Line 9 inch square pan with foil.

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a medium heavy duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Stir in morsels, marshmallow creme, finely crushed oreos and vanilla extract.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumbled cookies on top. Gently swirl cookies into the fudge with a knife, without touching the bottom of the pan.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift from pan and remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces. Store in airtight container in the fridge!

Great reminder to moms of young girls!

A Girl's First Domestic Domain

Something to think about....

I’ve learned over the years that the simplest way to judge gray areas in the Christian life like movies, television, and music is to ask one simple question: can I thank God for this? (We are to give thanks in all circumstances, right?) Not too long ago my wife and I went to the movie theater to watch one of the summer blockbusters. It was a fun PG-13 movie, and you’d probably say it didn’t really have any bad parts. But it was very sensual and suggestive in several places. I got done with the movie (yes, I watched the whole thing) and thought, “Can I really thank God for this?” Now, I’m not a total kill-joy. I like to laugh and enjoy life. I can thank God for the Chicago Bears, Hot N’ Readys, and Brian Regan. But I wonder if after most of our entertainment we could sincerely get down on our knees and say, “Thank you God for this good gift.” Something to think about.

--Kevin DeYoung

Homeschooling 101

Okay, okay....I know it's summertime, but it's never too early to plan and organize for the upcoming school year! John thinks I'm crazy for wanting to get things figured out a couple of months ahead of time. Oh well. Better to be over-organized than unprepared, right??

I've got a large family room downstairs that is to become our main Learning Room. I can't wait to get things configured in there! Even though I've been homeschooling for FOUR years (has it really been that long?), I feel that I am still kinda new at this. Last week, I began to search around to discover the way other homeschoolers have organized their rooms, manipulatives, schoolwork, etc.

I found a blog carnival from a couple of years ago, where so many other homeschooling bloggers linked up pictures and ideas from their own homes! I urge you to check it out! You will find a huge range of rooms and ideas. I found some great blogs and discovered new ways of doing things!

As I searched around, I also discovered new curriculums that I had never heard of before and also rediscovered things that I had forgotten about. I'll explain my curriculum decisions in a future post. I saw that the same blog that hosted the homeschool room carnival, also hosted a curriculum carnival. If you are looking for some new ideas, go check it out!

Among my findings was a blog that is LOADED with FREE PRINTABLES and UNITS! Confessions of a Homeschooler is a great resource! Plan on spending some time on there!

Through that blog, I came across another blog by the name of 1+1+1=1. She also has a lot of free printables and units. For a fee of $15 you can gain access to her members section where things are more organized and there are some extras. It's a one time fee and well worth it!

As I discover new things, I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Right now, I've got a couple of projects for John and I to do before the school year starts. I plan on making some ledge shelving for children's books. I am intrigued by the rain gutter shelving, but I think the ledge shelving will work better for us.

We're also going to make our own inexpensive white dry erase board! I love finding ways to do things myself and save money too!

Right now, our downstairs room is pretty empty. Once it's done, I'll show you all before and after pics of our Learning Room! As for now, have fun browsing through the links I've shared....you can literally spend hours looking through it all!

Music Scroll Wreath