Frye Fam Happenings

Family Bible Time

2012-02-12T19:41:00.002-06:00

The mom who writes this blog is incredible. She is using the gifts God gave her to minister wholeheartedly to her family, and I am learning MUCH through her example. One thing we have adopted in our family (just one of the many blessings of reading her blog) is Family Bible Time. Now, I know a LOT of families do Family Devotionals and things like that...but I never felt like the ideas/examples I tried to mirror worked for our family. With the ages of our boys and the work schedule Derek has to keep up with, I needed JUST what this sweet woman was blogging about. A couple weeks ago, Jessica (because we might as well call her by her first name, right?) wrote on her blog that she wanted to be held accountable for having these Family Bible Times. She invited us (her readers) to commit to doing this regularly as well. Since our Family Bible Times pretty much halted once Christmas fun began, I was thrilled to jump on the wagon!!

Here is Jessica's post about this call to commitment, here is a Family Time (They call their time "Family Time"...we just add in "Bible" so the boys know exactly what to expect.) idea I very much took and used for our family this past Fall, and here is a Family Bible Time I posted about previously on our blog (which I also very much took from Jessica's blog ;) ) Many of our ideas do come from her...I think Jessica is so gracious to post and share the ideas God has placed on her and her husband's hearts (and don't worry, she openly invites us to steal them :) )

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My sweet husband actually bought a book called Family Faith Walks "On-the-Go Faith Activities," so we used that this weekend. I have a notebook filled with ideas, many of which we used this past Fall. It will be great to have that notebook, Jessica's blog, and our new book as inspiration and motivation to do this on a regular basis. Here is our Family Bible Time from this weekend:

Scripture:
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Activity:
The boys filled a vase with hearts on straws. On each heart, they wrote how God has shown His love for us.

Discussion:
How can we show love to our brothers? Our friends? Our parents? We learned about St. Valentine, and we talked about how God displayed His love for us. (John 3:16) We discussed what a Christian is and the fact that St. Valentine was killed for witnessing to others. (John 15:13)

Lesson:
God's love was so great that He sent Jesus to suffer a painful death on the cross. We can love because He first loved us.

How great, how wide, how deep!

2012-02-11T02:35:00.000-06:00

"How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"

~"How Deep the Father's Love for us"
Stuart Townend

Friday Photos

2012-02-10T08:24:00.000-06:00

Our week in pictures...

A boy and his monster trucks...doesn't get much better than that

A sweet note from my boys on our "I love" message board

A cute realization that a high windowsill does not a convenient table make :)

Fun Fotos: Love

2012-02-09T00:19:00.000-06:00

I'm on fire for you!!

A little fun with my photo on Picnik.com :)

Shhhhh...Painting in Progress

2012-02-08T00:26:00.002-06:00

Fun Fotos: Black and White

2012-02-07T00:17:00.000-06:00

Shhh, Don't Tell Derek :)

2012-02-06T23:10:00.002-06:00

A Titus Funny

2012-02-06T22:17:00.006-06:00

Today, the boys wrote notes on our bathroom mirror for Derek to be surprised by (for one of our LOVE projects.) Titus told me, "Mom! Look I wrote KungFu Panda! It's on my shirt, see?"

Note the mirror image of what he was seeing on his shirt...So cute :)

Super Bowl!!!!!!

2012-02-05T20:46:00.007-06:00

Friday Photos

2012-02-03T23:45:00.007-06:00

Our week in Pictures...

Officially 1 1/2

A boy in his shades (Look closely, can you spot him??)

Firewood still lies

February is here

The Big Picture

2012-02-03T23:18:00.004-06:00

~ Breakfast for Dinner (Before the Storm) ~

Keep fighting!! (...or get started!!)

2012-02-03T06:35:00.004-06:00

"We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him." (Tozer, The Pursuit of God)

It is an awesome chase, let's not grow weary!! The more we seek Him and look to Him, the less we seek elsewhere...

A page later, Tozer writes, "In the midst of this great chill there are some...who will not be content with shallow logic. They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray, 'O God, show me thy glory.' They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God."

A few days ago, John Piper posted an amazing thought on Facebook.

If you weary of God's glory displayed in our million-earths-size sun, consider a billion-suns-size star.

(This link was part of that post.)

If we are overwhelmed by the thought of the glory of God here, while we are still on this wretched earth...dare we try to wrap our heads around His glorious display of Himself when it is no longer "contained?!" Seeking Him isn't always convenient (truly, it's pretty inconvenient on a typical day!) There is so much we can't understand about God...so much we can't even begin to fathom in these little brains of ours. That's why our search is called a "fight." He promises, though, in James 4:8 that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.

My thoughts are jumbled, I know. Honestly, I am trying not to think too much. I hope He is speaking through me, even if I am a jumbled up mess!! I am sitting on my bed with Bible open, journal and pen hard at work, and 3 books at my fingertips (not to mention the great YouTube! ;) ) I am praying for everyone who stumbles upon this post, this blog.

Meditate on Deut. 4:29...

Lots of Love this month!!

2012-02-02T07:09:00.001-06:00

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."
Hebrews 10:24

Yesterday, the boys began 14 days of showing Daddy how much they love him.

We compiled a list of ideas, decorated some wooden hearts, and kicked the whole thing off with some "I love you!!" cards and his first heart. Each heart has a quality written on it...something we love about Derek (obviously, I helped them think of some of them!!)

This is all part of our LOVE themed month of February...part of homeschooling (and so some of the things we do will be listed on that blog.) Another way we are learning to love is with these love bowls:

Each time we catch a child in the act of love, they get a piece of candy in their bowl. If they are doing the OPPOSITE of love, however, they lose a piece. On Valentine's Day, they get to eat whatever candy they have earned.

February Plans

2012-02-01T16:39:00.005-06:00

LOVE!!
*hint: Click on the link.

First grace, now pride

2012-01-31T14:26:00.003-06:00

Quite a switch in meditative words, huh? We are studying Isaiah in my Bible study, and one comment from my teacher got me thinking (and of course, writing :) )

"God will NOT tolerate pride!!" she said.

Pride exalts US. When we are prideful, we are basically saying, "I did this. I am most important, and I am responsible for my victories." The ultimate slap in God's face!

Pride is the reason we sin constantly!! We are thinking of ourselves...alone! We are "looking out for #1," if you will!!

The root cause of the first sin was pride...and every sin since then, if we get to the heart of it!

I came up with an acronym.

Personally
Revelling
In
Desperate
Exaltation of ourselves

It is often desperate, isn't it? In the end, though, we will be humbled, and God will be exalted. SELAH

The Big Picture

2012-01-30T14:32:00.002-06:00

the broken cup

the muddy water

the beautiful color purple
the thought that counts

~thankful~

Fun by the Fire with Granny P and Papa John

2012-01-29T20:01:00.009-06:00

Amazing Grace...How confusing it seems to be for us

2012-01-26T21:16:00.003-06:00

So I've been thinking...about grace.
"Unmerited favor"
"A gift"
"Undeserved"

So many words to describe the one simple, yet often unimaginable little word.

If we attempt to earn God's grace (which I think we are all guilty of), we are kind of making a silly gesture, right?! It' s like if someone gave you a birthday gift, wrapped, maybe even left it on your porch as a surprise.

What if you took that present, still wrapped, and jumped in your car and chased down your friend? "Wait!! I want to pay you for this!!"

Surely the friend would be a little confused, maybe even offended. "What? I gave you that for your birthday! You don't have to pay me for it!"

Every time the opportunity arose, you tried to "pay" that friend back with various gestures, serving in any and every way. "Well, let me buy you lunch, please? Here, I'll carry all of that for you. Ugh, I just need to pay you somehow for that present you gave me."

"Have you even opened it yet?" the friend might ask. "It was a GIFT!!"
(Fleshly me would probably be so annoyed if I was the gift-er, I would ask for the gift back at this point!!)

I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. Don't we treat the gift of grace like that? I know I do the same thing as in my example of the birthday gift...it just looks a little different (or maybe a little bit the same at times!) "Please, Lord!! Just let me do xyz amount of service projects. I'll be good this week!" Then, maybe I'll feel worthy of His grace.

But that's just the irony of the whole thing. How can grace be a gift if we earn it? That's the whole point. There is nothing we have ever done, and nothing we can do to earn it. Maybe it's more simple than that to some of you. For me, it gets a little blurry in the midst of life. Especially when the world DOES make us work for our worth. We have to look good, do good, be good...and according to THEIR standards, or else it's just not good enough.

Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that is greater than all my sin!!

*I have no idea who this guy is...just found him on a youtube search for this song. He's good, though!!! :)

Some food for thought:

Philippians 4:19...Ever thought of that one as an example of his grace? How in the world do we deserve anything...our needs? Some could maybe make a case for that one...but everyone reading this right now has so much beyond needs met. Grace!!

Isaiah 40:11...one of my favorite, and a constant reminder of His grace. I need to be reminded often of His grace granted to me, so that I can openly grant grace to my own!!

Revelation 3:20...He IS on our porch!! He IS the gift. The grace has been laid out right in front of us, we just have to open the door!!

Mercy? Well, that's a head scratcher, too...Not only do we not deserve this grace, but we DO deserve eternal damnation for turning our eyes away from Him. He not only gives us this gift of undeserved favor and blessing, He spares us from what we really deserve...but we'll save that for another day :)

A peak into our after-dinner fun

2012-01-25T22:27:00.001-06:00

Our personal stones of remembrance

2012-01-25T11:22:00.006-06:00

Above the fireplace, we have a mantle

and on that mantle, we have placed stones of remembrance

monumental events that have changed our lives forever

moments that remind us that God is there, has been there, will be there forevermore

a simple "Howdy" representing our move here to Texas when we first married...a move away from family, a move that demanded we be independent, yet dependent on the Lord's help

the first framed picture of me and my firstborn...the one who made me a mommy. I had NO idea how much that would incredibly change my life!!

a picture of a boy, taken the day after he was saved out of the water when he was just 2

a photograph taken of my husband kissing me on the day of his graduation...a new DOCTOR...Chiropractic would change our lives in so many ways, and God got us through those tough 3 years...4 tiny children, 3 long years of me being pregnant and breastfeeding, 3 years of not knowing what next??

Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and Earth...and while I might not live like that on a daily basis...while I often lean on my own understanding and my own strength to get through life's hassles and heartaches, these stones of remembrance stand to remind me of Who truly holds us. The One Who will never leave us nor forsake us. When our children, or guests in our home see these stones, they will serve as our testimony. GOD has brought us here, for a purpose. May He be glorified!!!

A little Sunday football

2012-01-23T09:15:00.003-06:00

When God speaks

2012-01-18T19:45:00.002-06:00

Just yesterday, I drew a line that I thought represented my walk with the Lord in my journal:

I was discouraged and sick of the peaks and valleys. I was feeling like I couldn't "do it all." How will I ever have a consistent quiet time?? How will I excel in all areas at once? Am I just lazy and not disciplined enough? God gave me these children, God blessed my husband with this job and his long hours, and God gave me the desire to homeschool/be a stay at home mom, and He knows how tired it all makes me. Are these excuses? My hunger and thirst is there...I long to be with Him and know Him more. How can I do it all???

Today, I read this in Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young:
"I am leading you along the high road, but there are descents as well as ascents. In the distance you see snow-covered peaks glistening in brilliant sunlight. Your longing to reach those peaks is good, but you must not take shortcuts...Let the heights beckon you onward, but stay close to Me...Disruptions to your routine highlight your dependence on Me...I have lovingly planned every inch of the way..."

God is good, isn't He?? He does speak to us. He encourages us, He will never leave us or forsake us. That is a promise.

Another promise is this: James 4:8, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."

I heard an analogy once about having a consistent quiet time. The speaker was comparing it to being a disciplined runner. Sometimes, a runner gets injured, sick, or falls off the wagon for one reason or another. It is extremely difficult, at times, for the runner to begin running again. Often, the road ahead seems too difficult to face. The runner might feel like they have so far to go just to get back to where they were when they fell off the wagon. The task before them is daunting.

That's how it can seem when we "fall off the wagon" of having a consistent quiet time. How will we ever get back there? Where do we begin again?? What do I read today? I feel like I'm starting from ground zero!!

Well, the point of the analogy was this: In order for a runner to begin again...to get back on the wagon, they simply have to put on their running shoes and run a little bit. The fire will be lit in them very quickly, and the passion will return.

It's just like that with our quiet time. As Sarah Young so eloquently puts it, "disruptions to your routine" happen often. The last part of that statement was the best. Those disruptions "highlight your dependence on Me." That's the coolest part. Not only do we all have disruptions, but it is for our good. We need to be reminded that we can't do this on our own. We can't earn our salvation. We need Him.

Amos 5:6 says, "Seek the LORD and live!!" Obviously, this word live doesn't just mean to have breath and a pulse. Plenty of people have that and aren't seeking the Lord. To live means so much more. "The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." (one of our favorite Seeds Family Worship songs, Ps. 34:10)

So if you are like me and have fallen off the quiet time wagon, just climb back in, start reading, and hear God speak to you. Your passion, your desire, and your NEED for this time will be evident and overwhelming. Give it time, be disciplined, and lean on Him.

If you've been around my blog for very long, you know I love Jesus Calling. God speaks to me (and so many others) through that book with amazing truths and promises from His Word. Start there and see where the Lord takes you. I also receive so much inspiration and encouragement from Catherine Martin. She has a ministry called "Quiet time ministries," and it's awesome.

Remember this: Philippians 3:14, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Verses 12 and 13 remind us that we are not perfect, but we can forget what is behind (because HE HAS!) and reach forward to the things ahead!!

Little and in love :)

2012-01-18T08:56:00.001-06:00

When having a big(ger) family is really fun

2012-01-16T23:02:00.008-06:00

It used to always get on my nerves when people with 3 or 4 kids would make some comment about their family being "big."When there are TV shows about people with 8 kids, 11 kids, 21 kids, etc., four looks nothin!

Once we had our third, I felt like there were kids everywhere. I couldn't keep up with them. I could only hold one on my hip and the other with my hand (and then had to keep kicking the other one back into line...no I'm not joking)...or I could always put one in a wrap and hold the other two by the hand (but that's when the feeling-like-a-circus-show began.) Then, all of a sudden, I knew what people felt like with more than 2 kids. Three kids was a lot. Our family was "big."

Well, then came along #4. "Oh, what's another one?!!" That never made sense to me either. (still doesn't on certain days - Four can be a LOT more than three) BUT here's the thing: while we DO have one more mouth to feed, another car seat in the van, another person to put to bed at night...the laundry pretty much stayed the same (one load a day is still one load a day.) The house isn't THAT much louder. Bath time is just a little more crowded, and it takes us maybe an extra 5 minutes to get out the door.

Anyway, on any given day, four can feel like a lot...or it can feel like eh, what's another one?! There are days and weeks when I realize how much fun this is. Having four boys, each a year and a half apart...while I'm still in my 20s????!!!

Let me give you some examples of how much fun it really is:

1. With four kids (six people in a family) you can have a pretty intense competition over the games on the road to the Superbowl. (and really, that's only with 5 of us actually participating) We will also be having a pretty wild and crazy Superbowl party...so stay tuned :)

2. When Derek came home for lunch today, I was in the kitchen and heard TWO kids absolutely cracking each other up in one room, ONE kid wrestling with his daddy and doing an all-out belly laugh in the next room, and ONE kid running in to me in the kitchen to hug my leg. Bliss, I tell you. A house full of love and joy.

3. We can play games and have more than enough players.

4. During family Bible time, we have listeners, participants, teachers, and many interesting discussions (including some theological debate between the 4 and 6 year old...often.) Today, they were arguing over who was the first person ever born. Titus insisted it was God, but Justus assured him God was never born...quite confusing for a four-year-old...or six-year-old...or me...

"Make me pure by sprinkling me with hyssop plant. Then I will be clean.
Wash me. Then I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7
(Our theme this month is SNOW.)

5. There is always someone to talk to, cuddle with, climb on, chase, race in just about anything your heart may desire (and if you're a boy, there are a lot of things that apparently must turn into a race.)

6. We all learn patience, endurance, the art of order, and the beauty of working together VERY quickly.

7. You have constant bunk mates, play mates, reading buddies...

8. When it's time to clean up, (and everyone decides to help out) it can happen in a ridiculously short amount of time.

9. The kids are used to being the leader, the follower, the taken-advantage-of-er :) (They are prepared for just about any role in life.)

SO, while four kids might seem like too many for me to handle some days...and then not that big of a deal on another day, it is nice to recognize the fun that could not occur if we did not have the specific family God has blessed us with. Having a big(ger) family certainly has its perks :)

In the grand scheme of things,

2012-01-13T14:35:00.003-06:00

My relationship with the Lord is of utmost importance. It's high time I get my focus back there. I got behind in Bible study homework, and (just like with laundry) when I get behind, I throw my hands up and give up. What a great trait I have there, huh?!

I don't totally agree with the "Your kids won't remember how clean the house was..." idea, because I can see the detriments that are evident when the house is a wreck for more than a week (and I mean, an absolute wreck where desired toys can't be found, clothes that fit are not available, etc.) BUT I do get the point. I am trying to keep my focus on organizing and cleaning here and there so things are accessible and orderly enough to enjoy being at home. We are at home a lot, and I want my boys to have good memories of that. I also want to sit on the floor and BE with my kids, and I want them to know they are more important than mopping the kitchen floor.

Speaking of sitting on the floor, about once ever couple of weeks, I find the 5 of us (the boys and myself) sitting on the floor in Justus and Titus' room. Well, actually, I am sitting while the boys dance, play, climb on me, etc. They bring me books to read, sit on my lap, ask what songs I want to listen to. These are precious moments. The other day, when this event rolled around, I realized how important it is that we keep this up. I want to still be doing this when they are tweens and older. Maybe that's a long shot, but I'm going to put forth my best effort.

It is very important that my kids know that I mean what I say. Sometimes (most times), that is really hard. I can see the fruits of that at times, though, and it encourages me. One fruit is seeing my KIDS mean what they say to each other. They follow through on things, including threats that they will "tell mommy if you do that again." :)

After the kids are raised and out of the house, it will be (Lord willing) just me and Derek. Know what that means? Tonight is DATE NIGHT!!! Woohoo!!! :) With no nursling needing me at any given second, it is nice to be able to make date night a more regular occurrence. In the grand scheme of things, our marriage is 2nd on my list of priorities (or at least should be)...and marriages take work, too. It's so fun being married, and even if it sounds cliche...my husband is my best friend. It is NOT selfish to want to get away from the kids to just be the two of us, but sometimes that's hard to remember.

I don't know why it's so hard to keep the "grand scheme" in mind. Little things come up and block my view, put me in a bad mood, mess up my list of priorities, and fill my to-do lists. Here's to hoping I can clear my head tonight and focus on what really matters in life :)

I need to get a better video of this kid dancing

2012-01-11T23:44:00.001-06:00

Randomness for your Entertainment

2012-01-11T22:11:00.004-06:00

1. Today, my mother-in-law kept Josiah for me at her house while Titus and Eli were at preschool. Justus and I completed every bit of his school work for the day in .2 seconds.

2. Things take an amazingly shorter amount of time without a toddler at your feet.
3. Justus reads so much better without the distraction of brothers.
4. I went to the laundry room this morning while I was minus 3...read: THREE children, and I decided to get caught up on laundry.
5. I decided today that trying to "get caught up" or to "get ahead" is pretty pointless. You will just be right back where you started in a day or two. It is a vicious cycle. Embrace it.
6. The laundry still sits.
7. I could do this once a week...hint, hint, Grammy :)
8. I love Texas weather. Today, the temp reached the mid-60s. Tomorrow, the forecast is in the 40s. We are supposed to be back up to the 60s by MLK day. JOY!!
9. Titus loves eagles. Loves them. By eagle, I mean the bird. The fascination started with THE Eagles (Philadelphia), but he loves drawing them, coloring pictures of them, looking at photographs of them...We bought him an eagle statue for Christmas, but it broke more than once (and was glued back together more than once) before we decided to put it on a shelf as decoration, rather than have it be a toy. His name was Philly.
10. Tonight, Titus received a replacement, more proper TOY eagle in the mail...from his beloved Dad. It is plastic and hopefully indestructible. They named him Vick. (and apparently changed his name to Jackson Thursday morning)
11. We ran an errand this afternoon, and when we got home, Justus, Titus, and Eli ran straight upstairs and didn't come back down until I rang the dinner bell.
12. I didn't call up to check on them or even to listen to what they were doing. I am a fourth time mother, not first time. I take my breaks when I can get them...even if they are spreading toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror.
13. I don't really have a dinner bell.
14. The boys weren't really spreading toothpaste on the bathroom mirror. They were actually just playing nicely in Justus and Titus' room. So strange :)
15. A friend texted me today and said she had been praying for our family for over an hour today. Mystery solved :)
16. My husband asked me just now (not for the first time ever) what in the world I fill my time with on the computer at night while he sleeps. Answer: Doing things like watching this, reading this, and researching this.
17. As a family, we are in a competition to see who can correctly guess the most winners on the road to (and finally at) the Superbowl. Our Superbowl party is planned...and probably looks much different than most Superbowl parties...but I couldn't be more excited :)
18. I often wish our house was decorated nicely...and then sense is knocked into me by way of a broken glass-contained candle, or a shelf knocked off the wall, or (today) a "texture activity" turned ugly at the kitchen table.
19. I have yet to understand why nicer restaurants or Starbucks or...hmm, ice cream shops don't have play areas like McDonalds and ChickFilA. I would totally frequent them and give them money.
20. Please don't claim to have a "children's play area" in your store when that term, to you, means a box of toys in the corner. To a mother of four (or any mother for that matter) that is very deceiving.
21. If you are a mother of young children and haven't read this blog post, you really should.
22. I just realized that "Happenings" is spelled incorrectly on my blog banner. It's too hard to change it, so it will stay as is. Did anyone else notice that?? Oh well :)

Jackson watching Titus do his schoolwork Thursday morning

Christmas with Grammy and PopPop and Uncle Jack

2012-01-06T12:35:00.005-06:00

It was quite the Eagles Christmas this year: Eagles jerseys, an Eagles backpack for Justus, sunglasses, winter hats, slippers, and probably more that I'm forgetting.

New Lego Sorter!

As much as the boys have been brainwashed into disliking the Cowboys, they very much wanted to get Uncle Jack (who DOES like the Cowboys!!) Cowboys gear...so sweet :)

New toy for the little man

I got spoiled, too!!! :)

Pop Pop

Grammy

Apparently, something was hilarious!

Chow time!

Snowman pancakes for dinner
(Day something or other of Christmas Fun!...I can't remember)

Tennessee Christmas with my side of the fam

2012-01-05T23:48:00.013-06:00

Making Christmas cookies in Tennessee with cousins!

Silly Titus and Asa

Opening Christmas pajamas (Christmas Fun Day 23)

"Have a Mater Christmas"

Si climbing on Asa

Chase...

...chase

...and more chase!

Checking out the new Christmas jammies

Josiah jammin with Uncle Adam

Siah and Derek

Derek and Annie playing hide and seek with the boys

Audrey and Josiah watch

Annie and Titus

Asa and Justus

Volcano time with Uncle Adam

I'm still alive...

2012-01-05T13:11:00.002-06:00

Just overwhelmed by all of the pictures to sort through on my camera, the fact that the blog still looks Christmas-y, the amount of time it will take to upload pics I want to save onto the blog, the fact that I have so much school planning to do, I could keep going...

I am taking baby steps. The pictures are pulled up on my computer, we did a craft today, and we are eating healthy meals and snacks...it's a start!

Hoping to be back soon :)

Christmas Fun, Day 18

2011-12-18T13:03:00.004-06:00

This morning, Justus had a Christmas program at church. He was a camel :)

He actually starts singing towards the end of the video :)

And now we're off to Christmas with Grandparents!!

Christmas Fun, Day 17

2011-12-18T12:35:00.001-06:00

Last night, we camped out by the Christmas tree...well, Justus and Titus did...and then I came in and slept on the couch around 2 am. Things don't always go as planned :)

Derek and I decided last minute that we would have Christmas the following morning. A little early, a little surprise, no one complained :) We have other plans for Christmas day, so we wanted to make sure the boys had a chance to open presents and enjoy that time as a family.

So why were the grown-ups up so late? Well, the best daddy in the whole world was building this.

And after building this castle, we realized it wouldn't last 5 seconds with our 4 boys...so we decided to hot glue it together. Even at 2 am, we were calling it quits before the project was complete. But enough is enough already. Here are a few pics from this morning:

Sheer thrill over a Pez dispenser. I love it :)

Sheer excitement over more candy

And with that, Eli was ready to be done.

E-A-G-L-E-S....EAGLES!!!

Another child completely fine just having candy. Maybe we'll just do stockings next year :)

Jesus loves me

2011-12-16T22:12:00.003-06:00

It's almost cliche, right?? We hear it so often, we say it with our kids, sing it at bedtime. Do we think about it? Believe it??

The boys received some bracelets the other day for Christmas that say these simple, yet profound words. Thing is, one of those bracelets is pink. It was sitting, abandoned by 3 little boys, in my van as I sat at a red light. I decided to put it on. Then I continued to look down at it (partly checking to see how silly I looked in a child's bracelet.) Then I found myself pondering the words.

Jesus loves me

Jesus LOVES me

Jesus loves ME!!

JESUS loves ME!!!

Some people from our previous church adapted the hymn "Nothing but the Blood," and there is one phrase in that song ("Only the Blood") that gets me everytime...

"You are gracious in saving, You are perfect in loving,
You are one day returning"

I cry almost every time I sing that part. And I'm not a crier. (My husband will laugh when he reads that.) But it's so true!! God is PERFECT in loving. When we say, "Jesus loves me," there are so many layers to that statement. We love our kids, we love our husband, we try to love our enemies. We do it imperfectly, though. The love we have to give is so far from the love of Christ. Ours is covered in sin, often founded in pride, seldom shown selflessly (expecting nothing in return.)

BUT Jesus loves me. And Jesus IS perfect, selfless, humble, patient, compassionate, forgiving. Because of Jesus, the God of the universe can look on us, love us, bring us into His kingdom.

He is PERFECT in loving. So when we say or sing "Jesus loves me," let's really think about what that means and believe that no matter what we have done, it was nailed to the cross. Jesus,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,; born of the Virgin Mary,; suffered under Pontius Pilate,; was crucified, died and was buried;; he descended into hell;; on the third day he rose again from the dead;; he ascended into heaven,; and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
(Apostles' Creed)

That Jesus. loves. me.

Here's a new verse for you and your kids :)

I love Jesus does He know,
Have I ever told Him so.
He would like to hear me say
That I love Him every day.

Yes, I love Jesus.
Yes, I love Jesus.
Yes, I love Jesus
Because He first loved me.
(author unknown)

In leiu of a Christmas card :)

2011-12-15T14:52:00.000-06:00

Christmas Fun, Day 13

2011-12-13T22:49:00.004-06:00

Christmas program at Mother's Day Out!!

*Titus is on the top right of the risers...hidden of course!*

Christmas Fun, Day 12

2011-12-12T18:40:00.005-06:00

Tonight, hot chocolate with candy canes and marshmallows...

and a movie :)

note: Josiah sat like this for the 1 second it took me to take this photo...the rest of the time, he was doing this:

Snowmen Handprint Ornaments (Day 11)

2011-12-11T21:22:00.004-06:00

Today, we made these ornaments. Ours do not look as nice as the ornaments on that blog...but the boys actually decorated their own snowmen for the most part (except Josiah of course!), so I love them even more...imperfections and smudges and all!!

Christmas Fun, Day 8

2011-12-08T22:29:00.004-06:00

Today, we made Christmas placemats :)

Fun Fotos: Micro Photography (Up Close)

2011-12-08T13:47:00.003-06:00

I just HAD to do something Christmas-y :)

Next Up: Landscape

Hide and Seek

2011-12-08T13:00:00.008-06:00

"You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13

"Go look on the Christmas tree"

"Go to Josiah's room"

"Go look on Mom and Dad's bed"

"Look in Mom's closet"

NEW BIBLES!!!!
(Their very own REAL Bibles)

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12

I got this idea from this blog...written by an amazing mom who is very committed to discipling her kids and raising them surrounded by the truth. She has some GREAT ideas, and she is so encouraging to moms of young children. She is actually on a bloggy break, but her blog is still full of things to read through and wisdom to glean!!

Lest you think my life is perfect...

2011-12-07T22:24:00.003-06:00

A list of things that might make you feel better about yourself:

In the past 2 weeks, my one-year-old has:
sucked all of the pink out of the tip of a hot pink marker,
eaten the tip OFF of that marker,
eaten part of at least 2 crayons,
and attempted to eat...yes, eat...a glass ornament ball, filled with paint

Just today, I folded clothes that had been in the dryer for over 2 days
(and I didn't even run the dryer to get the wrinkles out...I just hung and folded them as-is)

You should see what my children eat all day...

My 6-year-old frequently impresses me with things he knows, and when I ask him where he learned it from, it is very often from a TV show.

I give my one-year-old food (and even candy) in a cup to keep him occupied while we do school in the mornings. (Did you see the first thing I wrote???)

That one-year-old walks around the house with that cup and makes quite a mess. Often, I just wait for him to "clean it up" when he gets hungry again in the next 30 minutes or so.

I stay up WAY too late at night and am WAY too grumpy in the morning because of it.

I cook maybe one good meal a week, and by "good" I mean semi-good for you...I definitely don't guarantee that it will taste good.

There...now do you feel better about yourself?? You should easily be able to beat me in at least one of the areas above!!!! We all have our strengths and weaknesses :) We all need Jesus just the same!!

Christmas Fun, Day 7

2011-12-07T20:26:00.003-06:00

Tonight, I had an ice cream party with Batman, a ninja, another Batman, and a cutie in pajamas.
Who else in the world can say that?? I am a blessed woman indeed :)

Christmas

2011-12-07T10:13:00.003-06:00

What is it about Christmas? The controversy surrounding this holiday, the symbols and sights and decorations that show themselves during the month of December, the various opinions and likes and dislikes about this time of year...it is enough to drive a person crazy. I LOVE Christmas, and I'd say that's pretty evident by the looks and posts of my blog and Facebook page.

ON Facebook, there is a blog post floating around as well as an article or two about how to redeem Christmas: Santa or no Santa? Buy gifts or not, and from where? If gifts, how many and what type? (etc., etc.) Here's my issue with those posts and articles about Christmas. What does God look at? It's in the Bible, it's not a trick question. The Lord looks at our heart...each one of us individually. But here's the part we seem to forget: He looks at our heart every day of the year. What we do around Christmas is GOING to look different for each family. I will be straight up honest in my opinions on Santa, and I might even share what I think about giving gifts if you really quiz me...but I DON'T want to get caught up in what Christmas should and shouldn't look like for each family.

Derek and I talked last night about what we would do differently next Christmas, and I'm pretty sure we've had similar discussions around this time every year for the past 6 years. We make mistakes, we recognize them, and we do what we need to do to make it right. As followers of Christ, we are now slaves to righteousness. We should be constantly re-evaluating how we do life, what we are teaching our kids, and what we need to change...but we aren't always all going to end up with the same results.

Christmas, in my opinion, just brings out the evidence of needed changes. Things are brought to light that we might glaze over during the year. Our greed is definitely more evident when we are writing up wish lists, stuffing our faces with yummy food, and then volunteering to serve here or there...just because it's Christmas!! (In reading one of these Christmas posts, I saw someone comment about how people are at nursing homes and soup kitchens every day of the year. They actually have an overabundance of volunteers around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but then their residents and guests are left so lonely the rest of the year.)

Anyway, all of this to say that I'm judging myself. I'm checking my heart. Why am I so much more intentional in teaching my children about certain things this time of year, but then I am very casual about it the other 11 months? Why do I focus on certain things during December that I am not convicted of during the rest of the year? I enjoy making much of Jesus' birthday. My kids love birthdays, and I want the celebration of Jesus' birthday to look way more special and exciting than any other birthdays we celebrate all year. Whether we should give them gifts for JESUS' birthday??...well, I don't know the answer to that yet. We're still evaluating that one.

I have so much to work on, and by God's grace, I can do so with confidence knowing that He sees my heart. That fact is the same for all of you reading this. Don't have false guilt over something you are seeking the Lord on. You do what God has called you to do. Sure, there are some black and whites. Honestly, I think Santa IS one of those black and whites, but I do think there are other things that are going to look different in each and every home...not because they're right or wrong, but because God has made us different. He didn't intend for us all to look the same or do life in the same way.

Just because I am doing 25 days of Christmas Fun doesn't mean you are a bad mom if you're not. Just because the mom next door decorates her front yard as a winter lights wonderland, and her children are often seen gallivanting with glee all around the reindeer and trees and snowflakes doesn't mean I am supposed to do that for my kids (I'll just send them to HER house!! :) ) I DO know this: my life should be focused on Jesus...every day of my life. Everything I do with my kids should somehow come back to the truth that Jesus is the reason we are here. God created us for His purposes, for His glory. My prayer is that Christmas...December...would be a time of God revealing my heart to me.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 1:6-7

Christmas Fun, Day 5

2011-12-05T21:28:00.004-06:00

Today, we spent a LOT of time in the kitchen. We made puppy chow, chex mix, and a fun snack mix for kids to hand out as Christmas presents. We will hand these out to friends, Bible study teachers and childcare workers, and mothers' day out teachers. Every year, I forget how addicting puppy chow is...and then I am reminded :) YUM! The boys always love measuring and adding ingredients. It's always a battle to be the one who gets to stir, but this time they all had plenty of jobs. Their favorite part was shaking up the ziploc bags with powdered sugar and chocolate-covered chex.

Christmas Fun, Day 4

2011-12-04T20:33:00.008-06:00

Today, we read Luke 2 and made Graham Cracker nativity scenes. I loved watching the boys' creativity and fine motor skills at work. Titus' nativity scene won first place in my book for sure.

The master at work:

That is a donkey outside the stable (Justus'):

Baby Jesus lying in a manger (Justus'), and you can also see a shepherd outside "watching his sheep." I could NOT find the miniature candy canes to use as the shepherds' staffs, and I was so disappointed about that!!

Mary on the donkey:

Star that led the magi to Jesus

*We know the magi didn't actually see Jesus as a baby but, rather, when he was older. This was just so we could use our star cereal :)

(By the way, I never knew there was so much controversy in the atheist world about this whole "star following" thing. I love how I continue to learn things as I teach my children. My explanation to the star debate, when we decide to discuss it with the boys, will be that it was a miracle. God made everything, therefore He is in charge of everything...therefore He can create a star for this sole purpose, move it where He wants it to go, and then make it vanish if He so wills. I mean really, we are talking about a virgin...with a baby...who is Jesus...who is God in the flesh...yet God's "only begotten SON"...I don't think God intended for us to understand everything involved here.)

Christmas Fun, Day 3

2011-12-03T21:46:00.006-06:00

Today, we talked about the real St. Nicholas. We watched the Veggie Tales' movie "St. Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving" and reviewed who St. Nick was, what he did, and why we see men dressed as "Santa Claus" during Christmas. The story of St. Nick is not new for our boys, but at their ages, I don't trust that they remember much of what we learned about this man from previous Christmas lessons :)

After we watched the movie, we also took pics of the boys in our Santa hat. This is a tradition now, and Justus actually requested the other day that I made sure to follow through on doing that again this year. Tonight, we did!!

*excuse the blue lips on Eli...he was eating a ring pop :)

Memory Verse Music

2011-12-03T14:51:00.005-06:00

Everyone knows how music helps us remember things, and when our memory verses are ALREADY in popular songs, I simply search for them on youtube, and voila!! The boys memorize their verses in as little as a day (and they remember them forever...awesome!)

Isaiah 9:6
(This one is one of our December memory verses, and the boys run around the house singing this one...JUST like it really sounds...you can imagine the hilariousness of that!)

Here are a couple links to more great memory verse songs (Seeds Family Worship is our absolute favorite. Hermie is great, but I can only take about 2 songs before I have to leave the room...definitely not one I keep in the car!)

Psalm 150:6

Philippians 4:6-7

Christmas Fun, Day 2

2011-12-02T21:50:00.011-06:00

We made Red and Green play dough today with the best play dough recipe I have ever used:
1 c flour, 1 c water, 1/2 c salt, 2 T cream of tartar, 1 T vegetable oil, food coloring

We used our Christmas cookie cutters and made all kinds of Christmas shapes. Titus and Eli absolutely love play dough. Titus gets so into it, as you can tell from the picture below :)

Our Day 2 card read, "Go to the mall to play and take pictures!"

(Josiah "saying" : Let go of me!!)

HAHAHAHAHAHA!! I love it. Eli was checking out his reflection in the giant ornament, and it made for a HILARIOUS view from my side of things :)

The other reindeer must have been jealous...look how cute Rudolph is!!

2011-12-02T10:48:00.004-06:00

Why in the world would they have called him names??
(I sang the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" while we made this special snack this morning, and Justus said "awww!" when I sang that part of the song :) Sweet boy)

Christmas Fun, Day 1

2011-12-01T14:08:00.004-06:00

This is our "calendar" for the days leading up to Christmas. I had to make it portable this year, so it is very simple!! Each day has the activity written on the back of it. Today's card (#1) says, "Begin our 25 names of God tree."

and THIS is our 25 names of God tree:

Last year, we learned 25 names of Jesus (names and characteristics) during each of our 25 days of Christmas. This year, we are learning 25 names of God. We will talk about the Greek/Aramaic name if I listed it below, and then we will read the Scripture where that name is used. I love how I had MORE than enough names for this list. I actually had to narrow it down to 25. There are so many names of God in the Bible, as well as descriptions and promises we can cling to when we cry out to Him!! or when we worship Him!!

Every magnet is on the tree just for the picture. I took them all off (except the "God is..." tree topper) after I took the photo, and we will add them one by one on the day we learn His name for the day. We will also go back and repeat past days to review, discuss, and praise Him for all He is to us!! I also made 2 presents to put under the tree with 2 of our memory verses to go along with our names of God tree:

Psalm 20:7
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

Proverbs 18:10
"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe."

GOD IS...

1. Abba, Father: Matt 6:26, 7:11, Mark 14:36

2. Almighty, El Shaddai - All powerful, All-sufficient: Genesis 17:1, 2 Cor. 12:9-10

3. Elohim, Creator: Gen. 1:1, Ps. 139:13-14, Rom. 11:36

4. The Most High, El Elyon - Sovereign ruler of the universe: Ps. 78:35, Is. 45:6-7

5. The Lord/Master, Adonai: Ps. 123:2, 119:125, 8:1

6. Jehovah, I AM - the Self-Existent One: Ex. 3:13-15, Ex. 34:5-7

7. Our Banner, Jehovah-Nissi: Ex. 17:15
8. Jehovah-Shalom, The Lord is Peace: Judges 6:23-24, Isaiah 26:3

9. Jehova-Jireh, The Lord will Provide: Phil. 4:19

10. Shepherd: Ps. 23:1-4

11. Our Righteousness: Jer. 23:6

12. Ancient of Days: Daniel 7:9-10

13. King of kings and Lord of lords: Rev. 19:16

14. Fortress: Ps. 31:3

15. Redeemer from Everlasting: Is. 63:16

16. Potter: Is. 64:8

17. Strength and Shield: Ps. 28:7

18. Rock: Ps. 28:1

19. Omnipotent - All - Powerful: Luke 1:37

20. Omniscient - All-Knowing: Ps. 147:5

21. Holy, Holy, Holy: Rev. 4:8

22. Hiding Place: Ps. 32:7

23. Faithful and Just: 1 John 1:9

24. Alpha and Omega - Beginning and End: Rev. 1:8

25. Rich in mercy: Ephesians 2:4-5

O Tannenbaum

2011-11-29T14:24:00.006-06:00

You can also check out our paper Christmas trees here!

25 Days of Christmas for 2011

2011-11-27T21:40:00.003-06:00

Here are our plans for this year. One special activity for every day!! I will post pics of the "calendar" I made as well as our names of God tree on the "Day 1" post :)
I am so giddy about Christmas this year...I probably am every year, but it seems to just get more fun, I come up with new, exciting ideas, and the kids understand more and more as they get older.

1. Begin our 25 names of God tree

2. Play at the mall and take family Christmas picture (There are various spots I hope to get pics of the boys individually or together...it sounds like a good idea in theory. We shall see!)

3. Read true story of St. Nicholas and go to Bass Pro shop for pictures with Santa (We operate under the idea that we might as well tell our children who that guy we see everywhere at Christmas time is representing!!! It also makes for a fun tradition, and it's fun to set out pics from years past to see how everyone has grown.)

4. Read Luke 2:1-20; Make Graham Cracker manger scenes (We don't make fancy Ginger Bread houses, we usually make what we affectionately call "graham cracker shacks." This year, I thought it would be fun to use animal crackers and characters from our nativity set to make while we listen to Daddy read the story in the Bible.)

5. Make Christmas snack mix to gift to various childcare workers and teachers who so selflessly care for our children all year.

6. Make pine cone bird feeders (you know, the peanut butter ones that are oh-so-messy)

7. Ice Cream Party with Christmas colored sprinkles, etc. Read Luke 2:1-20 while we're eating. (You'll see us reading this a few more times this month...)

8. Make Christmas placemats (various art made by the kids, stickers, etc. either laminated or covered with contact paper. Very simple and cheap, and the kids love eating on them.)

9. Take dinner to Daddy's office and go see Christmas lights in nearby neighborhood

10. Shop for gifts for siblings, parents, friends, etc.

11. Make ornaments (salt dough and bees' wax are our favorite)

12. Watch a Christmas movie while we drink hot chocolate with candy canes to stir in marshmallows! (usually a Veggie Tales or Hermie movie)

13. Kids' Christmas Program at Titus and Eli's school

14. "Snow ball" fight with socks (This is a new idea for us this year. I think our boys are going to LOVE this.)

15. Red and Green Lunch (strawberries, green grapes, mini pepperonis, red/green jell-o, red tortilla chips, etc. served on Christmas red/green plates, along with red or green juice)

16. Camp out by Christmas tree; read Luke 2:1-20 before we go to sleep

17. Make and deliver gifts to neighbors (bread, puppy chow, chex mix, etc.)

18. Church Christmas program

19. Snowman pancakes for dinner (Make 3 sizes of pancakes, put together and place chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. on for buttons and face, top with powdered sugar "snow")

20. Go see house lights show set to music (We usually find out about these through local newspaper articles or on the news or friends/family who hear about them)

21. Local church's Walk-Thru nativity

22. Make Christmas cookies with cousins (a tradition from when I was a child)

23. Kids get to open their new Christmas pajamas and wear to bed tonight and tomorrow night

24. Christmas Eve service at church; Read Luke 2:1-20 before bed

25. Scavenger Hunt for baby Jesus (Who has been missing from the nativity set all month), Make a cake and sing "Happy Birthday to Jesus"

I have a few extra ideas in my back pocket, and if we end up doing any of those, I will be sure to post them :)

Happy Birthday, Eli!!!!!!

2011-11-26T07:46:00.001-06:00

You're THREE!!! (or as you like to say, freeve!)
You looked like such a big boy today sitting at the table, talking to Grammy and me. I couldn't hardly take my eyes off of you...it's been so amazing watching you grow and mature. You still have plenty of things to work on, but we are so happy to be on this journey with you. You are funny, full of life, and SUCH a sweet boy.

Three Interesting Facts about you at this point in your life:
1. You sleep in a big boy bed now!!! It is a toddler bed, but you didn't have any issues moving out of your crib whatsoever.
2. You were also a pro at "potty training." I put that in quotes, because there really was no training to it!
3. You are in Mother's Day Out a couple days a week, and you l.o.v.e. it!! You actually get upset sometimes if it's not a "school" day...but then you are thrilled to "do" school with your big brothers :)

Three Funny Facts about you at this stage:
1. You have this hilarious laugh when you get excited about something (it almost sounds like you are trying to be evil), but it is just so funny and makes everyone laugh every single time.
2. You have a really funny voice. Depending on what you say, it is either really annoying (and we tell you, "Eli!! Just talk in a normal voice!!" ...even though that IS your normal voice!), OR it can be really sweet and funny.
3. One of those "funny" times is when you sing, "hamburger, cheeseburger, lettuce, and tomato, mustard, mayo, french fried potato, hot dog, chili sauce, barbeque, a baked ham bone, and a big beef stew." (a special thanks to Granddude for that song!)

Three of my favorite pictures of you from this past year of your life:

Fossil Rim Fun (Eli's birthday celebration)

2011-11-25T20:42:00.016-06:00

Right inside the gate, the ostriches were pecking at our car and Derek's hand. It was crazy, a little intimidating for the kids, but hilarious all at the same time.

So just for the record...Derek didn't actually touch his lips to this animal.
This picture sure makes it look like he did! haha

I know this isn't a great picture, but I love memories like this :)
(What is sweeter than a big brother taking his little brother under his wing?!)

Our precious boy...3 years old now. Unbelievable!

This cheetah was on pins and needles,
pacing back and forth restlessly...
See why?
(He even bit the fence in an attempt to get his teeth on this deer. It was pretty cool to watch.)

(The deer, however, was not phased a bit.)

This was probably Titus' favorite part about our time at Fossil Rim. The boys took turns driving, and wow, Titus was by far the best driver! He had a blast.

I had fun with the mirror shots. Some didn't turn out well...I wish I had taken more!
---------------------------------
After Fossil Rim, we went to Dinosaur World, just down the street.

The boys got to dig for fossils (and keep their 3 favorite.)
We didn't get to stay very long, because there were T-Rex on the loose!!!!!

Boy oh boy oh boy oh boy, are we blessed?!

2011-11-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

I hope you and your families had a happy, happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Change of Plans AND Fun Fotos: Water

2011-11-22T13:08:00.006-06:00

There's water on our slide today,
we can't go out and play.
The ground is wet and muddy,
much to our dismay.

We went ahead and begged our mom,
thought we'd ask her anyway...
And since she loves to see us smile,
she told us, "Yes, you may."

Now, don't cry over muddy pants,
or shirts or hands or shoes.
Times like these we must be willing
to drop all those "to-do's."

They say these days are fleeting
"They're only young once," you know?
In this, my house, with little boys
I just HAD to let them go!

My kitchen floor is covered in grass
and dirt and mud and goo
But I hope this speaks (without my lips)
the words, "I do love you!"

The Big Picture

2011-11-22T07:07:00.001-06:00

In my house, I don't do the dishes often (My sweet, amazing, selfless, husband who loves me and spoils me does it almost every day), I haven't been keeping up with the laundry well, I don't shower every day, and I am lucky if I eat a decent breakfast in the morning. I am often exhausted when Derek gets home at night. Sure, we do our memory verses at lunch, science/history reading at snack time, and devotional at dinner...we have Family Bible time when it works out and Daddy is home in enough time to do so...but sometimes, sitting down with to work on a puzzle together or to play a game that involves any sort of thinking is too far beyond my energy level!! I have guilt over that...guilt that maybe we shouldn't have had so many kids in such a short amount of time. Guilt that I'm not giving them as much one-on-one discipling/education time as some of my friends with fewer and farther-between kids. Once we finish our school stuff for the day, I am often spent.

But here's the thing with this Big Picture Project. My point, obviously, was to take photographs of every-day things and look for the "big picture" in it. (Doing a gigantic load of laundry seems like an awfully boring and mundane task unless you think of how you are serving your family and worshiping the Lord as you do it with the right heart and fulfill the calling He has on your life right now.)

Anyway, I realized that sometimes, seeing the "big picture" means looking a few years down the road. Past the diapers, past the spilled drinks, muddy tracks on the carpet, and temper tantrums. What I am doing now and how I am reacting to all of those things is laying a foundation for my relationship with them...a relationship that will be extremely important as they get involved in things that really count (a life in the real world!)

So as I took this picture and looked at the faces of my boys, I focused on the big picture:

Loving them...

and striving to live a life that reflects everything I know to be Truth

in the hope that my children will one day walk in that Truth

with love in their own hearts, and with the "big picture" at the forefront of their minds!

My dirty kitchen table makes me happy

2011-11-19T20:59:00.004-06:00

I never thought I would say that!

My kitchen table is a mess.
I mean, I just wiped it off, so there aren't any crumbs on it,
but it still looks downright filthy.

The mess makes me happy.
Truly, it makes my heart sing with joy.
The table is covered in dried paint,
paint that I have tried my hardest to remove,
purple paint, red paint, smudges of yellow paint.

As of tonight, it has also been decorated with fabric paint.
Why? Well, I thought we were using glitter glue.
Nope, it was fabric glitter paint.
But even if it had been glitter glue,
I would have been happy with the mess that made, too.

That table has seen one of my children's first drawings,
one child's first painting experience,
many-a-child's painting themselves every color under the sun.
It has been colored on, painted on, glued, and scratched.

There are knicks, stains, scrapes, and even teeth marks on the corners.
I might not have a beautiful table in my kitchen,
but I have made beautiful memories with my children and hope they will one day say the same.

Fun Fotos: Fall

2011-11-15T13:46:00.002-06:00

There aren't that many leaves on the ground, but just enough to scoop up and throw! Josiah had to try, too, of course. Also, can I say, this is Texas!! We were in shorts, sleeveless and short sleeved shirts, and sweating. Not exactly Fall weather...Fall also makes me think of baseball. (as does Spring, but you know...:) )

Up Next: Water

Fun Fotos: Eyes

2011-11-15T13:31:00.005-06:00

I have four kids, so you get to look at a lot of eyes :) Each of these photos totally captures each child's personality...

Justus: Sweet, goof ball, baby face

Titus: Attitude, didn't want to stop swinging for me to take his picture, injury on his forehead (always)

Eli: Attached to my hip, wanted to look INSIDE my camera

Josiah: Cute, snotty nose, 'nuff said :)

I love my brown-eyed boys!

Up next: Summertime ha!!, Well, I'll be doing Fall :)

Remember this?? Fun Fotos: Bokeh

2011-11-15T13:22:00.004-06:00

I LOVED doing this photo challenge, but I guess I just got away from it and got distracted, and life moved on....Funny how that happens! The last time I posted on it was at the end of August! haha Anyway, the idea popped back in my head the other day (when I was realizing how few pictures I had been taking lately in general), and I decided to start back up!

So here come a couple posts to hopefully spur me on to the completion of this challenge (which I already began at a later time than the author of it created it for!)

I love this...totally looks like Christmas lights, but it is our neighbors' tree with the sun shining behind it. Let's remember, I am NOT a photographer. (and FYI in case you don't know what Bokeh is...it's supposed to be "out of focus." I just don't know how to do it very, well, professionally :) )

Up next: Eyes

Completely random cuteness

2011-11-08T18:10:00.004-06:00

Today, Justus made a birthday card for his friend, and spelled birthday: "brfda"

Love it...

He also wrote Jer. 3:something (I can't remember the verse) on the front of the card. I haven't looked up what that verse says, and it's not one we've been learning (so he wasn't writing a verse he knew)...I just love that he thought to write a verse on there for her.

I also love that the 3 oldest boys have been so excited about praying for the boys we are sending Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes to. They keep talking about "the boys" and loved shopping for them and packing up the goodies. They really, really want to hand deliver the boxes themselves. I wish we could!!

Today in the car, Eli said, "MOM! Titus HIT me!!"

I responded with, "Well, tell him not to!"

Eli, in his most stern voice and serious face looked at Titus and said, "NOT TO!!!"

Justus and Titus and Eli had the job of cleaning TOYS today in order for me to be able to actually CLEAN (vacuum, dust, etc.) the house tomorrow. While cleaning up Legos, Justus made a game out of it, and they tried to clean all of them up before he counted to 100. They didn't reach their goal, so he counted to 110. When they went upstairs to pick up toys in the playroom, Titus asked him to count again, and Justus said, "No. My cheeks hurt from doing that last time!"

Fall Festivities

2011-11-02T12:03:00.013-05:00

This past weekend was filled with pumpkin activities, candy, a hay ride and festival games, trick or treating, and dressing up numerous times in costumes. We had fun with friends, family, and our awesome church family. Derek and I discussed and prayed about what to do this year for Halloween, and I would say we discovered what we felt was best for our family. I felt burdened this year by all of the controversy surrounding this "holiday," and Derek and I decided to lay everything out for (and WITH) our children. I would love to do more research on the history of Halloween and approach it from that angle, too, but we'll cross that road again next year ;) Now, we just have to deal with what to do with all of this candy around our house!!! Ugh...

Anyway, here are the cute pictures, because that's all any of us really care about, right?! ;)

Frye Annual Pumpkin Carving (a.k.a. Happy Birthday, Umple Jack!)

2011-11-02T10:53:00.009-05:00

Ham, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, sweet rolls, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread.....Are you worn out yet?

We were!!

And that was all before the birthday cake!!!

Then came pumpkin carving!!

(Please note the children missing from the picture! The adults do all the work, and then when we place all of the awesome pumpkins lit up outside for pictures, suddenly the kids are claiming them. "Look at my batman pumpkin!! My Eagles pumpkin is the best!" haha)

(At least they like to sit around and watch us ;) )

There are no words...

2011-10-26T14:35:00.001-05:00

What a beautiful, beautiful sound

2011-10-21T23:11:00.002-05:00

If the name of Jesus does not sound beautiful or great to you...if the sound of Savior, Defender, Redeemer does not stir up in you a desire to worship, to praise...a feeling of conviction, maybe, or a need to fall to your knees and cry out...

Please examine your heart.

The man, Jesus, is rarely disputed, but while Jesus was fully man, He was also equally fully GOD. Jesus is the reason we can say the name of God, the reason we can approach the throne with confidence in prayer. We all need Jesus JUST the same, and if you have for any reason been desiring to know more, to talk to someone who will readily admit faults and a need for forgiveness and redemption that is NO lesser or greater than your own desire for the same,

let.me.know.

I don't know how many people read this blog. I know some friends read it for a time and then forget about it. I know there are family members out there who even forget they can keep up with me this way...but I also know I receive emails from complete strangers who run across my blog because they, too are raising all boys...or because they are a friend of a friend of a friend of mine who received a random popular post. I love when I have a "WHAT?! I didn't know you read my blog!!" moment. Most people don't comment, and honestly, I don't comment on most of the blogs I read.

I just wanted to put this song on here...to get those of you thinking who need to be thinking. The Holy Spirit lays things on my heart from time to time, and I love to know that the Lord is using such a simple thing in such a huge way. I also would very much hate to miss an opportunity to be the "mouth piece" (so to speak...the fingers, since I'm typing??? ;) ) for God's purposes.

I'm no different than you...GOD is available to meet our needs (in fact, to do ABUNDANTLY above what we might ask.) When I go to bed at night, I can rest in knowing that His grace and mercy through Jesus' death on the cross covers the multitude of my sins. I can wake up the next morning, claiming His NEW mercies...yet again. The same gifts are available to you, and I am more than willing to chat openly about it.

Lord, use me. Amen!!

P.S. This was the best video of this song I could find, with lyrics. Know that Jesus didn't walk around on the earth with a glowing light surrounding Himself. He humbled Himself, became human, was a servant...don't be fooled by the pictures on the video.

Eli

2011-10-21T22:56:00.002-05:00

This precious monkey
(who thanked God for legos the other night at dinner)

is "potty training."

I put that in quotes, because the only thing I have really "trained" him in, in respect to using the toilet is to...

teach him to close the door after using the toilet (in order to keep little brother out)

...and to just "turn and sit" and not to climb all OVER the toilet while trying to position himself to USE the toilet, lest he fall in the water.

We DO call him, Monkey, you know? :)

I am so proud of you, Eli!!!!!!!!!!! You are such a big boy!!

Facebook Funny/Freaky

2011-10-15T23:10:00.004-05:00

Facebook creeps me out at times. I stay on it, choosing not to delete my account (yet), despite the many changes going on constantly. Why do I choose to stay on it? Well, because at least for right now, I have been able to stay connected with people for GREAT reasons, including learning of friends who are sick, need prayer, or have announcements like a baby on the way, etc. It seems like when I get that feeling of, "Alright, that's it. I'm deleting my account," something happens that makes me want to keep it. (like when I found out my midwife's husband was in the hospital for something very serious)

Either way, I'm still not sure I'll stay on if they continue the ridiculousness on there, BUT I thought this was hilarious (and also adds to my feelings of being "creeped" out...I mean, how do they comb through everyone's updates and posts in order to place meaningful ads and links on their sidebar????) Below is the entirety of my sidebar on Facebook tonight.

Bible

12 other friends like this.

God

3 other friends like this.

Related Ads

Hope Faith Love

"Like" if you've got Faith!

Like · 69,524 people like this.

Jesus Loves You

"Like" if you Love Jesus!

PeaceBeWithU

Click "like" if Jesus is your Lord and Savior!

Like · 479,992 people like this.

Unveiled Wife

Click *LIKE* if you love your husband!

Like · 17,262 people like this.

Now, let me be clear. To my saved friends, I'm not bragging, and to those of you who don't know Christ as your personal Savior, I'm also equally NOT embarrassed by this. Let me point out, though, that I certainly don't throw around God's name casually, and I definitely don't intend to "like" the "Jesus Loves You" cartoon. God is real, He exists as a Triune being (NOT in the form of trees, the wind, each and every one of us, etc.), and I'm not sure how He feels about this Facebook thing. If I had to guess, I would think He would err on the side of caution...telling us to be cautious not to be so egotistical and so easily sucked into the internet, etc. etc.

Anyway, I just think this goes to show that "they" are watching us, and I'm not quite sure I'm comfortable with that...I DO, however, love my husband and wouldn't mind "liking" THAT sweet page :) The rest of it, though? Well, just look at those pictures of "God" and "Jesus." Really, people? That hardly begins to portray the image of the Spirit of the Living God. Hopefully, my posts and status updates that include anything that has to do with the Lord portray Him in a true light, despite the ads those posts and updates have conjured up for my Facebook sidebar! Sheesh!!

Who's on First.? And the cutest catcher I've ever seen

2011-10-12T07:28:00.003-05:00

Fort Frye

2011-10-11T08:48:00.000-05:00

King-sized sheets we received over 8 years ago as a wedding present: Well, free :)

Ladder: $30

Watching the boys and their Daddy make a big mess in the living room with pillows, sheets, a ladder, and a bunch of clothes pins while all (well, not Derek) wearing really cute dinosaur pajamas? Priceless

The Big Picture

2011-10-10T20:57:00.003-05:00

As a homeschooling mom, I am always looking at the "big picture" as far as learning experiences go. I want as much of our day (every day!) to involve learning, and I want it to be fun and beautiful and inspiring, etc. At this age and stage (Kindergartners and below!), that kind of thing is easy. Simply eating a snack can turn into a lesson on patterns:

~Snack time turned into Fruit Kabob time, which turned into a lesson on patterns :) ~

A couple funnies from today

2011-10-09T20:22:00.004-05:00

Justus: Mom, can I have a snack?
Me: No, snack time is over. We'll be eating dinner soon.
Justus: mmmmmm (in a semi-grumbling mumble that sounded like a complaint about to leave his lips) Do everything without whining or complaining.
Me: What?
Justus: I was just saying the Bible verse. John 13
Me: You mean Philippians 2:14? Good for you. Thank you for not complaining :)
----------------------------------------
Titus: Mom, I put my dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket.
Me: Thank you! You can put a sticker on your chart!!
Titus: Yea!! Mom, that's my last sticker. Now I have TEN stickers, and I get to pick a movie from the Redbox!!
Me: That's great, bud!!
Titus: (after a brief pause in his excitement about the Redbox movie reward)...What does that mean anyway?

More baseball pictures...such is our life right now :)

2011-10-09T16:41:00.008-05:00

(or well, probably for the next 18 years or so!!)

Incoming!!! Too bad I'm not good at taking action shots :)
No babies were harmed in the making of this blog post. It was just a really close call. Really, really close.

Indian boys

2011-09-29T14:47:00.002-05:00

See more here

The Big Picture

2011-09-19T08:37:00.000-05:00

Lunch for four hungry, growing boys...to go, please! The fact that this means time for me to feed my soul and have a refreshing visit with wonderful fellow believers, wives, and mothers?Well, that just made packing lunches for four totally worth my time :)

Let's play ball!!!

2011-09-14T12:14:00.004-05:00

Justus and Titus both have a pretty nasty cough going on, but when your kids make up 1/5 of the team, it kind of throws things off if you don't make it!! I'm glad we were there, because Justus hit his second home run of the season (which is only 2 games long so far.) They are having so much fun, and since they are getting better with each passing week, it is really fun to watch. Titus may be 4 (and the size of a 3 year old), but he keeps up with those 5 and 6 year olds...don't you worry! He runs faster than a couple of them on the team, and he can smack that ball with the little muscle he has! Almost every adult on the bleachers cheers for him, and he's not complaining about that ;)

The Big Picture

2011-09-06T13:04:00.002-05:00

~A long weekend, much needed, ended with a full day of family fun~

First Day of School!!!

2011-08-31T08:59:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to me! :)

2011-08-30T09:11:00.003-05:00

My sweet husband...

I was woken up by some very cute guys this morning, serenading me with the Happy Birthday song. Then I was told, "Come eat your chicken minis!!" I walked out of the room, through the streamers on my door :)

and saw this.

That's right, that's our family. Derek on the left, all the way down to Josiah. (By the way, seeing our family represented by balloon heads made me realize how fast our family is growing. wow haha!)

I ate my breakfast, drank my sweet tea (I love you, Derek!), and told the boys they had to be PERFECT today, since it was my birthday. We'll see if that works out...

Hopefully I can work it out to take a picture of me and the boys today with my camera timer! I at least have to make an appearance on the blog for my birthday!

Fun Fotos: Mason Jar

2011-08-29T15:16:00.004-05:00

I didn't have any empty mason jars around the house, and I certainly didn't want to buy a 10 pack just to take some fun fotos!! Instead, here are a couple pictures of Titus and Eli's Mother's Day Out Teacher's Gifts for the beginning of the year. They were fun to make, colorful, and full of useful school supplies for their teachers (inside a useful water bottle ;) )

Next up: Bokeh!! Fun!!! :)

Good morning!!

2011-08-26T09:31:00.004-05:00

Love,

our TV-watching Justus
our sick with the stomach bug Titus

our goofball, Eli

and the ham, Josiah!

"Like"

2011-08-25T20:48:00.002-05:00

With all the "liking" on Facebook these days, I thought I would do a like/dislike blog post in honor of the craziness.
----------------------
I LIKE summer and the hot weather that comes with it (much, much better, in my opinion, than being cold)
I DISLIKE the fact that there have been so many triple digit temperature days this summer that I have lost count.
-----------------------
I LIKE making bacon for my husband because he loves it so much.
I DISLIKE....making bacon
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I LIKE having breakfast for dinner (or Brinner, if you will!)
My kids DISLIKE the fact that there is no dessert afterwards!!
------------------------
I LIKE helping my friends out with questions and concerns having to do with labor, birth, breastfeeding, etc.
I DISLIKE how I get so emotionally involved and end up mad at OBGyns who only look out for THEIR best interest every.single.time. (especially to find out that the doc I used 4 and 6 years ago is still using the same old excuses and sob stories to put her patients through the same unnecessary things I went through.) ugh
----------------------
I LIKE grocery shopping sans children
I DISLIKE having to take time away that I could be spending with my husband to make a trip to Walmart late at night. (so I didn't go tonight, and now will probably have to take my kids with me tomorrow morning. You win some, you lose some.)
-----------------------
I LIKE the fact that Titus and Eli are about to start Mother's Day Out next week. I think it will be so great for them. They will have so much fun, hopefully mature in many ways, should gain a lot of independence and confidence, and will be more likely to enjoy their time together since they will have time apart (I hope that's true anyway!) I also LIKE the fact that I'll get to have some good school time with Justus on those days!!!
I DISLIKE the fact that this big era in our lives is ending. I won't have all 4 of them with me at ALL times anymore, and, well...that's just going to be really strange.
-----------------------
There are so many things in parenting (and in life in general) that have both positive and negative aspects to them. You can see the good or the bad, or both at the same exact time in just about any given situation. I am coming to realize this more and more, and I am striving to see what I can LIKE more than what I DISLIKE.

The Big Picture

2011-08-23T00:02:00.004-05:00

Hot Air Balloon Festival: $5

Tickets for Merry-go-Round: $4

A sweet ride and precious memory with my monkey: Priceless :)

It's almost here!!!!!!

2011-08-22T21:37:00.001-05:00

Reading, writing, and arithmetic....let the school year begin!

We start next week!!

Fryeday at its Finest

2011-08-21T00:19:00.008-05:00

Fun Fotos: Action

2011-08-20T23:15:00.003-05:00

The big boys' first ride...carnival style!!

Up next: Mason/Jelly Jar

Another Justus funny

2011-08-18T14:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I had 2 giant knots on my leg from switching 4 car seats from our van to my mother-in-law's van. (Car seat switching is a dangerous sport, let me tell you!!) First, I banged my leg into the hitch on the back of the van while I was trying to hoist one of the 2 gigantic car seats up over the back of the seat (while also laying the back seat down just to fit the car seat over it...madness!) Then, as I was lifting the SECOND gigantic car seat over the same back seat, it slipped and nailed my leg right above the first injury. Ugh, painful and I knew I would get pretty bad bruises.

I didn't realize I would get 2 weird knots, which ended up being bigger than marbles, in those spots...but when I did notice the knots, my pain instantly increased (or maybe just the queasiness in my stomach, but anyway...) Fast forward to later in the day, knots still very present. The boys were getting rough (surprise, surprise), and I told them to PLEASE watch out for my leg. "Why are you hurt, Mom?" Justus asked me. "I banged my leg earlier when I was moving the car seats, see?" (as I hoisted my leg up to show him the knots)

Now, like any normal mom, I hadn't shaved my legs today. So in his sweet, sensitive empathy, Justus responded with, "Oooooh yeah, look at those spiky things. That looks like it hurts!"

Lovely...

Love...get the kleenex ready!

2011-08-16T09:11:00.001-05:00

The Big Picture

2011-08-15T09:02:00.000-05:00

~Taking a moment for calm amidst the chaos~

Fun Fotos: Someone You Love

2011-08-10T14:20:00.003-05:00

I caught someone I love rubbing the back of someone HE loves during TV time today! (The sweetest part? Titus loves having his back rubbed...it's probably his favorite thing. It was nice to see him "doing unto others..." :) )

Next up: Action (shouldn't be too hard around here!)

THIS is how we do it...

2011-08-10T12:13:00.007-05:00

I often like to tell stories from our Walmart adventures. I get comments about having my hands full, etc. etc. everywhere we go, but the things people say and do when we are at Walmart usually top the list.

Stories from Walmart today (although only one has to do with comments from by-standers):

Story #1:
I dropped off our car to get new tires when we got there, and the guy signing us in witnessed all of the boys piling out of the car. When the 3rd one jumped out, he saw that there was still one waiting to get out of his seat (Josiah), and he said, "WHOA!!! That's a lot of kids!" My comment was, "Yeah, it's like a clown car with everybody piling out, right?" HIS comment was, "Well, I wouldn't have put it quite so nicely!"
Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean??!

-------------------------------------------------

Story #2:
Justus had to go to the bathroom, so the rest of us were waiting right outside the door. Titus pointed to the sign outside the family restroom and said, "This one is for Grandpas, moms, AND kids. See?"

Me: "Grandpas?? Why do you think it looks like it's for Grandpa's??"
Titus: "See the picture with the big 'C' on it with the Grandpa sitting on it?"
-------------------------------------------------

Story #3:
We were walking by all of the gallons of tea, and I heard Titus say, "Eww, look at that milk!" I was starting to tell him it was tea, and he yells much louder so everyone around us could hear, "MOM! Look at that yucky brown milk!!" Yeah, that's tea, buddy.

------------------------------------------------

Anyway, back to the point of this post. When I talk about our trips to Walmart, sharing funny (or rude) things people say to us, one thing people ask me is HOW do you grocery shop with all of the boys with you?? Well, here's the thing. If I don't have to, I don't. But since we DO have a house-full of hungry, growing boys, we frequent Walmart on a weekly basis. I can't always wait until after bedtime and such, so sometimes I am stuck with taking my crew with me.

SOOOO, without further ado, THIS is how the Frye's do Walmart:

...except, usually it's Titus sitting next to Eli and Justus hanging off the back...AND Eli usually has a sucker or some type of food or candy in his mouth to keep him quiet and to keep the crying at bay. Because if you know much about our struggles with Eli, it's that he throws a fit everywhere we go. Food helps, and hopefully we won't have a fat 4 year old on our hands because of that.
{Insert mommy guilt here}

We have gone through many transitions. When Josiah was in his infant car seat, I'd set that on top of the cart, and Titus and Eli would ride in the 2 blue seats while Justus walked or rode on the side. Then we transitioned to Josiah riding in the blue seat next to Eli while Titus and Justus walked. That doesn't usually last very long, because Justus and/or Titus want to sit down from time to time...plus, having that seat open next to Eli means I can use it for discipline purposes (just in case someone needs to "sit and think about that" for a few minutes ;) ) Usually, if all of the seats are taken, the straggler is holding onto the cart or hanging off the end or side of it. Yes, we look like a circus act.

Now, I know all of the reasons I shouldn't shop at Walmart...I could probably make a list for you myself! (Support local farmers! etc. etc.) I like shopping at Walmart for different reasons...low prices, the fact that I can get anything and everything at the same store while also getting my oil changed and tires rotated, etc. But I have to say this: the number one reason I like shopping at Walmart is because of their amazingly family-friendly grocery carts.

"Well, what about Kroger/Tom Thumb/Albertson's with their cool grocery carts with the cars on the front or TVs inside of them?" you might say??
Ohhh you mean the grocery carts that only cause fights among my children? Well, those carts only seat 2 in those little cars, and if there's a car involved that can actually be driven while we grocery shop? Yeah, my kids are going to fight over who gets to "drive." And yes, I could make them take turns (and have done that), but going to a store where I have to stop halfway through just to play musical chairs with 4 boys doesn't quite sound like a good idea to me.

"Well, there's always the Target shopping carts with the 2 seater bucket in the front just like Walmart!" Excuse me, just like Walmart? No, those are NOT just like Walmart's carts. The seats in the Target carts not only have the children FACING each other (whose genius idea was that?), but they also have one tiny area for little hands and feet to go...now how easy is it for kids to "keep your hands and feet to yourself!" when you're practically sitting on top of each other? Not to mention the fact that Target has (for the sake of safety, I suppose) basically rendered the toddler child-seat in the actual cart useless, meaning that extra seat I would be using is out.

Let me tell you, I would much rather grocery shop by myself, AND I would love to be one of those extreme couponers who shop at 4 different stores in one week to get most of their items for free...but when I DO have to take my clan along, Walmart is just the way to go right now for us. I hope you enjoyed reading my explanation of the who, what, when, where, and why's :) And forgive me if you're offended that I love Walmart. Maybe you can babysit my kids for me while I cut coupons and grocery shop elsewhere :)