What powerful and comforting words.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Encouraging Words
"All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. . .I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God". Ps. 38: 9 and 15.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Camera Slacker
The last few weeks have been filled with wonderful activity. One of my favorite parts of the fall is hanging out in the cul de sac with my neighbors in the late afternoons. The children play while the ladies talk and laugh and enjoy.
Before I forget, Madeline is saying some cute things. When I turn on the news in the mornings, after a few minutes my sweet girl usually says, "Mommy, there sure are a lot of things going on in North Carolina". When Madeline is desperate to watch TV, she usually turns to Daddy and says, "Daddy do you want to watch some Sports Center", hoping the mere act of turning on the TV will result in a show for her. And if you ask Madeline what her favorite word that she's learned to read at school is, she will tell you, "but". Of course, she thinks "but" is "butt". She laughs hysterically every time we go over this word.
Our days are also filled with Brister boys, and we LOVE it! Almost every day Lance and Chase are over at our house, or Maddie and Ry are at their house, or both. The four of them get along so well. The biggest struggle is the booty. They play this game where they say, "Smell my stinky booty". They then proceed to stick out their buttocks and make a tooting sound with their mouths. Yesterday, Ryan took this game to a whole other level after he tinkled a little in his big boy pants. After going to the bathroom, I did not put his underpants or shorts back on since they were a bit wet. Well, Roxann walked in as I was finishing up with Ry in the bathroom. Roxann and I got to talking and I got side tracked. Ryan, naked from the waist down, crawled on top of the couch (in the basement) and bent all the way over, with his bottom facing out. This spurred on a frenzy of the "booty game". I know this is terrible, but Roxann and I could not help but laugh. It was hilarious. The kids have so much fun and they laugh so hard in pure enjoyment. I guess Roxann and I are the redneck moms, but we sure do have fun and laugh a lot!
Matt and I have been enjoying a DVD marriage series with our friends Nate and Becky. It is called Love&Respect, and it is awesome. There are two things so far that have really impacted us and our marriage. The first is learning to ask how the other person views what was just said through "pink glasses" or "blue glasses". Just this week, I responded in a way that came across as disrespectful to Matt. Instead of reacting to my response, Matt asked me what I had perceived him saying through my pink glasses. My feelings were hurt by what he had said because I thought he was blaming me. In fact he was not, but that's how I "saw" it through my "pink glasses". The second is my need to connect. Generally, women love to connect, especially with their husbands. So, now, every night before we turn on the TV we spend at least 10 minutes connecting, where I have Matt's full attention and we have meaningful conversation. It is WONDERFUL, and I truly do feel more connected and in love with him when we do this. And, thanks to Becky, I now have a "real" cell phone. The last video we watched helped Matt realize how important it is for women to connect and how much I desired a cell phone in order to connect with family and friends more (any of you who have called me at home know that I am quick to get off the phone, as a fight usually breaks out amongst the children or a need arises). The funniest part of last Tuesday was when Becky made a funny face and said, "Yeah, I think it's REALLY weird that you guys don't have a cell phone". Ha, ha.
In our Bible Study, we are reading the gospel of John. The following passage really struck me this morning.
There he is with thumby and blankie.
Wow, look at that big bird. Oh, that's no bird, it's Madeline. Our little nature girl loves climbing trees.
Roxann, what are we going to do with these kids??? Since we missed our $2.50 HT subs for lunch, we got together at dinner for subs. While we ate at the kitchen table, the kids ate outside on the deck. As usual, they were hooting and hollering. We then noticed that white stuff was flying. They were pulling out the stuffing from our swing (that was already in bad shape) and throwing it up in the air like it was snow. I love how much fun they have together.
My crazy girl with her "snow".
Ry, Chase, Maddie, and Lancie.
Before I forget, Madeline is saying some cute things. When I turn on the news in the mornings, after a few minutes my sweet girl usually says, "Mommy, there sure are a lot of things going on in North Carolina". When Madeline is desperate to watch TV, she usually turns to Daddy and says, "Daddy do you want to watch some Sports Center", hoping the mere act of turning on the TV will result in a show for her. And if you ask Madeline what her favorite word that she's learned to read at school is, she will tell you, "but". Of course, she thinks "but" is "butt". She laughs hysterically every time we go over this word.
Our days are also filled with Brister boys, and we LOVE it! Almost every day Lance and Chase are over at our house, or Maddie and Ry are at their house, or both. The four of them get along so well. The biggest struggle is the booty. They play this game where they say, "Smell my stinky booty". They then proceed to stick out their buttocks and make a tooting sound with their mouths. Yesterday, Ryan took this game to a whole other level after he tinkled a little in his big boy pants. After going to the bathroom, I did not put his underpants or shorts back on since they were a bit wet. Well, Roxann walked in as I was finishing up with Ry in the bathroom. Roxann and I got to talking and I got side tracked. Ryan, naked from the waist down, crawled on top of the couch (in the basement) and bent all the way over, with his bottom facing out. This spurred on a frenzy of the "booty game". I know this is terrible, but Roxann and I could not help but laugh. It was hilarious. The kids have so much fun and they laugh so hard in pure enjoyment. I guess Roxann and I are the redneck moms, but we sure do have fun and laugh a lot!
Matt and I have been enjoying a DVD marriage series with our friends Nate and Becky. It is called Love&Respect, and it is awesome. There are two things so far that have really impacted us and our marriage. The first is learning to ask how the other person views what was just said through "pink glasses" or "blue glasses". Just this week, I responded in a way that came across as disrespectful to Matt. Instead of reacting to my response, Matt asked me what I had perceived him saying through my pink glasses. My feelings were hurt by what he had said because I thought he was blaming me. In fact he was not, but that's how I "saw" it through my "pink glasses". The second is my need to connect. Generally, women love to connect, especially with their husbands. So, now, every night before we turn on the TV we spend at least 10 minutes connecting, where I have Matt's full attention and we have meaningful conversation. It is WONDERFUL, and I truly do feel more connected and in love with him when we do this. And, thanks to Becky, I now have a "real" cell phone. The last video we watched helped Matt realize how important it is for women to connect and how much I desired a cell phone in order to connect with family and friends more (any of you who have called me at home know that I am quick to get off the phone, as a fight usually breaks out amongst the children or a need arises). The funniest part of last Tuesday was when Becky made a funny face and said, "Yeah, I think it's REALLY weird that you guys don't have a cell phone". Ha, ha.
In our Bible Study, we are reading the gospel of John. The following passage really struck me this morning.
"6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world." John 1:6-8.
We, too who are believers in Jesus' death and resurrection, and who believe that He is the triune God, are also sent from God. We are also witnesses to testify concerning the light (Jesus). Are men and women coming to believe in Jesus through my witness and my light? And it is true that I am not the light, but my pride often deceives me and I am consumed with selfish and worldy things. It is good for me to be continually reminded that I am only a witness to the light.
When we checked on Ry last week before bed, we found him asleep on his bean bag. I could not resist kissing his sweet head and face over and over again. Our boy is so precious.
There he is with thumby and blankie.
Wow, look at that big bird. Oh, that's no bird, it's Madeline. Our little nature girl loves climbing trees.
Roxann, what are we going to do with these kids??? Since we missed our $2.50 HT subs for lunch, we got together at dinner for subs. While we ate at the kitchen table, the kids ate outside on the deck. As usual, they were hooting and hollering. We then noticed that white stuff was flying. They were pulling out the stuffing from our swing (that was already in bad shape) and throwing it up in the air like it was snow. I love how much fun they have together.
My crazy girl with her "snow".
Ry, Chase, Maddie, and Lancie.
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