1. Everyone all cleaned up and on our way to church Sunday morning.
2. Parker gliding high.
3. Foster and his “Extreme Engine” he created for a Lego Club contest.
Jonah – 6 Months
My last little guy turned 6 months old today. It’s definitely a bittersweet time. He is a really happy baby. He’s gaining weight and rolling all over the place. He’s gotten his 2 bottom teeth. He loves watching his older siblings and they dote on him. Foster feels pretty comfortable carrying him around and Katie will hold him if she’s sitting. Theodore and Parker try their best to make him laugh by making funny faces and jumping around him. I feel so blessed that he’s healthy and growing normally. He is still nursing well, so for now, I won’t even think about the time when that might end.
Plants: Part 2
The little boys colored this maze of a bee flying to a flower. We briefly talked to them about how the bees help with pollination. Then they were off to get dirty and be pre-schoolers…
We’ve been using The Handbook of Nature Study and The Young Naturalist as our resources. Today we printed out this Venn diagram and had the older kids walk around outside and observe and record the differences between flowering and non-flowering plants. It was interesting because Foster thought that the if the flower just had a bud that hadn’t bloomed it would be categorized as non-flowering. I explained the difference and helped them find a bush in our neighbor’s yard that was a true non-flowering plant.
We also planted flower seeds in clear plastic cups. Our experiment is to put each cup (3 per family) in different locations in our house to observe how the different amounts of light effect their growth.
 |
| In full sun – plant #1 |
 |
| In partial sun – plant #2 |
 |
| No sun – plant #3 |
It may take a week or more for the seeds to sprout but we will keep checking and observe and record their progress.
What a Sunday!
Last night Chris preached at the church we have been attending. He was asked over a month ago and then, of course, has been preparing for weeks. As the day came closer he became more and more nervous, battling all kinds of lies from Satan on how he would make mistakes, the message wasn’t the right one or the timely one. Chris shared many of those lies with me but I know there were a thousand more going through his head all the way up until the moment he stepped in the pulpit. After all, Satan is the author of doubt and confusion.
Chris had invited a few co-workers and was feeling particularly burdened for one man. We had both prayed for this man, that hopefully he would hear something that would help him come to the decision to follow Christ. I was so glad to see he had decided to attend the service.
Chris delivered the message, the one he felt God had wanted him to deliver. I think he did a wonderful job (but I am a little biased). He didn’t make any major mistakes – like leaving his fly unzipped or falling off the stage. He let the Holy Spirit lead him, I could tell because his nervousness was gone.
The invitation was given. I have never preached or stood in the pulpit to even give a testimony. I can imagine how discouraging it must be to put your heart and soul into a message or lesson and then have it return void. Or what appears to be void.
The music played a verse, we bowed our heads and prayed. The pastor of our church was speaking, I am sure asking for those who were hurting to raise their hands or something like that…to be really honest I was just praying so I wasn’t really listening. I have been having many of my own valleys and struggles lately and I was just crying out to God. When we raised our heads and the pastor was starting to wrap up the invitation I realized what had happened. No one was up front. Some may have come to pray and been gone before I raised my head but for now the altar was empty. No major decisions had been made.
I felt Katie tapping on my arm. Distracted I sat down and asked her what she needed.
“I want to go up there.” Katie whispered.
“Why?” I asked.
“I want you to go with me.” Katie whispered.
“Why do you want to go?” I asked again.
“I want to ask Jesus to live in my heart.” Katie said.
So we went. And her Daddy asked her a couple of questions and led her in a prayer of salvation.
Now I have a new sister in Christ and another child who’s place is secured in heaven!!!!
JOY! JOY! JOY!
Chris and I both looked at each other in the van on the way home with the same thoughts. That we knew she had been asking questions, she seemed to be getting close, but we never even thought, we never even planned that tonight of all nights the Holy Spirit would call her to make that ultimate, life-changing decision. His ways are so wonderful and mysterious.
Our God is an awesome God!
10 years
My husband and I have been married for 10 years today! He has been so sweet and gotten me lots of cards and goodies over the last 10 days. Tonight we’ll just be home with the kids but we will celebrate by having an evening (almost) alone tomorrow night. I am so thankful that God brought us together and that He has kept us together. It really feels like the best is yet to come!
He loves me…
First day of Spring
We started a new science unit with our friends today. After coloring and labeling basic plant parts, the kids had fun potting a plant, planting new flowers in the front flower bed and watering random plants around the yard.
A first day of Spring filled with dirt, flowers, running through the water.
Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” ~Robin Williams
Just give me a minute…
It’s 10:30 am and I am already feeling like my brain is going to explode. The days stats so far are…
- Jonah awake (not crying mind you, just hanging out and playing) from 2:30 am – 5:30 am
- Checked email, ate cereal and slurped coffee for approx. 13 minutes
- Theodore awake and waking everyone else at 7:30 am
- Breakfast made, served, cleaned up
- 3 trips to the potty with Parker
- 3 changes of underwear for Parker
- 3 cleaned up messes (carpet, chair, hardwood floor) for Parker
EncouragedOrdered Katie to help Parker brush his teeth to avoid a ten-minute screaming meltdown- Straightening living room and my bedroom
- Nursed Jonah 3 times while sitting on my back’s best friend (the ice pack)
- Got Jonah down for a nap by 10 am
- Helped Katie with Grammar and Time
- Helped Theodore with pre-school sheets
- Helped Foster with Time and Grammar
- Broke up a fight between Parker and Theodore then Foster and Katie then Foster and Theodore
- Told Foster I would pay him 5 cents a book for every book he read while Parker sits on the potty
- Showed Foster how to keep up with his book total using tally marks (math lesson anyone?)
And then my stomach was growling and I could tell I was about to…so I made a bacon and cheese omelet, cranberry juice and sent everyone outside. I know Parker is outside doing his #2 business in his underwear, but I’ll just get a cup of coffee first…
How do you avoid mommy meltdowns?
the time before…
Chris was 21 and I was 25 when we married. Our whole dating and engagement was about 15 months long. To us that was a LONG time to wait. You see we were striving to really wait. In all the ways that we felt God wanted us to – physically, financially, not living together.
Spiritually and emotionally we had so much to work through. We both had relationship junk from our pasts and we decided to seek out a Christian counselor for our pre-marital counseling. We ended up REALLY going. I know some couples see their pastor or minister for a couple of sessions but we went to this counselor for months. We would cry and yell and laugh and question why on earth we thought we could make this work.
What we started to learn in the time before we were married and what we know now more than ever is that no two people can make a marriage work. I know why the divorce rate is so high, I understand why marriages are breaking up right and left. Because people put either their wife, husband or kids on the throne in their marriage.
I’m not sure if it was during pre-marital counseling or just in a message when I heard it described like this :
- That to have success in marriage you need to draw a triangle.
- Your husband and yourself are each at one base corner.
- God is at the top point.
- As you individually draw closer to God, then you start to grow closer to one another.
This is probably the biggest lesson that Chris and I have learned over the last 10 years and one that we are continuing to learn.
Well, that and I shouldn’t comment on his driving or parenting and he shouldn’t comment on how clean the house is or whether dinner is ready on time.
I look at those pictures and see how skinny and young we both were but I wouldn’t go back for anything. We have put a lot of hard work into being able to enjoy where we are now and we are looking forward to all that is to come!
Pinewood Derby 2012
Last night we attended our 2nd Pinewood Derby with Foster’s Cub Scout pack. He didn’t win but he enjoyed it. Chris helped him build his car. Our pack leader tried to emphasize how important it was to let the boys actually build the cars and for the dads to take a step back and not do it all for them. I think Chris did great letting Foster decide on his design, sand, paint, and put it all together. I’m not sure why it’s so hard to let our kids just do something like that. I guess it just depends on the personality type. I have had to really work on learning to let go when I do anything creative with the kids. It’s OK if it doesn’t turn out the way I think it should, just that they are enjoying the process of being creative!
The race took place at the Blount County Fire Department. They showed a fire safety video and then started the racing. Foster’s car came in 4th once, 3rd twice and 2nd once. He was disappointed but playing with friends and eating junk food distracted him from being to upset about it.
I was thinking 2 things last night. The first one is “it won’t be like this next year” (more on that later).
The second is that we have 4 sons. That’s potentially A LOT of pinewood derby cars to build and race.
All the Little Grubbs 