HOW SWEET IT IS!

Tonight I was browsing on Pinterest.  I pinned some new recipes to try, pursued the humor section to try to find a smile (I've been sick all week and utterly exhausted from VBS, I needed a good laugh), and then headed over to quotes.  As I was reading a couple of quotes to Robert the kiddos were milling around snacking on watermelon and chips enjoy their Sunday evening.  I came across this quote, read it to Robert and was amazed at my son's response!

John Robert looked up and said: "Well then my security blanket is huge."

WOW!  What a ccompliment! As a woman, a sinful woman that purposes to honor Christ in all areas of her life, to have my son notice this in my marriage is huge!  I mess up daily!  I get aggravated with my husband (as he does me).  I get frustrated with my kiddos (as they do me).  And yet, in spite of my shortcomings Christ has shown through in my relationship with my spouse and my children have noticed.  I am not perfect, far from it.  BUT, I will take a compliment like that from an impressionable young man learning how the world works over all the riches in this world!

MENU PLANNING FOR THE 4th!

This next week we will be crazy busy since it is VBS!  I love VBS but must admit that I am not readily looking forward to the exhaustion that comes with being 3 months pregnant, wanting and needing naps daily, and being utterly exhausted and having to cook!  SO I am looking at menu planning for the next two weeks! 

This brings us to the 4th.  Most people use the 4^th of July as a time to get together with family and friends and have tons of fun, a bar-b-que, or even a party.  We normally keep it low key and just hang with family, our immediate family!  I was asking the kiddos what they wanted this year and all I have heard is that Daddy needs to make another brisket like he made for Father’ Day.  According to one son, specifically John Robert:

 

        “IF Daddy doesn’t make brisket for the 4^th, he won’t live to see the 5^th!”

 

 

OH MY SON!!!!!  I think brisket it is!  On a side note, I love that the children adore Robert’s cooking so much that they want his specialty items from the smoker and often!  Robert is so amazing at so many things; we are truly blessed to have him!

 
So far our 4^th of July Menu includes:

1 Brisket put on the smoker low and slow!

Cowboy Beans!  YUM-O!

Potato Salad

What we are debating on is:

Hot Slaw (homemade Cole Slaw with mustard and a secret ingredient!)

Something Sweet (oh I KNOW we will have something sweet, BUT here is the debate, one wants brownies, one wants cupcakes, one wants cookies, one wants ice cream, and one wants Strawberry Cobbler so that is the debate.)

So what is your family doing for the 4^th of July?

COMING SOON!

Our family is growing again!!!! YAY for God's surprise blessings and His gift of children!

FATHER’S DAY 2013

Father’s Day is a day to celebrate the men in our lives who step up to the plate and decide to be an amazing dad!  I have heard and read an old saying that states: “Anyone can be a Father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy!”  In my mind there is a lot of truth to that!  Any man can father a child, but it takes a special man to step up to the plate and really LOVE and be a DADDY!  In my eyes, my husband is such a man!

Robert is an amazing Dad!  He does things with his children and worries about them in ways that are unfathomable to me. He takes the time out to teach and show them things that are important to him and all of our lives. He often talks about missing them while he is working.  He talks about how hard it is to leave them all during the day.  He talks about how much he loves it when Ethan calls him to say “Hi Daddy” when he is at work.  He talks about how Cole grabs his legs and says “UMMMM” when he walks in the door and how that makes his night every time. He talks about how John Robert will calmly ask for help or to ride with him on a Saturday just to be with his Daddy and just what that means to him as a parent. He talks about how Maggie will say “Hey….” and start to tell of her many adventures thoughts, ideas, stories, or teenage friend drama.  He talks about this all the time and how he feels like he is missing out on their lives by being gone and working; how he wishes he could be home more.  He talks about how the kiddos can make you bonkers sometimes but he also talks about how much he loves them and needs them in his life.

Teaching the kiddos how to butcher, something important in our family.

Taking the time out to play ball with his crew!

We blink and our children are grown.  When they reach adulthood the ability to have a relationship with them is still there, but it is not as close or loving as it could be if it would have been formed correctly while the child was young.  I am so thankful that Robert is so focused on his children and the relationship that he has with them now; not because he is perfect but because he knows how hard it can be to undo damage done in childhood, and he wants his children to know that he is not perfect but that they have his unconditional love.

Yes, Robert is an amazing Dad!  In spite of all the shortcomings, mistakes, and missteps he feels he makes on a daily basis, he is richly blessed with 4 (soon to be 5) children that adore him.  Father’s Day was special this year; it reminded our whole family just how much we have to be thankful for in Robert.   

Time for gifts!!!!

Daddy got a waffle iron to make his crew breakfast!!!!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to my best friend, lover, companion, and the ONLY man I want to have children with.  You are truly amazing and worthy of respect and praise.  Thank you for imitating the love of Christ in all of our lives, even on days when it is hard!

SUMMER BREAK ~ Not Here!

Most kiddos are now out of school for the summer.  Not mine!  One of the joys of homeschooling is that we can school year round and take time off when we need to (like in November and December when our lives are so chaotic).  BUT, just because we don’t take the summers off doesn’t mean we won’t be having some fun.  Here’s just a snippet of some of what we will be doing this summer.

v  BEACH TRIPS!  Thanks to the homeschool group that we belong to, at least twice a month we will be heading to the beach!  I’ve never been to Anna Maria Island so I’m looking forward to heading there!  I think that we will also jet down to Du Bois Park for some more snorkeling too!

v  HAINES CITY WATER PARK! Since the city of Haines City has redone Lake Eva area, the kiddos LOVE to go swimming there and often.  I think that we will invest in a pass for the summer and head there at least twice a month too!

v  EXPLORATIONS V CHILDRENS MUSEUM!  While I know that the “bigger” kiddos weren’t thrilled with the museum, Ethan and Cole loved it and I know it will be a good place to come and play some!

v  EPCOT!  OK, some people might laugh at this, but John Robert and I just got done reading about the Aztecs and Mayans so we want to go to Epcot to see the Mexico and then hit the Living Seas with Nemo! We will be hitting Epcot at least twice this summer!

v  VACATION!  We will be taking our family vacation in August and heading to Ocala to go to Silver Springs.  Robert is the most excited about this, (although the big kiddos are liking the idea of the glass bottomed boats), since we have spent the last two years at the beach.  It will be fun to stay on the lake and be able to fish, rent boats, and enjoy the woods for a change!

Well, there you have it!  A busy summer mixed with school and fun!  We can’t wait for all of our adventures this summer, even if school is thrown in the mix too!!!