Park Day

Pictures for Great Granma

Jeff parents are in town and his father is going to visit Jeff's grandmother soon. So they asked for a few pictures to take with them.

The Role of Mother

If you are one who loves Christ, who desires to see people come and know Him, and longs to find her purpose in the world, let me commend to you the role of mother.

If you are a young woman who has been told all the horrors and sob stories of colic and tantrums and have somehow missed hearing about the joy of raising up interesting, unique individual men and women who will know and serve God, let me commend to you the role of mother.

If you are a gal of my generation, who was told you could "be anything you wanted to be" without ever even having it be hinted that that "anything" might include being "everything" to some little people, let me commend to you the role of mother.

If you are a lady who wants to change the world and make it a better place, let me commend to you the role of mother.

If you are someone who desires to impact people in a huge way, help others to overcome difficulties and find their strengths and God-given abilities, so that they might in turn serve God & contribute to this glorious world in a more weighty manner, let me commend to you the role of mother.

Mothers...

... have the opportunity to impact lives, day-in, day out-for 18+ years, more time than any professor or doctor or preacher or counselor will ever be able to have in the lives of the people they seek to impact.
... have the privilege to study and know their children so that they can train, counsel, and encourage them as they grow towards adulthood
... are given the blessing and responsibility of connecting deeply and wonderfully with their children in ways that are virtually impossible with the world at large.
... have the opportunity to love and be loved in a way that is entirely distinct from any other sort of relationship.
... are able to change the world through a mastery of various fields and talents that they themselves do not possess, as they spur on and encourage their children to find their God-given place of service.
... are able to teach and train and sharpen and shape and guide and gear their children in ways that will forever alter human history.
... have the privilege of praying with intimate understanding for the hearts and lives of people from the very beginning of their existence.
... have a purposeful career designed by God Himself, with His assistance and leadership guaranteed throughout.
... have the unique experience of watching the man they love grow into a man who loves in ways that were unseen and unknown before he became a father.
... have a God-given life with sanctification built-in by the requirements of hard work, selflessness, disappointment, perseverance, patience, grace, self-control, and a continual seeking of wisdom from above.
... have the unique opportunity to work hand-in-hand with God Almighty and the husband He has given to mold future adults.

I am not saying this is the only way-- but I am absolutely saying that it is an awesome way, and a God-designed way, for women to yield to their Maker by welcoming with joy and with great sober responsibility the blessing and gracious gift of children into their hearts, lives, and wombs.God continues to do amazing things in my heart and life and draw me closer to Himself through this role of mother, and I would be a foolish woman indeed if I did not speak highly to you of this beautiful means of sanctification that God has given to women: the disciple-making, world-changing, heart-molding role of mother.

By Jess at Making Home

Summer School

Since L is so interested in rocks I wanted to do some fun summer learning. So today I purchased a few items that I hope he loves and that ignite his passion for learning.

After a couple of months or learning, exploring, and experimenting I thought it would be a blast to finish the unit off with cracking open some geodes of his own. I am totally stoked for these materials to arrive.

Portrait Deals

That's right - my time in Washington is coming to an end, after August 15th I will not be holding any more sessions. I want to see you before I leave so I'm offering you this sweet deal! If you have been putting off your portraits now is the time! The discount includes all print images and digital copies purchased. Unfortunately this special can not be combined with any other offers.

Interested? Head to the website and click on CONTACT.

Bible Memorization : Verse 3 of 52

"Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."
~Luke 12:35-40

Gifts From Mema

Aloha.. my mom went to Hawaii and sent back presents. J loves her Hula skirt. L his seashells..but no one loved their gift as much as my husband.

(Is he even worthy enough to be wearing this? Dad you have a sick sense of humor!)

Puppy Love

My brother and his wife recently moved up here, as he was stationed at the nearby Army Fort. They have a puppy and that little thing makes my 10 year old, granny dog, seem like a pup again. So we thought maybe she needed a friend of her own. So last week we added to the family.

(Our old lady Molly. Don't judge her by her cut - she was botched at PetsMart. She is really a sweet ol' gal.)

(Shh.. pretend it wasn't trash day!)

Doesn't this just scream puppy fun?

After a full day of playing in the sprinkler (and soaking through our cloth diapers) the two of them crashed on the floor for hours together. I didn't pose them, cross my heart.

I should mention that little M named the puppy. He walked right over to him and pointed to his spot and said, "BOLT". If you haven't seen the Disney movie BOLT you should - it's adorable and currently the favorite in the house. So welcome home BOLT.

Go Fish

Nothing like playing Go Fish in the sun on a peaceful afternoon while the other kiddos are sleeping.

I wasn't allowed to look at his cards.

This little pup kept interrupting us. (This is our new puppy BOLT.. more about him to come)

Bible Memorization : Verse 2 of 52

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person."
Colossian 4:2-6

Going Green

I have been having a problem with this for a long while now. In recent years, probably with a great deal of attention brought to the matter by Al Gore, we have been bombarded with the concept of 'Going Green'. This green agenda comes at the expense of our pocket books most of the time. For me personally I feel statements like, "Green is the New Black," bring my lunch back up. I don't want to feel like I am being peer-pressured into nor do I want to be scared into taking care of the environment. I want it to be from a heartfelt conviction from the Lord to protect and care for the beauty that he has created around us.

I am not opposed to caring for the environment, but it seems what began as sincerity has turned into profit driven motives. We are being asked to save the planet at the expense of humans. Human beings are being demonized for simply existing because of all the harms our existence brings to 'mother nature'. It is the theme of movies (e.i. The Day the Earth Stood Still remake and The Happening), television shows, governmental taxation plans (carbon taxing) among other things.

What does the bible have to say about it?

" Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:26-31

God put man on this planet, to fill it, to care for and to tend to his good creation. We were made stewards of the Earth. It is God's design for us to look after things here, but keep in mind:

"For this world in its present form is passing away." 1 Corinthians 7:31.

Prayerfully consider ways to be good stewards of what God has given us. As with all things we must examine our hearts and stand true to our convictions. In our home we recycle, reuse, and conserve energy the best we can. But, we don't buy strictly organic food, drive hybrids or stress over the environment. We do what we can and leave the rest in the Lord's hands without worry. My concern is the safety and well being of my family, to not be wasteful, and to show reverence to God through my actions.

Cloth Diapering

I'm no expert, actually I'm in my first few weeks of switching to cloth diapers. One thing I have learned is that it is INCREDIBLY easy, so much more so than I had expected. Had I known that it was this easy and INEXPENSIVE - I certainly would have done it with all my children.

Why did I switch when M is nearly 2? MONEY! I bought second hand cloth diapers (my husband thought it seemed icky but they arrived in PERFECT condition), and inserts and spent a total $97 with shipping. On a friend's suggestion we bought Fuzzi Bunz brand. They are awesome, easy to use and clean. I started making homemade wipes over a year ago and that has saved us on average $30 a month, especially when I still had two in diapers. Now, on average, I was spending $40 every 3 weeks on diapers for M. So after 2 1/2 months I will be no worse off financially than when I started and after that I am saving money. Granted I don't know how much longer M will need to be in diapers since he is 22 months, but even if it just for 6 more months - I have stilled saved.


The first thing I noticed when I put M's first new diaper on was that they are so soft. The first night we put him back into a disposable because we did not have the correct size inserts yet and didn't want him to wet through. After a day of cloth diapers the old ones were so abrasive feeling in comparison. My husband told me that he supported the switch but if I did it he would never change another diaper because it was just gross. After a week of watching me change diapers he realized it was not a big deal and offered to help again. To me, if a man is willing to do it that says a lot about the simplicity of it!


Anyway - all this was to say that over at Simple Mom they are starting a series introducing the option of cloth diapering and why it is an option you too might want to consider. So if you are interested go check it out!

Bible Memorization : Verse 1 of 52

Unfortunately I randomly choose times to memorize Bible verses. I want to have God's word hidden in my heart. So, I am going to make a point of memorizing a new verse every week. I will post the verse in the sidebar. How cool will it be to have a new 52 passages of scripture memorized by this time next year?

How I memorize scripture: I write the verse down on 2 or 3 index cards. I keep one with me, one on the refrigerator and one on my bathroom mirror. Each time I pass one of the posted index cards I recite the verse. And as often as the thought comes to mind I recite it and check it against the card in my pocket or purse. I'm sure everyone has their own special way, but this is what works for me.

This weeks:

1 Peter 3:4-6
"Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear"