But a Vapor

Baptism

2009-11-01T08:41:00.002-06:00

Trace and Aidan both got Baptized several Weeks ago. It was a very emotional Sunday for this mommy and wife. Trace was baptized as a kid at 14 years of age, but he was not a believer. He has explained to me that he was doing what he thought he was supposed to do after talking with the youth leader at the church he was going to. He might have even been able to answer some of the right questions, but he did not know Jesus Christ. That is a beautiful thing about Christianity...it is all about a relationship. Shortly after that time Trace stopped attending church and started drinking a lot. By the time he was 25 years old he was a full blown alcoholic with nowhere else to go but to move in with his grandmother.

Trace started attending Alcoholics Anonymous and while struggling to find anything that would help him put the pieces together he ended up reading CS Lewis's Mere Christianity. Then one day he encountered the scripture that says "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it". Right then he believed. Since that that time we have found ourselves back in the church and studying the word. Trace has felt convicted that he needed to be baptized again for a while and he did it this time (by the way, I know Trace would right this differently so please keep in mind that this is me telling his story to the best of my ability). I am so proud of him for responding obediently.

I have talked a little about Aidan's faith journey here. He accepted Christ as his Savior this summer and was eager to take this next step. I love the way baptism happens at our church. First Trace was baptized by our Pastor and then Trace was able to baptize Aidan. It is so special to get to play such an intimate part in your own child's baptism. I am praying that a deep Spiritual Heritage will flow from our generation to the next, to the next, and the next. This is such a beautiful picture of that kind of Heritage. During the baptisms an older man in our church who has a deep love for Jesus was privileged to stand with his two grandsons and their father and together they baptized the young boys. I can only begin to imagine the joy that would come in getting to baptize your grandchildren. God's loving kindness is overwhelming sometimes.

Here is a picture of Dad and son before the baptism.

And here are two in the water. Aidan is entering in the first and in the second you can barely see his head peaking over. I love these pictures (even though the quality is terrible).

Our wonderful Sunday School Class had a party to celebrate and they invited Aidan up for the celebration. This was a really sweet time for me as a mother to have other believers that Aidan did not even really know rally around our family as we celebrated. Aidan was a little overwhelmed by this detail. He could not understand why nor was he prepared to receive the attention.

And last is a picture of my kiddos and the cousins. My brother and his family made the trip to help us celebrate with Aidan. It was a wonderful time Celebrating. my heart overflowed with gladness!!! God is good and faithful to answer our prayers. The drawing of Aidan to Him is a huge answer to prayer!

Happy Birthday Aidan!

2009-10-22T14:33:00.008-05:00

Last weekend was a busy one for us here in the Hagler home. Aidan turned 7 years old on Saturday and both he and Trace were Baptized on Sunday. Friday was spent getting ready for the party, making a cake, and wrapping presents. Saturday we celebrated Aidan.

Things have been really busy for us this year with the addition of homeschooling so I decided to keep the party pretty small and we invited 3 friends and their siblings. Aidan chose to have a bike riding party and we got permission to do it at the church in the parking lot. We made name plates for the bikes and then we added two different noisemakers to the bike (bells that dangle and a paper clicker that hit the spokes as they rode). I set up an obstacle course and the kids got to each make their way through it.

Here is Rebecca with the flag sending out our first racer through the course

Go Davis

And now Andrew needed a turn

The kids had to make it through the course and then they had to drive through the silly string attacks of the other kids. This was one of the highlights for sure! Here is Aidan spraying one of his friends

Andrew even got covered in silly string

This sweet little one road way out far making it impossible for anyone to get her...very smart girl!

And here is Uncle Greg getting Andrew as he drives by.

After the obstacle course, we took a break for an easy hot dog lunch and some cake. We are so thankful for our friends that were able to come.

Here is the birthday cake

We had too much wind so we attempted to block it with the cardboard in the back ground.
And that night my brother and his family cam in town to celebrate some more. It was a great day of play and fun with Aidan. I cannot believe Aidan is 7. I know I say that every year and I mean it every year, but 7 really seems older. Aidan doesn't seem like a little guy anymore. He is growing up and developing his own personality. I completely find myself at a loss once again, but I am enjoying this stage. I love that Aidan loves to learn and is curious about everything. He loves to learn new facts about all sorts of things. Learning is simply cool at this age and for a home school mom that is super fun! I love that he is getting to a point that I can trust him more and give him a little more freedom. I love his sense if humor that is developing and even though I might not get the joke, it delights my soul to her him laugh! Aidan is such a sweet little boy. I get compliments about you all the time Aidan. You are a special boy! I love you dearly! Never forget that...I love you! I love getting to be your mommy!

I will try to write about the baptism very soon, but I think this is all I can do for now. What a special weekend!

Homeschooling in Pictures

2009-10-19T20:43:00.006-05:00

Well, I guess you can tell that homeschooling is taking its toll! The blog has become a lower priority and in all honesty I am often simply too tired to post after the kids go to bed. I have had several homeschooling activities that I have wanted to update you with. I originally thought that each one would have its own post but since we are so far behind why don't I just catch you up through pictures.

Trace has taken over the Friday afternoon History lesson for me. He gets off work early on Fridays and has been so sweet and wonderful to take this on. It is a sweet time for the kids and him too. I have been known to enjoy my Friday afternoons by running errands, reading a book, or taking a nap. It is a great time for me too!

Here is their first Friday with daddy. The first week we defined history and archeology. After the archeology lesson the kids went for a "dig" in the sand box.

They roped it off into sections and had to explore the area and see what they could discover.

Week #1 with Dad was a success!
Here are our cave paintings.

And this is supposed to be the white crown that the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt wore. It would later become part of the double crown when Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt became one.

Here is a picture of Andrew just because he is cute.

This is our attempt at an Egyptian Pyramid. We made the bricks out of sand and glue and then cut them out and arranged them to resemble a pyramid.

And this is supposed to be a Sumerian seal.

We also made a trip to the Dallas Aquarium which was super fun. We went with another home school family that we have gotten to know. They have 3 kids also and they are all within months of my kids. It is their first year homeschooling and we are doing basically the same curriculum. It has been a huge encouragement to have someone else who is on the same page we are. They had completed their study of fish and we spent a couple weeks studying fish to help get us ready for the trip. It was a fun day! Here is Becca feeding a bird.

Aidan overlooking everything.

The whole group of kids! I love this picture.

All but one of the little guys.

If you haven't been to the aquarium I would say the highlight is the shark tank. It is like a tunnel and the sharks swim above you. This picture cracks me up with everyone pointing different directions but it is pretty cool to see. My little Andrew had a few moments of panic as the sharks swam overhead so we ended up watching from outside of the tunnel. He was a bit heightened the remainder of the time at the aquarium and he didn't get to far from mom. I was completely surprised to see him react like this.

Two of my monkeys near the penguin exhibit.

And last here are a few pictures when we watched the Rose Parade. I have never taken my kids before (it usually falls on Aidan's birthday weekend and is just too much). This year we made a point to watch the parade. Here is Becca and Aidan.

And Andrew the fireman. He chose this hat for Halloween and a costume came with it. Literally, that is the way it worked. He wanted the hat and he had to wear it to the parade. I wouldn't argue with someone that adorable!

So there you have it. The last couple months in pictures. We do things that do not pertain to history or science around here, but those just aren't as fun to take pictures of. And just in case you are curious, all ideas listed about come from our history curriculum. We are using the Story of the World and I bought the activity guide to go with it. All creative ideas should be credited to the book.

Tache Kick Off

2009-09-02T22:44:00.008-05:00

This past weekend we spent some time at a Pine Cove (or "piney Cone" as Rebecca called it) campsite for the TACHE kickoff. Tache is the Home school network that we are a part of. It was a great time, and although I didn't get to meet too many new people (my kids are still much to hands on to have a ton of social time) I did enjoy the great family time. There are so many fun things to do there. Everyone had a different favorite thing. For Andrew it was probably putt-putt.

Rebecca loved her horse ride

Aidan showed his bravery and his new swimming skills off as he jumped off the high dive. I was so impressed. He wouldn't even swim more than a few feet before the summer began and now he is going off the High Dive. I just couldn't believe it!

We all also loved the fun swings and super cool, huge tree house.

Rebecca attempted the rock wall, but her legs were just too short to get her up. She gave it a solid effort though.

Aidan also took a pony ride on the trail and thought it was so fun to get to steer the horse.

It was great fun!

Hagler Academy

2009-09-02T21:10:00.005-05:00

I am way behind on my blogging! I know most of you are perfectly fine with that, but I do try to use this as a family journal and as of late this journal has been boring!!! We are halfway through our second week of school and we are not only surviving but I would say we are thriving. I have felt a sweet kind of closeness with my kids and in our home. Things are by no means perfect, I mean we have 5 people living in this house and we all have our hangups, but life is good. It seems to be the time of year when life is gearing up and things are getting busy, but there is a calm here that seems to be unaffected by the busyness.

Homeschooling has helped me to focus more on home. I am doing a better job getting laundry done, toys put away, and keeping the clutter tamed. I think I feel like I have to do a better job since this isn't just home, but also school. We aren't running around frantically and the best thing of all is that there is no mad dash to be on time to school at 8:00 in the morning. I always hated that! Now if we are running 10 minutes late or have a rough start it is OK, life will go on and we will adjust throughout the day. Having so much focused time with the kids has given me the opportunity for some much needed training time to address issues of the heart. The kids seem to be closer and be getting along better also since they are not only classmates but playmates much of the time. I am so thankful for this time that the Lord has given us where we can focus on our home, our kids, and their hearts. I truly feel like this time is a gift (talk to me 4 months down the road when I am worn out and that might be different).

I did take a few pictures to mark our first day because that is just what you do on the first day of school, right? Here are the kids in the school room. That door is a pocket door between the kitchen and school room/office and I painted it to be a chalkboard which is great fun to use.

I am going to write out our school day for my own benefit(down the road)and for those of you that are interested. If you have no interest at all; this is where you want to stop reading.

We start our school day off at 8:30 with Bible. We usually spend about 30 minutes together in the morning and we spend this time doing scripture memory, reading the story, discussing it, praying together and singing at least one praise song. It is a sweet time together and it is a time that we simply were not finding to do together when Aidan was in school. We did try to do something simple over breakfast, but the available hours were just not long enough when he was in school and if we were running behind that went out the window. We follow that up with math, phonics for Becca, spelling and grammar for Aidan, and then handwriting. Andrew loves to be a part of handwriting time and that works some of the time (until he colors on someones paper, gets corrected, and has a 2 year old melt down). He isn't actually handwriting but he has his own "book" to work in and insists on using a pencil like his big siblings rather than crayons. When I am working independently with one of the kids the other one plays in the room with Andrew. This works most of the time, but we always have unplanned breaks and interruptions to deal with some conflict or issue.

After handwriting we take a break for outside time and lunch. Then before Andrew takes a nap we all snuggle together on the couch and read. It is truly the highlight of my day! Andrew takes a nap and the bigger kiddos join me for a simple history or science lesson (I do mean SIMPLE!). Then they rest and read in there rooms and I get a little quiet time.

That concludes our school day (usually history is finished about 1:00-1:30)and the remainder of the day consists of planning for the next day, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking dinner, and running errands. The biggest struggle for me right now is finding time to get to the grocery store. I just can't seem to get that done during the day and have been making late night trips after the kids go to bed. Trace and I will have to figure out the details as time goes on.

We also have chosen to be a part of a co-op called Classical Conversations and we have loved it so far. The kids all seem to like it, they get a morning in a very structured environment and they are learning so much! Most of the families stay after class time for lunch and playtime together and we have enjoyed having this time scheduled into our week. We go on Wednesday mornings and take off those afternoons. The style and philosophy of the co-op fits perfectly into my homeschooling philosophy so far and the material overlaps and helps tie the loose ends together. I expect many hard days ahead, but I am so thankful that this is the place where the Lord has us for this season of our life.

And here are the pictures that the kids took turns taking with there new teacher on the first day.

Rejoicing with the Angels!

2009-08-11T08:16:00.004-05:00

On Sunday August 2nd Aidan came home from church and shared with me over lunch that he had become a Christian. I asked him some questions then to try to understand the message that had been shared with him at church that had brought him to this decision. Trace spent some time alone with him just to make sure he knew what it meant and what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Aidan has known the gospel, that Christ alone is able to free him from his sin, and that is why Christ died on the cross, but we were unsure that he had made a personal decision to follow. We have talked about this with him many times and have even discussed baptism, but to insure he understood the choice he was making we wanted to wait to pursue that. I think that is a hard thing to clearly see in the life of a child who grows up hearing about Jesus and all He has done for us. He has always known the right answers but when has the Lord moved in his heart to bring repentance of sin and to see the personal need for a savior. This time he made a decision and it was completely independent of us. He was able to explain to us what it meant to accept Christ as his Savior. It was so cute because for the rest of the day Aidan tried to convince Rebecca that she needed to be a Christian and that they could both become Christians on the same day. I loved his excitement and his eagerness to share Christ with others, although I am not convinced Rebecca fully understands any of it yet.

A few nights later I surprised Aidan with a cookie cake dessert to celebrate. We wanted him to know that this was a cause for rejoicing and that we were so excited that he had made this choice and we were praising God for working in his heart. After the dessert we spent some time in prayer praying for Aidan as a family. We prayed that his faith would grow and be strengthened and that he would comprehend the depths and heights of Christs love for him. I pray that he follows hard after Jesus and that his faith will be tested and proven to be authentic. It is overwhelming to know that the Lord has worked in Aidan's heart this way. I think this is the single most consistent prayer request that I have brought before my Father on behalf of my kids and to see it answered is such a source of joy. Praising the Lord for his faithfulness and the work he has done and will continue to do in Aidan's life!

A Girly Room

2009-07-27T09:31:00.006-05:00

I finished Rebecca's room last week and thought I would share pictures. I am so happy with the results and I think she really likes it too.a> Here is the view from the door.
Another picture from the door.
The other side of the room.

A close up of her stars and the "R"

Another wall with a more clear view of the stripes. I followed the patter of 5", 2", 7", and then 3" stripes to give a little variation. The light pink horizontal stripe is 10" wide. Lots and lots of taping, painting, and touching up, but happy with the results in the end.

This is the scripture board I painted for Rebecca when she was an infant. I love that I can still use it. We could use some curtains or something to soften up those cheap mini blinds, but they do the job so we will see if that happens or not.

I love kids rooms. I think they leave so much freedom to be creative. I will be working on Aidan's room over the next few weeks and will post pictures when I am done. It won't be nearly as busy as Becca's room but it will involve a few stripes. 2 rooms done and several more to go. All the fun of an older house.

Our Beach Vacation

2009-07-26T14:00:00.010-05:00

We had a great vacation earlier this month. We drove down to South Padre and had our fill of fun and sun. It was a much needed break for me. I enjoyed nap time in the hotel almost as much as the fun at the beach. It was the first time this summer I could totally relax, because there was NOTHING that needed to be done. I have been meaning to post pictures for a while. I suppose it is better late than never. Brace yourself for the picture overload!

All three amigos at the hotel pool

Trace and Aidan at one of the many seafood restaurants we ate at.

Me and Becc

And the little mister

In front of the boat we were about to board for our dolphin watch and fireworks show. I did not get to see the dolphins because of where we were sitting, but Trace and Aidan claim to have gotten a peak.

The only picture of Trace and I together...taken by Rebecca our budding photographer.

Daddy and his little girl

Hanging out on the boat. One of my favorite pictures, I just think it is so cute.
The little surfer boy heading out to catch some waves

Becca spent much of her time on her belly waiting for the waves to come and make her go. She loved splashing in the waves.

Running back to mommy

Splashing in the waves. I can't believe I did not get one single picture of Aidan and his beach bucket collecting seashells. That was a favorite activity for him and he came back home with tons. We also started calling Aidan the safety patrol while we were vacationing. Every time Andrew went anywhere near a wave Aidan got extremely protective fearing he would be washed out to sea. Andrew found this highly frustrating when his big brother would attempt to coral him.

What a peaceful view. It was loads of fun.

Rebecca and I attempted to build a mermaid out of sand. You can see her next to Becca in this picture.

We had a fantastic time and are already talking about our next trip to the beach.

A Family Date

2009-07-06T11:10:00.004-05:00

Sweet Rebecca got the idea of a "family date" from the movie Enchanted. On that movie the guy explains to the Princess what a date is and Rebecca decided she was missing out since she has never been on a "date". I love how innocent she is and that for her a family date was the perfect solution. Rebecca made the plans and we headed out for our date. We went for dinner at a small Mexican restaurant that serves pancakes all day long, which is always a hit with my kids. After that we went to the bowling alley. This was our first time to attempt bowling as a family and it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of my little bowlers:

Andrew bowled with me since the balls were too heavy for him alone. Here we are watching our ball go. He had a hard time waiting his turn at first, but eventually he figured out how it would work and then he did great.

And here is Rebecca...

Look at those skills

And my precious Aidan

Enjoying the game

Hello out there blog world!

2009-07-06T10:33:00.005-05:00

Just checking in to say hi...that is if anyone is still out there. It has been a terribly long time since I blogged. We have been oh so busy with our move and an attempt to reclaim a little order in our home. We have managed to get down to the last few boxes and I hope that soon I will get to begin decorating a bit.

We love the house that the Lord has provided for our family. I am very happy with the layout and LOVE being about 5 minutes away from just about everything we do. I have a long list of rooms to paint, but that will have to be a process. I am hoping to have my bedroom painted today or tomorrow( all that is left is the trim around the doors). We leave for South Texas on Wednesday. When I return completing the painting in Beccas's room will be at the top of my agenda.

We also got to go for a quick trip to Clovis for Trace's High School reunion and to visit his family. Suzan, Trace's sister, met us in Clovis also. She and Trace's parents helped out with the kids while we went attended the reunion. I have gotten so bad about taking pictures but here is one of Aidan, Becca, and Suzan during our stay. They just adore her.
Here is a picture of Trace and I before the gathering the first night.
I did finish a couple easy and quick lamp projects. I will finish by sharing those pictures. My mom recently cleaned out my grandmothers house and I inherited a few things. One was this lamp. Here it is before needing an update:

And now with a new shade and a coat of oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

I picked this up for $2.00. Red was the wrong color, but it was $2.oo so I bought it.

I bought some fabric and some black spray paint and here it is now. Please ignore the blue half painted wall. Don't worry, it won't stay like that. A big improvement for a little girls lamp and a few bucks.

I will post more before and afters of the rooms as I complete them, lamps are all I have gotten completed at the moment. Have a happy Monday!

Caught Red Handed...

2009-06-05T07:52:00.005-05:00

Or should I say brownie handed. Yesterday Aidan, myself, and the little girl who lives across the street made brownies. I set them on the counter to cool and after they cooled for a bit I gave all the kids a little piece. Andrew ate his and then begged for more. I said no, stood my ground, and watched the fit that took place. After a brief timeout in his bed, Andrew was calm and I felt victorious.

I headed to my room to pack my paint and other misc. craft supplies. All of the sudden I hear Rebecca yelling "mommy, Andrew is eating the brownies". What? He can't reach the brownies. How? I walked into the kitchen and this is what I found...

And look at this one, he almost even looks proud in this one.

He had pushed the stool over to the counter and was helping himself to some more. I only thought I was victorious. He is a very strong willed little boy.

BTW, do you think it counteracts the correction when mom is grabbing the camera to take a picture, because really it is just too cute? Ya, I do to. Oh well.

More on Homeschooling

2009-06-03T21:46:00.002-05:00

So, I mentioned homeschooling in my last post. I also mentioned many of the emotions that I have been experiencing lately with all of the change. There is no doubt that a big part of that is about homeschooling.

We started talking about homeschooling last fall. It was really more of an idea in the back of my head than anything serious. I remember thinking that I would do it if I really was convinced that was what was best for Aidan, but there was no excitement. I have come a long way since then. I am truly excited about this adventure. I know that it will be hard and it will require sacrifice and the Lord has many, many things to teach me through this adventure, but I look forward to teaching Aidan and Rebecca. I look forward to learning as I teach. I look forward to being intimately involved in what Aidan and Rebecca are learning and spending so much intentional time with them. I am excited, but I have to admit I am a bit scared and I even have had times that I know are nothing short of grieving.

My life is going to change in very dramatic ways. I will not be able to be a part of the bible study that I have done for the past 2 years and that I absolutely love. My moms in touch prayer group is not going to continue here at Higgins as far as I know and I am saddened by that. I would love to continue praying with other moms, but the Lord has not worked out the details of that yet and so this wonderfully sweet time of prayer for my kids with other women may stop. The playgroup that I have been a part of for 4 and 1/2 years will dissolve. Things are definitely going to be different. The relationships that have become very dear to me will change. I know they will continue to be close friendships, but they will be harder to maintain simply because I won't see them as much. For a while I was surprised by my sadness, but I have finally accepted that it is part of the process that I need to go through.

So much about next year is unknown and the unknown may be great, it may be better than I could imagine, but it is scary and sadness comes at the loss. I was a church a little over a week ago and we were singing and worshipping the Lord. I felt like God was meeting me in my grief. In that moment He truly was my comforter. It wasn't just a name I could declare of Him, I felt Him being that for me. It was so wonderful to feel Him reminding me that there is nothing to fear, no reason to be afraid. Yes, I will loose my bible study that has been such a vital tool in teaching me about Him, but I would NEVER loose Him. He was going with me. Yes, my relationships with those around me might change, but my relationship with Him would continue. He is going with me. As I sang that morning I had tears streaming down my face as I stood there wrapped in His embrace. Even when life feels uncertain, He is good and He never changes. What a wonderful reminder that was for me!

Tomorrow we are going to a playgroup to meet some of the families that will be a part of the coop that we are going to join for next year. It is a group that will meet together every Wednesday morning. I told the kids about it and Rebecca asked me who would be there. I had to admit that I don't know. She wasn't all that excited about that. I can relate. I want to stay in my comfort zone and be surrounded by the friends that I have chosen. I am excited to meet these women and their kids, but I am a little nervous also. It really is nerve racking when change happens, but this is the place that we have come to in life and it is the place that we believe the Lord has brought us to. I am choosing to believe that He is going with me as I walk through this time.

2009-05-29T08:58:00.005-05:00

This is the note I sent in Aidan's lunch today. I can't believe that my fist born is graduating from Kindergarten! It is wild! He brought home a "diploma" the other day to certify that he had in fact completed Kindergarten and all I could do was cry. I just can't believe how old and grown up he is. I am so excited about summer, going at a slower pace, and spending lots of time at the pool, but I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I can totally see how you could wake up one day and it all be over. It would be so easy to feel like you missed it. I don't want that to happen. I pray I will be intentional with the time I have with my kids. When they are born 18 years feels like an eternity, but then all of the sudden they are finishing kindergarten and it all happened in a flash.

End of the year is a busy time for parents of school age kids and our lives have been full. Here are some pictures of what we have been up to.

We had a hot dog picnic the other day

Then the kids played a game
that looked like mass chaos to me but was fun for them.
Next we went inside for ice cream sundays (yummy!). I just loved this picture of Aidan's classmate with the whipped cream on her nose.
The kids had dress up day and could dress up like pirates or Hawaii style. Aidan chose a pirate. I talked him into the parrot on his shoulder...I just think it is fun. They have also had favorite shirt day, glasses day, and favorite hats.
I got to be a part of field day which was super fun for everyone!
Look at the intensity on that face while he is jumping hurdles.
And of course they had tug of war. We did boys against
girls! And don't let there cuteness surprise you, they were tough!

Aidan, you have grown and matured this year. You have an eagerness about life that I love to see. You love to learn and I pray you will always have an excitement to learn about the things and people around you. You have a sweet tender heart that the Lord has blessed you with. Give all of it to Him! It is such a joy to be your mom. I am so thankful for you.

Some Changes...

2009-05-24T15:46:00.003-05:00

Life is full of change right now. I actually have so much change going on that it is hard to write a simple post and give an update. I haven't been very good about blogging and almost always that means there is a lot going on both in my real life and in my heart. Things that sometimes seem hard to put into words, but I will give it a shot.

The Lord has been very active and pressing on our hearts in many, many ways. One of those things is to get out of debt. It sounds so wise and logical when I say that, but we are not particularly wise and logical people. I hear people talk about the freedom you can experience when you are debt free and as great as that sounds I have to say that the only reason I would ever make this choice is because of the work of the Lord. I love immediate gratification. In the past I have been known to decide I wanted something and be purchasing it soon afterward. I was not opposed to credit cards. I liked the idea of travel and fun and money to be able to do those things and buy the things I wanted. I am still very prone to fall into those habits at times and for my desires to be selfish, but this is something different. I have a desire to get out of debt so that I can more fully and strategically serve my Father. This time it isn't about me. God is leading us on a path to financial freedom all for His glory and I just pray He will give us the strength to be faithful to the path He has laid out before us. The funny thing is that if I had been one of those naturally wise and logical people I might have made better choices in the past and not have needed to get out of debt, at least not as much debt. That however, is not the way the Lord has chosen to act in my life.

So several months ago we decided that we should sell our house and move into one that is cheaper. With the interest rates as low as they are there was a great opportunity to save money on our monthly mortgage. We prayed about this and really felt like that is the direction the Lord was leading. We listed our house and it sold in 3 weeks, which was pretty amazing. We then spent several weeks trying to find a place to live. That proved to be much more difficult and stressful than we anticipated, but we now have a contract on a house and we will move in just a few short weeks.

It has been a journey and we have had our moments of doubt where we questioned the whole process and why we were moving out of our home, into something that needs a lot of work. I have shed tears and been full of doubt. I have needed to cling to His promises and remember that He has gone before us and has picked out the perfect home for our family. That He never doubted if we would have a place to sleep. It has been a trial and it isn't over yet, but He has provided us a home and we are looking forward to turning it into our home. Some things that I am especially excited about are the floor plan and the location. We will literally be 2 minutes away from Trace's office. He will have so much more time with us at home. He will be able to be a part of our morning routine and will have more time at home with all of us in the evenings. I know that will prove to be a great blessing to me and the kids.

I mentioned at the top of the post that we are going through many changes and this is one of the main ones that is on the forefront of our minds, but we have also decided that we are going to home school our children next year. Aidan will be in
1st grade and Rebecca will be doing preschool work at home. The Lord is providing clarity for our family about this decision and is leading us in regards to this decision also. This post has already gotten long enough so I think I will leave a more detailed post about homeschooling for another day, but I will say that the Lord has given me an eagerness and excitement about this decision that I did not have originally. More details to come soon...

Happy 2nd Birthday Andrew!

2009-05-14T15:49:00.005-05:00

Sunday was Mother's Day and I found it very fitting that we would also be celebrating Andrew's 2nd birthday on that day. After all, he is one very important reasons that I am even privileged enough to get to celebrate Mother's Day. Trace gave me some time away on Friday night and all day long on Saturday. It was a wonderful and encouraging time for me (but I will write more about that later) then on Sunday we had my mom, dad, and younger siblings join us for dinner to celebrate both Mother's Day and the very Special Birthday boy. I simply cannot believe Andrew is two. It was a pretty simple gathering with a few presents, cupcakes, and ice cream. Here is Andrew when we sang Happy Birthday to him.

And this is the only picture I got of him smiling. He was much to distracted for pictures.

Andrew, you are such a gift from the Lord. I treasure my time with you. You are a strong personality and you can go from making me laugh and smile, to just about pushing me over the edge . Life with you is never boring and I am getting to learn more about humility with you every day. One of the most consistent prayers that I pray for you is that you would grow into a man of tremendous self control, because (let's face it) it will definitely take the hand of the Lord to accomplish that. I also pray that you are captivated by the heart of God and you follow hard after him. Nothing would delight me more than to see that come true and I trust that the Lord has already began a work in your heart. I love how you look around and try to bow your head when we pray at the dinner table. You are so eager to be a part of everything that happens around you. You love to play with your big brother and sister. You have been learning new words daily. You mimic everything you hear and really think you are contributing to all our conversations. You have grown to love to read books. You run to retrieve a book and eagerly present it to me to read to you. Reading with you is such a fun thing to do. You still love to play cars and now have developed an interest for animals. Your very favorite thing in the world is to play outside. You enjoy getting to "wing" (swing) and you love playing ball of any type. Your baths are one of the highlights of your day and are quite wet for anyone in the room. You love to splash and swim in the water. I can't wait to see what you are like at the pool this summer. It is such a blessing to be your mommy! I love you more than I could ever begin to put into words!

Late Easter Pictures

2009-04-29T06:00:00.004-05:00

I never uploaded my Easter pictures and I thought that grandparents would enjoy seeing them. Here are just a few pictures I took. I love how Becca is looking at Andrew in this one.

The Boys

And them with there baskets (I tried to do small simple things this year and each of them got a pair of summer shoes in there baskets, just trying to be practical).

We had a great Easter and have had a busy few weeks. I really will try to post again really soon, maybe even this afternoon (but don't hold your breath, I have been really bad about that).

I wanted to add a cute little story about Becca. Andrew has had bad allergies lately so I was giving him a dose of Benadryl last night to help him sleep and Becca asked for some medicine. I told her she couldn't have any because she isn't having any allergies. To which she protested...I never get to have allergies, I want allergies! The things they say.

It made me laugh.

Happy Birthday Rebecca

2009-04-22T13:55:00.010-05:00

We celebrated my sweet Rebecca's birthday a few weeks back on Easter weekend. It is so hard for me to believe that she is 4 already! Seriously, where does the time go? She is so smart and such a joy to spend my days with. She has the most contagious laugh and she giggles all the time. I have called her the little mommy because she tries very hard to boss the boys around and she has taken that name on for herself with pride.

Since her birthday fell right after Easter we decided to do an Easter themed party. It was fun to plan and I think the kids had a good time. Here are some pictures from the day.

We made bunny masks.

These are Dough Ornaments that I made for the kids to paint. They got the small ones and we put them on ribbon to make necklaces.

These are what mine looked like after I painted a couple as an example.

These are some of the artists.

Another table painting.

And the last table.

We did bunny hop races. Here is the first group.

And the younger group.

I ordered these online and the kids got to color there own bag.

Here was the egg on the the spoon relay. Andrew really thinks he is going to be a part of the relay, he is back there waiting in line.

Finally we had a scavenger hunt that lead the kids to the front yard for the traditional Easter egg hunt.

They all gathered in the front yard before taking off in all different directions to claim their eggs.

The hunt is on.

Even Andrew found some eggs.

Here are my bunny and flower cupcakes.

Singing to the birthday girl.

And a final game of duck, duck goose to finish off the party.

After the party ended we got to open some presents with family inside. She was a little excited about this.

Rebecca had a great time. Thanks for helping us celebrate her! Rebecca, you are a gift from the Father and I am so thankful to get the privilege of being your mommy! I love you very much my big 4 year old!

A Sweet Lesson on the Father's Love

2009-04-02T12:07:00.004-05:00

This morning on the way to take sweet Aidan to school, I had a sudden and unexpected encounter with a 16-year-old boy. He was on his way to school, the roads were slick, and he slid right into the back of me when I was stopped at a light. The damage to the mommy mobile isn't all that bad. The kids were understandably frightened but not injured. We got out and this kind, polite boy asked if everyone was OK. He was obviously upset, but he handled himself very well. We called the police and then He decided he needed to call his dad. His dad drove over and was visibly frustrated. You could hear it in his voice as he reprimanded his son. He wasn't necessarily inappropriate and I wouldn't have expected a father to behave any differently. It wasn't long before we were on our way. The father and the son both apologized and I left.

I was on my way home and I was reflecting on that teenage boy. I remembered making HUGE mistakes and having to make the dreaded phone call to my own father. I remember having to listen to him as he told me that I just needed to think, to use my head, slow down and stop making careless mistakes. Sometimes these conversations were based in love and sometimes it was just too frustrating for my dad to be able to remain calm. I was thinking about how that feels, to know you messed up, to know there will be consequences, to feel little bitty, and at the same time to have to listen to someone explain to you what you did wrong. With every word spoken you shrink further into self doubt and inability.

The next thing that occurred to me was the reaction of my Heavenly Father when I come to Him after making a mistake or choosing to act in sin. He never feels the need to Lord our sins over us. He let's us come, repent, and soak in His grace. He is so good, He is a merciful and compassionate God who beckons us to come and sit at His feet and take our fill of His love, His unconditional, limitless love. I am so thankful for the love of the Father! I am thankful for the way He speaks to me in the midst of my daily life and whispers His sweet truths to me.

When we come and repent we aren't promised that we will never suffer the consequences of our behavior (that would not be just) but we are guaranteed that we will find love, forgiveness, and acceptance in the midst of our sin filled existence. The next thing that occurred to me is how powerful it would have been in my own life after one of those "huge mistakes" if my father would have come to me and not said a word, but wrapped me in his loving embrace, knowing what I did was wrong, careless, and even stupid. What if he never felt the need to even tell me that, but yet he loved me through it. What if that father today had loved his son through it, never even speaking a critical word. What a powerful reflection of the Father he could have been.

I have found myself pondering my parenting today. I think there is a time and a place for me to correct, train, and teach my kids, but sometimes the most effective thing I can do is wrap them in my loving embrace and love them through it. That doesn't mean that we protect them from the consequences of the behavior, but sometimes we already know the mistakes we made...all we need is to know that we are loved in spite of those mistakes. Ephesians 4:29 is a verse that I have been praying and meditating on lately. It has application to EVERY single area of my life, but I have been specifically praying to see that verse become true in my home. I so desire our home to be place that encourages my family, that builds them up and gives them a safe place to fall when they do fall. The lesson that the Father had for me today directly relates to building a home environment that allows my husband, our children, and our family as a whole to not only survive but to blossom. I pray that in His strength I will be able to reflect the love of the Father more clearly in my own parenting.

Our Sweet Nest

2009-03-31T06:41:00.003-05:00

Look what we found! The kids and I were both terribly excited to discover this nest perched atop of the speaker that hangs in the corner of our back porch. I have been repainting the porch so the nest had to come down. We enjoyed getting to admire nature.
I am terribly sad to report that I don't think momma bird has been back. I haven't told the kids that but I think we got a little too close (and they were so careful to not touch). I am feeling a little guilty, but sure did love the chance to share this beautiful glimpse of God's creation with my kids.
This is a random picture that Trace took of Aidan. Aidan was sulking and Trace thought it would be funny to get out the camera and take his picture. Sure looks like it turned his spirits around.

A glimpse into my head

2009-03-24T16:57:00.005-05:00

Random thoughts in my head recently:

1. Running 6 miles after not running in weeks is not a good idea, for any reason, especially in a hilly neighborhood. I am sure I will feel that even more strongly tomorrow.

2. Someone should follow me around with a video camera when I run. I am awfully jumpy and I am sure it would make for some great TV viewing. If someone honks their horn when they pass by I am totally and visibly startled. Today I literally screamed for my life when a dog ran up behind me, from out of nowhere, with no warning, and tried to smell my feet. I looked back to see the owner bent over with her mouth covered, not sure if she was laughing at me or not but I sure found the humor in it pretty quickly (at least after I realized I was in no danger).

3. I heard some very disturbing news announcements on the radio today. The first is that the morning after pill is available to anyone 17 years or older who would like to use it with no prescription at any drug store. Seriously...17? Most 17 year olds haven't even graduated form High School yet. I knew about the morning after pill but I had no idea it was so readily available. The second is that there has been a law proposed in the State of Texas to limit the punishment of a mother who suffers from postpartum depression and murders her baby during the first year of their life to a maximum of 2 years in prison. You can read more about it here. This article does discount the likelihood of this happening, but it is still disgusting to see that lack of value placed on our babies. It is truly disappointing to think that a mother would barely get a slap on the wrist for such a heinous crime. I realize postpartum depression is real and very difficult, but it does not remove all responsibility for actions taken. This is appalling to me.

4. I have been thinking a lot about repentance today. I have thought about the negative connotations that we place on the word repentance. That people often don't want to or like to repent, but I have been realizing what a loving thing this is. The Lord is gracious with us and oh so patient. It is His kindness that leads to repentance. We have been called out of darkness into light. We are no longer slaves to sin and in His mercy He allows us to repent and turn from sin and live in Christ Jesus. How is this a bad thing? The Lord has been showing me some areas of pride and a lack of humility. He has been nudging me to come to Him with a repentant spirit and turn from those things, to return to Him. What greater gift is there?

5. Rebecca, Andrew, and I spent some time looking for invitations and gathering supplies for Rebecca's Birthday in a few weeks. I can't believe she will be 4 and soon after that Andrew will be 2. It is simply crazy. I have no better words than that. I can still vividly remember coming home from the hospital with my fist baby and now I have 3 and the youngest is really more of a toddler than a baby! Sometimes it breaks my heart, sometimes I eagerly await the future, and sometimes I am able to just rejoice in the moment.

6. Aidan is almost done with Kindergarten. Enough said!

7. God moves through prayer in powerful ways. A few weeks ago I was able to spend some time in prayer with another woman, praying about her marriage, and her kids, and just life in general. It was a powerful time of prayer and I knew the spirit was with us. That time was amazing, but the more amazing part is the way the Lord responded. I can't go into details, but man is He good. What a privilege to see the hand of God move in anothers life in such clear ways.

8. Sometimes rainy days are good. The rain can force us to slow down and be together. I am loving this rainy afternoon!

9. Rebecca said the cutest thing the other day. I was in the other room and I heard her say "gross, Andrew bless youed on me" I thought that was simply precious!

10. Aidan told me that he wrote a song to God in his journal at school the other day and he told his class about it at share time. It was pretty deep. It went something like this..."I love you, God". Not sure he will be getting any contracts based on his unique song writing abilities but, it just melts my heart. I pray daily he grows into a man who loves God with all his heart. Childlike faith is such a beautiful thing! I love that he wrote this and that he was willing to share it with his class.

10. Our mission trip to Mexico this summer got canceled due to the violence that is occurring around the border and I am terribly bummed. I do want to make wise, safe decisions, but I am still sad that we won't be going back this year. I was looking forward to the trip for so many reasons. I was so confident that the Lord had this trip for us but I guess He has other plans. I am looking forward to discovering what those are.

Our Visit with Bob and Gran

2009-03-24T14:31:00.005-05:00

I mentioned that we were able to spend some time with Trace's parents over Spring Break. It was such a wonderful treat for us to get to have both Trace mom and dad here with us and to invite them into our home and our life for a few days. This was the first time that Trace's dad has been able to make the trip to Tyler. I know it took a lot of effort to get here but we sure enjoyed having them and the kids loved the extra attention. Most of the time we just sort of hung out around the house. Rebecca loved having Gran here to push her on the swing, Aidan got to show off his bike riding skills, and Andrew played hard like always. We played some games, ate out several times, and we got to take Trace's parents to church with us. I think they liked it. Here are a few pictures from their visit:

And our special trip to Chucky Cheese:

They played some games

Aidan was the only one brave enough to take a picture with Chucky
Riding some rides

And doing a bit of dancing.

Thanks Bob and Gran for a fantastic visit! You are welcome anytime! We LOVED having you here.

Breaking the Silence

2009-03-17T12:50:00.004-05:00

WOW! This has to be the absolute longest I have ever gone without posting. I don't know if I can even call myself a blogger anymore? I don't even have a good excuse. We have done a few projects around the house, hosted my in-laws for a few days, and have just felt busy, but more than anything I just haven't had much to say. And once I got out of the habit of making time for this blog it has been super hard to pick it back up. I guess writing is just like anything else for me and if I don't do it for a while I loose my momentum. So this is my attempt to break the silence and jump back in. I hope to become more regular again.

We have lots of potential changes that I would love to share with you and I have many things on my mind...if I can just gather the words to write about them. The kids are good. Aidan is starting up soccer again and LOVES to spend time outside riding his bike. Rebecca is into drawing and writing random letters all over the pages and Andrew is...well, Andrew is into everything! We very rarely have a dull moment around here and there are many emotions felt during the course of a day. Well, the silence is broken. I plan to post again soon.

Oh ya, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Cheers to you all!

Here are the kids with Green Milk in honor of St. Patrick's day.

Thoughts on Prayer

2009-01-30T14:11:00.005-06:00

I wrote a while back about how the Lord is pressing on my heart to be more intentional about prayer. It is an area of focus for me this year. I started a prayer journal for me to have a place to go and write down my prayers so that I can come back later and look at the Lord's faithfulness. One of the very first days in my journal I remember praying and asking the Father to teach me how to pray. I have tried things before and have always struggled because there are so many people and things I want to pray for and about. Soon after asking the Lord I felt him press upon me a desire to make some list. I asked him to show me what and who to include. I soon had a list of people I wanted to remember to intercede for regularly as well as ministry opportunities and personal requests I wanted to pray about. I don't try to pray for everyone and everything daily. I work my way through the 6 separate lists and I pray for the next thing on each list. Other than that I trust the Lord to press upon my heart other things I need to specifically pray for that day. He has been faithful to do this many times already.

As a mom of three kids, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a daughter-in-law, a sister in Christ, and a light to unbelievers, I have many roles to fill and many opportunities to be an ambassador on Christs behalf, but I can go days and even weeks without praying specifically about these roles. I have ideas about the type of mom I want to be but I often forget to ask the Lord for His strength, grace, patience, kindness, and servant's heart in this role. I forget at least until I feel stretched and spent and I am soaking in doubt of my ability to be a mom. I know the type of wife I desire to be but I don't pray about that nearly enough. Just wait until I am hurt, isolated, harsh, and resentful in my marriage and all the sudden I am on my knees begging the Father for his help. This is true of all the roles I listed above. I desire to do the work of the Father, to live my life in a way that gives glory to His name, but I fall short over and over again. I know in my head I will fall short if I try to go it alone, but I still try until I prove to myself once again that I am nothing without Christ. I have to have Him daily intervening in my life and I need to pray and ask for that intervention.

It is amazing that as I pray for my heart to be more servant-like I find ways and opportunities to be a servant in my everyday life. As I seek the die to myself more I realize that when a sweet little boy wants to be held and I need to sweep the floor and finish my to-do list so I can relax, that I can choose to die to self and snuggle with that child. I can find God in the midst of the mundane and I can follow Him more closely. I have experienced greater fullness of God as I have found ways to set aside more time to pray. I have learned the pleasure of interceding on behalf of my kids, husband, other family and friends. And the greatest treasure is that I have learned more and more about why I must depend on Him fully and pray more regularly. It has been a joy filled journey of seeking the Father through prayer this month. There have still been days when I oversleep and don't get that extended time of prayer, or I try to pray at night and drift off to sleep. Even with more intentional prayer my sin still creeps up and I get frustrated with my kids and snap at my husband. I still can be critical of others and judgemental, but I can tell a change. I really believe that prayer is largely about changing me, shaping me to be more Christ-like. It helps set my mind on the things above. It focuses my priorities and it helps me to live in the hope that is before me and that Hope is Jesus Christ.

Lord, take this year and make it my greatest year of prayer yet. Please keep me faithful and diligent to seek you and spend time with you through prayer. Help me to be more disciplined in the way I choose to live so that the things that creep in, the busyness of life, won't quiet my hearts desire to pray and the ability to actually find the time to devote to prayer.

Red, and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight

2009-01-22T13:23:00.004-06:00

This week is the sanctity of human life week. As a mom of three living children, who suffered the loss of a miscarriage, I believe in the sanctity of human life. I can remember being in the hospital, going through a delivery and then and holding a small basket on my lap with Trevor in it. What could I do but to cry? I cried and I grieved for many days in the months that followed his birth. Just recently we were driving through Lubbock (which is where I lived when I lost this baby) and we drove by the doctors office where I was told that there was no heartbeat and in an instant my mind went back to that moment. I could feel the feelings I felt that day, I could remember conversations that were had. It is a very real loss of a very real child! It is a child that never lived outside of my womb, but as I gazed into that basket I knew the loss of a child.

The only reason I share this is because the Lord has changed my heart on this issue through my life experiences. I can remember having conversations with those around me and coming to the conclusion that a woman has the right to choose. It is her body and her life. I now believe that each and every child is formed by the very hands of God. I believe that each and every child is precious in his sight. I believe that these babies have no voice. When a mom claims to have the right to choose, her voice is heard but the baby must remain silent. It is an atrocity. It is wrong and we, as a society, turn our heads the other way and allow this to continue while we say and do little. Every year in this country 1.5 million babies are aborted. That is a startling statistic.

I am very uncomfortable writing these words. I know that there may be people reading this who have made that choice to abort. I am not passing judgement on you! I believe that we serve a God who is both righteous and forgiving. I believe that we serve a God who wants you to seek Him about this issue so He can forgive you, so He can love you, and so He can comfort you. He offers grace and mercy and I pray that my words are also seasoned with mercy. If you are struggling the pain from a past abortion please look into this study and look into the healing the Lord has to offer you and if you are willing to share this with me I would love to pray with and for you. Please feel free to email me privately at christahagler223@hotmail.com.

Please join me this week and throughout the year in prayer for Our Nation and Our President on this issue. Melinda is asking us to commit to praying for President Obama's heart on this issue every Monday morning. She will post a scripture on Sunday night so that we can pray over this topic in unity. Will you consider being a part? I will leave you with this short video...

A New Look

2009-01-17T22:27:00.004-06:00

My blog just got a total revamp thanks to my sweet, creative, talented friend Brianna. The old header was replaced by more current pictures that were taken recently when we visited the Saban family. Brianna is a great photographer and I get super excited whenever she takes our pictures! Too bad she doesn't live closer, but if you are ever in the New Mexico area let me know and I will connect you. It would be worth it!

Brianna made the header for me and I love it, however it made the old background look funny so I changed it. I like this one much better. Change is good from time to time. Brianna has some more pictures of our family posted on her blog. Go check them out if you would like and while you are there take a look around and tell her how much you like her work. We all like to get our feathers fluffed every once in a while and she deserves it! You Rock Bri!