Rejoicing with the Angels!

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

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

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

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!

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...

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

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.