Being a Mom

Whew, being a godly mom is sometimes a very tough thing. Working on me as a person is hard enough, but then to work on me as a mom and wife adds so much more to it. I strive to be a godly woman, a godly mom and a godly wife. You would think they were all synonymous but they are 3 totally different things and yet, not different at all. Does that make any sense? I feel the difference, but to explain the difference is a challenge.

I see things with my children, and I think, "hey, thats not right! what happened to self-control, and respect for each other?" But then, if I'm honest with myself, I have to admit that I need to work on those very same things. So as I correct my children, they look at me like, "sure mom, and who do you think we learned this from?" I KNOW that they're right, and I am working on me, and I am also striving to be a godly mom, and admonish and correct them in a godly manner, ie, not in anger or frustration, but calmly and with Bible truths. I have found that it isn't always an easy thing to do.

The more I make this a part of my daily life I'm sure it will get easier? I'm hoping, and praying it does!!

One more thing to work on. And the never-ending, every-growing list just grew some more! Well, I guess we are all still under construction, God isn't finished with me yet either!

Better than store bought Homemade Granola Bars!

ok ladies, this was the easiest way to get the recipe out to everyone that asked for it :)

5 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 c chex cereal. crush. you can also use rice krispies, ect
1 1/4 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c honey
1 c brown sugar

mix together butter, honey, vanilla and brown sugar
add to the oats, and cereal mixture

fold in 1 c mini choc chips

grease the bottom of a lg sheet pan ( I spread waxed paper down, then greased that,
super easy clean up)

spread the mix on the pan and pat down

bake at 350* for 20 minutes
let cool and cut ( I removed it from the pan by the waxed paper and cut them with a
pizza cutter)

you can add seeds, almonds, nuts, dried fruits, ect....

hope you enjoy!!

A Cool Mom??

What is your idea of a cool mom? As I am writing this my children are sliding down the basement stairs on bed mattresses... They sound like they are having a blast, there have been a few bumps and bruises, but nothing too major. So does this make me a cool mom or a bad mom?? And if I would happen to try it out, sliding down those stairs, would that make me an over the top cool mom or a crazy mom?? hmmm, it sounds like too much fun, I've gotta try it!!

A Nomad's Heart

I am itching to get back on the road, away fom here, away from the loneliness. I have said it before, it is easier to be in a room full of strangers and to be lonely, than to be in a room full of people you know, have known for years, and yet still,you are lonely. That loneliness is much harder. I am ready to move on, in a perfect world, we could sell our house, pack up our stuff and move on. Move away from here, away from the known. I would love to be lost in the unknown, driving on an unknown road, being a stranger in a different town, a different church.

Praying that the next hotel will come up soon. A little birdie told me it may be for over a year in another state. I am ready for that. Spend holidays, birthdays, everyday, away from here. Is it running away? I don't know anymore. Is it running to something different, something new? Is that so bad?

Medallion Hunt!

The New London Waterdays medallion hunt started Monday morning!

I totally forgot about it and didnt even go get the first clue :O

Tuesday afternoonwe decided to get the first and second clues

and see if we would have any luck, after searching for an

hour on our own, D and I went back to the house, picked

up the Brat Pack and headed out again...

Clue #1 ~ Monday

I invite you downtown,

To see what I've seen.

I'm fairly close to the water,

and a place to keep clean.

I am hidden downtown,

Where inside there's no sun,

But definitely located

By all the WaterDays fun!

hmmm, of course, downtown kinda stuck out

fairy close to the water and a place to keep clean...

now this is where we had 2 different things in mind.

the carwash was a possibility, but so was the laundromat...

Clue #2 ~ Tuesday

Having trouble finding me?

I am hidden quite well,

By a wide open space,

It's hard not to tell.

I would look to your feet,

for another good clue,

I'm close to the ground,

And can't see you!

ok, "hidden quite well" kind of confirmed our

one location by the laundromat.

there is an old well located across the street in

a local park, also a good fit with "wide open space"

and there is a tanning salon next door, hmm, maybe

it has something to do with clue #1, "where inside there's

no sun"?

so we looked high and low, mostly low, considering the clue ;)

In the process of looking at the park I found a cell phone that

had been rained on all night. so we brought it home dried it out

and Tuesady night we were able to plug it in and it actually turned on!!

So I went thru the contact list and called "mom", met her at the local

gas station and here to find out

that her son and a group of his friends had been looking for the

medallion and were staying at her house so they could all get a

jumpstart on looking Wed. morning!!

we decided that we had better get serious about this if we really wanted

to find it. So we went home, picked up the Brat Pack and flashlights

and headed back out! Looked all over downtown, thru alleys, under flowerpots

under benches, in storm drains... yep we looked everywhere we could think of!

And we saw some teenagers doing the same thing! Yikes!! whoever gets the

clue first has the advantage I think! Finally called it quits at 11:30 pm, went to

bed and set the alarm clock for 5:30

Clue #3 ~ Wednesday

I am taped upside-down,

Hidden from view,

Real close to some things,

They use to make new.

People come visit me

Quite often here,

To help save the earth,

but they don't know I am near.

ok, our first thought was, "recycling center!!!"

so we rushed over there, all hopped out and started searching

didn't find ANYTHING!!! (by the way, this was right across from

the park with the well, kiddie corner from the laundromat and tanning

salon). we jumped back in the truck, maybe its at the carwash?

there is a can recycling trailer over there. But we have all looked

all over that trailer!! How could we have missed it? well, we decide

to head over there. As we are leaving the recycling center we see 3 other cars

pull into the parking lot of the recycling center! Man, I hope we

didn't miss it! We head over to the carwash.

Jump out of the truck and all start looking. The kids are climbing around under the

trailer, one kid is in the trailer, D and I are searching the wheelwells... all of a sudden

D and I both look at the brick holding up the tongue of the trailer.

I see a little corner of duct tape sticking out! We both laugh, "A HA!" and

grab it at the same time!

Now the funny thing is. Yesterday we had looked all over that trailer, we saw a group

of teenage boys searching all over that trailer and 2 girls looked it over last night! How in the world did we ALL miss it?!?!

Anyway, it was a blast! I hope they have one next year too!

A Mouse Tail

We were at Dennis job site, cleaning up all the trash that had blown from the site onto the neighboring empty lots. Now you have to understand the amount of trash was ridiculous, and it was a windy day, so it seemed that as much as we were picking up, there was still more blowing around. The Brat Pack was getting very frustrated. I was getting frustrated with them and I was tired of the whining and complaining.
Just as it was getting to that point were it was becoming more unproductive than productive, Alexis leaned over and picked up a huge piece of cardboard and SCREAMED her head off and started dancing around!! Of course we all go running to her to see what was going on and what do we see? 2 little field mice, more scared of Alexis with all her screaming and jumping, then Alexis should have been of them.
So Brooke starts yelling at everyone to quit jumping around and she tries to catch them!! So now we have 2 little field mice running in all different directions, trying to escape Brooke who is trying to catch them. And the rest of us running away from them and squealing every time they get too close to us!
Finally they seem to have figured out a path to take themselves away from us, but then Belle starts to chase down one of the little mice. Picture her crouched over with her hands out trying to talk to this little mouse and convince it that it has nothing to be scared of, as she is chasing it down. All of a sudden that little bugger decides to switch directions! I see IsaBelle stop dead, they lock eyes, trying to call each others bluff, then all of sudden Belle turns and starts running AWAY from the little field mouse as it starts chasing HER across the field!!!! So here she comes, running as fast as she can, screaming her head off and I see this little field mouse chasing after her!! I doubled over laughing!!! As she gets closer to me I realize that the mouse is still hot on her trail and I start thinking that this little thing is going to be in very close proximity to me before too long! Wouldn't ya know it but that little mouse ran right over the top of my shoe, and what do you suppose I did?!? Screamed my head off and started dancing around like a woman possessed!! How can something so small put such terror in our hearts?!? It really is ridiculous.
Silly things finally ran under a storage trailer and peace once again settled over the field. For a short time, then the whining and complaining started again :P
Aww well, at least we had something distract us for a short time. And I will always remember the look on Belle's face as that little mouse chased her across the field :)

Rearview Mirror

My feet are itching to get back on the road,to leave this time, this place behind me once again. I feel I am looking for something that is hiding just beyond my view, searching for that illusive piece of me that is not here. I am struggling to be content here. I dream of bigger things, bigger places. I crave the easiness of being strangers in a crowded room.

I want to stand up and scream at those who claim to love me, claim to be my friends, yet they avoid me. Skirt around me when we meet. Never look me in the eye. Don't they see me? Do they avoid me because saying goodbye again is too hard for them to face? Don't they understand that they are the reason I no longer want to be here?

Loneliness amongst strangers is so much easier than loneliness amongst friends.

The rearview mirror is going to be an easy thing to look into this time. If only it were for more than a just few weeks...

Update time!!

Okay, its been forever since I've blogged ~ I really have no excuse. Just laziness I guess. I really have thought about the fact that I should have been updating, but I just don"t know what I would blog about. So here we go, time to update you on what we have been up to in the last month...

We plan on heading out to WY in a few days, we will only be gone for a week this time. Hopefully at some point we will be able to spend some time with Dennis on this job, but that is still yet to be seen.

I'm thinking I should really take advantage of this week and on the way home maybe take a side trip to Mount Rushmore. I have resaerched some of the history of the area we will be staying in, and some history of the areas we will be driving thru on the way out there. One stop will definantly be Wall Drug in Wall, SD. I also want to visit Devil's Tower and the Big Horn Mountains. Rapid City is only a short drive from where we will be staying, we may have to take a day trip over there...

The last few days I have felt very organized, I have felt like I have gotten much accomplished. We now have "chore charts" for each of the Brat Pack. They all have a rotating dishes chart, and we now have specific days of the week for each kids laundry to be done. Instead of me having to tell so and so to do a load of laundry, now they are all responsible to get their own laundry done on their assigned day. We shall see if this will help the mountain of laundry run smoother at least.

The Brat Pack has been doing great in school, our goal is to get done by noon every day. Anything after noon is homework. Makes my day easier, as I can get to my stuff that I need to get accomplished. So much better than spending my day sitting at my teacher's desk waiting for them to complete their work for the day!! Especially when it seems like everyone else can be done by noon, but there is ALWAYS one child who just cannot concentrate and stay on task. It's not always the same child, I really do think they take turns. But it still was making it impossible for me to get my things done.

We spent last Saturday shopping, trying on clothes and buying! We had so much fun, adn found some really good deals! I had a friend tell me today, when she was growing up her brother was a clothes horse and had expensive taste. he was always wanting something new, something stylish. Her moms answer was," if its not on sale, its not God's Will". I thought that that was a very wise woman to teach her children that something as simple as shopping for sales is being a good steward of what God has given us. Well, we did find some very good deals and everything we bought was 70% off the already marked down clearence price!!! I loved it!!!

I do plan on getting the kids a few new things for the drive to WY. Things to do. I'm thinking a new LPS for Alexis and Belle. A new DSlite game for Joseph. A new book for Michelle and some drawing things for Brooke. And I would really like to get little gift bags ready for Valentine's Day for The Brat Pack. I have never done anything special for them for Valentines, I think it would be alot of fun to make it special for them :)

I'm so excited to spend Valentine's Day with D this year!! It has been a few years since that has happened!! No fancy plans or anything , just going to spend the day as a family, hopefully hiking thru the Big Horn Mountains :)

Well, I should get off. My 13 yr old is patiently waiting for her hour on the computer :) Part of the new chores and privelages thing we have going on ;)

'Till next time!!!

Having Joy

Okay, so, I was having a hard time finding joy in this journey home...
Funny thing how God works, after I wrote that I listened to Pastor's sermon, and in his sermon he talked about what is wrong with us when we lose our joy.

I really felt convicted about how I was reacting to my circumstances. I was letting the circumstances control my feelings, actions, emotions and attitude. When I should have been letting the Holy Spirit control me. He talked about walking worthy of the Lord, and how Paul prayed that the people would have 3 things:

1. spiritual intelligence
when you are born again you have everything you need in Jesus, and you have the handbook for your life, its called the Bible. we don't need to look for outside info~ those false teachers who try to get you "in the know", kinda like how the serpant convinced Eve that he knew how it "really was" and that she should believe him.

Spiritual intelligence is not just straight knowledge but the knowledge of what God has for us. We will never know the Will of God without the Word of God. God doesn't expect us to know everything, but He does expect us to apply what we know and understand.

2. practical obedience
knowledge and obedience go together
My Heavenly Father expects the same from me as I expect of my children, I give them the knowledge and I expect their obedience
learning and living go together, we know the things from the Word of God, but we choose not to apply it to our lives such a sad but true statement.

we should be striving to walk worthy of the Lord, the world should be able to look at us and see that we are walking with Jesus. Even if they don't know exactly how to express it, they know what they are looking at.

I want to walk worthy, I want the world to stand in awe of my Lord Jesus Christ!!

3. moral excellence
"I can walk in a way that honors the Lord..." okay, I've heard that since I was a child, so, how do I do that??
For one I have to have patience, yikes!! not something I usually pray for! but patience is enduring the difficluties in life while growing closer to my heavenly Father, (not questioning Him.)
I also have to have longsuffering, okay, such a trite thing to say, but longsuffering is really self-restraint while dealing with the people in my life, even God's people, (sometimes that takes more self restraint than we would expect).
okay, now for the one that I've been having a hard time with~ I have to have JOY!! Yep, its not about finding joy, its about having joy. I endure, I have longsuffering, and I must have joy thru it all. When I find myself complaining or feeling sorry for myself, then I know that I have lost my joy, and I am not walking worthy of the Lord. When I let circumstances control my life then I am not letting the Holy Spirit control my life, I lose my joy and I lose my closeness with my Heavenly Father.
I do NOT want to lose this closeness that I have come to enjoy so much!!
This closeness that I feel with my Heavenly Father is amazing! I have never felt this close to Him before, like He is always in the room with me, and instead of talking to myself I find myself addressing Him in everything I do. When I'm doing the dishes, when I vacume the floor, as I make supper or when I'm getting ready to turn in for the night, I find myself asking Him for wisdom in every situation or trial that I am having.

So I don't need to find joy in anything, I need to have joy in everything! I have Christ in me, therefore I already have joy! Next time I question the joy in my life, well, then I guess I will have to dig deeper and realize its not about the things around me, but its about my heart and my relationship with the Lord.

This journey that I am on has nothing to do with where I am at in this world, but its about where I am at in my spiritual walk with God. Where my heart and life are at in obedience to Him and His Word.

Yep, its quiet a journey. And I am so excited to see what HE has for my life as I walk closer to Him and dig deeper into His Word...