I don't want to forget....

Keith preached a sermon on Deuteronomy 6 several Sundays ago. I was reminded again of what the Lord has called me to do with my children. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. I want to obey the Lord's command. I pray that my children will come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. It won't just happen, even if I am a good model. I must teach them diligently, intentionally, and pray that the Lord will convict them of sin...

I officially planted my roots in Texas in May of 1999. My family had moved here in 1996, but I finished out at Houghton College (in western NY). I can't believe that this was my first Stock Show. Guess that might be the "city girl" in me? Anyway, Keith wanted to take his parents down there so we all went. There weren't many animals there that day, but you could smell that they had been there. :) We did see some cows and horses. AC posing with a cow. We also got to watch some barrel racing. After walking around for a while, it was nice to sit. AK thought it was fun to watch the horses. And he thought it was fun to climb all over the seats. After a few minutes, it was time to go before there was an accident. AC enjoyed it. We'll have to go again next year and go on a day when most of the animals are there. And maybe we'll be able to catch the rodeo. It didn't start until 2 and EK gets home from school a little after 3. We'll see wh...

Four years ago, on February 5,2009, our sweet EK received an offcial autism diagnosis. It was a sad day for sure. The doctor's words were ones that I knew were coming, yet they still stung and made my heart heavy. EK had just turned 3 the month before. She began attending the autism class in our school district going 3 hours, 5 days a week. We had started speech and occupational therapy right before she turned 3 as well. We started ABA (applied behavior analysis) the next month. I really thought that if we worked hard(got her into therapies, cleaned her diet, etc.), she would improve. Back then, our goal (or maybe a better word was our hope) was for her to be in mainstream kindergarten. EK stopped talking in October 2009.  I was in denial at first, thinking that her speech loss was temporary. I was so diligent in praying for the Lord to restore her speech. Now that it's been over 3 years since I've heard her sweet voice, it's evident that this...

A couple weekends ago, school was out on Monday AND Tuesday. While I like the routine and structure of school, it did give us an opportunity to play with family and friends.   On Monday, my sister was off so she came over with my niece and nephew. AC had fun with her cousin and AK loved being around little C. I don't know that little C knew what to do with him. AK was ready to wrestle. ;) He would sit by him or stand by him and try to give hugs. So cute!   On Tuesday, AC got to play with a friend from church. They were in preschool together last year, but this year they go on different days. They lived around the corner from us at our old house, so AC spent lots of time playing over there. They played well for about 4-5 hours. I was very impressed! :)

I feel like I don't write many heartfelt posts anymore. The main reason, I guess, is that life with three kids (especially a very active 17 month old boy) is exhausting. I am always tired by the end of the day as I try to maintain a household of 5. I say "try" because I can always do a better job. We are busy, life is busy. I feel like I run around running errands all day, every day and even if we're home most of the day, I am running around the house, trying to get things done. It makes me wonder how I ever got anything done when I worked full-time. I guess I had evenings or all day Saturday to do things and now I have three little ones who have immediate needs and can make a good mess within minutes. (Lately, I often wonder why I even bother cleaning...) Let me make it clear though, I am so thankful for our 3 blessings! I am thankful they have fun and that my need for a perfectly clean house has greatly diminished. :) This is just my stage of life right now. But, ...