In God We Trust

Today I'm praying for our president and I do trust that God has our future in His hands.

That being said, Adam received a penny like the one in the picture above, with the cross in the middle. Actually, he "purchased" it at the Sparks store at church(Sparks is through Awana http://www.awana.org/) Anyway, he thought he could use it to buy something at Wal-mart. :) I explained to him that it was a token to keep. He thought this meant you could save it to buy something bigger. When I explained that it was a token to remind us of God and that we trusted in Him, he thought that was crazy. 'Why would we need to be reminded that we trust in God? And how could a penny help us do that?' Things are so simple for children. It really is that simple though...In God We Trust.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today
January 19th

Outside my window...
I see squirrels jumping across telephone lines.

I'm thinking...
of all the projects I need to get done.

I'm thankful for...
God's presence in my life.

From the kitchen...
I hear Baby Man playing with the grocery store toys.

I am wearing...
Pajamas and warm, fuzzy socks.

I am creating...
Lapbooks!

I am going...
to do a study on Philippians.

I am reading...
The Painted House by John Grisham.

I am hoping...
that I will get to visit with my Papa and Nana in a few months.

I am hearing...
three sweet boys playing on the living room floor.

Around the house...
are photos of boys and a trail of toys.

One of my favorite things...
is being a mommy. Receiving sweet kisses, bear hugs, and hearing little boys laugh.

a few plans for the rest of the week...
finish decorating the boys playroom, organize the kitchen, and use my new label maker.

Here is a picture thought I'm sharing...

I can't wait for summer, a time of catching lightning bugs!

This is my first time participating in Simple Woman's Daybook.
http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

It's a Jungle in Here!

I know it's still winter, but I typically do my "spring" cleaning during the cold months. That way I can be outside, enjoying the weather, in the spring. That being said, I need help!

I'm trying to organize the boys' playroom and can't figure out how to sort all their legos and dress-up clothes. There are legos and Star Wars costumes everywhere! No kidding. Anyway, right now the legos are in formula containers and the dress-up clothes are in a big tupperware container. It's very hard for the boys to get the toys and even harder for them to clean it up. If anyone reading this has any ideas I would love to hear them. Thanks!

By the way, the theme of the playroom is a jungle. I decided to try to involve the boys as much as I could with the decorating. They are actually more creative than I am. Adam was the one who thought of turning it into a jungle and Daniel just wanted to make sure that there would be plenty of monkeys. So, I found some tan curtains and plan on making some palm leaves out of craft foam for a valance. The boys and I are going to cut out some trunks and leaves out of construction paper to make trees to put on the walls using double sided tape. One thing about living in rentals for so long, I have learned to decorate in non-expensive ways, without painting murals or things on the walls.

There is one thing we won't be doing though. Adam wants a big tiger rug, the ones with the head still on them! I have no idea how he even knew those existed!

Goal verse for 2009

Happy New Years Everyone!
Yes, I know it's already Jan 4th, but it's not officially the new year until the Christmas decorations are down and the new calendar is up! So, now I'm ready for 2009, I think :)

I don't really make New Year's resolutions, because I always break them. So, I decide to have "goal verses". This is something John's parents do with their church and I loved the idea, so we started doing it too. My verse last year was:
Cor. 22:19
"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God"
This happened to be the perfect verse, because as busy as 2008 was for us this verse helped to keep my focus on God, thus allowing everything else fall into place. The verse I picked for this year is:
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

I'm already getting a bit overwhelmed with everything I think need to happen this year. Buy a house, Adam starts 1st grade, home-school or not home-school, potty training, my baby turns 1...the list goes on and on. So, I feel like God is trying to tell me to not rely on my emotions or view of how I think this year needs to go, but instead rely on Him and He will show me what to do.

Well, I need to go look over tomorrow lesson, we start school tomorrow! God Bless!

Vacation

Well, I never did finish blogging about the ABC's of Christmas. The rest: U is for understand, V is for volunteer, W is for worship, x is for eXamine(examine your past Christmas habits. Ask yourself which habits you should keep and which habits you need to eliminate. Y is for yield Avoid overspending...yield to God and his perfect guidance toward good stewardship. Z is for zero, Zero in on how you and your family can keep Christ in Christmas.

I've been enjoying my vacation. So far I've read two books and Adam and I are reading a chapter book together. We're having fun playing with all their new toys and pretty much just doing anything we want!

I hope everyone had a memorable Christmas and have a great New Years!

Tradition

Well, we are getting closer to the end of the alphabet. T is for Tradition. We started a new tradition last year. We give the boys three gifts each, just like the wise men gave Jesus. I like this idea, because it takes a lot of the focus off gifts and also keeps me from getting so overwhelmed about what to get them. This year we let the boys open their gifts today. It was so much fun watching them. Daniel would start really slow and when he saw what the present was he would go into warp speed! To cute. One of the gifts Adam received was Adventures in Odyssey on cd. He asked what it was and we told him it's storied on cd. He said, "Cool, I can just sit and listen and have to sound anything out!" Caleb had a lot of fun trying to eat the wrapping paper. :)

I probably will not post tomorrow, so U is for Understand. Tomorrow..."Make sure your child understands that there is more to Christmas than gifts and decorations. It is a time to spend with loved ones. Tell her/him that Jesus is the reason for the season."

Merry Christmas everyone!

R is for Reflect

"Reflect on what Christmas meant to you over the years. Talk with your family about how each family member can make the holidays even more special. Make a list of the ideas. Then hang the list where everyone can see it."

I've been thinking about this today and I've decided, I'm over-booking Christmas. You know, like when you get on a flight only to find out they've over-booked and you can't get on, someone misses out on their flight. This is very frustrating, to say the least! I tend to get over excited about things, I know that's hard to believe. I plan to many things and end up getting overwhelmed and not doing hardly anything. Then we miss out on something. Well, my boys tend to bring me back to reality...

Wednesday evening, Adam, asked me if Christmas is Jesus birthday than is everyone who has lights on their houses and trees up a Christian? I tell you what, the questions this boy comes up with! When I told him no, he wanted to know if their not than why are they celebrating Jesus' birthday? This conversation went on for awhile. Bless his heart, every house we see now he wonders if they know Jesus.

We didn't get the list of ideas done today, but I already have an idea to add. Instead of caroling, how about witnessing?? This is way out of my comfort zone, but the idea of knocking on one of those doors with Adam and talking to them about Jesus warms me up and makes me a little nervous :)

Tomorrow, S is for Spirit. "Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to the true meaning of Christmas and then share it with others."