There's one thing you find out quickly once your a mom...
No paid sick days come with this posistion. No matter how new to the posistion you are or how much seniority you have, this benifit is the same straight across the board.
This past week, we've had a small intestinal bug circulate through our household. Nothing major with a high fever or any debilitations. Just a nasty bug that makes your insides feel like they are being balled up inside a fist and twisted. We've been standing on the Word of God at the begining of it that we all are in Devine Health and this thing is tresspassing and has to go. Even though we still had some symptoms it could be worse.
Yesterday I came home from church and fell asleep on the couch while nursing Jada. I was in such a deep sleep I didn't feel hubby pick her up. Nor did I hear him and the girls leave four hours later to head back to church. I was out of it that long.
I think I got the worst of it today. I woke up with nausea and a to do list a mile long of things that have to be done. Schooling got put off until this afternoon in hopes it will get better during naptime. I really don't think it wise to try to teach the girls in an already irrateable state. IF I don't feel better by then, we'll just have reading time and the girls can draw while I read out loud.
My main focus today was laundry, laundry, and laundry (it got a little backed up this weekend). Right now I have 2 loads on the line, 2 loads waiting to be put out on the line, and 4 loads on my bed waiting to be folded. I can sit on the floor and fold when Jordan is at soccer.
Being a mom, it's important for me to take extra measures to take care of myself. It's important that I strengthen my faith regarding health and healing before I get sick. And it's good to have a reminder of scripture throught the house when I start to feel sick. I've been listening to Pastor Bill's God's Promise to Heal CD (You can download a copy for $5.00 at http://gutschurch.com/Store/tabid/543/Default.aspx). And I have scriptures on note cards from when I did a study on healing. They are easy to pull out and tape different places as a reminder of what to think and meditate on.
It's also important that I eat healthy and excersize to keep my body fit to lessen the chances of getting sick. This is something I need to make a priority. I am fairly clean with my eating, but excersize is lacking in my day to day life. But... I'm working on getting homeschooling more streamlined so I can intergrate CrossFit back into my life.
But... I'm extremely fortunate. It's just a little bug. It will pass quickly. And tomorrow will start fresh and new... with an even longer to do list from today... ;)
Be Blessed!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
First day of homeschool and We have a tooth!!!
Today was our first official day of home school. And it was rough. I woke up late. So it totally threw my schedule off. I grabbed a quick shower and got the girls up. While they did their chores I fixed some oatmeal. They love oatmeal, especially with some milk, honey, and cinnamon.
After breakfast we cleaned up the house really quick. Nothing thorough, just a quick pick up. Then we had bible story time. Joelle colored a picture while I read outloud. I then asked both girls some questions, and they could answer them all. After I read a bit I had Jordan read a chapter outloud and then draw a picture of something God created. Of course, she drew a horse. God was in the piture as well. He had curly red hair. I'm thinking that's not what God looks like, but I wonder if he got a chuckle from it?
After bible, I covered Math with Jordan. I am using an online curriculum at the Center for Innovation in Mathematics teaching . Either this one is not a fit for us, or I'm starting at too high of a level for her, or I'm not doing enough prep reading to teach it.
I couldn't get some of the lessons to explain them, and Jordan couldn't figure out once I did explain. Jordan was taught last year in PS to use her fingers to count up or down to add or subtract. She has no addition or math facts memorized. So it takes her several minutes to do a simple math problem.
I'm not ready to shelve this curriculum yet. But I do want to utilize more hands on manipulatives for a bit, and have her figure up a few somes and then commit the rest to memory. I'll take these lessons slower and give it another week or two before I make a final decision to either go down another level or find a new curriculum.
After that we had lunch and Spelling. Jordan was pretty mentally fatigued from the math so I had the girls go down for a nap.
I feel like we were at the table all morning. This is not what I want, and what I wanted to avoid in keeping her home. She's not designed to sit at a desk all day and needs more activity. Today was pretty rainy anyway so it's not like we could go outside, but still sitting at a tale for a majority of the day is not fun.
This afternoon I fed Jada and played with her for a while. She has been putting everything in her mouth for the past few months. She had a teething ring but it wasn't satisfying her. So I let her use my finger for a teether. She had a few good chomps in my finger, then I started to feel something poke me. She finally had a tooth cut through! WooHoo!!
The best part of it, she hasn't been overly fussy today, so I'm really really hoping this means she's going to be an easy teether for the rest of her pearly whites too!
After breakfast we cleaned up the house really quick. Nothing thorough, just a quick pick up. Then we had bible story time. Joelle colored a picture while I read outloud. I then asked both girls some questions, and they could answer them all. After I read a bit I had Jordan read a chapter outloud and then draw a picture of something God created. Of course, she drew a horse. God was in the piture as well. He had curly red hair. I'm thinking that's not what God looks like, but I wonder if he got a chuckle from it?
After bible, I covered Math with Jordan. I am using an online curriculum at the Center for Innovation in Mathematics teaching . Either this one is not a fit for us, or I'm starting at too high of a level for her, or I'm not doing enough prep reading to teach it.
I couldn't get some of the lessons to explain them, and Jordan couldn't figure out once I did explain. Jordan was taught last year in PS to use her fingers to count up or down to add or subtract. She has no addition or math facts memorized. So it takes her several minutes to do a simple math problem.
I'm not ready to shelve this curriculum yet. But I do want to utilize more hands on manipulatives for a bit, and have her figure up a few somes and then commit the rest to memory. I'll take these lessons slower and give it another week or two before I make a final decision to either go down another level or find a new curriculum.
After that we had lunch and Spelling. Jordan was pretty mentally fatigued from the math so I had the girls go down for a nap.
I feel like we were at the table all morning. This is not what I want, and what I wanted to avoid in keeping her home. She's not designed to sit at a desk all day and needs more activity. Today was pretty rainy anyway so it's not like we could go outside, but still sitting at a tale for a majority of the day is not fun.
This afternoon I fed Jada and played with her for a while. She has been putting everything in her mouth for the past few months. She had a teething ring but it wasn't satisfying her. So I let her use my finger for a teether. She had a few good chomps in my finger, then I started to feel something poke me. She finally had a tooth cut through! WooHoo!!
The best part of it, she hasn't been overly fussy today, so I'm really really hoping this means she's going to be an easy teether for the rest of her pearly whites too!
Friday, August 8, 2008
I am Your's...
A lady on a message board posted a link to this today. I just had to embed it here to share with all my family and friends. This is awesome and has such a powerful message. Be sure to scroll down and stop the music on my playlist before starting the video.
Enjoy.
And still more...
Enjoy.
And still more...
Happy Anniversary to Us!
Today is our 10th anniversary! It is hard to believe that we have been married for a decade. I still vividly remember walking down the isle to become Jerimiah's young bride. We have both gone through so much together, and accomplished more than we know. Truely, if it wasn't for the grace of God, I don't think either one of us would still be here. But we are here, we made it this far, and we are still going strong. My love for Jerimiah is stronger than ever before. I am so proud to be his not so young wife forever more!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
WAKE UP CHURCH!!!
Last night I was at work, and I on a small break I perused through the local newspaper. I report caught my eye that horrified me, sickened me, and angered me. Reading it shook me to the very core of my being.
Last week a 2 month old infant was mauled to death by an older puppy. The infant was left unattended, strapped in a swing, for several hours. While the puppy bit and mauled the infant, the mother and possibly the grandmother slept on the other end of the house. They were allegedly in a drug induced sleep, or there was too much distance and too many walls between either of them and the infant. Either way, they did not hear the infant's screams and cries for help or come to it's aid. The infant died helpless and alone.
I read this and I was stunned. Why? Why did this happen?
I was so sickened I had to run to the manager's office to hide and pull myself together. I screamed out to God.
Time and time again I read, see, and hear of God's precious children being tossed away as trash. Mothers are given one of more of the most precious blessings only to mistreat, neglect, and reject them. These children are unwanted, unloved, and unheard when they cry out for love and help.
In my anger and hurt I questioned God.
How could God let this happen? Didn't God hear? Where was God when this baby cried out for help? Was He really for real? If He was, did he really care? Or was Jesus loves the little children only a lie?
After my rant I calmed down and pulled myself together. After all I still had 4 hours of a shift to manage. I went back out into the front of house and watched over the store, feigning that everything was ok. But on the inside I was still in turmoil. And praying. Still asking God for an answer.
After the store closed, and everyone was gone, I was in the quiet of the office. Trying to just get my paperwork finished so I could go home. But I couldn't focus enough. So I just sat there, waiting, hoping to hear from God through the turmoil in my soul.
Somehow, in the quiet of the office, God started "speaking" to me. And showing me that Yes... He was there.
He showed me that the grief I feel each time I hear of these things, it's God grieving too.
The anger I feel each time is the Righteous Anger He feels too.
He was there when the tiny babe cried out for help. He was there, but helpless to do anything. All He could do was stand and wait with His Angels to receive the little babe's spirit and take it to be with Him forever.
He was there in His spirit. But His arms, His hands, His feet, His mouth wasn't. His body was not there to help.
You see... we are the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the body. We are His arms, His hands, His feet, His mouth. Nothing God does on this earth can be done unless it is through us. Nothing can be done unless it is through our mouths that His Word is spoken. Nothing can be done unless it is through our arms that reach out with His compassion. Nothing can be done unless it is though our hands that work and our work is caused to prosper. Nothing can be done unless it is through our feet that goes to possess every place we tred.
And what is the body doing? It is sleeping.
We are playing fashion show on Sunday mornings. We are talking "Christianesse" with our "Praise God's" and "Hallelujahs" to make ourselves more inclusive.
We are fellowshiping with each other, and not reaching out the undesirable who need our fellowship.
We have sat back and only focused on taking care of ourselves.
We have allowed a broken worldly system to take on the responsibility of the orphaned, the poor, the widowed.
We have allowed a broken worldly system to take on the responsibility of teaching mothers how to halfway care for their children instead of truely love an nurture them.
We have tied our own hands behind our backs and allowed the worldly system to take away more of our freedoms. We have allowed the world to forget our Godly heritage and purpose. We have allowed the world to forget that we are descended from God.
We have lost our saltiness, and hidden our light and made it harder to find in this ever darkening world.
When are we going to wake up? When is the righteous anger of God going to be awakened in us? When are we going to allow the compassion of God to over rule our apathy and self centeredness?
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Mother's murder their unborn each day, while those hoping for children loose hope. WAKE UP CHURCH!
Terrorists desecrate our God given soil and we allow them to be offended becuase a tired soldier kicks the Quran. WAKE UP CHURCH!
Families go hungry, and some loose their homes only to live in cars or under a bridge, while we lift our eyes and pray that God would bless us so we could have more for ourselves. WAKE UP CHURCH!
More and more teens turn to each other and become more peer dependant to find worth and purpose while we hide ourselves from them because they are not part of our culture. WAKE UP CHURCH!
More and more drug lords push drugs every day. People take them to cover and hide their pain while we hide the One True King within ourselves because we don't want to be to pushy! WAKE UP CHURCH!
People, young and old, die without hope in hospitials, because we fail to go and lay hands on the sick and share the Word of God that is more powerful than the most terminal prognosis. WAKE UP CHURCH!
We are passionate about what happens inside an althletic arena while we are lethargic in a worship service. WAKE UP CHURCH!
WAKE UP! Feel the righteous anger of God inside you! Feel the compassion and mercy of God for the lost inside you!
Yes... I feel anger! I am angry! It was totally wrong that the young mother neglected her young baby, only for it to die alone. In my opinion it was murder to let that baby die like that. And yes. There will be justice. There has to be. If not full justice here on earth, there will be full justice when they die, unless they repent and turn to God.
But I also have compassion and mercy.
This young mother and her mother were deceived. They were blinded. They were hardened in their hearts. they turned to drugs as a false answer. And as a result they will never feel the joy of holding that baby close again, feeling it's soft skin caressing their own. They will never again get to look into eyes that love them and depend on them. Because of that I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they allowed themselves to be deceived. I feel sorry for them that they listened to the father of lies.
And we as a church have shamefully kept ourselves quiet and allowed the voice of the father of lies to grow stronger.
We are commanded to go into the highways and the hedges and compell them in. Those in the hedges are the undesirable that sit along the wayside of our busy lives. Compell them in.
I'm sure this young mother was among the undesirable. What would of happened if some member of the body of Christ had reached out to her in love and compelled her into eat at the banquet of Christ?
Would she of then made the choice to turn to drugs, which smothered the very drive of a mother and made her so out of it she couldn't even come to the aid of her dying infant?
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Quit being so self focused and centered that we only care that our needs and desires are met. Actually activate your faith and trust that God will meet every single one of you needs, and reach out to those who are more needy than you.
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Quit being so self focused and self centered as parents that we only care to survive raising our own children. Trust God for the wisdom to raise your own children. Fathers rise up and be leaders in your own homes and raise children of influence and authority. Mother's reach out to other young mothers and teach them to love their children as we are commanded to in Titus 2!
WAKE UP CHURCH! Use His word to shut out the voice of the father of lies. Allow His spirit within you to lead you, guide you, and instruct you. Use your hands to work to prosper the Kingdom of God. Use your feet and go and possess every place which your feet tread. Do not go with the spirit of fear. Go with the power, love and sound mind you have with the mind of Christ.
WAKE UP CHURCH! Burn with Righteous Anger towards the sin. Have compassion and mercy on the sinner.
Love the sinner. Reach out to the sinner. Hate the sin.
Last week a 2 month old infant was mauled to death by an older puppy. The infant was left unattended, strapped in a swing, for several hours. While the puppy bit and mauled the infant, the mother and possibly the grandmother slept on the other end of the house. They were allegedly in a drug induced sleep, or there was too much distance and too many walls between either of them and the infant. Either way, they did not hear the infant's screams and cries for help or come to it's aid. The infant died helpless and alone.
I read this and I was stunned. Why? Why did this happen?
I was so sickened I had to run to the manager's office to hide and pull myself together. I screamed out to God.
Time and time again I read, see, and hear of God's precious children being tossed away as trash. Mothers are given one of more of the most precious blessings only to mistreat, neglect, and reject them. These children are unwanted, unloved, and unheard when they cry out for love and help.
In my anger and hurt I questioned God.
How could God let this happen? Didn't God hear? Where was God when this baby cried out for help? Was He really for real? If He was, did he really care? Or was Jesus loves the little children only a lie?
After my rant I calmed down and pulled myself together. After all I still had 4 hours of a shift to manage. I went back out into the front of house and watched over the store, feigning that everything was ok. But on the inside I was still in turmoil. And praying. Still asking God for an answer.
After the store closed, and everyone was gone, I was in the quiet of the office. Trying to just get my paperwork finished so I could go home. But I couldn't focus enough. So I just sat there, waiting, hoping to hear from God through the turmoil in my soul.
Somehow, in the quiet of the office, God started "speaking" to me. And showing me that Yes... He was there.
He showed me that the grief I feel each time I hear of these things, it's God grieving too.
The anger I feel each time is the Righteous Anger He feels too.
He was there when the tiny babe cried out for help. He was there, but helpless to do anything. All He could do was stand and wait with His Angels to receive the little babe's spirit and take it to be with Him forever.
He was there in His spirit. But His arms, His hands, His feet, His mouth wasn't. His body was not there to help.
You see... we are the body of Christ. Jesus is the head of the body. We are His arms, His hands, His feet, His mouth. Nothing God does on this earth can be done unless it is through us. Nothing can be done unless it is through our mouths that His Word is spoken. Nothing can be done unless it is through our arms that reach out with His compassion. Nothing can be done unless it is though our hands that work and our work is caused to prosper. Nothing can be done unless it is through our feet that goes to possess every place we tred.
And what is the body doing? It is sleeping.
We are playing fashion show on Sunday mornings. We are talking "Christianesse" with our "Praise God's" and "Hallelujahs" to make ourselves more inclusive.
We are fellowshiping with each other, and not reaching out the undesirable who need our fellowship.
We have sat back and only focused on taking care of ourselves.
We have allowed a broken worldly system to take on the responsibility of the orphaned, the poor, the widowed.
We have allowed a broken worldly system to take on the responsibility of teaching mothers how to halfway care for their children instead of truely love an nurture them.
We have tied our own hands behind our backs and allowed the worldly system to take away more of our freedoms. We have allowed the world to forget our Godly heritage and purpose. We have allowed the world to forget that we are descended from God.
We have lost our saltiness, and hidden our light and made it harder to find in this ever darkening world.
When are we going to wake up? When is the righteous anger of God going to be awakened in us? When are we going to allow the compassion of God to over rule our apathy and self centeredness?
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Mother's murder their unborn each day, while those hoping for children loose hope. WAKE UP CHURCH!
Terrorists desecrate our God given soil and we allow them to be offended becuase a tired soldier kicks the Quran. WAKE UP CHURCH!
Families go hungry, and some loose their homes only to live in cars or under a bridge, while we lift our eyes and pray that God would bless us so we could have more for ourselves. WAKE UP CHURCH!
More and more teens turn to each other and become more peer dependant to find worth and purpose while we hide ourselves from them because they are not part of our culture. WAKE UP CHURCH!
More and more drug lords push drugs every day. People take them to cover and hide their pain while we hide the One True King within ourselves because we don't want to be to pushy! WAKE UP CHURCH!
People, young and old, die without hope in hospitials, because we fail to go and lay hands on the sick and share the Word of God that is more powerful than the most terminal prognosis. WAKE UP CHURCH!
We are passionate about what happens inside an althletic arena while we are lethargic in a worship service. WAKE UP CHURCH!
WAKE UP! Feel the righteous anger of God inside you! Feel the compassion and mercy of God for the lost inside you!
Yes... I feel anger! I am angry! It was totally wrong that the young mother neglected her young baby, only for it to die alone. In my opinion it was murder to let that baby die like that. And yes. There will be justice. There has to be. If not full justice here on earth, there will be full justice when they die, unless they repent and turn to God.
But I also have compassion and mercy.
This young mother and her mother were deceived. They were blinded. They were hardened in their hearts. they turned to drugs as a false answer. And as a result they will never feel the joy of holding that baby close again, feeling it's soft skin caressing their own. They will never again get to look into eyes that love them and depend on them. Because of that I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they allowed themselves to be deceived. I feel sorry for them that they listened to the father of lies.
And we as a church have shamefully kept ourselves quiet and allowed the voice of the father of lies to grow stronger.
We are commanded to go into the highways and the hedges and compell them in. Those in the hedges are the undesirable that sit along the wayside of our busy lives. Compell them in.
I'm sure this young mother was among the undesirable. What would of happened if some member of the body of Christ had reached out to her in love and compelled her into eat at the banquet of Christ?
Would she of then made the choice to turn to drugs, which smothered the very drive of a mother and made her so out of it she couldn't even come to the aid of her dying infant?
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Quit being so self focused and centered that we only care that our needs and desires are met. Actually activate your faith and trust that God will meet every single one of you needs, and reach out to those who are more needy than you.
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Quit being so self focused and self centered as parents that we only care to survive raising our own children. Trust God for the wisdom to raise your own children. Fathers rise up and be leaders in your own homes and raise children of influence and authority. Mother's reach out to other young mothers and teach them to love their children as we are commanded to in Titus 2!
WAKE UP CHURCH! Use His word to shut out the voice of the father of lies. Allow His spirit within you to lead you, guide you, and instruct you. Use your hands to work to prosper the Kingdom of God. Use your feet and go and possess every place which your feet tread. Do not go with the spirit of fear. Go with the power, love and sound mind you have with the mind of Christ.
WAKE UP CHURCH! Burn with Righteous Anger towards the sin. Have compassion and mercy on the sinner.
Love the sinner. Reach out to the sinner. Hate the sin.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Jada is 5 months old!!!
My dear sweet Jada is 5 months old today. It seems so long ago since she was born, but in other ways it only feels like yesterday.
I took pictures of her today. But my camera met an unexpected end. I accidentally knocked it off the desk while uploading all the pictures and the lense is now jammed. I have the camera taken apart and will try to fix it. If I can't I'll take it into a repair shop and see if they can bring it back to life.
I took pictures of her today. But my camera met an unexpected end. I accidentally knocked it off the desk while uploading all the pictures and the lense is now jammed. I have the camera taken apart and will try to fix it. If I can't I'll take it into a repair shop and see if they can bring it back to life.
But until then here is a picture of her taken on Friday.
Jada Devine Childress.
When we first chose her name, I never really thought to research the meaning. So recently I was doing searches on all our girls names.
The most popular meaning of Jada is an elaborated form of Jade, which is a precious stone.
But searching on ttp://www.behindthename.com/ led me to a second meaning. Jada means "he knows" in Hebrew.
Devine is our elaboration of the English word divine meaning "divine, godlike". A search on http://cf.blueletterbible.org/ leads to the Vine's definition of divine, which states : "Divine" (from theos, "God"), is used of the power of God, 2Pe 1:3, and of His nature.
So in a round about way, she is our precious jewel. Full of the nature of God. And a constant reminder that "He Knows".
Her blue eyes are not staying blue. They are changing, and appear to either brown or hazel. She is not bald like her older sisters were, but she is growing darker hair. And she smiles all the time (until I try to take a picture). And she is really starting to talk and laugh. Last night all the way home Jordan and Joelle were giggling. Jada was giggling, squealing, and blowing rasberries right back at them. It was so funny!
She really is a blessing. A precious gift from God. And we all treasure each moment with her.
Update: My camera is officially dead. May it rest in peace.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Weekend update...
Friday was our errand day...
Hair cuts for the girls, visiting the library, stopping at Bibliomania for home school stuff, grocery shopping, etc.... all the fun stuff :).
Joelle got her first real hair cut. She was more interested in my watch (I let her wear it) than she was in the cutting. Her hair wasn't that long so it was more of a trim ;)
Jordan only wanted a trim, but the girl who cut her hair was nervous and made a snip too short so her trim became more of a cut ;) Jordan's missing her long hair, but her hair is growing fast now and will be longer before we know it.
They both look real cute with a page boy type of style. And it will grow out on both of them.
While at Bibliomania we shopped the 1/2 price table and found 2 movies for $5.00! The Black Stallion and Shriley Temple in Bright Eyes. Both are fun movies and the girls love them. Since Friday afternoon the girls have watched the Black Stallion at least 5 times. And we are watching it again. A cheap way to entertain the girls between chores and table time. Sure beats the cost of taking them to a matinee!
Hair cuts for the girls, visiting the library, stopping at Bibliomania for home school stuff, grocery shopping, etc.... all the fun stuff :).
Joelle got her first real hair cut. She was more interested in my watch (I let her wear it) than she was in the cutting. Her hair wasn't that long so it was more of a trim ;)Jordan only wanted a trim, but the girl who cut her hair was nervous and made a snip too short so her trim became more of a cut ;) Jordan's missing her long hair, but her hair is growing fast now and will be longer before we know it.
They both look real cute with a page boy type of style. And it will grow out on both of them.
While at Bibliomania we shopped the 1/2 price table and found 2 movies for $5.00! The Black Stallion and Shriley Temple in Bright Eyes. Both are fun movies and the girls love them. Since Friday afternoon the girls have watched the Black Stallion at least 5 times. And we are watching it again. A cheap way to entertain the girls between chores and table time. Sure beats the cost of taking them to a matinee!
Friday night we got a rare treat. It was rare in that I wasn't scheduled for work for once on a Friday. While I was out running errands a friend of mine called and invited us over to use her pool while they were gone in the evening. She has a HUGE house with a pool that overlooks a valley. It was such a peaceful and relaxing place. All of us had fun. Even Jada kicked back in her floatie and motored around a bit with her kicking.
Joelle's become a little fish. Last year she would only get in the water if we held her and refused to let go. This time it took her a little while to warm up to the water and then she was all over the pool!
We all had fun and are very appreciative to my friend for the hospitality.
Saturday found us working all day.
Jerimiah went to run the Saturday morning CrossFit FTX at the park. None of the regulars showed up, but there were a few people there finishing their morning run that were curious about what was going on and sounded pretty interested. Hopefully they will be there next week.
I worked all day. We were busy from the second we opened the doors. And of course we were short staffed. So I ran the bar and had a section. I was a little overwhelmed. I feel bad that I wasn't able to take care of my guests the way I should of, but I did my best and am praying the staffing at work will get better.
Today was church day. Nothing gets accomplished at home on those days. Just lunch and a nap after morning service.
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