More family news

Jessi lost another tooth. The tooth fairy was inexplicably delayed for two days :-(. However, she was very patient and was rewarded with extra cash.

John asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior this week. Woo Hoo! Now all my kids are God's Kids. I know that as he grows, he will have to make re-committments to God because he is at a very young age, but it is still quite a relief to know that God is working in my kid's lives. Last Wednesday, October 15th, during our prayer and praise time of school, when I asked for prayer requests, John said, "Momma, I need the Spirit." I cuddled him and started praying for him when I felt God say to me "Ask him if he wants Jesus in his heart." I asked him and to my joy and amazement, he said "Yes". So I got to lead him in the Sinner's prayer. I used to say that I never saw anyone come to Christ because of my testimony. Now I can say that I led two of my children to Christ. The other two asked Jesus to be their Savior at church.

My sil had a baby boy this week, even though, 20 weeks ago, the ultrasound technicians were certain the baby was a girl. They must have had a boy's name picked out from the early weeks of pregnancy because they came up with a very nice one--Ezra Nicholas. They seem to be recovering well from the shock as well as the delivery. Keep up the good work!

My hubby took a three day trip. I thought it would be easy-peasy for me because it was so short. For some reason, I had a LOT of trouble this time. Friday ended up being really horrible in the morning trying to get ready for our homeschool co-op. It seems inevitable that I only teach the weeks that he is on a trip. This week, on Thursday, one of the teachers asked me to sub for her because she was sick. I agreed and then realized that it was my turn to teach the other subject, geology. Plus, I was leading in the P.E. event of cross country running. Something had to give. I quickly emailed the group and asked them to help me out with the day and the moms were really great about taking over the geology lesson and helping me with P.E. It still took a toll on me. On Saturday, I found out that my husband's return flight was delayed by five hours! The agony!!! He was still home by dinnertime, though and the kids really enjoyed having him back.

This week, we started memorizing Proverbs 25:28--"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control." The goal is to apply it to our lives to limit the amount of screaming, crying, slamming doors, and temper tantrums in the house. As we were memorizing it, the one thing God pointed out to me is that city walls are broken down either from neglect (not relying fully on Him) or invaders and that it leaves the city defenseless against further attacks. I shared that thought with the kids. We will see if they get it. The interesting thing about scripture memory is that when you really try to put it into practice, God gives you abundant opportunities for that very purpose :-).

This week, I read Caddie Woodlawn, which was one of Elizabeth's required reading for school. I never had read it and I was curious about the story. For those of you who do not know, the book is based on an actual person who lived south of Menomee, Wisconsin. Her father convinced her mother to let her run "wild" with the boys because he felt she would be healthier and stronger because of it. Near the end of the story, after she has played a very mean trick on a visiting cousin, Caddie's dad tells her the following: "It is the sisters and wives and mothers...who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie--harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well." This gave me great encouragement to "stay the course" in my commitment to my children and my husband and my home. It is also something I hope to pass on to my children--that the truly important things of life will not be valued by the world, things like having good relationships, taking care of others, letting others have the limelight, holding your tongue instead of either boasting or tearing someone down. I am an imperfect teacher at this concept, but then again, God is still working on this vessel. Thank you, God that you have not given up on me!