More Milestones!

I am continually amazed at how quickly time goes by.

It's funny...the minutes seem to drag but then all of a sudden you turn around and those minutes have turned into months, even years.

The boys are growing and changing everyday. Kaden is enjoying his year at school and even learned to walk himself to class last week. Kaden's school had a Celebrate Freedom Parade last Friday. Kaden was decked out in red, white, and blue. I am so proud of him!

Karter is such a joy with his big brown eyes and infectious smile. He learned how to walk this last week!! I love seeing those first wobbly steps. Sometimes he gets so excited he claps for himself as he walks.

Here are some pictures of their latest milestones.

The Inside

Have you ever noticed how concerned we get about the outside of things? I will be the first to admit that I have a problem with neglecting the inside of things just so the outside will look better.

Take for example my house...I want the outside appearance of my kitchen to be neat and tidy so I spend most of time cleaning and organizing what can be seen. Take a look at the inside of my cabinets...


Obviously I have neglected the inside!

I started thinking about all of this when I read part of our Life group lesson from last week. In Isaiah 53:2 says that Christ came with no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Our life group lesson said that God did this so that our trust would not rely on the outward appearance of our savior.

This got me to thinking about how much time I spend on the outside of things. I will be honest...there are lots of mornings when I wake up later then I had planned and I push my time with Lord to the side in order to get my outside ready. Now I will tell you that my Principal loves the Lord, but I am sure that even he would not appreciate me showing up in pjs every morning because I woke up late and chose to spend my time with the Lord instead of getting dressed.

However, all of this is causing me to reflect...why do I spend so much time on what is not important? Why am I concerned about what other people think of me when my heart, the place that is supposed to be my Lord's home, is a wreck?

So, if the next time you see me I look a little less then presentable...just chalk it up to me working on my inside!:)

Christmas in September!

My sweet husband surprised me with a Christmas present yesterday! After going on and on about how much I loved my sister-in-laws camera, he went out and bought one for me! I have not yet figured out what all the little gadgets and gizmos do but I did get a little practice in on a couple of my favorite subjects. Thanks babe!

Bunco Anyone?

Ok so I should be grading papers but it is my off day for recess and I had a few seconds. So I was purusing the blog world I ran across a post from Kelly's Korner about Bunco.
I have played once with my mom. She has a group that meets 1 time per month to eat, talk, and play bunco. It was a great way to get to know some of the ladies in her group and something fun to invite friends to. They end each night by sharing prayer requests and of course drawing numbers for prizes that the host home provides.
So girls...anyone interested in starting our own bunco group??? It might help with planning our oh so needed girls nights each month. Just a thought.

Hope you are all having a great Tuesday! :)

We Survived!!

Two weeks down... only 38 more to go!

Our first two weeks where just a little bumpy with a trip to the ER for Karter and a stomach bug for Nathan and Kaden. Other than that everyone made through and many less tears then I thought!

By Saturday we were all ready for some quality family time in Tyler. We spent some time playing at the Brookshire's park and museum. Here are some pictures of our first two weeks.

Kaden Ready for his first day of school

The Brookshire Museum with huge animals

Kaden and Daddy with a Kodiak Bear

Karter loved the swing

We met our friends and their little girl, Bella.

Karter and Bella really enjoyed swinging together!

A Heart Divided

School starts tomorrow! I am so excited about the kids God has placed in my care for the year. This year I will be teaching reading instead of math so it should be interesting as once again I find myself learning right along with the kiddos. I work with the most wonderful, and I mean the most wonderful, people. I truly believe that my school has got to be one of the best places to work in the world. I am excited about the opportunity I have to allow God to make himself known to these kids through me and I am praying that I allow him to do that daily.

However, while I am busy training and instructing the leaders of tomorrow, someone else is watching Karter's first steps. While I am busy with lesson plans and bus duty, Nathan will walk Kaden to his class on his very first day of school.

I guess that this is all so hard because it doesn't fit into "my plan". You know...my plan to be a super mom! I just always imagined being there for those moments, the way that my mom was there for all of them with me.

Several months ago we felt the call to get "gazelle intense" (Dave Ramsey) and get totally out of debt except for our house. Don't get me wrong, the idea of having everything paid off and having money in the bank to have fun as a family and to give to others in need sounds great. I am just having trouble deciding if it is all worth it.

As I sat with Kaden in "big church" tonight I couldn't help but wonder...where did the time go? He has just grown up so fast. I keeping wondering if my time with Karter will go by even faster since I am not staying home with him like I did with Kaden.

I guess no matter what I do my heart will always be divided on this issue. I am just praying that God will work through me to make the best mom and the best teacher I can be.

Pollution

Pollution can be defined as an undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities.

To be honest I do not think about pollution very much. I would not be described as someone who is very green. However, after reading this verse this week I began to think about another kind of pollution. A kind of pollution contaminates lives and families and is the direct consequence of our (my) human mouths.

" Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word, nor unwholesome or worthless talk ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace to those who hear it." Ephesians 4:29 AMP

I have never read this verse in this version, but it really struck me. How many times have I polluted a conversation with gossip, or negativity, or even just spent time talking about things that are worthless? How many times have I polluted Kaden by just the tone of my voice? I am praying that the Lord will give me his power to speak only things that are good and beneficial. I pray that he will speak through me and use my mouth to be a blessing to others...not something that contaminates!