Kiddisms and Photos

Here are some recent photos of our family. Keagan is getting quite big. He is now toddling by himself. His walk resembles some sort of dance. It's adorable!

We're beginning to see his personality. He's not afraid to challenge his brother and sister, and lets them know when they do something he doesn't like....... like get in the way of his food.

A couple weeks ago, Brandon was sitting in the recliner and feeding Nolyn a few bites and then Keagan a few bites. Keagan decided he shouldn't have to share. He started waving his hands and jabbering at Nolyn, then pushed him back against the wall... away from Daddy.. and the food!

Merikalyn is growing tall and seems to be picking up some of my goofiness. Yesterday I tried an old cord jacket on her that my grandmother made me when I was a little girl. She said, "I don't want to wear this Mom. It looks silly."

I shook my head. "No it doesn't, honey. It looks fine!"
"Mom, people are going to laugh at me."
I rolled my eyes. "No they won't. This use to be my jacket. My grandma made it for me."
She gave me an understanding look. She put her hand on my shoulder and nodded. "And they laughed at you too, huh."

HA! I didn't make her wear the jacket. I don't know where she got this "They are going to laugh at me" thing.. because I don't know of anyone laughing at her for how she looks (except for us.. when she comes down with her hair sticking out every which way and crazy outfit!).

Today, when going through our bible study, I asked Nolyn who wore clothing made of camel hair and ate locusts and honey. He said it was "John the Bath-ist"

I guess it's similar... Baptism is a spiritual bath! :)

"I don't wanna go outside.... I'm just going to sit here and watch."

"But it does look like fun out there..."

My three little monkeys!

Mr. McFluffynoggin :)


My sweet hubby brought me tulips the other day just because he loves me! (It wasn't even an anniversary or holiday!) I know, I have an awesome husband (regardless of whether he brings me flowers or not!)

My husband... and a pitcher full of tulips! :)

10 Things I Dislike About Facebook/Myspace

Facebook:

1. Compare people. Why? Isn't that a little degrading?
2. Gossip. No, I don't have any recently gossip to secretly share with the rest of my facebook friends.
3. Super Poke. What, plain ol' poke wasn't annoying enough for yah?
4. Beer Mail. Virtual alcoholic anyone?
5. Gifts. I mean, the ones you have to pay $1 for. Seriously? A dollar for a virtual gift that you can't even use?
6. Bumper Stickers. Why do people always send me vulgar ones?
7. Top Friends. Cool table, anyone?
8. Side bar ads. Plastic Surgery? Weight loss? What are you trying to tell me here?
9. Which Disney Princess are you? I don't think that really matters since, well, I'm an adult now and don't believe in fairy tales.
10. Friend FAQ. Seriously- are we in highschool? These questions are ridiculous and are meant to ridicule and cut down your friends.

10 Things I Dislike About MySpace
1. Myspace.
2. Myspace.
3. Truth boxes. Do I really want to install an app that allows people to leave me rude anon messages?
4. That mob thing on myspace. Mafia Wars?
5. Super Pets. Yes, give me something else to take care of. It's not like I have a husband, three kids, and a dog.
6. Own your friends. I AM NOT FOR SALE! QUIT ASKING!
7. Myspace.
8. Oh, and myspace.
9. Vulgar RATED R movie promotions plastered all over myspace.
10. The ads.

Full hands.

Nearly every time I'm out of the home without my husband, someone usually makes the comment that I have my hands full. My comment is usually (as it was today), "Better full than idle!"

Personally, I don't think I have my hands full. I have three children who are well behaved. Maybe if they were always bouncing off the walls and taking them anywhere was like trying to perform in a three ring circus I would agree that I had my hands full, but I don't.... at least not in the aspect that most people are referring to.

I have friends who have way more than three children. While today's society views three children as quite a bundle, in comparison to those in our church and many of my blogger friends, we have a small family. I have been so privileged to be able to talk to women whom God has blessed with such wisdom and grace in their parenting journey, which is a very serious thing, lest we forget.

The bible is full of parenting stories. We read about great men who failed to be great biblical parents- like Eli in I Samuel 4. (Read this article here.) When we realize what a huge role we have as parents, we realize that yes, we have a full plate of duties. Our hands are FULL in this aspect.

I don't think most parents have a grasp on biblical parenting. Parenting is not just about raising children to be "good people" or surviving for eighteen years until they "hopefully get out" (as one parent put it). As parents, our main goal should be to raise children who love and serve God, who are about His Will for their lives, and who are committed to following Him. Are we too focused on the "smaller goals" like getting them through school or making them "good people" that we miss the bigger picture?

I think the devil's biggest tool is to get us focused on these tasks that, yes, seem daunting, so we miss God's command to "train children up in the way of the Lord". The devil wants us to be caught up in the activities of school and sports, to be running here and there trying to give our children a "well-rounded childhood". Satan desires to keep us busy- because if he can keep us busy, he can keep us from teaching our children about walking with God.

It is not enough to just read the bible to our children or take them to church regularly (although both of those are important). We must be willing to walk with them, talk with them, gain their trust, gain their hearts. We must show them how to live before Christ, and we must uphold the bible more than a book of suggestion. We must be willing to put away those things that would be a stumbling block to our children, which would take us away from them or take them away from us. We must be willing to shelter them enough to protect their young hearts and minds (which are like sponges and soak up so much and have a hard time filtering what is good and evil, right and wrong). We must be willing to take the criticism that will come from people who think we are too protective, those who think we should give out children "a well-rounded worldview" instead of a biblical worldview.

We must hold up the structure of family- the father being the leader, the mother being his helpmeet, and the children being obedient. Of course, you cannot "demand" obedience from your children and expect them to follow through when you are not around if you have not gained their hearts, their trust, and helped them understand God's Word and direction.

I feel God is constantly revealing things to my husband and I about the inner workings of a family- what works, what doesn't work, what is biblical, and what has been masquerading around as "Christian" but isn't.

We are so blessed to meet with those who walk the walk, who encourage family structure and biblical authority, who lead their children with God's word and teach them constantly. I have some great examples set before me.

I am pretty picky about what I read, and even more picky about what books I recommend... but I have come across some really great books that align with the Scripture (are based on the bible) and clarify so much, pointing out things I often overlooked. I hope you will take the time to look into these books:

Family Man, Family Leader (For Husbands/Fathers)
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God (For Wives/Mothers)
Family Driven Faith (For everyone)

And, because it's REALLY good .....
The Screwtape Letters (by C.S. Lewis)... also for everyone. :)

For those of you who might read this and think, "Oh man, I'm never having children." I think, for many of us, children have been God's greatest teaching tool to us. Our children have forced us to look deeper into the Word of God for guidance and clarity. They have shown us what we often look like in the eyes of God, and have revealed our own sinful nature.

I often feel like those who decide not to have children (through natural means, adoption, etc) miss out on one of God's greatest experiences and trials for molding biblical character. I realize that God does not plan for all to marry or have children, but I think many of us refuse God's direction and blessing out of our own selfishness for money, time, and effort.

I shudder to think of what I would be without my children. A good friend and pastor of ours once said, "God gives us children to take the YOU and out YOU." Children require us to be selfless and to often give more than we receive. We learn so much about God's love through the relationship with our children, and we begin to see how urgent the Gospel is, and how serious it is.

There's an old saying, "Don't take life to seriously, you'll never get out alive anyway."

This is a ridiculous saying. DO take life seriously because you WILL die someday and YOU WILL have to account for what you did (and didn't do) in your life. And yes, you will even have to account for your part in your children's lives as well. In fact, you will probably have to account for your part (or lack of part) in other's lives outside of your family.

Life is serious. Satan wants us to think its "all fun and games" and that we should "make the most of it" while we can. He wants us to think we can sit back, relax, and let life happen, but the Word of God says differently.

We should all have our hands full with God's Will for our lives.

Won't you be my Valentine?

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Brandon and I don't make a big deal out of gift-giving holidays for several reasons.

First of all, we want our children to understand that the best gift of all is love- above all the love of God who gave His Only Son so that we could have everlasting life.

Secondly, we don't want the children to think that the only way you can show love and appreciation is through gift giving.

Third, we don't want to set up ourselves for "one-upping" what we did last year or making it into a competition. Of course, in our culture, Valentine's Day seems to be all on the man. He must do something utterly romantic or he's the scum of the earth for not getting it right (or possibly forgetting it altogether). The woman gets off easy. She is to be wooed and lavished with gifts.

Valentine's Day brings a mixture of emotions. I remember my school days, hoping to get a cheap, dinky little carnation from a boyfriend or secret admirer (and while I was usually "dating" someone nearly all the time, I was almost ALWAYS single on V-day!). I watched my friends with their arms and backpacks loaded with special gifts, and myself, often empty handed. Sometimes a nice friend would give me something, but more often than not, I had nothing... and felt unloved. Of course, there was one year when I had several admirers at once who loaded me up with candy and gifts. Another year I found myself dumped on the day marked for love. My sophomore year, I was nominated as Sweetheart and attended my first dance (which was nothing like I thought it would be). I came in third, but that was no surprise. Clearly the most popular of girls would win, not me, someone who was not assigned to any particular click and was not a cheerleader. My good friend Robert accompanied me to the dance since my boyfriend and I had broken up shortly before the dance.

My Valentine's Day experiences alone should have been a blazing sign as to why dating is not healthy and not God's design for courtship. (Another topic for another time.)

But there's one memory in there that was so small and lovely that didn't come with the mixture of radical emotions. It was the day my fiance gave me my wedding ring.

No, we were not married on Valentine's Day. We were engaged in the last few seconds of New Year's Eve. For Valentine's Day, I planned a nice little "picnic" in my bedroom with my parent's permission. It was there that he gave me the lovely little ring that was not only my engagement ring but also my wedding ring as well. We wore our wedding rings on our right hands until we officially tied the knot. (Which was humorous, because my dear husband handed me his right hand, instead of his left, when I went to slip the ring on his finger during the wedding ceremony! He was so use to putting it on his right hand!)

I almost forgot about this day because it was just so simple. Of course, I rushed into my parent's room and showed them my ring with excitement, but that day did not come with the mixture of emotions that nearly all the other V-days had before that. There wasn't worry or fear. There wasn't the inward pleading and outward facade of strength.

I remembered this as I showered this morning, washing my hands and turning the ring to face upwards (as it often gets twisted). It's a modest ring. White cold with bands of yellow gold framing in a diamond small enough to keep from snagging on things but big enough to sparkle. It's not what most brides wear, maybe not what most would like to receive when their husband-to-be kneels down and asks that one question they've been waiting to hear, but it was the one I wanted. In fact, I had picked it out.

I picked it out because it was simple, not to showy. More than a band, but not too much more. And it was inexpensive as far as rings go, and when you're seventeen and peering at a ring for your future, several hundred dollars almost seems to much, especially when you know the man you love could better use that money to clear up debts and prepare for your future together.

So it was this morning, several days passed Valentine's Day, that I recalled the story of my ring, and that it has been on my finger for seven years.

And, in case you are wondering, I bought my husband new shoes for V-day (actually, he picked them out and bought them a week or so before), and he bought me a new wardrobe (from Shadeclothing.com and OldNavy.com, which I picked out and bought several weeks previous). Okay, so we really didn't go get those things for each other, but he did get me three deliciously smelling candles, and I got him a nice card and his favorite candy (Maplenut Goodies).

Seriously, who needs another stuffed teddy bear?

Pre-marriage, Brandon and Mandy

Overheard...

[Merikalyn and Nolyn were playing house and this is the conversation I overheard.]

M: So, where is your family from?
N: Heaven.
M: Oh? Did your family die?
N: Yes, my family died on the cross.
M: Your family is Jesus????
N: Yes!

[Here's a conversation that took place around dinner time a couple nights ago.]

M: Mom, where do potatoes come from?
Me: They grow in the ground.
N: Where do carrots come from?
Me: They grow in the ground, too!
M: Where do cinnamon rolls come from?
Me: Well, someone gets together all the incredients and prepares them. Sometimes they are made in big factories with big bowls and mixers.
N: Oh! Where were you made from?
Merika: From Nana and Poppa, silly.
N: Nuh-uh! From Daddy's rib!

[Cue conversation later from Dad who explained that only Eve was made from Adam's rib.]

I can't remember what we were talking about the other day, but Merika sweetly piped in, "When I grow up, I wanna be a Mommy."

Awwwwww!