Kids Say The Cutest Things: Part 2

Today was one of those days that make a Mom realize little children are absorbing everything very quickly and yet still have so much to learn that we take for granted.  I hope you don't find it boring to hear of these little stories, but I partially want to share them just so I don't forget!
While Straight Arrow was in his Occupational Therapy Session today, I took the other children for a walk to a nearby shopping area, to buy Lil' Farmer some new shoes.  While we were at the shoe store I decided to have some fun.  Have you ever noticed women wearing these stilts, err, I mean, high heels, that are 4 inches tall with another half inch base? I have always wondered what it felt like for a woman to walk in a pair. How do they do that?!  So I tried this cute pair on - no easy feat (no pun intended.. I think), for a woman of my stature. Granted, I am noticing that I am not from the land of giants as much as I used to think in the past. Living in a high populated area gives one the chance to see a large array of people. Regardless I do have to squeeze to get into a size 10, and rarely buy shoes due to this.  And because of my height, which pales in comparison to my cousin and her daughter who stand at 5'11 and 6' respectively, I rarely wear anything with height for fear I might have to bend down to smooch my dear husband.  I digress.  So I squeeze into these cutesy pair of pink stilts, manage to stumble a few steps, and then it comes. My dear son, Kind Heart, says these words any other Mom might be mortified to hear "Mom, those are definitely too stylish for you!"  What?! Am I some frumpy dumpy Mom?  Not in the least.  My dear soon really meant to say, "Mom' those shoes are too worldly for you." What a compliment, no kidding!  He was so cute saying it to me.  He was so shocked that HIS Mom was trying on a pair of those shoes.  Bless his heart, he knows his Mom well.
The next one is not as cute, but rather sobering to me. Sweet Sis was playing with her new wooden bear toy, where she can pick a face and build an outfit. She was trying to verbalize the face she picked, to match the dress. She said, "My Bear is so happy!" I looked and noticed it was the angry faced bear and told her so. She then replied, "Like Mommy".  Wow, what a blow. She matched the dress with the face, and identified me of all people. Ouch, that hurts and makes me very sad.  I have my work cut out for me! It is so important to not only eliminate those "eyebrows furrowed" moments, but to replace them more with happy smiling moments, so in her mind she can start realizing her Mommy is a happy person.  How many days do I go about my tasks with a stem look, being so focused to get everything done, that I forget to have joy? Even in serving the Lord, by completing the tasks he had appointed for me that day, do I morn them? How much I need to grow!
The last story tonight is another cute one. As we were chatting in the van on our way to do some grocery shopping, the children noticed a funny looking person dressed up as the statue of liberty (advertising for Liberty Tax). I explained to the children he was like a mascot for this tax collecting company. I then explained how it was time to pay our yearly taxes. I then gave them the example of Mary and Joseph, travelling to Bethlehem.  Lil 'Farmer asked if I had to go anywhere! And Sweet Sis asked "Can I go with you to Bethlehem?"  Too cute!
That's all for now. One day I hope to get some sewing started again. We are needing some curtains, and I gave my word I would restart my block-a-month quilt. I am conducting, along with a group from church, a whole foods total vegetarian cooking class in less than two weeks. So I am busy busy! Aren't we all?!
Country Needles

Cute Question

Our Lil' Farmer has been growing so fast and is thinking a great deal more about what we say and how he makes it all fit together in his head.  He recently started gathering coins where he could find them.  Sabbath came, and he announced to me that he would be giving his collection of coins to Jesus.  The joy he had on his face was so precious.  While we were sitting on the pew, waiting for the deacon to come with the offering plate, he whispered in my ear, How does Jesus come down to get his money?  I could have squeezed him at that moment so tight he wouldn't have been able to breath! How adorable! I then had a nice conversation all about how God appoints people to use His money. It really made me think about how God really does communicate with His servants, leading us, guiding us, to walk in the path he has set before us.  What a precious memory from a sweet innocent child.  I am glad I had that moment, and no one else.

Country Needles

Haircut Night

So, what do you do on a typical week night? We are always busy, and tonight was no exception. It was past time for the kids to get a haircut. Professor gets a haircut every two to three weeks, and except for a few rare times, I have given him every haircut for the past 13+ years.  So naturally, I have given all the children haircuts with the exception of one time this past summer.  They each have personalities that differ, and hair that differs greatly. Straight Arrow has thick, straight hair. Kind Heart has soft wavy hair, and Lil' Farmer has fine curly hair that goes everywhere. Sweet Sis has very fine nearly straight hair.  Couldn't one of them be like the other? Lol! It has been said that Professor could make a rug every time he gets it cut - the thickest hair I have ever known.  I have only seen it about an inch long.  It grows out like a Chia pet!  He does have very coarse thick hair, that is curly when allowed to harvest.  If you are unsure about administering haircuts, give it a try.  Check out a library book or video on cutting hair.  It will save you a bundle. I once calculated the cost for dear husband alone, and it came to $350 per year, and with kids it comes to $620!  I think someone owes me a massage!  Ha! The only problem is, I give them haircuts because it saves me money (translation = no money for my spa day!).  Happy cutting!

Annoying turns Cute in Older Age

As Professor and I are unwinding tonight, we hear the pitter-patter of little feet up and down the newly acquired stairs of our new home. Since Sweet Sis does not remember our home from two moves ago, she would not remember the beautiful staircase there. Besides, her room was downstairs. Anyway, with the beds all set-up tonight, and Mommy and Daddy entirely exhausted, it is past 9:30 pm, and we are still hearing our little girl up and down out of bed. Years ago, we would have been quite beside ourselves with frustration at the boys for doing the same. The old "Go to Bed" routine. Now, after I rocked her, then rocked her two new dollies, it was Daddy's turn to come in and rock, then rock each of her dollies. At one point, we provided more drink, more conversation, and some nice soothing hymns which she enjoyed singing along quite loudly. This last interruption, she drew Daddy in with "Daddy I have a question for you". Then she asked after that was answered, "Daddy I have something to show you, it is so funny, so funny Daddy". She proceeds to show him a book, picks a page, and starts laughing! She tries to explain to him why it is funny, but then gives up and says, "Can you just read it to me Daddy?" What a treasured night! We are both so tired, physically ill from colds, I think I am coming down with a sinus infection, and her little interruptions might normally be received with a scowl, but how precious tonight they are to us! Ok, as I write, she has now discovered the "Big Moon out there, Daddy, come and show you!!" So maybe it is getting a bit tiring now, as we entire into the 10 pm hour, but, still a cute little Sis. Just don't wake me when I'm sleeping little girl! The house is still a disaster, we still have the old house to finish cleaning and painting, and we have so much laundry to fold and to clean! But we are making progress. Today the furniture was placed in its permanent location, one bookshelf placed and stocked, beds were assembled and placed accordingly (except for mine, of course!), and we are starting to see some flow. Nearly all of the kitchen is unpacked, three rooms in the old house were painted and nearly everything has been removed now. We still have about 15 paint cans to turn in at a paint drop-off and some miscellaneous garage items. But overall, we are encouraged. It is time to get to bed! All for now, Country Needles

Offerings of Sacrifice

Tonight is the last night in our current house - our most amazing, gift from God house. Here was a picture of our sunset a few days ago. Several days a week we get these sunsets and they are breathtaking.

It is a bit hard to say good-bye, and yet I feel so at peace with our decision. It is truly the Will of the Lord for us to be gaining towards our goal of debt-free living. We have been pursuing this goal for 10 years, actively. We have stumbled along the way, we have had major circumstances and situations, many unforseen deaths in the family, including both maternal grandparents, maternal uncle, mother, paternal grandfather, birth of two children and 2 major moves all within the past 5 years. When we live so far away from immediate family, it can be expensive to travel. We have had a few poor decisions and some really great decisions, all with the intent to honor the Lord. It can be hard to know what the Lord's Will is in our lives, especially when it comes to purchases and making change, when we are young and without elders to guide us. We always weigh the pros and cons, the needs and wants. I can say we are not impulsive people, but do place pressure on ourselves to make decisions instead of waffling. The bottom-line is that we have major student-loan debt. Major. And we are a single-income family serving in the military. We have grown as a family along the way and are now a family with four children. It is time that we take the monkey off the back and get super-serious about paying down these student loans. So, we have made some drastic changes, but yet it was all in God's timing. He waited to reveal the truth about ourselves, waited patiently to see if we would come to the knowledge about our ugly selves. Nothing in this world will make us happy, nothing. Not even promised camping trips, get-aways, going here or there. What makes us happy is when we as a family chose to honor Him, where love is found in the home and is not sought after outside of the home. Where we get real and deep with ourselves and our kids. And most of all, we have learned that we can't plan for the future, that usually for us, things don't go as expected. We purchased a brand-new van once, and in 5 years, was worth a fraction of our investment - and the transmission went out. Life is unpredictable and we need to make choices for today, not for the future. I know that sounds totally wrong, but we need to live for the day and trust in God that our choices made smartly today will carry us through, instead of us saying "We know what will be best for the next 5 years". That does not mean reckless choices or not keeping in mind for the future. If we would have stopped worrying about the future, we would have had our debt paid off. There is no whining, but a good hard look at the facts. We are ready now. Ready to continue on, following his leading. Not ever having lived in something other than a house since having children, this seems to some like a step-backward, living in a townhome. But to us, it is a step-up. Jesus abode in humble dwellings, with simple food, and simple clothing. How should we expect to live - better than the King? Our needs are met, we are happy, and will soon be able to live fully in-line with biblical principles. By the way, we will still have a nice ocean view, when we take a short 100 ft walk. We might have a view from the upstairs corner bedroom, and every day we drive into our housing development we will have beautiful ocean views. We are now a block from the beach, where as before we were on a cliff and had to drive 1/2 mile down to the beach. We can walk now! And we can walk to the pool, gym, tennis courts - which we had to drive to before. There is a Youth Center with classes 4 days a week ranging from elementary music, to a toddler music class, to cooking class, to craft class to piano lessons. The kids can join for just $25 a year per child! Most of the kids that participate are homeschool kids, with a few from after-school programs. We will enjoy a new type of life, maybe a much more active one, in our new home. And our new place is the same size as our old house minus the garage. So, the Lord is truly blessing us beyond what we could have hoped for. I hope to continue actively posting on the blog, not taking as long as a break as I have had. I enjoy blogging, and sharing, and keeping in touch with those that mean so much to me. Some days are super busy, but whose life isn't? God Bless you until we meet again. Country Needles

Merry Christmas!

It has been crazy around here with our preparations for the big move, with the selling of our SUV and camper, and the purchase of our new modest minivan.  The Lord is continuing to Bless us more as we found out our housing allowance will increase substantially giving us greater savings with our move into the new home.  Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family!

Here is Lil' Farmer with his new cowboy belt buckle!
Here is Sweet Sis with her new babydoll!
And another of Professor lowering Kind Heart down into the sewer to retrieve his remote-controlled helicopter that flew down the drain!
And lastly with Straight Arrow enjoying his day.

Winter Family Time

Tonight, we had the most amazing time together as a family. Unfortunately, our camera ran out of battery just as we got to the most fun part of our night! After church, we went caroling with some church family and the children truly enjoyed passing out Christian literature (especially Kind Heart who is our natural evangelist!). Afterwards, we drove home and changed, and decided to surprise the kids with a night out of pizza and ice skating. :) The pizza place we went to was called Red Brick Oven Pizza. They are a unique place; Straight Arrow is gluten-free and we are all vegan, so how do we eat pizza? At a place that offers gluten-free pizza crusts and vegan cheese! This place has fantastic pizza and offers a cheese substitute called Daiya "cheese", so we were able to order pizza like "normal" people and really enjoyed ourselves. We had some time to pass, so we ventured out to a neighborhood about 10 miles away that is known in our part of the city for its amazing light shows - they even have their own facebook page, as it is so popular! That was really nice and way too big for us too stay long. We were creeping along in the streets. We would have walked but were short on time to get to the ice skating "chalet". It was really cute to see people with lit-up palm trees and flamingos pulling a sleigh instead of reindeer! There were many unique displays and some traditional, but all very beautiful. Every tree in every yard was decorated and lit-up! Lots of people had outdoor fire-bowls and it smelled so nice. It was odd to see so many folks in shorts and short-sleeves and equally odd to see them mingle with people decked-out in winter gear, boots, hats, gloves, and all. (On a side-note, earlier in the week as we were out and about, I glanced over while stopped at a light and saw a man with beautiful Christmas decorations on his front lawn, mowing the yard. I think that was the first time I have seen someone mowing their yard at Christmas!) So, we made our way out of the light labrynth and back to the chalet. The fun we had is almost indescribable! Each of the children have such personalities and they all came out tonight. Straight Arrow was very hesitant at first, but with a little coaxing and help, he came out of his shell and was skating on his own in no time. Kind Hart was a go-getter, rigid and strong. He was determined to go fast and be like the faster teens around us. And by the night's end, he was zooming around, getting confused, and often skating against the flow with no fear! Lil' Farmer was like a cowboy on ice skates - the two just don't go together! It was hilarious, although he didn't think so. I think he would have been more comfortable out on a horseback ride! He just couldn't stand up if his life depended on it. And he wasn't too inclined to try it again. We were able to rent this cute little skate chair in the shape of a seal. The small children could sit down on it and be pushed. Or it can be used by a younger skater to push on while they learn to get their feet underneath themselves. Lil' Farmer was happy on or behind the seal. Then there is Sweet Sis. She was, well, sweet! She was very content doing anything we asked her to do. Whether it was being pushed by her various brothers, holding on to help push Liam, standing on the wall and saying Hi to little friends, or holding our hands, she had no complaints! The Professor and I had a blast as we remembered why we had children and why we had four! We even got some smooching in and a few laps holding hands! ;) The children loved to see us skating out on our own and were so happy. We felt like we were back in college! Oh no, am I at risk of sounding like a parent? Yikes!