"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places"
Psalm 16:5,6
"The Lord is my shepherd...
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters..."
Psalm 23:2
Psalm 16:5,6
"The Lord is my shepherd...
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters..."
Psalm 23:2
The last 11 days or so we have had at least one person sick with this relentless flu(fever, body aches,cough etc) which seems to be spreading like wildfire. As we have had to cancel many plans (including attending an out of town wedding of a dear friends' son and a surprise dinner out for M's birthday), I continually am reminding myself that the boundary lines set for me in this season are indeed in pleasant places. During my devotions, the Lord also brought to mind that within these boundary lines He has supplied green pastures of refreshment and still waters of nourishment for my soul. I am so tempted to be like the wayward lamb longingly looking at the meadow across the fence or searching for a gap to slip through to the other side. Often our kiddos (especially our 2 very spicy Liberians) are what I would call 'fence rattlers'. They will test the limits of their ordained boundaries and discontentedly rattle the gate that hems them in for their own good. What a reminder this has been for me...that often I am also a fence rattler as God hems me in and I am not pleased with the boundaries He is sovereignly setting. So for the days ahead as we continue to heal from this icky stuff,and we are stuck in the house, I am purposefully seeking Him to make sure I do not miss out on the green pastures and still waters He has bountifully supplied. Some of these green pastures have been in the form of extra time: time to snuggle and watch a movie together or read aloud without the constraint of the clock....time to color Easter eggs and bake cookies(no, not from scratch and I did them myself...no germ laden hands in the dough allowed!) Today we had time to take an afternoon nap....believe it or not our afternoon quiet time was actually that...completely quiet as all 4 littles snoozed in the family room with me...now that's green pastures!!
Our weekly Homeschooler's Day out was even canceled this week(the first time in over 10 years!!) due to the many families/teachers affected by illness. This was God's kindness to me personally as I was scheduled to teach twice and Odesco is in no shape to be around other children. I am trusting that by next Wednesday we will all be on the road to recovery and ready to jump in with both feet again!
Mercy , who remained healthy throughout this sick spell seemed to be feeling a bit left out and was taking her own temperature around the clock and expressing a myriad of physical complaints minus the obvious symptoms. An opportunity arose last night where we were able to celebrate her germ free status with a trip to caregroup with me while Daddy stayed home with the sick kiddos.Miss Brittany would have been at our house babysitting but we didn't want her entering the germ zone so since she was to be at home tonight she offered to do Mercy's hair. What a blessing...another hair helper!! Providentially, Mercy had a GREAT day of responding to instruction without melting down ...no defiance, no talking back...lots of good choices made. What a gift from the Lord for there to be such an unexpected tangible reward for her good choices. She knew nothing about this until just before we left so she was not motivated by the thought of a fun night (although these incentives are often helpful!).
This was a gift to me as well since some of these days have been a bit wearisome due to cabin fever and some less than desirable behaviors.
Enjoy the pictures...it's been a while since I downloaded them so there's quite a few!!
I'm grateful today for His gentle leading in the midst of the boundary lines He has drawn for me.
Love,
MamaB.
A few weeks ago all 6 kiddos were in for their dental appointments. Our dental practice is so accommodating and we were all out of there in less than 2 hours!! And the added benefit of having them scheduled in 3 different rooms at the same time is that when a child seems to be a bit apprehensive and has that "Mom I'm about to jump out of this chair into your arms "look I can conveniently go to check on one of the other children and the previously noted child miraculously manages just fine once mom is out of view!!
Thursday afternoons at our house are fun, fun , fun(and loud, loud , loud)!! We have at least 2 added children and occasionally we double our family size with 12 kiddos running around together. I love having the kids' friends here and they love the company.This group above creatively play 'office' complete with phone, keyboard, 'desks' etc. Sadly due to the germs last week there was no 'friend frenzy' and we had to cancel our weekly visit....the kiddos were so disappointed but I roped the younger crew into helping me make 20 toilet paper roll bean stuffed instruments for a class I teach at HDO...a nice trade off, I thought :)
Moving outside for a change of scenery....
More Thursday fun: The Big Dudes...
Thursday Fun continued:For some reason these guys decided it would be fun to dig in the compost heap...a creative(and filthy) way to expend all their boundless energy!! !!
The sweet fruit of 'buddy time'
Our weekly Homeschooler's Day out was even canceled this week(the first time in over 10 years!!) due to the many families/teachers affected by illness. This was God's kindness to me personally as I was scheduled to teach twice and Odesco is in no shape to be around other children. I am trusting that by next Wednesday we will all be on the road to recovery and ready to jump in with both feet again!
Mercy , who remained healthy throughout this sick spell seemed to be feeling a bit left out and was taking her own temperature around the clock and expressing a myriad of physical complaints minus the obvious symptoms. An opportunity arose last night where we were able to celebrate her germ free status with a trip to caregroup with me while Daddy stayed home with the sick kiddos.Miss Brittany would have been at our house babysitting but we didn't want her entering the germ zone so since she was to be at home tonight she offered to do Mercy's hair. What a blessing...another hair helper!! Providentially, Mercy had a GREAT day of responding to instruction without melting down ...no defiance, no talking back...lots of good choices made. What a gift from the Lord for there to be such an unexpected tangible reward for her good choices. She knew nothing about this until just before we left so she was not motivated by the thought of a fun night (although these incentives are often helpful!).
This was a gift to me as well since some of these days have been a bit wearisome due to cabin fever and some less than desirable behaviors.
Enjoy the pictures...it's been a while since I downloaded them so there's quite a few!!
I'm grateful today for His gentle leading in the midst of the boundary lines He has drawn for me.
Love,
MamaB.
A few weeks ago all 6 kiddos were in for their dental appointments. Our dental practice is so accommodating and we were all out of there in less than 2 hours!! And the added benefit of having them scheduled in 3 different rooms at the same time is that when a child seems to be a bit apprehensive and has that "Mom I'm about to jump out of this chair into your arms "look I can conveniently go to check on one of the other children and the previously noted child miraculously manages just fine once mom is out of view!!
Thursday afternoons at our house are fun, fun , fun(and loud, loud , loud)!! We have at least 2 added children and occasionally we double our family size with 12 kiddos running around together. I love having the kids' friends here and they love the company.This group above creatively play 'office' complete with phone, keyboard, 'desks' etc. Sadly due to the germs last week there was no 'friend frenzy' and we had to cancel our weekly visit....the kiddos were so disappointed but I roped the younger crew into helping me make 20 toilet paper roll bean stuffed instruments for a class I teach at HDO...a nice trade off, I thought :)
Moving outside for a change of scenery....
More Thursday fun: The Big Dudes...
Thursday Fun continued:For some reason these guys decided it would be fun to dig in the compost heap...a creative(and filthy) way to expend all their boundless energy!! !!
The sweet fruit of 'buddy time' During our school day G and Odesco have 30 minutes of 'buddy time' (L and Mercy do also at a different time)...this gives me a chance to do school with the others and gives the kids an opportunity to grow in their friendship (and peacemaking skills!!)
Boys will be boys...here's P after a romp in our muddy swamp of a backyard after a driving rainstorm!
Mercy and 'Miss Tency' our friend from the dentist office who graciously offered to braid Mercy's hair for me....I was amazed at how quickly she did this...what would have taken me hours and hours (no exaggeration!) took her under 2 hours to complete. I am so grateful for the many eager helpers the Lord has placed beside me :)
Pop-Pop B with the kiddos...Daddy's parents came over to visit and help us celebrate his 45th birthday. For part of his gift, I made a video of each of the kids sharing what they loved about their Dad...we even videotaped Grandmom and Pop-Pop as they shared some funny Daddy stories.
A much loved Grandmom :)
...And a much loved Daddy opening all his homemade birthday treasures from the littles.
...last week at Homeschoolers Day out, I went to drop off the 3 youngest kiddos in the nursery so I could attend writing class with C. There were a load of toddlers and babies and I knew that adding my brood to the mix would stretch the gracious people serving. So, we looked for an opportunity for these guys to be a help...here they are rocking these precious little ones to sleep for their morning naps...too cute!
After the babies were asleep , there was plenty of time for fun!! I just love this picture of Felicia with L, Jenkins, and Odesco...
During HDO lunch time, Odesco was running around playing ball when he suddenly started wailing... it seems his mouth was knocked with a runaway ball ... a few minutes later he came running to me and showed me his already loose tooth had fallen out...he didn't realize what it was and spit it on the floor . Now we had a room full of people looking for the missing tooth!! Thankfully, Mrs. B found it and we were able bring it home to store in his little tooth case from the dentist.After missing out on so many of Odesco's 'firsts' , I was grateful that today he lost his first tooth and we were there to share in it!!!
While waiting for the big guys to finish up in a class at HDO, these 2 were cracking me up. Odesco was pretending to be a preacher and Mercy was the ever enthusiastic worshiper in the front row!
Even sick with a fever, our little man L couldn't stop drawing!
Odesco's Boredom Buster: 'fishing' in the back yard! He built the 'dock' from wood scraps and found the 'pole' which fell out of our tree during the storm.This resourceful boy finds ways to stay busy...usually it's hopping around on all 4's inside while batting an eraser, piece of cereal, or some other item he found on our floor!!
I told you he was resourceful...Odesco made this 'hat' from a box in the trash!!
Our first attempt at dying Easter eggs since our little Liberians came home...quite a production!
Boys will be boys...here's P after a romp in our muddy swamp of a backyard after a driving rainstorm!
Mercy and 'Miss Tency' our friend from the dentist office who graciously offered to braid Mercy's hair for me....I was amazed at how quickly she did this...what would have taken me hours and hours (no exaggeration!) took her under 2 hours to complete. I am so grateful for the many eager helpers the Lord has placed beside me :)
Pop-Pop B with the kiddos...Daddy's parents came over to visit and help us celebrate his 45th birthday. For part of his gift, I made a video of each of the kids sharing what they loved about their Dad...we even videotaped Grandmom and Pop-Pop as they shared some funny Daddy stories.
A much loved Grandmom :)
...And a much loved Daddy opening all his homemade birthday treasures from the littles.
...last week at Homeschoolers Day out, I went to drop off the 3 youngest kiddos in the nursery so I could attend writing class with C. There were a load of toddlers and babies and I knew that adding my brood to the mix would stretch the gracious people serving. So, we looked for an opportunity for these guys to be a help...here they are rocking these precious little ones to sleep for their morning naps...too cute!
After the babies were asleep , there was plenty of time for fun!! I just love this picture of Felicia with L, Jenkins, and Odesco...
During HDO lunch time, Odesco was running around playing ball when he suddenly started wailing... it seems his mouth was knocked with a runaway ball ... a few minutes later he came running to me and showed me his already loose tooth had fallen out...he didn't realize what it was and spit it on the floor . Now we had a room full of people looking for the missing tooth!! Thankfully, Mrs. B found it and we were able bring it home to store in his little tooth case from the dentist.After missing out on so many of Odesco's 'firsts' , I was grateful that today he lost his first tooth and we were there to share in it!!!
While waiting for the big guys to finish up in a class at HDO, these 2 were cracking me up. Odesco was pretending to be a preacher and Mercy was the ever enthusiastic worshiper in the front row!
Even sick with a fever, our little man L couldn't stop drawing!
Odesco's Boredom Buster: 'fishing' in the back yard! He built the 'dock' from wood scraps and found the 'pole' which fell out of our tree during the storm.This resourceful boy finds ways to stay busy...usually it's hopping around on all 4's inside while batting an eraser, piece of cereal, or some other item he found on our floor!!
I told you he was resourceful...Odesco made this 'hat' from a box in the trash!!
Our first attempt at dying Easter eggs since our little Liberians came home...quite a production!
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