Letter to My Daughter With Dyslexia

Dear Glory,
 You are amazing. I will always think you are beautiful, smart an talented. Dyslexia does not define you. You are more than what you can read or write. I will hug you when you have a rough day. I will praise you when have a success, I will celebrate very paragraph read alone, every sentence written in your beautiful cursive.

   I will cheer for A, or B's, or C's, or even D's when you try and try and still struggle. You are enough.
 I won't let you wallow or sit in self pity. I won't let you sit the bench when its your time to play. I, as your mother, will push you to your limit, expect your best and challenge you to achieve more than you thought. I will see what you can't see....your talent, your abilities, your heart, your character and I will walk with you as you venture out.

    I will let you fall, I will even let you break, but I pray you do not let fear destroy you. Not you. Not my Glory.

     Brokenness will be woven into your story but it will not BE your story  and the light will shine into all the broken pieces and you will glow and burn and color your world. You will win and love and build and repair and strengthen and trust and your story will matter...because you matter.
                                                                I love you,
                                                                   Momma

Hebrews 12:1
......and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Psalm 42:5-6
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God......


 I hate running. Loathe, detest, abhor running. But if my bootcamp girls do it, then I do it. And I am getting better at it. My mile was 9 min 17 seconds today.
After half a mile, I was about to give up, My breakfast was churning in my stomach, my legs were itching, and my lungs were about to explode.
But as I forced myself to continue, I heard the voices and cheering and I bolted ahead in my own awkward, bent-over way. I neared the part of the path where the road curved along the brown, knotty wood fence and the voices got a little clearer and I saw the bright shirts of the runners who had finished the mile. And at that point, I knew I could make it. No more complaining, no walking, no doubting. I was going to finish this thing.
The cheering, hearing my name, seeing someone take notice of my effort, and tell me I could do it was the sole reason I finished.
   I was reminded today to run well but I was also reminded to cheer well . Running, cheering.....equally important.  My cheer may keep someone in the race. My cheer may pick someone up when they fall. My cheer may offer someone hope and that's worth a whole lot when you hate running as much as I do.

Reading Delays, Cookies and Fresh Picked Okra

So, we have suspected awhile now that Glory may have some reading delays, most likely dyslexia, mainly from the noticing of her leaving out connecting words and getting blends mixed up. Having her home lets us go at a slower pace and "get it" before we move on. It also gives me the chance to become very irritated and impatient when a sentence may take forever to read. Today, I had to remember that the process is all part of the learning and we got to snuggle in my bed while she read all about tributaries and aquifers and which two continents are connected by the Isthmus of Suez. When it was done, we made bowls of cereal and ate Chips A Hoy and then she went to create a new dress for her doll. The slow process ended in learning and quality time and I was better for it.  Glory is an intelligent, creative girl and being with her today was a huge plus. I hope I can always remind each child to be excellent at their strengths and not stress too terribly about their weaknesses.
On another note, we handpicked 15 okra from our garden yesterday and stewed them with tomatoes and quinoa. DELICIOUS!!!!!

Mercy Song

Find me, God, on my knees
Waiting now to hear you speak.
Find me, God, in this place
Thankful for your gift of grace.

I come right now to lean on you
to ask for you to make me new.
The road I walk is stained with fear
but I know you will meet me here

Your mercy calls, Your grace flows free, You hold my hand, I bow my knee
I'll call Your name until my breath runs out; I'll follow where You lead me.

Your light shines in the darkest place
I live my life to seek your face
The chains you broke are living proof that
Mercy came and made me new

July 19, 2013

Back in the Saddle...Maybe?

It's been about a year and a half since my last post. I write Back in the Saddle.....maybe? because after having Mercy, our fourth child, I wonder if I'll ever be back to anything. Haha! She is at that point where she is into everything and I am very easily distracted, so I'm learning to go with the flow and leave the crumbs that are stuck to the light switch alone. They will still be there later for me to frown upon.
Our oldest, Glory, is homeschooling this year....again...we like to play musical schools lol! and Grace and Justus are at the local elementary. Glory is needing a lot of one on one due to some dyslexia and reading delays. We are working on it and we are making progress and spending a lot of good time together. She likes it, we both need it, so there you go. Also, I did need a helping hand to take care of those crumbs, remember.
Sometimes, I get asked if I enjoy being a homeschooling mom. Or, I get referred to other homeschooling moms or homeschooling groups, etc. I think I'd rather refer to myself as a Christ-follower who just wants to do the right thing for each of my kids. Whatever that way of education is, for whatever year...so far, it's working, Ask me again after the first research paper of the semester.....and after I take care of those crumbs.

My Favorite Family. October 2011

Getting in the Routine

Today I'm back to work after being off for about 3 weeks. I'm ready to go back and hoping I don't get too tired. Tuesday marked 10 weeks of pregnancy. Feeling a little better than the last few weeks and thankful for that.
Jonathan took the Christmas tree down today and we had an amazing breakfast of Grace's Strawberry Banana Pecan pancakes and Glory made omelettes her daddy's way, which is the best.
I'm super pumped about MOPS this Monday. I love all the ladies that go and I think the kids and I will all love it.
One thing I'm most excited about next week is that I have an appt at Veritas Academy in north Tucson for a look around and tour. It's a Christian classical college prep school for homeschooling families that incorporates 2 days of classes in a traditional environment and 3 days of schooling at home. I am really excited about it and hope it's a good fit.
They teach Latin and Spanish and are heavy on Bible memorization and character training. We shall see.
Now....off to the grocery for that key lime pie that i really want.
and.......go TEXANS!!!!

Top Ten Things I Learned in 2011

1. Homeschooling is hard.
2. I actually really, really love cooking( unlike a couple years ago).
3. People told me that being a mom makes you unselfish but sometimes I still have a selfish day(or two). Or three.
4. Having a clean house is nice BUT
5. Having a clean house is not the most important thing.
6. Parenting is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
7. I am rich, really, really rich.
8. Cooking with kids makes the kitchen dirtier but the food so much better.
9. God is always speaking.
10. A long brisk walk makes everything right in the world.

What's New

Well, let's just mention what's NOT new first and that is I cannot stop craving brownies. I want to make a batch right now and my jeans are already getting snug. AARRGGHHH!!! I must resist...
Today I went ahead and paid the big bucks for Justus to get aquatic survival lessons starting October 5. WHat this means is that after 6 weeks of DAILY, Monday to Friday lessons, our 14 month old will know how to swim, really swim!!! And let's say he fell in a pool, he'll know how to turn over and float on his back until he's rescued. This is invaluable training, we think, especially since we love to swim and have 2 eyes and 3 kids. Slightly outnumbered!!
We did, however, have to put this in our spending plan. Last week, we started our Crown Financial Bible Study, which teaches people how to live debt-free and invest wisely and so we're starting with getting on a good budget and following it VERY closely. Even though we've reached alot of goals in the past,we're learning that everything we have is God's and should be used to honor Him. Usually Jonathan does all our finances, but I'm gonna step in and get knowledgeable now and learn more about stocks and investments too. We also got a great book to do with the kids about money management. It teaches Bible stories about generosity and saving. I'm really excited about it. I really like the study. We memorize a verse each week and we enjoy our friends in the group.
Another new thing is that on October 9, we are going to Phoenix for my Lasik eye surgery. Thanks to my mom and dad, who are treating me to my new eyes!!! I'm slightly nervous but mostly excited!!! Jonathan had his in august so now, I'm gonna do it. I'm legally blind without my contacts so this will be a great thing, Not to mention, the girls LOVE going to hotels and sleeping in the big beds so they will have alot of fun!
Love to all! Bye now...

Brownie Dough and other Things

We had the awesome privilege of Jonathan's mom living with us for about 5 weeks while she found a place to live here in AZ. She did end up finding a great fully furnished home about 6 minutes away and it's a perfect place for her. We had a great time with her here and we still see each other alot. She goes to Common Ground Church with us and she is in our Thursday night small group. The top pics explain themselves. Brownie making is a huge deal at our house. Happens almost once a week. Who can resist licking the bowl? Not our girls!!!

Waiting for Manna

I love this one of Justus looking up. It's like he's waiting for more goldfish to fall from the sky. He loves to eat and goldfish is a family favorite!

Naked Baby!!!!

Aren't I supposed to be wearing this??

Date Night!

On Saturday night, Jonathan and I went out for dinner to celebrate our friend, Danielle's birthday. We had a a great time with some great friends and here is a pic of Jonathan and Randy Dominguez. Randy works with Jonathan and BJ's restaurant, where we ate, is one of Jonathan's accounts. Subsequently, the manager was on that night and gave both tables all free desserts! Awesome and delicious!

Laughable Quotes.

Grace: " How can God be in everyone if he's only one person. That's too much work."
Grace: " When I start kindergarten, I'm gonna learn how babies get here cause we need to make a girl." (insert my face laughing hysterically)
Glory: " Grace, if Mom is busy, just listen to me cause I have mom's powers sometimes."
Glory: I think there's a baby in your tummy, Mom. It looks kind of squishy." ( look of horror on my face) I've been working out, Why is it still squishy??
Grace: "Come here, Justus, I will hold you but my boobies are out of milk so we'll have lemonade, ok"?
Grace: " Why do I have to wear panties EVERY day? They go in my bottom and I don't like that. When I'm a mom, my 'cheedren' are NOT gonna wear them."
Glory: I pray to God alot and he tells me that we should have cookies and tasty treats every day after school. He also says that we don't have to do our homework right away."
Mom:" What else does he tell you, Glory?
Glory:" That we don't need to go to school. The zoo is just fine... and Panda Express."

Here's some laughs for your day. These are all from the past couple weeks.

September Days

Glory's favorite breakfast in peanut butter toast with honey. Here she is before school Tuesday AM enjoying it.

Don't know if I ever mentioned how much I love our new van but I LOVE our new van. It's almost been a year since we got it but I still get happy when I look at it.

Glory "posing."

Our friend Ariana and Grace at the splash pad. BFF!

The fam(Justus was already in bed).

The Bloggers Are Back!

Yes, well, it's been 4 months since our last blog and we hope that doesn't happen again. We're glad to be back! I lost our camera and figured there's no point in blogging without pictures! New camera, new blogs, baby....

Here's a few new updates that have happen

ed recently:

Glory began 1st grade August 4 and loves it!

Grace is in pre-K at a nearby Lutheran school and loves it! She starts kinder next fall.

Justus is almost 14 months and is a wildthing! Walking everywhere, hitting everything, touching everything and eating everything. He's loud and he hates his carseat after 10 minutes. He loves to be held, to swim and to be taken care of by his two big sisters. He's crazy about pinto beans and green beans.

Jonathan is staying busy with his job and enjoying it. His one year anniversary with Ecolab is September 13 and we're so glad he's there. Saturday Grace spent the day with Jonathan running calls and getting spoiled by all the little ladies at the restaurants Jonathan had to go to. We all met up for dinner that night where I locked my keys in the van. :-) Second time!

We've been enjoying having Jonathan's mom here. She begins her new job tomorrow and she is an official Arizonan! We're happy to have her with us. More later!

Hannah Montana

We went to see the new Hannah Montana movie with the two G's last night. It was really good. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun on our little date as we left Justus with "Aunt Karina and Uncle Randy." Good movie and fun times. Today the girls went with Jonathan for church setup and Justus and I are hanging back at the house. He's asleep so I've been enjoying some alone time. I dusted, did dishes, put my makeup on without having to stop in the middle of eyeliner application and practiced our worship music for the morning. I also went through some more pictures from a couple weeks and ago and wanted to post them. Yes, I am a proud mother and a happy one too! We're planning a simple day today, maybe some swimming, a treasure hunt walk(this is where you get a baggie and fill it with strange and unusual things...once we found a shedded snake skin), some decorating of Justus' room, and some shopping for new picture frames. It's a beautiful day. Glory has 2 weeks left of kinderfarten and then it's SUMMER. ZOO TIME!!!!

Easter and Mr. Frog

This is a stuffed frog that Grace is crazy about. She bathes him almost daily in the sink and carries him around like a baby. Thought I should document the love!

Baby Kaidynce!

Pround Papa Doug Stout, second from left, and his wife, Kim are good friends of ours here in AZ and they just had Baby Kaidynce Alizabeth early Sunday morning. I got to be there and it was awesome. Kim and I work together at St. Joseph's and we also carpool. We are so happy and thankful for the healthy, happy delivery. Baby Kaidynce and I are bonding down below in the hospital nursery while the other new babies are sleeping away. You can see the end of the cribs all lined up! Have I mentioned I love my job? It's the sauce, especially when you're right there for your friend's most awesome day of her life! Congratulations, Kim and Doug!

The Weekend!

Oh, how I love the weekend!! Last weekend Jerry and Christine came for a visit and we had a great time! We got family pics taken and went to the mall and the zoo and just chilled out. It was nice to be all together with no responsibilities at the time.

We were a bit concerned about Christine who got pretty sick Saturday night. She's still getting over a bad bug. We miss them already but we'll be back in Houston for Pamela's wedding in late June. And at that time, my cousin, Erin, will have had her baby, whom we will get to meet. Can't wait for that!

Funny quote from Grace...lately she keeps singing Jingle Bells even though it's only April and this is how one line goes...Oh what fun it is to ride in a farfen-gusten sleigh. I crack up whenever she gets to that part!

The girl's new routine as of late is to get in our bed in the morning and snuggle until Glory has to get ready for school. We like that. She's a tall one, that Glory. We think she'll be a runner ...

Justus is crawling everywhere these days, trying to get into trouble!! He lovest o eat anything on the floor so we're teaching the girls about choking and all that fun stuff. They're so good with him.

We went swimming yesterday...first time this year. Might go again today. It was 97 yesterday. WE had a blast!