My Life Verse

There are so many beautiful, life-changing verses in the Bible.  I've never been able to pick just one that has a particular meaning for my entire life, but there is one that keeps coming back to me and I read it again just recently.  It's found in the book of John; the third chapter. 

²⁷ John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.
(New King James)

Verse 30 is so amazing to me .  . . "He must increase, but I must decrease."  The New International Version words it this way, "He must become greater, I must become less." 

How has this been a comfort and strength in my life?

When Bubba has screamed endlessly and I just want to throw in the towel.  He must become greater, I must become less.

When I hurt my husband by a thoughtless comment, and I remember.  He must become greater, I must become less.

When I'm frustrated by my children, who are still learning and growing in their maturity.  He must become greater, I must become less. 

When I'm tempted and tried.  He must become greater, I must become less.

No matter the situation, the truth remains the same.  Why does this give me hope?  Because I don't have to carry the weight of perfection.  He is greater!

"Boo Wice" and Other Stories

The other night Ethan and I went out to help our friends prepare for the very first service in the church they are starting.  How will God work through it?  I can't wait to see.  It's exciting!

While we were out we left our little monkeys in the hands of teenage twin brothers who have babysat for us before.  The two of them do a great job with the kids. When they gave an account of the night, it came up that Bubba wouldn't eat his dinner.  (It was Louisiana red beans and rice.)  That's nothing new.  However, he did keep asking for "boo wice".  After a few attempts to understand him, Spunky finally asked if he wanted blue rice.  And strangely enough, that's what he wanted.  No, he's never had blue rice.  I have no idea where that came from, but they mixed a couple drops of food coloring in and he was as happy as could be!

Now on to the slew of pictures . . .

 Here's Spunky in a career class she took in our co-op learning to do web design. 

 Some of the girls from our co-op on a field trip to the science museum.

 Bubba strikes again!  He thought is was absolutely hilarious to put stickers on the dog.  Archer had no opinion.

 Our sweet girl getting her ears pierced! 

Game night with friends.

I'm super proud of my little reader, Giggles.  We were trying to figure out which Magic Treehouse books she still had to read and discovered that she read ALL of them this winter.  (Okay, all except two, because I didn't approve them.)  That's like 45 books.  She's bummed that the next book isn't supposed to come out until fall, so we're trying to find some alternatives.  We decided to start the illustrated classics.  She's currently reading Pollyanna.

Calico is keeping our hands full right now.  Two-year-olds are SO much fun!  Her daddy has been working with her to chew with her mouth closed, and the other night at dinner she got a reminder.  I wish I had a picture of her reaction.  She just stared at him for a second, then put one hand under her chin and one on top of her head before slowly and deliberately chewing (while staring defiantly).  I really think she was being sarcastic, although I've never seen someone that little exhibit that behavior.  We'll be keeping our eye on this one.  :)

Fun Day Monday

Sometimes this old mom breaks out of the routine.  Last night was one of those nights.  I can't remember why, but it just seemed like the late afternoon/evening was dragging on and on!  I knew the kids had some energy to get out, so we did relay races.  They lined up and took turns running a set course downstairs with a ribbon.  Since they didn't have another team to race, I timed their trials and then they tried to beat their fastest time.  The best part of this was watching Bubba.  He was absolutely hilarious.  Imagine giving the ribbon to a boisterous puppy and you'll get the idea.  Instead of tagging the couch (halfway point) he would take off in a different direction, roll with it, laugh like crazy.  It made the timed trials somewhat unpredictable.  :)

Next each child got a ribbon and we turned up the music.  They danced while I attempted to take pictures. 

After that we made miniature calzones.  The kids loved making their own.  You may notice Calico looking sad; I think she wanted to roll out the dough but couldn't quite get the hang of it. 

The finale of the night was curling up with a book.  We're reading through by "The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare.  It's part of our curriculum so the big girls were pretty interested.  The little two . . . not so much! 



Snowstorm in March

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the weather anymore, but I had mixed emotions when I opened the curtains to see some crazy snow coming down the first day of March.  The girls felt no uncertainty; it was pure joy to get another day to play!  They love jumping on the trampoline in it, and I've even caught the dog out there a time or two. 

Anyone else looking forward to spring?