She doesn't like cake!

 We had a mini birthday party for Brooke today.  After church mom and dad, Natasha, Rachelle, Bren, and grandparents came by for cake.  My aunt Marcia was visiting from Texas so she came by too. It was a laid back, stress free, short birthday party.  The cake was just a bunch of cupcakes sitting on the table in the shape of a 1.

 We were excited to watch Brooke taste cake and frosting for the first time.  She wasn't too excited about it. She was afraid to touch it and just glared at it.

 In fact, she pushed it away when Scott tried to give her some.  He made her taste a little bit, but she still pushed it away. She absolutely refused to eat it! I was totally fine with her rejection of the cupcake. 

 So we put some bread on her tray and she ate it right up while the cupcake remained untouched. 

She enjoyed her new phone and dr. bear from Papa Larry and Grandma Patty.  Brooke was really into the phone and Addy liked playing with the bear. She got a baby bike/push toy from Papa Mike and Grandma Sharon.  Luke was really into that gift.  Nana sent some clothes earlier in the week so she's all set to look cute at play.

And she's off!



Love the Children

I have been listening to more sermons when I get a chance and trying to read more books.  It's not a coincidence that many of the sermons have been about adoption or abortion and I am reading a book on adoption.  They kind of go toghether.  I teach 2 Sunday School classes and Cubbies at our AWANA program, so I have a lot of interaction with kids.  And of course I have 3 little ones that I am with all the time.  God has been working in me to grow my love for people and He has started with children.

I have seen the mission field they are and everything has clicked.  I feel stupid for not seeing it earlier.  I was thinking about the opportunities God gives me to share the gospel, because most of the time I miss them.  Either I don't recognize the opportunity or I don't love people enough to tell them about Jesus. 

My love for teaching sunday school and Cubbies has increased so much.  I can tell in the way I teach.  Praise the Lord I am becoming a better teacher!  I'm not very good at teaching, and I still have a lot to learn about teaching little ones, but I am REALLY loving it now.  I look out at those little eyes staring at me when I am teaching them about how BIG and AWESOME God is.  All those sweet, precious eyes that CAN soak in truths about who God is and the depth of their sin and the wonder of the Cross.  And I have an hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes (whatever the age or attention span of the child) to point them to Jesus!  You can't get a better opportunity that that!  And children are great because they believe what you say.  Children don't reject you, they may wiggle and space out, but they believe what you tell them.  They do ask some pretty good questions though.  And the pastor's kids are a little scary because you know they'll correct you if you say Peter instead of Paul!  But that's all good. 

What about all those babies that don't get a chance to go to Sunday School?  They don't even get a chance to take a breath?  Every 24 seconds a baby is killed.  That horrifies me.  It makes me sick.   There are probably girls in the school where my husband teaches that are thinking about aborting their child right now.  They have been told it is just a blob of tissue, they feel pressure from family or their boyfriend to get an abortion.  They don't realize it is really a living human being until the abortionist leaves the room with a sack saying, "It was a boy."  And then their life is changed forever.

There are babies in orphanages that are silent. They don't cry because it's no use, no one will come to their need. They sit in their crib all day. Brooke had a diaper rash the other day along with eczema and she was miserable. I was changing her many times and putting cream on her. What about those babies that don't have anyone to do that? 

God cares about these babies, and He wants us to care.  There are some that say a baby isn't really a baby until it's born, or until is is so many weeks along.  What about Psalm 139:13 which says, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me together in my mother's womb.  I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well."  A baby is a person, no matter what stage of development, we are all a wonderful work of God, and the bible says our soul knows that very well! 

And then there's Psalm 127, one of my favorite chapters in the bible. It talks about how children are a gift from the Lord. Children are a blessing, they are like arrows in the hands of a warrior, and you are blessed if your quiver is full of them. I don't think it means you have to have 12 kids to be blessed, but I think you can get a quiver full of kids by being involved in their life. Teach them, babysit, have kids in your home, adopt them, love them. Be involved with kids and you will be blessed.

Then there's the part of the bible that talks about if a man hits a pregnant woman. If the woman has a miscarriage and the baby dies, it's life for life, the man that hit the woman is to die!  God is serious about protecting the unborn!  But what about a woman's choice?  Doesn't she have a right to decide what to do with her baby?  Well, yes.  She can choose if she wants to keep it or give it up for adoption, she has that right.  But just as she does not have the right to shoplift, to speed, murder, abuse her child or to break the law in any other way, she does not have the right to kill a child still in her womb.  How does the location of a baby determine if it can be killed or not?

 One year ago today I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. In a split second she went from being inside my body to in my arms.  For months I had been feeling her move around, and I was very aware that it was a baby and not a big mass of tissue. The moment I actually saw what I had been feeling for so long was indescribable. A miracle that in just 9 months God formed a perfect little body with an eternal soul inside of me. She was the same baby inside of me as she was outside of me.

We do not have the right or choice to destroy what God creates. The good news is that there is forgiveness. Millions of women are hurting for making that decision. But God loves sinners so much that He sent His Son as an unexpected pregnancy to an unwed teenager. Jesus came as a perfect little baby. How perfect was it that He was a child that needed loved and cared for? He is the only one who ever did and who ever can live a perfect sinless life.  When He grew up he took on the sin of the entire world, and died on the cross so that we can be saved from our sin.  That is so amazing to me!  Even Jesus, God's perfect Son, became a fertilized egg and spent 9 months in the womb.  The womb was created to be a safe place for babies to grow and develop.  It is no longer a safe place for babies.  Christians, lets not sit back and miss this gospel opportunity!  This is proof that people need Jesus. 

Happy Birthday Brooke!

It's hard to believe our baby is already turning 1!  I have been thinking about the day I had one year ago today as I spent the whole day in labor.  Her birthday is January 27th, but I feel like it should be the 26th.  I went to the Birth Center on the 26th expecting to have a baby and maybe even be home by the end of the day.  But if there's one thing I've learned from having babies it's that they all come different and you should expect it to go different than you expect.  So at 12:20 am Brooke decided to arrive.  She didn't have a name immediately, (you'd think we would have had one picked out after thinking about it the entire day) but her dad wanted to wait until he saw her and he decided she looked like Brooke. She has brought us so much joy in just one year and we pray we have many more years with this sweet little girl.

Excitement!!!

 The kids woke up this morning ready for breakfast.  They set up their little table, even a place for their "kids"

 Then after lunch the mailman came to our door with a package from Nana! Addy was thrilled to get a new purse.

 It had all kinds of goodies. Brooke loved her birthday present.

All three kids got Valentines Day gifts.  Luke got a new shirt and stickers. The girls got matching pj's.  Addy was so excited about that.

And then Addy was off to a birthday party.  She worked very hard on the gift and wanted to wear a dress.  It was a very special day.

We Didn't Even Date

 I was reading a book this morning that made me think about when I first met Scott, and our commitment to purity.  Someday we want our kids to know the story. We know that they will wonder, and we know that purity will probably be tough for them.  I don't mind telling it to others in hope that it would be an encouragement to someone else. Don't worry, it's safe to read :)

The first time I ever saw Scott was in August of 2000.  It was my first day of college at Pittsburg State University.  I was sitting in my algebra class waiting for it to start.  The teacher wasn't there yet, so we were all just sitting at our desks and I was talking to a super tall girl on the volleyball team named Gloria. 

A guy in a red shirt walked in, slung his red backpack on the teachers desk, grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote, "Mr. Marshall"  on the green chalkboard.  Gloria and I immediately looked at each other and at the same time whispered, "Whoa, is THAT the teacher?"  Definitely not what we were expecting for our first day of class!  I never said a word to him the entire semester except for when I had to ask for my assignment when I was going to be gone for a cross country meet.  He was known amongst the track girls as the "hot algebra teacher"  and if they weren't in his class they were trying to change their schedule to get into his class.  I didn't make a fuss like the other girls, I didn't know him, and besides, I didn't want to date anybody.  Running and school was enough for me at that point.  And I thought he probably had a girlfriend anyway.

I went home to Emporia that summer and ran and worked at Price Chopper.  When I went back to PSU the following semester I started attending Cross Quest.  I saw him at CQ and recognized him and maybe we said, "hi".  I also started seeing him around campus and we would walk past each other in the Oval all the time.  We would say, "hi" in passing because it would have been rude not to.  Who can forget a teacher that good looking? And he remembered that I was in his class. 

But there was this girl that he was always with at CQ and they were ALWAYS laughing together. I was sure she was his girlfriend. But we continued to "run into each other" all the time, and finally I figured out that she was not his girlfriend. Yay! I was so excited!

Almost every day we were in the student center at the same time, so we would talk.  I went to Trinity Baptist Church one Sunday with a girl I ran with and saw him there. This increased my interest in him and I started going to church there. I know, there should have been a better reason for going to that church!  

For a long time, we just talked whenever we saw each other.  He never called me and he never asked me out.  I thought I might go crazy! One day he finally called me and wanted to come over to my house.  When he got there we went on a walk where he talked to me about courtship. He gave me a book that he wanted me to read about it.  He told me that he didn't want to date, he wanted to court, and the book would explain the difference.  By courting instead of dating, we both knew that we were serious about getting married.  He also told me that he thought God was leading us together, and if I didn't feel the same way then we needed to go our separate ways. 

So we started our courtship.  We were very protective about what we did together.  We were very rarely alone.  We did a lot of things with our friends.  We surrounded ourselves with Christian friends who also wanted to honor the Lord.  There were always people getting together to play games, so that's what we did.  We had physical boundaries and talked about how we could honor God in our relationship.  People who didn't know us couldn't tell if we were a couple, they thought we were brother and sister! 

One day in February, the year after all the talking began, Scott wanted to actually do something alone together.  I thought it very strange.  We went to a park.  Before we left he wanted to pray.  After he prayed he pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him.

I am so thankful for how Scott took the lead, kept us pure, and laid a very strong foundation for our marriage.  It was not easy.  Every choice to obey God will be attacked by the enemy.  But being able to stand before God without guilt on your wedding day is precious. 

Addy, Luke, Brooke, and any other kids we have.  One day you will wonder.  And the answer is "Yes, we waited."

Just Another day

This morning as I was writing out some prayers I asked the Lord to help me to discipline my kids diligently.  I can be lazy sometimes and disciplining my children is something I just don't like to do.  As I wrote the words "discipline diligently" it struck me.  I read these words differently than I have before.  The words "disciple gently" really stuck out.  That sounds much more appealing to me.  But that's not easy either.  It takes time and patience. Lots and lots of time and patience.  And I don't always feel like being gentle.  My selfish pride tempts me to get angry when they don't do what I want them to do.  I hate that I am like that, but praise the Lord that He came to save sinners!  With His help I can disciple them gently.  I can let Him use those times when I fail as a mother to be another chance to disciple them.  I can let them see that I am no better than them, and we are all sinners in desperate need of a Savior.   During the times today that I will need to discipline them diligently I will try to remember to disciple them gently. 

 The other day Luke decided to make some overalls out of a paper bag.  Pretty clever I thought.

 So then big sister joined in and made herself some paper bag clothes.  Little bro then got an idea to make plastic bag overalls.  A plastic bag actually fits a 3 year old pretty well.  I'll know what to do the next time he doesn't have any clean clothes.  Or better yet, maybe I will have him wear his plastic bag when he plays outside in the mud!

The big kids spiked Brooke's hair up.  It's hard to see  how high it was in this picture.  She was happy about it.  She pulled a little table on top of herself today, so she got a little bonk on her nose.  She's taking about 5 steps now and is very wobbly, so we'll probably have a few more bumps in the coming days.  Luke ran into a wall yesterday and got a black eye.  I think he will always have bumps and bruises though.  That boy goes at full speed, and when it's too cold to run around outside I guess the walls in the house get in the way.  

From the mind of a child.

I was feeding Brooke when Luke came up and said, "Brookie, are you ALWAYS going to be here?"  Not knowing if he was wanting to give her away or keep her I asked, "Why do you want to know that?"  He said, "Cause she's cute."  (I guess he wants to keep her!  Yay!) Then Addy piped in, "But someday she'll grow up to be a mommy and then she won't be cute anymore."  I said, "Oh, so I'm not cute because I'm a mommy?"  Addy said, "No, but I still love you."

Just Another Unpredictable Day

I looked at the forecast today and decided we better get out quick.  It's supposed to snow today!  I bundled up all the kids to be ready for a crazy Kansas temperature drop.  They were wearing: sunscreen, snow pants, coats, hats, mittens and snow boots just in case.  (They were excited to get to use some of their Christmas gifts.) I thought it was getting pretty chilly, but not long into our journey the hats came off, then the mittens, then the coat.  My hands were like icycles even with gloves, but theirs were warm and toasty.  I don't know how they do it. I was glad to hold extra gloves, coats, and mittens! Even the baby was squealing and kicking as she rode along on my back laughing at her siblings. 

When we got home we warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate, ate lunch, and cuddled on the couch before naptime.  I'm sooo thankful for these three precious souls the Lord has loaned me for this short time.  I can't imagine doing anything else right now.  I love my job! 

But I am thankful for naptime.  :)  

One of the many reasons I love Kansas

 We have been experiencing many very unseasonably warm days here lately.  First the coat came off.  Then the shirt.  (A boy gets hot working that hard in the rocks!) It's not really warm enough to go with out a jacket, in my opinion, but when you are used to it being below zero this time of year and have been running around all morning 50's feels HOT!  Like bug catching weather!  That's what the kids were trying to do.  If winter doesn't come then I'm afraid we will have lots of bug catchin' to do come spring!  We'll take the nice days when we get them and have lots of fun catching bugs later! 

They didn't see any bugs today, but as we were laying on a blanket staring up at the perfectly clear blue sky Addy got an idea. "Hey, let's take our nap out here!"  So we talked about everything we could see that God made and they drifted off to sleep.  They actually got a really good nap in and some nice fresh air to go along with it.  I know I'm a crazy mom, but might as well do it now when it's warm and bugless! There hasn't even been wind!  These days have truly been a blessing from God. 



Mailman

 Luke heard the mailman coming and hurried out the door to wait at the end of the driveway.  Luke is becoming buddies with the mailman as we have been outside playing the past few days when the mail has come.

 He was so excited this time because the mailman gave  him a PACKAGE and not just little envelopes. He squealed with delight all the way back to the house.

He couldn't wait to open it!

January...Yep it's Kansas

The weather we have been having lately has been gorgeous.  A big change from the past couple years.  I remember last year because I was very pregnant and making several trips to Topeka in the ice and snow.  The year before we got snowed in at my mom and dad's house.

 We didn't get around to raking the leaves in the fall, so today was a good day!

 The kids had a blast playing in the leaves. 

 I actually let them stay outside instead of taking a nap.  I thought I'd just put them to bed early.  Addy did fine with this schedule, but Luke had a meltdown before dinner.  But it was SOOO nice outside!  After playing in the leaves we played on the trampoline until daddy came home. 

 Brooke even got some trampoline time.  Her hair doesn't usually stand straight up like this.  There was some major static going on!

She is such a happy little baby. 

A Beautiful Day in January!!

Today I looked outside and saw that it was a gorgeous day.  I loaded up my little explorers and we headed to Camp Alexander.  My husband would tell you that I am a good multitasker.  I think it's just a skill that comes with being a mom.  Today was a very good multitasking day, even though we spent the morning outside in the midst of Creation. 

 How did I multitask by being outside?  I came up with 5 ways. 
1.  Exercise.  Luke and Addison love walking through trails.  We found a few new trails this time.  It seems like they are always adding new trails out there so there are always new places to explore.  Brooke was in a carrier on my back, so my workout wasn't too bad. 

 2. School.  There's all kinds of science to explore when you are outside.  It is one of my favorite subjects and Camp Alexander is an awesome classroom. 

 3. Fun!  We had fun being together.  We laughed together, talked, and the kids got some hollering in.  It was so fun to hear Brooke laughing, kicking and squealing as she rode on my back. 

 4. The house stayed clean!  Your house can't get messy when you're not there! 

 5. I downloaded some sermons on my ipod, so as we walked along the trails, explored, and played in the cool log teepees that someone made I listened to a sermon. 

It was a fun day with the little explorers.  They were all tired and took a very good nap together.  I better go get mine in before they wake up!

A day in the city

 Today we make a trip to Kansas City to spend so time with the Shatzers and VanGundys.  (One cool thing about having a bunch of sisters is when they get married they have different last names and you don't have to call out a long list of first names!  We've got the Marshalls, Shatzers, VanGundys, and soon to be Fishers. We'll probably have to wait a while for Natasha's name to change though.)  Anyway, back to the post...

Uncle John had a fun time trying on hats with Brooke.  She kinda liked it.  She was great until she got sleepy, and since we forgot to take the stroller it got us out of the stores a little sooner!

 Uncle John and Aunt Jodi took the big kids to a yougurt place where they got to choose everything to put in it.  They had a blast doing that! 

 Luke was very proud of his concoction.  He chose peppermint yogurt topped with gummi worms, gummi bears, m&m's, and sprinkles.  Addy chose chocolate with gummi bears, M&M's and I'm not sure what else.  I got a little bite.  It was pretty good!

 Their mouths were too full to smile :)

Amy and Ryan took us around to several different places.  We got to check out Trader Joe's, Scott got to test some guitars at Guitar Center, we stocked up on some sack lunch/picnic items at Sam's, and they took us to eat at a burger place.  Rachelle was with us too, but I guess she didn't make it in on any pictures this time. 

On the way home we stopped by the Malashak's and said "hi".  The kids ran right in and started playing.  It was like they picked up where they left off. 

A day in the city was fun, but I was glad to get back home, away from the traffic and the stores.  I think I would have a hard time living in a city.  Materialism would be more of a battle for me than it is even now.  And I think it would be a struggle for me to not be cranky and anxious because of the traffic.  

Thank God I'm a county girl!