Take a look at the comment left by my friend Karen on my last post. She mentions calling her Dad because her dh could not immediately come home and "rescue" her from a mouse in the house. She's reminded me of another time when I discovered a mouse in our house.
This one was caught in a trap, but was alive. I swear I'm not making this up~the thing came running out from under a cabinet with the mouse trap on it's FACE!!!!
My parents live right around the corner from me, so I called my Dad. But, he was not home, and would not be home for several hours. Dh, on the other hand, was due home from work in a little over an hour. I confess, I called dh at worked and 'freaked out' over the phone until he agreed to come home and get rid of that thing!!!
AND, I didn't even have the decency to feel bad when he told me that the guys at worked ragged the heck out of him for having to come home and get rid of a mouse!!! LOL!!
I TOLD you those things freak me out!!! :)
Blessings,
Vicki
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Well, at least the kitchen in clean!!
Some of you will laugh at me for this post. Some will think I've lost my mind. Others, who ALL READY think that will just roll their eyes and think, yet again, this girl should really get some help!! LOL!
All of us, if we care to admit it, have that ONE thing that really freaks us out. I"m not talking about big things that ANY normal person would freak out over, like a serious illness, loss of a job, stuff like that. I'm talking about that one little thing that makes you ( pardon the expression!) scream like a girl.
For some, it's spiders, or bugs, and other 'creepy crawlies'. For some it's the dark, or small enclosed spaces. I have one friend who is terrified of driving on the interstate, but is fine everywhere else. We all have "our thing".
Well, my "thing" is mice/rats. Can't stand 'em, don't like em, don't wanna see, hear, smell, or even talk about 'em!!!!! Ugh, ugh, ugh, and UUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!
I want NO part of any mouse unless he talks and his name is Mickey!!!
This morning, I was forced to face my fears, so to speak. We do not have trash service in our rural area. We are forced to either pay astronomical prices for a private company to dispose of our trash, or else load it up and take it to the dump ourselves. One of the many reasons that I love my Dad is because he comes to my house 2 or 3 times a week and hauls my trash away in his pick up truck. This morning, he stopped by and I went to remove the bag from my kitchen trash can and toss it into the back of the truck.
I pulled the trash can toward me, and there, sitting still as a statue and STARING at me was a huge, fat, black RAT!!!!! EEEEEWWWW!!!! You will never know how much I praised the Lord that my Daddy was here when I found that thing!!!! The children and I, with much screaming and squealing( mostly from me!) beat a hasty retreat to the living room couch while my Dad used a small plastic dish that I was going to throw away anyway to capture and dispose of that nasty little creature!
The mere presence of that vile abomination in my kitchen led ( as it always does when I see a mouse) to a 'super scrubbing' of the entire kitchen. The floors, including corners and baseboards, every cabinet, EVERYTHING in the kitchen. I even took down some dishes that were on the top shelf of my cabinet. They were dusty from sitting up there for so long without being used, so I washed them all, then scrubbed the shelves before replacing the dishes.
So, I've had the heebie-jeebies all day long, very little school work got done today, and my 9yo daughter has been laughing at me all day, but hey, at least the kitchen is clean!!! LOL
Blessings,
Vicki
All of us, if we care to admit it, have that ONE thing that really freaks us out. I"m not talking about big things that ANY normal person would freak out over, like a serious illness, loss of a job, stuff like that. I'm talking about that one little thing that makes you ( pardon the expression!) scream like a girl.
For some, it's spiders, or bugs, and other 'creepy crawlies'. For some it's the dark, or small enclosed spaces. I have one friend who is terrified of driving on the interstate, but is fine everywhere else. We all have "our thing".
Well, my "thing" is mice/rats. Can't stand 'em, don't like em, don't wanna see, hear, smell, or even talk about 'em!!!!! Ugh, ugh, ugh, and UUUUGGGHHH!!!!!!
I want NO part of any mouse unless he talks and his name is Mickey!!!
This morning, I was forced to face my fears, so to speak. We do not have trash service in our rural area. We are forced to either pay astronomical prices for a private company to dispose of our trash, or else load it up and take it to the dump ourselves. One of the many reasons that I love my Dad is because he comes to my house 2 or 3 times a week and hauls my trash away in his pick up truck. This morning, he stopped by and I went to remove the bag from my kitchen trash can and toss it into the back of the truck.
I pulled the trash can toward me, and there, sitting still as a statue and STARING at me was a huge, fat, black RAT!!!!! EEEEEWWWW!!!! You will never know how much I praised the Lord that my Daddy was here when I found that thing!!!! The children and I, with much screaming and squealing( mostly from me!) beat a hasty retreat to the living room couch while my Dad used a small plastic dish that I was going to throw away anyway to capture and dispose of that nasty little creature!
The mere presence of that vile abomination in my kitchen led ( as it always does when I see a mouse) to a 'super scrubbing' of the entire kitchen. The floors, including corners and baseboards, every cabinet, EVERYTHING in the kitchen. I even took down some dishes that were on the top shelf of my cabinet. They were dusty from sitting up there for so long without being used, so I washed them all, then scrubbed the shelves before replacing the dishes.
So, I've had the heebie-jeebies all day long, very little school work got done today, and my 9yo daughter has been laughing at me all day, but hey, at least the kitchen is clean!!! LOL
Blessings,
Vicki
Making Commitments
Okay, this post it a total rant, and it is related to a person I am aquainted with IRL who I totally know does not read this blog because the person does not have internet access, so I feel "safe" venting about it here.
That, and the fact that part of the reason I have a blog in the first place is so I can vent here when I feel like it!!
The question that this person has provoked me into asking today is this:
WHY do people make commitments and then not keep them? Wait. Maybe I should re-phrase my question. I SO understand that sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, and sometimes those things make us unable to keep certain commitments.
So, new question. If you voluntarily made a commitment, and it is within your power to keep that commitment, why on earth WOULDN'T you KEEP that commitment??!!! Did I miss something? When did it become okay to commit to doing something, then, when the time comes to do it, just go "You know what, I changed my mind" or "It's just too inconvenient for me".
On what planet do people actually want to model this behaviour for their children?
In what alternate universe does this build your reputation instead of tearing it down?
In whose warped mind does this NOT tear down your testimony for Christ?
Last time I checked, the Bible said to let your yes be yes and your no be no. Which part of that is so hard to understand?
If you've indulged my rant by reading this far, bless you. I feel a bit better now. At least I think the steam has stopped coming out of my ears. :)
Blessings,
Vicki
That, and the fact that part of the reason I have a blog in the first place is so I can vent here when I feel like it!!
The question that this person has provoked me into asking today is this:
WHY do people make commitments and then not keep them? Wait. Maybe I should re-phrase my question. I SO understand that sometimes things happen that are beyond our control, and sometimes those things make us unable to keep certain commitments.
So, new question. If you voluntarily made a commitment, and it is within your power to keep that commitment, why on earth WOULDN'T you KEEP that commitment??!!! Did I miss something? When did it become okay to commit to doing something, then, when the time comes to do it, just go "You know what, I changed my mind" or "It's just too inconvenient for me".
On what planet do people actually want to model this behaviour for their children?
In what alternate universe does this build your reputation instead of tearing it down?
In whose warped mind does this NOT tear down your testimony for Christ?
Last time I checked, the Bible said to let your yes be yes and your no be no. Which part of that is so hard to understand?
If you've indulged my rant by reading this far, bless you. I feel a bit better now. At least I think the steam has stopped coming out of my ears. :)
Blessings,
Vicki
Saturday, March 24, 2007
What a Weekend!!!
My goodness, what a weekend it's been!! I planned my day Thursday thinking that we had no where to go that evening, no baseball practice for Noah, nothing like that. Then, at about 2pm, I find out that Noah has a tournament game at 6pm!! So, dinner changes from what I had planned to something that can be prepared, eaten, and cleaned up in time for us to make it to the ball field by 5:30! We made it on time, and our little guys won their game! Noah was SO proud that he made an excellent defensive play, got two hits with no tee, and scored 2 runs!!
I laughed my head off when he rattled off all these accomplishments to my sister on the phone. Then, he paused to listen to something she said, moved the phone away from his mouth, then asked me "Mommy, did we WIN the game?" LOL! I told him that they did win, and he said, into the phone "Yep, Mommy says we won. When are you coming to see us again?" obviously finding the game itself more interesting than who won or lost. Oh, how I wish he could keep that attitude forever!!!
Friday was easier for me, because our game was not until 8pm, but I felt sorry for some of our little ones!! Our team is 'officially' a 5 and 6 year old team, but some of our 5yos are BARELY 5, and we have one 4yo on the team. Noah never goes to bed before 10pm, but some of these little guys were up past their bedtimes! Still, they managed to pull out a win.
Today, the story was not as good. Noah got only one at bat, and he struck out. We lost our game. BUT, the great news is, Noah was just as excited about this game as he has been all weekend!! After the game, Roger surprised me by telling me that he was taking us all to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was late by this time, so it was dinner too. A day in which I don't have to cook is ALWAYS a good day!! :)
Tomorrow will be interesting. I all ready have a bag packed so that we can all change clothes at after church tomorrow morning and head straight from there to a drive thru to grab some lunch and head to our 1 o clock game. Then, it's back home to get everyone cleaned up and ready for AWANA, which starts at 5:30. Our evening service tomorrow will consist of an 'old fashioned gospel singing" which I am really looking forward too.
It's going to be a very full day, but I have a feeling that everyone at our house will sleep very well tomorrow night!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!!
Blessings,
Vicki
I laughed my head off when he rattled off all these accomplishments to my sister on the phone. Then, he paused to listen to something she said, moved the phone away from his mouth, then asked me "Mommy, did we WIN the game?" LOL! I told him that they did win, and he said, into the phone "Yep, Mommy says we won. When are you coming to see us again?" obviously finding the game itself more interesting than who won or lost. Oh, how I wish he could keep that attitude forever!!!
Friday was easier for me, because our game was not until 8pm, but I felt sorry for some of our little ones!! Our team is 'officially' a 5 and 6 year old team, but some of our 5yos are BARELY 5, and we have one 4yo on the team. Noah never goes to bed before 10pm, but some of these little guys were up past their bedtimes! Still, they managed to pull out a win.
Today, the story was not as good. Noah got only one at bat, and he struck out. We lost our game. BUT, the great news is, Noah was just as excited about this game as he has been all weekend!! After the game, Roger surprised me by telling me that he was taking us all to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was late by this time, so it was dinner too. A day in which I don't have to cook is ALWAYS a good day!! :)
Tomorrow will be interesting. I all ready have a bag packed so that we can all change clothes at after church tomorrow morning and head straight from there to a drive thru to grab some lunch and head to our 1 o clock game. Then, it's back home to get everyone cleaned up and ready for AWANA, which starts at 5:30. Our evening service tomorrow will consist of an 'old fashioned gospel singing" which I am really looking forward too.
It's going to be a very full day, but I have a feeling that everyone at our house will sleep very well tomorrow night!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!!
Blessings,
Vicki
Monday, March 5, 2007
How many times does He have to tell me?
It has become my habit to read from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Proverbs, and Psalms each day. Something I read recently really spoke to me. For this to make sense, you must understand that I believe that the Bible is the holy, inspired word of God. I believe it is His heart, that He graciously chose to share with His children.
When my Dad was our pastor, he was constantly encouraging us to be more vocal and visible in our praise and worship. I have a hard time doing that, but I could see his point.
When we began attending the church of which we are now members, that pastor also greatly encouraged vocal and visible praise and worship. Still, I have resisted, without fully understanding why.
I am still not sure WHY I am so reluctant to speak aloud with vocal praise during a service, or offer a spontaneous testimony, or shout. I was raised in churches where these things were encouraged and practiced, and I am always blessed when others worship and praise in this way.
I don't think it matters so much anymore WHY I have been reluctant to be more demonstrative in my praise and worship. The FACT is this:
In Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, AND 31 God inspired the Psalmist David to repeat the same verse 4 times! Now, I may be a little hard headed sometimes, but usually when I'm told something 4 times, I 'get it', especially when it comes straight from God! :) These verses say this:
Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
The Lord tells us, FOUR times in just ONE chapter, that HE wants us to praise Him for His goodness and his wonderful works!! We are to share with others how His goodness and His wonderful works have played out in our lives!
If you look at these verses, you'll notice the abscence of 'conditions'. We are not told to praise Him when things are good, when we are happy, when we are feeling close to Him, when we are feeling especially 'spiritual'. We are simply commanded to praise Him to the children of men. At all times. In good times, and bad, when we are happy, when we are sad, when we are stressed, when we are upset, when we are confused, when we are angry, when we are thrilled, etc.
Our physical and emotional state DO NOT change the fact that He is worthy of our praise. The fact that we are told to praise Him " to the children of men" indicates that this praise is to be open and shown before others.
The Lord spoke this 4 times in just one chapter. I think He means it, don't you?
Blessings,
Vicki
When my Dad was our pastor, he was constantly encouraging us to be more vocal and visible in our praise and worship. I have a hard time doing that, but I could see his point.
When we began attending the church of which we are now members, that pastor also greatly encouraged vocal and visible praise and worship. Still, I have resisted, without fully understanding why.
I am still not sure WHY I am so reluctant to speak aloud with vocal praise during a service, or offer a spontaneous testimony, or shout. I was raised in churches where these things were encouraged and practiced, and I am always blessed when others worship and praise in this way.
I don't think it matters so much anymore WHY I have been reluctant to be more demonstrative in my praise and worship. The FACT is this:
In Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, AND 31 God inspired the Psalmist David to repeat the same verse 4 times! Now, I may be a little hard headed sometimes, but usually when I'm told something 4 times, I 'get it', especially when it comes straight from God! :) These verses say this:
Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
The Lord tells us, FOUR times in just ONE chapter, that HE wants us to praise Him for His goodness and his wonderful works!! We are to share with others how His goodness and His wonderful works have played out in our lives!
If you look at these verses, you'll notice the abscence of 'conditions'. We are not told to praise Him when things are good, when we are happy, when we are feeling close to Him, when we are feeling especially 'spiritual'. We are simply commanded to praise Him to the children of men. At all times. In good times, and bad, when we are happy, when we are sad, when we are stressed, when we are upset, when we are confused, when we are angry, when we are thrilled, etc.
Our physical and emotional state DO NOT change the fact that He is worthy of our praise. The fact that we are told to praise Him " to the children of men" indicates that this praise is to be open and shown before others.
The Lord spoke this 4 times in just one chapter. I think He means it, don't you?
Blessings,
Vicki
Friday, March 2, 2007
Math U See...and VALUES U See
Recently, because of a lot of conversation among the Moms in our local homeschooling group, I decided to do a diagnostic test with my daughter to see where she was in her math skills. I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that she was struggling with some math skills that I thought she 'had down pat'.
This eventually led me to order a math curriculum for both my girls. It's called Math-U-See, and after one week of use, we absolutely LOVE it! I am amazed at how my girls are learning with this curriculum! It's amazing to look at their faces and see that they are really GETTING the concepts, not just performing the functions!
So, why is this different from the math materials we have used in the past? Because in the past, I have attempted to TELL the kids how to count, add, subtract, etc. but with this curriculum, they can not only hear it, but SEE and TOUCH things that help them really KNOW the material.
This is exactly what we need in our daily lives. I can tell my kids all day long that it's important to spend time in God's Word and in prayer every day, but those are just words until they SEE me spending time in God's Word, and in prayer, and until they SEE and TOUCH their own Bibles, and learn to read the Word for themselves. THAT is when the idea of spending time with God each day will become real in their lives.
I can tell my kids all day long that we shouldn't take things that don't belong to us. But to truly KNOW that, they need to SEE me return the money when the cashier gives me too much change.
I can tell them that in our family, the priorities are: Our personal relationships with Christ, our family, our church, then everything else. But to KNOW that, they need to SEE both me and dh reading God's Word and praying so that we can know Christ better and be closer to Him. They need to experience us reading the Word and praying WITH them, so that THEY can know Christ better and be closer to Him.
They need to SEE and HEAR us telling the baseball coach that we will not play or practice on Sundays, because we will be in church, and spending the time between church services with our family.
They need to SEE us making choices that reflect the values we TELL them we live by.
What does your family need to SEE ?
Blessings,
Vicki
This eventually led me to order a math curriculum for both my girls. It's called Math-U-See, and after one week of use, we absolutely LOVE it! I am amazed at how my girls are learning with this curriculum! It's amazing to look at their faces and see that they are really GETTING the concepts, not just performing the functions!
So, why is this different from the math materials we have used in the past? Because in the past, I have attempted to TELL the kids how to count, add, subtract, etc. but with this curriculum, they can not only hear it, but SEE and TOUCH things that help them really KNOW the material.
This is exactly what we need in our daily lives. I can tell my kids all day long that it's important to spend time in God's Word and in prayer every day, but those are just words until they SEE me spending time in God's Word, and in prayer, and until they SEE and TOUCH their own Bibles, and learn to read the Word for themselves. THAT is when the idea of spending time with God each day will become real in their lives.
I can tell my kids all day long that we shouldn't take things that don't belong to us. But to truly KNOW that, they need to SEE me return the money when the cashier gives me too much change.
I can tell them that in our family, the priorities are: Our personal relationships with Christ, our family, our church, then everything else. But to KNOW that, they need to SEE both me and dh reading God's Word and praying so that we can know Christ better and be closer to Him. They need to experience us reading the Word and praying WITH them, so that THEY can know Christ better and be closer to Him.
They need to SEE and HEAR us telling the baseball coach that we will not play or practice on Sundays, because we will be in church, and spending the time between church services with our family.
They need to SEE us making choices that reflect the values we TELL them we live by.
What does your family need to SEE ?
Blessings,
Vicki
Integrity is not an accident!
I've been doing Beth Moore's study on Daniel with a group of ladies at church. I am LOVING this study, and I highly recommend it to everyone!!
One of the things that is really sticking with me in this study is that integrity is vital, and that it ONLY happens on purpose!
Integrity is not only what other people see~it is what you do when no one else is looking, and when no one else will ever know.
Integrity doesn't happen quickly in a moment of testing. It must be all ready embedded in us so that it can come to the surface in that moment when it's needed most.
So, how do we build our integrity? By reading and FOLLOWING God's Word. We build integrity by reading God's Word DAILY so that we can allow it to 'soak' into us, to truly become a part of our hearts. It won't happen by accident. It will ONLY happen on purpose.
Blessings,
Vicki
One of the things that is really sticking with me in this study is that integrity is vital, and that it ONLY happens on purpose!
Integrity is not only what other people see~it is what you do when no one else is looking, and when no one else will ever know.
Integrity doesn't happen quickly in a moment of testing. It must be all ready embedded in us so that it can come to the surface in that moment when it's needed most.
So, how do we build our integrity? By reading and FOLLOWING God's Word. We build integrity by reading God's Word DAILY so that we can allow it to 'soak' into us, to truly become a part of our hearts. It won't happen by accident. It will ONLY happen on purpose.
Blessings,
Vicki
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