Saturday, February 28, 2015

Already Gone?

http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2010-02/youth-ministry-killing-church

I read this article the other day and thought it was worth sharing on my blog.  

We left the "main stream" church style a little over fourteen years ago.  I was never keen on leaving my babies in the nursery, and after many negative Sunday School experiences we searched for something different.  Since that time we have churched in homes with other families and we have been a part of two different family- integrated churches.  While there is no "perfect church", worshiping together has been a positive thing for our family.  The youth groups of today are perpetuating adolescence instead of encouraging them to be mature Christian adults.  Often times the scene in a youth building doesn't look any different than the world.  It is very sad, and it is obvious with the rates of young people leaving the church once they are grown that it isn't working.  I believe our children being raised around adults in church and not segregated out with their peers is one of the key factors in our oldest two being strong Christian adults today.  I am very grateful for the different men and women that have come alongside Marc and I and been an example to our children.  If they had been ushered off to their own classes this would have never taken place.  We were driving through town the other day and observed how many huge churches there are.  I made a comment that the community should look a lot different than it does with a church on every corner.  They clearly are not making an impact for Christ.  

Here is a YouTube of Ken Ham discussing the epidemic of young adults leaving the church.  We have the book and the statistics are pretty alarming.



Until next time~

Friday, February 27, 2015

LiFe...

Often times when my blog is quiet it means my life is busy.  That has been the case these past two weeks!  That and the fact that I still don't have my desktop back.  I didn't realize how much I depended on my computer.  Using laptops and the iPad are just not the same to me! I am supposed to get my computer back in a few days.  We'll see.....  This is what happens when you have a friend working on it for you! :)

I got my new refrigerator last week.  The girls and I all realize now that our stuff is ice cold just how bad that other fridge had gotten. I sure am glad it bit the dust during our goats' "dry" time!  I can't imagine not having two refrigerators when all of that milk starts coming in!

Speaking of goats....  This will be our first kidding season without Mckenzie here.  We have four or five pregnant does out there.  We plan on selling one of the lower producers after she kids.  Unless the girls get attached to one of the doelings, the plan is to sell ALL the babies this year.  They always sell really fast and it makes things much simpler.  Bottle feeding a pen full of baby goats is time consuming! We sold our buck this winter, so that was a big relief to get him out of here.  He was really aggressive and I worried one of the little guys was going to get hurt. Downside is we will have to get a buck before next fall for breeding.  Hopefully we can find one that isn't quite so mean!

This past week we all (except Matthew) loaded up and went on a business trip with Marc.  We are studying Georgia history this year so took advantage of the opportunity to explore Savannah.  The cemeteries were by far my favorite part.  I took lots of pictures, but haven't put any on my computer yet.  I will post more about that trip later.  It was fun and I am glad we went, but it was exhausting with the two,youngest.  We stayed in a suite, but even without our two oldest it felt so crowded.  This was our first trip without Mckenize and Matt.  Matthew had classes so he couldn't go.  It was hard pulling out with him standing there. We are so used to doing everything as a family.

Madeline and I went shopping tonight and she made a comment that she wished Matthew was home more.  She said it felt like she lost both of the older kids at the same time.  In some ways she did.  Matthew started college classes back up in the fall and has two part time jobs.  It has been sweet seeing her and Matthew grow closer now that they are the two oldest.  Mariah is going through a tough spot right now being at that in between age.  That and her "middle child syndrome" are making for some interesting times! :). They all go through some tough spots and we will get through this too.  When people ask me if I think raising boys or girls is the hardest, my answer is boys are harder when they are little, but girls are harder as teenagers.  Children are all so different too though.  I am amazed at how different each of my children are.  I love their unique personalities and what they bring to the family.  Each one is special!

Back to our shopping....... :). We found some great deals tonight! Unless we are shopping for something specific (like someone needs a new pair of shoes, or jeans etc.) we put our blinders on and hit the clearance racks.  Sale racks aren't enough, it has to be clearance.  I bought Madeline several new sweaters and tops for $6 each at Belks.  I have nothing against thrift stores (my girls have found some cute things thrifting), but I would much rather hit a clearance rack and find new things for those prices!  We often buy things out of season which isn't fun at the moment, but when that next season rolls around it sure is nice pulling out those new things that cost a fraction of what they would cost in season.  

Well, once again I am sitting here blogging really late.  Everyone but my night owl son are in the bed.  He is watching Milltown Pride for the who knows how many times!  He would be in here talking to me but Marc is NOT a night owl and runs him off.

Good night!

Monday, February 16, 2015

Valentine's 2015

I just uploaded my iphone pictures to my computer.  The downside to taking pictures with a phone is that for me, I'm not as organized with them as I was when I just used my camera.  I hated to not have these on my blog, but the ocd in me hates that they are "out of order"!
 
I went to see my dad the weekend before Valentine's day and took Mariah and Macheus.  My sister thought it would be fun to take my dad to the father/daughter night at Chick fil A.  They did a really good job with it and I think the girls had fun.  Macheus was a pistol because it was past his bedtime!  We weren't sure if our dad had fun or not! :o)  He was quiet while we were there, but it could've been because of the crowd and he can't hear well.
 

Afterwards, Mariah went home with her cousin Carrington to spend the night and Macheus and I stayed with my dad.  We had ice cream and stayed up half the night talking.  He outlasted me and I finally told him I had to go to bed!


I know pictures like this will be a treasure one day.  Very thankful for this time we have with him.


Sunday, February 15, 2015

Ramblings...


 It is late Sunday night and I am sitting here in the bed enjoying the peace in quiet.   My husband is laying next to me sound asleep and all but Matthew are upstairs sleeping.  I hear the sound of water running which means Matthew is finally calling it a night too.  He is my night owl.  I used to be that way when I was younger (and several children ago!) 



It has been a long week.  My main computer is in the shop for repairs and our refrigerator officially bit the dust.  We bought a very nice stainless steel refrigerator four years ago thinking we would have it for years.  After battling with Sears all week long I told Marc I didn't have it in me.  We could have pursued it and they probably would have had to replace it, but it was not worth my time.  We went last night to Lowes and spent half of what we spent last time on a Whirlpool.  It is stainless but a little more basic this time.  We went back to the side by side model.  I was not impressed with the bottom freezer drawer and we had a repairman tell us that those have to work harder to keep the refrigerator part cool.  He was also the one that told us to not spend so much because none of them last!  They won't be delivering it until Thursday afternoon!  Thank goodness we have an extra fridge!   It has been a pain though!


Marc and I went to a coffee shop Friday night to celebrate Valentine's day.  It is in the downtown area of our little town and is so adorable. When McKenzie was at home she was a regular. :)  I had never eaten there and was very impressed.  Some friends of ours were playing music there that night.  It was a nice evening.  We left there and went to do a little shopping.  We went to Belks and Marc scored big on some $65 dress shirts for $10!


The week before last McKenzie came down and stayed with the kids for me to go on a business trip with Marc.  It was nice to get away and the kids loved being together.  They all said it was weird and "so normal" at the same time for McKenzie to be here like that.  When she went home she took Matt with her to visit there a few days.  I went last weekend up that direction to stay with my dad and we met on Sunday afternoon for him to come back home with me.  I love that my kids enjoy being together.  It is sweet as they get older watching them do things with each other.

 
Speaking of sweet.... Marc  brought home some things for me for Valentine's day and he also brought flowers for the girls and chocolate for the boys.  Matthew came home from work Valentine's night with treats for all the kids.  He is a thoughtful fellow.



On Friday I told Myles to lay on my bed and play quietly while I went running.  Macheus was asleep and the others were still working on school work.  When I got back my room was a mess.  One of the things he had done was gotten into the diaper bag and eaten several boxes of raisins and some little natural gummies that I buy for the baby for church.  He wasn't smart enough to hide the wrappers; they were laying everywhere.  When Marc walked in from work that evening and went to pass chocolate out Myles looked kind of funny with his candy in his hand.  I said, "Uh uh,  he is not eating that today."  He knew exactly why and handed his candy back.  He did get to eat it the next day AND had the nerve to get into my chocolate! :)  Marc introduced the baby to chocolate for the first time and he was trying to get his hands on everyone's chocolate all day.  I think we have some chocoholics on our hand. :o)  (They come by it honestly!)


I am really ready for spring!  We have had a pretty cold winter this year.  I know you "up north" people are laughing. :o)  I grew up in the north and I just don't think I could do it anymore!  I guess it is all in what you are used to.  I just like to be warm. In fact, I would rather run in the sweltering hot summer over a cold day!  My skin stays so dry and itchy when it is cold.  We have made it through January and half of February!


Madeline and I were out walking tonight and talking about our excitement over spring coming soon.  We both are looking forward to summer this year.  We haven't had a summer with nothing to do in years.  My mom's health problems dominated our lives her last few years of life and then when she died we were busy with my dad.  He was settled last year in his new retirement home but we were in full "wedding mode' last summer.  While I have wonderful memories of that time that I wouldn't trade for anything, I am looking forward to a relaxing summer.


I used to love to listen to Matthew and McKenzie talk late at night.  They always got along so well and when she got married I think Matthew mourned the loss of his "best friend".  It has been sweet to see him and Madeline grow closer.  They often sit around at night together and talk now.  This evening they both had their guitars out and were practicing together.  I finally had to run them off because I had reached "that point"!  I love my "big kids".  I fully understand now, that it doesn't matter how old your kids get you never stop worrying about them. They are all such sweet kids (not a bit biased!) and so thankful that they all are growing in their Christian walks.  I think the hardest part for me with having grown kids is that you can't "fix" everything for them.  When they hurt, you hurt.  People can be so cruel... some of them may not be intentionally, but sadly, some are.

 
Well, Marc is stirring and I guess I probably need to go to sleep too!  This was truly a ramble and I am too tired to proofread!

Until next time.....

Saturday, February 7, 2015

A quotable quote

"The fear of punishment, the desire for reward, the sense of duty, are all useful arguments in their own way, to persuade people to holiness.  but they are all weak and powerless until a person loves Christ."  J.C. Ryle

Monday, February 2, 2015

Happy 2nd Birthday, Macheus Trust!

Two years ago, the Lord blessed our family with Macheus Trust.  We lost two babies before him and my mother died May of 2012.  Macheus was a bright spot in our lives for sure!

I remember the evening of February 1st watching Mary Poppins with my children.  I contracted that whole evening and was pretty miserable.  The next day I stayed in the bed until lunchtime.  I was contracting and very uncomfortable but they weren't regular.  Marc and I decided to take a power walk (and I ended up running some of it!)  I got back home and thought I was going to die when I took a shower.  We quickly loaded up and headed to the hospital.  McKenzie and Madeline both attended his birth.  It was not as easy a delivery as Myles had been, but it wasn't as bad as Malachi's!  Macheus had some transitioning issues and ended up spending a few days in the NICU.  That was a bit stressful, but we were very blessed to take home a perfectly healthy baby boy.


These two years have been filled with much joy because of Macheus (A.K.A. Baby K or Baby Mac-  His sisters really need to stop!) :o)  He always has a playmate, and he is a bit spoiled.


The morning of his birthday the girls had to go to piano lessons.  I took the boys to the park.  It was a gorgeous day but extremely windy!


When they saw the geese they took off!






The geese weren't scared of us and Macheus wasn't scared of them.  He loves water and tried to jump in several times!  He had no fear of the water last summer.  I can see swimming lessons in our future!


My sweet little guy.


 I can't imagine life without them.  It would certainly be quiet! :o)


What is a birthday (when you are two!) without Chick fil A!?  We stopped by for a quick lunch.  He spent his time dipping the same waffle fry in the ketchup and sucking it off.  I know, gross.



                                                     Mac and his fry. :o)


We headed home for nap time.  When he woke up from his nap he had birthday presents in the mail from grandparents!


It is a big deal around here if you get to lick the beater!


He sat there until it was clean!


Spaghetti for supper!


The organic chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.  Guilt free eating..... haha!


We sang "Happy Birthday" to him ALL day long.  I think he was a little confused.





             Rare treat for him!  He took it very seriously!



After bath play with big "Bubbie".  He loves his big brother! (Matthew is pretty crazy about him too!)


Happy birthday sweet boy!  We love you to pieces!