December Blessings

As we close out 2016 I am reminded that I have so many things for which to be grateful. God has blessed us far more than He should and I'm so thankful. This month is no exception. Here is a small glimpse of the amazing blessings God has bestowed upon our family this month. I can't wait to see how God will bless 2017!

1. Taking a day off to rest and heal
2. Really awesome Norwex deals
3. More sales
4. Working on calendars
   
5. Snuggling with my babies
6. Eating left overs
7. Time with the Felix family
8. Kids excited to hang out with friends
9. Pizza
10. Encouragement
11. Wisdom
12. Kindred Spirit
13. Women's gift exchange
    
14. Lillian participating in the gift exchange
15. Catching up with people
16. Jamey cleaning the kitchen
17. Organizing the pantry
18. Great sermon on our need for God and how Christmas should disturb us
19. Talking with kids over lunch
20. nap
21. Talking
22. Nice family time
23. Feeling more rested
24. God's great grace
25. Working with Jamey
26. Productivity
27. New Norwex
28. Having Jim home
29. Working on our room
30. Jamey getting caught up
31. Teaching kids to clean and organize
32. Getting everything set up for surgery
33. Getting budget in order
34. Ordering pictures
35. Jim getting the day off
36. Victor hanging out with the kids
37. Surgery going as planned
38. Jim keeping the kids off so I could sleep
    
39. Jim waking up to get my meds for me in the middle of the night
40. Jim working with the kids
41. Getting caught up with school work
42. Kids doing well with me unavailable
43. Jim taking care of everything
44. Being able to go to church
45. Seeing Tara
46. Restful afternoon
47. Time to talk with Jim
48. Surgery site healing well
49. Getting laundry done
50. Getting Monday work done
51. Time to work with the middle boys
52. Book club!
53. Ashley being available to pick me up 
    
54. Brienne coming to book club
55. Jim being off another day and taking care of me
56. Working on emails
57. Christmas party at CG
58. Fun Time
59. Fruit basket
60. Time to read
61. Working upstairs
62. Feeling more normal
63. Costco
64. Going to bed at a decent hour
65. Working through feelings
66. Good day without Jim at home post surgery
67. Being with the kids
68. Time to write
69. Movie
70. Working on normality
71. Handkerchiefs
72. Blogging community
73. Finishing the week strong
74. Middle boys drawing
75. Kids helping around the house
76. Growing together
77. Praying all night
78. God sustaining me through the day
79. Time to journal at Panera
80. God working on my heart
81. Finishing upstairs
82. Doing haircuts
83. Washing hair
84. Good sermon on humility
    
85. God growing my heart in humility
86. Talking through sermon as a family
87. Painting nativity together
88. Hanging stockings
89. Waking at 7
90. God's mercy
91. Jim getting replacement phone for FREE!
92. Good milk production
93. Getting addresses and envelopes addressed
94. Running errands as a family
95. Cheap Chick-fil-A
96. Cleaning kitchen together
97. Aldi pizza
98. Learning not to let time dictate and teaching kids this
    
99. Reading together
100. Free ice cream
101. Jim having his phone at work
102. Christmas cards
103. Neo using words clearly
104. Snuggling with Malachi
105. Growing in wanting to work hard and desiring orderliness
106. Nehemiah kisses
107. Malachi turning 4  months
108. Parents getting here safely
109. American Baking Show
110. Family time
111. Starting a new book
112. No alarm
113. Planning day
114. Sharing dreams and ideas
     
115. Panera
116. Free Refills
117. Encouraging others
118. Fun family day
119. Cookies and cocoa
120. Latkes and Donuts
121. Christmas Eve Service
122. Presents
123. Duck dinner
124. Cake 
125. 1st night of Hanukkah
126. Time and a half
127. Boys getting to go to a movie with grandparents
128. Baking with Lillian
129. Remembering the incarnate God!
     
130. Low key day
131. Finishing Don Quixote!!!!!
132. Girl's day out
133. Yummy brunch
134. Seeing Moanna
135. God growing my heart
136. Shopping
137. God's provision
138. Seeing Rogue One with Jim
139. Date night
140. No TV!!!!!
141. Nehemiah turning 18 months!
142. Hard work
143. Lessons from Hanukkah
144. Growing in knowledge of God
145. Writing in journals
146. Learning to repent to my kids
147. Nehemiah praying
148. Kids doing puzzles together
149. Psalm 90
150. God challenging my heart
151. God's peace

     

     Malachi's First Christmas and Hanukkah

152. Teaching my kids
153. Prayer
154. Getting work completed
155. Finishing Chronicle of a Death Foretold
156. Reading 11 classics
157. Lunch with Sara
158. Christian Studies
159. Talking to Noemi
160. Prepping for 2017
161. Meeting Donna
162. Getting a few things sold
163. God's provision

December Evaluation and Year End Reflection

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Thanks to morning pumping this is happening most days!
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Again pumping has really helped with this
• Memorize verses with the kids - working on this during school time
• Have extended prayer times 4 times during the year- Jim has had 3 and I have had 3 The end of the year got to us and lack of planning kept us from completing this goal
• Read Christian books (Jim- 1 (not school related), Emmie- 3)- I only did 1. Again planning kept this from being as successful in this

Marriage

• Pray together daily- YES! Growing in more directed prayer times together as well
• Go out for a date once a week- This happened and my parents gave us a planning day as well! December was a blessing
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes! We were able to get away for 2 whole days for our Anniversary! Big thanks to Becca, Shannon, Julianne, Victor and Ariana who made this possible for us! It was wonderful
• Read 3 books together this year (read one day a week)- Crossing this off because it's not going to happen. Maybe next year when we're forced to for School of Missions
• Discuss plan weekly on Saturday afternoon- Did not happen 

Kids

• Spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Did a little better with this this month and still growing in scheduling our days and weeks to be intentional with each child
• Special Outing Alone twice during the year with each child- No outings again this month. It's been a struggle to plan extra outside activities with getting organized
• Family fun activity once a month- Celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah! Lots of yummy food and playing dreidle 
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- Yes! I got this done! Such a blessing to be completely caught up!!!!!
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Once we get organized there will be dedicated time for this. Too lofty a goal for this year.

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- We are finishing the year with massive cleaning and organizing so hopefully we will get this made for next year
• Keep up with my calendar- Been prepping it for next year, so been looking at it more
• Being fully present when with my family- This is back and forth depending on how overwhelmed I'm feeling, but still growing in this
• Try 12 new recipes this year- (12) Jim made chocolate cake and blueberry cream cheese icing for Gabriel's birthday and it was DELICIOUS! So we have also met this goal!
• No TV 2 days a week (watching)- Doing much better but still too much TV
• Begin gardening in the spring- Another that just did not happen and isn't going to, but that's OK!

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- Finished "Don Quixote" and "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" 11 of 12 classics read this year. Not too bad since I thought I'd only get through half
• Jim read one fiction book- Yes! He finished "Eragon", Eldest", and "Brisingr"
• Journal 5 days a week- This month was a struggle with this, new year will return patterns I hope
• Jim Journal 3 days a week- Yes
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing- No work on this
• Book Club once a month- Yes! Such a fun gathering! Love these Sisters!
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- Again, Scheduled it, but ended up with a meeting with God, which was just as useful
• Blog 1-2 days a week- Think I got 5 posts in this month only because of the classics challenge

Health

• Mild Exercise twice a week- Nope, really need to work on schedule/routine/rhythms
• Maintain weight until birth- This did not happen, so I have extra work to do now
• Lose weight after giving birth- I'm basically stagnant at the moment. Hoping to get cracking on this soon. I need it and I need the energy!

As we come to the close of December we also close 2016! What a year. It's been hard. It has stretched Jim, me, our family. We have grown and learned more about God. We are growing in being more like Jesus and still daily reminded how far we have to go. December ended up off with me needing to have a tooth removed putting me out longer than expected. And with holidays we had extra family time, which is always special and a different productive than what western culture says is productive, but so important, took from some goals but helped with others.

We've strived this month to find order for our home and are continuing to work towards order in the physical home as well as in our time and in our hearts. As we order our home we find God ordering our hearts. It's difficult, but very much needed. It has been good and for the first time I feel really ready to begin a new year, not because I have everything figured out, but because God has given me so much grace to trust Him more than I ever have before. He is Sovereign and my life is following His plan for me even when it's hard and not what I want. I know it's His best for me.

We have plans and goals for 2017 that I will share at a later date, but ultimately we will accomplish what He wants us to accomplish and more importantly what He wants to accomplish in us. I'm so grateful for 2016, which, even with the challenges, I think has been the best year of my life. And now I look forward to 2017 and what it holds for our family, the easy and the hard, because God is my God and He holds my life in His hands!

How was your December?  What did you learn in 2016?  What are you hopeful for in 2017?

Classics Challenge Wrap-Up

Twelve month and eleven classics later, I've expanded my reading repertoire and I'm thankful I did. On the whole I enjoyed the classics that I chose, but there were a couple that were not my favorite. I think in general the ones I didn't like as much were ones that were not what I was expecting. I am thankful that I stretched myself, pushing through books I was not really enjoying, to grow in my knowledge of classics. The more I read them the more I appreciate stories of the past and the lives of people in other cultures and times. I very much look forward to reading more classics next year!

If you're interested you can see all of this year's book reviews linked below.

A 19th Century Classic: The Purloined Letter
A 20th Century Classic: The Old Man and the Sea
A Classic by a Woman Author: A Murder is Announced
A Classic in Translation: Don Quixote
A Classic by a Non-White Author: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
An Adventure Classic: Treasure Island
A Fantasy, Science Fiction or Dystopian Classic: Dracula
A Classic Detective Novel: Murder on the Orient Express
A Classic Which Includes the Name of a Place in the Title: The Merchant of Venice
A Classic Which Has Been Banned or Censored: Les Liasons Dangereuses
Re-read a Classic You Read In School: Light in August
A Volume of Classic Short Stories:  A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories

With 11 classics I have 2 entries for this year's drawing!

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

I finished my 11th classic in the Back to the Classics Challenge for 2016. This book was for the category, Classic by a non-white author.

I think I have read this before, but glad I read it again. This story is very well told and, through written in a different style than usually written, it is easy to follow even though a scattered account. I really like that it is told in first person, but has third person account as well, showing that what the storyteller knows comes from not only his knowledge but the knowledge of others as well. I really liked this as it is clearly a community story. The language is a bit harsh, but the cursing was limited to appropriate for the telling of the story. It wasn't cussing for the sake of cussing. Overall I really liked the style of the book.

The story line was also very intriguing. From the beginning you know the end, and yet you still want to keep reading. I liked the interweaving of story lines to make one completely story line. There were a lot of characters so here and there it did get a bit cumbersome with all of the names, but because of the way the story is told it works well. I also appreciate the mystery that is left in the story as well. We never really know why this man was chosen to die. There is the spoken reason, but it is evident there is more to the story that we don't know and we never will. Usually this would drive me insane, but it worked for this story and I'm only slightly frustrated by it. I also appreciate the side story that led to Santiago Nasar's death that is concluded in an unexpected way.

This book also gives you a lot to think about when dealing with other people, helping and loving others. It makes you think, too, about what you would do when you hear something bad may be happening. I like that it shares what the majority of the people involved were thinking during the event, everyone except Santiago Nasar. It's a great look into humanity and even how we know and understand people, including ourselves. It's also a great reminder that we never really know what people will do.

On the whole I really enjoyed this book. 4.5 stars for this different style classic.

Don Quixote

After twelve months I'm FINALLY finished with Don Quixote, my 10th book in this year's Back to the Classics Challenge!!!!! This was my book for the category "Classic in Translation".

I don't know what to think about this novel. I've always wanted to read it after seeing it on an episode of "Wishbone" back in the day, because it looked really funny. As I read this I realized it is humorous, but more than that it's ludicrous! The story line reminded me of a bad soap opera where no one knows what end is up and everyone is falling in love and/or has a tragedy.

On the whole I did not like the book. I would really like to know the back ground of the book because it is written like it's a biography of Don Quixote, but then other things make it seem like a work of fiction. I might like it better knowing the story behind the story. What's sad is how crazy yet wise Don Quixote is and that knowing that he is mad, Sancho Panza abandons his family and chooses to follow him anyway. I do appreciate how Don Quixote's family and friends seek to care for him, even if done in a strange and misguided way. The adventures they have are interesting, but really cause you to wonder at the sanity of people. It is a reminder that we can convince ourselves of anything if we tell ourselves it's true long enough. The adventures reminded me that we must watch ourselves in saying what is true.

For me the spiritual implications of this book kept me reading and made it more interesting. Watching Don Quixote follow something so wholeheartedly was inspirational, even if it was mad. To see Sancho Panza follow this, though, was the epitome of folly, but reminds us how often humans blindly follow another, though it is evident it is going down a road of insanity. They are also very devout to the Catholic Church and it is an interesting study in religion of that time.

As a Christian I could see how important it is to really follow God and not our own misguided understandings. If God is not the one determining our reality, we will quickly be led astray into things that are completely foolish.

My favorite part of the book was the novel in the novel that shows the danger of tempting others. I greatly appreciated this story and felt it to the core.

The second half made me very sad and a bit annoyed at how easily people will accept what they want, even though they are clearly being mocked at and made to look a fool. It also made me angry at the audacity of people to take advantage of the madness and desires of people for their own sport. Through out the book I felt sorry for both Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, but a large portion of this section made me want to yell at them, "Are you really that stupid and naive?" as well as yell at their hosts, "What is your problem?"

I can't say that I recommend this book, nor can I say that I do not recommend it. It was not an enjoyable book, except for the part mentioned above. But there are many profound observations and statements that as well as their actions that cause one to think. If you're looking for a thinking book, I would say it is good for that.

I'm going to say 3 stars for this unusual classic.

November Blessings

How busy November was for our family! We have been cleaning, organizing and purging as we seek to bring order to our home, family and lives. In the midst God has been gracious, cleaning and ordering our hearts before him. Here is a glimpse of His blessing toward us.

1. Jim working 8 extra hours overtime
2. Provision
3. New Month
4. Sharing struggles at CG
5. Hearing others' struggles
6. God moving
7. Productive school
8. Time with Jamey 
9. Time with the little boys
10. Working potential new rhythm
11. BJ's Cherry soda
12. Flip flops for $1
13. Good rest time
14. Making plans
15. Writing blog posts
16. Boxed mashed potatoes
17. Working on a project with Lillian
18. Getting to co-op before 9 am
19. Encouragement from Tara
20. God speaking through friends
21. Free food
22. Enjoying my last day of co-op
23. Organizing all homeschool material
24. Going through all kids books
25. Working together as a family
26. Time with Jessica
27. Extra hour of sleep
28. Pastor James preaching
29. Great sermon on embracing multiculturalism
30. Learning to care for each other
31. Time to read
32. Family time
33. Working on the office with the kids
34. God's Grace
35. Terminix working on our attic
36. Jim only working 4 hours
37. Waking before my alarm
38. Jamey helping with cleaning
39. Getting main part of upstairs cleared out
40. Parent's getting here safely
41. Medical Missions Conference
42. Hearing why our view on sexuality matters
43. Being affirmed in some I want to write
44. Encouraging and informative breakout sessions
45. God confirming next immediate steps
46. Praying together
47. Meeting more people with similar backgrounds
48. Free Yummy Food!
49. Great close to conference
50. Time to think, talk and pray
51. Dinner and display
52. Kids doing well with presentations
53. Good close to the weekend
54. Stepping forward in faith
55. Great sermon on God's Kingdom
56. Talking about grieving together
57. Jim finishing class work for the semester
58. Ryan and Becca hanging out for a bit
59. Grocery store by myself with 7 kids!
60. Meeting a mom of 7, grandmother of 24 and great-grandmother of 21! and getting encouragement from her
61. Seeing Rachel Davila
62. Talking to Rachy
63. Costco as a family
64. Talking with Jim 
65. NO TV!
66. Working well with all the kids
67. Music
68. Time to work on business with Jim
69. Beginning to work with Canva
70. Catching up with Kate
71. Organizing and purging
72. J, L, and R helping with clothes and cleaning
73. Date Night
74. Talking to Ryan and Becca
75. Classical music
76. Catching up on journals
77. J helping cut up veggies and taking care of M
78. Watching my kids grow
79. Having my kids home with me
80. Being creative with J
81. J and L being really helpful
82. Finding new Bible reading rhythm
83. Quiet evening at home
84. No computer
85. Jim meeting with James
86. Time to really pray at Panera
87. Pizza
88. Hearing God's voice clearly
89. "Sky High" on Netflix
90. Great sermon on Consecration and confrontation
91. Great Sunday class
92. Lots of time to talk through things with Jim
93. Praying together
94. Cleaning out L's closet
95. Finding remote
96. Sam growing in prayer
97. Gift card for McDonald's
98. Special lunch
99. Lots of milk
100. Time to wash hair
101. Jamey organizing closet
102. Seeing light in organizing tunnel
103. Jim getting called off work
104. Malachi 3 months!
105. Nehemiah progressing well
106. Yummy food and fellowship at CG
107. Lots of progress in L's room
108. Running errands with Lillian
109. Baking
110. Sam's tooth still doing well
111. Chick-fil-A breakfast
112. Getting heat fixed
113. Teaching kids organizing and kitchen skills
114. Pancakes and Eggs for breakfast
115. Thanking God for blessings
116. Cupcakes
117. Day with Ryan and Becca
118. Time with the McMillin family
119. Jim talking to Max
120. Lunch with Jim at work
121. Jim getting meds to help him heal
122. Getting Black Friday deals set up
123. Snuggling with my babies
124. Jamey working hard
125. Being able to work with J
126. Getting pictures uploaded
127. Great Advent Sermon on suffering and believing God
128. Nice afternoon talking with Ryan and Becca
129. Left over curry
130. Sojourn providing Advent Jesse Tree resource
131. Making ornaments
132. Gabriel turning 4!
133. Homemade Chocolate Cake and Blueberry Cream Cheese Icing
134. Closing out party and getting what we need
135. Gifts for Exchange
136. Good deals at grocery
137. Jim cleaning fridge
138. Haircut
139. Great deal on World Market Coffee!
140. Nice Date Night at Arby's

November Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Thanks to morning pumping this is happening most days!
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Again pumping has really helped with this
• Memorize verses with the kids - working on this during school time
• Have extended prayer times 4 times during the year- Jim has had 3 and I have had 3
• Read Christian books (Jim- 1 (not school related), Emmie- 3)- 1 for me so far and started "Mission of Motherhood" and "Humble Roots"

Marriage

• Pray together daily- YES! Growing in more directed prayer times together as well
• Go out for a date once a week- By God's grace I believe we actually managed this this month again! It's gotten a little tricky lately
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes! We were able to get away for 2 whole days for our Anniversary! Big thanks to Becca, Shannon, Julianne, Victor and Ariana who made this possible for us! It was wonderful
• Read 3 books together this year (read one day a week)- Crossing this off because it's not going to happen. Maybe next year when we're forced to for School of Missions
• Discuss plan weekly on Saturday afternoon- Did not happen 

Kids

• Spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Still did not schedule this, but we're getting better at intentional one on one time
• Special Outing Alone twice during the year with each child- No outings again this month. It's been a struggle to plan extra outside activities with getting organized
• Family fun activity once a month- We went to Mulberry Farms to play, do a corn maze and pick pumpkins with some friends from church. It was a great time!
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- Got caught up and now I need to write in 2 of them again! 
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- May not get to working on this until January because of other needed organizing

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- We are finishing the year with massive cleaning and organizing so hopefully we will get this made for next year
• Keep up with my calendar- Have not used it at all like I should this month
• Being fully present when with my family- This is back and forth depending on how overwhelmed I'm feeling, but still growing in this
• Try 12 new recipes this year- (12) Jim made chocolate cake and blueberry cream cheese icing for Gabriel's birthday and it was DELICIOUS! So we have also met this goal!
• No TV 2 days a week (watching)- We had a couple days without it, which was a blessing! Still using it a lot with seeking new patterns
• Begin gardening in the spring- Another that just did not happen and isn't going to, but that's OK!

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- Still working on "Don Quixote" hoping I can finish my classics challenge this year but doesn't look like it, would really like to finish this book though
• Jim read one fiction book- Yes! He finished "Eragon", Eldest", and "Brisingr"
• Journal 5 days a week- Still not getting this done.
• Jim Journal 3 days a week- Yes
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing- No work on this
• Book Club once a month- We didn't meet this month :( 
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- Scheduled it, but ended up with a meeting with God, which was just as useful
• Blog 1-2 days a week- Think I got 4 posts in this month 

Health

• Mild Exercise twice a week- Nope, really need to work on schedule/routine/rhythms
• Maintain weight until birth- This did not happen, so I have extra work to do now
• Lose weight after giving birth- I'm basically stagnant at the moment. Hoping to get cracking on this soon. I need it and I need the energy!

There goes November. It FLEW by! It seems, as with life on the whole, the closer to the end of the year the fast it goes. November was busy finishing co-op, doing school and organizing the whole house from top to bottom. We're still in the midst of this massive project because we have realized how desperately we need orderliness in our house. So we're starting with finding a place for everything and purging what we no longer want or need. Then hopefully we will find a new routine for next year so that we can maintain order and be more effective in everything so we can bring God glory in all things.

How was your November?

Gabriel is 4!

Today our 4th baby is 4 years old! It's so hard to believe how much has happened in the 4 years he has been in our life. He has grown so much and God has taught our family greatly.

Gabriel has added another element to our family as he is strong willed and mighty in everything he does. His name means "mighty man of God" and he has mighty down quite well. We pray daily for the man of God part and pray that it comes soon!

In his might Gabriel bucks against God and us, but more than that he is passionate about everything. If you have ever talked to Gabriel you know that he is excited about everything! He will talk your ear off about anything and everything. He loves life and I love that about him. He regularly brings a smile to my face as he laughs, dances, squeals and tells me what he is loving at the moment.

Gabriel loves to sing and dance. He loves to run around outside and explore. He just loves to go, go, go. His energy is contagious. He loves playing with his siblings, especially Sam. They wrestle and go at it all the time. They are fun to watch until they start destroying. But Generally it brings a smile to my face seeing my boys play together.

We are doing pre-K with Gabriel this school year and he loves it! He wants to learn and asks to do school work everyday. It's challenging on the days we have nothing specific to do, but he is content to get his journal and draw or write in it. I'm excited to see how much he will learn this year!

Some of Gabriel's favorite things are giraffes, drawing, digging in the dirt, mac and cheese, pancakes and anything sweet. He definitely loves to eat.

We are so thankful for this spunky personality to keep us on our toes. God has blessed us so much with Gabriel's life. Father, please save Gabriel and make Him mighty for you. Show him how much life with You is a blessing and a joy like he has been in our life. Thank You for this precious image bearer that You have given us to enjoy and raise.

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

I had grand plans to make a list of 10,000 things I was thankful for that were all different, similar to a few years ago. Or doing something every day like I've done before. But best laid plans don't always go as expected.

This year has been busy and full because we have been so blessed! And none of that happened. We've been given marriage, 7 beautiful, busy and crazy kids, a home, many things to fill our home, jobs, church, family, and friends. God has been good to us and we have so many people and things to be thankful for this year. 

But this month I have realized I have not been a good steward of the blessings that have been given to me. The past 2 1/2 years we've been working to be good stewards of our marriage and to be God honoring in it as we seek to live out the picture of Christ and the church marriage is to be. The past couple of months we have been wrestling with what it looks like to be a good steward of our kids and our home as, after marriage, these are our God given mandates to look after first. Women in particular are called to be homemakers and God is teaching me what this looks like for this season.

Right now I'm showing thanks by getting my home in order and teaching my children as diligently as possible. It is hard but good. This month has been filled with going through all that we've been given and seeking to give to others, organizing so we have order, and cleaning from top to bottom. None of these are my strong points. But I'm learning to die to self and live according to God's Word. God desires Thanksgiving and the sacrifice of self. This is what I'm learning this Thanksgiving. 

We were blessed to spend Thanksgiving with Jim, as he did not have to work this year, and the McMillin family here. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. I'm also learning to be grateful for the people in my life and not take them for granted. I don't know what that looks like all the time, but I'm learning and I know that as I learn to fully give myself to God and His plans that I better love others and am less likely to take them for granted. 

It all goes together. As we love God and are thankful for what He has done for us we love others as we should and become the stewards God has made us to be. May I continue to learn this and grow in it everyday.

What did you learn this Thanksgiving season?

When You Just Want To Go Home

Sometimes I just want to go home. Not Smyrna, but Heaven.

No, I'm not suicidal. Life is just hard sometimes and it is evident everywhere that this world is not supposed to be.

A friend's baby is born early and has been hospitalized 3 times in 3 months, fighting for her life.

One of my doctors has a mass and has to have emergency surgery.

People are shooting each other regularly for no good reason.

Friends my age are dying in the most unexpected ways.

Satan is constantly attacking and I just feel drained.

I could name so many other things, but you get the idea. Life is overwhelming. Sin and the effects of the fall abound and it seems as if nothing will ever get better. Those are the times I stare into the sky and look for any hint that Jesus may be on His way back.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will [a]dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”" ~Revelation 21:1-5

See, Jesus has told us He is coming back. He will make everything new. No more death. No more suffering. No more striving to figure out what to think, do, say. Everything will be perfect as it was intended to be. How my soul longs for that. How I want to be in God's presence worshiping perfectly as He created me to do. How I want things to be perfect.

I recognize some of this is selfish in motivation, but the more I get to know God the more I just want to be with Him. I want to be in a place that really worships Him as Lord over all. I want to live the way He intends.

I'm so thankful that Jesus has given me a way to have this and that one day all of this will be true. I will be with God and worshiping Him perfectly. I will be in a place that worships Him. I will live perfectly as He intends.

Sometimes I really want to go home. Until then, I press on. Many days are hard. My heart grieves the loss of life, of health, of sleep, of obedience. I sometimes seek to control it. But God reminds me even in those heart breaking moments, He is in control and by His grace I will overcome and see this great day!

"Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son." ~Revelation 21:6-7

Kids Who Love to Clean

My kids love to clean. No really, they do. Sometimes I wonder where they came from because I cannot say that about myself. In fact, I hate it. But I love that my kids love it!

Because of this I am stoked that Norwex has the Kids EnviroCloth and Kids Window Cloth on sale this month! Slightly smaller versions of the EnviroCloth and Window Cloth, they are perfectly sized for little hands to use and still get an excellent clean. Have them clean alongside you to learn or let them go to clean on their own. Kids like to feel like they own something. This is a great way to build that ownership and teach them how to clean and care for their cloths as well as how to care for their home.

With Christmas around the corner this is a fun gift idea that will be life giving in many ways.

Do your kids love to clean? What is their favorite thing to clean?

Please Contact me with any questions
Emmie Manor Independent Norwex Consultant
Emmie.reducingchemicals@gmail.com
www.emmiemanor.norwex.biz
Catalog (p. 43)

October Blessings

As October comes to a close I can't figure out where it went. But I do know that even in the blur that was this month, God has been very gracious to us and blessed us far more than we deserve. Here is a picture of the blessings we have experienced this month.

1. Productive school day
2. Malachi attempting to nurse and doing OK with it
3. Spending time with the middle boys
4. Singing with the kids
5. Evening with Jim before a long week
6. Ryan and Becca coming to help for the day
7. Hearing about work in Asia
8. Catching up with Brian and Karine
9. "Blue Bloods"
10. Jim enjoying class
11. Jim being home at dinner time
12. Jamey and Lillian working on science together
13. Working on business
14. Encouragement to reach out
15. Time with the younger boys
16. Everyone at CG and the kids doing well
17. Meeting Jim for lunch at school
18. Running errands
19. Good milk production
20. Getting work going again
21. Talking future with Jim and hearing his thoughts
22. Good nutrition visit
23. Uploading pictures
24. Ordering pictures to change the wall
25. A little time to write
26. Getting into co-op with the kids helping
27. Talking with Tara
28. Free spaghetti for dinner
29. Jim coming home early
30. Playing "LOTR Trivial Pursuit"
31. Cleaning and organizing the entire living room
32. Jim cleaning the kitchen
33. Getting most of to-do list done for the week
34. Great sermon on how we're all messed up
35. Sunday class encouragement
36. Time to really talk with Jim
37. Watching a movie together
38. Having a good day with the kids
39. Working on Box Tops
40. Getting addresses
41. Kids working well
42. Neo singing Noah
43. Good postpartum appt
44. Being encouraged in my knowledge of birth
45. Getting groceries with the baby
46. Catalogs
47. Free Starbucks
48. Good CG discussion on vulnerability
49. Getting party set up
50. God opening my eyes more and open wrestling with Him
51. Jamey asking to take a nap and to do housework
52. Learning more balance
53. Fun Norwex party
54. New customer
55. Catching up with Candice
56. New Pizza place
57. Jim planning date night
58. Good writing group
59. Catching up with Sisters
60. First time to a pumpkin patch
61. Time with our community
62. Fun pictures
63. Getting to bed early
64. Good sermon on growing in Spiritual maturity
65. Jim seeing to make the best decision for all
66. Restful afternoon
67. "The Chase:
68. Good Dentist appt
69. Neo taking steps!
70. Cleaning the majority of the kitchen
71. Getting packed
72. Haircuts for all the boys
73. Having a calm spirit
74. Productivity for being home without Jim
75. Good intense discussion at CG
76. Challenging each other
77. Kids doing well all day
78. Going to eat lunch with Jim at work
79. Time with Gage
80. Being available to help
81. Unexpected blessings
82. Comfy Cow with Sara
83. Finishing a couple of projects
84. Lillian having time with Jim
85. Learning to let go of perfection
86. Being reminded what's important
87. Getting to co-op early
88. Being in Karate
89. Jim being able to help in the afternoon
90. Getting on the road by 3 pm
91. Kids sleeping in the car
92. Caravaning with Becca and Ryan
93. Chick-fil-A Breakfast with Max
94. Relaxing afternoon
95. Time with cousins
96. Seeing FBC Smyrna Family
97. Seeing Noemi
98. Unexpected gift
99. Great sermon on giving our whole life to God
100. Shower for Rachel and Becca
101. Time with Brit
102. Jim having breakfast with Jeff
103. Getting on the road early
104. Talking with Jim while driving
105. Encouragement
106. Making good time
107. McDonald's with good inside playground
108. Nehemiah saying "amen", singing, dancing and walking
109. Meal night at CG
110. Catching up with Meagan
111. Surprise big Norwex order
112. Closing out 1 party
113. Jim working an extra 4 hours
114. Getting through a really busy day without too much incident
115. God protecting our teeth
116. Being able to be honest without losing it
117. Playdate with Shannon & Gage, Courtney & Asher
118. Doing some much needed work
119. Talking with the kids
120. Nursery 4th hour at co-op
121. Working on clearer scheduling
122. Aldi's pizza for dinner
123. Sleep
124. Helping out Will and Abby and getting to know them more
125. Relaxing afternoon
126. Talking with Alicia
127. God providing
128. Good sermon on abundance
129. Learning about worshiping as a couple
130. Advocate training- learning more about encouraging workers
131. Solutions to issues in the house
132. Jim getting to work on school
133. Time to work together in the office
134. Good OT
135. Family movie night

October Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- At the beginning of the month this was a struggle, but as the month went on this grew and I believe I have been doing this, though I really want to be more intentional in my prayer times
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- By the end of the month I have been able to do this. Really working to maximize my pumping time in the morning
• Memorize verses with the kids - working on this during school time
• Have extended prayer times 4 times during the year- Jim has had 3 and I have had 3
• Read Christian books (Jim- 1 (not school related), Emmie- 3)- 1 for me so far and started "Mission of Motherhood" 

Marriage

• Pray together daily- YES! 
• Go out for a date once a week- By God's grace I believe we actually managed this this month
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes! We were able to get away for 2 whole days for our Anniversary! Big thanks to Becca, Shannon, Julianne, Victor and Ariana who made this possible for us! It was wonderful
• Read 3 books together this year (read one day a week)- Crossing this off because it's not going to happen. Maybe next year when we're forced to for School of Missions
• Discuss plan weekly on Saturday afternoon- Did not happen 

Kids

• Spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- This is still a struggle, really working on scheduling the next month
• Special Outing Alone twice during the year with each child- No outings this month. It's been a struggle to plan extra outside activities
• Family fun activity once a month- We went to Mulberry Farms to play, do a corn maze and pick pumpkins with some friends from church. It was a great time!
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- Got caught up on 4 journals! Huge blessing!
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Got things moved around and organized a little better so I might actually get some work done on this before the end of the year!

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Honestly we need to make a NEW schedule, talking through the best way to do this
• Keep up with my calendar- Still struggling to use it well
• Being fully present when with my family- Still struggling, but getting better as we get more normalized
• Try 12 new recipes this year- (10) We tried mini meatloaves
• No TV 2 days a week (watching)- Still using the TV a lot. Working on finding a better rhythm to prevent just turning it on because
• Begin gardening in the spring- Another that just did not happen and isn't going to, but that's OK!

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- Still working on "Don Quixote" hoping I can finish my classics challenge this year but doesn't look like it
• Jim read one fiction book- Yes! He finished "Eragon", Eldest", and "Brisingr"
• Journal 5 days a week- I got close
• Jim Journal 3 days a week- Yes
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing- No work on this
• Book Club once a month- We didn't meet this month :( 
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- Yes! It was a short meeting but so thankful for time to meet with these Sisters
• Blog 1-2 days a week- Yes! 

Health

• Mild Exercise twice a week- Nope, really need to work on schedule/routine/rhythms
• Maintain weight until birth- This did not happen, so I have extra work to do now
• Lose weight after giving birth- I'm basically stagnant at the moment. Hoping to get cracking on this soon. I need it and I need the energy!

Good-bye October! Where did you go? This month has been very crazy, busy and I'm not even sure why. Maybe it's like time and the more months behind the faster the year goes? All I know is it is at an end and I'm not sure where it went. Except for a quick weekend trip to GA we have been doing school, co-op, Jim has been working. It's basically been "normal life". But right now it is still a struggle. We are still settling in to being a family of 9. This transition has shown us how intentional we really need to be. We need structure and self-discipline so that the days don't just drift by unchecked. So here's to November that will, by God's grace, be more productive for us all, and most of all be what God wants it to be!

How was your October? What is God teaching you?

The Merchant of Venice

This Shakespeare play is my 9th classic in my Back to the Classics Challenge for 2016. This play is for the category A classic which includes the name of a place in the title.

This play was definitely in the comedy section of my Shakespeare Anthology, however I did not find it very comedic. I suppose for the time period it probably was, but I didn't get it. In fact it was in this weird realm between comedy and tragedy. I don't think anyone actually died if I remember correctly, but there was a lot of sinister plotting to kill people, in particular the merchant of Venice for whom the play is named.

There was certainly some witty banter in the play and a level of cleverness in the end to help resolve a horrible predicament, which I believe is what put it in the comedy genre. But a lot of the situations throughout the play were minor tragedies in a sense. It was interesting to see how the characters weaved together. I also appreciated the riddle given to the suitors of Portia to solve in order to marry her. So there were elements that I liked, but this was not my favorite play of Shakespeare's. Maybe I will read it again and appreciate it more, but it will likely be awhile.

3 Stars for this Shakespeare play.

The Purloined Letter

This classic by Edgar Allan Poe was my 8th in the Back to the Classics Challenge I'm participating in this year. This was my 19th Century Classic.

I normally really enjoy Poe, even though he is a dark writer. However this was so tame for him that I found myself not enjoying it. In fact I'm not really sure what the point of the story was aside from a small game of cat and mouse. The other point may be that an average person is better at detective work than detectives. I really don't know.

The positive notes are that it was well written and did have some interesting arguments about psychology and life that were thought provoking.

I really don't have much else to say about this short story because it was bland on the whole, at least to me.

Maybe 2.5 stars for this one.

Product Spotlight #10

The Cleaning Paste (p. 18) from Norwex is the magic eraser that lasts forever. It comes in a solid block and it only takes a little bit to do the job. Used with the Scrubby Corner Cloth (p.7), tough stains and stuck on grime become easy to remove! My stove had a LOT of burnt on debris. Cleaning Paste, Scrubby Corner Cloth and a couple minutes of elbow grease cleaned it off and made it look almost new!

Cleaning Paste is also excellent at using to polish and protect many types of surfaces, such as chrome, porcelain and stainless steel. (Should not be used on Brushed stainless steel.) With the holidays near by you may be bringing out your silver to use for parties and events. Use Cleaning Paste to shine it right up, ready to serve with confidence that there is nothing toxic on your serving pieces.

Shown here with an Envirocloth and Window Cloth, the difference is evident.

We love the Cleaning Paste in our house as it has removed spots from all kinds of surfaces, and when you have 7 kids that's very important! Since you only need a little to get a good clean, it is much more cost effective than similar products to do the same job. This is also extremely important when you have a big family. It's a win all around!

How could you use cleaning paste in your house?

Please Contact me with any questions
Emmie Manor Independent Norwex Consultant
Emmie.reducingchemicals@gmail.com
www.emmiemanor.norwex.biz
Catalog (p. 7 & 18)

The Old Man and The Sea

This book was my 7th for the Back to the Classics Challenge I'm doing this year. The Old Man and The Sea is for the 20th Century Classic category. (I am going to tell an overview of the story so if you don't what to know how the story turns out don't read the middle paragraph.)

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It was an easy read and I was able to read it in one day, but it was very odd. There are so many angles I could look at for evaluating this book. The writing was clear.

The story was an interesting look at the fishing culture in Cuba as it followed a man who had had a long run of "bad luck" and unable to catch any fish. He was determined that today would be his day to break his bad run and he would catch a fish. He ends up catching a huge marlin but cannot get the fish into is small boat. It takes him on a long 2 day ride out to sea until he is finally able to catch it and latch it to his boat. On the way home the fish ends up eaten by sharks and so he has nothing but a skeleton to show for his effort.

On the one hand it was a good look at determination and hard work. On the other it seems ridiculous for the man to hold on for so long to this fish instead of attempting to catch another, especially since he caught something small to eat during this adventure. I just don't know what to think about it.

I can't say I'd recommend it but can't say I wouldn't either. I'd like someone else to read it just to talk it through with me because it was so weird.

I don't even know how to rate it. I'll say 2 stars, but really I just don't know.

A Murder Is Announced

I read A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie for my 6th book in the Back to the Classics Challenge this year. This one is for the category, a classic by a woman author.

Like Murder on the Orient Express, this book was an excellent read! I loved this book and did not want to put it down. I loved the writing style that was easy to read but still stretched  me in learning new words. The story line was so intricate and involved but was still easy to follow in the end and so interesting. At the end I had myself thinking wow, did I even see that coming? The answer was just a little, but I still wouldn't have guessed that it was that involved. I was shocked when it all came out, and I love mysteries like that! I also appreciated that it wasn't too creepy even though there was good suspense.

I highly recommend this book, just like the other I read. I am very much looking forward to reading more of Agatha Christie's books.

5 Star for this great classic!

September Blessings

September was a full and busy month with many blessing even in the chaos. Here is a glimpse of the blessings for our family this month.

1. Feeling more normal
2. Enjoying time with the kids
3. Sholtes bringing dinner
4. Reading
5. Making a plan for getting Malachi's weight back up
6. Lunch date with Jim
7. Having a pump
8. Fun girls night painting with Becca, Dee Dee and Angie
9. Roger fixing several of our electrical issues
10. Creative side coming out
11. Working fans and lights
12. "American Bible Challenge"
13. Lots of hugs and kisses
14. Ifeoma bringing snacks
15. Making a big to-do list
16. Great sermon on ministry and prayer
17. Taking family pictures
18. Pizza from Kate
19. Enjoying family time
20. Getting more milk out
21. Singing with the kids
22. Kids wanting to learn more about the Bible
23. Extra sleep
24. Time to read and pray
25. Malachi gaining weight
26. Parents getting here safely
27. Yummy lunch date with Jim
28. Good cg discussion
29. Writing blog posts
30. Reuben turning 5!
31. Blueberry pound cake with blueberry drizzle
32. Reuben enjoying his light sword
33. IHOP with the family
34. Kids playing well together
35. Getting new contacts
36. Meeting Riley
37. Girls afternoon
38. Panera
39. Manicure and Pedicure
40. Getting my hair done
41. Seeing Courtney
42. Seeing family
43. Fun rehearsal and rehearsal dinner
44. Older boys helping my parents
45. Malachi sleeping 7 hours!
46. Celebrating Ryan and Becca's marriage
47. Kids doing well in the ceremony
48. Good family pictures
49. Sara helping us at the wedding
50. Dancing
51. Good food 
52. Cookies
53. Berry Twist Banana Split
54. Snuggling with Malachi
55. Starting the school year with the kids
56. Mom working with Nehemiah and Sam
57. Getting almost everything done with housework by myself
58. Courtney bringing food
59. Kids singing and working hard
60. Family treat at Comfy Cow
61. 2 days without TV!
62. Kids excited about CG
63. Chick-fil-A
64. Making it through a VERY HARD DAY
65. Nehemiah standing up on his own
66. Member meeting
67. Alison and Althea helping with the kids
68. How God is growing Sojourn and our neighborhood
69. Nehemiah and Malachi growing a lot
70. Good OT and nutrition visits
71. Bakes Ziti
72. 3 days without TV!
73. First day of co-op going well and Jim able to go with us
74. Free dinner
75. Nehemiah helping Malachi with his pacifier
76. Making organization plans
77. Ordering announcements
78. Ordering baby calendar
79. Great sermon on reconciliation
80. Hearing from Daniel and Jamaal
81. Playing the dance game
82. Connecting with Jim
83. Costco
84. Jim meeting with Nathan
85. Encouragement
86. Tackling the online world after 3 weeks away
87. Errands as a family
88. Gifted a weekend in Chicago in March!
89. Reevaluating life
90. Sam saying Bible verses
91. Feeling more peace
92. Grace with deal with a bad situation
93. Ryan and Becca watching the kids
94. Plans for including kids in CG
95. Catching up with Shannon
96. Errands with Gabriel
97. Seeing Ryan and Becca's wedding pictures!
98. Surviving
99. Uploading pictures
100. Stealing moments with Malachi
101. Malachi turning 1 month!
102. Posting birth story
103. Eating lunch with Tara
104. Meeting new people
105. Lots of free food
106. Getting upstairs rearranged and beginning to clean
107. Kids helping
108. A week with almost no TV!
109. Good sermon on the miraculous
110. Book Club continuing
111. Getting announcements
112. Fellowship
113. Jim meeting with Paul
114. Curry on the stove
115. Getting a prescription with out an appointment!
116. Doing well with school time
117. Dinner at CG
118. Sam feeding Malachi
119. Catching up with friends
120. Washing my hair
121. Gyros
122. Working on plans for next 2 months
123. Cleaning out email
124. Talking to Britney
125. Lunchables
126. Getting to know people
127. Arby's
128. Really talking and working through something with Jim
129. Seeing God moving and working
130. Salvation

September Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Definitely a lot of praying this month!
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- working on getting back into this
• Memorize verses with the kids - working on this during school time
• Have extended prayer times 4 times during the year- Jim has had 3 and I have had 3
• Read Christian books (Jim- 1 (not school related), Emmie- 3)- 1 for me so far and started "Mission of Motherhood" 

Marriage

• Pray together daily- YES! 
• Go out for a date once a week- Due to a LOT of family activity this did not happen, but we did get 2 and some good time at home
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes! We were able to get away for 2 whole days for our Anniversary! Big thanks to Becca, Shannon, Julianne, Victor and Ariana who made this possible for us! It was wonderful
• Read 3 books together this year (read one day a week)- Crossing this off because it's not going to happen. Maybe next year when we're forced to for School of Missions
• Discuss plan weekly on Saturday afternoon- Did not happen 

Kids

• Spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Got closer to that at the end of the month, still working on good time management with kids
• Special Outing Alone twice during the year with each child- Reuben got a date with Daddy!
• Family fun activity once a month- Playing the Dance Game as a family.We had a lot of fun!
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- No writing this month, but I am mostly caught up
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- Got things moved around and organized a little better so I might actually get some work done on this before the end of the year!

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Honestly we need to make a NEW schedule
• Keep up with my calendar- A little better this month, but have a long way to go
• Being fully present when with my family- Still struggling, but getting better as we get more normalized
• Try 12 new recipes this year- (9) Jim made a delicious blueberry pound cake with blueberry drizzle for Reuben's birthday! So GOOD! I have a great cook and baker for a hubby!
• No TV 2 days a week (watching)- We actually accomplished this a couple times this month! With school work to do we're getting back into a good reading and activity routine. Still have work to do in this area but it's getting easier.
• Begin gardening in the spring- Another that just did not happen and isn't going to, but that's OK!

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- I finished "The Purloined Letter" this month and made a significant dint in "Don Quixote"
• Jim read one fiction book- Yes! He finished "Eragon", Eldest", and "Brisingr"
• Journal 5 days a week- Not this month, but slowly getting there again
• Jim Journal 3 days a week- Yes
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing- No work on this
• Book Club once a month- Yes! Thankful I was able to attend the last at Bre's house
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- I fell down on  meeting this month again! Sad that it happened, but hopefully in October
• Blog 1-2 days a week- Yes! 

Health

• Mild Exercise twice a week- Nope, hope to get back into this this month
• Maintain weight until birth- This did not happen, so I have extra work to do now
• Lose weight after giving birth- Have lost a little, but stagnated right now. Hopefully with getting to 6 weeks postpartum I can start to exercise and it will help

September was a blur! Adjusting to a new baby, celebrating Reuben's birthday, Becca getting married and moving out, Jim starting back to work, starting school with the kids and trying to find the new normal for our family has kept us busy. It's been nice finding time to read more and watching TV less as well as learning to talk more with Jim and the kids. I feel like we have grown a lot this month as a family. There is still a lot to figure out and we'll never stop learning, but in the last couple of days it seems like there might be a light for this season. The next couple of months are going to be very busy as well, but hopefully we'll find peace in Jesus and a hint of stability as we seek to do those things God has called us to at this time.

How was your September?

August Blessings

So obviously I'm a little late on sharing these blessings since our big one came at the end of the month, but I still want to share what God did for us in August.

1. Kids playing well together
   
2. Growing in imagination
3. Sam singing praise songs
4. Reuben singing praise songs very clearly
5. Getting through the day with little pain
6. Time to read
7. Snuggling with my kids
8. Hearing from people at cg
9. Getting a lot of business set up
10. Working on Box Tops
11. Curry
12. Someone to help Jim quickly change his tire
13. Friends coming to play
14. Playing a game and watching a movie with Jim
15. Neo doing well with OT
16. Finishing "Murder on the Orient Express"
17. Watching Olympic Opening Ceremonies
18. Snuggling with Lillian
19. Watching the Olympics
20. Teaching kids about new sports
21. Becca being home
22. DQ breakfast
23. Great sermon on being the Body
24. Seeing CJ & Shelly and hearing from them
25. Hearing from Brienne
26. Surprise Norwex order!
27. Doing logic problems
28. Ice cream sandwich cake
29. Lots of new people at cg
30. Honesty from my doctor
31. Being at peace
32. Jamey organizing the Tupperware cabinet
    
33. God reaching out to me
34. Jamey helping and being creative
35. Reuben growing in creativity
36. Fraps
37. Talking with the kids about church
38. Jamey asking questions
39. Creativity in building
40. Going to the last book club at Bre's house
41. Wonderful Fellowship
42. Sam singing "Made Alive"
43. Finishing "A Murder is Announced"
44. Jim cleaning the kitchen
45. Daddy and Mom getting here safely
46. Good discussion and encouragement at cg
47. Reading "The Old Man and the Sea"
48. A day out of the house
49. Kids playing for a long time
50. Shoes
51. Getting 2017 calendar
52. Ryan coming to hang out with the family
53. Celebrating Daddy's birthday
54. Ice Cream cake
55. Wrestling with God
56. People praying for us
57. Good news from a friend
58. Helping and talking with Mom and Becca
59. Frosties
60. Malachi Edwin joining our family
    
61. God's provision throughout labor
62. Jim helping me through labor
63. Emily being there
64. Perfect doctor for this labor
65. Kids meeting and loving on Malachi
66. Julianne coming by
67. James coming by
68. Jim letting me sleep
69. Malachi passing his hearing test
70. Getting home from the hospital
71. Nehemiah loving on Malachi
72. Everyone asking to hold Malachi
73. Making it through our first day at home as a family of 9!
74. Seeing Tara
75. Becca being available to help
76. Robinette's bringing dinner
77. Kisses from Nehemiah
78. Samuel being helpful and asking to hold Malachi
79. God's grace to persevere
80. Norwex Body Cloth!
81. Krispy Kreme Donuts
82. Malachi's first day at church
83. Starting a series in Acts
84. New Worship songs
85. Snuggling with Malachi
86. Jamey and Lillian helping to organize school material
87. Kids excited about starting school
88. Sara bringing dinner
89. Browns bringing dinner
90. Seeing Julianne

August Evaluation

Spiritual

• Spend at least 10 minutes praying daily- Definitely a lot of praying this month!
• Spend at least 10 minutes reading and reflecting on the Bible daily- Yes until Malachi was born
• Memorize verses with the kids - working on this during school time
• Have extended prayer times 4 times during the year- Jim has had 3 and I have had 3
• Read Christian books (Jim- 1 (not school related), Emmie- 3)- 1 for me so far and started "Mission of Motherhood" this month

Marriage

• Pray together daily- YES! 
• Go out for a date once a week- We did until Malachi was born
• Go on a night away once this year- Yes! We were able to get away for 2 whole days for our Anniversary! Big thanks to Becca, Shannon, Julianne, Victor and Ariana who made this possible for us! It was wonderful
• Read 3 books together this year (read one day a week)- No and is not likely to happen at this point
• Discuss plan weekly on Saturday afternoon- Um, no

Kids

• Spend 15 minutes of one on one time with each child every week- Not sure about this
• Special Outing Alone twice during the year with each child- No individual dates this month
• Family fun activity once a month- With Malachi being late, what we planned ended up not happening
• Write in individual journals at least 3 times this year- No writing this month, but I am mostly caught up
• Finish Jamey's 1st year Scrapbook- No work was done on this, likely will not happen at this point

Homemaking

• Keep up with cleaning schedule- Honestly we need to make a schedule
• Keep up with my calendar- Did not do this well
• Being fully present when with my family- Definitely a struggle this month, but did have a few good moments
• Try 12 new recipes this year- (8) Still at 8 for the year
• No TV 2 days a week (watching)- Nope It's gotten hard with being really pregnant and heat
• Begin gardening in the spring- This is not likely to happen and obviously not in spring since we are well past spring

Ministry

• Continue sending out Prayer List- Yes

Personal

• Read a book a month for myself- I finished "Murder on the Orient Express", "A Murder is Announced" and "The Old Man and The Sea"
• Jim read one fiction book- Yes! He finished "Eragon", Eldest", and "Brisingr"
• Journal 5 days a week- Until Malachi was born I did
• Jim Journal 3 days a week- Yes
• Edit novel to prepare for publishing- No work on this
• Book Club once a month- Yes! Thankful I was able to attend the last at Bre's house
• Continue to meet once a month with writing group- I fell down on this meeting this month! Sad that it happened
• Blog 1-2 days a week- Yes! Thank you book reviews

Health

• Mild Exercise twice a week- Um not at all
• Maintain weight until birth- This did not happen, so I have extra work to do now
• Lose weight after giving birth- 

Obviously this update is late! August was a blur. It was spent praying for baby to come, for labor to start, while still trying to live. We had some time with family, and enjoyed having Becca home a little more as she prepared for her wedding. August 22 we welcomed our 7th baby, Malachi Edwin! The rest of the month was spent with adjustments, so many of our goals were put to the side or minimized. Hoping we will get normalized out in the next month!

How was August for you?