Sorry...

So- it was a week ago that I promised Jacksons art to you... And there has been a lot in between... Cubscouts, a migraine, a broken arm issue, yardwork... and plain old forgetfullness.
So without further ado...

a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49of1PlyPejt2n6QDYwMEoZUDhsnG510Z9bRUgDxwKUu2HwqvE1-pd4cV6Ksd55I-j5M34ymvvtkLOAtYYjkx6t6fIJnJYwP1B8Q7MGu9zXW8OUKkfwhi5KW38lmvxGmQiSQ2EebHe26J/s1600-h/jacksonart4.jpg">

Aren't they awesome???? I mean I may be biased but I lOVE his art! I love the little details! I have several more Jackson originals and some framed around the house... He is loving his art teacher this year, and she seems to really be coming along side him and encouraging him in what she calls 'his thing'. Praise God for good teachers!
On another note Brennan could use some prayers. His arm is not healing very well. One of the bones is displaced, and although some callouse has grown, it is crooked... When we went in on Thursday to get a waterproof cast and he was told nope, not yet. We were given 3 options- pins, rebreaking(I'm getting sick just thinking about it) or a TIGHT cast and a chance to heal on it's own. Doc said to try the cast first. It may take months to correct itself. We are praying for wisdom for us to know what to do, and healing for our son. He has been so patient! We have yet to hear him complain of his plight. He may ask once in awhile for help with his Lego Bionicles(thos buggers are HARD to snap together!) but mostly he likes to do things on his own. I praise God and my son for his attitude about his broken arm. At this point we don't know how long this might go on. The cast he has on now cannot get wet AT ALL. He needs help washing his hands, brushing his teeth, etc. IF this cast gets wet it will cause severe pain and cut off the circulation to his arm. So- how to keep a 5 year olds hand dry? VERY CAREFULLY! Thanks for the prayers! Also- he is stil in pain, so pray for that, too. Not much else is going on. i have a girls night planned on Tuesday for thrifting- WOO-HOO! I can't believe how excited I am- it's kinda sad, ha-ha. Alright- off to the kids, they need momma!

Tonight was meet the teacher night at school. Jackson had the honor of having his artwork displayed in front of his classroom. he is becoming quite the little artist. I shall scan the pics and post them tomorrow... I'm too lazy to walk downstairs tonight. Yes- I said it, no I don;' feel that guilty about it. Yes, you will get to see the artwork, just not TONIGHT!
I love how much my son is living school. It makes me feel so much better about the decision to send him. See- if you DON'T know me you don't know that I really never wanted to home school my kids. There is a million reasons, many are personal, many are well, emotional, and many are logical. If you know me you have probably heard me on my soap box about it. Can you hear me talking now? he-he. If you know me you also know we cannot afford private school. So (close your ears, eyes whatever some of you need to close) public school it is. I LOVE my sons teacher. I like the principal, the art teacher seems to be a doll and in 1 class has gotten my child passionately interested in art. I cannot wait to see how my lil guy does throughout the year.
On another note, the woman who WILL NOT home school is actually doing preschool with her 2 year old. Oxymoron? NO of course not it's just preschool for pete sake! Quin has been asking me things like 'What letter is that? What's this say? How much is that? etc. I say let's go for it! He is an old 2 after trying to keep up with his brothers, and I don't want to ignore the enthusiasm that he is showing for life and learning. 3 days a week we work on the letter or number that Bren is working on in Pre-k. Then the 2 days Brennan is home we work on that same letter and number to help reinforce it to Brennan. See Bren is the OPPOSITE of his brothers. He could care less about numbers and letters. After 2 years in preschool he STILL doesn't know all of his letters. I was worried- the teacher and director told me to not be. Many kids need another year or so, and he DOES have a late birthday for the cut off... So, we decided to do what we can to get him ready for Kindergarten next year, and go from there... I think he will be fine if we can pull his head from the clouds!
This week we have gone over number 2. Quin can tell you God created the sky on day NUMBER 2! (He says it in a loud, t.v. announcer voice) and that he is also 2. He has painted the sky,painted 2's, traced 2's, glued sets of things to giant number 2's, looked for 2's around the house, etc. We have worked on tracing circles, and now he can make circles on paper and even went so far as to draw a Q of his own accord tonight. Now I just wonder- will he need to skip a grade? I mean he does take after his mother...
And now I shall leave you witha great pic- Sam and J sharing pork and mushroom stew...

Fires, puke, art, and casts

But not in that order.

My house is quiet today. My sons are at my inlaws swimming because I have the flu. The flu is probably normal for some of you. For me it is NOT! I cannot really remember tha last time I puked my guts out. In 8 1/2 years of marriage and 14 years of knowing one another my hubby says he thinks Ive only thrown up once, while preggo, and was mad at him for not holding my hair. Huh. I don't remember that. Sounds like something Id be upset over while hormonal and hugging the toilet bowl. I mean geeze, when a woman is carryng your child and laying on the bathroom floor, hair in her eyes and puking holding her hair back is the LEAST YOU CAN DO!
He said he wished he could stay home and nurse me seeing as he KNEW I was gravely ill, and he felt awful for me. he-he. I love that man. I think the worst is over, and I pray my kids and man don't get this. They ARE pukers...

My honey hung my chandlier the other night. And not 2 minutes later as we were adjusting the shades there was a pop followed by flames as high as the ceiling. Seriously folks. A bad socket. Replaceable, but bad. It now hangs a lil crooked, with tape covering 1 of its exposed wires a waiting me ordering parts to fix her. Sigh. Shaun says it matches the rest of our house. *SIGH* Glad we were home, glad the house didnt burn down. I cried, he laughed and says it's just our life lately. If it can go wrong, well, it will. Hmm...

Brennan got a new cast Thursday. It is not waterproof (that comes in 2 weeks) but it is a nifty black to match his Lizzie, his shoes, and 'lots of stuff in our house, mom'. Doc says it's looking great. He says in 6 months you'll never know it was broken. Amazing how resilient kids are seeing as it was jagged, hanging, and plain grotesque. He did say an adult would have needed plates, screws and the like. Praise God we were of sound mind enough to say NO to the first doc wanting to operate(one that DIDN'T specialize in kids) and call a peds.
I have been hankering for some art for my home. I saw these in Country Sampler.

They were good, but not QUITE what i wanted. And vinyl letters can be pricey...
And pricey i don't ahve with 1 car, floors undone, etc...
So I found an old floating frame left undone, and some laminateing sheets. I cut the sheets to size, and fiddled on publisher. Walla! Here she is!


Total cost? $0.00 You go girl I said to meself! :-)
Then I wanted to make one for a friends birthday... A trip to salvation army revealed newly framed artwork, golf pritns I will reuse for hubbys office, at $2.99 a pop. I bought 2 of them, so I could ahve 2 pieces of glass, and went at it. I popped into Archivers for cream paper, and Walla! Here it is!

Okay- that picture stinks- but it's the same as mine other than last name, and frame size... And I didnt stop there! For $1.99 I got a neat piece of laser cut paper and used an old 12x12 frame. Wrote one of my current fave Psalms and ...

I feel too crummy to take better pictures. So you'll have to deal with it. But seriously- they look AWESOME! Total cost? Under $10.00 for all 3 pieces, including frames. I think I shall have to make more. If you know me watch out- you may get one as a gift! he-he. I also thought one done with a large monogram would be cool! Oh my juices are flowing! :-)
Now for a shower...

Yesterday was j-mans first day of first grade. in a new school. We waited for the bus for 1/2 and hour and off he went- he didn't even look out the window as he pulled away! Upon returning home he said 'My new is school is WAY BETTER than that stupid preschool mom! Hmm...

I had a great talk with one of my dearest friends yesterday. She was struggling with not having a job this fall as a teacher, and feeling as if she was not contributing financially, she wasn't good at housekeeping, maybe God wanted her to start a family now, etc. I just wanted to transport myself to Cali in a blink and hug on her. I reminded her that God has this here and now for her. Adding a baby to NOT being a good housekeeper is like , well, wanting to be Picasso when you can't even color in the lines much less wield a brush. I was created to be a HELPMATE to my husband, as was she. Worldly thinking might say otherwise, but Godly thinking says me being at home is what my man needs. How often have I been convicted that I need to spend my time more wisely, how often has dinner been easy because I was too lazy to put together something else. My man works hard all day, why can't i do the same? What might God have for me in the church to serve while being at home,t oo? Why do I light candles for company but not Shaun? I like to 'put my pearls on' so to speak, so my man comes home to a nice clean home, clean kids, attractive wife, smell of good food.
Why do we think that supporting our man is not a full time job? How many times Shaun has taken me in his arms and said that he can't make it without me. How may times he has told me he would rather work 2 jobs if need be than me work one so that someone keeps the house running! I loved on my friend through the phone and reminded her to use gods measuring stick not the worlds. I told her that she may not be a great housekeeper, but maybe now was the time to make it an art. To make their home a soft place to land, a sanctuary int he storm, a haven. as I go about my day i shall be thinking about her, and about my family and my own homes atmosphere. Where can i improve and works as if for God not man?

Kicked

Kicked around is how I feel. Like a soccer ball in front of a child's foot. Rolling to and fro on hard ground, fast, then slow, an 'oof' here and a 'whack' there. This week has me wanting to sleep to escape it. This week has me wanting to sit and feel sorry for myself, and my husband, and my sons. This week has me wanting to cry like a child who has lost their favorite toy.

And then the guilt rushes in. We still have our son, broken wrist and all. We still have 1 car, that DOES fit all of us, even if squished. My husband may have taken pay cuts since January equaling around $550.00 PER MONTH but he still has a job, we are not behind on our bills, our insurance is great and allows us to see who we want. I am thankful that, as my dear friend put it, I was able to think clearly (by God's grace) when my son was lying in a hospital bed- clearly enough to insist on a pediatric specialist of great rapport. I had a wonderful visit with my grandparents, and so did my sons. We made some great memories. My youngest may have asthma, it may have been bad on vacation, but it is controlled, even if bad and touchy at times.
My husband is actually somehow encouraged under all of this pressure that we can make it, grow closer still to each other, to God, that we can come out of this in the future with 2 cars, savings, and our family intact.

I keep thinking of Hebrews 12:6
FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."

I am a child of God!

And

Hebrews 12:10
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.

I used to think that discipline was always because I had done something wrong. Then I realized when my own children came along that discipline is many things.

Discipline:

1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.

2. To train by instruction and practice, especially to teach self-control to.

3. To teach to obey rules or accept authority.
4. To impose order on: needed to discipline their study habits.

I discipline my children to teach them necessary life skills. At 2, 5, and 6 they are responsible for putting away their own laundry. They pick up after themselves, they help with household chores, yard work, etc. I am in the business of raising responsible young adults. I pray my sons follow the Lord, but if they don't they still need skills in life to get through, to hold a job, to keep house.
My sons don't like having to learn these things, they HATE laundry, dislike homework at times, and don't ever want to sit still in church. They think it's silly to practice being polite, I say they NEED to know such things. And it is only by discipline these skills will come.
So I ask myself- what, where is My Lord trying to teach me discipline in all of this? Where is he trying to teach my self-control? What lessons am I so needing to learn that the best way for me to learn them is through these trials? How is all of this affecting my witness?
I realize I can learn self control in spending. I have never been one to have to have the best, the most expensive, etc. I am guilty of the little transactions here and there that DO add up. The fountain coke at Meijer(because let's face it, a fountain Coke is the BEST!), the t-shirt on sale that I don't really NEED, the nail polish shade calling my name, even though I already have 20 shades... Are they expensive things? No. Are they necessary? No. is it sin? Not necessarily. Unless I KNOW the Lord is asking me to be a wiser steward and I still spend that 1, 2, or 5 bucks anyway. If added them up over the course of my 28 years they would probably total the cost of a nice used car. *SIGH*

I feel as if the Lord has been asking both Shaun and I lately to focus on family, to spend more time at home than away, more time together. Now we have no choice...
I know God is working on our values, too. Where does my treasure lie? Needs verses wants? Do we NEED 2 cars? Do we NEED a bigger house? Do we NEED new fall clothes?
I know God has been working on my husband as much as me. I see it in the little things and the big. I see how he has become more patient, more willing to let things roll off his back, and KNOW God is in control.

I sit here and realize that it is out of LOVE that God is molding me, shaping me. I thank Him for loving me enough to want me 'to be all I can be'. Even though it's tough, even though it hurts, even though I wish my children were left out of it because I hate to see them hurt... I'm thankful He is there to pick me up off that field, dust me off and hold me after being kicked around.
And that it's okay to cry, too.
For God keeps record of my tears.
Psalm 56:8
You have taken account of my wanderings;Put my tears in Your bottle Are they not in Your book?
Catch my tears God, show me your mercies are new every day!

Bradford Pears Trees Suck! Part 2

Seriously- trees! This week has been the week for trees! We arrived home yesterday at 6AM. In a rental. It has been determined that our van is not covered under our or Mr.Tires policy. $200.00 is what we got out of it...
We have been praising God that our family is safe. It can always be worse, etc, etc, etc. Everyone slept a little, we went to the grocery and came home to unpack.
Shaun was getting ready to mow the lawn when Brennan, who had been climbing the neighbors Bradford pear came running up the driveway crying and saying he bent his arm.
Now- let me just tell you that Brennan cries, no WAILS, over everything. To the point that when He is crying we kind of ignore it. yes, you read that right, we ignore. We tell him to buck up. When he has a hangnail the cry sounds as if the child is being skinned alive by Indians, a bumped toe scream is as loud as a man being scalped... So when my son came walking up the drive BARELY crying I told him he was fine, that it was probably just bruised and to shake it off.

Then he held THIS up in the air, and I almost vomited.


This pic isn't the most gruesome angle, the other side looked as if something was about to pop out of the skin- praise the Lord it didn't!


Yep, it sure was bent. I thought of the old cartoons when someone wrapped an anvil around their arm. Yuck. I called for my husband, and completely forgot that neighbor kids were in my court, kind of under my watch. Oops.
The in laws rushed over, and we rushed out the door.

At St. Francis we waited, and waited, and waited. They actually got x-rays BEFORE they gave him meds. Finally I found a nurse and told them to quite monkeying around- I mean geeze, his wrist was hanging off! Morhpine was given, and we waited some more. The doc mentioned an Ortho I'd never heard of, sedation, pins, etc. I said NO! We were calling Dr. Kayes, Brennan's Ortho at St. V's. It just so happened his partner was going to meet us at the children's E.R. and go from there!

At the children's hospital Brennan was pampered, given a cool Colts quilt, backpack and Colts blue beanie baby lizard. They picked out books for us to read, and even though no orange juice was available SOMEONE managed to find some for my son for when he woke up. it runs out that God answered our prayers with a yes, and no surgery was required. Brennan had broken both bones jaggedly off. We go back on Thursday for more x-rays, another cast due to swelling, and they didn't even get into how long he will be wearing this one...
All in all it has been quite the adventurous week. We were supposed to be celebrating birthdays tonight- my mother in laws and Brennan's. Cakes to be baked, etc. But right now my son just needs snuggled! Updates to come on the wrist!

pictures of our trip thus far...

we have seen the memorials, helped build the worlds largest lego lightbulb, riden the Metro, and many other fun things! More to come later!