We are at the beach!!!

I love the beach so much. I love the sound of the ocean, the breeze, walking along the seaside, sitting and relaxing by the ocean and so many more.

We have had a great time so far. The weather has been a little finicky, but we are still enjoying our time with my parents and my sister and her family.

Some first for us this trip:

• Parker and Emery riding the waves. They are little pros! We had to go buy boogey boards, and managed to come out of the cheesy souvenier store without a hermit crab!
• Bradley swimming in his new Superman life jacket. He is trying to mimic the girls and keeps putting his face in and trys to swim. He will be in swim lessons this winter!
• Being here at peak season. We have lovingly termed this “Our big Redneck Vacation,” after hearing LSU and BAMA fans yell at each other from the balconies and the beach. We are used to a little less action since we normally come in early Fall!

• Having swimmers! The girls are swimming fabulously!

We are looking forward to the rest of the week. We are planning on having professional beach pictures taken, going to see some movies, date night with Jason, going to the driving range, shopping and more playing in the pool and the ocean!!

I will post pics later!

Head to Jason’s blog to see what our family did last night!

It was so fun!

I am super proud of my girls for plowing through swim lessons, especially for little Em, who blessed me incredibly yesterday.

Go read at J’s for the details.

For a few months now, we have been going through the book of Ephesians, as a church. Love it, I must say and Pat is bringing it, which I love, as well.

So, we start in chapter 5 and the main point is that we were darkness and through Christ, we are children of the light- so live like it. I was stopped in my tracks on Sunday, processing that we were darkness, not in darkness, but darkness itself. We were not just sinners, but sin. One main statement was that we are different to make a difference. Don’t you love that?? I do, because I think we can get way to caught up in the “different” part and forget the make a difference emphasis. We are called to be light to impact the darkness, not to point to the darkness from miles away and point out how bright we are! Anyways, I have really stayed in Ephesians 5 this week.

All that background to say- God has given me many chances to be light this week. Some I know I have failed in and others I hope my little light shined!

The big chance happened yesterday. The girls have been in swimming lessons and after each lesson they have a sheet that shows what they have mastered for the day. After Emery’s class, I mosey on over and check it out. I am perplexed and confused because there is an A for absent, by her name. Trust me, after wrangling Bradley for 45 minutes, I know we have been present.
So, I go speak with her instructor, whose home we are at, by the way. I informed her that Emery was present.

She states, “Well, she didn’t answer when we called role.”

I say, “So, what did she do this entire time?”

She states, “Well, we did a lot of group things today and she didn’t answer when we called role. We give several chances to answer and we count before we get in the water.”

At this point, I have a million things going through my mind. Mainly, how can my child be under your supervision for 45 minutes, in a pool, with 3 other adults, and no one notices the RANDOM girl in the pool? How do you not recognize her after 5 days of swim lessons? And lastly, obviously, you counted wrong!

I say, “Okay, I am just concerned that she was in the water for 45 minutes and no one knew she was present.”
She states, “It’s okay, we will catch her up tomorrow.”

I knew at this point, I needed to get out of dodge. It was definitely one of those things that the more you think of it, the madder it makes you. So, what do I do?

I call Jason and vent it out for about 5 minutes. Bottom line, it is unacceptable.

Today, I had another conversation with the instructor, seeking greater clarification (this is what we call a confrontation!). I came out of it realizing that we were speaking a different language. For her, it was about checking off what Emery had done and not answering her name when it was called (so much that she told me we should work on that for Kindergarten.)

For me, it was about the fact that you didn’t notice my child was present, in your swim class, where she is learning about water safety.

I knew at one point that it was time to walk away. I knew nothing I could say would make a difference in how she viewed the situation.(Basically, it was all Emery’s fault) I never raised my voice or used a harsh tone. I simply asked questions and answered them. And decided, my children will never darken the doors of her pool after Thursday.

Being light is hard.

Here is a clip of Jason and B playing some hoops!

It is like my own personal reality show since Jason has started streaming family moments live!!

Live .TV show provided by Ustream

Here is the one from Bradley’s haircut and it is quite long! You can forward to about 15 minutes to see him really start talking to the computer. And as a small disclaimer, I don’t really sound as country in real life. And, my girls are the ones being loud in the background. And, I don’t normally wear bright orange, but it was for VBS! So, enjoy….
Free .TV show from Ustream

Okay, so it is 4:21 am and I have been awake for about 2 hours now due to a child getting up with some need of mommy issues and have been unable to go back so sleep as a result! Yeah, can’t wait to see how I feel tomorrow.

We have been on summer activity overload this past week. Both girls are in swim lessons so that is always fun with a 2 year old. Our lessons are at a person’s house and parents wait in the front. They are learning all the “proper” swim strokes and lingo. It is cool, except for the waiting, since the girls are in back to back classes.

We have also been to the library, the zoo, made Jason a birthday cake after a trip to the grocery store, swimming and I am one tired gal. But, it is fun and we are enjoying the last few weeks of our summer. The girls start back in 3 weeks and it has flown.

Now not all the togetherness has been fabulous. For some crazy reason, the girls have started hitting and pushing each other. Not really sure why, since this has not been an issue, ever, with them. I think it is because B will randomly come up and do a “drive by” hit or kick and run off. We have also required a lot of sassy spray, aka, vinegar and water, for some attitude and sassiness. I have also had to lock myself in the bathroom a few times, just for a few minutes to take some deep breaths (not actually use the facilities!) and calm down. Who knew that having kids could bring out the best in you and at times, the worst!!

I was reading in Proverbs 3 today and I was reminded of this: discipline is a sign of love and honor. It is essential to raising up children. Yet, my desire is to truly, reach their hearts, and not just bring about right behavior. I pray that they will love doing good because they want to please the Lord, not men. I pray that they learn that obedience brings blessing and true freedom. Tonight, as I read the Word, I was reminded of how much I long for their souls to love Jesus. I was reminded of how much I need Him and His discipline at times.
But, for now, it means a lot of time outs, sassy sprays, grounding, sentence writing, time alone and maybe a few other techniques….

So, what creative discipline techniques do you use??

Proverbs 3

Trusting in the Lord

1 My child,^[a] never forget the things I have taught you.
Store my commands in your heart.
2 If you do this, you will live many years,
and your life will be satisfying.
3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.
4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,
and you will earn a good reputation.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
10 Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good wine.

11 My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
12 For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.^[b]

Check out the highlight videos from camp last week, here.

I have heard amazing things!

You can also read what kids are saying about their week, here. It is a joyful read to see what teenagers are saying about how God changed them.

400 kids, 40+ salvations, close to 100 amazing adults, an extremely dedicated staff….One Glorious God!!

GP camp ended well, I must say! The kiddos had a great time with Grandad, playing putt-putt, bumper boats, video games and a few kiddie rides. He managed all three kids, all by himself, which is not an easy thing to do! The kids loved it!

Yesterday, we finished our week in Knoxville with a visit to our dear friends, the Swaffords. They are planting a church in Kingston, which is outside of Knoxville. They are living on the lake for now, so the kids had their first chance to tube behind o boat! I had no idea how they would respond, but they climb on without hesitation and had a blast! It is so fun to watch my kids be adventurous and unafraid on new things. I was a daredevil as a kid, but as I got older, I lost some of it! I liked to do adventurous things, but I would not take a chance, very often. I am praying that our kids are unafraid to venture out into the unknown, being willing to follow His lead, wherever it may lead them.
We love time with our friends, and yesterday was an amazing blessing.

We are settling in back at home. Jason has been at camp with our students all week! I love hearing the stories from camp and seeing how God changes lives through an intentional week, set aside to hear from Him. Camp sharing service is always one of the highlights of our year, for me. I was really bummed not to go, but I am realizing that with the 2 year old boy factor, it is harder to leave all three with the grandparents! He is a hand full and requires all of your attention! I was reminded that I have many years ahead of me for camp!

The kids have been at a very fancy, amazing summer camp this week. It is called GP camp or Grandparent Camp! We are here with the grandparents having all sorts of fun!
They have each gotten to spend time with LuLu, spending the night at her house. They make cool crafts and Bradley has even been playing with his Daddy’s old Tonka trucks. The kind that are made with metal. They have been well used and he loves it. We bought him his first pair of flip flops or “phish fops” and he is pretty much obsessed with them! He even got to hit golf balls off of a tee and is equally obsessed with this, as well!

We have also gone to the park with water fountains and I must say, my little town has a much more elaborate water set up, but Bradley did overcome his fear of spraying water, which makes me very happy.

Parker and Emery have gone to VBS at my home church each night. They have loved it! I mean, LOVED IT! It is fun to watch them in my old stomping grounds and to see people who loved on me, now love on them. My mom is immensly proud that they are learning the pledge to the Christian flag and the Bible, since we didn’t do that at our VBS!

The biggest outing by far at GP camp has been going to Dollywood! Mom and I took the girls yesterday and they did fantastic. We had so much fun! We rode a lot of what they were tall enough to ride and they were not panicked at all! We even rode the old fashioned log ride with a lot of water and I am praying that Emery does not fall out the entire time! She, on the other hand, is laughing the whole way down. For those of you who know Emery’s tendency to be apprehensive in new situations, can appreciate what I great job she did! Parker was a trooper and she and I rode my favorite all time ride as a kid, Blazing Fury! What fun to see things I experienced and loved as a kid, through their eyes. It was a great day!

Today, we are going to go to the bouncey place and the kids are going out with Grandad for a fun evening! All in all, I would recommend GP camp. I am planning on sending mine, every year, hopefully, without parental supervision!

Last night we went to a wedding and took all the children. Certifiable, we are!
One of the joys of being in student ministry for so long, is getting to see them grow into adults and leave the nest. Last night we saw two of those students marry each other. It was a great wedding and had a lot of neat elements to it.
One of the reasons we took the kids is to see all of our old friends from Judson, the first church we joined as a married couple and later served on staff. We have been blessed by so many amazing friendships through our time at Judson. God brought great people into our life and we still marvel at how many students from our time there are now serving in a ministry role. It is a blessing to get to hang out with our old cronies.
The crazy thing was that B was fussy all night, which is not really like him. He wanted to be held and was crying a lot. I kept thinking he was tired. So, after we spoke to all the people we wanted to and ate, we hit the road.
When we walked in door, J is talking and holding B and out came the vomit. Through the Lord’s amazing grace, it did not land in J’s mouth (if u are not a parent and just read that- your time will come!). Needless to say, B was obviously not feeling well.
So, I am home with all the kids this Sunday morning. B seems to be feeling fine. The girls have built a boat out of our sofa cushions and I am forcing myself to go with it when what I really want to do is clean it up! Remember we are selling our house!
Have a blessed Sunday!

What a great week we have had at VBS!!!!

We started using a new curriculum this year and it was, by far, the best one I have ever been a part of in all my many years of VBS.

I led a station called Cinema Science because the theme was science. I basically used “science experiments” to provide application for the bible story. We also watched a dvd segment each day and discussed the bible verse. Some of the experiments were really cool. My favorite was yesterday when we gave kids a chance to respond to all they had heard by becoming a Christ follower. We used reactor paper and then had kids put their fingers in a very wet sponge of windex. When they touched the paper it left a red fingerprint. They discussed things that made God sad or a specific sin. Then, we talked about how Jesus’ blood provided forgiveness for our sin. They then dipped their fingers in lemon juice and “erased” the red fingerprints. It was a great, hands on application to the work of Christ on the Cross. The kids loved it.

My other favorite was watching our adults and high schoolers love on kids. It was a thrill to get to watch them in their small group time and see so many adults and high school students interact with kids. I loved hearing their conversations and watching them serve!

Some of the other highlights include getting to “walk on water” in their Bible Blast time! This was when they heard the bible story. It was really a mixture of about 24 pounds of corn starch and water, but the kids totally thought it was cool. Kinda like me, with using words like, totally and cool!

I love that we taught the Word and made it come alive for our kids! I know mine have not stopped talking about it all week.

Although, I will enjoy getting to sleep in a little later tomorrow!