SO COLD!!

Matt and I chickened out on our walk this morning. Instead, we went to the grocery store! Daniel was up so he tagged along! By 7:00 am we were at ShopRite! I LOVE the grocery store this early in the morning! The shelves are newly stocked and there is no one there! I think I have found my new time to go grocery shopping. I usually go at night after the kids are in bed, but I REALLY hate leaving the house at night. I would so rather be doing laundry, cleaning, or grading papers. So I think 7:00 am is going to be my new time - now to just pick a day! I think if I can get going a little earlier I can also get my Target and CVS shopping in on the same day. Then I would have the rest of the day to concentrate on other things.

It is so cold! We go for a mid-morning walk with the Darrow children - about 15 minutes long - and Daniel DID NOT want to go!!! He had already been out in it and knew what was in store! He was finally convinced, but it was an extremely short walk today! I so can't wait for Spring to come. I am ready for fresh breezes, pretty little flowers and longer daylight! Soon!

A Sight to See!

Some of you may remember my concern when I believed Sarah would NEVER learn how to read. She had absolutely NO interest in the written word. She thought it torture to be made to sit and listen to a book and even more so to actually have to tell me about letters, sounds and put them together! Well, after dinner yesterday I found her like this in the dining room! I just laughed! She was actually taking time out of her free time to read! I currently can't keep her supplied with enough books! For her reading log she has over 1800 pages read - and those are just the books I have remembered to record - I know there are several I have forgotten! I thank God for his faithfulness and that He has now given her the desire to read. In fact she just completed reading the book of Matthew in her Bible. Please continue to pray for her as she grows and matures in her faith.

This morning Matt and I started walking. We walked for about 30 minutes, from 7:15-7:45 am. It was good and fun. He has his father's long stride!! He really keeps me going! It was good to start our day off talking and focusing on what we would try to work on as far as attitude and school. My legs felt good, too! I hadn't stretched them in some time. We are going to try and make this a daily event. I think it helps put Matt's mind in the right direction for the day and gets some of his energy to use! It is difficult to get the kids enough exercise when your yard is small and you can't let them out by themselves. I'm going to try and figure out a time when Sarah and I can go walk (she would rather run!) in the afternoons.

Too Smart

I often do not understand the way God works in my life. I am one of those people that just knows He is and tend to not think too deeply about it. I know some people think I am a deep thinker, but I'm really not...being quiet tends to give people the idea that I think deeply. My first born son, however, is an incredibly deep thinker - has been pretty much since birth. I often ask God what possessed Him to give me a son who thinks so deeply. Is it to cause me to think more deeply? Is it to cause me to really depend upon Him to give me the answers because I have not a clue as to what they are? Is it to remind me, once again, I am not in control - He is? I believe it's all these things and more. Today was another opportunity for growth! On both of our parts. It was a stressful day that ended with a good discussion and a resolve to try some new things to get through school and family life. Pray for us as we try these new skills and work on dealing with anger issues. Pray for my deep thinking son - that he would not over think the simple act of God's love, and ours, and would accept it freely and willingly.

Another prayer request is for my brother-in-law as he goes in for surgery tomorrow. I believe they found a cancer spot on his back and they are removing it tomorrow. Please pray that it would go smoothly and they would get it all.

I promised pictures from the kids fun in the snow - here are a few.

Good Morning Snow!

Daniel woke up to see our front yard covered with snow! He LOVED it! We'll have to take him outside to see if he likes it as much up close! Matt and Sarah are disappointed as we DO NOT take snow days! The joy (or curse in their minds!) of homeschooling!

Back to Awful

Today has been awful - and it's only 12:30 pm. Matthew has been as trying as he can be. I have decided that all I can do is pray - pray that God would soften his heart, pray that God would open his eyes to the many blessings he has been given, pray that God would help him to be cooperative instead of argumentative. I am also praying that God would help me to say the right things, do the right things and love him even though that is really the last thing I feel like doing. It's terrible to admit - but I do not like this person that has been living in my house for the last few months. Please pray that I would love him unconditionally and for me to discover exactly how that is shown to him. I never imagined that parenting would be as difficult as it has turned out to be. I guess it's a good thing we do not know the future. Based on events at the moment I never would have embarked on this path.

Sarah is doing well. She has her first sleepover tomorrow night and is beyond excited! She has been completing her work and even cleaned her bedroom! You know this is serious when she cleans her bedroom! Please pray for me as I am not fond of sleepovers and some of the events that take place at them - ex. truth or dare, etc. But the woman that is doing the sleepover is completely trustworthy and I know she won't let anything like that go on! Pray that Sarah gets some sleep!

Andy is teaching Teen Club tonight. Pray for him as some of his regular leaders are out of town or sick. Help has been thin lately, but the number of children hasn't lessened. We are extremely thankful for PBU students! Pray for their safety as they travel back and forth.

He's Better!

This is what happens when you leave a 2 1/2 year old alone for 30 seconds! As you can see he got into the diaper rash cream and decided to rub it on his face! Thankfully nothing got into his eyes or in his mouth - but his skin is baby bottom soft!!! He is definitely feeling better and back to his old self!

Matthew again got his work completed - even after a few tears and outbursts of how unfair I am as a teacher. He is starting to realize I only give him what a normal fifth grader can complete. As he talks with some of his friends who attend school he is getting the idea that he gets no more or no less school work than they do. His only advantage is that he can move ahead as fast as he can progress. He was talking with one friend who actually gets demerits if he works ahead of the class - Matt was floored! He felt bad that the friend had to wait on the rest of the class to catch up.

Tonight is Preteens. Matt is starting to struggle with wanting to go to Kids Club - he's ready for a change, namely preteens. It would be very easy for me to just stay home with him, but I need to set the example that even when we don't particularly want to do something, if God calls us to do it - we do it! I always enjoy it when I am there - it's the getting there that is difficult! Pray for Andy as he speaks on Caleb and how when we expect great things from God we can attempt great things for God. Please pray for our preteen/ young teen girls as they are starting already to think and deal with boyfriends and all the pressures that that entails.

Update: We had 41 kids out tonight! Many of them new! It was a great night!

Powerful Prayer!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying for Daniel! His bottom is completely better! He stopped having problems on Saturday and is back to his normal, happy, loud self!!! Another great bit of news is that we now have him going to bed WITHOUT us sitting in his room! We have discovered that if we put him to bed, pray with him, and then close the door - he doesn't get out of bed! YEAH!!!!! What a breakthrough! He is definitly becoming a three year old. THe next thing is potty training! I have started stocking up on Pull-Ups as CVS has been having spend so much get so much back in ECB's the past few weeks. I plan to start in May as soon as school is done. He doesn't seem to be itching to get that task accomplished so I think it won't hurt to wait that long.

The "plague" as we like to call it has hit a number of our staff this week. Andy is feeling run down and achey and poor Frank was out all last week feeling terrible. It seems to have hit Jeff as well and they have to leave for Florida tomorrow to visit a supporting church! Please pray that this terrible virus would end and leave for good.

Matt has done better with is school work today. It is 4:30 pm and he only has to finish diagramming his sentences from English and penmenship. It's not to say we didn't have some attitude showing up, but he is making an effort to do better and we are not putting up with anything. We have decided to try a reward for the end of the week. If he finishes all his work each day for the next five days then I will take him to the movies on Saturday. He really wants to see "Spiderwick Chronicles" since he has read the entire series. I read the books and they are neat. It will be interesting to see what they do with the movie. We'll see if we get to see it this week or not - I hope we do!