Recently, I've been working at putting together a bit of a routine for our days. We used to have one but it seems that since we moved here, Daddy left, Ally got sick, Gramma came, and life just got so busy. Anyhoo... I'm slowly beginning to implement this somewhat 'routine', in addition to our week of obedience (re)training. The first thing I want to become consistent in with our daily events is our Bible/Proverbs time. Before we moved, we did this often and really enjoyed it. So today we began it again.
The children listened as I read through a chapter of Proverbs (the chapter corresponds with the day of the month... ex. today is the 30th, we read Proverbs 30). Sometimes we just read and sometimes we discuss a few verses together.
After our reading aloud, we (or just mama) choose a verse of focus. I, then write it on the dry erase board, we read it a few times aloud, and then we illustrate the verse (everyone offers their ideas and mama draws)...
Then they put the verse and illustration on their own piece of paper and color it. Mama draws for Beth and Carolynne and they do the coloring. Will does his illustration himself and I, sometimes, help him with the color-in letters for the words. They enjoy working on them...
Ally wasn't able to do one of her own but she still commented on how she enjoyed doing Proverbs Time with everyone this morning.
Here were their (somewhat) finished projects...
Carolynne's, Beth's, and Will's I like to keep them in a 3-ring binder.
The children enjoyed playing outside today, too. They couldn't wait to see how their garden was growing. Will laughed at his green beans... they were starting to stand straight up!
Also, today, we went to pick up Ally's new glasses. She was so excited that she would be able to see/read without her eyes hurting. I think they look very nice on her...
We enjoyed a nice supper with Gramma. She leaves in two more days. (boo hoo) We've SO enjoyed having her here. It's been such a blessing!
This evening, I sat down to check my emails and discovered a surprising email from my daughter. She is rarely on the computer (needs permission) but once in a while she will surprise me with a quick, sweet email. Apparently, she sent this one as I was getting baths for the three younger ones (in addition to doing hair, finger and toe nails, ears, saying prayers, putting them to bed, etc... phew!). An hour and a half later (yes, it really took me that long), I was greeted with this email in my inbox. I must say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... lol
Hi Mom. Gramma said to be nice to you, so I didn't go any further.... (please scroll the mouse')
... can I take credit for the "drawing"? lol I'm so glad you have a face that's fun to play with! Oh, and BTW...
I LOVE YOU!
Wanted to tell you you're keen. And thanks for letting me clean. I tried to do it without being seen. And now I'll need on something to lean...
????
...oh, you know what I mean.
Love the weirdest daughter alive,
...Ally
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine..." ~ Proverbs 17:22a
Before I start each day, there is a special place I love to go alone and seek my Savior's face: I find wisdom in His Word to instruct me in His will, And I hear His gentle voice say, "My child, be still."
My quiet time alone gives me power to obey. My quiet time alone with God each day. I talk to Him in prayer; ev'ry day He meets me there. My quiet time alone with God.
He's with me all the time, wherever I may go; Each moment of the day, He's always there I know. But I need that special time when I bow before His throne, Just to read His Word and talk with my Lord alone.
My quiet time alone gives me power to obey. My quiet time alone with God each day. I talk to Him in prayer; ev'ry day He meets me there. My quiet time alone with God.
words and music by Ron Hamilton Hear a sample HERE
"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed" ~ Mark 1:35
"O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is" ~ Psalm 63:1
When the children awoke this morning they couldn't wait to slip outside to see how their garden was growing. They were excited to see green!
Will's green beans
Beth's cucumbers
Carolynne's lettuce
Mama's tomatoes
Even if we only get one vegetable to grow, it will be worth it. They are so delighted.
They also spotted something outside the door. At first, it looked like a leaf but when we got closer we discovered it was a moth... We hope to learn more about him later.
It's always precious to see the children delighting in God's creation!
A while ago I posted about the birds that have been visiting in our backyard. We have found ourselves staring intently out the dining room window, watching with deep interest, the beauty and behavior of these feathered friends. We are in constant amusement. We have enjoyed, so much, learning more about these fascinating creatures, designed by our Marvelous Creator. We just can't get enough.
We've had a 'new' feathered friend visiting this week... A bluejay
We have, also, had our regular visitors. After supper, today, we enjoyed watching two sets of cardinals (2 'mamas' and 2 'daddies'). We see the cardinals together, often, and love to see them 'shop' for food together, share their food, walk together, etc... There was a brief 'spat' between the two couples as they were occupying the same area, but they worked it out. The cardinal is Ally's favorite... She, especially, loves to say cardinal in Greek. She loves the sound of it.
We also spent time this week trying to identify this bird... He travels often with his "wife", too. We were excited to discover that he is a house finch.
In addition to the birds, we have enjoyed this... courtesy of our neighbor's yard. We love to see the blossoms!
Isn't God's creation absolutely beautiful?! Have you, too, taken time to enjoy and appreciate it? What a miracle it is!
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen..." ~ Romans 1:20
"The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." ~ Psalm 111:2
Though we had an eventful evening yesterday, we had a pretty good day. The children spent some time in self-learning.
Will worked in his math for a little bit... and then headed outdoors to play and to draw a picture of a couple of cardinals that have been visiting our yard frequently.
Beth decided to color outside... She is very particular in her coloring. She tries to leave the least amount of uncolored spots on her paper as possible by coloring in as much as she is able. It's so cute how they each have their own coloring habits.
Meanwhile Carolynne searched for interesting treasures hiding in the backyard... And found a few that were lovely to her.
Ally spent most of the day reading "The Odyssey" by Homer... (one of the books she found at the thrift store recently) She completed the book today.
Today (after last night's incident), we decided to take it a bit easy. We had a family of friends come for a visit, which lifted Ally's spirits (and was good for all of us). It was nice to see all of the children outside enjoying the beautiful weather that we were blessed with today.
I don't know what it is, exactly, but I just love to see children jump rope. I was thrilled to see them in the backyard playing with the rope together. Ally didn't do any jumping but she enjoyed contributing best she could... Will was thrilled to try this way of jumping rope, especially since he just figured out, this past weekend, how to jump a rope by himself. A lovely accomplishment for him! I was a proud mama to see him catching on so quickly.
Beth was eager to give the jump rope a try, too... She even got in a clear jump!
Carolynne wasn't quite ready to give it a shot, but she was excited to help swing the rope... It was precious to see them all playing so well together and enjoying themselves. It thrills my heart to see my children (and, in this case, my friend's children) get along so well... overcoming age gaps and so forth. It really is a blessing to see the older ones play with the younger ones so willingly and cheerfully. And it is such a blessing to see the younger ones respond with such excitement and delight.
This evening the children, Gramma, and I sat in the backyard watching the birds... they sure have been active! It was delightful. At suppertime, the younger ones decided to eat outdoors to continue their birdwatching (and squirrel watching). It was precious to see.
This has been a week of a couple of milestones for us... Will learning to jump rope successfully. Carolynne deciding she can jump on the trampoline without holding the net. And this evening, at bedtime, both lil' girls insisted on not wearing diapers to bed. (we'll see how the morning goes) Even these milestones are such precious moments in our children's lives. They sure grow fast. May I not waste or overlook these moments.
Thank you, Lord, for children.
"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD; and the fruit of the womb is his reward." ~ Psalm 127:3
Thank you to those praying for Ally. It is a great blessing to know she is lifted up in fervent prayer. Thank you so much.
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." ~ James 5:16
UPDATE: Thursday, April 26... It seems like such a while since I've updated on the situation with Ally. We have been treating Ally naturally with some different B vitamins, vitamin C, and adding particular foods to her diet that help supress the thyroid. She seemed to be doing pretty well... until about a few days ago. She started having 'flare ups'/'spells' of great difficulty in breathing, dizziness, and other increased symptoms.
Last night, we had to leave the church service because her heart was racing (more than usual) and it was causing her to hyperventilate and go into a bit of a panic-type attack (which can be contributed to the thyroid, too). Her breathing was extremely difficult/painful so I took her to the ER... Four hours later, she felt a tad bit better and they couldn't really do anything except recommend we take her prescribed medicine, which I, very prayerfully, had gotten filled earlier yesterday afternoon. So with much prayer, we have decided to begin her on the prescribed medication.
I am confident that this is the Lord's will, for now, and we will continue to seek natural remedies. She sees the homeopathic 'doctor' next Friday and she will also be getting an uptake scan of her thyroid to check, again, for Graves' Disease sometime next week.
I was encouraged by the ER doctor... He mentioned that many young girls her age tend to 'grow out' of this hyperthyroidism and the homeopathic doctor, that I spoke to on the phone, said something very similar.
We are continuing to pray for healing and that the Lord will guide me and give me peace in the decision making. Thank you, again, for all of your prayers. They mean so much!
UPDATE: Sunday, April 1... Tomorrow Ally and I are going back to the specialist (3 hours away) for her to get an EEG and to see the endocrinologist for the possibility of hyperthyroidism. The younger ones will be remaining at home with gramma and a friend of mine. Thank you for your prayers tomorrow. They are greatly appreciated.
Update: Thursday, February 8th... All of Ally's lab work came back normal. Tomorrow, the doctor will be making calls to get her into see the neurologist. We have a 'regular' doctor appointment next Friday. Rejoicing that the labs came back okay. Continuing to pray we will get 'to the bottom' of this and that the Lord will guide.
Update: Monday, February 12th... Friday afternoon, Ally had an MRI and an x-ray done. We are still awaiting those results. We were told she will be getting another MRI this week to test for something more specific.
Update: Thursday, February 15th... Ally's MRI results from last Friday came back normal. We are awaiting an appointment for her next MRI, which test specifically for MS (and, perhaps, more... I'm unsure, yet). The referral for a pedriatric neurologist has been approved and we are awaiting an appointment for that, as well.
Update: Tuesday, February 20th... Ally is still doing about the same, though she has had an increase in tingling in her feet/legs. She will be having another MRI on Friday that will be testing for MS and next week we will be seeing the pediatric neurologist.
Update: Wednesday, February 28th... Today we visited the pediatric neurologist. I must admit that I was a bit unsure about him and am consulting our regular doctor in regards to this. Anyhow, he says that he doesn't really think that her problems are necessarily neurological, which is good. He did, however, pull me aside and ask if she has been under a lot of stress and wonders if she has some anxiety issues. Which, at face value, with her Dad leaving and all, could appear to resemble some possible smidgen of truth, but she has suffered many of these symptoms for quite a few years now. They have just 'flared up' this past month. They did do some additional blood work today to test her B12 and folic acid and we will be going back in two weeks to do some nerve testing. He also mentioned the possibility of physical therapy and such. I hope to hear from our regular doctor within the next couple of days to find out what he would like to do. Thank you, again, so much for your continued prayers.
UPDATE: Sunday, March 25... Tomorrow Ally has an appointment with a neuromuscular disease doctor at one of the state's university hospitals. This will be a three hour drive (one way) for the children and I. Please pray for safe travel, in addition for the appointment. Thank you all so much. I will update, again, as soon as I am able.
UPDATE: Tuesday, March 27... The doctor (from our appointment yesterday) called us this morning. He said that one of Ally's hormone levels was elevated and he believes she may have hyperthyroid. He does not think this is necessarily the whole problem but does feel it could be contributing to some of her symptoms. We are waiting for further blood test results.
He has also submitted her name to be admitted to the hospital for a couple of days so they can run further tests and such. We should know more within the next few days. In addition... Ally seemed to feel a bit better today and was able to move around quite a bit more. We were rejoicing in answer to prayer. Thank you, again, so much for your continued prayers, advice, and encouraging words. They have been a tremendous blessing to all of us.
UPDATE: Wednesday, March 29... WOW... That was fast... On the way home from church this evening, the hospital called my cell phone and said that they had been waiting for Ally to arrive all day! I explained to her my surprise and that we had been wondering if they were going to be calling today to let us know when Ally would be coming. We had a nice little chuckle over the miscommunication... apparently someone somehow forgot to call us. She spoke to another lady there and said that they would be calling us tomorrow to let us know when a bed was available. So, if I understood her correctly, we should be admitting Ally to the hospital tomorrow for a couple of days of observation, testing, etc... We appreciate your prayers for these next few days especially. I'm not sure, at this time, how we will approach this (as the hospital is 3 hours away). I'm not sure what we'll be doing with the younger children, etc... I'm praying the Lord will show me what He'd have me to do in this area.
There was something that we found funny that I wanted to share... We have seen the Lord answering prayer a lot lately... very specifically, too. Well after I got off the phone with the nurse, I said to Ally that I was suprised they had called and gotten a bed for her so soon. She smiled real big and said, "Not me." I asked her, "How's that?" She replied by telling me that she had prayed the Lord would allow all of this to happen very soon/quickly... and He answered! I looked at her, smiling too, and said "That's great, honey... but you could've given me a heads-up!" We shared a giggle and rejoiced that the Lord answered so quickly. Thank you for your continued prayers.
UPDATE: Thursday, March 29... The doctor's office called this morning... Instead of admitting Ally to the hospital, they are taking a different route, for now. We will be traveling there for an appointment on Monday to get an EEG and to see the endocrinologist.
This works out better with the situation with my lil' ones... Also it's raining today and I'm not fond of driving in the rain. ;o) This also works out because we will not miss Crucifixion Sunday at our church this Sunday. *Ü* We are, again, praising the Lord for His answers to much prayer. Thank you, again, to all of you that are praying. I can't express what a tremendous blessing it is to know we're being lifting up in fervent prayer.
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." ~ James 5:16
One thing I love about spring is the ability and allure to be outside... particularly in the morning as I spent quiet time with the Lord. What a delight it is to be surrounded by His creation as I am surrounded by His Word!
I love how the Lord speaks to us through His Perfect Word. His Word is alive! He allowed a particular verse to stand out today that really encouraged my heart...
"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." ~ 1 Corinthians 2:5
He knew just when I would need t o be encouraged by that Truth! This really 'hit home' with our situation with Ally (and other things). I am so thankful that He is Faithful and Constant and that He is the Great Comforter and Encourager!
I scanned this to email to my beloved and just had to share. The children and I got a good laugh from this. My beloved (Ally and Will, too) have met this 'culprit' personally when they have gone golfing and he is actually quite agressive. But we shared a chuckle when we saw him in the newspaper. The headline cracked us up...
I'm not sure what it is about the way a sandwich is cut that children delight in and are more inclined to eat, but a couple of months ago I took a biscuit cutter to their lunch and they absolutely loved it. They are especially fond of having these at their indoor picnics and tea parties...
Will learned a poem a couple of years ago that we were repeating throughout the day...
Work
Work while you work, Play while you play; This is the way To be happy each day. All that you do, Do with your might; Things done by halves Are never done right.
~ Anonymous
Today was a productive day for us. I was thankful it started out wonderfully with a phone call from my beloved! It was so nice to talk with him for a while!
Then it was time to begin our day. I was able to tackle a couple loads of laundry and then tackled Will's hair. It had gotten pretty thick because even Daddy made a wee comment. I'm always surprised at the amount of hair that falls off of Will's head when I give him a 'trim'...
When his hair is thinner, it's redder... (that's probably not a word, huh?)
After cleaning up the kitchen, making lunches, and other miscellaneous things, I made my way outdoors to tackle some much needed work. I know it may be different in others' marriages, but in ours, my beloved is the one that cuts the grass. Not that I don't know how or don't want to... he just likes to do it. Well, that being said... it's been a really long time since I've done any grass cutting, but I couldn't put it off any longer... This particular area had been 'infested' with bumblebees, so, yes, it needed to be cut, badly. But, alas, the mower couldn't get it all... so the weedwacker and I became aquainted...
We also had to move the 'furniture' around...
We had some much needed raking that had to be done, too. Ally did her mama a favor by moving the bikes and chasing off the little lizard... Of course, Beth and Carolynne were there to help, too.
Carolynne helped me rake...
Then she took a break...
My mama helped a lot, too, then took a break to read... Since she's been here, she has read through the entire "Anne of Green Gables" series! And lots of other miscellaneous reading. I think she's been enjoying herself... we have been.
After the leaves were raked up, Will and Beth helped with the bagging...
Then carried them off to where they belonged...
Then it was time for a break and a treat...
Then it was time to make an ameteur attempt at gardening... really just seeing if we could grow anything at all. The children were excited to get started and helped gather up what we needed...
Well, the soil was too heavy for Carolynne, so she helped in her own unique way. lol
They had lots of fun playing with the dirt...
Ally decided on an easier job of cleaning off the table... ...by sweeping it! lol
We decided to plant some flowers in the basket of this bike... It belonged to my grandpa. The children love this bike and they thought it would be a great place for flowers.
As the afternoon drew to an end, they were all ready to retire indoors. Carolynne, however, was eager to water all of those seeds that we had planted...
I was ready to relax, too, but knew it was supper time, then bath and bedtime... A mama's job, truly, is never done (but I wouldn't have it any other way).
Ally was feeling well enough to make up supper... wet burritos! Mmmm. What a sweetie she is!
Now the children are in bed and mama's ready to head there, too. I look forward to a restful Lord's Day tomorrow.
Hope y'all enjoyed your day.
"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" ~ Colossians 3:23
