I can't believe it's already New Year's Eve! This year seemed to fly by.
I was taking down all of our Christmas decorations today (much to the disappointment of my husband who doesn't want to take down anything until WAY after the new year) and I began to remenisce about this year's "Christmas Tree Adventure". Maybe you would like to hear it!
About six or seven years ago we started the tradition of going to a tree farm with the kids the day after Thanksgiving, picking out a tree and chopping it down. This year was not going to be any different. So we thought!
Our little adventure began as soon as we got the the farm. For the last two years we bought a Canaan Fir - very hardy - but this year they didn't have any over three feet tall. We were looking for something a bit bigger, so we decided to go with the Douglas Fir, also very hardy. We walked through the rows of trees looking carefully at each one. Some were too tall, others not tall enough. Some to fat, some too skinny. We finally narrowed it down to two trees...each on the opposite side of the farm! We must have walked back and forth between the two trees at least four or five times! Some of the kids liked the teardrop shaped tree and some liked the one that was really full. Which one would we get?
Have you ever tried to make a fair decision between two things with eight kids all voting different ways? I think maybe we uncovered some heart issues on this particular day...but that's a different story! Anyway, we decided to flip a coin. The "full" tree wins! Let's chop it down and go home!
After Dave cuts our prize tree down, we all trapse back to the "shed" to make our purchase. Now to load up our tree. We have a 15 passenger van, and last year with the back seat taken out we could fit the tree inside the van. Ummm...yeah, this tree seems a bit bigger than last year. It doesn't fit in the van.
Good thing we came prepared! We stuck a blanket in the back just in case something like this happened! Let's put the tree on top of the van and get going! The only thing the farm had for fastening the trees on was some old baling twine. This is the kind of rope that is made up of little strings all twisted together to form one thicker string. Oh well, I guess you gotta work with what you have, right? Dave tied the tree down and fastened the twine to anything he could find inside the van that was secure enough. The bottom of seats, seat belts, etc. Twice during this process the twine snapped. Not good.
The tree was finally fastened to the roof and we were on our way! As we pulled out of the driveway, Dave asked me to check the tree occasionally to make sure it wasn't slipping. No problem! I could handle this job. No sooner had he made the request than we heard strings snapping. Not the entire twine, but the little strings that made up the twine. "Uh, honey, the tree is sliding."
The tree was still attatched, but Dave decided that we had better play it safe and take all the back roads so that we could go slow enough that the wind wouldn't lift the tree off the roof. Good idea! We manage to make it about a mile from home when Julia cries out, "Daddy, Daddy! You are going to run over our Christmas Tree!"
Sure enough, the tree had slid off of the roof and was hanging on the side of the van...barely! The only thing that was holding it up was one solitary piece of twine that had managed somehow not to break. Dave said for me to cut the twine as he lifted the tree to give me some slack. That would have been fine except the only thing I had to cut it with was my set of keys!
I finally got the twine cut, but now we had another problem. There wasn't enough twine left to refasten the tree to the roof.
Dave opens the back of the van, shoves the tree in trunk first, and proceeds to stradle the tree. He tied the doors as far shut as they would go and then asks me to drive the rest of the way home with him riding our Christmas tree!
Some story, huh? But wait - it's not over! When it was time to take the tree inside and set it up, we came across another "little" problem. We couldn't get it in the door! You are probably thinking that we bought this enormous tree, right? Well, it wasn't any taller than our tree last year, it just was really, really "full" Okay, so it was a big, fat tree!
You know those little netting gizmos they have at tree places that they shove the trees through to put nets on them before you take them home? Well, this is the method that Dave used to get our tree through our front door. He turned the tree around and shoved it through the door trunk first. (I think maybe our tree lost a bit of that "full" look after coming in the doorway so abruptly!)
Our tree managed to dominate our living room for the rest of the Christmas season. Filled with lights and trimmed with all the kids decorations, it was quite a sight to behold. Very...festive. It will be nice to get some of the space back in our living room once it's gone, but for all the trouble our tree gave us, I'm kind of going to miss it.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Wearing Masks
The other night I was doing some last minute preparations for company that we were having over. Dinner was coming along nicely and the house was looking pretty good. The tree lights were plugged in, the candles turned on in the windows and the kids were all playing nicely together.
Then it happened. A door slammed and I heard a blood curdling scream. Someone had gotten hurt. Nathan was crying, "My ear! My ear!"
I was in the bathroom wiping off the sink and told Nathan to come in so I could see what happened. He was still crying and there was blood pouring from his ear. I hollered, "What happened?" No response. I hollered louder, "Somebody tell me what happened, and somebody else get me some paper towels. Nathan is bleeding!" I heard a few, "I don't knows" and then I tried one more time. "Does anyone know what happened??? Paper towels!!!! Come on guys!"
Well, finally someone came up with the answer. "We were playing in the dark, so we don't know what happened...We couldn't see anything."
We finally concluded that Nathan had slipped and fallen into the closet door, neatly slicing the bottom of his ear lobe. I took him to Patient First and they said he would be okay without stitches. Hurray!
Meanwhile, Julia gets an A+ for getting dinner on that night! I had already put meat balls and spaghetti sauce in the crock pot, but she had to take care of cooking the noodles and the garlic bread. She managed very nicely with a little help from Dad! Way to go Julia!
I've been thinking about that incident quite a bit lately. If that had happened somewhere other than inside my home, or if our company had already arrived, would I have reacted differently? I think I would have.
I often find that I keep my reactions to my children in check when I know that others are watching. I am sure that if I were elsewhere when Nathan got hurt, my reaction would have been more like this. "Hey, kids! Could someone please tell me what happened to Nathan?" (this would, of course, be spoken in a nice calm voice) "Are you sure no one knows? Okay, well, I need some paper towels because Nathan is bleeding pretty badly. Thank you!"
When I told Dave about what I had been pondering, he came up with this response. "Doesn't hypocrite mean mask? I'm not saying that you are, of course!" Well Dave, if the shoe fits!
How many other times have I reacted in such an ungodly manner towards my kids? This is just a continuation of my other thought about pleasing men and pleasing God, I guess. I truly believe that my children are a blessing and a precious gift that Dave and I have received directly from God's hands. Why then do I so often treat them as anything less than precious?
I believe that the person you are in your home is the person that God sees when He looks at your heart. Remember, man looks at the outward appearance, which I believe many of us attempt to cover up by reacting differently than we would at home.
I'm not saying you should lose your temper at your kids outside the home as well as in your homes! I am encouraging you as well as myself to work on having loving responses towards your kids inside your home even when no one is watching! This is what is going to make a positive impression on your kids. When you act differently when you are being observed, your kids will see you as a hypocrite - definitely not a positive impression! We are to be living examples of Christ to our kids in our everyday lives... Not just when others are watching!
My word to moms: Take off our masks and throw them away!
Then it happened. A door slammed and I heard a blood curdling scream. Someone had gotten hurt. Nathan was crying, "My ear! My ear!"
I was in the bathroom wiping off the sink and told Nathan to come in so I could see what happened. He was still crying and there was blood pouring from his ear. I hollered, "What happened?" No response. I hollered louder, "Somebody tell me what happened, and somebody else get me some paper towels. Nathan is bleeding!" I heard a few, "I don't knows" and then I tried one more time. "Does anyone know what happened??? Paper towels!!!! Come on guys!"
Well, finally someone came up with the answer. "We were playing in the dark, so we don't know what happened...We couldn't see anything."
We finally concluded that Nathan had slipped and fallen into the closet door, neatly slicing the bottom of his ear lobe. I took him to Patient First and they said he would be okay without stitches. Hurray!
Meanwhile, Julia gets an A+ for getting dinner on that night! I had already put meat balls and spaghetti sauce in the crock pot, but she had to take care of cooking the noodles and the garlic bread. She managed very nicely with a little help from Dad! Way to go Julia!
I've been thinking about that incident quite a bit lately. If that had happened somewhere other than inside my home, or if our company had already arrived, would I have reacted differently? I think I would have.
I often find that I keep my reactions to my children in check when I know that others are watching. I am sure that if I were elsewhere when Nathan got hurt, my reaction would have been more like this. "Hey, kids! Could someone please tell me what happened to Nathan?" (this would, of course, be spoken in a nice calm voice) "Are you sure no one knows? Okay, well, I need some paper towels because Nathan is bleeding pretty badly. Thank you!"
When I told Dave about what I had been pondering, he came up with this response. "Doesn't hypocrite mean mask? I'm not saying that you are, of course!" Well Dave, if the shoe fits!
How many other times have I reacted in such an ungodly manner towards my kids? This is just a continuation of my other thought about pleasing men and pleasing God, I guess. I truly believe that my children are a blessing and a precious gift that Dave and I have received directly from God's hands. Why then do I so often treat them as anything less than precious?
I believe that the person you are in your home is the person that God sees when He looks at your heart. Remember, man looks at the outward appearance, which I believe many of us attempt to cover up by reacting differently than we would at home.
I'm not saying you should lose your temper at your kids outside the home as well as in your homes! I am encouraging you as well as myself to work on having loving responses towards your kids inside your home even when no one is watching! This is what is going to make a positive impression on your kids. When you act differently when you are being observed, your kids will see you as a hypocrite - definitely not a positive impression! We are to be living examples of Christ to our kids in our everyday lives... Not just when others are watching!
My word to moms: Take off our masks and throw them away!
Friday, December 09, 2005
Grocery shopping with...eight?
Yeah, that's right. I decided to make a Giant run with all the kids. Mom said I should go home and leave a couple with my Dad who, at the time was painting Christiana's new bedroom. I had spent the afternoon at my mom's house helping her with her Christmas tree and listening to my kids practice for the Live Nativity at Beachmont next weekend. I realized that I really needed to pick up a couple of things at Giant because we were having friends over for dinner. I also needed the ingredients for a birthday cake for Chrissy and Amanda. I should have listened to Mom!
With the up coming snow storm, I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to go out in the morning before Dave left for work, and I was too tired to go home and then go back out again! It was also nearing dinner time and I needed to be able to feed the kids when we got to the house.
I must have made an interesting picture to those unfortunate enough to witness this little fiasco. I realize that it's a scene all by itself to see me go into the store with all 8 kids. I mean, who in their right mind would attempt that?
The first major problem arose when they didn't have any of those special "big carts". You know, the ones that look like trucks and you can seat at least 3 kids in them? I love those carts! It makes shopping so much easier! Anyway, they didn't have one, so I was trying to make it with a regular cart.
As soon as we made it to the doorway, Matt decided he didn't want to ride on the end of the cart and without any warning jumps off of the cart. Totally unprepared for this little ejection, I begin to run over him! Oops! I tell him to get back on, and certain that he had obeyed quickly, I begin walking, only to run over him again! This happened 2 or 3 more times, and then once we finally got our act together, Nathan walked in front of the cart and I knocked him down as well!
All this took place in the doorway, and the poor soul behind us finally had enough and decided to squeeze around us.
Well, we made it inside the store, and to my joy we found a cart extension! In case you don't know what that is, it's basically a bench on wheels that you can hook to a regular shopping cart by placing the back wheels into holders on the front of the extension. This would give me two extra seats! Hurray! It seems as if my troubles had been solved! Yeah, right! No such luck. Once I was able to get the thing hooked up, I found, to my dismay, that the thing didn't work. Well, back to the regular shopping cart!
I told Jim to grab a basket, since Alyssa was in the back of the cart and Amanda was in the front. He could easily carry the few things that we needed. Naturally, everyone else wanted a basket too, and before I knew it, my kids had pretty much emptied the supply of baskets that were set out. They weren't too thrilled when I told them that they had to put them all back!
We managed to make it down the first isle without incident. Whew! Things were looking up! HA! Think again. Matt couldn't hold on to the end of the cart any more, so he switched places with Nathan. That was okay, except he walked around the store with his head turned around! He must have bumped into three or four people and then he managed to walk right into a stand holding a at least 30 DVDs!
Yep....The stand fell spilling DVDs everywhere. Not only did the stand fall, it almost hit this poor old unsuspecting man! The guy jumped as the stand crashed inches from him, turned around and looks, and then mutters, "What a mess" and walks away.
By this point, I was beyond embarrassment. Me and my little "troop" was center stage amidst the frenzied shopping of those worried about the upcoming storm. All the way through the rest of the store I could hear the whispered comments of those who were watching. Not the comments that are usually made to my face such as, "Are those all your kids?" or, "Wow! Do you run a day care?" No, these were the comments that you aren't supposed to hear, but they were spoken just loud enough to reach my ears. "Man, look at that troop of kids!" "Man, that's a lot of kids!" "Oh, my word!" etc. etc. etc.
If they have cameras throughout Giant like they do in most stores, I imagine the employees might be watching the "Shopping With Eight" re-run for weeks to come. I hope they get more of a laugh out of it than I did!
We did finally make it to the check out, and besides Matt spilling most of the contents of the basket, we headed out of the store with out any more incidents. My comment to the kids when we got to the van, amongst other things was, "This is not going to happen again for a very long time!"
I sure hope I'm right!!!
With the up coming snow storm, I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to go out in the morning before Dave left for work, and I was too tired to go home and then go back out again! It was also nearing dinner time and I needed to be able to feed the kids when we got to the house.
I must have made an interesting picture to those unfortunate enough to witness this little fiasco. I realize that it's a scene all by itself to see me go into the store with all 8 kids. I mean, who in their right mind would attempt that?
The first major problem arose when they didn't have any of those special "big carts". You know, the ones that look like trucks and you can seat at least 3 kids in them? I love those carts! It makes shopping so much easier! Anyway, they didn't have one, so I was trying to make it with a regular cart.
As soon as we made it to the doorway, Matt decided he didn't want to ride on the end of the cart and without any warning jumps off of the cart. Totally unprepared for this little ejection, I begin to run over him! Oops! I tell him to get back on, and certain that he had obeyed quickly, I begin walking, only to run over him again! This happened 2 or 3 more times, and then once we finally got our act together, Nathan walked in front of the cart and I knocked him down as well!
All this took place in the doorway, and the poor soul behind us finally had enough and decided to squeeze around us.
Well, we made it inside the store, and to my joy we found a cart extension! In case you don't know what that is, it's basically a bench on wheels that you can hook to a regular shopping cart by placing the back wheels into holders on the front of the extension. This would give me two extra seats! Hurray! It seems as if my troubles had been solved! Yeah, right! No such luck. Once I was able to get the thing hooked up, I found, to my dismay, that the thing didn't work. Well, back to the regular shopping cart!
I told Jim to grab a basket, since Alyssa was in the back of the cart and Amanda was in the front. He could easily carry the few things that we needed. Naturally, everyone else wanted a basket too, and before I knew it, my kids had pretty much emptied the supply of baskets that were set out. They weren't too thrilled when I told them that they had to put them all back!
We managed to make it down the first isle without incident. Whew! Things were looking up! HA! Think again. Matt couldn't hold on to the end of the cart any more, so he switched places with Nathan. That was okay, except he walked around the store with his head turned around! He must have bumped into three or four people and then he managed to walk right into a stand holding a at least 30 DVDs!
Yep....The stand fell spilling DVDs everywhere. Not only did the stand fall, it almost hit this poor old unsuspecting man! The guy jumped as the stand crashed inches from him, turned around and looks, and then mutters, "What a mess" and walks away.
By this point, I was beyond embarrassment. Me and my little "troop" was center stage amidst the frenzied shopping of those worried about the upcoming storm. All the way through the rest of the store I could hear the whispered comments of those who were watching. Not the comments that are usually made to my face such as, "Are those all your kids?" or, "Wow! Do you run a day care?" No, these were the comments that you aren't supposed to hear, but they were spoken just loud enough to reach my ears. "Man, look at that troop of kids!" "Man, that's a lot of kids!" "Oh, my word!" etc. etc. etc.
If they have cameras throughout Giant like they do in most stores, I imagine the employees might be watching the "Shopping With Eight" re-run for weeks to come. I hope they get more of a laugh out of it than I did!
We did finally make it to the check out, and besides Matt spilling most of the contents of the basket, we headed out of the store with out any more incidents. My comment to the kids when we got to the van, amongst other things was, "This is not going to happen again for a very long time!"
I sure hope I'm right!!!
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Men Pleaser - God Pleaser
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of God." Galatians 1:10
This verse made me step back and really examine my life. How many areas of my life am I really trying to please men? Am I serving God in all areas of my life, or are there areas that I am really seeking the approval of men?
For instance, is the way I dress totally about pleasing God, or do I dress with the thought of "this is so unfashionable - I wouldn't want my friends to see me in this!" or maybe "this outfit is so cute! I can't wait for my friends to see it!". Instead, my thoughts should be something like this. "Am I drawing attention away from my face at all? My countenance is what reflects what's inside, therefore I need to not wear anything that would draw attention to my body. Is my shirt to tight, short, low etc.? Is my skirt to short? Is anything I have on too revealing?"
Another area that I need to make sure I am not trying to please men is in the way I spend my time. First of all, am I faithfully spending time daily with my heavenly Father? Am I doing it privately, with in my "prayer closet", or am I having quiet time surrounded by men so that they can see how Spiritual I am, therefore, pleasing men?
How about the way I spend my free time? Do I entertain myself with movies or TV shows that are wholesome and pleasing to God, or do I watch things because my friends recommended it? "You should see this movie! It was sooo funny! It only had a few bad words in it." Does God really want us to subject ourselves to hearing even just a few bad words, especially if they are words that degrade His person in any way or take His precious name in vain? How about the music and book industry? Do I sing along with all the secular songs, or do I fill my mind with music that is praising to God? Do the books I read make me dwell on spiritual things or help me to better my walk with Christ?
These are some of the more obvious areas that constantly need checking on, but what about some of the not so obvious areas? Is the way I respond to my husband a way that I can please man? I think it is. When you are entertaining guests in your home, do you find yourself trying to present the relationship with your spouse in a different light than it really is? For example, when your husband does or says something in front of your guests that just the other day you responded in anger to him or complained to him about, do you respond differently- even lovingly- because people are watching?
When you are without your husband and some of your friends start talking about the problems that they have with their husbands and the things they do that are so annoying, do you join in and gossip with them about your husband? This is not pleasing to God! This is another way that we can please men. God wants wives to honor and respect their husbands even when our husbands aren't around!
How about the area of raising my kids? Do I seek to please men in any way in this area? Am I more patient in public with my children than I am in private, giving men a false representation of myself so that they will think more highly of me? Do I lower any of the standards that I have set for them just so they can have fun with their friends? Do I let them watch things that fill their minds with things that would draw them away from God in any way?
I am sure that if I spent more time dwelling on this I could come up with even more not so obvious areas of my life that need examining. I desire to be a servant of God. I need to examine every aspect of my life - the obvious and not so obvious - and make sure that I am not trying to please men in any way!
This verse made me step back and really examine my life. How many areas of my life am I really trying to please men? Am I serving God in all areas of my life, or are there areas that I am really seeking the approval of men?
For instance, is the way I dress totally about pleasing God, or do I dress with the thought of "this is so unfashionable - I wouldn't want my friends to see me in this!" or maybe "this outfit is so cute! I can't wait for my friends to see it!". Instead, my thoughts should be something like this. "Am I drawing attention away from my face at all? My countenance is what reflects what's inside, therefore I need to not wear anything that would draw attention to my body. Is my shirt to tight, short, low etc.? Is my skirt to short? Is anything I have on too revealing?"
Another area that I need to make sure I am not trying to please men is in the way I spend my time. First of all, am I faithfully spending time daily with my heavenly Father? Am I doing it privately, with in my "prayer closet", or am I having quiet time surrounded by men so that they can see how Spiritual I am, therefore, pleasing men?
How about the way I spend my free time? Do I entertain myself with movies or TV shows that are wholesome and pleasing to God, or do I watch things because my friends recommended it? "You should see this movie! It was sooo funny! It only had a few bad words in it." Does God really want us to subject ourselves to hearing even just a few bad words, especially if they are words that degrade His person in any way or take His precious name in vain? How about the music and book industry? Do I sing along with all the secular songs, or do I fill my mind with music that is praising to God? Do the books I read make me dwell on spiritual things or help me to better my walk with Christ?
These are some of the more obvious areas that constantly need checking on, but what about some of the not so obvious areas? Is the way I respond to my husband a way that I can please man? I think it is. When you are entertaining guests in your home, do you find yourself trying to present the relationship with your spouse in a different light than it really is? For example, when your husband does or says something in front of your guests that just the other day you responded in anger to him or complained to him about, do you respond differently- even lovingly- because people are watching?
When you are without your husband and some of your friends start talking about the problems that they have with their husbands and the things they do that are so annoying, do you join in and gossip with them about your husband? This is not pleasing to God! This is another way that we can please men. God wants wives to honor and respect their husbands even when our husbands aren't around!
How about the area of raising my kids? Do I seek to please men in any way in this area? Am I more patient in public with my children than I am in private, giving men a false representation of myself so that they will think more highly of me? Do I lower any of the standards that I have set for them just so they can have fun with their friends? Do I let them watch things that fill their minds with things that would draw them away from God in any way?
I am sure that if I spent more time dwelling on this I could come up with even more not so obvious areas of my life that need examining. I desire to be a servant of God. I need to examine every aspect of my life - the obvious and not so obvious - and make sure that I am not trying to please men in any way!
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