Created To Be His Help Meet Chpt. 4

Let me ask you a question. When your kids are all grown up and have left home will you still know you husband? I don't just mean know his name, what he likes for supper, or how he likes his socks folded, but really know him. Will you still know what ignites that spark between the two of you that was so bright when you first met each other. Will you still want to spend time together? I think I have mentioned this before, but as wives we sometimes get so caught up in our kids that we forget the effort needed to keep our relationship with our husband strong and healthy. And we have seen situations where couples pour everything into their kids and then when they are grown up and left home, they are left with a spouse who is practically a stranger. So what can I do to make sure this does not happen? Here are some of the ideas I have gleaned from this book and some of our own experiences. - Take time to laugh and enjoy each others company. Sometimes I get so caught up in the endless tasks I have as a mom that I forget to laugh with my husband. But when we laugh together it bonds us and is also a great example for our kids of a healthy relationship. They love it when we joke around together or have a 'tickle fight'. Plus it's lots of fun! - When you have something to share (new idea, event in your day, a new joke) share it first with your husband instead of your mom or your other friends. Who you share these things with is who your soul will be tied to. Make sure it's tied to your husband. Remember when you were courting and you just couldn't wait to tell him the latest news? I remember making a list of things to tell him when he would call. This was important to me then and it should be important now. - Don't go out with 'your' friends. It seems to be a interpreted as a weakness these days to actually want to spend free time with your spouse. I think the theory that we tell our kids often, applies here as well. My husband will always be here (as long as we both shall live). Why would I concentrate on spending my time with friends instead of my best friend. Now I can hear some of you saying, "What, you mean we should never spend time with our friends?" Sure you can spend time with friends, but why not spend time together with mutual friends. I rarely go out with just my friends. We concentrate on spending the little time we have to visit, to visit together as a couple or as a family. That way we have experienced what each other has experienced and it builds unity and a common bond between us. - Don't get into the 'your time, my time' way of thinking. I believe that when I chose to marry Mark I chose to have 'our time'. We have witnessed other couples have 'their time' and will fight for their time not matter what the price. I think this cultivates a self-centeredness and causes an unhealthy competition (eg. You did this, now I get to do that) - Find out what really makes your husband feel loved. A very good book about this topic is "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. In this book Gary describes the different ways that people want to be loved. The five different love languages are; quality time, physical touch and closeness, encouraging words, gift giving, and acts of service. Every one has a primary love language. And each of us has our own way that we feel the most loved. I strongly recommend this book as it is a tool to figure out what makes your husband (and children) feel loved. - Surprise your husband with a get away, special supper or an evening with just the two of you. A while ago (too long ago now that I think about it) I 'kidnapped' Mark. I arranged things at home so that we could go away for a couple of days, packed our things, hid them in the trunk of the car and made it seem like we were just going for our routine errand running. When we got to our usual destination and Mark went into the store I put a 'ransom' not on his seat in thh car. It was only then that he was clued in to what was happening. We had a great time and it was extra special because it was a way for me to say to him 'you mean a lot to me and you are worth all this'. The older kids also had a fun time trying to keep the secret from dad! When we had little ones and I was still nursing a baby we would send the kids downstairs or wait until they were in bed and I would turn our living room into a 'romantic restaurant'. I would prepare a special supper and then we would spend some one on one time. Now that we have older kids who can babysit we can get away more often, but this was a way that got us through those earlier years with little ones in keeping our relationship a priority. - Make love fun. As I read this chapter I realized that I have become quite a Sour Mrs. many times. I forget to have the little 'love fights' that were so frequent wehn we were first married. I have to work hard at not becoming a hands off type of wife. - Live with thanksgiving, forgiveness and joy. Live every moment as if it were your last because someday........it will be!

Cows, Shopping and Other Things!

Well. what a week we have been having!

Went to a cattle grazing school, learned about stuff like grazing your cattle!!

The government payed; free hotel, free meals, free babysitter, free hired labor...need I say more!

Are all my Manitoba readers enjoying the snow?

The song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" was on in Superstore.

Aa a lady and I were picking through the bananas, we turned to each other and kind of smirked, I guess we can stop dreaming about it, cause, IT"S HERE!

Our white Christmas is here, and I have the overwhelming urge to go somewhere tropical! Warm weather, beaches, fresh fruit....

but then I think of the $10,000 spent on plane tickets,

thousands spent on hotels, who know how much on food.....

and I am content to be here in crisp Manitoba, where your nose hairs freeze together as you walk out the door.

So I will focus on the fun things of winter:

hot chocolate with snowman poop (or marshmellows for all you technical people),

cozying up by the wood stove,

skating on our rink (we got it done!),

little boys who ask for carrots and buttons for their latest snowman buddy,

tobogganing,

the crunch of snow under your feet,

bundled up little bumkins who get super frustrated because they can't move,

just to name a few!

SOOO...happy winter day.

Created to be His Help Meet Chapter 3

This chapter was perfect timing for me! Right now we have a cold/fever thing in our house that has been going around for over a month. I of course have been lamenting this fact, seeing having sick kids is not fun. Then I read the verses in this chapter about a thankful spirit. Ya, not always easy, but the best way. As I reflected this chapter I thought of my dear mom. She has always been one who has had a thankful spirit no matter what her circumstances have been. Growing up we did not always have a lot of money or the nicest houses, but my mom always had a thankful spirit. Even though her friends and family around her told her she should demand better, she honoured my dad by choosing to be thankful no matter what her circumstances. This has spoken volumes to me over the years. And I wish I could say that I have followed in her footsteps in this area, but too many times I have fallen into the trap of complaining about my less than perfect circumstance and in many case guilting my husband into ‘making things better’. I will never forget going to visit a friend who had just moved into a new home. I asked her if she was happy with the way things turned out. She answered “Yes, until I go and see someone else’s home that I like better.” This statement was one that I have replayed over and over again in my mind. I always thought “if only we could build our own home, then everything would be perfect.” But what isn’t perfect is the fact that I am a sinner and that I struggle with having a thankful spirit and being content in all circumstances.

So today was the day to say “Never again.” And with God’s strength I pray that I will learn to be content in every circumstance that I am placed in day to day.

Thanksgiving is good; thanks-living is better What did you learn from this chapter?

Children's Security

What do you think makes your child(ren) feel secure? Is it being fed great food everyday, is it getting nice clothes, is it getting the neatest toys, is it having friends? Actually your child’s security is in knowing that you love your spouse. Knowing that Dad and Mom love each other makes a child feel secure. Because having children keeps us busy we often times can forget as a couple to make sure we make time for each other. It can be so easy to make our children, instead of our marriage, the center in our home. Yet what our children want to know is if Dad and Mom love each other. So what can can a couple do? Well, make sure you take time for each other. Try sitting down for a few minutes every day while your children are still awake, just to chat with each other. Now if you have little ones this may prove to be a little challenging. If your children are used to being the center of attention, they may not take to this very kindly at first. But as time goes by, they will come to appreciate that fact that Dad and Mom love each other enough to take time to sit together and enjoy each other’s company. We have heard testimony and seen first hand how this simple practice can even help to cure sleeping problems in children. Parents who have had their children wake up often in the night have said that if they purpose to spend time together every day, in front of their children, that it has cut out the night time problems. Why does this work? Because this is a child’s security, seeing Dad and Mom together. If they are unsure of your relationship they will do anything to make sure that you are ‘okay’. Even to the point of risking being punished if it means that you will work together to solve the problem. You may say, “We do spend time together every night after we put the kids to bed.” This is great, the only problem is, your kids don’t see you doing this. They need to see that Dad and Mom love each other. This can be done throughout the day through other means as well, but like I said before, we often get so busy with our kids, that we forget to spend one on one time together. That is why the tool of purposing to sit down every day for a few minutes can be helpful in demonstrating to our kids that we love each others company. Taking time out for a date with our spouse can also say a lot to your kids. It seems strange, but we have seen in our family how our kids benefit from us going out together just as a couple. Be it only for an hour or two, if our kids see that their Dad and Mom want to be together, it makes them feel secure. We go as far as even telling our kids when they ask if they can come along, “No, Dad and Mom are going alone. This is for your good.” And we are not apologetic about it, because we know this will help them understand how much we love each other. Our older kids will often remind us to go out together. Even for them it helps to know that we are commited to our marriage. So today, show your spouse (and your kids) that your marriage is important to you, spend some time together!

Created To Be His Help Meet

I will be continuing the study 'Created To Be His Help Meet' by Debi Pearl. We will be discussing chapter 3 on Friday, November 30th. Hope you can join me!

Book Report by Jennifer

Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends By: Sarah, Stephen and Grace Mally

This book is all about (as you would guess at seeing the title) how to become best friends with your brothers and sisters. It covers how we need to love and serve them, how to make peace in the midst of arguments and a whole bunch of other means of becoming best friends with your siblings.

What Sarah, Stephen and Grace are trying to get across in this book is that you don’t have to feel tension, bitterness and annoyance towards your brothers and sisters, you can totally and indefinitely become best friends. You can want to spend time with them more than any other friend and you can help each other out in their walk with God.
In thinking of how to apply this principal to my life I have found that there are many ways to become best friends with your siblings. Here are a couple of ways.

I think one of the most important things is to be humble. When you are humble you don’t think of yourself first, you think of others or in this case your siblings.

Another important thing to be is a servant. This is a really hard one for me to do, I always want to do my own thing instead of thinking of others and doing things for them when I am busy. But when you don’t be a servant, and think of others interests before your own it shows your heart and it ain’t very pretty!

Not becoming annoyed and flat out yelling at them when they are, is also a hard one. But I need to pay attention to what they might be trying to say to me instead of telling them to go away.

Also being a peacemaker is very important. Stephens definition to an argument is “ When two people are trying to get in the last word first.” (pg. 139) And I think that is so true! I find myself always wanting to put the last nasty comment in, when I should say something to try to stop the argument, and remember it takes two people to argue.

Asking forgiveness when you have done something to hurt or damage your relationship is extremely important, this is also an aspect that for me is really hard to do, because I have to totally humble myself before that person and confess that I have done wrong whatever it may be. But it is all worth it to restore your relationship and clear your conscience.

Lastly I have to be sensitive to my siblings feelings. I love teasing, and while it sometimes may be okay, I have to be really sensitive that (especially if I am in public) I don’t embarrass them or hurt their feelings.

We as a family have always believed that our brothers and sisters are our best friends because (as they mention in this book) that when you are with your friends you are running a sprint race. Simple words, you aren’t going to know them forever. While with your siblings you are running a marathon. You are going to know and have relationship with them for as long as you live. This book has helped me to try harder to enhance those relationships.

The authors were extremely convincing in getting their point across, they did an excellent job of putting everything plainly and making sure that they got their point across. They also added a lot of real life stories and humour to the book which was great!

This book was swamped with scripture and there was a biblical explanation at the end of each chapter. It was very scripturally accurate.
The thing that impacted me the most was probably not the book itself but rather the way they set an example by writing the book together so well. That must have taken quite a lot of work to work together like that. It was a terrific example to me.

The authors were definitely people that I would like to get to know. If there was a rating for the book I would give it the highest number. I would recommend this book to every person who has a brother or sister.

I think the best verse that summarizes this book is……
Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Ha, Ha, Ha, just kidding!
There were many verses to be used to summarize this book but I will pick one.
Col. 3:23
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.

How To Raise a Moral Child

Since we are going through our parenting course again this year, I thought I might try to give little tid-bits throughout the course. This week we discussed our goal as parents should not be to have our kids morally 'looking good' on the outside, but that we would train them also to be moral on the inside. The question often is asked, 'So and so had Christian parents, was brought up in the church, went to Sunday School, Youth and attended all the church activities, why did they rebel when they left home?' Well this course teaches, and we believe also, that these children were taught how to act moral on the outside but were not taught to process why they believe what they believe. They are not taught to think outside themselves and to the preciousness of others. They know moral action, but they do not know moral principle. They became moral robots. Moral training begins with us as parents. If we don't know why we believe what we believe, why we do what we do, how can we teach our children? If the principles of moral conduct are not in our heart as parents, we will not be able to train our children in them. Too many times we give our children parental instruction without giving them the moral reason why. eg. Little Timmy is in the store and he is moving the price tags around on the shelves. His mom tells him to stop doing that OR ELSE! Next time they go to the store Timmy does the same thing again. She tells him to stop OR ELSE again. Next time, same thing. What has happened? Timmy's mother has trained his outward behavior, he stops because he know the "OR ELSE" will not be a pleasant experience. But what his mother has failed to do was provide him with the moral reason why. She should have said something like this, "Timmy, when you move the price tags around, the people who come behind us will not know what the price of the groceries are, because you have mixed them all up." Right away she attatched a moral to her command. At home he was taught the preciousness of others. Next time Timmy comes to the store, he has a deeper reason not to move the price tags, and if his mother happens not to be arouind one time, he will know what to do, because it is not just his outward behaviour that was trained, he will have a moral reason in his heart. When you train your children to be moral on the inside you give them a tool with which to decide what is right and wrong. You move them beyond just 'yes' and 'no' and they begin to understand the 'whys'. But too often parents are more concerned about suppressing evil in their children than elevating good. This is not saying that there is a moral reason for everything we tell our children to do. There is nothing moral about brushing your teeth, it is practical. As a general rule, situations concerning people require a moral reason where as situations concerning things requires a practical reason why. But with this comes a warning, that parents do not need to provide an explanation on demand, there are also times the reason will be just because "I said so". This is especiallly true in the toddler years. So as parents we need to study and know God's morals that He teaches us in the Bible. His word is absolute and teaches us the why's. eg. Phil. 2:14-15 says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Here is given the command and the why, so that we may be a light shining. In order to teach our children God's morals, we need to know them ourselves. But we need to be careful not to become legalistic, remembering to put things into context. Not to be black and white. eg. Your children may not be allowed to run after church in respect to the people that are there, but what about when people are not? We need to see the context of the moment. If no one is around, maybe it is okay to run in church? Context will help you to avoid becoming a legalistic parent. So my challenge to you is, when you read the Bible, read it thinking about God's moral laws and the reason why. To train your child how to think morally you must think in accordance with biblical values. This thinking is crucial in the process of raising a morallly responsible child.

Email Addresses Please

We got a new computer.

We lost ALL our email addresses.

Need I say more except

"YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE!"

Sometimes It's Better to Laugh!

Okay, maybe just a little exaggerated:)

Caleb is 9

Well I finally have a few minutes to shout a belated blog birthday wish to Caleb.

He is now 9 and I can hardly believe it!

Our episode a little over a year ago, made us realize that we don't know how much time we have with our kids, and in a moment things can change so quickly. So we are so glad to once again be able to send a birthday wish to a special son 'Caleb'!

We are so blessed to have Caleb in our family.

He is the artistic type and many times gets us to stop and see things in a 'different' light.

He enjoys to study how things are made. He likes to draw, make things out of wood. lego or anything else he can get his hands on to build with.

He has a soft spot for little kids and we often find him playing with Mikaya or Brooke.

We have many fond memories so far of the years we have had Caleb in our lives.

One of the things that stand out in our minds are his 'toilet' episode. You know how most little kids will take it upon themselves to play in the toilet. Well for Caleb that wasn't good enough, he rather liked to climb right inside the toilet. We wondered how he could enjoy that since we thought it might be kind of cold and uncomfortable, but it must have been an exciting thing for him because he did it over and over again!

So that's our Caleb. Happy Birthday big boy! We love you!

Who's Who

Here are pictures of Mikaya and Brooke when they were about the same age.

Can you tell who is who?

Happenings Of Late

Wow, life has been full and fun.
We've had another birthday which I hope to post about soon.

Some of the things we have been up to:

Getting potatoes and carrots out of the garden.
Have you ever heard that if you play constant music to your vegetables they will grow bigger?
Well I had a radio out there to scare off the raccoons from my corn in the night. And I am not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but the carrots that were beside the music are HUGE. I mean 10 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. And the carrots on the other side of the garden were normal and some even small. Hmmmmm. What do you think?

We also helped Mark's parents move and mudded and painted their garage. It amazes me what a work force we have here. Many hands make light work. I think we should go and build a house in Mexico or something :)

Getting ouy our winter clothes, snow suits, togues, mitts, boots. Ugggghhhh.....something I have to force myself to have a good attitude about every year. S0 I am now on the boots. Only mitts left to go, yeah!

Yard clean up, still not done, doing a little every day. Hoping for some sunshine today!

Getting some cows home from the pasture. I think Jen is going to blog about that so I will save the details for her.

Organizing this years parenting class "Along the Virtuous Way".
We hope to start in a couple of weeks. We are looking forward to getting together with other parents and supporting each other in the most important ministry we have: Raising our families.

So have a great day, and remember to:

SMILE!

OUR WOOD CUTTING DAY

It started with a "lets go get wood!" After much sawing wood, pulling wood, pushing wood, throwing wood, loading wood, dumping wood, tripping over wood, unloading wood, throwing wood some more, passing wood and stacking wood, we've got nearly enough wood to last us the lovely manitoba winter!

The Pauls family has once again pulled together and finished a daunting task. Hip, Hip Hooray! Special thanks to Dad who drove the tractor, to Mom who pushed down all of those trees, to Josh who ran the chain saw, to Meg who was the main wood organizer, to Kerri who did a lovely job of chucking wood, to Caleb, Zachary, Jesse and Nathan who were faithful links in the wood chain, to Brooke who kept her Daddy company, and especially to Mikaya who supplied us with her lovely smiles.

This is Jen reporting live from the Pauls household, where things are always happening, trust me, always!

Happy BIrthday Jesse Boy!

Wow, did we have a party on the 18th!

As I have mentioned before on this blog, we don't do much for Christmas gifts, we do more for birthdays. So 2 birthdays x 10 gifts (one from each sibling and dad and mom) makes for a lot of wrapping, a lot of unwrapping, a lot of hugs, a lot of thank you's, a lot of smiles, a lot of pictures, a lot of learning about sharing, and a lot of plain fun!

So anyway, this post is dedicated to Jesse who turned 5, Oct. 18th.

I remember it like it were yesterday. Waiting for you to come, couldn't wait to meet you, see what you would look like, cuddle with you, show you to your dad and siblings. And when the day came, we took one look at you and thanked God once again for our little blessing. Our 7th blessing.

Since then you have grown so much. You were always our blond haired, sturdy made boy. A farmer from almost the start, a well organized little fellow, and a smile that could make anyone's heart melt!

You were and still are a talker. When you were 1 1/2 years old you would look at us and tell this big long story sincerely. The only problem is it was in baby lingo, which we couldn't quite understand, but that didn't stop you, you had many a stories to tell! And to this day you can talk non-stop for quite a while.

You loved (and still do) to be playing with tractors, looking at tractors in a book, or riding in a tractor. You remind us a lot of you oldest brother Joshua. His love for farming and tractors is much the same as his. Even to the point of you watching the wheels of a tractor to see how fast it is going. You can tell if you are speeding up just by looking at the wheels. You are very alert of all that is going on and ask dad umpteen questions all day long as you are riding with him. That's okay, because we know that this is the way you are learning all the ropes of being a farmer if God should will it.

Usually in the morning the first question you ask your dad is if he is going in the tractor today. You spent almost everyday this spring and fall in the field with the 'farming' crew. We are very suprised at your endurance at being out there day after day!

Your love for babies makes us smile. You have a special place in your heart for your baby sister Mikaya, and she loves to watch you as you entertain her.

We are so glad that God knew that our family needed a Jesse. We love you and pray that as you grow physically, you will also grow spiritually and learn day by day what it is that pleases your heavenly Father and that you will desire to grow closer to Him and that your one passion would be to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Created To Be His Help Meet Study

Because of circumstances that I didn't expect, I will have to delay this study. I apologize and hope to be able to explain later. Have a great day!

Happy Birthday To Zachary!

Well the second October birthday has come and gone in our household.

Yesterday was Zachary's 7th birthday.

There wasn't a whole lot of celebrating going on as the big party will be tomorrow when we celebrate Jesse and Zachary's birthdays together. We were going to celebrate yesterday but it ended up that Mark had to get field work done before the rainy weather hit, so we asked Zachary if he would mind if we would move his birthday to tomorrow so Dad could be around to celebrate with us. I told him that we could have the cake in the field but we wouldn't be able to have decorations. He thought for a minute and said, "Who needs decorations when I have so many friends!" (I later found out this was a quote from Winnie the Pooh.) But after thinking for a few minutes and remembering how much fun it is to have Dad around on birthday parties, he made a very grown up choice and decided to have the party tomorrow. You know your little boy is growing up when he thinks past the moment and makes decisions based on the whole picture.

Talking about that....that has been the theme of Zachary' past year. Actually it was THINK BEFORE YOU ACT. If I had a dime for every time I told Zachary this in the past year, I would have a lot of money!

For those of you who know Zachary, you know why we knick name him Zippy Z.

He is a very zippy boy, full of energy, full of new ideas, and once and a while gets himself in a little bit of trouble. You know how stuff just happens to some people? Well that's Zachary. Stuff just happens to him. Broken bones, stitches, mud, knocked out teeth....stuff. We have said ever since he was little, if we can train all this energy to do good godly things, then an amazing godly boy/man he will be. Well I think this year was the pivitol year in which we got over the hump and got into him thinking that his actions have consequences and he needed to think before he acted. Many times now I hear him ready to do something and he stops himself and says, "No, I shouldn't do that". We are proud of him and how far he has come.

Full of life, Full of smiles, Full of fun, Full of forgiveness, Full of zip....that's our Zachary!
We love you Zachary and know that as you learn more about God, His Word and following Him, you will touch many people for Him. We are glad that God sent you here 7 years ago. You are an important part of our family.

CREATED TO BE HIS HELP MEET Chapter 2

Joy!

I loved this chapter because of it's emphasis on joy.

Joy is such an important thing to have as a part of our everyday life.

Without joy we feel hopelessness and despair.

Without joy little hinderances seem like huge obstacles.

Without joy little disappointments seem depressing.

Without joy offenses turn into bitterness.

Without joy aches seem like unbearable pain.

Joy is so much more than a feeling.

So many people think that if they just had a bigger house, more material possessions, better behaved kids, nicer car, better clothes, new appliances, new electronics.....they would be happy.

But the problem is, these things are so temporal, and they only produce a want for more, bigger and better.

But joy isn't that way, joy is joy all the time, despite our circumstances and possessions.

It is a deep inner peace that sustains through the tough times, the ugly times, the sad times, the provoking times, the annoying times. Joy is ETERNAL.

How to be a joyful wife? WOW!
This is not an easy one for me.

It is so easy to focus on being happy. Happiness needs to be recognized, happiness needs to be paid back, happiness needs to be served, happiness needs to be pampered. But joy doesn't need these things. Because it's deep, it's deeper than circumstances.

In this chapter Debi asked if our husbands were still married to that 'sweet little thing' that he first married. I have to honestly say that most of the time 'no'! I could make excuses that life is so much more stressful and hectic now, but that shouldn't affect my joy.

When I read this chapter it was a conformation for me of what the Lord has already been speaking to me about. I have been learning not to let the happenings of the day negatively affect my attitude. This is not joy, this is not life for my husband and our children.

The old saying goes, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy". This is a true statement, maybe not in the way it was written to be. But I believe that as a wife and a mom, I can positively or negatively affect the atmosphere of our home. This doesn't mean that you will never be disappointed or sad but it means that those things will not bring you to the depths of despair, they will not take your joy.

Debi said to do a research on the word joy.

(By the way, a research tool online is Bible Gateway).

What verse is your favorite?

Mine is Habakkuk 3:17-18 17

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

He enables me to go on the heights.

That sums it all up for me!

Created To Be His Help Meet Chpt.1

Well, chapter one of this book was a good refresher for me. I can't believe how many times I fail to be a help meet to my husband. How many times I view what he wants as insignifiicant or less important than my stuff. On the farm I have ample opportunity to be a help meet. And I will do it when asked, sometimes with the right attitude. But my goal is to be that help meet without being asked. "So that I have a readiness to please and that it would motivate me to look around and see the things I know Mark would like to see done. And not to use lame excuses to avoid these jobs." (pg 23) I struggle with this. As a mom, it is so easy to see the needs of my kids before my husband because they are so 'in my face', but my calling is to first be a help meet to my husband. then to my children, and others last. God created me to be this, I was created to be his help meet. I love those words, help meet. To be a helper, a proper, perfect, good and well equiped helper. God wants me to see the potential in my husband and do what I can to help him be more productive and efficient.(pg 23) This whole thinking goes so against the rules of society today. Look out for #1, we deserve to be equal to man. Feminism is everywhere. Look for it next time you watch a movie or are around people. Even 'family' movies are full of it. It's sad, because so many couples are functioning contrary to God's design. It amazes me how even in the church feminism creeps in. So subtle yet so there. Yet God's perfect will is that women are help meets for their husbands. And how important it is to teach our young unmarried ladies this as well. When I got married I had never even thought of this concept. A lot of it was common sense to me, but I messed up in so many areas, and it took me years to get back on track, and I am still reaping some of the consequenses of my decisions. But if someone had mentored me to be a godly wife, a help meet to my husband, and told me that marriage is about serving my husband, I would have had a much different perspective. So if you have daughters, teach this to them. You know they are watching you, you know they are learning from the things you say and do. I grieve after I have a moment of being 'less than a help meet' to my husband and I realize my girls were right there, taking everything in, 'learning from me'. So, if you're like me and you know that there is room for improvement, start today. Think of ways you can be a help meet to your husband. (pg 25) So those are my thoughts. I will see you on the commments page to hear yours!

My Little Lady

6 months Mikaya!

Where has time gone. It seems like just yesterday that you were born and yet when I think of all we have been through together, it's been so much. When I look at you sometimes I wonder what you will grow up to be like, what will be your personality and other times I look at you and see some of your little personality already! You are a very determined little girl, you have a twinkle in your eyes that melts your families heart. You love the many hugs and kisses you get each day and love to make your brothers laugh. It is so special to watch you with all your siblings and how they protect and love you so much. You are so blessed to have a family that loves you and will be your best friends someday. Your sister Brooke and you will have a special bond I'm sure and I can already see the little looks you give each other that seems to say 'I know what you are thinking'! Tea parties, playing house, dressing dolls, baking is all what you have to look forward to together and so much more. And your big sisters Jen, Meg and Kerri will be able to teach you so many things, doing your hair, matching your clothes and even doing dishes (watch out, they are already counting the days before you can take over in the kitchen!) And you have a special place in your big brothers hearts. When I see you give them 'that smile' I just see there hearts melt. You are a special gift to all of us. I never dreamed that we would have 10 children, but I can't imagine our family without you. I am so glad God chose to send you to us to compliment our family. I pray that as you grow you will learn the love of God through us, your family and that you will desire that love for yourself and personally get to know Him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!

If I knew what I knew now I would do it all over again.
When I found out I was pregnant with you I was excited that God was going to entrust another to our care.
Then the day arrived. I told Dad at supper time that today was ‘the day’
He told me to be sure to come to the field and tell him when things progressed.
I was sure we had a lot of time, as that was the case for Josh and Jen.
I went home, put your brother and sister to bed and waited for your dad to come home.
It was damp weather outside and I was sure he wouldn’t be able to combine too much longer,
but the time dragged on.
As thing started rapidly progressing, I figured I should go and get your dad.
So I woke up Josh and Jen, packed our things and drove to the field.
When I got there I flashed my lights and your dad came roaring across the field with the tractor.
We went to your grandparents, where dad changed and showered.
We left Josh and Jen there and headed to the hospital.
It was around 11:00 pm
We got to the hospital at 12:00 and there were times where I thought we might not make it.
Things were moving along very quickly.
We got all settled in the hospital and by 1:00 am you had made your grand entrance.
It was love at first sight. You looked like a little Eskimo with your dark fuzzy head
and perfectly round face.
We were excited to have you join our life and our family.
Your brother and sister were very excited to meet you to and it didn’t take long for you to fit right in!
You were a perfect baby, hardly cried at all.
As you grew up we laughed over your cute little ways and the things you would say.
By then your little sister Kerri was born and you loved to sing to her.

You had the cutest expressions and said things in such a unique way.
You still had that perfect little round face and dark brown curly hair.
The years flew by, full of growing, learning, discipline.
And here you are today, 14 already.
I can’t believe how time has flown, yet we have so many good memories.
You and I are a lot alike, so much so that we annoy each other sometimes:) You have heard so many times that you even look like me,
I hope that hasn’t given you a complex :-)
You have become such a responsible young girl.
You are a joy to have in our family.
We all appreciate that you usually know where everything is.
We are glad you like to take pictures (except maybe Josh)
and that you keep such good records of our family growing and changing.
I am so thankful that I don’t have to organize the change of season clothes
by myself, that you are always there to help.
I am especially thankful for your soft heart.
They way you are sensitive to the things of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that you will never lose that, and that your
desire will always be to serve God and put Him first in your life.
I look so forward to the time we have left together.
I am excited to see what God has in store for you.
Remember
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life
Proverbs 4:23
We love you Megan!