National Bible Bee

It's that time of year. The time that our family gets really excited about a box being delivered to our home from the National Bible Bee. This year they have made a few changes and instead of learning about 8-10 verses per day it is more like 8-12 verses per week. Also there is personal and family Bible study that will take about 20 minutes or so per day. This will be very manageable for most people. Now one of the best things will be a chance to go to Nationals in November. They will be held in Tennessee again this year. The Pigeon Forge area will be the location and since that is so close to us we are excited about going even if Morgan's scores don't get her there to compete. Last year Kirk Cameron, Voddie Baucham and the Gettys were special guests along with many others. Just going to the conference will be wonderful-getting to compete in the finalist would be even better. We will do this study all summer as a family and encourage and help Morgan with the memorization part. Since she was a little girl she has always been blessed with the ability to memorize things. It just comes easy for her (unlike her Mother). When she was in Kindergarten we started going to a different church near the end of January/beginning Feb. we were very glad they had the AWANA program there. Our previous church had not yet started their AWANA program and we had hear great things about it. I was a bit concerned that it would be difficult for Morgan to finish her first year book since we had started so late. She thoroughly enjoyed going to AWANA. It was a very small group and she really liked her teacher. She quickly devoured the book and completed it by the end of March! She then went back over it again and by this time we knew that the Lord had blessed her with a gift of memorizing things very easily. When we first heard about the Bible Bee several years ago we knew this would be just right for Morgan. She had went as far as she could in AWANA and we knew how much she loved to memorize Gods word. For different reasons she has never competed at the locals but this year our goal is to finish well and by that I mean to do her best in the local competition and then see where that might lead. I cannot stress enough that this is more than a competition but it is memorizing the scriptures that will stay with you for a lifetime and also personal and family devotions. I hope to do updates about our experience with the Bible Bee all summer. I also hope to find other families that are blogging about their participation with the Bee and maybe do a link up. Sign-ups are through the end of the month!!! Spread the word!!!

Strawberries and Mothers Day

Last Saturday we went to pick strawberries..

Mothers Day A rare picture with all my sweet ones!

Tuesday Linkup

I'm linking up with Tesha's Tuesday link up.  She has a blog that has been a blessing to so many.  This is something that she sent out to other Mommy's that have suffered a loss.  I read through all the names and thought of how all of these women have had to go through so much.  I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me with 8 children and I can't imagine what it would be like if I hadn't been able to enjoy every single one of them.  I am blessed each day with hearing the laughs, giggles and of course on some days the screaming and crying of 7 of them but I am forever changed after having Daniel.  Those few weeks with him still inside me were difficult with the pregnancy problems but they were at the same time wonderful and a gift from God.  Things that were once taken for granted are now hoped and prayed for.  Mercy Me has a new song that I heard on Sunday.  I'm sure that we can all relate to this song if we have suffered a true loss of any kind.

When will we learn?

1) The more popular something is usually means the less Christ-Like.

2) Everything really does come down to my relationship with Jesus Christ.

3) Satisfaction is not in a ministry or life goal, but in Jesus Christ.

4) Children ARE a blessing and most families want and have few.

5) Love is not based upon feeling but on commitment.

6) Being in debt is a curse and most families want, and have a great deal.

7) Worship is not a style of music or preaching.

8) A good sign of a growing church is NOT how many people are attending.

9) Success is only measured by how successful we are in submitting and following Jesus Christ and His mandates, not our career.

10) The mission field begins at home and the first disciple is your spouse.

Sam's Haircut

Sam's first Haircut!

 

Lots of Links

It's a busy Friday around here but I had to take time to mention 4 things:

Morgan has a new blog that she has been working on. It has a bit more of an "older girl" feel to it. 

It is so pretty and she has done such a good job with it. I only wish I could do things like this. 

Visit it HERE.

Our friends, The Munck Family are having a giveaway and they are also sharing about how their family made some changes to find simplicity, and a peaceful lifestyle. This would be a great DVD for any family to have. They also share about The Maxwell Family and the wonderful ministry that this family has. Visit their blog and giveaway HERE.

Moore Family Films have released several documentaries on The Family!  We have 3 of these and love them.  We bought these shortly after Daniel had passed away, and they were truly an encouragement to us.  Right now you can watch one for free during the month of April.  It is well worth your time.  We usually watch one of these at least once a week. They're having a special price right now and it would be a great investment at such a low price. There are lots of extras on the DVD that I actually find just as enjoyable to watch as much as the main part. The other movies they sell are just as good and we can't wait to see the next one.  

There is a link-up at Tesha's Treasures for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillborn, and the death of an older child. Tesha has found so many things online that are meant to help Moms and Dads with their grief. Somehow I came upon her blog one day and realized that we had both lost our little boys at about the same time. This link up tells of so many that have lost children of all ages. It has been hard to read, but it has shown me that I need to write down all the details of our time with Daniel. I don't want to forget anything about our short time with him. I will never forget him, but I want to be able to remember not only his passing, but those weeks that we had with him. The ultra sounds, hearing and seeing his little heartbeat for the first time, finding out by accident very early that he was our 5th son,  sharing with family and friends about him and all those exciting things that go along with finding out you have been blessed again with a baby.  These things I want to always treasure even though our time with him was so short.  

Alive!

5 months

5 months since I delivered Daniel. I went to sleep last night thinking about the date -29th-.  I dread when it comes every month.  Just more of a realization that we lost our sweet boy!  As hard as I try not to I feel a deep sadness when I think about this day.  I actually felt the sadness last night but was glad that I hadn't started the normal crying I have at night when I think about him.  Now though with waking up to early and a quiet house I find myself at this place again.  Grief is just odd!!!!  Just the slightest thing hits the wrong way and it all comes back.  Yesterday after a sweet phone call from a bereavement nurse my mind started wondering and all the whys started poking back up.  One of the biggest culprits I face is  Guilt- trying to figure out what we could have done to stop this, guilt of not having a big funeral, guilt of not taking it easy more during the pregnancy, guilt of not telling others quickly we were expecting again with the dread of what others would say, hearing negative comments or smart remarks that go along with birth announcements.  After thinking we lost him early on I didn't think I had the patience and love to extend to those with  a rude comment.  Guilt is a huge factor during grief I get that.  I've read it before but still didn't realize just how big till these past few months.  Of course Satan knows right where to get me! I just have to remind him and myself I have already worked all this out.  I know God is in control!!!  My plans were not his plans but I just keep telling myself each day God loves us.  I am not in control he is and instead of tears I WILL have joy!!!! 

Focus!!!

  I happened upon this song yesterday while looking for something else that I had heard on the radio.  Neither of the songs were similar but I was very glad that I found this one.  A great song to listen to not only for the beautiful music but also for anyone that has suffered loss of any kind and most of us have in some way.  I have some goals for the week that I plan to post and be able to review from time to time. I hope to be encouraged by any progress I might have.  By this time if things had gone the way we had hoped for we would now have our little boy.  This past Friday (comparing this to all my past c-sections and deliveries) we would have been at the hospital at 39 weeks delivering our baby boy.  Well my mind began to wonder this past week.  I had the feeling of anticipation of what should have been.  For weeks now I feel that we have been doing very well and learning to remember our baby without so much of the sadness but when I least expect it I personally feel that I have fell back into that pit.  The pit of self-pity, depression and the why's?  When I'm able to recognize it then it's time to dig myself out of that pit and come back to normal living.  I think this must be something that you don't even know has a hold of you until you're caught.  As well as too much hurrying from here to there makes it harder.  Feeling tired and overwhelmed, not how I want to be.  So I plan to start a list of goals.  Organizing and planning seem to be therapy for me.  As for my list in no certain order- Reading and memorizing scripture with the family.  Daddy does a great job with the family each night doing this but I would like to help the kids during our school day to memorize some passages together and also go back through the book of James again.  Our church is doing this in the ladies group but since I haven't been able to join in I thought we could just study this book together at home.  My older ones have memorized all the books of the Bible but reviewing this each day would be a help for everyone.  Plus Jacob has only memorized the books of the NT and we are about in the middle of the OT.  We have been doing a unit study on Ireland and we have learned so much and really enjoyed it.  My plans are to also start the Amanda Bennett studies for American Government, Elections and a few other things on that subject.  It will be the perfect year to do that!  We have made a huge change in our eating habits.  We have seen some big improvements in the way we feel and have had a fairly healthy winter season ( in comparison to some in the past) this has been a family effort and we have been educating ourselves in other ways of Natural Healthy Living.  The documentary Forks Over Knives was the push we needed to start making some changes but there is still plenty room for improvement.  Since the mornings are nice and cool and the afternoons are way too warm TOO SOON we will have to move around the school schedule to allow for outside time in the morning hours.  I hope to add a neighborhood walk to this too. Sewing- A true enjoyment- I have the fabric purchased for Sarah's dress and I plan on trying a new pattern for Easter.  We need to do some outdoor Spring pictures and I have a plan for the color coordinated outfits.  Morgan and Katie still need to pick out their skirts and tops and then we will be ready.  I hope to go back to the area we did Fall/Winter pictures at.  More house cleaning- we have moved the girls room around after being blessed with the gift of a beautiful girls bedroom set.  I still need to finish their curtains too.  This might take awhile.  Implementing a "stay at home date night".  This might be a good thing to do on Wed. nights after Sammy gets home from church and the kids are already in bed.  Something good to munch on enjoying spending time with each other.  I have missed my husband lately with our boys doing Upward Basketball and him coaching two teams this has made for Tuesday nights being taken up and then a very hectic Saturday.  I know Josiah and Jacob and Morgan (assistant to her Daddy) have enjoyed it but I am looking forward to taking back our Saturdays.  There is plenty of yard work to do and maybe a few day trips here and there.  Also we started reading a series a while back but got off track so maybe we can start on this again it will line up perfect with our study of Ireland.  Also some long range personal goals-I have everything I need to try soap making if I can just get the nerve up to try it.  We have planted some different berry bushes and hope they do well.  Morgan is wanting to try a small garden and I am hoping to grow a few herbs.  Starting small and seeing how I do with these.  Drink more water and drop some weight (always a good wish for me) but not to stress over it.  And a big dream of ours would be to do more singing as a family with me not doing any singing just being an encourager.  Daddy and the kids are always singing and learning new stuff on the piano and guitar.  This is truly a gift and needs to be used.  Back at Christmas some of the kids at church went to an elderly unit and sang for them.  It was such  a blessing for them and the kids.  I would love for our family to reach out to the men and women in the nursing homes and sing and play for them.  I'm sure it would be a great time for all of us and a ministry for our family to do together.  Also a good way to spend some of our Saturdays.  Now I just need to take the initiative and find a place that has a need for this type of outreach.  Fellowship time- I have great plans on inviting friends over but need to follow through.  This is an area that needs much improvement.  Painting- It seems there is always an area that needs some new paint.  Starting with the foyer and stairs and then moving on to the bigger area.  This is a big to do list but I plan to start slowly- key words DO NOT STRESS!!!                                                     

The Wissmann Family...

The Wissmann family will be at Phillipi Baptist Church in Cleveland TN, February 4th at 7:00pm. We have seen them in concert once before and the music was wonderful, so if any of you live around the area please come and hear the Wissmanns in concert you will not be disappointed!!!

The Tennessee Aquarium

On New Years Eve our family went to the Tennessee Aquarium.  It had been about 10 years since our last visit so there were many changes and improvements.  We weren't really sure how the 3 little ones would do but they had a wonderful time.  Tickets compliments of Daddy's brother and his wife.  We surprised the kids too!  It was a great little visit.