Frugal Summertime Fun

Lexington grows on me more and more every year.  A large part of that is our "framily" that lives here.  Each year we grow another year closer to one another.  Each year contains something new.  Sickness, death, babies, more babies.  Lately babies have been the story.  I couldn't begin to imagine leaving these people I love so dearly.  

Another piece of my love for Lexington has everything to do with the city itself.  Lexington is big enough to have offerings for everyone, yet small enough to still feel like home.  After talking to my "framily" members recently it occurred to me that I do not take advantage of enough of Lexington.  I have a tendency to stay in my little corner, my little pie piece (Lexington is laid out like a giant pie...another great reason to love it...who doesn't love pie?). 

As we were looking forward to the summer and making plans, I knew I would need to get the kiddos out of the house often.  If Tempie stays at home for more than 6 hours straight, she begins to whine and ask..."when can we get out of the house?"  Funny coming from my reserved introvert.  Interestingly enough, my extroverted charmer would just as soon be at home than anywhere else.  However, as long as he's with the ones he loves...or with people at all...he's fine.  So, getting out of the house is on our agenda.  But...so is saving money...hmm.  Dilemma. 

We were all getting a little bored with our usual free places to go.  So I came up with the idea to visit a new park in Lexington each Friday (a little routine in there to please my eldest's need for schedule).  There are so many amazing parks in Lexington, and we stick to the ones within a mile radius of us.  Bert informed me yesterday that there are over 100 parks in Lexington.  100!!  Now, I'm looking for parks that will suit my 4, 2 and 8 month old children.  So playgrounds are pretty essential.  So far we have made it to three new parks.  We are enjoying it very much!  

This past Friday while enjoying a park with some friends, one issued a challenge to me.  It didn't come out like a challenge, it went something like this:

LB: "Hey, you should...wait nevermind...I'm not even going to say it..."

me:  "What?"

LB:  "I was going to say that you should blog about your visiting the parks.  Give reviews on each one, etc.  But you have no time to blog."

LS:  "Yeah, that would be a great resource for people."

Now, you can see that with my stubborn personality how that came out like a challenge.  Everything she said would be true.  I don't have time to blog.  It would be a great resource.  It may be crazy to try.  But try I will.  

Be looking for the first few posts soon.  I already have three to review!

Beautiful, Messy, Winter

Musings from a snowy Saturday...

Being stuffed inside for more than a week from bitter cold and snow made a 20 something degree Saturday an invitation out of doors!  We bundled up the kids and ourselves in many layers and played in the fresh snow.  J.J. really didn't like the snow.  Tempie didn't last long either.  I got outside later than Bert and the kids, and I was no where near ready to go inside when the kids did, so I started an impromptu snowball fight with my dear husband!  He's been asking for more spontaneity in our lives.  Haha!  At one point I decided to sit and bury my legs in the snow.  I called out to the kids "Help, a snow monster is eating my legs!  What should I do?!"  My very literal 4 year old responds "Well, you could just stand up."  So much for that one!  

After a while Bert went inside too.  It was just me, the sunshine and the snow.  So, I shoveled the front driveway and sidewalk.  As I was doing so, I was aware of how my actions were disturbing the beautiful perfect serenity of freshly fallen snow.  But I couldn't make my self go inside yet, so I shoveled. Then I went to the back porch and just sat, and listened.  It was quiet...peaceful!  Beautiful.  Once I sat still and looked, I could see the ridge lines in the snow where the wind had blown it.  

I got to thinking about last year's word...winter.  I realized that winter can be beautiful...if you don't disturb it.  Disturbed snow isn't so beautiful!  

But, it encases the footprints of fun had, or work well done.  

It reminded me of a scripture in Proverbs.
"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean; but abundant crops come by the strength of an ox." Prov. 14:4
I've learned a lot from God by meditating on this word 'winter'.  Life in winter isn't always pretty, but it can be fun and it can be meaningful.  In order for it to be either though, it will be messy.  I know my winter isn't over yet, but I also know it is just a season.  

It's all about Jesus

There was a visiting pastor speaking at our church this past year.  He was talking about the Christian Missionary Alliance denomination and how really they are just simply all about Jesus.  (One of the reasons I LOVE this denomination and my church!!)  But he began to talk about the Bible as a whole, and I think this is a basic teaching about the Bible...it's all about Jesus!  All of the Old Testament is pointing to Jesus, the Gospels tell His story, then the letters point back to Jesus.  John Soper, the visiting preacher said it this way:  "God told us what he was going to do, then He did it, then He explained it."  It is a look at the Bible from God's perspective.  Because of where I am in life, I instantly thought about my parenting.  Isn't this the model!  I need to teach (verbally) my children the values I want to instill in them, then model them, then explain my actions.  It is God's model...I'll imitate him and make it my own...surely He knows best!  He is the Good Father after all!
This model also works for discipline.  "Tempie, I am going to put you in time out now...{Time out}....Tempie, do you understand why you were in time out?"  Works the same with spankings or any other form of discipline used.  By the way, I choose the word discipline intentionally over the word punishment.  But this model for discipline is the same God used for His people.  God warned the Israelites many times...stop or you will go into exile...{exile}....Do you understand what just happened?  It's intentional, it's measured, and it's discipline...not anger, or punishment, or even simply consequential.  Discipline is to be so much more.  Discipline comes from the same root word as disciple.  It is to grow a person into who they are made to be.  It is about encouraging growth and change.  Not just about beating a bad habit out.  That's what punishment and consequences are about.  They are about what you are not to do, not about who you are to become.  I believe that having kids is all about making disciples.  It's my reason for having them.  I intend to learn as much as I can from God about how He has made disciples.  Who else has His track record?!

Things I want to remember

There are some things and some moments I want to be sure to record and remember somewhere about the first week of baby Zeke's life.

• The first to come to mind is his first birthday party. Tempie wanted to make him a birthday cake, so that's what she and my mom did while we were in the hospital. They brought the cake up and we had a birthday party for Zeke.  It was a brilliant big sister moment for Tempie!
• I want to remember God's gift of an hour during labor, just before pushing, and how He gave me Psalm 126 & 127.  Zeke is a reward...not sure what for....
• I want to never forget Zeke cooing at us for the first hour of his life.
• Sitting at the kitchen table, by the window, nursing Zeke & watching Bert play outside with Tempie, Ada and JJ.  Beautiful fall leaves, weather, lots of laughter.  I want  to remember JJ's face as he jumped into the leaf pile.  It was a taste of Heaven!!

I may be crazy...

but, I think it's possible that God has given me some insight to the spirit of my children through my pregnancies.  Perhaps somewhat mystic, but who knows.  It's certainly possible. 
When I was pregnant with Tempie, I was so passionate about the poor and about social justice.  All I wanted to do was to minister to the homeless.  And I did give some to that.  I actually got to know my first homeless person.  Her name was Rose.  I lost contact with her.  I have never before and never since had that kind of passion for homelessness.  Not to say I don't care about it now, but it's not the same. 
With JJ it was all about preaching the name of Jesus!  I wanted to shout the name of Jesus from the roof of every building.  Again not to say it's not true now, but the intensity is different.  I did some street evangelism on campus.  That's not something I'm particularly gifted at or often bold enough to do, but I just had to at the time.
With #3 (still yet to be officially named), I'm wondering if this little man may be one who works with his hands.  Not the kind of think I think of when I think of the spirit of a person...at least not till now.  I just can't sit still.  Thinking is not enough for me (usually it can occupy me for hours!), I need to be doing something....making something with my hands.  So far I have built some bookshelves, made curtains and curtain rods, repaired some things around the house like the laundry room doors.  I've never had this type of spirit in me that needs to work with my hands.  At least not to this degree or intensity.  Crocheting a blanket just won't seem to do. 

Who knows really.  Maybe I'm just a crazy pregnant woman, with strange non-food cravings!  Only time will tell if these spirit predictions come to life in my children.  I will try not to feed them into them but rather wait and see what naturally develops.  We shall see...

JJ is 1!

I have spent at least a few minutes every day crying for the past week because my baby boy is ONE!!  There is nothing like having children that makes you understand the finality of time.  You can not stop it or slow it down no matter what.  Once the moments are gone, they're gone.  There's no getting it back.  I've been sort of mourning my baby turning one because I know that he is growing up and changing.  I will never have this baby J.J. again.  I will always have my J.J.  And I truly can't wait to see who he grows up to be.  But right now, he's perfect...no, seriously, he's perfect!  He's the happiest, most snuggly baby I've ever met.  He does have some downfalls, like car traveling and waking up too early, no matter what time he goes to bed.  But when it comes to people, he's a dream!  He knows how to make people happy.  Soon, he'll learn to talk, and learn that he has a will.  He will do things wrong and I will have to discipline him.  Sure, I get on to him now, but he's not openly defiant yet.  Well, he's getting there.  I see hints of it, and that's what makes me sad.  I don't want to discipline this perfect creature.  But alas, the day is coming, and has already come...discipleship at work. 
On the subject of defiance, and wills....have you ever noticed that when you ask a three year old how old they are, they respond "free".  Cutely holding three fingers.  I think those two words get confused...three & free.  Three year olds seem to think they are 'free' (from mom & dad's rule).  Just an observation I had this morning when T told me she was 'free' so she didn't have to do whatever it was I told her to do.
Well, here's some pics of the family as of late.

   

Birthday cake at Grandpa & GiGi's

Many captions could fit this face, but I have a feeling it's one we'll see more of as he gets older and his attitude come out more!

Amazing...one year!

Last pic taken of the four of us together!  True story.  We are having family pics taken tomorrow though!

This is the face we see most often...pure joy!  Love this boy!!

My heart is full

My heart is so full tonight. I have been somewhat perplexed by my emotions today. We traveled home from a week long visit to see family today. I think that this has been the first car ride back from Ga during which I did not have my usual conversation with God.. The conversation typically starts with me considering all the possible scenarios that would get me to move back to Ga. I of course talk through each one with Him and none of them seem to fit. Then God reminds me of all I have in Ky. All that He has given me and how much He has blessed our life here. It is abundantly clear we are where He wants us to be.
Well this time I didn't even begin this conversation. Don't get me wrong, I did cry once we got home. But I realized that my tears were because my heart is too full of love. It has to overflow somehow. I LOVE Georgia, and I LOVE Kentucky. It won't all fit in my heart at once. So on those occasions when I am feeling each of those loves so strongly it will most likely come out in tears. It's the first time I've been able to celebrate homesickness as an abundance of love rather than mourning a loss.