It's a New Year

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging, but that's how it turned out.

The girls and I went to Texas early December for Shanda Yarbrough's (now Anderson) wedding. We hung out doing school, visited w/ friends and family and did some last minute Christmas shopping until Wes arrived the 23rd.

Once Wes got there we began the holiday blitz. It was so fun to see friends and family, celebrate the birth of our precious Savior, enjoy the New Year, and even make some new friends.

On January 5th the festivities for DBC's Missions Conference began. We had an incredible week of spending time w/ fellow SERVE missionaries, being taught by some wonderful folks (I plan to share some of this later), having lots of time of group worship, eating wonderful food, praying, being prayed for, playing, laughing, sharing and learning. The conference culminated in the church-wide portion on Friday night and Saturday. The Body was invited to come learn about missions and missionaries. The program was stellar, and it was very well attended!

Following the conference, we began the trek back home. We made a pit-stop in Austin where we got to see the Stewart's and Ford's.

Anyway, we are home and still unpacking. Less than 12 hours after arriving I headed upstairs just in time to see water begin trickling down the stairs because a bathroom sink pipe broke, flooding that bathroom, the babies' room, and half of the upstairs playroom. There is nothing like standing in 3 inches of water wondering how on earth you are going to get rid of it all. I can honestly say that the entire ordeal was one praise after another:

* there weren't any electrical appliances ruined, nor was I shocked rushing to cut off the water source
* we were home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* all the flooring was tile and concrete, so no leakage or musty carpet
* the big rug in the playroom stopped the water from reaching the computer
* we have a wet-dry vac and lots of mops and a mop bucket
* very little furniture got wet

I don't know why the Lord was gracious in allowing all of those things, but I do thank Him. I pray that my faith would be strengthened, and that I would sing His praise even if none of those things were true. More than that, I pray that my mind would be focused on Him and His goodness even when there not an "emergency" and life seems mundane or the children irritating or my hands frozen b/c I want to blog instead of unpack=).

Love to you all!

The Ideal Christian Woman

Part 4

Thanksgiving Celebration

A bunch of got together last night for some Thanksgiving festivities. It was very fun and soooo yummy! Here are a few photos from the evening:

Elaine patiently awaiting the food

Fox with Lil' Bit (Alejandra)

Finally it's time to eat!

Amazing, right?

Let the games begin...

The Ideal Christian Woman

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This n' That

I am not a play therapist, but I think Claire is trying to tell us something every time she lines all of her toys up looking longingly at Anna & Maggie's bedroom door

Sweet Elaine turned 2 on Nov. 6th!!!!

Wes & I attended Suzanne & Memo's Boda Civil last weekend

The Ideal Christian Woman

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The Ideal Christian Woman

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Documentation of Why I'm Going Crazy...

At least 15 times a day Elaine asks me (thankfully in the most adorable voice) "Whatcha doin', mama?" And at least 15 times a day I answer, "Cleaning up, Elaine."

3 is a very concrete age, and their little minds are working very hard to make sense of everything. And oftentimes Claire's mind is beyond her vocabulary and ability to communicate. So I spend a lot of time having conversations like these:

Claire: "What's that?"
Me: "It's a box of cookies."
Claire: "Where's it from?"
Me: "The store."
Claire: "Why is it from the store?"
Me: "Because that's where we bought it from."
Claire: "Why is that where we bought it from?"
Me: "Because they were selling them, and we wanted them."
Claire: "Why did we want them?"
Elaine: "Whatcha doin', mama?"
Me: "Cleaning up, Elaine"
Claire: "Why are you cleaning up?"
Me: "Because the house is a mess."
Claire: "Why is the house a mess?"
Me: "Because no one puts their things away when they're finished playing with them."
Claire: "Why don't no one put their things away when they're finished playing with them?"
Me: "That, my dear, is a stinking great question!"
Claire: "Why..."

Or sometimes the conversation ends early with:

Claire: "What's that?"
Me: "It's a box of cookies."
Claire: "Why is it a box of cookies?"
Me: "Because...it's...it's... a box of cookies... because... that's what it is........."

Cultural Slideshow

The DBC Missions Women are featuring Mexico at their meeting this month, and this is my contribution to their efforts.

Enjoy!

Celebrate Good Times - Come On!

The Mag's is 6!

A Few Pic's From TX

Elaine

Granddad Crawford at the Family Reunion

"Uncle" Stew and the girls in Austin

Yesterday Claire said:

"What is that junk in my hair?" as I was brushing the junk out of her hair.

Labor Day Visitors

Dragon, Maggie, John & Elaine

John, Wes & Justin

Happy Birthday Claire-Bear

I never posted about some of Wes's program buddies - John Carroll and Justin Williams - visiting us over Labor Day Weekend. Click here to read John's account of the weekend. I probably wouldn't have even thought to post except my daughters continue to talk about the guys all the time.

Recent quotes: "Who's your favorite person Anna?" Anna: "Dragon "(a.k.a. Justin)

Maggie:"Do you know who is the smartest person I know?"
Well since we had had a great day of homeschooling, I thought I knew the answer, but I said:
"No, who?" Maggie: "John Carroll - he knows more than anyone in the world."
Thanks!

Claire: "Is Dragon Justin or Jazzy" Trying to figure out what Dragon's real name is and somehow inventing another nickname for him.

Craziness, Now and Forever

As always our life is insane! We took a super quick trip to the metroplex and were able to enjoy:
~ the Crawford family reunion
~ DBC's Mission Women's Meeting
~ some great time w/ our families
~ some great time w/ our friends/supporters
~ lots of yummy "American" food
~ lots of yummy Blue Bell (it's in a category all of its own)

Then we traveled to Austin and stayed w/ the Stewart's for several days! In Austin we were able to hang out with lots more people, attend the Austin Stone, go on 2 dates (thanks!!!!!! Stew & Kimberly), play Wii for the 1st time, hear the most awesome sermon (click on What is Pure and Undefiled Worship?)I've heard in a VERY LONG time, be challenged in pretty much area of life, have intense fellowship w/ the Stewarts, and Wes saw Midlake, Lucinda Williams, Wilco & Bob Dylan at ACL.

You can see a few pictures from the Austin leg on the Stewart's Blog.
I'll try to post a few more soon.

Now that I have my real curriculum we have begun our intense homeschooling! Wow, this is great material! It's also a lot of work for me and the girls! We'll see if we can keep up with it all! It's definitely going to take some flexibility and creativity to make it all work. But we are definitely having a good time!

Creative Ventures

Anna with her sun, lion & girl

Maggie with her dinosaur, lion sun & blue birds

3 Years Old

On Saturday Claire turned 3 years old!!! We cannot believe she is growing up so fast! She is such a sweet gift from God.

Always Thinking

Mommy: "See Maggie, 6 is greater than 4. Do you understand?"
Maggie: "No, I don't understand... why is 6 better than 4?"

From Justin Taylor's Blog- Offspring of Pride

Joe Thorn points to Puritan Richard Mayo's sermon on The Prevention and Cure of Spiritual Pride. Mayo says: “It is a big-bellied sin; most of the sins that are in the world are the offspring and issue of pride.” Joe summarizes some of the sins that pride gives birth to:

1. Covetousness - because you believe you deserve something more than others.
2. Ungodly ambition - because you believe that you are most qualified, and the idea of someone else being preferred over you is an insult to your perceived worth.
3. Boasting - because everyone should know who you are and what you have accomplished.
4. Contention - because in picking fights you feel a sense of superiority over those who may (or may not) be in error.
5. Unthankfulness - because you deserve everything you get!
6. Selfishness - because others do not!
7. Self-deceit - because it’s easier to believe you are something, when in fact you are nothing.
8. A judgmental attitude - because you believe the errors of others are much more serious than your own.
9. Gossip - because you look so much better when telling others how awful someone else is. Mayo said that the proud “endeavor to build their own praise upon the ruins of others’ reputation.”
10. Complaining - because God should have consulted you before orchestrating the events of your day/life.
11. Hypocrisy - because you must hide the truth, your own failures, in order to avoid shame and accumulate praise.

See Justin Taylor's Blog: Between Two Worlds; He has another great article on handling criticism.

Switching to Home

Well after much prayer, counsel and consideration, our family has decided to homeschool this year. I am very excited about the opportunity to pour into my children's heads and hearts. I know at the very least the Lord will use this time to grow me and draw me closer to Him. But I also pray that the girls will grow in knowledge and wisdom - true wisdom- fear of the Lord! They are sponges with an incessant desire to learn new things! I think we're going to have lots of fun. They are very excited too! We haven't officially begun since the girls' last day of school was July 2nd, but I've had to give them "work" since they couldn't wait! We are going to be using the Sonlight Curriculum. Please pray for us as we make this transition. And if you have any tips, book recommendations, suggestions, etc. please post 'em!!!!