Captured Moments

I caught this moment on Tuesday, Paul's first full-time day at UPS.

This is just the sweetest pictures I have of my husband. Such a precious moment, and I am glad that I was able to capture it.

A note about Jeremiah: when he sees Daddy getting his things together to leave, or when Paul comes in the door at the end of the night - Jeremiah starts making kissing sounds, and generally demands several kisses. He is a sweetie!

Paul's job - and update

Just a quick update to tell y'all that Paul has started a temporary seasonal job at UPS delivering packages full-time. This is a summer job while the regular drivers take their vacations. He will be working 9-7ish daily. Weekends off! We are grateful for the additional income to get us out of the hole (caused by three months without pay)! We are now praying for a second car, since our little van that Paul was driving blew a head gasket. Someone bought that off of us, because we did not have the means to fix it. And, now Paul is driving the big 12 passenger van to work daily. Once or twice a week I will be taking him to work and picking him up so that I can get out of the house.

we appreciate your prayers for Paul's back and my sanity. Paul is hurting. His back is not in good shape. But, Paul feels like he must keep working. As for me, being alone with the children all day has been an adjustment. By the time Paul comes home, I am ready to pull my hair out.

Still, amidst these new adjustments, I continue to work on my fiction novel. I have nearly 60,000 words and I am probably 3/4 of the way finished. Paul and the children are totally supportive, and I could not do this "job" without them. I have been so blessed in writing this book. I can't wait for you all to read it someday...

That's all for now. Gotta go check on kiddoes.

Paul Washer on the Gospel

Paul and I appreciated this 12 minute presentation about the Gospel. Very concise, yet very well explained.

Our new puppy

Our landlord breeds AKC dogs. His most recent batch was half bull mastiff, half German Shepherd. The pups were born the first of December. When paying our rent, we always enjoyed playing with the fluffy little fellows. Paul asked, out of curiosity, how much a pup costs. The answer, $400. Whoa! We had no interest in adding another dog. Certainly not at that price. A few months ago, the landlord joked and said, "If you want one I can give you a real good deal on one." 

Fast forward. Paul was out of work for a few months with herniated discs in his back. The landlord knows this. He was flexible with our rent payments during that time. He knows we have had financial struggles. BUT, two weeks ago the landlord stopped by and told me, "We want to give you a pup." My answer was that we would have to pray about it, because it is a huge decision. The landlord said that he could respect that. In the meanwhile I prayed hard.

The landlord called that same week and said, "I want to bring over a pup now." So, we said we would take a look at him. The dog seemed nice, but shy. He and Daisy (our 7yo lab scuffled a bit). I asked if we could return the pup if he didn't work out. (You see, last time we took someone's pup it was a nightmare. We had to give that puppy to someone who could make it happier. we felt guilty, but it was the right decision. The pup went to a rancher from Florida who really wanted a good herd dog! Praise Jesus!) Anyway, we did NOT want to rush into another puppy catastrophe. Our landlord said that we could return the dog if he didn't work out.

What seems strange, and we ourselves do not fully understand it, is that the landlord pushed this pup on us. We like the dog... but we would not have chosen this particular season of our life for a new dog.

BUT,  I believe now that this pup is a gift to us from the Lord. God has given us this dog. 

We have decided to keep the pup. And, we agreed on a name last night. STEEL. We thought about literary names. Artists. Music styles. Gun Types. And, when I said, "Remington," I thought we had a winner. Then, I joked, "Remington Steel." Paul said, "Steel!, That is a solid name." So, our new pup has been named Steel.

Steel is kind and playful. Easy to teach. Loveable. Never barks. Plays well with Daisy. He is a puppy, so there is also chewing of anything in the yard. Jumping up (which we are quickly training out of him).

We love our new dog. And, I am assuming that we will have years of posting about Steel ahead of us. Welcome to the family, Steel.

Do not Compare yourself to men, Rather be conformed to Christ

Copied from Facebook, written this morning -

Homeschool Mamas, Have you ever read other peoples' blogs or FB posts and put yourself down for not being as "good" as someone else? I used to daily read a blog by a seemingly perfect mother of many, many children. But, this week I realized again that we just cannot compare ourselves to others. That mama of ten or so kids was a second-generation homeschooler who grew up with a huge family. For others of us, having several little ones and trying to homeschool is like finding our way through an underground cave with only a small match. Please do not (as I have done) compare yourself to anyone. Rather, endeavor to read the Bible and pray that God would conform you into the image of His Son. Jesus was sinless, but his yoke is easy, His burden is light! Trying to model yourself after some super mama hero might add to your burden and make your yoke heavy. I know this all too well. Keep pressing on, homeschool teaching mamas! Let God be your guide!

By the way, I do not read as many blogs as I used to. In fact, I only check two or three regularly.  Fill your life with whatever is positive and matches up with this admonition.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely , whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Phil 4:8-9 (NASB)