Several blogs I've read lately have made me realize that even though we know each other through the blogoshere there are a lot of things we miss by not getting to see one another face to face.  So I thought I'd show you around the house this morning.

This is our front yard and driveway as seen from the front porch.  It's pouring rain today and it's garbage day.

Here's the front porch that leads to the carport.

Here's the foyer and the steps up to the loft where the boys sleep.

Here are the older two watching TV on my bed during our first morning break from school, around 11am.

Here's baby girls room.

Here's my office.

Here's the dining room where everything in our lives gets piled.

Here's the den where the younger two sit watching TV during our break.

The kitchen, where we are doing school today.

Through the double doors in the kitchen to the screened in back porch.

And a look through the screen to the very rainy back yard where my husband has moved and revamped the “firecamp” area.

Hope you enjoyed visiting today.  How are things at your house?  I'd love to see where you live!!
IN HIM,
julie

We’ve decided to cut a few things out of our schedule so we had today as nothing but a REAL Saturday. Nothing to do but nothing!  It was so wonderful. 

Tonight my husband fried chicken which was wonderful. I made a cake which I promptly ate too much of and we built a campfire. Loving Auburn football like he does my hubbie even strung the cable all the way out to the fire and the boys are sitting there watching football as I type. I’m inside watching and trying to root our Auburn Tigers on to a victory over the Florida Gators.

When the boys went to Stuffmart today they bought a pumpkin and dad carved it tonight so we’d have a pumpkin by the campfire (which is commonly known as a firecamp around our house, something the kids started)

So I thought I’d share a few pictures of tonight with you before I head back down to the firecamp.

Baby girl in her new “hand-me-down” kitty sweater.  It's too cute!

Dad begins to carve the pumpkin

The grimace as #2 son holds the pumpkin for a picture.

Helping daddy!

The artist!!

The Finished Product! BOO!

In Him,

Julie

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/juliestew

Today my husband and I spent about an hour lying on our driveway enjoying the breeze and the fall temperatures. It felt like one of those beautiful Colorado days with no humidity, crystal blue skies and a gentle breeze.
He chose the shade and I chose the sun. As I gazed at the sky I thought how often I need to take the time to stop and admire all God has made for us to enjoy.
And I also got to enjoy my husband. We laughed, we talked, we rested as the kids pulled one another in the wagon and baby girl slept inside. What a joy!
Thank you God for rest and for the good sense to take the time to stop and smell the roses.

In Him,

Julie

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/juliestew

What started off as a routine day with Bible Study and a doctor visit ended up being a little more involved than I had planned.  My son had a severe reaction to a bee/yellow jacket sting several weeks ago and we finally made it to the allergist today.  He had an anaphalactyc (too tired to look that spelling up!) reaction so the allergist wanted to do some testing.  First, a little scratch test.  Then on to the needles.  YIKES.  The numbing cream didn't work so we suffered through two rounds of 6 needles each round before calling it a day.  My little guy was so brave! 

So the dr. sent us home with a prescription for numbing cream to be applied 1.5 hours before our next appointment.  Hopefully, this time it will work since it will be on for much longer.

The great part of the day was getting a visit from our friend Amy from KY.  We lived there for three years until moving to our present home.  She now lives in Reno, NV.  And has promised us a place to stay in the event we can get a babysitter for our four “angels” for about a week so we can go skiing.  Any takers??????????????????????

While you are thinking about that here's a picture from our trip to get pizza tonight…

Genesis 11:1
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

Then Noah's decendents decided to disobey God and settle after they'd moved eastward from the ark's landing. 

Genesis 11:3 and 4
They said to each other, “Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”  They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”  (oh, how highly we think of ourselves!!)

Genesis 11:5-7
But the Lord came down to see the city…
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

And this place was called Babel because the Lord confused the language of the whole world there.

And I wondered where the word babbling came from!  This is just another indication that EVERYTHING comes from the Lord.  He IS the beginning, the middle and the end.  He IS I AM.

Resting in HIM,
julie

(notes:  bold in scripture is mine)

What a week. 
Monday and Tuesday….the pits!
Wednesday…Bible Study and park all day!  A great “coming out of my dark hole” day.
Thursday…Great day, good weather, good school day.  Decided to stay home instead of go on planned field trip.
Friday….Yuck! again!

Good thing we stayed home Thursday because Friday made up for the entire day Thursday.  After my oldest diligently saved $39 of allowance money we promptly lost it or it was stolen (we don't know which) at Stuffmart today.  It was in our buggie in a box but when we got the register the box and all was gone. 

Now, I'm a mom who DOES NOT like to lose things.  My faith sees me through a lot but God is definitely still working on me in this area.  I obsess, I freak out, I retrace my steps, I rant, I rave, I foam at the mouth….okay, maybe it's not that bad, but it's rough. 

So after finding out we have no box of money at the cash register I retrace all our steps at Walmart with 2 kids wanting their allowance toys out of the boxes and operating with batteries.  (I know the man who made the wires that holds those toys in their boxes is surely rotting somewhere in those exact wires!!)  As I'm dealing with those two my baby girl is crying because she has a dirty diaper and wants me to change her and the oldest is crying because his hard-saved money is gone. 

CALGON!!!

It's now 12:39pm and #3 son was supposed to be at 1/2 day K4 nine minutes ago.  We report the crime/loss to customer service leaving our phone number and name.   Trying to decide whether to buy the toy my son wants OR make him deal with losing the money (not really knowing whether it was his fault or not) I finally decide that saving the money warranted ME buying the toy.  Forty dollars worth of toy.  UGH!

We haven't heard from Stuffmart/Walmart that anyone has turned in the money and continue to pray that it's found.

As I fret over 1. the loss, 2.being unable to figure it all out and 3. the fact it was money we lost I try desperately to turn it all over to God.  Only after I'm now physically sick over the whole thing.  I have a headache and I feel I'm going to lose my breakfast banana any minute.  Finally  I decide maybe God was using this to show me his Grace.

Grace?  Losing almost $40?

Yep.

Grace.

It could have been my purse.

It could have been my kids.

So I let it go.

And then I take it up again retracing all our steps in Wal-mart in my mind.  Down each aisle and past each person…..

Then once again decide I can't figure it out so I let it go.  Well, I kinda let it go….

Man, it was hard.  I wanted to go back after dropping my son off at K4 and comb Wal-mart again and again and again.  You get the picture!

But I didn't.  I'm sure I'll pick it all up again for I feel I haven't fully let it go.  But I keep trying to dwell on His Grace.

Oh Father….how little we truly know.

IN YOU tonight Lord!
Julie

Well, I made it to Bible Study today.  I needed it.  We are doing a Beth Moore study about finding the places in our lives we are held in captivity by the evil one.  Even though I missed the first two weeks today was (as always) just what I needed to hear. 

We discussed truth from two different perspectives.  One, being our truth (the summation of our life experiences and environment) and two, being God's truth.  I've never thought of there being more than one truth but I really liked the way Beth Moore discusses truth.  Of course there is only one ultimate Truth….the truth of Jesus Christ but we see Him through our life's experiences and the environment in which we live.

Then she gave us several equations I found very eye opening.
First, my truth in incomplete.  Why?  Because it's distorted by selective memories or by my perception of the way things happen.  For example, two people can experience the same thing but tell about what happened in totally different ways.  Why?  Because our perception is different.

Then Beth Moore added satan's lies to my truth.
MY TRUTH + satan's lies = captivity.
For example.  Someone who has struggled with alcoholism may hear the lie that they will never be free from the addiction.  Or they may hear that they are worthless, no good and will never amount to anything.

WOW.

Then Beth said that God's Truth (ultimate truth) is greater than my truth.  Wow, again.  Without HIS Truth there is no hope.  If I stand alone in only what I know and have experienced in life there is no hope.

Finally she sighted Hebrews 4:12-16 where the word “active” is used in the NIV version.  I won't quote it here in hopes you will go and look up the verses yourself.  The word “active” in the Greek is a medical term that means “engaged in work / effective” and the other part of the verse sights the Word being like a double-edged sword, similar to a surgeon's knife.  So the verse gives us a picture of the Word being a like a surgeon's healing hand. 

So the final equation is:
My truth + God's TRUTH = FREEDOM
My truth being what's happened to me and how I perceive it.  God's TRUTH being His healing Word.

One final statement she made was that God's truth has greater power to heal me than my truth does to destroy me. 

Double WOW!

So no matter what has happened to us when we add God's Truth into the equation we get freedom. 
For whom the Lord has set free is free indeed JOHN 8:36

I had to ask myself “What lie am I believing, Lord?”
This week it's been “You can not handle life without your husband at home.  You are overwhelmed.”
Well, maybe a part of that is true but when rinse it with “I can do all things through Christ Jesus our Lord”  (and I could not find that verse's reference) I know that I haven't been relying on His strength, but my own.

Thanks Lord, for freedom.

JULIE

Some Mondays are just hard to get started.  My sweet hubbie left for the week so we're going at it alone this week.  He had a great weekend though because his Auburn Tigers won.  They beat LSU 7-3 (I think). 

School took a long time today and my 7 year old has been acting out a little since dad is gone but we finally got it done.  Sleeping was at a minimum last night since I'm having to get used to sleeping without that warm man beside me.  I don't know what to do without someone to clobber in the head at night.

My boys had another football game on Saturday so I thought I'd post some pictures for our buddy, Steve. 
Steve, these are for you…..have a great Monday.

My hubbie leading the boys throught their paces…

“The little ones” posing for a picture for mom…

Saturday was homecoming…..all together now….”Awwww”
Both boys presenting one of the cheerleaders…..

#3 son sharing his pear with his ever-fashionable little sister…

“Hi Mom”

#2 son comes over to the fence to say hello to mom.  Hubbie in COACH shirt in background…

The temperatures are finally beginning to feel like fall around here.  It's a blessing.  After a terrifically hot summer I'm ready for 60 degree mornings.  Here's a sampling of ONE wonderful morning at our house.  Please don't think all are this way.  They aren't.

We head up the driveway to watch “big brother” show off his new skills riding his bike without training wheels and mom wants a few pictures without a football helmet as protective gear.  Isn't she a fashion statement?  She gets that style from her mother!!!!

Oh, he's just too cute!!!

Then we try on big brother's hat to see if it fits.

All the while the baby kitties sleep peacefully in mom's office.

Ahh….only if all mornings were this way!
Julie