A Life of Gratitude

Today was a big day at Carlisle Christian Academy (that's our homeschool for those of you who may not know our "official" name.) Today a 6th grader, 2nd grader, and Pre-K student started school! They were all super excited to get started this morning! Everything went smoothly and we had a great day together!  My buddies! We did a few things in the school room together before splitting up to do one-on-one with mom and some  computer work. Have you ever wondered what it looks like to plan for three kids on three different grade levels? Here ya go! Allison did her "school work" also. She enjoys drawing in little notebooks! Evan has gotten so big! I am amazed to see him working so diligently. It's going to be a great year for him! Allison also wanted to draw on the walls! Look at the Pre-K kid!!! He did so well with all of his activities today! He is so excited to be learning in "da school room" like his big brothe

Yesterday the boys and I made these adorable scrapbook paper flowers. We always have a lot of fun making crafts together! We made each one especially for a resident at Brookdale Nursing Home. It's become our favorite senior living facility over the past few years. Some of these sweetest people live there! We enjoy making special gifts for them and visiting now and then. This morning we delivered our handmade flowers to Brookdale with some of our friends. My boys had such a wonderful time. They were so excited to visit each room and give the flowers to the residents. My heart was so full as I watched each of my children bring joy to these precious people. Tyson probably had the best time of anyone! He ran from room to room, handing out flowers and saying, "This is for Jesus. I'm happy to see you!" It was so sweet! He wasn't the least bit shy!  This group of kids lit up Brookedale this morning! Today I am grat

Bryan and I volunteer each week with the elementary aged children at church.  This morning, while the kids were singing praise songs. a few of the little girls were asked to get up on stage to dance and sing along. They were adorable! The littlest girl on the far left was having a blast! She danced, sang, sat down, jumped around, rolled on the floor, ran around the room, and even did a flip or two. The teacher in me wanted to make her stand still, sing quietly, and conform to the way everyone else was acting but then I recalled something said during the adult worship service. Someone said, "As God's children, we should worship without holding back." They used several examples including football games and our children's accomplishments as proof that we know how to celebrate without holding back. So why are we so reserved when praising our Creator and King? Sadly, our Savior and Defender often gets the most cautious and detached praise.  As I watched this l

Over the past 2 months, I have been coming to terms with the disease that will be my life-long companion. Believe it or not, I've found a great deal of freedom.  I've spent years not feeling well, not having any energy, not being able to lose weight, not being able to do any physical activity without being in pain for days after. Almost every day I pretended to feel good even though I didn't. Hiding pain is hard and exhausting.  I've tried everything. Seriously. I've done so many things to get well and feel better. I've changed my eating habits numerous times.... Trim Healthy Mama, Weight Watchers, The Next 56 days, Beachbody (3 different times I believe). I have done all kinds of exercise programs including yoga, pilates, walking DVDs, various cardio videos, walking/ jogging around the neighborhood, all of which ended soon after I began because my body just couldn't keep up. I've tried numerous supplements, fascia blasting rollers, essential oi

Se veral months ago someone told me that I am an exhausting person. I wish I could say she was joking, but she was very serious.  Just in case you're wondering if you should say that to someone---don't ---those words are hurtful. While I wish I could forget those words, they just seem to keep replaying over and over in mind. The enemy has used those words repeatedly discourage me over the past 9 months or so. As I've thought and prayed about being an exhausting person and what that truly means, the Lord has taught me a great deal. I've learned a lot, not only about myself but also about the power of a testimony. Some folks will one day look back on their lives and realize it was lovely but pretty uneventful. They grew up, got married, raised kids, sent those kids out into the world, worked every day, and then retired. Some folks, on the other hand, will look back and see a life full of ups and downs, twists and turns, difficulty and joy, mistakes and triumphs,

Thursdays and Fridays aren't my favorite. Don't get me wrong, it could be way worse, and for that I am grateful. But still, feeling like your body weighs 1,000 pounds, feeling nauseous, being constantly aware of every muscle aching, having absolutely no energy and being totally dependent on others isn't a whole lot of fun. There is one thing I love about these "recovery days" though, and it's really the best medicine! My hubby and kids have been taking such good care of me. I don't move from that spot on the couch for two full days other than to go to bed and to the bathroom and when I get up to go to bed or the bathroom, one of my fellas helps me get up and walks with me so I don't fall. I am so weak and exhausted, especially on Thursdays, that I honestly couldn't do it without their help. The older boys also bring me anything I need and help take care of the younger kids. The little ones have been my snuggle buddies, which has been such