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My Man

August 2, 2011 in brent, Family, holidays, My Spiritual Journey with 0 Comments

Husbands are such a unique gift from God.

The last few months have been a rough portion of life.  Health issues, personal issues, life issues, the list could go on and on.

There are moments when disengaging from life would be much easier.   I could easily disengage into my computer, my phone, the TV, a book, or any other nearby device.

But then there’s my gift.

Eight years ago today, God gave me this gift knowing I needed a gift to help me draw closer to God. The Lord knew I needed a man who wouldn’t let me disengage when life got tough. I needed a man who would continually remind me to put my eyes heavenward.

This man is my gift from God.

Over the past eight years, we have loved a lot, laughed a lot, cried a lot, and had a lot of babies.

Life has changed since we first said “I do”.  Who knew eight years later we would be growing gray and think sleeping until 6am was sleeping in? But the one thing that is still the same is how incredible my gift from God is.

So today, on our anniversary, I want to stop and acknowledge Brent and what a vital point he is in my relationship with the Lord. He has encouraged me, prayed for me, given me the proper perspective, found books for me to read, loved me unconditionally, and taught me so much about what it means to chase after God. I love you Brent Minter. Thank you for marrying me eight years ago!

Summer Fun

July 29, 2011 in Family, life with 2 Comments

My kids informed me that in Texas it was a rule to have a popsicle before, during, and after playing outside.  As long as they’ll go outside and burn off some energy, I’ve decided to enforce that rule.

The toys are so hot that EVERY thing the kids touch has to be soaked with water first.

The slide

The steps

Their face

Everything

We’ve even found a way to use the trampoline.

Plus, lets face it.  Life is just more fun when you are playing in water.  27 days of 100+ degree heat and counting.  Bring it on Texas.

When the House Gets Quiet

July 27, 2011 in Family, life with 1 Comment

The house had been quiet for a good ten minutes when we first noticed he was missing.

Silence is usually a good indicator that something in the house is being destroyed.

At least he looks cute painted in black mascara.

Pure Joy

July 18, 2011 in Family, family traditions, Gratefulness, holidays, life with 0 Comments

The kids first time to an amusement park was such a picture of pure joy.

At the end of the ride, I asked, “J did you like the ride?”  He shook his head yes.   I then asked, “Do you want to go on it again?“  He burst into tears and said “no pease” over and over again.  Maybe a roller coaster in the dark is a bit much for a two year old!

Lesson learned.  Just because Adventureland does not enforce height limits does not mean that a responsible parent should not enforce the height limit.  I forgot that small little bodies jerk quite a bit while going upside down on roller coasters.   The girls only response at the end of the ride,  “that really hurt my neck mommy!“   Oops!

I absolutely love watching my kids experience things for the first time.  No expectations of what the experience should look like; it is just pure joy.


New App

July 14, 2011 in Family, My Spiritual Journey with 0 Comments

The last few weeks, Brent and I have been working on memorizing the same verses. In the past, we’ve each done our own thing, but in the quest for more accountability and for both of us to be meditating and discussing the same thing, we decided to start memorizing the same scripture together.

If you know my man, you know that when he starts a new project, he doesn’t just start it.  He researches, researches, and then puts a system in place that will guarantee success.

It was no different this time.  We decided to memorize the Fighter Verses from Desiring God’s ministries.  We already had all the note cards with the verses on them, but apparently note cards are so old school. And my husband doesn’t do old school.

So he found this app, and I laughed when he put it on our phones.  Laughed at how unnecessary I initially thought it was.  Laughed that he can make even scripture memory high tech.  Laughed that I just never go and search out new ways to do things and he ALWAYS searches out new ways to do things.  Laughed, but in the appreciative, I love how Brent’s mind works kind of way =)

But the point of the story is we are both using this great app to memorize scripture together.  Every Sunday, we switch the verse, and our verse becomes part of our conversations throughout the week.  It has been incredible to memorize together.

A few good things about this app:

  1. I always have my phone with me so can always review the verse
  2. The verse is set as my wallpaper so anytime I turn my phone on, I see the verse and am reminded to learn it and apply it
  3. Both of us learning the verses together creates great accountability.
  4. There are over 500 verses so it will take us quite a while to work through all of them
  5. There are quizzes to help ensure that I’m learning the verse
  6. For the ESV version, there are songs available to help in memorization

I’m sure there’s tons more reasons, but those are my main ones.

All that to say, if you have an IPhone, an IPad, an iTouch, or an Android and are looking for a way to push you to memorize scripture, you should get the Fighter Verses App.  It is a wonderful tool!

Where to Begin?

July 11, 2011 in Family, holidays, life with 0 Comments

I have three sisters. Three beautiful, lovely sisters whom I adore.

In fact, if I didn’t have sisters, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t need a cell phone or at least a texting plan. I always tell Brent to cut back on our minutes and then he forces me to look at the bill and I realize it is ME using all our minutes and texts talking to my sisters and mom!

All that to say, I LOVE my sisters and any excuse to get to hang out with them makes me happy.

But there is one tiny little problem. Two of them live in Iowa and one lives in Illinois. Makes get togethers a little tricky.

So when my older sister asked me to come up for a week and hang out with her and her kids while her husband was out of town, I only had to think about it for a few seconds before I said yes.  Brent and I and the kids were already planning on going up for the fourth of July so it just meant I would go a week early and Brent would come later. Even the thought of driving 13 hours with all three kids by myself didn’t squash the excitement.

So I took off and the first seven hours of the drive went perfectly. The last five hours were pretty rough, but we made it and my week of fun began!

My sister and I got married within a couple months of each other. Then we had our first kid within 6 weeks of each other. So for the last 8 years, every time we have been together, adult conversation has been next to impossible. We are usually chasing a kid, nursing a kid, changing a diaper, or trying to get a kid to sleep. Plus factor in those pregnancy hormones and lets just say we were past due for some good quality sister time. I’d say living together for 14 days qualifies as good sister time!

I prayed the six kids would get along. I prayed Jana and I would have fun together. I prayed we wouldn’t be a burden on her and her house. I prayed so many things and the Lord answered above and beyond. I truly cannot put into words how special the time at her house was and how much I miss waking up and hanging out with her today!

Avery actually told me over our morning snack that Uncle Mark was really nice and he would probably let us move into his house if we wanted to go back to Aunt Jana’s =) Needless to say, even after 14 days of sleeping on air mattresses, the kids were sad to leave their cousins!

All that to say, thanks Jana for an incredible two weeks full of fun and great memories.  I am so grateful for your hospitality and friendship!  What do you say for making this our new tradition =)

 

14 Days of Fun

July 9, 2011 in Family, holidays with 4 Comments

I lost my camera cord somewhere on vacation so thought I would tease the family with a few videos  of the trip instead.  I was going to just post my favorite video, but then I couldn’t decide between the beach fun,  the four girls giggling on the Hopper, Laura screaming on the Space Shot, Sidney dancing at the parade, Brian’s beautiful song in the piano room (I have the whole version for those who are interested!), and my daughter blowing out the candles on my mom’s birthday cake.

Too many good moments to narrow them down to a favorite.  So I’m pulling my daughter’s cope out and saying they were all my favorite so I’m posting them all.  Enjoy =)

 

The Mind of a Five Year Old

June 24, 2011 in Family, life with 0 Comments

Avery: “What does it mean “Jesus is the light of the world?”

I explained….

Avery: “How do you walk in Light then?”

I explained…

Avery: “So how will you never walk in darkness again then?”

I explained…

She sat quiet for a few minutes and then…

Avery: “This isn’t the same thing as me saying I’m going to go into my bedroom and turn on the light though is it?”

 

Why My Kids Sit Through Church

June 20, 2011 in Family Spirituality with 2 Comments

(a very low quality picture a certain someone snapped from stage. )

I often get asked about why my kids are in “big” church with me. Over the last five years, I’ve really had to think through what my philosophy is as far as this subject goes. We have a phenomenal children’s program at church, so if I was going to bring my kids into service with me and have them miss the kids program, I didn’t want to make the decision lightly.

So I mentally made a list.

My list went something like this:

Cons:

  • I might not focus as much in church if my children were with me
  • The kids would be bored, and I don’t want them to associate church with being bored
  • I want to sit with Brent which means I have to sit on the front row.  Having three small children on the front row can be VERY intimating.  I mean who knows what Bob might ask one of them during his sermons!

Pros:

  • They would see Brent leading the congregation in worship and worshiping himself.  While they get to see him worship at home, I wanted them to see it in an environment full of Brent’s peers.  A valuable visual picture for them as they grow up.
  • They would see me worship which would allow them to truly know that I believe what I teach them every morning. Seeing me express my beliefs in as many environments outside of the home as possible is very important to me.
  • They would see other adults sing, praise, confess, pray, and listen to the Word of God.  Again, a valuable visual picture for them as they grow up and begin their own faith journey.
  • There is nothing more powerful than worshiping as a family.
  • We have two services which allows my children to come with me one service and still participate in our incredible children’s ministry during the second service.  Win, Win.

As you can see, my pros outweighed my cons.

So I sat this morning in church with my heart overflowing as I watched my two year old raise his hands as he sung because people around him raised their hands, my 4 year old danced and sang as loud as she could, and all three kids stretched out their arms to pray over those leaving for Vietnam this week simply because they saw others doing it.

Do they understand what they are doing? Probably not.  Do they listen and understand the sermon.  Usually no.  But is the beginning of their faith journey being formed in the midst of authentic worship?  Absolutely.

Is this the only way to raise children? Those of you with children should know by now there are no hard and fast rules; only do what the Holy Spirit tells you to do. But if you think you want to take your kids into service but are nervous , I urge you to go for it.  Practice at home (we have family worship and each kid uses a pillow as their chair, and they can’t get off of it). Go over your expectations.  EXPECT them to obey.  And then praise them for how well they did.  Kids can do more than we give them credit for.

And when you have those weeks where everyone wakes up cranky, no one is pleasant, and quite a few of the children need naps, put them in their class in the children’s ministry.  My kids average about twice a month in service with me =)  No use setting yourself up for failure!

Will you have weeks where they all need to go potty in the middle of the service.  Yes.  Will you have weeks where you are going crazy with the amount of questions whispered in your ear? Yes.  Will all of that mean nothing to you as you watch your kids interact in worship with those around them? Absolutely.

Making the decision to train my children to sit through church with Brent and I has been one of the best decisions we’ve made as a family.

What do you do?

 

 

 

New Tradition

June 17, 2011 in Family, family traditions with 0 Comments

Since Brent works late on Wednesdays, we used to do a “girls night” every Wednesday night. But then out of no where my baby BOY grew up and wanted to be included. So I sort of just canceled the whole thing. Something about three children staying up late, eating junk food, and jumping on me just wasn’t appealing.

So “girls night” became feed them really early and get them to bed quick night. I know, I know, bad mom!

But then summer hit, and 7pm just seemed too early to be inside, so I reinvented “girls night” only now it is called “party night”!

And this is what we do…Wednesday morning the kids do all the chores I hate doing…sorting laundry, mopping, mirrors, organizing shoes…they do this to earn the money they need to buy candy that night.

Then after naps, we head to Roanoke (have I mentioned I love that town?!) to their pool. We get there, eat some PB&J sandwiches, and the kids use their hard earned money to buy some sort of candy from the concession stand. Win, win. My house gets clean, and the kids get sweets.

They then proceed to swim, and swim, and swim, and swim for 2 hours and work off all that sugar.

Its beautiful. And fun. And if you know me at all you know that I would live in a pool if I could, and my husband hates the sun so Wednesday night swim nights are great for our marriage too =)

And since I”m into videos lately, here’s one of the kids last night. Elliana can finally swim short distances, Avery can swim long distances, and Justus jumped into the deep end twice, wiggled his way to the side of the pool, pulled himself out, gave me a heart attack, and then looked at me and said ,”I jump in deep end too mommy!” I got the first two items on video. I was frantically yelling at the life guard/running/swimming towards J so missed taping his near drowning. But I did get him jumping in after I convinced him the shallow end was just as fun. That boy keeps me on my toes!

I love traditions.

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