Training Our Children to sit in the Meetings

Training your children is never easy. In fact sometimes it can be downright exhausting! Joshua and I want our children to enjoy going to the chapel on Sundays and learning to sit through the meetings. Let me tell you that with restless, busy, noisy little children that is no easy task. We have tried many different things and finally hit on a plan that works for us right now.

We have started "practicing" at home in the evenings having our family Bible time where we sing, read the Word of God and pray. Gideon and Tirzah are expected to sit on the couch with us quietly, except when singing where we encourage them to sing with us. It has been delightful to see Gideon starting to sing! He at first started off just singing whatever words came to his mind "rabbit, trucks, kanga" but he picks up on words that we sing like "shepherd, Jesus, etc" and he sings those words now. He is proud of the fact that he can sing. (He is singing right now "I'll walk with Him always"). It is precious to us that they learn to worship at an early age. Gideon also says "amen" after every prayer and asks after every prayer in the meeting "done?" At the meetings they are allowed to play quietly on the pew with their toys, look at books and I bring their cups and a snack--goldfish is their favorite. When one of them acts up--normally Tirzah they are taken out until they are ready to come back and sit still.

We make them sit through the first meeting at our chapel which is the quietest the Breaking of Bread--our worship service. Then usually the second service they will either play in the nursery with me watching or another mom or grandma. Sometimes Gideon wants to just sit with Grandma for the meeting. But we've decided to give them a break if they want and let them play if they want to. Then after lunch we have a third service in which they normally take a nap or rest.

It is not easy to train, it is honestly exhausting! I come home so tired in the afternoons! And I don't judge moms or think hardly of them if they choose to stay in the nursery with their children because I know it is so hard to train. We rejoice in little victories like where Gideon and Tirzah both sit fairly well through a service or they fall asleep or we hear them singing. We want them to grow up loving to worship!

At home singing

This picture is from a while ago, notice the passie

Sleeping on Aunt Lydia's lap

Organizing Toys

Gideon and Tirzah's room has been quite a mess for a while because I don't have anywhere to put their toys. And they wind up in a communal basket and such a mess! They love to knock it over and so things are all over the floor. Well I finally decided to take control and organize their toys. So I got several plastic containers and organized the toys according to type and then decided to label them with pictures so that the children would know where to put their toys if they have more than one out. Works great! Gideon knows exactly where to put his cars and trains now...and he loves that he has pictures on his boxes! So I have some success in their room and it looks so nice and clean now because everything has its space!

God's Provision of a Van

So we've been praying for some time that God would provide with a van. Knowing that if our family increased we would need a little more space than our car could offer. We have been looking for a Toyota Sienna but found they were hard to get and rather expensive because they were such good vans, they hold their value to the end. We didn't really pursue it hard until recently as the need became more urgent with our family increasing! We had followed up on a couple leads but they all were dead ends and this past weekend we were going to look at a van in Richmond but it sold before our appointment. So we just told the Lord we would wait on His timing and we knew He had the perfect van from the perfect person for the perfect price. So we left it in His hands and all of a sudden things moved into place for us to get a van all on Sunday afternoon. It was being sold by someone known by both sides of our family, it was the only Sienna he had and he doesn't even usually get Toyotas, it was right at the right price, it looks amazing and it isn't white!!! (That was a huge thing for me.) It was a total blessing from the Lord. We brought it home on Sunday and enjoyed the excitement of discovering all the little added blessings the van has! We are overwhelmed with God's provision...there is plenty of room for three carseats! And we can take other people places as well! So yes, in case you haven't heard we are expecting baby number three! Due in September...we are super thrilled with this blessing!

Our new van!

Joshua and I and Baby #3

Hammock Time

Cousin Judah's Birthday

Not the birthday girl but happy to wear the party hat!

Brushing their teeth in the bath

Judah, big one year old!

Oh my goodness she is so cute!

In trouble together!

Yard Sale Success

I have decided this spring that I want very much to do a little more yard sale shopping and decided that this past Saturday was a good day to start as there was a neighborhood sale less than five minutes away.  My wonderful husband who does not like to shop volunteered to go with me spelling LOVE all over to me! So armed with our list we took off thinking we would be gone for less than 30 minutes. Well, this was quite the neighborhood...quite a few people had them and the road kept going and going. So we walked around and found some great bargains! The best find of the day was a real gift from the Lord! It was some Thomas the Train wooden tracks for $1! Below you will find pictures of Gideon thoroughly enjoying them! It was the perfect amount. Not too many but enough to make a great track! We actually were gone for the weekend and came back pretty late last night but the kids needed to get out some energy from being in the car so Joshua put together the tracks last night for Gideon to see the full effect. Another find...don't laugh...but we bought 4 car seats at the very end! I know, I know, what could I possibly want with 4? Well, Joshua's parents needed two more big ones as they like to keep car seats in their van so if our kids ride in there they are already prepared. Then my sister-in-law's mother was looking for a big one as well. And then we found a beautiful chicco brand infant carseat with 2 bases that  was only $25! The bases sell for at least $70! So we are considering keeping it for ourselves or reselling it or giving it to someone else who needs it... :-) Anyway our car was packed by the end of the hour and a half we wound up shopping. It was so fun and I checked off things on  my list! As well as getting a birthday present for Gideon for $1! So amazing!

Tirzah desiring to play as well!