Rock Solid Family

When Scott and I were first married, he bought me my first keyboard as a wedding present. It was a 61 key Yamaha keyboard. I have used that keyboard for the whole of our over 12 years of marriage. Pianos have come and gone out of our home but I have never gotten rid of my keyboard. It was always so versatile and easy to move.

We went shopping the other day. We were mainly getting a gift for my grandfather, but since there was a Best Buy in the same town we decided to go by there and get a computer part we needed as well. I wasn’t expecting that Scott would find a good price on a Full sized Keyboard. It is an 88 weighted key Casio piano Keyboard. Scott has been wanting to get me a weighted keyboard for years. When I questioned whether we should spend the money on it, he said that it’s not every day that we could actually afford to get a keyboard and that I would use it.

Scott put it together last night. He had given me the User’s manual and I played a little bit on it. I’m pretty excited to have the extra notes. There were some songs that I needed to practice more, but needed more space for the Bass runs. I am now able to play all those songs. The weighted keys are also good for my arms as well. I found that after playing a few songs my arms were sure tired. That means I’m getting exercise too. I never thought of the piano as a form of exercise before.

I took this picture of Joshua this afternoon. I was pretty amazed at how quick he figured out some of the features on the new keyboard. Things that I gave up on and was planning to look at later, he had going in just one sitting.

Right now it’s o.k. since I still have some things I know that my kids don’t know. But what will be like when the day comes that the kids know more than I do. Hmm…Well, until then I’ll just keep on teaching them. One day Scott and I will be calling Joshua, “Hey Joshua, will you come over and help us figure this out?”

Sunday we had a special youth Sunday. We let the kids take special part in the services. Andrew led the singing, Joshua presented the Sunday School devotional, and Ruth helped teach the preschool Sunday school class. They all did a good job.

The kids did a good job on their skit Sunday. I didn’t get a picture of our actors. They were Ruth as Mercy, Hannah as Grace, Joshua as Brother, and Andrew as Burden. The skit was based on the passage in Romans 12: 19-20.

Throughout the whole skit Brother and Burden were being mean to Mercy and Grace, but Mercy and Grace always responded with kindness. In the first scene Mercy and Grace are watching a movie. Brother and Burden come in and snatch the remote from their hand and push the girls off the couch. Then the girls decide they will bake cookies now and watch their movie later.
After a brief trip offstage they come back in with a plate of cookies. They offer some to the boys and they all go offstage.

In scene two, the girls are playing with their dolls on the floor. The boys come in and purposely trip over one of the dolls complaining about the dolls. They then start tossing one of the dolls back and forth over Grace’s head while she tries to catch it. Mercy catches it and hands it to Grace. She then asks them if they want to play with them. The boys tell Mercy that she’s no fun and that she’s too nice. She then asks them if they want her to be mean to them. Which they decide that they don’t. She then explains how she tries to treat others the way she wants to be treated, just like she learned at church. She doesn’t want them to be mean to her, so she won’t be mean to them. The boys then leave the stage looking guilty and hopefully having learned a lesson. It ends with Grace giving Mercy a big hug and telling her that she is nice.

All the kids did their parts very well.

This picture is of Hannah, Ruth, and Joshua with their light sabers and Hannah in her Bibleman costume. They have been working on their own Bibleman skits. They are really having fun acting.

Romans 12:19-21
(19) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. (20) Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (21) Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Hannah had a birthday a few days ago.

The morning of Hannah’s birthday she came to our room and knocked on our door and asked, “Am I four today?” She had a hard time believing it, because she was not as big as Ruth when she woke up.

She told us a few months ago that she wanted a Banana cake for her birthday. Scott baked and decorated this cake. He used a yellow cake mix and chopped bananas into it. Then he iced it with white icing and put Bananas on the icing. Then he topped it off with the first strawberry off our strawberry plants. Then I put the four candles on it. She really liked her cake.

Now you may be wandering if you follow my Dad’s blogs why he has a birthday picture of her with a different cake. That was on the same day but different location. We had her first small birthday party at home and then another small birthday party at Memaw’s and Daddy Jim’s house.

This is Hannah in her new BibleMan costume. She now wants to be BibleMan when she grows up. We bought her a BibleMan DVD set. She had been begging us for a BibleMan light saber for over a month. We found some light sabers and were even able to find her a BibleMan costume which was marked down because it is a seasonal item. When Joshua heard that we found one of the two last BibleMan costumes left until October, he said, “God must have provided Hannah a BibleMan costume because he knew she wanted one.”

I love this picture of the kids with their light sabers. Even Jonathan was in the mood. We bought him a foam squirter to use as a light saber. We figured it was softer than the plastic light sabers and it still extended like theirs. He loves to get involved with their play. He tries to be just like them. Tonight after our devotion time, Jonathan put on Hannah’s mask upside down and started walking around with his arms in funny positions showing off. We think he was trying to be BibleMan too.

Then the highlight of Hannah’s birthday was her getting a whole vitamin at bedtime. We had told her months ago that when she turned four she would get a whole vitamin. She has been looking forward to that for a long time. She feels so big and grown up now.

Over all it was a very good day. On our way back home we stopped by Uncle Justin and Aunt Sarah’s house. (Aunt Sarah is my sister.) My sister served us a very good dinner and we enjoyed getting to visit with them. The kids really liked all the animals they have.

Next time we go to visit them, Uncle Justin is going to have to teach us all how to fish. I took the children to a Fishery about a year ago and even in a stocked pond we still didn’t catch anything. I still don’t know what we were doing wrong.

Now we are back home. Tomorrow I will try to post about our special Fifth Sunday Services we had today. All the kids participated and it went very well. So check back soon.

The other day Joshua and Hannah came into the house with this wild flower they had uprooted. They wanted me to plant it in a pot inside the house. I explained that those kind of flowers really do better outside. Joshua was real excited and asked, “So can I plant it in my garden.”

Scott and I just smiled at each other as I agreed and assured him that it will probably grow pretty well outside. After he and Hannah ran back outside to plant their flower, Scott and I both had thought of the same Bible passage about the Wheat and the Tares. Tares being weeds. In that passage it’s talking about how an enemy had gone into the garden and planted the weeds among the plants. However Joshua is planting the weed in his own garden. Hmm… Well, at least it is a pretty weed and may grow better than some of the other plants he has out there.

Matthew 13:24-30
(24) Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
(25) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
(26) But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
(27) So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
(28) He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
(29) But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
(30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Scott loves to tell me, “Now that would make a good blog!” So here it is.

Right now I am waiting on the kids to finish working on my surprise. I came into the kitchen earlier today and Hannah announced, “We have a surprise for you, Mom!” Her older sibblings immediately started shushing her. So I smiled and told her that she was doing really well not telling me. They told me that I would need to go to my room while they finished my surprise. So I told them I would come in here and blog.

It was suppose to only take them a few minutes but it has actually been quite a while. I think their surprise is they are cleaning their rooms. Don’t tell them I guessed it. I plan on smiling and being really surprised. I think now they would have liked to done their homeschool work first instead of working on their “surprise”. Joshua just came to check on me and to tell me that it is sometimes really hard. I asked if they needed any help with it, and he gave a weary, “No we’ve got it. We’re almost done, I think.” Their rooms aren’t really all that big, but they have a lot of stuff and could really use help organizing it. To bad it has to be a surprise, I may check on them in a little bit to see if I can help. Maybe we could turn it into a surprise for Daddy.

I’ll probably post a picture of the “surprise” in my next blog.

I wasn’t sure how many people had heard about the possibility of us getting a donkey, and wasn’t sure whether to even blog about it. Scott went to get some eggs at our friends’ house and met a man there that was looking to buy a pony from them. He told Scott about two donkeys that he was wanting to sell for a real low price. Scott was real interested and was picturing the kids riding the donkeys around the yard. They were supposed to be miniature donkeys but turned out being a little taller. So the man was wanting to buy a pony and sell the donkeys.

That was Thursday. Scott was wanting to at least go look at them and see how they reacted to the kids. We couldn’t see them on Friday, so Scott did a lot of Donkey research. I even called my sister to find out if her husband had any experience raising donkeys. He thought that it was a good deal, and that they would take them off our hands if we bought them and it didn’t work out. So I decided maybe it would be okay to get them.

The owner called us this morning telling that he had picked up the pony and was on his way home, so we could come out and see the donkeys this morning. We loaded up in the car and was on our way over there, when the man called back and told that his wife didn’t want to sell the donkeys. So we turned around and went back home. So I guess we’re not donkey crazy after all. I had my camera, but we didn’t even look at them. Now we’re just thinking about maybe getting some Chickens, at least they lay eggs.

And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the donkey with a staff.

And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

And Balaam said unto the donkey, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.

And the donkey said unto Balaam, Am not I thine donkey, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?

And he said, Nay.

Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine donkey these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: And the donkey saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
(Numbers 22:27-33)