Teenager #2!

Today is Bethany's 13th birthday!  We are now half and half at our house and I have to admit, teenagers are a BLAST!  We let Bethany pick our activities and food for the day.  It was so much fun.

We started with breakfast, mostly made by Caleb and Don.  Here they are chopping the ingredients for omelets.

The finished product - ham, cheese, green pepper, onion and mushroom omelets. We also had grapefruit, cinnamon rolls and raspberry smoothies! Very yummy!

Then off to the zoo.  We have gone to the zoo for MANY of Bethany's birthdays. It is one of her favorite places.  Today we went to an IMAX 3D movie called Flight of the Butterflies.  It was very good!

And as long as we are here . . . let's see another one!  We are waiting in line to see IMAX 3D movie number 2 which was something about "prehistoric sea animals".  It was filled with fiction and generated LOTS of discussion afterwards, but was somewhat impressive.  

 

On to the aquarium . . . a stop to see the penguins.

Me taking a picture of Bethany taking a picture of me!

Home for candles, singing and CAKE!  

Then Bethany wanted to play nerf guns in the basement!  

Now we getting ready to watch a movie to end our day!  We had planned on hamburgers for lunch but we were all still full from our huge breakfast!  We will have our "snack supper" of popcorn, cheese, summer sausage, crackers etc. with our movie. So much fun to celebrate another year in the life of one of our children.  Bethany is such a blessing to our family and is growing into such a lovely young lady.  

A Broken Glass

Accidents happen and things break.  We had one such incident this morning.

The boys are on dish duty today.  They were cleaning up breakfast.  The younger one was having a bad attitude and complaining about washing.  The older one was getting frustrated with the complaining and was voicing his own complaints.  The younger pushed two small glass tumblers together in his anger until they were stuck.  The older, stronger one pulled the two glasses apart in his anger and one of them chipped on the rim.  It was a small chip but rendered the glass too dangerous to use.  They called me into the room and proceeded to "tell on each other".

Oh, the joys of being with my children 24/7!  I was ready to shrug off the whole incident and walk out of the room.   Both boys had apologized to me for breaking the glass so I was moving on when the Lord spoke to my heart.  This was not about the broken glass.  "Ugh!  I am teaching ALL the time, can this please just be about the glass, Lord?"  Now who has the bad attitude???

I turned around and walked back to the boys and probed deeper.  I started to ask them the "why" questions and then asked them if apologizing to me actually resolved the issue.  We talked through it and they realized that they needed to apologize to each other.  They ended with a big "man" hug and smiles.  Then they turned to me and apologized again about the glass.  I smiled and said "No big deal.  I didn't care about that glass anyway!" which made them laugh!

It is true. I didn't care about the glass . . . but I do care about my boys' hearts.  If all I do is focus on the subjects of school and the chores that are assigned, I am missing the most important stuff.  This journey of homeschooling is tough but it is also a gift.  I am thankful everyday that I get to spend so much time with my kids.  I am thankful that there is no one that knows my kids better than me.  I am thankful that I get to teach to their hearts not just their minds.  I am thankful that I am there to help them resolve the little things that disrupt our day.  I am even more thankful that I am here when the big things explode!  I am thankful that they are receiving a foundation that is grounded on Jesus.  I am thankful that the Lord designed my family and has purposes and plans for us.  I love it when we can see things come together and connect.

The Lord called us into homeschooling about 12 years ago so that we could go and serve in Guatemala in 2013.  If we had not been obedient to His voice when Caleb was preschool age, our lives would look much different than they do now.  I find that so amazing!  He holds us in the palm of His hand.  And it isn't just my family.  He has great plans and purposes for you and your family too.  Don't miss the "most important stuff" wherever you are on your journey.  Watch for the heart issues, listen for the Lord's voice and seek Him and the plans that He has for you.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord."  Jeremiah 29:11-14