You know it's going to be one of those days when...

You know it's going to be one of those days when you open a BRAND NEW gallon of milk for breakfast and even before you pour any milk out...your youngest daughter puts her finger in her nose and then immediately dips it into the gallon of milk. Need I say more?

Challenge

This is one of those nights that I'm tossing and turning (it is 4:30 am), so I had to get my thoughts "out of my head" so to speak. So here goes...

Last time I posted, I mentioned the Ladies Retreat. I had a blast! I met some new friends and got to know some other friends better. It was the perfect mix of having fun, relaxing (not so much during the game of "spoons" but it sure was a lot of fun!) and being challenged too. One of the people/things that our speaker Jodi talked about was Corrie ten Boom and the book "The Hiding Place." Jodi mentioned that when Corrie was a child she was grounded in God's word. She was taught from a young age to hide God's word in her heart. (Jodi said much more than that...but that is one of the areas I was challenged.) It really got me thinking about how much I focus on that with my own children. Why do we take time for other things...but with something so important, we don't intentionally make it a priority?

Fast forward to this past weekend...we were supposed to go down to Indiana (Scott had Friday and Monday off from work) but it didn't end up working out. We still wanted to so something fun with the kids, so we took them to Binder Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. At the entrance, I took two maps. When you have six children - two maps are not enough (we'll leave the sharing lesson for another time) so I asked if I could have one for each of the kids. They were generous and gave me four more and we had six happy kids. It was very cute to see Jenna trying to "read" her map as she walked. She was so serious about it...but obviously not able to read it! (Video clip)

Yesterday, my friend Jen mentioned on her blog that she went to the Selah concert on Sunday. I love Selah's music and listen to them often, but I pulled out one of the CD's I hadn't heard in a while. One of the songs on it is called "You Are My Hiding Place" (on my playlist below) and it says:

You are my hiding place

You always fill my heart

With songs of deliverance

Whenever I am afraid

I will trust in You

I will trust in You

Let the weak say

I am strong

In the strength of the Lord

The words kept going through my mind during the night. I think that as a parent, sometimes I underestimate or do not emphasize enough the importance of my children's OWN relationship with the Lord. Yes, we pray with them at meals and before bedtime, read the Bible with them (not often enough), and work on AWANA sections. But do we intentionally (make it a priority) to teach them to hide God's word in their heart so that God is their "hiding place." I'm sure when Corrie ten Booms parents grounded her in God's word they didn't know just how important that would be for Corrie in the awful days she had ahead. I obviously don't know what lies ahead for my kids future...but it will be just as important that they have God's word hidden in their hearts. Just like the map at the zoo, Jenna can't read it on her own...but she is not too young to learn! All that to say...I have been challenged to work on hiding God's word in our hearts!

Ladies Retreat

Had a really fun weekend at the Chapel Pointe Ladies Retreat! It was nice to have a break from "normal" and come back refreshed. It is now Tuesday morning and I could do it all over again! I'm sure all of you moms can relate! I came home to a "belated birthday party." The kids made me cards, went shopping with daddy and bought a gift and, most importantly, had a chocolate Costco cake! I'm not sure what prompted it - but it was sweet of them (considering my birthday was in August.) Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Okay, Mom, Okay???

I have noticed lately that Jenna has been saying "okay" a lot. Things like..."mommy, we need to put this in the Losch's mailbox, okay mom? Okay? Okay?" or "mommy, I need a glass of milk, okay mom, Okay? Okay?" She keeps saying "okay" until I acknowledge her. (Is this where I admit that she has said it many times in a row before I acknowledge her sometimes?) She sounds so cute when she says it. Anyway, last night after AWANA, the kids wanted a snack...you know how you serve one meal before they go and it seems like they want another whole meal when they get home? Well, I told them to get their pj's on and then to come back down. Jenna was busy doing something else, so I had to remind her. I found myself saying "Jenna, go upstairs and get a pull-up and some pj's from your top drawer and bring them to mommy, okay?? okay??" (waiting for her to acknowledge me.) I actually laughed out loud at myself. She has just been copying what I do. A good reminder for me!

Soccer, Soccer, and more Soccer

Soccer season is in full swing again. This year we have four teams with practice on three different nights. (could be worse - it could be four different nights!) Jenna is the only one NOT playing this year. They are having fun and I love all of the exercise they get!
Allison scored two goals this week! Of course at this age, there is no goalie and they are still learning not to "steal" the ball away from their own team! :-) She has fun!

Jenna and Caleb sharing beverages. She is happy cheering on her siblings - especially if she gets to have a water bottle of her own.
We have enjoyed the warm weather so far this year...this is Alli finding a little shade.
Emily also scored two goals this week...Jessi got her very first goal last week! She was very excited! Michael is having fun and getting used to U-8 (with goalies & positions) and Abbi is in U-10 and she loves to be goalie - she does a great job - but I get really nervous!! I'm secretly glad when she switches to another position. :-)

By the way...Scott and I saw Fireproof last weekend. We really enjoyed it. I recommend seeing it!

Fireproof the Movie

I hear this is a great movie. It's nice to see a "good" movie in the theater for a change. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Surprise 40th Birthday Party

Scott just turned 40!! We actually pulled off a surprise party for him! It was fun and we (as in me and the kids) we're really happy to do that for him...he had been having kind of a rough week and I kept thinking..."just hang on 'till Thursday...I know you'll be encouraged!!"

Scott has been going up to Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday nights with several guys from church...so I figured that was probably the best place to surprise him, so I had friends and family gather in the private side room. Randy & John brought him over there and Jeff called him to tell him to meet in the side room. When they came in - I think to took a minute for him to "get" it. He said he was looking for Jeff - so it didn't really register "who" the other people were until the kids ran up to him. By the way...most of the kids didn't know until they were on their way to the party. I figured that was the best way to keep it a secret. How, you ask, do I know that he was surprised?? He hugged my brother Adam. Not that he doesn't love Adam...they just don't generally show their affection for each other by hugging! :-) It was a fun night.

He is such a great husband and father...it was the perfect time for us show him just how much we love and appreciate him!