Explosions, Crayons, Puke....and oh God's goodness

The first pic is just so everyone else can feel good about themselves.  Ha  You know that feeling you get while on your elliptical working out eating a candybar and watching Hoarders....doesn't everyone do that.  Let me just tell you it gives a person this wonderful "my house is better than theirs feeling. My house is clean.  I am skinny" That is if you are one of those people that likes to compare.  ;)  Of course I am not talking from experience.

You know it is trouble when your husband walks into the bedroom late at night an ask if you "are you already asleep".  Everyone knows not to wake a sleeping bear so it must be something big.  He then proceeds to tell you about a red crayon and a dryer incident.  :(  One of those lovely moments that you know you will get to wake up the next morning and start searching the internet for fixes.

Yes, the laundry room was already exploding with laundry...what is a little more that will need to be redone (that is if we can actually find a fix for the crayon issue)

This is where God's goodness shows up.  Of course I don't have time to address the laundry issue before I leave for work so we get everyone ready and head out the door.  I leave in time to take the older boys for donuts....because that is just what the Disheroons do on Thursday mornings.  In line at the donut shop I get the sweetest call.  The phone ringing drowns out the voice in my head that keeps on saying "I kicked sugar's bootie"  Thanks to our children's directors facebook post.  Sorry that was a total rabbit....now back to my story.   Tim - " You will need to come home.  Our newest guest just threw up.  It is chunky"  Great just what I needed

But this is the best part....he was asleep when I returned home.  God had given me the extra time I needed to address the laundry issue.  I had been in the laundry room the night before praying that God would give me more energy to complete everything that needed to be done.  There just wasn't enough hours in the day.....And then a miracle happened.  He gave me the extra time I needed at home.  I am wasting some of it by writing this post....but one has to play a little right?  

God's blessings sometimes come in a manner that we would have never expected.  Today he chose to use puke to give me the time I needed in my laundry room.

So now that you know how God blessed me today....let me tell you how I was able to get red crayon out of a whole lot of laundry.

See above laundry sink....everyone must have one.  Seriously, I don't know how families with children survive without them.  I can't measure the amount of puke or poop that has went down that drain.  It's a saviour for those baseball pants that have to be soaked.

Step 1 - Put part of the clothes in the sink with the drain plugged....because all the clothes wouldn't fit.  My family likes to REALLY pack the washer.  Hopefully you don't smell us because are clothes probably never really get clean.  Okay, lets continue.  

Pour both vinegar and dawn all over the clothes.  Then fill the sink full of all hot water.  You know the kind that will burn your hand if you stick it down in it.  This will need to soak for a while.  When I say "a while" that would mean go clean your bathroom and come back.

Squeeze out laundry and put in washer.  Fill bleach holder with vinegar and put laundry soap in with the clothes.  The internet mentioned that you should put extra soap in the washer.  Do not do this!!!  I repeat do not do this if you have a front load washer.  Someone might have tried this before and filled her own laundry room's floor completely with bubbles.  Okay, go ahead and do it if you really need a clean laundry room floor and have a couple of extra hours of mop time.  

Use hot water for the wash cycle.  After this cycle is done...pray.  Then take each item of clothing out one at a time and inspect.  You will notice almost all the crayon is gone.  You will then start with step one again.  You will pray once again and instead of just regular hot water you will boil water on the stove to put in that wonderful utility sink that you have.  

While soaking you will sweep up a comb that a dog has chewed every tooth off of and then you will start putting a small quantity of clean clothing away so that you can walk into your laundry without tripping.  OR you could just watch your favorite show on TV.  You know whatever works for you.

After you dry your first set of  "clean" clothes you will notice that all of it didn't really come out so you will need to go to step one again.  But this time you will pour the Dawn and vinegar directly on the effected area boil more hot water and let them soak once again....and pray.  

I need to go pray now....to be continued.  

Oh .... Those chickens

If you know me…..you know that I have a crazy fear of chickens.  You know.... that kind of fear that makes your heart start beating really fast when one is near you.  Heaven forbid they take a step your way or look at you with those beady eyes. Yes, I am that person that would not go into the petting zoo with my kids if there was a chicken around.  Seriously you can’t trust those vicious animals.  I know that most people think this is crazy but it's something that is just there for me.  There is nothing that you can do to change it…or is there.

 

About eight months ago my oldest child got this crazy idea.  He wanted to bring chickens home from school that they had hatched out in science class.  You would think with this crazy fear that I have this momma would have said NO! But since I am all about my kids trying new things and am totally cool (okay maybe that is going a little far) I said yes.  Maybe raising these physco animals from babies would reduce the fear I have each time I see one. 

Well it worked…at least mostly.  Sometimes I have a little fear of the rooster even though he has never acted like he would hurt me…but you just never know. 

At one point if I had walked out into a yard and saw a chicken running toward me I would have turned and ran or got a big stick (I think I could be a pretty good aim).  Yet, now when I walk out of my back door and I have five chickens and two roosters running for me I know it is because they like me (it is actually because they like me to feed them…but a girl can imagine right).  We meet in the middle of the yard and they follow me back to the pen clicking and clacking all the way.  We discuss things like if they were really good chickens they would lay eggs in their egg boxes and NOT poop in them.  Seriously, I had no clue how much poop could come from a chicken.

So the other morning as I walked outside and all the chickens started running toward me it made me realize how much things have changed in what I thought was acceptable behavior between the human species and chickens.  No longer is it my reaction to turn and run but now it is to embrace (no I don’t hug them but we chat like friends).

This is exactly how sin works in our lives.  At one point we see it as horrid, the way God sees it but then sometimes it changes.  Yes…we start when it is really little.  It really could never hurt anything.  Yes, it leaves a little poop but really not a big deal.  It so cute.  Then as it continues to grow, something happens inside us.  We no longer have this disdain for this as we once did.  Repulsion no longer rises in our throat when we see it.  We no longer feel that we need to guard ourselves from it.  Really we have becomes friends with this thing called sin.  How can it be that bad?  It just leaves a little poop along the way.  And then BAM!!! this sins starts giving us something that we want (eggs).  We no longer hate what we once hated.  We think it is the coolest thing ever.  We profit from it.  We can even convince ourselves that God is blessing us because of this one item that we once hated.  Everything seems to be going so well.

AND THEN….God in his goodness lets us realize the consequences.  We look inside our lives (the chicken coop) and see all the disarray.  Yes, others on the outside may never see the inside but we know it is there.  It is POOP.  It is everywhere.  It permeates the air that we breathe.  There is no where to go without it clinging to our shoes.  Forget about getting to rest.  There is no where to rest our weary hearts.  We can’t escape it.   The only solution to our poop issue is to get rid of these creatures that are creating it.  They must be completely banished from our lives and then God is allowed to clean up our home.  He can make it once again sparkling and clean.  A place that is welcoming with this sweet aroma that seeps from our innermost being. 

So those mornings that I walk outside and these vicious creatures start running toward me, may it be a reminder.  May it remind me to hate what God hates.  May it remind me to look at all the "stuff" that we possess.  Are they God's blessings in our lives or is it caused by the sin I am harboring.  As I enter the chicken coop may I be reminded that I can't clean all this mess up by myself.  I need the master cleaner who is Jesus Christ.  There is no way I can remove the stains that have been left by my sin but He can make me whiter than snow.  He is good to me.  He will not allow me to wallow in this mess.  He loves me enough to reveal this sin so that together with my submission to his will I can once again find the peace and true rest that he offers.

Revelations 3:3 Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again... 15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked...... 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.n. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.

Jumping into the Unknown

Do you ever fill you are standing at a cliff.  God has told you to jump but he hasn't given you the parachute.  He is the only one that has a chute.  You know you are harnessed to him securely.  You have jumped numerous times and every time he is always there.  He lets you enjoy the free fall feeling but you feel him against your back.  You know at just the right time he will pull the handle and you will slowly descend to the exact spot he wants you to land.  After all he is the perfect and makes no mistakes.



But when you are at the edge and you are looking down.....your mind is racing.  Should I actually trust him with this situation.  Is he really telling me to jump.  Is this just my imagination. What if we land where I am not comfortable.  AKA another home, different job, different income, different friends, the list could go on and on.



As I studied the life of Abraham this morning the study pointed out that all that was asked of Abraham was that he be obedient in faith.  Knowing God who was able to do abundantly more than he could have imagined and still is.  Really he was 70...he had no business fathering a baby.  A child that would be in the lineage of Jesus, the Saviour of the world.



We to have been invited to just obey in faith.  He does not push over the edge.  He gently invites us to test Him.  What is holding us back?  What is holding me back?  God plans are always right.  I do not know better than him what is best for me and my family.



Today I want to choose just to lean into his embrace, trusting that he will pull the handle to the chute at just the right moment to land me exactly where he wants me to be.  His plans are to prosper me and He is always faithful.

Will God Show Up?

Will God Show UP?

So this morning our little devotion was about God showing up.  The Bible teaches us that God is always showing up right when it is needed.  He is even there when we don't see his hands at work.  So as we were finishing up I went around the bar to each child and asked them where they needed God to show up today

Kid 1 - "I hope if I miss lots of questions at the quiz bowl I won't get emotional."  This from the kid that wants to succeed in everything he does.  Always wants to have the right answer.  Wants to be the best at whatever he is competing in.  Have no doubt...he wants to win today with his team.

Kid 2 - "Today is electronic day - I hope it lasts a REEEEAAAALLLLYYY long time."  The  kid that  would rather be outside, playing a sport, or just playing a video game.  Anything but needing to set in a classroom for school.

and then

Kid 3 - "Spelling Test".  Just two little words.  Oh how these words break a mama's heart.  The anxiety you see in his eyes.  He has been doing very well on his test but every Friday you know what he is fearing the most for that day.  If I could take this anxiety away I would.

Of course as adults.... we don't go there.  We won't admit, at least out loud, where we need God to show up.  What our biggest fear is.  What if he doesn't care?  What if he is to busy to listen?  Will He think I am being foolish?  Will I be admitting I can't or won't trust Him?

The one thing I am certain about is that I serve a God that can show up.  He is almighty and strong.  He loves me with a great big love and I can trust him.  I know these things not because I necessarily feel that way all the time.  But his word is truth and that is what He has told us.  He has proven himself over and over yet still we doubt.  Today I will choose to give him my fears and the fears of my children.  Today I will trust His great big love.  Today I will be honest and talk to the only one that truly cast out all fear.

Pslams 118:6  The Lord is for me, So I will have no fear....

November - Adoption Month

So I have seen many post on facebook about November is the month to highlight adoption and foster care.  Whoop Whoop.  Can our family be the poster child for this.  :)  When I hear the word adoption I can't help but get a big smile.  Seriously this one choice has changed our family forever.

Let's go back a few years....2010 to be exact.  Tim and I both sat in a service at our church that highlighted the need for people to adopt and foster children in our area.  I knew right away that it was something I wanted to be involved in but I also knew that Tim would need to take the lead.  God had chosen to bless our family so much, I knew I wanted to share what God had given us.  I decided to keep my mouth shut....I know what you are thinking.  :)  A few weeks later Tim comes up to me and says he thinks this is something we should look into.  So we went to an informational CALL meeting and the rest I guess you could say is history.

It took about nine months for us to have all the paper work done and  our house approved to be foster parents.  In September of 2011 we accepted our first two foster children.  There were a few days (Okay I am not going to lie...there were many days) when I wasn't for sure if we were cut out for this but it never failed that God's grace showed up in just the nick of time to get us through another day.  God knew exactly who he had planned to be placed in our home for the first 11 months of our foster care journey.  He calls me his second mom (which makes me smile).  Because of God's great love for these children he knew we were the ones that were suppose to be the middle parents until they were adopted by their forever family.  Which are the perfect fit for these sweet children.

I can name each child that has been placed in our home over the last four years and the special place in our hearts that we hold for each of these children.

I still remember the day in September of 2012 that Lori Johnson called us about a little girl that had been taken into custody that was in the hospital.  I was sitting at my desk at work.  She was four weeks old and they were not sure what type of long term effects she might have from her birth mother's choices.  They were not even for sure how much longer she would need to be in the hospital.  I still remember the case workers words "I think this case might lead to an adoption".  Heart racing....what should I say.  I would not have daycare for a baby that young.  Would we be able to handle any medical issues she might have.  Can we do a baby again????  "Lori - give me a moment to call Tim and see if I can work out the day care situation"  I immediately called Tim and gave him all the details that I knew.  Of course he had the same concerns I did.  Were we up for the task?

By no accident my mom had just retired from teaching.  "Hello....Mom,  would you like to come and stay with us a while to keep a little baby until she can go to daycare?   Well I think that could be arranged"  God had already worked out those arrangements before she was born.  Tim's mom schedule would be flexible enough to help also.  Thank you Jesus.

I called Lori back and said YES and we are so thankful that we did.  God has been so good to us through this journey.  There is not one thing that we would have done differently.  His timing was perfect.  There are no words to express how much God has blessed our family through this journey not just by putting Annabelle in our family but because of each child that has entered our home for a time.

Everyone has been commanded to help take care of the widows and the orphans.  It isn't just a suggestion.  I know that not everyone is called to adopt or be a foster parent.  I do know that everyone can be involved somehow.  For example....I have a friend that almost everytime she knows we have a new foster child in our home she brings us a meal.  She is our life saver....just one thing taken off of my plate when our world is altered.  We have friends that share clothes with our new residents.  We have so many friends that offer to give our kids rides to practices or to ball games so that we don't have to take our whole crew early.  This might not seem like much but to us these things are huge blessings.  So my challenge to you.....get involved.  Offer rides, offer meals, offer shopping dates, offer babysitting, offer to teach education classes, offer babysitting while others attend training, offer to mate socks (okay maybe that is a stretch just thought I would throw that one in there) ....the list could go on and on.  There is something you can do.

Pride

Proverbs 16:18 (NLT)

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

As I have been working through Colossians Bible study with some really "cool girls".  Today's lesson hit home for me.  I shouldn't try to be doing this alone.  See, I have this pride issue.  I think I am strong.  I think I can do things on my own.  I think that I really don't need anyone (including Jesus).  I am surely good enough.  But guess what, that is all a lie from Satan.  God did not design us to do life on our own just like God knew we were not good enough to make our way into his perfect Heaven.  We needed someone to do it for us.   Colossians 2:14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.  Yes God in his infinite wisdom knew we needed an avenue of escape.  For that same reason God does not want us to do life by ourselves.  He has placed people in our paths to encourage, support and pray for us.  

So this week has pretty much sucked.  It all started with that nasty stomach bug.  You know the story of the uncontrollable puking in the parking lot....look back on my blog if you would like to have a good laugh at my expense.  I will give you a little break down:  Mom - puking on Monday...Annabelle on Thursday....Tim and Titus on Friday....Noah and Andrew.....Sunday night.  Yes, we like to spread our suffering out.  The joys of a large family a sickness can last for weeks.  

So this is where the whole pride things starts coming into play.  I was scheduled to have a small procedure on Tuesday morning.  You know one of those you go to the hospital they put you to sleep ....they wake you up and you go home the same day.  All is well with the world and you get to go back to work in a couple of days and all is grand.   I even had a friend on stand by to bring the family supper that night.  She insisted and how could I say No even though I felt a little guilty about it.   We have all kinds of stuff in the freezer...pizza, pizza rolls, chicken nuggets, bagel bites....seriously we could eat for weeks.    No one has to feel sorry for you or check on you because you are a strong woman and you need no help.  (okay maybe those were just my feeling....not all women in general)  Well things didn't really turn out as planned....I did go home but my bladder decided that it didn't really like this working thing so I ended up back in the er that night.  Come to find out that you really need your bladder to work and if it doesn't you feel that you could explode at any moment.   So that wasn't the biggest issue, about this time Andrew started having severe abdominal pain.  You know the kind that you ball up in the floor and scream for your parents to make it stop.  We gave pain meds and prayed for it to stop because this momma really needed to go to the ER to have her situation taken care of.... ASAP.  Imagine being on a long road trip where the driver refuses to stop for hours and hours and then multiply that pain by 10000.  I might not be remembering this exactly right....but it is close. 

By this time we knew we would have to call in reinforcements.  Nannie to the rescue!!!!  Nannie and Pops started driving this way.  We got Andrew calmed enough to go back to sleep as we snuck out to head to the ER.  The thing about going to the women's hospital there is none of this waiting around.  They get you in and let me tell you a catheter was my best friend.   I could have kissed that nurse.  (so if that is to much information you might want to stop reading now) .    So we head home.

Nannie decided it might be best to stay for a while incase she is needed again.....which she was.  Wednesday night Andrew's pain hits again.  We take him to the doctor and they decide that a CT scan will be needed.  Of course by this time it is almost five so we have to go to the ER to have this done.  (second ER trip in a week...this is a record for us).  So after about a five hour ordeal they decide he has a condition called Mesenteric Adenitis.  Basically the lymph nodes are inflamed due to the stomach bug we have all had.  Sent him home with pain meds and a bland diet for a few days.  We were praising the Lord for no surgery.  The first doctor thought he might have an obstruction in his bowels.  It is amazing what they can tell about CT.  We get home about 11 that night.  At this point all I can think about is my bed.  I really really want my bed.

The next morning is the big day..no more catheter.  I should be able to have this removed and all will be well with my world again.  My bed and I will become friends again and I will surf the internet and watch reruns of old shows.  Things didn't quiet go as planned....  That evening back to the ER.  Dang this bladder.  Seriously people you really need your bladder to work.  Good thing Nannie was still here.  Andrew was having another pain attack and I needed a ride to the ER.  At this point my pride is pretty much out the window.  Pajamas in the ER....I don't really care.  Can you say three ER visits in one week...that has to be some kind of record.    

So back to my beginning point....This whole time I tried to keep everything private and not have to ask for help from anyone not even my family.  I know I have many friends that would have come to my rescue if I had just said something.  Now I just think of all the prayers that could have been lifted up for me and my family if I had not been to prideful to let the need be known.    There is so many times that pride keeps us from lifting our needs up to the only one that can truly fix the issues for us.  We just keep on trying to do it ourselves.  

I am not writing this post to get sympathy because I don't want it.  I do want and need others to be praying for me and our family.  And I am pretty sure there are others in this same situation.  They have let their pride cause them not to come to their brothers and sisters in Christ to lift their needs up to a Father who loves them dearly and hears our prayers.

So since I am just hanging out at home right now....how can I pray for you.  Message me....seriously if will give me something else to focus on.  

Sometime God Changes You

So if anyone told me a few years ago that I would teaching a bunch of stinky fifth graders on Wednesday night I would have said "maybe".  If they would have said that people would come by an close your door to the classroom because the music was so loud I would have thought...never.

This last week our whole family was able to go see Woodlawn.  We never all go to the movies unless it is the cheap one.  For a family our size to go to the movies at regular price with concession is a small fortune and just seems like such a waste of money to this momma.  I am sure my boys would disagree but then again they are not the ones paying for it.  Cross Church decided to go outside the box to reach the lost.  Granted they do have a lot of resources to be able to support this type of event.  They invited all of the Farmington football boys AND THEIR FAMILIES to a free night at the movies.  Which included popcorn and a drink...can I get an amen.  They offered this to many schools in our area just to have the opportunity to tell people about Jesus.  At the end of the movie their youth pastor gave the plan of salvation to all that attended.  I have heard that over three hundred decisions have been made after the showing of this movie.  Talk about a good return for your buck.

That leads me back to my point.  Sometimes God changes you and the way you reach people.  If anyone came to my house when it was only me at home you would meet silence.  I just don't like noise.  I don't turn the TV or Radio on EVER when I get to choose what is happening in our house.  This is probably the reason my babies use to freak out when we would go to a loud restaurant they just were not use to the noise.

Okay back to the point....Fifth graders are loud.  They like everything they do to be loud.  Seriously Andrew our lovely, wonderful, sweet fifth grader is the loudest child known to man.  Just be around him for more than a few seconds and you will notice this.  God was preparing me to take this class when he gave us this special gift eleven years ago.

We were playing the above song the other night in class and  it was loud.... but that is okay.  I did have one person mention something about "this is the church you know" with a smile on their face as they shut the door.

God has pulled me out of my comfort zone and made me listen to loud music....I know, I know crazy talk.  If this loud music is able to pull kids into our class and in turn they here about my Jesus.  Turn it up baby and lets rock out!!!