Week No. 1

Basketball season is upon us! The girls were excited to play their first game today! This year they are on the same team (3rd and 4th grades play together). Team name ~ the Golden Hurricanes. They have the same coaches they've had for the last three years and know most of their teammates, so it promises to be another fun season. This week they are in the white jerseys.

Megan sports #13 and Grace #42

Grace brings the ball up the court.

Megan's in the foreground and Grace in the background.

Megan on defense.

At the end of the game, each girl receives a star to iron onto their shirt. Megan received the gray star representing "best offense" for her high scoring game and Grace received the gold star for "best sportsmanship." Coach stated "that she always has a smile on her face."

~Wee

Benefits of Praise

I awoke feeling fearful again through the night. I have to really work to reign my thoughts in during times such as these, or else they'll run rampant and take my heart and mind right along with them. So, I got up, huddled in front of the heater and opened my Bible. On my way toward Psalm 150, my devotion's focus today, the following words from Psalm 145 caught my eye. They read, "...and you give them their food at the proper time...." I stopped flipping pages so I could take in these words again, along with the surrounding verses.

The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the roper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

With our business really slow these days, my soul needed to be reminded of God's faithfulness to ALL His promises. It's hard not to let our circumstances control my thoughts and emotions at times. But I am learning that the key to dealing with difficulties in my life lies in trusting the One in control of all things. Human nature so often takes us in the opposite direction, as we take matters into our own hands, grumble and complain.

On to Psalm 150 ~~ an exhortation to worship Him. After reading over this chapter, the words diminished my fearful thoughts, eased the tension away, and breathed peace to my soul. I'll share a few of those verses with you...Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness... Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Lord, truly, You are worthy. Align my heart with Yours.

~Wee

Little Pioneers

Here is what the girls have been busy doing as they have spent time out in the snow over the past couple of weeks.

They were so proud of the teepee they made from wood. They worked so hard to fill in any cracks between the pieces of wood.

Playacting as pioneer gals, they made their paths into the field behind the house on which they'd make their journey "into town for supplies." Every time they'd go out, that's the way they traveled.Grace at the entrance of their humble abode. It's big enough for all three to fit inside, as well as one lone log serving as their table.
Please stop by for a visit!

~Wee

Inauguration Day

Since we as a family were very interested, and more involved than in the past in this Presidential race, the girls and I sat down on this historical day and watched parts of the inauguration ceremonies that ran throughout the day. The girls got out their "The Election of a President" lapbooks that they worked so hard on last fall to have handy when President-elect Obama took the Oath of Office. This was actually the first time I have ever watched the changing over of the administrations. I was touched when President and Laura Bush welcomed the Obamas to the Capitol, and then again when the Obamas escorted the Bushes on their send-off back to Texas.

Megan's thoughts of the coverage are: "I loved it. I thought it was neat when Barack Obama went there almost a president and left as a President. They sure had a lot of guards to protect him along the road. I'm glad I got to watch it. "

Grace's thoughts are: "I am glad that I got to see the President on the TV. I liked watching when he took the Oath of Office. We saw the moving trucks moving stuff into the White House. I think it'd be really cool to live in the White House."

~Wee

Her Big Day

Leah had a BIG day on Tuesday! She gave up her pacy! For quite some time now, we have been talking with her about giving up her pacy. I wanted it out of the picture by the time she was 3 1/2, which is this weekend (I know, I know, that's way too long to begin with, but it worked for us). Last week she was reminded that she only had one more week with her pacy, and when she gave it up, she was promised a little present for being a "big girl" in not using her pacy anymore. Notice the bag of pacies next to her? During school that morning, she came up to me and asked me for her present. I told her, "Remember, no more pacy." She promptly ran out of the room and returned with a baggie for her pacies. The hunt was on, and when found, she proudly dropped them into her baggie. Remembering that we still had two out in the glove compartment of the van, she asked me to go out and get those. I suggested that we then place all four pacies into the trash. She proceeded to get all teary-eyed and stated, "Mommy, don't throw my pacies away." We brainstormed and came up with the idea of "giving them to other babies to use." She liked that idea. So all four pacies are safely tucked away in the baggie, so in her mind we can "give them to someone else."
Leah proudly telling Daddy her news.
After the gathering of her pacies was over, she asked us to sing "Happy Birthday" and to make a cake. Since she was going to receive a present, she naturally assumed having cake and singing "Happy Birthday" to her was the appropriate thing to do. But instead of cake, we pulled some cut-out cookies from the freezer, and once thawed, candles were placed into them, lit, and blown out. And instead of Happy Birthday, here's the rendition of the song we sang to her:

No more pacy today,
No more pacy today,
No more pacy for Leah,
No more pacy today.

Since she has been our first to even use a pacy, I was dreading the whole process of taking the thing away. I admit, there were lots of times that it was helpful for ME when she was pacified by it. What would we do without it? It's a matter that I have laid at the Lord's feet, asking Him to prepare us all for the transition, and I am so thankful that it was her decision when it came down to getting it done -- just four days before she turned 3 1/2.

Thumbs up...I'm a big girl!

No nap was had that day. Wednesday I forced the nap, simply because I needed one myself! Today, no nap. Sigh..... I have to wonder, will she be giving up her naps now, too? There are days that I need that quiet time for finishing up school with the girls, reading to them, etc. I am happy to report, however, that nighttime hasn't been as bad as I thought. Since she hasn't taken naps for two of the past three days, she drifted off to sleep rather quickly.

She still misses her little "mouth buddy" and has asked for it, mostly when we're sitting on the couch reading stories or watching a movie together, or when she's really tired. The Lord has been faithful to walk each of us through this little challenge.

Now, on to accomplishing the next challenge....potty training.

~Wee

Fun in the Snow....

.....with neighbors. After we arrived home from science co-op this morning, and due to the fact that it was snowing, the girls begged to go out and play. This being only our second snow fall so far this winter, any house chores will just have to wait!
GraceMeganLeah~Wee

Post-Holiday Baking

The girls asked to bake cut-out cookies this afternoon. Oh, the mess that always accompanies such an activity is so overwhelming for me! I have to remind myself that the "mess" in my eyes is all about making memories for our girls, and that when I elect not to tackle the task, I am basically depriving our girls from experiencing the joys of smashing, rolling, baking, frosting, decorating, licking, eating, and anything else that goes along with making cut-out cookies. Three sets of little hands make fast work.

Since we did little to no baking before Christmas, we decided to go at it today.

Really, the girls are at the perfect age to do this. They did most of the work. All I did was run the oven and help with clean up. Even Leah did a great job!

This year at the Gutwein Christmas, everyone had play money to purchase items at the Gutwein Family Silent Auction. Megan and I came away with a nice assortment of seasonal cookie cutters to add to our own collection at home. Those cutters were put to good use today!

Good job girls! It was fun!

~Wee

3:33

3:33 These were the numbers my eyes focused on as I glanced at the clock on my night stand upon awakening from a dead sleep, interrupting my dream. Every time I see these numbers together, my thoughts drift to the words of Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." This morning, it was no different -- as I layed there with scenes and thoughts of the meaning of my dream swirling around in my head, I wrestled with, "go back to sleep"....."no, get up and journal"....."go back to sleep"....."no, get up and journal".....on and on..... Hence, the nudge, "no, get up and journal," won out and here I am, wrapped in a blanket, sitting at the computer, while sipping remnants of yesterday's coffee ("Oh, gross" you might be saying; I know, call me weird, but I like it.) (Besides, my thoughts are too active to even allow sleep to come back anytime soon!)

My dream. -- Me lying prone, face to the ground. At my left shoulder, the foundation of a building. To my right, beyond a row of folding chairs, prairie grass. And walking through that, uniformed men, searching. At my feet, also lying prone, Alex. -- "They saw us," Alex would say after getting up on his knees to peer through the blades of dried grass. "Stay down," was my reply.........

After a few rounds of this, I awoke (and saw the numbers on my clock, etc., etc.). Seriously, I have no idea where my subconscious thoughts conjured up such images. I don't think I'm hiding from anybody (or anything), nor do I feel that I am the subject of a search party. And, neither do I watch movies or TV shows that demonstrate similar images. Who knows. Anyway, rarely do I remember any parts of my dreams, so in remembering what I do of this one, I believe God is speaking to me.

Fear and discouragement are, at times, real struggles for me. Since we are living in uncertain economic times, etc., sometimes it's a real battle for me to deal with and keep the proper perspective on the journey of life that we are called to walk. Before going to bed last night, my devotions led me to Joshua. As I drifted off to sleep, the following words filled my thoughts, "Be strong and courageous.....Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey [the Word]; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.....meditate on [the Word] day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.....Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

I was reminded that to avoid discouragement, it's a choice that we make when we decide whether or not we will allow our times of disappointment/discouragement destroy our confidence [in the Lord]. To walk in discouragement is to walk "without courage." It seems that 9 times out of 10, the journey my devotional takes me on speaks directly to what I am currently experiencing in this life. "Thank you, Lord, for these divine encounters!"

OK, enough of my ramblings, back to what I believe God was teaching me, even in my dreams. With the setting of my dream -- hiding, being sought after, etc., -- I would normally be paralyzed by my fear. What struck me was that when Alex would say, "They saw us," I didn't have that terrified, heart-stopping response to a fearful situation. I felt....well, calm, peaceful. I can only believe this is the Lord, my Shepherd, speaking to my soul. I know I've shared in the past, but once again, He impressed upon my heart the words from Psalm 91, v. 4, "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." A simple row of folding chairs or prairie grass to hide behind will do me no good. I know that I can face uncertain, scary times with strength and courage that only comes from trusting in Jesus!

I encourage you to read Psalm 91 for yourself. It's a beauty. Walk with courage today!

~Wee