Sydney turned 4 - Aug. 10

Sydney turned 4 on Aug. 10th.

She is so proud of being 4.

Sydney has the biggest personality...captured nicely in this photo. 

This is the "MooOOOoom!" look.

Slightly confused about how many fingers. 

again, with the personality.

figuring the fingers.

out to eat for supper, sydney got a special dessert.

Elijah wants in on the finger action.

so talented. 

Sydney's present.

Showing Elijah her hand on the quilt.

Finally finished!!!

Kezia Pics

Kezia Lily

Aug. 12

7:34am

21.5 inches

9 lbs, 12 oz.

I could never do that...

...and another common misconceptions.

So, the family got to go to MN the other weekend.  We had the most wonderful time!  We got to catch up with classmates at our college's annual alumni picnic and spend some time with my (Naomi's) brother and his wife and daughter. 

This post is not so much about our time there as it is about an observation...or two.

Some of the best times that weekend were spent with our good friends Jason and Bekah Witt.  They are college classmates of ours and they and their lovely 3 little girls are currently home on furlough from their first 3 years serving as missionaries in Kenya.  The kids and I were fortunate to be able to catch up with them a few weeks ealier when the spoke at a church up in Green Bay.

Now, I can't remember where I heard it, college or the church, not that the where is important. 

Maybe it was inevitable, but someone made the comment,

"I could never do that." 

Sounds innocent and honest, right?

Well, while I understand what they meant, I completely disagree with this thought.

What exactly is it that you could never do?

Serve God in the place He calls you to serve? 

Live for Jesus in your daily life?

Cuz that is all Jason and Bekah are doing. 

(That can sound like I am trivializing their experiences and work, don't get me wrong, that is not the case at all!
These guys are my heros!  I am so proud to call them friends.)

They are living out a life we are all called to live...a life of obediance to Christ. 

Part of their obedience includes living in Kenya. 

Part of obediance to Christ right now for me in my family means learning to love my children with the love of Christ, to push through the struggles and lean on Jesus all the way, not just when I am ready to pull my hair out.  To love and repsect my husband and be the wife he needs me to be.

(I am sure much of this post comes out of frustrations with my own walk and lack of faith.  This is NOT directed at anyone personally, however I do find the current state of most believers to be truly sad.  Living for Christ needs to be our normal life, not just the stuff we think about on Sundays.)

What are some areas you are called to obediance in?

one other common misconception,

"God never gives us more than we can handle."

Really?

Where is that in the Bible?

I think people are thinking of 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says:

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

NOTICE, this verse is about temptation, specifically idolatry and immorality if you look into the context.  It is not about trials or hardships faced in life.

Or maybe people are thinking more loosely of Philippians 4:13:

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Again, CONTEXT.  The verse is referencing being content in all situations; hungry or fed, living in plenty or in want...read verse 12.

Well, I can hear you say, these verses may not say it directly, but surely the concept can be found in the Bible. 

I'm not so sure.

I don't care how organized you are or how much of a motivational speaker you may be...leading several hundred thousand people out of Egypt seems like a task beyond any one man's ability.  (Moses)

Who is really strong enough on his own to endure the loss of all of his earthly possesions and his children all in one day?  (Job)  (If he was able to endure this in his own strength, I would think him a heartless and emotionless person)

I know what you are thinking, well, they did make it through those experiences. 

Sure they did, by relying on God for strength, not themselves.

Again, with Philippians 4:13.  "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

While most people will quote the whole verse (because it would sound down right arrogant to simply quote, "I can do everything"), I wonder if we mentally edit out or ignore the whole "through HIM who gives me strength" portion of this verse. 

Wayne and I have discussed this a lot lately.  He comments that God often gives us more than we can bare becuase it forces us to rely on God's strength not on our own.  So to say that God never gives us more than we can bear seems to say that He is only going to give us stuff that we can do in our own strength.  Which is obviously not true because in scripture we are constantly told to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:16), to abide in Christ and that without Him we can do nothing(John 15:5).

John chapter 15 draws a picture of Jesus as the vine and we are the brances.  To think that we can do anything outside of the vine is simply immuture thinking.   A branch only gets its life from the vine.  The only way the branch can produce fruit is from the nurishment it recieves from the vine. 

Back to examples:

What about the guy that jumped on a ship heading in the opposite direction of God's directive?  (Jonah)

Did God give him more than he could bear?

If so, where does the fault lay then?

Or what about the many other examples of people chosing their own way over God's directive (also known as sin). 

Here's a few verses for perspective:

1 Corinthians 1:27-30

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

FYI, we are the foolish and weak things.  I am the foolish and weak thing who thinks she can make sense enough to type out this post about our need for Christ...hopefully it makes some sort of sense to someone.  I am the foolish and weak thing that relys too often upon my own strength (or stubborness) to get through the day, to do what is good and pleasing to God.  I am the foolish and weak thing, the lowly and despised thing that God has chosen to love and give the status of "child of God." 

Lets drop the cookie cutter responses, stop letting the philosophies of the world influence the church, and get back to the solid foundation...God and His Word.

I think the lawn needs a little work...

We've been very focused on the inside of the house,

and I think that the lawn is suffering just a bit.

I'm pretty sure you should not have to mow the driveway.

or prune the trees in the gutters

or not be able to find your garden...yes, there is a garden in there somewhere. 

oh wait, there is some of the garden!  of course, the tomato cages are always easy to spot. 

can I just say...

how much I hate the phrase:

Just do what makes you happy/feel good!

It is such a worldly philosophy and I cannot stand it.

Cuz, really, if I did what made me happy...there would never be any clean laundry, the dishes would be in huge piles in the kitchen (or more likely, all over the house), the kids would be little monsters cuz I would not take the time to discipline and guide them, I'd go shopping everyday and actually buy stuff (lots of stuff), and I would watch HGTV (if we had cable) all.day.long.

I'm just saying.

honestly, why do we think just doing what makes us happy is a good idea?

How about doing what makes God happy?  It may not always be easy (especially at first), but I really believe we get true happiness, joy and peace out of living a life that pleases God...not just ourselves.

some verses to mull over:

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Sydney goes to school

We've enrolled Sydney in 4K. 

Enrollment was way back in March and we finally today received our confirmation/placement letter.

We had checked out 3 of the 5 sites available in Manitowoc and I really wanted her to go to the YMCA site.  I had worked there the first year that they introduced 4K to that site and really enjoyed the program and director.  I also liked the extra opportunities that were available at the Y...swimming and gymnastics each week.  Not to mention, it is only about 8 blocks away.

Thankfully, the Y it is.

I'm hoping, once I've recovered enough from the c-section, that we can walk there most days if the weather is nice. 

I'm really hoping this will be a great experience for her.  A good introduction to school, new experiences with other children, listening to adults other than mommy and daddy, and just an overall happy time for her.

then again...

quote of the day:

I'm not a big girl, I'm SYDNEY!!!

Proud Wife of . . .

the new Produce Department Manager at Walmart . . .

AND

the new Assistant Pastor of Discipleship at Trinity Alliance Church.


Both of these new positions are a huge blessing and answer to prayer.

Wayne's new position at WalMart means a full 40 hours and a consitant schedule!  I can look at a calendar 5 months from now and know exactly when Wayne is working.  With his old schedule, I could barely remember what he was working the next day!

Wayne was hired June 1st (I know, I am really behind in the times right now) as the Assistant Pastor of Discipleship at our church.  It is a very exciting developement in Wayne's goal of serving in a church full time.  It is very part time, so he still works full time at walmart, but he has already been encourged and challenged in his new position.

it's a date

August 12th

11am

see you there little one!

the driveway

ok, so I don't mind

if people use our driveway to turn around in,

but it always gives me a small heart attack.

pleeeeeeeeease don't be someone from church...

I'm still in my pajamas...

and need a shower...

badly.

sydney's favorite verb

not sure why, but

SOAKING

is sydney's new favorite descriptive word.

as in,

wow, that's soaking pretty!

this is soaking good!

you're soaking funny daddy!

and today's lunch time winner:

this is soaking yucky!

it should be noted that "soaking" was never used in reference to her diapers or her underwear when she had an accident the first few days of potty training. 
Apparently the term "soaking" actually has little to nothing to do with any liquids real or imagined.

ode to the commode

So, every once in a while the last year or so, I decided to try and potty train Sydney.  It never went well and never lasted more than a day or two.

One of the more recent attempts began one morning when I was changing her overnight diaper and realized it was still dry.  My theory was... How much longer can she hold it? 

Apparently the answer was an hour and twenty minutes, because that is how long we sat on the toilet waiting for the 'pee-pee' to stop "hiding" ... Sydney's excuse when she cannot/will not go.

Two days later, she was dry again in the morning, so again, onto the toilet to await the arrival of the hiding pee-pees.  That time she held out for just over 2 hours(!!!) and still had not gone on the toilet.  I decided enough was enough and we were done.

Then, for some reason, we decided last week to try it again.  I switched her to simple cotton trainers and prepared to have a ton of messes to clean up. 

What I did not realise was the extent of the stubbornness possesed by our nearly 4 year old. 

She held it in for 7-10 hours those first few days.  The only time she pee'd each day was when we were playing outside.  I could not believe she was able to hold it that long. 

Finally, I think on the third day, she went on the toilet.  She had been doing the 'gotta go' dance, and so I knew it was only a matter of time.  It took 15 minutes of near panic-attack-like symptoms from Sydney, but she finally went.

After 6 days, we had only had 3 successes, but I was ok with that.

Then yesterday, she used the toilet without fussing!  I had put her on the toilet and told her to try and go while I was putting elijah down for nap.  She suddenly calls out, "mama, I did it!"  I think to myself, yeah, right, but she did!

Then, after nap while cleaning up my crafting area, we found some old tickets from a kid carnaval we did at church last year.  Sydney likes tickets and asked for one.  I told her she could have one if she went on the potty.  "Ok, I get a ticket," she tells me.  "When you go pee-pee," I remind her.  She then walks to the bathroom, gets on by herself and, after waiting a whopping 2 seconds, pees!

It can't really be that easy?

can it?



Apparently tickets speak to Sydney, because she went again today and I am hoping she will go again two more times...that's my goal.

(for the record, all types of reward type systems were attempted in the past and NOTHING worked.  I'm really happy that things finally seem to be falling place for her to figure this out...cuz baby comes in less than 5 weeks, and she starts school in about 8 weeks.)

visit with grandma f. at the beach

Parlor/Living Room Makeover

The biggest project we have tackled yet! 

Painting the living room and parlor room.

Seems so easy, simply painting the living room and parlor room.

Well, first we had to get rid of the dropped ceiling...and make a few holes in the process.

Sydney was my mesh tape helper.

She helped cut the tape while I held it.  It took me three days just to tape and mud the areas I could reach in the living room.  Sure, some of it was just the kids getting in the way or needing things, like food.  :)

But most of it was due to the sheer amount of cracks in our plaster walls.  While more were very small, if you just mud (no tape) they will crack through the new mud.  So, each one needs tape, mud, sanding, mud, sanding, mud and finally sand. 

We joked about needing mesh SHEETS instead of just mesh tape  (wouldn't you know it, I actually found mesh sheets at Menards after we were done mudding.)

In addition to mudding cracks, there were the numerous nail holes to be filled. 

Here's a picture of my favorite nail.

It's important to use the right size nail for any project...apparently the previous owers liked to cure meat in the living room.

Our awesome pastor came and helped us on two of his days off.  He tackled the ceiling and Wayne did the upper walls where I could not reach.  When completed, I noticed our living room ceiling looked like it had a cool abstract cartoon character.

I also worked on adding some trim to our built-in bookcase. 

here it is without.

a few cuts with the miter box later, and...

tada! trim!  This helped give the bookcase a start and end point on the wall.  I wanted it left white and the rest of the wall painted my way cool accent color.

Some more of the "extreme mudding"

(sounds like a sports show on Spike)

Big gapping hole in parlor room patched and mudded

And, my ACCENT WALL!!!!  well, in progress anyway.

I know what you're thinking.  "It's a what!?!  WHAT IS IT!!!"  (rex from toy story)

It's a portion of Nairobi where I hung out when I went to town.  The circles are round abouts and I just love how the streets (where I hung out) were not set on due north and south, making them a graphically interesting artwork.

Eventually, I want to find a cheap left over slab of some sort of stone counter top to put on the radiator to hold a few knick knacks and photos from our missions trips.

this is my accent wall.  the main walls in both living room and parlor room are a soft yellow green (somewhere between a golden delicious and granny smith apple).  On the one hand a bold color, but soft.

The accent wall (above) is a pretty accurate color picture.  A medium, edgy green. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the rooms turned out.  I smile everytime I walk into them.  They are the last big spaces to be changed.  I am so happy that the places I spend the most time during the day are now reflecting my style.  (pale, soft blue in a flat finish is just bleh).

\

on a "how to" note.  We used Frog Tape to get the map on the wall.  I've seen adds for it on TV and how it is supposed to be treated specially to not leak/bleed paint underneath it.  Well...

womp, womp.

It did not work as promied and it cost at least twice as much as the old blue tape.  Some places worked out nicely and were very crisp, but most bleed like above.  While I'm sure some of it was user error, I would suggest not spending the extra money.  (it also recommended removing and reapplying new tape for each coat of paint!?!?! who has time to do that?)  so, anyway.  it took quite a bit of touchup work, but I love my Nairobi map.

the inspiration for that came from an episode of Summer Showdown on HGTV a few years ago.