Summer update...

Sorry I have been AWOL most of the summer. We've been sick (understatement of the century!), and also very busy getting geared up for Aly to start Home School in two weeks. Ah...the planning!!!

Anyway...David reminded me the other night that the opening picture on my blog was still Obama from my last post and that I needed to blog again if for no other reason that to get that picture off of my homepage!! That was enough motivation for me!! :-)

So, scroll down and see a little bit of what we did this summer...

We are learning to play the piano...THANKS AUNT BABS AND UNCLE HENRY FOR THE KEYBOARD!!!!!! They play on this thing ALL DAY!!!

We SERIOUSLY enjoyed the bumper crop of Stawberries this year!!

We let Bailey in on the fun too...she loves loves loves to swim in the pool!! Sometimes she just sits on the top step and cools off.

Daddy Man lounging in the pool with his little fish!

The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Proverbs 19:23

Hi Daddy Man...love your new birthday hat from the girls!!

Sometimes you need a drink of water...and POOF...there appears a garden hose just in the nick of time!

"Indeed the water I give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

"This swimming thing is AWESOME!!"

My beautiful baby girls...who are SO no longer babies!!!

Can you believe how much she has grown? My amazing Aly!

Mom and her little Tiger Lili...ahhhhhhh

The ladies of the Swindler house...who is that DARK child hanging on my back?

Eating a late dinner while we wait for the July 4th fireworks to start.

Daddy Man waiting for the show...look at tha ominous looking sky! Yes, it did POUR down rain and we had to make a run for the car, but just in time it stopped and the show was worth the wait!!

Daddy Man on his birthday with his 4th of July do-rag buddies!

I LOVE that look on Lili's face...she is so proud of the card she made for her Daddy!

My little 4th of July biker chick.

Girl loves her some watermelon!!

Belly-laugh Lili! So pretty and so precious!

My beautiful Aly!

Good times! Sister memories to last a lifetime!
"From the lips of children...you have ordained praise."Psalms 8:2

I had to include a picture of "Scuba Boy" cleaning the pool~

It is not often in Florida that we get rain without the thunder and lightening. But when we do, the girls hit the driveway and have more fun than you can shake a stick at. They LOVE to play in the rain!!!

Absolutely SOAKED and loving every minute of it!!! Thank you God for the rain!!

"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom!" Psalm 145:3

Aly loves to read from the Bible...here she is reading with her Daddy man.

I THINK I can climb this tree.

I WILL climb THIS tree!!

Aly has a sketch book. She takes it outside most days and draws something in it. She dates it and writes what it is...her drawing is getting better with every entry! This day she was drawing a bamboo plant on the carport.

Sometimes "Scuba Boy" makes me get out of the pool when I don't obey. I really don't like it when he does that!!!! But I know that he LOVES LOVES LOVES me!!

The child that loves to laugh more than she loves oxygen and food!!!!

Daddy Man feeding the fish!

CANNONBALL!!!!!!!

Don't you just LOVE my hat??

David loves times like this more than just about anything else. His baby girl asleep on his chest.

Aly reading to us. She is reading so very well...we are so proud of her!!!

"The Bamboo Girls" photo shoot

...and the dismount!

Lili getting some lovin from her Poppi before bedtime.

While "Scuba Boy" is not looking, I think I will swipe some of his Sun Chips...he won't mind!!

There just are no words for these two ...

"...may our daughters be like graceful pillars carved to adorn a palace. Psalms 144:12

You know, they used to take my picture all the time. I had to beg Mom to take this one. Just call me "Bailey...the Red Headed Step Dog!!!!" ARGH

Cause the laundry basket makes a GREAT place to watch tv????

Cinderella's work is never done!!

The girls are now in LOVE with their cousin Jill. Jill and her Mom & Dad came to see us for a few days earlier in the summer and the girls STILL ask when Jill is coming back for another visit!!

Aly attended THREE Vacation Bible Schools this summer. She had such fun!!! This was during the first one. Lili and I went to see her program on the last day.

Well, there you go...I think that is enough photos for one day. I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of our summer fun. I think we spent most of it in the pool, but as hot as it has been...that was fine with us!!!

It is almost time for homeschool to start!!! WHOOO HOOOO...we can't wait!!!!!

In HIS Mighty Grip...

Give thanks in all things!!

Today marks six months in office for President Barack Hussein Obama. The bible says that we are supposed to give thanks for everything...

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thes. 5:18

so...
Today I am thankful that we only have to put up with this for 3 and 1/2 more years!!!!
Come quickly Lord Jesus!!!!

Minnie-Me

Okay...so you can usually find me wandering around the house doing whatever I am doing with a kitchen towel thrown over my shoulder. I have found it to be a very comfortable thing to have on my shoulder...I use it quite often and feel pretty "undressed" without it. Doesn't matter if I am in my robe, my pj's or dressed up...it is usually perched right there on my shoulder. It comes in handy for wiping up spills, tear stained cheeks, dirty hands and face that go flying by, and a myriad of other messes. I remember once a number of months ago I was at my friends blog and her latest entry was about that very rag on her shoulder...I was humbled by what she had to say and from that day on, I look forward even more to the little friend that I grab out of the drawer each morning as I start my day. (Check out the article here )

So this morning I was in the laundry room rebooting the washer, Lili was in her bedroom cleaning up the endless pile of shoes that seem to be scattered about, and Alyson was busy cleaning up the family room for me. It has been hard these last few years for me trying to get around and some tasks have been easier than others for me to handle. The bending, stooping, and standing of cleaning up the family room is one that is really hard...so Aly has taken it on like a real trooper. No, she doesn't fold the blankets perfectly and she may miss something here and there, but I am truly blown away at how this five year old steps up to the plate and can clean up that room better than many adults I know!!! So, today she was puttering around and as she passed through the kitchen to deposit a glass into the dishwasher, she hollered to me in the laundry room , "Mom, I finished straightening in here!" I turned to see her and thank her for the help and I saw a sight that brought tears to my eyes... my little Minnie-Me!

There she stood with a kitchen towel over her shoulder. She smiled and said that she was wearing her towel "just like you Mommy!"

God is so good!!!!

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord" Ps 127:3

Father...help me...teach me, to be worthy of the heritage you have given me!!!!

In His Mighty Grip

Looking for rest...

"Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16

Wow...don't let anyone tell you that parenting is easy!! Oh...I'm not talking about the physical stuff...meals, laundry, bath time, bedtime, play dates, activities, the playing and the dressing up...I am realizing daily that those are are definitely the easier parts!!

(Play doh time with Lili!)

(you can take my picture, but you CAN'T make me SMILE!)

(Play doh creations by Aly)
I'm talking about the part where we get to lead these two Noodles down the road to adulthood. The part about shepherding two little hearts into the loving arms of their Savior. I'm talking about seeing that they get the spiritual food they need...and making sure that we don't leave any gaps that are big enough for the weeds to get in and when they do get in we promptly get them weeded out...by the roots!!! I'm talking about finding the balance of keeping them in the hothouse until their tender shoots are ready for the world and encasing them in a bubble so that NOTHING can hurt them ever!!

(Dinner out with the Noodles at the Mexican rest.)


(The Noodles making cookies)

I'm talking about the parts that God pours into my lap every morning when I sit at his feet and ask for guidance as I teach them. I'm talking about the stuff that God shows me as I am reading the bible to my two precious babes...feeling so very in over my head. Oh, how I FAIL-FAIL-FAIL each and every day, but stand amazed each morning as God continues to pour out GRACE on me and gives me another chance and another task to teach them.

(Aly reading over the Psalm that we are memorizing)

David and I have been talking lately about the season we have found our little family in over the last couple of years. I feel like we have kind of retreated into the hills and are just clinging on to each other for all we are worth. But then it dawned on us that that might not be such a bad thing for now!

(praying for our day)

(the ballerina giving us a taste of her mad skills!)

The more I look at the world around us, the more I think we need to be clinging to each other more. I'm not talking about "Gosh, I don't want them to grow up...I want them to stay little forever" kind of clinging. I'm talking about too much worldly influence and not enough parental influence. I'm talking about not being able to distinguish the "christian kids" from the "non-christian kids"...because they all act/dress basically the same! How sad is that!! I have seen too too too many families just throw up their hands and let the world have their kids. I mean, even "the world" under the guise of "the church" is pretty scary anymore.

I would venture to say that the parking lot on Sunday of most churches today looks much like the parking lot of any other place on any given day. With the exception of a few bibles going in, they all pretty much look the same as the rest of the world. We attended a church a while back where the after-school youth program looked like the mall parking lot on any given afternoon. You wouldn't believe clothing that the kids were allowed to wear or the things that were going on in the parking lot!!!!! But nobody would stand up and do anything about it because they didn't want to offend the parents and they didn't want to exclude the kids from coming to "church." What on earth is THAT about?? We are supposed to be different!!!

I mean, think about it...we live in a society with more churches, more bibles, more Christian "tools", more "church" activities, and more "church" schools than every before, yet it seems that fewer and fewer "Christians" are living lives that are transformed and defined by Christ! What is wrong with that picture? It has become all about "church" and less about Christ!!!

"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts

are far from me."

Matthew 15:8

Do David and I want that for these girls that we fought so desperately to get? I mean there are still adoption issues that we are dealing with and I don't want those to be resolved by the world either...they need to be resolved by us and a loving Father who is guiding us. They are only 5 and 3 now, but they will be teenagers soon and if we mess this age up then we don't stand much of a chance later on!! I read somewhere that kids are pretty much who they are going to be by the time they are SEVEN! SEVEN YEARS OLD PEOPLE!! Whether that is right or not, it makes a good point. Don't you think?

(Aly reading to her sister)
We have been attending a wonderful church, but wow...it is just so big. Is it too big for us right now in this season of our family? Is it too big to be effective for us? Is there still too much of the world getting in and not enough God getting out? Are we turning over too much of the raising of our kids to even the church? Then there is the fact that we have chosen not to send our children to public school. We have chosen to home school them. Their futures and their character and their lives are just too important to trust to anyone else. I'm not starting a debate here...just letting you know how we feel, so don't get offended. I'm just saying that we felt that there was just no room for compromise for our family. (Check out this article for a wonderful explanation...) We are JUST getting started and sometimes I feel like I am the biggest idiot on the planet for thinking I can do it all ...but then I remember that it's not about me. God doesn't call the equipped...He equips those whom he calls. So we will continue and fail and try again and all the while God's grace will be enough to cover all of it!!

(Aly teaching Lili to play "Twinkle Twinkle" on the little keyboard)

(Is it Liliana or is it Cindy Lou Who?)

We are praying for God to lead us to a group of believers with whom we can cling closely. A small group of like minded families. People with whom we can worship as a family. For now we will continue to pour the words of the Lord into our little ones hearts and minds. We will trust that these words will take hold and guide them as they grow. A confederate soldier by the name of Hugh A. White memorized scripture as a small child under the watchful care of his mother. He said, ..."Before our minds could grasp their meaning, simple formulas were fixed in our memories which should afterwards prove lights to guide our steps aright."

(Then again, maybe it is Watson or Sherlock Holmes?)

So, here we are... asking you God. We are standing at the crossroads and we are asking for the ancient way...we are looking for rest for our souls...for our family.

" Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'" Lamentations 3:22-24)

In His MIGHTY Grip~

Kikko-who?

Okay...I have a HUGE post with lots of pictures that I am working on. We lost the cable to the camera so I couldn't download that 5000 or so pictures that were on there. (Yes, David...we did find the cable on my desk under God only knows what!!) Anyway...we found the cable and they are downloaded and you will see some fun stuff in the next few days.

In the meantime I MUST tell you a funny that happened at the grocery store this past week. Aly, Lili and I were meandering through WalMart and we came to the Asian section. Aly knew that we needed Soy Sauce because she and Lili LOVE LOVE LOVE them some Soy Sauce, so they keep a close eye on the bottle in the fridge!! Aly (who is 5) runs ahead and grabs the bottle of Kikkoman and says, "Mom I've got a bottle of Kikko-moo!" Lili (who is 3) stopped and threw her little hand up on her hip and bellows, "Aly it's not Kikko-MOO...it's Kikko-Man!"

Oh...the drama of it all...let's get it right People!!!!

Lili and her bottle of Kikko-MAN!!!

Blessings,

The Simple Woman's Daybook- May 25th edition

For Today...

Outside my window... Dark with just a hint of the morning light peeking through the trees. I think we are supposed to have more rain today. The sun came out yesterday for a little while...I almost didn't recognize it!

I am thinking... about all the men and women of all the Men and Women who have given their lives so that we could enjoy the freedoms we have today in this country. I am hoping that we continue to enjoy those freedoms in the frightening days that are ahead!! Come quickly Lord Jesus!!

From the learning rooms... we are pretty well done for the summer, but I spent a good bit of time last week getting our "summer reading list" together. We "swam" to the library late last week and checked out 22 books off the top of the list and so far we are enjoying them! David cleared out a space on a low book shelf in our living room for the girls to keep their library books (so they don't get lost) and Aly now refers to that shelf as "The library"

I am thankful for... the love between my girls. Oh, it isn't always love...sometimes it is pure-tee venom!! But, last night the girls were eating their hot apple-pie that their Daddy brought them. Lili had finished hers but was desperate for more. She went up to Aly and asked, "Aly, may I have a bite of your apple pie?" To our delight, Aly broke off a piece and said, "Sure, Lili" Lili thanked her and then gave Aly a kiss. Oh how I pray that they will stay close as they grow!! The moment Aly became our daughter I wanted her to have a sister, and as David said when we started Lili's adoption..."The Lily of the Valley has a Lili for our Aly"

From the kitchen... Um...uh...well...uh...Okay, I don't have a clue!!! Gimme a break...it's 6am!!!

I am wearing... black pants, a red tee-shirt and my Birks. I woke up at 5am, couldn't sleep, got up and had my bible study, finished cleaning up the kitchen, started some laundry, got the trash up in the kitchen and straightened up the living room. And now here I sit!! Whew...got a lot done before 6am today!!

I am reading... are you kidding? 22 books from the library!!!

I am hoping... that I like the laundry detergent I made yesterday! It was super easy to do and if I am pleased with the results, we will save a good deal of money and I won't be loading up my family with a bunch of chemicals from the other stuff!! Both David and Aly have very sensitive skin and so this could be a really great find!!! I'll let you know the results...I have a load of towels I just washed in the dryer right now.

I am creating... our homeschool Fall reading list. I LOVE the online features from the library. I can look up all the books, save them on "my list" and then they send me an email when the books are all ready to be picked up!! WHOOO HOOO Then we get to go to the library and have fun finding new treasures and reading instead of losing my mind looking up all the books on the library computer while keeping my kids from running loose.

I am praying... for a few personal requests, and for wisdom in teaching my daughters. Not just the school stuff...but the life/heart/mind/soul stuff!!!

Around the house... getting the pool ready for summer and the homeschool ready for fall.

One of my favorite things... is when I actually get some alone time in the morning before the girls get up. I love love love my time with them when they first wake up, but I am much less frazzled when I have had some time to do my bible study before they get up.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Aly's last gymnastics classes before the summer break. It was supposed to go all through the summer on an abbreviated schedule, but you know those darn wrenches!! Always jumping in when you don't want them too!! Oh, and I have to get her registered for her VBS programs. She is attending two this summer and is so excited! She loves going to VBS!! Last year she was too young to go the one at our church, so she just went to another one. This summer she gets to go to BOTH!!! Happy girl!! Lili has to wait one more year until she is old enough. Unhappy girl!!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... okay...well not a picture, but a video. I cannot believe how much Lili has changed in the last year. This was taken in January 08.

This next video was just one short year later in January 09. BTW...the "poem" she is saying is a poem that David's grandfather used to say to him when he was a child. I have heard it all of our married life and he taught it to the girls as soon as they were able to talk!! It is quite cute!!

To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.In HIS Mighty Grip~

Simple Woman's Daybook- May 4th edition

For Today...

Outside my window... it is supposed to be near 90 today. Oh how I wish the pool was ready to use!!

I am thinking... about all I have to do today

From the learning rooms... just winding up stuff and thinking about the summer.

I am thankful for... my home and all who live here!!

I am wearing... my black house dress...getting ready to go hit the shower.

I am reading... no leisure reading now...too busy reading stuff to get organized for school in the fall!!

I am hoping... to get all my school planning wrapped up this week or next.

I am creating... some knitted dish rags and still working on the knitted hats

I am praying... for less pain in my legs this week!

Around the house... I am trying to tackle the homeschool area...it is way too chaotic and I want to figure it all out before the summer starts.

One of my favorite things... is listening to my girls play at the table. They are "secretly" making a card for us for our Anniversary, but I can hear them talking about it. Too funny!!

A few plans for the rest of the week... Hair cuts today, grocery shopping tomorrow and Wednesday is our 14th Wedding Anniversary. We were going to get a sitter, but we just don't want to go out without our girls!!! I know...we're weird!! Anyway, we are ALL going out to dinner and a movie!!!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Looks can be deceiving!! This was mere moments before the first two hour scream-fest from Miss Tiger-Lili. (The first of MANY to come!!) This was also just moments after she was placed in our arms for the first time. Oh, how our lives changed in those few moments!! It has been the hardest few years of my life for many reasons, but I wouldn't change this part of it for anything in the world!!! What an amazing child she is...thank you Lord!!!

To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook.
In HIS Mighty Grip~