The Importance of Family

    I'm noticing more and more the decline of respect for the sanctity of marriage and family in today's society.  It saddens me.  It really does.  I would bend over backwards for my family... I would die for my family.

    Cheating is so common that people barely bat a lash when they hear of it.  Women throw themselves at married men without a second thought... and vice versa.  Children are hurt through the selfishness of their parents, or the sheer neglect to see that something might be going on with their child. People live for the moment with no regard for the consequences.

    Don't get me wrong, I am more than aware of my faults as a wife and mother, but you bet your bottom dollar that all of Hell could not contain my fury if the safety of my family unit was compromised in any way.  I will work hard to be sure nothing comes between my marriage... even if that means I have to admit my faults and make serious changes in my own habits, for the sake of showing respect to my husband.  I will work equally as hard to protect my children from the deceitful thoughts or harmful circumstances that could be thrown their way.

    Please don't take this as an attack on you if your family has been broken in some way.  My heart in all of this is that I'd like us all to realize we really need to take a step back and see how our actions are affecting our families.  If the things I do support my family as a whole, I will keep on keeping on.  If the path I take is detrimental or threatening or even remotely taking anything from my family, I need to drop it, and fast.

    We're all trying to get ahead in this life.  We're all trying to pursue our dreams, but at what expense?  If we become so self involved, it opens us up to a whole new world of temptation and hurt. If we live for ourselves first, and for our families second, our loved ones get thrown by the wayside while we, often unknowingly, scar them beyond belief... and eventually hurt ourselves with an abundance of guilt, regret, and loneliness.

  Some think I'm one of those crazy moms who shelters her children and puts too much of herself into her marriage and family.  If that's what you want to think, so be it.  I'm fine with being crazy if that means my kids can be kids for as long as possible while watching their parents tackle life together as a team.  I'm fine with being crazy if that means that I can fall asleep at the end of the day knowing my family is loved and secure.  I'm fine with being crazy if that means the vows my husband and I made to each other stand until death parts us.  I'm fine with being crazy if that means I can come to God when things are bad, unashamed, and allow Him to heal me, forgive me, pat me on the back, and beam with pride at my passion for the beautiful people He has blessed me with.

  I am so laid back with people.  I can see past their flaws and love them anyway.  I can put up with a lot for the sake of showing love and compassion to those I interact with.  I try to be kind and peaceful and forgiving.  I try to let go of the things that annoy or hurt me, but I have a line... a line that is dangerous to cross.  Anyone who dares to cross that line is playing with much more than fire.  Threaten my family, you'll see what I mean... But for the sake of my desire to be sweet and smiley and friendly, and for the sake of your well-being, I pray you never come close to crossing that line.

    If your husband or wife share my sentiment, consider yourself blessed.  If you share my sentiment, your family is in good hands.  I pray more and more people come to realize the importance of family.  I pray that they can open their hearts to what the Lord has to say to them so that when red flags arise, they can be put to rest before any real threats hurt their family.

    I'm going to fight for my family to the death.  I'm going to set aside those dreams that might get in the way of our well being, and revisit them, only when it works for our family as a unit.  I'm going to cut ties with anyone who would threaten our family in any way.  I'll continue to take pride in the gifts God has given me, because I know how easily they can be taken away.  God didn't bless me with my amazing husband and incredible children for me to throw them away.  He blessed me with them, trusts me with them so that we can go through this life together, with Him.  I refuse to give that up for anything or anyone.



   


   

In His Hands

    Lately life seems to be bombarding my hubby and I with stressful situations.  Being in my third trimester, with my ever increasing hormone-induced cry sessions probably doesn't help the matter.

    I'm sure anyone reading this can relate to the stresses of life.  They sure can bog you down, test your faith, and wreak havoc, if you let them.

    The Lord showed Himself many times throughout our struggles over the years.  Sometimes we completely miss it, but on days like today, He made sure I knew He has this.

    I've cried a lot lately.  I've spent more time than I care to admit worrying about important things... but really little things when you think of the size of our God.  I let the fear of the future, the fear of failure, the fear of the unknown sink its ugly claws into my spirit and while parts of me fought against this fear, much of me was ready to throw in the towel.

    Today, God showed me just how powerful He is.  He showed me just how much He loves me and that I need not worry about any of this.  I am His and He will provide for me, shelter me, nourish me, and love on me through it all.  He will make sure my needs are met, not because of anything I've done, but because I am HIS.

    This morning, I cried because of powerful words that spoke to me through a message from a friend.  Later, I let that fear take hold, and I had to fight back those dreaded tears of worry.  It was almost as if God's first attempt was wiped from my memory.  He wasn't having that, so He showed me again, tonight, through His provision, that He has this.  He's always had everything under control.  I just couldn't see it through those fears.  I couldn't see it through my worry-filled tears.  So when He showed Himself for a second time today... in a way that was slightly louder than the first, I wept tears of joy and relief.

    He has been here all along.  He will always be here.  How often I forget that I'm not alone.  How often I forget that Jeff and I are walking through this life under His wing.  How patient He is for picking us up, brushing us off, and helping us navigate the course time and time again.

    If you are anything like me... if you have forgotten just Who holds you in His hands, because of worry, fear, heartache, or times of trouble, please hear me when I say that God HAS you.  He's holding you right now.  He knows the plans He has for you... and His plans are for your good.  His joy is your joy.  His peace is your peace.

    I don't know how long our time is here on this earth, but I do know this... no matter how far the journey, no matter how many obstacles we face in this life, He is ALWAYS here.  He will never leave us.  He will never forsake us.  Yes, life can be so hard.  Horrible things can happen.  But our God makes beauty from ashes.  He makes all things new.  Rest in that tonight.

   Oh, the sweet sleep I'll enjoy, now that I've opened my eyes to the power of the One who loves me.  A lesson learned time and time again, but it is always as new and encouraging as ever.  I pray sweet sleep over you too, friend.  Open your heart to the Lord and allow Him to show you that everything will be okay, because He desires that for you.  Open your hands to His blessings, and remember what He does for you, so you can be of great value and encouragement to another who might need to hear of your victories.

~Em

October Pinterest Day 2014

  We had our first official Pinterest Day of the 2014/2015 School Year today.  I learned some lessons that I won't soon forget, the kids had a ton of fun, mommy was crazy hormonal, but overall, it was a pretty good time.

  First of all, I made a change that I may scrap next time around.  Normally, we have a half day of school.  We do family devotions, math, and language arts before skipping everything else to have our Pinterest Day.  Today, the genius that I can be, decided to do a full day of school on top of our Pinterest activities.  Let's just say, my head and my pillow will have a long-awaited, much appreciated meeting tonight.

  Another slight change I might make next month is the amount of activities we do.  I didn't account for the playtime with many of these, or the eating of things, or the little distractions along the way, so I totally crammed way too much into one day.  It is now the kids' bedtime, and they just finished up for the night.  Hey, they aren't complaining, but my pregnant aching back is giving me a good scolding.

  If you'd like to check out everything we did in one place, you can follow this link to my October Pinterest Day 2014 Pinterest Board.  (click on the highlighted words)  If you'd like to see specific activities, click on the highlighted links for each one.

Here are 3 of my 4 kids gathering supplies for our big day.  KayKay decided to boycott the picture.

So, without further adieu, I give you October Fall Everything Pinterest Day 2014...

1.  Dissolving Pumpkins

Follow the link to see how to go about playing this activity out.  We had a lot of fun with it! I'll spare you the details via written word and show you a couple pictures of our results.  :)

2.  The Lifecycle of a Pumpkin Worksheets

  We printed off the blank worksheets and I had the kids draw in the pictures.  They seemed to enjoy this.  We also discussed the Life Cycle of an Apple a little bit, but didn't do any of the activities this link provides.  Thank goodness, because we'd still be going about our day right now! 

3.  DIY Fall Playdough

  This is a great recipe that calls for natural dyes (of which we didn't use.... cue gasps!).  It smelled so good.  We used cinnamon rather than pumpkin spice, and I plan on doing this again around Christmas time.  The kids adored this playdough.  They literally played with it for hours today.  Hours and hours.  Maybe I'll make it once a month.  It made for a great babysitter while I cleaned up the numerous messes we made in the kitchen.  Here are some more pictures of the kids...

4.  Leaf Rubbings

  Who doesn't love a good leaf rubbing?  This link gets into the science of things a bit.  It was neat.  It was our first shot at doing this with aluminum foil as well.  The kids loved it, this took minimal time, and now I have colorful leaves to cut out and hang around the house.  Here's a pic of a couple of the kids' attempts.  It's hard to see the leaves on the tinfoil in the picture, but it turned out really cool! 

At this point, we had to take a break to eat dinner.  Here's a picture... and a link, for the curious cats who just have to know what we ate...

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

5.  Fall Guess Bags

  Kayleigh was in charge of this one.  She put everything in one box and blindfolded the younger kids to have them feel and "see" if they knew what they were touching.  I think they had fun.... I couldn't be sure.... I wasn't in the room at the time.  ;)  Sorry, no cute, but completely out of focus pic for this one.

6.  Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow

  

  Last, but certainly not least, the (as Uncle Jesse would say) "Lord Have MERCY!" deliciously good Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow.  We used Ghirardelli white chocolate, because our local grocery store didn't carry the orange candy melts, so this ended up looking a bit more like the literal dog food Puppy Chow, and a lot less Pumpkin Spice, but after throwing some candy corn in the mix, this quickly became a family favorite.  

The end result??

Happy kids eating a terribly bad for you, but oh, so yummy bedtime snack.

AND....

One spazzed out, exhausted mother.

Here's to next month....

~Em

Menu: Week 3

Hi all,

  I apologize for the huge gap in our menu posts.  They'll most likely be pretty sporadic from here on out anyway.  We've got some great dinner plans this week, so I thought I'd share with you, in case you're racking your brain for meal ideas for your family.  Enjoy!

~Em

Terry Family Menu: Week 3

Hubby's Delectable Reuben Sandwich

Breakfast Options:

*Lately, breakfast has been a free-for-all.  We try to have a few options, and always encourage getting some fruit into the kids. :)

~Toast

~Eggs

~Sausage

~Fresh Fruit

~Bagels

~Fruit Smoothies

Lunch Options:

*Fresh fruit and/or veggies always served on the side.

~Sandwiches

~Soup

~Wraps

~Cheese & Veggie Platter

~Leftovers

Dinner:

*Hot veggies or side salad served with every meal.  Click on highlighted meals for a link to the recipe.  Those that aren't highlighted are thrown together by Jeff or I, but great recipes can be found for those on Pinterest. 

~Hubby's Reuben Sandwiches (corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, & Thousand Island dressing on rye bread), fries, salad

~Buffalo Chicken Pasta, salad

~Creamy Baked Spaghetti, hot veggies

~Cheesy Vegetable Chowder, bread

~Roast in the Crockpot with carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery. 

Snack Options:

~veggies & dip

~fruit

~popcorn

~cheese (cottage, cheddar, colby)

~Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow (we are making this as part of our Homeschool Pinterest Day on Monday!) 

Lots of great comfort food this week, easy to follow recipes, and meals sure to please the entire family.  As always, we keep it fairly simple, but we rarely hear complaints from our minions. ;)

Until next time....