Washing Feet Part 2 (pause music on right before viewing)

Washing Feet

For our Bible topic the other day, we discussed the infamous "me first" mentality we all have. We discussed how the kids fight over who goes first on things, whether it's video games or bike rides, and then we read the story about when the disciples asked Jesus who was going to be first in heaven. For the Last Supper, Jesus, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, washed His disciples feet and said, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them." (John 13:14-17)
We talked about how Satan fills us with this "deserving" lie. We think we "deserve" this or that. We worked hard for it, or we're older, or we paid for it. Jesus earned everything we could ever give Him, but he doesn't "lord" it over us. Also, in the story of Abraham in Genesis, you'll see that same example. Abraham, who was Lot's uncle, let Lot choose which land he wanted. By all rights, Abraham was the one in a position to be choosing first. He was older, had received God's covenant and blessing, and had great wealth. Instead, he made peace and let Lot choose. Hopefully, the message went to the kids' hearts. God does say that His word will not return empty, so we are believing this lesson will rest in our children's hearts forever. As far as short-term benefits, the kids later fought about who would go first. Instead, this time, they argued that the other one should go first!!! What do you do?!

Faith Turns 5!!!!!

Of course, we can't believe Faith is 5! We'll never forget getting pregnant with her. For those of you who have already heard this story, feel free to skip down a few lines or just be reminded of God's goodness. We had tried getting pregnant for 7 months with Faith, which was definitely a surprise since it had been so easy before (always a little unplanned). Because it had been so easy in the past, we really struggled with this issue. During that time, God had been working on our hearts to show that we trusted him with everything, including our money and consequently, we decided for the first time to start to tithe. So on a particular Sunday, we put our first tithe check in the offering plate. The following Friday, after 7 months of trying, we found out we were pregnant! This is one issue God prompts you to test Him on: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. . .Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." (Malachi 3:10)

With every child, you wish you could just put their lives in slow motion so you could take more time to savor each moment. So it is with Faith, especially because she's our only girl! She's finally growing out of the whining stage (thank you Lord!) and now we get to watch as she learns to read and can have her "babysit" Gabie for me while I'm cooking. She wants so badly to read so that she can read her big Bible like the boys do every morning. That motivation seems to be providing some nice progress!
While at our friends in Minnesota, she became very fond of her future husband Matthew's scooter. So, even though we're not big on buying toys, she got a princess scooter. It's been a nice activity to do in our house full of tile floors since it's been too hot outside!
Yesterday, we went to Incredible Pizza place for her party. This is where we took the kids for Dylan's birthday party in February. It's so much funner than Chuck-E-Cheese and it costs the same. Faith and Pete's go-kart car won first place and we played lots of skee ball.
This was Faith while we were in the "dining" area eating. They have a few big rooms to choose from where you can eat. This room was made to look like a gym and they have a big movie screen with a movie playing. Their food is actually really good too. They have an excellent salad bar with all the healthy fixin's we like. They have a baked potato bar and to my delight, they brought out a spinach pizza when I asked where their veggie pizzas were. Good food, good times.

Thank you Lord for this beautiful little girl you have blessed us with beyond measure!

8-Day Forecast for Tulsa

I just thought I'd share the 8-day forecast for us with ya'll in Minnesota! Pete is officially taking up 3rd shift and bringing lights with him to work to avoid working in the heat! He said he will be happy if we don't ever have to spend another summer down here again! On the bright side, I used to sit inside and whine about the heat in Minnesota when it was 90! Today, we were outside for our schoolwork until it got past 90, and then came inside until evening. We're definitely adjusting. We just wish the air conditioning in our van was adjusting too!

Back From MN

We've been back from MN since Friday at 2am and while it was so hard to leave, it's been nice being back in our home. Here are some of the pictures from our trip. The first ones are from our pit stop at DQ in Missouri. This was part of our bi-annual DQ treat (it's been more like 8 months since our last one-see posting from December!). It was so refreshing on a day like that. Of course, Gabie was absolutely thrilled for this special treat!

Even at 7 years old, it's hard not to get it all over your face!

We spent most of our Minnesota visit with our friends the Nemitzs. They were very accomodating and had so much for the kids to do. The kids spent a lot of time in the pool (with the classic Minnesota blue-lips; you won't catch that happening down here in the Oklahoma summer!).

Here's Gabie's new best buddy in the pool, Joshie. These two finally started playing together instead of side-by-side. They laughed with each other and since we've been back to OK, Gabie's keeps asking "Where Josh?" He misses his buddy!

It has been nice to be back in my kitchen. I had some soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles) that I've been wanting to try, so I made soba and veggie stir fry and cream cheese wontons. We make wontons very frequently, so Dylan and Vince did it this time all by themselves. Vince, of course, had to make a few peanut butter wontons. The only thing we were missing was chopsticks. Even with a fork, though, it was delicious (if I do say so myself)!

Oh-I also started a new blog page called Free Christian Homeschooling. I started it as a resource to current and prospective homeschooling families to find entirely free curriculum to homeschool without worrying about the financial costs of homeschool materials. I will continue to add resources as often as possible and eventually, I will plan on having curriculum for every subject and every grade. I have added the link to my favorite links section on this blog page. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Visiting in MN

We've arrived safe and sound in Minnesota after our sudden emergency decision to go. Pete's truck's transmission blew up halfway through Missouri, so we decided to pack up, pick him up, and come be nomads staying with friends and family in Minnesota for a couple of weeks. The drive was a nightmare (our rabbit died on the way, the kids were traumatized for life, and Gabie never wants to ride in the van again!), but it was worth it! I was so glad to be able to see my grandma today. Her health has been failing and I felt so helpless being in Oklahoma and not being able to see her or anything. We'll all keep the prayers going for her!

We had our first annual Wii bowling tournament today! It was so fun, I think we'll make it a tradition. I won first place, my oldest sister's twin sons, DJ and Parker, took 2nd and 3rd respectively, then Vince, Grandma, and Dylan. It was so much fun.

Faith started feeling left out so we taught her how to play. She got a score of 123 her first game!
As always, Gabie found goofy ways to entertain himself.
What a blessing our time has been so far. We hope to see everyone we possibly can before we go back to 100 degree weather in Oklahoma!

4th of July Celebrations

This was our first year not being able to go to Duluth to see fireworks from our hotel room in quite some time, so we had to keep as many of the traditions going as we could. Every year, we like to spend a lot of time recapping some essential American History tidbits and doing art projects based on what we've discussed. Since Pete was home, he led the lesson and had the kids pick one of the nation's famous landmarks and draw it. Here are their drawings:

(Sorry this picture's blurry.)

This is Faith's drawing. The figure in the bottom left of the page is George Bush. The square in the middle of the bottom is the Lincoln Memorial building with a purple firework over it. The gray in the middle with heads on it is Mt. Rushmore. The rest are either fireworks, the sun, or clouds.
Dylan chose to stay simple and draw the flag. He accidentally cut off the bottom stripes when he was cutting paper to use for the flag pole! (I think he really did 50 stars, too.)Vince chose to make a picture of the flag blowing in the wind with fireworks around it. He spent a lot of time and we're all pleased with his efforts!
And finally, the efforts of Mr. Pete Poff. We were all impressed with his work and thought he was the perfect art teacher!

We began our evening with our traditional "pizza and a movie" and watched "National Treasure." While watching it, we verified many of the facts and parts in the movie to make sure they were accurately portrayed. Vince hopped online during various parts of the movie to either confirm or deny them. By the way-when Pete, Vince and I watched National Treasure 2 (not something I would watch with little ones), we learned (and confirmed) that there are, in fact, three statues of liberty! Just thought you'd like to know.

Anyway, we popped a few bags of popcorn and headed to the lake for fireworks. We were very impressed when we arrived and saw such a big, beautiful lake. It started to feel like Minnesota, until we realized that no one would be needing a sweat shirt for these fireworks. We also didn't need to bathe in mosquito repellent!
If we can confirm that there are no water snakes at this beach, we might even check it out another day! Anyway, before it got really dark, the kids had a blast catching fireflies. They almost always light up as soon as you let them out of your hands.
(Sorry-another blurry picture. Anyone want to buy me a new camera for Christmas? Just kidding!) It started to get dark and we all got comfy with a big bag of popcorn.

Okay, so the guys don't look too comfy. Oh well. As soon as a few fireworks went off, Gabie was mesmerized. We were surprised that he was even still awake. Whenever any of the other kids were this age, they were always asleep by the time the show started. Gabie is proving to be VERY different. In fact, halfway through the show, he got bored and started trying to wander around to find something else to do!
The kids' favorite fireworks this year proved to be the spiral design.

It was a great show and we just felt so blessed to have each other to share it with. We were glad to enjoy the day with Pete, as well as the next two days, because after that he'll be going up to Minnesota for two weeks for work. If we could afford to, we'd all go with. Maybe in the future if he goes back, we'll be able to go, too. Be in prayer with us for that!

The Other Tooth!

Well-Dylan's other front tooth fell out! Vince is partly to blame for this one coming out, but it would've happened eventually, right? I guess that's just some of the things that can be expected when you have four kids! Now Dylan's "s" words sound even cuter! The adult teeth are both up in the gums and partially out, so we'll enjoy the new "thoundth" while we have them!