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| The girls all dressed up |
It is finally quiet…finally!
The children are nestled all snug in their beds and there might be visions
of sugarplums dancing in their heads….I wouldn’t know…I don’t want to wake them
up to find out! I am sitting in Daniel’s office writing while he is meeting
with the newly established finance team!
Very exciting! It has been
another long day full of silly comments, runny noses, precious smiles, laundry
folding, snuggly hugs, grocery list making, treadmill running and the list goes
on and on. Then it comes to those precious
hours at night after you have put each child to bed…twice that you let out a
sigh of , “Thank you Lord for another day and that I didn’t kill anyone!” No, not really….well, sometimes. There are days when I just hang on for these
quiet hours. Some time to regroup and
get reconnected with my husband.
The last two months have been quite full. After our amazing Fish Boil we had our first
church retreat at Daniel’s parent’s house (God bless you, Breeds and thanks
again) in late October and I started leading my very first women’s bible
study. I know what you may be thinking;
a pastor’s wife who has never lead a bible study? Yes, it is quite true. I much prefer the background; my introverted
self shies away from such leadership positions, but there was an unfulfilled need
and I stepped up. We have met about five
times now and each time has challenged me in many ways! We are going through Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. As I said in my previous blog, it is a study
I did a few years ago that did wonders for my walk with the Lord. It has helped my confidence as I tread these
unfamiliar waters of leadership to at least be familiar with the study and to
believe in its message. Even though I feel like I am going to throw up before
every study it always turns out blessing me.
I have enjoyed getting to know the wonderful ladies of our little church
more deeply and appreciate their willingness to share their hearts. It is a privilege though one I am willing to
hand over after this study is done.
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| Moises giving Spanish lessons |
I had a blast on our church retreat! We must have had about 40 people there and for
the most part it went very smoothly. After
every “session” we would break up into small groups which stayed the same
throughout the whole weekend. We talked further about how our church can reach
Appleton and also about our own individual church “personality” (we had all
taken a test before we came). This gave us an inside look in ourselves and into
others and a new understanding of where our gifts fit into the bigger picture
of the church. Daniel did an amazing job
putting it all together. The amount of
work that goes into planning such an event is crazy! Some of my most memorable
moments where watching Moises Saucedo entertaining a table of children with them
asking, “Moi, how do you say this in Spanish!” game! He had those kids enraptured for almost an
hour! I also enjoyed my one on one conversations
with people. You get to know each other
on a different level when you spend a couple days together. There are truly so many things I could mention
right now, but I think the most memorable part of the whole weekend was the
worship service we had all together on Sunday morning. Our newly established worship team led us in
singing together some wonderful hymns and then Daniel gave a mini sermon. We then took communion together. I found myself choked up with emotion as I
looked around at what God had done and is doing. It was such a beautiful picture. Daniel and I went home feeling exhausted but
encouraged.
I am becoming more
comfortable in the knowledge that I have four daughters. I know that may sound funny, but it takes a
little getting used to. God continues to
get me through each day with more enjoyment in my role as “stay at home mom of
four girls” and less desperation. This is a huge answer to prayer so thank you
to those of you who have been praying for me in this area. I have felt them.
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| Caroline and Claire & there morning snuggle time |
Over the last few months it has been fun to watch the unique
relationships developing between all four girls. Ellie and Morgan have always got along pretty
well, but it has been fun to see Morgan and Caroline developing their own
little rhythms of sisterhood. Yesterday,
while Ellie was doing her homework Morgan and Caroline were playing together in
the basement. Morgan was pretending to
be Caroline’s doggy and Caroline was leading her around the basement giggling every
time Morgan barked. Then Caroline would
climb onto Morgan’s back and ride around the basement until she fell off. It was precious. Likewise, Caroline and Claire have had some
special moments together too. Last
weekend I came upstairs carrying the basket of unmatched socks with Claire teetering
on top of the pile! I settled myself on
the floor of Caroline’s room (one day it will be Claire’s room too) and put
Claire next to me. Caroline was in the
hallway banging on Ellie and Morgan’s bedroom door crying to get in. Ellie popped her head out, “No Caroline, you
can’t come in! You keep eating our
crayons!” Then she shuts the door and Caroline collapses in a little devastated
heap crying. I call her into her bedroom
and tell her that Claire will play with her.
Caroline tilts her head to the right and looks at Claire. Then she shuffles slowly…ever so slowly over
to us and sits down and before I have found the next match of socks Caroline is
playing pick-a-boo with Claire and both girls are laughing! Ok God, I see your bigger plan here. We needed our Claire to complete our little
family. Thank you, thank you that the birth
control didn’t work….but four kids is good….can we PLEASE stop at that? All in all, I am doing so much better. I feel like the fog those first months bring
after childbirth is clearing. I still
have my hard days, which I know is normal.
I try to give myself grace. A few
quick prayer requests for our girls: Ellie – she is still struggling
with reading. We have a sweet high
school student who comes twice a week to work with her, but it’s her
self-esteem she needs prayer for. I don’t
what her struggles to color her view of herself. Morgan – Morgan continues to have melt
downs about five times a week. She talks
so negatively about herself and about life that it really concerns us. She is always looking for the next “pleasure/fun”
fix to be “happy”. We were not prepared
to handle a 6 year old dealing with a teenage skewed view of life. Please pray
for our Morgan and for us that we parent her with love and understanding. Caroline
– sigh – she is turning 2 on Dec 9th and boy is she testing us! Her vocabulary isn’t really advancing and she
is getting frustrated. We try to work with
her, but it’s slow going. Please pray for patience all around! Claire –
my poor little Claire still spits up A LOT after almost every feeding. I don’t know if it Reflux because it doesn’t
seem to cause her pain, but it does concern me.
I will be taking her into the doctor for a well check up soon. Please pray that she can get over this.
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| Grandpa here for a visit |
I have taken up enough of your time – thanks for reading! I pray you are enjoying this wonderful
Christmas season. It is my favorite time
of year. I love to remember and celebrate our Savior’s birth so long ago. May He keep you close to Himself this month
and in the New Year.
With much love!
Erin
