The Johnson Family

A Rare Family. A Rare Testimony.

2011-03-15T08:59:00.003-04:00

Not everyone gets to witness these kinds of lives and deaths. Craig's sister has posted on her blog some of her reflections about Craig's grandma, her husband(step-grandpa) , and his imminent death. Craig's parents have been caring for him in their home night and day. They all trust Jesus. It's amazing. Makes me consider my own life and and death who I want to be for the Lord now. Read the testimony from Craig's sister, Rebecca...

(from Rebecca's blog)

"My step-grandpa is not expected to survive. He is facing two infections, MRSA and another one I can’t begin to even spell. Due to cancer, congestive heart failure, severe asthma and kidney failure, the doctors think this will take his life. Earlier today, while gasping for breath he looked at grandma and said “I love you sweetheart!’ and immediately looked up to heaven and said, ‘Lord, please take me now. I’m ready!’ He was basically comatose for several hours, but woke with shocking clarity before Doug, Audrey and I got there. I had to be completely covered in a gown, wear a mask and basically bathe in hand sanitizer. I couldn’t touch him or any surface in his room. But we spent a good 45 minutes to an hour with him.

He spoke of his love for us all. He spoke of his joy over the triplets. He reminded us about how good God was. He shared his anticipation of heaven, even as much to say, that at moments when he opens his eyes, he’s somewhat disappointed to not see Jesus. He reviewed the words of the song, ‘Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone!’ He admonished the 3 of us to be faithful to God and obedient to His Word. He did some joking. But mostly He praised God for all manner of things and clearly demonstrated a peace that passes understanding.

8 years ago while pregnant with Audrey my grandpa passed away while I watched. Now, with triplets due, I say goodbye again. Two men who have prayed so earnestly for me to have a child and then never got to see the tangible answer to prayer. Both my grandpa and step-grandpa were amazingly bold, wise men of God, so peaceful and ready to meet their Savior. It’s truly astonishing to watch.

My grandma has had to say goodbye to two husbands. She faces surgery next Monday. But you all just should see her! She’s joyful, strong, and is busy seeking out doctors, hospital staff, and strangers to witness to! She told my step-grandpa (David) to find my grandpa (Bob) when he gets to heaven. She said, ‘David, You tell Bob that you were the answer to his prayers.’ She did find love and companionship after grandpa. Her eternal perspective shames my heart, a heart that is so prone to wander. She’s so resolute that God’s goodness will continue to sustain her and that her Heavenly Father will continue to be her greatest companion!

We do not know if he’ll make it through the night or what tomorrow holds. But my folks and my grandma are so resolute that God is good. They find the time of waiting as a time to witness to everyone! I think they’re all tickled to be part of an amazing display of God’s glory.

Do pray for us though. We’re exhausted. Pray that we’d take this to heart and examine if we are ready to meet our Savior should he come for us at anytime. We seem to be pondering what will be said of us when we die. What do we want said at our funeral? I know for me, I’ve already asked Doug to get my brother Craig or our pastor Chris to preach their heart out and tell everyone about repentance and following Christ. And I’ve asked Doug, not to be concerned with honoring me, pointing out my virtues (however few they may be) – because anything good in me, is only because of the grace of God. So tell everyone about God, not me! I am a vapor – mere dust, but the goodness of God lasts forever!

And pray for Audrey. This is tough for a 7yr old. 2 deaths in 1 week. She has achievement tests this week. That’s minor compared to the testing God can be doing in her heart right now. She told me today that this is the most interesting week of her life. And tonight when she was tucked in bed, she asked God to help her be content with when God decides to take her loved ones home to Him.

I’ll close with a quote my folks shared with us tonight from Charles Spurgeon. It pairs so well with Romans 8:31-39

“Unerring wisdom ordained your lot and selected for you the safest and best condition. Remember this -had any condition been better for you than the one in which you are , divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances. Be content with such good things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.’

"Tons of Babies" part 2

2011-02-26T15:18:00.003-05:00

An email to my sister-in-law part two! And a few more "tips" below that.

Bec...
I know my last email probably sounded crazy/funny and a bit sad! But I remember so many people asking me how I made having 4 children under 4 look "so easy". I majored on the majors and ignored the dust in the corner...though I have to say I am still working on prioritizing and don't always spend time as well as I should. I also found that having people over during those difficult months, kept my mind on serving others and I actually did better emotionally/spiritually and with time management if I was able to keep up with relationships or reach out to others. It was motivational! You could combine the time of having others over with praying together with the other family, letting them help you feed babies, etc. At that time, we usually had people over for desssert...pillsbury cookies and coffee, (amazingly delicious) Razzleberry frozen pie made by Marie Calendars, etc. Even a bowl of ice cream in foam bowls would suffice. But I thrive on fellowship and am such a people person, that this really helped me get out of the mommy bubble a little...and no, the floors were probably not clean :). Lighting a candle and fellowshipping around the coffee table (with the kids going to sleep in cribs upstairs) during those tired times was such a blessing. Maybe this will be an encouragement to you, but I don't expect every family to be the same.

Oh yeah, after the twins came I became the queen of one liner emails. Short and sweet! I began to laugh (or groan) about the fact that that was all I had time to write!!!!

Alright 'nuff said for now. Keep praising the Lord for His wonderful works to the children of men!

Love,
Tiffany
__________________________________________

--Paper plates, paper plates, paper plates!

--Get a babysitter and go out with your husband (even if just for coffee and conversation).

--Train infants and toddlers to be able to play in a playpen/crib out of sight of Mommy.

--Do not pick them up every time they wimper. I found that after my babies had an illness and I picked them up alot...they were fussy even after they were perfectly healthy. They had realized that by fussing, they could be assured of my attention. Tough calls, yes, but there is such a thing as training a baby to be a whiny toddler :(. I actually think this helped them to be extremely happy babies!

--To save on heating bills, get a soft fleece bunting for them to sleep in (since they never seem to stay covered up for long). This would be for non-newborns.

--Let other responsible people hold them. Then they will get used to being around others and will not struggle as much with stranger anxiety. Teen girls at church can be a mother's best friend!

--When someone offers help...TAKE IT!!! Ask them on the spot what might be a good date/time for them to come over. Otherwise, good intentions may not materialize...and you WILL need the help. It will be a blessing to you, your family AND to the person offering help. They will be blessed for helping in your time of need. My church family was amazing and offered six weeks of help, with people coming into my home several times a week. It was an amazing blessing that I will never forget.

--If you don't have a dishwasher, buy one. No brainer. C'mon--a couple of hundred dollars spent will save you 30-45 minutes a day for the rest of your life in your home!

--Instead of spoon feeding baby food/rice cereal to your multiples (which can be very messy and time consuming), use a baby bottle with the top snipped open a little extra and put the "mixture" in the bottle. I remember standing in front of the high chairs with two bottles of baby food in their mouths. I wouldn't do this for every feeding, since they will need to learn to use a spoon at some point. I would mix different ingredients and make all kind of baby food concoctions to be fed this way. Yum!

--On chopping and dicing food: do as little as possible. My favorite non-choppable finger foods were: diced ham (usually used for omeletes) comes pre-chopped! Black or pinto beans (black beans are smaller-not a choking hazard and are a "super-food"). Cheerios of course. Rice crispies. Any tiny cereal--cereal comes in a variety of grains, so they can get lots of nutrients from enriched cereals and can be served at any meal. Scrambled eggs are soft on tiny teeth and easily smashable. Oyster crackers. Smallish pieces of ground beef...which I fished out of the pan before putting together the rest of the family's meal. Canned green beans take very little chopping if any. Canned tuna or chicken is mushy, easily smashed up. Tiny pasta pieces, like orzo or ditalini. Shredded cheeze-no chopping required. Corn or peas--mushy canned ones are best. Sunflower seeds, raisins--for bigger babies. Moral of the story, don't spend your life chopping!

--Buy 1 or 2 (or 10) bibs at Target or Walmart that have a gigantic pocket that hangs open. This is probably my favorite baby item. These vinyl bibs are wipeable. They can also serve as a "high chair tray on the go". Just put the food (cherrios, peas, whatever) into the pocket and whatever would normally fall to the ground falls right back into the bib pocket. Snack time, anyone?

That's enough for now!!

Very Random Musings on Having Tons of Babies All At Once

2011-02-12T16:50:00.003-05:00

Here's something I emailed my sister-in-law today (she's expecting triplets!) Hopefully you will find something in here helpful for your family or your life, or give you a peek into the sweet insanity of motherhood.
---------------------
Dear Bec,

I started out this email for you, but then it morphed into something for my blog. So you'll see a few inconsistencies in here...but hey I still have 4 young kids and no time to edit...so hopefully this will help you to keep first things first and save time with your rapidly growing family. I wanted to get all this down on paper before I forgot what it was like to have 3 in diapers!!! I will also copy and paste an email I sent to my friend (now a mom to 5 little ones) before the birth of her twins. That will be at the end. Enjoy!

-------------------

--Baby shoes: Robeez baby shoes--or similar style keep toes warm and don't fall off. Our kids wore theirs to bed too like slippers. Shoes that fall off are a waste of time. For new walkers/toddlers I recommend crocs or cheap imitations. They are lightweight (don't "trip up" the baby and give more traction than socks on slippery floors. They are EASY to put on and don't fall off. Say no to any shoe that requires lacing them up! Bulky shoes trip up toddlers.

--Baby socks. Color code by sizes with a dot of a different color sharpie marker. By a few Walmart bags of each size-like 30 socks--all identical white. I CANNOT EMPAHSIZE THIS ENOUGH--MUST have a strong tight cuff so they don't fall off. Remember how much babies kick and lose socks (then have cold feet)?

--Cleaning floors. Wet old bath towel+ older kid= clean enough foors--no soap/rinsing. Much faster and cleaner floors than a mop or swiffer could ever produce!

--Bathroom cleaning. Use all purpose cleaner (like windex) to clean the whole thing--I keep one in each bathroom and the kitchen. Flylady (the cleaning guru lady) once said "soap is soap--basically true! So I spray some on the outside and inside of the toilet and over all sink/counter surfaces. Wipe down the toilet with toilet paper. Have a toilet brush in each bathroom. Wipe around the toilet floor with TP/windex. Wipe down counter sink and anything else nasty with a wet washcloth/windex. Shine up faucets/sink w/ dirty hand towel. Replace w/new one. Have a stash of washcloth "rags" in each bathroom...washcloths/towels work best for cleaning in my opinion. Then you just toss them in the wash to get all the nasty stuff out. Cheaper and better than any swiffer or clorox wipes! All my white washcloths are for cleaning purposes...that way they don't get mixed up in the linen closet. You can also clean the floor w a wet old towel (we use these for bathmats and always hide them inside the shower curtain when not in use. Cleaning the bathroom should only take 3-5 minutes with this approach. It will not be perfect, but it will be MUCH better than if nothing were done!

---Baby Clothing: Put them only in Onesies then swaddle for warmth or use only 1 piece outfits. Nothing that wrinkles. When a little older, use sweats/comfy clothes (mix and match colors only!!!) or any clothes that baby can sleep in and wear during the day. ONLY CHANGE BABY WHEN CLOTHES ARE DIRTY. Don't put jammies on them when they can very well sleep in sweat pants or one piece outfit. Changing into and out of jammies can equal an extra 30-60 minutes of work each day when multipied by two or three and is uneccessary--they'll be spitting up and having diaper blow outs enough to get clean clothes on those occasions.

---Don't fold baby clothes or baby blankets. Instead use BINS or BASKETS! Throw clean baby clothes in a drawer or basket nearby the changing table...unfolded. Baskets keep things "organized" without wasting extra time working. People love folding baby blankets as they tidy up--I think this is a strange behavior as those blankets would need to be refolded about 40 times daily!!! Use a bin instead :). Have a bin on the sofa full of unfolded receiving blankets. Baby blankets will take over your house if they don't have a central location.

--Have a plastic bin or bag for nasty infant laundry right next to where you feed and change the babies. You will need a spot to toss it without stepping away from your baby at the changing table. You will need a spot to toss the diapers too...right next to the changing table--eliminating the walk to a trash can 30 times a day (I had three in diapers-we were doing 24 diaper changes a day--that walk to the trash got old and time consuming til we wised up!!) We never took stinky ones outside to the trash or wrapped them up nice and tight. We skipped that step and just avoided the trash can area of the room! I know--a little nasty, but hey, we were sleep deprived! It was emptied about once a day.

--Keep your babies in the living area of the house until they get older. Mine slept ,ate, and got changed in the family room...so I didn't have to keep running up and downstairs to get them, check on them, etc. They were always close by.

--Schedule those feedings--every three hours unless they are not gaining weight. Get the schedule down and live by it. Change diapers only after feedings (this is when they naturally pee and poop), unless they are poopy. Don't continuously check to see if they are wet. Modern diapers are good enough so we don't have to change them every time they are slightly wet. We followed the ""Eat, Awake time, Sleep time" model of a schedule. I never nursed a baby to sleep or put them in bed asleep. They were put in their crib tired but awake. They absolutely thrived on this schedule and were very happy babies.

----Throw away the Boppy and buy a "My Brest Friend" nursing pillow. Hate the name, LOOOOOVE the pillow. This is a no brainer. Boppy's are only for people who have never tried a "My Brest Friend" pillow. Michelle Duggar's choice too.

---Mommy's clothes. Buy yoga pants, comfy, but cute tee shirts or sweatshirts, fitted tees, things that flatter, but things you can sleep in. I even found in my desperation, that stretchy jeans were quite comfy to sleep in. Since your days will be drifting into nights and vice-versa, why get stuck in pj's all the time? Wear your clothes to bed and you'll wake up already dressed. Cut your hair in a style that takes less than 60 seconds to fix--and does not require blow drying. Do your best to (quickly) look nice for your number one relationship with your precious husband!

---Pray in the shower (post a prayer list there in a baggie) and while nursing---have encouraging verses posted around the house in advance of babies coming. Spend time while you are nursing reading the Bible online (have your laptop next to you ) since you won't be able to hold your Bible. Or print out some passages in advance to keep by your nursing chair. You will be in desperate need of the Word! Since your mind will be in zombie-mode, quote scripture or pray OUT LOUD so your mind won't wander--if it does wander, you will all of a sudden realize you have stopped talking and therefore have stopped praying. This really helped me!

---Have older children do as much help as possible. Get them ready for this task in advance by setting aside a time each day for them to do chores. The routine of it makes it second nature for them...they will get good at being kind helpers.

---Relationships. Pray as a family, eat dinner together, have a routine date night with your honey, do not neglect relationships in your church body (or even attending church).

---Read the Mahaney ladies' blog (girltalkhome) on kids routines. Amy Scott at humblemusings.org also has good tips for moms.

---Thank the Lord for the reality that children are a blessing! Thoughts contrary to this may creep in. They are untrue, so continuously bring yourself back to reality! This season and these children are God's perfect gift to you! Praise Him aloud and with singing!

Love you BEC!!!!

--------------------------------Here's that other email to my friend below...

"Hey, I'm glad you are still pregnant, tho it doesn't feel very good! Just think, the fatter the babies, the less often they'll be hungry and the sooner you'll have 'em sleeping through the night! Do you plan to schedule them? I fed every three hours...you can't really demand feed with twins or you'll get NO sleep. (even the midwife encouraged me on this).

Well, I also just wanted to encourage you about how it will be after they are born. It will probably be insane for quite a while. Stick to the basics...your family only needs food, clothing and hugs/love from Mommy/wife. They don't NEED delicious food, just sustenance to get by until next year when it slows down a little. Here's a little of what I did to get by. Maybe it will encourage you when you feel like you're not doing "enough". I felt guilty many times, but I did my best. It was just survival mode. Life was turned upside down and we survived! Praise the Lord!

Tips to save time and sanity...

1.-Baths for all kids only once a week (unless they fall in mud or can bathe without assistance-none of mine could). They don't have B.O. yet, so this method worked fine for us :).

2.-Don't put pjs on them. Let them wear comfy clothes until the clothes get dirty. All day, all night... This is especially good for the twins since they'll already be changed alot due to spit up etc. Another mom of twins I heard about only put onesies on her twins and swaddled them....made clothes changes alot easier.

3. Brush kids teeth only once daily in the beginning. I know of a dentist's family that does this!

4. Trailmix, hot dogs,cheese sticks lunch meat, baby carrots and fresh brocolli spears. Blueberry bagels. Crock pot. These are foods my kids liked. We had alot of them. It was all I could do to dole out some trail mix and scarf some down myself and then eat some fresh broccoli for "something green". I never buttered a bagel, or put mayo on a sandwich during that time. Don't stress about food, your kids will survive a few months of semi-unhealthful eating out of a lifetime of more balanced meals. We usually ate the four food groups, but only in the most basic fashion.

5.-Spend time with your honey at all costs. Love him.:) Get a babysitter.

6.-Invest in your kids' hearts...intellectual/other goals may have to suffer for a season.

OK, you get the idea! It was an adjustment....and things were not and never will be the same....so don't expect too much out of yourself! I am used to going without bathing now and having furry teeth :) Our marriage is better than ever too!

The Lord will take you through it and you will have two more babies to love.

I have just been meaning to communicate all of this to you and let you know that I think of you and pray for you often. We love you guys...and are so glad to hear that your room is so close to being done at last. God is good! Praying for your delivery and all you have ahead of you. Night night!

Tiffany

PS-I don't think I mopped my floor (except for touch ups) for about several months after the twins came...I do not jest!!! I just read your status a while back about mopping :)

Christmas pic

2011-01-15T10:51:00.003-05:00

Smiles, Ponytails, Blue Eyes

2010-08-05T17:01:00.004-04:00

A Godly Mother

2010-07-29T14:50:00.000-04:00

"I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother; neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the young heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring. A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of "mother" is creation's blot. Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me. How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent; others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me. How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, "Oh, that my son might live before Thee!" Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory—that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities; and her smiles have never faded from my recollections— the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel." --Charles Spurgeon The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1

What You and I Need

2010-07-26T09:04:00.003-04:00

What I am tempted to do on any given day...
Not give thanks, but complain that I don't have enough, that things are not good, that I am guilty, to forget the Lord's faithfulness in all His dealings and not rehearse His immense love for me. How much happier I (and you) would be if we practiced the very simple steps this Psalm prescribes for a God-honoring and very joyful life. God has not made His will for us hard to understand. The difference between a sad, mopey, discouraged day and a joyfully triumphant day is not found in circumstances. It is found in the "good" practices found in this treasure of a Psalm. I have seen the life altering power of the scripture work through Psalm 92.

1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
3 On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
4 For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

Start giving thanks...even out loud.
Start singing praises...loudly.
Start declaring His lovingkindness this morning and His faithfulness tonight.
Then be glad.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

2010-06-29T12:46:00.004-04:00

We've been sick with various ailments this past 2 months, but I've managed to post some pics and a video. We got a swingset and a kiddie pool (which is now moldy and gross). These pics span the last two months. The video is of Silas' K5 graduation/program. Enjoy!

On the Homefront

2010-03-31T10:43:00.002-04:00

Coupla random ideas to save either time or money:

#1 We are planning on getting a wood fireplace insert soon. We have done research. This should save tons of money and pay for itself in a couple of years' time. Cheaper than pellets or gas or oil. We love saving money. This is a no brainer...bummer we didn't know this before!!! Check into it for your family!

#2 I thought of this as I was cleaning the bathrooms this morning...but it doesn't warrant it's own post :). Have your little boys go potty sitting down--your toilets will remain fairly clean. I seem to hear of other moms constantly cleaning their toilets. I have had disgusting toilets after friends come over to play. Why don't we have that problem???? Our little guys will always sit down :). I know...it's potty talk, but hey it saves time.

#3 Have your kids get into the daily habit of clearing the table and sweeping after meals. They don't do a perfect job, but this thrice daily task is taken care of and they learn a little responsibility. My table has never looked so good :) They are happy little helpers too and are so proud of the job they do.

#4 Don't fold laundry items that don't need folding. Why do we fold onesies, undies and washcloths? For the life of me I don't know. Get a little basket or bin to store them in and you'll save "loads" of time over a lifetime. Even baby clothes are very difficult to keep folded...I just skip this step until they are about 9 months old.

#5 Bagels and cheese sticks are great time savers when you have an entire household of little ones. They are NOT messy and they are fast!!!

#6 Stick with a daily routine! For your kids and yourself. Nothing rigid, but planned out. This is the biggest time saving/organizational tip I've learned. You'll reap the benefits!

I'm sure I'll think of something more profound to say later....but this is all you get for now. Ha!

Worry and Why it's Worldly

2010-03-12T07:56:00.005-05:00

I'm reading a book called "Wordliness" edited by CJ Mahaney right now. It's been convicting. I breezed through a few chapters and thought...."I don't struggle with these issues" but then came the next chapter....and they got me! It is good to be convicted! Then you can be set free of the traps of the world's lies!

I am realizing right now how much I trust in myself to keep my house running smoothly and keep my family happy. When things don't go well, I get discouraged. I am not in charge though. God is. I must not worry and work myself to death, always striving to get one more thing done so that life is perfect. I worry about not getting things done because I want to have a perfect life (an idol), and that usually seems just one load of laundry away. I never thought about how worry would drive me to work too hard or skip my quiet time so I could do that extra load of laundry or ministry pursuit. I am resolved to "let things go" if I must since the Saviour is sovereign over my house, my kids, my reputation. I still have a long ways to go in that regard, but I thought I'd share how God is teaching me. Worry about not being able to get "everything done" and the resulting striving and discontentment is sin. I am so glad that I can now work on this area! The Lord is good!

Meditate on this passage today...

Matthew 6:28-34

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Crossway Update for CCC

2010-02-26T11:05:00.001-05:00

Here is an update of all that God is doing at Crossway! Much has transpired lately that we havent been able to tell you about. These are some exciting times!

IMG 0177First our building has been transformed with some new paint, junk removal, the addition of a fellowship/seating area, new sound system (see the picture to the right: new sound board and speakers) and nursery renovations. This old building is looking inviting and warm for all who walk through the doors. Aside from our regular church body of about forty members, we have had many other truth-seekers walking through the creaky, old wooden doors. This is the really exciting part and one of the main reasons for coming to Keene to reach out to a community starving for the Word of Christ.

We have had two young ladies from Columbia attending regularly while they are in the states. Though there is somewhat of a language barrier, we have had some sweet fellowship with these sisters from South America. A troubled young man named Wayne has been visiting for many Sundays. He is definitely searching for what is missing in his life and has had numerous conversations about his need for the gospel with about half of the people at Crossway! We are praying for his eyes to be opened. He has also brought five of his family members and friends on various occasions who also desperately need the Lord. Carlton is a middle aged man whom Laney Burch knows from work and has shared the gospel with. He has come quite a few times as well. We are trying to show him the love and truth of Christ . One older woman whom you can see wandering the streets of Keene on any given day has made it through our doors for hot coffee and goodies on two occasions. She has been welcomed into conversation with some of our members. We are hoping that she will someday stay to hear the message preached. She has heard the gospel from those in our church. Praise the Lord for this opportunity. We also have a new family who is in the process of membership-the Russos! They are strong in the Lord and desire to learn much more as they attend Crossway! They cannot get enough of the Word of God which makes it so wonderful to have them as part of our fellowship. Praise the Lord for adding them and their two little daughters to our Crossway family! We have had many, many others walk through those old doors. How exciting!

IMG 0169We have started mid-week fellowship meetings at the church which feel just like CCC home fellowships. We eat at 6, then begin singing and our study of James at 7pm. This is a great time with our family.

(picture on left: Dave Burch is studying in a storage room at the church.)

Many of our families after surviving many moves and job transitions this summer and fall have finally settled down and begun fellowshipping around a meal (or a board game or a movie) in each others homes. The Lord is uniting our diverse group together.

Beginning in March, we will have a monthly pot-luck, hymn sing and question/answer time after our Sunday morning meetings.

Counseling opportunities are plentiful as well. Our marquee outside says, “we provide biblical counseling.” We hope this draws people through our doors.

IMG 0166(Picture on right: Some room dividers that were painted at our workday.) We are sooo thankful for those that were able to help us on our workday! It was exciting to see things get done, but - man! - it was exciting to see friends from CCC! Working side-by-side with us! So encouraging!

Our hearts jump with excitement each time we have visitors from CCC. We sure do miss all of you and love you all so much! On any given Sunday when I spot a family from Christ Community come through the doors my first response is to want to cry (thankful tears) and then give hugs. It is SO GOOD to see you and your continuing love and support. Sometimes we feel isolated and lonely and miss the warmth and security of Christ Community. It is so good to see that you are still thinking about us and ministering to your church plant in the dark city of Keene. We are continuously reminded that this place is about as liberal and anti-God as any place in America and we have much work to do! Thank you for your continued partnership and prayers. We hope to see many of you at our upcoming Saturday events passing out invitations to the community to come to our grand opening service. This is our biggest outreach event yet and we feel small and unable to accomplish much on our own. Please come and help us if you can! God is on a mission to accomplish His will in Keene and New England. Please share in the labor with us! We love you and miss you all and will see you when Craig preaches at CCC on March 14th!

Craig and Tiffany Johnson

Crossway Update for CCC

2010-02-26T11:05:00.000-05:00

Sovereign Grace February Sale!

2010-02-24T14:35:00.002-05:00

Six bucks is the cost of a CD from their site this month. Six bucks! The cost of a bucketload of encouragement in song. They also have tons of books on sale. Great resources. Free shipping for four more days only. This sale happens only once a year. Stock up now! Be encouraged! Sovereigngraceministries.org.

Cute Twins!

2010-02-18T09:46:00.001-05:00

New Family Room Paint and "Decs"

2010-02-15T15:01:00.007-05:00

My Family Room. The place where I spend more time than any other. It's a little quaint, wild, wacky, fun, comfortable, refined. I love making cozy spots to spend time in! It is so much fun! We just painted the walls a grey green. We just scored a leather recliner at about 75% off at my favorite store Mr. G's. The curtains are from my mom's house (thank you Mother-my decorating guru!) Every bit of my furniture in this room is from thrift shops, Craigslist, Mr' G's liquidation center, garage sales, and junk/salvage stores. OOOOHHH how I love to "bargain decorate". Beauty in your home is only a few dollars away...as long as you go with the "shabby chic" or cottage theme. That way old dilapidated stuff looks cool! At least I like it. The pics on the wall are mostly from Cavallini papers. They are "wrapping paper" and a cut up bird calender in $5 Walmart frames. I highly recommend cutting up calenders for cheap art. I also am in the process of hanging up my vintage shutters...though one in the picture broke the other day, it will be fixed! Alrighty, I have weightier matters to attend to (laundry/kids, etc) So I must take my leave. Enjoy all the pics I put up today!!!

Mercy Girl's 4th Birthday!

2010-02-15T14:54:00.001-05:00

My Cuties

2010-02-15T14:32:00.003-05:00

Update on my Routine

2010-02-06T15:13:00.001-05:00

Last week our routine fizzled out a bit with sick kids. Everything was outta whack with being up a lot in the night. Yesterday and today have been better. I've been up early again, but still need more focus/routine to my time in the Word. I decided to praise the Lord verbally this week all the way to pick up Silas from school 30 min. away. I need to practice that habit. I think it will really get my mind of self and on my true purpose of honoring Him! Have a great day walking mightily in His power (Eph 3)!

Simple "Date Nate" at Home

2010-02-06T14:34:00.002-05:00

Date night at our house has not always meant going out. This is important for those of us with little ones or those on a tight budget. Many times (especially when we only had the two older kids) it meant putting them in their room to play. We told Silas he needed to stay in his room with Mercy playing in her crib. They absolutely had a blast doing "room time" and actually asked when they could do room time again! Craig and I simply made chai tea, lit a candle on the coffee table, sat on the couch, listened to relaxing music and TALKED! Sometimes we'd read an enjoyable book which always sparked conversation. Sometimes we'd pray too. What wonderful times these are! We have been going out more lately since the Lamberts can watch the kids, but we now that our house is fairly in order, we are thinking we can just go down to the basement tv room with a hot drink and leave the kids upstairs with the Lamberts babysitting. Date night at home is also a fun time to enjoy a cozy and clean house...the house we have worked so hard to make comfortable for our family. It takes a little prep during the day, but it is worth it to have a special at home date night. Also, I love trying to look nice that night...even if it only means five minutes in front of the mirror before Craig comes home. How precious to spend time with our husbands!

I need to go "Shopping for Time" again!

2010-01-27T12:09:00.002-05:00

"We need to get those messed up priorities back into "whack"! We need to spend more time with our Saviour!" That was the general concensus of the small group of ladies gathered for prayer a few weeks ago at church. So the Crossway ladies' book study was born. These women (my dear friends) have started a closed blog so we can encourage each other in our priorities, time in the word, etc. We are reading, "Shopping For Time" by the Mahaney ladies and it is awesome. I have read it in the past and it is proving to be encouraging again...because it is biblical (see my book review on this site). Here is what I posted on our Crossway ladies' book blog. I thought it might encourage you and give you a peek into my quest to use my time to honor the Lord with my time.
__________________________
"Well, I am blazing my way through the book once again! I am integrating it into my morning devotional time. I have been waking up at 6:15 or 6:30 each day for about 3 weeks now and it has really been a huge blessing! I was feeling a bit hopeless about lack of a truly quiet "quiet time". Waking up just a tad before the kids WAS NOT working and I left my devotions feeling like I had wasted time instead of profited from my time in the word. So I am really excited about the thought of adding more godly routine, priorities and discipline into to my life. After we moved into our house, we still were living in the chaotic whirlwind of boxes, junk, toys, etc. I worked non-stop to get back to normal life once again. But once the dust (or the boxes, rather) cleared, I found myself with few routines in place due to the crazy unpredictable past year and the changing nature of kids development, and of course my own sinful habits. I needed a kick in the pants and asked Craig to push me out of bed in the mornings if I didn't get up when he did. No pressing the snooze button! It's been great!

I have reinstituted some old practices which I had decided were profitable the last time I read the book and I plan to add more. Basing life on priorities rather than selfish desires is so profitable...but I have a really long way to go. I wrote out a new weekly prayer list last week but need to organize my time in the word and time reading godly books more. The kids' schedule has really taken shape...but they need some catch up in the the routine department as well. I guess Mommy's lack of discipline wears off on the kids too. Sooo...I have much to learn and much more discipline to learn to submit myself to. But it's going great.

Here is some of our weekly evening schedule based on what I gleaned from the book last time. We have put these things back into place. This stuff is partially fruit I gleaned from taking a couple of personal retreats to Panera last year (chapter 4).

Monday- date night (priority-marriage)
Tuesday- read aloud w/ Craig night (priorities- marriage and growth in godliness)
Wednesday- mid-week fellowship (priorities- fellowship and growth in godliness)
Thursday - free
Friday- movie night (rest)
Saturday- get ready for company & church/cleaning (serving my family/ serving the church)
Sunday- company over/ movie night (fellowship/ serving/ rest)

Of course there is alot of laundry, kids' discipleship, shopping, meal preparing, dishes, paperwork, etc. that goes on during the day. BUT, other time eating pursuits have decreased. When I see things clearly...I see I have to order my days according to priority and principle and have no time left for many other things! Even good pursuits have gotten nixed because they are simply not at the top of my priority list. Also, I am hopeful and happy as I am striving to honor the Lord. A change from a few months ago. May Jesus Christ be praised!!! His fruit is what we are seeing in our lives!

Lord of the Laundry

2010-01-22T11:05:00.002-05:00

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

The other day I was complaining in my heart about the laundry. I thought, "Sheesh! this laundry is unrelenting and neverending! Why can't I get a handle on it! This laundry is like a task master forcing me into eternal domestic servitude." I thought, "This cannot be right...something must change."

WRONG!!!

I then remembered that Jehovah God is in charge of how much laundry I have, how fussy and sick the kids are, how busy Craig is, and EVERYTHING ELSE. The laundry does not happen on accident. It is God's perfect will for me. If He wanted to change it, He could in an instant. He's powerful, wise and good. God's plan cannot and will not be thwarted. If His plan for me is unending laundry...then bring it on!

What an encouraging verse...
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

God is so good! Can I get an amen?!

Christmas pics

2009-12-29T11:47:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T12:55:00.003-05:00

An attempt at Jingle Bells. Merry Christmas!

Please Pray

2009-12-07T07:35:00.002-05:00

Pray for the Bullins and Brockmeyer families in Virginia. They are two large families we know of who just lost their wives/mothers in a tragic accident. A tree fell on the car of the two mothers who were out shopping together. There are eight children in one of the families and ten in the other. The oldest child in either family is fourteen. They are Christian families in our friends' church. Can you imagine the grief and loss and the almost insurmountable task of caring for the physical and emotional needs of that many young children...without mommy? Only the Lord can care for their needs and comfort them. He is sovereign even over this. Please pray!!!

Funky Bargain Drapes (and lots of other stuff too)

2009-11-19T16:57:00.006-05:00

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pic #1 Mercy Doodle sick in bed...at least it is a new bunkbed. A great place to be sick. We got it at about 70% off at Walmart and put it up on Thanksgiving! The cheapest bunkbed to be found this side of the Vermont state line (sorry, I love to brag about my deals--a trait passed down from my Mother). The mismatched carpet squares flooring was also an amazingly cheap way to replace the threadbare 40 year old carpet that was in there...looks ok for a kids room and if anyone happens to get sick on it--as was almost the case last night...we could just replace the carpet square with a new one :).

Oh yea, our home is technically a 3 bedroom with a den which is an inlet off the hallway. For now all four kids will be sharing that "den" as we have closed off the back two bedrooms for the Lambert's to live in. You can see the brown door that leads to their "house". We might finish off an attic bedroom eventually so we'd have two kids in each bedroom. We'll see.

pic #2 The kiddos in the family room. We love the family room for it's size. It's a GREAT room for Bible studies, having guests, etc. The 30-year old rust carpet is not my favorite, but I have figured out how to pull rust into my decor---there is no ignoring that rust carpet! It does remind me of my carpet growing up a bit though (chocolate brown) and makes me nostalgic for the good old 1970's in Fresno, California.

pic #3 Our kitchen is amazing. The kitchen window overlooks the front yard. I put the "HOME" sign up the first day we moved in while we were praising the LORD and singing to Him that we finally had a home. He is faithful...gives us way more than we deserve.

pic #4 Like I said the (eat-in) kitchen is amazing. We don't have a "formal" dining room. We are glad to not have one as to us it would seem like a waste of space. We do love the space we have however. The previous owners remodeled the kitchen and were possibly planning on doing the rest of the house later...so the kitchen is the best part of the house. Here are my two adorable sick children at the table today. And of course my funky green drapes.

pic #5 So here is the outside. I think it looks like Hansel and Gretel used to live here. I love the cottage look. Silas and Mercy like the fact that it's "army green".

OK here is an excerpt from a note to my fam I wrote a couple of weeks ago.(if no one else cares about my funky green drapes, at least I know they will--ha!):

"We are mostly unpacked…and thanks to some slightly damaged clearance waverly fabric (funky green and white damask pattern)…my kitchen/dining room looks like it walked out of a magazine…if I do say so myself. I added some framed bird pictures from an old calendar and some branches from a tree outside and voila! Granted the funky drapes aren’t sewn yet-but they are clipped up there with drapery rings…I’ll get to sewing them sometime later.

Regarding the church…we are now meeting in that gothic style-(i.e. brick, stained glass windows, huge towering steeple) 1869 church right off Main St. We have had several recurring visitors (some have said they plan to keep coming) and have about 45 each Sunday. So we are growing. Craig moved his office from CCC and finally has a place to work without stepping over kiddos and having to run to the closet when on a phone call. God is good. We are thankful. We can’t believe the Lord has blessed us like this when other pastors we know are really struggling."

------------
So yes, things are settling down...and when I thought the unpacking/organizing would never end...it did. Or at least the cloud lifted and things became more manageable. Amazingly, the house suddenly was "under control" on the very day I started thanking God for the messy situation instead of sinking beneath the dirty dishwater and boxes. I chose to thank Him for strength instead of pleading for more help...and keep working too. He gave me joy and a clean house. Funny how that works. Thank You LORD!

The Lambert's (a young couple and good friends) are living with us in what we've made into an apartment (the back two bedrooms with a back door to the outside)...in exchange for some babysitting, snowblowing, etc. We love our new neighbors! Silas gets to talk to his hearts content about army guys and airplanes whenever Ben is around. :)

Silas is enjoying kindergarten tons! His mommy is not really enjoying the noontime commute to school 1/2 hour away. But it is worth it. He's memorizing psalms and hymns and they just finished two convalescent home visits with his school singing their Thanksgiving songs.

Aside from all of that, we are all sick this week (Daddy is the last hold-out) with some kind of nasty bug (fever, nausea, nasal nastiness). But we are cuddling alot and surviving. I thank the Lord, that I had plenty of leftovers in the fridge when this all began...we are not that hungry anyway. After another long night with the kiddos the Lord reminded me of His goodness and worth this morning...stopping my self-pity in it's tracks. I love this passage!

1Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.
2Why should the nations say,
"Where, now, is their God?"
3But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.

Just when I want to have my own way (healthy family, sleep, etc), feeling I deserve it, the Lord reminds me of this verse, "not to me O Lord!!!" He gets the glory and He does WHATEVER HE PLEASES. I am happy with that!

So this post has been a little random, but I wanted to leave everyone with this encouraging Psalm. Have a good day everyone...and come visit us in Keene whenever you can!

Keene Pumpkin Festival Pics

2009-10-31T00:29:00.003-04:00

Food and Clothing

2009-10-01T12:22:00.002-04:00

1 Timothy 6:8 says, "But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."

When it all comes down to it, the things my family needs the most is food and clothing. So when it comes down to it the most important tasks on my to-do list are MEALS, DISHES AND LAUNDRY.

These tasks are daily and unrelenting, yet they help provide food and clothing for us. These exhilarating tasks are the first and many times the only "task" I accomplish in the day. It would be so much fun if I could get up and say, "Hey, what do I want to do, or accomplish today? Something fun? Something noteworthy?" But God says that with merely food and clothing we shall be content. So, I am a weakling, striving to love the Lord and yes, be content with every meal to be made, every sandwich to be diced into toddler-sized chunks, every bib to be wiped off, every dirty frying pan, every load of filthy laundry, every pile of folded laundry that is toppled by a baby.

In some ways, knowing these are my top-priority-tasks helps me to have self control. Each day, I wake up and don't need to make any major decisions about how to spend my time. First on the list is time with the Lord, then starts the day with MEALS, DISHES AND LAUNDRY! Of course the children and their daddy know how to fill up the rest of my time! But these are precious, eternal tasks (at least I am seeing them rightly if only for today). As well, these tasks can be done with scripture and prayer on the brain. I have resumed some scripture memory/meditation this week and my daily tasks have been been transformed from duty, to a time to meditate more. I have taken my prayer/scripture notebook into the kitchen with me in the morning so I can glance back at it on the counter and recall to mind what I was studying in the Word. Then I remember to praise God again instead of complaining in my heart about the drudgery of the day. So, don't be discouraged. Go feed and clothe your family and learn with me to be content!

More Langdon Life

2009-09-09T10:30:00.001-04:00

Here are more pictures and videos of our current abode. We share it with two other families (Sages and Burches). It has an awesome yard!

Langdon Life

2009-09-07T16:26:00.004-04:00

How Many Hungries am I???

2009-09-01T21:07:00.003-04:00

We enjoy our children so much. They are just precious. Words cannot describe! Part of what we enjoy about them is the way they are constantly making us laugh!

Here are some recent "cute moments":

Yesterday, Mercy was trying to make a case that I should give her something to eat. She said in a semi-pleading tone, "Mommmmmmmy...do you know how many hungries I am???". She spent a while staring out the window of the car trying to put a quantity on her "hungries". Later on she told me she was "four hungries". She didn't stay four hungries for long though,since it was dinnertime.

Silas has a bagful of tiny green plastic army men (the classic toy) which have a flat plastic base connecting their feet so they don't fall over when you stand them up for battle. He asked me recently, "Mommy are army men real, except they don't have the plastic thing between their feet?" I had to point out a couple of soldiers at the grocery store later to make it clear in his mind that army men aren't really green and plastic. And no they do not have plastic things connecting their feet.

PPPAAAATTTTIIIIIEEEENNNNCCCEE

2009-08-21T16:23:00.005-04:00

Seriously...we're learning patience right now. That's not what I had in mind when I thought about moving to Keene. I wanted to easily get settled in a home and be able to have an idyllic home life...complete with a clean, orderly house, delicious healthy meals each night for my family and plenty of time to do hospitality/ministry and serve Craig as he used his gifts in the church body. Instead God wants me (apparently) to stretch my spiritual muscles of patience--which admittedly are weak. I really have nothing to complain about. This is not MY life. My life is God's life to use as He wants. On His timetable. With all the frustrations that He wants to provide. Right now, I am convinced that He wants me to glorify Him by patiently waiting on Him. I will wait on the Lord. He is my hope. I cannot gain patience any other way and am thankful that I get to learn this lesson!!!

On another note--my life is stressful and busy right now. I feel like I NEED MORE TIME. I want to have plenty of time to build up my husband, talk and relax with him, cuddle with my kids, teach them well...on top of all the other daily, monotonous tasks of life. Of course the Lord knows my thoughts. I often look for things to "cut out"...unsuccesfully. My sister Hillary just emailed me and reintroduced me to the idea of once-a-month cooking. Perhaps I've found a time-saver???

Here is a bit of her email.

"I also started doing something called Once A Month Cooking...l think you said you've heard about it. My sister-in-law Angel and I decided to do it together, so we each take about 8 recipes and double them. It's AWESOME!!! Dinner is not stressfull anymore and takes half the time from start to cleanup. Anyway, I've been telling everyone about it b/c it's such an awesome time saver."

HMMMMMM.....might save some time. Anyone in Keene interested? Wanna try it out for a month? Let me know!!!

Alrighty. God is good. More later!

Ruby the Trailblazer

2009-07-29T16:18:00.002-04:00

Ruby has taught Justus many things. She's our most advanced child yet. She was the first to crawl, walk, talk, etc. It is amazing how Justus has quickly followed her example and acquired these skills within a week or so of watching his sister. Her latest discovery, which Justus has recently picked up is the practice of sticking her hands in her dirty diaper and playing with it in her playpen. Really he has been copying her each time. Ahhh, the joy of twins...twice the fun, twice the mess!!! We are sure she's a genius, but hopefully she'll outgrow this practice! I'm off to the store to buy some onesies...I'm hoping wearing onesies 24/7 will cure this problem!

On a serious note, you can pray for us as we struggle to regain some sense of normalcy. We signed papers to buy the same foreclosure yesterday. We are hoping it doesn't fall through this time! We should close late August and then begin renovations as it needs some repairs immediately. For now,we are staying in the home of some gracious friends...God is good!

Homeless

2009-07-06T12:01:00.002-04:00

Well, we have no place to call home right now. We moved out of our Vermont home a week ago and are unable to close on our new NH home due to a title problem. We feel like wanderers, not knowing when (if ever) we will close and be able to start the renovations to make it livable. We are staying with friends and will probably move to another temporary location before moving into our new home. Our unpacked Uhaul truck is sitting outside racking up charges while we wait for any scrap of information about when we'll be moving. Could be a month or more. BUT in all of this, we are reminded that the Lord Jesus had no place to lay His head. We are no better or no more deserving than our Master. He is the infinite and holy God who gave it all up for us and we don't deserve anything. So we are waiting and trusting and knowing that He'll provide what He wants to provide in His timing. Meanwhile, we pray. Please pray with us! We are praying that we can get settled so that Crossway church can also get underway in a more formal way...with none of Craig's attention diverted away from it. Pray for the ministry in Keene and for a church building as well.

PS-I wanted to add pictures to this post, but alas, the camera is in the bowels of the Uhaul outside :).

Pray for These Men and the Defense of God's Name!

2009-05-30T11:38:00.002-04:00

I googled "Piper MacArthur Driscoll debate" this morning. I heard last night of the debate over Mark Driscoll and his use of crude language from the pulpit. I am deeply troubled by this debate. Many men whom I love and admire are on opposing sides. I want graciousness to prevail and yet see the need for a stand for truth and to defend the Holy Name of Christ. When I hear the discussions, I want to pray for these great men of the faith to have wisdom. They shape where American Christianity is headed. Let's pray for them...for so much is at stake. Christ's Name must be defended, both by loving speech and unity in His church AND by a strong stand against error. Pray with me...

God's Providence

2009-05-04T10:38:00.003-04:00

Well, we lost "surprise baby #5" this weekend. We are sad, but not overwhelmingly so. We've already had a few days to adjust. We are doing fine. It was early on…and we were just adjusting to the thought of five under six years old! So now we are happy this baby is in heaven with his Maker and we are adjusting back to having ONLY four small kids. God is sovereign. He has made us so aware of that lately with the unbelievable way He has been orchestrating our lives. He is amazing!

Baby #5 on the Way!!!

2009-04-28T16:14:00.004-04:00

Surprise!!!!!! We found out about a week and a half ago, that we are expecting surprise baby #5. Never a dull moment around here! After about a day of apprehension, I became very excited about the baby and excited about my mission as a mother--again! Craig of course was ecstatic from the get go. He loves having children. He couldn't be more supportive. So, we are steam rolling ahead into the future the sovereign God has ordained for us. He is good.

Morning sickness (or afternoon as this moment) has settled in today...and I found myself laying down on the dining room floor while the kiddos finished lunch. Here we go...for a few months of unproductivity. Oh well, it gives me more reason to cuddle with the kids on the sofa, read some good books (we hope) and generally be sedentary.

Aside from that, we are house hunting, which I hope does not last too long, because I don't think I will have the energy to do it too much longer as I get more bedraggled with the first trimester. Hopefully we will find something soon...probably within the next two weeks or so, so that we don't end up homeless come the end of June (which is the date on which our home sale closes). Like I said, never a dull moment! God is good and in charge!

Easter Darlings

2009-04-14T13:35:00.004-04:00

Easter Day was a busy one! But blessed all day long. We had a great day beginning with a breakfast at church, then worship, an afternoon lunch at our house with friends, an Easter egg hunt and then our first ever evening meeting with the Crossway Church group. Here are some pictures of my adorable family!

CrossWay Church of Keene

2009-04-11T08:21:00.005-04:00

Sounds official, huh? CrossWay Church of Keene. That's because it is!

We had several people ask if we could plant this church in Keene,NH. We thought it was impossible. The Lord has proved us wrong however...and brought the people and finances together to form a new gospel preaching church in Keene. We are headed South (even if only an hour south)! God has answered our every prayer for a new ministry and home. What an exciting adventure this is! We will be moving to Keene, NH when our house sells and planting a church in town there. It is amazing how quickly and effortlessly this thing has fallen into place. I am amazed at how easily things can happen when the Lord moves. "Mountains" have been moved and we have stood back and watched with our jaws dropped!

Not quite two months ago we were asked if we would consider this idea...and were told there were several families that really wanted a church like ours (CCC) in Keene. They sought a gospel-centered church with in-depth biblical teaching. They wanted to be taught, to be fed, to be trained for ministry and counseling, and to have the gospel of grace magnified in Keene. They knew what our church distinctives were, and desired to have that duplicated in Keene.

Anyhoo...through a series of amazing events, we found there were more than just a few families that desired this (we are starting out with about fourteen families and hear that there are others that may come as well!) Many of these families have been traveling long distances to church and will now finally have a church closer to home. Bible-believing churches are sparse in New England! There is a college campus on which we'll have an evangelistic ministry and we hope to grow with new believers as well. So we have more than enough to form a good core group for a church plant!

The finances also feel into place. It is true that "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills". I am also reminded of my grandfather's famous line, "God's not broke". He can provide finances whenever He wishes. He has been so faithful. I guess He wants this church to be planted in Keene!

So we are happy and excited! Sometimes I'm a little scared...I've never done this before! But God has provided the way and continues to encourage us with His goodness.

Psalm 107:21-22

21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
22 Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.

Blessings of Mommyhood

2009-03-25T12:47:00.001-04:00

Last night Silas shrieked his way into our room having had a horrible nightmare. He said it was about mice in his room who were making people drink fire, eat dirt and could shoot you too. Sounds super scary to me! I loved having the opportunity to scoop his shaking body into bed with us and rub his soft back, calm him down and talk to him about how the Lord was protecting him while he slept. I love to be able to care for and comfort him!

Another precious moment brought to you by Ruby Girl (aka Ruby Claire-y, Ruby Cube, etc). Every time I try to change Justus' diaper on the floor, Ruby can't resist coming over to cuddle. She basically dives her little head into me, or climbs onto my lap, absolutely demanding a cuddle session (which makes for a very difficult and prolonged diaper change!). I hate to shoo her away when she is so stinkin' cuddly and cute! Man, the way she bats her sparkly blue eyes, tilts her head and rolls up in a little ball of cuddliness is enough to make anyone melt! Only the Lord could make something so amazingly winsome!

These moments are treasures. In all the insanity and work in my household with four small children, these moments which could be seen as interruptions are actually such blessings! God is good to give us these children!

In A Godless State

2009-03-11T10:51:00.002-04:00

Yup, it's just been confirmed in a new news report (Yahoo news) that Vermont is the state with the least amount of people who believe in God. Sometimes it makes me want to leave. Sometimes it makes me realize the need to stay. Lord, please bless New England!!!

For All You Who Will Be Where I Am!

2009-03-06T10:28:00.003-05:00

Five years ago, motherhood hit me with some of the same shock as it did the woman who wrote the article below. I was at least fortunate to have had some training (thank you Mother!) from my mom, sisters, and godly friends. But, I should have put MUCH MORE TIME into preparing for this daunting task called motherhood. I now, of course have a much deeper admiration for my mother and others like her...who have labored (in exhaustion at times) to care for their families. I remember a few years ago, with two small children of my own, crying in amazement when I realized all of the effort my mother had put into us five girls for years on end. It had never occurred to me just how difficult motherhood would be.

I have heard stories similar to this woman's many, many times. LISTEN TO HER if you are on the brink of motherhood or if you picture yourself there one day. Here's her article about how to prepare yourself to be a stay at home mom (SAHM). Read it and reap!

Study to Show Yourself a SAHM
by Heather Koerner

I'm not sure when it hit me.

Maybe it was the morning I sat watching my 3-month-old daughter sleep next to me on the living room floor as I folded what seemed like the third laundry load of burp cloths that day. There was a lot about the moment that I had expected — love in my eyes, wonder in my heart. But there was also a lot I hadn't expected — a house that had once been orderly and clean that was now stacked high with piles of laundry, dirty dishes, baby paraphernalia and one exhausted, not very attractive looking mommy.

I remember thinking, This is so hard. I'm not sure I can do this.

And I remember being overwhelmingly frustrated. For crying out loud (which, I think I was at that moment), I have a graduate degree. I've taught trigonometry. I've met deadlines, edited copy and run conferences. Why in the world can't I handle one tiny baby and a 1,200 square foot house?

In her article, "Homemaking Internship," Carolyn Mahaney nailed my arrogant attitude:

Young women tend to assume that homemaking doesn't require any advanced skills or preparation. It's similar to what a sixth grader might think about a test covering first-grade material: What's there to study?

That was me: the sixth grader, thinking that being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) would be first-grade work. But that morning, sniffling amidst the burp clothes, was my wake-up call. This was no first-grade work.

I suddenly realized, too, that I had spent six years in college preparing for a career in which I spent five years. But I had spent no time preparing myself for the career that I was about to embark on for the next decade.

It's not that I thought my education was wasted. Rather, I realized I was so concentrated on preparing for one aspect of my future life and so blind to the fact that I should be preparing for all aspects of my future life.

Just about any way you look at it, I was foolish.

Carolyn Mahaney wrote, "Many girls enter marriage and motherhood without a clue as to what's required, and they quickly fall into despair."

That's how a lot of my first months as a SAHM were — despair. A lot of failing; a lot of "I don't know what in the world I'm doing." There were certainly wonderful times, but it could have been a lot easier (on all three of us) if I had prepared more.

So, here's a list of "coulda, shoulda, woulda's. Things that I would have sat 26-year-old Heather down and told her. Some of them I did, and they literally breathed life into that first mommy year. Some I didn't, but realize now would have helped tremendously. I pray that they help you in your journey to homemaker and motherhood, as well.

Pursued God's heart more

Looking back, I think my choice to be a SAHM was, in many ways, a pragmatic one. From my own experience in day care and as a teacher, I thought that having a SAHM would be "better" for my kids and that their childhood would be "happier."

To a certain extent, I still think that. It is better for them. They are happier. But there came a time, like three months into mommyhood sitting on the living room floor, when I was falling apart and, suddenly, pragmatism fell apart. That's when thoughts like, "Well, I'm just no good at this, so this can't be good for her" or (on days I wanted to sound more spiritual) "I'm just not gifted at this" or "Certainly, my daughter would be happier if I were a happier mommy, and this staying at home thing is not making me happy" started to creep in.

At that time, I needed to concentrate on God's truth — not how I felt or what I thought. I should have prepared myself by scouring God's Word for wisdom on mommyhood, marriage and family. In the past few years, as I've wrestled with passages like Ephesians 5, Titus 2, Colossians 3, 1 Timothy 2 and 5, 1 Peter 3, I've learned that my home and family should not be my priority because my own logic says they should, but because God created me, knows me and has set those priorities for me.

I needed to know that, without a doubt, my work for my family was kingdom work.

Created a Community

Here's one of the biggest things I've learned about being a SAHM: You need other women. You need them for fellowship, for counsel and to share the joys of family.

When I first quit work to stay at home, I found myself isolated from my former work friends (I had commuted about an hour to my job) and without any real network of moms to turn to. That made for some very lonely days.

Eventually, as I got my feet under me, I joined a local MOPS group, and began to reach out to other women in my church and neighborhood. If I were to do it over again, though, I definitely would have reached out to other women before having children. I might have worked more in the church nursery to get to know the other moms, or sacrificed some work hours to join a Bible study, or attended some SAHM functions. If I had a few Christian SAHM acquaintances, I would have been intentional about developing those friendships and taking an active interest in what they could teach me about how to be busy at home and love my family.

Trained in Homemaking

I can still remember surreptitiously rolling my eyes when I would hear other women talk about how to get a marker stain out of clothing, or a new recipe they tried, or how they organized their closets. To me, a 20-something young woman, it just seemed like useless information.

At that time, I had a home and was maintaining it without much real effort. There were only two of us. We were both gone about 10 hours a day. He slammed a protein drink for breakfast, I slammed some oatmeal. We would take turns cooking dinner and then do some laundry and dusting over the weekend.

Flash forward a few years and, all of a sudden, I had two precious creatures who needed me to feed them, clothe them, educate them and 24-hour-a-day-them. The house now actually got dirty, really dirty. Clothes actually did get marker (and sweet potatoes and grass) on them. Meals started to get bigger, needed to be prepared more often and needed (I figured) something green on the plate at least once a day.

But for me and for many of my friends, we were lost. We didn't have the first clue how to really run a household effectively. If the laundry got caught up, the house was a mess. If we got to the park, we realized later we had an empty fridge. We couldn't figure out how to schedule our day: How much cleaning or reading or cooking or shopping or puzzles are we supposed to do?

Ideally, Carolyn Mahaney writes, "As with all other aspects of biblical womanhood, it is the mother's job to teach and the daughter's job to learn." So, the first place to start looking for homemaking wisdom is our own moms. But there are other sources of wisdom for us to tap, as well.

Elizabeth George in A Wife After God's Own Heart advises:

Expertise in taking care of your home can also be learned.... Here's where godly, older women come in. According to Titus 2:3-5, these ladies are to be available and actively teaching the in's and out's of being a wife after God's own heart to their younger sisters-in-Christ. And the curriculum includes the area of homemaking skills (verse 5). So see if you can latch on to one of these dear saints! Pray, ask for help, and then try doing what you are taught.

Think about the skills of homemaking: child rearing, cooking, clothing, cleaning, organizing, time management, decorating, etc. Now, break them down — what specific skills do you lack? Or, if you don't even know enough to know what you don't know, ask. What can you do to get some training? Pick up some books. Check out some Christian Web sites. Tail a mom for a day, or two, or three. Take a class. Volunteer in the nursery. Practice.

Prepared More Financially

I've written in the past about how important it is to live exclusively on the husband's income from day one of the marriage (here and here). So, if you just do one thing, do that. But I also wish that I had prepared to stay at home financially in one other way: practicing frugality.

The reason, I've learned, that there are so many TV specials, articles and books on how to feed a family on five dollars a day is because finances are a (if not the) real stress for a family. When my husband became the sole provider for our family, I realized that instead of feeling guilty about not adding income to our family, I should concentrate on what I could do for my family financially — keep our costs down.

Over the years, I've discovered where to find cheaper diapers and formula; where the best consignment sales and stores are; how to plan meals to keep our eating out costs low and how to buy next year's coats at end-of-the-season sales.

I'm not a big grocery coupon clipper but, boy, can I work the 40-percent-off-of-the-clearance-price-marked-sale.

If I'd have had those tricks of the trade from day one, we could have saved a whole stinkin' lot of money over the years. So, ask some moms. How did they decorate a nursery on a budget? What can you get on online resale sites and what should you always buy new? What are their best money saving tips?

Keep your eye on the prize

I'm not sure what 26-year-old Heather would have thought if I had told her all this. It's quite possible that she might have turned her nose up at the thought of actually training in homemaking. She might have thought, though not wanted to say, that she was surely destined for more important and worthwhile things.

Why would God gift her with abilities and talents, she might silently wonder, only to stick her in a home with small children?

I think I would try to explain to her that I understand she wants to do great things — and she will. But that I've come to realize what things really qualify as important and the truth of author Dorothy Patterson's words:

Homemaking — being a full-time wife and mother — is not a destructive drought of uselessness but an overflowing oasis of opportunity; it is not a dreary cell to contain your talents and skills but a brilliant catalyst to channel creativity and energies into meaningful work ... it is neither limitation of gifts available nor stinginess in distributing the benefits of those gifts, but rather the multiplication of a mother's legacy to the generations to come and the generous bestowal of all God meant a mother to give to those He entrusted to her care.

I would tell her that I know that the transition from work to stay-at-home mom is not easy. I know she'll face days when she can't see the eternal in one more jar of pureed peas and that the laundry doesn't look noble, it just looks filthy.

But I'd also tell her, from experience, that those little souls are the most precious job she'll ever have. That Carolyn Mahaney is right when she talks about the "unsurpassed rewards" that homemaking offers. I'd tell her that it will be so worth it. So, so worth it. That it's a job deserving of preparation.

And I'd tell you the same thing.

Double (or Triple!) Trouble

2009-02-25T10:50:00.003-05:00

The perpetrators

Oh yes, the twins are walking. Keeping up with them is a challenge. Throw Mercy, my newly turned 3-year-old into the mix and it's triple trouble! Listen to this scene from our tranquil home the other day. I was in the kitchen when I heard some splashing. I found that Mercy had dunked something into the toilet! Just when I was in there reminding her that that was a very poor choice, Silas yelled to me...."Mommy! Ruby is climbing up the stairs!" I ran out of the bathroom, leaving the door ajar to grab Ruby and sweep her to safety...reminding her to "stay down" off of the stairs. Of course we have a baby gate, but one of the kids had opened it I guess. Just then I had an alarming thought...I remembered that as I had run to Ruby, Justus had buzzed past me in the general direction of the bathroom door. I turned and ran. But alas, it was too late. Splashing was heard again...this time from an unflushed toilet (thank you Mercy). Yuck! I'm telling you, Justus has a fatal attraction to that toilet! I think this was elaborate plan put together by my three genius children. They pulled it off flawlessly!

Muppets Praising the Lord?

2009-02-20T10:07:00.002-05:00

Nope it's not true. Muppets do not praise the Lord. Silas was watching the Muppets this morning. I was discussing with Silas the humanistic philosophy they were promoting. Basically there was a little song that Kermit was singing that said in effect, "if you want to get along with others, just start singing." Not only do I seriously have doubts about this method's effectiveness, but it is a method of trying to solve life's problems without God. I asked Silas to tell me what we really need in order to "get along" with others. He ended up telling me that these muppets were not honoring to God and that they were not in fact honoring and praising the Lord in their song.

I walked away and realized how funny it was that I was discussing whether or not a piece of green felt fabric and stuffing was honoring God! Perhaps a teaching moment...but motherhood makes me do some strange things!!! I think I need to get out more :).

The Lord Will Provide

2009-02-16T14:10:00.003-05:00

Here are some random memories of our home.

So, the news is out. Yesterday it was announced to our church family. We are going to be moving...somewhere. We are looking for a place for Craig to use his gift of preaching and to be a shepherd of a new flock. Our church just doesn't have the financial means to support two full time pastors. Only the sovereign Lord knows where we will go...but yes, we must go. We will be leaving behind our home, our town, our backyard creek, our yard where the kids have played, our kitchen where friends have lingered long over coffee, our ministry, our friends, the big red barn church, our church family whom we dearly love. The strangest things make me cry! Like the residual candle wax on top of the fridge left over from a Christmas party we had about five years ago. It spilled all the way down the side of the fridge and somebody was helping me clean it up. It made me remember all the people we have had in our home over the years and how I will miss them.

We will be taking our many memories and the Lord will go before us. We will be going out like Abraham, who not knowing where he was going, followed the Lord in faith to the place God had for him.

Hebrews 11:8ff[8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.]

His name was written down in Hebrews as a man of undeniable faith and Craig and I desire to be like him. His hope and his home were in God...and that is all we really have. That is all we need! When we moved to Vermont seven years ago in August, I remember thinking on this passage and it encourages me again today:

Psalm 90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

So, we are sad, but trusting and growing in our love for our Lord. The Lord has been faithful in the past and will always be. He is growing our faith (as He always does in the dross-consuming fires that He brings us). He is our Home, our Dwelling Place. He is the Everlasting God, the One thing that will never change. We know He will never leave us and has a plan to use us to bring Him fame and honor. We are excited to see what He has planned for us. Whether that means waiting and learning to trust or whether it means a quick answer to prayer and a place to serve immediately. We know He has good plans for us and plans to bring Him glory!

How My Kids Stay Thin...

2009-02-05T13:27:00.006-05:00

Maybe I should join them! Looks like fun and it gets their wiggles out : ).

Here's a couple of Silas "the Frogman" Johnson and the babies.

Quote of the week from Silas:

I was cooking steak. Silas said, "Mommy when is the 'steakun' gonna be done?" Can you tell we don't often have steak? Yes we are chicken people. He kept saying 'steakun' throughout the meal :).

Messy Babies!

2009-02-05T11:42:00.005-05:00

Glory Thief

2009-01-29T09:12:00.003-05:00

I am a glory thief. I often desire to steal a little bit of glory from the One who owns all the glory in the universe. Like the pharisees, I quietly pretend that some of this glory actually belongs to me. I caught myself trying to steal some lately when I cared more for my reputation than I should. I should be content to be humble...even if all the world does not esteem me as highly as I would like. For the record, I have no right to any glory. I do not possess any of my own. Let only His glory be exalted and not our own!

I love, love, LOVE this Psalm:

Ps. 115:1
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, [and] for thy truth's sake.

Make it your plea today that all glory be given to HIM and not to ourselves.

Here's a video of my precious husband and kids...just because they are so cute (especially the one in the big red coat).

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2009-01-28T14:24:00.005-05:00

Silas has been thanking the Lord during prayer that maybe someday he'll be able to play in the snow. Well, that day has finally arrived! With packing for vacation, our loooong vacation to Cali and Tennessee, vacation "detox" (laundry, unpack, restock groceries, laundry, laundry, etc.), then almost continual bouts of illness taking up much of our winter thus far, we haven't had time to enjoy the SNOW! And I do mean S-N-O-W!!! We expect 12-16 inches of nice fluffy snow today. It's a balmy 20 degrees. Craig and the other church staff came home early to beat the storm (the church parking lot is plowed by volunteers and may not get cleared before evening, thus making it tough to get back out). Here are some pics of this Daddy/kiddo bonding time :). Personally, I am back in from taking pics in my sweater and sock feet and am greatly enjoying my butter rum coffee (thank you to my sister Dareth for the gift card which purchased my delightful coffee).

By the way, the aforementioned reasons are also the reasons why I have not blogged in a coon's age. For all those who are wondering how vacation went....let me sum up. We were insane to criss-cross the country with four kids four and under!!! We're scarred for life :). Yes, I can laugh about it now, but I was crying then (as were my four sick children on a 36 hour trek by "planes, airport shuttles, and automobiles". If you haven't seen the movie, watch it and imagine us as Steve Martin and John Candy, but with four little ones in tow). Time with family was irreplacable. I loved it...though it was alot of tough work with the kids out of their routines. I miss my family (and Craig's) even more now and am so bummed that we cannot see them all more often. Christmas night we all sang Christmas carols around the tree with lights dimmed...a tradition that goes back as far as I can remember. I bawled my fool head off knowing that we were leaving the next day. What a memory. I will cherish it forever.

Anyway, after we got home, we were sick and decided to take an actual relaxing vacation in the comfort of our own home by vegging on the couch, catching up with Jack Bauer and the terrorist activity in L.A., and catching up on some sleep. Whew! We finally were able to relax after a harrowing "vacation". That's how it goes with four kids I guess. God reminded us that we need patience and longsuffering and now I am reminded of the gift of a comfortable home and time to relax!!! We are blessed.

Other quick updates:

-The twins turned one on Jan. 11th and are almost walking! The Lord has sustained us through this crazy year....I THINK things are getting easier : ). Yup, this past year has involved alot of work. But we wouldn't trade it for anything!Our God has been faithful to us each day of life with these twins. It's neat to look back and see His faithfulness!!!
-Craig turned 34 on Monday and we celebrated by having our favorite dish at a Mexican restaurant while the kids were watched by a benevolent (free!!!) babysitter.

OK, this short blog is getting looooooong. That's it. Have a blessed New Year everyone!!!!

John Piper on the Election and Hope

2008-11-07T14:49:00.005-05:00

You need to watch this if you have the election on the brain. Really, it's very encouraging.

Mercy Belts it Out

2008-11-02T17:06:00.005-05:00

After an evening out at a birthday party we arrived home to our babysitter and heard squeals of delight that we were home from the upstairs bedrooms. We couldn't resist a cuddle session.

Ruby nabbed some of Mercy's candy stash after a family fun-filled walk around the neighborhood. We only saw one scary costume. Since the kids don't really have any idea what Halloween is, we just let them be ignorant of the scary stuff and had a great time as a family trick or treating. See our princess and Thomas the train below. I decided to trick or treat at about 4pm and rummaged through the house to find these dress up costumes!

Our backyard is unbelievably gorgeous. A river runs through it. This is taken from our back doorway on Oct. 31. The sun was just rising and the last of the fall colors were amazingly vibrant. These pictures do not capture the astonishing beauty!!!

And now for the grand finale. Last night, Mercy snuck downstairs with me after her bath and before she was dressed (I had to run downstairs to stir dinner on the stove). She asked me if she could sing "Jesus Loves Me" really loudly. I grabbed the camera...here is what resulted.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

2008-10-30T08:43:00.002-04:00

Well, I wasn't satisfied yesterday as I scrambled to keep up with the messes being made, arguments being fought, food to be prepared, etc. If you are a mom, you know what I mean. I kept thinking, "if only" my kids were older...in about two years life will be fine and dandy. "If only" the babies weren't teething. "If only" I were a better discipler of my children, more organized, more...whatever. Many days these thoughts fill my sinful head, holding out the promise of what I imagine will finally bring me satisfaction.

Well as I went along and battled these thoughts, prayed and attempted to think rightly, I realized that I really needed to stop for a while and prioritize chasing after Christ...rather than chasing after a clean dining room table. I had been reminded recently that true joy is only found in Christ. (Thanks to an excellent booklet called "From Pride to Humility" by Stuart Scott). Of COURSE joy cannot be found in other things. I gave the kids some play dough to keep them occupied. I began listening to a worship/hymn CD to help me praise while I folded laundry (yes, I'm able to fold and worship simultaneously). I soon found myself compelled to lay face down in that same pile of laundry on the family room floor while I listened to my Matthew Smith CD. Wow. What awesome theology is in those old hymns. They brought to light my unworthiness, Christ's beauty and all that I possess in HIM! By the sixth song I was in tears of joy in Christ and sorrow over my selfishness. Talk about true satisfaction. I truly was satisfied, though my circumstances never changed. Later the song called "Valley of Vision" by Sovereign Grace music came on. What a gem the theology in this song is! Here are some of the lyrics.

When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley

On another related note, a man at BJ's Warehouse Club said something interesting to me today. I usually don't go out with all four kids by myself (the last time I did that, amidst fussy, tired babies, and putting groceries on the belt, Mercy sucked down a pediatric enema in the cart while I wasn't looking!)I am well aware that I look like a freak show with four small kids in tow, because everyone stares at us (probably in part because the kids are cute) and makes a comment. After I loaded the kids and groceries back into the car a man approached me from across the parking lot. He was very friendly and said, "I just want you to know it gets better". He told me that he had two sets of twins and a singleton within five years and now it's much easier that they're older. He went on to say he'd gotten divorced "because of it". I'm so glad I was able to confidently and happily say that it's only by God's grace that I can raise them. It is amazing what a treasure we impoverished sinners have in the gift of God's grace. It is the difference between my life and that poor man's. Our treasure is Christ. Any trial, no matter how big or small should be seen as a gift to lead us to dependency and intimacy with Him. What joy can be found in the bottom of a pile of laundry!

Cuteimus Pootimus

2008-10-14T13:16:00.005-04:00

We have a strange way to say "really cute" in our family. It's "cuteimus pootimus". Not sure how that should be spelled. It's a long story to how that phrase evolved over time...some of you may be able to figure it out based on your history of the family dating back to days at BJU. But it means the epitome of cuteness and usually is used to describe our kids. Yes they are so cute. See below.

It was a beautiful fall day today so I took some pics of the kids playing with the brilliant fall foliage in the background.

Schedule Shmedule

2008-10-02T12:13:00.004-04:00

Finally, here is what I promised to post...

Since I cannot copy and paste my entire schedule, I will post some of the "anchors of my day" here. I have had ups and downs keeping a schedule and have found that a rigid schedule is impossible for me with all these little kids. I now like to look at my schedule as having events that are "anchors of my day". This usually works out quite well if everyone is healthy and nothing completely unusual is happening (like our yellow jacket infestation!!)

Here goes...

6:30 am -My breakfast/devos/work out/shower
Kids room time till 8:30 am (kids get dressed/teeth, etc)
8:30 kids breakfast/one video/me feed babies
9:30 everyone clean and mercy play with babies in family room while listening to kids CD. Dinner prep. When the cD is over, so is cleaning time. We celebrate with doing the motions to our favorite songs. FUN!!!
10:30 babies play in cribs (while we sing)
11:00 babies to bed-we go outside. I do PC work/calls outside.
12:00 lunch and bible story (practice sitting still/being quiet time)
1:00 babies eat-Silas and mercy play in Mercy's room.
2:15 Mercy naps, Silas/Mommy time-reading lesson/music and laundry together.
3:30 Silas rest with books in bed-me prayer then to do list. babies to bed.
4:30 kids video to wake up in basement-dinner prep.
5:00 table activity/craft time (this one usually gets nixed) me feed babies.
6:15 dinner
7:00 all clean up dinner table. Me dishes. Kids story with daddy then "room time" with babies.
8:00 get kids ready for bed. Family time. Babies to bed.
9:00 kids in bed.
9:30-babies fed
10:30 -us bed. Yay! I love my bed!!

That's a LOOSE schedule. I love it when I can stick to it. God doesn't always allow it to go perfectly and teaching me to not cling too tightly to a schedule (love of control and predictability) but utilize it as much as I can for for His glory. It's a hard balance to stick with a schedule and try to stay disciplined, yet not idolize the feeling of control that it brings. God is a good Teacher. He has the right to inturrupt my schedule in any way He wants. I am slowly learning from Him how to trust Him in each day with all it's ups and downs. He is good. THANK HIM!!!

Pray for This Family

2008-10-01T11:28:00.004-04:00

Please look at this link (click on the title to my post) and pray for the Stauffer family whose 14 year old daughter was murdered on Saturday while out for a walk. How tragic! Emily knew the Lord. Her father is a pastor in Canada. They seem very likeminded with us. His blog is very encouraging. Please pray.

http://newlumps.blogspot.com/

Potty Training Fun!

2008-09-13T21:03:00.005-04:00

Potty Training week ends on a good note!!! (On lots of good notes-as you'll see below :) What has been one of the more stressful weeks since having the twins (complete with teething, colds, tantrums, much pee on the floor, company and mega loads of potty laundry--no pull ups in this household! We went cold turkey!) we had an awesome time of family worship last night. Maybe a little different than what a normal "family worship" time might look like, but nevertheless, at least Craig and I were worshipping. Anyway, did I ever need to just sit down and refocus my mind on God's saving grace and my ineptitude. I was not the most holy mommy this week (sad news) and I needed to worship. To thank. And to rejoice loudly!!! Soooo, I put on the kids Sovereign Grace album for them (and for me) and played a song for Silas of which I wanted him to understand the lyrics and apply them to his attitude. Silas kept wanting us to turn it up....we did and we spent the entire album singing together, doing some "motions" and generally enjoying ourselves and the Lord. The kids of course did some "air guitar", dancing, jumping, etc. While they were busy, I sat there and was able to get my heart right. Whoo hoo! What a great family memory! Watch out...Silas' guitar skills are not for the faint of heart :).

By the way, for all those of you who are on the edge of your seats waiting to hear this, Mercy is down to pottying in her pants about once a day. She has ceased screaming when being told to sit on the potty chair. She is doing quite well...and yes, I still recommend the "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" book....although it's taken about a week with us...and we are working on it still. It's getting easier daily and basically all I need to do is tell her to go sit on the potty and she goes! Yay! A victory in my hum drum little life : ).

This next video was taken about a week ago. Yes, sometimes in my haste, I dress Ruby in Justus' blue clothes-I couldn't find any other pants! But still, she's all girl. And of course Mercy is the "little Mommy" doting on her babies.

God's Strongness

2008-09-04T21:11:00.002-04:00

I got a fun chance today to teach Silas"in the milleu of life". He was proudly carrying a basket of laundry all by himself and asked me, "Mommy, am I strong? Do you think God gave me some of his strongness?" I said "Yes! He kindly gives 'strongness' to every person. Isn't He kind to make all your muscles work so well?" We thanked God as we bowed over the washer and dryer. I love chances like that...and a cute son.

More proof!

2008-08-30T16:08:00.005-04:00

Proof That My Kids Are the Cutest

2008-08-29T14:59:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics from our church picnic on Sunday. See! Here's proof!

Coupla Excerpts From a Fellow Mom's Blog

2008-08-21T17:00:00.002-04:00

"There once was a baby who was teething
Her mother just wished she was dreaming
But when she awoke
The tooth hadn’t broke
So she endured another day of mad screaming."

--------------

Cute poem, huh??? Good thing we have Christ on those days!!! Here's another bit of a post by Amy Scott of humblemusings.com

--------------
"...the years are going by, and I can’t slow it down. I will blink, and he will be gone. My daughters will marry, and I don’t even have a lap cat. (I forgot, I don’t like cats.) Can somebody just stop for a second? I am so busy with babies and bottles and banging my head that I only get these glimpses every so often.

They grow up. They–whoever they are– told me that, and I already told you that. And the despair and sleepless nights fade into the joy of finding a friend. There are many stressors vying for me: moving, meal planning, schooling, diaper changing, and the play-doh that won’t come out of the tile grout. This is the thing about a large family: balancing the physical needs of the younger children with the emotional needs of the older ones. But my children are walking in truth and there is no greater joy than that. Even a cynic like me can’t argue that point."

Phamily Photos and "The Heart of Anger"

2008-08-21T12:41:00.007-04:00

Here's our one attempt at an updated photo...we hit a few snags, but we gave it our best
"shot" :)

The kids were outside this morning. These are totally unprofessional, but hey grandmas-beggars can't be choosers :)

"The Heart of Anger"

So, I sat down the other day to read "The Heart of Anger" by Lou Priolo to help Silas get a handle on his anger problem. Actually after a long day with the kids, I fled the house to the yard to gain some biblical perspective and pray while reading this book. It revealed through the Word, that I too have an anger problem, or frustration problem, or impatience problem. We all need Christ's help so much! I was encouraged to "keep seeking the things above where Christ is" not my own selfish desires for a smooth day with no interruptions or disobedience. I was convicted and encouraged. I was encouraged as I thought about how my desires for the kids' obedience are sometimes selfish so I get "frustrated" or "impatient" (which really is a form of anger). I saw that in that moment of wanting to flee the house, I was not desiring Christ's glory (the things above) above all else...I was desiring tranquility and ease (the things which are seen). Silas has misplaced desires too...as he does not yet truly desire Christ and this is the occasion for his anger. So, the encouragement came in the form of remembering the antidote to the poison of dissatisfaction and anger...seeking Christ's glory. Yay! God is good to give us every antidote to all of our poisonous sins. I finished the book today. I learned how to help my son, myself, and others for CHRIST'S glory. Anger is a horrible sin and at root is a misplaced desire to honor self above Christ. So, I want to encourage you to get this book which I think every Christian with or without kids should read. I'm oh-so serious. It's awesome and EXTREMELY PRACTICAL (with worksheets to photocopy to 1.help probe the heart's motives, 2.break down patterns of anger and 3.break down angry discussions into manageable bites-all in a way that even kids can utilize). This is a plus for us boneheads who read and then don't always figure out how to act on what we've learned. Priolo hit the anger nail on the head.

Gotta Get Me One of These

2008-08-09T13:53:00.003-04:00

A great product to help kids be aware of time...and help them be diligent.

The Time Timer...check it out at amazon.

To Submit or not to Submit? That is the Question.

2008-07-30T08:23:00.006-04:00

Four runny noses to wipe. Two fussy babies who just got their shots. One huge pile of mail to sort. About fifty dishes on my kitchen counter. Three loads of laundry to fold. Four car seats to buckle for one trip to the bank. About eighteen diaper changes on three different kiddos. Three meals to prepare a day for five hungry people. Two bickering siblings....only twenty four hours in a day.

I don't FEEL like rejoicing today. I want to hide out, shirk responsibility, have a good pity party, and maybe eat some ice cream.

The question is, "Will I submit to God's wonderful plan for my day?"

According to Psalm 139:16

"All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

This day was written for me looooooong ago. I must give joyful thanks for it. It is good! I will choose to joyfully and thankfully submit to God today. (You can ask me tomorrow how I did!)

Eight Years and a Day

2008-07-29T15:24:00.007-04:00

Happy Anniversary to us! We got married eight years ago yesterday. Marriage is better than we could have imagined! We checked out a new Chinese restaurant last night and saw a movie. It was delightful.

Here is Craig with the (sleepy) kids. Notice the new Hawaiian shirt :)

Here are Mercy and Silas watching TV after their bath last Saturday night. Mercy loves Silas' shades.
On another note, the babies are starting to rock back and forth on their knees. See the video below. TOO CUTE! They'll be crawling soon! They saw the Dr. today and Ruby is 16.25 lbs. and Justus is 15 lbs. She's a bit above average and he is a long skinny boy. Both are doing great. They also both got bottom teeth about a week ago. They had their first jar of baby food today. Yum-O!

Babies, start yer engines!

Don't Waste Your Life!

2008-07-23T08:05:00.002-04:00

Various thoughts are popping in my head this morning...

The kingdom is coming...I need to be busy doing "kingdom work"! Everything is coming to fulfillment when Christ will reign for 1000 years on earth...is my day accomplishing the goals He has set out for me? Thanks Honey for preaching on Zechariah and focusing me on this :).

Don't waste time...where are my minutes going?

Don't waste your (my) life! This is how John Piper so eloquently puts it. We don't want to show up at the throne room of God and show him our life's work and say "look at my seashell collection" or show him some other worthless "treasure" that we've invested hours in.

I'm excited because I have planned out and prayed over a new schedule of habits that reflect what I believe to be God's biblical priorities for the Christian woman. It's hard to be disciplined...but rewarding for me, my family, and for Christ as I seek the reward to go to Him ultimately.

I'll post more about my schedule and priorities later...for now, I've got a schedule to keep...tending to babies and making myself attractive for my husband and making my home attractive for our Home Fellowship friends which is meeting here tonight!

God is SOOO good. Give Him your best today! :)

Troubleshooting

2008-07-16T15:03:00.009-04:00

Something has been wrong.

I've been wondering what I'm doing wrong with my kids lately. I felt like I was doing everything "right". They haven't seemed to want to obey and I couldn't understand it. haven't been happy about it...and it has shown (sometimes on my face and in my voice). I have been getting annoyed by my kids and just want them to show me some "small" reward for the hours of time I put into their training.

Hmmm...sounds a bit self-centered.

God reminded me yesterday that Titus 2 says we need to be trained to love our children in an affectionate way...(the Greek word for love in this passage means "affectionate" love). I need to enjoy and LIKE my kids as well as love them. So, I decided to forget about how tired and busy (and sick!) I am right now and spend time thinking about how precious my kids are and thank God for those things and tell my kids everything I love about them.

My mom always spent tons of time telling us why she loved us and spent time talking to and enjoying us as we were tucked into bed. This was a good example to me to not rush, but to make sure I was delighting in my kids. Last night I told Silas that I love his blond hair, blue eyes and am glad he's such a good helper. I praised him for the times he had shown love to me that day. I told him that I'm glad God made him as a gift just for me and Daddy! He was obviously pleased. :)

This has made a huge impact in our home in just one day. I think Silas actually wants to obey today because he doesn't want to mess up the sweet relationship he has with me. I was provoking him before as I sought to enforce "the law" without an adequate dose of that Titus 2 affectionate love. God is good to teach me and answer my prayers about this.

Take a look at these precious gifts...

Enjoy your kids today!

Daddy Has Germs

2008-07-13T18:22:00.002-04:00

I told Mercy tonight that she couldn't go to the video store with me and Silas and that she needed to stay home and cuddle with Daddy. I was hoping this would excite her. She really wanted to go and came up with a good two-year old line to get her way. She paused and said, "Daddy has germs!"

Mr. Burch and a Burpcloth

2008-07-09T11:32:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, Steve Burch was locking up the building (as usual). I pointed out to Silas how he was not complaining, but was working diligently. I said, "See Silas! Mr. Burch is serving the Lord with gladness--isn't he obeying what God tells us to do in the Bible?"

Today, as Silas was starting to complain about having to fetch me a burpcloth, I was able to pull the example of Mr. Burch out of my pocket.

Silas was renewed with a glad heart when he remembered Mr. Burch and happily got the burpcloth. Thank you Lord for allowing us to live surrounded by believers who are teaching my kids by example. I'm glad that with all my faults, I'm not the only one who can teach my kids!

Oh how I love God's wisdom in putting us into the body of Christ, the Church. He has gifted everyone to build up His body, of which He is the Head. God has also blessed our particular family with many godly relatives for the kids to learn from. God doesn't leave us to search for "positive role models" on TV for our kids to learn from. He fills people with the Holy Spirit, shines through them and illuminates the path for my kids. My kids have tons of real life examples to learn from as others exhibit Christlikeness. Cool. :)

Music to Love

2008-07-09T11:24:00.005-04:00

Listen to the streaming audio of the album we've just discovered we LOVE! Click here:

http://www.purevolume.com/matthewsmithalliowe

One of our favorite songs on here is "The Lord Will Provide". A great song on many levels. Encouraging as well as many people are currently facing financial hardship.

The Quotable Silas and pics for the Grandparents :)

2008-07-08T17:03:00.004-04:00

The other day, I was getting out maternity clothes for my friend, Avary and I explained to Silas that she has a baby in her tummy and that it's very tiny. He said "very tiny? Like as tiny as a crumb?" :)

Today, Silas was delivering stacks of laundry to various rooms in the house, which he thinks is great fun. I told him to go into Mercy's room where she was napping. He apparently has never really seen her sleeping and was enthralled at the peacefully sleeping beauty. He went over to stare at her and placed her lambie gently in her arms. He lingered quietly and I had to urge him to leave the room. On his way out, he said in a sweet, contemplative tone, "she's really quite a sweetie isn't she?" :)

Sc-Sc-Sc-Scared Mercy!

2008-07-07T11:38:00.005-04:00

Mercy scares easily. I'm sure she got a hug after this picture was taken...but for a moment we got a picture of our cute little scaredy cat.

Love those baby blues, Justus!Love those Ruby Reds, Ruby! I should have used the red-eye correction feature here!

Sum-Sum-Summertime!

2008-07-07T09:55:00.004-04:00

Summer is in full "swing"! We've taken a few day trips to Keene, Tilton, and Burlington on the last three Mondays. They were like mini vacations and so much fun! Craig and I love the fact that all the kids are content in the car and strapped in. Little or no fighting, getting hurt, or fussing! They are all content to look out the window, listen to music and sit still.

Yes, we listened to alot of music which is a rarley enjoyed pleasure in our busy lives. We even practiced a song with a hymn CD that we'd love to sing in church if we ever get it together (an old hymn, "The Lord Will Provide" set to new music by Matthew Smith). We have had opportunities to talk about how the kids are doing, how we are learning from God and had some delicious time worshipping together--singing aloud with our newly discovered favorite Mathew Smith CD. I tried to think of a different word, but "delicious" just fits. We shopped, went to an awesome playground, out to eat, through some drive throughs, to Starbucks, and walked around Church Street outdoor market in Burlington. We found new and exciting places to change diapers and mix bottles (bottles at the Target customer service desk or mall restroom, diapers in the parking garage, front seat of the car, on the lawn furniture display at Target, or on the grass at the park!). We love shopping at our favorite discount stores...Mr. G's and Christmas Tree Shops. Our motto is, "Have discounts? We'll travel"! Our best buys were some kids clothes (matching tropical shirts for Justus and Silas for next summer and cute undies for our up-and-coming potty trainer, Mercy), a new set of luggage to replace the moldy, broken ones ($40-thanks Mr. G's!) a load of $2 picture frames and of course groceries and toiletries of all sorts.

We probably won't be taking any more of these little trips in the near future due to gas prices and responsibilities at home. But it was FUN while it lasted. :) I always feel responsibilities are piling up at home, and in some ways want to stay home and work. But I also want to spend time relaxing with the family, reflecting on life in the van, and allow Craig to have some time "away" so that he can have a break from his heavy load of responsibility. He is a good husband and I love to bless him. He loves to bless me too. Sure makes for an easy marriage! G'yosh! We sure do love to be together as a family...I can think of nothing we love more!

These are some pics from our time at the most coolest, awesomest, park ever in Williston, VT!

red mountain music

2008-06-06T16:55:00.003-04:00

You have to check out this site if you long to find christian music with depth...(and a great acoustic, worshipful sound). They have set old forgotten hymns to new melodies. It's redmountainmusic.com.

Shopping for Time

2008-05-29T20:13:00.003-04:00

I know I don't ever post book reviews here, but there is a first time for everything. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! It's called , "Shopping For time" by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughter Nicole Whitacre.

The premise of the book is: plan to get the most from your time, just like your money! The passage this book is built around is Eph.5:15-16. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil”.

Here’s a favorite quote from the book: “We can actually do all that God has called us to do…and we can do it in a peaceful, joyful manner and get sufficient rest beside.” Ahhh, what a refreshing thought.

They have five tips for becoming wise shoppers for time. These are five chapters in the book. They are great!

#1 Rise Early (Joining the 5 AM Club). Have accountability to do this, have friends call if you can’t get up, etc. They call this the 5 AM Club in their family. Undistracted time with God must be the priority (get up earlier than the kiddos…as they demand so much attention.) They always qualify however and say that it is not a command that we rise early…but they see many benefits for our spiritual lives and our families. (I love the fact that they are NOT legalistic). Prioritize time with the Savior first. The secondary purpose is to prioritize family’s needs. We can bless our families if we are up to serve their needs early as the Proverbs 31 lady did. Apparently 5 AM, 6 AM, 6:30 AM clubs are cropping up around the country based on their family’s idea. I like that they say try it for a week or two and evaluate the benefits!

#2 Sit Still (Sitting at Jesus’ Feet). Be a Mary (worshipper) more than a Martha (servant). Christ said in this story, “one thing is necessary”. This is what they call the “deal of all deals…the one thing we have got to have”. Spend time seeking the Savior through prayer and the Word. They say, “No extra hour of sleep, no ‘urgent’ task we must complete, no service we can do for others is half as good a bargain as this one. In fact, notice it’s the ‘urgent’ tasks that distracted Martha from the prize deal in front of her and left her ‘troubled about many things’.” I liked how they said that our standing with God is not based on our performance in this area though. We can be joyful and guilt free because of the Savior’s work on our behalf.

#3 Sit and Plan (Taking a Personal Retreat). Take some time to study. To pray. To evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and set goals. Find a way to get by yourself for a morning, a day or longer to really prioritize your life. They say don’t let busyness be an excuse to not plan. Don’t waste your time (your life!) by failing to plan. Their list of priorities are these:

-Grow in Godliness.

-Love my family.

-Serve in the church.

-Fellowship with Christians.

-Evangelize non-Christians.

-Attend to my work.

-Care for my physical health.

#4 Consider People (Evaluating Relationships Carefully). They say we should make a “relationship list” in order to be intentional about relationships. First, of course, comes God, then family. We need to have several different kinds of friends as well. We need friends who sharpen us spiritually, friends who mentor us, friends who need friends (whom we can minister to) and friends who need salvation. They also urge us to leave friendships with the unwise! “…in order to be wise shoppers of time, we must not only look carefully at how we walk but with whom we walk”.

#5 Plan to Depend (Being Productive in Daily Life) Develop a daily planning system that works for you. This is not the sole focus of the book like I had anticipated. I am glad they didn’t focus on a system of organization, since I have many other helpful books on this topic, but rather on the broader view of what our biblical priorities are. They do recommend spending 15 minutes in planning time each morning to make sure your day follows your goals. Do the hardest tasks first. Plan to depend on Christ in the days’ tasks and remember that when things don’t go as planned—trust Him (as that is more important than the task list)!

One complaint about the book: They pulled a few verses out of context…the main passage that I saw that was misapplied was Titus 2. They said that this means that family always comes first, whether it be a niece, an aunt or whomever…these relationships take priority over friends. I don’t think this passage says that. I think we need to prioritize husband and children first as the passage explicitly says.

Overall: This book is really gospel centered. It reminds us of the goal of being Christ-centered. This is our only goal and it makes life so simple when we remember this blessed truth. Every other detail of life falls into place as we remember this.

This book was like a breath of fresh air for me. The Mahaney ladies have “Titus Two’d” me through this book. I really appreciate their transparency, candor, fun way of writing, and biblical conviction. Did I mention this book is FUN to read? (It's only 90-something pages too). I felt as though I was sneaking a peak into their family’s life and loved it! I also am inspired by their expressions of love and respect for one another…this is a testimony to God’s blessing on them and also of their love for Christ. It made me want to hear what they had to say. I will be reading all their other books now that I know that their books are a goldmine of Titus Two treasures.

God Loves Silas Big Time!

2008-05-29T20:04:00.003-04:00

Silas was scared the other night and tore out of his room and ran down two flights of stairs to where we were in the basement. Craig asked him if he thought God loved him and could take care of him more than even Mommy or Daddy could. Silas said, "yeah God loves me alot!" With a smirk he said, Yeah, God loves me, BIG TIME!" :)

A Blessed Wife and Bathtime Fun!

2008-05-26T09:33:00.005-04:00

The other day, Craig told me that he just LOVES to be home. To be here with the kids and me is something he cherishes above any other pastime. He so looks forward to being with the family in the evenings. Wow! How blessed am I? This is in the midst of a "dirty diapers, sink full of dishes, and toys on the floor" kind of home. Other women struggle with keeping their husband's hearts invested in home and family and in their marriage. I am blessed...don't know why. Only by the grace of God.

Here are some images from our blessed home life...

Daddy was giving the bath this past Saturday night and had a little fun with Mercy's hair. She looks like a Dr. Suess character!

Silas has Daddy's smile...is there any doubt?

Why do they always look so darned cute when they're in the tub?

More of my Musketeer and His Singing Talent

2008-05-24T13:39:00.007-04:00

My Favorite Musketeer and His Sidekick

2008-05-24T12:31:00.002-04:00

God rewards faithfulness

2008-05-20T10:29:00.006-04:00

I thought this email I received from my sister the other day might encourage you as it did me. Many times I think we are reluctant to follow Christ because it is, well...hard. It's hard to trust and walk by faith, not sight. I think Erika and Gilbert are a great model of this. But more importantly, God has shown Himself faithful yet again in this story of His provision. He provides just what we need in just the right time.

A little background to the story: Erika and Gilbert hit some tough financial (and therefore spriritual) hurdles after 9/11 rocked Gilbert's business. He had been doing so well in his company, but God allowed some uncontrollable circumstances to change drastically which made it REALLY difficult financially for them. Erika was committed to staying home with their son Madsen and now with Whitney who is 15 months. They also have a baby on the way, due this fall. They have been living in a 1970's era one bedroom apartment in the very crowded San Fernando Valley area of LA. Yup, Madsen has a bunk bed, Whitney has a pack n play and Erika and Gilbert have a queen bed all in the same room! Gilbert knows that HE is responsible before God to provide for the family's needs so he has shouldered this responsibility and been an example of God's kind of man. Gilbert has been working REALLY hard at their business and even took up an evening job delivering pizzas for a while. Erika has played a supportive role in promoting Gilbert's business as much as possible as long as it didn't crowd out her responsibilities as wife and mom. It is so awesome to see how God has given them the riches of faith that don't even compare to the kind we often long for and covet! They have been hoping to find a much needed larger place before the arrival of baby number three....

Read her email and be encouraged. God is faithful, loving, and kind!

Here's the email:

"Dear Family and Friends,

Some of you know that last Saturday, we went to look at a house over in Simi Valley. It was the cheapest 3/2 house- or condo, for that matter- listed for lease anywhere around that I've seen in the last two years. That's probably because it has a few funky things about it, and only a wall air-conditioner (not central). We turned in an application on Monday, and just heard back from the landlord tonight that we got it!

Some of you have been praying for us so faithfully- you will never know how much you have ministered to, and encouraged us. We have actually been so happy here in our little place, although at times it has been a little 'cozy', if you will! God has blessed us with wonderful neighbors, many seminary couples here, and even a best friend for Madsen who is also 5 (his dad is in seminary) who lives down the hall. We have enjoyed a pool, a park and library across the street, and cheap rent (well, for SoCA). God has been so good, although we know that in ALL things, He is ALWAYS good. I will always look back to this time as one of our happiest, because I saw God's goodness and mercies everyday, and He took care of our every need.

Let me just say, that this house is on a really nice, safe street (Simi is the safest city of it's size in the USA because of all the cops that live here, but parts of the city can tend to look dumpy). There is a CHP officer that lives right next door, and tonight I learned from a friend at church, that she knows them well, and they are a great family. I always hoped to live in the back of a cul-de-sac, but didn't pray for it, because I figured that was a frivolous request.

Well, this house is tucked right in the back of a cul-de-sac, with a big back yard for the kids. It has roses all the way down the driveway, and Lilies of the Valley lined up along the front of the house, and my favorite kind of palm tree in front (the huge, fat kind). It is an older-looking house (1976), and I haven't mentioned the many faux-pas, like LINOLEUM in the family room! Or a few mirrored walls! It's a good thing I've seen those Christopher Lowell episodes on how to cover unsightly walls. :) And we're already contemplating how to cover those floors, too. But in light of it all, we could really care less, because it is more than we ever thought we'd get. We thought we might have to settle on an apartment or condo, but the Lord has blessed us beyond what we asked for.

Anyway, I am thrilled to tears (literally), thinking about all the prayers and encouragement of so many of you, and how the Lord has provided over and abundantly. Madsen has been asking for a Slip-N-Slide for awhile, and I told him that we don't have a yard for it, so we couldn't get one. I got the call from Gilbert tonight that we got the house, while Madsen was at AWANAS, and I was shopping at Target. So I got him one and surprized him with the news. He said he is "screamy happy". He has been praying every night for a long time that God would show us which house or condo God was saving just for us- so he knew that if we didn't get this one, we must not have found the special one that God had for us. I'm glad that he grew through this process, too.

Well, I've gotta go. Thank you again for your prayers. Hope to hear from you soon!

Love,

Erika"

Big as a Parking Lot!

2008-05-19T10:59:00.003-04:00

The pic above is a couple of weeks ago, before I cut my hair. Below is today! Notice the new do....slobbery babies fists grabbing long hair don't mix well. The 4 month post-pardum is usually time for a haircut for me!

ANYWAY...This morning at breakfast, Silas said, "Mommy, your tummy is small now! It used to be so big! It was as big as a parking lot! But now it's getting tiny.

This is good encouragement from a four year old.

Here are some general updates:

We are doing quite well. We are pretty much on our own now as far as help goes. Although we have one friend who is still making us a meal once a week. What a blessing! The switch from six to five feedings a day has REALLY made a difference in our lives. I feel like I actually have a life now...not just stumbling around half awake.

Spring in Vermont is as good as it gets. I think we live in the most beautiful state! There is lush green vegetation all around. The tree covered hill across the street from our house and the now quiet waters in the stream in the backyard are enough to make me feel blessed to live here!

Craig and I are still making Monday nights a date night...a good time to talk about whatever needs to be talked about and make our marriage a priority. We want to protect our marriage by intentionally spending time devoting ourselves to each other. We have a great marriage! I mean REALLY great! God is sooo good! This past Monday, we had the kids do "room time" while we had coffee on the front porch and prayed together....for our marriage, our future, our kids' salvation, etc. A perfect free date night!

We have been devoted to having people over each Sunday to get to know them and build foundations to minister to and bless them. This is a priority for us...and making it a weekly goal keeps us vigilant in it. Yesterday, we had the Fillians, Steph Biebel and her fiancee Josh over.

I am in the process of thinking of other priorities for our family and figuring out how to meet those goals with our very limited time (teaching kids the Word, meal making, etc). I read a book the other day about this. Can you believe I read a book! it's called, "Shopping for Time". By CJ Mahaney's wife and daughters. It was an easy read...I forsook all other responsibilities on the day I read it, but it was inspiring! I want to first prioritize having an UNDISTRACTED time with the Lord, before the kids get up. DUH! This is sooo much more important than all other tasks. I want to be more like Mary and less like Martha. I know God will take care of the rest as I prioritize the truly important. Anyway, enough for today. A dirty diaper is calling my name and the babies must be fed.

The Many Faces of Ruby Claire

2008-04-23T22:43:00.003-04:00

She's already making us laugh with these silly faces. What a hoot! We love you Ruby Claire!

Spring is here!!!

2008-04-23T22:17:00.003-04:00

It was 81 degrees here today...a full 1o degrees warmer than Fresno. Unbelievable! Feels like June.

I am in the process of replanting some our day lilies that we ripped out last fall (I say process, because I only have a few minutes here and there to accomplish this feat :). They survived the winter in little bunches that were thrown on the ground. They are hardy plants...the only kind that survive in my yard. I would hate to see them shrivel up. Maybe tomorrow I can dig the holes for them.

We all went to Home Fellowship tonight. I had prayed that it would go better than last time and it did. God is good! I actually got to listen to most of the teaching :). Silas and Mercy haven't had to sit still in a while though...a little too wiggly.

Silas' Castle

2008-04-21T17:58:00.003-04:00

Silas is a Chicken

2008-04-19T17:29:00.003-04:00

Silas has ADD...Ha!

2008-04-19T16:50:00.002-04:00

Coolest Kids In Windsor County

2008-04-19T09:38:00.007-04:00

California Girl at Heart!

Justus and Ruby are all business in their shades.
We couldn't resist this shot.

In the pictures below, best buds, Silas and Mercy are enjoying upper 70 degress weather on our awesome, new front porch. The front porch has been a blessing indeed as it serves as an extended play area for the kids. Thanks Mom and Dad for all your help this past Fall!

Check out this video. Mercy loves to copy whatever Silas says.

The last word Mercy says is "sunglasses," in case you couldn't tell...

PICS! Mercy entertaining Justus, Justus being burped, busy dinner time!

2008-04-18T10:52:00.005-04:00

A few new pictures

2008-04-18T10:07:00.003-04:00

Bee Bee Yammy (Baby Lamby)

2008-04-15T18:35:00.004-04:00

Here's Mercy yesterday caring for her favorite "Baby Lamby," showing her maternal instincts by holding her "just right."

Baby Elves

2008-04-15T18:26:00.004-04:00

Here are my baby elves at about 11 weeks; this shot was taken a couple of weeks ago. Their matching outfits are compliments of Grammy.

I want to fly Mommy!

2008-04-15T17:52:00.004-04:00

Silas was throwing squishy alien toys in the air today. He started running around and saying, "I want to fly!" He ran over to me and said in a very serious/sad tone "I want to fly, Mommy". I said, "I'm sorry you cannot fly". He said, "well there are very special guys who get to fly into outer space." I said,"well, you're right". He said, "well, I'm special Mommy. I'm a special guy." He kept insisting that he was special. I just started laughing at him while he stood looking mildly sad and confused. My friend Avary and I cheered him up by letting him "fly" for a photo shoot.

I think he's been watching Barney too much...where "you are special" is the major theme! I try to convey to my kids they are very special to me, but they are just regular kids in need of God's grace. No they cannot do anything they want to do (contrary to Barney)...because they are not God's special gift to the world, but they should be diligent workers and try hard to do their best. Self-esteem is not an altar we worship at in our home! Nevertheless we have very happy kiddos! See picture to the left if you're not convinced :).

A Breath of Fresh Air (Literally)

2008-04-09T16:12:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was sunny and awesome (58 degrees)! I was able to clean off/sweep the porch (thanks to having one less feeding per day!!!!) and we enjoyed some time outside!!!!!!!!! WOW! I got to do some paperwork, bottle-feed the babies and read my Bible out there. It was SOOOO nice. Praise the Lord! Sitting on my porch is about my favorite thing to do.

On a more soggy note, my children seem to be deathly afraid of having water in their eyes and noses. This was demonstarted again today at bathtime (after some muddy playtime outside). I had two terrified children writhing like wet pigs in the tub! They had eyes full of sheer terror (especially Silas)! This phenomenon is only getting worse...and there is no way they are going to be bathed less often. Fear is a wierd thing...this one is so irrational, yet common I guess amongst kids. I was hoping Silas would be getting over it by now, not becoming more freaked out! By the end of the bath, I had two SCREAMING children and I was completely soaked. Any ideas anyone?

Portrait of our Lives

2008-04-07T09:50:00.003-04:00

I decided to post an update that I sent in an email to my family the other day. it'll give you a taste of what our life is like at this point.

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"Well, here’s a picture of our lives. We are still in survival mode. Let me put it this way…Mercy’s hair gets brushed once a week (although she has the perfect hair so it always looks cute), they all get one bath a week, and unless someone spits up or something, they all pretty much wear the same clothes to bed and change their clothes 2-3 a week after they’re getting really nasty. I force myself to get in the shower every other day after I can’t stand myself any longer (or I think Craig won’t be able to stand it). I’m down to brushing my teeth once a day and never washing my face!!! Lunchmeat, TV dinners and frozen pizza are standard fare. Trail mix and protein bars are life-savers. We choke down every last bit of whatever leftovers there are…because food that is actually prepared is a rare commodity around here. It usually doesn’t taste very good either…I’m too rushed/disorganized to plan meals and ingredients. I do try to have a ceasar salad almost each night with dinner. All this requires is chopping lettuce once a week and leaving it in the fridge. Add some dressing and cheese and voila! Salad! I have to laugh sometimes…I throw the kids a “slab” of lunchmeat on their dirty tray, some crackers and a banana and call it lunch . We sometimes reuse the same plates if they’re not too dirty. I really only go to the store by myself…Silas misses going with me/going outside. We often don’t go outside for almost a whole week except to get the mail! I am so glad Spring is here! The kids will be able to play on the front porch without a ton of supervision. Actually we have made it out for a walk 3 times now and out to pizza one night. These are personal victories! Other than this, I think the babies have only been to church/home fellowship.

We still have managed to have a few people over…I figure that’s more important than showers in the light of eternity. Ha! No really, I just warn people that they are coming into a chaotic environment and they usually are really helpful when they arrive anyway, setting the table, chopping stuff, etc. I hate to not minister to people just because I’m busy, so having people over is a good way to do this, since they always hold the babies, keep the kids entertained etc. It’s good to be part of the body of Christ. I love inviting people into our lives and home. I do miss family being around though too….sad news.

Craig and I do find some quality time together at least once a week…we have some friends who are babysitting for us on Mon. nights at least for a few more weeks. It’s always really busy around the house even when he is home. He is tired. We are also able to do a Bible story/prayer with the kids on most weeknights. This is a special calm time in our day. Much of our scheduled help has not been able to come in lately due to our sicknesses or theirs. These are the weeks that I feel the most overwhelmed/underqualified to do this job. But, Spring is here (aka healthy kids season). I guess most importantly, God is good and STRONG and able to accomplish what He wants to through me. No matter how seemingly mundane. Babies are sleeping 8-9 hrs. a night…yay!!! Praise the Lord! This is an answer to prayer. I am starting today to cut them back to just 5 feedings a day from the usual 6…this will help me out considerably…whoohoo!!!! It’ll give me an extra hour plus each day of not being glued to the couch. They are generally really happy—smiling tons. There have been certain weeks where they’ve really struggled with gasiness though. I think this last bout with gas was due to the new bottles I was using. Those weeks have been trying. They are back to their normal selves now.

You can pray for me to not worry about accomplishing “great things” in life. I know I’m only called to “do justly , to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God” Micah 6:8. Usually I make it seem so much harder than that. God is faithful.

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Someone asked me if there was exaggeration in this email. I thought about it...nope. This is reality :). I have to say though, that I did not emphasize how well things are going despite the chaos. It's all about priorities...I can't have my heart set on having perfect looking children or delicious meals right now. As long as everyone's basic needs are cared for and nobody is dead, I am happy (or should be). I do try to make sure we have balanced meals, no matter how simple (like a hot dog, a slice of wheat bread, an apple, and milk). I may look awful all day, but generally try to look nice for Craig by 6pm. No matter how spartan we are living, I don't think there are any serious health threats. Generally, hands get washed, teeth get brushed, and diapers get changed. Hopefully we are prioritizing hugging our kids over a spotless house. The house is actually not awful, because we've had the gracious help of friends. It's usually cluttered with toys and dishes in the sink, but these all get done eventually. Friends have vacuumed and mopped a few times. I have just lowered my expectations right now, so that I can still have relationships and sleep :).

My goal is to leave out doing uneccessary things. My goal is to survive and to prioritize. I'm not the perfect "prioritizer" though and I know that all too well. I agonize over this. I am learning. God is teaching me to be content with less...having things not be under my control. I know He wants to teach me to rejoice in the eternal. Like counting my children and husband as blessings and not just as creators of work. Like giving thanks in all things. Like focusing my mind for the hard work of prayer and meditation on His Word. Like spending myself on my family rather than myself. Like glorying in Him and enjoying Him. I'm really thankful the Lord covers my sin and failures when I make so many mistakes.

I know I am rambling...I don't have time to edit this and make it more coherent. Hopefully you have been succesfully updated on the the Johnson family and edified in some way. To God be the Glory.

Silas' birthday on March 8; He's 4!

2008-03-10T19:51:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderful birthday celebration this past Saturday. We have a special main dish (left overs rearranged in a new dish!). Other highlights included the sucker, the cake with crayon candles, the presents, and the crown.The night before his birthday, Silas cried. He was concerned that he wouldn't get that many presents. So, we had a little late night Bible lesson. I think the Bible lesson brought back his joy...but...it might have just been the cake...

Justus and Ruby, just under 2 months old

2008-03-10T18:59:00.006-04:00

Justus and Ruby are getting old, as you might have imagined. They hang out a lot together, and we were able to snap a few shots with them together.We were trying to get a third shot of them together, but Justus managed to pull away! As the picture reveals, Justus really thinks he got away with something.
He's a rascal!

The kids enjoy the snow in February

2008-03-10T18:36:00.004-04:00

Silas and Mercy got to play in the snow with their cousin, Audrey. Audrey and her mom (Craig's sister) were visiting for the first week of February. Audrey was excited to play in the snow since she doesn't get the chance to experience much snow in Knoxville, TN. So, Silas and Mercy showed her around our front yard. Here are a couple pics. First, here's Mercy.Now, here's Silas and Audrey.

Justus and Ruby on the couch praying

2008-01-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics of Justus and Ruby hangin' out together on the couch....ummm...praying. (Ruby is in white and Justus in yellow.)

Here they are side-by-side with Justus on the left and Ruby on the...umm...right. Yes, they are still praying. They do it without ceasing!
Lord willing, a family photo will be coming soon.

Tiffany before the twins

2008-01-22T16:42:00.000-05:00

Some of you didn't get a chance to see Tiffany before the twins were born. So, here are a couple of pictures of Tiffany right before we hopped in the car to go to the hospital.Isn't that a great shadow? Okay, one more.

Silas hugs Justus

2008-01-17T20:37:00.001-05:00

I walked in the family room last night and saw Silas cuddling up to Justus. We happened to have the camera nearby. So, I whipped it out so you could see the familial love in the Johnson home. :)

Mercy as a ballerina

2008-01-17T20:18:00.000-05:00

I know the focus has been on Justus and Ruby lately, but Mercy received a gift from Uncle Gilbert and Aunt Erika (in CA). Mercy loved it! Here is the proof...

Justus and Ruby: The Early Days

2008-01-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

I have a few minutes right now. So, here are some pictures and an update.

How are we doing?
We are doing very well! We are still overwhelmed with God's blessing. We love having two more children. They smell so good, and they are so warm and cuddly!

I'm getting a little more sleep than Tiffany - well, maybe we get the same (I get up earlier when Silas and Mercy wake up). I think Tiffany is fairing pretty well right now.

How do Silas and Mercy like having a new brother and sister?
Silas wakes up thinking about "the new babies." He wants to know where they are the minutes he sees us in the morning. He sang "Rock-A-Bye Baby" to them already. He spent some time introducing Justus and Ruby to some numbers and colors too. A minute ago he asked Tiffany, "Can I hold that baby a little bit?" It is the first time for that. So, here is holding Ruby.Mercy loves the "beebees." She talks to them with a sweet and really high pitched voice frequently telling them, "it's okay, beebee."

How are the babies doing?
The pediatrician made a house call last night, which is very convenient. She said they are doing well overall.

Justus has lost a little more weight than we would like, and he is slightly jaundiced. We are giving him some sunlight. Here are some pics...although the sun moved a few minutes before the pictures. :) (These pictures were taken about 5 minutes ago.)

We are going to position him in front of a different window soon (he's not cold, in case you are concerned).

We have had to supplement the breastfeeding with some formula. It isn't our preference, but we're not overly concerned (at least we're not admitting it. Ha! No, really, we aren't anxious about it). The breastfeeding-and-formula-feeding has been going well. We've done it for a day and a half now.

More pictures
Here I am with both babies right after we go back to our hospital room. Tiffany delivered in the operating room since twins are high-risk births. So, I had to wear scrubs. You can see the scrubs minus the cool hat and face mask.
Yestereday, we worked pretty hard to keep Justus and Ruby awake during the day so that they would sleep at night. Keeping them awake is not a fun job! So, after we woke them up, we put them on a blanket for a little bit to keep them awake. They weren't really happy with the idea. :( Justus is on the left and Ruby on the right.
Below, Ruby is on the left and Justus on the right.Below, Justus is on the left and Ruby on the right.
Here is a couple pictures right before we left the the hospital. The first one is Justus; the second is Ruby.

That's all for now. I have some video and more pictures to put on the blog too. I'll do it when I can. I definitely have to put some pics of Tiffany with Justus and Ruby.