I am apart of a wonderful play group. We all met at my house yesterday and let the kids have water day. I had our slip and slide set up as well as the sprinkler. Tons of outside toys, the sandbox, and swings...... it was fantastic fun for all. The biggest hit was the shaving cream table. We sprayed shaving cream all over a table top and the kids went wild!! Who needs a slip and slide when you have a shaving cream table!!
When asked what he wanted to learn about next year at home school, this was Isaac's reply.......
Good thing we never took the sign out of our yard because we got some tough news today about our house. The buyers backed out due to a change in military orders. All of our plans to sell and move have come to a screeching halt. This whole process has been extremely stressful on our family, so it is devastating to start completely over. We will list our house immediately and pray for a buyer to snatch it up within the next few weeks. Beyond that and we will have to back out of pursuing the house we want to buy. EVERYTHING is up in the air - not a comfortable place to be. But God doesn't ask us to be comfortable, He asks us to trust Him in everything. Though I have struggled with this news today, I know without a doubt that God is in control and I trust what He has in store for us... be it a new house or not. This is an opportunity to deepen my intimate relationship with Him.
We joined Isaac at AWANA last night for awards night. He completed his first year as a Cubbie!! It has been quite a year of learning for all of us. God has really used this time to show us more about Isaac's personality and character and Isaac has learned volumes about how to handle new and different situations. When he received his award (a small "Cubbie" bear to add to his vest), Isaac was fully excited and proud of himself. This award for us meant much more than how many verses he memorized. It symbolizes a year of struggles, growing, and ultimately victories! And get this, he even sang a few songs with his friends in front of an audience. No crazy dance moves this time, I promise!!
WHAT?!!! A peaceful moment in the Landes house?! Couldn't be!! Isaac and Julia were both so enthralled with their books that not a peep came from either of them for 30 minutes. Yep, I timed them. It was GREAT!
Isaac had the grand idea to fill the wagon up with water to make his own little pool. We have bought backyard blow up pools in the past but without fail they get a hole and it is money wasted. So not this year. They will have to make do, which I think they are!!! Very creative kids!
I have said it before and I will say it again...... I am a parent of a STRONG WILLED CHILD! A pretty huge battle waged in my house yesterday morning. One that sent me running for every ounce of wisdom I could get my hands on. Fortunately, with God's guidance, I usually run in the right direction and often land at His feet. But not always. In my true nature I run away. I want to escape the conflict or the problem, not deal with it head on. However, today it landed me in the Scripture, in prayer, and the Focus on the Family website!! I came across an article that spoke directly to my need. I copied and pasted portions of it below. The one thing that seemed to scream at me from the article was the description of how parents become "spineless jellyfish who are unworthy of respect or allegiance" when they are not secure and confident in their parenting. One of my biggest struggles in dealing with the behavior of my son, is getting too emotionally involved and allowing myself to react from my emotions. I usually turn into the jellyfish. Because I am a visual person, I wrote "DO NOT BE A JELLYFISH" on my dry erase board in my kitchen as a constant reminder to be confident, decisive, firm but gentle in my parenting. Here is one excerpt from the article that I am referring to.......“Lord, You know my inadequacies. You know my weaknesses, not only in parenting, but in every area of my life. I’m doing the best I can to raise my kids properly, but it may not be good enough. As You provided the fish and the loaves to feed the five thousand hungry people, now take my meager effort and use it to bless my family. Make up for the things I do wrong. Satisfy the needs that I have not met. Compensate for my blunders and mistakes. Wrap Your great arms around my children, and draw them close to You. And be there when they stand at the great crossroads between right and wrong. All I can give them is my best, and I will continue to do that. I submit them to You now and rededicate myself to the task You have placed before me. The outcome rests securely in Your hands.”
For the full article from Focus on the Family click on the link below:
WOW - I have no idea what made her think to say that or if she even understands what she was saying. I wouldn't put it past her though. She has been picking up on quite a bit lately. Just goes to show that those little ears are listening!!!
I never quite grasped the sacrifices you made for me. Now I have captured a glimpse of what a mother is willing to do for her children. I never fully appreciated all your effort to care for our family. Now I have experienced the unending and sometimes "thankless" job of motherhood. I never fully realized that you held me as your treasure and gift from above. Now I have looked into my own children's eyes and am overtaken by a love that is indescribable.
After I wrote that post yesterday, my mind continued to swirl with all the details and "what ifs" of buying this new home. Then gradually through the day, a feeling of peace and confidence came upon me about it all. Gabe had the same feeling and oddly enough the sellers wanted an answer that day. If they had said that two days ago, we would not have been able to say yes. We wanted to be able to go into this decision with wisdom, confidence, and peace. God gave us exactly that. Now we feel like we are making the right choice for our family. Had we said yes in haste earlier this week without seeking God's wisdom we would have missed out on the blessing of seeing and acknowledging His Sovereignty even in, or I should say especially in the small details of our lives. I am comforted by the fact that my God knows me intimately and asks me to simply trust Him, rest in Him and seek Him. We signed and sent the contract off this morning!!! Keep praying for us!!
I bet you are thinking that I am going to share with you the new house we have chosen to buy. The jury is still out on that one. Buying a new house was supposed to be the fun part right?!! Ummm...No! The levels of stress around here are through the roof. Gabe and I have found the perfect house for our family but have been hesitating to pull the trigger and sign the contract. It is a pretty hefty decision, one we will live with for a long time. So we are taking our time and praying for wisdom in making this decision. Isaac has picked up on the stress around here as he usually does. He knows exactly why we are stressed. Pretty intuitive little boy! He approached me yesterday with a proposition. He said that we could buy his house(see above) for only $1. "Sure" I said and pretended to hand him some money. He said, "SOLD" and then gave me some change back!!! A brand new house for less than a buck - can't beat that!!! Oh, how I wish it were that easy!!
