An Update

Oh my goodness. It has been forever. I'm not a great blogger, ok, I'm a horrible blogger. But I have 4 kids and I home school and...well, yeah, I put blogging on the back burner. Like who's going to see my posts? My brother, and well, maybe one of my dear friends :)

So here I am again! Read up!

It's summer in May! Once again, God has graced us with a very warm pre-Summer. I love the sunshine and heat, beaches, lakes, glorious green, geraniums, lilacs, peonies. I could go on. My husband is not a huge fan of heat but it just makes me feel warm all over and healthier too. The cold months are kind of depressing. And in western Washington, we have a lot of cold.

I still have 4 kids. Whew. Yup. We haven't disbanded yet :) They are so busy, so much work, and I love them so much. I'm not one of those women who dreamed of getting married, being a wifey-wife and having 4 kids, but here I am and I'm in love. I'm glad God's plans are bigger than mine!

We are finally doing it...we are moving to a 4-acre lot and building our dream house! I am very excited, nervous, then excited and afraid all at once. I've never waltzed this dance before and I don't totally know what to expect. I'm kind of bad at wanting to control things and wanting to know what to expect, so this is truly testing that weakness of mine. I like for things to move along and I've found out big projects like this are a lot of waiting, then leaping ahead; then waiting, then leaping again. Then maybe taking some steps backward. But with Mike by my side and God at the helm, we can do it! And we will learn from our mistakes.

Mike is a contractor but not generally a general contractor. He's done only one who remodel project, he is mainly a framing guy. So this really is the first entire project we've taken on ourselves. And it's our dream home. Yikes!

The kids are also going into traditional school this Fall. Yeah, that's scary for me. We've only ever been home schoolers, so this is a leap of faith. I'm trusting God all the way. He's prompted us to put them in school for a while now and we are going for it. Of course, there will be bumps and turns to ride but like the house, with God at the helm, He will do amazing things. He will be glorified.

Which brings me to a moment on my soap box. Don't be afraid to do the thing God is asking you to do. For me, it usually comes as a small, still but insistent voice. What God is calling each of us to usually will not look like what the other person is supposed to be doing, which is challenging. We kind of want to fit in. I know I will be facing criticism even in my own family and close friends, but I need to remind myself not to worry, but to give my anxiety to God, thank Him and pray for wisdom. What a good God, He always takes care of me and my family.

With all this fear being talked about, I really am thrilled at how God's working in our lives! Lately, He's been teaching me to slow down and pay attention to what the children need. Whether it's extra discipline, a listening ear, a creative way to instill character, or extra love. I need to prioritize and put the first things first. Like I've heard someone say, you may not have enough time in the day to get the things you want to get done but you have enough time to do the things you need to. I'm the type who likes to be busy: put the load of laundry in, wash the dishes, fold the laundry in the living room, post those things for sale online, pay the bills, check on the kids doing school...I could go on and on. Then I feel guilty for the things that haven't gotten done: Bible study, exercise, business stuff, cleaning the bathroom. It all just seems so overwhelming, and it is. But we weren't mean to get everything done, just the important things. God wants us to plan our steps and use the time wisely. As I type this, I probably should be in bed so I can get those things done with open eyes :)