Family Catch up

Well, today has been a very good day.  I have all 5 of my kids under the same roof.  I cherish these days and love hearing the laughing that goes on between them.  We spent the day together just hanging out and had a great time.
Lakeisha had an amazing time in Canada and has lots of stories.
Kristie always has something to say whether its about pancakes she ate, friends, or amazing classes she is taking.  Jelissa tells us every aspect of her job, and sometimes I feel like I know everyone she works with directly, especially crazy Brenda the Canadian.
Darius is cuter than ever and has had me cracking up.  We went to the library for toddler time the other day, where he loves to play on the computer that reads to him.  For some odd reason he felt the need to yell across the library several times "mommy i don't like eggs".  I thought it interesting but just ignored him.  After the 3 time of yelling I told him that it was ok I would not give him any eggs.  As I'm checking out my books he decides to tell me again very loud "mommy I don't like eggs".  I just turned and looked at the lady helping me and said "I really don't know what is wrong with him, about 30 minutes ago he begin to hate eggs and wants to make sure I understand it."  Just about then Darius looks at both of us and says "I said that I don't like green eggs and ham anywhere."  I totally forgot that the computer was reading the green eggs and ham book.  I got in the car and laughed all the way home.
Cynthia has Madagascar on the Brain.  We went to Mcdonalds and she got a King Julian toy that sings I like to move it move.  She literally has not stopped dancing since.  We went out to eat tonight and see danced the entire time.  She has found her groove and she is letting everyone know it.  She has also found the terrible 19 months too.  She is not talking at all yet and lets us know her likes and dislikes by throwing fits, and yelling.  The very 2 things I dislike the most.  We are working on it and right now...literally right now @ 9:45pm I'm winning.  It really does not matter that she is in the bed :)

Well that is whats up with my family.  David is off until Wednesday and I plan to hang out and love on my family every minute I can.

Thought:  

Life is so precious don't waste it worrying about tomorrow it really does 

have enough worries of its own.  Tell someone you love them and don't waste

 good friendships they might not be around tomorrow.  

sick...sick and sicker

So it has finally caught up with me.  I ended up leaving work today to go to the doctor.  I knew I had a sinus infection because my head felt like it was going to explode.  Well, by the time I got to the doctor I had a migrain headache that made it hard to keep my eyes open.  I finally got back to see the Dr. and by then I was seeing double.  I informed him that I had to teach children at 6:30pm and needed to start feeling better quickly.  He gave me many drugs and a shot for the headache.  Remember I told him I had to teach kids....after he gives me the shot he informs me that I really should not drive.  WHAT??? I have no way to get home and remember I have to teach tonight. 

Well, there was nothing else for me to do but to drive myself home and to work tonight.  It was an interesting evening.  I love teaching and tonight happened to be a very deep subject.  We talked about
D-I-V-O-R-C-E tonight.  By the time I was ready to go home I had lots of tears and boogers on my shoulder.  The kids really opened us tonight.  It was a great night to be doing God's work. 

I love my job and I made it through the night without the kids noticing that I was not feeling like myself.  I got home safely and now I'm going to bed. 

Thought:  I just want to end tonight by saying kids deserve for their parents to be the adult.  Parents get so focus on thier right to be upset..their right to tell the other parent what they feel.  What about the kids rights to be a kid.  Let your kids be kids.  This world wants them to grow up so fast... as parents we need to protect our kids and sometimes parents it us that cause that hurt.  Think before you speak...they deserve that. 

Rethinking a KISS

I know that this article is long....but it is really good.  Read and let me know what you think.

KiSS ME

by Bethany Patchin  

Kiss me beneath the milky twilight.  Lead me out on the moonlit floor. Lift your open hand. Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance, Silver moon's sparkling. So kiss me.  

You might recognize this chorus, from one of the most popular Christian songs-gone-mainstream — it was #1 on the Billboard chart for two weeks in May of '99. It's "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer. Scan your radio channels for a minute and you're bound to catch the tune's signature descent of guitar chords and whimsical vocals.  

In a recent Christian catalog I came across an endorsement for the self- titled Sixpence CD - "One of the most talked-about albums of the year!" From the discussions I've had with Christians my age, I believe it. All the talking can be summed up in a statement I found on a Christian listener's Amazon.com review:

"What in the world does 'Kiss Me' have to do with Jesus?"  

It's a fair question, but I think it reveals a profound misunderstanding. You might as well ask: What does the Song of Solomon have to do with Jesus? It is called The Song of All Songs, though it never mentions God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit by name. Yet, it's an important book of the Bible because it teaches us that sexual intimacy (kissing included) in the right context is a gift from God. I'd bet Matt Slocum (songwriter and creative force behind SNTR) and lead singer Leigh Nash understand the connection between kissing and Christ, since they're both married.  

I don't question Christian musicians singing a poem about kissing. I do question the rest of my Christian family separating such a deeply significant act from the One who designed it for us. Mind you, I understand their concerns. "I'm not thinking about God when I hear that song," a 22-year-old male friend of mine said. "I'm thinking about kissing my girlfriend. That's not very worshipful." My friend is trying to honestly assess his own motives, and he's right to do so. But he's missing the significance "Kiss Me" has in pointing toward an experience God intends as a type of worship. Worship literally means "to kiss the cheek of." I firmly believe that we are kissing the cheek of God when we take delight in the pleasures of intimacy with our marriage partners. Of course my friend was probably also right that he wasn't thinking worshipful thoughts. And here's where I get controversial. I also believe that kissing a romantic interest outside of marriage is not gratifying to God.  

"Treat younger men as brothers ... and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity" (emphasis added) (1 Timothy 5:1b, 2b). There are two states of sexuality outlined in the Bible, celibacy and marriage — and during the transfer from the first to the second we are still under Paul's command of restraint.  

Rethinking a Kiss

"Passionate kissing is: (1) a harmless recreational activity, (2) a godly way to show true love while dating, (3) something only married people should share, (4) a means of seducing your date."  

My eyes were immediately drawn to the survey question-of-the-week at the Christian Web site www.singleness.org. Of the 302 people surveyed (I'd guess most were Christians), 27 chose the first answer, 76 chose the second, and 40 chose the last. Add that up and over 47 percent of them allowed that passionate kissing is acceptable outside of marriage.

 

Something only married people should share. I added my click and my vote to that group. At one point I might have chosen while dating, or even harmless recreational activity — but over the past few years I've found Bible verses that have convicted me otherwise. "Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth" (Proverbs 5:15-18).  

'Never' covers all of time — before, during and after marriage. Since I'm not married yet, I am responsible for guarding my husband's 'fountain' (my body, which includes my lips) from strangers, even strangers who would only take a sip. I am attempting to rise to the challenge of Proverbs 31 — "a wife of noble character ... brings her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life." Men, likewise, are responsible for drinking only from their own wells, only from their own wives, and for staying away from mine [ie well, not wife].     

Christians give the actual act of sexual intercourse a great deal of spiritual significance, yet we rarely examine the motives behind our casual exchanges of physical intimacy with brothers and sisters. We don't fully acknowledge sexual intimacy as a whole package; we don't realize that the beginning and ending of passion are inseparable. Most Christians of my generation would agree with the biblical teaching of physical purity as a goal. Yet when it comes to following up in action, we make the same mistakes as our supposedly more worldly peers. Why is that?  

I believe it's partly because kissing is treated so nonchalantly — it's something we exchange between dates, and it's justifiable as long as the people involved are Christians and they don't take it "too far." It has little to do with God; it has been reduced to a touch exchanged between two, instead of its intended purpose of three-way communion between man, woman and God. The Bible never says "Thou shalt not kiss" so we assume Jesus doesn't come into our physical connections until we are on the way to marriage.  

I'm a sophomore in college with virgin lips. A few months after turning 16, I vowed to keep my "bow" tied until a man promises to commit himself to the whole package. My first kiss will be from my husband on our wedding day. Yes, that's quite a progression, from an inexpert kiss at the altar to the complete unwrapping of the wedding night — believe me, my friends have pointed that out. Then again, Adam and Eve managed to figure everything out in a day.  

God never intended the engagement period to be a time for physical experimenting, for peeking under the wrapping paper. Kissing — which quickly turns passionate when you are in love — carries a current intended to light a fire. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for "kiss" (nashaq) is derived from the primary root meaning "to kindle." I don't want to open the matchbox. "Why preheat the oven when you can't cook the roast?" as Doug Wilson puts it in Her Hand in Marriage.  

We see this truth reflected in places ranging from Scripture to literature that has endured for centuries. Song of Solomon 8:4 says not to arouse love until the right time. The fairy tales of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White hold a deeper symbolism: a kiss is (and should be) an awakening. I want to guard my fiancé; I want him to be asleep to me until we are one before God. There will be other ways of showing affection without arousing passion.  

A Virginal Heart  

Ultimately I am not as concerned about what Christians' lips do as I am about where our hearts are. One short kiss might not spark anything (though a string of short kisses quickly becomes a fuse). What's behind your kiss is what God is concerned about. Are you bestowing devotion or taking gratification? If you truly love that person, is it in their best interests to whet their thirst when you cannot give them the whole glass of water?  

On November 24th, I married my quiet companion and deep friend. When he kissed me, I did not feel pure because I was a virgin, or because I was wearing a white dress, or because I had saved my lips for him. I felt pure because I knew that it was a fresh beginning (as is every morning) — that Jesus gave me to him to continue making us both holy through the perpetual confession and forgiveness that comes in married life. I pray that when I am 60 and he kisses me, my lips will be more pure than they were on my wedding day.

Body parts

Darius is so funny.  That kid just cracks me up.  Darius did very good today potty training.  He only had one accident and that was when he was sleeping.  He has his moments when he goes without any trouble and then there's times when it's like pulling teeth.  Today was an overall good day.


We are teaching Darius the correct body part names.  When the girls were growing up I always call all their body parts by the actual names and decided that i would do the same for Darius.


Today I took Darius to the bathroom and I was sitting on the side of the tub waiting for him to finish, having great conversation with him.


He was done and I went to stand up and he tells me "mom get me some tissue so I can wipe my peanut". Yes he said peanut.  I almost fell in the tub, I was laughing so hard.  That boy cracks me up.


And so with that said my son has a peanut lol  : )

Ups and Downs of Motherhood

As I'm writing this both my kids are laying down for a nap and the house very quiet.  As many of you know I have been struggling in the area of good mommy.  I have been very short with my kiddo's lately and guilt is the new emotion that I feel regular the past few weeks.  

I'm struggling with work, kids, hubby, and the balance of all of them.  I have not voice it much but the struggle is there.  I love my job, I love my kids, and I really love my adorable husband.  The problem for me has been balancing them all.  I love bring my kids to work with me, but at the end of the day I'm pulling my hair out, snapping and yelling at them like its there fault....when it's not, it's mine.  By the time I get home its dinner and hubby time (which nutritional food and quality with David have definitely been lacking).  I'm tired all the time, and  seem to be complaining to my husband daily about it. 

Well, my husband being the wise man he is tells me that we need to find someone to watch the kids at least one day a week so that I can be focused at work and relieve some stress that comes from the kiddos being there.  Sounds good huh....I thought so too.  

I began the search for someone to watch the kids on Monday's for me.  What I really wanted was to find a homeschooler who could come to the church from 9:30 to 2:30.  This would give me plenty of time to get some major things done at work.  

I found someone at the church who said that they would be willing to watch the kids for me but not at the church at their house.  I should be having a party, thanking God for His provisions of this person, saying problem solved......nope, I'm instead laying awake at night dreading taking my kids to what I know is childcare.  

David has informed me that it is not daycare but more like babysitting. :)  Thanks honey

Guilt.....I never put my older kids in daycare.  One among many reasons for homeschooling is so that I could be with my kids.  I hate that I can not get it together to be able to keep my kids at work with me all the time.  

I want them there.  I want to be with them.  But they deserve a happy mommy not the one they get around 3 pm when they come to work with me.  

Until next time....

Prayer:  My prayer is for sanity, and good decision making.

Potty Training and much more

Well as many of you know I have been trying to potty train Darius.  It has not gone as smooth as I would have liked.  Is it Darius' fault....No its mine.  I just forget to take him.  He is not telling me all the time that he has to go so I just forget and guess what....He pees.  I'm so tired of changing diapers but I forget to take him potty.  He goes every time  I take him if I remember.  So hopefully I will slow my life down so my son can learn to "be a big boy now".

Work is going good.  I have been bring the kids to work with me all the time now and this has caused me to become a little inpatient with my kiddos.  I struggle with wanting to work and get all I need to get done finished in a good amount of time....and stopping and being patient with my kids.  Sometimes all they want is for me to take them down stairs and play basketball, but of course I have my own stuff to do and a time in mind when it needs to be done.  I'm struggling with trying to do all I want to do.  I want to be with my kids.  I love having my kids at work.  I love being able to work and do what I love to do (teach kids).  Right now I'm struggling to do it all well.  Unfortunately it is my kids that are getting the cranky, short, snappy, mom.  

Prayer requests:
Jelissa is trying to figure out where she wants to go to college.  I want her to be happy and know where God wants her to go.  Please pray she has a clear direction about college.

I have friend in Africa who need some prayer about getting all their paperwork approved so they can catch their flight home.  They are adopting two kids but have five here at home.  They are ready to get home to the rest of their family.  Also if their flight is delayed it could cost them more money.

Keisha is in Canada and has not been able to call home yet.  She it sending emails to us but it is not the same. I am really wanting to hear her voice to know for sure she is ok.

Darius and potty training.

Another day at the Livingstons

Canada

Well, my daughter is now in Canada.  I guess I'm ok with it.  It seems so weird to me that she is gone to the Olympics.  I'm so excited that she is getting to go on this journey.  I'm sure she will take lots of pictures and will have lots of fun.  I anticipate lots of stories when she gets back.  Until next time...

Lakeisha aka NuNu

I get to highlight the baby of our family.  Yes I know that she is not the youngest child in our family but she will always be the baby.  Keisha has had a mind of her own since the day she was born.  She has alway been independent and wanted to do what she wanted to do since she was 1 day old.  Keisha is a great daughter.  She is caring and fun.  She loves to irritate she sisters and younger brother to no end.  She has a determination like no one I have ever known.  When she sets her mind to something she never looks back.

Keisha is a great friend to those she is around, however her friendship does cost you something.  She will love you no matter what under one condition....never lie to her.  Boy I have seen her flip out over someone not being honest with her.  She loves with all she has but if you lie to her it takes a lot to gain her trust back.  Lakeisha is the youngest of my older girls but was the first to except Jesus as her Savior.  I have always know that she would be used by God in a very special way since she was little.  I remember going into her room on several occasions and asking her what she was doing.  She responded to me the same way all the time "mom I'm talking to God".  My heart always smiled big knowing that.  I always wanted to know what they were talking about, but I decided to wait and ask God later.

Keisha has done a lot in her short 17year of life, but the one thing that always makes her stand out is her love for the Lord.  She was baptized at a young age and this always worried me.  I always wondered if she really understood the commitment and covenant she was making with God.  As I look back over her life I believe she understood more than I thought she did.  She lives for her Savior full hearted, without care of what those around her think.

Keisha keep living with the same fire for God as you have now.  You are going to make an incredible mother and wife one day.  You are a blessing to our family and we love you so very much.
Love,
Mom

PS This is what the real Keisha and her friends are like..... goofy

Jelissa aka little me

Well, today is Jelissa's day in the spotlight.  I have always had a special connection with my oldest daughter.  She was born at 2 pd and needed her mommy's extra love from the very beginning of her life.  Jelissa has always been a mommy's girl, and just for the record I love that.

Jelissa is a very self motivated young lady, who sees what she wants and goes for it.  She has always been a little bit shyer than the other girls but seems to wear her feeling more on her sleeve.  She does not like to disappoint people and tries her hardest at what she does.

Jelissa has always been a little more maturer than others her age.  She looks at life a little bit deeper and with a little more mature than most.

Joe Joe, as we call her, will be leaving for college this August.  I have to say that I have told her, when she is getting on my last nerve, that life will be quieter and slower with her in college.  The truth is that her mom will be a lot sadder.  As I write this my eyes are tearing up.  Jelissa is my oldest child but will always be my baby.  My heart has a place that only she fills.  Now that she is 18 years old she is not only my daughter but my friend.  I love her with all my heart and will miss her more than she will ever know.

As time gets closer to her leaving I know that I must let her go but it will be with a heavy heart.  Jelissa mom loves you and I'm very proud of the women you have become.  Keep your head up and keep pleasing the God who created you.  He loves you even more than me.   : )
Love yah,
Mom

Kristie aka smiley

So I decided that I was going to take one of my children at a time and highlight them.  So today as I sit back and think about the one daughter who no longer lives with me or in the same state as I do.

Kristie has brought me so much joy over the past 18 years.  She is very bright and always thinks of others before herself.  She has an amazing love for her Savior.  Kristie has gone off to college now and is missed by her family tons, but missed most my her mommy.  I am so proud of my baby girl.  She will never know how proud I am of her.  She makes my heart happy and I am a better person because of who she has helped me become.

The one thing if anything that I want Kristie to always know is that she is loved no matter what and there is nothing she could ever do to make me stop loving her.  I am so proud of you Kristie keep serving your Savior with all your heart and look to Him for your approval.

Lots of Love....
Mommy

Becoming the Women of His Dreams

So, I'm reading again.  It has been a long time since I read a good book.  I am reading a book called "Becoming the Women of His Dreams, Seven Qualities Every Man Longs For".
It has always been my desire to be a good wife and mother.  I have read many books, went to several conferences, and tried hard to imitate those that I feel are better at it then me, which is lots.
We are currently in a series at church called "Love Month".  I really do like the teaching of our pastor but sometimes I don't always pay as much attention to the bottom line as I need to.   This Sunday was different.
We talked about marriage.  Nothing really new that I have not heard before but something in my "being" was focused on the words.

Let me explain....I feel that I have the best husband in world.  He is gentle, kind, loving, and very very slow to anger.  (Which is good because I do a lot of things that would cause a person to become angry easily)  He is my best friend, my husband, my lover, and the best father in the world to our 5 children.  He is my rock in my time of depression, loneliness, mess up moments (I mean months).  So, why do I need to listen to someone talk to me about marriage?  I have the best marriage and the best husband.

What I realized is that sometimes I take all that for granted.  I forget that this is not the norm for a lot of people.  I forget how blessed I am to be married to my husband.  I forget to thank him for all he does for our family, for me.  Because it is just who he is and not just something he does.  I forget to tell him that I appreciate him.

My desire is to be to him all he is to me.  I want him to look back on his life with me and thank God he brought this women (me) and that man (David) together.  My marriage is not just a contract between David and I but a sacred covenant between three, David, me, and God.  I want to honor my husband and God by being the best wife I can be.

I was reminded on Sunday that it takes work to have a great marriage and that I can not do it "in my own power" because that is and will never be enough; I have to depend on God's power working in and through me to be the wife my husband needs and deserves.  I want to be/become "the women of His Dreams".

Thought for the day:  Remember that every word we (I) speak, every decision we (I) make, and every action we (I) take will either move us closer to or take us further way from our spouses. 

Graduation

Wow the time has come for another graduation.  Keisha is graduating this year and she got to take senior pictures today.  I know that my daughter is beautiful but her pictures are just a reminder of how beautiful she really is.  What is so amazing is that she is even more beautiful on the inside.
I will post pictures soon.

Feet

Many of you know that the one thing that I can not stand the most is feet.  I don't like the way they look, I don't like them to touch me, I don't like conversation about feet.  It just bothers me.

Last year we did a feet washing at church and I decided to go into the kitchen to do dishes.  My thoughts were "they have plenty of people to do it, they don't need me." 

I could not even imagine going out there and washing feet.  I will clean up throw up or poop for that matter before I would chose to touch a person's feet.  

 Why am I blogging about this?  Because I'm currently studying the book of John.  I am in John 13 where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples, ALL his disciples feet.  This included the disciple that He knew at this time would not be changing his heart condition.  He would that very night betray our Savior.  Before he would do this Jesus would take the position of a slave and wash His feet, all of their feet. 

Learning to be a servant comes from watching the Master. 

 Do I watch Jesus and all He did close enough to imitate.  Jesus washed the feet of a man who was going to betray Him.  Do I have a Judas in my life and am I able to be like Jesus?   Am I able to show those I come in contact with the Love of Christ.  Each choice I make in life will either bring me one step closer to God or one step further from Him.  Will I chose to wash the feet of not only those closest to me but also the one that have or will betray me?  I sure hope so!

Thought of the day:  Humility is the only soil in which grace grows.      

Today

Sick, sick kids, late working husband, I'm not seeing my cup as half full today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
Good night

From the mouths of CHILDREN

So tonight before Darius went to sleep he prayed the following "Thank you God for this day, thank you for my food, thank you for my mom, thank you for the dog ears (explain later), thank you for my sissy, thank you for my dad, thank you for nunu, thank you for my nene, thank you for my joe joe, thank you for Noah, thank you for EJ, uncle Curtis, thank you for Auntie Jen, thank you for mom, thank you for Jesus, in Jesus name....Amen."

So first let me explain about the dog ears....I purchase a cute little dog, for David, that is laying on its tummy kicking its legs, and flapping his ears and singing.   Darius and Dad loved the gift.

So why did I tell you about this prayer?  I think the prayers of this little 2 1/2 year old boy should be a a lesson for all of us.  When we pray we should use this time to praise and thank God, instead of just asking Him for the things we think we need all the time.

Lord thank you so much for my little boy who can bring me back to the basics.  : )

Thought for the day: 

We need to get back to the basics of life

A heart that is pure and a love that is blind

A faith that is fervently grounded in Christ

The hope that endures for all times

These are the basics, we need to get back to the basics of life