The Jos Know

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Overheard

Kids can say the funniest things. These have actually been heard in my house:

Child: Mommy, your tummy looks bigger than it used to.
Mommy: Uh, thanks.
Daddy: Hon (to child), ladies don't really like when you tell them they
look bigger, even if it's true. (Gee, thanks dear.)
Child: No, I told it to mommy! (Gee, thanks child.)

Child: Mommy, does the baby have tires?

Child: (singing "Your Love is Amazing") Yellow makes me sing... (Instead of Your love makes me sing...)

Friend. Let's explore.

John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

-Really? OK, I'll be calling you later with a few comm...er, requests.

Job 16:20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;

-Thanks for praying for me when I asked, and when I didn't ask.

Proverbs 12:26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

-This is so poignant for me considering all the changes and times we've been through.

Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

-Thanks for setting me straight, even when it hurts.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

-No pointless commentary needed.

Matthew 20:13 "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?

-I clearly saw $65 myself on the receipt, next time I'm going to hold you to a denarius.

Matthew 22:12 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The {wo}man was speechless.

-Johanna, you did wear clothes to your wedding, right?

Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

-You tell me, because I don't get it myself; but it sure does sound nice.

John 16:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

-You knew this was going to be in here, didn't you.

Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Sicilian Proverb

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
~William Shakespeare

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. ~C.S. Lewis

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked. ~Author Unknown

It has been an honor and a privilege for me to be your friend through the years. May God bless you and keep you, may he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, may the Lord turn his face to you and give you peace.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Not Your Nature Television

Yesterday we went on a Fabulous Family Adventure. Don't you just love those? We went to the Alafia River State Park and hiked, picnicked and played on their playground, screamed at bugs, bled, threw rocks and sticks and leaves and oohed and aahed at all the wonders of God's great creation.

Having grown up hiking and camping mainly in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico the flora and fauna of Florida is so different. I miss the aspen trees and columbines and the smell of pine trees and the rocks you can pick up anywhere and throw in the rivers. It's hard to find rocks in Florida. It's all sand and these teeny little excuses for rocks. Makes gardening easier, but not quite as fun when you're hiking.

One thing that I learned yesterday had something to do with the whole communication issue in regards to Shepherding a Child's Heart. I find myself often being bored or uninterested in what my kids are talking to me about and it's usually because they are retelling me parts of movies they've seen over and over and over again. As I was tucking the kids in last night I stopped and talked to Sarah in depth about her day, asking her what her favorite part was and what her least favorite part was and it was genuinely fun talking to her about our adventures. I am starting to consider the television and it's distractions and divisive qualities as one of the biggest detriments to a good, quality communication relationship with my kids. This is something that God is really convicting me about. I am not convinced that all television time is inherently evil (although I'm willing to discuss the merits of this argument), but I am of the persuasion that our family watches too much T.V.

On a lighter note, someone please tell me what the deal is with this...frog. We thought he was a new frog with his "tadpole" still attached but he's awfully big to be a baby frog, we thought. It's a little creepy.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

The Flylady Has Flown

Well, I hate to admit it, but I think I am going to unsubscribe to my Flylady group. I was so gung-ho about this in the beginning, but I think now I have deleted each and every one of the 600 e-mails she has sent me this last month without even reading one word of any of them first. What happened? For me, I found that I can create hot spots much faster than 15 minutes of work can put them out. I have to do in-depth cleaning in one chunk, or it will never get finished. I am a starter, not a finisher. So if I am constantly told, "You only have to do 15 minutes, then stop!" I think, "Great! I don't have to finish anything! Woo-hoo!" It just doesn't work for me.

I have had some take-aways, though. I do a load of laundry every day. Some days I may skip if we are out the whole day, but then the next day I do two. This has really helped me not get overwhelmed by having six loads to do at once. I also now clean the dishes lots more often. I don't let them pile up for days on end, which I am ashamed to admit I used to do. I don't shine my sink every day, but I do make sure the porcelain doesn't get all scratched up and the faucet is dried off after I use it - oh, and I put away my drainboard between washings. That is something Jerry really loves! He hated having the drainboard constantly on the counter top. Other than that, I still do the majority of my housecleaning on Thursdays - because on Thursday night, I have my church small group meeting in my home. It does make for a bit of chaos on Thursdays, but chaos makes me finish what I start. So, for now, I have learned to embrace the chaos.

How about you? Is you sink still shiny?

Friday, April 25, 2008

The Look

I took the kids out today. We went to JoAnn's to get some stuff for "projects."

As we were waiting at a stop light I noticed a large, 16-passenger van next to us. Do you know I've gotten to the point where every time I see a big van I look to see if there are lots of kids in it. Everywhere I go my mind is attuned to how many kids the people around me have with them. I invariably have the biggest family. Three kids is the most I've seen so far.

I'm starting to get "The Look."

Older people generally smile and think they are all so cute, but younger people don't seem to have the patience.

The lady in the 16-passenger van went into JoAnn's, too. I didn't see her go in but I knew exactly who she was. She was at the cutting counter and she had one son with her, but she looked over at me and the girls and shook her son on the shoulder and said, "Look at the baby, doesn't she look cozy. Isn't she cute!" I was carrying Lily in the Baby Bjorn. I wonder how many kids she has. She had to be the lady in the huge van, because in my experience, only people who have lots of kids themselves and love babies A LOT make such a fuss over the fourth baby. By now, everyone else is saying, "Are they all yours," or "Wow, you must be busy." When it was just Ella everyone would stop and ooh and aah over how cute she was, but now everyone overlooks how gosh-darn cute Lily is and ogles my "large" family. I ONLY HAVE FOUR KIDS FOR PETE'S SAKE. That's half as large as it's likely to get over the next 10-12 years.

I think I'm addicted to blog-land because there is where I find my encouragement. Maybe if I didn't realize that there were other people out there that believe what Del and I believe about children, then I would be more content. But, I know they're out there...they're just not here. And not blogging.

I've met one family with 7 kids here and she was pregnant at the time. The mother must be very wary of people because even though I had three kids at the time and was about 6-8 weeks pregnant with Lily, she was very stand-offish to me. Anyway, I stopped attending that homeschool support group so I don't know what happened to them.

I think it's funny that the one place Del and I can move within his job is to San Antonio because I've seen the most large families from that area of the states. We'll likely fit right in, and we can come visit your super-sized family (ha ha ha) any time we want. That probably won't happen for a while though.

I'm not sure what the purpose was of this post but...there you go. I'm starting to get "The Look."