Words Abound

• I have no pictures to share this week as my camera card fell apart (literally) taking it out of my camera.
• We got a new toilet last week. Hallelujah for johns that flush!
• Oh, and Ricky's parents got me a Kindle for Christmas, and, oh man, it really is a lot easier for me to read on it (due to dexterity issues like holding the book up and open and turning pages). It is the way to go for me!
• That reminds me that I was going to share what we gave for presents. Well, for all of our friends and extended family, we gave Voice of the Martyrs' prayer calendars that gives daily prayer requests for the Persecuted Church. For the few women that come by every week or so to help me clean, I made homemade vanilla extract (super-easy). For our extended families, we treated each side to a trip out to a self-serve frozen yogurt joint (something fun, special, and that fosters relationship). There were a few others, but that was the general gist.
• Aolani's antics: tells me when she yawns and is really tired, daily comments "Awww, baby so cute", made a play grilled cheese sandwich and put it on a plate and covered it with a napkin and stuck it in the fridge for Uncle Robby, yelled out the window when Daddy pulled in the driveway late one night "Daddy, I still love you", calls Micaiah "Makaya" versus the real pronunciation of "Mckaya", it is still "Good morning" all day, her three favorite phrases right now are What are you doing? and I'll show you and Listen to me, other oft-repeated phrases: Daddy, I need you to make dinner; Daddy, Mommy is calling you (or is talking to you or needs you)...
• Micaiah's mishaps: discovered the up and down buttons on the electric recliner, practices standing alone without holding on to anything, and doesn't bend his knees yet when he walks and pushes things ;)
• While I read in the recliner some evenings while Ricky cooks dinner, Aolani is now climbing into the wheelchair, buckling herself in, unlocking the brakes, and leaning forward to reach the wheels and roll! 
• Story: [Aolani loves to snack on cheddar bunnies (they are like goldfish). They come in a cardboard box like most snack items. Last weekend her grandpa called her a chatterbox.] Aolani: I'm cheddarbox. Me: You mean chatterbox. Aolani: Nooo. Cheddar bunnies. I'm cheddarbox.

• Verse to memorize this week: 1 Peter 5:8 ~ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

She Simply Loves

*My spiritual birthday was last week, and I became a teenager. And with it, this story (that I read years ago) was the first thing that came to mind.

In his book about the Virgin Mary's song, Luther tells of a vision.  Three virgins knelt before an altar.  During the service a beautiful young man appeared and hugged the first girl and kissed her.  He did not kiss the second, but smiled at her with great friendliness.  As for the third, he hit her and pulled her hair.  With this the young man disappeared.  

Later, the vision was explained.  The first virgin symbolizes the selfish, unregenerate souls.  God must do much good to them.  He must fulfill their will toward them, not His own.  They cannot live without receiving many blessings from God.   

The second virgin represents those who have started to serve God but still need, at least from time to time, a friendly gesture from Him. They cannot simply love Him without expecting anything in return. They cannot simply love Him, whatever He does and however He behaves. 

The third virgin, the Cinderella, represents the saintly soul who loves God without any ulterior motive. She simply loves.  She is happy if He does good to others.  Mary would have sung the same beautiful praises if she had been told that another girl, yes, one who despised her, had been chosen by God to be the mother of the Lord.  Such do not need the caresses of the Lord.  They are happy to bear their cross for Him and pass through a dark night of the soul.  If He wishes to abandon them while they undergo suffering, they do not complain.  Everything is right only if it is His good pleasure.  For these souls God multiplies the chastising.  "Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives" (Hebrews 12:6). 

~taken from Alone with God by Richard Wurmbrand

Round and Round We Go

• We have had a spiral week -- too much craziness: vomiting and diarrhea (from red kidney bean poisoning over the weekend and a 24-hour stomach virus earlier in the week), mysterious coughing mainly while sleeping (went to a doctor about it; no worries), sleepless nights (from changing sheets to coughing to crying), massive amounts of laundry as a result, Ricky working two and a half hours away one day (making it a 13-hour day), missionary friends (going to Albania) coming for a visit right when we thought the kids were in the clear but then the kids started acting sick again today as our friends left! [We so hope and pray your kids don't get sick, Waggoner-clan!] Somehow, Ricky has mostly avoided it all! This is the worst Winter, just one thing after another (s-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y); cannot wait for Spring! I could write so much more... ugh.
• Micaiah likes to walk while pushing either me/the wheelchair, his tractor, or his Babee Tenda table (on wheels).
• Tonight, Aolani laid on me in the recliner and whispered I love Mommy :) She also hoarded a bunch of toys in the bathroom so that Micaiah couldn't get them!

Breaking out of the bobsled

• We went over to visit with some friends who keep chickens (for eggs), and this is Aolani seeing live chickens up close for the first time:

• Verse to memorize this week: 1 Peter 4:8 ~ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 

Reaping the Rewards {Do Not...}

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12:3 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  2 Corinthians 4:16

I was quoting Galatians 6:9, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest... if. If?? If, what? I only reap if I do not give up -- believing (and therefore do good as a result of my faith). Wow. This is why Jesus said that believing in Him is the only work God requires of us (John 6:29)!

Do not give up.

Do not grow weary.

Do not lose heart.

Why? Because we have motivation -- we will get to relish in eternity, partake in the joy of intimate fellowship, sit in the throne room, bask in Heaven, never taste death, reap our harvest of rewards, and be known. If...

{Other words: persist, never tire, continue, endure, persevere...}
Part 1 and Part 2 of this Rewards series

Keepin' on,

Slowly

• The kids and I were hit -- the flu. One week, and I am just now recovering. I feel fine now, but I have a lot of drainage/phlegm. Micaiah's the last one fighting it. Ricky remained unscathed. He took care of us all last week. He just kept saying, "This is some virus!" ;) No doctors, no hospitals, no medicine... just natural healing, immune-boosting stuff. Great resource here. [And yes, we are still anti-flu-vaccine; we believe that the vaccine actually makes one more susceptible to getting the flu.]
• Right after returning home from our trip, Micaiah was so excited to be home that he crawled over to the couch and pulled himself up for the first time! Now, he's cruising a little :)
• At one year (a month ago, I know I'm behind), Micaiah measured 29" long and weighed 18.6 lbs.
• Aolani is going around and singing her words/responses!
• Ricky told Aolani to 'hold your horses' the other day, and she walked over to her donkey, picked him up, and said, "Okay." :)
• We received a big shipment of diapers in the mail, and the box and packing paper provided days of fun... houses, tunnels, dress up...

• Verse to memorize this week: Proverbs 4:23 ~ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 

Confessions

1. Sleeping in: So most mornings after I nurse both kids and wake my hubby (not easy), Ricky gets up with them and (graciously) lets me sleep another hour or more. This way I manage to sleep an average of 7-8 hours a night. Getting a late start on the day is not fun. When I do get up with them, I get so much more done. I feel productive and with it, but I also feel tired and shaky. When I sleep in, I don't go around lethargic, lying my head down on tables/cribs. I may not feel very efficient or like a good Proverbs 31 woman, but I do feel more rested and alert. And, I think taking care of my physical health is best for the well-being of my family. {Plus, it is good for the kids to have some alone/quality time with just Daddy. We have tried early to bed, early to rise. However, when we arise before they do, their bodies must subconsciously know it (from room-sharing), and they wake an hour earlier in the morning!}
2. Resolutions: Ricky likes to celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas which ends today, Epiphany. Our decorations and cards come down tomorrow. So, I have not given New Years much thought, yet. Basically, though, I just want to add a little more structure back into my days -- more set times to rest, 20-30 minutes a day to read a book, a structured devotional time (less haphazard), less sugar-intake (what are resolutions without a dietary one?), and... two marital ones, yet untried. One, I want to let the thankfulness flow out of mouth by thanking Ricky every time he does something for any of us (I'll let you know when my first attempt occurs). Two, I am starting to hand over the reigns of controlling the family's time-schedule. I figure it's better for the kids to see my submission and our unity than for me to get all worked up trying to make us on time for appointments or getting them to bed on time. {Here are some other marital resolutions I've done: 1, 2, 3, 4.}Most importantly, I do have plans for carrying out each mini-resolution. They are not just wishes. He who fails to plan, plans to fail.
3. Sick: After my kids have been battling viruses, colds, coughs... I woke up this morning with a sore throat (which disappeared after oil-pulling... weird, I know), a runny nose, and feeling plain tired. It's not a bad, immobilizing illness, but I hope it is short-lived!

26 Pictures = 26 {Million} Words ?

•  And, I'm still playing catch-up from our 11-day vacation to my parents' home... If I had ample time, I'd write about: our toddler holding her pee for over three hours in the car and then vomiting in the car, monsters in tents, girls playing dress-up, Veggietales Easter, croup coughs, Les Miserables, games, Paleo recipes, aprons and baking, sleeping in, presents, Ricky working on transcripts, baby diarrhea, Jesus' birthday celebration, Micaiah's birthday celebration, "joint ownership" to the John Deere push-n-ride tractor, little tables, wheelchair rides, visiting friends, self-serve fro-yo, Christmas Eve service and Aolani trying to grab other girls' necklaces while on stage, and lots of eating ;)
• The following pictures are many and not in any order...

 

 

• Verse to memorize this week: Romans 14:23 ~ what is not of faith is sin.