Family Resemblance

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Eph 4:32-5:2 

I'm reading The 5 Love Languages of Children, and while looking up some verses on love, I came across these familiar verses.  I've known them for most of my life.  However, I don't think I remember ever reading that last verse of chapter 4 with the first verses of chapter 5.  (A previous pastor of ours used to say, if you see the word "therefore" you should look back and see what it is there for.)  So I went back and read the end of chapter 4.  There is the verse I quote to my boys all the time.  When there is conflict between them, I remind them of this verse.  I ask them to say the words themselves.

Reading those verses together, I was reminded of this:
Our love for others should be a sincere imitation of God's love for us.  Just like a little boy imitates his daddy, or a little girl copies her mommy's ways...because they "want to be just like them".  It's obvious who my children belong to, both in their looks and actions (for good or bad)!  Growing up I met people many times who told me that they knew I was a Johnson girl, because of the shape of my eyes.  Apparently, there was an obvious trait my 3 sisters and I shared. 

This little guy, well, he looks like  a male version of his momma (that's me at the same age, 30 years ago.).  He's a miniature of my dad.  He does have my husband's brown eyes, but when people see Carter, they immediately say he looks just like me and his Papa.  He has since he was born.  His twin brother looks very different from him, and Derek, well, he may be a mixture of family traits in his looks, but he definitely has my husband's personality.  I often tell Ben that I can understand what his mom went through raising him.  :)  The family resemblance is overwhelming!

You can see the resemblance again in my baby.  No doubt about it, these boys are mine!  :)

Is it obvious we belong to the Father because of the way we love each other?  Do my children see the love of Chist in the way that I love them? Is there a "family resemblance"?  That's a convicting thought!

You Can't Convince Me

We received Evan's CAT scores already today.  He scored better than 99% of 1st graders!  In fact, he performed as well as the average 4th grader!

Much of that is his own natural abilities, but I'm convinced he's fulfilling his full potential because of homeschooling.  I'm not a homeschooling fanatic, by any means....but I definitely do see that it has benefits and am assured we made a wise decision for this part of his education.  Even more than those great scores, I am assured by the character traits that I see growing up in him, his love for God and His Word, and his view of the world that is being shaped by his growing knowledge of God. 

Our decision to homeschool has been encouraged by some, not understood by others, and criticized by some.  And though you wish all people would see your decision favorably, we didn't make it to be popular with other people.  (In fact, I was one of those people, only a few years ago that said I will never homeschool!)  We made this decision based on what God was convincing us was best for our family at this time. 

You can't convince me that homeschooling is detrimental.  It may not be for everyone, it may not be for you.  It may not always be for us.  But, it is good.  It has been very good for my son.  I look forward to seeing what it will produce in my twin boys as they start this fall. 

If you are considering homeschooling, let this encourage you.  It is NOT detrimental, as many will try to claim.  If God is truly leading you to do it, it can be more than "not detrimental", it can be excellent. 

Evan with a science experiment, growing a sweet potato vine.

Kudos to my student for his hard work and determination.  I loved the big smile that came across his face when I showed the results to him and praised him for his good work.  Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:23)  That's my hope and prayer for Evan, wherever he is being schooled.  Not that he is always in the 99th percentile, but that he always does his best, because he's doing it for God, Who is not impressed with percentages and numbers, but Who is pleased when we do all that we do for His glory. (Colossians 3:17)

Epitaph for our Friend Nemo

We suffered a loss here in our home a few days ago.  Evan's beloved pet goldfish, Nemo, died unexpectedly.

Poor Evan cried and cried.  I knew he'd be sad, but I wasn't prepared for how hard he'd take it.

Mostly he feels bad.  He thinks he should have been better at taking care of Nemo.

And he feels guilty because as he says, "I only gave him one birthday."  :)  He forgot to throw Nemo a birthday party this March.  Yes, last year he celebrated Nemo's birthday with him!  What a sensitive soul he has.

Nemo was a good fish these last two years.  This picture was taken just after he joined the family.

Evan wrote this note today about his pet fish.  I thought it was a sweet epitaph for Nemo.



My 8th Mother's Day

Today marks the 8th year God has blessed me with the privilege of being a Mom.  I had fun making a collage of all my Mother's Days so far.  It's neat to see how God has grown my family since that first Mother's Day in 2004, when I was a mom to a 3 month old little boy.  Who, by the way is 7 years old, finishing first grade, reading books like you wouldn't believe, and losing his baby teeth....and is one awesome big brother.

Years 2005 and 2006,  I realized I didn't have a Mother's Day photo for of Evan and I.  Not sure why.  But I had Easter pictures which were very close in date to MD.  :)  As you can see in 2006 (3rd on the bottom), there were 2 other children present, just hidden.  :)  Those two boys are going to be 5 in a couple of months!
They are funny, active, sweet boys.

The 4th photo on the bottom looks like my hands were full, but so was my belly....6 months pregnant with baby #4.

Year 2007 (in the middle) was my 1st Mother's Day with all 4 of my boys.  Sweet little O-man is now almost 4, a chatterbox and a momma's boy.

Each year the boys get cuter, and I get older.  Sigh.

Thank you, God, for these precious lives you've entrusted to my hands and my heart.  May I be faithful in this task, so that one day when I see Your face, I can present them back to You with joy.

Create your own picture collage

Bonnie's Boston Brown Bread

Ha, look at that, I alliterated!

I made my mom-in-law's Boston Brown Bread last night for the first time.  It was so delicious.  The boys gobbled it up for breakfast this morning.  Now, if you are blessed enough to know my mom-in-law (the Bonnie in Bonnie's Boston Brown Bread), you're probably aware of what we know.  She is a GREAT cook and baker.  In fact, it was a tad bit intimidating when I married her middle son almost 14 years ago!  He's put up with his share of flops over time, but one thing I've always counted on was that if I made one of Mom's recipes, I'd be ok. 

Well, this bread is no exception.  You must give it a try.  And pick up some Breakstone's Whipped Butter to go with it.  Yum!  The bread tastes awesome warm and is just as good cooled.  It's easy and cheap.

You will need cleaned out cans to bake the bread in.  I used 29 oz sliced peaches cans.  She said that crushed tomato cans work well, too.  This will make 4-5 loaves depending on the size can you use.  (I halved the recipe because I didn't have enough cans or nuts for a full recipe, and it made 2 of the 29 oz cans.)


1 generous cup of raisins (I only had the golden ones on hand.  They worked deliciously!)
3 c hot water
2 c sugar
2 T butter
2 eggs
1 t salt
5 1/2 c flour
2 t baking soda
2 t vanilla
1 c walnuts, chopped (I only had chopped pecans on hand....again delicious.  Ben said he actually preferred them!)
3/4 c molasses

Simmer raisins in water for 12 minutes.
Cream sugar, butter, and eggs.
Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture alternately with hot water/raisin mixture.
Add molasses and vanilla.
Stir in nuts.
Fill greased cans 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter.
Bake 1 hour at 350 degreees.  Test with toothpick to make sure they are done.
After you take them out of the oven, let them set in the can for 5 minutes to sweat before trying to tap them out.

Enjoy!

Also good with cream cheese on top, but I love it with the whipped butter.

Excuse my awful picture.  We were in too big a hurry to eat them, that I didn't get a picture of the loaves in the cans, or before they had been partially devoured. :)  And the space monkey plate...well, they had 4 packages of those paper plates on clearance at Target for 75 cents each package!  I bought all 4.  :) Works in a house full of boys! 

For Love of Reading

This is what Evan has been doing lately. Reading while walking through the house. The Reading Bug has bit him, and he is reading up a storm.  Love it!

I started at the beginning of the school year buying Magic Tree House books for Evan. I gave the first one to him on the morning of the first day of school, as a Welcome Back to School gift.

He is enrolled in the Pizza Hut Book It program, so we have been using books in the series for his reading goals. Every time he finishes one, I have to go find him the next one.  And because his momma is sentimental we're collecting the series instead of just getting them from the library. I had a collection of Berenstein Bear books when I was little that I had saved and was hoping to give to my kids. Our dog destroyed them before my kids were born and had a chance to read them!


I found him a set of the 10 next books in the series on eBay for $7.49, which was a steal!  They arrived only a week ago, and he has them all read already! 

I love seeing him enjoy reading so much.  Makes me happy as his mom....and his teacher!

Now he is writing his own stories.  So cute!

Evan's 7 Year/ 1st Grade Portraits

Isn't he handsome?

In the Water

We've had an eventful weekend.  Last night we had to call our insurance company and initiate a auto claim and a homeowner's claim.  You never want to have to do either.  You certainly never want to do both in the same day!

Due to the winter storms we have had recently, our roof has built up a lot of snow and ice.  The weather has finally warmed up a bit, and all of that ice and snow has no place to go.  Well, I take that back, it found two places...the inside of our living room and the top of our van.  The roof of the van is caved in, the windshield is shattered, there is body damage.  There is brown water leaking down from the second story roof, behind the siding and constantly dripping down the living room wall onto the floor and dripping from the ceiling.  At one point, we had 7 buckets on the foor to catch all the leaks.

My mind is overcome with the details, the loss of transportation, the deductibles, you know, all that STUFF.  In my stress today, my husband reminded me of that.  "Bec, it's just stuff." 

And thankfully, STUFF is all that was damaged.  If that ice had fallen a little while earlier, my family could have been in that van as it was crunched.  My kids could have been in the driveway.  Instead, they were nestled safely in their beds.  Ben was outside at the time, he could have been hit by the huge chunks of ice (some of the chunks on the ground after impact are still 2 feet wide and several inches thick) falling from the second story roof had he been on that side of the house at that moment.  God has perfect timing, doesn't He?  His protection is wonderful.

I had an opportunity this morning to discuss that with the kids.  Our Bible lesson was on the account of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. 

"So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan."  Joshua 3:14-17

I immediately thought of the faith that Joshua and the priests had.  I know too often when I come to flooding rivers (or living rooms) in my life, that I want to stand on the banks and wait for God to do a miracle.  But what does God want me to do?  What does faith look like?  It's putting my feet in the water and watching from there as God holds back the waters and makes a clear path for me.  I don't know how much the boys got out of class this morning, but I know that that 1st grade Bible class was what I needed to hear.  What does putting my feet in the water mean in this circumstance we find ourselves in?  So far, I've come up with...not worrying (hard for me!), praying instead of stressing, trusting God will take care of us, doing the painful part of getting the quotes even though we don't know how we'll pay for the deductible, choosing to see that God has allowed this for a reason, rather than grumbling and complaining, and probably most important, showing our boys that in the seasons when the rivers in our life are flooding, that we put one foot in front of the other, not looking back and wishing for the "comfortable" path we were just on, but trusting that what is on the other side of the river is soooo much better than where we've just been wandering.  God doesn't promise to create bridges over the rivers.  That would appeal to us, wouldn't it?...Just keep us out of the water altoghether.  But, God does promise to not let the waves overtake us as we walk through the rivers. And you know, if we never get our feet wet, how will we ever appreciate dry ground?  We have to do what those priests did, put our feet in the water, so our children can watch God do something wondrous.

After the Israelites all crossed safely, they took stones from the Jordan and made a pile.  That would serve as a rememberance for them, especially the children, of what wondrous thing the Lord had done for them that day.  We had the chance to talk about what happened to our van just outside the walls of our home yesterday, how God protected each of us, and what a wonderful thing that was.  And then we talked about how can we remember that.  One way is to thank Him.  It's harder to forget something we are busy thanking God for.  We can journal it, and draw a picture of it.  (This is something Evan is going to do in class.)  And we can tell others.  So, I am telling you.  Even though we are in the midst of a minor life trial (so many people are dealing with worse!), God has been wondrously gracious to us, and I am confident He will give us something better on the banks on the other side of the river.  And we will remember.

Twice Baked

I've decided to try to do twice baked meals, as I call them, frequently to save money and time, and also because I'm not a fan of just having leftovers.  This isn't rocket science, but not something I have really planned out in the past.  Last night I made 2 batches of meatloaf, baby carrots, and a large batch of mashed potatoes.  Meatloaf is one of the boys' favs.  (It's not something I thought kids are supposed to like, but they actually complain that I don't make enough!) 

After the 2nd batch cooled down, I put it in the frig.  Then, tonight I pulled it out, and popped it in the oven to warm it back up.  I took out the left over mashed potatoes, mixed some shredded cheese and sour cream into them, and popped them into the oven.  While they were warming, I made some gravy, and toasted some whole grain bread. 

We topped the bread with slices of the meatloaf and poured gravy over, making our own open faced meatloaf sandwiches.  Yum!  The twice baked mashed potatoes were delicious and creamy, and it all made for a good meal on such a cold wintry night.  Best of all, I spent very little time in the kitchen tonight, but had a tummy pleasing, comfort food meal to share with my family.

I'm looking forward to coming up with more twice baked meal ideas my guys will enjoy.  Trying to make the most of every minute and every dollar!  Got any twice baked meals you enjoy?  Do share!

Reminder of the Reason

As we are raising our 4 guys, we are trying to be very intentional about what we do at Christmas.  I've realize that so much we do is based on tradition, but can easily be done without any meaning.  Our goal is to make sure the real Reason for Christmas is what we celebrate in our home, impressing the awesomeness and significance on our children's hearts.  It's not something that just happens in a culture that commercializes Christmas, that feeds the indulgences of humanity, with a passing glance at Jesus in a Christmas carol or two.  As those who have already accepted that Gift, our Christmas ought to be different.  It ought to mean so much more.  So, we are looking for ways to celebrate Jesus on His birthday, in real, tangible, memorable ways. 

A few years ago, I started making a white chocolate candy cane cheesecake (yum!) for Christmas Day, and we put candles on it, and sing "Happy Birthday to Jesus."  The boys love doing it, and it's become a tradition that I hope will last throughout the future of our family.  We pray that that simple way of recognizing Jesus' birthday makes an impression on the hearts of our children.  Children love birthdays, even if it's not their own, and we want to encourage them to celebrate Jesus joyfully.

My Dad always read us the account of Christ's birth from the Bible, before we opened our tree.  (My Mom's from Vermont, and that's the phrase they used for opening their gifts.  We don't actually open up the tree!)  We were never allowed to just climb under the tree and open up our gifts, like you see on commercials. We sat and watched each other as we took turns opening our gifts one by one.  Now, I do the same thing with my family.  I think my parents were intentional about guarding against selfishness and mateialism.  (Mom also wanted to see us open everything, and take pictures, and I am the same way....I don't want to miss the joy of watching my gifts be received!)  I want my boys to view gifts as acts of love, not as things they are entitled to receive.  I'm reminded that the Gift of baby Jesus in that stable was not something I am entitled to.  It is given out of love, completely undeserved and unearned.  God wasn't obligated by cultural norms to give me that Gift.  He sacrificed His only Son because He loved me beyond measure.  I hope my boys will understand more and more each Christmas what love that was, that Jesus was born to die.

"From His throne Jesus came, laid aside Heaven's fame in exchange for the cross of Calvary; for my gain suffered loss, for my sin He bore the cross - He was wounded and I was set free." (Ron Hamilton)

I was inspired this past year to make birthday banners for my boys' birthdays, and they have been a hit.  They boys all loved them, and they were so much fun to create, using the colors and patterns to coordinate wth their birthday themes.  The boys and I thought we should have one for Jesus this year, too.  Being right in our dining area of our kitchen, we see it mutlitudes of times a day, a visual reminder of the real purpose we are celebrating a holiday.

I love these patterns!

Owen wanted a picture with the "Jesus banner" as he calls it.  Isn't that smile precious?  I loved how excited he was to see it finished and hanging there.

I needed an extra square on the second row to make it symmetrical.  So, I made a little gift out of my paper and used the ribbon that is holding the squares together to make a bow for the gift.  I thought that was really fitting to be next to Jesus' name, the Gift that was given to all mankind.

I hope each year we can find more ways to celebrate Jesus' birthday.

Back to School



Our homeschool is back in session!

Looking forward to a great year!

End of Summer Camp-In

Another thing on our end of summer to do list was to camp out in our backyard.  It didn't work out, so we decided to camp in.  The boys thought it was great, and want to do it again.!

We made s'mores in our fireplace, the boys ate supper on the "ground", we watched a movie, and pitched our tent in the living room.  The boys spent the night in the tent and Mom and Dad slept on an airmattress.  We slept in the next morning (well, if you can call what you do on an airbed sleeping).  

It turned out to be a fun alternative to camping out.

Just one of the ways we were trying to make every last minute of summer vacation matter!

Goodbye Summer

We sensed our summer vacation coming to a close quickly, so we made a list of things we wanted to do before summer vacation was over.  One of the things on our list was to go to "the beach".  We live near a beautiful state park, and for a total of $8 we were able to enter the park, play on the playgrounds, have a picnic lunch, and enjoy the beach.   It was 93 degrees that day, so the water felt really good! It was just me and the boys, since it was a weekday and Daddy was working. The boys did really well, and they had so much fun.  I'm so glad we got that trip in before summer ended!

This photo collage personalized with Smilebox

Soccer Camp 2010

Last week was soccer camp, hosted by a local church.  This year, Derek and Carter were old enough to join Evan in the fun.

Good kick, Derek!

Owen wasn't old enough yet, but he had fun playing on the sidelines and making friends with the sweetest black lab puppy.  He's now decided that's the kind of puppy he wants.

Run, Evan! actually I think he was running for water break here :)

Owen passing the ball with Daddy.  One of the days was my birthday, and since Ben took my birthday off of work (love him!), he also got to enjoy watching his boys at soccer camp that day.

Evan loves soccer.

He did so much better this year. 

Derek

Evan in action.

Cutie-pa-tootie

Carter missed a day because he was sick, but he had a great time.

Running

On the last day, the church puts on a Victory Night. 

The boys were thrilled with their tshirts, trophies, and water bottles.

Derek and Carter

Evan

Little D collapsed on the ground after chasing some girls around the church lawn.

The boys have been looking forward to those 3 days of soccer camp all year!  It's nice to have something that's good for their development, physically and socially, and that is free, and is hosted by people you trust. 

One of the ways we've made our summer vacation moments matter.   Only a week until summer vacation comes to a close, so we're trying to make the most of it!  What fun frugal activities do you do with your kids?  I'm always looking for new ideas!

Goodbye 2s!

Well, I'm a little late getting to blogging about it, (because I have been having technological difficulties), but my baby boy said goodbye to the 2s recently.

I know I say it with every boy every year, but I just can't believe he is 3 ALREADY!

Honestly, I feel like it was just like last week that I first laid eyes on the little fella.

Now he's a walkin', talkin', laughin', runnin', smilin', chattin', cruisin', bruisin' little wonder of a boy.

O-Man picked out a dinosaur themed birthday, specifically Dinosaur Train.  So, I used brown and green and found some cute dinosaur paper for his birthday banner.

Worked out pretty good since we were planning on taking him on a train ride!

Giving his ticket to the "ductor".

Watching the view go by on our 4 hour trip.

my 4 very cool dudes

We had a stop at a ranch where we looked for horses (unfortunately, it was lunch hour and all the ranch hands weren't around, and the horses were all out of sight), but we had a nice little picnic lunch on the banks of the Hudson River and got to stretch our legs a bit. 

Owen's a funny little boy.  For some reason, though he LOVES things sugary and sweet, he does NOT like cake.  I discovered that last year after I went to great pains to make him a Wonder Pets Fly Boat cake, and he didn't eat any of it!  So, I had to be creative this year.  He likes ice cream, so I decided to make an ice cream cake, though it did limit me.  

I put a layer of chocolate chip ice cream in a pan (one container), refroze it, and then added another layer of mint chip, and froze again.  I flipped it out onto a bigger, shallower pan and then decorated it.  I used baking cocoa whipped into Cool Whip for frosting.  I made a rock formation by piling coconut marshmallows on the cake and then covering with more frosting.  I found the cute Dinosaur Train at ToysRUs, as well as a couple extra dinos from the show.  I used green piped frosting to make a track, write the birthday wishes, and surround the cake.  And we had a couple little trees from a train set already, and added them onto the cake.  Oh, and behind the cake is a pond, made of blue sprinkles.  It was not a fancy cake, but he loved it.  But not enough to eat any of it.  :(  New idea next year, I guess.  The rest of us enjoyed it though!  Yum.

O-Man's favorite gift was his new Hot Wheels motorcycle bike from his Grampa and Gramma.  His little legs are just long enough for his feet to touch the pedals, so I guess he'll be able to use it for a long time.

We ended the birthday with fireworks.  Aren't I just the coolest mom?  Hahahaha....ok, I didn't arrange for the fireworks.  But, we did go down to the village at the Yacht Basin and enjoy the fireworks display that our town puts on every Wednesday night during the summer.  I realized then that it was the first fireworks display any of our boys have ever seen in person, (other than peering to see them out of their bedroom windows).  The first blast took O-man by surprise, but he loved them. 

It was a fitting way to end his day.  Owen has been a firecracker in our family.  His entrance into this world was as surprising to us as that first blast was to him.  But, like him, we loved it! And each day his little fireworks display his personality and charm, and we love it.  It is hard to think 3 whole years have gone by since we first held him in our arms,

and brought him home to his brothers.

But at the same time, it's hard to remember life without him, because like a firecracker leaves it's mark in the darkness, Owen leaves his mark daily on our family, and we love it!

We had a wonderful day being together as a family, that's how we made O-Man's birthday moments matter.