My Beautiful Birthday Necklace!

I wore this necklace out for the first time today to church and sure enough I got a compliment on it! This necklace is going to get a lot of use! Thank you to my kiddos! In my dad's email words . . . "I gasped! It's stunning, it's beautiful!" He also wrote "I want to see it on you. I wish I could have watched the children when you opened it."

The Story of Liberty

The Story of Liberty

-Reprinted from the original 1879 manuscript

("So you will comprehend what liberty has cost, . . . and what it is worth")

Introduction starts out:

To the Boys and Girls of America: This "Story of Liberty" is a true narrative. It covers a period of five hundred years, and is an outline of the march of the human race from Slavery to Freedom."

I was excited about this book as I started to read it and it did not disappoint! I read it myself not to the kids. This book was written for boys and girls over a hundred years ago before political correctness was important in the giving of history and also back when it was expected that kids could read and comprehend what they read without frivolity on every page. This book was amazing and did exactly what it set out to do, helped the reader comprehend what liberty costs.

That being said I am going to wait a little before Gabriel reads it. Obviously, he'll be the first of the kids to read it. It is brutally honest about history in the gory details and I mean Gory. I had to take a break from it at times and said to Babe I just wished someone could be nice! But I believe the children and even the adults of today don't understand liberty enough to know when it is being taken from them. Many don't know the cost of our liberty now or how God's hand was in history to prepare for liberty. I grew up going to a good Christian school with what many people would consider good history curriculum and I feel I didn't receive the facts I know now that puts a perspective on today. I want all my kids to read this book 2 times before they leave home, probably with about 2 years between the readings. I don't want my kids ignorant to what liberty is and what it has cost.

Let me give some example of the honesty of the book. By the way, when it comes to the treatment of women the book is VERY CAREFUL to not be to explicit for young children while also not completely leaving out their torment. I found the writing tactful in regards to women.

WARNING the following is very brutal.

Example of bluntness: Speaking of the brutality of the Jesuits

"The soldiers seize whatever pleases them in the houses, and then apply the torch. Men and women and children who lag behind in the flight are cut down without mercy. In vain their cries. The Jesuits have aroused a spirit of hate in the soldiers, and their cries are unheeded. Weary with wielding the sword, the soldiers take their unresisting prisoners to the tops of high cliffs, and pitch them upon the rocks below. To vary the work of destruction, they dig graves, and bury the women alive. When weary with that, they fill the mouths of the captives with gunpowder, and blow their heads from their bodies. They crop off their ears and nose, cut off hands and feet, and leave the poor creatures to die by slow degree."

A part of the book that struck me was about this Huguenot boy of 14 who after his leader is killed the Huguenot nobles choose him to be their leader to which he takes the following oath "I swear to defend religion, and to persevere in the common cause, till death or victory has secured for all the liberty we desire." Wow, that is quite something for a 14 year old.

Another part of the book that in a strange way was humorous to me was the story of Captain John Smith. In fact, I read part of it out loud to Babe and Gabriel and they seemed to have the same reaction as me. I was in no way aware of Capt. John Smith's life before coming to America. I would label him a courageous Peter Pan!! I have now looked up biographies of him on Amazon.com for Gabriel. I am sure it will not be dull reading. John Smith was a CHARACTER!!

My conclusion is this book is Great but honestly it is hard to sit down and read 300 pages of horror. But I am glad I am not as blind as I once was to the cost of liberty. It will be awhile before my children will read this but it will be an important part of the literature I want them to read before leaving our tutelage. My hubby just said this book is along the line of Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Oh, and what a great and detailed history lesson on the Reformation!

"Strangely Comfortable"

Last night we let the 3 older kids stay up and watch "Black Beauty" while sitting on their bean bags. Well, the movie got over late and all the kids were at their end. Gabriel was fighting back tears that he was going to have a night of nightmares because of the movie (Gabriel has a very sensitive heart toward cruelty).

First thing this morning Gabriel comes and says "Mommy, I prayed to Jesus this morning and thanked Him. I didn't have any bad dreams last night. I didn't even have any dreams, I felt strangely comfortable!"

I'm glad he remembered to thank the giver of peace.

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

My 34th Birthday-A Wonderful Special Day

WARNING THIS BLOG ENTRY HAS SIGNIFICANT BRAGGING

ON MY HUBBY AND MY KIDS! :-)

A friend of mine has the perfect thing on her blog "this is written by me for me" another words this is life as I view it! :-)

There are always those birthdays that especially stick out in ones mind and I know that my birthday yesterday will be one of those! It was a fabulous birthday and so very special. My hubby asked me far in advance what I want for my birthday dinner. I picked omelets with ham, bacon, cheese, and green onions and for a veggie asparagus. Babe is a great cook and made a fabulous meal. For dessert I picked brownie cheesecake with real whipping cream and strawberries and hot fudge on top! OHHHHHHHHH SOOOOOO GOOD!!! That dessert took a LONG time to make and on top of that our oven is on the fritz and turns off at will and has to be turned back on etc.!

Ok, now for a bit of history on my presents. MONTHS ago we were shopping in Carmel while Annalina was rehearsing for the Nutcracker and we were taking up time by shopping in the fancy shops there. One shop I especially enjoyed and when I saw a necklace I went gaga over it and then looked at the price tag and moved on. BUT a little boy named Gabriel saw my reaction and was bound and determined to get it for me. Babe went back and bought the gift with the understanding that the kids had to pay him back for it. The gift with a little something extra came to $105!!!! The kids have worked and worked and worked and worked for months to pay off Daddy. In fact, when Grandma and Grandpa sent them each $5 for Valentine's they were going to give it to Daddy for my gift but I told them that Grandma and Grandpa wanted them to go to the dollar store to spend it. They have been so excited as my birthday has approached. "Mommy are you excited?!", "Mommy you're going to scream when you see it!" etc.

Well, the time finally came for me to open this gift. Gabriel held one handle of the bag, Annalina the other handle, and Ross held the bag above his head and they came to present me with this precious gift. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the gift presentation. I did scream by the way! I LOVE this necklace just like when I saw it in the store. It is just stunningly beautiful and every time I wear it I will think of my internally beautiful children. I told the kids that a gift of this amount is not necessary but the fact that they sacrificed sooo much for me really meant a lot to me. Honestly, I can't say how much their perseverance for so long to get me a gift means to me. I have some FABULOUS kids. I am so blessed! I just can't say enough. It is one of those proud parent moments.

Ok, so here are some quotes from the kids tonight.

Gabriel-- "Seeing you happy is the best thing in the world. It's better than a Ghirradelli [chocolate] Sundae up to the clouds. That's not as good as seeing you happy."

Annalina (the frank one)-- "If you weren't a nice Mommy we wouldn't have done this. It kind of effects it."

Ross-- "It is a really beautiful necklace!"

Beside that gift. I got $ from my parents to get a facial treatment at a spa. I went in December for the first time and walked out looking 10 years younger! Babe's parents sent me a beautiful sterling silver necklace and my gift from Babe didn't arrive in time but I am getting Salomon hiking shoes for our soon residence in Colorado! That of course is my dream state with mountains I love and love to hike. Oh, also today I was sung to by my brother and his wife on a message, my older brother sung to me Elvis Presley style, and my dad and his friend (long time friend of our family) are travelling to have a meeting tomorrow with J. Hudson Taylor the IV {very cool, huh?!!} and on their way out of town they called me and sang an awful . . . I mean awesome rendition of Happy Birthday and our family friend encouraged me in my mid 30's status!!

I have had some extremely difficult weeks but it is amazing how far a BIG heap of love goes for the soul. Thank you Lord for giving me such a big blessing on my birthday. "Every good and perfect gift cometh from above".

I'll post a picture of the necklace later!

It's the Little Things

For Christmas we purchased Annalina toe socks and Ross really liked them and would from time to time ask me to buy a boy pair for him. Ross is not a greedy kid and rarely asks for something. In fact, at Christmas Grandma asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he told her we already had a lot of toys. Hopefully that attitude of contentedness stays and this worlds philosophy doesn't seep in like it has a way of doing . . . anyway I decided today was the day to go to the specialty sock store to get him a pair. He picked out a black and yellow striped pair that resembled bumble bees. He and Annalina came home put on their socks and pretended to be bumble bees buzzing around. He was so happy.

The highlight of my day was tonight Ross asking to sit on my lap and within a short time noticing he is sound asleep for the night. Ross is a very big challenge but he is such a sweet heart. I read a quote today that struck me.

If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves. ~C.G. Jung

I can be hard on him. A short time ago I was chastising him because he was telling me "I am trying" and I said "No, you need to not try and just do it". And then my health goes bad and I think "Yah Abigail, don't just try not to worry just do it." It's not that easy it takes encouraging from loved ones and time spent with my Saviour.

Ross adds so much love and humor to our home. Today Grandpa and Grandma sent a care package to us for Valentine's Day. They told us it had new school uniforms in their for the kids. Ross was curious as to what that meant. I had an idea and I was right. We stay in our pj's during school. Yep, we do. Anyway, they sent new Pj's along with some regular clothes. Anyway, my dad said he made up a funny word. The word was "GARK" which stood for Gabriel, Annalina, Ross, and Carson. Ross said "Grandpa must have said that because Grandma wouldn't say anything like that." How right he is!! And cute! His facial expressions I really wish I could video tape! Just too cute!

I Think He Got the Point

In Proverbs we were going through the verses about the contentious woman. One of the verses being about the contentious woman being like a continual dripping. We have been getting a lot of rain here and Gabriel was looking out the window at the rain very quickly dripping off the roof unto a bench and he send "that's the continual dripping [of the wife] and the bench is the husband." He got the point the contentious woman is incessant and annoying!!! Now to hide this in his heart for the time in life he picks a wife.

Psalm 73:28 and Isaiah 61:10

Psalm 73:28

But it is good for me to draw near to God:

I have put my trust in the Lord God,

that I may declare all thy works.

Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful

in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments

of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as

a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth

herself with her jewels.

We Better Nip this Idea in the Bud!

In this household the 2 siblings that have to work the most on their relationship is Annalina and Ross. They can be the best of friends to the worst of friends. We are attempting to teach Ross that when offenses happen not to rush off and tell Mommy but to attempt to work it out first with the person that offended you and if that doesn't work you can come get Mommy or Daddy.

Well, today Annalina came to us and I could tell she was REALLY bothered how Ross always rushes off to tell on her instead of giving her the chance to redeem herself. I told Ross that he needed to go talk things over with Annalina and listen to what bothers her. Not long later Annalina comes walking into the kitchen with a very HURT look on her face and eyes starting to tear . . . it was not anger but hurt. Asking what happened she told me that Ross set a timer and told her she had until the buzzer went off to talk!!! Hmm, better get that attitude and idea out of his head before he is walking down the aisle to wedding bells! That won't go over well with a wife.

How true the song "He's still working on me to make me what I otta be!" In the morning after devotions we are reading through an awesome book called How to make Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. It was written by 3 siblings and is funny and challenging at the same time. Maybe Ross needs to listen a little more closely! ;-)

Seeing it as it is

Now that we are done with our devotional on obedience we have gone back to studying Proverbs with Volume 2 of Proverbs People. Anyway, I don't remember how this came up but we were talking about something and Ross said "I am getting better at not lying!" To which Gabriel piped up that he agreed the Ross did seem to be getting better with that. Ross is refreshing in how he can so freely be who he is. He knew he had a problem with lying but he also knew that he was working on this vice and why not share the progress he's made by telling others. Too funny.

Hard Work Paid Off!

Gabriel has worked and worked at swimming. Babe and I have really enjoyed watching him go from not swimming at all when we moved to Montery to swimming really well now about a year and a half later. He obviously has had good teachers which we are thankful we were able to have access to while here in Monterey. He passed his Dolphins class in January so he is now in Pre-swim team class. He enjoys the competition in this class swimming relays. He is young in this class but that doesn't seem to bother him.

We made a deal awhile back with Gabriel that when he passed Dolphins, which was difficult, we would take him to Mrs. Delish's Cupcakes to celebrate. Mrs. Delish's is a gourmet cupcake shop here in Monterey. I was expecting to be disappointed in the cupcakes as I often am of baked goods but that was the best cupcake I have ever eaten and Babe says the same thing! It better be at $3.50 a piece!! Really each cupcake is like a meal. Oh, so YUMMY!!

The Giant Killer

A book I believe every Christian family should ready ESPECIALLY every homeschooling Christian family. It starts out in this pastor's home that believes in educating their own children but then they are asked to bring 2 boys into their house hold to help give them guidance. The family is challenged spiritually in areas they never knew they struggled with or knew that they had giants lurking. Great book, thought provoking, and convicting.

Psalm 71:14

Psalm 71:14

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

God's Gift--Siblings

The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend.

~ Cali Rae Turner

Annalina and Ross playing out in our blossoming yard.

• Sometimes being a brother is better than being a superhero. ~ Marc Brown
• A brother is a friend God gave you . . . -Proverb
• Gabriel working on school work and Carson came to just hang out near him and play with his favorite cars.

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of.

You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~ Amy Li

Carson came and stood behind "Sissy" to listen to her practice and then clapped when she got to the end of a song.

A Valentine's Day of Love

With all the craziness with my health. I did not prepare for Valentine's Day like I normally would have but the kids picked up the slack and made home made cards for each other and Babe and I. They were SOOOOOOO excited for the time that the card exchange would take place! We had the card exchange at dinner and it was absolutely heart warming to watch them show each other the cards they had made for each other. Carson enjoyed his cards! They thought about what that person would like and made it. Gabriel had been cutting off flowers from his handwriting pages for awhile now and asking me which flowers I liked best then he would cut and save my favorites. Those flowers ended up adorning my beautiful Valentine card. I did get some candy for the kids that was fun and silly and they really enjoyed that. Babe's Valentine to us all was home made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting! Mmmm, Mmm good! Ross and Babe spent time making cupcakes during the evening and I got to hang out and cuddle with Annalina and Gabriel and watch some TV until fairly late at night. Gabriel and Annalina both commented how it was the best Valentine's Day. It really was special with almost all of it handmade and time spent with each other. Annalina didn't want me to let the day end. I am so thankful for my kids and for my hubby. Babe and I, with everything going on lately, didn't get anything for each other and we both agreed it didn't matter we had each other. I thought it was a SUPER Valentine's Day with my Valentines.

Gabriel's Medieval Picture

Gabriel colored this picture for an Uncle that recently had surgery. He spent A LOT of time on it and he was so happy with the result. He wanted me to post it on my blog and I think that was a GREAT idea. It is a super picture!

Bit and Pieces of My Week that Make Me Smile

*I heard Annalina and Ross having some sort of spat and then I hear Ross's feet speeding towards me. I knew he was coming to tell on Annalina for something but then the feet stopped and I heard the 2 of them talking and Annalina was apologizing. Then I hear Ross say "That's not when your supposed to say that it is when it happens. That is how I do it!" That was so funny to hear . . . so he was telling Annalina don't come apologize when I go to tell Mommy that is how I do it! TO FUNNY!

*I am thoroughly enjoying Ross's new found ability to read! It will be fun to watch him get better and better! He can read a simple sentence now! He also is enjoying that he is getting paid for books like Gabriel and Annalina!

*Annalina wanting me to sing with her as she practices on the piano the song "Sweet Hour of Prayer." She thinks she plays better when I sing with her. So sweet.

*Carson really dislikes going to take a nap when everyone else is so busy. The kids now get in his crib when they know I am bringing him to bed and hide under his blankets. He knows the trick now and if it is bumpy when I lay him down he knows his siblings are in there with him and he smiles and enjoys the kisses he gets smothered with. He is more settled with this softening into nap time. Gabriel thought of this first and Annalina and Ross have enjoyed jumping in on the fun!

*A hubby that is so sweet and so in love with me and so funny. I won't give examples of everything ;-) but for the funny . . . today my phone rang and it has a weird ring tone and he started doing some weird sort of dance/prance/jump? whatever it was. For those of you who know Brian that is a hysterical sight! He makes me to smile.

"Off with her head!"

I have been meaning to blog this for a very long time, in fact, since July! My brother and his wife came to visit with us. While they were here me, my sister-in-law, Gabriel, and Annalina went to a play production of Alice in Wonderland at the Forest Theater in Carmel. Annalina was REALLY, REALLY into the story and when the Queen of Hearts said off with her head (speaking of Alice) Annalina was SO UPSET she YELLED LOUD "Off with HER head!!!" Well, Annalina was MORTIFIED when she discovered she had let that slip and that the audience was now laughing and looking at her!! She really did not do it to be disruptive because she was horrified at the whole thing! I was in tears I was laughing so hard. That is my Annalina "the defender".

Weekend Trip to Colorado

A few weekends ago Babe and I and Carson flew to Colorado for a house hunting trip which is a whole other story but while we were there we got to meet up with my brother Quentin and his wife Theo and their 2 foster kids. This was the highlight of our trip. We fell in love with the 2 little boys at first sight. Carson enjoyed the older of the 2 boys. This week those 2 little ones were taken back to their family and we all morn their absence but especially my brother and his wife who showered those boys with love and vice versa.

When Gabriel was doing his Bible reading one night he came across the verse Psalm 126 about "Those that sow in tears with reap in joy" he thought of his aunt and uncle and now feels sure that God has something great for them soon. I love how he grabbed onto that for them and even prayed that verse the day we got on the floor to pray for the transfer of the boys as it was about to take place. I am so excited to see what God has for them. They are an amazing couple that loves and serves the Lord with all their heart. They bonded with those boys and did an amazing job with them in the weeks they had them. I wish I could post pictures of the boys but I can't do that but I thought I would post some of Carson happy to be with his aunt and uncle!

Cairo's Riots aren't anything compared to . . .

When I saw this picture I got a funny caption in my head for it in lu of what is going on in Cairo, Egypt right now.

"Cairo, Egypt is nothing compared to the riots here at our house!" Ross and Carson are having a grand time!

Teddy's Button

In my opinion this is one of the best Christian children's books written!!! Absolutely amazing . . . convicting, funny, etc. The kids and I LOVED this book!!! Probably will read it again out loud. It really is good for so many ages. The little boy Teddy's father died in war and he is so proud of his daddy but his love for all things military takes a different twist than his countries army. He learns about the army of a Heavenly Father. As the book relays his prayer to his Heavenly Father to enlist in his army I was fighting back tears! A MUST READ!