Choosing Thomas

I'm in tears as I've just finished watching this video of a couple from Dallas, TX, give birth to their baby boy who was told had Trisomy 13. They were given the option to terminate but chose to give their son life, even if would be short lived.

I think of my friend, S, who is presently pregnant with her little girl who has the same genetic condition. Our prayers are with you, dear one.

A belated Father's day gift

So, we've have this stepping stone kit in our garage for two years now. It was a freebie from Michael's (after coupon, of course!) but I've purposely neglected it, waiting for just the right time to make it as well as waiting for my kids to come of age when they would appreciate their result. Not to mention that the kit comes with a wimpy bag of stones, each the size of a dime - and only about 20 inside!

One day after picking the kids up from school, I noticed a HUGE pile of junk on the side of the road that someone was tossing. After asking permission to "dig", I found a bucket full of blue/green colored glass pieces deep down under. The bucket has kept the kit company in the garage for far too long. It was time for us to hunker down and get messy - the kids were all for it!



I wish I had captured the kids actually dropping their rocks and glass pieces in the mold but I had fingers covered in mud and I wasn't about to run inside to retrieve my camera and risk getting concrete on it.

I think the stepping stone turned out quite nice. The kiddos love it, Daddy loves it, and it's now resting in the grass beside our front porch for all our visitors to see.

Happy late Father's Day, Mitch!

10 Digit Lumber blog

1 0 D I G I T L U M B E R

I've spent way too many minutes this afternoon laughing my booty off while reading this blog. My finger hurts from clicking on all the archives. Seriously, you're gonna love it. Blogs with humor are my favorite reads!

Mom, I think you'd especially enjoy her blog. She's a limmerick writer!

Thanks, Jenna, for sharing this blog with me. And, I agree with your most recent post!

Randomness makes me feel like I've accomplished a good post

Ok, I've got a few random pictures on my memory card. I don't HAVE to post any of them but I want to yet don't want to take the time to explain them all in 4-5 different posts. Here they are in no particular order (that would be pointless since this is a RANDOM post):

This is the pottery Andrew has completed in his summer class. We just signed him up for four more classes this fall. I hope they don't make any more bird related items.

Just in case you can't figure them out: (L to R) birdhouse (which is broken on top due to me knocking it off the counter on accident), a bird bath, and a bird feeder.

This is my daughter. Isn't she lovely?

Here are my two crazy sons playing inside on a rainy afternoon. I refused to give them another snack so Andrew resorted to eating a plastic pastry.

Wordless Wednesday: Sunday at Butts Mill Farm

Homemade Oreos

The Pioneer Woman does it again. Time to make these tasty treats. I know my kiddos will love them! Me, too!

Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock!

This show cracks me up everytime...even the reruns make me laugh, no matter how many times I view an episode. This is one of my favorite scenes - the argument over whether Deep Space 9 is better than Saturn 3. Sheldon rocks!

A La Carte: ART

I have been teaching art to the students at my children's school going on four years (with a small maternity break somewhere in there). Sometimes ideas for this class come quickly, with ease. Other times, I'm pushing it to the limit to come up with a project that is educational, fun, and simple to prepare. So, I thought I'd share a few links to show you where I get most of my ideas. Yeah, I know I'm a copycat.....but, in this case, I've got no shame in that!

Art Projects for Kids
Art teacher, Kathy, from California, shares many ideas and pictures of various art projects she's completed with her students. I love this site so much that most of my lessons from last year came from Kathy's brain.

Oodles of Art
Projects and art lessons taught by elementary art teacher, Katie.

David Lubin Arts Program
A blog about the artistic adventure of the students of David Lubin Elementary School.

The Ramblings of a Crazy Woman
A great resource for alphabet/letter crafts, geared toward preschoolers.

A lazy Sunday afternoon

Just chillin' in the water with my tube and my dad.

Her favorite book

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The pictures are captivating and the writing is easily memorized because of it's rhythm. We love Bill Martin and Eric Carle.

Want a personal challenge?

In the mood for a challenge?
Try one of these.

I like this: Thumbs Up: Poke, Poke, Poke

No more TV?

I've been thinking about this lately but I'm not sure how much thought my husband has given to the subject. It would be a good way to save money, though....that might win him over!

Any thoughts, Damon?

Climbing the walls

It's been raining alot here lately. This is what we've been doing since we're stuck inside.

No, I have no pictures of me attempting this feat. Are you kidding?

A quote for today

Don’t ever degenerate into giving advice unconnected to the good news of Jesus crucified, alive, present, at work, and returning.

- CJ Mahaney

Videos on Scripture memory for kids

Again, I'm looking for other ways to help my children memorize scripture along with me. I mentioned these CDs in an earlier post but I wanted to show off the videos to prove how awesome this music is.

Want a rock and roll feel as you memorize God's Word? Try this one:

1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV) -
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Want something a little more mellow? Try this one:

Psalm 55:22 (NIV) -
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

You can place an order until January 10, 2010, at a discount price (20% off) by using the code KSTEWART09.

HT: Megan at Half Pint House

I want to hug the code writer

I confess.....I'm not in the Word as much as I'd like to be. I could give you excuse after excuse but they'd only be....well...excuses. I realize I can't dedicate the amount of time to Bible study as I did while in college (gosh, that was 16 years ago) and I know that there's no reason to feel guilty for that. But, I do miss that intimacy with the Father I once had.

Now, my life looks different since I'm no longer single with much time to myself. I'm now married and a mother to three. Life is good, life is precious, life is sweet (thank you, Wes King)....but life is just divided into many different directions for me right now (I am envisioning many friends nodding their heads in agreement). I love my life and am so very thankful for it...but, honestly, I envy the intimacy I once had with the Father. Seriously, I feel no condemnation or anger from our good and loving Lord in regards to my lack of time spent with him....but I crave His Word, I hunger for his wisdom, and I miss knowing him more.

Wait, let me be clear. I do KNOW him in ways I've never known him before. I am married to a sinner who is married to a sinner, so my prayers are somewhat different than they were ten years ago *smile*. Also, I've only been a mother for five years, four months, and eleven days and believe me, I cry out to him in my head many times during the course of a typical day in the McGinnis household. Sometimes those cries aren't so soft and private. I KNOW he hears me, I KNOW he wants what is best for me/us, and I KNOW he is always loving and good. That is sometimes all I have to dwell on......and he is faithful.

Being in his Word is important to me but I don't feel obligated to have a QT every morning. However, I believe that Scripture is powerful and life changing and important to memorize. I have always wanted to place index cards around the house in places of notice containing verses applicable to our family life. So, just imagine how grateful I am for the code writer who came up with this easy application - The ESV verse card maker. All I have to do is type in the scripture reference, print, and cut.

My first memory card has already been taped at eye level to the area above my kitchen sink. It goes like this:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ~ Deuteronomy 6:7

How's that for a reminder?

Happy food: Cream wafers

They get so excited over vanilla cream wafers.

A La Carte

As you might have noticed, I get a lot of my articles for my weekly A La Carte from the same blogs (Challies, Justin Taylor, etc). They just post some really insightful stuff and I can't help but share what they find! Enjoy!


Atlanta preacher makes a strong and encouraging promise

Classically trained 11 year old plays "Billie Jean" on his guitar

Interview with John Piper on reading and studying the Bible and not getting bored with something so familiar.

Photo freebies & cheapies @ Walgreens

Oh my......Walgreens is dishin' out the photo freebies and cheapies this week. Heather has posted an overview of the offers this week and she'll be typing out the coupon codes there each morning this week as well.

Thanks for telling us about these offers, Heather! If it weren't for promotions like this, I'd go broke developing all my pictures!

While eating dinner in the garage

We got home late Sunday night from small group which meant a late dinner. Since it was cool outside, we fixed an easy evening meal and ate together in the garage. There, we enjoyed funny conversation, a small breeze, the smell and sound of rain, and some mighty good sandwiches.


Near the end of our meal, I stepped inside to draw some bath water for the youngest two children. Leaving the tub to run, I stepped back outside and was greeted by our neighbor with a freshly frosted cake. We demolished it for dessert in one sitting (well, almost all of it) and just as I finished the last bite of my cake, my eyes got big, I gasped and said, "Oh no, I forgot to turn off the water!".


Well, at least now I don't have to mop.

Friends are great!

B. and K. came over to play last night and we all had so much fun!

Abigail enjoyed have an older friend to show her how to play "house".

Little K. spent most of the evening playing with toys, laughing, or chowing down on some yummy food. However, he did take a few moments to visit the zoo.

Wordless Wednesday

Some comic "strips" make me laugh

Kids Eat Free

THIS LINK IS WORKING NOW!

Thanks to Becky, I now know what nights kids eat free for every restaurant in the country (well, at least in the southeast). Now you do, too!

Tonight it's CiCi's for us!

Gear? Check!

They've decided they are ready to join me during my morning laps.

Pictures of Typhoon Morakot

The outcome is sad and the Big Picture has captured the devastation. Please pray for the various Asian countries affected by this natural disaster.

A La Carte

Biblemap.org
A free Bible atlas that uses Google maps to plot geographical locations mentioned in the English Standard or King James versions of the Bible.

Seeds Family Worship CDs
Songs written to help kids remember the Scripture verses.

Amy Beth's fake boyfriend story
Single young lady, Amy Beth, writes this while the AC repairman works on her apartment's broken cooling unit. Her real reason for posting is that she's trying to avoid him because he’s hitting on her "like a Major League Baseball player goes after a home run pitch."

The Acid Test of Being a Christian
Article found on monergism.com, written by Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Chruch, PCA, in Manhattan, NY.
There are two kinds of people that go to church: there's religious people and real Christians. A religious person is someone who is trying to save themselves through their good works. A Christian is somebody who sees themselves as in God's debt.

I Heart Faces challenge

I am enjoying what little I know (and am slowly learning) about photography. I Heart Faces is one of my favorite photo blogs and I've hesitantly decided to enter a photo in this week's challenge (week 29). The theme is funny, silly faces and I knew instantly which photo to browse and pick from my collection.

PUCKER UP!

A new baby doll

My sweet neighbor gave this cute baby doll to Abigail today. She even came with a small baby bag in tow, full of baby toys and feeding items. Abigail clung to this doll all afternoon and into the evening before bedtime. See those motherly traits come to life? I'll have to do better at capturing her holding, burping, and rocking her new doll for another post.

If there's a tree nearby, he'll climb it.

Maria's Big House of Hope

In case you missed it, here's the clip from Friday's 700 Club featuring the Chapman family talking about the new orphanage in China they helped to fund: Maria's Big House of Hope.

Typical morning at the breakfast table

They sure do make me laugh. I enjoy listening to them talk to one another during the breakfast meal. I'm usually a few steps away at the kitchen counter or sink, leaning with a listening ear. There's so, so, so much to be thankful for.

First day of school

School has started and my boys are L-O-V-I-N-G it. That's no exaggeration, I promise. They were asking to go to school this morning.....Saturday!

They are growing up so fast - one in kindergarten and the other in PreK. I only took a few snapshots of their first morning at school because I didn't want to be "that mom".