Wordless Wednesday

Special moments with our children..........

I try to get in a LOT of snuggling time with my kids, especially as they are stretching into big kids right off of my lap~ those moments are so precious, let me share the two we had together today.

Me & Grace about 7am~ I'm holding her baby style on my lap even though she is tall for a 6 yr old, she tries to resist at first, but quickly succumbs to the attention (o:

Me "Grace, did you know what a wonderful sweet girl you are and how incredibly proud I am of you?"
Grace "yes, mom you told me that a lot of times"
Me "Well Grace, I sure love you and you'll always be my sweet baby girl, alright?"
Grace "Okay Mom, but your breathe smells really bad, have you been drinking that coffee again?"

Thanks for the heads up Grace (o:

Me & Ben about 8:30 pm tonight post bath~ he LOVES it when he'll surprise me and put on his footie pj's and they are so soft and cuddly and he'll run straight to me with them on and say Mom, you're snuggle bug is here! So, I'll scoop him up and kiss all over his neck and tell him what a sweet snuggle bug he is, and he'll let me rock him, even though he is 4 (oh, and a half) and tough and super strong like Dad, (his exact words) and never stops moving, except to let me rock him. He melts in my arms and is the one of all the kids that asks nightly if I will snuggle with him. So, anyways, I'm rocking him in my arms and telling him how much I love him, and he stops me to say, "Mom, have you ever seen a chicken poop, cuz I have"
Oh, the things that must run through a little boys mind (o: But, if I had to sell all my worldly possesions, besides my Bible and photographs, the very last thing to go would be my rocking chair. Mighty Men of God were raised in rocking chairs I suspect (o:(Here's my boy in motion, who asked me to take a hundred pictures of him jumping off of a rock. I need a picture of him being rocked........... :o)

All the Days of my Life

Psalm 27:4, "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple."

David longed for the "House of the Lord." It was his favorite place to be. But David could not be in the house of the Lord continually, as much as he longed to. He was king of a nation. He had battles to fight; administration to attend to. But dear mother, we have the opportunity to live David's longing. Let me explain.

The house of the Lord is no longer one temple as it was in David's day. It is not even a church building where we attend on Sundays or Saturdays today. The house of the Lord speaks of His presence. God wants your home to be His house where His presence dwells; a place where you abide in Him and He abides in you. The house of the Lord is abiding fellowship with Christ. The house of the Lord is your kitchen where you prepare the meals; the house of the Lord is your dining table where you feed your family and make every meal a love affair; the house of the Lord is any room in the home where you are working or interacting with your children.

In your home you can behold the beauty of the Lord. As you abide in Him and look to Him, He will impart His grace to you in your time of need. He will show you that He is the God who is Enough for every challenge and every situation. He is with you, in your home, and will never leave you or forsake you. No, not even when everything seems overwhelming and you feel like tearing your hair out! You are still in the house of the Lord at this moment. Instead of despairing about the situation, stop for a moment and realize that God is with you. He has promised that He will not fail you. Thank Him that He is with you. Thank Him that He cannot fail you.

In your home you can inquire in His temple. David had to go God's temple to inquire of the Lord. He faced battles, enemies and challenges; He needed God's discernment, wisdom and strength. You also long for God's wisdom. You are desperate to know what to do. You cannot go on without His strength. Praise the Lord, you don't have to get into your car and rush off to a church building. You are in the house of the Lord right now. You can inquire in His temple right now. He will give you His wisdom. He has promised, remember.

All you have to do is abide--that literally means to live in His presence. It means to acknowledge that Christ is living within you and that you are in Him. You are inseparable. You are one. He is your life source. You can't live without Him (well, I can't anyway!). Your own strength wains; you need His. Your wisdom is human; you need His divine wisdom. Your love runs out the door; you need His agape love. You are depressed and down in the dumps; His joy does not depend on how you feel. You feel your life is worthless; you can only bear fruit to bless your family and touch other lives as you abide.

John 15:4-5 says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me can do nothing." There it is. The secret to living in the house of the Lord all the days of your life.

How I love those words... "all the days of my life." It doesn't matter what my day is like, God is with me. It doesn't matter whether I think God has left me; He is bigger than my thoughts. My thoughts deceive but God doesn't change.

See your home in a new light. It is the house of the Lord. You can live in it all the days of your life.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Thank you, Lord, for showing me that my home is the house of the Lord. Help me to enjoy my home in a new way. Thank you that I don't have to visit the house of the Lord. I live in it! Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am not a visitor but a dweller in the house of the Lord.

SCRIPTURES REFERRED TO IN THIS DEVOTION:

Look up Isaiah 41: 10, 13; Hebrews 13:5-6; James 1:5-8.

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~*~*~*~*~*I LOVE the Fall~*~*~*~*~*

Happy first day of Fall~ my first favorite season (o: I have 3 more favorite seasons too, you just can't love only one, they all are special in their own way, but Fall truly is beautiful.
Here is my list of things I love about.........
~~~~~~~~~~~AUTUMN~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Of course, the Amazing colors~ what a sight to behold! I use a lot of autumn colors in my house, they are by far my favorite colors. I oohh and aaahhh over the magnificent colors while driving through the country side and tell hubby that I see a color I want on my walls, lol, (kinda like when I get a perfect chicken egg from our girls in a neat-o brown or tan, lol) I day dream of the perfect family photo under a glowing Oak tree sorrounded by big piles of leaves (that Ben, Sarah, and Josiah are NOT jumping through while running from the camera) Someday I want to go to Maine or somewhere in that vicinity where I've heard Autumn is breathtaking.

* pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin coffee creamer, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin candles, roasted pumpkin hot out of the oven with butter and salt, pumpkin shaped candy, pumpkins on my porch, pumpkin patches, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, if they made pumpkin gum I'd probably try that........ ;o)

* Sweaters, sweaters on my sister's chihuahua, scarves, tights, long skirts, knee high socks, boots, my denim jacket, big wool socks with my birkenstocks, layers, .......

* APPLES! CORN! SQUASH! did I mention PUMPKINS yet?! SUNFLOWERS still in bloom! Seeing the fruits of our labor coming from the garden~ I love harvesting and watching my family be nourished through it. I love that working in the ground brings us food to our table, so much more satisfying then bringing it home from the grocery store where it's shipped in from who knows where....

* My 3 young turkeys who are, to the children's delight~ not going to be fat enough for Turkey Day and we will, well~ just have to have another vegetarian Thanksgiving! (o:

*Harvest Parties! Aren't they the best? have you ever been to a barn party or a real apple cider pressing party?! There is usually a big bonfire to go along with it, a gathering of old and new friends, hay rides, scare crows, roasted corn on the cob, fiddles and banjos, old fashioned fun and enough flannel to get your fill till the next Fall (o: Yee~Haw (Anyone hosting one this year???)

* Cuddling up next to your sweetie (or a good book, lol) under a blanket with some hot cider in front of a crackling fire.


I KNOW there is much more to love about Fall~ what do you love about this glorious season?????

Party Hardy

We party hard around here, hahahaha

Wordless Wednesday

Josiah (jojo) just being cute
















Don't judge, you don't know him~ trust me it's for his safety and yours. hehehe














sisterly love, I just love it.

wish I had a picture.....

for what I saw on the interstate today~
Picture gramps on one of those cruiser bikes, the kind of motorcycle that you take trips on, with all the bells and whistles. Looks as comfortable as one could be on 2 wheels at the speed of 70 mph, he was practically lounging. He looked to be the age of all the men you see driving motorhomes, except he looked more comfortable than the men driving the giant wobbly home on wheels between the semi's around here. Here's the best part though~ he was not alone. Oh no, his lady was right there beside him. that's right~beside him, not behind him. She was in a recliner position in a little side car attached to his bike. She had her drink holder, her little headset where she can converse with gramps, and here's the best part~ she had her walker strapped to the back of her sidecar. No kidding~ a walker! Obviously age is catching up to these folks still out enjoying themselves, which I highly admire~and it appears that it'll take a lot to slow these two down! I wanted to give them a big thumbs up and yell AWESOME out my van window as I drove by, but I didn't want to embarras them, or more likely just embarras myself. (o:

1st day of school

I have 4 kids in school this year. It's odd to have them gone all day after enjoying so many years with them here by my side, but they are truly enjoying it and we are truly blessed with a wonderful little bitty school, and the fact that they have a better teacher student ratio then they did at home is quite humorous! At least Melody will be back to homeschooling next year(if not all of them) as they don't offer high school, and this mama just couldn't stand to have her girl apart from her that long anyways. the years are flying by too fast and I need to keep her close before she has to spread her wings and fly (o:
Here's some pics of the munchkins I have at home still occupying my days.........


They are a handful, that's for sure.....never a dull moment (o:
and here's the dad~ he still requires the most attention, lol...this is my lovely dog Molly. Isn't she adorable? Can you guess what kind of dog she is????
I'd love to know if you figure it out (o:

Out of place

Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong era?
I know it's silly. God places us where we are for a reason. No changing that! But last night we went down to Fort Vancouver and watched with wide eyed wonder as they reenacted 1846 at the Fort, and I couldn't help but somehow wish we didn't have to leave.
We got to silently walk through the old, old houses by candlelight as we listened to the conversations that may have been happening over 150 years ago. We watched the blacksmiths working in their shops, we saw the Dr. and his hundreds of bottles of potions, we watched the ladies working by their candlelight and visiting while one of the big sisters braided her younger sister's hair. We went through the bakery with their huge brick ovens. We saw the pots all hanging in a row over a fire while they prepared corn bread, rabbit stew, and beans. We went through the fur trading post area where Sarah started saying "oh no, they got killed" about all the animals! (o:
I lingered the longest in the homes where they raised families. I tried to take in all that I could, as it really is my favorite way to decorate. If I could afford it I'd have my home all done in antiques. The older, the better! I wish we could step back and live more simply. I'd leave behind all the modern day gadgets in a heartbeat. We don't need television, that's for sure!! I still don't have a cell phone contract, I wouldn't know what to do with an mp3, microwaves are unhealthy........ but I do admit that I love a good hot shower everyday!! (o:
But what I long for is the community. The closeness of women working together, Fathers working close to or at home(not a 40 minute commute one way everyday), caring for our neighbors, the simplicity, just the basics and our focus on what was truly important, not a house full of plastic junk or acquiring more *stuff* as we watch the world around us suffer. Seems like with all the technology abounding that we could've come a lot further with humanity rather than all the hoarding that we as Americans partake in. okay, I'm getting off subject here and the kids have been in and out about 800 times, making it hard to have clear thoughts (o:
Yours truly, a wannabe pioneer gal

Our little Gift

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away~ and through it all blessed be the name of the Lord.
We were given a little gift from the Lord for only a very short time, but in it we rejoice knowing that we have a little soul in heaven, already basking in His Light and Glory! For this we are overjoyed and it brings us such comfort. We miss who that little person would've been in our family and how much joy he/she would've brought to us all, but we know God's plans are always best, for this we are grateful. I yearn for the day we shall be together and I can wrap my arms around that little one, but for now we will hold our dear ones a little tighter and thank our Heavenly Father for all the blessings he has bestowed upon us.