Telling about it

This past Sunday, our church hosted Billy Graham's brother-in-law, Leighton Ford. In his sermon, he challenged us to "pay attention, be astonished, and tell about it." Now, many of us, including myself, automatically think we need to pay attention to God working something really BIG in our lives. However, lately I've been challenged to pay attention to anything God is doing in my life, especially the small things. Thus, my story:

2 years ago Jeff and I read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It was a challenging book which led us to create a serious monthly budget and stick to it by paying for things in cash. That said, one of our budget categories is clothing. Each month our goal is to only buy clothes with the cash in that category. This is not always easy, but today was a reminder of God's faithfulness in our finances.

Cambria's feet grew quite a bit in the last month, and she needed new snow boots and tennis shoes. So, earlier this month I bought her new snow boots, splurged on some everyday boots from Target, and was searching for new tennis shoes. In the past, I bought Stride Rite tennis shoes from Marshalls, so this morning I packed up the girls and we went in search of shoes.

As we pulled up to Marshalls, Cambria said, "Mom, you said that you would look for some new Sunday dresses for me." I said, "Cambria, this month you needed new shoes. We're spending our clothing budget on your shoes and cannot look for new dresses this month." She accepted it and, of course, was elated when we got her new tennis shoes.

Later this afternoon, Jeff came back from Northern Virginia. He brought back a box of diapers that I accidently shipped to my parents' house. Taped to the box was a grocery bag. We wondered what was in the bag. Wouldn't you know there was a dress that my mom had found for Cambria -- the perfect winter dress in her exact size.

Now, I tell you this story because it was an example of God's faithfulness in our family's life. When Cambria asked me for new dresses earlier today, don't you think that I wanted to run out and buy her new ones? Any mom would. But, I also know that Jeff and I prayerfully created this budget and felt it was important to stick with it.

Since I didn't buy her new dresses, it gave God an opportunity to bless Cambria (and our family) through my mom.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to pay attention, be astonished and tell about it.

Our little 1 year old!

Wow, I still can't believe that Eliana is 1 year old! We celebrated her birthday, January 1st, with a low-key family party. She was cute as ever, and surprised me by eating cake. I really didn't expect her to like it.

Eliana is a precious little girl. She was a surprise baby and was worth every minute of pregnancy I went through in 2009. She lights up our lives from the moment she wakes up -- even if it's in the middle of the night. She took her first steps 2 weeks before her birthday and now spends her days circling our first floor non-stop. I'm sure that she's determined to run by Spring.

She is also very talented musically. We are constantly amazed at her ear for repeating songs we sing around her. One of her first words she sang was "hallelujah" from the Lincoln Brewster song God You Reign. She also does a great job singing "up above the world so high" from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

I know, I know, we're a little taken with our sweet, little one. I'm thankful that we made it through the first year of her life -- especially with the big move across country. I look forward to her 2nd year of life and the special moments it will bring.

Lessons from Little House on the Prairie

Recently Cambria & I have been reading the Little House of the Prairie series. It's been years since I read the books, and I'm thrilled with the lessons they are teaching Cambria. The other night we were reading On the Banks of Plum Creek. In the book Laura disobeys Pa and Ma's rules, and goes down to a deep lake near their home on her own. She later confesses and her parents tell her that because of her disobedience she has lost their trust. Her punishment was to spend the entire next day with Ma, never leaving her sight. If Laura obeyed then she would have earned Pa & Ma's trust, once again. The lesson was brilliant and I love the way Pa & Ma disciplined.

Well, tonight Cambria went against our house rules, and had to be punished. I decided to take a similar approach and told her what her restriction would be and that if she obeyed us then she would earn our trust to do more, once again. She took it well and I'll keep you posted on how she does in earning our trust. :-)

Also, because of reading the Little House books, our girls have become obsessed with playing Little House. They love that the Ingalls also had 4 girls (eventually).

This week I ordered the first DVD of Season 1 of The Little House on the Prairie show from Netflix. We watched the first episode last night and the second one today. In the second show, Country Girls, Laura & Mary meet Nellie Olson. Cambria & Avery LOVED the show!!! Also, in the Country Girls episode Laura gives a wonderful speech about her Ma, which brought me to tears, but mostly because Avery came over to snuggle and hug me. I think that it was her way of saying that she loves and appreciates me, too. It was such a special moment.

Oh well, I have gushed on and on about the Little House series, but if you have girls I highly recommend reading the books and watching the early tv shows. They teach Biblical principles, respect for adults and love for family.

Lastly, below is a picture of the 3 older girls in their bonnets and aprons. Cambria made them out of fabric and yarn that she had collected. She is incredibly resourceful and creative. I think that she would have done well in the late 1800s. :-)