Speaking on Sunday

As many of you know, I have been asked to give a talk on Sunday. I have figured out over the years that the Lord always calls either when i have something completley figured out and I need to share with others.....Or (which is the case MOST of the time) he calls us to do something to stretch us...or help us learn, improve and spiritually grow. This time....it is the latter. My subject is: "Reverence For The Sabbath." Now in the broad sense of the principle, we do keep the sabbath day holy. However....there seems to be more contention in our home on Sundays. It that just the adversary? Do I just notice it more because it seems so oposite of attending church? Is everybody just grumpy because of the early rising and Sunday morning rush to get out the door by a ceratin time? (I hate being late for church). Other than going to church and not shopping, Sundays really don't seem that different to me. I wonder if they feel different to the kids. I will inquire and find out, then share their insights in my talk. I want the sabbath to feel different (better). I want to have peace and harmony in our home so that the spirit can dwell here. I want the children to recognize that the Lord blesses us when we do our part. I want them to understand that Sunday can and should feel different (better) than any other day. I pray that as I write my talk I will discover ways to do this better in our home. You see....I am already looking forward to making some positive changes and am anticipating the Lord speaking to me so that I might do so. I really do not like speaking in church (nerves, sweaty hands, talking too fast, losing my place in my notes, my throat gets dry, I wonder if the people in the back can hear me OK,......on and on). But.....I do appreciate and value the spiritual growth that ALWAYS comes with it. I will press forward with faith. I know the Lord loves me.
KKS

Community Service

It's something I don't do enough of. Yes, I serve my family on a regular bases, but it's not the same. Today I had the opportunity to go to Western Maine Community Action to do volunteer work. It really was a great (and humbling) experience. I often forget how truly blessed we are. I am also grateful to live in a country where so many things are abundant. There is an excess of almost every thing in this country and it was heart warming to contribute to this great force in our community. We did alot of sorting, moving and organizing many items that will be sold at a giant yard sale in August. The money raised from this sale (all items are donations) will be put back into community programs like heat assistance and the food bank.
It was there that I thought to myself...."Wow, we are so very blessed. Poor though we may be, my children always have three meals a day, clothes to wear and a home to live in. I want to recognise these blessings and not take them for granted. I think of the hymn "Because I have been goven much, I too must give. Because of thy great bounty Lord, each day I live."
I know why we as Mothers love our children so very much. It is because we serve them every minute of our lives once they are conceived. The Lord asks us to serve others and I know that it is not only for their benefit. It changes our hearts, it heals our soul. It opens our eyes to peoples lives outside of our friends and family. It affords us the oppertunity to think beyond ourselves.....what a great blessing. I feel blessed to have had this oppertunity. The Lord knew I needed this. I have heard it said...."If you are mad at someone....serve them. Find some way to brighten their day." Granted, it doesn't always (immediatley) fix a situation....but it always fixes you (me). Meaning....you feel better afterward. I have applied this principle many times with my children and husband and it always works.
Alas, the Lord has given us...... yet another...... commandment that will improve all aspects of our lives.
I guess I got off on a tangent there for a minute. I'll wrap this up by saying that I truly enjoyed rendering service this day.
KKS

Eventful Day!!!

Bandit has permanently left the nest. Today, the kids scooped up another bird named "Flitter" when he was running around the yard with his Mommy. I told them they could keep it for a little while (an hour or so....i wanted them all to see it up close) so they brought it in the house and made great friends....the bird got so used to them, it was so cute. Then it started chirping loudly and the Mom and Dad bird appeared on the deck in an attempt to rescue their kidnapped baby. So I told them to put it back in the nest. Well....Lundi wanted to keep it as a pet. We got a cage and some baby food (we read online to feed them baby food) and after many attempts to feed it, it still didn't eat. I tried to convince Lundi to put it back....which was very heart wrenching....she cried and cried because she was totally enchanted by this bird and wanted to raise it as a pet. I told her to pray about what she should do, so she did. She felt like she should put it back, but still didn't want to. So finally I had her think about how the Mommy bird must feel, how are we going to get it to eat and that it wouldn't be cute laying dead at the bottom of the cage. "It will have much better chance of living if we put it back......but it is your decision." I told her. Finally, with a broken heart and tears streaming down her face, she reluctantly handed the bird to me and we put it back in the nest. She was so upset, you would have thought her best friend had died. It took her a long time to calm down. We had dinner, then I suggested we go to the pet store and get her a bird. We got a beautiful parakeet and all is well in Lundi's world tonight!!!
Liam has an ear infection....which explains his crabby mood lately. So he is on an antibiotic and will be better soon.
It poured down rain today. I told the kids to grab some soap and go take a shower....and so they did. They also turned the coolers into bath tubs. Innovative.....don't you think? They said it was "warmer" in the "tub." Maybe one of them peed in there.
You can check out the pictures (and many other great ones of our latest adventures) on the family web site. They will be uploaded tomorrow.
There is never a dull moment Chez Nous.
KKS

My Fabulous Five

I will start with Caleb. Why is he fabulous? Well......because he has a photographic memory and remembers specific details that escape most people. He can also build amazing things with Legos. He pays close attention to details. He is conscious of the younger kids' safety. His love for reading has taken him all the way up to an 8th grade reading level. He loves the Lord and wants to do what is right. It is a beautiful thing to watch his testimony grow. He loves The Book of Mormon. Caleb is unique in many ways, he always "thinks outside the box."
Lately he has caught the Harry Potter bug again and finished book two in two days. He will start the third book tomorrow. We told him that he can watch the movies as long as he reads the books first.
Caleb is loyal, intelligent, kind, brave, honest, inquisitive. He is a friend to everyone he meets. His talents and spiritual gifts will take him far in life and we are here to cheer him on!
We love him dearly.

Catching Up!!!

Well, actually there is no way I can catch up on the last few weeks of our lives, but here is a summary...
I am currently reading "Peter The Great" and wow....what a fascinating and brilliant man he was. I don't know why I picked this one, it just intruiged me. Russia and the Orthodox Church have a fascinating history.
Harrison fell down with a pair of tweezers in his nose and they got stuck there. Why were they in his nose??? Well, you see he was trying to retrieve a bead that he put in there. He was coming quickly outside to ask for my help (I was vacuuming the van) when he stumbled and the tweezers went right up his nose....OUCH! So I pulled them out, stopped the bleeding, called the Ped's office. They instructed me to do the "rescue blow" but it was to no avail....that bead was stuck. So our next stop was to the ER and after alot of waiting, the Doc's came in and encouraged me to try the rescue blow again (to avoid having to stick anything else in there). I blew....nothing. They said "Blow harder, you won't blow his lungs or brains out." So I huffed and I puffed and on the third blow, out comes that blue bead. Isn't Motherhood so exciting?
Liam is getting four molars at once and boy is he crabby! I hope that it is temporary....I want my sweet boy back.
Mike has been doing computer work for a great charity called "Now I Lay Me down To sleep." Our friend Melissa took the pictures. It is an organization that provides support, photos and DVD's for parents who lose babies during pregnancy, childbirth or infancy. He is making a DVD for the parents of baby Curtis right now, he lived only 20 minutes after birth. The DVD is so beautiful and I know it will be cherished by this sweet baby's family.
We have a nest of birds on a low branch out front. We have been watching them. We discovered by accident when Lundi shook the branch their nest was on and three of them fell out. Well, the full story is on Mike's blog but the latest is that "Bandit" left the nest today and we didn't put him back. So long, little friend. Thanks for teaching us so much and letting us have a peek into your family's life.
Caled thouroughly enjoyed technology camp. He made a really neat DVD about the Amazon rain forest and is quite proud of his accomplishment, as are we. There is so much more I could share but it is so very late and slumber awaits me. It is 1:47......i really have to go to bed.
KKS