Updated Layout!

We have a new layout! Let's be honest. I have been waaaaay out of the technology world for about a year now, and I don't have the time to figure out how I want things to look on this blog. There used to be a title that said, "An attempt to reflect God's great significance." which, at the time, I thought... Well... I don't know what I was thinking. It's a hokey title, in my opinion, and "God's significance?!?!" what was I thinking?! That word just doesn't work for describing God, not that word alone. Okay, really not any word. And yes, since you asked, I am sleep deprived as I'm writing this, and now realizing that updating the blog again while sleep deprived a second time was probably a poor choice, but moving on. And about the runon sentences and other sentences with no verbs, just know that correct grammar left me when they started the pitocin IV drip. I'll get it all back some day. Back to what I was saying, though! If the title "An attempt...." still shows up on any of my readers' blog, please let me know because I definitely don't want it there!

I think that's it. Let me know what you think? If I have any readers, that is....

Link Love!

Here is a new blog that I'm hoping will be a great resource as the author brings an experienced and Christian emphasis on family life.
http://yourchurchhome.net/blog/Ferguson/
(Tsk. Tsk. Don't tell anyone, but this is my MOM also!~~ I'm so proud that she started a blog! Partly because she's just phenomenal and partly because of the overflowing mountain of encouragement she's offered me through the years related to my walk with Christ and my family life.)

Here is our pastor's blog that I absolutely LOVE! It's just another way to stay connected with the church when we live a distance away.
http://bridgesh.wordpress.com/

And another resource that I've really relished is http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/
The writers are a Christian mother and her grown daughters. They have a wealth of encouragement, Biblical, and practical advice for mothers "in the thick of it". I LOVE it! Also!

Kids Quiet Times

We've started something new in the Wandell home, and we're on week 2 now. Each morning, after the kids have eaten, bathed, and dressed, we sit at the table and do a Bible study together. We have prayer time and then we write in our journals about what we learned. My three year old and two year old are stoked about quiet time. They love it so much and ask to do it several times a day now. We read from about three or four different books about the same story so they can see multiple pictures of the same event, and they usually draw about the story since they can't really write yet. I know they are not able to have the same sort of journaling action that I get every morning, but this is an excellent way for me to instill the importance of a quiet time in them and to encourage them to read the word and to try to understand it through writing what we get out of it and praying over the word implanted and the day to come. I also have a chance to sit down and do my own bible study while they color their stories. If I didn't get enough time in the word, I'll continue to do more study after they take their naps.

I decided to start doing this after a friend of mine read Deut 6 in front of the church. It's one of my favorite words on parenting and homemaking. It's just another way to train them morning and night that our God is the only God and to make Him a priority in our family life.

Grace wrote her name today. I am amazed!

War

It's difficult to post when you're in the middle of certain seasons of life. When you settle to the end of one, it is easier to gain perspective, to see the lessons learned, and to walk with more wisdom. Today, though, I find my judgment clouded and work very difficult. I have no doubt that Spiritual Warfare is occurring and that Satan hates the family, so this causes me to pray more fervently. Please pray with us, that we would continue to seek Christ instead of our selfish desires, that we would continue to pursue the implantation of the Gospel in our children, and that we would build a home where Satan and his helpers are never welcome.

Just pictures!

Most of these pictures need little explanation. Hope you enjoy them!







This last one is cuz Cameron and Noah. We hang out every Thursday!

What's on hold right now.

I'm not able to do justice to a real update right yet. Every moment I sit down at the computer seems to be interrupted with kid things. This is not a bad thing, but it does mean that I can't sit here and process a long series of thoughts into a paragraph that makes sense. Or complete sentences for that matter.
As I sit here, Noah is next to me talking and cooing. Not really talking because he's 3 months old, but telling me his opinion that he prefers my arms to the bed he is laying on.
My gmail account also is currently filled with unread emails. I only read the ones that are from people I know. Other than that, I let them sit until I have time to take a look. And my facebook has about 99 "other" requests. I just don't have time for those things, but I love how it gives me a chance to peek my head in on friends to say "hello" without having to pack up the kids and travel the long distance. Speaking of which, our van is currently grounded to the Bellevue area. I must update more later because there is just too much going on this morning.
I meant to post pictures, but that will have to wait as well