The Power of Relaxation

Benjamin Franklin once said *Write things worth reading or do things worth writing*..That has inspired me this afternoon.

The family took a 5 mile walk yesterday through a historic area in Europe. We loved almost every minute of it..(said keeping in mind that we stopped to nurse the baby 4 times, visited with other dog owners possibly more than 15 times)..Dogs are quite the deal here and each dog must nose to nose with our Beagle pup. We rarely allow her off the leash as Beagles are known to keep moving and never look back once they get that freedom feel. They are hounds in every sense of the word, so it was with much hesitation we allowed her off when a fellow dog owner insisted we do..(albeit in a foreign langauge, no less)..Her dog proceeded to take control and played ours out. It was the sweetest and funniest thing we have seen in a while. The children all laughed to see the chase and scampers of the two together. Said dog owner went off and Sasha went back on the leash, much happier. We are amazed at how much energy she possesses but how long she sleeps and how well she behaves after a nice looooooong romp or run :)

My hubby has 5 days off and the list to do has been buried and relaxation has kicked in for us. It is such a nice feeling to do everything together, cook together, walk together, clean up together and let it go and watch tv together. God has blessed us with the most wonderful family on the face of the earth..lol..and it is a sweet moment indeed to relax together. Being the wife of an always on call man, this feels all the nicer and is completed today by the overcast and rainy skies. Anna and Julia slept with me this afternoon for about 2 hours, Julia having a cold, nursed pretty much nonstop..(the best medicine to keep that nose breathing!!)..We are planning to take down the bed in the near future and go to a mattress on the floor as Julia is right at that to be crawling stage and we like her intact. Our bed is probably the highest bed I have ever seen and Anna fell off onto the carpet at the same age. We do not have the luxury of carpet here (and I hate it anyway..grin)..so time for something more baby safe!! But, not today...

I am thinking of how our Lord spent time in relaxation when he needed it. He took that time to go apart before he fell apart. We all know the world and the rat race are simply not going to stop anytime soon, and it is up to us to be wise even in this respect. I am a very private person and this is some of the reason. There has to be a time when you go apart and get that rest. Our soul and spirit need this time with the Lord, our bodies need this time to rest and our relationships need this time for bonding.

So, today, I leave you with the words of our Lord when he said *Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light*..How blessed I am to have a God who understands my need for rest!!

Ciao!!
Becky

Decisions..

I've been quiet for a bit. We are trying to make some very important decisions as a family. Decisions we thought we'd already made but in revisiting the why, both my husband and I want our expectations to be clearly understood by each other. This brings a certain amount of deep thinking to the surface and it always acts as a purifier for motives as well as a clear glimpse into the other's thinking. *things are not always as you imagine in the other spouses head..lol*..

It is important to do the right thing in every decision, to not have ulterior motives and be able to look back with a clear conscience. It is important to not only think in terms of oneself, but in terms of everyone involved. How will this affect my husband, myself and our children? God tells us in decision making to always make the choice for Him..He says to seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. As a family, we have continually done just that and striven to live for God to the best of our ability. He has rewarded us in many many ways.

I think of the multiple stories of people's lives in the Bible and how we, as the reader, can quickly ascertain whether the decision was a good one or not. Unfortunately, we are not given our lives in a prerecorded book or manual, though I have often wished it so. See, hunny, it says..In 2011 we are to move here and do this, and this will be the outcome, and this is what comes next. Don't we all wish for this? The important thing to remember is that we serve One who is in the future, who has been in the past, and is now in our present. He does have the answers and trusting Him for direction is the key to decision making.

Just thought I'd pop on and say why my blog is a bit quiet currently :)

The backdrop of this is my daughter practicing *Light of the world* softly, my 16 yo son just came in telling me he is finished planting our mini garden plants..baby is happy in her pack n play..the 7 yo is playing with her of his own accord...Truly, God is good and HE will guide us!!

Blessings on your day!
Becky

'tis a very quiet & relaxing day

(overcast, sprinkly, cool & quiet @ 2 pm)

Today is one of those days we all love. House is primarily CLEAN, kids are out and in. Pup had a long playtime outside and is happy to sleep this afternoon..We are busy doing very little and it feels great :)

Melody plays the guitar, messing with different sounding chords; David is flipping through google earth looking at our soon to be area..mapping things, generally becoming more familiar with where things are..

Harmony & Rachel have been playing with the little girls outside & inside..they are still young enough to want to be creative in their play and the littles eat that up <3

Anna is pretty settled down today. She has been my buddy since I wrote about her. Nipping the actions in the bud have worked out and we are enjoying the quiet. Sarah has been kept nearby as well, so I was able to work on the interactions between them. I am reminded of the verse * A child left to himself bringeth his mother shame*. I am of the opinion children need  little to no time on their own without very directed play. We have never been the family to send the kids away from us and overall this has been a blessing. Our kids do not have the attitude problems that seem to plague most children because they are not left in the company of their peers to decide how to live life. They get their instruction and example from us and being around us. This is why it is crucial to be filled with the Spirit and not dwell in the flesh. Our sweetness of attitude reflects directly in their actions and the opposite quickly has the same bi-product. When the children are grouchy, I tend to think of my own attitudes first to see if there is a reflection before checking them. This morning I jotted and laminated a lot of Colossians 1 verses and have been dwelling on them since..*That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God..(so important to keep eating at God's table and increasing in heart knowledge); Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. That just speaks to my heart and I am so thankful I have the Word to instruct me and give me wisdom to live.

Sprinkler woes..remember it is cool? The Ban~Anna got hold of it and sprayed Sarah..lol..Time to go be a Mommy and get that 2 yo back where I can see her :)
Becky

Of school shelves, snoring dogs and the house is quiet!!!!!!!!!

Nothing like the *no sleep-i-tus* of knowing you are making a move in the fall or sooner...Tonight has me organizing the school shelves, making plans for the next few weeks of school and listening to the puppy snore rather loudly...

And..listening to the quiet of all those busy bodies sleeping. Shhhhhh....this will NOT last forever and is so worth staying up for, but I rarely do it, choosing the energy over the peace and calm. I can always tell when the baby is starting to get bigger because I am all abuzzzzzzzzzz with new plans and the house seems to get cleaner overnight. Julia sat up on her own and played for well over an hour tonight. Record moment :)

Anna, on the other hand: WOW! What a day in her life! She is right smack dab between two and three and everyone here knows it. I had to remember to deep breathe quite a few times and rely on the WORD for wisdom and direction. She has turned out to be a screamer, unlike any of my other children. She will be my buddy for the next few weeks till we get this in hand. Buddy time always gives me the opportunity to spend so much time enjoying them and for them to learn how to take every whim and want under control. When the frustration is nipped in the bud by practice time right in the moment, it is pretty effective. (hopefully..lol)...

Sarah was every bit the four year old today and was the only one of all of us to notice Daddy had a new hair cut. She greeted him with *I like your hair cut*, and we all looked at him with new eyes :) I adore four year olds for this attention to detail. I have been mimicking her tone of voice today to help her get over her whiny sound...there are a few things I cannot abide and whiny-ness is at the top. Deception of any kind, complaining, whining, stealing...If you cannot do it in front of me, there must be a reason (for little kids)...

Daniel & Jon were every bit monkeys today and they were quite a bit of help. Those two never stop moving and I love in our very European house how the stairs go circular and there are 45 of them...they run them endlessly horsing around and they are a nice energy outlet. Mitch has been taking Jon to work with him every other Friday since he is the big 9 now. Jon is really benefiting from the one on one and has a pretty firm character already. Time will tell.

Those are the younger ones here and today was sort their clean laundry into totes day. We wash daily for them but it goes in a pile to be sorted into containers with labels like *boy unders, boy shirts, boy pants, etc..(nine containers)..then one day a week, we sort them into 7 containers of outfits. Everything they wear or need (diapers, socks, undies, etc) are in this tote (they are labeled for the days of the week and two fit in each cube of my IKEA shelving), so when the morning fog is thick, they can clearly find what they need. (or, in the case of certain wee little ones..they match pretty effortlessly!!) This keeps them in clean clothes, keeps me from looking like the mother in the shoe in the neighbourhood and it is a win win all around. This is without doubt the best system we have ever used and I only wish I had thought of it a WHOLE lot sooner..it would have been a life saver when my now bigs were little..

Books I received in the mail today: Super Natural Home by Beth Greer and the Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel Maier   I have enjoyed reading tidbits here and there this afternoon..

I hear the baby..time to scoot..
Good Night!
Becky

~Time Changer~

The family watched the movie The Time Changer together tonight. We had watched it once before and I forgot how poignant and relevant the message is.I am again reminded to teach the children not just Godly morals, but where they came from..about our LORD Himself. It is not enough to be moral, because moral people do not go to Heaven. A person must believe in Jesus Christ and His finished work. He gave His life for us, and I am so deeply thankful to know Him. There is a lot of unbelief and whatever floats your boat in our world, but knowing Christ gives everything a reason. He truly has the answers!!

Where did I come from? In the beginning, God created the Heaven and earth. The children and I have watched a lot of science movies lately, and I know it takes just as much faith to believe our beginnings started in primieval sludge as it does to believe a wise God took pleasure in creating us. I choose the latter :)

Where am I going? To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord..For eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man what GOd has prepared for them that love Him (misquoted)..Those that have believed on His name have a certainty to where they are going, and those that do not also have a certainty.

Why am I here? That I may know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings...God has a plan for my life and I prefer the sound of this vs the sound of I came from a monkey, and I am not responsible for my actions. We see the reaction daily in the news of this anti-God thinking.

Wow!! God is so awesome!! I came to Christ as a 15 year old and have never regretted doing so. I choose Christ over anything this world has to offer. Back to my topic..if we can be moral without Christ, then the devil succeeds in our thinking and living. All he wants is for Christ to be left out of things and to deceive us into thinking we can live without Him!!

Time for bed..Two kids on my bedroom floor, one in bed with me...it is still light..lol..
Becky

What's in a day?

As I type, David is busy practicing his accidental wallpaper tear magic trick. He is VERY good at tricks and we are often left open mouthed! David went to the doctor today for a lump on the back of his neck. It has been there for awhile, but has really bugged me lately when I rub his head or cut his hair. Doctor pronounced that his brain is just growing fast and by 18 that lump should fuse with the rest of his skull...We all got a laugh at that! He is almost finished Algebra 1 and school has not always been easy for him. This past year I have repeatedly joked that his brain is getting bigger because he has finally figured out how to put his mind to his work and plow through it. And, plow he has, finishing Pre-Algebra and now at the end of Algebra 1 in just a few months. What does this have to do with my topic of today? I'll tell you.

We have been homeschooling since our first child was born. There have been scads of moments when the day has been given over to seemingly everything BUT actual textbook learning and I have wondered for the zillionth time how it will all come in the end. We are year round schoolers because there have been entire months after a baby or sickness where all we do is pick up the pieces and start again. Much of my day is given to character training and attitude revamps. When I get to looking at the accomplishment level of our home, it can tend to bring a bit of discouragement. I wrote yesterday about working on Scriptures dealing with faith and finding how closely it was intertwined with hope. The Bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. My job as a mom is to continually sieze the moment regardless of how it stacks up now, knowing that in the end, God will give the desired results. My ultimate goal has been to raise children who serve God and their fellow man from their hearts. I am seeing the fruit of trusting the Lord daily played out in the lives of my older children, and interestingly enough..they are turning out quite educated. That was never my goal*, but when you put the Lord first and foremost, He has a way of working out the details. (*It is my goal to equip them for whatever God has in store for their future, though)

I started this blog for the sole purpose of encouraging moms like me on their journeys. Today, I am surrounded by dirty dishes, laundry needing washed, dried, folded and put away, school books needing graded, and company coming tomorrow (I am not a last minute performer). My day has been given to a very fussy teething constantly nursing baby, to settling multiple squabbles between the 2 and 4 year old, to organizing lunch, to spending some quality time with my very sore from running with his company, hubby, who came home and rested on the couch for lunch. These moments add up and it will be my attitude that makes the difference in those around me.

What's in a day? Remember to look long term and not at the now in your life. Moments that seem impossible will be memories in the future and how you chose to act in the moment will be remembered. God continually reminds us in His ever gentle way to be full of Him and not of ourselves and to exhibit the Fruit of the spirit.

Back to the daily grind here  :)
Becky

The Beginning...

Where to start with a new blog? The same place I start anything. At the beginning. An introduction: My name is Becky Mitchell. I am a child of God, wife to a great man, mom to nine busy children, friend to a good many wonderful people, owner of a Beagle pup and a dabbler in a host of things besides blogging :)

Current events: David (son) and I took 15 (the limit) items to consignment today. So far, our consignment total equals $245.00 and we are experiencing the freedom of less *stuff* in our home. We are moving from Europe to America soon and have a contract in on a 1500 sq ft house, hence the decluttering. I am a minimalist at heart and every single season sees me taking scads of items anywhere and everywhere I can in the pursuit of cleaner lines and quieter spaces. I would like to live with the bare minimum of details and will endlessly truck out what my hubby and nine children tote in, fulfilling that desire.

More Current events: Everyone is toting Scripture memory cards this week..and I love that. Each child picked out two (or more depending on their particular desires) Scriptures on habits, attitudes or actions they wish to be stronger about. Mine were about faith, and after researching, I like how intertwined faith and hope seem to be. Without hope, faith is meaningless, and without faith, there is no hope. 'Nuff said.

We are doing a camp out on the living room floor tonight with the littles (bigs like their own beds!!) and they are all around my feet..There is nothing more peaceful than sleeping near my children. I do not have to get up and check on them endlessly..I just open my eyes. I have been having trouble sleeping lately as it gets dark here around 10 and then gets light around 4. Even though we have black out shades, I still have to see the baby so choose to keep them open a wee bit..and still go to sleep and wake with the light. That, and the fact the AC is only in the living space..(gotta love Europe for NO AC!!)..So, a camp out is mutually beneficial tonight!!

And, speaking of sleep,
Good night! to the world of bloggers and readers of said blogs..
Becky