Mr. Plumbean Returns

We have been horrible blog writers! I can narrow it down to two excuses:

1. Life is just busy! Our days are full of homeschooling and living life. At night, when everyone is in bed the only one I want to communicate with is my hubby. (Sorry, blog world.)

2. We are going through a period of "trying to figure out life". Generally, this is not a time we are feeling completely comfortable sharing our lives with the whole world.

Funny how two true statements that can seem to conflict with each other- "We are busy" and "We want to do something more with our lives." Maybe we're just a little crazy.

Or not.

We have been feeling challenged lately that God is not done with our family. I was reminded this morning of the post Jeremy did last July where he referenced Mr. Plumbean and his neat street. You can read about it here.

I guess you could say our house is feeling a little too neat these days. I find myself falling into the trap of telling God- "I am doing my best raising my kids, I spend time with You, I even volunteer in the nursery ... and don't forget we did adopt Jonathan!" But God seems to respond with "When did I say life would be easy and comfortable? When did I say that there is a limit to how far I want you to go? When did I say you could be done seeking My Will for your lives?"

I have even seen my attitude spill over into the lives of my children. They think they deserve the world ... and more! Even Jonathan (with just one short year in America) feels entitled to a new toy if you enter the toy section of any store. How do I as a parent combat this feeling of entitlement that they have?

Now, to be fair to my kids, when asked about how they would feel if we adopted again- everyone was enthusiastic! Even Ben!! He basically stated he could use someone else to boss around. :-)

No, we are not adopting again. (At least not till God gives us the green light.)

Lately we have been throwing around what some would consider "radical" ideas at our house. Some ideas that might not make our house look even less "neat" than ever before.

In the Bible, we are told to be in this world, but not of it. Jesus told fishermen to leave their nets and follow Him. If we are to take the commands of the Bible literally, if we are to assume that what was written thousand of years ago is still true for us today, then how can we live comfortably in our "neat" house and block the rest of the world out? This is the sort of thing we are wrestling with.

So, what does this mean for us? Quite frankly, we don't know! Not yet any way. Not for sure. Not in detail. Right now we're just dealing in faint hints and inclinations. We are wrestling with this idea that God has a bigger plan for the life of our family; that He doesn't want our house to be "neat". Our challenge now is to ask: What does God want our house to look like?

Happy 7th Birthday, Jordan!

Jordan is 7 years old today! Breakfast in bed had to be early as Jordan is an early riser.

Even Emma and Ben woke up to sing

Home-made cinnamon rolls, toaster strudel, grapes, and root bear were his requests.

We love you, Jordan!

Hanging On

We really haven’t dropped off the face of the earth. We have just been trying to keep our heads above water. We have been saying for a few weeks now- we really need to do a blog post. Jeremy has one entitled the “Tiny Tim Affect” written in his head. It might make it to the computer some day. But for now a general update.

Our school year has begun! We began about 3 weeks ago. This year Amanda is in 6th grade, Tyler 4th grade, Jordan 2nd grade, Ben – kindergarten and Jonathan- preschool. The challenge has been keeping Ben and Jonathan out of trouble while I work with the older ones. I can scarcely remember the days when Ben “didn’t like” Jonathan. Nowadays, they are best buddies instigating adventures together. They really are getting along the majority of the time (we still have moments, but who doesn’t). When driving in the car with just the two of them- their conversations are much like that of 2 little old ladies (no disrespect meant to any little old ladies reading the blog). They banter back and forth and just talk, talk, talk. It is quite humorous to listen to.

Life is full. The older 4 are all playing soccer. Jonathan would like to be playing soccer. Maybe next year. I am hoping to sign Jonathan up for swimming lessons again. Tyler and Jordan started chess club last night and Tyler won 2 out of his 3 matches. Amanda begins her first orchestra experience this coming Sunday. She will be playing the violin in the Bucks County Youth Orchestra.

The novelty of the pros ethic leg has worn off and Jonathan is now fighting us at wearing it. Who can argue with him? It does slow him down and he has yet to realize the benefits of it. We are going back to Shriners next Wed. to have the knee unlocked and to meet with the physical therapists. The hope is that with the knee unlocked he will gain further mobility and thus want to wear the leg.

On Friday evening, Amanda and I will be traveling to Lancaster, PA to volunteer for Show Hope at the Steven Curtis Chapman concert. We received a grant from Show Hope and are really excited to be able to personally say thank you to this great organization. We should be able to view most of the concert. The Chapman’s have a great testimony. If you have opportunity Mary Beth’s new book Choosing to See is a great read.

One of our first science experiments!