3 down; 2 to go

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Hurray for Seth!

The joy and satisfaction that I get from knowing I have given my children the gift of literacy is hard to describe. It's fun when your child begins to read and explore books and write, when someone else is teaching them; but when you have the satisfaction of knowing it was YOU who taught them these skills, it certainly makes the daily grind of homeschool life worth it all!

Well.....

now I guess I feel a little guilty about yesterday's post.

Calgon, take me away!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I feel better.

I know there are people all over North Georgia that have been praying for rain for months and months.....but I seriously doubt a single one of those saints was a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother living in a 3 bedroom 2 bath house with 5 children.

Good Morning!

Jeremiah

For those still reading through the Bible in one year chronologically , we are now finishing up Jeremiah. Reading it through after reading I and II Kings really puts it in perspective. It's the story of rebellious children (Israel) who refuse to repent, and a loving and longsuffering Father, who punishes them, though it grieves Him to have to do so. What a brave and obedient preacher Jeremiah was! There is so much to glean from the Old Testament prophets.

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?"
Jeremiah 32:27

Baby Crockett

Pachelbel Bedtime

Back by popular demand...at least from my kids. I posted this video last year, and now that link has expired; so, by request, I'll post it again. It is a Daddy's hilarious perspective on daily family life with young children. I love the tender moment at the end. Enjoy!

Persecution in China

Upon reading this story from Fox news this morning, China Confiscates Bibles From American Christians, I was reminded of one of my favorite books, Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. It isn't a favorite book in that I found great pleasure in reading it; rather, it is a favorite book in the sense that it truly impacted me personally, to the point that I cried for several days. In a day when churches are rushing voluntarily (and foolishly) to the IRS for 501(c)(3)s, and to the states for tax identification numbers, we would do well to remember why our Pilgrim fathers came to this land in the first place. Now that the Christian concensus is completely gone in our own government, American Christians will be in the same situation as Chinese Christians in a few short years, if we do not stand firm and hold to the religious freedoms guaranteed to us in our Constitution.

If I may rant just a minute (it's my blog, after all)...

WHY, WHY, WHY are churches turning to the government? The U.S. Government has never redeemed one single soul! Government is useful for many things, but soul-winning is the duty of the church. So, why are they applying for non-profit status? (Churches by definition, thanks be to the Founding Fathers, ARE non-profit!) Why are they applying for faith-based initiative money? (Remember when churches used to function solely off of their tithes and offerings?) Why are they applying for federal grants? Why are they filing tax returns? (This is NOT required by law! The congregation should oversee the funds, not the government!) If we give them oversight of our money today, they will be overseeing our preaching and teaching tomorrow. Preachers will be prosecuted under federal hate crimes laws for preaching against sins like homosexuality and abortion. In China, Christians risk their lives for the privilege of meeting without government supervision of their church services; in America, we willingly forfeit the precious freedoms of religious independence without even a thought to all the blood and tears that were shed to give these freedoms to us. How ignorant...how careless.

I recommend all my blog readers read this wonderful book by Randy Alcorn, and also read his insightful blog post about the Olympics.

Lake Winnie

Saturday, Jason's parents treated us to a day at Lake Winnepesaukah. (Thanks, Gran and Poppie.) It was such a nice day. The weather wasn't too hot, the sky was overcast, it wasn't too crowded, and Summer was an angel.

Our Spare Change to Spare Babies and Change Lives

Each year at the crisis pregnancy center that I direct, Life Matters Outreach , we have a fundraiser that carries on from Mother's Day to Father's Day. We pass out baby bottles to the community (mostly churches), and individuals take the bottles home on Mother's Day and fill them with change, then return them on Father's Day. This year, thanks be to the Lord Who always provides, we raised $9,672.87. That's a lot of nickels and dimes!

Here is my Daddy, who is our volunteer handyman/errand boy/computer technician/printer repairman/change hauler/etc., etc., taking a load of change to the bank for us. (Thank you, Daddy.)

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this year's bottle drive.

It is a lot of work, but it is worth it!

"If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death,

and those that are ready to be slain;

If thou sayest,

Behold, we knew it not;

doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?

and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it?

and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"

Proverbs 24:11, 12

The Love of God

My Seth loves to study about the ocean, especially what he calls "the deep dark sea". Whenever I look at a picture showing the depths of the ocean, my favorite song in the hymnal "The Love of God", always comes to my mind. This is my favorite verse:

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky."

The Little Bubbas

Having my boys so close together (14 1/2 months apart) was both the hardest and greatest thing I have ever done. Each of them is such a hilarious and sweet blessing in his own way; but together, they just feed off each other's energy, and the results are priceless. I wonder how they'll be as adults..maybe adventurous and creative like the Wright Brothers, or maybe great in the Lord like John and Charles Wesley. (Hopefully not still getting into trouble like Frank and Jesse!) Just look at those grins.

Every day is filled with humor, but here are a few gems of late:

Seth, my little hobbit:

"Mama, I know what I want for my birthday. Will you please cut my finger off?" (to be like Frodo...)

"Mama, can I have one of those last grasshoppers?" (a.k.a. "everlasting gobstoppers")

Bubbie loves to help Jason lead songs in church. I am amazed at how many songs he knows the words to, and it just melts my heart to hear him singing hymns while he's playing and going about his day. But, occasionally, he gets the words wrong.....

It's time to stand and get your red back book and sing number 318, "Praise God, My Hands are Gone" (without cracking a smile)

Now let's sing number 181, "Blessed A Shoe Shop" (again, without cracking a smile!)

The arrival of "The Boys" certainly turned life upside down in the Stringer house. I've given up the dignity of quietly going to the store or library or church without drawing attention to myself; we've learned to read lips on movies; and we've adapted to doing school with a constant chatter in the background....but there'll be time for all those things later in life. Right now, we're just having fun!

To Each His (or Her) Own

I think it's cute how the kids have their dressers arranged. It tells a lot about who they are, and their varied interests. Caleb has always loved action figures, and some of these he's been collecting since he was 3 years old. He has always taken extreme care of his toys, and he sometimes packs my closet full whenever we have company so they won't get broken. He still has every single gun, knife, sword, bow, or whatever accessory was included. I only recall him losing one toy in his whole life, and even then he knew it immediately. It was in Triangle grocery store, and we went to the management and he tearfully asked them to call if they found it (they never did).

Notice the CD rack in the background. It's filled with everything from Beethoven and Vivaldi, to Veggie Tales, to books on CD (Robin Hood, Peter Pan), to Scripture reading, his Dad's preaching tapes, and even a Davy Crockett soundtrack.

Sis's dresser looks so "girly", and I wish I could say she played with these toys a lot, but the truth is, she is usually playing with her brothers. For every boy toy they have, she has the girl counterpart...Eowyn and Arwen from LOTR, Susan and Lucy from Narnia, Supergirl (the old version with clothes on), Annie Oakley. Maybe she can enjoy some of these girl toys with her new little sister.

I am so enjoying my kids at every stage of life. Though I look forward to watching them grow up and become adults, I treasure these fun, carefree childhood days.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Here's a great recipe to squeeze in during these last few weekends of summer. I've tried dozens of different homemade ice cream recipes, and this is my absolute favorite. It's very rich and creamy, and so delicious! Even my kids, who normally don't love pecans, love this ice cream.

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

2 cups pecan halves
1/4 c. butter

6 c. half and half cream
4 c. packed brown sugar
8 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c. heavy whipping cream
4 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small skillet, toast pecans in butter for 5-6 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool. Set aside.

Lightly beat eggs with a fork in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat half-and-half cream to 175 degrees. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Whisk about 2 cups of the hot cream mixture into the eggs and stir briskly (this is important or you will have strings of egg in your ice cream), then return all to the pot, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees.

Remove from the heat and cool quickly by placing pot in a sink filled with ice water. Stir for 2 minutes, then whisk in whipping cream and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto surface and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When ready to freeze, stir in pecans and freeze according to ice cream freezer directions. Yield: 4 quarts.

TIPS FOR GOOD HOMEMADE ICE CREAM: Use lots of ice cream salt, and allow for 1-2 hours for ice cream to ripen in freezer after churning is completed and paddle is removed.

2 o'clock this morning

I've been trying so hard to capture Summer's grin on camera, but like most babies, she freezes at the sight of a camera. So far, only Sis and KK and I have seen the coo-ing and huge grin and even a dimple (just like Seth's!). This morning, she was so pleasant, and I managed to get a couple of shots, though you can only barely see the dimple. (It's on her right cheek in the second shot.)

"Why in the world does she have a camera out at this ridiculous hour?! Am I never safe?"

Sweet moments like those above, make moments like these.............

....more bearable. This is my shirt after returning from Wal-Mart Thursday evening. And, NO, that's not chocolate. To make a long story short, Summer had a blow-out, the changing table in the restroom was broken, Caleb ran over Bubbie with the buggy, and I left the store in the middle of a monsoon with my shirt on backwards and 18 broken eggs.

Ahh, the glamorous life of a mother....

Off to the rodeo!

Important Info for Parents

Check out this link. Be sure and read Dr. Mercola's comments at the bottom.

HPV Vaccine Blamed for Teen's Paralysis

It's scary to me how willing people are to suffer and even die, all in the name of "prevention" and "what's good for the people". If you really want to have your eyes opened to this topic, find and purchase your own copy of Francis Schaeffer's "How Should We Then Live?" series. I have the videos, but it is now available on DVD (try Christianbook.com). He predicted, back in the late 1970s, that the government elite would try to control the people through drugs; and that the people would willingly submit to it, having exchanged their personal liberty for the good of society. (wow, sounds like the Patriot Act, doesn't it?)

On the same note, I was reading Dr. Henry Morris's notes on Revelation, and learned something very interesting. In Rev. 9:21, speaking of the judgment of God upon mankind, and how man still would not repent, it says, "Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." He pointed out that the word sorceries is the Greek word "pharmakeia", which means "medication", from which we get our word "pharmacy". I studied this out in my Key Word Study Bible. It certainly is a sign of our times when pharmaceutical companies rule the world, and most people consume a steady diet of mind-altering medications just to make it through the week. No wonder our consciences are numb and dull! Satan wouldn't have it any other way!

Everyday News

We sure have been busy around here. So many new things. We have our new baby, new chore charts, new school schedules, a new church building.....and we also have some new good news: my baby sister Keri is expecting her first baby! Now that makes my sister Jada, my good friend Melanie, my sweet LMO helper C.L., and now my baby sister ALL expecting babies!! There is so much to look forward to these next few months.

Here's what we've been up to lately:

Bub loves anything "shwockett". "Mama, what's that good smell I smell with my nose?"

So big already!

An angel and her Doodle

Seth rarely sits down without asking to hold his new sister. Thankfully, she is patient with all my helpers, and I'm so thankful the "new" hasn't worn off with them yet. He says, "Hey, pretty girl! Don't you cry, Bubba's got you!"

Sis loves to help with bathtime for the little princess. (No, Sis doesn't have an everlasting gobstopper in her jaw; she got stung twice by wasps on her chin!)

Moving day for the church. It was a blessing and honor to meet in Jason's grandmother's (who passed away in May 2006) house until the Lord sent us a building. We rejoice that the Lord is moving and answering prayer, but it was sad to leave this special place.


Bro. Jamie instructing Caleb on how to hide behind a song book when you're embarrassed

It's so wonderful to be surrounded by such sweet and willing helpers when you have small children

KK, watching Rosebud while Mom works and cleans the new church

Seth with his 2 best friends

Our new pulpit, built special order (maybe Jason won't break it)

Coffee with friends

I feel a blog coming on....

We're finally beginning to settle into a new kind of normal around here. I have actually slept a little, we've done our school lessons every day this week, I went grocery shopping all by myself (um, with my 5 little helpers, that is), and I'm working on cooking supper before 8:00 each evening. I've even made bread! And now I think I can squeeze in a blog now and then. Here's some of what we've been up to:

My gorgeous niece Maggie just turned 1 year old!

My sister Keri made her cake:

At the party, the kids got to ride horses!

Bub was a natural.

Summer, dreaming sweet dreams

The Big Bubbas

KK is growing so tall and handsome. It seems like yesterday I was rocking him to sleep. I can't believe he's almost 11.

Finally, a sister!

Aren't sleeping babies amazing?