7 Years of Isaac!

Isaac recently celebrated his 7th birthday. Here's how he's grown!

A few months old:

A year:

2 years:

3 years:

4 years:

5 years:

6 years:

And now!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

By golly, its Molly!

We recently added a new addition to the family - a beautiful, sweet Labrador named Molly. She is an adult dog, about 7 or 8 (we'll know for sure once we take her to the vet later this week), and we did have some concerns about adopting an older dog, but the benefits have outweighed our concerns. We wanted a dog that was already trained, active but not hyper, and well behaved and affectionate with the boys.

Molly came from a home with three small children, and she is absolutely wonderful with the boys. She is gentle, but playful, and her maturity allows her some calm moments among her active ones. Her tail is always wagging, and her favorite place to be is about a foot or less from wherever I am (or sitting under the table while the boys eat). She really brings back memories of the Lab I had when I grew up, named Lindsay. She would follow my mom around closely all the time, and now its my turn to experience the same!

She weighs about 75 pounds, but is short and stocky, with paws that remind us of a bear - its definitely a good thing she's so careful with the kids!

Molly is so much fun! We're thankful and glad to have her here with us!







When we went to pick Molly up, Joel was afraid of her and wouldn't come out of the car. After 3 days she has won his heart and confidence! He tells me all the time "I yuv Molly" :-)

Theory vs. Reality

Charlotte Mason is a woman whose teaching methods have branched off into a homeschooling "style", and I would say ideally, our style follows that of the Charlotte Mason philosophy. She encouraged short lessons, leaving afternoons free for imaginative play and exploration, and taking Nature Walks frequently. I have posted a few times earlier about our Nature Walks and how pleasant they often are. However, sometimes the theory of pleasant, relaxing Nature Walks filled with exploration and inquisitive learning does not line up with reality, especially when 3 boys are involved. Here's how the one mile walk looked:

The beginning:

Continuing:

This happened about 3 times:

But it always went back to:


And then we finished up with:

And when we went home, I was more tired than they.

N-n-Nest

I've been meaning to post about this for weeks! For Ezra's school, we're using My Father's World Kindergarten. Its SO much fun! Each week focuses on a different letter, theme to go with the letter, and character quality/spiritual lesson to go with the theme. Our favorite week was the week we learned about N-n-Nest.

We started out the week learning about nests, how birds build nests, and how there are lots of different types of nests. We learned how, just as a mother bird cares for her eggs, God takes good care of us, too! Here are just a few of the scriptures we discussed:

Psalm 91:1-4a:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Psalm 17:8-9:
Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings From the wicked who despoil me, My deadly enemies who surround me.

2 Thess 3:3:
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

and also,

John 14:2-3:
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

Praise the Lord! Its awesome to bring God's word into every aspect of our day, for He is a living God, with us continually!

As the week went on, Isaac was thrilled when he found an abandoned bird's nest on our gutter pipe. He was able to get it down, entirely intact, and it was fascinating to see how it was made. We believe it was probably a Robin's nest, as it is a good solid mixture of mud and dried grass. It was surprising to feel how heavy it was!

For the finale of our week, we made our own nests. Not just any nests, but CHOCOLATE nests! Yum! This is how we did it: We melted chocolate chips in a pan, and I spooned it into individual bowls. Then I put a tablespoon of peanut butter (almond butter for Ezra) in the bowl and mixed it all together. The boys had pretzel sticks for grass, and marshmallows for eggs. Then we put the completed nests in the fridge to let harden. The end result was a messy, delicious treat! Here's our adventure in pictures!

The finished product:

Enjoying the treat (and the mess!)

The Business of Being Born

I've mentioned a few times that I am very enthusiastic about natural childbirth. I personally would homebirth all of my babies if I could convince my husband of it ;-) I feel that childbirth *is* a natural experience, one that God created women for, designed our bodies with the specific purpose of accomplishing.

I also feel that the medical world has changed this natural event into a fear-tinged "illness" that needs to be monitored, controlled, and intervened with at all times. We have a friend who finished medical school and told me "Childbirth is the most dangerous thing that can happen. Its so unpredictable!" I was floored that years of medical teaching has taught him to have that attitude!

When Nathan was born, he was delivered by a Certified Nurse Midwife. It was the best birth I have experienced so far. All of my births have been natural, but always on the "doctor's time" - don't push yet, let's break your water, let's wait, let's hurry, no you can't get up, you can't use the bathroom, you can't push that way... the midwife just sat back, waited, and watched. She offered suggestions when I asked, she allowed me to move how I needed to move, push how I needed to push, encouraged me to listen to my body and my body's timing... it was so relaxing and pleasant - the way birth should be!

The level of intervention in childbirth alarms me, as does the fact that homebirth is actually ILLEGAL in some states (including my own). Hospital births did not even start happening in this country until the turn of the 1900s. Only for the past 100 years, in all the years of human existance, have women all of the sudden "needed" medical assistance to give birth.

I was excited to see that a new Independant Film has been made about this very issue, called "The Business of Being Born". Check out the trailer, and then see if there will be any screenings near you! Netflix will be carrying it, so be sure to put it in your queue! Even if you don't agree with my opinions, it will give you some interesting things to think on.

I wanted to add that there is another cool resource regarding this topic called "Born in the U.S.A." which was released as a television documentary. This website has some birth stories, offering the differing views of OBs and Midwives for each case, information about safety during labor and delivery, as well as an extensive list of resources. Enjoy!

1 Corinthians 11:8-9

I am listening to a teaching CD entitled "Becoming Your Husband's Helpmate" by Beverly Bradley from Family Ministries (I have been so blessed by many of their materials, please do check them out!) She made a point that really brought home something for me. I have read and re-read the scriptures about the roles of a man and a woman in marriage, as it is my goal to serve the Lord through my role was wife and mother. I don't always succeed, but it is my heart to do so! The amazing about scripture is that it is alive - verses that have been read a hundred times can suddenly become more real than ever when God reveals Himself to you through them.

She said to read 1 Corinthians 11:8-9...

For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake.

After this, she said look at 11:9, and put YOUR man's name where it says "man":

for indeed Michael was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for Michael's sake.

Then she said, now, put YOUR name where it says "woman":

for indeed Michael was not created for Erin's sake, but Erin for Michael's sake.

All of the sudden, this scripture became real to me! For some reason, its so easy to read something and look at it from a distant outsider's perspective... but just by making it personal with our names, suddenly, I see!

I have a distinct purpose, a reason for my very creation! The boys have a book called "I Was Born to be a Brother"... and I now have a renewing of the fact that I was "born to be a wife"... but not just "a wife" - Michael's wife. What a blessing! How exciting! The Lord knew in his foreknowledge that Michael would exist, and knew that he would need a suitable helper, and thereby appointed me with this task, while I was still being formed in the womb. Amazing!

With this personalization, I also have a deeper understanding that by serving Michael, I am fulfilling my calling in the Lord. What direction and purpose He gives us!

I will confess that this has come at just the perfect time (God is always good like that!). I have struggled recently with selfishness and a bad attitude, giving Michael a very difficult time of things while I focus on "me" and what "I want". But that is not what the Lord wants from me. It is not my job to be my husband's Holy Spirit or to lead him to a higher level of righteousness... only the Lord can accomplish that. My responsibility is to demonstrate the love Jesus has for Michael, through loving him as a wife.

I praise God for His infinite mercy and wisdom!

The Stupendous Spaghetti Spoon

This post is a tribute to Sarah, my sister. When we were young, I would call her "Sarah the Stupendous Spaghetti Spoon", while she would call me "Erin the Excellent Eyeball (Eewww)". When I wanted to be heartless, I would change the "Stupendous" to "Stupidest". Aren't older siblings fun?

Anyway, my sister brings such joy to my life. She is my sister by blood, my best friend, and best of all, my sister in Christ! I learn so much from her faith, her struggles, her achievements, and her walk. I am truly blessed to have her. I am excited - in just a few months she will no longer be 11 hours away, but less than 2! I can't wait to be able to spend more time with her. We have so much fun together!

Here is some beautiful photos she donated to my camera while I was unaware. It made me smile to find them! Aren't her new glasses cute? :-D