With such things as you have

As most of you realize, I have three precious, wonderful, gifts from the Lord.  My Sweet Ones.  My babies.  The loves of my life.  I. Love. Them.  No, seriously.  There is so much love in my heart that I need a stronger word than simply "love" to describe and explain just how deeply, desperately I agape and phileo them.

 

They love each other.  They love being with each other.  

They love.  

That is who they are, 

and that is one of the things that just moves me to my very core, 

every. single. time I look at them-- 

or even have a thought of them throughout my day.

 

In case you couldn't tell, the big ones are extra in love with the littlest.

*sigh*

          

 

 But sometimes they drive me crazy.  I mean:  craaaaa.zzzzzzy.  [And I am usually a big fan of NOT using extra letters to make a point, but there was no other option in my attempt to get across just how massive that level of crazy can get.]

 

How I look on the inside.

Yah, this pretty much sums it up rather nicely.

I told you:  CRA.ZY.

Anywhoo....

I have been The Mama for about six and half glorious years to date.  And up until just very recently, my prayers for my children and my mothering has been something similar to this:

Dear Jesus,

Please help me to be the mama that I need to be for my children.  I just want them to be more like You.  I want my babies to love Jesus and do what is right- no matter what.  Lord, please help my sweet ones to listen and learn and become who you would have them to be.  Father, PLEASE change them-- and me.

However, the Lord has stopped my heart.  Right in its little tracks.

The Big Kids are both participating in soccer, so during practice I will frequently pass the time by pushing Littlest in his stroller-- more often than not rehearsing that little prayer over and over as I watch my Sweet One having the time of his life, but not really controlling his body as much as I would like. I would catch myself cringing so many times, trying to telepathically will my baby to behave as I had told and retold and reminded so many times. Shamefully, I spent most of this soccer season [they finish up in just a couple of week] focusing on and praying for my son to be someone else.  Someone that *I* thought he needed to be.

And theeeeeeeere's the track-stopping.

I was pushing the Littlest, and I literally stopped in my tracks and started to weep as I listened to the Holy Spirit convict me to my innermost part.

"Be content with such things as you have."

"I have learned in whatsoever state I am in: 

therewith to be content."

It was like the Spirit was saying to me: "Leah!  Be content with who your child is right now.  *I* will make him who he needs to be in *MY* timing, on *MY* terms."

And, immediately, I changed that familiar prayer.  Without even realizing it, I was, in essence, presenting to God Almighty the mold and requirements of exactly who and what my children needed to be.  You know, 'cause I'm so super smart and have it all together and all.

Instead, I looked at that lively child on the field and confidently prayed through my tears, "Lord, thank you for who that sweet boy is right now.  Please help me to be content with who he is right now."

Then, the most remarkable thing happened.  I started smiling as I watched.  And every time he would jump up and down like a chicken (no, seriously) or roll around on the ground after having "fallen", I would stop my critical spirit and say, "Lord, thank You for who my son is.  Please help me to be content with who is right now."  I would cheer loudly and proudly, and simply enjoy the moment for what it was.

So while I am still training my children in the admonition of the Lord.  And, obviously, there are consequences for unbiblical behaviors, but I am learning to just let them be.  I am learning to ask myself if I am cranky with the behavior because it is sinful or because it is silly.

And how I pray that I will continue to listen to that Still, Small Voice as God the Holy Spirit seeks to lead The Mama-- even more than she wants Him to lead the Sweet Ones.

 

And, come on.

How can you not love that face?! 

I am content with such things as I have.

Gibson Family Challenge

Originally my plan was to post every couple of days about the different things we had committed to do  as family for 30 days.  But you may also remember that I had the not so brilliant idea to do 30 things for 30 days.  [Every day I thanked the Lord that I listened to the Holy Spirit and did NOT do 30 things, but instead whittled my list down to a measly 11 items.]  I was so busy with the challenge that there was no time for the blogging!

My favorite and most consistent goals were acts of kindness, missionary cards, and new recipes. So I thought I'd give a little recap of some of the great things we had going on...

Wonderful garden helpers!

 

Ellie Rose, learning how to cook some scrambled eggs.

 

Daniel was super excited to help snap some green beans.


     
Samuel has corn on the cob for the first time!
Verdict is in:  LOVED IT!

     

Plum. Jam.  (There are no words for how much I love this!)

This is the recipe that I used, but I left the peels on to enhance the flavor and color.

 

First comes the peach...

  

Then comes the jam...

  

Then comes a happy camper!

 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes 

 

This is the recipe that I loosely followed.  Love butter beans! 

        

One of our good friends from church works so faithfully, 

so we made and delivered some fresh peanut butter cookies.

This recipe was truly perfect.  I just added a splash of almond extract.

    

We made come muffins for the ladies in the finance office 

of the dealership where we got our "new to us" cars.

    

Surprise birthday tea party for Ellie...

Cucumber dill sandwiches, angel food cake with peach topping,

Strawberry cream cheese sandwiches, and pink covered pretzels.



First try of canning tomatoes, sauce, and salsa.
Looking forward to winter! :)

Freezer full of strawberries, peaches, and blueberries.
Smoothies, anyone?!

I loved listening to my children pray for missionaries, friends, neighbors, and people we don't even know yet.  Daniel and Ellie were so faithful to draw pictures, write notes, and send treats to a variety of people.  I must admit that participating in acts of kindness is certainly something that I want to incorporate into a regular part of our family life-- perhaps on a weekly basis now that school is underway.  I love seeing my children bless others!

Numero Uno (and two)...

All-right-y!  Let the games begin!

If you aren't quite sure what "the games" means, you can catch up by jumping over to this post!

First day of our challenge.  As I thought about all the things on my personal challenge list (to begin with, I was grateful the Holy Spirit kept me from committing to THIRTY!), and then added in the three for our family, I thought that perhaps a daily blog post about every item on both lists might be a bit of an overkill.  So I thought I'd just give some highlights every couple of days or so...

So here I go!

For some reason, I've always had this desire to try grilled watermelon.  So yesterday, day one, was my day.  I was super pumped.  Yah... it was all right.  I mean, I 'm not sure what exactly it was that I was expecting.  But that wasn't it.  I mean, it wasn't horrible.  It just wasn't... well, it just wasn't.  But it looks cool!  

And if you want to try it for yourself, this is the recipe that I used.  I did love the honey.  And the salt.  There was just something that was... off.  I don't know.  But it was new, so it counted!

In regards to the other aspects of our challenge, my kiddos were beyond cute when they were working on their cards and letters.  The funniest moment for me was when the older two were being a little... over zealous, shall we say... in their excitement.  I didn't want to squelch their passion, so I took a couple of deep breaths to gain perspective. 

Daniel suddenly became very perplexed and says, "Oh, no. Mama, am I frustrating you?"

His sincerity took me so by surprise that all my tension just melted away.  I was able to give a big belly laugh and assure him in total honesty, "No, baby.  Mama's just trying to process it all!"

        

D and E selected our missionary for each day, we prayed for them, and then they began working on their cards to send to that missionary family.  Well, that's what they were supposed to be doing.  I had a lovely "grown up card" selected to send for part of my personal challenge; however, I somehow got momentarily distracted and set it down.  When I came back, my sweet, tender, missionary daughter had already started writing a note on my special card.  My initial reaction was to chide her for messing with my card instead [I thought!] of doing what I had asked her to do.  However, when I asked her what she was doing, she says in the most urgent of voices, "But, mama!  I'm writing my card for Cami to come to our church!"

"Please come to our church.  Love, Ellie"

Now, I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the burden my sweet Ellie has for one of her little friends from school is beyond convicting to this mama's heart.  So I was thankful that my sweet Ellie Rose covered the "pass out a tract/tell someone about Jesus" part of our challenge!  Without even having to be asked and outside of my planning.

Cards were written, colored, addressed, and sealed.  We then proceeded to whip up a new recipe for blueberry muffins which we would be dropping off to some neighbors and invite them to church.  [Um, do you SEE how many goals I knocked outta the park right there?!]

 

Such great helpers... they love to bake!

 

 Please stop licking your screen.  That's kind of tacky.

 

One of my favorite taste testers!

   

In case you can't read what it says, the inside of the card 

(which was written all on the own of my sweet Daniel) reads, 

"You are invited to Grace Bible Church.  We hope you come to Grace Bible Church.  From the Gibsons  We are praying for you!"

Melt. My. Heart.

We gathered up all of our notes and cards and letters and muffins and headed out to make our stop.  We had our plan that mama and the older kiddos would drop off the muffins and church info to the family while daddy and Samuel waited in the car.  I was fairly certain that our visit would consist mostly of "We made you some muffins, please come to our church" and then we would be on our way. 

But that's not exactly how it went.  Yes, there is a great story is here.  To begin with, when we pulled up the long-ish drive way and walked around the two parked cars, *poof* we suddenly came upon the owner of the house.  Already talking with two lovely gentlemen in dress shirts and ties with "church literature". 

And here I stand with my plate o' muffins and two little bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed whippersnappers. 

Color me awkward.   

The long and the short of it is that I gave my little shpeel, "Hi!  I know you moved in a couple months ago, but we wanted to drop by with some muffins as a sort of 'welcome to the neighborhood' kind of gesture.  And we just wanted to invite you to our church, Grace Bible Church."  All the while thinking,  I'll just drop these off and we'll just slip away...

Not so. 

Ask me how long we stayed.  Go ahead.  Ask me. 

Twenty minutes.  TWENTY.

But not with the "ties and shirts and church literature guys".  They left kinda in a hurry.  We met three of the six children, and my kiddos were elated.  They played with all the animals; they took a nice ride on their tire swing; they played with these new friends as if they were in all actuality, old friends!   Please pray that we will be able to have more contact with these new friends.  Pray that our seed will truly fall upon fresh soil, watered and loved by a gracious Savior.

I'm not sure who was more blessed on this visit:  us or our new friends!

Oh, and I did do my sit-ups, quiet time, and quality time, too!

30 Day Challenge

So.  Yah.  I love numbers.  And lists.  And (apparently) challenges.

I only have 30 days until I go back to school (*sob*), so I thought I'd make 'em count!

Originally, as I was thinking about this idea, I thought I'd come up with a list of 30 things in 30 days-- meaning, I would do 30 things for 30 minutes every day for 30 days.  (Yes, I realize there is medication for people like me).  But then I realized that my list alone would account for a minimum of 15 hours a day... that is not including transition times or potty breaks.  Soooo...  hmmm... figured if I was gonna actually get everything done on my list for all 30 days, I should probably NOT follow that route. 

So I narrowed it down to a few basic "these are really important to me" kind of topics, and this is what I've decided on for my challenge, things I will do every day for 30 days:

~30 minutes of quiet time
~30 minutes of journaling/writing
~30 minutes of swimming
~30 minutes of strength training/stretching
~30 sit-ups
~30 minutes of cleaning and/or sorting
~30 minutes of undivided time with my hubby
~30 minutes of outside time
~30 new recipes [one a day-- I'm not that cray cray]
~30 postcards [Again, one a day...]
~30 days of thanks

I'll be honest, even as I'm typing right now: part of me [a bigger chunk than probably would be considered "normal"] really desperately wants to make that list 30 items long.  But I'll resist.  Although, as an after thought, maybe I should add stifle one OCD compulsion each day... yah, I could do that longer than 30 days and keep it comin'...!

After resisting the urge to be a psycho for 30 days making my list, I talked it over with my hubby and our kiddos in a family meeting, and we decided that our family would have a list to finish our summer with purpose!  My kiddos were pumped, and after much re-directing, we narrowed our family list to three things:

1.  Perform 30 Acts of Kindness
2.  Send an Encouragement Card to 30 Missionaries
3.  Pass out 30 Gospel Tracts. 

I'm excited to see how this will help our family reach out to our community as well as how the Lord will bless.  I love the excitement of my sweet ones as they serve the Lord, and I can't wait to get started!

Anticipation

I love to garden.  I love flowers.  I love veggies.  I love to watch things grow.

     

 My sweet ones love to help, too!

Yet, I will admit:  I am not a patient person by nature.  I am certainly  a product of my generation.  An instant gratification kind of gal.  I plant my garden and want to see those red tomatoes............ right now.  I expect to have those cucumbers in that vinegar making happy pickles....... yesterday. 

But there is something to be said of the anticipation that goes into.... well, most of life.  Checking those little plants each day.  Carefully tending the garden.  Waiting with expectant hope for new life to emerge, grow, and thrive.

So that's what I've been doing these past several weeks.  Carefully tending my garden, watching for signs of new life and growth.

And this is what I've seen...

 

.

 

 

Some of my plants offer the hope of a hearty harvest.  Some plants still have yet to blossom.  I even have one tiny, precious tomato plant that is just barely 3 inches tall!  

 This was a seed that my sweet ones planted, and we have watched sprout on our front porch.  I had great doubts as to if that thing had any life left in it at all-- but my babies believed!  Still holding my breath as to whether or not we will actually see any fruit from this plant.

And as I carefully tend my little garden, the Spirit whispers to my soul.

I am a plant in the garden of life, and my Savior is the Master Gardener.  He carefully nurtures, waters, and provides for each of us-- watching with expectant hope for our growth and production of that precious fruit.  Sometimes I am filled with blossoms, lifting my leaves up to heaven, soaking up the Light of the Son.  Other times there is no signs of any potential fruit, no blooms, only leaves.  Yet, my Faithful Gardener continues to water, feed, and nurture my soul.  With expectant hope.

Perhaps there are those who are even like that tiny seed that not many people thought would even sprout.  Yet, Someone believed enough to care for them.  To plant, to water, to nurture.  When others wrote off a seed, the Savior saw a soul.

This little tomato plant has convicted and challenged my heart.  The Spirit has nudged me, encouraging me to look with new eyes to those who might need that expectant hope.  The Light of a Savior.

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 

I Corinthians 3:6

Mmmmm!

Hold on to your hat, kiddos.  Mama is on summer VA.CA.TION!!!

Boy.  How.deeee.

I love to cook-- actually, more bake than cook, but I really love to be in the kitchen.  I love getting dinner ready; I love exploring new treats; I love introducing my sweet ones to new and exciting dishes.  (I, however, do not love doing dishes.)  And while I generally try to cook most of the time during the school year [I'm a teacher by trade, if you are new to the party], once summer break rolls around, well... my mixer, measuring cups, whisks, potholders, and oven get quite the workout!

 

Samuel didn't want to wear his bib.

Big Brother and Big Sister volunteered to demonstrate how great it is.

They are ready for some treats. 

My kiddos and hubby are usually very adventurous with me, and all are required willing to try everything at least once.  Usually when my sweet ones are having the privilege to try something that is not their first (or second or third or...) choice for dining, I help distract them by sharing various stories from the different missions' trips that I have taken over the years-- and all the different kinds of foods that I got to experience.  Their favorite is my story of eating a fish head, complete with eyeballs, when serving in Togo, West Africa. 

[And just for the record, of my husband's own admission, I have reeeaaaallly broadened his food palate, especially when it comes to shifting past the good ole' American meat and taters.  Not that there's anything wrong with meat and taters...]

But this is not a post about adventurous foods.  No fish heads here.  No pig intestines there. 

Today has been a super carb-filled delight of a day.  I whipped up a batch of that delicious NY style pizza dough that I was talking about trying several weeks ago.  It has become quite the favorite here at la casa de Gibson.  I'll post a few pics of it once we get it all together.  (In case you missed the post, this particular recipe requires a 3 day slow rise in the refrigerator.)

But what I did bake for our lunch tomorrow was THIS:

Ciabatta Rolls

 
If you have ever had any amount of interaction with me-- especially if said interaction involved any sort of conversation about food-- you will already know how desperately I love bread.  Perhaps more than just food as a whole, bread is specifically my tree.  And this bread is a powerful temptation!  I made it with the intention of serving it tomorrow with my homemade chicken salad.  Doesn't that look perfect?  Crusty, chewy, yeasty, little chicken salad sandwiches.  (We'll be eating around noon-ish; you are welcome to join us! ;) )

I also delight in whipping up some summer treats for the sweets.  Since strawberry season has been upon us, and I had a delicious supply of strawberries just begging to be used,  and those sweet babies were burning off some energy outside, I thought a batch of shortcake would be a perfect surprise for all of us!

 

I snapped this shot from the porch.  

D and E are workin' as mechanics on their bikes.

This was a new recipe for me.  Usually when I make strawberry shortcake, I make a drop biscuit; however, in this instance, the batter/dough is spread in a baking dish.  As I have already shared, I love to be adventurous: so I decided to try something a little different.  And that adventure paid off!  This will be my new go-to recipe.  It's simple, it's quick, and I generally have all the ingredients on hand.  The only thing that I did differently from the original recipe was that I added about 3 tablespoons of sugar.  And that was actually quite on accident-- I misread the recipe as I was attempting to entertain the Littlest in his high chair, grate the Parmesan cheese for the carbonara, plus keep an eye on the ciabatta dough working in the mixer so that it didn't dance right off my counter.  (*That would've made me sad.  Very, very sad.)  But, in my opinion, it was a happy mistake!  I like a hint o' sweetness in my shortcake, so I'll add it every time.  Oh, and even though it said not to grease the pan, I was too afraid of ruining my delicious treat (for my sweets), so I greased 'er up anywho.  I'll probably do that every time, too.

 

Crumbly on the top.  Tender in the middle.

Delicious all the way through.

Sadly, I did not take the time before snarfing it all down take a picture.  The one shared with you just above is actually some of the leftovers.  Yes, there are leftovers.  How proud are YOU of ME?!  (Um, the right answer is: so very proud, Leah.)

So all in all, today was definitely an "mmmmmm!" kind of day.  And I am happy to report that in spite of all those yummy treats I made, I still managed to (a) log all of my stuff onto MyFitnessPal and (b) stay under my calorie goal for the day!

Oh, and I also mowed all of the grass today.

Go.  Mama.