Telling on the 35 year old...

Little girls LOVE birthday parties, and when you are the daddy of 4 little girls, you can't have a birthday without having a bit of a party. They couldn't believe that all he wanted for his birthday was a 4-wheeling outing. They kept asking what color of plates he wanted for his party, what he wanted on his cake and so on. Finally, we settled for a brisket dinner and daddy's favorite coffee and cream brownies for dessert. Complete with a candle of course! :)

I spend a lot of time telling you about the 12, 8, and 4 year old. I spend even more time telling you about the 15 month old. Today, in honor of his 35th birthday, I'd like to tell you about the 35 year old. Many of you know the story how I became the 35 year old's wife. We met for the first time 8 months after the letters and phone calls began. We were engaged on our 3rd visit and married the 5th. Bear in mind that all of this happened over a period of about 3 years. To Dr. Laura and all of you who say that young marriages don't work, I have one word, "balogna!". I will say that marriages without God don't work...no matter how old you are! I have learned to never be jealous of the time my husband spends with God, for it only draws him closer to me.

That said, Is Mr. Richardo perfect? Not quite,but he is perfect for me!

Does he do things that irritate me? Oh yeah!

He is NOT Mr. Neat Guy.

His tool box in a constant state of chaos, but he spends time playing silly games with his girls.

He is in competition for world's worst procrastinator, but he whispers, "I love you truly" to me every day.

He never has learned to fold clothes, in fact...I'd almost rather he not try, but he can change even the dirtiest of diapers.

He forgets to change the oil sometimes, but he remembers to say, "thank you" when I make his favorite brownies.

He's famous for locking the keys in the car, but he makes the business/personal phone calls that I dread.

He almost never picks up up his own dirty clothes, but when I cry he picks me up and holds me.

He's not a real 'people person', but he really loves people and cares about the struggles that are real to them.

He's not big on organization, but he's big on faithfulness.

Sometimes he forgets the special days and dates, but every day, he provides well for our little family.

He's not well known in this world, but he knows the God of Heaven well.

Going to a Rooster Party!

You would think I would go to a Hen Party, being I am a 'hen' myself. I'm really hoping I don't feel out of place with all those Roosters! Barb over at, Bella Vista has put together her second annual Rooster Party and I'm in love! I started collecting nearly 20 years ago.

The salt and pepper shaker was a Christmas gift from my brother and his family a few years ago.

Hubby bought me this barn 'bird-cage' at a furniture store when we first moved to Idaho about 12 years ago.

My dining room is done in blue and white so you know I couldn't resist this guy when I saw him at Ross.

I'm including this picture because the plate has a picture of my mother as just a little girl...feeding the chickens!

I picked up the rooster thirsty-stone just this past week at the trift store. The little "Hapily Hen-pecked" rooster was a shower gift.

Some more treasures that came from my hope chest.

And last of all, something you've probably seen before if you frequent my blog at all. Hubby recently made me some barn wood frames for the tea towels my grandma made me when I married.

I love my roosters, chicks, and hens!

Paint fumes

So I told you that HUBBY had a lot left on his 4-wheeler project, and I suppose he still does, but the painting is done. He tore it all apart and sanded all the rusty metal parts. That's a lot of parts, in case you are wondering. I didn't plan to do the painting, but when I saw how hard he was working on all that sanding, I had mercy on him and decided to at least do the primer. Then he came along and told me that I was the spray paint champion of the world, I caught on that he wanted me to do the painting as well. I did have to correct him though. I will have to settle for "Spray Paint Champion of the West" because there is Brittany! :)

Anyway, after 7 cans of paint and primer, we are finally done, and you are probably wondering why the above photos. That was a side project. I couldn't do all that painting and not do something fun. I had been thinking about painting my knife block a nice bright red, so I sanded off the black, gave it a nice coat of primer and about 4 coats of red. She's so bright and cheery now! I also painted the egg basket--something I've been threatening to do for 13 years now. Funny the projects that escape my hand year after year and then when you finally do it, you wonder why you waited so long--especially when it is so fast and easy.

I'll have those 4-wheeler pictures up soon! I know all you ladies can hardly wait! :)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Kammy, age 4, was a little extra dirty, so I had her soak a little longer than normal in the tub. When she got out, she examined her hands and began to cry real tears, "You made me stay in there so long that I got old...just like Grandma!", she said.

At the Thrift Store this week, Kammy found one of those large, rideable, stuffed horses. She convinced her daddy to buy it for her with the promise to repay him from her piggy bank, When we got home, she brought him 27 cents. He said, "I thought you were going to give me $2." "Well...." she said, "that was all I could find in Kayla's (big sister's) wallet."

I'm linking up for the fun at Tiny Talk Tuesday!

Accountability....

....noun. The state of being accountable; liability to be called on to render an account; the obligation to bear the consequences for failure to perform as expected.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitible for you. Hebrews 13:17

I have really enjoyed all the 'parenting blogs' I have come across recently. I have found some excellent ideas and tips to help in this tremendous responsibility God has given us as parents. I'm also reading James Dobson's book, "Bringing up Girls." I just started it, but I can tell already that it's going to be a great!

It's Sunday afternoon, all is quiet in the house, but for the hum of a great blessing...my dishwasher! The girls are reading or playing quietly, and the baby is napping with daddy.

I thought I would take this time to unwind a bit and share with you something we started doing a couple of years ago. It has been a great success for us.

We call it Family Accountability.

It's really not as scary as it might sound. We simply take a few minutes (okay...sometimes hours) on Saturday evening to practice being accountable. Think about it...it's something we ALL have to do. Even daddies. My children know that their daddy has a management job. In their minds, he is "THE BIG BOSS" both at home and at work. It was funny to listen to them when he explained that even bosses have bosses and those bossess have bigger bosses and so on and so forth. It was about a week of Kammy asking every day when daddy came home, "Was your boss kind to you today?"

"It's not only what we do, but also what we do NOT do, that we are accountable for."

We move around the room, (yes, mom & dad included...sigh...) and discuss our week. I want them to see from the struggles and trials I/we go through, that Jesus is there for them, just the way he is for us. I want them to remember these times when THEY are the parents and hopefully be able to learn from them. We confess the areas we 'messed up' in and discuss a game plan for doing better. We talk about our fears and even ask forgiveness of one another when necessary. We talk about both the good and the bad. If God was especially near or gave us a special verse from his word, we might share that. If we had a rather 'dry' week, we are obligated to share that as well. This way, our family...those who love us best...know how to pray for us and and encourage us. Of course, there are things have to be dealt with throughout the week and we want our children to feel like they can come to us with concerns at any time, but this just makes it a little more focused. Then we pray together about these things, and others.

At first accountability was a little hard, and the WHOLE family dreaded it a bit I think, but now it is something to look forward to. Well....usually, anyway. For those who have 'messed up', the thought can be a little intimidating, but at the same time, it feels good to share openly with one another. Sometimes we find ourselves trying to help each other understand a Bible verse, or explain a docrinal question. Sometimes, it is something very simple. Like this week, helping Kammy pray that she will develop an appetite for better food. She is our one and only junk-food-junkie and we are all trying to help her take better care of her body. You should have heard her pray last night! :) I have noticed that since we have accountability, we have less fighting and fewer unkind words among the children. The thought of having to be accountable for our actions, sometimes stops the bad actions all together and I venture to say, has started a few good actions as well. :)

One other part of this whole accountability project for us has been preparing ourselves to worship. No one wants to go to church Sunday morning discouraged or carrying guilt. I suppose it's important for everyone, but I think it might be especially important for a parsonage family. We are supposed to be ministering to people not taking our burdens to them.

It also gets our kids in the habit of being accountable. It's a part of life and certainly a part of death as well. As parents, we will be required to give account not only of ourselves, but of how we did with the treasures God gave us to raise for His Kingdom.

"Accountability breeds responsibility."

So, there you have it...

"Family Accountability"

Just one of the little things our family does in attempt to 'Bring up Pink' and keep the circle unbroken.

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12