Nativity Idea

Judgement is not ours.

  

Here's something which has been on my mind a fair amount lately.

I find it confusing that most people these days seem to think that they have a right to just about any and everything. It is more common these days for people to complain about human rights in the form of not being offended in one way or another than actual human rights like water, food, sanitation etc.

When someone doesn’t have the basics in life, their thoughts are not on who said what with what tone of voice. They are more concerned with survival. If something doesn’t serve them in the way that’s needed, they steer away from it. Why can’t we do the same with regard to the things people say? These days, there are so many differing opinions about so many topics. So many people claim to want to have the freedom to do what they want to do. Then in the very same breath, they tell others what they can’t do.

Let’s take those who claim not to have any religious affiliation. Atheists, agnostics. If someone who is Christian says anything, they are very quick to be condemned for being judgy, not compassionate, bigoted and the likes. Yet, in not allowing Christians to share their thoughts and feelings, they display the very same things they claim to hate. There’s too much of a double standard.

We have no right to judge others. Matthew 7:2 states: “For with what ^ajudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what ^bmeasure ye mete, it shall be ^cmeasured to you again.” I have found this to be truer with each day as I grow older. The minute I start becoming judgmental of others, I see that I make mistakes which are similar to what they are doing. Rather ironic, right?

We have a responsibility to do our best and be good people. To help life those around us and not put them down. Let’s stop focusing on what we aren’t getting and what others are doing wrong and let’s show more love to those around us. This is how we become more Christlike and live what we teach.

Back to the... slog (blog?).

Where do I begin (again)? So much has happened since I last posted. I guess since this is my family blog, I should talk about my family. My children are so much older, Juliette (Julie) is in her last year of high school! Shock horror! Jordan will be 15 in about 6 weeks’ time. Eden is in her last year of primary school. Kael is approaching the tween stage in a hurry. I have almost 3 teenagers in the house – should I be feeling old? Paul and I are happier than every before. Last year we had quite a ‘paradigm shift’ which has brought us a lot closer and we’re more a team now. It’s a long story and maybe one day I’ll share it.

I think that in talking about my family, I need to first talk about me and where I’m at. It’ll add a lot more perspective to the way I see and feel about my children, in paticular. In 2016, we had a young man from church come and live with our family. He was almost 17 and had been kicked out of his family– which was him and his grandfather. We felt that it was right for us to help and since we had the means to provide for him, it was the only logical thing to do. It was the most trying year of my life. Ever. I also started teaching Seminary. This was the start of quite an amazing journey of self-discovery and growth for me. I won’t bore you with the details, but after the year was over, we moved house and the young man couldn’t come with us (which is how we wanted it).

I taught Seminary for another year (2017). This was also a difficult year but easier than the previous one. Six months into the year, Julie decided that she didn’t want to go to church anymore – including doing Seminary. It was a very bitter pill to swallow. I struggled for months to come to terms with it. Eventually, I realised that I can’t force her because that is not how Father works with us. Needless to say, agency has become a huge part of my staunch belief system. It’s rather ironic though because the very thing which drew me to the church (being able to make our own decisions based on our own personal revelation) is what I was tested on.

In 2018, my calling was changed to Institute teacher for the Young Single Adults who attend the university. This is by far the best (official) calling I have ever had!! I learnt more about myself during those 18 months than in any other calling I’ve ever had. I have such a love for the YSA I taught. They will be my friends for the eternites.

Now, in 2020, Jordan has decided that he’s an atheist. Interestingly though, this hasn’t shaken me as I thought it would have. I have come to rely on the plan for his life and I trust that Heavenly Father is in complete control. I will always pray for my children but my job is to love them, not control them.

I think the biggest thing for me this past year is that I have become happier with who I am. I have learnt that my relationship with Heavenly Father is worth more to me than anything else because no matter what happens and who comes or goes from my life, I know He is always there for me. This is, in part, some of the ‘shift’ I mentioned earlier.

More to come!

Umbrellas :D

Bought the kids these umbrellas before we picked Julie & Jordy up after school. They love umbrellas! And they're just too cute not to share.


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Crazy weather contd.

Roads almost completely flooded on the way home.


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Hail

Some pics of the hail storm we just had. Looks like snow!

The last pic is of some of the stones Julie collected.

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100 reasons why I love my husband

I'll start with the first 10:
1. He has a job & works hard.
2. He wants to provide well for us.
3. He studies to improve his education.
4. He plays with the kids.
5. He wants what's best for them.
6. He gets involved with the kids.
7. He is my best friend.
8. He makes me smile.
9. He makes me laugh.
10. He respects me.
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1st child vs. 3rd child

Courtesy of:
www.cutajar.net/owen/2007/06/birth-order-of-children

What to wear
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
The Wardrobe:
1st baby: You pre -wash newborn's clothes, colour-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress–a whimper, a frown–you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your first born.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
The Dummy:
1st baby: If the dummy falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the dummy falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
Nappy changes:
1st baby: You change your baby's nappies every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their nappy every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their nappy before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
Swallowing Coins (a favourite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
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Top 10 Priorities of a Mom | iMOM

Top 10 Priorities of a Mom | iMOM

Bbm pin

Well, I may as well put it out there.
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For anyone who's interested.

The beautiful sunrise we were greeted with this morning

 

I was just telling the kids this morning about how clever and Heavenly Father is. There are so many things in this world that are ugly and wrong and just plain evil, yet, we are blessed with beauty in things we take for granted. A sunrise for example. It was a great way to start the day :)

Pics

Kael's bike with Grampa's bike :D

My 3 babies sleeping in the car.

The Gall of it!

So no gall stones... Not sure how relieved I am though. On the one hand it's good because I don't have to have my gall bladder removed, so no hospitalization required. Also, all my organs are ok so nothing weird picked up there. He said it could be inflammation of the (something starting with a 'D' which comes right after the stomach) which causes the pain. So he's prescribed an antacid and it should settle within a few days if it's that. On the other hand, I'm petrified of cancer so I drilled him all about that, how it works and what could / would happen if it doesn't settle. So, having my mind a bit clearer on that, I suppose I do feel a bit better.
I had worst case scenarios going through my mind...
At least it's all done now (and hopefully it'll all settle and I'll be done with it).
I can't imagine how tough it must be for parents who find out they're going to leave a family behind. I shudder at the thought.
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Kael

Yesterday morning, I was giving my younger 2 kiddies breakfast (they'd asked for Jordy's cereal - he got a box of Milo cereal for his birthday last week). So I put some in a bowl for Kael and he told me that he didn't want milk with it. A few minutes later, he then said, "Actually, I do want milk. I was confused!"
Seriously, how many kids at the age of 35 months can say that. I love that my kids talk so well :)
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Doctors...

So here I sit, waiting patiently at the X-ray department of Olivedale for someone to see me and do a scan of my abdomen... I may have gall stones. How exciting! Not really but what else can I say about it? It's freezing in this waiting area - as though they think it's 35°C outside the room and they need to keep the heat out.
Apparently they have to remove the gall bladder if it is gall stones. Now that sounds like a whole barrel of fun hey?
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Last week of school Term 1 2012

Well here we are... The last week of the first term of 2012. Already! Jules seems to have done well in Grade 4 so it's not as bad as I thought I would be. We still have exams to experience next term though so perhaps I shouldn't count my chickens.
Jordy is styling Grade 1 - Mrs Kaspersen really did a fantastic job getting him ready for big school.
We'll get their reports on Thurs eve @ parents' evening. Then I may just keep them home from school on Friday - just coz I can.
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Picnic @ chapel, waiting for Paul #2

Picnic @ the chapel, waiting for Paul

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Edie & Cadence being Hula Girls :)

Finding me...

Wanna see if this still works - been forever since I last blogged and I'm going through a rough time.

I'm taking a break from facebook - I just spend too much time there. I'm also a bit lost in where I'm at and I've forgotten who I am. I think I'm too caught up in what I do. At the moment, I'm just going through the motions with everything - kids, family, home, church etc.

So I'll be posting here from now on. Until I find me again.
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Chores and a sane Mommy

Today I knew Paul was going to work late and I had so much to do...

SO... I decided to get the kids in on the working thing that happens around the house - you know, the normal everyday mundane stuff that's mostly left for mom (and dad, in our family) to do. Don't get me wrong, we've been getting the kids in on the chores thing for quite some time now> Every Saturday morning we do a big clean up and the house gets cleaned properly - floors washed and vacuumed, kitchen sparkling, bathroom really clean etc. But the day-to-day stuff is often a huge fight and I have to psyche myself up for it when I ask the kids to do something so that I don't feel like I've started WW3. I'm not afraid of the fight nor am I in any way willing to back down - doing housework together as a family is what we will do in our house and the kids will be used to it by the time they leave to live their own lives. I refuse to be the maid or servant so everyone has to pull their weight.

And today I did it all again and it worked and I felt as though I was doing great! When we got home, the kids wanted to swim so I told them that if they did everything I asked them to do first, then they could. They were happy with that so they all willingly went and did the tasks assigned to them. Jordy unstacked the dishwasher, Julie stacked most of the things she could manage - the pots that needed a bit more elbow grease were left for me. We had lunch and then they had a whole hour of swimming. It was super!

When we got back, they all played outside with their friends and eventually, at 5.30, I called them all in and got them all (barring Kael) to pack their clean washing away. Julie even got to taking all the clothes off her bottom cupboard shelf and re-packing it all neatly.

I had since made supper and we all ate feeling quite good about ourselves.

It just worked out so well today. Granted, I don't expect every day to be this easy from now on but I think just the fact that we got it right is good enough to keep me going for a while. I feel like a sane mother and think my kids rock!

And on days like these, I am also ever grateful that my children are growing up learning to be responsible and team players. This is why we have families - so we can feel the joy of working together and being happy when we've all done what we are expected to.

Just keep blogging, blogging, blogging...

I feel as though I haven't been here a lot recently. And since getting my dad's old BlackBerry, and consequently getting hooked, I find myself pushing the shift button every time I want to add punctuation. HAHAHAHA :) I love laughing at myself - keeps me a bit sane (if that's even possible).

Temptation Quotes