Living Life

It seems our days are filled around here. I try really hard to take pictures when I remember. I know I will cherish them when I look back. I don't want to just capture the "big events." I want to get the everyday stuff, too! This is one of those posts showing the last 1 1/2 weeks. I actually downloaded my pics backwards so we are going to start with the most recent and go back.

Sam had Civil War day at school on Friday. I so appreciated that this was a non-costume event. I didn't get to attend, but Sam brought this home, and it cracked me up. It is a letter from him as a soldier in the Civil War. The picture in the lower right corner of the note is actually him dressed up in a uniform.
In case you can't read it, it says:

Dear Dad and Mom,

Here is a picture of me in my uniform. I don't usually look so well. This war is an ugle(ugly) war. I am healthy, but tired. I miss your biscuits and cake!

I love you

Speaking of Sam, even at 8 years old, this boy continues to make me laugh every day with something he says. On Sunday, Rick was teaching him to crack eggs for breakfast. The first one that Sam cracked went all over the stove. As they were preparing to try again, Rick said, "What do you think you should do differently next time?" Sam responded, "I guess I shouldn't close my eyes." That might explain why it went everywhere!

Introducing: Isa. I. Am.

This kid came down the stairs dressed like this for Sam' basketball game.

Doesn't he look like he should be in the "Black Eyed Peas"?

"Everybody say, "Boom, Boom, Boom!"

Abby being silly with some crafty eyes

One of the favorite things to do in this house is get in sleeping bags and pillowcases and slide down the stairs.

Here they go!

Crash landing at the bottom

Yes, I am sure one of them will get injured at some point.

For now, I am willing to take that risk.

Cheetah Girl Rock Star!

Every once and a while, Laila will randomly say to me, "Mommy, you are wock star." My response is always, "Thanks, Laila. I think you are a rock star, too!" She will then say, "We are wock stars togeffer."

Since the Science Fair was cancelled, Cody's school hosted an evening for the students to present their Science Fair Projects. Cody was dressed all "snazzy"(as he would say it). He did a great job presenting his project to the parents as they came by.

Isaiah and Laila "enjoying" Sam's bball game.

Abby "enjoys" the games, too!

We had a snow day a week and a half ago. The kids had to get in some play time outside.

Gotta love the Pirate Pose

Sam was sledding down the levels in our backyard.

That had to be painful to make that big drop.

He loved it!! I couldn't watch.

Abby being as stylish as ever.

Her boots didn't match her snowsuit so she put on the scarf to tie the whole outfit together.

Little Snow Bunny

This was Rick's hat from East Berlin, Germany that he got when he lived in Germany as a teenager. He got it before the wall was brought down. Cody thinks that is so cool and has now adopted it as his own.

Lauren says her hat is still cooler.

If you notice, there were no snow pictures of Isaiah. He really didn't care to participate. Even when he does go out in the snow, he doesn't last very long. He and I have that in common. We would rather stay inside where it is warm!!

Sharing the Love

We have a little tradition in February. I like to call it "Sharing the Love." We have this little heart-shaped container that we secretly pass around throughout the month to show love to each other.
When you have the heart, you must find some type of gift to put in it. I really encourage the kids to think about the person they are giving it to and give them something that they would really like not just something that is easy. When the person is not aware, the "love sharer" puts the heart filled with something on their pillow. The receiver then must do the same for a different family member until everyone has received the heart. We keep it going all month long.

My kids are fighting quite a bit lately. Anything I can do to help them show love and think kindly towards each other is what I am all about. They feel good about giving and they feel special for receiving.

Hair Twisting Leads to One Little Heart Trusting

I have some really big news to share. This has been a big week of celebrating in our family.

In order to share the whole story, I need to go back to Christmas Eve. We went to church for the service as a family. At one point during the service, it came time for communion. Isaiah was asking lots of questions. Rick explained to him what it was and why we were doing it. He wanted to take communion, too. When Rick told him about trusting Jesus and following Him, he said, "I will do that next year." He seemed fine not to participate and we did not have any desire to push a decision on him he was not ready to make.

Fast forward to my overnight getaway in January. God really put Isaiah on my heart during that time. He impressed upon me that this was an important year for him. I felt very strongly that His security in our family is something I need to focus on this year. I felt like the stakes were high for him as we journey through this year. From the day we met him, there has been a spiritual battle for this little guy's life. We have had to fight for him in so many ways.

Over the last few weeks, Isaiah has wanted to talk about Heaven a lot. We have talked about what it is like, who is going there, etc. I discovered a couple of weeks ago that he was confused. When I asked him if he would like to trust Jesus and go to Heaven some day, his response was, "I don't want to leave my family." He misunderstood the timing of everything. He thought that if you trust Jesus, you immediately go to heaven. I explained that is not the case. That God still has work for us to do on earth and that Heaven would hopefully be very far away for all of our family. I explained that Daddy, Cody, Lauren, Abby, and Sam would all be going to heaven some day because they have trusted Jesus with their lives. We also had a discussion about Hell. He wanted to know all about it. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him what little I know about it. It was priceless.

He has been processing and thinking a lot. Throughout the process I have really tried to not convince him to do something he is not ready for. I wanted this to be his decision. We have talked about it lot, mostly at his prompting.

On Saturday, he and Laila took a bath. Afterwards, I needed to work on his hair, AGAIN. That gave us a good 30-45 minutes to sit and talk, something we don't get very often. Heck, that kid is not in one place that long for any other reason except maybe TV.

As I twisted his hair, the conversation began. It went something like this:

Isaiah: Mommy, I love you.

Me: Isaiah I love you, too. You know I will always love you(I think we might have had a discipline situation earlier, and I wanted to remind him that I love him no matter what). You know, Isaiah, God loves you, too. Even when we don't obey Him, He still loves us. He wants to spend forever with us.

Isaiah: In Heaven?

Me: In heaven and on earth. He wants us to follow Him and obey Him here, too.

Isaiah: How do we go to Heaven?

Me: We trust Him with our lives. We tell Him that we love Him, we say we are sorry for the times we disobey him, and we ask Him to be our Savior. He died to save us from our sins and the punishment of our sins.

Isaiah: You mean, Hell. That is a yucky place. I don't want to go to Hell.

Me: I don't want that for you either. Some day, when you feel ready you can trust Jesus, too. I believe He has a really big plan for you.

Isaiah: How do you do it?

Me: Well, you pray and say something like this, (I began saying a prayer for him that someone might say and he began repeating after me.) When we were done, I said, "why did you say the prayer with me?"

Isaiah: I wanted to give my life to Jesus!

Me: If you really said that prayer with all of your heart then you did give your life to Jesus.

Isaiah: I did, Mommy!

Me: Then that means you are saved Isaiah. That means you have Jesus in your heart to lead you and guide you and God has given you His Holy Spirit to help you make right choices. And you know what else? Right now, the angels in Heaven are having a party to celebrate your decision.

Isaiah: REALLY???

It was one of those moments that I have never experienced with our kids. Rick has had the opportunity to pray with each one of the 4 big ones. I wasn't sure what to do with it all. He is 5 years old which in some ways is young, but Lauren and Sam were even younger and they still talk about their decisions. I decided to just let him lead. Any steps he takes towards God are positive and I want to support him. When Rick got home, he told him,"Dadddy, I sended my heart to God."

That night, we were going to the Heisler's house for dinner. At dinner, he announced to them about his decision! They were so great!! We clapped and toasted and took the dessert of cheesecake cupcakes and made it into a little party for him. He even got to blow out a candle(the scent was "Heaven Sent" which was so appropriate)! I think it was good for him to have others celebrate his decision.

Over the last few days, he and I have had several conversations. God gave me a way to communicate this decision with him that I thought would really speak to his heart. I told him that now he has 2 families. He is always a part of our family, and now, he is always a part of God's family. He yelled, "WHAT?!?" in an excited voice(if you know him, you can just hear him doing this). Then, I told him that just like we adopted him into our family, God adopted me and now him into His family. I want Him to understand that adoption is a beautiful picture of God's love for us. I never want him to feel shame about being adopted. We ALWAYS talk about it positively. Of course, his response once again was, "WHAT?!?!"

Next, I told him that now that he is Christian, it is important that he learn about God, learn to obey Him, and grow stronger in the Lord. I explained that one of the best ways to do that was to read, study, and memorize God's Word. Yesterday was the big day! I took him to pick out his very own real(not kid's) Bible with his name on it.

Of course, he chose the one with the sword on it!

I absolutely love the big smile he has here.

He wanted Laila to get a picture to.

It was so sweet to see her excited for him.

They were hugging and kissing.

Putting his name, Isaiah Sanele Clapp, on the Bible

He is watching every step of the process.

He wanted a picture of it once it was done.

I couldn't get one with the name clear in the pic, but you get the idea.

Isaiah was right when he said that he would "make that decision next year." Who knew that a simple task like twisting his hair would provide an opportunity for a discussion that would lead to his heart trusting God. It reminds that even the mundane times of parenting my kids can lead to an impact on their lives. I don't want to miss those opportunities that God gives me each day!!

Lauren's Artistic Expression

Lauren got creative with some of our pics and decorated them. I thought I would share her work with you.

"Sassy"

"AAARRRGGHH"

"Samuel Cinderella"

"Spaghetti Head"

"Devil Man"

"Love Birds"

Lessons I Learned From Science Fair

We entered Cody's 7th grade year with his big Science Fair project looming before us. Everybody talks about it. Most people complain about it. They work on it for almost 4 months. It. is. a. big. deal!

Our philosophy of parenting is: "Come alongside them, support them, but the work is theirs to do. We have already been to school. We don't need to go again." We approached this project through that lens. In my experience, they feel a way bigger sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when the project is over because they were the ones that did the work and earned the grade. They also learn the natural consequences of not getting their work done on time. It is just a great life lesson for them.

I entered this time with Cody expecting him to learn some big lessons. I had no idea the lessons God would teach me in the process.

Let me explain as I share his project with you.

He decided to test the affect of earthquakes on different types of buildings He designed and built 4 different buildings, created a "shaker board" to simulate an earthquake, and compared the effects on each structure.

We did the experiment in our garage.

He did the earthquake while I timed it.

First building: A Log Cabin

Second Building: A Skyscraper

Cody's design: A dome building

Fourth Structure: A Siding House

Cody recording his results.

Next, it was time for me to learn a lesson. My friend, Laura,(there are a lot of Laura's in Colorado Springs) shared a statement with me that has been ringing in my ears and bouncing around in my heart for months. That statement was, "My children are the priority, not the distraction." Ouch! It hurts when I think about how many times I have been irritated by my plans for the day being disrupted by my children. I have something planned and one them is sick so I have to cancel. I am in the middle of a project and one of them needs my attention, so I have to drop what I am doing. They need something for a school project, and I have to rearrange my schedule to fit in a trip to the store. I could go on and on. I have found myself at various stages being irritated by these interruptions. I have lost sight of my calling.

I have wanted to be a mom since I was a kid. I have dreamed of staying home with my kids. How could I get to the point where I live like this calling and dream are a distraction from the activities with which I fill my days? I have been pondering this for months and adjusting my days, my work, and my mindset to fit the true calling that God has given me. I have 6 children! A lot of energy and time is needed to invest in them well.

Last week, I was looking forward to Saturday all week long. I needed a day of rest. I wanted to relax. I had these great dreams of reading and journaling. I don't really know what I was thinking because that is rarely part of my reality. All 6 kids would be home. I don't know where I thought I was going to relax all day. Anyway, that day did not turn out to be relaxing. Instead, I spent the whole day doing this:
I worked with Cody to help him mat his titles and documents(graphs, procedures, results, etc.) for his trifold. My handy dandy scrapbooking experience was put to good use. He was actually impressed with my skills. We worked together most of the day getting it all ready to go.
I was a bit frustrated and pretty exhausted at the end of the day. Then I read this in Day #33 of "The Purpose Driven Life," Entitled "How Real Servants Act."

Are you available to God anytime? Can he mess up your plans without you becoming resentful? As a servant, you don't get to pick and choose when or where you will serve. Being a servant means giving up the right to control your schedule and allowing God to interrupt it whenever he needs to.

If you will remind yourself at the start of every day that you are God's servant, interruptions won't frustrate you as much, because your agenda will be whatever God wants to bring into your life. Servants see interruptions as divine appointments for ministry and are happy for the opportunity to practice serving.

How sad would it be for me to spend my life serving others and lose my own children in the process? Yes, there needs to be balance. Yes, there is a place for serving outside the home. God has not taken away the burden and calling to Swaziland that God has placed on my life. God has called me to serve others in many ways, but I have been unbalanced in my approach. My children are the priority, not the distraction. That lesson hit home with me in a big way on that day. Cody won't forget us working together on this project. He wouldn't forget if he had to do it alone either. I had to choose to put aside my agenda for the day to serve him. I am so glad I did.

After we got it all prepared, he and his dad,

figured out the layout and attached it to the trifold

The Finished Product

He did a great job! The work was done by him. We were able to come alongside him and support him in the process. I was reminded once again of my role in my kids' lives. He learned a lot as well. There was much stress involved for him over the last few months, but he did it. He presented his project to his teacher, and it went great! On Wed. night, he and I grabbed some frozen yogurt in celebration of a project well done.

Today was supposed to be the Science Fair at his school. School was cancelled due to snow and the fair will not be rescheduled. I am a bit sad for him, because I think he would have really benefited from the experience of presenting to the judges and getting their feedback. Who knows, he might have even won an award. Regardless, the Science Fair taught us both some lessons that we will never forget.

8 Years of Joy!

On Monday, Sam turned 8 years old. It was his year to have a friend party. He chose laser tag with 5 of his buddies from church and school. We had the party on Sunday.

Pizza and Unlimited Soda were on the menu.

Those boys took "unlimited soda" very literally.

2 games of laser tag

Everyone in their gear(Sam cracks me up with his expression here)

Ready to fire away!

Charging his gun

Rick and Elijah hiding and shooting.

The first game the boys played against Rick. Rick won.

I kept hearing the boys say to each other, "Cover me, I need to go energize."

The second game they played was against another party of 8 year old boys.

I love how they are working together here.

Final Score: 317-311

Celebrating their victory!!

After the battles, it was time for singing to the Birthday Boy and Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

The party ended with some time in the arcade: skee ball, basketball, shooting games and motorcycle riding. They earned tickets and "bought" some prizes.

The favorite prize: water squirting ring.

That night we had a spaghetti dinner and more cupcakes and ice cream as a family to celebrate Sam. He opened gifts from his brothers and sisters.

Rick took Sam out to breakfast before school to Rosie's Diner on his actual bday. Evidently, Sam chatted the whole time, animated like always.

Isaiah and Laila and I took him a Burger King lunch to school

Sharing cupcakes with his class

After his bday was over, Sam said, "That was the best Birthday ever!" (Yay!! That one goes in the win column. I always feel stressed leading up to the kids' bdays. I so want them to feel special since there are so many of them. They all need a day every now and then that is all about them!)

Sam,

You bring so much joy to my life!! I love your sense of humor. I love your tender heart and sensitive spirit. I love your cool hair. I love your sense of style. I love your hugs and kisses. I love how you quote funny lines from TV shows and movies. I love the triumphant gallop you make down the basketball court after you have scored a basket. I love how you proudly remind me that you are meeting your goal this year of not being sent to the principal's office. I love how you smile with your eyes. I love you!

Always, always, always believe the truth that you are you an essential and valued part of our family. You are special. Whenever you doubt that, remember your story. Remember God's protection over your life over and over and over again. He has BIG plans for you.

I am praying that you will be a man of truth. I am praying that you will seek God with all of your heart. I am so proud of you, my little man.

Love, Mom