The Blankie

We have had this red blanket in our family since my first child was born....8 years!!  It was handed down to each boy and my third one latched right onto it.  He has slept with it for every nap and each night.  He is three now and has decided he is done with the old red blanket and is ready for something new.  I think the huge holes were just getting too big!!  He folded the blanket up and put it the closet all by himself.  Now he is onto bigger boy things....His new blanket is "Batman, the Dark Knight."  Do you have a blanket story?

Christmas at the Whitley's

Here our a few highlights from our Christmas.  We have had a blessed time with our family. Our Mimi and my sister have been here to celebrate Christmas.   On Christmas Eve, Daddy read from Luke 2 and we had a Jesus birthday party.  Daddy gave the 2 older boys twenty dollars each to pic out some gifts for me.  They came back with my favorite things....dove chocolate, some jewelry, and a coffee thermos!!  Very sweet.  It was so fun to watch the boys expressions about their presents.  A simple five dollar gun was the highlight for my 3 year old.  Of course the older ones cost us a little more.  My five year old was excited about his ipod shuffle.  He and I went for a morning run with our ipods. Fun. Fun.  My 8 year old's favorite gift was a Rip Stick. He and his daddy are still trying to master it!!  On Christmas Day we went to see a movie with 3 of the boys. I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas.  I can't wait to keep up with all of your blogs in 2009.  Blessings to you.

So Excited

I am just praising God today for a neat opportunity.  Thanks to a dear friend we found out about the Lighthouse program.  They are in need of host homes for a week in January for a few twelve year old boys.  We are willing to have a child in our home for that week in January.  I have been reading all of the information today and we have a pile of paperwork to feel out.  We will not adopt the child but we will be on our knees for him.  We have our hands full with the 4 plus Russian adoptions are very very expensive.  So, we are just looking at this as a real neat ministry opportunity. If you think of our family, please pray for us as we embark on this adventure and pray for this little guy a home.  Will keep you posted!

A Pocket Knife

It seems like I keep teaching the children to be wise with their money and to be generous.  Going along with this concept, I shared about the Christmas jars tradition tonight.  This is something we have never done but I want to in the coming year.   I explained to the older two that we could start saving money in a jar and then give it away next year.   I told them we would pray about it and see what God led us to do with the money.  I was listing some of the possibilities...buy food for a family, buy toys or clothes for children, etc.  My five year old said, "I know mom, we could buy a pocket knife for a kid." This made me smile because he is really into pocket knives.  It will be neat to see how God leads us next year!! 

Candy, Scarves, and New Hair

Our Mimi came up for the weekend.  It is always a blessing to have her with us.  She brought some fun candy making supplies.  She and the boys made Christmas tree candy.  She also made 9 fleece scarves while she was here!   She is very creative and can sew just about anything!  Our three year old got a new hair do this weekend thanks to his Dad.  He likes his new hair.  He thinks it is "cool".  

My little man

Well my twenty month old is keeping us laughing these days.   These are just a few of the things he loves to do:

following his daddy around at all times which really pleases his dad

wrestling with his brothers

eating off of others plates when he gets bored with his

dumping things out and exploring places constantly

making people laugh, he has 2 funny faces that he makes

playing choo choos and reading books

He is a delight.  We thank God for his life.  

Start December 14th

This is a very simple tradition we do 12 nights before Christmas.  We keep it very simple.  We light a candle for each boy and sing a Christmas song each night.  Once the song is over, the boys blow the candles out.  Here is a list of the songs.  If you are like me and don't know the words to all of these songs, you can look them up online and print them out.   

Day 1  Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Day 2 O Little Town of Bethlehem

Day 3 O Christmas Tree

Day 4 Away in a Manger

Day 5 Joy to the World

Day 6 What Child is This

Day 7 First Noel

Day 8 O Come all ye Faithful

Day 9 Silent Night

Day 10 Little Drummer Boy

Day 11 We Three Kings

Day 12  Happy Birthday Baby Jesus

What are your traditions?  Please share.  

Clay Ornaments

I am sure I am the last one to do this craft with their kids.  My eight year old stayed home today and we had fun making the ornaments.  It was a very easy recipe.  Mix 1 and 1/2 cups of salt with 4 cups of flour.  Then gradually add 1 and 1/2 cups of water.  Knead until it no longer falls apart.  Make your project and allow it to dry for about 2 days.  Paint.  Project is complete!!  Share any of your crafty ideas!!  

5 Things

We had a very good Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful lunch with our Mimi and then we enjoyed being with my side of the family for dinner.  Here are five things that will be memories from this Thanksgiving.  1)  Every year the little guys name the turkey.  This year his name was "dead Jed".  2)  We watched the 3 little pigs at least 5 times.  3)  We did lots of fun crafts with Mimi including a Gingerbread house.  The Gingerbread house needed some extra help so we pulled out the glue gun!  4) Every year the boys eat yummy turkey cookies.  Max loved the icing this year.   5)  We will remember all of our time with our family.  We enjoyed catching up with everyone.   Lord, we thank You for all You have done and all You are going to do.  

Christmas and Kid's Quotes

Well, on a crazy whim I started decorating the house for Christmas tonight.  Here are some of the quotes of the night.  The three year old had 3 funny quotes:  1)  This is AWESOME!! 2)  Is it mine?  3)  Can I climb it?  The five year was cute too.  1)  If a robber came to our house, we could hide under it.  2)  I bet this will be the best tree ever.  We had a lot of fun. The one year old's favorite part was trying to eat candy canes from last year and kissing baby Jesus.  Each year we place baby Jesus under the tree in a little manger  The eight year old was not as interested.  He is getting old on me!!  I am sure he will make a few crafts for the tree.

Answered Prayer

The Lord has blessed my heart and encouraged me to be diligent in prayer.  I had been praying for the Lord to help me with getting an exercise plan.  He was very faithful and provided me with a walking partner.  I am one of those people who need accountability so this has been very good.  I had also been praying about finances this week because with the holidays around the corner, money can be tight (especially when you are feeding four growing boys!)  Well, I just found out today that I "accidentally" paid one of our bills twice last month so that will provide some extra for the holidays.  So I am just very thankful for all of His provisions, and I hope to be diligent in my prayer life!

In a "Funk"

When I am having a down day or a couple of down days in a row, I like to say that I am in a "funk".  I am a little silly.  I don't like the words "down" or "depressed".  In recent months, when I have had one of those days, I just cry out to Him and say "Lord, please, please encourage me some how, some way today.  He has been so faithful.  It is neat to see how He works.  One day, a friend brought me a little gift and a card by my house.  There have been several times when He has shown me some one who is enduring a circumstance and He will allow me to minister to them.  I love it when He helps me get my eyes off of myself.  So if you are in a funk or when you are in a "funk" remember to cry out to Him to encourage you.  I know He will be faithful to answer that prayer!!  How do you get out of your "funk"?  P.S. I am not in a funk right now, just reflecting on what God has been showing me!!

The Polar Express Party

Well, one of the boy's favorite things to do this time of year is our Polar Express party.  We usually do this around Dec 1.  We will wear our pj's and watch the Polar Express. I print out tickets and they have to give me their tickets to come to the party, purchase hot chocolate, or a train cookie. We do the "Santa thing" so this is when they write their letters to Santa.  You can get some great crafts on line and coloring sheets for them to do.  This year we will attempt to make a silver bell out of a cup with foil, etc.  Just thought I would pass this idea along so some of you can do this as well.  I love getting new ideas so share your traditions with me!!

Will the Wrestler?

Our five year old has been attending wrestling practice for a few weeks now. He loves to put his wrestling attire on.  At this point we are not entering any tournaments. He is just learning some basic skills.  Hopefully, he will not use too many on his brothers!!  God, please show us his niche

Yes Hubby

Today was one of those "hard marriage days".  We all have them, don't we?  I am mostly to blame for today.  The Lord prompted me to reread one of my favorite books "A Woman After God's Own Heart".   There were several questions posed which I now need to ponder.....Am I responding to his nature with love and understanding?  Am I helping him or hindering him?  Am I showing respect even when I don't feel like it?  Am I interrupting him often or am I truly listening to him?  Am I "bending" or "bucking".  You get my point.  So pray for me to be the Godly wife that I desire to be!!

Our Tree of Thanks

This is one more tradition that we do each year in November.  It is called our Tree of Thanks.  I usually cut a tree branch off of a tree and place it in a pot with soil.  I trace a leaf on pieces of construction paper and cut them out.  I just put the leaves by the tree and our boys write things they are thankful for whenever they want to.  Well, I put the tree up today and it is already full of leaves.  Some of the things they have written so far are "my brothers", "the police", "doctors".  It is amusing to see what they come up with.  It is also just a great visual reminder about having thankful hearts!!

Fall Crafts

One of my boy's favorite fall crafts is to make a turkey with beans, sunflower seeds, etc.  I just trace a turkey onto a piece of cardboard and give them tons of beans. It is so neat to see what they come up with on their own.  We use a glue gun for ours but some other type of glue might work!!

The other picture  is of our Thanksgiving banner.  My mother in law and I made this a couple of years ago.  It really is very simple.  I got the idea out of Pottery Barn.  I just traced letters out of felt and had her sew them on each block.  You could do this for any holiday really.  Happy Fall to you all!!

Happy Halloween

We had a great day.  The kids were so excited.  Margo and Mike came over with their four boys.  It was  a lot of fun.  My sister was also in town so that was nice.  The weather was so perfect.  Our three year old was Indiana Jones, "W" was a ninja, "J" was batman, and the baby was a lion.  Here are a few pics.

Books I Love

I love to read books.  Most of my sweet little friends know this about me!!  I love to read books on marriage and parenting and just the Christian life in general.   Well, some of the ones that I love to keep around to share are Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.  It is about anxiety and contentment.  Very good.  Actually all of her books are wonderful (Creative Counterpart, Intimate Issues).   Another one that I have read several times is called Words that Hurt Words that Heal.  It is a quick read that goes into detail about gossip and slander.  Good stuff.  I have enjoyed Twelve Extraordinary Women. It is fun to read and learn about Biblical characters.  One Bible study that has meant a lot to me is called Be Transformed.   Well, if you have any books that you love, let me know!! 

Being Bold

Today in my Bible study we discussed the life of John the Baptist and how he was bold for Christ. 

Many times I find that I am not bold for Christ.  Today's discussion reminded me about the topic of salvation.  One pastor broke salvation down into three components.  This has made it easier for me to explain to my children.  The first part is that we must come to the place where we realize that we are sinners and that we need a Saviour.  The second part is that we acknowledge that Jesus paid our debt or our penalty on the Cross.  He was our sacrifice.  The third component involves surrendering our lives for Christ.  Each day we should continue to surrender to Him.  My prayer is that God will continue to give me opportunities for Him.  I pray that I will be bold for Him when I need to be and that I will share His story.  

Fall Break in Branson

We have taken the boys to Branson for the past 2 years.  Who knows, it might become a tradition in the fall.  Our Mimi got to go with us.  We enjoyed having her with us. We had a great time.  We stayed at Big Cedar.  There is so much there to do with the kiddos...paddle boats, trails, minature golf, lincoln logs, etc.  We did make it to Silver Dollar City.  The boys favorite thing to do there was the cave.  My oldest kept saying "This is awesome!".  It was great to get away.  Thank You God for allowing us to make some memories!!

Pressing On

I have suffered with psoriasis (rash on my skin) for about fifteen years.  Right now God has led me to look at nutrition.  I am doing the Maker's Diet which really just involves eating unprocessed foods and exercising!!  I know God can heal me but I am not sure that He will. He may have other plans for my suffering.  When I get discouraged I have to remind myself of some of these truths:  God, You are for me, You are with me, You are on my side, You are my Help, Nothing is too hard for You, My future is in your hands, My healing is in your hands, You are not perplexed by what I am going through, You hold me securely, You are worthy of my trust, You are more than enough for me. 

Pumpkin Contest

My little guy has a pumpkin decorating contest in his class.  Sooo we decided to paint his like Batman.  He really likes Batman stuff, in fact he plans to be Batman for Halloween.  We really had a lot of fun designing and creating this.  

Pumpkin Patch Time

Recently, I took the boys to the pumpkin patch in Claremore.  They had fun making a scarecrow and playing the little games.  A sweet friend told me about this patch.  It was a lot of fun.  

More Fall Pics

Tonight we had to take our family pictures for the church directory.  So I did a little photo taking myself before the big group pic.  Here are my 2 youngest boys.

Will's Field Trip

Will's class went to the fair today. I really enjoyed my time with him today.  One of my close friends, Shannon, watched Sammy for me so that was a huge help.  It was fun to focus on Will.  

Pumpkin Patch Time

I love the fall.  We love to check out various pumpkin patches.  Today Max and I met some friends at a pumpkin patch in town.  He had fun climbing on the pumpkins.  

Mommy advice

I was tagged by a friend to share some "mommy advice".  I am not the perfect mom nor will I ever be.  I will share a few things that I have read or that I try to do!!  Being a mom is quite challenging but ever so rewarding.  I am so thankful to be a mommy to four boys!

1)  Let your children see you love their daddy.  Praise their daddy.  Love on their daddy in front of them.

2)  Pray, Pray, Pray!!  I love to use The Power of a Praying Parent each day.  I also cover them in prayer on Thursdays.  I pray for wisdom for parenting bunches!!

3)  Read as much as you can when you can.  Some of my favorite parenting books are Love and Logic and Grace Based Parenting.

4)  I am passionate about instilling God's Word in them so we make this a priority each night. 

5)  Say I am sorry when you raise your voice or mess up.  

6)  Touch them and hug on them as much as possible!!

7)  Be balanced with your serving.  It is great to serve but make sure you are balanced and that your home is getting your attention.  

8)  Teach them to work for money.  Don't just give them allowance.  Let them do jobs around the house.

9)  This is a tough one.  Try to give each child plenty of one on one time.  This is hard with lots of kids but I really try to make sure we do this on a regular basis.  One lady told me to give each child 15 minutes of undivided attention a day.  The more kids you have, the harder this is!  So it may not be every day!!

This is just my input.  You may disagree with me on some of this but that's okay!!  If you are reading this, you are tagged to share some of your mommy advice.  Much love to you all.

Pumpkin crafts

My older two boys enjoy doing crafts.  So far we have made bat pumpkins and our latest is the pumpkin mummy.  These are in the latest Family Fun Magazine.  I love this time of year.  Looking forward to pumpkin patches!!  

Rascal Flatts Concert

Ben and I had a great time at the concert tonight.  He is such a great husband.  He bought tickets for us because he knows that I really like their music.  I would have to say that David Crowder is my very favorite.  I grew listening to some country music so Rascal Flatts makes me think about my roots.  It was a great time.  Our Mimi came up and watched the boys.  She is such a blessing.  

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

I am really trying to find some good recipes to feed the boys for breakfast.  I have had a few that did not turn out so great. However I made this one today and got the "thumbs up".  I doubled the recipe.  1  1/4 cups whole wheat flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 egg, 1 cup milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries.  Mix flour and baking powder in one bowl.  Beat the egg, add milk, salt and sugar in another bowl.  Stir the 2 bowls together. Proceed to cook up some yummy pancakes.  I would love some more healthy recipes for breakfast.  So pass them along if you have them! 

Go Jack Go

Jack is our little soccer player.  He loves it.  He usually plays every day after school with friends.  I am so pleased that he has found something that he enjoys.  Ben and I have been juggling the other 3 boys at the games. We have not only had one bleacher accident but two in the last 2 weeks.  So needless to say we are staying away from the bleachers.  We do not want to get the bad parent award.  It is crazy right now but it will get easier. Max is just at a busy stage.  We love this time of year and we love watching Jack go for it!!  

Pray for Daddy

We were out back last night playing with the boys.  It was misting a bit but they were having fun running around in the rain.  Ben started a little game with them involving them racing to the golf flag right outside of our fence.  The boys would run to the flag and then back.  Well, then Ben decided he would run.  He is very fast.  He took off, touched the flag, started running back, lost his footing, and crashed.  Poor guy broke his collar bone.  So we are praying for God to heal that completely.  We are hoping that he will not have to have surgery.  So if you think of our family, pray for our sweet daddy and sweet hubby!! 

Our Sweet Max

Max is one of our four blessings.  He is adding words each week.  He is always on the go.  He likes to play with whatever his bigger brothers are playing with at the time.  He loves to be outside and go to the playground.  He is very brave. He will go down any slide.  Thank you God for his precious life.  

Sammy goes to "school"

Sam started his mother's day out program today.  He was very excited because he thought he was going to school.  He was most excited about getting to use his batman backpack today.  He loves superheroes.  God protect him and be with him.  Help him to be a friend and make a friend.

A Day at the Zoo

Off to the zoo we go!!  We had a nice morning exploring some of the buidlings at the zoo.  Max had fun walking around...he was thoroughly exhausted when we left.  That is not always a bad thing!  Jack said his favorite animal was the spectacled owl.  Willy boy enjoyed the snakes.  yikes!!  Sam said he liked the monkeys.  Later in the day we went to a cookout with friends.  It was a relaxing Labor Day.  Thank you Lord for these precious boys who make us smile!

The First Day of School

The day went better than I anticipated.  Thank you God that the boys really enjoyed their first day of school.  Jack was excited to have several of his friends in his class from last year.  I was concerned about sending Will but he really liked going to school.   First of all, he  wanted me to just drop him off at the front door.  However, I insisted that I needed to go in with him!  Then when I picked him up he said "I wish I could stay until midnight".  So thank you God for today and thank you for comforting my heart.  Please watch over my little guys, help them to be a light for you, help them to walk with the wise, help them to increase in wisdom, and use them for your Kingdom.  

Children's Museum

This was our last fun adventure before school starts.   I have had a lot of fun having the boys home over the summer!  Today we went to the Children's Museum in Seminole.  We had a few mishaps on the way there.  For example, Will spilled a Eskimo Joe's cup of water on his shorts. I ended up running the heater for half of the trip to dry the shorts!  Once we finally got there, the boys had a great time looking for dinosaur bones, playing on the Pirate ship, making bubbles, etc. We will try and do this again next year.  Jack and Will are excited about starting school tomorrow.  I have to admit that I am somewhat nervous about the length of the day for my little Willy.  I am just praying that God will be our Guide this whole year.  I am sure Willy will do great.  I will miss having Jack and Will around all day.  However, I will get into a new groove with the younger two.  I need to start teaching Sammy boy some ABC's and numbers.  So just pray for my little heart tomorrow!!  

One Year

I can hardly believe we have been here for one year.  We moved here last year right before Jack started first grade.  How do I feel about our move after a year?   Well, I do miss my close friends back in Edmond and our small group.  I miss all of our family that we had nearby.  I miss all of the fun things to do near Edmond like the cool zoo and the Omniplex.  After saying all of that, God has given me contentment.  The boys adjusted quickly to the change and made new friends quickly.  Ben and I are gradually meeting new friends and look forward to making more!!  We are very thankful for the church God led us to...that was a journey in itself.  We know God brought us here and we are excited about His plans for our lives.  It is encouraging to me to see God opening up doors to use Ben at his work and in the church.  So it will be exciting to see where we are in this journey next year!!  Stay tuned!!

Sam turns the Big Three!

Sam had been anticipating his birthday for weeks.  All he wanted was a batman sword.  He loves to dress up and pretend he is either Batman or Indiana Jones. He celebrated his birthday in Texas with his cousin.  They had a great time.  While we were in Texas, the boys went ice skating and Ben and Jack caught a Rangers game.  We stayed with my sister.  It was great to spend time with her.  Just a little note about Sam:  He loves to read books, play with his big brothers, ride his bike, and play at parks.  He especially loves the story of "David and Goliath".  He wants his dad to read it to him every night.   Thank you God for his precious life.  

A Day at the Lake

Today we went on adventure with some friends to the lake.  The boys had a great time playing in the sand and swimming.  They played for hours...5 hours actually!  Three of four boys passed out in the car on the way home. The lake is a little stinky but it was a good time for boys!!  Raising four boys is very busy but it is a great privilege as well.  Thank you God for our fun day.

Jack's Indiana Jones birthday

Jack had a great birthday.  He celebrated his 8th birthday with

an Indiana Jones adventure birthday.  We had a scavenger hunt for a treasure chest, made mummies, had an obstacle course in the backyard, and of course ate yummy cake and Jones soda!!  Jack helped decorate his cake with Indiana Jones legos.  He is very creative.  We are so thankful for his little life.  He is a delight.  He

is very wise, sweet to his brothers, creative, fun to be with, and has

a great love for God.  He loves building legos, reading books, and

playing Lego games.  We love you Jack.  Happy Birthday!!

Happenings on the Homefront

Well, this is my first day to blog.  My purpose in this is to create a journal or family history for our family.  So here it goes!  The summer is flying by.  We had a great trip back to Edmond to see family and friends.  The boys love the Omniplex and the OKC zoo.  Going back makes me miss the people a lot, but God has been faithful to provide us with some new friends in Owasso.  The boys are really enjoying swimming at my sister's pool.  Jack and Will are becoming quite the swimmers and they love to jump and dive off of the diving board.  Sam and Max are a little harder to manage.  I don't sit down much but that is okay.  Ben is working hard.  God is opening up doors for him at our church.  He recently gave his testimony at a men's breakfast and he was really nervous about that.  He is quite the handyman and continues to make progress on our home.  He got a Weber grill so he is a real man now.    Well, I am just enjoying the boys as much as possible before school starts. I can't believe Will and Jack will be in school.  I will miss them bunches.  I am studying Romans right now.  That is all for now.