Speed Racer!

And they're off! Coming down the track, with Pinstripper in the lead, driver Zech Roberson, preacher boy or Z as he is known. Around the World in 8 seconds and Mr. Goldfish lag behind as they come toward the finish line! Pinstripper wins! Pinstripper comes in first place with the fastest speed 4 times and wins the whole championship! You can hear the crowd roar and they are standing on their feet for all the racers who worked so tiressly building their cars and making sure they are ready for specifications, race qualifying, and the actual race itself! Other drivers for Around the World in 8 seconds and Mr. Goldfish are Isabella & Sarah Roberson. What an astonishing race this was to watch!

Kidding aside our Awanas Grand Prix race was this last Saturday and Zech did finish first all four of his races and the fastest time and won 1st place for speed! Sarah and Isabella received ribbons for their participation in this event. We are so proud of all of them.

Friends!

What is it about these friends that I keep hanging out with them? They are crazy, bizzare, mexican, and wanna be mexicans (I promise no offense here). Most of all they are truthful, ever so truthful. We are all very strong opinionated (young) ladies! We all speak our mind very clearly around one another and yet it amazes me that we all seem to laugh at ourselves and each other without hurting each others feelings. Several times during our Sisterchicks weekend, I had to ask myself, "Why do I hang out with these ladies?" They point out my every flaw that I have and then some I didn't know I had!!! I apparently am very self centered, early to bed, early to rise chicken of some sort, smile and nodder, spiritual blesser of the food (because I can't hear them when they do it), can't hide a joke or a lie to save my life, still totally in love with my husband, it's all about me, chocolate lover, the first of the homeschoolers of this group (and they all thought I was weird when I did it!) (now they all do, except one, who just grins when we bring our homeschooled children over to her house for the day!), and so much more. We all poke fun at each other the whole time and yet not once did one of us say we are going to leave (for real) and just left! We still hang out with each other and love each other more because of it. I guess that's what Jesus meant when He said to "tell the truth in love!"

I love you girlfriends, but everytime I'm with you I come away with more flaws! Thanks for loving me too!

Little Things!

I am amazed at the little things that makes life all that God wants us too! And amazed at all the little things that make our life such a struggle.

This last week the little things of life made mine such a struggle. Little things like a little piece of paper given to me by a police man saying I was speeding (which I was) and how BIG the payment is from one little piece of paper. Little things like a doctors words that are confusing. If he had taken a little time to explain, my mind would not have taken the "little words" and made them BIG in my mind. As of today, they are still confusing but surrended to let God be who He is in my life. Little things such as a little sleep. Sleep is so precious to us and when we receive such little of it, it makes a BIG impact on your life. I've been going through boughts of insomnia and had very little sleep. Finally I took a little pill and I slept for 8 1/2 hours through the night, not once did I wake up! Yesterday was a great day because of the BIG sleep I recieved on a little pill (benedryl). But even yesterday the little things were BIG to me. Taking a little time to spend with my oldest daughter, not having to do even a little bit of school with them (because it was test and they have to do those on their own), and being able to sit down and read a whole book in 2 hours. Little things make a big difference. God though is not little, but a little time spent with Him, practicing His presence throughout my day, saying little prayers without ceasing throughout my day, makes Him the big God that He is in my life!

So next time you have a hundred little things to do, to them all in the Glory of the Lord! and make Him a BIG deal in your day out of the little things!

Whose Feet?

Can you tell whose feet these are? There are some in cowboy boots too!

On our sisterchicks vacation we decided to do a little pampering and go and get a pedicure. One of us had never had one (not sure she wants another one), but we all did it anyway and laughed and a few of us went .... aaaahhhhh, that feels good (cause my toes were cold and the water was warm).

Also one of us declared they have never worn or owned cowboys boots ever in her life. She even grew up in Texas. Well the Nayla (the stuffed deer looking like structure in the living room) shared her size 6 boots with her and she tried them on and they fit. We took a picture and then she quickly took them off, stating she now new why she didn't have boots or would never own them.

Can you guess the toes and the feet? Lisa, Laura, Gail, or Kari! Have fun!

Laughter is good medicine!

I'm not sure I've laughed as much as I had the 4 days I got to go away to a sisterchicks weekend with my friends.

You see normally its get up at 5:00 am (not anything to laugh about), get the kids up, dressed, lets do our chores, lets start school (and there is usually way more tears than any laughter) and by the end of the day after many piles of laundry done, the 100th time of saying "no" to the children, answering the pepper spray of questions, and the proverbial saying of "why didn't anyone change the toilet paper roll?", I've about had it and ready to fall exhaustingly into bed usually with no laughter.

But these girls make you laugh. They make you laugh, not only at them and with them, but at yourself as well. Believe it or not we put a spin on all our weaknesses and laugh at them. Not to dismiss them, but so that each other realizes that we are all in it for the long haul, no matter what and we are going to help each other through the tough times, even when the tough times are sinful and we need to be helped out of those times.

A smile is truly a wonderful option over a frown. It does make you feel good and laughter is truly good medicine. After what awaited me when I got home, I'm still laughing from my weekend because its still working! Thanks ladies for your laughs and your beautiful smiles!

Chocolate keeps life moving sometimes for me!

After hearing from the backseat, "Are we there yet?" several times, we finally stopped on our trip the first time at a chocolate factory! I'm pretty sure we scared the owner and the ladies who were working there because of our laughter that kept spilling over and out! Then I decided to try out a mocha crunch (sounded like chocolate and something crunchy to me), little did I know the crunch was a coffee bean. Those who know me know that caffeine after 12:00 is a no, no because it makes me stay up way late into the night. I began to panic and it scared the owner like maybe I was allergic. The girlfriends assured her I would be alright! I bought two Wild Women truffles. I think I was already wild before then, but they were very, very good!

Their motto is very good: CHOCOLATE proof that God is good . . . Very Good!

We even stopped there on the way back. The owner remember us and believe or not was glad we came back. She told us she would ship anywhere!!!!!!

The Great Volcanoes by Zech Roberson

Zech had a report to do in his science class about volcanoes and after studying them, we made one and then caused the chemical reaction to make it explode. He was having a great time!




Boom! A volcano erupts with great force! When volcanoes were dirst discovered, people thought they were a work of their gods. There are over one thousand volcanoes in the world, even in outer space. One volcano on Mars is three times bigger than Mount Everest! Instead of just volcanoes on land and in space, there are some in water also. Mudflows and ashflows come in massive streams off volcanoes

There are different types of volcanoes, eruptions, and lava. The different types of volcanoes are Dome, ash-cinder, composite, shield, fissure, and caldera. A caldera is formed by an eruption when the top parts collapse. Volcanoes explode three different types of lava and they are called pahoehoe, Aa, and pillow. There are also different types of eruptions like plinian, effusive, strombolian, hydrovolcanic, and fissure.

In history you will find famous eruptions and volcanoes. The most famous volcanoes are Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Vesuvius, and Kileauleau. The infamous eruptions are Mt. Vesuvius on August 24, A.D. 79, Krakatau in 1883, Katmai in 1912, and Pinatubo in 1991. Vesuvius is the mos tperful volcano in history. My report was brief, and I know I used a rhyme, but please keep volcanoes safe through time!

by Zech Roberson

Words and Bible Drill

First, I want to let all that is out there know that Zech got Superior at State bible Drill. We are so very proud of him. That means he only made 2 mistakes in 24 calls. YEAH! Go Zech. We also had 2 of our youth get elected to go to the State finals (this was their semi finals) and only 4 in the whole region get to go. 2 of those are Lamar kids and I am so proud of them.

I've had a song stuck in my head for a while now. The reason behind it is because I'm teaching my older sign language students to sign to this song. However God has used it powerfully in my own life. You see I don't hear very well for some of you who know me, you know this is way true. Somedays are better than others, but for the most part here recently it has been fairly crummy. So Words are fairly ineffective some days with me and pointed or writing something down or me just reading seems better off. God sometimes though has the same. He hears everything, but he chooses not to hear us when we regard sin in our hearts. Sometimes we simply need to listen. We need to be still and know Him!

Word of God Speak (Mercy Me)

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is its okay.

The last thing I need is to be heard

but to hear what He would say

Word of God speak, won't you pour down like rain

washing my eyes to see your majesty.

Be still and know that your in this place,

please let me stay and rest in your holiness

Word of God speak!

So the next time you run out of things to say, stop and listen to what everyone else is saying and most importantly listen to His still small voice. He is saying something and He loves you very much!

State, here we come!

This is a group of 4th - 8th graders who have just spent many months memorizing the Word of God. The 4th -6th graders had to memorize 25 passages, all the books of the bible, and 10 key passages. They have to be able to recite the passages from memory, find the books of the bible in 10 seconds and tell the book before and the book after, as well as when the key passages are called, 10 seconds to find that and flip to the exact location. My Zech, out of 24 calls, all a variety of the above, made 2 errors and is going to state! I'm so proud of him. Their t-shirt says on the back - bibles $75, shirt $100, state trip $500, Hiding God's Word in their heart - priceless.

The group in the orange are the youth bible drillers 7th-8th grade. They got a late start, but start they did and they memorized all the books of the bible, key passages, bible answers verses, and doctrinal passages. All in all it was 24 passages in all. They have 8 seconds to find any of the calls. They also have to find any random passage called and put their fingers on it and step across the line in 8 seconds. They have all done this before except for two of them in the picture, Sarah and Austin. Sarah did not make it past the church drill, but she worked hard and I am so proud of her. I know I couldn't have done it and she was only 12 points away from getting it done.

So to all of the bible drillers, who have worked so very hard to go to state, I applaud you. You truly have done a priceless thing by mastering the Word of God and hiding it in your heart! My prayer now is that you apply it to your life!

Time with friends at the Park

I had a wonderful time with a best friend of mine this last Friday. It ended up being a perfect day to play at the park. We took bikes for all our children (7) and then her and I ended up walking. We walked past the falls, the flowers, the pagoda, and the playground. We ended up stopping at the playground for some fun and so she and I could sit down and rest a bit. It was an absolutely perfect day and I had an absolutel perfect time with my friend.

After the park, we came home and my husband watched all seven children and my friend and I went out to eat and shopped a little. They had pizza and we had steak and teriaki chicken! Yum! It was a good day!

House clean then not!

Have you ever wondered what happens to your house overnight? You've cleaned everything that morning right? or that afternoon? or evening? But when you wake up in the morning, you think . . . "What happened?" I like to think that a bunch of mice (they don't come in and clean up like the movie Enchanted shows us) came in and had a party and did all the mess and it wasn't any of our faults. But somehow that isn't what happened and you wake up to a dirty house and start all over. It seems hopeless some days too!

Recently I had spring break. Now usually during school times, I get my house clean little by little and more surface cleaning than deep cleaning. However during spring break, no school, so I would have time to clean, really clean. I was able to truly get my house spic and span, from top to bottom in 3 days. Leaving the 4th and 5th day of the break to relax. It was soooooo nice to have a clean home and sit down and read a book one of those days. But come Monday of the next week, we were rushing out the door to go to coop and I look back and I think what happened to my clean house. Ever since then I've been wondering because it hasn't been really cleaned since that week.

I enjoy a clean house but I don't enjoy cleaning it. I enjoy homeschooling too, but I think a clean house and homeschooling aren't meant to be in the same sentence. I talk to many women who homeschool everyday and they all say the same thing (thankfully I'm not the only one who can't seem to get it done). The world says . . . "You can have it all!", but the world hasn't homeschooled and tried to keep a clean house too! (by the way, I don't listen to the world, I listen to Jesus who says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" and He is still working on me too! I'm sure He has the same quandrys with "I just clean her up and she gets dirty again too!)

So I have to ask myself, do I have to have my house clean or do I need to homeschool? Well my children certainly need an education and a good one at that. After all, that is why I homeschool. But they need to be in a clean house too! We need clean dishes and clean clothes. So day after day, I will teach them and day after day I will continue to battle a dirty house. One day, the bible says, I will overcome. I will have a clean house, but not for more than a day, because people live in it and they dirty it up all over again. And the people who dirty it up again, I love them and they are worth cleaning it all over again.

And yes, my kids do chores, lots of them, but they also mess it up all over again too!

New neighbors, homeschooling, and more

We live on a relatively new street with new house and because of this we are always getting new neighbors. We have had 6 new families that have moved in since we have moved here. They are all very nice. One neighbor is a cop and that makes me feel a little safe. Unfortunately for my kids all of them have kids that are 2 and under or no kids. Now there is one neighbor who has boys 8 and 7 but they are rough and not here much. The do play with them, but they are really wanting someone their own age. I've been praying for a family to move in, in our area with kids our age, but God has said "no" or "wait" to this request so far. However Sarah will be taking a babysitting course soon and she will have lots of takers on our street when she does and mom will feel happier about that when she is just as close as across the street.

We are the only family so far to homeschool as well on our street. I had hoped for another family, but so far no takers. I'm been praying also as I do every year about next year, to homeschool or not, that is the question. Every year God is so faithful in showing me a "yes" and what to do for our lessons. This coming year, I'm diving into US History and 8th grade. Zech will head into 6th and Isabella 4th and I've covered those before, but US History and 8th grade are both new for me and for Sarah. So I'm studying about Sonlight curriculum, Beautiful feet, and My Fathers World for my history, bible and so much more. I'm convinced that at the end of this I will be well educated and can spar with the best of the best in knowledgable facts and figures.

I've also been looking into the future for high school. Do I go this far? Do I stop and send them to a christian school? Lots of questions, that I keep giving to the Father and asking Him to truly show me His plan for our lives.

It never ceases to amaze me, where and when His answers come and how clear they are. He never fails to answer in so many ways. Through scripture, through prayer, and through so many people. So whatever it is that you are facing today, I pray that you take it to the Lord and let Him show you His plan and His future because He promises that He has one for you, Jeremiah 29:11.

I recently read that the big answer is "to make a big-to-do out of God. Brandish Him, Herald Him." "God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well . . . Then God will be given the glory!." 1 Pet 4:10-11 NLT So expect for Him to show you how to make a big deal out of Him. He has shown me through Homeschooling, who knows how He will show you!

The first year!

We have had our one year celebration of being here as of March 25th! We've survived packing, moving, leaving friends, and our church family, to begin anew and unpack, make new friends, and start in a new church family. This year has had many ups and downs. It has been hard. I miss my friends so much but I wouldn't trade it for what I've learned from the Lord! He has taught me that He makes all things new! His mercies are new every morning. His family is so precious no matter where we go. He brings new things in our lives the challenge us and cause us to depend on Him no matter what. He has brought my marraige closer than ever before (I thought we were already inseperable). He has revealed to me a new love for ladies who truly struggle in their walk with the Lord, as I! I give Him glory for bringing us here and continuing to guide us along the way!

Notice that He also allowed me to be fairly short and my kids are soon to be way taller than I! No, I'm not shrinking, they are just growing. I must be feeding them right!