Not My Own :: Enjoying The Little Things

"Enjoy them while they're young", she said.  I didn't take the time to inform her that he wasn't mine.

A few minutes later,

"Aww, he's cute."  "Thank you", I responded.  Again, not taking time to correct the well meaning passerby.  He is cute.  He takes after his babysitter.

"He" is Gunner.  The baby I take care of.  He'll be 4 months old next week.  It's been a rough week for Gunner and I.  Right now he's sitting by me playing and talking in his bouncer.  The first he's been happy all day.

Between teething, tummy trouble, snuffly noses, coughs, and not enough sleep, he's not been full of giggles and smiles all week long.

I can't say that I've been a role model babysitter either.  I get frustrated when something is wrong and I can't fix it.  Which happens a lot babysitting.  Right now I'm looking at the clock thinking: "In an hour he'll be gone, and it's the end of the week".  Thinking positive, that's the way.  In an hour he'll leave and I won't see him again until Monday.

I can already tell you, when I see him Monday I'll quickly get him out of his carseat and snuggle with him, proclaiming how much he's grown the last couple of days.  Four month olds grow too fast!

You see, I may not have birthed him.  He may have a mommy and a daddy that love him and take care of him, and I want them to be good parents to him.  But, between Monday and Friday, he's mine.  On good days, I'll think: "I get all the joys of having a child, without all the responsibilities."  On bad days, my thoughts change: "I have to deal with all this, and I don't even get the joy of being his mommy." wishy-washy charlie brown

I've grown to love this little boy that I care for, and I've learned a few things from being his care taker.

:: Choose Joy ::

Earlier today, I was scrolling through instagram and I saw a post from a mother whose little boy had gotten into her make-up.  Her hashtag amused me, and then got me thinking.  #choosejoychoosejoychoosejoy 

I may not be his mommy, but just like this mommy, day by day I have to choose joy.  When he starts screaming for apparently no reason, and the boys of the household complain about the noise, I have to choose joy.

:: I am the only one who will provide for a proper Biblical raising for this child ::

In my effort to choose joy, I need to remember that he see's Christ through me.  Now, maybe not yet.  This little four month old has no idea the difference between his babysitter family and his real family.  But as he gets older, and, hopefully, I continue to care for him, I pray that he will find Christ through me.

:: It won't get better ::

This doesn't sound very cheery, but it's a good reminder for me.  When things are going bad, I have a tendency to think "oh, if I could just get married", "oh, if this would happen" "Oh..."  that everything will be better.  Am I the only girl that thinks this way? 

False.

This is were God has me.  I'm so thankful.  Really, I am.  I may dream of a higher education, a better paying job, a family of my own.  But I don't want it right now.  Right now I want exactly what I have.  Exactly what God has given me.

Right now God's given me this precious little boy to watch.  To laugh with, to stress over.  To care for.

This little baby is my life.

He may not be mine, but I choose to enjoy him while he's little.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

:: What I Wore :: some catch up outfits

I am so excited to post again... I've been doing some blogging research and have a lot of new ideas.  All those ideas are a bit overwhelming though!  But, hopefully, you'll be seeing some new things on the blog soon.  

Here are a two outfits for ya'll.  Sweater weather is coming up, and I'm excited to get out my fall wardrobe.  It always feels like I just bought a closet full of new clothes!  :) 

This outfit was inspired by the gorgeous brooch that my dear friend Hannah S. made me.  I was able to meet her and her family when I was in Alabama in August.  We had a great day of shopping and getting to know each other!  I'm sorry that the picture is blurry, it was taken on my phone :) 

Top: Goodwill

Undershirt: Walmart (tank top, usually $3)

Skirt: Goodwill

Belt: Came with separate skirt

Brooch: Hannah!!

Necklace: Walmart

Shoes: Necklace

This outfit came from my trip to Alabama as well :)  I love navy because it goes with practically EvEryThinG!  And I love this orange sweater and finding things that go with it.  I'm a little tossed with the dress though, my brother seemed to hint that chevron wasn't very good for my body shape :-/

Dress: Ross

Cardigan: Walmart (They had these sweaters on sale last Spring and I bought 4 different colors :))

Necklace: JC Penney

Shoes: Goodwill

Are you ready for Fall? What's your favorite part of this season? 

Flat Line?

Or no...? 

I was reading a blog post about their blog stats "flat lining".  As I was reading their post I thought: "my blog stats are probably flat lining". But, fortunately they weren't. So... Thank you readers. 

Four months... Not that long, but a lot has happened. Hopefully my motivation will remain to do individual posts about all the happenings. I've also had some ideas for new posts... New "what I wore" pictures... Etcetera. 

It's been an awesome summer with lots of memories. 

We spent the 4th at my grandparents cottage. 

Camp was fun as usual. One of our teens got saved and lots of decisions were made :)  

The highlight of my summer was my annual trip to Alabama. We had so much fun! 

I started babysitting again. I watch Gunner every week, he's three months old. It's been so much fun watching him grow and develop :) I also watch Chloie every other week. She is almost 3 years old.  

Our church has been growing. Throughout this Fall we're having different missionaries and evangelists come. This is the Tulabots who are native missionaries to the Philippines. We had a great time meeting them and learning about their ministries. 

In line with our church growth, we had one new member today :) Joshua Dean Shuster Jr. Was born early this morning. We are all excited and happy for Josh and Colleen and Arlie :) 

What was your favorite summer memory? 

 

Book Review -- Fearless

Fearless takes you deep into SEAL Team SIX, straight to the heart of one of its most legendary operators.

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready: In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.”

Long before Adam Brown became a member of the elite SEAL Team SIX—the counterterrorism unit that took down Osama bin Laden—he was a fun-loving country boy from Hot Springs, Arkansas, whose greatest goal had been to wear his high school’s football jersey. An undersized daredevil, prone to jumping off roofs into trees and off bridges into lakes, Adam was a kid who broke his own bones but would never break a
promise to his parents.

But after high school, Adam fell in with the wrong crowd, and his family watched as his appetite for risk dragged him into a downward spiral that eventually landed him in jail. Battling his inner demons on a last-chance road to redemption, Adam had one goal: to become the best of the best—a U.S. Navy SEAL.

An absorbing chronicle of heroism and humanity, Fearless presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior who would enter a village with weapons in hand to hunt terrorists, only to come back the next day with an armload of shoes and meals for local children. It is a deeply personal, revealing glimpse inside the SEAL Team SIX brotherhood that also shows how these elite operators live out the rest of their lives, away from danger, as husbands, fathers, and friends.

Fearless is the story of a man of extremes, whose courage and determination was fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It’s about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses and persevered to reach the top tier of the U.S. military. Always the first to volunteer for the most dangerous assignments, Adam’s final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice.

Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him as fearless.

-------------------------------------------------------------

This was the first book of its kind that I've ever read.  I definitely enjoyed the new experience and there were points I couldn't put it down.

Pros:

• Great insight into a military family's life
• Helped me appreciate the sacrifices our service men make.
• Kept your attention

Cons:

• Needed some intense censoring.  Some of the pictures were indecent and it was sprinkled with cuss words through each chapter.

You can read more about the book HERE.

I received this book for free fromBlogging for Books for this review." 

Book Review: Seasons of Tomorrow

As love restores Rhoda, a sudden tragedy is the test of faith she never saw coming.

More settled in her heart than ever before, Rhoda Byler feels a newfound confidence living in the Old Order Amish settlement she helped establish in Orchard Bend, Maine. Time has helped to heal the wounds of Rhoda’s recent severed relationship, and she finds that even her unusual gift of profound intuition is less of a burden as she continues to seek God’s wisdom for her future. She is happy to be working alongside the King family and the love of her life as they tend and nurture the settlement’s orchard.

Yet when Leah King’s involvement with Englischer Landon Olson becomes known outside of the Maine community, her disregard of the Ordnung could threaten all the Orchard Bend Amish are building. In the midst of addressing the discord, a shocking tragedy challenges the young settlement like never before, threatening to uproot Rhoda’s peace and the future of everything she holds dear.

When several members of Orchard Bend Farms are displaced, the estranged King brother is called upon to return. Can those who founded the new Amish community in Maine unite Or will the lingering pain of past hurts and present struggles result in the end of their dreams? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really enjoyed this book.  It took a while to get into because it is the fourth book in a series I haven't read, but will be soon.  Once I got about halfway through, I couldn't put it down.  One aspect that I really enjoyed was the real view she gave into an Amish lifestyle.  

You can read more about the book here

"I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."

This Week....

So true... But I love VBS, it's one of my favorite weeks of the year.  This year was especially epic.  We changed our usual three days to five days this year.  This was partly due to the fact that we had three extra helpers this year.  Pastor recruited the help of the Heartland VBS North team.  They did a great job helping with the kids.  

Clay, Step, and Jed. 

A hot, tired boy! 

The older guys were quite competitive on the jousting arena :)  

They had to pass the hula hoops from one person to the next without letting go of hands.

I was glad to have my piano students come for one evening. 

Setting up the inflatables.  

Mrs. Shem and Mrs. Ham boarding the ark.  Pastor did a great job building an ark in the auditorium.  We had skits all week, but I didn't get any pictures of it because I was working backstage.  

Little Timmey :) 

A final game before dismissing for the week.  

Over all, we had a great week.  There were around 24 people saved, one of which was a father that came with his kids.  We ended the week with a final service.  As it was starting, Jed was leading the kids in some songs and stopped and said "Ok, who wants to have another week"  All the kids loved the idea, but the workers were ready for a break :)