Growing up in church

Today Caden's Sunday School teacher told me that she has the same routine each Sunday and after the story but before the craft they always pray. Today in class she forgot to pray and Caden yelled out "Ms. Mitra, you forgot to pray!" and proceeded to lead the class in their pray time! I love that 3 year old!!!!
Nate is having trouble with a boy at school. The little boy has been "telling on him" and saying things that he isn't doing. Nate was telling me in the car earlier this week about the boy. He said he told them that he should treat people the way they want to be treated. The boys response was not very nice back and he told Nate "so what?" Nate told him that God said that so he should listen. The little boy proceeded to tell Nate that there is no god and that is dumb. Nate stopped his story and said, "Isn't that sad mommy? It makes me sad! He doesn't know God loves him!" Oh, how I hope he stays this tender hearted and in love with God. We continued to talk and decided that Nate would be nice but that he did not have to play with the little boy as long as he explained that he didn't want to play because the boy kept saying things that were not true. Then Nate decided he'd like to pray for the little boy that he will believe in God and begin to be nicer. Every night since then he has prayed for the little boy. Caden even asks Nate each day on the way home if the boy was nicer each day. Oh how I love my sweet boys!

Let's just say... I am not a kindergarten teacher!

This year at school we have a new principal and vice principal. Both are amazing Godly women! I am SO blessed to get to work there. They have been so encouraging right from the start!
Right before school started we had 28+ kids in each kindergarten class and were told that we were going to have to add a teacher. The teacher was to be determined but we needed to go ahead and pull those kids together into their own class before the year started. So my friend Lisa and I agreed to take on this class together until they found a teacher. Lisa and I had both taught first grade (she has been teaching first grade for a long time and now is a reading pull out teacher) and so we thought how hard can it be? Ha!! Lucky for us, and those poor kindergartners, we only had to be the teachers for the first three days of school. Lisa continued to be the teachers helper for the rest of the week just to get the kids settled. With this new experience I confirmed that I am not made to be a kindergarten teacher. This week I was back in my library. It was a great week. I am so blessed to have my job and my co-workers. So far it has been a great year. I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

A fresh start...

This was a great summer! I enjoyed time off, cuddling my boys, spending time with my hubby, and finding refuge at a church. I went into the summer with worry. What were we going to do about Adam's job? Would we have to relocate? How was I going to have a blast with my boys all summer with a budget of $0?
We also had some excitement... With all that we had been through at church, what could God possibly have next for us? We had several options come about that we prayed over and kept seeking answers. Fellowship of the Parks kept Adam busy. He led worship at both of their church plants and also led their Sunday evening service a couple of times. I even got involved in Summer Spectacular (VBS) and got to hang with a great group of third graders.
At one point things started to fall into place for a local church and we were getting really excited but as fast as the opportunity came-it went. Disappoint, yes. Discouraged, getting there. Defeated, not at all. Slowly, we began to come to grips with the fact that God really wanted us at Fellowship of the Parks for the time being. Through our time there we really did get refuge and comfort. After visiting their church plants I realized how ready I am to get back into the church planting scene. I fell in love with the Haslet campus! It had the excitement of a new pop up building and more construction to come. It wasn't perfect... there were way too many children in little rooms in a house yet my kids loved it. Until this moment every time Adam mentioned getting back into church planting I felt uneasy. There are so many ups and downs in planting, its hard work, and constant evaluation...who am I kidding? Church planting pushes you to evaluate your faith everyday and to trust even when you don't think you have it in you. I love that church planting pushes you out of your comfort zone and keeps you from complacency. So what is God doing?? We had two churches begin talking about planting in the next 2 years... funny how God does that... we are excited and already praying... we will see where that goes...
The next big thing that came out of Fellowship of the Parks for me was a break down. In just one simple comment made by the speaker God began to reveal to me how broken and bitter I was. I know that sounds crazy but I didn't feel like I was harboring any of that. Boy was I wrong. So God beat me up a little and redirected me. A good friend of ours that goes to FOTP gave me a book to read A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness. With some reading, reflection, and prayer God began to restore my relationship with him and carried me out of that place.
So what's next??
As the summer began to draw to a close Adam received a phone call from the church we just left in June. They asked him to come back and and take on a full time job in their worship ministry. (This began happening while I was dealing with the brokenness I spoke of above) so when Adam came home I told him I just wasn't sure about that...we would really have to pray and God was going to have to really show us that we needed to be there. Through a course of conversations with some friends from that church who did not even know the opportunity we had just been given and some crazy events God revealed himself again. With the revelation, healing, and restoration we agreed to go back. I feel like this may be a spot of preparation, for how long- I am not sure, because I do believe that God is preparing us to plant again. So the next step is a mystery for now.
Last week was our first Sunday back and it was wonderful! It was great to see our friends that we had been missing and great to see Adam on stage and in his element. He also is part of a three person worship team that includes a friend he already worked with before at CPC and an old friend Kim (McCurdy) Wells. It has been great to see them working together again. So we are back and Adam has a dynamic team to work with. So we have a fresh start at a familiar place and we are excited to see what God is going to do.

Endings?

I always love sappy girl movies... the ones that make you cry and all end up happily ever after....Lately I am dealing with too many endings I think... I have been stressed, grumpy, and hard to live with! My poor family... I guess its good being the only girl in our house at times like this...

Adam's job is winding down... part of me is ready and thankful and the other part is heartbroken. Falling in love with a group of teenagers is challenging and yet so rewarding. We have so many kids that we adore and saying goodbye is going to be SO hard! Anytime we have had to leave a church family behind it has been horrible but we have always known what God had in store next and at least had something too look forward to. Two years ago this weekend we were walking in to Center Point for the first time as the new youth pastor. It was all I could do to focus on the new students and not think about what the kids were doing at Journey and how the adult service was going... We were hurting and excited all at the same time... Right now not knowing the next step is making this harder and I feel more hurt than anything. On a brighter note, some opportunities are coming in (some more exciting than others) and they always come in and the right moment. About the time we are the most discouraged Adam gets a phone call or an email... I guess its just God's way of reminding us that He is still in charge and He knows what we need... Today as I was thanking God for another pick me up I was reminded that He is always on time-rarely early and never late so I will continue to wait for just the right time.

My mom is struggling with her health. She has had some big health scares in the last two weeks and I have been reminded of our mortality. I have struggled with the fact that someday I am going to want to call her and tell her about my crazy day (like I so often do) and she won't be there.... what a scary thought... for now I will hold her a little closer and continue to pray for her and her doctors that some of the mysterys will be solved and a remedy will be found.

Another school year is winding down. My oldest is about to finish Kindergarten!!! Wow, I can't believe it! The picture above was taken at field day! He had a blast! He has so many great memories of Kindergarten! As much as he has loved kindergarten though we are SO ready for summer!!! Our current principal is leaving and I had the opportunity to be a part of the selection process for our new principal. I am so excited about the person we picked and I know we made the right deicision. It is wierd though since I have had the same principal since I started teaching. The change should be fairly smooth so although this is going to be a transition I am excited about it for our school and for the outgoing/incoming principals.

Finally, the doctor has recommended a procedure that would prevent Adam and I from having any more children... which I really felt like I didn't want any more until that! The idea of not being able to rather than choosing not to is a rough reality. I am not sure I want to play God like that... Adam and I have been debating it back and forth and for now I am going to seek a second opinion and try to hold off... its too big of a decision with too many other things going on right now.

I am sorry this has been so down unfortunately I am staying down more than up right now. I've always known I wasn't good with change but ALL of these changes at one time is making me a bit crazy! Keep our family in your prayers and I will try to keep you updated. I know that God is at work in us right now. He keeps shwoing us little things to remind us. Today we had several cool God things happen that I can't share just yet... I hope to see them all the way through and then I will bursting with excitement and oozing all of the juicy details about God's amazing work... but until then I will have to leave you in suspense!

Heaven, Death, and What to wear

At the Green house some days are good and some are not. Lately both boys have been tired and grumpy and our house has not been a lot of fun. However, when I get discouraged God always provides me with what I need. In this case I needed a good laugh and some sweetness! I am so glad HE is always faithful!
Sunday morning I was driving to church and Nate was talking in the back seat about heaven. He then proceeded to ask if I would go to heaven first or if he would. I told him that hopefully I would because Mommy's should always go before their kids. He asked when that would happen and I said that I hoped that it would be when he was a lot older. He replied "Yeah, like when I am fat and old... that will be a good time... I will be a grandpa, you can go then." I just laughed and then he said, "Mommy, I will make a note for you. I will put it with you. It will say that I love you very much and I will miss you. It will say that I will see you when I get to heaven" He proceeded to go on about other things he would write in the note for me. I told him that I wanted him to know that no matter what when I was gone I wanted him to remember that I loved him very much and I'd be sending him hugs and kisses from heaven! Such a sweet boy... I needed that reminder this week!
For those of you who don't know we had one of our dogs (Trixie) die a few weeks ago so death has been a big part of our conversations lately. So Sunday night Caden coughed so hard that he made himself throw up. As he was getting sick in the toilet he looked at me with a sad face and said, "Trixie threw up and now she is dead! That means I am about to be dead too!" I hugged him and reassured him that he was fine and that Trixie was just really sick before she started throwing up. I have to admit I held back my giggles though. It cracked me up that he put all of that together and that it was a real worry for him... poor baby!
Finally, my good laugh...
Each night I set put clothes for Nate to wear the next day. When Nate gets up in the morning it is his job to get dressed. Sunday night I set out a windsuit for Nate that has a jacket to go with it. Monday morning Nate was dressed when I came out of our room ready to go. He had his jacket all zipped up so we headed out the door. When we got to school I told him he ought to take his jacket off or at least unzip it. Nate made a funny face at me and said I don't have a shirt on under this.... Apparently, he decided the jacket was enough or didn't see the shirt that was laying on top of his pants. Luckily, I had a good friend that was going home and coming back. She was nice enough to bring my son clothes. The nurse and one of the teachers told me that Nate came up to them and unzipped his jacket and showed off his chest! What a silly boy! At the end of the day my wonderful Asst. Principal, who had heard Nate's story, came up to me with her jacket all zipped up to let me know that she didn't have a shirt on underneath either. Her sarcasm was enough for another great laugh!
I just want you all to know that I DO have enough clothes for my children, I DO set them out for them, and from now on I WILL do a wardrobe check before we leave!

The charmer

On Thursday we had picture day at school. My kindergartner was SO excited as all kids are about this day. For those of you who don't work in an elementary school let me let you in on a little secret... I don't know what it is about picture day but for some reason the kids act like it is the day before Christmas break. They are everywhere and by the end of the day all of the teachers look frazzled and like they NEED it to be Christmas break.... OK so now that I have filled you in I need to share my story.

My little guy did not want to wear a nice button down shirt but after a trip to Kohl's and a convincing talk about how handsome he was going to look he decided to give into my demands. So the morning of pictures he gets dressed and comes into me to report that he needs a flower. What???? So I asked him, "why do you need a flower?" to which he responds that it will make him look handsome. Again, What???? He proceeded to tell me that his daddy gets dressed fancy and goes out and when he comes home he always has a flower pinned to his shirt.

(Let me clarify just to be sure you understand, he is on staff at a church and has done several wedding recently. That would be the reason for the flowers- no girlfriends or other crazy scenarios...) So my little guy goes into the closet and finds one of his daddy's flowers that was a silk flower and tucks it into the pocket of his shirt. He comes in proudly smiling and revealing his lovely fuchsia rose that is sticking out of his pocket. I began to giggle.... and said "Honey, that is not necessary for picture day today." We had to have a long discussion before I could convince him to leave the flower at home.

So then later that day one of my best friends calls laughing hysterically. It seems that as my little boy's class walked out or maybe back from the portable to get their pictures taken my little guy spotted a flower on the ground he could pick. You know the kind I am talking about??? The lovely yellow weed?

He decided to pick it up and stick it into the pocket of his shirt and made sure the flower was sticking out. So I am not sure what his picture will look like. Maybe it will just be my handsome boy or maybe it will be the little charmer with a yellow weed sticking out of his pocket... time will tell. Rest assured that IF his picture has the yellow flower sticking out you will be able to see the lovely picture posted on this blog.... until then we will have to wait and see!

After he got back to his classroom our super assistant principal spotted my little one and said hello to him. My little guy loves her and often stops into her office to talk to her. (So far that has been his only visits to her but I am sure he will get to have a very different kind of visit with her at some point) My boy, the charmer, smiled at her-pulled the lovely weed from his pocket-and handed it to her! Oh my! Just wait until this one is a teenager!

Monsters!

I know that all little kids have a fear of monsters. I can remember being younger and being afraid to go down the dark hallway to my room and out of my parents sight. I remember sometime walking until my parents couldn't see and then running in and out as fast as I could.

Today I had such a flashback as my youngest went in his room to get a toy. He came barreling around the corner and mumbled, "The cookie monster didn't get me!" The cookie monster? Really? That's the monster he is afraid of??? I laughed and called him over. I told him he didn't have to be afraid of the cookie monster.... he only liked cookies and there aren't any in the bedrooms. My youngest looked at me as serious as could be and said well then "we really need to be afraid at Christmas!" I laughed and said why... "because he'll take Santa's cookies!" So I think on Christmas eve when we set out our cookies for santa we will have to set out an extra set for cookie monster and a note that asks him not to eat Santa's cookies.

I just found all of this so funny! If my boys are going to be afraid of monsters I guess cookie monster is the best to have around!