Y'all. And me vs. I

Do you have a "thing?" You know...something that drives you bonkers?!?

Grammar is my "thing." I'm a total nerd; I admit it fully. And there are two things that just get under my skin. Maybe it's because I used to be an English teacher, maybe it's because I continue to teach my kiddos at home, or maybe because the decline in the English language is just atrocious. Whatever it is, there are two grammatical things that drive me bonkers.

1) Y'all - it's a contraction for the two words "you" and "all," correct? So...it is spelled y'all (that's Y apostrophe A L L). The apostrophe takes the place of the "ou" in you. So, y'all is spelled y'all...not ya'll.

2) Me vs. I - Oh, goodness. This one! So many people think it's 'proper' to say "I" when they are talking about someone else and themselves. However, it is improperly used all of the time! Here is a simple tip to pull out if you wonder whether you should use "me" or "I" in a sentence: Take the other person out of the sentence, and you'll have your answer.

For example: 1) Here's a picture of my husband and I on vacation. -or- 2) Here's a picture of my husband and me on vacation.

Most people say, "Here's a picture of my husband and I." But, take "my husband" out of the sentence. Would you say, "Here's a picture of I on vacation"? NO!!! You'd say, "Here's a picture of me on vacation." So, the correct sentence above would be: "Here's a picture of my husband and me on vacation." Easy peasy!

I know, I'm a nut! And this is just my "thing." Too bad I didn't invent "Grammar Girl" and bring in the moolah! We all have our pet peeves, and we're all driven crazy by something. If your "thing" is, for example, having an ultra-clean vehicle - ahem, just don't bum me for a ride for the next 18 years!

Multitudes on Monday

2037. math lessons with Halloween candy!!

2038. watching Peanut watch the leaves fall like crazy in the back yard

2039. mornings when Scott is home and makes breakfast for everyone

2040. hot showers first thing on a morning that I wake up with a headache

2041. a weekend with just the Peanut while the big kids are away with Daddy

2042. getting rid of our excess because less is more

2043. chapstick for lips that are overly addicted (and there's no way I'll ever try to break the habit!)

2044. a brand new laptop for just me...that won't be cluttered (and slow) by all the kiddos' games and programs

2045. paying cash for big items

2046. investing in worthwhile, life changing programs

2047. organizations like World Vision that invest time, money, and people in saving girls and women

Psalm 118:29, "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever."

How do you BOO!

We had such a fun time trick-or-treating this year! Birdie-girl was Cinderella in her Wedding Gown, Buddy-Ro was Captain Hook, and the Peanut was a fox. If we heard someone singing "What Does the Fox Say" once, we heard it a hundred times!



Before we left for Scott's sister's house, we got some pics with our cousins/next door neighbors. Birdie-girl is SO outnumbered by boys - with friends and neighbors. But she is well taken care of, and she enjoys being the princess. :)





And then the whole crew of Scott's parents, siblings, grandkids, and cousins met at Karla's house. Everyone brings a pot of something...soup, stew, chowder, boiled peanuts...and we eat before we trick-or-treat.

The Grandkids



Most of the cousins



Best family shot we could get



Trick-or-Treat!! Peanut on the way to his very first house!





These three (plus a Teenage Turtle not pictured) were buddies all night!

The Perfect Family

As women we tend to be harder on ourselves than anyone else could ever be. We look around and feel that we don't quite measure up. We compare ourselves to others; we fall short. I'm not just talking how we feel about ourselves, but also how we feel about our families. You know what I'm talking about. You seem to always run into "them" on the days when you're the most disheveled, the most at-your-wit's-end, the least patient. Hello! There they are, and there you are. Them looking "family photo shoot" ready, and your family looking as though y'all just rolled out of bed. Sigh.

Many times in the Christian world we are told that the "perfect family" doesn't exist - that there's no such thing. But I don't think that's true. I believe that the perfect family does truly exist.

I have the perfect family. And so do you.

Our families are perfectly made up of imperfect people.

When you look around and compare your family to someone else's - you are comparing yourself to other imperfect people. No person is perfect. But families were created perfectly.

The Bible tells us that children are a heritage and a reward from the Lord. I don't know about you, but when I hear the word "reward" I think of something good. Something meant as a specific blessing. And that is what I believe our children are. They were specifically - perfectly - placed in your arms as a blessing from the Lord. That imperfect little baby placed in your imperfect loving arms. Whether naturally born or welcomed through adoption, God knows what He's doing. Those children you have - they were made just for you.  Circumstances may be different, challenges unique, but our families are perfect.

God knew that we would look outside of our little worlds and compare "ours" with "theirs." He knew that we would go buy bigger and better and more possessions to keep up with the ideals of this world. But we can't do that with children, can we? We simply take what He gives us. He could not give your family anything greater than what he already has. Those children who drive you bonkers? They were made specifically for you. Those kiddos who are so different than you? They were made specifically for you. Those kids who call only you Mom? They were made perfectly for you.

Don't waste time wishing you could have the perfect family. You already do. Don't compare your family to another based on any worldly standard. If we simply look through the eyes of our Father, we see that He only gives good gifts. Our families were made by our loving God who took imperfectly people and had them create the perfect families. Not perfect in talents or appearance or performance, but perfectly made for us.

 

Multitudes on Monday

2022. family portraits that turn out beautifully

2023. an overcast sky so no one is squinting in our pictures

2024. laughs and smiles captured to enjoy forever

2025. pine cones to throw when the tiny fella gets grumpy

2026. fall candles and warmers to make the house smell cozy

2027. extra vitamin C to help chase colds away

2028. warm coffee and tea and hot cocoa to sooth sore throats

2029. the tiny fella fitting into 12 month clothes!!

2030. breaking out the kiddos' fall/winter clothes and enjoying their cozy looks

2031. fun finds on sale for the Mama - who hasn't been shopping in a very.long.time

2032. printing sweet pictures to send to Wayua in Kenya with letters from our family

2033. kiddos getting school things out and doing lessons for fun together

2034. the kiddos enjoying learning...even when they think they are just playing

2035. breaking out the manipulatives to do math with Buddy-Ro

2036. Birdie picking flowers for her bouquet

Psalm 109:30, "But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone."

Have Your Way

Music speaks to me in ways so deeply that I can't explain it. So many times I have heard the Spirit speak to me through music - especially those times when I've been unable (or unwilling) to hear from God.

This song speaks out the deepest prayer of my heart. A prayer that I want so desperately to pray - but I've been scared. My fear holds me back from the unknown, the what ifs, the how will it work out?

But if I truly surrender myself to my Savior, I have no fear. My whole life is His. And I want Him to have His way. I don't know what His way looks like. I don't know what plans He has in store for me. I have been scared out of my mind because I am a neat and tidy and box-it-up-and-put-a-bow-on-it kind of gal. But I can't let fear keep me from living a surrendered life. Jesus has so much more in store for me than I can imagine. It might not be what I have expected or anticipated - in fact, it probably won't be those things. And that's OK. The Bible tells us that His ways are perfect because He is good and that He loves us. If I truly believe that, then surrendering my life to Him should not feel like a burden. It should feel like a breath of fresh air. I can take the burden off myself of working out my own life and allow my Savior to do it for me.

There have been a couple of areas that I have clung so tightly to that they have started to become burdens to me. Areas that are so close to my heart that for them to become burdens is absurd. One of those is my children and their safety. I can become wound up in fear that I miss the opportunity to watch them bloom. And that's not how God created a parent to be.

Another is all that I have seen throughout my travels to Haiti and Africa. Before we start arguing about serving the poor here in America...let me just lay it out there that this is my burden. If your burden is for the poor and homeless in America, then I encourage you to get out there in your community and serve. But for me, my burden is for all the wretchedness I have seen. My eyes have seen, my heart has hurt, and my life has been changed. But what do I do with that change? Is fear holding me back?

The greatest desire of my heart is to lay my life down at the cross and give all I have to God. It's all His anyway. I want to walk in all He has for me. Good, bad, ugly, dirty, beautiful, wretched. Because what He has for me is so much better than anything I have for me. I don't want to be great by the western world's definition. I want to be great because I lived a surrendered life.

My whole life is Yours.

I give it all surrendered to Your name

And forever I will pray Have Your Way.

Have Your Way.

http://youtu.be/bvNdybdyeOc

Fall in the backyard

Making memories together is the most fun!!