Picture Reflection “2012”

Posted on December 31, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Happy New Year 2012

Lego Land

Happy 3rd Birthday Baby Girl

Happy 5th Birthday Toria!

Josiah’s Baby Shower

Junior Bible Quizzing Camp

This Quarterback is Ready…

Any Day Now…

Room is almost ready…

just need to finish curtains and hardware

Proud Daddy

Welcome Josiah Javier Boy!

Happy Easter

Our Precious Baby Boy

One Silly Mama on Mother’s Day

Victoria graduated from VPK…way to go Toria!

Happy 7th Birthday to my Mini Twin ❤

Happy Father’s Day

First Time on Skates

Fourth of July

Family Vacation at Siesta Key

Josiah’s 1st Time at the Beach

Back To School!!!

JJ’s 1st Haircut

Animal Kingdom Fun

No Training Wheels!

It’s Fall Time

Our Disney Crew

Sneak Peak at the new Fantasy Land at Disney World

Happy Thanksgiving

Fun Time in Snow Bubbles

The Girls Baptism & Josiah’s Dedication

Thank God for our amazing 2012 year! We were and are blessed in so many ways and we know it all comes from our Heavenly Father, Thank You! Now as 2013 approaches quickly, my prayer for our family is to laugh longer, to always listen with compassion, to never be too busy to stop for a friend or family member, pray without ceasing, look at others through the eyes of our Father, Hug more, Love more, Give more, live selfless, encourage and compliment often, take chances because they may not come around again, and may we do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that we may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then we will shine among them like stars in the sky. For my heart’s cry is to be a reflection of you, Lord. Help us to be your hands in 2013. In Jesus Name Amen!

The Baby Left Behind Part 5

Posted on December 7, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

*Matthew 1:18-25 The Birth of Jesus

*A Jesus Baby Book: Did your mom or dad keep a baby book for you? Ask if you can look at it. It will have pictures of you as a baby. It will tell interesting things about when you were young and how you grew. You can make a baby book for Jesus. Think about the chapters you read in Matthew and Luke. There are many things you learned about Jesus’ birth. Draw pictures of these things on some pieces of paper. Write Bible verses that tell about each picture. Now stack the papers and punch two holes on one end. Thread a long piece of yarn through the holes. Tie the yarn to hold the papers together.

*My oldest took the challenge and drew each picture of her baby book about Jesus. For my other two we printed pages from the website below.

http://www.coloring.ws/nativity.htm

As a mother of three precious girls and one precious boy, I could not imagine having my own agenda on their birthday. Just think if I were to say I don’t have time for cake and presents, we’re too busy shopping for other people, we have to decorate the house for someone else! Their poor little heart would be broken. No, our world stops for our children’s birthdays. We plan parties, yes plural. We usually have a small one on their birthday and then another one on the following Saturday for all their friends to come to. We want to show them how much we love them and how special they are to us, so even more should we stop and celebrate the baby boy who came to save the world.

Thank you heavenly father for giving your only baby boy to die, so that we may live. Thank you Mary for obeying and trusting in the Lord. Thank you Joseph for not caring what the world thinks but holding true to what our heavenly father says. There are many lessons in this story to be learned, great character traits to follow after and verses to hold close to our heart. May we never forget the baby boy who came to give us this beautiful life we love and enjoy.

The Baby Left Behind Part 4

Posted on December 6, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Day 4: Wise Men from the East

*Read Matthew 2:1-12

*Wise Men Craft: Giggles and more giggles were heard throughout the house today with our painted camel craft. First I painted their hand, then they placed it on the paper one at time. Again, we choose to do the craft together, which I like better. It’s cute to see the different sizes of hands. Next I painted their pointer finger, they choose the color, this represented the wise men. Super simple cute craft for all ages!

*Short story: The wise men came from the East. No one is sure where they lived. When they saw a bright new star, they believed it told of the birth of a special child. These men were probably rich and journeyed on camels with servants to care for them. They reached Jerusalem some time after Jesus was born. First they visited King Herod, then the star led them to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. There, they worshipped Jesus and gave him gifts. (From: The First Christmas)

The Baby Left Behind Part 3

Posted on December 5, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Day 3: In Bethlehem

*Read Luke 2:1-20

*Stable: was a place where animals were kept and fed. The stable in Bethlehem were usually caves instead of buildings. The stable where Jesus was born was probably one of these caves.

*Manger: was something like a box that the animals ate from.

*To Moms: “But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.” I could write a book on this verse! I think it’s important to treasure up the good times we have with our children, the memories of holding them right when they were born, their first smile, their first step, etc…! I think it is also important to treasure up the beautiful moments in our everyday life, like a sunny day at the park, the sound of the waves crashing on a white sandy beach, the breeze blowing through our hair as we swing on a front porch with our best friend (hubby). These memories or treasures will and can sustain us in times when things aren’t going so well.

*Activity: Today both of the girls decided to draw a stable with everyone in it and around it. Then we made a very simple Nativity set 🙂

Nativity Set Craft/Ornament Directions:

*5 to 6 Popsicle Sticks (we used craft sticks…I didn’t have Popsicle sticks)

*Crayons, Markers, or Paint (your call)

*A Pipe Cleaner (optional)

*Glue (a hot glue gun works best)

Each child can make their own but we decided to break up the craft and just make one together. Each child picked who they wanted to color, then we glued it all together. You can also add a ribbon to the top of it, to make a cute ornament!

The Baby Left Behind Part 2

Posted on December 4, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Day 2: Our Journey Continues to Elizabeth’s Home

*Read Luke 1:39-45 Mary Visits Elizabeth

This part of the story gets me every time….When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby inside her jumped. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she called out, “God has blessed you more than other women. And blessed is the child you will have!… As soon as I heard the sound of your voice, the baby inside me jumped for joy. You are a woman God has blessed. You have believed that what the Lord has said to you will be done!”

A Little about Zechariah and Elizabeth: Elizabeth came from Mary’s family. Elizabeth was married to a priest. His name was Zechariah. They were both very old. They did not have any children. An angel told them that they would have a baby boy. The angel said to name the baby John. When baby John grew up, he was known as John the Baptist.

*Read Luke 1:46-56 Mary’s Song

*What is Mary’s song? This is the song Mary sang when she saw Elizabeth. Mary praised God for choosing her to be the mother of Jesus. She knew Jesus would be the Savior. Mary was a great young woman. She had great faith in God. (Adventure Bible for Early Readers)

*After reading Mary’s song out loud, take some time to let your little ones create their own song about baby Jesus or Mary and Elizabeth’s story. My oldest one is the artist so she decided to draw a picture of Mary singing to Elizabeth. The picture below is of my worship singer Victoria, she is singing a beautiful song about Mary and baby Jesus.

The Baby Left Behind

Posted on December 3, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Shopping, baking, wrapping, singing, decorating, more shopping, and more wrapping, Christmas is here! But what is Christmas? Yes, if someone asks us we might say it’s about Jesus’ birth and about spending time with family, but do we really mean it? For that we can look at facebook to see what everyone is posting or tweeting. We will quickly learn the baby has been left behind! He has been replaced by a fat man in a red suit, by Christmas lists, sales ads, garland, cookies and Christmas lights galore. I personally have nothing against any of those things, especially the man in the red suit, he comes to our house every year, but let us not forget the BABY.

I have decided to take this first week of December, the 3rd through the 7th, to breakdown The Christmas Story to the kids. We will not be making wreaths or paper candy canes this first week…we are setting the first week of this month to focus on finding this precious baby boy who has been left behind. I hope you will join us on our journey.

Day 1: The Annunciation

*Read Luke 1:26-38 out loud to your children. (“For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:37 Awesome Scripture!)

*You could have them close their eyes and picture what you are reading.

*Now have them draw what they imagined the angel Gabriel looked like when he was speaking to Mary. If your child is too young to draw, google a color sheet about the Annunciation, many will pop up.

*Discussion Time: Mary is a great person to follow as an example. An angel gave her some very surprising news. She was to be the mother of God’s son. What would people think of her? Was Mary willing to be what God wanted her to be? Sometimes we’re afraid to do what we know God wants. People might laugh or be mad at us. Talk to a parent about how you would feel if that happened. Try to choose what God wants. Then you will be following Mary’s example. (Live-It: from the Adventure Bible for Early Readers)

Setting the Tone

Posted on November 15, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Tense, peaceful, sad, joyful, whatever mood we display in our home sets the tone for our children and family.

The morning after the election I read about people being angry, upset, worried and just down right distraught. Although the election did not turn out the way we had hoped as a family our hope isn’t in our president, it’s in our Lord Jesus Christ so, Wednesday morning rather than waking up all depressed, I woke up with a song in my heart. I took out our school laptop and started playing a song by Hillsong, “All of my life, In every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship.” After the third time playing it, two of my girls, Alayna and Victoria, started walking around the house singing the words.

If we truly listen to and obey the scripture that states in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We can help set a sweet aroma throughout our house and there is nothing sweeter than hearing the voices of our children singing praises to our Heavenly Father.

Lord help me to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and to be constant in prayer, so that I may set a tone of love, joy, and peace in our home.

Yes, they are all mine.

Posted on October 23, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.

Psalm 127:3-5

Are they all yours? This is the most common question I hear when I am out and about. I always smile big and say, “Yes they are!” The next thing that comes out of their mouth is, “I don’t know how you do it?” I only have four kids, is that a lot? If I didn’t have c-sections I might have had six or seven, then people would really think I was crazy.

There is no greater thing (material item), blessing or gift, than a child. My prayer is that the fathers and mothers of today would realize the amazingly beautiful little or even big person they have in front of them and to treat them as such. Our children are not collectibles, burdens, annoyances, or something we take out every now and then to play with, they are our pride and joy.

Lord help us to keep our children close, let us be ready at any hour to listen to their hearts, may we be the fuel to their fire when they set off to conquer their dreams and may we never treat them as a hindrance, for they are a gift from God.

Saturday Breakfast Tradition

Posted on October 6, 2012 by fromthecommittedheart

“She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family…”

Proverbs 31:15

The sun is starting to come up, the little ones are still sleeping, it’s Saturday morning! It’s time to make some breakfast. Not the stuff from a box or the things in freezer. No, I’m talking about the stuff that comes from the heart. Homemade Sausage Gravy and Biscuits or Fresh Steamy Belgium Waffles or grits, eggs, bacon, and biscuits, or in this case Mickey Mouse Pancakes.

It’s a Saturday morning tradition, I remember my mom doing it for our family, and now it’s something I have the pleasure of continuing for my family. There’s nothing like everyone around the kitchen table, in their pjs, smiling from ear to ear, as you serve them a fresh hot breakfast. Traditions are essential to maintaining a secure sense of family identity. They create great memories and strong bonds.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

From The Committed Heart

Category Archives: Family