No Limits

I love this picture of Jim helping Madelyn put on her shoes. She is fully capable of doing this herself, but we have another little girl on the way who may find it challenging to put on her shoes and tie them. We found out at the end of June that our third little girl will be born with only the upper part of her right arm. The part below her elbow did not develop.

It took a while for us to process this information. I immediately started thinking about all the things she may never be able to do. I was crying over the thought of her never tying her shoes. Would she ever swim? Many questions like that were making me feel sorry for her.

Thankfully, about a week after we found out, an article in the Journal Star changed my way of thinking. Many family members sent the article to me, and I'm so glad they did! It was about a teenage girl born without her left arm. And the main thing that stood out to me was that her mom said they never limited her and just expected her to find a way to do things on her own. I needed to hear that! This amazing girl is a softball player, a lifeguard, a ballerina! And she learned how to tie her shoes as a little girl.

I read in The 4:8 Principle, a book based on Philippians 4:8, that we should tell our children everyday that they are "beautiful wonderful children of God." That is the last thing I whisper to Gracie before she heads to the playground at school. This baby is beautiful and wonderful and fearfully made. God knows her body. We still don't know if there is an underlying condition that may have caused this to take place. But God has a plan for her life. She is his child and will teach us how to raise her. And the message I am hearing more and more is to place no limits on this child. God knew I needed to hear that. I'm so excited for her to join our family!

Some More Favorite Moments

*the way Madelyn has been saying "I love you" to me all day long

*Gracie's sweet picture that she drew of a necklace that I broke last weekend. I dropped a favorite blown glass necklace on the floor and it broke. When she realized I was upset about it, she ran out of the room and said, "I will go draw you a picture of it so you will remember it forever!"

*going to Gracie's open house at school and seeing all of her work and meeting her friends

Education and Other Thoughts

My educational philosophy is and always has been summed up in a quote by William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." I started researching homeschooling when Gracie was just a baby. Because I love creating fun and exciting lessons, I really thought homeschooling would work for us. But here we are, 5 years later, and Gracie just entered kindergarten at the public school.

I am still a huge advocate of homeschooling. So why aren't we doing it? I believe God calls each of us to different things at different times. And while I have always thought it was the perfect plan for our family, Jim wasn't so sure. At this time in our lives, I am focusing on the verse from 1 Peter 3: 5-6, "They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what it right and do not give way to fear." I'm also going to join or start a Moms In Touch prayer group for her school. I am starting to realize that God might want me involved in the public schools and my plan was getting in the way of that!

Ideas for Staying Close as a Family

reading the Bible at breakfast

reading and talking on the couch after school

dinner together every evening

Jim reading a chapter book to the girls at night

circle prayer at night

limit extracurricular activities

game night on Fridays

cooking together on the weekends

documenting weekends through photography

watching movies and favorite TV shows together on Sunday night

Some Favorite Moments

*watching the Little House on the Prairie movie after reading the books

*creating Gracie's family tree project for school

*curling Gracie's hair for picture day

*teaching Madelyn her letters and sounds using songs

*picking Gracie up after school