Saturday's Activities and Cooper Leads His First Bible Study

Yesterday, we had a super busy day so I was unable to blog.  I took Kindle to ballet to do a make up class because of Labor Day on Monday.  Then, I went to a scrapbooking crop at Amber's House.  I spent a lot of the time picking out the items I want to order from the new catalog from Creative Memories.  I can't wait to get some of the cool papers and stickers.  Nathan watched the children, so I was by myself.  Woo Hoo!

Then, we went to dinner with our friends, Isaac and Josette.  It was Isaac's birthday yesterday and Josette's a couple of weeks ago.  My Mom watched the older 4 so we just had Gunnar.  We ate at Village Tavern in Alpharetta.  I got the Chicken Marsala.  It was very, very yummy!

Josette & Isaac

Gunnar did extremely well.  He didn't make a peep.  I thought for sure he would fall asleep, but he stayed awake the whole time.  I guess he didn't want to miss out on any of the excitement.

We had a great time!

This morning, Nathan was leading worship at our church.  When he leads worship, I usually stay at home since I am nursing and end up watching all of the kids in the nursing Mom's room while he is singing.  Typically the church offers free live webstreaming, so we watch Nathan sing from home.  It is great because I can nurse and put Gunnar down for a nap while the kids and I are worshipping.  This morning, however, the webstreaming wasn't working.  We were pretty bummed.  We ended up turning on a couple Hillsong songs and we worshipped to that instead.  Most mornings, we do that as a family (we just change up our song list) so the kids were okay with doing that.  Usually after we listen to worship music, we will do a quick bible study together.  Nathan typically picks a verse or two to read to the kids.  Then, we talk about how it practically applies to their lives.  We have gone through Proverbs and gone over most of the more popular bible stories as well as several other verses.  This morning, Cooper asked if he could lead bible study so I said sure.  He got his Bible out and shared these verses with us:

Philippians 2:14-15

 ¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

Colossians 3:23

  ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men

Ephesians 6:1

 ¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

He then explained what the verses meant to us.  He gave examples of what complaining and arguing are.  He also gave examples of things that they can do as unto the Lord like their schoolwork and chores.  He also explained to them that obeying Mommy and Daddy is very important so that you can live a long and happy life.  He also told him that it is one of the 10 Commandments.  I was very proud!

It's My Birthday, It's My Birthday, Gonna Party Like It's My Birthday

"Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter." 

-Jack Benny

Today is my 30th Birthday.  It is hard to believe that 30 years of my life has gone by.  It happened so fast!  Nathan surprised me with a treadmill for my birthday!  I was very excited because I am determined to lose some weight and it is so hard to get to the gym with 5 little ones.  Plus, it is so hot here that walking outside is miserable!

I also plan on getting a new iPhone.  I am just waiting for some better cases to come out.  I need one that can be dropped 10+ times a day without it cracking the screen :)

I started my morning off with Gunnar christening me in pee.  It has been a while since my little sprayer managed to get me, I guess I am not as quick in my "old age".  Ha ha. 

I went to a scrapbook crop today at my upline for Creative Memories, Amber Holland's house.  She and her daughter baked me a birthday cake (pictured above & below) and sang to me.  It was very sweet!  I had a lovely time!

When I got home, the kids surprised me with cards they colored.  They were so tickled to give them to me. 

From Top left: Cooper's, Kindle's, Grant's & Celeste's

Nathan also got me a card.  I just laughed and laughed :P

He also gave me a list of 30 +1 things Reasons that he loves me.  It was the best gift by far!!!

Ok so today is my wife Sarah's 30th birthday.  Last month when I turned 30, Sarah surprised me with writing 30 things that she loves about me, so in return I have listed the 30 things +1 that I love about her.   I really enjoyed writing all this down and I hope you love it Sarah.  You're the best!!

30 + 1 things I love about Sarah Martin:

1. Great friend - since before we ever started dating we were friends first and you still are my best friend.

2. Faithful - No matter what, I can always count on you.

3. Truth Teller - I know that you will always give me your honest opinion and you're not afraid to tell me flat out what you think. Whether it be a design that stinks or a nice rebuke, like don’t buy that VW Bug. (Even if I didn’t listen.)

4. You are so kind - you treat others as you would like them to treat you, even if they don’t treat you that way.

5. You put others first - me, the kids, your friends, all come before what you want.

6. You’re a GREAT Mom - you are the best mom to our kids, you are patient, but stern and they love you. You love them and take great care of them. You clean, wash the clothes, home school the kids and do it all with a great attitude.

7. Supportive - you are so supportive of the things God has placed in my heart. You have even supported me when the ideas weren’t so much God.

8. You Listen - You always listen when I talk and I know that you really care, even if what I am saying is ridiculous.

9. You Love God - this is one of my favorites. You Love God with all your heart and are an example of what a real Christian looks like.

10. Wisdom - you have lots of Godly wisdom and always know how to handle a situation that I am wavering on.

11. You complete me - no really, the things that are weak in me, are strong in you and I need you to be a better Godly man.

12. You’re really fun - no matter what we are doing, we always have fun together, laughing and having a good time, even If what we are doing is not that fun.

13. Creative - you may not feel this way, but you have great ideas.

14. Content - you are content with wherever we are at in life, never wanting to be somewhere else but happy to be where God has us.

15. Stable - you are the most stable person I know. you are the same everyday, day in day out. You just roll with situations and make the best of it.

16. You believe the best - you believe the best in me and in others, even if they have let you down, you still believe the best.

17. You’re not offended easily - enough said.

18. You’re Beautiful - you have the most natural beauty and you have the best smile.

19. You’re a great encourager - even if I am frustrated putting something together, or I am ready to give up on something in life, you tell me just the right thing to encourage me.

20. Diligence and quality - You never give up, even when you want to, you still keep going and finish the task. It is also important to you that it is done well.

21. You support me in leading our house - You trust me with making the right decisions in God, money, training the kids, etc. and you support me no matter what.

22. You’re practical - I am a dreamer and only see the end result in my head. You help me to see all the steps between that save me lots of headaches and trouble along the way.

23. You’re quick to forgive - you don’t hold accounts of wrongs or bring up things from the past. You just love me the way I am.

24. You’re not prideful - You can admit when you're wrong and take correction and rebuke.

25. You’re great at multitasking - 5 kids under 7 that you home school 2 of and do all the house chores and now even blog... and it all gets done.

26. You let me go and do things I like, without nagging me - examples: hunting, cycling, music, sports, the list goes on.

27. You’re good at spelling and math - Thank God or I would look like an idiot ALL the time.

28. You’re a great baby maker - there is a lot that goes into that one, but I will leave it at that.

29. You’re great at scrapbooking - Thanks to your handy work we will never forget all the wonderful fun we have as a family.

30. You’re really smart - You home school the kids and they are all really smart because they got it from you.

+ 1. Ok one more. Your button nose - Our kids are so cute because they all got your button nose and not mine.

I love you so much Sarah Martin!  Happy 30th birthday

Tonight, we went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Tecali Grille.  It was delicious as always.  Nathan got them to sing to me.  They gave us all sombreros to wear while we ate my dessert.  The kids thought they were hilarious, especially Grant.  He couldn't stop laughing!

                  

It has been a great day.  I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in my life! I appreciate all of the birthday wishes tons.  I looked back today at what I had accomplished in the first 30 years of my life and I am very pleased.  God has truly blessed me in so many ways.  I can not wait to see what the next 30 years has in store!