Playing catch up today...

Yes, I've not been a very good blogger lately...between Isaac's broken arm, bad weather, problems with my asthma, power outages, and other various and sundry difficulties, the blogging has had to take a back seat. But, I am back now with a vengeance and can't wait to catch you up on the shinanigans. I wanted to share some recent photos of me and the kids spending a day at home about two Saturdays ago doing arts-n-crafts together. I love to have a Saturday with no particular expectations other than spending family time together and enjoying each other's creativity. It gives me the opportunity to spend hours doing my favorite hobby - scrapbooking - as well as giving the kids free-reign of the craft supplies. We painted, colored, glued, cut, made, tore - the live-long day. And it was a blast!

Jonah painted 5 sun-catchers in 5 minutes - he rushes through everything just to get it done! He thinks everything in life is a race - and he's determined to win!

Isaac worked for over an hour on 2 sun-catchers. He is meticulous and detailed...two very different personalities in these precious boys!

Abby painted EVERY page in her princess painting book - at least one swipe on each princess.

Daddy is a great facilitator - he keeps everybody on tasks - a great referee of sorts!

Me...in all my ponytail glory...working on a scrapbook page.

Last Saturday, Mike's family came over to visit with Isaac and check on him. He has been doing much better this week and is managing very well with his fractured arm. He doesn't even need to use his sling any longer because he is now strong enough to carry the cast on his own without hurting his shoulder. He and Jonah have been wanting their Uncle Steven to come and play Nintendo Wii with them since Christmas and they were able to come and bring extra controllers - the boys were ecstatic! It is amazing that a little boy with a cast on says he can't write now, but can manage to drive to play MarioKart very well!

And, finally, on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the lights went out after the ice storm...and took with it the heat, the fridge/freezer and anything that required electricity! We were out of power until late Thursday evening. We braved one night at home with the generator and floor heaters, but Michael and I didn't sleep a wink because we stayed up to make sure nothing caught fire and that everything was safe. Then, after the second day with no power, we went to a local hotel for a night - we needed sleep. Thanks to the hard working electric company employees, we were back on Thursday night...however, many in our area are still without power and may not be back on for days.

We burned alot of candles to see by.

The kids slept in our bed with double layers of clothes on and tons of blankets...they kept really warm!

Now, we are back home, the kids are relaxing, playing and watching cartoons. Michael is in his favorite chair reading and studying. I am relaxing after eating breakfast,...not sure what we will do today...no specific plans in mind.
We are all...
home, healthy, and happy.
I love it.

And the weatherman says...

...1-2 inches of ice followed by

...3-7 inches of snow between 10 p.m. tonight and Wednesday morning...

so now the Bell family is the proud owner of this fine jewel...a generator and heaters...just in case...
...we have another...

or several...we shall see in the morning!

...Trusting God...Melisa

Down...but Definitely Not Out!

I must say that I am so grateful for the many wonderful "you's" out there in blog-land that have asked where we have been the last week. This blog has become such a great blessing in our lives and allowed us to keep in much closer contact with family and friends as well as new-found acquaintances. Well, we are back...Down...but Definitely Not Out! And here's the story...

There once was a beautiful, old time spring horse in our home. Since the boys were two...they called him friend. However, on Tuesday, this friend became a family foe!

At 3:30 p.m., while mommy was at work, daddy was home with the children because it had been a snow day. Isaac and Jonah had finished their bathtime. Jonah proceeded to the living room and Abby and Isaac headed to the playroom to play. According to Abby's side of the story, "Isaac stood up on the ho-sey and it felled down. He bwoked his ahm." Daddy called mommy - we met up and took him to the emergency room already knowing that this...

...was a real bad fracture! Isaac was sort of quiet - pale as a ghost! But, I must say that he was ever so calm the entire time. He was in alot of pain, but waited patiently and watched diligently as the nurses and doctors took great care of him. He even watched as they started his IV and fought his sleep because he wanted to "watch them straighten it out..."

The final diagnosis was a bad mid-shaft radius/ulna fracture with a 55.3 degree angulation (the fractured piece was at a 55 degree angle from the bone shaft!) He was sedated and they reset the bones in the ER. Michael and I stood outside the room and prayed together for God's divine presence to be with the doctors, nurses and our son...having him put to sleep was scary on top of everything else.

Fortunately, God is faithful...he accepted the procedure beautifully and woke up about an hour later. The ER staff showed us the before and after x-rays and they did a beautiful job of laying the bones back in line. We since have had two orthopedic consults and may be able to skirt around surgery at this point if no further bone shifting occurs! Praise God!

This is the day after the fracture with our palm-to-armpit cast! It is so heavy that he must wear a sling to carry it. Thankfully, we have been out of school this week for bad weather, so he has not had to miss any school yet.

This is the post-cast photo...he put a brief smile on for mommy's sake, but was actually still in quite a bit of pain. However, he is now sleeping well and doing quite well with the exception of fatigue, a little swelling and frustration! Now, though, he's figured out how to play Wii and Nintendo DS with one hand - see what I mean - Down...But Definitely Not Out!

So, now, we say goodbye to our old spring horse. It had its time...and will forever be a part of the Bell family story of the day Isaac stood up on the saddle, fell off and broke his arm really bad. But, I'm just a little more at peace knowing that it is moving on to another place...happy trails, old friend! We'll never meet again!

Agenda...

1. Stay in my warm cozy pajamas "aka 'jammies' " all day...yes...this is actually a picture of my Xhilaration flannel pajamas from Target...pink with green and white snowflakes, but I spared you a picture of ME in them! Your welcome!

2. Fix fresh, hot pancakes and bacon on my Presto Griddle (which I love!) for my family this morning for breakfast! YUM!

3.) Eat!

4.) Take a big old cat nap on the couch! Yes!

5.) Get out all my scrapbooking supplies and crop the day away. Yes...I LOVE to scrapbook, but rarely make time to do so. However, since there has been no school the last couple of days, my loving husband has all of the housework caught up for me and said he wanted me to enjoy my Saturday doing anything I wanted! So, there you go, girls! I am blessed! A whole day of scrapbooking...who could ask for anything more!

5.) And...as if it couldn't get any better...the kids are going to share the kitchen table with me...I will be cropping on one end and they will be doing arts and crafts on the other. The perfect day...baby it's cold outside...but it sure is warm in here!

Trust God...Melisa

Challenged...Higher

Here I am at home after a long day at the office - still enjoying the great worship experience I had with my brothers and sisters in Christ at my home church yesterday. The Holy Spirit was welcome and people were changed, including me. It was my honor and privilige to be there and be a worshipper in His presence with His people. And, the experience lingers...He continues to speak to me and draw me closer to Himself because of it. I asked Him to change me and He has. I sought after Him and found Him. And, it leaves me wanting more of Him, more of His love, more His Word, more of His power, more boldness to share Him with others. The desire to serve Him is stronger and I am so thankful that He doesn't leave me where I am but continues to bring me into closer relationship with Him.

So, I feel challenged to come higher. Michael and I have been discussing the direction we need to take in our married lives, as a family and in ministry to do this. We have decided that Scripture memory is where the Lord is drawing us. We are feeling compelled to memorize a portion of scripture...Romans 8. I tell you this not to boast - we boast only in Christ...and see - we have yet to complete it - by far we are only beginning. But, we are going to strive. I found this excellent tutorial on Scripture memory here, by Beth Moore, that we are using as a catalyst to make it happen. I am also making posters (like these) ...
...to put around the house to help us. We are studying the scripture as we go to make sure we are comprehending it - not completing useless memorization. Scripture memory can be very frustrating...

...and so we are trying to do it together to keep each other accountable and motivated - almost as a friendly competition of sorts...

If you feel so challenged...let's go a little higher...times are getting harder, life is not getting easier, our children are growing up, we need to know the Word - not just be familiar with it but to KNOW it - we must write it on our hearts, people! Let's give it a whirl. Find a verse that means something - something you desperately need - write it on an index card tonight and memorize it! Take it to work and tape it on your calendar - look at it over and over - make sure you understand it. Write it upon your heart...and then let's watch God use it! I am so excited!

Trusting Him...Melisa

Romans 8:1 (NIV) "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus."

Three??? She's Really Three???

We had a delightful time last night with our families celebrating Abigail's 3rd birthday. We ate together at a local restaurant, opened gifts, had cake...all the fun a little girl's birthday party should have. I took some great pics of her - but sadly - my camera didn't work and I didn't find out until tried to download them this morning! None the less, it was a great time and we were so happy to be able to celebrate this great developmental milestone with our beautiful daughter. After the party, we were leaving the restaurant and I prompted Abigail to blow everyone a kiss, tell them thank you again and that she loved them. And - on her own - she said,
"That was a great party!"

I loved it - it was so fun to see her come into her own, enjoy opening clothes - (my boys just always threw them down and looked for more toys) - she truly is a girly girl. But, my heart sort of flutters when I think about my baby girl being 3. Three??? She's really three??? Is that even possible??? We now have conversations...we discuss things, we have to discuss clothing decisions (on a small scale of course - she may want to wear boots when I want her to wear dress shoes...) and I can only imagine where this is going.

Raising children is a daunting task, rewarding on the one hand and overwhelming at times on the other. And, being blessed with both boys and a girl, I am beginning to experience both sides of issue. I pray for my daughter - for myself - as we negotiate life together. There is so much to teach - to learn...values, modesty, purity, self, God, others, courage, dreams, morals, honesty, media influences, love, self-control, sin, honor...on and on. I am thankful for the challenge and look forward to the future with anticipation and dependence on God...I have given her to Him already! Now, I will rely on Him for all I need to do it here on earth - He will not fail me!

...Trusting God, Melisa

On This Sunday, I Am Thankful For...

...children who say "I love you, mom" many times a day. I never get tired of hearing it.

...Lisa Welchel's book...I've enjoyed reading this mother's creative ideas for correcting my children from a Biblical view. It has opened my eyes to many new ways of looking at things and ways of handling tough situations. Although all the ideas may not work particularly well for my family situation, many of them have and will and I am so thankful I have had the opportunity to read it.

Drawn

During my time in Bible study and prayer yesterday and today, I keep coming back to the thought, led by the Holy Spirit I am sure, that it is time once again in my own life to examine...

what I am drawn to...what draws me...
who is drawn to me......what SHOULD draw me.

Like a magnet placed in a box of metallic parts draws them to itself strongly,

I know that we are all drawn toward and away from people, things, ideas, thoughts, sin, good, salvation, hell. So, now, as I try to bring it home in my on life in the following jumbled thoughts that may not make sense to anyone but me, please examine your own today...what is drawing you...are you drawn to the right things? What is drawing you away from good things...the most important thing? What people have been drawn to you this week? People that need you, need the God you put your trust in ...or people that pull you away from your first love?
And, I ask you to know that my blog journalling ventures are not an attempt to appear to perfectly reflect the 'right' thing to say, but my sorting through all of the same struggles we all face...attempting to make sense from a biblical point of view...looking for knowledge through the everyday experience of being a Christian working mother and a wife. I will not always be right...may sometimes be blatantly wrong. But, I definitely want to always be searching, growing...drawing and be drawn to the things of God.

What I am drawn to ...

...the cross, time and time again...

...people who are of like mind...

....a God who loves me, a Christ who died for me...
...a husband who is passionate for Christ, church and family...
...relationships with my children...speaking of God and His love daily in my home...
...laughter, fun times, long walks, reading, scrapbooking, sewing, blogging, decorating my home...
...simple things, small places, quiet times, retreat, time alone...

...His word, study, wisdom, reading, meditation...

...mouths filled with edifying words, avoidance of gossip and slander...
...Christian friendships, accountability, small group Bible study (my Sunday School class!)
...days at home with the four best people I know...

What draws me...
...genuineness, simplicity, reality....

...risk, commitment, passion...

...mission, goals, vision, direction....

...those who step outside of the clique to be real, away from perceived status...

...depth, richness, texture...

...timeliness, consistency...

... primitive, old time things reminiscent of days past...
...organization, planning...
...Godly preaching and teaching...

What draws me away...

...my own distractions, frustrations...

...fatigue, speed, the rush...

...media, noise, busy-ness...

...finances, fear, lack of faith and trust...

...poor self-esteem, frustration with my weight...

...sin that so easily besets me...

...allowing the media to influence my mind - allowing fear to overcome my mind...

As I look over my list (that of course could go on and on and on), I realize that the most important thing I can do is allow the 'magnet' of the cross to pull me - draw me - to Jesus Christ and His love for me and that will then spill over into every other area of my life. Then, others will be drawn to me - like a magnet. The power of the cross will draw others to me because of His love for them. I pray today for boldness and vision to see the opportunities God sets before me daily to live before others and tell what He has done for me so that those placed around me will be drawn to Him as well. I know that
...I must live my life in such a way that people are drawn to Him!