No Snow!

We have had NO SNOW this year!  NONE!  I mean, we have had some flakes fall from the sky, but nothing that stuck to the ground.  It's crazy!  The rest of the country is getting pounded, and our sweet little mountain has gotten nothing.  I have to say, I am a bit sad about this.  I mean, last year it was a pretty perfect amount of snow.  Just enough to really play in!  I think that we actually had 6 snowfalls last year, and now that is what Texas is getting?!  What on earth?!  That is just crazy!  I am hoping that with this post, we get one snowfall.  You know, in March?!  That would be great, wouldn't it?

Craving spiritual milk!

Our church is going through 1 Peter right now, and let me just say...WOW!!!!!!  Every week I am challenged in a new way, and I am loving that.  A couple of weeks ago,  we read 1 Peter 2:2-3 and here is what it says:

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Do you know what it feels like to CRAVE?  I do!!!!!  Micah and I have been working on our diets and trying to really change the way we eat over the past few weeks.  Right about the time that we were studying this passage, I was CRAVING some cookies, cake, chocolate...!  So I was really understanding the word CRAVE!  I think this is why it hit me so hard.  Do I crave Jesus the way I do chocolate?  I mean, do I HAVE to have HIM right now, everyday?!  Because the bible says, "crave that milk, because that spiritual milk is what is going to make me grow big and strong in Christ!"  (Okay, that is my paraphrasing, but you know what I mean!)  I want to be strong, how about you?!

I think, (no, I know) that I often just push my time with Jesus to the side and accomplish all those OTHER things I need to get done.  Then when I feel weak and tired, I wonder why.  I need spiritual milk daily in order to grow, and once I get a taste of that good milk, I only want more!  That's so awesome.  I can remember when we began giving our kids whole milk for the first time, and then we had that one more bottle of formula left and we tried to give it to them.  They WOULD NOT have anything to do with that yucky stuff because they had tasted what was good!  I pray that I will be like that.  I have tasted that the Lord is GOOD and I want more!  I pray that for you too!

So, here's to having a week of cravings, that can only be satisfied with Jesus!  

Here is a link to the sermon if you are interested:
Spiritual Maturity

Hello, Again!

Well, hello my blog reading friends and family!  It's been a while!  A long, long while!  I took a break.  I felt like the blog was something that needed to be done our first year here, and so I did it.  To be quite honest, I didn't think anyone would really want to continue reading about our life or whatever "non-interesting" things I decided to post about.  (And, "anyone" may not want to read those things!)  But I have had a few people mention that they missed the blog, and to be completely honest, I did too.  So...here I am!  Hello, again!

How have things been?  The mountain is still absolutely beautiful, peaceful, calming, relaxing, and becoming a part of us.  It hasn't snowed yet this year, and we're a little bummed about that, but it is still amazingly beautiful and the weather cannot be beat!!!!

School is going really well.  (Well, let's be real!  It is always difficult to be the teacher to your own children, but it's so much better this year!)  We joined a charter school, Coastal Academy, and REALLY love everything about it.  Grace made a part in the school's annual musical theater production.  This year, they are performing The Little Mermaid.  Oh, she's excited!  Just found out, today, that she is a jellyfish (one of the most coveted sea creature costumes, I hear)!  She will be performing April 10-12 if anyone wants to take a trip to SoCal at that time!  LOL!

Ben is having fun being Ben!  Got to love my boy!  He keeps me laughing everyday, and daily says something that warms my heart.  Tonight, on our way back up the mountain, he said "mom, I have been having a lot of sins lately and I really don't like that.  What do I need to do about it?"  I kept it together and didn't cry, and we had a great little discussion about Jesus and what he did for our sinful hearts.  Don't you love that?  I sure did!

Micah is crazy busy with camp right now.  Oh, have I said that before?!  No, but really, he has been out recruiting summer staff and campers.  We're beginning to get really excited about what this summer holds for Palomar and each camper and staff member.  We can't wait to see what God has planned!

As for me, I am back in the groove teaching the kids and doing all of those other things I do.  (Not really sure what all of those are.  Ha! Ha!)  I am going to start attending a women's bible study at our church on Thursday mornings (while the kids are at their one school day).  I am SUPER excited about this, as I have never been able to attend a daytime bible study, and I am going to begin making friendships with the women of our church!  SUPER excited!  I also host a ladies' bible study in our house on Wednesday evenings for the girls here at camp.  I have been so blessed by our time that we get to spend together growing in our friendships and in Christ together.

So, we're still doing great up here on the mountain!  I hope all of you are doing well too!  Send me a message.  I would love to hear from you!

Here we are at Christmas in Thorndale, TX

Not the best picture, but it had all 4 of us in it!

And here are the little cuties that are growing up WAY TOO FAST!!!!!

One Year Ago Today!!!!!

Today is the day!  One year ago, we moved into our mountain home!  Can you believe that?  One whole year!!!!!!!  It seems like just yesterday that we were making that drive up the mountain.  Micah in the moving truck with a trailer behind it, and I in our car with a trailer behind me.  (Yes, we had a moving truck and two trailers.)  I burnt up our brakes coming into camp that first time.  I had no idea what it even meant to "downshift."

Here we are one year later, and I am one mountain-driving-momma!  Those "hills" don't scare me!  (Right Sheri Ritter?  LOL!)  We have come to call ourselves Southern Californians.  We don't do hot weather...above 80 degrees!  We don't know what to do when it rains, besides sit in the house and watch it.  Humidity, what is that?!!!  I wear Rainbows.  (If you don't know what they are, then you are not from SoCal.)  We love the beach and pretty much keep our beach gear ready to go at any time!  We laugh at the 20 turkeys in our yard each day, and if we don't see at least that many deer each day, we know something is wrong.  Grace rides horses bareback!  It's really amazing how much we have become a part of our new home.

On the other hand, I feel like I just got here yesterday.  I can remember conversations we had on that first day here at camp.  I remember coming into our home for the first time, and realizing that this is where we were going to live.  I remember breaking out in hives at every mention of homeschooling my children!  I remember missing our families so bad that it hurt.  (Okay, that hasn't gone away, and that's a good thing.)

I can't even really begin to explain what this year has done for me!  I can say that I love my mountain home and the friends that we have made.  I love PCCC and the ministry being done here.  I am so gracious for God's love and mercy every single moment of every single day!

I am not sure how often I will blog from here on out, but thank you to everyone who has encouraged me throughout my one year journey as a Mountain Momma!  I am so thankful that I was willing to "climb every mountain."  The journey is sometimes a long and windy road, but WOW, the view from the top is always amazing!

About a month ago, this song really spoke to me as I was thinking about our journey this year.  I hope it encourages you just like it did me!  Before you watch the video, read the lyrics.  God is so faithful to his children, even though we don't deserve any of it!  He is FAITHFUL!

Never Once by Matt Redman

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we've come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You've done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never one did we ever walk alone
Never once did you leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Allergic Reactions

Friday was a FUN day around here!  Well, let's just say it was very eventful.  Benjamin was outside playing around 1:30 pm and got stung on the finger by something.  (hornet, bee, wasp?)  I gave him some Benadryl and put some on it to take away the sting.  That was all normal.  Well, then I realized that it was a bit more swollen than I would have thought, but I just figured I would watch it.  (Now, it was about 20 minutes after the sting that he began itching his ears.  However, he does this fairly regularly because he gets water in his ears and it really bothers him.  I thought nothing of this!)  About another 20 minutes went by, and I needed to head out to the barn to check on Grace who was riding horses.  I looked at Ben's hand and it was really getting swollen, but again I really just thought "Wow, that was quite a sting."  So, I walked out to the barn for about another 20 minutes.  When I came back inside, Ben was laying on the couch eating chocolate chips.  (That last part is important for dramatic purposes of my story!)  Anyway, I walked over to look at his hand, and the poor baby had hives all over his face.  So of course, I handled it like a great mother and began screaming for him to get up!  (That's what good moms do, right?!)  When he stood up, he had chocolate ALL OVER his neck!  I began trying to look to see how bad the hives were (and they were everywhere and really bad), but was getting chocolate everywhere!  So, I gave him another Benadry and called Micah in a panic.  (Oh, and I threw him in the shower because we needed to get the chocolate off of him!  Poor baby!)  Micah comes in and I am freaking out, to say the least.  Micah looked at me and said, "You're gonna need to leave the room!"  Yep, I was not calm.  So, I let Micah look him over and then went back into the living room.  It was affirmative, off to the doctor we would go!  At this point, I really wasn't sure if I was heading to the ER or the doctor, but I knew we were going down the mountain!  Remember that our mountain takes 25 minutes just to get down our 6 mile road, then it's another 45 minutes to the doctor.  So, I drove with my hand on Ben's chest and kept making him talk to me the whole time.  About 30 minutes down the mountain, I could tell that the Benadryl was kicking in and that the hives were getting better.  I knew that we were not in a life threatening situation at that point, so I relaxed a bit!

We now know that Ben is allergic to some sort of stinging insect and it is SERIOUS!!!!!  No more playing around!  

In all my time of being around children (and that's a lot of time), and children with severe allergies, I have never actually witnessed the reaction itself.  SCARY!  So glad he was okay!

On a completely different note, here is an amazing picture from the top of our mountain.  This picture was taken by one of our staff here and I told her I was going to steal it!

If you look really close, that power line that is in the right, actually looks like a cross.  Cool, right?!

Fall is here!

We did not get to experience the coming of Fall on the mountain last year, because we did not get here until October.  Let me tell you...it is BEAUTIFUL!  The weather is crisp and dry, the leaves are falling and changing colors, the turkeys and deer are EVERYWHERE.  I mean the first day of Fall is actually Saturday, right? (I am trying to remember if it is the 20th or 21st.)  Anyway, I am just so excited that when I tell the kids it is Fall, it will actually feel like Fall.  Love it!

We were going down to dinner tonight, and the air was so cool.  Then after dinner we played a little baseball (well, actually hit some balls and ran around), and I did not sweat!  You know I LOVE that!

Anyway, if you need a little Fall getaway, come see us!  It's beautiful!  (Oh and we have apple trees down the way that we are going to go and pick in just a few weeks!  I'll be sure to take pictures!)

Nothing much...

School is running along pretty smoothly these days.  We have learned how to get from class to class on Thursdays when we go down the mountain, and Grace is LOVING her classes.  I am so thankful that she has the opportunity to get out of the house and be with others this year.  Here's hoping it just gets better and better!

Oh, other than that, nothing much happening around here...except that I saw a MOUNTAIN LION this morning!!!!!!!  Yep, NOTHIN' MUCH!  What?!  That is MUCH for this girl!  It was crazy how fast the thing was running, and how big it was.  I don't want to do much hiking on the mountain now!  (Well, I mean I didn't really do that much hiking anyway, so I guess this won't change things too much.)  But, seriously, I saw a mountain lion and it was not in a cage!  Crazy!

So, here's hoping NOTHIN' MUCH is happening for you too!