Giving the left overs...

The kids came home from Nana's house Saturday, each with $10. I have no idea why... other than the fact that they probably said they wanted $10 so Nana gave them $10! Anyway, Andrew was all excited to go to Target and buy a Lego he had seen there for $9.95. I asked him if he had more money that he was going to take with him. He said, no, just his newly acquired $10.
I told him that he would have to save a little because he did not have enough for the Lego. Perplexed, he told me... the toy is $9.95 and I have $10! I explained that tax would add 85 cents to the cost but more than that, he did not have $10. He only has $9 because he is to give God $1 of that before he spends it on anything. He then said... "Oh I was going to give my offering. I was going to buy my Lego and then give what was left over." Oh my... Charles and I (after smothering a giggle) explained that God does not want or deserve our left overs. He requires that we give to Him the first of our fruits. But then as I pondered on this throughout the day, I wondered how often we do actually give Him our left overs without even realizing it. How often to I make time for everything and everyone and only spend time with God at the end of the day IF I still have time and am not too tired? How often to I pay all of my bills and THEN write my check to the church? God commands us give back to Him first. The truth is that He owns all of it yet we try to hang onto to all of it. He asks that we give freely with an open hand and He will pour out blessings.
The good that came through this spontaneous teachable moment is that as Charles was getting ready to cut the grass, Andrew went outside and asked if he could earn $2 for cutting the front yard! So, our yard work was done more quickly because the two of them worked together, and Andrew now had $12.00 which was enough to give his $1.20in tithe and have enough to buy the desired Lego! Not to mention, I had a sobering conviction to make sure that I always strive to give to God first and surrender all to Him for His control.

Summer Happenings...

I really can't believe that I take so long to update my blog. You would think that I would be a great blogger considering I love to journal. I have journals (aka diaries) from when I was a kid. They are so funny to ready now... oh, the things that were so life shattering back then!!! :) I also have journals for each of my children that I started when I was pregnant with each of them. I write their milestones, funny sayings and just notes of love to them. I plan to give it to each of them when they are adults. But for some reason... the blogging is such a chore to me. I guess I feel like the post is not complete without a picture and that means I need to plug my camara in and download pictures....
Well, we have had a nice summer. I can't believe that we are already printing school supply lists and getting ready for another school year! In June, we went to our annual vacation spot, Elijah Clark State Park, and stayed in a cabin for a week. It is named "June Fishing" because Andrew named it that when he was little and only knew that we went fishing somewhere every June!
Samuel is 15 1/2 months old and STILL NOT WALKING. Well, I guess I should say that he can walk if someone is holding one of his hands but has only taken about 5 steps at a time all by himself. The doc seems to think that his equillibrium might have been off during all of his ear problems, and now that we have that fixed, he is old enough to be cautious! We shall see... I hope he is not the only 1st grader crawling around the playground!!!
Charles has been serving as interim pastor at Calvary Baptist Church. He has such a servant's heart. Please pray with us that God will give us clear direction about how He is leading us to serve in ministry.
Rebecca has been busy practicing for the school JV Volleyball team. I am still trying to accept the fact that I will have a middle schooler in a few weeks!
Andrew is still our soccer star but wants to give baseball a try. So... come spring, we'll be putting our net and soccer ball aside for a few months and grabbing a bat and ball.
Charles and I celebrate 15 years of marriage in September so we are trying to plan a cruise. We are so looking forward to getting away together since we haven't had a chance to do so since Samuel arrived.
well.... I guess that about sums up the Weeks for now. Hope everyone is enjoying our wonderfully hot summer!!!

Her Royal Highness, Princess Rebecca of Charleston

Of course, the buzz this entire week has been about the Royal Wedding. I enjoyed watching the news as we led up this this day; however, I didn't have plans to get up at the crack of dawn to view it live. I thought I would DVR it or catch one of the many replays. In fact, most of my thoughts surrounded around how sad it was that their life was so public without being able to go anywhere without a zillion photographers!
Well, last night, Rebecca surprised me by asking if she could get up and watch the wedding! If you know her, you know that getting up early for anything is not usually on her agenda. So I decided that I would indeed set the alarm and share this special event with her. I asked Andrew if he was interested in watching... he was not, in fact thought it was dumb that we were getting up early to watch a "boring" wedding in another country!!! :)
My alarm went off at 5:20. I went and got her, and we watched history unfold snuggled under the covers. She talked, giggled, asked questions, critiqued the styles and clothes. It was so much fun to watch from her fairy tale view point and for a few minutes, set aside the reality of the life that Princess Katherine (aka Duchess of Cambridge) is about to begin.
Charles, a secret romantic at heart, was up studying and joined us about 1/2 way into it. Andrew jumped in the bed around 6:55 asking what was going on and even got interested enough that he asked why we didn't wake him. I reminded him that I asked and he refused! (He didn't remember this conversation as it was while I was tucking him in, and he was probably already 1/2 way to dreamland!!!)
Charles, a true teacher who missed his calling, told the kids that if they thought this was a grand event, just imagine what it will be like when Christ welcomes His bride into Heaven. What an amazing thought that is!!!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Samuel!

One year ago today (well at 1:30 this morning actually), we were on our way to East Cooper Medical Center and at 6:40, we welcomed our sweet Samuel into our family. For years, we knew that our family was complete. We had our daughter and our son. There were 4 of us... it worked perfect for vacations and vehicles. They were getting older and more independent. We had a date night every Friday night as they headed over to my parent's house. Everything fit perfectly in the life we had planned. God had other plans... He saw fit to add an odd number to our family, a helpless baby who was not independent, who did not spend every Friday night with Nana and Papa and could care less if we every went on a date again!!! :) And we couldn't be happier. I didn't even know that a piece was missing in our family until he joined us. He has turned everything upside down (now that he is mobile, this is a literal statement as well!!) We all adore him so much.

Happy 1st Birthday Samuel... we love you bunches!