A Final Thought For 2009

"There is freedom in submission and

Bondage in rebellion"

Lisa Bevere

Last night I happily went to wednesday night service. I sat among the other handful of church members who come out during the week (and the very cold temperatures) to get a quick spiritual refill and bask in Gods word.

For the last couple of months we have been listening to a great dvd series by John Bevere called "Under Cover." I have done one of his studies before. 6 years ago, my home church studied "The Bait Of Satan." It was amazing and I often referenced back to the workbook years later.

Under cover is about being under the spiritual protection of proper authority. What the bible says about how we are to act towards authority and what the biblical pyramid of authority really was.

Last night he began speaking about the authority in the home. My ears perked up. I am a firm believer of the Man being the head and women falling under him!

He started listing bible verses and my hands went flipping. Those familiar, underlined verses were read again and I gladly listened.

He also explained the parental role and how children stop "obeying their parents" immediately after marriage. Once vows are said, a new line of authority takes place. Wives submit to their new husband (not the parents) the husband is the head of the home and he does not submit to his parents any longer, only to God! The parents role now move from obedience to just honoring. As stated in Genesis 2:24. I had never heard that verse explained in that way before. But it goes right alongside my 2 favorite books "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God." and "Created to Be His Help-Meet."

On the ride home, the children chattered and sang and I chatted GapBoys ear off. The message was amazing.

In our home, "roles" are clearly defined. Not because one is weaker or not as smart than the other, but because that is the way God ordained it. Because God ordained it, it WORKS!!! GapBoy and I have fallen into these rolls very early in our marriage and because of this we have had many many years of peace. Our marriage is not perfect, but love abounds, peace reigns and order is always established.

As I get older and I study the design God had for marriage, I can embrace and love the protection I am under from my husband. I find it wonderful and would never ever want to step out from under it. Im happy right where I am. Its the perfect umbrella to be under because he is protected by the Lord!

I don't want the responsibilities he has on his shoulders.

As I raise my daughters, I hope and pray that they see the example I am setting in my home. I pray they don't fall into any feminist mindsets and empty traps. Little do they know, the thinking of that false philosophy will lead to empty hearts, empty souls and an empty bed. I have never seen a happy fulfilling marriage come out of such horrible thinking.

I want to teach them that loving their husbands is the best thing they can do. I want then to love the safety they fall under and embrace the umbrella that will surround them.

As 2009 comes to a close, I reflect back on all that I have learned, how my own marriage has changed dramatically simply because I embrace the God given roles of biblical marriage. I wish I could give these 2 books to every wife out there. I wish I could sit them down for coffee and share with them the joy I have inside and why I have it. This is my passion. Instead, I will write and pray that women will read these words and take interest.

This coming New Year we will welcome our first ever teenager. Emma turns 13!!! My prayers for her will strengthen. I will begin to pray for her future, her husband and her home. I will ward off any empty thinking and pray she grows in the Lord.

Im excited for what the New Year will bring. Im excited to learn more,but more importantly, Im excited to continue to embrace my role as help-meet to my GapBoy!

Plan Plan Plan...

Thats exactly what I have been doing all day today. In true GapGirl style, I have 10 projects going at once.

I cannot believe that we have only 2 nights left of this first millennium decade...where did the last 10 years go??? Can anyone tell me cause I certainly don't remember. It seems like just yesterday I was watching the ball drop in our "new" rental home in NY. Emma and Hannah were fast asleep in the toddler bed and crib (yikes they were small) and I was about 2 pant size smaller. I counted the seconds and hid behind Jason just in case the world exploded due to Y2K. Remember that?

Fast-forward 10 years, Im a bit <> um filled out, Im in a different state and have 3 more kids calling me mom! WOW! Now I truly understand "in the blink of an eye..."

Im excited about NYE this year. Its been a good year and I have so much faith that this year will be the same... no matter what happens, God will be with us. I have a big box of NYE decorations, hats, blowers, streamers, tiaras and a bunch of sparklers. The sparkling white grape juice is chilling and I have 2 tweens who think that thursday night will be the biggest party in the world!

We have a party to attend early in the evening and hope to make it home a bit before the ball drops, tuck the littles under their covers and celebrate.

My neighbors will have to forgive me if we get a little loud, if my kids scream with their friends in the street and run across their lawn. Its New Years.... and what better way to spend it than with smiles on our faces!

What are your plans?

Happy 2nd Birthday To My Little Red House...

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of us living in our Little Red House. I can't believe it has been two years since we were handed the keys to our dream and amazing blessing. As I reflect back, I realized that already our home has a story. If my walls could talk, they would provide endless stories of laughter, visitors and meal times shared. My Little Red House might slowly be moving away from the "new home" status, but to us, its just the beginning of many family adventures. We look forward to welcoming 2010 in our "New" home. We look forward to everything God has in store for us this coming year. All the celebrations, all the visitors, all the laughter and even the tears. We know at the end of the day, our home will be here for us to walk into, be safe and to love

Read about our 1st year in our Little Red House HERE

How Were Your Holidays?

Our CHristmas Eve grab bag gift exchange

Reading about the Birth Of Jesus before bed

Ahhh, The gifts are out and ready. Shhhh

The mayhem is over, now they settle in to play with their favorites...

We end the night around a warm fire with the ...FIRE PIT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS. AHHHHHH so exciting. I look forward to many many family nights gathered around this fire ring!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

XoxoGapGirl

Christmas Friends...

Nothing says Christmas better than an afternoon shared with like minded friends. Today I linked up with Jen from LETTERS FROM LA-LA LAND along with some other homeschooling church families for some casual, no-pressure Christmas fun. Jen's house had a spread even Martha Stewart would be jealous of. Every Christmas cookie one could imagine, Hot cocoa, Chocolate coffee, candies, wraps, home-made cheese and chicken spread and TONS of holiday cheer. I tried not to make an utter pig out of myself but failed. Thats ok though. When your surrounded by friends (and delicious food) its all good!

We were blessed by the southern sun and enjoyed the kids running around outside. As I was driving home and reflecting on the day, I was thankful to have that bit of an oasis in the middle of the holiday rush week. I enjoyed seeing her home that she worked so hard on and feeling the love that abided their. (not to mention those delicious turkey wraps that kept appearing on my plate;)

The heart of her home, the kitchen, smelled like candyland! The kids piled in and snuck cookies and treats when they thought we weren't looking. Where were the Moms you ask??

Pretending not to notice a thing as we fully enjoyed adult conversation!

Now its back to the Christmas grindstone. Im way behind on wrapping and the next couple of days will consist of baking and prepping for our 2 day feast! By Christmas night we will all be exhausted. It will take days to have order back in the house again... but I will look back on our Christmas afternoon with friends and smile.

Today's To-Do's...

We are back to our 7th heaven. All of our house guests have packed their bags and are now safe at home with the ones they hold dear. After church (and my Sunday nap) I started putting my house back together and re-adjusting to our small family of 7.

Are you ready for this week??? 5 days till CHRISTmas! The excitement has reached a whole other level in our home. School has been officially flung out the window along with everyones attention span.

I have forgotten all that needs to be done, so out comes my cute clipboard and let the lists begin. Order needs to take place in my head before I can set the stage for my home.

So, today with prayer and love I hope to get some of this accomplished. Being Monday, this will be a mix of the holiday week list and daily list. But after a jam-packed December filled with visitors and vacations, I vow to keep the reason for this season on the forefront of this week.I rebuke busyness and stress. I pray to have peace reign in my home and use every opportunity I can to reflect on a great year and teach my children the true meaning of Christmas. With careful planning and lots of prayer, I hope it can be accomplished.

1) Put all Laundry away

2) Clean Master bedroom/Bathroom

3) Re-organize Master bath linen closet =)

4) Work on reading with Molly

5) Begin to construct Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day feast menu!

6)Make final Christmas shopping list

7) Review New Years Eve Party invitation ( and think of outfit;)

8) Go to craft store for more Christmas lights

9) Wrap Wrap Wrap

10)Finish Christmas cards

Is it wrong that my to-do list consists on making long lists?? Yikes.

What is on your agenda for this Christmas week?

Wanna Know Something?

We are supposed to be getting tons of snow today but instead, just sleet has fallen. I ran out with the 3 littles and joined the rest of the world in a hustle and bustle race for Christmas shopping. Thankfully, Im back home. Im warm and cozy. Cookies are in the oven. Today will be the day I bake most of my holiday treats. My guests leave my Little Red House tomorrow. I want to send them off with something warm to remember their stay in our home. The kids and I were chatting and decided that our guests will be greatly missed. After a week and a half, we never got tired of talking,laughing or sharing our life with them.

Christmas is in one week. In 8 days, the craziness will be over. As Im in my kitchen mixing and shaping cookies, my New Years resolutions have been weighing on my heart. Im not a big resolution kinda gal, but for some reason, this new year approaching, I feel the need for fresh beginnings. Have you ever felt like that? I have been reflecting on who I am, Who I have become and who I want to be. Sounds heavy huh? Well, not all of it is heavy some of it is rather funny. Before I commit to climb Mt. Everest, write an award winning novel or build a skyscraper, I think I will use the last weeks of 2009 to gather my thoughts, pray and seek God for a great 2010. I know great things are in store for our family, our home and our life... starting from the depths of our cluttered closet, to the depths of our soul. Don't fret my friends, You will all be along for the ride... after all, I need accountability to keep going!

But I just thought I would give you a sneak peak of whats to come. What resolutions are you making for 2010?

Where In The World Was GapGirl?? Pt 3...

The highlight of our vacation were the pools. The heated, relaxing pools. For GapBoy and I, the highlight was the secluded hot tub. We sat and relaxed and floated away... until the cries of Miss Muffet were heard over the trees and quickly jogged us back into reality.

Our Hotel had 5 different heated pools and even though the weather was not super warm, we enjoyed them to the fullest!

So did many others that were vacationing their as well.

So, to all you parents out there that shared those moments by the pool with me:

Thank you for watching your children so carefully as they knocked my kids over

Thank you for telling your kids to STOP spraying me in the face with the shooting cannon.

Thank you for telling them it was not polite to laugh when I was choking on the water they sprayed in my face with the shooting cannon.

Thank you for not hogging up the one area where wee little kids felt safe.

Thank you for carefully monitoring your alcoholic intake so that you didn't look like a darn-right fool in the pool.

Thank you for not staring, gawking, counting and pointing.

And most of all, Thank you for understanding the need for me to want to knock your kids over...

Happy Vacation

XoxoGapGirl

Where In The World Was GapGirl?? Pt 2

Our Bedroom balcony view

The bridge over the lake connecting the two sections

Our favorite spot on the bridge

Getting ready to go out for a divine steak dinner our last night on vacation =(

The best part of vacation is the change in your day. For me, this is an amazing feat. I hate change. But for some reason, when on vacation, I have no problem with the "go with the flow" way. I welcome the relaxing undertone. I say undertone because with kids, you can only relax to a point.

Our hotel was the Marriott Grand Vista. It was amazing! Amazing isn't even the word. Its secluded, away from the main strip, hidden by lush tropical evergreens and has a gated entry. We were blessed to get rooms next to our family. In our eyes... we owned the floor!

Our off days consisted of eating and awaiting our next meal. We walked the lush grounds and chased lizards. We fed the fish and turtles in the lake and never took one moment for granted.

Where In The World Was GapGirl?? Pt 1

In the happiest place on Earth of coarse! Last week we packed up our big black van and headed south to Orlando for a week of fun, indulgence and good ol fashioned family time. We surprised the kids and boy were they thrilled!!!

There is nothing like the Magic Kingdom at Christmas to really make the season bright!

The ride down was a bit different. Here is a quick synapse :

3:35 A.M- We pull away from our little Red House for the 8+ hour car ride...

4:00 A.M- Molly asks if we are there yet...

4:05 A.M- she asks again with a little less patience...

4:15 A.M- Daddy threatens to turn around if they don't stop asking...

5:30 A.M- Abigail wakes up screaming that she wants to go home...

7:30 A.M- Molly insists we are driving way too long ( we all agree)

and so on and so forth...

By noon we were all bonkers. Road rage was in full force, kids were on a permanent quiet time and if we had to hear one more kiddie movie my brain would of went permanently stupid! I silently prayed for our safety as GapBoy vowed to shove our van in certain Florida drivers rears... you get the picture don't you? Well if you don't then you obviously have not road tripped with 5 children... one of which suffers from a "mild" case of anxiety/ocd... ( can you guess which one?)

But thru it all God is Good. Just when we were all about to leap out of the moving vehicle, our beautiful resort appeared before our eyes. We checked in, kissed and hugged all of our family who awaited us and let the kids run and run. "be free..." we yelled and then went on our merry way.

Our suite was a 900 sq. ft. 2 bedroom villa and we made use of every square inch.

After a couple hours our road trip adventures were forgotten and we were ready to begin our vacation.... with the kids we loved =)!

Our Fairy Tale...

Their once was a Pretty Princess and a Handsome boy...

They were best friends....

One day he surprised the Pretty Princess with a beautiful ring...

She was so happy. They lived happily ever after.... for 5 minutes. Until they viciously fought over toys.

The End!

Back From The Chapel...

Sweet. That is the word that comes to mind when I think about the evening I shared with my Gapboy. Simply Sweet.

Today was a stressful day. We have out of town guests staying with us and had a lot to accomplish before attending a wedding for a church family. I needed to have dinner ready for my guests turned babysitters for the evening, clean my home, get all clothes ready for church the next day and figure out what outfit I could squeeze my post-vacation/holiday body into. I quickly remembered my "date" rule... You know the one Im talking about don't you? Well, if you forgot, I will refresh your memory....

Rule #1... when on a date with your hubby a new outfit is ALWAYS required. Now, the clause for this rule is as follows...:

*** When said Hubby starts turning blue from the accumulation of date outfits, always remind him that your reasoning for this so called "silly" rule is simple. Its not for yourself... no sir! It is strictly for HIM!!! To keep things new and fresh and exciting, just as you did before you were married. ( I will explain my new outfit rule for dating couples another time ;)

Anyway, off to the store I went and settled for a cute outfit and even splurged on a bunch of accessories to match. We were ready!... and LATE!! As I was running in heels thru the soggy parking lot, my mind began reflecting on the last wedding I attended. You can read about that HERE!!!

The church was breathtaking. Christmas weddings have a certain magic about them that is hard to capture all thru the rest of the year. The church was lit by candlelight and draped in poinsettias and toole.

As the music started, so did the tears. I glanced over at my handsome hubby and remembered our own wedding day. It was a beautiful moment... until he saw my tears and just rolled his eyes...sigh....

Something about the white dress and the look on the couples faces that just touch my heart in a way nothing else can.

We quickly headed over to the reception and had a grand ol southern time. We have not been to church in a while due to travel and company, so seeing everyones faces was a breath of fresh air. It was good to be home and good to be with people who we loved.

We caught up with local football team news, genders of babies to come and Christmas plans. Before long it was time to go home. We said our goodbyes and climbed into our big black van. I was so happy to pull up to our Little Red House. My Christmas Tree was lit, I smelled fresh coffee being brewed before the door was opened and familiar voices echoed in our foyer. I was home!

Before I could even remove my shoes and take off my coat, 2 very excited girls came barreling down the stairs waiting for every single detail.

The next five minutes were spent retelling every detail of the night. I loved seeing their big eyes get wider and wider with joy, they love wedding.

Right now Im sure the reception is still going. The new Man and Wife will be leaving for The Bahamas very early in the morning. Their life together is just beginning. Their future is unwritten. A new chapter ready to start. Tonight I end another page in my book. My novel is 13 chapters and still going. My book is filled with many ups and downs. Every page jammed with things I could never even dream of. No matter which way they turned, Im thankful for them all. Its what made us who we are today and why I can look back and say that I love my Gapboy more today than I did on our special night that we said "I do." I didn't think that could be possible. 13 years ago I would have argued something different but life teaches you otherwise.

Tonight, as I sit in my comfy jammies, with my pink girly mug filled with coffee (I will regret this later!) I am Thankful for where I am and I am Thankful for all the blessings the Lord has given me these past 13 years.

As I crawl into my comfy flannel bed, worn from years of sound slumber, I will say a prayer for Adam and Haley. Little do they know, the best is yet to come...

XoxoGapGirl

Not Forgotten

~To my beloved readers...

IM HOME!!! Im recovering from an amazing week long vacation. Pictures are being downloaded and blogs are dancing in my head. Stay tuned.

Thanks for being patient

XoxoGapGirl

Rainy Days

Today my little Red House just might float away. Over 3 inches of rain will be falling over a 24 hour period in my neck of the woods. We are trapped inside with the glow of our newly decorated Christmas Tree to keep us comfy and warm.

My kids are dancing to jingle bells (for the millionth time) and my older girls are busy working on their studies. Hot chocolate is close at hand for sugary sips in between geography correction and spelling definitions.

As Emma said just minutes ago... it definitely feels like Christmas now.

Tonight I might convince my hubby for some new clothes and since he is such a sweet, generous, giving man... Im SURE he will agree (right hun?xoxo) nothing cures being trapped indoors on a rainy day then the smell of new clothes. My closet is lonely.... now that I think of it, so is my shoe rack...

Time to start cooking GapBoys favorite dinner ;)

My camera never turned up and all my precious memories of Thanksgiving 2009 are lost for good. I hi-jacked Emmas camera (much to her dismay) but promised she could have it when needed...just until we replace ours.

On another note... I LOST 5 lbs!! I was thrilled until my hypochondriac self took over and began rattling off scary medical reasons as to why the weight just suddenly fell. I was miraculously cured this week when I stepped on the scale and all 5 lbs are back =p. Oh well, Gotta love the holidays. I will work hard again to lose those precious pounds... until Christmas of coarse!

O Christmas Tree

Christmas is in full swing in my home. The tree is up, decorated and beaming with over 1500 sparkling white lights! My house is a mess and my kids are sticky...but will go to bed with happy hearts.

Forgive the quality of my pictures. Im relying on my cell phone for proper documentation. My camera is lost.Gone... forever sniff sniff. Thats ok. I have come to peace with it (sort of) and will now look forward to shopping for a new one.

My living room is re-arranged and Im surprisingly happy with the results. A trip to Kirklands will happen shortly to celebrate the ease of change. I HATE change and don't handle it well... so this comes as a huge surprise. Which MUST be celebrated in every way possible.;)

I have grown a love for ROSS. While my cousins were down visiting, I went on a very rare shopping trip with them. ( shopping isn't rare... bringing other women is) Dawn insisted and since I was the host, I agreed. Deep down I dreaded it. For some reason I never liked ROSS. Perhaps it was the big security guard who stood at the door the first (and last) time I went in. I have a weird rule with security guards... if they need one then things must be bad. So I stay away!! But I was wrong and quickly found my hands filled with goods and treasures that I bought. I can't wait to go back to browse the aisles and fill my closet with more goodies!

I will be on a small blog hiatus come the end of the week. For certain reasons that remain private, but I will return VERY quickly with great news, pictures and more wonderful stories to tell.

Until then, Drink, eat and be MERRY!!!

XoxoGapGirl