The Armstrong 5

Summer what not what I expected. In fact, I'm having trouble recalling what I even did all summer!! I know I was tired for a lot of it. I suppose I could look back at my calendar and try to piece together the weeks. My back problem was definitely flaring up and I think that causes a lot of the fatigue. Mark's work has been busy, unable to predict, made us a little on-edge a good part of the summer and so that combination, with having 2 young boys, I didn't do much of what I hoped. I had planned on painting a bathroom, stripping and painting a wooden chest I have, putting up coat-racks and shelves... yeah, none of that happened. I had also really hoped to get to the track at least twice a week and put in some good workouts, play tennis or go jogging in the evenings with Mark once a week... yeah, neither of those things happened either. I found that it is very difficult to spend time exerting yourself when you are exhausted at least 5 days of the week.

So, I don't have a ton of fond memories of what I did for myself this summer. However, I did read some great books, knit a few blankets (including one that I had been working on FOREVER!), went to my HS 10yr reunion (part of it), went to the Zoo with the family, went to the beach with the family, went to Saturday Market a few times with the family... we did lots of little things. Overall, I'm a bit disappointed in myself, but I hope to learn from it. I can't let my lack of motivation turn into lack of doing. I have to trust that if I keep at something it will be easier to continue and grow in it.

I want to make some goals for the last bit of the year, and since Mark and I are heading out of town without the boys this weekend I should get to do it! We're going to Hood River to enjoy some quiet time, sleep, pizza, beer, maybe some yummy baked goods - it's long overdue! And I really look forward to being able to share with my husband the things we've learned this year and kind of come to a consensus on where we want to go and start a plan (written in pencil since things change so fast) on how to accomplish those things. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted on anything major :)

My trip to Thailand is coming up, less than 3 weeks out! I'm mostly ready I think. I have a few more packing details to take care of, get some meals planned out, get some daycare lined up and finish some studying. I think it's going to be amazing! More details on that next week - I think I'll try and promise that one, k? Thanks for keeping up with me despite my lack of keeping you up to date! Happy weekend everyone!!

I love these two boys and can't imagine how boring my life would be without them :)

I read this great article today. I found it off of femina.com, a Christian woman's blog. She writes a lot of great stuff, but this article is actually by Joshua Harris. Anyway, if you are a Christian parent, or if you plan on homeschooling, it's a must-read! So much great encouragement about what God desires us to be for our kids and do for them. It's mainly about the idea of not sheltering, but building up in preparation for the attack from the world. Yes, there are times and seasons of sheltering, but not complete holing-up without explaining any rhyme or reason, and certainly not at the expense of your children knowing that you not only love them, but like them.

Anyway, take a look! You won't regret it.

http://www.joshharris.com/2011/09/homeschool_blindspots.php

I cannot escape all the pains of people I know who are suffering right now. In fact, as I go to pray for these individuals, I can barely concentrate on words to say because I recognize that I only feel an ounce of their pain. I have 4 individuals/families on my mind most recently, all enduring extremely difficult circumstances. I am going to keep them anonymous on here, though many of you may know them well.

Family/Single Mother#1 - Has 4 children. 3 of her children were adopted from a relative and she doesn't not know the scope to which abuse may have occurred. Neglect was certainly prevalent. Child #3 is a boy (about age 10) and is experiencing major challenges in obedience, self-control, using hurtful words - in all of this I mean that he is freaking out over doing simple chores or tasks, throwing objects while kicking & screaming in "time-out" in his bedroom and saying mean things to his mother. His father (this woman's husband) left the family about 3 years ago and you can see that this young boy is really struggling. He is very sweet but also has some issues with appropriate attachment. He behaves SUPREMELY in front of most male adults, but has a different spirit when alone with his family. Pray that he will see the love of God and desire to be loved and love others too.

Family #2 - Young married couple with 2 children found their youngest (a boy) growing sick last week. Long story short, after super scary side affects and a risky surgery, they found that he has a form of Leukemia. It is a very treatable form, but still, for a 6 week old baby to undergo chemo and dialysis... well, they needs lots of prayer. Their oldest is just over 2 and is well taken care of by her grandparents during this time, along with visits to mommy & daddy. The parents love the Lord and are encouraged to have an answer for his illness. However, they have a long road ahead of them as their boy will have quite the physical trial to overcome.

Family #3 - These parents lost their firstborn baby at full-term with no real explanation. Their child was born and was unable to breath on her own but no tests ever came back conclusive as to why. This couple also loves the Lord and trusts in His strength and they will soon be welcoming a baby boy! Pray for them to have peace, that their little boy would be born with full health and plenty of crying & vigor! Pray for the mama to really have God's inexplainable peace enter her heart so she can relax and be joyful in the expectation of their son.

Family #4 - I do not actually know this family at all. They are known by a good friend of mine. This family had a young daughter who was found to have a rare kind of bone cancer. During her process of chemo and surgeries, the young boy in the adjoining room was pressed upon the family's heart. It turned out, he was almost the same age and had the same exact type of cancer. The family noticed that the boy rarely had visitors and came to find that he was in foster care, but that his foster parents could not care for him much longer. The family adopted the young boy and both children grew healthily - for a while. (This family does have several other healthy children as well.) Several years passed and the young brother fit in perfectly with this family. He also came to know Christ as his savior. However, in the last year his bone pains came back and the cancer had been found to spread throughout his body, into his lungs and he passed away this morning. Pray for this family, that they would be blessed to have brought this child into their home and been people who lead him to the Lord. Ask God to ease their pain and bring them peace, being joyful knowing that their son is no longer suffering.


This week, I have a much better perspective on the world we live in and the God I serve. I am seeing that God's range of emotions are so much wider than mine and it brings me to tears to even fathom the depth of pain He feels for people who are hurting. It has also made me recognize that His emotions regarding my sin and disobedience are probably more painful than I recognize too. It has made me see that there is not much greater joy than to assist in relieving the hurts of those I know. I see that only God can truly wipe away tears and I am moved beyond words to think about how amazing it will be when He does that permanently. I truly cannot comprehend what that will be like! I see too, that there are people EVERYWHERE hurting, all hours of the day around the world. I am frightened a bit thinking that I will likely witness much of this while in Thailand. I'm not sure how I will keep myself from bringing hurting children home with me on that airplane or from crying during most of my trip.

All this to say, please pray for these families. And please, recognize the hurt around you and know that God will bless your efforts to help those people. He desires His love to be known, and He can do that through us! I desperately want to be a part of that because then, I will really see God in motion and there's nothing else that is better in life than that.

Fun fun fun! There is simply too much to tell! Here are some pics from one of our days in Minnesota - unfortunately, I did a terrible job at taking pics! It can be kind of exhausting to try and take pictures all day while trying to take care of your little one :) Still, I got these pics from a park in Minneapolis. They had this awesome water feature plus a playground - the slides at that playground were like rockets! I literally had to catch Cole flying through the air too b/c the slides ended about 2 feet above the ground... it was fun tho :) Here are some of the water pics...








Next up, Cole's Birthday party! We held it at a newer park in town & it was a blast. We brought Gma & Gpa's basketball hoop to let the kids make hoops and gave them some candy for participating. Cole just loves basketball so we did a whole sports theme! He was the most cheerful kid ever! Especially while opening gifts - he looked completely overjoyed with each present he got. He sure is adorable! Here are some pics from that!