Recent Happenings I Don't Want to Forget

Fun date night seeing Coldplay at the Rose Garden with Kari and Conrad.

Jameson plays hoops.

Eric was planning to run his first trail run - Monument Peak - but ended up with plantar fasciitis. Major bummer. He has been a trooper. Patient in his suffering. Making every effort to rehab himself with rest and Trigger Point Therapy tools. He is back to running just one to two miles at a time. And still went to the race to cheer on Conrad, and to work as a volunteer at the aid station where he took this pic.

Jameson discovered the backyard slide.

She is Sweet

Dear Eliza,

As I write this post, you are sitting next to me studying the Bible on your own for the first time. I couldn't resist the opportunity to snap a picture and document it to show you when you grow up. You taught yourself to read when you were just three years old. This was a miracle. And, you relieved me of a lot of anxiety about having to teach you and your brothers to read. One day you just started reading and you couldn't be stopped.

Most importantly, it means that you will always be able to read the Word of God for yourself. In case you ever wonder, the first book of the Bible that you read on your own is First Peter.  As I was working on my Bible study today, I heard your little footsteps coming down the stairs. (I would say quiet footsteps but that would be a lie. There is nothing quiet about me or you. Just ask your dad.) You pulled up a chair and a copy of the ESV and sat down to study for yourself. You looked at me and said "Mom, I think that the Lord is a very important thing to study." How was I going to send you back to your room for quiet time after that comment?

I'm smiling as you have your own stack of index cards and you are copying down the Scripture that you think is important. This is one thing I do that I am thrilled that you want to emulate. (Unlike biting  fingernails, which you seem to have picked up on early in life.) Your first index card says "Peter, an Apostle." You also circled the words "your faith" in the Bible. You said that those words are very important because faith is a very strong thing. And that it is strong because it comes from God when He gives it to you. Where do you come up with these things, little theologian?

Your dad and I are praying that your love of God's Word never dims or fades away. The Word holds more wisdom than we could ever hope to convey to you with our own words. May today be the beginning of a beautiful love of reading the written Truth.

Baby on a Shelf

Oh weekends, how the Comptons love you. Especially when you are (finally) full of sun. There is something so fun about driving the Jeep with the top off and all three kids squeezed in the backseat. 

A big brother played t-ball.

A baby brother wished he could play t-ball too

And he sat on a shelf. Weird, I know.

A little sister passed the t-ball time looking for daisies. Unfortunately for Eliza, I think that she might have inherited my total and complete inability to play team sports. I have really random athletic abilities. I am coordinated. I can run. I did competitive cheerleading in high school (had to slip that in).  But, I have no gifting for team sports - you can still get my family to laugh (hard) at the mere thought of me playing softball. or volleyball. or basketball. Sorry, Eliza. Your deficiency is a genetic trait. At least you have a cute giggle to make up for it. 

We finished the weekend with dinner at the next door neighbor's house. How providential that the family next door has a boy and a girl. Almost exactly the same ages as Marshall and Eliza.  Jameson just tags along. Somehow I think he'll be okay. Even if his parents do set him on the shelf occasionally.  

Grump-ola-ville

Disclaimer: I love my kids, my husband, my job and my home. I'm not trying to complain about my life. I'm just fessing up to the reality that I am a sinner with serious junk going on in my heart on a daily basis. And that I need the Lord to move me to repentance and to cause me to dwell in joy and thankfulness. Because left to my default sinful nature, I would never dwell there!

Have you ever realized that the psalmists often began their psalms (prayers) with a cruddy attitude? But as they prayed, the Lord changed their hearts to joy. My life totally mirrors that today.

I woke up in a funk. I'm not sure there is any other word for my state of being. I don't even know what my problem was. It's even a Wednesday - Lemon Poppyseed Scone at Great Harvest day. (Go get one- they are one of the best foods on earth, just ignore the 700 calorie label m'kay?). But, I was just grumbly.

Like King David when He said "How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever? . . . How long must a I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? (Psalm 13:1-2). I felt the way that Jameson looks in this picture.

I have repented to my children more than once (or twice) this morning for my own behavior. We have sat down together and asked the Holy Spirit to please cause us to be kind and loving to each other. We have talked about the fruit of the Spirit. I am reminding myself that I can praise God that my (and their) grumpiness will help them to see the importance of repentance and forgiveness.

Because they were grouchy too. Compton kids apparently have this strange symptom during allergy season called aggressive grumpiness (yes, of course that is its technical name). It's actually a little bit Incredible Hulk-ish in Marshall. He morphs into a different child and can get seriously red-faced & balled-up fisted angry. And Eliza screams back "You are a meeeeeaaaaan brother!" Thank goodness Gram remembers Eric doing this every Spring when he was little and their pediatrician explaining it to her. Or I would be at a loss for this strange behavior. I keep telling myself it will go away soon. But, in the meantime I have moments where I feel like this, banging my head against a tray.

Funny enough, the little people who momentarily make me crazy are also the little people who the Lord uses to put a smile on my face and bring me crazy-joy.  How do you not find joy when a four-year-old has prepared a tea party for you?  BTW - please notice Eliza's hair. We are masking the mystery missing chunk of hair with a shorter haircut. Thank you to the fabulous Lindsey Ocupe. Still not 100% sure how that chunk was so short, but at least it's not driving me crazy anymore.

I mean, really, how can I be grumpy when Eric gave up his lunch out with MG so that he could come home and help me out, listen to me and just be my best friend for an hour? When I have a husband who knows me so well that he can pinpoint what is wrong with me when I can't do it myself. When I have a husband who is kind enough to point out my worldly thinking. And to point me to Jesus and His Truth.

And as I sit here with the Word open, and start conversing with the Lord during naptime/solitary confinement (oops! I mean, quiet time) the Lord is showing me all of the reasons I have for joy. And He is moving me. Moving me to the end of that same psalm where King David's heart has been changed and he says, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me." (Psalm 13:5-6). Did you notice that there were only two verses between King David's lamenting and his joyful singing? Two. little. verses. God can change our hearts so fast.

Thankful for a God who knows me so well that He can move me. out of my self-centered nature. to repentance. and joy. and contentment.

These last two pictures mean I'm finally as hip as all my friends and have joined the instagram world. You can follow me. My username is joceycompton. Eric was already hip. His username is etcmptn.

get your read on

Hey all!  Today my words are posted over at mom4life.com.  Head on over there and get your read on.
Not only will you love my post (haha) but I think you'll love her blog and website as well. Plus, you cannot help but like Heather and be challenged, touched, encouraged, and simply amazed by God's presence in her family and their story. I'm honored by the opportunity to write for her blog.

i got to have choices

Wow. My kids are funny. Oh so funny. If I do say so myself.

This afternoon was Marshall's first t-ball game. It seems we need a lesson in base-running. He got a hit right away and ran to first base. Then he was at second base. Then he was running for third. Or . . . so we thought. He ran right past third base and straight into the dugout. Huge grin, with dimples showing, all the way. With everyone shouting. And then laughing so hard we cried. It was priceless. Simply priceless.

First season. First game. First at-bat.

New topic. This evening I received this text message from Maggie, who babysat the kids last night. I love when babysitters share stories about our kids. Makes me wish I could be a fly on the wall. Here's the text I got from Mag-Mag (her name around our house). I'm just going to leave it as is. Hopefully you enjoy the description of this conversation as much as we did.

marshall was talking about how he likes kennedy. and because he likes kennedy he is going to have to marry both sydney and kennedy. so i was explaining to him that he could only have one wife and he said "well i am young! i got to have choices" and then eliza chimes in and says "i always thought i was going to marry noah. but now i don't know because i met lane" (and exaggerated the n sound) and then said "i got choices too!" then marshall asked me who my choices were and i said i didnt have any and eliza goes "you should marry an australia man!" and then marshall goes "i have a better idea. marry a spanish man. and next year i will learn how to talk to him!"

Love.Them.

Star Wars School

Sometimes I find an idea on Pinterest that looks amazing. Then I click on it for myself, and . . . not so much. My friend, Dana, is posting about said phenomenon in relation to recipes on her blog. However, the link I'm posting about today is different. It is awesome. And, don't think this is only for homeschool moms. These activities would be wonderful to do at home with your kiddos even if they go to school. Marshall and Eliza thought they were so much fun that they didn't want to stop working on them, even to play outside when the sun finally broke through last week. My kids are calling it Star Wars School. It is two free packets of Star Wars themed pre-school materials. Did you catch that? Free. You can download both packets for free right here. And look how darling this artwork is!

The packets were perfect as-is for pre-school level kiddos. Counting objects, identifying missing letters, identifying words in a story, creating patterns, pages for a "book report." Marshall is currently doing first grade level work, and he still loved this packet. I added some of our Star Wars readers to the mix, had the kids read them aloud, and had them handwrite part of their own book reports to make it more appropriate for their age level. 

A sweet homeschooling mama of four kiddos created this packet, along with several others. Each has a different theme such as astronaut, cowboys, firemen and knights. Her website/blog are full of all kinds of free high-quality printables and resources that she created and is now sharing with other families. I felt like I hit the homeschool jackpot when I came upon her website. 

And, so did my kids. Yes, they are in their pajamas again. Marshall is wearing Christmas pajamas, and Eliza is wearing pajamas that are slightly too small because I hadn't quite finished the laundry yet. And Marshall is using grown-up scissors because his hands have outgrown safety scissors. What? Why is he so big all of a sudden?

I'm planning for next year to use the homeschool planner this mom designed. It is $20.00 but comes as a PDF file that I can print and use every year. More importantly, I can personalize the pages to meet our family's needs and print off as many as I need as things change for us or when I make mistakes (which I inevitably will!). Check it out!!

Easter Weekend, Part 2

At our house, we love Jesus. We love that He is alive today, interceding for believers at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. And, we love celebrating the Resurrection. We are all about the Resurrection. It gives us hope, forgiveness of sin, redemption of our very selves. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilt of breaking all of it. (James 2:10). That describes all five people living in this house. How could we ever stand before a righteous God knowing the reality of our sin? For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. The word of faith we are proclaiming: That is you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved . . . Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:4, 8-10, 13). Could there be a better reason for a weekend of celebration? I don't think so!

Hey!  Where's the candy?

So many attempts at a family picture.

Eric's effort at making Marshall quit pretending to be asleep in every picture.

Me, my sister in law Stephanie, and our friend, Carmel

My really amazing mother-in-law, Robyn

Jameson

My view during the Easter sermon

More family pictures. Oh wow.  Please take note of the way Jameson looks deep in thought.

Love these boys . . . 

... and this girl

Easter Weekend, Part 1

Exhaustion. Content, happy exhaustion. Probably the only way to describe how I feel right now. Wait . .. if I'm going to be honest I'm maybe just a little stressed about the week ahead. I have temporarily misplaced the checkbook, my car is a disaster and I am way behind on laundry. The clothes are piling up, people. And, yes I'm blogging in the midst of it. I want to get these memories recorded. It's important, as I was reminded this week. So, I will be a good steward of my memories and deposit them right here. And, I will pray about what lies ahead this week.

We did have such a fun weekend. I don't think that our family could have squeezed anything else into the past three days. Friday night was our West Valley girls' evening in my kitchen. Saturday morning, we headed up to Portland with our dear friends, the Richters, for a huge Easter party. Saturday afternoon we bought a new (to us) car for Eric. Eric spent Saturday evening back up in Portland with our friend Michael at a Portland Timbers soccer game. Today included church, followed by dinner with family (and, our fave barista/friend from the Bux joined us. such a treat!). And, sugar highs abound!

Here's a glimpse of the weekend. Okay, it's more than a glimpse. I don't want to lose these memories. So, I'm posting half today and half tomorrow.

We'll just go in chronological order, shall we?  Here's Saturday.

Deep in thought, making her first candy selection of the day.

So many fun activities here!

Marshall was in love with this little guy.

Love Eliza in this picture. Definitely wants to pet the puppy. But definitely terrified at the same time.

No, we did not come home with a puppy. A little part of me wishes we had. They are so cute. And, Marshall is so cute with the puppies! But it is only a little part of me. That was a close call though. So easy to get sucked in by those adorable little puppy faces.

Long time buddies, Marshall and Noah. Marshall and Noah look oddly similar, but with totally different coloring. From behind, they have the exact same head. Haha. Marshall, Bethany (Noah's mommy) and I would love it if you could go to college and be roommates with Noah. Eliza says that she is going to marry Noah and be the next Mrs. Richter. Lord, help him.

Eliza and Abraham. How can you not love a little guy whose shirt says "I'm the Bomb"?? We often say that if Eliza and Abraham ended up together they would be a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. All we can say is: watch out world, get out of their way.

Sweet Jameson wasn't really sure what was going on. But he was happy to be along for the ride, as always.

More to come tomorrow . . .