Home Government - What Is It?

an excerpt from Mother, Home and Heaven by Theodore L. Cuyler

It is not to watch children with a suspicious eye, to frown at the merry outbursts of innocent hilarity, to suppress their joyous laughter, and to mould them into melancholy little models of octogenarian gravity. And when they have been in fault, it is not simply to punish them on account of the personal injury that you have chanced to suffer in consequence of their fault, while disobedience, unattended by inconvenience to yourself, passes without rebuke.

via Westminister Family

Purity Ring

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

One of things we had been looking forward to since Cheyenne was little in an effort to guard her heart was presenting her with a purity ring. We have known people through the years who have made this an important event in their families and it has encouraged us to consider the same.

The purpose of presenting the ring is for the young person to be reminded of his/her commitment to flee any situation that might compromise their commitment to abstinence, but it is also a reminder for the parents to encourage the young person, through accountability and prayer, by wearing the ring.

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 

1 Timothy 6:11

Last October, we were finally able to present a ring to our oldest daughter on her fifteenth birthday. It was a ceremony filled with memories, commitment, and prayer. It was one of the most beautiful and meaningful occasions in our family and one we look forward to doing with the rest of our children in the years to come.

In the weeks leading up to Cheyenne's birthday, we began planning. We hunted and purchased this ring. We wanted something pretty and feminine, but also something that wasn't too expensive; in the event it is lost we can easily replace it. We also spent time developing "the ceremony". Greg thought long and hard about how he wanted to present the ring to his daughter. It was well worth the planning......it was so sweet!

On the day of her birthday, we celebrated throughout the day just as we normally would. She opened her gifts that morning, saving the ring for later. After dinner and the cake, it was time!

Greg began the ceremony by sharing stories from Cheyenne's early childhood through the present. She was brought to tears as she listened to her daddy reminisce through the years stories of laughter, growth, and testimonies of God's faithfulness. Greg told of stories that even I had forgotten. It was precious and beautiful!

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12

Once we were all good and teary-eyed, Greg presented the ring. By accepting the ring, she is making a commitment to God, her parents, and to the man God has chosen to be her husband, to remain pure.  Greg then placed the ring on her ring finger and led our family in prayer, which concluded the "ceremony"!

Words cannot describe how precious this day was and how meaningful this was to Cheyenne. Not only did the presentation signify and encompass the beauty of purity, it also showed Cheyenne how much we love her and our level of commitment and protection over her. 

As an additional resource, here is a site I recently came across called Purity Pledge . It's a family business of hand crafted purity rings and lockets.

Thoughts, Observations, and Other Musings

Chloe (3) has this cute little purple, fuzzy purse that she carries around ALL DAY! She loves this purse. This purse was a stocking stuffer for Christmas. It's the ONLY present she still plays with everyday. I bought it at the Dollar Store........

A few months ago, while driving in the car, Seth (6) was telling us about his tooth. He asked me if I rememered when it used to be gray. I said yes! He then said that "God raised it from the dead..........."

All of our kids LOVE yogurt. We used to buy family packs of Yoplait yogurt until we made the switch to all natural yogurt. Well, yesterday I decided to buy Yoplait again because it was on sale AND I had a coupon. When Chloe (3) saw the yogurt in the fridge, she very excitedly said, "Yea, the upside down yogurt!"

Ethan's favorite phrase these days is "naughty boy". Hmmm......do you think he's heard that once or twice in his life? He also favors the word "NO"...............

A couple of weeks ago, Seth (6) and Sophia (5) (partners in crime) were running through the kitchen. We have a NO RUNNING IN THE KITCHEN POLICY here! When I caught them, I rhetorically yelled, "How many times have I told you NOT to run in the kitchen? After a few seconds pause, Seth, with a calculating look on his face answered, "Nine?" The girls and I burst into laughter. So much for that lesson in discipline.........

We're so proud of Cheyenne.........she's been able to come up with a new word for the dictionary! While helping her with implied pronoun references in English, she invented the word "fraidiness" as a substitue for the word "afraid". We're so proud..........

(Disclaimer: She's really a VERY bright young lady.......we claim that she's suffering from cabin fever since we've been sick for so long.......at least we got a good laugh out of it!)

I just called Greg at work a bit ago and woke him up from his nap. Yes, you read me right......a nap.......at work! Oh, the life of a firefighter.............

Celeste (12) makes the BEST pancakes. She infuses the batter with vanilla and a mashed banana. Then she makes a homemade strawberry puree to top the fresh whipped cream! YUM!

The other day we were all enjoying a handful of Cheez-its for our snack. After Seth (6) finished his, he walked back into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, we can't buy Cheez-its anymore!" When I asked him why, he replied, "Because Cheez-its aren't healthy!" Hey, WHO told Seth that Cheez-its aren't healthy.........

Baby Genevieve is almost eight weeks old. Just eight weeks! Both of my older girls are ALREADY ready for us to have another baby!!! And people say we're crazy..........

And, as I'm finishing up this post, Ethan (1) comes downstairs in underwear! Not his diaper, underwear! There they go again.........those little ones are trying to potty train him AGAIN! Sorry, Mommy's not ready yet for that! I'd better go get that diaper back on before he........well, you know where that's going........

Naughty Boy

BUSTED!!!!

Notice the sly little smirk that says, "I know you're gonna spank me for this, but oh well!"

Let me tell you.....this little boy keeps us on our toes! Seth was a BREEZE compared to sweet little Ethan. I spend a good majority of my day keeping him off of chairs, the kitchen table, the computer desk, the windowsill ledge, the piano, and the school table.

Despite the number of "no no's" and spankings he receives in the short span of a day, he just keeps on keepin' on! We're exhausted by him, BUT, we will prevail.....Lord help us!  ;-)