When you are a Shepherd

I have always loved, "the Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want."  The image of a shepherd, compassionately tending to his flock.  The knowledge that my Shepherd tends to my every need- that He provides.  Though the King Shepherd is God, the Bible shows that the job of a shepherd can even be done by a boy.  Big jobs can be entrusted to young people.  Praise the Lord that He did not hinder a young shepherd boy.

It is a big name to wear.  It is a job that as Christians, we are all called to do at some point in our walk- to shepherd.

Six years.  It has been six years since my baby #3 was born.  My Shep.  I pray he sees the significance of his name.  Ironically, of my four kids, he most struggles with want--- as does his mother.  Son, it is a daily battle for those of with a more, more, more attitude. 

My human boy and my doggie boy. :)

Shepherd, you are silly and full of happiness.  As with any high, there is also a low.  You are easily broken with your feelings being crushed.  I pray that as you get older, your feelings will still hurt but instead of self focusing heart break, it will be others focused.  You are growing up in a world that is so full of need- not just physical or emotional- but spiritual... our world needs Jesus.  I pray that you will stand up, stand firm.  Live like Jesus, the Shepherd.


You are loud.  Your voice carries far and wide.  We constantly say, "Shepherd, not so loud."  "Shepherd, shhh."  "Shepherd, I am right beside you, take it down an octave." Find the person who needs a voice and be that voice.  Find a cause that needs a voice and be that voice.  Stand firm on Him and live loud faith.

You love your brothers and have such a special relationship with each of them.  Hunter is where you go when you need help.  Ashton is your best friend and worst enemy.  Bennett adores you, his "Wepwerd" and you play so well with him.  The bond between you boys is so fun to watch.


Carowinds brother picture.

Thinking of Shepherd stories from this past year and I can easily sum Shepherd up in one day.  September 28.  I had this saved in drafts and never posted...
1- Shepherd is very artsy unlike his brothers.  He loves to paint, color, build, etc.  He was coloring on the dining room table- the WHITE dining room table (yes, I have 4 boys and a white dining room table) with a permanent marker.  He pulls his paper up and, you guessed it, the marker bled through.  I, thinking quickly, grab some fingernail polish remover and pour it on the white table (let me add one more adjective to that description.... the white PAINTED table).  I notice it turns my table which apparently was more of an off white to a true bright white.  I quickly grab a paper towel to get the remover off and as you might guess, rubbed the paint right off the table.

Table woes.

Thankfully, my Lowes paint man saved me and introduced me to furniture paint.  I sanded the table down and just repainted another lovely shade of white.
2- 20 minutes after this debaucle.  Shepherd is standing behind Bennett at the computer and is being silly and steps on the base of my curtain and yanks it, screws and all to the floor.  It has since been pulled out twice since then and is no longer hanging up.


Soccer practice wearing Ashton's Bama shirt

3- 40 minutes after that.... we have mashed potatoes for dinner.  I look over and Shepherd has a huge mound of mashed potatoes on his spoon which he proceeds to lick, lower it for Moses to take a HUGE lick, and then raise the spoon and finishes it himself.
And guys, this is typical Shepherd day in and day out.  A free spirit who is accident proned, doesn't think about the effect to his cause, but who is funny as all get out.

Joy-filled

Shepherd, I love you so much.  You are my kindred spirit.  You have the absolute silliest voice, "Hello, my name is Sunshine." (inside joke.)  Continue to be you!

Singing Happy Birthday. 

Blowing oiut his lego Batman cake.  ***Notice the table is good as new.  The bad spot is the area right around Shep's hand.

Happy Birthday Poppatarda!  I love you so very much.  Here are a bunch of rapid fire kisses!
Mom

  

All picture taking ends with silliness.

So, books...

Books
  First, be warned that I enjoy dystopian, fantasy type books.  I try to read a little bit of everything but find that I normally fly through that genre.  I have tried to pull some of favorites from the past 8 months or so.  I also tried to include a little bit of everything.  Yes, I read a lot.
   A couple of these books were recommended by a friend, a couple I had seen on online booklists, while 4 or 5 of them I happened upon (my favorite way to find a good book.)

1- Throne of Glass Series (4 books)
     I just stumbled upon this series when I had nothing else to read. It is about a female assassin in a world of magic.  It is fantasy, so if you struggle with believability (is that a word?) then this may not be the book for you.  But, if you have imagination and can get lost in magic world, it is a good read.  I haven't read the last book of the series but have it on hold from the library and am anxious to get my hands on it.

2- What Alice Forgot-
   Alice wakes up without any  memory of the last 10 years of her life.  This book takes a look at how life can harden and change us.  A bunch of little choices can change your life.

3- Big Little Lies-
   same author as What Alice Forgot.  This book spiderwebs between 3 characters and weaves quite a story that is neatly tied up by the end.

4- I am Pilgrim-
   Loved this.  It was long but really good.  A CIA agent tracks down a terrorist that almost destroys the world as we know it.  Complex but not hard to follow.

5- The Selection Series- (3 book series)
   A dystopian series that I stumbled across.  As many fantasy/ dystopian books, the target audience is much younger than me. haha, hey, I like Percy Jackson, Hunger Games.  I really think it would be fun to compare and contrast the story of Esther to The Selection.  The book is about a prince who has to pick his wife from a group of girls that come to live in the palace. 

6- We Were Liars. 
   Don't want to give too much away on this one.  But, the ending left me shocked. 

7- The Fifth Wave (series)- 
   Cant wait to see the movie.  Basically, this book is about 5 catastrophes that are sent to wipe out the human race.  It is along the same line as Hunger Games and Divergent. 

8- The Rosie Project-
   A funny little book about a man with undiagnosed autism who is searching for a wife.  Laughed out loud many times.

9- The Maze Runner series
   Again, right there with Hunger Games and Divergent.  Easy, fast read.  Like most books, it is much better than the movie.  You also need to read the whole series to fully appreciate it. 

10- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime-
   A quirky book, this time about a boy with autism.  He is on the quest to solve the murder of his neighbor's dog.  It is strangely funny and in depth.

11- The Boys in the Boat- 
   Started reading this one but didn't finish before my kindle copy returned.... currently on hold to get a hard copy of it. But, I cant wait to finish it.  I am not normally a reader of non fiction, ironically, true stuff just doesn't interest me.  haha.  But this book is great- maybe because the content interests me or maybe it is just a really good read.  Anyway, it is about the 1936 America crew team that won the Olympics.

12-  Unwrapping the Greatest Gifts
    ***Obviously this was not read in the past 8 months.
     I mentioned this book here last year.  This book is a family Advent to celebrate Christmas.  It is amazing!  The author, Ann VosKamp, also has the book The Greatest Gift which is the adult study.  It is also amazing.  But, if you can only get one of them.  Get the kid one.  It is short and sweet but in depth with thought provoking questions that will only get deeper as your kids age.  It will definitely be an annual study with my kids as we celebrate our King.


Here is what is currently on my hold list or want to read list...
1- Queen of Shadows (as mentioned above.  This is the last book in the Throne of Glass series)
2- Pretty Girls
3- Seraphina and the Black Cloak
4- Son of Neptune (Hunter and I are reading this series together, Heros of Olympus)
5- The Inspired Room - crafty book about decorating on a budget and using our space to serve (at least that is what I think it is about)
6- Simply Tuesday - this is the book that my old Bible Study group just started and I just ordered.  Though I live too far away to attend the Bible study, I always read along with them.  I have also read, "A Million Little Ways", also by this author.  It was good so I have high hopes for this one as well.

Let me know if you have read anything really good... or just plain good recently.  Happy Reading!

Least Favorite Holiday.... Check

I am not going to go into my loathing of Halloween.

Yes, I caved again this year on a last minute plea from the boys that was perfectly timed with a last minute invitation to group trick or treat with some friends.

So, Saturday morning and scraped around and found 4 things for the boys to be.  I have to admit, if I always did it this way... just wait to the last minute and not spend a dime... I could learn to tolerate Halloween.

Anyway, here are the boys before trick or treating.

Not too bad for a last minute throw together.

The Flash - costume courtesy of Uncle Nolan for Shep's Christmas present last year.

Monkey- he wouldnt keep the hood on so it was basically a rain jacket.

Pirate costume- we have gotten our consignment money's worth out of this costume.  Ashton pulled this look off perfectly with his missing front tooth.

Ref- If this shirt looks familiar, it is because I wore it two Halloween's ago for this pic.... obviously, I decided to not take it back.  ;)

Our Trick or Treating crew (minus Batman who is pictured below)

We ran into one of Shep's best friends from preschool last year who happens to be in his class this year.

The kids had a blast and I endured.  Chad bailed on us and went to watch the Clemson game with some of his buddies.  GO TIGERS!!!