Decided to copy my facebook status archive.

thinks the best thing I could be doing is spending time enjoying my children who are growing fast! Dec. 5,2008

is in Boston, anticipating a snow storm!

9 years of marital bliss! Happy anniversary to us:)

Australia is the most beautiful place I have ever visited! I am loving it here, loving basking in His Glory with these lovely people! Life is beautiful

John is preaching the gospel to 35,000 people in India right now!!!!
Dec. 10, 2009

John is home from India, lots of good stories, lots of fishies in the boat!
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John hooked them up with cowboy boots on their road trip with Dad. How cute!
 

John surprised us and came home a week early! came home and found him hiding with a dozen roses! I am so happy!
October 5, 2010

coming out of our religious closet this year....Going to let the kids trick or treat! I think they will still love and serve Jesus at the end of the night:) Oct. 26,2010

a homeless man sat down with the kids at church last night and taught them how to make paper airplanes and how to weave a basket. He felt so special and needed! The kids loved it. Later that night we saw him sleeping on a table in the back:)
Nov. 29,2010

I like hotdogs. Is that cool with you guys? Just wanted to say something normal because it seems everyone posts ultra-spiritual statuses. Feels like I am in the Hallmark section of status updates:). Naturally super-natural guy's! Feb.10,2011

Nova's chalk art and her way of telling me that she wants a bird! Feb.12, 2011


Sent my girl to high-school today. I have home schooled her since she was 5 so it was a big deal for me. August 16,2011

My six year old makes me breakfast in bed for Mothers Day: a rice cake with chopped up banana....and blue marker stains from his dirty fingers. It's the thought that counts:)


Our Nova turns 9 tomorrow! We have a little baby bunny hiding in our bathroom for her. I cannot wait to see her face tomorrow! July 9, 2012

My beautiful Maile is 15 today! Her life continues to evoke such love and joy in our lives. I love you and I am so proud of you. — with Maile Crowder.
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John and I came home from a date night last night to this scenario: Dirty dishes on the living room floor, Twister game set up in the kitchen and my youngest woke up this morning with his chest decorated in sharpie mustaches, eyeballs around his nipples and the words"I AM HOT" written in red across his chest! Aug. 21, 2012

My wonderful husband takes my three youngest with him for four whole days!  With all this free time I made all these ambitious, productive plans....Finish my book, clean, organize, work out, finish new paintings....What have I done you ask???....Sleep, watch Parenthood, and scan Pinterest! Nov. 17,2012

Ezekiel brought this video up to me at the library. He said it would really help me out. You think I should check it out?


Watching my kids learn to ski — at Sitzmark.

It has come to this....I am now posting photos of baby animals!


Motherhood is awesome! I will be forever relentless in this claim. March 6, 2013

My son just paid me back for an iTunes purchase....he brought me a crumpled up five dollar bill and a TOOTH he just lost, said that should cover it! March 29, 2013

My Dad had a heart attack this morning. Please keep him in your prayers April 21, 2013

My children getting bigger! And more wonderful! Oh I love them!


Older and hopefully wiser:) good time with my John.


Nova in her first real- grown- up art class! She is totally in her element.


Going to the swimming hole on this 87 degree Mother's Day #Gardenofeden @Garden of Eden


My 8 year old son's Mother's Day card to me said: "Mom, I will never let you go cause you're my lady"- I found out he wrote me the lyrics to a song.
 May 13, 2013

Lovely walk on Pleasure Point tonight.


It is official! Been talking about it for a couple years now. The Crowders are moving to Portland Oregon! One more month in the Cali sunshine....Oh I will miss the sun and surf.....But a new and exciting chapter awaits us. May 16, 2013

Maile. Prom. They are friends:)

May 2013

A noisy home is a happy home.

"How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance."

Psalm 89:15 

A friend of mine came to stay with our family recently.  She does not have any children, so the shock and intensity of staying in a rather small home with four children set in. Can anyone say: "OVER-STIMULATION." I would find her outside on the deck regularly, catching some fresh air and a moment of silence. We are a loud family to say the least:)

On the evening before my friend was about to fly home, I joined her for a quiet moment on our deck. I made a quick comment about how, "I bet she would be happy to be back home in her quiet home!" My friend did not respond with an enthusiastic yes, in fact she began to cry. She said, "Lily, I am going to miss the beautiful noises of a full home. There is nothing more happy than the noise of your children!"

I realized how much I take all that chaos for granted.  There will be a time where John and I will miss all the noise. For now, my friends words remind me to love my children and there exuberant cries, giggles and play- Their voices are music to my ears, a joyful sound!

For those of us that have read every parenting book out there. Just. Trust. Your. Instinct.

Ideals. And finding your "groove" over the Holidays.

 Just a reminder to not get overwhelmed with to many things over the Holidays. Love you all!

Ideals.

I am sitting at a Birthday party for one of my children’s friends, just listening to the moms talk. One mom is going back and forth from Italian to English as she converses with her five year old, she is Chinese; so in all her children probably speak three languages. Another mom is telling the story of how she made the gluten free, no refined sugar cupcakes for the party; “I had to be very patient while making these cupcakes! I accidently broke my last two eggs so I had to sit and wait for my chickens to lay more eggs! The frosting has no food coloring in it as well, I used the juice from a beet in my garden to give it that red color.” I am speechless. I love healthy eating but that takes baking to a whole different level for me. I am even a little envious at the care this mom took to be all healthy and natural for the Birthday party. “Maybe I should get chickens and use beet juice to dye my treats from now on,” I think. Then I look over at the cupcakes, all sad looking- dense and not so much red, but a brownish burgundy color, and then I think, “Nah!”

We can busy ourselves with so much unimportant stuff. You moms probably know what I mean. You read the latest Martha Stewart magazine and feel the need to reorganize every shelf in your house with alphabetical labels, or hand sew special pillowcases with intricate embroidered initials for each of your children. You hear the other mothers talking about soccer practice, lacrosse team and basket weaving classes, calligraphy lessons followed up by Mandarin language lessons. You make sure every bite of food your family takes is certified organic, dye free, GMO free, cage free and packaged in all recycled containers. Parenting ideals have become so ridiculously extreme. There are so many blogs, pins, shows, and magazines with more great ideas than we know what to do with. Just when I have found the perfect candy to cook for Christmas a better recipe will be up on the internet faster than I can say, “Pinterest!”

There are a lot of other really good ways to serve for Christ too. We can volunteer in the nursery and soup kitchens. Put together care kits for the homeless. Make another meal for the mom that just had her fifth baby. I would love to open my home to foster children some day. John and I already have a children’s home in India and I feel guilty for not visiting the children there more often! The fact is there’s so many ‘good’ things we could be doing for others but we have to pause and ask God what to focus on for now. We can’t do it all, especially all at once. “One thing at a time mom’s, one thing at a time.”

Ask God to show you what is yours and what is just a good idea. He knows your heart and your good intentions. I am full of good intentions, but I also get burned out because I max myself out on to many commitments. My new best friend lately has been a two-letter word, “No!”

Not all of those ideals are wrapped in wisdom; some are distractions and dangling carrots interjected by other sources rather than the Holy Spirit. If you are feeling like your home isn’t matching the picture in your head, then ask the Holy Spirit to highlight what is the important stuff and what is just the “fluff” an unnecessary fillers in your day.  He wants you to find that zone and rhythm for your family. Sometimes our main obstacle in building our homes is in our minds. In the unrealistic goals and expectations that we have set for our family and ourselves.  

If you don't get Christmas cards out until Easter, It's ok! If all you are able to do this month is laundry and crock-pot meals for your family- Great! You are doing great mom's! hang in there. if I could Pin a picture of you sitting down in your bathrobe doing nothing, I would-cause that is a great idea!

"Sparing the rod".....Is not always spoiling the child.

 

This weeks home schooling was exceptionally challenging. Keeping the kids on track and focused, especially made me a bit crazy! My seven year old can have what one would call,“selective hearing.” The kind where I have to ask him to do the same thing over, and over, and over and there is no response till you mention something he is interested in like, “candy!” Game-boy!” “Park!”  I can be the same way sometimes, totally zoned out till someone mentions, “Chocolate!” “Massage!”

Well, after a lot of asking, eventually mom gets a bit frazzled and Dad chimes in. “You need to listen and obey your mom or you are going to loose weekend privileges!”

Now, if you know our family, you know about our “weekend privileges.” Weekend privileges is when the Crowder family lets loose! We keep a pretty solid rule that during the school week (Monday thru Friday) we don’t watch movies, play video games or eat sugar. But when Friday evening rolls around, and if all the chores are done, then you are free to “binge!” Our home quickly transforms into a movie watching, video game playing and sugar consuming Festivus! The kids cherish this part of the week like nothing else. In fact, there was a time when my younger children would count time by when the weekend last was and, how many more days till the weekend. When I asked my youngest son what his favorite holiday was, he quickly replied, “the weekend!” It is pretty simple, come Friday night we party hard!

So after my son didn’t obey me for the umpteenth time his weekend, privileges were revoked. In fact, there was so much repetitive ignoring of thy mother that the weekend privileges were taken away without the option of earning them back! That is a big blow for a young Crowder. A BIG BLOW!

When Friday rolled around and the youngest Crowder was excluded from the computer, from his iPod and from candy, he felt it pretty hard. Deeply felt was the consequence of those actions, he was so sad.

As we saw our son, sitting alone reading during the weekend, I thought, “HA! He will never ignore me again!” But I also felt so sad that he was without his favorite activities on such a favorite day of the week. John was firm in his consequence, but also sad at watching our young party animal of a son reading on the couch whilst his siblings watched a movie in the other room.

John took him aside and said, “son, I bet you wish you had been obedient don’t you?” “Yes.” “You know you made these bad choices to not listen to your mom and that is why you have lost your weekend privileges, right?” “Yes.”

Just when I was so pleased with how firm and consistent we had been in our parenting John did something unexpected!

“Son, even though you don’t deserve it, and you can’t earn it back, I am going to give you your weekend privileges back anyway!”

What about “Spare the rod, spoil the child?” I thought.

What about sticking to your guns. Teaching him a lesson?

Then it dawned on me while I observed the whole transaction of forgiveness and the celebration of regaining a lost party privilege. That is what the Lord does with us all the time. He gives us our weekend privileges back every time! Even though we may have a short-lived punishment or consequence, we are always reconciled through His Grace. I sat there, wondering if my son would ever learn to listen and obey after that, or take us seriously, but I knew he was bewildered and overjoyed at his Dad’s mercy, and that was a greater lesson than sticking to the punishment would have ever been. At least this one time for this little boy.

John began to ask a very thankful little boy, “do you think you will want to ignore and disobey your mom anymore?”

 “No, because you have been so nice to me Dad!”

While it is good to stick with a punishment most of the time, and not threaten a consequence that you cannot keep, I love to show mercy to my children when I can.

“So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!” ~Romans 6:1-7 Message.

We should want to walk in obedience and integrity because His Grace abounds, because of His kindness and love He has shown us. That is where our relationship with our father should be. That is where we thrive in our hearts, when we are compelled and empowered by His Goodness.

While I will still have to deal out punishment to my children for disobedience (the Bible being pretty clear about that) I really want my children to be compelled to live Godly lives and respect and honor others because they are aware of the Mercy God has shown us on a daily basis.

Punishment is good, and necessary, but Mercy is always better.

run- away-train schedule. Finding a good family pace.

My thoughts on scheduling: On one hand I want those free days to be more numerous than not so we can be creative and explore with all the time in the world and no place to be. On the other hand, It is absolutely necessary to schedule events and lessons into our lives to develop skills and character. Music has to be practiced daily, team practice has to have a schedule. Dad has his work schedule. You have to eventually get everyone to the dentist. There is always something on that calendar. But lately I find I am a slave to our family schedule, always in a hurry to be on time to the next thing. It can feel frantic and the quality of our activities seem to dissipate. Sometimes I fantasize about moving to some rural area of the country to farm and live off the land with my family. But even Hezekiah has to get up at 4 AM to milk the cows.

I am learning to be sensitive to what is important for us as a family lately, trying focus on one thing at a time and not let my mental checklist get the best of me or take me away from the moment. It is good to have some days where you don't have to be anywhere! Take at least one or two of these days a week to let your lives unfold naturally as a family. Those are my favorite days.

Figure what works for your family, don't feel pressured to keep up with all the other families. It seems like now a days kids have to be professional soccer players just to join a local league! There is so much competition and pressure, it is insane! What happened to good ol" fashioned play?

I have found with kids, less can be more. Days focused on quality rather than quantity are really the best and most fulfilling.

I am learning to not feel pressured to have my kids in a million activities. picking one sport and one elective per season seems a good pace for now. I am making sure I have those "open schedule days" at least a couple times a week.



Blog article I found from http://steermerightscc.com:

I’ve been rethinking schedules. I’m getting really tired of them, actually. However, to be balanced I admit that they can be very helpful. I’ve lived it: My homeschool has sometimes hummed along the tracks of a well-planned schedule like the German Regional Express, allowing us to explore the hidden “villages” of science and literature, take field trips, eat a healthful diet, and even clean the house.

A well-planned schedule can take a homeschool through pleasant scenary at a peaceful pace.

On the other hand, a schedule can be a tyrant. All it takes is the desire to help our children reach their potential, with a little self-doubt and guilt thrown in. I’ve lived that, too.

Too busy!

Our culture promotes time management and good organization like a saving religion. The highest virtues, it seems, are over-activity and achievement. Both demand a rigid schedule. In addition, we homeschoolers often hear about the dazzling accomplishments of other homeschooled children. These stories are intended to encourage and inspire, and they certainly can; but taken as a standard, they can sow stress. They have at times compelled me to build ambitious schedules that drained the creativity from our homeschool.
A schedule is supposed to serve the family, not the reverse. When it blinds us to the creativity and freedom of real life, it has become a runaway train, endangering our relationships. We feel its relentless condemnation when we can’t keep up; or, if we do miraculously stay on track, we become smug and difficult to live with. We awake seeing only the schedule, not the day before us with all its opportunities and creative twists and turns.

Let the day unfold as it will. They’re only young once!

If your schedule is creating stress, I suggest hopping off the train for a while. Walk some interesting trails through the landscape of your children’s interests. Allow the days to unfold as they will. The results may be richer than anything you’ll reap from a demanding schedule.

Off the beaten trail – and the schedule!

Photo Journaling a whole year! Fall 2011-Fall 2012

Finding words to describe how thankful I am, when I look back at a whole year, is impossible. I am always amazed at where my life has lead. Just seven years ago, we were living in Alaska in a single-wide trailer, I had just given birth to our fourth baby and if you told me I would soon be traveling around the world and living this kind of life, I would have called you crazy! Every year since then, in the middle of homeschooling and trying to maintain a "normal" routine, we have been proper globe-trotters. It is wild, it is challenging and it is really fun! Each year, as I forage our photos on the computer, I am amazed at how much we have done as a family. Sometimes it seems like I have lived multiple lives in multiple places. I am really, really thankful! Traveling and meeting people all around the world through our ministry has been so enriching and educational, I would not change the perspective I have gained from a life on the road and in the air for anything. Although, my most cherished moments are those found in every day life, when I am rested and fully connected to random moments with my family, those stick out in my memory with more substance sometimes more than my trips to Europe. Life is the most meaningful when it is connected to the people you love the most.

Family photo shoot 9-1-12

Ezekiel (age7) Nova (age9)

Nova, age 9

Ezekiel age 7

Maile, age 15

Jonas, age 11

One year ago September, 2011, Ezekiel age 6

Nova, age 8. Strawberry picking out in Davenport off Hwy 1

Pumpkin patch in Davenport. 10/11

Brother love...This is shortly after they rode this wagon down a huge hill and ended with a HUGE crash.

Halloween 2011. Ezekiel as Black Bart

Nova as a woodland elf.

Halloween line up, 2011. John as King Kong, Ezekiel as Black Bart, Nova as the woodland elf, Maile and Clarissa as pumpkin elves and Jonas as a creepy alien.

Fall walk in the redwoods.

India trip. November 2011.

John with his buddy, Rauel. John has been visiting little Rauel at our children's home in Mumbai for four years now. They love each other! All the kids at the home call John, "John Uncle".

Me and beautiful Pinky. She is 13. I was able to go to the slums with Pinky and see where she once lived. She came from a broken home and spent her days digging in the trash. She is now getting an education and full of so much hope and Joy. I miss her!

Some of the sweet boys.

John and I visit Amsterdam and a country town in Holland.

This is how I wish I got my kids around. I spend so many hours in the car, taxing kids around. Wish I was getting some exercize!

Maile in her 8th Nutcracker, performing the wind up ballerina doll

Christmas morning 2011. Nova and her Ukelele.

Christmas 2011

The day after Christmas. Ezekiel breaks his foot in four places riding in his new go-cart! Poor dude!

After Ezekiel gets his cast on, the first request was to go to Trader Joes so he could ride in the electric shopping cart.

Jonas and I enjoying a school day at our favorite coffee shop, the Verve.

Amazing solo walk on the beach in Pleasure Point

Jonas wins two first place awards in a  Jiujitsu tournament.

Alaska cousins visit.

Maile auditioning for Ballet companies.

Family road trip to Sedona Arizona. I love the desert!

Dune buggy adventure!

John surprised us with a hot air balloon ride.

Maile and her dance photo shoot with Helen.

Jonas takes 1st at the American cup jiu jitsu tournament in San Jose.

Nova and Zooks at there school play "Winnie the Pooh".

Enjoying the sweet community of ladies here in Santa Cruz at a baby shower for Janae Roberts.

I got to travel with John to Switzerland for a school he taught in Burne. Switzerland is by far, one of my most favorite places!

John's book translated into German.

Jonas performing the Beatles song "Blackbird" at our church gathering. He was totally in his element!

Biking became one of our families favorite activities. It is so fun to have all the kids big enough for "big" adventures.

Tide pooling

Backpacking in Yosemite in June 2012 with Maile and a group of girlfriends. Best trip ever. Here Maile and I are at the top of Yosemite falls. Last time I went backpacking up Yosemite fall was when I was 6 months pregnant with Maile :)

Maile and Kristen at our campsite on top of North Dome after our second night sleeping in bivy sacks. I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life!

The girls, decending our 3,000ft climb and 20 mile loop! Amazing trip, however, my knees have never been the same.

John's best friend and his family visit us in Santa Cruz before moving to Ethiopia. We plan to visit them there!

Nova tattooing Dad

Ezekiel's 7th Birthday at Highlands park and swimming hole.

Nova totally dressed herself AND painted her own face for Forth of July.

My Dad turned 70 this year and bought himself a Harley!

Here is Ezekiel sporting his new shoes, red Ferrari Pumas. I bought him these after he returned from a "mens only" backpacking trip up feather falls with John and Jonas. While hiking back from there very wild over-night backpack trip, he fell in the river and lost one of his sneakers, having to hike back wet and shoeless on one foot. So, to make a long story short, we hooked him up with the most awesome pair of shoes of his life. He shows them to everyone and is so proud of them!

We surprised Nova with  a baby Mini Holland Lop for her 9th Birthday. She had no idea and was literally in tears of joy when John came out with her new pet hidden in his bathrobe pocket. Amazing moment in parenting for sure. She named her Aurora and she is quite possibly the best pet ever in the history of the Crowder Family.

Nova and her dear friends got to have a fancy dinner at Shadow Brook Restaurant.

John took Maile to Russia on a missions trip. He also surprised her with tickets to the Russian Ballet. Amazing experience for Maile as she turns 15.

Maile on her 15th Birthday.

Maile and her body guards.

My characters, being characters. @China Cove Beach in Point Lobos.

Big Sur

Ezekiel and Nova at Capitola Jr. Guards Summer 2012

Nova and her beloved pets, Francesca the bird and Aurora the bunny. If Nova could, she would have 10 more creatures to nurture.

Jonas turns 11.

Last summer days, going to the swimming hole.

Nova's art.

John and I in Cologne Germany. @The Cologne Cathedral.

Driving the autobahn!!!!!!

John took me to Munich for Oktoberfest for our 12th Anniversary. So much fun!

Enjoying the California coast.