When Your Own Expectations of Parenting are Too High

As sat in my kitchen, painstakingly assembling 24 "gumball machine" Valentines for Mattis' class, I began to wonder...

"I wonder if he'll appreciate all this time and energy I am putting into his class Valentines."

I could have easily just gone to the grocery store, and bought some cute Superhero Valentines for him to pass out to his class. You know, the ones that come in packs of 24 where you have to tear along the perforated edges to separate each card. But no, he asked if I could find him "gumball Valentines". If you haven't been in the "Valentines Day" aisle at your local grocery store, there is no such thing as "gumball Valentines". I had to scour the Internet, and finally found some Pinterest-worthy Valentines for Mattis to pass out to his classmates. Little did I know that these little suckers were the IKEA furniture of Valentines. It took me over an hour to assemble 24 Valentines.

I know they look pretty simple, but I assure you, THEY. WERE. NOT. I carefully counted out 10 gumballs a piece into the little clear plastic cellophane bags...then had to twist the open end to stick into a tiny hole at the bottom of the "gumball machine"...tape the part of the bag that was poking through the back down to the back of the Valentine so that it wouldn't slip out...and then taped down the top of the bag with a cute little heart sticker to give the Valentine the illusion of a gumball machine with actual gumballs inside of it. 

I kept thinking to myself, "I hope that one day, when Mattis is Dr. Romer or General Romer (or whatever his little heart desires to be) that he will tell someone the story about that one time his mom spent HOURS making gumball Valentines for his class."

Truth is, who knows if he'll even remember.

But as a mom, I struggle constantly with trying to make every. single. little. detail. of my children's lives special. My husband constantly rolls his eyes at me and my craziness when it comes to the things I "celebrate" for my kids. (I married a superstar though, and he always goes along with it)

"What?? It's President's Day?!? let's break out the red, white, and blue streamers, and have George Washington shaped pancakes!!!" (Just kidding. I have never celebrated President's day with my kids, nor have I made GW shaped pancakes.). But I do make each and every "major" holiday a big fiesta in our home to the point where I stress out sometimes. 

I just want my kids to have memorable childhoods. One of my biggest fears is that my children will grow older and say things like, "so and so's parents did this for them." Or even worse..."my childhood was just ok...nothing memorable." I would be devastated if my kids ever thought that!

I had a wonderful childhood. My parents worked. A LOT. But when they did take time off from work, we went on extravagant vacations. My passport was pretty full by the time I was 18. My dad took us on road trips all over the United States. We even took a random road trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas once...just because. So random. But we went. I think about those memories often.

Because both of my parents worked, they also missed out on things. My mom was never a "room mom", and she never volunteered at my school. As a little kid, I remember being jealous of the kids whose parents helped out in the classroom all the time. So because of this memory, I literally tire myself out trying to volunteer as much as possible at both my childrens' schools while simultaneously

trying to run a household...oftentimes alone because my husband is a Marine. I have a hard time saying "no" when my kid's teachers ask for my help. I literally will reconfigure my entire schedule and my life to be at their school. It sucks.

This is why I am the way I am. As a Christian woman, I know that my parenting should be solely focused on Him. Leading my children to Him. Teaching my children about HIS never ending and unconditional love. 

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, but the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." -Titus 3:4-5

I'm human though, and I find myself trying to selfishly please myself by trying to throw myself into every aspect of my children's lives hoping that one day, they'll think I was worthy enough to be their mom. When in reality, I should be spending more energy showing my children of how worthy they are because of God. 

Parenting is tough. It's so cliché, but it's the truth. Everyone wouldn't be saying it, if it weren't. We as parents all have a fear of failing our children and/or raising children that don't meet our own expectations. 

I constantly have to stop and tell myself, "am I doing this to my kids so they meet MY expectations? Does this glorify God?"

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and Mattis has 24 adorable "gumball Valentines" just like he requested. He is so excited to pass them out. Who knows...maybe one day at the office, he'll tell a coworker about "that one time" when his mom assembled the coolest Valentines for him. Most likely not. But I'm ok with that. As much as I complained to myself as I put those gumball machines together, seeing the joy on his face when he came home and saw them laying on the counter made my heart burst....

So I'll keep being over the top and ridiculous with the things I do for my kids (while silently complaining at times), because the joy I see on their faces in that moment is what I live for. I'll just have to be ok with the fact that they won't remember every single little thing I did for them when they are older. And I pray every single night after I've put them to bed...that I was a "good enough" example to them of what it truly means to be a Christ follower. 

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day tomorrow, friends!

Church Shopping

One of the many struggles that we face as a family when we move is finding a home church. You can actually read about our struggles of finding a home church when we were stationed in New England here. If you are a believer, then you understand the importance of finding a place of worship that you can call "home". For me personally, I need a place to go to every week where my soul can be fed and nurtured. I want my kid's faith to grow, and I want them to enjoy going to church every week.

I grew up hating to go to church. When I was old enough to stay home by myself, I faked being sick more times than I remember so that I wouldn't have to go. Looking back, I realize I hated going, because the church my family attended did not fulfill my spiritual needs. It was a Korean Presbyterian church. My parents are Korean immigrants, so it was the right fit for them. They were among other Korean speaking believers. But as a first generation American born child, going to "Sunday school" every week with the extremely small group of youth who were also first generation Americans just wasn't right for me. I wanted to go to the "normal" English speaking churches that all my friends from school attended. I wanted to attend youth group with my friends from school. I oftentimes felt left out because our church simply did not have the programs that the bigger American churches offered. I have used my past experience as a learning tool as a mom. When we look for a home church, one of the first things I want to know about is the children's ministry. I grill my kids about their experience in kids church. I don't want them growing up hating church because Nick and I choose a church that only we like.

I have put off trying out a new church since moving here with the excuse that "we are still settling in".  When it reality, I am just anxious about being the "new guy" at a new church. I finally told myself yesterday that I had beaten a dead horse with that excuse, and committed to testing out our first church here in Yuma. I found a southern baptist church on Google that was only 5 minutes away from our house. Their facebook page and their website looked promising. From their website, it looked like a contemporary church with a great children's ministry.

Our family got up this morning bright and early, and got ready for church. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Nick didn't hesitate to say, "I don't think you're gonna like it here." I don't know why he got that vibe, but I tried to stay positive and told everyone that we were just gonna try it out. As soon as we walked in, I realized that 90% of the congregation were senior citizens. I felt like I was walking into my grandparent's church. Then we were informed that there was no Sunday school for our kids. They do Sunday school an entire hour earlier than the regular service, so my kids were going to have to sit through an adult service with me. I told my kids before walking in that we were just trying this church out, and that if we didn't like it, we'd try another church next Sunday. My sweet, sweet son blurted out to the door greeter (a sweet old granny), "My mom said we are just trying this church out, and that if we don't like it, we would go to another church next Sunday." (Insert nervous chuckle from me and a face palm). Anyway, our family took seats in the back of the church, and after sitting there awkwardly for 5 minutes, we just walked out. Actually, Nick had taken Mattis outside to look at a water fountain they had, and Dannika and I basically ran out. I tried not to make eye contact with anyone, and literally rushed out so fast. It was extremely uncomfortable and extremely awkward. I am praying no one recognizes me at the grocery store from that church and silently judges me.

So church #1 was a big fail. I'm sure it is a lovely little church, but I am a strong believer that we need to do fellowship with at least a few people in the same stage of life as us. The people at that church were about 3 to 4 decades ahead of our family. My sister found a few churches for us via Google search, and we have a little list of potential maybes for next Sunday. Please pray for our family as we continue to find a church that we can call home!

Follow me in Instagram @semperag_blog !

Year 3 of Carolina Creek Christian Camp!

We dropped off our sweet Dannika Jane at Carolina Creek Christian Camp Sunday afternoon! She is a veteran camper there of 3 years (as of this year)! The first time she went was 2 years ago! This is something she looks forward to every summer, and we are grateful for the experiences that she gets to have there.

Carolina Creek is a faith based camp in Huntsville, TX (just over an hour away from where we live). The camp was originally started to serve the inner city population of Houston. According to their website, "in 2002...Houston was one of the most underserved metropolitan areas in the United States for Christian camping." Because of this, 20% of all campers must come from urban and inner city communities through their scholarship program.

To me, summer camps have always been sort of a "pretentious" thing that only the "rich kids" got to go to every summer. They are not cheap by any means, and even after paying for the fees, the cost of buying the "stuff" they need throughout the week can add up quickly.  I love that Carolina Creek gives children who would otherwise not be able to afford camp an opportunity to attend. It is so important to me that my children grow up amongst and immersed with children from all backgrounds. My hope is that they grow up with an expansive worldview outside of our comfortable middle class life.

Dannika is at the age where she is beginning to notice "social classes" within her circles. She knows which kids have parents that make a lot more money than we do, and she knows which kids are struggling to buy lunch at school. We have had really great and in depth conversations about what "privilege" means. Everything from her privilege being from a family with two parents, a middle class family, owning our own home, being able to afford to go to camp every summer, the clothes she wears...even her "white privilege". Basically it came down to..."Hey kid, your dad is a Marine. It's a very honorable job that requires you to sacrifice too. He will always be able to provide for you, and will give you a life better than his. But, we'll never be rich." And she is ok with that.

This is why we love to send her to Carolina Creek every summer. She's not there with a group of campers who are all from middle to high class families (like you would find at most overnight summer camps). She is there with kids from all backgrounds and walks of life. That is such a core principle of what the bible teaches...that we are ALL His children, and he loves ALL of us equally. She comes home every year with such a fresh renewal of her faith. I love that her counselors nurture and pour into her for the whole week as they show her and teach her what it means to "live like Jesus" and "love like Jesus".  We love it so much, that we have plans to continue to send her back every summer to Texas just for camp!

This is the first year that I've had to take Dannika to camp alone. 

Usually Nick is around to do all the heavy lifting for me.

Not gonna lie, getting this heavy trunk out of my house into my car was quite the feat!

It's always a good day when you're assigned the top bunk!

The last two years she has been in the giraffe cabin.

This year, she moved up to the tiger cabin!

Aren't these cabins so cool?!

This entire camp was actually designed by a former Disney architect!

The Camp updates their website daily with pictures of our campers.

I literally go through hundreds of photos to get a glimpse of my sweet camper!

And of course, out of a gazillion photos, this was the only one I got of her!

Sweet brother is pretty bored without his big sister around.

We've been trying to make the most of our special time together.

We spent hours at the neighborhood pool today playing "sharks and minnows"....or "shark and minnow" lol.

 We had the pool ALL to ourselves for the majority of our time there!

"Your grace so free, washes over me."

I heard a song by Northpoint music on the local Christian radio station (Peace 107) this morning on my way home from church, and the lyrics (that I made the title of this blog post) just stood out to me. The song is called "Death was Arrested" (in case any of y'all want to hear it).

I'm a BIG fan of secular music...even the slightly inappropriate stuff. If y'all know me, I am a HUGE Tupac fan. I also am a lover of old school country music, and even the new stuff. I love Florida Georgia Line...even though true country music lovers claim they are an abomination in the country music scene...but I like it. Mattis' current jam is Liam Payne's "Strip That Down". He literally calls it "my jam", and we listen (to the edited version) every morning on our way to school. But I also love worship music. I listen to it in my car when I'm alone sometimes, and it brings me a lot of peace and calmness...especially before a busy day.

Anyway, the lyrics, "Your grace so free, washes over me" really resonated with me today. For those know who me well, know my personal testimony. Lots of really emotional and messed up stuff that has happened in my life from the ages of 16 to 26ish. What really got me back "on track" as far as my relationship with Christ was accepting the fact that His grace was free. There was nothing I needed to do to earn back his forgiveness. Any time I hear something about His amazing grace, I am always reminded of my broken past. It always overwhelms me to think that I serve a God who loved me in the midst of the darkest hours in life...when I was destroying my life and my relationship with Him. He continued to love me.

Anyway, speaking of grace...this mama needed LOTS of grace this past week! 
I mean, y'all...
RED RIBBON WEEK.....
I know you moms out there get it.
A "themed" dress up day every day.
And if you have a child like mine, your child suffers from FOMO...bad...
So I have to make sure that she has something to wear for every day of the week.

Oh, and Red Ribbon week is not even over!!!!!!!!!!!! This year is like an extended red ribbon week. It goes until Halloween!!

Good Lord...give me some grace...because I have definitely fought with my 8 year old this week about each theme day....

Let's go through this....

 So Monday was the start of Red Ribbon week...

Guess when I found out it was Red Ribbon week?!

I found out MONDAY morning, when my panicked daughter ran into the kitchen waving a red paper with all the info for each dress up day on it...

I simply told her, "it's not my fault you failed to give me this vital, red piece of paper earlier so I could help you prepare. Guess you're not participating!" (then she cried)

It was crazy sock day.

My child has no crazy socks...

And after some tears, she literally emerged from the garage with these Elsa and Anna socks that were shoved inside her roller blades.

I don't ever recall buying her these socks.

I don't think they belong to her.

They were probably left at our house by one of her friends on a playdate.

I don't think know if they were clean...

They probably stunk...

But she was happy she had them...

FOMO was cured...

Day 2.

Favorite team shirt day!

Easy!

Aggies...duh, and since half her wardrobe is maroon or "Aggie themed"...easy day!

FOMO crisis averted.

Day 3...

Wear red day.

We have ONE red shirt.

It is a shirt she got from cheer camp two summers ago, and it sorta fits.

I was gonna make her wear that, because this mama does not have time to go buy a red shirt for Red Ribbon week,

But praise Jesus for my friend Katy (the mother of Dannika's BFF), who randomly got these adorable shirts made for Dannika and all her besties.

FOMO crisis averted...again...thanks to my super "extra" mom friend...

(And Dannika's eyes look super Asian in this pic...kinda makes me happy because people always tell me she looks more white than Korean)

Day 4...

CRAZY HAIR DAY.

OH MY LORT....

D told me Wednesday (wear red day) that she wanted turquoise hair.

I told her if I can't find turquoise colored hair spray at Walgreens, she's not having turquoise hair.

I was not about to drive around town to Target and Wal-Mart to look for turquoise hair spray. 

Thankfully, Walgreens had it (in their Halloween aisle).

Then comes Thursday morning....

We're already running late, and D does NOT know how she wants her hair done...

Two pigtail buns?

No.

A "mohawk" braid?

No.

Pigtails? 

No.

"Well hell child...then i'm just putting your hair up in a ponytail and spraying it turquoise!"

Tear...lots of tears.

Pinterest to the rescue.

We finally agreed on a "bow bun" (Praise Jesus, because it was simple").

We were late for everything that morning (insert eyeroll)

Day 5...

School Spirit day!!! Wear your school shirt!

Simple right?

No...not in this family.

Thursday night, I asked D to get her school shirt out of her dresser and lay it out.

Panicked Dannika claims she can not find it!

Me: Well, then you're not wearing it. I'm not here to keep track of your clothes.

Tears. Lots of tears.

Then she decides that she will just wear "last year's" school shirt (which is purple...this year's is black),

I already know she's gonna suffer from FOMO when she shows up to school in last year's style, while everyone else is in this year's look.

Thankfully, I just happened to be folding laundry, and her current school shirt appeared.

FOMO crisis averted..,one last time for the week.

We still have two more days.

Tomorrow is camo day, and I actually found a Marine marpat cammie blouse in her size.

She'll be representin' all you devildogs tomorrow!

Tuesday is storybook character day, and my "extra" mom friend Katy hooked up all our girls with Dr. Seuss' "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" costumes!

Seriously...she is a lifesaver.

Everyone needs a mom friend like her in their life!

I will share those on my IG page this week (@dcb_blog)

And lastly...

My son's very first school photo. 

Seriously....do they get ANY cuter?!?!

I'll answer that question for you...no, they don't.

Resurrection Sunday

For our family (along with many other Christians around the world), Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It's an amazing story of grace, love, and forgiveness. No other religion in the world has a Savior that died on a cross so that we may all be forgiven for our sins (with NO strings attached!). Believers of Jesus are the only people in the world who do not have to do "good works" to go to heaven. I think that is powerful. The fact that we are saved by pure grace. Honestly, if I had to do "good things" to balance out my life for all the "bad things" I have done, I'd never get into heaven. Praise Jesus that I don't have to! My track record is about a hundred miles long....
Our family also celebrates Easter with fun secular traditions as well. The Easter bunny is alive and well in our home, and will remain that way until my kids no longer believe in the Easter bunny (and even then, I may continue with the Easter bunny traditions). I get my kids Easter baskets and fill them with healthy goodies, and I excitedly wait until the next morning to hear their squeals of joy. We do Easter egg hunts, dye Easter eggs, and do all things Easter in our home. It makes my heart happy. We always make sure to incorporate the real meaning of Easter with our children though, and throughout the week explain the story to our kids. It's hard to explain to a seven year old and a three year old the magnitude of what Jesus did for us. I can only hope and pray that I have done the story justice to my kids.
Anyway, I hope y'all are having a great Easter Sunday, and enjoying it with your loved ones. I leave you with a powerful message that we heard at church today...

"Man to God spells DO. God to man spells DONE."

I'll let you dwell on that one for a while.

Marriage and First Kill

If y'all have followed my blog long enough, you already know some of the marriage struggles Nick and I faced when we lived in Massachusetts. I like to call that phase of our marriage the "7 year itch". It's real y'all! Mix the "7 year itch" with the stress of getting out of the Marine Corps, losing half our income because of it, having a new baby, and moving a strange, unfamiliar (and cold) place...it was a recipe for disaster. I think it was the lowest point in our marriage thus far (and with a lifetime ahead of us, I'm sure there will be many more lows). I remember driving 45 minutes to Boston in the middle of the night from my quiet suburban home with Mattis in just a diaper and Dannika half asleep to go yell at Nick. Yell at him for getting drunk at a work function. Yell at him for not coming home. I remember driving to his office in fury, in the cold, with both my kids at 1 (maybe 2) in the morning with every intention of causing hell. I remember showing up at his office at Boston University (Mattis in just a diaper in my arms and Dannika behind me) and seeing him passed out on the floor wreaking of booze. I angrily woke him up (probably kicked him). Instead of the conversation I had envisioned in my head on the drive there, he was too drunk to have a coherent conversation with me. Instead, I left his office with a drunken promise from him that he'd be home in the morning, and a broken heart. 

He came home the next morning as promised, and we sat on the floor in our kitchen and talked. We realized our marriage needed repair, and I needed repair. I hadn't realized how much getting out of the Marine Corps had damaged my ego and my pride. I went from being a Staff NCO in charge of Marines to feeling like the most insignificant person in the world. I learned later that this is a common feeling most veterans go through when they exit the service.

Marriage is tough, and it's not everything you always see on my social media. I think Nick and I have an amazing marriage, and a strong foundation to get us through the tough times. After our low point, Nick and I decided to do counseling. I did counseling for myself and dealt with the issues I had with my "identity loss" from being a Marine to a "house wife". We did couples counseling together to work through our issues. I basically resented Nick for getting to live the life I used to live, and he was feeling guilty because of it. 

One of the things that Nick and I did to reconnect during this time was just have coffee together every morning before he went to work and before the kids were up. That meant getting up at 4AM every morning. We are morning people, but 4AM is still rough. We chose the early mornings vice the evenings because it is easier to wake up than to stay up (when you're tired). Those mornings were my favorite. We prayed together, for each other, and we just had coffee and talked about whatever. We slowly began to reconnect, and I honestly believe our marriage has never been stronger since then. 

When we moved to Texas, we were in such a great place in our marriage that we have just sorta "forgot" to continue nurturing our marriage. When things are good, it's easy to forget to maintain. We are still in a GREAT place, but I want to make sure we stay where we are. I decided to start a couples bible study book together for the New Year. Nick and I decided to wake up early every morning like we used to, drink coffee, pray, talk, and do our bible study together. 

  I chose this book by Jefferson and Alyssa Bethke.

I read a book by Jefferson Bethke a while ago called "Jesus > Religion", and I absolutely loved it.

This book is one of the best books I've read that is relateable to the "modern day Christian". 

He's not so "grandpa's church", but he's also not "Cheesy mega church Joel Osteen" either.

He's real, compassionate, loving, and tells the truth.

It's the reason why I chose to do this book with Nick.

I plan on blogging about it, and letting y'all know my thoughts about it so keep up!

I'm really excited to  be doing this!

Oh, and as far the "First Kill" part of the title of this blog...

Dannika shot her first deer...all by herself....no help from Nick...

 

 

Quick Thoughts

Dannika has some viral thing going around her school, so shes been home for two days now.

Those who know me hate when my routine is broken, and her being sick has put a wrench in it.

(I am a creature of habit, routines, and schedules...blame it all on the Marine Corps)

Those who know me know that if I miss a workout, I get extremely irritable, cranky, and unpleasant.

I didn't get to go to the gym today because Dannika is sick.

Then I remembered a friend of mine (who is an athlete) post on Facebook a while ago about how hard it was for him to take a "rest day" from working out.

I remember him saying how he literally had to fight the urge to go to the gym (guilty!).

But he wrote about how as an athlete, rest days are imperative in order to get stronger, faster, better.

Remembering that Facebook post from a while back help me find my center, and relax a little about missing ONE day. 

(breathe...it's gonna be ok)

It also made me realize how much I rely on the gym for my day to anxiety, stress, and overall well-being.

While the gym can be a great thing, it can also control you.

This is not something that I like about myself.

I sometimes plan my entire day around my gym time....not good.

Today reminded me that I need to rely more on God for things like my anxiety, stress, and overall well-being, and allow my gym time to be a supplement to that.

Dannika is missing picture day today, and I think I am more sad about that than she is.

I love cheesy school photos.

I'm pretty sure they'll do a make-up day.

Other than that, life is just peachy!

Our Marine Corps ball is this weekend, and I am really excited for it!

Happy Thursday, y'all!

 

End of Summa....

I can not believe that today is Dannika's last day of summer break.

Tomorrow she officially becomes a second grader.

First day of school outfit has been picked out, school supplies dropped off, teachers have been met....

We (meaning ALL of us in the Romer fam) are ready for school to start back up, and for us to get back into a routine.

We had "Meet the Teacher" night last week.

In second grade, the students have two teachers.

A primary teacher, and a "switch" teacher.

Twice the love is what I say!

Dannika's primary teacher in Mrs. Aguirre, and we are all very excited!

Her "switch" teacher is Mrs. Taylor!

Since Dannika started Kindergarten, I have always written her a note for her lunchbox with words of encouragement, funny doodles, jokes and riddles, and poems.

I haven't missed a single day since Kindergarten!

To all the wonderful and hardworking teachers who are getting ready for a new school year...

I pray that y'all are abundantly blessed with love, patience, and a classroom full of awesome kids just thirsting for knowledge.

I pray that when you have that "one" (or two or three...) difficult child(ren), that you have the patience to touch their heart(s) and make a difference.

You are appreciated, loved, and way underpaid.

But we love you for it...because you don't do it for the money.

You really just love our little humans...

 

The Big Bang Theory (not the show)

I am taking this geography class right now in summer school called "Planet Earth".

So far, it's been such a rad class to take.

Science is amazing, and even better, my professor is a woman!

Women in science is always super awesome, and I admire women who are breaking barriers and going into STEM type reasearch and jobs.

As most people know, Texas A&M is on the conservative side as far as most public institutions go.

We are a big HUGE agriculture school which attracts many students that come from conservative backgrounds, ranches, farms, etc. etc. etc.

However, it is still academia, and I have sat through some classes that directly contradict my faith as a Christian.

It makes this whole experience very interesting.

Does it challenge my beliefs?

Sure...all the time.

Does it change my beliefs?

No...never.

My faith is strong, and I have no reason NOT to believe that we have a Heavenly Father, a creator who created the universe in 6 days, and a Son who died on the cross and rose from the dead for me.

For a nonbeliever, that all sounds a little cooky.

Most of my "nonbeliever" friends don't believe because it sounds cooky, and they need everything in proof to them scientifically.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance for what we do not see."

-Hebrews 11:1

For my planet earth class, I have to do a short documentary on something that pertains to the earth.

It is my final.

I thought about all sorts of things I could do, but God kept tugging at my heart in a totally opposite (and could be very controversial) direction.

In this class, we had a whole lecture on the "Big Bang Theory".

As a Christian, I don't believe in the Big Bang Theory, and no amount of "scientific" (word used loosely) evidence can change my mind.

So I have chosen to do my final on "debunking" the Big Bang Theory, while using biblical truths.

I truly believe that there is evidence that reveals a universe consistent with the account of creation in the Bible. 

I have reached out to a few friends of mine (both scientists and seminary students/pastors), and I feel confident with this.

I just pray that my Professor can be open minded (like I have for her class), and take the time to carefully listen to my argument....and not let it affect my grade because it goes against her beliefs.

Who knows...

Maybe my little documentary will change her life...

Please send some prayers my way as I tackle this!

Oh and here's a daily dose of my kids....

He claimed he was not tired 5 minutes prior to this photo...

Church this sunday...

4th of July outfits!

Sadness

More lives lost.

I am so sad that this is the world that my innocent and precious children are growing up in right now.

I am sad for all the valuable lives lost...EVERY life. 

The two black men who were killed at the hands of police officers, and all the police officers who have been killed in the line of duty protecting and serving their communities.

I had to have a real and honest look at the way I view the world.

I can't even lie and say that I didn't think of the two black men who were killed and judge them by their "rap sheet". 

The thought crossed my mind, and I am ashamed that I even thought that.

My church did a powerful sermon today on love, hate and racism.

It wasn't through the eyes of a white man, the eyes of a black man, or the eyes of any man.

It was through the eyes of Jesus.

It really just comes down to this...

We are ALL His children....every broken person....we are His.

The only thing that can cure this hatred is His love, and the only way His love can be spread is through us...His children.

My Facebook is divided between two groups of people.

Two groups of people that I love, and two groups of people that I consider my friends and family.

 I find myself reading people's hateful comments and posts and memes and videos and whatever....

I don't even know what to say. 

The truth is, my police officer friends walk the streets of the communities that they serve and protect feeling like they have a giant target on their back.

The truth is, my black friends have to sit down and have real, painful, and unfair conversations with their sons about how to behave in the presence of police officers...a conversation I wouldn't even think about having with my own son.

Both scenarios are tough, and we need to see life through the eyes of each other and try and be more understanding.

Just some thoughts and ramblings.

I figured I haven't blogged much lately, so I figured I'd put some thoughts down here.

Carolina Creek Christian Camp!

I almost forgot I had a blog!

If you read my last post (back on June 12), you would understand that my summer session 1 class (logic) has pretty much been consuming my life. 

I can happily say that I am officially done with that class, AND I passed! (whew!)

Summer has been busy busy for us in the Romer casa.

I'm playing catch up here, so I decided to back track, and blog about Dannika's first camp experience.

Dannika went to Carolina Creek Christian Camp earlier in June for 4 days and 3 nights!

She had such a blast, and I can't believe I was nervous about sending her away by herself for that long!

I had the rational fears about sending her away for the first time like...

"WHO IS GONNA MAKE SURE ALL THE SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER ARE OUT OF YOUR HAIR?!?!"

I laugh now, but that was seriously my very first concern about sending her away to camp...lol.

We made sure we did lots of "practicing" showering on our own before camp, so she was ready.

My fears were also appeased knowing that 3 of her best friends from her 1st grade class were going to go to camp with her, and be bunk mates with her. 

I know the girls really well, and I know their parents, so it made me feel better that "my precious baby" would with good AH-MAZING company.

She actually didn't want to come home with us when we went to go pick her up on her last day!

I can't recommend this camp enough, so if you live in Texas, it is SO worth it!

This was at drop off the first day. 

Dannika and two of the three besties that went to camp with her in the camp "chow hall" (since most of my readers are military people).

Dannika sitting on her bunk!

She was upset she didn't get a top bunk, but me (being an old lady with senior citizen type knees) would have been jumping (very carefully because my knees hurt) for joy if I got a bottom bunk.

This was their cabin!!!

SO COOL, RIGHT?!?!

Each cabin is a different animal, and whatever cabin you're in is your "team" for your stay at camp.

Team Giraffe!

They even have their own "chant"!

 

 

One of the days was "Jersey day" where you wear your favorite team's jersey.

Can you tell who the College Station girls are?!

hashtag GIGEM!

Reppin' Aggieland loud and proud!

Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 2031!

hashtag WHOOP!

My snaggle tooth and her friend Addy.

She even ziplined!

NEON NIGHT!

Sweet Ally's mom had all these shirts made for our girls!

One of my favorite images from camp.

Prayer circle with her friends.

One her her camp counselors, Miss Tabi.

Another camp counselor, Miss Kellie.

Overall, camp was such an amazing experience for Dannika, and I am SO glad I sent her.

She fostered so many relationships with different people and grew in her relationship with the Lord.

We can't wait to send her again next year!

Things I Love Tuesday

When I say my prayers, the first thing I ALWAYS say is "Thank you for my life."

My life isn't perfect, but it sure is full of great experiences, amazing people, and good health.

I couldn't ask for much more.

As I sat here today thinking about what to blog about, I realized a lot has happened the last few days that I love.

Here are things the things that have happened in my life the last couple days that I love...

Nick and I love working out...

When we get to go to the gym together...I love it even more.

Shameless gym selfie...

After church on Sundays, I like to go the gym and do a light work out.

Nick prefers to stay at home to do yard work and projects around the house.

Miraculously, he agreed to come with this past Sunday!

I was pretty thrilled!

Saturdays for our family are normally spent just hanging out together at home.

Nick suggested that we head to the Franklin Animal Safari Park in Franklin, TX last Saturday.

It's a drive thru animal park where you can feed the animals as you drive through!

They come straight to your window.

We saw zebras, camels, llamas, pigs, hogs, longhorns ostriches, emus, deer, and TONS of other animals.

The kids had an absolute blast, and Nick and I did too!

I love a man who knows his way around a toolbox.

I'm lucky that I married such a handyman.

Ever since we bought our house, I've asked Nick to mount our bedroom TV in our room.

He did it for me this weekend, and even hid all the wires behind the wall!

WINNING!

 

I spend most of my days yelling phrases like, "NO MATTIS!" or "MATTIS, NO!"

But I can't help but love this cute little trouble maker of mine...

The other day, he got into my flour in the pantry and decided to play in it.

All I could do was scream for Nick because I had stuff all over my hands from preparing dinner.

And...I was afraid to see the inside of my pantry...

And then there was this...

He found my floss....

Having a daughter who is just like me!

Most Sundays, our family is yelling at each other and rushing each other to get out the door in time to make it to the early service at church on time.

Amazingly, last Sunday, we all woke up at a reasonable hour in the morning, took our time getting ready, and even got to enjoy breakfast together.

I even had time to curl Dannika's hair!

She loves getting dressed up and getting her hair "did".

Last night, she asked to do an oatmeal mask with me.

Seriously, she's like my mini me...she's dramatic (I don't deny my dramatic tendencies!), wears her emotions on her sleeve, and loves all things girly.

An amazing vacation bible school program for D!

Our church is still fairly new, and didn't do a VBS this year (they did do summer day camps all through the summer).

Our friend told us about an amazing VBS program at our local Christ United Methodist Church.

I signed up Dannika, and she ended up having an absolute blast!

The theme was "Everest", and they did all sorts of Mt. Everest themed crafts and games that glorified God.

We'll definitely be partaking again next year!

Delicious summer salads with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio.

We eat a TON of salad during the summer.

It's easy, refreshing, light, and healthy.

With our summer schedule jam packed, it's nice to be able to throw something together in just a few minutes, and have a delicious meal.

What are some things y'all are loving these days?