Brumblog

Summer 2012 Nomadic adventure

Day 1 started out with a car problem. I woke up to say goodbye to Mark when he left at 5:30 and then proceeded to use the next 2 hours to finish up some last minute packing and cleaning. The boys woke up at 7:30 and for 30 minutes they had to sit on the mattress in the middle of the living room floor so that the house would stay clean....I think it was the worst 30 minutes of their lives.
I needed to leave at 8:15 for the dentist office to have a painful tooth taken care of. Lindsey came to get the boys at 8 and then I jumped in the car to leave at 8:10....it beeped and quit. What was I gonna do? I just laughed and prayed and thanked God for His sovereign control. I told Him I was gonna enjoy seeing Him care for this issue. I was fully expecting some random mechanic to waltz down my street and offer to fix it...but instead I opened up the hood of the car and gazed at the objects. I stood there and noted how clean the engine and all the stuff looked and immediately knew I had no clue what clean thing to even begin touching. I whispered another prayer, jiggled the positive cable and the negative cable....looked around a bit more and then closed the lid. I was so confident the Lord was gonna do something...so I sat on the step to wait and pray. I fiddled with my key faab and keys while I waited and suddenly noticed the lights flashing the the locks working. Bingo;) she started right up and I was only a few minutes late to the dentist.
Now, I have prayed about the needs of my mouth for 16 months and yesterday the Lord delivered swiftly and all sufficiently. We don't have dental insurance and I knew when I moved here I needed 3 fillings. In March, we had saved enough money for me to go see a dentist and his first available appt. was June 10. I remember thinking "wow! We will be all moved into a new place by then!". Funny! I went monday and had 1 filling done, but it was deep and bothered me all week, so Yesterday I went back in to have it checked, and, 1 root canal and 2 fillings later, God took care of my need and provided a gracious gift from the dentist to cover the expense. What a way to start out this adventure.
There have been many days over the last 3 months that I have felt forgotten about by God, but His Spirit has been faithful to flood my mind with truth rather than feelings. Yesterday, however, I was greatly encouraged to not only know, but feel God's care and provision. What a blessing I did not deserve.
We arrived in VA just in time to be welcomed by Friday afternoon traffic....I miss Delaware! We enjoyed time with Mimi and Grandy and ended the evening by enjoying a popcorn and pizza picnic by the river. This is the first time Grandy has been back to the river with the boys in almost a year. We threw rocks in the river and explored their favorite paths. The boys were exhausted and ready for bed, and so was this sore-mouthed-lifted-Spirit- mama! Here's to the great summer adventure of 2012.

5 months

This sweet baby hasn't had much blog space devoted to him, but he is oh-so deserving of it. Levi has followed in his older brothers footsteps as being such a sweet baby. He is also leading the way in the growth rate department! At his 4 month check up he was 16 lbs and 28 1/2" long...and at 4 1/2 months he cut his first bottom tooth. Today he is flashing his newest white trophy tooth which is holding its own right next to the former trophy....and explaining why all the tears yesterday. This last month brought the first roll-over moment with him--thus beginning the age of mobility! He still boasts the quietest cry of any Brumbaugh boy but is trying with all his might to make himself heard! His jabbering, however, is quite loud and his giggles are contagious! He adores the 3 older brothers God has given him and, I might add, he has 3 adoring fans 24 hours a day! This last month also welcomed his entrance into the boys' room. All 4 sweet boys stuffed in one room...and.they.will.have.it.no.other.way! I thought about splitting them up, but why spoil such simple pleasures for them?? Maybe it's crazy but we love it. I can't thank God sufficiently for these boys. My life is so full and blessed that I feel my heart is going to explode....right along with my brain;). My days are filled with very few tasks being completed...but because of Jesus I feel such incredible purpose and accomplishment as I battle on the front lines for these young souls. Rejoice in your calling for His glory today....whatever it may be! And happy 5 months sweet sweet Levi!

Appetites

"4 boys? My, they are gonna eat you out of house and home." I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have heard the above statement. Teen boys' appetites are simply out of control from what I hear. However, how bout those toddler/preschooler appetites? I am so close to using an entire loaf of bread for lunchtime....I have to cook 2 boxes of macaroni for them...They can almost down an entire veggie tray by themselves... I have to use an entire dozen of eggs for scrambled eggs....sheesh! It blows me away and only 3 are at the food stage! Levi is sure to be the biggest appetite we have had so far and I cringe at the thought of how much it will take to fill him up! Therefore, this post is nothing more than a documentation of a first that is surely going to become the regular around here.

This morning was the momentous occasion when our 3 boys downed the entire 9oz. box of cereal in one meal. I usually don't do cereal because it doesn't seem too filling for them, but this morning I decided to let them eat until they stopped asking for more. I can't even remember how many bowls they each ate...I had a 3/4th cup serving which would have made this post a bit of an exaggeration. However, when I told the boys there was no more cereal, Titus so kindly informed me that there were more boxes in the garage. I opened up the 2nd box and used more than 3/4 cup, so my exaggeration is therefore nullified and my grocery bill: intensified!!

So put a pull-up on your head

....and rejoice in your calling! God has equipped us, but sometimes His form of protection (from our fleshly attitudes) can come in odd packages!
This particular day I was beat! I was sitting on the couch nursing Levi and trying to catch my breath. I wanted to be discouraged at how little had been accomplished around me that day, but God extended encouragement and Truth to me that strengthened my Faith in His calling for my life. As I sat there nursing....my 3 boys came marching in with these pull ups on their head...I knew that meant they had been into the stash and probably had them spread out all over their room....however, the Lord just melted away my frustration and allowed me to join in the silliness with joy and imagination. What a fun memory....the giggles were plentiful and the clean-up was less messy than I anticipated...wink wink!
Be bold in your calling today and know that even though we fail miserably and our flesh wants to destroy our joy, God equips us perfectly through the work of Christ on our behalf....and in the midst of the craziness He is there, sealing you for His Glory and your future Hope!

Colossians 1:27-29 MSG
God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Bubbles

They are not allowed to blow bubbles at meal time, but this particular day was a fluids only day, so why not celebrate with a few exceptions??
They stood there blowing bubbles for more than 30 minutes! It's the simple things...

Stellar

Just another glimpse of awesome style being expressed by the Brumbaugh boys. This photo was taken just a moment before we walked into church last Sunday. These boys LOVE ties and I'm wondering if their generation of boys will swing the pendulum back to the suits and ties for church style?? Or maybe its just an infatuation with the little clip. We will wait and see.

I was doing the dishes

and had my back turned to the dining room where Levi was sitting in the high chair sweetly cooing and making raspberry noises with his mouth. I was warmed at the sound of Titus' deep voice sharing some important tidbit of information with Levi. Just then I heard little Levi begin whimpering and before I could dry my hands to go investigate the situation, I heard this funny statement:

Oh, Levi, don't cry! It's just me Titus wearing underwear on my head...don't be afraid.

which made me simply have to stop and indulge in a moment of audible laughter.

Year End Prayer

This morning in our corporate meeting, we read this prayer together and it was a great blessing to me. It is taken from the Valley of Vision book of Puritan Prayers:

O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

Christmas Memories 2011 Part 3

This was our first year celebrating Christ's birth with our Trinity Church family. We began the celebration on December 2nd with our annual Christmas Festival for the Smyrna/Dover community.

Our Christmas Eve service at Trinity Church was one of my favorite parts of the Christmas Celebration for our family. We were excited to have such a large crowd come out and participate in a time of worship as we read and sang about Christ's birth from creation through redemption.

singing By Faith together -which warmed my heart as

I remembered this post

Trinity Church Christmas Eve dinner at Borelli's house

I am trying something new today

and it is not even the new year yet!

I admire those of you who are able to read a book and give a helpful review of the contents of the book. I am not one of those gals! I read a book and usually LOVE it and rave about it and ramble on and on and on about its incredibleness*smile* and can't keep myself from sharing it with everyone and then when someone asks specific questions about it...I find myself - - speechless. (and yes, for any of my grammar teachers/friends reading this, I intentionally wrote a grammatically incorrect sentence...this time...for emPHasis) So, instead of trying to sit and review this book...I found a way to share a snippet with you. It's a short book with incredibly SHORT chapters designed for moms who are.in.need without the time to be.in.need! So, please enjoy this teaser and I do hope this nugget of gold will find itself on your bookshelf no matter what season of life you are in!

So...here ya go: you can thank me later!

Carmel Heavenlies

I enjoyed all the extra help I had in the kitchen this Christmas season. I had such a wonderful time laughing and enjoying my boys as I passed on some of the fun recipes I learned and made as a kid. I'll post this quick delicious cookie recipe, but please note-they are so scrumptuous that you may want to make them with caution!

Ingredients:

Aluminum Foil

16 Graham Crackers

3/4 Cup Butter

3/4 Cups Brown Sugar

1 Tsp. Pure Vanilla

2 Cups Mini Marshmallows

2 Cups Sliced Almonds

2 Cups Shredded Coconut

Process:

Line baking sheet(s) with foil and spray with a non-stick cooking spray of your choice

Then line with graham crackers

use a pizza cutter to make crackers fit perfectly

sprinkle with 2 Cups Mini Marshmallows

spread the marshmallows out evenly

Melt the Butter and Sugar together in a small saucepan

over medium heat until it is smooth.

Remove from heat and add Vanilla.

Drizzle hot caramel sauce over marshamllows

be sure to coat as evenly as possible

Sprinkle 2 Cups sliced Almonds over Caramel sauce

Sprinkle 2 Cups Coconut over Almonds

Bake for 10-14 minutes in a 350 degree oven


you want the coconut and almonds to have a pretty roasted color and the marshmallows to be gooey!

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes

Cut with a pizza slicer

ENJOY

Christmas Memories 2011 Part 2

My sister and brother-in-law hosted a wonderful Christmas Eve brunch for our Zimmerman Christmas this year. It was so enjoyable to be together as a family and begin forming new traditions together in what is our 'new normal'. We were blessed by the food, family, and fellowship and look forward to celebrating this tradition again in years to come.

the lovely host and hostess

Mr. and Mrs. Sanders Claus