Monday, August 1, 2011

Me and the boys....

is what happens all day and every day in this household. Welcome to A Complete Thought! My blog entry for the First Annual MOB Society Blog Hop.

I go by Elle for purposes of this blog and I have four sons by the grace of God. I started this blog to try and finish a complete thought at some point on a given day. Any point, any day. That's a goal I'm still working towards. I write about homeschooling, my sons (of course), Bible study topics, all things miscellaneous that occur in life and things that make me wonder, fume or marvel. A Complete Thought & Its Randomness might be a better blog title.

We started homeschooling five years ago. I'm still learning the ropes and have my hands full with two eighth graders and one fifth grader. The other half of my spare time is devoted to teaching a women's Bible study. Any time left over after that will find me reading, writing, or sleeping so I can keep up with homeschooling, teaching and this mom's life with four sons. You see that housecleaning didn't make that list.

My sons: The first is James, who would be 17 years old. My first born. James was born having Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID). We pursued a cure for two and a half years. God brought me to a broken heart, a restored heart and a heart for loving His sovereignty through James' short life.

Chess (blog nickname) is 14. We adopted him when he was a newborn. A preemie newborn at that. He came home nine months in the year after James died. He weighed a teeny little 4 pounds. Chess was how God continued to heal and restore me to marveling at His goodness.

Pele (blog nickname) is 13. We adopted him when he was two years old, after having three failed adoption attempts. Pele challenged me to rethink how God uses adoption to build families. He is still a part of God's sweet teaching of my heart and mind to be in awe of His redemption.

The Chairman of the Board (blog nickname) is 10. He was born to us seven years after James, not having SCID. He is the healthy 50%. The Chairman was part of God's Jubilee to our family in reminding that He really does give more than we can ask or imagine.

Everyone of my sons is precious for not only how he challenges me to spend time on my knees, but for how he demonstrates God's continual grace. Each day brings multiple opportunities to practice His grace in interaction with my family. I fail often. All glory for victories must go only to God.

Some favorite books and authors for our family: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Rick Riordan series, Stephen Lawhead series, The Three Investigators' Series, Gary Paulson, Trenton Lee Stewart, Kathryn Lasky, and Bill Watterston's Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.

I'm glad you stopped by. It's always a blessing to meet other moms of boys because, goodness knows, we need to stick together.

6 comments:

  1. We DO need to stick together. Loved reading about your boys.

    I jumped over from the MOB Boy Mom BlogHop. Come see me sometime!

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  2. Elle, thanks for stopping to visit my site. I completely agree that their reading choices should reflect a discerning mind. My 17yo actually prefers non-fiction books; he always has. Both of them really just pick out whatever strikes their fancy at the moment and then make sure it's Mom approved.

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  3. Thanks for visiting my blog yesterday! Great to meet you! :)

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  4. I'm visiting from the MOB Society. It is great to meet your family and to hear about how God has been working in your lives. Many blessings
    Meahgan

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  5. Elle~ I am totally with you! (in reference to your comment on my blog about meeting someone in "our season.") It starts to really make you feel old visiting all these mom blogs whose boys are all so little. I didn't realize how old I had gotten until now! ;o)I am also happy to meet someone else who is in "my season." Of course, I'm still in the other season, too~ my youngest is just 4yo!

    We have something else in common, as well. We have also had sick babies~ with a genetic defect. Our second child had a disorder called Hirschsprung's Disease. Our next child also had it, along with another genetic disorder. By God's grace the next two babies were born healthy. Everyone at our house is still kicking, though with a few difficulties that are only threats to lifestyle. By God's grace.

    Thanks for visiting my neck of the woods. I can't wait to read more of your blog!

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  6. You can finish a thought?!?! I bow in awe of you because I've yet t....

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