The Rumley Family

Jaden Christopher has given us (almost) nothing but joy and blessings in the 8 months since his birth. He has a laid-back, wonderful personality, and has been a great sleeper since very early on (a definite plus for Mom and Dad!).

He seems to be a go-getter like his big brother, as he’s crawling everywhere and pulling up to stand wherever he can. One day this week I’m pretty sure he hit his head at least five times, because while he’s physically able to stand, he’s not quite mature enough to know danger when he sees it! Caleb was walking at 9 months, so we’ll have to see if Jaden keeps up with that precedent!

Jaden’s favorite time of day is after his evening feeding (around 9pm), when his siblings are in bed and he gets to hang out with Mommy and Daddy and look in the window at his adorable reflection.

We are so proud of our Gracie-girl, who finished her entire Sparks book last week at AWANA.

(If that sentence sounds foreign to you, I’m sorry! AWANA is a program for children that our church participates in every Wednesday. It focuses on Scripture memorization, and each student gets a book with verses to memorize. A book should typically take approximately one school year to complete.)

I obviously knew she was going to complete the book, since we work together on the memorization. But what I was most excited about was the review. I was expecting her to take the rest of the year to go back through the book and review the verses. Uhm, nope. She did ALL of the review verses the same night she finished the book!

That means she has really committed the verses to long-term memory. How exciting!

Confession time…(It sounds like a rabbit trail, but stick with me here.)

In elementary school, I was a chubby kid who wasn’t good at sports or anything in particular. I didn’t think all that much of myself, and I certainly didn’t have a healthy view of myself as a child of God. So, I thrived on accomplishments.

The one thing I did have going for me was that I was a good student.

As I grew older, I strove for good grades and was probably considered a “teacher’s pet.” (Okay, okay, I was actually voted “Teacher’s Pet” in our senior class mock elections.) I ended up being the valedictorian of my small public school class. You can imagine what wonders that did for my self-esteem.

But you can also imagine what happened to my rickety self-image when I got to college and wasn’t the smartest girl in the hall, and I couldn’t always get an A+ on every assignment. If I couldn’t even achieve perfect student status, what was I worth?

Obviously, I had to somehow form a healthy view of myself through Biblical truth – that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, made in the image of God, and I am His precious child (no matter how much I achieve, or don’t achieve). I truly can’t remember how that happened. It definitely wasn’t a one-time change, but a change of heart occurring over time. I’m pretty sure motherhood helped shape me tremendously.

Okay, now I am on a rabbit trail.

Anywho, here is my concern. Grace is so much like me. She is a great student. She gets SO excited when she does well in school.

And I’m sure all of that is pretty “normal.”

But how do I help shape her view of herself in a healthy, Biblical way? How do I help her know that her value is in her status as a daughter of God, not in her grades? What can I do to help her know that truth from a young age?

Anyone willing to weigh in here?

Emily and her sister, Elyse, (and the dog, George) this week

Many people are still asking about Emily, and I haven’t known quite what to say. So, I asked Emily to update us on her progress. Here is her email…

I have completed my first round of check-up appointments. All major activities (driving, back to work, etc.) hang on my surgeon’s approval. I just met with the surgeon this afternoon with mostly good results. I am off all medications! I have to be monitored for 1 month for seizures though. If I am seizure free after that, life returns to normal! Woohoo! I am allowed to ski, but I have to wear a helmet as a blow to my noggin’ could cause a seizure. (All this worry about seizures…) I am free to return to work, but I will have some therapy continuing so I will return on a graduated schedule. I’m hoping to be back half-time February 1 and full-time March 1. I made up those dates so it might not happen just like that, but that’s what I’m thinking right now.

Here’s the answer to prayer (or at least Dan and I are thinking it might be): My doctor is very pleased with how well the surgery and recovery has gone. He is especially impressed with my attitude throughout the process. He is getting more and more patients coming through GR for AVM treatment. Sometimes patients have a hard time dealing with the surgery, recovery and such. He wants to know if I’d be willing to talk with other AVM patients about my story to help them though. YES! Can we say “Answer to prayer?” Most of you know, but one thing Dan and I were constantly praying for throughout my hospital stay is that we can use our experience for God’s glory. It was most definitely God’s strength that got me though, not my own. I’m very excited about this potential opportunity.

Thank you for all the prayers and support!

Yesterday, I was feeding Jaden a cereal/applesauce mixture when I needed to go administer some discipline for one of the girls. When I came back, this is what I found. Sweet Caleb thought he should help his brother finish his breakfast. I’m not sure how much breakfast he actually got in his mouth, though.

{Written 1/7/10}

I have to admit that I was very skeptical while on my to Walgreens last night. I am so used to the sale items being out of stock, and I expected to walk out of the store empty-handed.

Not so!

They were very well stocked, and I was thrilled to get some GREAT deals!

I had 9 of the $2.50/1 Electrasol coupons from this week’s inserts, which I L-O-V-E. That could be my favorite coupon ever. Walgreens has a deal going on this week – Electrasol is on sale for $3.49, and when you buy one, you receive a $1 Register Reward (a manufacturer’s coupon good for $ off your next purchase). So, the very kind cashier did separate transactions for each of my boxes of Electrasol. I paid $1.20 for each box (after coupons and tax), and received a $1 Register Reward. Not bad!

To make that good deal even better, you’ll notice that each box had 25 tabs instead of the usual 20. That means I got 45 “extra” tabs – more than two regular boxes worth! So, I got 11 boxes worth of tabs for $1.80 after sales, coupons, and Register Rewards!

The Bayer blood glucose meters were an even better deal. I did two transactions – a Breeze and a Contour in one transaction, which were free plus tax after “free product” coupons. This earned me $13 in Register Rewards. I would have done the same transaction again, but they only had one Contour meter in the store, so I just bought another Breeze meter (free plus tax after coupon) to earn another $5 Register Reward. HUGE moneymaker!

Then the Glade candles…The 2oz candles are on sale 2/$5, and you earn a $3 Register Reward when you buy two. I also had a $3/2 coupon. So, I paid $2 plus tax out of pocket and earned a $3 Register Reward. (Another moneymaker!)

So, the totals…

Spent $15.80
Earned $30 in Register Rewards
$14.20 moneymaker!

And some people say coupons aren’t worth their time. P’shaw.

{Written 1/7/10}