The Snyders in Germany

yesterday my mom calls me in the late morning to see what miss peyti and i were up to, we were just hangin out...

then she offers to come over and help clean!

i say:

 YES/ of course!/ why ask?/ please come!/ YOUJUSTMADEMYDAY/ i love life!

so she came over, and we really had such a delightful time, some good ol' mother-daughter time!

while she was over we conquered the dish mountain, the living room, and the bathroom, and she helped herd the baby from wherever i was trying to clean by playing with her and distracting her.

YIPPEE

also, she was able to teach me more about sewing, and cutting out patterns, etc. she's making peyton some cute dresses and wanted me to be able to do it myself too. yay more sewing skills for me :)

anyways, i just wanted to say how truly thankful i am to have such an awesome-thoughtful-hardworking-loving-selfess-caring-wonderful mama!

it was so nice to have her pop over out of the blue and help me out. she also gave me some practical advice for avoiding dish mountain which i've already been putting into practice. to finish off the awesome day, that night she watched peyti so aaron and i could have dinner and hangout alone after he was off work! we had such a fun time! i love my husband, he's a crack-up. we enjoyed a yummy homemade chicken pot pie and some sparkling white grape juice.. even though we only had an hour and a half free, it was a much needed and appreciated lil date!

and another shout out to my awesome mother in law, mama joy, who always rescues me in regards to cooking (at least the recipes she taught me how to do) thanks mama! i love you too!


la la la i love naptime..
 the mrs.

WOW! it's finally happened, D began working at LAX, the job we had prayed for, the work we had prayed to come, and in abundance. quite a transition from spending a lot of time together to about 2 hours a day.. even Baby P has noticed his absence. when he came home from day one (sat) he went in to shower and she crawled after him, and hit the door crying! so sad, yet cute at same, time, anyways i stood in there and he talked to her over shower (cuz he's nice and tall and can look over hehe) but ya it's just crazy and amazing to think, its over. being unemployed is over with. into a new season, a busy one, a fruitful one. and so amazing too because our first instinct has been, how can we be a blessing! it was harder before, yet possible, but harder because of a real lack of financial resources, but now it's like a world of opportunity. woohooo and exhilarating yet! it has been quite nice to have the time around the home though, it was weird while he was out of work, because it kind of felt like i was too. even though, my job (homemaker) was still very needed etc it was like my motivation was gone and i didn't really know how to fulfill my role while he was around, but the moment he works, its like i go into workin mode and the house gets clean, good food gets made. its a good feeling! by the way i feel like i shouldn't have been so unmotivated i wish i would've stayed the same, but for some reason it didn't happen. like an epidemic! even if he had a day of work, it would happen. weird but that was my experience. the provision God provided over those past 6 months was purely glorious! i dont believe it was chance, or coincidence, but God. His word declares He will supply all of our needs, that He feeds the sparrow and clothes the lily and we need not worry for we are of far greater value than they. matthew6:33 declares, "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (food clothes needs etc) will be added unto you." and i believed it for my life as a single, i believed it for my wedding planning, and we believed it as a family! and the Lord does not lie, we never lacked a single thing! we had everything we needed when we needed it. men may place dead lines or set time for things but Gods timing is perfect. I once heard, "God is rarely early, but never late." it's a beautiful thing to take Gods word at face value and tell Him, Lord your word says_____________ex: you will provide. so Lord, I am going to give you the first fruits (the best and not leftovers) of all i have! my time, talent and treasure. and Lord, I trust you will provide for all my needs.

See that He does not respond when this is done with a pure heart! He loves His children more than we could ever fathom. it is written

"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

i say amen. it is true. the most valuable precious thing God could have ever given us was His Son Jesus. why would he withhold anything else?

have you had any personal experiences with this! please share your favorite story!


-with a thankful heart,
      mrs. s

staying at home with baby has been positively one of the best things ever! ya know, something i've realized is that somebody needs to raise your children. why not you? i mean, why have children if only to pass off the work to somebody else? I am not talking about every now and then because, obviously it's important to get a break, but full time is something different. How glorious to raise up godly children! What a delight to know all the hard work you put in, will someday hopefully have an eternal payout! I know some people think it's "not possible" these days... but it is. Mr. S and I are living proof. yes, there will be sacrifices, like maybe you won't be able to buy a brand new car, or have every possession you desire, but you will know your children are being raised to know God, they will know they are loved, and isn't that worth the sacrifice of "things"?! but i don't even know if "sacrifice" is the right word, because the blessing is far greater! aaron and i have not lacked a single thing by me staying home, and it's even more beautiful/glorious/amazing because he hasn't had work since february! and yet STILL the Lord provides :) but it's really our responsibility in the end, as in, we have to make good choices now, or else yes both parents do need to work due to financial commitments made. now for example, before making a big purchase, example: a new car, determine, is it going to be possible to carry on such financial burdens when a child comes (without both parents working)? if eating out is something that is regular, consider... eating in. take the time to prepare your breakfast lunch and dinners. it's amazing the amount of money saved, and add onto that the time you have to search out good deals because you aren't at work, tired, and in a rush to just eat anything. you can meal plan, bargain hunt, and add that special ingredient to all that's made... love. it really is a blessing to be able to serve up a warm meal to your husband after he's been gone working all day. though there are definitely challenges. planning out the week's meals ahead of time is such a help to the 'what should i cook' question, and that is both time and cost effective! being a stay-at-home mom doesn't mean you don't do work, not at all! it's just your work is in your home. there is nothing wrong with a wife/mom who does side work/part time even on the side. in fact that's what we see modeled by the proverbs 31 woman. the point is more rather, is your full time job outside the home? the Bible teaches us to be good stewards of all our resources, our time, treasures, and talents. how is the Lord teaching you to be a good steward? are you being faithful with that which has been entrusted to you(money, care of your home, and children)? i hope so! i don't write any of this to condemn anyone or to say there is one right way, but i think it's something important for women and parents to consider... i'll leave y'all with this verse

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." -colossians 3:2

until next time,
mrs. s

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

-proverbs 15:17

how you should interact with a fellow believer?
- love one another, submit to one another, esteem others higher than yourself.

"but they aren't a believer!"

okay, let's be more general, how should you deal with your neighbor?
- love your neighbor as yourself. (mark 12:31)

"but, you don't understand, they are more like an enemy than my neighbor!"

well then, how are we instructed to deal with our enemies?
- love your enemies and do good to them which hate you. (luke 6:27)

end of story. love. i know it can be hard, but it's what's commanded. Jesus spoke about loving those who are easy to love and how basically anybody can do that, even those who don't know God, but true love is loving those who are hard to love, those who may not "deserve" the love. being gracious, giving them what they don't deserve > loving somebody who actually deserves punishment. it is in situations like this we learn to be like Christ; who is gracious, merciful, and unconditionally loving. it's what we all want. we would give everything to obtain it. there's no question, love is better.

with love,
mrs. s