As Christmas day is right around the corner, I am trying to fit it all in. Christmas cards, Christmas movies, baking, looking at Christmas lights, late night shopping trips, going to see Santa-you know the routine. Every year I have a whole list of things that I want to accomplish before the big day comes. Some years I am more ambitious at getting it all in but other years I tend to have the "there is always next year" attitude. One thing I am realizing more and more is that the time to do these things is here and now! Often times I think of' things I would like to do over Winter break. I always think someday I would like our family to go skiing every winter. Or sometime I would love to go Christmas caroling. The truth is there is no better time than the present to do all these things. Much to my surprise, my kids aren't getting any younger nor are my husband and I. If you have something special that you would like to do with your family-DO IT! We are being constantly reminded that life is short, so get out there and DO!
I watched It's A Wonderful Life for the first time Monday evening. Of course we all know the famous line about angels getting their wings when a bell rings but have you ever sat down and watched it beginning to end and soaked in the message? It's brilliant. It focuses on what an impact each of us has on life and all the people in it. It teaches us that life is precious and not as bad as it sometimes seems. I just really enjoyed the message and I am glad I watched it because it is something I want to do every year but I never "have time" to. If you haven't seen it, plan a movie night with your family, and watch it.
I am almost done with Christmas shopping, the Christmas cards are to be mailed this afternoon and I am off to a good start with the holiday baking. The most important thing to do yet is focus on my family and their needs. Making sure that through the hustle and the bustle of getting everything ready and perfect for Christmas day that the kids are OK. That they are not feeling left out or forgotten as I prepare for Christmas. Preparing our hearts for the true meaning of Christmas and the birth of the Christ child. Spending time curled up on the couch watching Christmas movies and holding my babies as we are off of school and work. Let us not forget the ones we love most and the meaning of Christmas this year.
I feel as I get older I am starting to be bitter at Christmas time. I cannot believe the hype of gift giving. It's out of control. I have had several people ask me what the kids want for Christmas but not one person has asked if they could take the kids for the day and spend quality time with them. That is what I really want!Nobody is at fault or doing anything wrong, it's just how Christmas is in our culture now. My Dad asked me what the kids and I want for Christmas this year. The truth is, I want him. I hardly see my Dad anymore and I all I want is to spend the day together. I suggested that instead of exchanging gifts and getting together for an hour to visit that we go ice skating and out to dinner. So that is what we are doing. I can't wait to spend the day with him and I will remember our time together for eternity unlike a gift I would have gotten from him. I feel I have been blessed with an amazing family made up of unique individuals whom each offer something special to the world. If my kids could spend a whole day with each of them over Christmas break instead of receiving a gift from each of them I feel they would grow in mind and soul instead of adding to their pile of "things".
I have tried to keep the focus of my gift giving on giving gifts that encourage spending time together. While this can be challenging it is worth it. It is rewarding when it is all said and done. Sit for a moment and ask yourself what Christmas really means to you. Whichever way you celebrate Christmas I pray you are able to see the true blessings that you are surrounded by. Your child's laughter, your beautiful homes and even time. The fact that you wake up every day and you are given 24 hours to do something great. Make good use of your time, spend it with someone you love.
Merry Christmas from my heart to yours.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
keeping it real
having a joyful day today and overlooking the mess. the kids are making paper ornaments and ella requested i turn on some christmas music. the heat is running, the coffee is good, my jammies are warm and i think this might be similar to what heaven may be like.
i went to the store last night for a few things and got several different kinds of cereal. at breakfast this morning, we all got to eat our favorite cereal and i felt blessed. normally i buy ONE kind of cereal and we all eat it even though it's not what we would have picked at the store. it may seem bizarre to some but i truly felt blessed to be having so many kinds of cereal this morning. is this what getting older teaches us? makes the big picture more clear? i don't know.
josh kept the kids last night while i went to wal-mart. i was there for 2 hours and i enjoyed every moment of it. any of you who have ever shopped with me know that i like to look at nearly everything in the store. pick it up, touch it, smell it, read the ingredients-then sit it back on the shelf and move onto the next item! i did that exactly last night. got to think while i was shopping, read labels, look at the kitchen stuff, the christmas stuff, the book section....seriously enjoyed myself! i was sure to thank him when i got home. thank you for that time alone, honey. it was amazingly refreshing!
i am newly intrigued by natural cleaning and beauty products! by intrigued i might say obsessed-but it's a healthy obsession because it's all natural stuff;) seriously though, i have had my eyes opened as i have been reading about how most products are made, what they do to our body and what they then do to our Earth. I know, it may seem a little lame. This must be what happens to a woman when she moves away from her job, hobbies, family and friends, never leaves the house and focuses on her family and home entirely. I think this is God's initial plan for woman and the more I am home the more I realize new and healthful ways to care for my family.
My recent discoveries (and I admit that while this may be common knowledge for most of you, I was ignorant to the topic before) almost all of our products come from petroleum which is bad for us and bad for the environment. When it comes to house cleaning, products have toxic and harmful (like deadly) chemicals in them that are linked to many cancers. I started several months ago cleaning with vinegar and baking soda because it was cheaper and now come to find it is reported to be the best way to clean and even disinfect! Amazing!
All you need to clean is:
white vinegar made from grain
baking soda
peroxide
bon-ami
and cotton rags!
Some natural beauty ideas:
-you can cleanse your face with whole milk! seriously! hence Cleopatra's milk bath!
-uncooked egg whites serve as a pore minimizer when rubbed on the face. just rinse with warm water.
-olive oil can repair dry, cracked hands.
the list is truly endless
and if using all these natural foods seems weird to you, you can invest in 100% natural beauty products like that of the famous Burt's Bee's. Dr. Bronner's Magical Soaps is another good company! Tom's of Maine is another company devoted to all natural product's and you can get it at wal-mart! They sell deodorant and toothpaste at wal-mart and more on their website. I currently use clinique face care and make-up and as I run out of items I am eager to replace with something natural! And, so far, Burt's Bee's is considerably cheaper than clinique!
Have I lost my mind? Maybe. Or maybe I have found it. I've heard it said that God has a plan, we just need to find it. Whatever is going on, I feel excited and like I have just discovered a new species of something:) The kids are equally interested and curious. Ella was in the bath today and she said, "we really need to get some natural body wash!" Wow, that was cool:)
it's fun to learn new ways and even more rewarding to know that it is completely safe and healthy for my home and my family! i read that when the air inside our homes is tested it is more toxic than the air outside. you can help clean the air in your home by adding house plants! i am working on my house plant collection and as i desire to have more, Josh came home with two new plants that his secretary gave to him for me last week! I was SO EXCITED! I am hoping to add a couple of plants to each room! Have I fallen off the "normal" cliff? What is normal?
The exciting thing is that I feel like a farmer...some of my house plants have grown so abundantly that I can re-pot and have a new plant! Loving this cycle;)
If only I could get those chickens in my back yard, I would feel complete:)
Ok, I must go-need to sew some Christmas dresses for the girls and make home-made noodles for dinner. Ok, I am not that extreme....YET!
Have a natural, non-toxic, kookoo lady kind of day!
i went to the store last night for a few things and got several different kinds of cereal. at breakfast this morning, we all got to eat our favorite cereal and i felt blessed. normally i buy ONE kind of cereal and we all eat it even though it's not what we would have picked at the store. it may seem bizarre to some but i truly felt blessed to be having so many kinds of cereal this morning. is this what getting older teaches us? makes the big picture more clear? i don't know.
josh kept the kids last night while i went to wal-mart. i was there for 2 hours and i enjoyed every moment of it. any of you who have ever shopped with me know that i like to look at nearly everything in the store. pick it up, touch it, smell it, read the ingredients-then sit it back on the shelf and move onto the next item! i did that exactly last night. got to think while i was shopping, read labels, look at the kitchen stuff, the christmas stuff, the book section....seriously enjoyed myself! i was sure to thank him when i got home. thank you for that time alone, honey. it was amazingly refreshing!
i am newly intrigued by natural cleaning and beauty products! by intrigued i might say obsessed-but it's a healthy obsession because it's all natural stuff;) seriously though, i have had my eyes opened as i have been reading about how most products are made, what they do to our body and what they then do to our Earth. I know, it may seem a little lame. This must be what happens to a woman when she moves away from her job, hobbies, family and friends, never leaves the house and focuses on her family and home entirely. I think this is God's initial plan for woman and the more I am home the more I realize new and healthful ways to care for my family.
My recent discoveries (and I admit that while this may be common knowledge for most of you, I was ignorant to the topic before) almost all of our products come from petroleum which is bad for us and bad for the environment. When it comes to house cleaning, products have toxic and harmful (like deadly) chemicals in them that are linked to many cancers. I started several months ago cleaning with vinegar and baking soda because it was cheaper and now come to find it is reported to be the best way to clean and even disinfect! Amazing!
All you need to clean is:
white vinegar made from grain
baking soda
peroxide
bon-ami
and cotton rags!
Some natural beauty ideas:
-you can cleanse your face with whole milk! seriously! hence Cleopatra's milk bath!
-uncooked egg whites serve as a pore minimizer when rubbed on the face. just rinse with warm water.
-olive oil can repair dry, cracked hands.
the list is truly endless
and if using all these natural foods seems weird to you, you can invest in 100% natural beauty products like that of the famous Burt's Bee's. Dr. Bronner's Magical Soaps is another good company! Tom's of Maine is another company devoted to all natural product's and you can get it at wal-mart! They sell deodorant and toothpaste at wal-mart and more on their website. I currently use clinique face care and make-up and as I run out of items I am eager to replace with something natural! And, so far, Burt's Bee's is considerably cheaper than clinique!
Have I lost my mind? Maybe. Or maybe I have found it. I've heard it said that God has a plan, we just need to find it. Whatever is going on, I feel excited and like I have just discovered a new species of something:) The kids are equally interested and curious. Ella was in the bath today and she said, "we really need to get some natural body wash!" Wow, that was cool:)
it's fun to learn new ways and even more rewarding to know that it is completely safe and healthy for my home and my family! i read that when the air inside our homes is tested it is more toxic than the air outside. you can help clean the air in your home by adding house plants! i am working on my house plant collection and as i desire to have more, Josh came home with two new plants that his secretary gave to him for me last week! I was SO EXCITED! I am hoping to add a couple of plants to each room! Have I fallen off the "normal" cliff? What is normal?
The exciting thing is that I feel like a farmer...some of my house plants have grown so abundantly that I can re-pot and have a new plant! Loving this cycle;)
If only I could get those chickens in my back yard, I would feel complete:)
Ok, I must go-need to sew some Christmas dresses for the girls and make home-made noodles for dinner. Ok, I am not that extreme....YET!
Have a natural, non-toxic, kookoo lady kind of day!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
the necklace
anyone who knows me knows that i am for the most part very laid back in all aspects. one particular thing is if i put a piece of jewelry on it is likely to stay on for days, weeks or even years. i am not one to take my jewelry on and off every day and i can tell you it certainly doesn't go in my jewelry box when it does come off. it goes right where i happen to be. at my desk, on the kitchen counter, in the car, in my purse. call it what you want but i just don't think it's that important to take my jewelry off every night nor do i mind where it ends up. i know it's here somewhere;)
anyway, one of my good friends gave me a necklace for my birthday and i put it on immediately. i kept it on for days and my 5 year old daughter always asked me why are you still wearing that necklace. i would tell her the same thing every time "i like it and i don't have a reason to take it off yet". a couple days passed and as i was stepping out of the shower she asked me why i wore the necklace in the shower. i told her i had no reason to take it off and i didn't think the water from the shower would harm it.
a month passed and i was still wearing my necklace. ella still noticing that i have not taken it off not even to shower or to go to sleep. she continues to ask why am i still wearing that necklace. and i proceed to tell her that there is no significance, i just simply haven't taken it off.
about a week ago, ella was up in her room and after some time passed she came downstairs with a necklace on. i told her she looked pretty as a princess and she said she loved her necklace. typically when ella puts jewelry on it last about a half hour. it tends to rub her skin and irritates her. that evening i gave her a bath. she told me that she loved that necklace and she could even wear it in the bath. "just like you mommy" she'd say. i thought that was very sweet and interested me how much of an impact me wearing my necklace left on her. she really thought that was something!
a couple more days passed and ella still had the necklace on. she had made comments that she can even sleep in that necklace. she would say i have had this on forever and i even take a bath with it on. well as i sit and type today, ella still has the necklace on. she has not taken it off for anything. not for bath time. not for bedtime.
now you might think to yourself, get to the point lady, so what a little girl is trying to be like her mommy. the point is, me keeping a necklace on had no meaning. i mostly kept it on out of convenience. and she picked up on that and wanted to do the same thing. let this act as a clear example that everything you do in your life is making a big difference in your child's life. whether it's exercising everyday, helping the neighbor with yard work or simply wearing a necklace. your kids look up to you more than you know. are you who you want your kids to be when they are grown? if you find no reason to be a good civilian or to be kind, think of the children in your life who look up to you. be intentional in your parenting. if me wearing some silly necklace day in and day out made an impact on my daughter's life, imagine how our other actions are affecting them. are you jealous of your friends? do you talk poorly about people? do you litter? drink too much? are you careful in your judgements? do you give all your thanks to the Lord? are you a slob? are you overweight or depressed?
if you lead a positive, faithful life, hats of to you as you are impacting the world in a positive way. but the truth is is that we are all sinners and there are areas we could work on-especially since the kids are watching. think of the person you are and ask yourself is this who i want my child to be? sometimes we need help to become who we want to be. don't be ashamed to pray, talk to your doctor or get help from a friend if you are less than what you want to be. lead by example; you are more powerful than you may know.
anyway, one of my good friends gave me a necklace for my birthday and i put it on immediately. i kept it on for days and my 5 year old daughter always asked me why are you still wearing that necklace. i would tell her the same thing every time "i like it and i don't have a reason to take it off yet". a couple days passed and as i was stepping out of the shower she asked me why i wore the necklace in the shower. i told her i had no reason to take it off and i didn't think the water from the shower would harm it.
a month passed and i was still wearing my necklace. ella still noticing that i have not taken it off not even to shower or to go to sleep. she continues to ask why am i still wearing that necklace. and i proceed to tell her that there is no significance, i just simply haven't taken it off.
about a week ago, ella was up in her room and after some time passed she came downstairs with a necklace on. i told her she looked pretty as a princess and she said she loved her necklace. typically when ella puts jewelry on it last about a half hour. it tends to rub her skin and irritates her. that evening i gave her a bath. she told me that she loved that necklace and she could even wear it in the bath. "just like you mommy" she'd say. i thought that was very sweet and interested me how much of an impact me wearing my necklace left on her. she really thought that was something!
a couple more days passed and ella still had the necklace on. she had made comments that she can even sleep in that necklace. she would say i have had this on forever and i even take a bath with it on. well as i sit and type today, ella still has the necklace on. she has not taken it off for anything. not for bath time. not for bedtime.
now you might think to yourself, get to the point lady, so what a little girl is trying to be like her mommy. the point is, me keeping a necklace on had no meaning. i mostly kept it on out of convenience. and she picked up on that and wanted to do the same thing. let this act as a clear example that everything you do in your life is making a big difference in your child's life. whether it's exercising everyday, helping the neighbor with yard work or simply wearing a necklace. your kids look up to you more than you know. are you who you want your kids to be when they are grown? if you find no reason to be a good civilian or to be kind, think of the children in your life who look up to you. be intentional in your parenting. if me wearing some silly necklace day in and day out made an impact on my daughter's life, imagine how our other actions are affecting them. are you jealous of your friends? do you talk poorly about people? do you litter? drink too much? are you careful in your judgements? do you give all your thanks to the Lord? are you a slob? are you overweight or depressed?
if you lead a positive, faithful life, hats of to you as you are impacting the world in a positive way. but the truth is is that we are all sinners and there are areas we could work on-especially since the kids are watching. think of the person you are and ask yourself is this who i want my child to be? sometimes we need help to become who we want to be. don't be ashamed to pray, talk to your doctor or get help from a friend if you are less than what you want to be. lead by example; you are more powerful than you may know.
ella and her necklace
Friday, November 30, 2012
tgif-make it great
started the day of wholesome and pure with a delicious breakfast! i bought some delicious, multi-grain bread at the bakery last night and sliced it and toasted it for the kids and i. spread with hazelnut spread, real peanut butter and jam. yum. i have been a funk this week where i have been less capable of completing tasks like dishes and laundry and been addicted to reading and writing. it's so weird to me the cycles that my brain goes through because suddenly today my eyes are more aware of trash and clutter than they have been all week. i have been walking around picking up ever since i woke up. why is it that all week all the piles of toys, books and dishes didn't even bother me but today i am very intolerant of it all?
my desk has looked this way all week....but today....it's driving me nuts!
this is why i don't make my bed, dust and scrub the floors every day. when the mood strikes me i will do enough cleaning for the whole neighborhood and them some and it will feel effortless. when i am not in the mood to organize and de-clutter, but i force myself to do it it is nearly painful to accomplish anything!
it's friday so to help us have a wonderful weekend i am de-cluttering, doing laundry and putting meat in the crock pot this afternoon for dinner. fridays lately have been my day to do less sit-down lessons with kids and do more house work and errands. though we will fall behind on lessons today, monday is our day where we do double duty with lessons, usually getting 9-10 hours of school in. it all works out.
i am hoping to go to a couple of second hand shops i have seen in town and just see what they have. i am not looking for anything in particular yet so i probably won't be buying anything. i like to look a lot before i make a purchase and sometimes i hate going into small shops when you aren't looking to buy anything. oh well, if they want my business in the future, they will just have to be patient and let me browse their selection;)
i want to learn how to make easy bread this weekend. it can't be that hard. i would like to be able to teach the kids how to make it and then each week this can be one of their jobs. i also need to make laundry soap this weekend. and on the topic of making things i was planning to make home-made play dough for some of the kids on my christmas list so i think we will experiment with the different recipes i have for that.
hope everyone has a great weekend. remember, you are in charge of the kinds of days you have. make it a great weekend!!!!
xoxo
my desk has looked this way all week....but today....it's driving me nuts!
this is why i don't make my bed, dust and scrub the floors every day. when the mood strikes me i will do enough cleaning for the whole neighborhood and them some and it will feel effortless. when i am not in the mood to organize and de-clutter, but i force myself to do it it is nearly painful to accomplish anything!
it's friday so to help us have a wonderful weekend i am de-cluttering, doing laundry and putting meat in the crock pot this afternoon for dinner. fridays lately have been my day to do less sit-down lessons with kids and do more house work and errands. though we will fall behind on lessons today, monday is our day where we do double duty with lessons, usually getting 9-10 hours of school in. it all works out.
i am hoping to go to a couple of second hand shops i have seen in town and just see what they have. i am not looking for anything in particular yet so i probably won't be buying anything. i like to look a lot before i make a purchase and sometimes i hate going into small shops when you aren't looking to buy anything. oh well, if they want my business in the future, they will just have to be patient and let me browse their selection;)
i want to learn how to make easy bread this weekend. it can't be that hard. i would like to be able to teach the kids how to make it and then each week this can be one of their jobs. i also need to make laundry soap this weekend. and on the topic of making things i was planning to make home-made play dough for some of the kids on my christmas list so i think we will experiment with the different recipes i have for that.
hope everyone has a great weekend. remember, you are in charge of the kinds of days you have. make it a great weekend!!!!
xoxo
tell them they are perdy
the night is good. i am sitting in my husband's sweats (which i rarely wear) (my laundry service hasn't held up their end of the deal) (it's a slight pet peeve of mine when women wear men's clothes) drinking wine and just finished watching one of my favorite TV shows on abc.com. i was just sitting on facebook and i had a lot of things i wanted to post as my status so instead i thought i would take it here.
on the show i was watching, the actors and actresses are all so beautiful physically and most of the characters are portrayed as being beautiful on the inside too. do you ever see beautiful people and it makes you want to shower, shave your legs, paint your nails, give yourself a facial, wear lots of make-up, curl your hair, put lots of jewelry on and finish with an excess amount of your favorite designer perfume? people on tv are just so perfect. even the ones that have "baggage". you know i personally admire someone who has "baggage". it's like i want to know all about it. the good. the bad. and the downright ugly. because that is what makes someone so real and so unique. i like to see fault in a person and actually it makes me quite uncomfortable when i am around an individual in which i start to gather that everything in their world lines up perfectly. it's like you are envious of the prefect, easy life they lead but on the contrary you feel bad about there lack of exposure.
the beautiful people we see on TV reminds me of so many things. i see young girls and i think to myself oh they are so young and they have got the world in the palm of their hands. and it's all about choices. i remember when i was in high school and though now i can say i was a beautiful young lady, i had a lot of things that i thought were wrong with my image. though i think it's safe to say i was a confident one, it's also safe to say that i saw many faults. my hair wasn't right, i had a tummy, my teeth weren't straight.....and now that i have reared three children i look at all my physical imperfections on my body. i look back at pictures from my younger years and think what a beautiful young girl i was. of course when i was in school the style encouraged your belly to hang out and i see many shots of my tummy exposed; smooth as silk, flat and perfectly colored from wearing a bikini in the sun.
my wish for teen girls is for them to see their beauty. not to see their beauty in such a way that their ego over exceeds it's limits but to see their real beauty. every mark on their body was carefully chosen by God. every tiny flab of skin that they see as fat serves as a layer to protect their beautiful body.
if you have daughters, or know a young woman who is growing up in this world where "thin is in" and nothing is ever good enough, tell them just how perfect and beautiful they are. do this because it is true, not because i am telling you to. take i look into their heart and see just how beautiful they are.
if only there was an app on our phones that could show us what we will look like 5, 10 or 25 years away, maybe then we would see our own beauty. sad that this is the way it is but most young girls and woman are guilty of beating themselves up and never accepting how truly beautiful they are. or maybe they are able to see it themselves but don't think that their friends, boyfriend or the rest of the world can see it.
remember that God made us all and for us to not except our image is like not trusting God.
tell the women in your life, especially the teens just how pretty they are, not just today but always.
on the show i was watching, the actors and actresses are all so beautiful physically and most of the characters are portrayed as being beautiful on the inside too. do you ever see beautiful people and it makes you want to shower, shave your legs, paint your nails, give yourself a facial, wear lots of make-up, curl your hair, put lots of jewelry on and finish with an excess amount of your favorite designer perfume? people on tv are just so perfect. even the ones that have "baggage". you know i personally admire someone who has "baggage". it's like i want to know all about it. the good. the bad. and the downright ugly. because that is what makes someone so real and so unique. i like to see fault in a person and actually it makes me quite uncomfortable when i am around an individual in which i start to gather that everything in their world lines up perfectly. it's like you are envious of the prefect, easy life they lead but on the contrary you feel bad about there lack of exposure.
the beautiful people we see on TV reminds me of so many things. i see young girls and i think to myself oh they are so young and they have got the world in the palm of their hands. and it's all about choices. i remember when i was in high school and though now i can say i was a beautiful young lady, i had a lot of things that i thought were wrong with my image. though i think it's safe to say i was a confident one, it's also safe to say that i saw many faults. my hair wasn't right, i had a tummy, my teeth weren't straight.....and now that i have reared three children i look at all my physical imperfections on my body. i look back at pictures from my younger years and think what a beautiful young girl i was. of course when i was in school the style encouraged your belly to hang out and i see many shots of my tummy exposed; smooth as silk, flat and perfectly colored from wearing a bikini in the sun.
my wish for teen girls is for them to see their beauty. not to see their beauty in such a way that their ego over exceeds it's limits but to see their real beauty. every mark on their body was carefully chosen by God. every tiny flab of skin that they see as fat serves as a layer to protect their beautiful body.
if you have daughters, or know a young woman who is growing up in this world where "thin is in" and nothing is ever good enough, tell them just how perfect and beautiful they are. do this because it is true, not because i am telling you to. take i look into their heart and see just how beautiful they are.
if only there was an app on our phones that could show us what we will look like 5, 10 or 25 years away, maybe then we would see our own beauty. sad that this is the way it is but most young girls and woman are guilty of beating themselves up and never accepting how truly beautiful they are. or maybe they are able to see it themselves but don't think that their friends, boyfriend or the rest of the world can see it.
remember that God made us all and for us to not except our image is like not trusting God.
tell the women in your life, especially the teens just how pretty they are, not just today but always.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Christmas
Tis the season and traditionally most of us will be exchanging gifts. Some people give generously while others give carefully. Whatever your style I would like to give you something to think about before your wallets are emptied out.
What if everyone bought their gifts from their local downtown shops? The handy-man on your list could get a gift from your local hardware. The fashionista on your list could get something from the local boutique. That impossible-to-shop-for individual could receive gift certificates to the local "mom and pop" pizza joint. It's possible!
Last year we lived in a small town. Our hometown. We have several people to shop for as many of you do. Let me remind you that my spouse and I are both from divorced families therefor we have 8 parents to shop for and multiple half/ step and whole siblings. lol. Anyway-we managed to get all of our holiday shopping done without having to travel out of town or order anything on-line. That's right! Every gift came from downtown. And it was great! To my surprise, I managed to find something for everyone last year!
Keep that in mind this year as the financial state of our country struggles. We are all stretching our dollar so instead of helping large multi-million dollar companies whose products are manufactured in China, shop the small businesses! It might seem challenging at first but you will be surprised just how much you can find!
Good luck! I would love to hear about how you did!
What if everyone bought their gifts from their local downtown shops? The handy-man on your list could get a gift from your local hardware. The fashionista on your list could get something from the local boutique. That impossible-to-shop-for individual could receive gift certificates to the local "mom and pop" pizza joint. It's possible!
Last year we lived in a small town. Our hometown. We have several people to shop for as many of you do. Let me remind you that my spouse and I are both from divorced families therefor we have 8 parents to shop for and multiple half/ step and whole siblings. lol. Anyway-we managed to get all of our holiday shopping done without having to travel out of town or order anything on-line. That's right! Every gift came from downtown. And it was great! To my surprise, I managed to find something for everyone last year!
Keep that in mind this year as the financial state of our country struggles. We are all stretching our dollar so instead of helping large multi-million dollar companies whose products are manufactured in China, shop the small businesses! It might seem challenging at first but you will be surprised just how much you can find!
Good luck! I would love to hear about how you did!
learning
Had a wonderful day of learning in our school room today. After a little break the kids were ready to get back on track and do what they do best. We are creatures of habit whether we like to admit it or not. As the holiday of recognizing what we are thankful for passes, it is never too late to constantly remember what we are thankful for. I am whole heartily thankful for the right to educate our kids however we choose best. In our case, it's to learn at home. I pour my entire being into education and quality time day in and day out and it completes me. I lye in bed at night surrounded by my family and as I listen to them all softly hum in their slumber I am consumed by what goals I have for my kids. I am constantly thinking about what we are learning and doing and what I want to learn and do. I am enjoying each day teaching and truly learning right along with them. You know when you just love something and it feels so good to do it? Well that is exactly the feeling I get when I am teaching these kids. When I see the light bulb go on, or when I see them using something in their everyday life that I taught them it makes me want to lift them up and put them on my shoulders and run through the house in celebration! I get excited when I teach my kids and with that said, I am thankful.
There are so many things I want to see, do, and hear in the world that I have an anxious feeling. As I have written before, I want to sell everything we have and buy a motor home and live off the land. It's a beautiful place from what I can see and I haven't even seen the half of it! I firmly believe God has provided everything one would need to survive. The older I get, the more I want to learn and teach. Ten years ago I would have been 16 and I could have given a rat's ass what was going on around me at school and what my teachers were saying. I was being forced to learn therefor I wasn't interested. I don't know where one would begin, but I wish traditional school could change. It's natural to want to learn so why is it that so many kids "hate" school? If we put our children in a relaxed environment, take away all the standards that need to be met and let our teachers be inspired naturally I feel we would have more interests from the students in the classrooms. I went to college for four years and was studying to be a teacher. One of my plans for my future classroom was for desks to be an option. Same goes for shoes, and whether you wanted to listen or not. Imagine if instead of controlling 20-30 students in a classroom you laid down a brief list of rules like respect your neighbor and treat others as you would want to be treated and everything else was up to them? I imagine that would be a spectacular place for children with brains that are like sponges to be. If you have a teacher who teaches like the world depends on it then the kids would want to listen!!!!!!
Maybe someday I can do that. Who knows where the wind will take me besides God? The point is that learning is awesome and there is always something to be learned, no matter what age we are. I think if we can rid ourselves of all the distractions that are not necessary we would regain that sense of what sparks our interest. I once read a quote that is so true it said something like if you are too busy to read the word then you are busier than God ever intended you to be. This is so true for all things. Since we have moved, a lot of my small groups and clubs have come to an end and it's amazing how much clearer the vision is. My role is to teach, love and care for my family. That's it. I don't have 3 meetings a week anymore. I am not running here, there and everywhere. I am physically and mentally in one spot now. My ministry is my family.
SO often our main excuse for things is that we don't have time. Don't become so busy that you can't embrace the simple yet amazingly beautiful things in life. Make time for family. Make time for friends. Put God first. And learn something new for YOU.
There are so many things I want to see, do, and hear in the world that I have an anxious feeling. As I have written before, I want to sell everything we have and buy a motor home and live off the land. It's a beautiful place from what I can see and I haven't even seen the half of it! I firmly believe God has provided everything one would need to survive. The older I get, the more I want to learn and teach. Ten years ago I would have been 16 and I could have given a rat's ass what was going on around me at school and what my teachers were saying. I was being forced to learn therefor I wasn't interested. I don't know where one would begin, but I wish traditional school could change. It's natural to want to learn so why is it that so many kids "hate" school? If we put our children in a relaxed environment, take away all the standards that need to be met and let our teachers be inspired naturally I feel we would have more interests from the students in the classrooms. I went to college for four years and was studying to be a teacher. One of my plans for my future classroom was for desks to be an option. Same goes for shoes, and whether you wanted to listen or not. Imagine if instead of controlling 20-30 students in a classroom you laid down a brief list of rules like respect your neighbor and treat others as you would want to be treated and everything else was up to them? I imagine that would be a spectacular place for children with brains that are like sponges to be. If you have a teacher who teaches like the world depends on it then the kids would want to listen!!!!!!
Maybe someday I can do that. Who knows where the wind will take me besides God? The point is that learning is awesome and there is always something to be learned, no matter what age we are. I think if we can rid ourselves of all the distractions that are not necessary we would regain that sense of what sparks our interest. I once read a quote that is so true it said something like if you are too busy to read the word then you are busier than God ever intended you to be. This is so true for all things. Since we have moved, a lot of my small groups and clubs have come to an end and it's amazing how much clearer the vision is. My role is to teach, love and care for my family. That's it. I don't have 3 meetings a week anymore. I am not running here, there and everywhere. I am physically and mentally in one spot now. My ministry is my family.
SO often our main excuse for things is that we don't have time. Don't become so busy that you can't embrace the simple yet amazingly beautiful things in life. Make time for family. Make time for friends. Put God first. And learn something new for YOU.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
You Are A Model!
Coffee is good this morning and the house is quiet. Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse...I guess it's not Christmas yet...
Oddly enough I am enjoying these colder temps. I am ready for them to stay! There is something about Thanksgiving and Christmas that make it that much more magical when it is cold outside. I hope the cold is here to stay for a couple of months and I say bring on the snow! I guess we are in the "snow belt" now that we moved and I am not exactly sure what that means but I think I like the sounds of that!
Had a visit this weekend from one of my good friends, Brittney and her husband and 3 children. I met Brittney about 3 years ago. We met through our MOPS (mother's) club and from that day forward we have been a match made in heaven. We share the same overall parenting style, keep a home in the same manner and like any and all things spontaneous! Our foresight is the same in that it is non existent:) When we are together, our kids range in age like this: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7! You can imagine how that goes! Anyway, they came for the weekend and it felt good to have my home filled with kids and friends! Thankful for good friends!
The election is OVER! Josh and I both voted. I hear a lot of people saying that no matter who won, it is part of God's plan. Isn't that true? This is so important for all of us to remember. We have no control over anything-it's all in God's hands. It might not make sense, but we have to put our faith in Him and trust in his plan. Regardless of who we vote for, once the election results come in, that is our president. I think it's extremely important to respect whomever is in office, no matter if it is who we voted for or not. When Obama won 4 years ago, I bought a children's book on Barack Obama and read it to my kids. I wanted to make sure they knew who our president was. Does this mean that I am a registered democrat? No. It doesn't mean that I agree with his views on being a world leader either. It does mean though, that I think it is important to raise your child to respect and support the leader of our country. Our children should be presented facts to the best of their understanding and they should learn to pray and support for our leaders. That is my goal as a citizen and that is what I want for my children.
We sometimes forget what an impact we have on our children. OK, our kids look up to us like we are President or like we are a God. Every time you let bad attitude shine through, you let down that child. You let them down because you are acting like a fool and you let them down because you are passing down bad attitude that will stick with them. It's never too early to teach your kids how to handle tough situations. Teach them that name-calling and badmouthing isn't going to fix anything but rather spending time in prayer and in research to learn how you can help make the situation better. Be who you want your kids to be-you only get one shot! Your kids are ALWAYS watching! When you feel you have failed them, or have acted in a shameful way in front of them, take time to cool off and then go back and talk to them. Explain that you acted poorly and ask how they felt about it. Ask then if they will forgive you. It's easy, it sets a great example for them and it WORKS!
Well, I suppose it's time I'd get busy. We are learning about the seasons, landforms, possessive nouns and subtraction. There is so much to learn! What I would really like to do is pack up and go the library all day. I love that place! I told the kids last night that I thought it would be fun to hide in a library until they closed and then spend all night browsing through books and reading. They agreed:)
Go out into the world and infect it with your smile today. Really, just smile at everyone!
Oddly enough I am enjoying these colder temps. I am ready for them to stay! There is something about Thanksgiving and Christmas that make it that much more magical when it is cold outside. I hope the cold is here to stay for a couple of months and I say bring on the snow! I guess we are in the "snow belt" now that we moved and I am not exactly sure what that means but I think I like the sounds of that!
Had a visit this weekend from one of my good friends, Brittney and her husband and 3 children. I met Brittney about 3 years ago. We met through our MOPS (mother's) club and from that day forward we have been a match made in heaven. We share the same overall parenting style, keep a home in the same manner and like any and all things spontaneous! Our foresight is the same in that it is non existent:) When we are together, our kids range in age like this: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7! You can imagine how that goes! Anyway, they came for the weekend and it felt good to have my home filled with kids and friends! Thankful for good friends!
The election is OVER! Josh and I both voted. I hear a lot of people saying that no matter who won, it is part of God's plan. Isn't that true? This is so important for all of us to remember. We have no control over anything-it's all in God's hands. It might not make sense, but we have to put our faith in Him and trust in his plan. Regardless of who we vote for, once the election results come in, that is our president. I think it's extremely important to respect whomever is in office, no matter if it is who we voted for or not. When Obama won 4 years ago, I bought a children's book on Barack Obama and read it to my kids. I wanted to make sure they knew who our president was. Does this mean that I am a registered democrat? No. It doesn't mean that I agree with his views on being a world leader either. It does mean though, that I think it is important to raise your child to respect and support the leader of our country. Our children should be presented facts to the best of their understanding and they should learn to pray and support for our leaders. That is my goal as a citizen and that is what I want for my children.
We sometimes forget what an impact we have on our children. OK, our kids look up to us like we are President or like we are a God. Every time you let bad attitude shine through, you let down that child. You let them down because you are acting like a fool and you let them down because you are passing down bad attitude that will stick with them. It's never too early to teach your kids how to handle tough situations. Teach them that name-calling and badmouthing isn't going to fix anything but rather spending time in prayer and in research to learn how you can help make the situation better. Be who you want your kids to be-you only get one shot! Your kids are ALWAYS watching! When you feel you have failed them, or have acted in a shameful way in front of them, take time to cool off and then go back and talk to them. Explain that you acted poorly and ask how they felt about it. Ask then if they will forgive you. It's easy, it sets a great example for them and it WORKS!
Well, I suppose it's time I'd get busy. We are learning about the seasons, landforms, possessive nouns and subtraction. There is so much to learn! What I would really like to do is pack up and go the library all day. I love that place! I told the kids last night that I thought it would be fun to hide in a library until they closed and then spend all night browsing through books and reading. They agreed:)
Go out into the world and infect it with your smile today. Really, just smile at everyone!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Man there is just not enough time to get it all in. There is so much to teach these eager young kids. There is so much to do to this new home. There is so much to tell Josh. There are so many people to see. AND I HAVE SO MUCH THAT I WANT TO BLOG ABOUT. But me and time management have always had a bitter relationship. Today, however, I am distracted my anything that is shiny or moves, so needless to say I am off of our daily routine, am wired on coffee beans and ready to write.
Today we are celebrating reading. We pretty much celebrate reading everyday because we love to read but today is a real celebration. SO here is the story:
Bedtime takes time with 3 kids-actually, who am I kidding, it's not just the kids but the adults too. Last night i drew a bath around 8 o'clock for the kids. I hopped in too. we ended up being in there for about an hour as i was teaching Spanish words to the kids and they loved it, lol. we even had to drain the water because it got cold and refill with hot water. anyway, once we were clean and jammies on and toofs brushed and bladders emptied we gathered in Joshua's room for Bible story time. Read about the Earthquake in prison and prayed. From there we always split up into our own snuggly spot and curl up with a book. Emma started a new book and Ella started a new book too. Ella is now reading chapter books! By this time it was 9 o'clock and I told Ella we could read chapter one and then lights out. Once we were through the chapter, she begged me to let her read more and who in their right mind would tell a 5 year old "no more reading"? Not this mom! I told her she could read a little while longer. Emma, same thing-I went to turn off her bedroom light and she begged to leave her light on so she could read. OK, fine. So I went off to my room to read. An hour went by and I saw no sign of the girls. [Ella was in her own bed and Emma was in her own bed. A rarity! Joshua was snuggled in my arms, fast asleep in my bed.] I thought for sure everyone was asleep! Well, soon after, Ella came in to report she was on Chapter 4! She was so excited! She crawled up in our bed and we layed there and talked. Emma came walking in and said, I am already on Chapter 4! I teased them that 4 was the magic number tonight! Emma climbed up in bed to join in the fun. There are now 5 in the bed. We were encouraging the girls to settle down and go to sleep. Ella asked if she could "pretty please read more of her book". Well, I saw no problem in that and soon Ella, Emma and I were back to reading.
It got to be 11 and Ella was now to chapter 6. Finally at 11:30, we forced our book worms to put their books down until tomorrow. And we all went to sleep.
This morning I woke up to the sound of Ella reading aloud. She was on chapter 7 of her Junie B Jones book! She wasn't ready for breakfast, she was addicted to her book! So, we layed in bed until 11:30 as she finished the entire book! All 10 chapters! This girl can't be stopped! Nose in a book! We are so proud of her!
Celebrate reading everyday with your kids! Get all the books off the book shelf, pile 'em high, grab a blanket and read with your kids! Studies show if you read with your kids everyday you will spark a lifetime love of reading. There is so much to learn for people of all ages. Turn off your TV and read.
[Dare to be nerdy]
Today we are celebrating reading. We pretty much celebrate reading everyday because we love to read but today is a real celebration. SO here is the story:
Bedtime takes time with 3 kids-actually, who am I kidding, it's not just the kids but the adults too. Last night i drew a bath around 8 o'clock for the kids. I hopped in too. we ended up being in there for about an hour as i was teaching Spanish words to the kids and they loved it, lol. we even had to drain the water because it got cold and refill with hot water. anyway, once we were clean and jammies on and toofs brushed and bladders emptied we gathered in Joshua's room for Bible story time. Read about the Earthquake in prison and prayed. From there we always split up into our own snuggly spot and curl up with a book. Emma started a new book and Ella started a new book too. Ella is now reading chapter books! By this time it was 9 o'clock and I told Ella we could read chapter one and then lights out. Once we were through the chapter, she begged me to let her read more and who in their right mind would tell a 5 year old "no more reading"? Not this mom! I told her she could read a little while longer. Emma, same thing-I went to turn off her bedroom light and she begged to leave her light on so she could read. OK, fine. So I went off to my room to read. An hour went by and I saw no sign of the girls. [Ella was in her own bed and Emma was in her own bed. A rarity! Joshua was snuggled in my arms, fast asleep in my bed.] I thought for sure everyone was asleep! Well, soon after, Ella came in to report she was on Chapter 4! She was so excited! She crawled up in our bed and we layed there and talked. Emma came walking in and said, I am already on Chapter 4! I teased them that 4 was the magic number tonight! Emma climbed up in bed to join in the fun. There are now 5 in the bed. We were encouraging the girls to settle down and go to sleep. Ella asked if she could "pretty please read more of her book". Well, I saw no problem in that and soon Ella, Emma and I were back to reading.
It got to be 11 and Ella was now to chapter 6. Finally at 11:30, we forced our book worms to put their books down until tomorrow. And we all went to sleep.
This morning I woke up to the sound of Ella reading aloud. She was on chapter 7 of her Junie B Jones book! She wasn't ready for breakfast, she was addicted to her book! So, we layed in bed until 11:30 as she finished the entire book! All 10 chapters! This girl can't be stopped! Nose in a book! We are so proud of her!
Celebrate reading everyday with your kids! Get all the books off the book shelf, pile 'em high, grab a blanket and read with your kids! Studies show if you read with your kids everyday you will spark a lifetime love of reading. There is so much to learn for people of all ages. Turn off your TV and read.
[Dare to be nerdy]
From left: Emma (reading), Joshua (sleeping), Ella (reading), Me (reading and drinking wine)
not a very good pic but this is us in bed last night. Josh captured the moment for me.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Happy Halloween?
Did you have a Happy Halloween like the greeting demands? We did! Trick-or treat was in our neighborhood last night and despite the rain and low temperatures we had a great time! Emma was a spooky goblin, Ella was a witch and Joshua a werewolf! There was a generous amount of neighbors contributing to the candy collecting and passing out and I was thrilled with the positive experience! They came home with piles of candy!
So many things I read I notice that everyone has to use caution if you will when they talk about Halloween. I see schools calling Halloween parties "Fall" parties now and encourage children to leave their costume at home. The curriculum I use to educate my kids had an optional lesson yesterday for Halloween. It read "If you don't celebrate Halloween, discuss Autumn as the season with your child." Really? Why do we have to over-think everything nowadays? Can't it just be? I just saw reply to a facebook post about Halloween that read "Sorry, we don't celebrate Halloween because we are Christians." So instead of this person just not posting, she had to put it out there for everyone to see and in my opinion, make families feel like they are doing something wrong.
We went trick or treating last night and dressed up as spooky characters! It was fun for the kids to think that they were scary and could play tricks on friends. And then when it was all said and done we prayed before we went to bed and thanked the Lord for such a fun, safe evening. We thanked Him for all the sweet treats and expressed our love for all He has done for us. So there...we're Christians too!
If people would take the time to research what they are preaching, they would realize that the origin of Halloween actually has Christian roots. Everything in America does as we are a country founded on Christianity. You can't hide from God, he is the root of everything. We often times forget that as a servant to God he asks us to be accepting of everyone and not to judge others. In my opinion, it's OK to trick or treat and by keeping it from your kids you are going to create even more of a complex within them over Halloween. It's all in fun and indeed, it's fun! The kids ate candy for supper last night and they are eating candy right now!
<rant over>
Anyway, on a more helpful note: Over the years we have accumulated 3 totes full of costumes! Last year I bought 4-5 costumes on clearance (and by clearance I mean $0.75!). Just like with any holiday, Halloween merchandise is marked way down after the holiday is over. Wait a couple of days though for the best deals! This will help you to not overspend every year on costumes and accessories! Another fun way to save money is the old fashioned make it yourself option! If you are creative you can make an original costume on a dime!
So many things I read I notice that everyone has to use caution if you will when they talk about Halloween. I see schools calling Halloween parties "Fall" parties now and encourage children to leave their costume at home. The curriculum I use to educate my kids had an optional lesson yesterday for Halloween. It read "If you don't celebrate Halloween, discuss Autumn as the season with your child." Really? Why do we have to over-think everything nowadays? Can't it just be? I just saw reply to a facebook post about Halloween that read "Sorry, we don't celebrate Halloween because we are Christians." So instead of this person just not posting, she had to put it out there for everyone to see and in my opinion, make families feel like they are doing something wrong.
We went trick or treating last night and dressed up as spooky characters! It was fun for the kids to think that they were scary and could play tricks on friends. And then when it was all said and done we prayed before we went to bed and thanked the Lord for such a fun, safe evening. We thanked Him for all the sweet treats and expressed our love for all He has done for us. So there...we're Christians too!
If people would take the time to research what they are preaching, they would realize that the origin of Halloween actually has Christian roots. Everything in America does as we are a country founded on Christianity. You can't hide from God, he is the root of everything. We often times forget that as a servant to God he asks us to be accepting of everyone and not to judge others. In my opinion, it's OK to trick or treat and by keeping it from your kids you are going to create even more of a complex within them over Halloween. It's all in fun and indeed, it's fun! The kids ate candy for supper last night and they are eating candy right now!
<rant over>
Anyway, on a more helpful note: Over the years we have accumulated 3 totes full of costumes! Last year I bought 4-5 costumes on clearance (and by clearance I mean $0.75!). Just like with any holiday, Halloween merchandise is marked way down after the holiday is over. Wait a couple of days though for the best deals! This will help you to not overspend every year on costumes and accessories! Another fun way to save money is the old fashioned make it yourself option! If you are creative you can make an original costume on a dime!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
"no kids for the day-we can organize the house and relax" said no one EVER"
We are free-Josh and I are out to cause some trouble!
Crazy Ideas For the Weekend
1. Go to the new casino in Cleveland and gamble our last dollars for the week
2. Drive to PA, tailgate and scalp tickets to the OSU game
3. Start traveling in one direction all day and see what we discover.
4. Drive home to see the kids.
to be continued
We are free-Josh and I are out to cause some trouble!
Crazy Ideas For the Weekend
1. Go to the new casino in Cleveland and gamble our last dollars for the week
2. Drive to PA, tailgate and scalp tickets to the OSU game
3. Start traveling in one direction all day and see what we discover.
4. Drive home to see the kids.
to be continued
I was called to be......
I used to hear people talk about getting a calling from God and never knew what this meant. I mean I kind of knew but never really knew. Like, you mean Jesus spoke to you? I can't say I have ever had a calling to do anything but I would agree that I have landed places by God's choice because they were perfect places-places that were comfortable-places that I was good in.
This weekend I am reminded of my purpose. When I was a young, wild, teenager I experienced a life changing event. I became a mommy. It wasn't long after I had Emma that I knew it was part of God's perfect plan for me. I loved every day, my world was so much about my baby-not friends, shopping or parties. I loved spending every second with that baby and it's still that way. I don't think she was ever at Grandma's or with a family member all day until she was a year old. This was the beginning of my attachment parenting spell and it happened naturally. I didn't read parenting books because I felt so connected to my baby I never was led to a book. She slept with me, ate breakfast with me, took a shower with me, sat on my lap when I was sitting, napped in my arms- where there was me there was her. I always said I loved being a mother and I wanted a large family. I knew this when I was 18. I said bring it on! My heart still yearns for more babies but through the years I have grown wiser and can listen to God more.
All three of my kiddos were invited to go to Grandma's for the weekend. Since we've moved, the kids don't see their Grandma's as much and my mother wanted them for the weekend. They left yesterday evening. We have never been away from all three kids for a whole weekend. Usually one night at a time and we have plans. Never home for a whole weekend. While I am enjoying free time, I feel lost. Last night Josh and I went and had a beer (okay 2) at a local bar. When we got home it was late and so it was bedtime. Usually bedtime consists of reading, diapers, bath time, singing, back scratching, praying, snack time, I am thirsty again, did you go potty, now please brush your teeth I am not going to ask you again, please lay down, whisper please, I am trying to sleep, stay on your side of the bed, no singing, guys be quiet......But last night it was Josh saying "Are you ready for bed" and I said "Sure". Shut the lights off and......I couldn't sleep. I sat up and decided to have wine and read in bed because those are things I can't do when the kids are home. I can have wine of course (no, I don't believe in not drinking in front of your kids...) but if I decide I want to read one of my books in bed then that means the lamp has to be on and then the kids think that =more time to stay up and play or chat. Anyway, I read till 3 AM last night and slept until NOON today. Wow!
Morning routine usually consists of taking care of Joshua's potty needs as he can't pee on his own. So everyday for the last 3 1/2 years the very first thing I do is take care of Joshie but today he is not home. SO instead of doing all that and making breakfast for 3 people then myself, I skipped breakfast went right to the pot of coffee Josh made and hopped on the Internet. Guilt free Internet surfing without my conscience reminding me that instead of spending an hour on the Internet you could be down on the floor playing trucks with your buddy.
Nonetheless, it's weird here today. It's nice, but weird. Josh and I have time work on the house, go out to lunch and just chill! We don't know what it's like to have kids and live together. We went from high school to a baby living with my parents then to an apartment. This weekend we can pretend to be those couples who are 26 and 30, no children only careers and dogs...boring! LOL I am kidding-but seriously we always wonder what it would be like? They go like hiking and to dinner and plays at the theater and stuff. Alone. Without getting a sitter. [Today I am reminded of my purpose which is to mother children that have a lot to offer to the next generation in spirit, mind and soul.]
I love my Earth.
have a learning filled kind of day. [i dare you to think outside the box]
I used to hear people talk about getting a calling from God and never knew what this meant. I mean I kind of knew but never really knew. Like, you mean Jesus spoke to you? I can't say I have ever had a calling to do anything but I would agree that I have landed places by God's choice because they were perfect places-places that were comfortable-places that I was good in.
This weekend I am reminded of my purpose. When I was a young, wild, teenager I experienced a life changing event. I became a mommy. It wasn't long after I had Emma that I knew it was part of God's perfect plan for me. I loved every day, my world was so much about my baby-not friends, shopping or parties. I loved spending every second with that baby and it's still that way. I don't think she was ever at Grandma's or with a family member all day until she was a year old. This was the beginning of my attachment parenting spell and it happened naturally. I didn't read parenting books because I felt so connected to my baby I never was led to a book. She slept with me, ate breakfast with me, took a shower with me, sat on my lap when I was sitting, napped in my arms- where there was me there was her. I always said I loved being a mother and I wanted a large family. I knew this when I was 18. I said bring it on! My heart still yearns for more babies but through the years I have grown wiser and can listen to God more.
All three of my kiddos were invited to go to Grandma's for the weekend. Since we've moved, the kids don't see their Grandma's as much and my mother wanted them for the weekend. They left yesterday evening. We have never been away from all three kids for a whole weekend. Usually one night at a time and we have plans. Never home for a whole weekend. While I am enjoying free time, I feel lost. Last night Josh and I went and had a beer (okay 2) at a local bar. When we got home it was late and so it was bedtime. Usually bedtime consists of reading, diapers, bath time, singing, back scratching, praying, snack time, I am thirsty again, did you go potty, now please brush your teeth I am not going to ask you again, please lay down, whisper please, I am trying to sleep, stay on your side of the bed, no singing, guys be quiet......But last night it was Josh saying "Are you ready for bed" and I said "Sure". Shut the lights off and......I couldn't sleep. I sat up and decided to have wine and read in bed because those are things I can't do when the kids are home. I can have wine of course (no, I don't believe in not drinking in front of your kids...) but if I decide I want to read one of my books in bed then that means the lamp has to be on and then the kids think that =more time to stay up and play or chat. Anyway, I read till 3 AM last night and slept until NOON today. Wow!
Morning routine usually consists of taking care of Joshua's potty needs as he can't pee on his own. So everyday for the last 3 1/2 years the very first thing I do is take care of Joshie but today he is not home. SO instead of doing all that and making breakfast for 3 people then myself, I skipped breakfast went right to the pot of coffee Josh made and hopped on the Internet. Guilt free Internet surfing without my conscience reminding me that instead of spending an hour on the Internet you could be down on the floor playing trucks with your buddy.
Nonetheless, it's weird here today. It's nice, but weird. Josh and I have time work on the house, go out to lunch and just chill! We don't know what it's like to have kids and live together. We went from high school to a baby living with my parents then to an apartment. This weekend we can pretend to be those couples who are 26 and 30, no children only careers and dogs...boring! LOL I am kidding-but seriously we always wonder what it would be like? They go like hiking and to dinner and plays at the theater and stuff. Alone. Without getting a sitter. [Today I am reminded of my purpose which is to mother children that have a lot to offer to the next generation in spirit, mind and soul.]
I love my Earth.
have a learning filled kind of day. [i dare you to think outside the box]
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Here are the girls all ready for AWANA with their Sparks shirts on!
Joshua said his verse quiet as a mouse tonight and earned his Cubbie vest and book! He also got to hold a poster during singing time (even though he won't sing!) He is so proud but unfortunately too tired to tell about it! Fell asleep on the way home tonight:)
Love these kids!
SO I promise I have good reason for neglecting my readers! Last time I wrote was Thursday and Friday I spent the whole day and some preparing my home for guests. Josh's parents stayed for the weekend so there was work to be done! Got a lot accomplished and made delicious food for the weekend.
The hair dying went OK and though it is an extreme change, I am adjusting! I like it!
I have been fighting a cold for over a week and I am starting to feel back to normal. For colds I opt to do no medicine but use simple home remedies such as extra sleep, extra vitamin C, saline drops for your nose and vapors! We have saved thousands of dollars in medical expenses between the 5 of us by never going to the doctor for a cold. Just fight it out! Now of course, if a fever is persistent for several days then there is good reason to see the doc-but other than that I say-let your immune system do it's job!
I had a spell of homesickness (i know, it's not a real word) on Monday. Not sure why some days are better than the others but Monday everything made me weep and by evening after holding in emotions all day it all came out. Sometimes it just has to. The kids were so worried about me, poor things they never see me upset like that. But I was OK with admitting and explaining to them that I was just sad. I told them how I missed our house and I missed my old job. I miss my neighbors, my friends and my goodness I miss my family. It's been several weeks since we have been home and I am in need of a good afternoon to sit and drink coffee with my mom! It's OK to be sad sometimes and I think it is important to teach this to our kids. It's a good teachable reminder that even though we might not be content at the moment we need to trust God and remember he wanted us here. I truly believe that. I am thankful that I could call my mom and cry to her. I am thankful that Josh is patient and understands why I was feeling the way I was. After I had cried all I could, I drank some wine and we went for a late night snack. All was well again and I woke up Tuesday morning and took Josh's advice to not hope things would get better but to make them better. We had an awesome, productive day on Tuesday and now I have come out of my gloom and have felt inspired to write again.
Today, the coffee is good, the air is refreshing and the kids are perfect. Sunday I was in need of direction and was led to the Bible. I have an awesome Bible that is for moms with lots of devotionals geared towards training up our babies and having patience and everything that goes along with motherhood. I came across scripture that talked about letting our kids be kids. It was such a good read, I wanna share! Basically, the world is full of negatives and when are kids are old enough to go out on their own they will be faced with people who try to ridicule and break them down. They will have people telling them no and people shooting down their ideas. While our kids are young and under our roof, we need to let them be. Let them be goofy, loud, obnoxious, wrong, make messes and everything else. I needed to hear this at that moment! I agree with this whole heartedly but there are those moments when the screams and roar of laughter is just too loud or the mess in their room is just too much but then articles like the one that was in my Bible put everything into perspective. Trying to just "let it be" more often as the kids are the sweetest most harmless thing and they deserve nothing but pure comfort and joy. A calm mom=calm children.
Joshua is due to go to the doctor for several things and finding a doctor for a special needs child is overwhelming. Please pray for us as we venture to find new medical care and a new hospital. Joshua has developed a pressure sore from wearing his scoliosis brace everyday. It's on his lower back. We have had to stop wearing the brace to allow this to heal. It seems to be doing OK but if it is not healed by the weekend I will call Monday to have it looked at. Poor buddy-doesn't deserve this but we are making the most of it! I can't let him sense how much I worry about him. Kids are smart so when he has a boo-boo rather than being dramatic and freaking out, it's so important for me to stay calm and let him know that it's OK and mommy can fix it! I am so glad he is here and we can't change the fact that he was born special so we are embracing his awesomeness. I just love him to death. He is perfect. Prayers for him would be much appreciated!
We have AWANA tonight and we are all excited! Our day out of the house! The kids both earned an AWANA t-shirt and book for memorizing John 3:16. They are pumped! We have been reviewing scripture today and Joshua too, is working hard today to remember his verse and it is the cutest thing ever. He will earn a vest and a book once he does! Fingers crossed, lol!
That's all for now!
Have a splendid Fall day and in the midst of our crazy, overbooked schedules don't forget to take the time to stop and smell his roses.
The hair dying went OK and though it is an extreme change, I am adjusting! I like it!
I have been fighting a cold for over a week and I am starting to feel back to normal. For colds I opt to do no medicine but use simple home remedies such as extra sleep, extra vitamin C, saline drops for your nose and vapors! We have saved thousands of dollars in medical expenses between the 5 of us by never going to the doctor for a cold. Just fight it out! Now of course, if a fever is persistent for several days then there is good reason to see the doc-but other than that I say-let your immune system do it's job!
I had a spell of homesickness (i know, it's not a real word) on Monday. Not sure why some days are better than the others but Monday everything made me weep and by evening after holding in emotions all day it all came out. Sometimes it just has to. The kids were so worried about me, poor things they never see me upset like that. But I was OK with admitting and explaining to them that I was just sad. I told them how I missed our house and I missed my old job. I miss my neighbors, my friends and my goodness I miss my family. It's been several weeks since we have been home and I am in need of a good afternoon to sit and drink coffee with my mom! It's OK to be sad sometimes and I think it is important to teach this to our kids. It's a good teachable reminder that even though we might not be content at the moment we need to trust God and remember he wanted us here. I truly believe that. I am thankful that I could call my mom and cry to her. I am thankful that Josh is patient and understands why I was feeling the way I was. After I had cried all I could, I drank some wine and we went for a late night snack. All was well again and I woke up Tuesday morning and took Josh's advice to not hope things would get better but to make them better. We had an awesome, productive day on Tuesday and now I have come out of my gloom and have felt inspired to write again.
Today, the coffee is good, the air is refreshing and the kids are perfect. Sunday I was in need of direction and was led to the Bible. I have an awesome Bible that is for moms with lots of devotionals geared towards training up our babies and having patience and everything that goes along with motherhood. I came across scripture that talked about letting our kids be kids. It was such a good read, I wanna share! Basically, the world is full of negatives and when are kids are old enough to go out on their own they will be faced with people who try to ridicule and break them down. They will have people telling them no and people shooting down their ideas. While our kids are young and under our roof, we need to let them be. Let them be goofy, loud, obnoxious, wrong, make messes and everything else. I needed to hear this at that moment! I agree with this whole heartedly but there are those moments when the screams and roar of laughter is just too loud or the mess in their room is just too much but then articles like the one that was in my Bible put everything into perspective. Trying to just "let it be" more often as the kids are the sweetest most harmless thing and they deserve nothing but pure comfort and joy. A calm mom=calm children.
Joshua is due to go to the doctor for several things and finding a doctor for a special needs child is overwhelming. Please pray for us as we venture to find new medical care and a new hospital. Joshua has developed a pressure sore from wearing his scoliosis brace everyday. It's on his lower back. We have had to stop wearing the brace to allow this to heal. It seems to be doing OK but if it is not healed by the weekend I will call Monday to have it looked at. Poor buddy-doesn't deserve this but we are making the most of it! I can't let him sense how much I worry about him. Kids are smart so when he has a boo-boo rather than being dramatic and freaking out, it's so important for me to stay calm and let him know that it's OK and mommy can fix it! I am so glad he is here and we can't change the fact that he was born special so we are embracing his awesomeness. I just love him to death. He is perfect. Prayers for him would be much appreciated!
We have AWANA tonight and we are all excited! Our day out of the house! The kids both earned an AWANA t-shirt and book for memorizing John 3:16. They are pumped! We have been reviewing scripture today and Joshua too, is working hard today to remember his verse and it is the cutest thing ever. He will earn a vest and a book once he does! Fingers crossed, lol!
That's all for now!
Have a splendid Fall day and in the midst of our crazy, overbooked schedules don't forget to take the time to stop and smell his roses.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
I just sent my husband a text:
"You are in charge of dinner this evening. I am overwhelmed. Thanks."
Have not gotten a reply yet.
Behind on everything today and the school lessons just keeping getting longer and longer!
Dear Lord, Help! Help me to stay focused on whats important and to get a clear head to be able to tackle the mess I am so good at creating. Amen
I am hoping for the "he says wait" option and that means if I wait until my husband gets home he will help:-D
Geesh, I peed all night. I wanted wine with my dinner and our friendly waitress had to tell me about the new house wines so of course I had to sample them. All are yummy in case you were wondering. I chose the white house wine. Of course no meal is complete without a cup of coffee [black]. So I slurped that down too.
My shopping trip was a success! I shopped for 1 1/2 hours [because they shut the lights off on me=they were closing] stayed within my budget and got some great things! We had AWANA [church night] tonight so I actually got to wear something other than my usual sweatpants and t-shirt. I chose birthday outfit number 1-Josh-in the nicest way possible told me it was screaming at him!
 |
| "she's a mom-proud of her target clothes" |
Even though it's midnight, I think I am going to go try dying my hair right now. I may be making a 9:00 a.m. salon apt. tomorrow and have to take my kids with me to get it fixed...we will see!
Had a great day, talked to the neighbor lady today...finally! [she lives catecorner -how do you spell that?] She was very nice, she was on a walk and we were leaving to go to AWANA so it was just a brief chat but I would love to get to know her more! Saw lots of "familiar" faces at church tonight which is comforting. Some moms I met in my new homeschool group and the kids AWANA teachers and it's nice to be able to call others by name finally. The kids are making friends too. I hear them referring to kids by name and I think they are enjoying AWANA.
Ella Jo still misses her best friend dearly. She cried in bed last night because she misses seeing her. Her best friend is the daughter to my best friend therefore Ella saw her often. We have planned for my best friend to come with her husband and 3 children to stay with us in November and we are all so excited!
We went to a restaurant down the road this evening after AWANA in an effort to see the Detroit Tigers game but it was rained out. SO we enjoyed our appetizer/bed time snack and night cap anyway. Before we left the kids wanted to play games in the restaurant's mini-arcade. Josh gave them each a dollar. The arcade was near the restrooms and along stumbles this "happy" [nicer way to say drunk] guy and gives the kids more money to spend on the games! They were SO excited! Their lucky night! They certainly deserved this treat, they are such sweet , well behaved kids. Am I allowed to say that without it being like I am bragging? Well i am saying it anyway. Each one of them ordered their own dinners at Olive Garden last night using impeccable manners. That sat so well and enjoyed their meals. All through Target everyone was so good. I mean, no acting up at all. They are just awesome and I love to be with them.
Good night-I am going to go ruin my hair!
Monday, October 15, 2012
good evening all! just got the house picked up from the days events and finally sitting down to do some reading and facebooking and blogging and all those great things! my friends from my BUNCO group came yesterday and it was so great to see them! I get emotional when people are here; was just over joyed to have people in my home! we went out for lunch at my favorite mexican restaurant and spent all afternoon there. ordered 2 pitchers of margaritas and only 4 of us were drinking them. needless to say-a good time was had by all. lots of laughter and even had an old man give his number to one of my friends! entertaining!
today was a wonderful day at school. i love when we get everything checked off without any bumps or fights or any negatives! we even had time to get outside to walk, ride bikes and play baseball. i wanted to get a half hour of exercise in and ella wanted to go along so she rode her bike. i love walking through the neighborhood and admiring peoples homes. everyone is so different. some have messy garages or very tidy garages, fancy cars and not so fancy cars, dogs or no dogs, pumpkins and mums or ghosts and zombies etc. etc. and I love it all! everyone in the world has something to offer and it takes all of us to make it work. i didn't talk to anyone on the walk but i was so excited when i spotted this:
today was a wonderful day at school. i love when we get everything checked off without any bumps or fights or any negatives! we even had time to get outside to walk, ride bikes and play baseball. i wanted to get a half hour of exercise in and ella wanted to go along so she rode her bike. i love walking through the neighborhood and admiring peoples homes. everyone is so different. some have messy garages or very tidy garages, fancy cars and not so fancy cars, dogs or no dogs, pumpkins and mums or ghosts and zombies etc. etc. and I love it all! everyone in the world has something to offer and it takes all of us to make it work. i didn't talk to anyone on the walk but i was so excited when i spotted this:
yes, believe it. i spotted a Beatles mailbox! This is just fantastic! I became a Beatles fan when I was in the 3rd grade. My dad always had a large collection of albums from his era and we would listen to them on the weekends. I just loved this one. I had him record me a cassette tape which I listened to over and over for years. I used to take it in the bathroom with me when I would take my bath at night and listen to it. I now have some Beatles CD's and you better believe that my children also know who the Beatles are!
Well, it's almost my birthday. I will soon be 26 years old. For my birthday my parents usually ask what i would like and for the last couple of years I have accepted cold hard cash as a birthday gift and I love it. So for my birthday I am going shopping at Target! Yes, the birthday money I get is mine all mine. Of course we need things around here and of course we have bills that could be paid but damn-it since I have become a mommy I rarely spurge and treat myself! The few times I do get to go shopping I look down in my cart or shopping bag and see that I have stuff for everyone in the family but myself. No pity party, it's just what us moms do. Moms always put their needs last. But not on my birthday! I hope to get a cardigan, a fashion scarf, a huge, fake, cocktail ring, new nail polish, a brightly colored pair of skinny jeans, and a pair of flats for less than $200. Wish me luck, I can't freakin' wait!
I also want to be mindful of the fact that I have family-lots of family that calls me and sends me things and that there are some people in this world whose birthday passes by and no one knows it. Boo:( This breaks my heart. I am so thankful to have been born into a family not of riches and trusts but rather of unconditional love, acceptance and support-truly. Anything I have ever done-be it good or bad-they have all been right there. Aw shucks-thanks guys! I love you all!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
it's saturday. ahhh the day of sleeping in, doing projects and spending time with the people we love. it's funny how saturday can mean so many different things to different people. for some it is all about football, for some it is all about preparing for sunday's sermon, some people feed the poor on saturdays while others sleep all day and party all night. to be real honest-i think all those sound great. how do you spend your saturdays?
today josh is spending his saturday paying respect to a coworker who lost his wife to cancer this week. they are not old. in their 50's actually. I think her name was Janet. has grown children but never got to be a grandmother:( so sad. I hope she knew christ and that her husband can find peace at laying her to rest soon.
after he left i decided to get my butt outta bed and pamper myself. throughout the week it's shower and throw on sweats and a t-shirt. luckily homeschooling does not require me to wear dress pants. the kids were all still sleeping so i took a nice long shower with no interruptions. i shaved my legs (but i had to use josh's razor shhh. since we have moved i can't find mine! and i am certainly not organized enough to keep an ongoing grocery list of the things i need) anyway-painted my nails, put on make-up did my hair-woohoo! i am even wearing jeans today! feeling like a woman!
i have actually started a consistent pattern of doing laundry on saturdays. i admit, it's been great not running out of clean laundry mid-week but on the other hand, doing laundry every saturday for the sake of routine scares me. it reminds me of something that you do when you "grow up". I don't wanna grow up. I am still content with my spontaneous, no rhyme or reason way of doing things. so i might be rebellious and break the cycle. no laundry today. i am feeling frisky and it's just going to have to wait.
planning to rearrange the "family room" or "great room" or whatever the heck room it is that i keep putting off. one wall has a fireplace, one wall has sliding glass doors and one wall is a half wall. sounds fine but we have a sectional couch and giant media wall entertainment deal and we can't make it fit! what i really want to do is sell the stuff and start over but Josh says...no. So we are going to make it work. Hopefully I can get the house in tip-top shape because my friends are coming tomorrow! I can't wait!
Maybe we will go to church tomorrow. We have not been to actual Sunday church yet. OH that reminds me! I went to the homeschool group and I was so glad I did. Met lots of nice moms and kids. I was worried it would be a group of yuppy woman who stay home with their kids while their husbands are out making millions. But it wasn't at all. A nice group of down to Earth woman who are making sacrifices each day to stay home and care for their kids. Typical families trying to survive on one income. They were not sporting the latest fall wardrobes and texting on their smart phones. Just plain women rich in spirit and love joined together by the same goal-to train their children to be compassionate followers of christ.
Someone was talking to Emma and admiring how precise she was with the project she was doing. It got brought up somehow that she was an excellent reader. The other mom's asked me how I got my kids to love reading and how they picked up on it so quickly. What I wanted to say was that I breastfed them until they could walk and talk and slept with them in my bed so the constant skin to skin contact allowed their neurons in their brain to be stress free and able to absorb knowledge at all times. But I didn't; thought I'd better save my quirky beliefs 'till next time or else I will never make friends hahahahaahhaha.
What can I say-I'm weird and proud of it!
Dare to stand up for what you believe in, even it's it weird!
smell ya later
today josh is spending his saturday paying respect to a coworker who lost his wife to cancer this week. they are not old. in their 50's actually. I think her name was Janet. has grown children but never got to be a grandmother:( so sad. I hope she knew christ and that her husband can find peace at laying her to rest soon.
after he left i decided to get my butt outta bed and pamper myself. throughout the week it's shower and throw on sweats and a t-shirt. luckily homeschooling does not require me to wear dress pants. the kids were all still sleeping so i took a nice long shower with no interruptions. i shaved my legs (but i had to use josh's razor shhh. since we have moved i can't find mine! and i am certainly not organized enough to keep an ongoing grocery list of the things i need) anyway-painted my nails, put on make-up did my hair-woohoo! i am even wearing jeans today! feeling like a woman!
i have actually started a consistent pattern of doing laundry on saturdays. i admit, it's been great not running out of clean laundry mid-week but on the other hand, doing laundry every saturday for the sake of routine scares me. it reminds me of something that you do when you "grow up". I don't wanna grow up. I am still content with my spontaneous, no rhyme or reason way of doing things. so i might be rebellious and break the cycle. no laundry today. i am feeling frisky and it's just going to have to wait.
planning to rearrange the "family room" or "great room" or whatever the heck room it is that i keep putting off. one wall has a fireplace, one wall has sliding glass doors and one wall is a half wall. sounds fine but we have a sectional couch and giant media wall entertainment deal and we can't make it fit! what i really want to do is sell the stuff and start over but Josh says...no. So we are going to make it work. Hopefully I can get the house in tip-top shape because my friends are coming tomorrow! I can't wait!
Maybe we will go to church tomorrow. We have not been to actual Sunday church yet. OH that reminds me! I went to the homeschool group and I was so glad I did. Met lots of nice moms and kids. I was worried it would be a group of yuppy woman who stay home with their kids while their husbands are out making millions. But it wasn't at all. A nice group of down to Earth woman who are making sacrifices each day to stay home and care for their kids. Typical families trying to survive on one income. They were not sporting the latest fall wardrobes and texting on their smart phones. Just plain women rich in spirit and love joined together by the same goal-to train their children to be compassionate followers of christ.
Someone was talking to Emma and admiring how precise she was with the project she was doing. It got brought up somehow that she was an excellent reader. The other mom's asked me how I got my kids to love reading and how they picked up on it so quickly. What I wanted to say was that I breastfed them until they could walk and talk and slept with them in my bed so the constant skin to skin contact allowed their neurons in their brain to be stress free and able to absorb knowledge at all times. But I didn't; thought I'd better save my quirky beliefs 'till next time or else I will never make friends hahahahaahhaha.
What can I say-I'm weird and proud of it!
Dare to stand up for what you believe in, even it's it weird!
smell ya later
Thursday, October 11, 2012
oh if you could see this house. i am having one of those days. it happens. i feel like i can't stay on task with one thing for the life of me. roaming in the cupboards like i have a tape worm. allowing the kids to eat junk food and browse the Internet all evening...ugh! let me out!
i attempted to hang some more decorations but then that led to joshua and i playing with him in a basket then i got a phone call and bam-the adult ADD kicked in full force! i was happy to b distracted by a phone call though. it was my mother. we had a nice chat for quite some time. she was telling me about her hemorrhoids-JUST KIDDING MOM! I know she reads this every day so I thought I would get a rise out of her. lol. Anyway-as I was saying i was talking to her on the phone and it reminded me of when i was little and my mom would get to yakking on the phone with her mom. i always knew when she would get on the horn with grandma that i had a good hour to do whatever I wanted And that is exactly what went on when I was on the phone. The kids were free to do whatever and I wouldn't even know.
I am on the fence about whether to head to this home school group tomorrow or stay home. I have a feeling that these people will be lacking what I like to call Holy common sense. You see, I believe in God and I talk to my kids daily about Him but I also shout the words "God damn it" on a regular basis. Bad habit, yes. Makes me a non-christian. no! Sometimes theses Christian groups focus so much on being perfect that they are forgetting that we are all sinners. For some reason I am not feeling led to attend tomorrow. I am a firm believer in following your gut and right now I am not feeling it. Tomorrow is a new day and we shall see what it brings.
Now-onto politics...is it November yet? Geesh. I have thought a lot about talking to the kids about the general idea of what is going on right now but I decided I would spare them of the garbage. The only thing I will be teaching them about the election is a count-down as to when it will all be over! Probably a sour attitude but I think this election brings out the worst in people. I have seen so many arguments on facebook between people and and they end up in a huge disagreement. Whatever happen to the rule "don't discuss politics or religion with friends or family". So many people are so outright with their opinions and it never ceases to amaze me the things that people will talk about and then in the next breath they are back pedaling and apologizing for what they said. Just keep your thoughts to yourself, go vote and hope it turns out the way you want it to.
well, i am going to go take a bubble bath with all three kids lol. seems like the only solution to the funk that i am in this evening. of course i would prefer to take a bubble bath by myself but if i start a bath with the door shut it takes less than 5 seconds for the kids to burst in and ask me why i am in the bathroom by myself...as if i am doing something wrong! But one thing is for sure-i know that in 10 years the kids will shudder at the idea of taking a bubble bath with me...so for tonight i say "come on in, kids".
Peace. World.
i attempted to hang some more decorations but then that led to joshua and i playing with him in a basket then i got a phone call and bam-the adult ADD kicked in full force! i was happy to b distracted by a phone call though. it was my mother. we had a nice chat for quite some time. she was telling me about her hemorrhoids-JUST KIDDING MOM! I know she reads this every day so I thought I would get a rise out of her. lol. Anyway-as I was saying i was talking to her on the phone and it reminded me of when i was little and my mom would get to yakking on the phone with her mom. i always knew when she would get on the horn with grandma that i had a good hour to do whatever I wanted And that is exactly what went on when I was on the phone. The kids were free to do whatever and I wouldn't even know.
I am on the fence about whether to head to this home school group tomorrow or stay home. I have a feeling that these people will be lacking what I like to call Holy common sense. You see, I believe in God and I talk to my kids daily about Him but I also shout the words "God damn it" on a regular basis. Bad habit, yes. Makes me a non-christian. no! Sometimes theses Christian groups focus so much on being perfect that they are forgetting that we are all sinners. For some reason I am not feeling led to attend tomorrow. I am a firm believer in following your gut and right now I am not feeling it. Tomorrow is a new day and we shall see what it brings.
Now-onto politics...is it November yet? Geesh. I have thought a lot about talking to the kids about the general idea of what is going on right now but I decided I would spare them of the garbage. The only thing I will be teaching them about the election is a count-down as to when it will all be over! Probably a sour attitude but I think this election brings out the worst in people. I have seen so many arguments on facebook between people and and they end up in a huge disagreement. Whatever happen to the rule "don't discuss politics or religion with friends or family". So many people are so outright with their opinions and it never ceases to amaze me the things that people will talk about and then in the next breath they are back pedaling and apologizing for what they said. Just keep your thoughts to yourself, go vote and hope it turns out the way you want it to.
well, i am going to go take a bubble bath with all three kids lol. seems like the only solution to the funk that i am in this evening. of course i would prefer to take a bubble bath by myself but if i start a bath with the door shut it takes less than 5 seconds for the kids to burst in and ask me why i am in the bathroom by myself...as if i am doing something wrong! But one thing is for sure-i know that in 10 years the kids will shudder at the idea of taking a bubble bath with me...so for tonight i say "come on in, kids".
Peace. World.
i wonder what this feels like?
[laughing out loud]
last week i did a google search for AWANA in our area.
The founders of Awana derived the Awana name from the first letters of "Approved workmen are not ashamed" as taken from 2 Timothy 2:15 of the Bible.
The kids were in Awana at our old church and they loved it. Basically the kids have a verse they have to learn each week and young brains are great at this often times referred to as sponges! If we can teach them while they are young, the idea is that it will stick with them for a lifetime.
I found an Awana group so we took the kids. Just before we were ready to leave our house to go to Awana, Josh and the kids went outside to play while I tidied the house and freshened up. By the time I was ready, I came outside to find that the kids had made a friend (yay!) and that they invited their new friend to come to Awana with us. We seriously knew this new neighbor boy for maybe 5 minutes and he asked his mom if he could go to Awana with us and she said sure. This cracks me up. I won't even let my kids on the front porch without me and this mom allowed her son to go with perfect strangers to Awana-something they had never heard of! Hilarious-so anyway the car ride there I am introducing myself to the neighbor boy, asking him how old he is and getting to know him. The night ended up being a success. For our family it was great-the kids made some friends and every one was pleasant. As for the neighbor boy, he didn't know God before that night. He told his Awana teacher he did not have a Bible and the church gave him one. On our way home, he told me that he learned everything God says is the truth! Awesome! All credit goes to the Holy Spirit who was working within my hands as I did a google search for Awana that afternoon. Who knew by us taking our kids to Awana that we could introduce a child to Christ. So cool.
So that was last week-just about everyday since we met the neighbor boy he has been over to ask the kids if they can play. He is 6 and he is about as round as he is tall. He told us he is working on losing weight, bless his little heart. I could just squeeze him. He is a total crack up.
We had AWANA again tonight and had a great time. Of course I go to Joshua's classroom with him and it is so much fun! I have to watch that boy like a hawk-not only is he my baby but he is special. They start off in their classroom learning a verse and then have snack. With his food allergies I am not comfortable leaving him in a room where they are serving cheddar cheese goldfish snacks:( Next we went to Gym. The game we played was "Mr. Gym teacher" dumps a big tote of balls and all these 3-4 year olds run as fast as they can to pick them up and put them back in the tote. Well wheelchairs don't allow you to pick balls up off the floor so there Joshie and I are in a sea of toddlers working together as a team to pick up balls. I hold him and swoop him down so he can pick up a ball with his precious little hands in hopes that some other able bodied toddler doesn't steal the ball we are after. This momma might just get into to a brawl with a 3 year old by the end of the Awana year. LOL. I am totally kidding-children of that age are innocent and are usually only able to think of themselves and their needs-but parents, it's never too soon to start teaching your kids patience and respect;) If nothing else, Joshua does know how to pray. When the teacher tells the little children to talk to God he knows just what to do. And that makes my heart melt.
I did meet a nice lady this evening that seemed to take interest in Joshua and our family. After she learned we home-schooled our kids she told me about the home school group in the community. Woohoo! They meet this Friday to play and I am going! Looking forward to it.
The founders of Awana derived the Awana name from the first letters of "Approved workmen are not ashamed" as taken from 2 Timothy 2:15 of the Bible.
The kids were in Awana at our old church and they loved it. Basically the kids have a verse they have to learn each week and young brains are great at this often times referred to as sponges! If we can teach them while they are young, the idea is that it will stick with them for a lifetime.
I found an Awana group so we took the kids. Just before we were ready to leave our house to go to Awana, Josh and the kids went outside to play while I tidied the house and freshened up. By the time I was ready, I came outside to find that the kids had made a friend (yay!) and that they invited their new friend to come to Awana with us. We seriously knew this new neighbor boy for maybe 5 minutes and he asked his mom if he could go to Awana with us and she said sure. This cracks me up. I won't even let my kids on the front porch without me and this mom allowed her son to go with perfect strangers to Awana-something they had never heard of! Hilarious-so anyway the car ride there I am introducing myself to the neighbor boy, asking him how old he is and getting to know him. The night ended up being a success. For our family it was great-the kids made some friends and every one was pleasant. As for the neighbor boy, he didn't know God before that night. He told his Awana teacher he did not have a Bible and the church gave him one. On our way home, he told me that he learned everything God says is the truth! Awesome! All credit goes to the Holy Spirit who was working within my hands as I did a google search for Awana that afternoon. Who knew by us taking our kids to Awana that we could introduce a child to Christ. So cool.
So that was last week-just about everyday since we met the neighbor boy he has been over to ask the kids if they can play. He is 6 and he is about as round as he is tall. He told us he is working on losing weight, bless his little heart. I could just squeeze him. He is a total crack up.
We had AWANA again tonight and had a great time. Of course I go to Joshua's classroom with him and it is so much fun! I have to watch that boy like a hawk-not only is he my baby but he is special. They start off in their classroom learning a verse and then have snack. With his food allergies I am not comfortable leaving him in a room where they are serving cheddar cheese goldfish snacks:( Next we went to Gym. The game we played was "Mr. Gym teacher" dumps a big tote of balls and all these 3-4 year olds run as fast as they can to pick them up and put them back in the tote. Well wheelchairs don't allow you to pick balls up off the floor so there Joshie and I are in a sea of toddlers working together as a team to pick up balls. I hold him and swoop him down so he can pick up a ball with his precious little hands in hopes that some other able bodied toddler doesn't steal the ball we are after. This momma might just get into to a brawl with a 3 year old by the end of the Awana year. LOL. I am totally kidding-children of that age are innocent and are usually only able to think of themselves and their needs-but parents, it's never too soon to start teaching your kids patience and respect;) If nothing else, Joshua does know how to pray. When the teacher tells the little children to talk to God he knows just what to do. And that makes my heart melt.
I did meet a nice lady this evening that seemed to take interest in Joshua and our family. After she learned we home-schooled our kids she told me about the home school group in the community. Woohoo! They meet this Friday to play and I am going! Looking forward to it.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
sitting in the family room-josh is working on a wheelchair contraption for Joshua. Joshie is right by his side helping! We are all listening to music, and playing scrabble online together! ahhh love these times. all the kids right under my wing.
had a great time with my family today-made a pot of potato soup on this crisp fall day to share with our company for lunch. hit the spot!
the coffee was going down so good today! visited a farm this afternoon that has evolved into a mini farm market grocery store and pumpkin patch. a wonderful place to visit in the fall! took a hayride through their apple orchard and loved it. love these kinds of things!
the coffee was going down so good today! visited a farm this afternoon that has evolved into a mini farm market grocery store and pumpkin patch. a wonderful place to visit in the fall! took a hayride through their apple orchard and loved it. love these kinds of things!
my guest are coming
my guest are coming
i just rolled out of bed
gotta clean the bathrooms make cupcakes make my soup do the dishes vacuum take a shower wash the front windows pick up put on some java and be sitting and reading a magazine when they pull in in 2hours. becasue why would you do any of those things yesterday?
it's sauturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my guest are coming
i just rolled out of bed
gotta clean the bathrooms make cupcakes make my soup do the dishes vacuum take a shower wash the front windows pick up put on some java and be sitting and reading a magazine when they pull in in 2hours. becasue why would you do any of those things yesterday?
it's sauturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I need to be reminded of this daily-gosh the kids are so sweet, soft and precious-how do we allow ourselves to become "bothered" at times?
I do believe that in our technology obsessed culture there are many more things keeping us from being the best we can be as parents. Imagine even just 50 years ago-moms were not carrying computers in their pockets and connected to every acquaintance by just a tap of a button! While I love all my gadgets (and blogging!) admittedly it's a huge distraction and I believe at times is Satan on Earth.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Excited that it is Friday! This is the first weekend (of many) in which we will be staying home all weekend and enjoying our days off! No work for Josh-no school for the kids and I. Hoping for a great weekend!
We are getting our first visitors Saturday and I am pumped! One great thing about living away from your family is you get to host them as your guests! This is one of my favorite things to do. This gives me the same satisfaction as caring for my husband and kids. A woman prides herself on opening her home to the hungry and allowing them to leave feeling full in mind, body and spirit.
My visitors will arrive just before lunch so I plan to have a nice Saturday afternoon lunch prepared-not sure yet what I will make but probably a soup and salad pair! MMMMM We are new to the area so we don't know all the hotspots so I thought we could explore together! Looking to find a quaint coffee shop to sit and chat for a bit! Maybe we will go out to dinner-who knows what the day will bring! I find it is important to stay flexible with the schedule when you are having guests and keep focused on having fun and relaxing!
I haven't put any decorations up in the new house other than my Fall items. I don't know where to start! With many more walls in this house than our other I am feeling like I don't have what it takes to make it look complete! Waiting for that moment to strike me where I am inspired and it transpires from their. Usually those moments are at 11:00 at night. I have always been a night owl-that's when I do my best work. My kids have become the same night owls and we struggle with keeping on a day time schedule that starts at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning! Thank goodness I am my own boss and we get school done WHEN IT WORKS FOR US! A typical school day runs from 12-5 around here.
In an effort to reduce my debt and save for Christmas shopping, I am starting my job search for an evening part-time job. I realized this morning when I was typing my "talents/job qualifications/things your good at" that I could very easily sound like a wierdo. Served as a breastfeeding counselor-homeschool my children during the day yada yada. When applying for a sales associate position I am sure I sound just the opposite of friendly and outgoing but rather introverted and opnionated. I hate the way the hiring process goes nowadays (<--- is that a word?). Everything has to be done online with no room to leave personal comments or extras.
We will see how it goes!
We went to pick up Joshua's power chair lastnight! He is very proud and excited about it but hasn't had much time to figure it out yet. This will be great for playing out in the yard with his sisters! Not only is he on wheels but they have power! Look out people!
The girls are making an "apartment" to live in down in the basement as I type. So far I have seen 2 suitcases, cleaning supplies, water and paper towels go down the steps. Hey free play is crucial to the human mind so I am going to let them be. Emma promised to pay rent and Ella assured me that they are "responsible".
Today is good. Embrace.
We are getting our first visitors Saturday and I am pumped! One great thing about living away from your family is you get to host them as your guests! This is one of my favorite things to do. This gives me the same satisfaction as caring for my husband and kids. A woman prides herself on opening her home to the hungry and allowing them to leave feeling full in mind, body and spirit.
My visitors will arrive just before lunch so I plan to have a nice Saturday afternoon lunch prepared-not sure yet what I will make but probably a soup and salad pair! MMMMM We are new to the area so we don't know all the hotspots so I thought we could explore together! Looking to find a quaint coffee shop to sit and chat for a bit! Maybe we will go out to dinner-who knows what the day will bring! I find it is important to stay flexible with the schedule when you are having guests and keep focused on having fun and relaxing!
I haven't put any decorations up in the new house other than my Fall items. I don't know where to start! With many more walls in this house than our other I am feeling like I don't have what it takes to make it look complete! Waiting for that moment to strike me where I am inspired and it transpires from their. Usually those moments are at 11:00 at night. I have always been a night owl-that's when I do my best work. My kids have become the same night owls and we struggle with keeping on a day time schedule that starts at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning! Thank goodness I am my own boss and we get school done WHEN IT WORKS FOR US! A typical school day runs from 12-5 around here.
In an effort to reduce my debt and save for Christmas shopping, I am starting my job search for an evening part-time job. I realized this morning when I was typing my "talents/job qualifications/things your good at" that I could very easily sound like a wierdo. Served as a breastfeeding counselor-homeschool my children during the day yada yada. When applying for a sales associate position I am sure I sound just the opposite of friendly and outgoing but rather introverted and opnionated. I hate the way the hiring process goes nowadays (<--- is that a word?). Everything has to be done online with no room to leave personal comments or extras.
We will see how it goes!
We went to pick up Joshua's power chair lastnight! He is very proud and excited about it but hasn't had much time to figure it out yet. This will be great for playing out in the yard with his sisters! Not only is he on wheels but they have power! Look out people!
The girls are making an "apartment" to live in down in the basement as I type. So far I have seen 2 suitcases, cleaning supplies, water and paper towels go down the steps. Hey free play is crucial to the human mind so I am going to let them be. Emma promised to pay rent and Ella assured me that they are "responsible".
Today is good. Embrace.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Well-the move is now official. After 4 weeks of cleaning, painting and repairing our old home, we handed over the keys this week and it's not ours anymore:(
When we drove away for the last time I was in my car alone, following Josh. I had to let it all out. Cryed and yelled about how that was my house. I don't want anyone else in it. We had 5 1/2 happy years there. I don't know how people do it when they are leaving behind a home that they have lived at for 30, 40 or 50 years. I just hope a sweet little family moves in and can make just as many memories there.
We have had a pretty smooth week here so far. School was great yesterday, got all done in a timely manner. Even got to get outside lastnight for some yardwork and took the kids on a bike ride. Still no sign of socializing in the neighborhood but it will come. We plan to be able to stay home for all of October and not have to make any trips back home until Thanksgiving. This will help us to settle in. Planning to go to church Sunday. Where? I don't know:)
I looked into girl scouts for the girls and I am waiting to hear back from the troop. They are both excited about it! This will be Emma's third year as a girl scout! How in the world is Ella old enough to start girl scouts this year? Where has the time gone?
We looked into ballet and we need to get Emma back in piano but ....oh how in the heck will we get to go out for Mexican and margaritas with all this? Lol, just kidding! But seriously-raising a well rounded child isn't cheap!
Most of you know that Joshua, my amazing 3 year old son is in a wheelchair. He is so good in his chair-whips around corners, backs in and out of things without any hesitation. It's wonderful that he can get around even though he is paralyzed. The only problem, the manual wheelchair can only do so much. If you have ever watched young children play for even a minute, you see they don't stay in one spot. When outside in the yard, the kids run from thing to thing. Joshua's wheelchair can't go in the grass so he just sits and watches:( It's pitiful and even more so it's not fair. Now I know the saying goes "nobody said life was fair" but I don't care. When it comes to your child-you want it to be fair!
Josh has searched for a power wheelchair for a couple of years now. He always watches for used ones and even those-there is no way we could afford this. Well-another blessing has come through-Josh's aunt found a power chair for $20! We will hopefully get it soon and Joshua will have more freedom and independence to do the things that other children do! We are so excited! Thank you!
Okay-time to take my writer hat off and put on my teacher hat again. It was fun while it lasted!
When we drove away for the last time I was in my car alone, following Josh. I had to let it all out. Cryed and yelled about how that was my house. I don't want anyone else in it. We had 5 1/2 happy years there. I don't know how people do it when they are leaving behind a home that they have lived at for 30, 40 or 50 years. I just hope a sweet little family moves in and can make just as many memories there.
We have had a pretty smooth week here so far. School was great yesterday, got all done in a timely manner. Even got to get outside lastnight for some yardwork and took the kids on a bike ride. Still no sign of socializing in the neighborhood but it will come. We plan to be able to stay home for all of October and not have to make any trips back home until Thanksgiving. This will help us to settle in. Planning to go to church Sunday. Where? I don't know:)
I looked into girl scouts for the girls and I am waiting to hear back from the troop. They are both excited about it! This will be Emma's third year as a girl scout! How in the world is Ella old enough to start girl scouts this year? Where has the time gone?
We looked into ballet and we need to get Emma back in piano but ....oh how in the heck will we get to go out for Mexican and margaritas with all this? Lol, just kidding! But seriously-raising a well rounded child isn't cheap!
Most of you know that Joshua, my amazing 3 year old son is in a wheelchair. He is so good in his chair-whips around corners, backs in and out of things without any hesitation. It's wonderful that he can get around even though he is paralyzed. The only problem, the manual wheelchair can only do so much. If you have ever watched young children play for even a minute, you see they don't stay in one spot. When outside in the yard, the kids run from thing to thing. Joshua's wheelchair can't go in the grass so he just sits and watches:( It's pitiful and even more so it's not fair. Now I know the saying goes "nobody said life was fair" but I don't care. When it comes to your child-you want it to be fair!
Josh has searched for a power wheelchair for a couple of years now. He always watches for used ones and even those-there is no way we could afford this. Well-another blessing has come through-Josh's aunt found a power chair for $20! We will hopefully get it soon and Joshua will have more freedom and independence to do the things that other children do! We are so excited! Thank you!
Okay-time to take my writer hat off and put on my teacher hat again. It was fun while it lasted!
Friday, September 28, 2012
How does the sun work? Why is it that when it gleams through my house it lifts my spirits? I feel like I could conquer the world today! Though my desk is messy, isn't it beautiful with the sun shining in? I like my desk this way. This is how I think. If everything is put in drawers then I will forget about it. Like the saying goes "out of sight out of mind". Last time I let the electric bill get "out of sight" we went without electricity:/ Hey, I never claimed to be perfect!
We hung a new map of the USA in our classroom last week. We have learned so much just by having it hanging up. Lots of questions about where is this, what is a border, where is South. I have also learned and been reminded that I have yet to see the world. Wouldn't it be great to just pack up once a month for a week and go be a nomad? Like travel to learn not to "relax" or "indulge" like some people. Of course it would be great to travel for the sake of laying on a beach, forgetting what day it was and drinking island rum. But to travel becasue you want to know what desert air feels like or becasue you want to see what real cowboys look like. Ya know? I am just as curious as my children are when it comes to this. If you can't find us next week, check out West.
One time Josh and I took a trip to Maine to visit his brother. We decided one morning when we woke up that we wanted to go to Maine, so we did. Ella was a newborn attached to the boob and Emma was potty training. Seems like a wonderful time to take a trip, right? In our world yes, becasue we may never get today back. Anyway-we traveled and stopped, traveled and stop about every 2 hours to feed the nursing babe. Josh took a detour to show me Niagra Falls becasue I had never seen it before. I saw it at night when the lights were all on. Breathtaking. The trip ended up taking 22 hours to get to Maine. We never stopped at a hotel to stay overnight-we had someplace to be! We surprised Josh's brother and landed in Maine:) I remember almost running out of money on the way home-rolled into Sycamore Ohio at like 8 a.m. on fumes just in time for Josh to go to work. No regrets!
Emma is writing her LA report on the desert and she is about finished. Time for me to get back on track.
I just heard Joshua ask Emma if he could stinker in the classroom. Love that kid.
Oh almost forgot...our adventerous dog disappeared again lastnight. We were tucked into bed and I said to the kids "Where is Lady?" I noticed she wasn't in her bed. Sometimes when Josh goes out for a smoke he forgets to let her back in so I thought no biggie. Well went to the back door-no Lady. Went to the front door-No Lady. By this point the kids are in sheer panic, crying and praying in bed together. Emma was telling the kids all the miracles Jesus had performed so she was sure he could bring Lady back to us. I am glad to have her-she is better at consoling the little ones than I am half of the time. After about 10 minutes I had to wake Josh from his slumber at 1 A.M. He went to look for her and found her trotting along the neighborhood. She was soaked-it was raining. The kids were so excited when she bolted in the door and shook everywhere. She slept wrapped up in a blanket by the heater the rest of the night. Stupid dog;)
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Couldn't have asked for a better day with the kids yesterday. School went smoothly and organized-love days like these. I never know if it goes smooth because I am relaxed and letting my guard down a bit or if something else is just aligning correctly. Either way, it's all good. Ella decided to wear her bathing suit yesterday so she did her math lessons, painted and read in her bathing suit. Can you imagine allowing your child to wear this to a bricks and mortar school? Wouldn't happen!
Cooked a nice meal last night and after we finished, took a walk around the neighborhood. It's pretty apparent that their is a lawn competition going on in our neighborhood. The grass is so green and perfect I was beginning to think I should have brought my golf clubs! I just wanted to lay in the grass! Leave it to us to mess the perfect lawn game up-we don't have a mower therefor we have not mowed since we moved in...oops! Our neighbors mow just about everyday...
Joshua is at the bottom of the steps begging someone to carry him up the steps. I just carried him up. Another thing we tend to take for granted! Do me a favor, today when you go up steps, take a minute and say "Thank you Lord for giving me legs that work. Amen"
I got a phone call yesterday from one of my girlfriends from my BUNCO group. Since I have moved I couldn't make it to our September dinner date:( She called to tell me that they planned a surprise visit next month and they are all going to load up and come and see me! This is so nice-one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me! How did I get so lucky to land such integral friends?! *~*~*~Feeling the love*~*~*~
When we were at the grocery store the other night I felt like aisle after aisle I had to listen to women who were on a power trip bitching at their kids. Most of the women their were dressed in their heels and dress pants so I assume they worked during the day. SO they were away from their kids all day and then the few hours that they got to spend with them in the evening they were belittling them and being rude. This one girl who appeared to be about 10 was pushing her parents shopping cart and she bumped into me. Her parents were paces ahead of her and when they realized she bumped into me they both turned around and yelled at her. Poor girl was so embarrassed. Josh and I both quickly said to the parents "it's OK!" Have you ever ran into someone by accident with your shopping cart? I know I have! Of course it makes you feel stupid let alone can you imagine if someone yelled at you right in front of the person you hit and made you feel even more stupid? It is our job as parents to constantly build up our kids. Teach them by leading with good example and treat them like a human being. A good rule of thumb is if you wouldn't talk to your co-worker or neighbor that way then you shouldn't talk to your kids that way, no matter how old they are. When your child makes a mistake like running into someone with a shopping cart, quickly come to their rescue. Apologize to the person for your child and encourage them to apologize too. Maybe put your arm around your child and say "That's OK, I have done that before too." Teach them to apologize and move on! Don't ask them "why did you do that?" or shout "watch where you are going" Obviously it was an accident! I am guilty too of using poor tone with my kids from time to time. Whenever I do this I always be sure to apologize later and explain to the kids the way I was feeling. I also let them know that it is not ok for people to talk bad to you. Otherwise they will grow up to accept people talking down to them!
A little rambling there but I can't stand to see this in the world!
Off to do more school and cleaning! Embrace the rain today-be glad it's raining on your house, car and face and not your tombstone!
Cooked a nice meal last night and after we finished, took a walk around the neighborhood. It's pretty apparent that their is a lawn competition going on in our neighborhood. The grass is so green and perfect I was beginning to think I should have brought my golf clubs! I just wanted to lay in the grass! Leave it to us to mess the perfect lawn game up-we don't have a mower therefor we have not mowed since we moved in...oops! Our neighbors mow just about everyday...
Joshua is at the bottom of the steps begging someone to carry him up the steps. I just carried him up. Another thing we tend to take for granted! Do me a favor, today when you go up steps, take a minute and say "Thank you Lord for giving me legs that work. Amen"
I got a phone call yesterday from one of my girlfriends from my BUNCO group. Since I have moved I couldn't make it to our September dinner date:( She called to tell me that they planned a surprise visit next month and they are all going to load up and come and see me! This is so nice-one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me! How did I get so lucky to land such integral friends?! *~*~*~Feeling the love*~*~*~
When we were at the grocery store the other night I felt like aisle after aisle I had to listen to women who were on a power trip bitching at their kids. Most of the women their were dressed in their heels and dress pants so I assume they worked during the day. SO they were away from their kids all day and then the few hours that they got to spend with them in the evening they were belittling them and being rude. This one girl who appeared to be about 10 was pushing her parents shopping cart and she bumped into me. Her parents were paces ahead of her and when they realized she bumped into me they both turned around and yelled at her. Poor girl was so embarrassed. Josh and I both quickly said to the parents "it's OK!" Have you ever ran into someone by accident with your shopping cart? I know I have! Of course it makes you feel stupid let alone can you imagine if someone yelled at you right in front of the person you hit and made you feel even more stupid? It is our job as parents to constantly build up our kids. Teach them by leading with good example and treat them like a human being. A good rule of thumb is if you wouldn't talk to your co-worker or neighbor that way then you shouldn't talk to your kids that way, no matter how old they are. When your child makes a mistake like running into someone with a shopping cart, quickly come to their rescue. Apologize to the person for your child and encourage them to apologize too. Maybe put your arm around your child and say "That's OK, I have done that before too." Teach them to apologize and move on! Don't ask them "why did you do that?" or shout "watch where you are going" Obviously it was an accident! I am guilty too of using poor tone with my kids from time to time. Whenever I do this I always be sure to apologize later and explain to the kids the way I was feeling. I also let them know that it is not ok for people to talk bad to you. Otherwise they will grow up to accept people talking down to them!
A little rambling there but I can't stand to see this in the world!
Off to do more school and cleaning! Embrace the rain today-be glad it's raining on your house, car and face and not your tombstone!
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