Current DOINGS

Yeah, I am sorry for anyone who regularly reads my blog just for the Monday Current Web Readings. I have been busy with my son JJ and a new diet we will be implementing. It is so beneficial, ALL of us (well, maybe not my husband, but the rest of us) will be starting it. I am really excited and have been doing a LOT of research on it.

It is called the GAPS diet. It is not a diet like most people think of, as in one to lose weight. But diet as in a way/lifestyle of eating. And this one in particular is to heal your gut.

I won't go into a lot of that here as I will be posting a lot (well EVERY thing really) on my other blog where I am talking about my son and his health and allergies. PLEASE know that this is NOT just a diet for people with food allergies but for EVERY ONE. I encourage you to read more about it, and it you want to keep up with what we are learning and doing, you can on my other blog: One Mother's Journey.

SO again, I am sorry, but there are no real links this week (except there is some good stuff I have been learning at my other blog. For now, here is a fun little video I found (as I am ALWAYS trying to understand this area of my life) about HOW to use a knife:

Something happy....

Something happy and living after all this death....


Our living history ranch has a Christmas celebration each year. They always have an activity for the kids to do. This year was candle making, like they did back then. :D


Another picture from the living history ranch - Christmas as it used to be.


JJ LOVES to throw snowballs!


We got to spend time with family - this is my sister and her daughter sledding down the hill.


Making snow angels with family.


EE being a big sister and JJ totally enjoying it!


AA doing a puzzle - I LOVE this picture!!!

and finally...

My sister with her dd and all four of my blessings. :D

Foto Friday - Leaves

(a quick reminder to please vote for me I really need the votes to win! THANKS!!!)

I had so much FUN doing these pictures. THANK YOU REBECCA!!! If you have not already read the story behind these photos, I encourage you to do that. It really is worth the time, at least I think it is. :D

(edited to add: OK... after seeing every one else's photos, and they are of just leaves, I feel really bad. I think I messed up on the assignment. But how could I NOT take these shots of my kids?!?! I am sorry Rebecca and other fellow FF followers. Rebecca - feel free to remove my link if you do not think I completed the challenge as stated. I will not be offended at all! :D )

So we headed to the last place I had been where I saw lots of leaves and there was a most beautiful bridge there. I told the kids about throwing in a leaves and watching them race under the bridge (there was a beautiful running river flowing under the bridge), and of course they went NUTS throwing LEAVES over the bridge. Not just one or two for a race ... but literally...



Here is one of JJ on the bridge. I love the shot, but hate the exposure! No matter how much I played with it, I could NOT get his face brighter!



Here is another one of JJ on the bridge. I love this one too!!!



I was TRYING to get a sun flare on this one, but but it did not work. Any thoughts on how to do something like this in the future??



Here is JJ on the stairs playing with the leaves while I was trying to set up a shoot (see a couple shots below), and all he cared about was playing in the leaves. SO CUTE!!!



Here is the shot I was setting up. AA was AWESOME in helping with this shot. I had said what I wanted, but she interpreted it differently, telling each of her siblings where to sit. I loved it so much that I was not about to say a word about what my vision was.

Daily Life and Death

Today is my Aunt's memorial service and lunch. She died VERY unexpectedly. My Uncle went out to get the paper and when he came back, she was dead. An autopsy (to determine cause of death) reported that her body just gave out.

My Uncle barely escaped Tower 2 right before it collapsed. I have called my Aunt and Uncle every year since Sept 11 on Sept 11. And it was not until her death that I learned that Sept 11 was also memorable because that was their wedding anniversary. They would have been married 38 years tomorrow.

I used to make family videos every year and send them to family. I stopped after 2005 because my MIL made a comment about this AWESOME thing (going on and on about it) that April discovered in 2006. I commented that if she had watched the movie I made, she would have seen all the girls doing that very thing. Knowing that no one but us were watching the videos made me very sad. I put a lot of work and effort into making those videos.

Well, come to find out how special those were to my Aunt. She seemed to know she was going to die soon, and spent the last few months of her life watching those videos I sent over and over again. OH if I had only known! The things you find out AFTER a person dies. :( I would have made more videos and sent her more pictures had I known how important to her they were.

So now, I am making videos again. I will be sending one to my Uncle this year instead of them both. But he will know how important that is ... to both of us.

Today I video taped the cute little way JJ waves (using his WHOLE arm, and how his little body shakes with him). I video taped the girls learning to spool knit FINALLY.

Now to learn to balance life between photography (I love taking pictures - you can't tell because it takes me so long to load them up I don't post very many) and video taping.

Please pray for me. Today is very hard. I loved my Aunt. While we were not very close growing up (mostly because my parents never kept in close contact), Sept 11, 2001 brought us close together. I called her, and that opened the door to a very short lived friendship. She told Uncle Frank I was her best friend. I miss her deeply. And I never knew how much those videos meant to her. I never knew.

Me DONE!

We sweet little boy. He was drumming and I asked him if he was my little drummer. "ME LIKE NOISE!" he replied in typical boy fashion. I HAD to capture that moment and scrap it! But it turned into something much much more. This is the story of this layout.

Click on the picture for credits and to see larger.

FREE FUN: Toliet Paper Bowling Fun

Toliet Paper Bowling Fun

The best thing about TP from Costco is they are all individually wrapped! Allows you to go indoor bowling and use as many (or as few, but what kid chooses less when they can have MORE?!?!) rolls as you want!!!

The kids had a BLAST bowling (just use any ball) for about an hour! Then they moved onto fort building, and finally just knocking them down after building a wall at the top of the stairs! There is nothing like hearing TONS of giggles and stomping feet as toilet paper falls down the stairs! :D

Don't forget to check out the Flickr Fun For Nothin' Group for more GREAT ideas!!

Mother of 20 is Interviewed

This interview is VERY inspiring. Whether you have one or twenty-one kids, you should read this.

Daddy - I'm Watching You

Me

I am NOT very photogenic. In fact, I hate pictures of myself. But I read a story that was floating around on the internet, and while true or not, it does make one think.

The daughter, grown, married and had just had her second baby, was going through her mother's pictures trying to gather pictures for a slideshow. You see, her mother had died just a few days before. As she was going through the pictures, she realized that there were very few pictures of her mother. Her mother had always tried to avoid the camera, or was always the one behind the camera. Even in the videos they watched, the noticed how few times she actually was in front of the camera.

I don't want my children to be missing pictures of me. Of course my favorite pictures of me are the ones of me with my kids. THe ones where we are giggling and wrestling or playing. But my beloved, being a photographer wanna be (who really is a COULD be if he wanted to and had the drive to) took a picture of me that I really liked. So I place it here. A picture of me (greying hair and all), for my kids to know and realize that Momma is trying. For them....

Far and Away

Oh it feels SO GOOD to be scrapping again!! It is a way to be creative and artistic as well as capture memories. This is my little MM. Everytime I see her smile, look into those sparkling eyes and see those golden curls, I am taken away! My husband took this AMAZING picture. He took some of JJ too (which are equally amazing and I hope to scrap soon). As always, click on the image to see credits. :) Thanks for looking!

Fireproofing MY Marriage

Tonight is family pizza movie night. Because of my husband's work (long story), we had to be out of the house. So no pizza (who has gluten free pizza in restaurants?). And when we got home, right at bed time for JJ and movie time for the girls, the girls came into my bedroom and waited patiently while I put JJ down for the night.

Then the movie .... Fireproof.

It was interesting to see my oldest daughter's reactions during the movie. She laughed at all the things that make you laugh. And she cried at all the things that made you cry. She cried at the heart ache of divorce. She was joyful over the wife coming to Christ. And at the end of it all, she exclaimed "that was the best movie I have ever seen!"

I have this blog, in which I am as open and honest as I feel that I can be (in order to keep my family safe). Part of that is that I want a searchable record for myself and a record for my children. And part of that is that God might use me to help just one person. I never know because most of the people who read my blog are like me. VERY little time, searching just for something that I might be able to use in my family or home school, but never really having time to comment.

So now I share something I have not shared before now. I feel it is important in order to keep me humble and remember where I have come from, how far God has brought me, and hopefully to fireproof my children in their marriage that they will never have to face what we have.

You see, the movie is very dear to Brian and myself because we have been there. While we agreed before we married that divorce was never an option, separation almost tore us apart.

I was a very selfish person. And being a selfish person I was very lazy. Now I want to make clear that I am STILL selfish AND lazy, but God has done and is still doing a work in me. I have come a long way and have a longer way to go.

LONG story short, I have learned a few things.

First, I learned how to submit to my husband. I had thought I was submissive, and if you had asked Brian if I was submissive, he would have said yes with no reservations. God showed me what it meant to be truly and biblical submissive (and not just submissive according to what other ladies in the church said submission meant). In short, I am not a doormat, and you can search SUBMISSION at the top of the blog to read my views on submission. I am not perfect in this area, and I still daily fall short. But I know now when I am in the wrong. And it honors my husband when I submit fully with all my heart.

It is because I have learned what submission BIBLICALLY means that any of the rest of this makes any sense.

I have learned to met my husband's needs. God created me as a helper, a helpmeet to my husband.

I have learned that my husband NEEDS a clean house. Now you can search my archives and see my daily struggle with keeping a home. My house, while no longer completely messy, is not as clean as it can and SHOULD be for my husband. It did not get messy overnight and it will not get clean overnight. But I make time to not only clean, but get the kids to clean as well. And when we get something clean, we keep it clean. I see progress every day. And I will continue to make progress every day because my husband needs it.

I have also learned that I need to stop being so selfish and make sacrifices for my husband. Part of that means rubbing his feet, and doing so without getting anything in return. Brian has a hernia and several people all reported being able to avoid surgery by reflexology on certain points in the feet. So I have been trying to rub his feet every night. No matter how tired I am. And no matter how I would love for him to rub my feet just once. :)

I have learned to see that my husband shows me love in different ways. I could want something like a foot rub from my husband, but him rubbing my feet is not a way that he would show love to me. Sure, he would do it if I asked him. But I want him to just KNOW what I want. :) I have learned to share my wants/needs with my husband so he can fulfill them (if he is able). And if I do not share those wants/needs with him, I remember that he shows me love in different ways.

I have also learned that being a helpmeet means meeting his needs. I listen more carefully now for the little things he says he wants/needs done. Today, in passing, during the few minutes we actually got to spend together, he mentioned that he needed wool socks washed. In the past, i might have heard that and ignored it (too wrapped up in my selfishness to want to do laundry) or it gone in one ear and out the other (because, again, I would have been too wrapped up in my selfishness). So I did one load of laundry today. One load that will bless my husband when he has wool socks to wear tomorrow.

I also make him lunch now. You see, beforehand I was too lazy to worry about making a lunch for my husband (sounds so bad to say that I know). I would bring out something for the girls to eat, and snack on something myself, but felt it was too much effort to make something for my husband to eat. Because he works from his office, he can't really eat a meal, so I found a use for those Tupperware circle things with all the dividers for different veggies and a dip. I make a dip, put in some veggies, add some other fun finger foods and bring it in for him. He is able to snack all day on things MUCH healthier than candy and cookies.

And I think what has been the second most important change, only second to biblical submission, and only possible because of God...I smile. It sounds simply enough, but it means SO MUCH to my man. It is a literal NEED for him like breathing and water. And you know what, it has made my husband happier. It makes him secure in our marriage, especially during those times where he has two weeks worth of 17-20 hour workdays. It brings him a little bit of happiness and joy.

Actually all of these things so simple, yet when put together, help me make my marriage fireproof. With God's strength and daily grace, I am reminded of and able to do the simplest of things that didn't used to be so simple.

Salvation Has Come To This House

AA, our near 9yr old dd prayed on Christmas Eve to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. I think she had always been that way, but I think that this was just the public display for her. None the less, she has been taking this very seriously, and talks now about God has changed her. She remembers vividly what the pastor said about how we can be tempted and I ask your prayers that she will not be tempted now that she has made this public declaration.

This could not have come at a more special time, because on Christmas morning, she was given a new Bible, her very own. Yes, it is purple, her favorite color. Yes, it sparkles and has gems on it. YES, it is a princess Bible. But it is a good one too.

Today she opened it up to read to me and decided she wanted to start with Job.

Job? REALLY God? Don't You want to lead her to start with something more powerful and life changing like any of the letters from Paul, or maybe the Gospel of John?? ANYTHING but Job.

But Job it was to be. And soon I would find out why. After she read the first chapter, I talked to her about finding her OWN personal application (whereas before hand Momma would always talk about the application). I told her how wherever we are in life, God can tell us something different in the Bible, even if it is the same verse, we can get something different out of it each time we read it. What was her personal application from what she read today?

Her answer: To be praise and love God even if He takes everything away from me.

OK sweetie. But what if one of your sisters breaks something of yours? Would you still praise God by being kind and loving to your sisters??

Her answer: Yes, now that I have God in my heart.

Not two minutes later, she was put to the test. She had generously loaned her new wooden doll she got for Christmas to her 5yr old sister (MM) who is sick, to help her feel better. And it broke. AA was SO SAD. But she did not get angry. I talked to her about how sometimes, when we read something in the Bible, we will be tested to see if we are going to be true to follow through with the personal application. I was so proud of her for following through. And thankfully, Daddy said he would be able to fix the doll good as new!

Previously I would have heard yelling and screaming and blaming and crying. Today, I did hear sadness, but I heard love and forgiveness and praises to God as well. I am so thankful to God!

There is a GREAT free sermon by one of my favorite preachers, Dr. S.M. Davis that deals with answering children's questions about salvation. I HIGHLY suggest you go and listen to it (you can also download it to your computer but right clicking "Save As"). This link was sent to me by Dr. Davis (you can join his email list) as a Christmas present, so I am not sure how long the link will be available. Just a little encouragement to get it while you can.

(Side note: As I am writing this, JJ has gotten himself undressed (still has a diaper on YEAH!), brought his baby into the cradle, covered him up with a blanket and is now rocking the baby sining "Rock A Bye Baby". I LOVE IT!)

Our Christmas

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas. Our Christmas was WONDERFUL!! And we continue the celebration all through until the new year (why should it only be celebrated one day??)!

We opened gifts from Grandmom and Granddad via web cam (so they could see all the oohhhhs and aaahhhhs). :) Then we continued on and had breakfast as well as our Christmas traditions.

Then we opened the rest of the gifts. JJ was so funny! He kept wanting to open every gift, not understanding that we take turns and not all the gifts are his. :) AA was great as with each new DVD that was opened, her eyes got bigger and brighter and she wanted to watch THAT one instead. :) LOL!!! EE loved the bead kit she got. She immediately went to work making a necklace for herself and a matching one for her doll. MM loved her snowman necklace. She opened it up and made it ALL BY HERSELF! She looked at the instructions and just went for it. She only needed help getting the LAST i bell on because by then, the ribbon was a little frayed and she could not thread it. Then she needed me to tie it so she could wear it. It was PERFECT! I am SO PROUD of her!!!

The oohhhhs and ahhhhs could not stop when we opened the LEGO Indiana Jones PSP2 game!!! WOWZERS!

Then we got the BEST GIFT EVER!!! My BIL married a woman who LOVES learning and knowledge. I must admit that she supports me in homeschooling more than other family members do. And the gift she sent this year will be hard to top!! :) (Kinda like when you go on a family vacation to Disneyland - you just can't do better than that!) No pressure for her though! LOL!! Honestly though, we have always loved her gifts, but this year was AWESOME!

EVERY gift came from a scientist or naturalist. From Jane Goodal we got a nature notebook (this was one of my fav gifts from her). We got gifts from Tesla and Carver. It was AWESOME! I think my other favorite was the carnivore eating plant kit!!! I have been wanting to buy one for the girls for about a year now!!!! We have bug catching kits (oh the girls cannot WAIT to use this, they LOVE bugs), sun printing kits (the girls will LOVE this!!!) and oh so much more! I am stocked up and STOKED about homeschooling this coming summer!!! (Yes, we homeschool year round, but that allows us to vacation when all the other kids are in school, rates are cheaper and things are not nearly as crowded! It also allows us to take off to be with family or when family comes to visit. It really is nice.)

We had another $15 dollar dinner but this time it cost only about $8 and it was WONDERFUL!!! Roasted organic chicken, sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping (I know, but it is a tradition for Brian), homemade apple fritters (combining Hanukah this year), fried okra, homemade stuffing and cranberry sauce.

The movie of choice for the evening was WALL-E, as this was one that the whole family could watch.

Then to bed, to snuggle under the covers. Off to sleepyland with smiles on the faces of everyone. It was a wonderful day! No rushing. Just simple and sweet. WONDERFUL!

UPDATES on my sister and baby here

UPDATED: 9PM DEC 22:
GOD IS SO VERY GOOD!! Thank you for ALL your prayers. I am sorry I was not able to update until now. I have not been able to get on the computer (yes, my monday Current Readings are set to post every Monday ahead of time).
Anyways, momma and baby are doing GREAT!!! Baby is completely breathing on his own, and after a few difficult tries is now feeding 100% on breastmilk. Now we just need to make sure he keeps nursing from momma and little baby will be able to come home Christmas day!! Please continue to pray that things will go well. PLEASE pray that my sister will realize the goodness and POWER of God in this little boy's life and hers!! THANK YOU AGAIN for all the prayers!!

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UPDATED 11AM Dec 19:
Momma is doing MUCH better. She is able to pump and getting a small amount, so please pray that it will increase. The nurses told her that the colostrum (which comes before the milk) is like vitamin shots for the baby. How wonderful they are so supportive of her breastfeeding!!

Baby is also doing MUCH better!! If things continue the trend that they are, the baby will be able to come home in 4-5 days, or maybe that is a very tired mother's hopeful wishes. Keep praying, he is not out of the woods yet.

I am humbled by your prayers for my sister. Thank you so very VERY much. From both of us. I mentioned to her when I finally got to talk to her (just minutes ago) that she had several people praying for her and for the baby, and it seemed almost like she was going to cry. It is amazing how God works through all our prayers! Thank you again!


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December 18th:

Thank you for your continued prayers for my sister and her baby boy! They are very much appreciated.

I will update this post as I get chances. (See my post When It Rains below for why I am unable to update whenever I want).

Momma went through procedure well, and is in recovery.

Baby was born 6lb 11oz. He is currently in the NICU. Baby is having a VERY difficult time breathing. Some sort of emergency procedure is being done to fill his lungs with something. I did not get all the details. Only that my sister got to see him and he was almost convulsing in order to be able to breathe and that was before they told her to leave so they could fill his lungs.

When It Rains...

I am the worst person to make lemonade out of lemons. I don't have the creativity to do it, nor do I have the optimism needed.

My sister is having a baby 5 weeks early, and I cannot be there to help. My mother is calling every so often to keep me updated as well as ask where things are and how to do things. I desperately want to be there to help my mom, but I can't be. I have to be here.

And not because of money mind you. Brian and I feel that there is no amount of money when it comes to health of family. It is MY immediately family...

JJ has scarlet fever. Sounds worse than it is as it is just a version of strep throat. He is sick and miserable and making me miserable. He needs me here (and could not be anywhere near my mom, my sister's daughter or anything like that with a preemie being born). I guess I cannot be too upset. As with the sage remedy, we were able to avoid him going down the path that he was heading down with a respiratory infection. I am thankful for that.

And Brian is getting some cancer screening done tomorrow. It is mostly precautionary as cancer runs in his family BIG time! But the prep for the screening is really hard on him (I know, I have been there before - long story).

I know that God is in control. I know that all things happen for His good and His glory. And I know that I am where God wants me right now. I just wish my flesh wasn't so strong! I want to be cloned three times over, four actually, so I can be there for the girls, for my sister/mom, for my husband and for my son. How to let go and let God?

I think I will coin a new phrase. I have Eveism. You know the kind. Where after Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, God said she would always have a desire to rule and be in charge. I struggle with this, daily. Thinking I know what is best rather than always submitting to God (or my beloved husband). And it makes me miserable. And it makes everyone around me that I love and care for miserable. Because I know what God wants of me, and yet I work against it.

I have been to the place of being in total submission to God and it is a wonderful and happy place. But when it rains, it seems that my Eveism gets worst. I don't want the rain to turn into a storm before I finally break down and submit.

Your prayers for my beloved are appreciated as the prep for the procedure tomorrow is not a pleasant one. And for the doctors to catch ANY signs of possible cancer, if there are any to be found.

Your prayers for my sister are appreciated (she is prepped and waiting at this point) as I know she is scared, tired, and very worried.

Your prayers for her son are appreciated. Five weeks early makes him a tiny little thing. Preemie boys have a MUCH lower survival rate than preemie girls.

Your prayers for JJ are appreciated as he is one active little boy who does not want to rest OR take his medication.

Your prayers for my daughters are appreciated as I do not want them getting sick.

And finally, your prayers for me are appreciated. I am so very very tired and feel overwhelmed at the moment. I need God's strength and peace. And I need to remember and be willing to submit to Him.

Thank you.

Urgent Prayer Request

My sister is going down for an emergency c-section. PLEASE pray. Thank you.

Tagged

I am a sucker for tags. SOMEBODY LIKES ME! LOL!! :)

So here is the tag from a fellow sister in Christ. Find the fourth folder and pick the fourth picture and tell four things about the photo.
1. The fourth photo folder on my computer is the "Photo Booth" folder which stores all pictures taken with the Photo Booth program on my Mac. The program allows you to choose from one of several options which distorts the picture, each in a different way. I am not sure which distortion was used on this picture.
2. The girls LOVE to use Photo Booth. It is a privilege! :) They usually say "Momma, can we play silly faces?" Then they take a hundred pictures, each vying for camera space, and all while laughing and making silly faces themselves (which come out even sillier by the distortion from the program).
3. The three in the picture are JJ, AA (sitting up) and EE (head leaning in).

4. The picture was taken in my bed.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! This was taken at the beginning of the year! :D LOL!!

Unrighteous Anger? And A Prayer Request

The Bible tells us to be angry, and sin not. Jesus got angry and threw tables upside down in the temple. I was listening to a sermon by Dr. S.M. Davis. He said that if you feel that you have righteous anger, then you have the time to pray about it and see if God wants you to be angry. THEN, If God says "yep, I want you to be angry and take action on this" THEN you may be angry and take action in anger. LOL! By then, most of the time, the anger is gone. MOst likely because it was unrighteous to begin with.

I must admit that I have some unrighteous anger right now. My sister is preggers with her second child (a boy). She is not due until Jan 20, so your prayers for her are appreciated. She went into contractions last night and was admitted to the hospital today where they have been administering drugs all day to prevent the contractions. As of this posting, she has not had the baby and will be in the hospital overnight for monitoring (and maybe more drugs).

I love my sister appreciate your prayers for her and the baby's safety.

So what does all this have to do with unrighteous anger?

My sister is not a Christian. Neither is my mother. Neither is anyone else she has informed about this. I keep hearing/seeing "sending good thoughts your way" and "lift up some good thoughts for her!" And what should happen should the baby and momma be just fine thanks to the PRAYERS that my family and prayer chain are lifting up for her? NOTHING?!?! God does not get glory from her or all the others who sent "good thoughts."

I must admit that I am struggling with this. I desperately want my sister and the baby to be OK. But I want God to get the glory for it when they are OK.

Maybe it is a righteous anger after all. I mean, if God is not getting the glory for His work, isn't that something to be angry about? I guess I need to pray about it and get back to you! LOL!!! :D Either way, please do be in prayer for my sister and her baby.

I am not sure how many of you know, but my sister had a horrible time trying to conceive both of her children. Took her three years of trying to conceive her first. Took 2 1/2 to conceive her second. And this will be her last (due to medical procedure being done after the birth by scheduled c-section (supposed to be Jan 09, 2009). My sister LOVES this baby boy and would be devastated if anything should happened. Thank you for your prayers.

Today's Doings - Hodge Podge

I took my mom to the airport today for her to fly back home to be with Dad. My heart always breaks a little when she leaves. I miss her so much. However, I know that the Lord wants us here right now, and my parents will not leave Texas. Partly because they love it there, and partly because my sister and her husband live there.

It was hard on all of us to say goodbye, but especially my oldest, AA (near 9yr). We had a long talk about how we need to be where God wants us to be and when she gets married, she will need to live where God wants her and her husband to be. I will admit that it does make things a bit difficult when Brian and I need some alone time. Or someone to watch the kids in an emergency.

After dropping my mom off, I was able to drop by a dear dear friend for a visit. I had not planned on staying, but her warm and inviting hospitality welcomed our whole family (for over two hours)! :D Her family is so wonderful! Her oldest took to JJ and watching after him. Her youngest son took to the girls and got them all making books! :D Thus allowing my friend and me to fellowship. She is a VERY relaxed homeschooler and has always encouraged me.

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Her words of advice:
TEACH IN CONTEXT. I have always heard that you use real life to teach. And I am pretty good with that. Teaching in context is new to me. And it really opened up my eyes on more ways to teach.

She also encouraged me to play post office with the girls. I have always had them "write" letters, but those letters are usually pictures. Now that they are of writing age, they REALLY should be writing. So instead of just saying to write a letter, let them address it, stamp it, and mail it off as well. I know my girls and I know that if they knew they could address the envelope themselves, they would most definitely WRITE a letter! :)

I was also reminded of a number exercise which I hope to do with the girls sometime this week. We were talking about numbers and she went to look for something but could not find it. When she was describing what it was, it sounded similar to making things out of numbers. I hope to make a book, one page for each number, for the girls to work on. :)

She also talked about playing restaurant where you have the menu, they come and take an order, tally up the order and exchange money. MUCH more "in context" than just a worksheet!! :)

She also brought out and shared a book by Dinah Zike called Big Book of Books. This book looks SO COOL!!! I will have to see if I can check it out from the library!! :)
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Brian bought the book Teaching Hearts, Training Minds. The author takes one question from the Westminster Shorter Catechism and spends a whole week on each question/answer, giving Biblical references and explanations as well as word pictures to help make personal application and understanding. Each day has a VERY short meditation (nor more than 3 paragraphs in most cases) to go through with the children (or for yourself). I got a copy through the library through ILL.

I like what he says in the introduction. After talking about the importance of teaching doctrine, and how, sadly, most churches, especially the youth departments, have replaced teaching substantial truth of doctrine with entertainment he says:

"Even where teaching the Bible to children is a priority, teaching Bible doctrine seldom is. Children hear the same Bible stories repeatedly, almost always as moral lessons on how to behave. Typical Sunday school lessons reduce Bible stories to moral tales much like Aesop's fables. The focus is on the human being in the story, who becomes its main character. So the teacher comes to the end and conclude, 'And you must be like David and God will bless you,' or 'You must not act as Ahab did or you will find trouble.'... Children seldom learn to see that God Himself is the main character of every Bible story. They do not learn to ask about each account they read, 'What does this story tell me about God?' They never learn to read all the biblical narratives in the light of God's overall purpose to redeem a people for Himself. All they learn is: Be good and God blesses; be bad, and He does not."

The author then goes on to say how sad it is that we are not equipping our children in the foundations of doctrinal truth. That when adults are being asked simple questions based on doctrine, they stumble for the answers. Whereas if they had been taught the catechism, they would have a doctrinal response ready.

I pictured Jay Leno asking questions like "When was the War of 1812?" and no one having a correct answer. How really silly those people look when simple questions are asked of them and they cannot answer. And how silly we as proclaimed Christians must look when we cannot answer simple questions about what we believe.

There is nothing wrong with teaching memorization. I mean, think about it. The things you remember best from your childhood are the things you memorized. The "ABC" song, common nursery rhymes, the small handfull of BIble verses like John 3:16. I want my children (and honestly myself) to be ready with an answer.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

OK, Brian had the day off and it was WONDERFUL!!!

He is so thoughtful! I got to sleep in while he took care of the kids. He then went and got donuts. He actually made breakfast for the kids BEFORE the doughnuts. Then we had doughnuts and then lunch (which he again made).

When I woke up, AA gave me a gift she had made herself, finished about a week ago. It was a doll. A fabric doll. I will HAVE to post a picture here because I am so unbelievably proud of her! It was all done by hand. And when "Daddy didn't get [her] the buttons on time for the face, [she] just drew one." OH it is a BEAUTIFUL doll!

We headed out to run a few errands. I got some wooden knitting needles for the kids (normally $7.99 for $1.51!!!) which we are having a learn to knit party at our house Friday next week. In the research I have done, it says that thick wooden needles are the best for kids. These are meant especially for kids (bright colors and thick and has a big bulb at the end to prevent the yarn from slipping off). I am REALLY excited about this because EE is VERY anxious to start doing knitting. She wanted to learn crochet, but she is left handed and I just cannot do it (being VERY right handed).

I also picked up some glasses for AA's doll. She had to get glasses a month or so ago. I wanted doll glasses for her doll at the time because she was VERY anxious about having to wear glasses. Because of her astigmatism, she will have to wear them all the time and for life. I got them today (finally) and plan to surprise her with them tomorrow. which turns out to be PERFECT (see below for why).

After that we headed to a local family fun place (pizza buffet and arcade). I did not expect to be there for SO LONG, but we were there for almost 5 hours! I got in free (because it was my birthday), and because we were all in costume, we all got free $5 cards for the arcade (even little JJ!). We sat down for the coloring contest and colored pictures (which we didn't finish because the kids were hungry), so we got our salad (yes, we ALL eat a GOOD salad first). After salad we got our pizza. Then there was a science project! YEP! We all made SLIME! It was GREAT!!!

Then off for games. JJ LOVES to play skee-ball. He played a spinning game ONCE and won 50 tickets on the first try! It was so great to see him grab hand over hand as the tickets poured out from the machine! MM played the same spin game and the first time won 10 tickets. The second time she landed on the big prize - 200 tickets! It was AWESOME!!! All of us played other little games, winning tickets.

Then off to redeem SOME tickets (we allow the children to only get ONE prize per visit) and then back to the buffet for dessert. Then finish the coloring pages, and off for Daddy to try ONE MORE TIME to win me a portable Playstation. GOTTA love my man!!

After we got home, Brian went to put the girls to bed while I put JJ down and then headed off to put up my foot (I broke my little toe earlier this week).

Brian comes into the room and says that AA commented that "today felt too much like Halloween and we didn't celebrate Mommy's birthday, so can we celebrate her birthday tomorrow?" OH MY PRECIOUS PRECIOUS SWEETHEART AA!!

And so it is late late late. I am so happy and so blessed! I head off to sweet slumber and awaken to TWO MORE DAYS with my beloved off work!! TWO MORE FULL DAYS to spend together enjoying each other as a family. I am so blessed!!!