So, my kids love sweet stuff. Especially Emma Claire. Ask that child her favorite thing in the world and she will most definitely say, "COOOOOKIES!!" Well, in my efforts to being healthier and better to my body as well as those in my family I've been looking for some alternatives for sweet stuff for the girls. Last night I think I hit the jackpot!
I bought something like this and have until last night used it to pour juice into and freeze for ice pops. This is also a healthy idea as long as the juice is all natural and not sweetened. SO, last night I made them yogurt and apple sauce pops. They LOVED them. I just poured my all-natural unsweetened apple sauce into the mold as well as some yumm-o yogurt. Not together. =) anyway, then let it freeze and Ta-DA, yummy dessert! Try it. You'll like it. Your kids will like it.=)
I've started putting most of the girls toys out of reach and in organized buckets. For instance, there is a bucket of animals, a bucket of doll house and barn stuff, a puzzle shelf, game shelf, dolls and doll accessories inside of a baby bed all up over their heads. Now, those of you who really know me know that I am a clean freak and organizing fool. My kids like to try to wear this out of me, but lately I've beat them! I'll give them one activity at a time and not only does it keep their room reasonably clean, but it also keeps their attention for longer. They also have to clean up the activity before moving onto another activity. I LOVE this new out of site out of mind thing we've got going on and it really does work!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
BooHoo! Blah!
I think my blogging mind is broken.
ANYWAY, I've decided that today, we'll have a moment of silence for Kris Allen, winner of American Idol and resident of our own hometown, Conway, AR.
HA! Yeah, I'm glad that he won, but we never even watched one show. Sorry to all you die hard KA fans!=)
ANYWAY, now that the seasons of all our shows have come to an end and summer broadcasting will soon begin I'm not sure what we'll do with our evenings. Although it it tempting to watch Wipeout. Scotty thinks it's so hilarious. Probably just have to sit and talk or something. Gah. I must say I'm so thankful for internet broadcasting of all my favorite shows. I'll have to go back and watch my favorite episodes. I think I could watch the epi of LOST where Charlie dies 100 times and still cry. *Snif. Snif*
Does anyone watch LOST? I'm starting to think that things are going to take a spiritual route in 2010. Dude, we are getting close to 2010. That's crazy.
I'm not sure who all actually reads this, because I always get a good response from people on Facebook.
So, like I said, I have lots of thoughts but not really in the mood to get them out. Maybe I should load pictures. But then, if you are reading from facebook you've already seen my pictures anyway.
Some time soon I'll post a real live update with a point. Until then, let the silence continue...
ANYWAY, I've decided that today, we'll have a moment of silence for Kris Allen, winner of American Idol and resident of our own hometown, Conway, AR.
HA! Yeah, I'm glad that he won, but we never even watched one show. Sorry to all you die hard KA fans!=)
ANYWAY, now that the seasons of all our shows have come to an end and summer broadcasting will soon begin I'm not sure what we'll do with our evenings. Although it it tempting to watch Wipeout. Scotty thinks it's so hilarious. Probably just have to sit and talk or something. Gah. I must say I'm so thankful for internet broadcasting of all my favorite shows. I'll have to go back and watch my favorite episodes. I think I could watch the epi of LOST where Charlie dies 100 times and still cry. *Snif. Snif*
Does anyone watch LOST? I'm starting to think that things are going to take a spiritual route in 2010. Dude, we are getting close to 2010. That's crazy.
I'm not sure who all actually reads this, because I always get a good response from people on Facebook.
So, like I said, I have lots of thoughts but not really in the mood to get them out. Maybe I should load pictures. But then, if you are reading from facebook you've already seen my pictures anyway.
Some time soon I'll post a real live update with a point. Until then, let the silence continue...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Give 'em roots. Give 'em wings.
Last night Scotty and I attended a memorial service. As we sat in the standing room only PACKED sanctuary of our church I looked around at all the sad facing mourning the loss of a friend, a cousin, a son, a grandson, a student, a brother, a child.
Our pastor sent out an urgent email this time last week asking for prayer for his family, as they'd found out that their 20 year old son had taken his life.
At the service last night we listened as the family talked about Jordan's accomplishments, inner struggles, and love for his family and friends. What an amazing person he must have been.
His parents raised him to be a strong, intelligent, Christ-loving, outgoing kid. Looking in to their life I'd say they did everything "right." SO, the question I kept asking myself was "WHY?"
Then, just like He was sitting in front of me, God said to me, "'Why' isn't important. What's important for you to know is that YOU can't make a perfect child."
I'm such a perfectionist. Even typing this post is grueling to me because I feel the need for everything to be perfect. Every day I wear myself out trying to keep my house clean, my kids looking adorable, and my life all in order. If, at the end of the day I look back, I can always find something that I didn't do a good job at; I yelled too much at Olivia, I didn't respect my husband, I didn't get the floor mopped.
My perfectionism doesn't stop there. I work really hard to teach my kids the right things. I tell them all about Jesus, show them right from wrong, correct them when they misbehave, and discipline them so that they don't make the same mistake again.
But, what happened last night for me, amid the sadness(and happiness-because Jordan is in heaven) of the memorial service, was that I learned that no matter how much I work at being the best parent I can, my job is to give my sweet blessings(my kids) right back to their maker.
HE and ONLY HE is in complete control of my kids. He's had them in His hand since before they were born. At some point, our kids will take on their own personality, they'll make friends, they'll decide what they believe for themselves. Not just what I've taught them; they'll make up their OWN belief system.
So, I'll do my best-I'll keep my focus on Christ and let everything else fall into place, and at the end of the day, I'll look back and know that my best was good enough. That God is in control-not me. That my kids need me to help them, but I CAN NOT make them perfect.
Our pastor sent out an urgent email this time last week asking for prayer for his family, as they'd found out that their 20 year old son had taken his life.
At the service last night we listened as the family talked about Jordan's accomplishments, inner struggles, and love for his family and friends. What an amazing person he must have been.
His parents raised him to be a strong, intelligent, Christ-loving, outgoing kid. Looking in to their life I'd say they did everything "right." SO, the question I kept asking myself was "WHY?"
Then, just like He was sitting in front of me, God said to me, "'Why' isn't important. What's important for you to know is that YOU can't make a perfect child."
I'm such a perfectionist. Even typing this post is grueling to me because I feel the need for everything to be perfect. Every day I wear myself out trying to keep my house clean, my kids looking adorable, and my life all in order. If, at the end of the day I look back, I can always find something that I didn't do a good job at; I yelled too much at Olivia, I didn't respect my husband, I didn't get the floor mopped.
My perfectionism doesn't stop there. I work really hard to teach my kids the right things. I tell them all about Jesus, show them right from wrong, correct them when they misbehave, and discipline them so that they don't make the same mistake again.
But, what happened last night for me, amid the sadness(and happiness-because Jordan is in heaven) of the memorial service, was that I learned that no matter how much I work at being the best parent I can, my job is to give my sweet blessings(my kids) right back to their maker.
HE and ONLY HE is in complete control of my kids. He's had them in His hand since before they were born. At some point, our kids will take on their own personality, they'll make friends, they'll decide what they believe for themselves. Not just what I've taught them; they'll make up their OWN belief system.
So, I'll do my best-I'll keep my focus on Christ and let everything else fall into place, and at the end of the day, I'll look back and know that my best was good enough. That God is in control-not me. That my kids need me to help them, but I CAN NOT make them perfect.
Monday, May 18, 2009
My {somewhat tacky} thoughts for the day
So, I know I've talked about this a little, but I'm going to get some things off my chest. I'm being bold, but hey, that's me. If you don't like it go read this.
First, as you know we have had a somewhat rough journey in trying to find a church home. We've done very traditional baptist, non-denom, very contemporary baptist, church plant, new church, old church, red church, blue church. You get the point. We've pretty much tried them all. ANYWAY, we recently found our "perfect" church home. We love it. Yes, there are some little things that (if it were MINE) I'd change, but it's mostly "cosmetic" stuff. We have really started plugging in and are ready to be part of whatever we can. I'm singing on the praise team and Scotty is playing on the softball team. Our girls love their classes and we just love the atmosphere there.
When we first started looking around in Conway we were a bit overwhelmed because, if you don't know, there are a TON of churches in Conway! We had a few goals that we set out, but the major two were simple: Bible believing church, teaching children's department. The first is pretty easy to find. You can pretty much get online and look at the website of most churches to find out if they are a Bible believing church.
The second, however, is NOT easy to find. Most of you know that we have these three beauties that we are responsible for while they are on earth. We take PRIDE in teaching them everything WE know about the Bible, our faith, and our Savior. When we take them to church, we would LIKE to have a program that would reiterate what we've been teaching them. There are so many creative way to teach EVEN BABIES about Jesus. There are group activities, toys, crafts, snacks, the list goes on and on that you can do to incorporate the lesson. What we so often found was that the church was GREAT for us, but when we'd go pick up our kids they would have done the following:
9:00-9:15-Free Play
9:15-10:00-Outside Play
10:00-10:15-Snack of some sort of CHOCOLATE COOKIE AND PUNCH
10:15-10:30-free play
10:30-11:00-MOVIE
I know that the bottom line is that I am responsible for the spiritual growth of my children. I take that responsibility gladly, but I will not drop the ball on Sunday's so that I can get fed myself. I won't leave my kids in a sub-par disgustingly dirty daycare environment with some teenage kids and go enjoy worship for myself. I can't. Not only do I feel guilty, my kids do. They know they aren't learning anything. They've been taught to appreciate learning. They've been taught enough about our faith to EXPECT it when they come to church.
NOW, when I come to pick up my girls and they are beaming with pride because they've learned about Samson or Joshua and they can't wait to tell me all about it and show me their artwork I know that we've made the right choice. I know that it was worth it to go to every church in the central Arkansas area. It's important. It's my responsibility...
Moving along...
Yesterday we were at toadsuck park with some new friends. We were enjoying the beautiful day and taking a walk around the water when all of the sudden the kids(there were 6 of them among the two families) were holding what appeared to be a dead rabbit. Seriously, I thought I was going to throw-up. Here is the conversation that followed. I'm not sure which child or parent said what, so you'll just have to read it and figure it all out.
Parent-"OH MY GOSH! THROW THAT DOWN!!!!!"
Parent-"WHAT IN THE WORLD? IS THAT A BUNNY? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!"
Child-"LOOOOOOK!!!!! IT'S A BUNNY!!!! CAN WE KEEP IT?????"
(Child throws down bunny. It's kicking. It's laying there. It's half-dead.)
Child-"LOOOOK!! It's a bunny!!!! It came out of the tree!!!"
Parent-"WHAT?! The bunny came out of the tree?!" Bunnies don't climb trees."
Child-"This bunny fell out of that tree."(POINTING UP INTO A RATHER TALL TREE)
Parent(to other parent)-"Do bunnies climb trees?"
Parent(to children)-"Bunnies don't climb trees. Who saw it come out of the tree?"
Children(all together)-"MEEEEE!"
Parent-"Well don't touch it. It's sick. Bunnies(and birds) have lots of germs."
Parent-"Come get some "magic soap""
We aren't sure what exactly happened, but the bunny did indeed seem to come out of a tree and it was injured and our kids did want to play with it. We figured maybe a hawk found it and left it in it's nest for latter and the half-dead bunny tried to save itself and jumped or fell out of the nest and in front of our sweet Innocent children. =) It was NASTY. Especially for this germaphobe!
OK. Enough for one day. You are welcome to leave your comments about either subject. Don't think you'll hurt my feelings. Sorry if I've offended anyone. The thoughts shared on this blog are my own and are very often pretty raw and unfiltered. Ahh, the joys of the Internet.
First, as you know we have had a somewhat rough journey in trying to find a church home. We've done very traditional baptist, non-denom, very contemporary baptist, church plant, new church, old church, red church, blue church. You get the point. We've pretty much tried them all. ANYWAY, we recently found our "perfect" church home. We love it. Yes, there are some little things that (if it were MINE) I'd change, but it's mostly "cosmetic" stuff. We have really started plugging in and are ready to be part of whatever we can. I'm singing on the praise team and Scotty is playing on the softball team. Our girls love their classes and we just love the atmosphere there.
When we first started looking around in Conway we were a bit overwhelmed because, if you don't know, there are a TON of churches in Conway! We had a few goals that we set out, but the major two were simple: Bible believing church, teaching children's department. The first is pretty easy to find. You can pretty much get online and look at the website of most churches to find out if they are a Bible believing church.
The second, however, is NOT easy to find. Most of you know that we have these three beauties that we are responsible for while they are on earth. We take PRIDE in teaching them everything WE know about the Bible, our faith, and our Savior. When we take them to church, we would LIKE to have a program that would reiterate what we've been teaching them. There are so many creative way to teach EVEN BABIES about Jesus. There are group activities, toys, crafts, snacks, the list goes on and on that you can do to incorporate the lesson. What we so often found was that the church was GREAT for us, but when we'd go pick up our kids they would have done the following:
9:00-9:15-Free Play
9:15-10:00-Outside Play
10:00-10:15-Snack of some sort of CHOCOLATE COOKIE AND PUNCH
10:15-10:30-free play
10:30-11:00-MOVIE
I know that the bottom line is that I am responsible for the spiritual growth of my children. I take that responsibility gladly, but I will not drop the ball on Sunday's so that I can get fed myself. I won't leave my kids in a sub-par disgustingly dirty daycare environment with some teenage kids and go enjoy worship for myself. I can't. Not only do I feel guilty, my kids do. They know they aren't learning anything. They've been taught to appreciate learning. They've been taught enough about our faith to EXPECT it when they come to church.
NOW, when I come to pick up my girls and they are beaming with pride because they've learned about Samson or Joshua and they can't wait to tell me all about it and show me their artwork I know that we've made the right choice. I know that it was worth it to go to every church in the central Arkansas area. It's important. It's my responsibility...
Moving along...
Yesterday we were at toadsuck park with some new friends. We were enjoying the beautiful day and taking a walk around the water when all of the sudden the kids(there were 6 of them among the two families) were holding what appeared to be a dead rabbit. Seriously, I thought I was going to throw-up. Here is the conversation that followed. I'm not sure which child or parent said what, so you'll just have to read it and figure it all out.
Parent-"OH MY GOSH! THROW THAT DOWN!!!!!"
Parent-"WHAT IN THE WORLD? IS THAT A BUNNY? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!"
Child-"LOOOOOOK!!!!! IT'S A BUNNY!!!! CAN WE KEEP IT?????"
(Child throws down bunny. It's kicking. It's laying there. It's half-dead.)
Child-"LOOOOK!! It's a bunny!!!! It came out of the tree!!!"
Parent-"WHAT?! The bunny came out of the tree?!" Bunnies don't climb trees."
Child-"This bunny fell out of that tree."(POINTING UP INTO A RATHER TALL TREE)
Parent(to other parent)-"Do bunnies climb trees?"
Parent(to children)-"Bunnies don't climb trees. Who saw it come out of the tree?"
Children(all together)-"MEEEEE!"
Parent-"Well don't touch it. It's sick. Bunnies(and birds) have lots of germs."
Parent-"Come get some "magic soap""
We aren't sure what exactly happened, but the bunny did indeed seem to come out of a tree and it was injured and our kids did want to play with it. We figured maybe a hawk found it and left it in it's nest for latter and the half-dead bunny tried to save itself and jumped or fell out of the nest and in front of our sweet Innocent children. =) It was NASTY. Especially for this germaphobe!
OK. Enough for one day. You are welcome to leave your comments about either subject. Don't think you'll hurt my feelings. Sorry if I've offended anyone. The thoughts shared on this blog are my own and are very often pretty raw and unfiltered. Ahh, the joys of the Internet.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself
I'm a scardy cat. I fear a lot of things. At the top of my list is M-I-C-E. I know. It's dumb to be a grown woman, who has single-handedly killed a snake with a steak knife, who fears mice. I also fear my house catching on fire. When I was in college my family lived in an older house with bad wiring. A few months after we moved out it caught on fire and burned to the ground with a family inside. Not my family, but A family. Still, to this day, I wake up and think I smell smoke. It's just always in the back of my head, that silly fear. Something that DIDN'T EVEN HAPPEN TO ME!
A few months ago I went through Beth Moore's Study on the book of Esther. (It's a great study and I'd suggest doing it if you get the chance.) One week in the video session she talks about it being hard to be a woman in the tight fist of fear. I know that there are many of us who, in reality, are scared. We're scared that our husband is going to find a newer/better wife. We're scared we'll have to face the loss of a child. Scared that we'll loose our job. Scared that we aren't good enough, pretty enough, smart enough. The list goes on and on. The point is, I'm CERTAIN that at one time or another we were scared of SOMETHING.
We have these thoughts racing through our heads that start to change WHO we are. Filling our thoughts with fear will weigh us down until we can't move in any direction. Can you imagine the pleasure Satan gets from us being weighed down with fear. That's just one more person he doesn't have to worry about. We are destroying ourselves! Friends, the Bible says in 2 Timothy that "God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER, Love, and self-control!" God knew we'd struggle with fear. Did you know that "Do not fear!" is one of the most common commands of the Bible? Not only do we have a personal savior, but He gets us!
Beth gives this advice. Fill in the blank with the thing that scares you the most. IF_________. What is it that keeps you awake at night or has your stomach in knots? What is it that you tell others, if BLANK happened I wouldn't know what to do!? Think of that thing. Hold it up. Look at it. Think through it. What WOULD happen IF BLANK happened? Go through the steps. The ugly, not so spiritual steps. THEN. Look all the way down to the end and guess what? At the end of that chain is GOD. He's always been there. Walking through the trauma, the blessings, the happy and sad. HE'S FAITHFUL. You know what he's asking us!?
TAKE COURAGE. TAKE IT!! I'm holding it out to you. Just reach out and take it. It's a gift. I'm standing here, like I've always been standing here, with the courage(grace) you need for this. Just take the BRAVE step toward me and take the courage I'm willing to give you!
So many times I think we think up in our head all the bad stuff that COULD happen. God can't give you grace for that! He's giving you grace for the here and now. Know this, though.
IF________ THEN God will be there. No matter what it is that's in your blank.
A few months ago I went through Beth Moore's Study on the book of Esther. (It's a great study and I'd suggest doing it if you get the chance.) One week in the video session she talks about it being hard to be a woman in the tight fist of fear. I know that there are many of us who, in reality, are scared. We're scared that our husband is going to find a newer/better wife. We're scared we'll have to face the loss of a child. Scared that we'll loose our job. Scared that we aren't good enough, pretty enough, smart enough. The list goes on and on. The point is, I'm CERTAIN that at one time or another we were scared of SOMETHING.
We have these thoughts racing through our heads that start to change WHO we are. Filling our thoughts with fear will weigh us down until we can't move in any direction. Can you imagine the pleasure Satan gets from us being weighed down with fear. That's just one more person he doesn't have to worry about. We are destroying ourselves! Friends, the Bible says in 2 Timothy that "God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER, Love, and self-control!" God knew we'd struggle with fear. Did you know that "Do not fear!" is one of the most common commands of the Bible? Not only do we have a personal savior, but He gets us!
Beth gives this advice. Fill in the blank with the thing that scares you the most. IF_________. What is it that keeps you awake at night or has your stomach in knots? What is it that you tell others, if BLANK happened I wouldn't know what to do!? Think of that thing. Hold it up. Look at it. Think through it. What WOULD happen IF BLANK happened? Go through the steps. The ugly, not so spiritual steps. THEN. Look all the way down to the end and guess what? At the end of that chain is GOD. He's always been there. Walking through the trauma, the blessings, the happy and sad. HE'S FAITHFUL. You know what he's asking us!?
TAKE COURAGE. TAKE IT!! I'm holding it out to you. Just reach out and take it. It's a gift. I'm standing here, like I've always been standing here, with the courage(grace) you need for this. Just take the BRAVE step toward me and take the courage I'm willing to give you!
So many times I think we think up in our head all the bad stuff that COULD happen. God can't give you grace for that! He's giving you grace for the here and now. Know this, though.
IF________ THEN God will be there. No matter what it is that's in your blank.
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