"Keepers at Home"

Before you read the rest of this you should go read THIS POST because my post here is in agreement with that one and reading that one first will compliment and clarify what I'm talking about here.

I think that in the Bible in Titus 2, the phrase "keepers at home," the part that people aren't tracking with is not the HOME part. It's pretty much agreed that the meaning of that is that women need to make sure their house is kept up. I think it's the KEEPERS part that people don't understand... at least it was for me at one point. People see "keepers at home" and think "housekeeper" as in maid, servant, whose duty is to cook and clean and carry out orders. Well if that's all a woman's good for then count me out! Who would sign on for that? It sounds like some sort of mindless slave. The thing people can't see is that "keepers at home" doesn't mean a maid. It means a gatekeeper of the home. A guardian of the environment which we call home. Being a keeper at home is a high calling indeed. It's not a maid, it's so much more beautiful than that! The Keeping part means guiding, guarding, and tending. It doesn't mean merely cleaning. We are to guide our children as they learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. We are to guard against bad things coming into our home- like a gatekeeper keeps the enemy out of the city, so we should keep the ultimate enemy from entering our homes. We are to guard our home environment and our children from evil influences. And we are to tend our family like a gardener tends his vegetables. We are to nurture and encourage our little sprouts, and fertilize our relationships, prune out bad attitudes/clutter/anything that chokes the life out of a family like weeds, and cultivate good soil for a family to grow and thrive in by blessing our families with our attitudes and the work of our hands. The work of a keeper at home is not mindless servitude. It's an exciting and challenging daily adventure, a challenge to guard and bless those that we love. Being a keeper at home would seem to me to be more focused on being a spiritual thing, and is not just a physical do-the-dishes thing. Of course having a tidy house and dinner planned out will improve the spiritual atmosphere of the home, but that's not the whole package. It's just the icing on the cake.

Halloween - Part 4: My personal beliefs

If you have not yet read the preceeding 3 parts of this 4-part series, then I must request that you do so before continuing. It is a series for a reason and is in the order which I have presented it for a reason - it will make the most sense if you read it as it was meant to be read.

Part 1: Jack-O-Lantern, Stingy Jack, Jack the Smith
Part 2: Origins - All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day
Part 3: How it all ties in, Christian response

PART 4:
I would like to open this post where I left off in Part 3- with the scriptures I noted there. They may help you to understand why I believe what I do.

~*~*~*~*~
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.

Ephesians 6:12-13 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

~*~*~*~*~
And if it seems offensive to you to serve the LORD, choose once and for all whom you will serve; the gods of your ancestors, or the gods of those in whose land you reside... but as for me and my lineage, we will serve the LORD.
~*~*~*~*~

What are my personal beliefs regarding Halloween?
Well, I believe that it is a celebration that pleases Satan. I think that children dressed as demonic creatures pleases Satan. I think that carrying out the pagan religious ceremonies of setting out Jack-O-Lanterns and acting out the distribution of sweets to bribe the evil spirits to move along is pleasing to Satan. I think the fact that Christians don't know what what they are doing represents when they take their children Trick Or Treating gives the devil a big ol' ROFL. I think that when children act out being an unholy being it is spiritually unhealthy, even harmfull to them. I think that even if a child is dressed as an angel or Superman they are still acting out the story of demons visiting homes to threaten tricks if not presented with a treat.

How were my husband and I raised regarding celebrating or not celebrating Halloween?
When I was a child my family did not celebrate Halloween. We would lock up our animals and pray that some cult or prankster wouldn't get ahold of them and torture them for the glory of the evil one. We would sometimes leave the house and go eat dinner out to avoid the bombardment of costumed kids incessantly beating at the door demanding candy. Sometimes we would turn out all the lights and watch a movie, but they would come anyway and shine flashlights in our windows and beat on the door for a long time. It scared us kids to have our home assaulted that way. I never slept well that night.
When my husband was a child his family did celebrate Halloween. He has two older brothers. They dressed as scary and evil things and went trick or treating. His family never gave any thought to it, just thought of it as harmless and did it because they'd always done it and it was fun. My husband was raised in church, good Christian boys from a good Christian family. His family still thinks of it as harmless fun but my husband has now, as an adult, been convicted against celebrating it.

Did I ever feel deprived by not being allowed to go Trick or Treating?
Yes and no. Not really. I felt deprived of the chance to dress up in a way and at a time that was not glorifying to Satan. This deprivation would have still been there even had I been out trick or treating. I would still have felt like I would have been more proud of my costume if it were done somewhere, somehow, that would glorify my LORD. I also felt deprived of the chance to glutton myself on free candy. Lol! A very shallow and childlike thing to pout over of course, so I got over it after just a few Halloweens. My family was too poor to buy candy. I imagine my kids will not have this problem since my husband and I are not so poor we can't afford some sweets. ;) And even if they do feel deprived of treats, that is not a sufficient reason to participate in something we don't feel right about.

What about Church Harvest Parties or Trunk-or-treats?
Well, I went to a Church Harvest Party (Church costume event for Halloween to keep kids off the streets) when I was about 11. I felt so betrayed when I stepped inside this house of GOD and saw little witches and demons running around with Jack-O-lantern buckets! In the CHURCH! My little 11 year old heart broke and I felt positively sick to my stomach. I had been under the impression that the purpose of the Harvest Party was to have something for the Christian kids to do on Halloween that would be glorifying to God instead of Satan and when I saw that it was just a big trick or treat party in the Church I started crying and wanted to go home. I told my parents I didn't ever want to go to another Church Harvest Party. I felt morally raped.
My husband tells me that a trunk-or-treat was what his childhood Church did. People would park in the Church parking lot and open their candy-filled car trunks and the kids would go from car to car trick-or-treating. Basically still trick or treating in the pagan traditional manner except with cars instead of houses.
I think that Christians should pray carefully about these alternative activities just as they should pray carefully about the traditional ones. See what God tell you. IMO if the Church Harvest Party had turned out to be what my hopeful little 11 year old heart had expected, it would be a great alternative. If you can find an alternative in your church or group that is truely glorifying to God then I would be all over it!
We won't allow our children to participate in anything where there are children and/or adults dressed up as evil things so this would eliminate Church Harvest Parties like the one I attended as an alternative for my kids. I would love to have a Harvest Party where the children could dress up in wholesome costumes and the focus would be on something other than candy. I wouldn't mind in the least if it were not even ON Halloween. Perhaps when my kids are older I will host such a thing for other Christian families looking for an alternative fall activity. Hmmm the possibilities! Of course I will have to discuss it with the hubby and do some praying... I was browsing a blog just this morning and the blogger just did a Harvest Party and I thought it looked wonderful and like so much fun! The kids dressed as historical characters and gave a presentation on their character. What a terrific idea! Do any of you host or attend a wholesome alternative to Halloween? I'd love to hear about it!

What do I think about other Christians celebrating Halloween?
Frankly I think that it would be wrong of me not to present my fellow believers with the truth of the origins of Halloween in case they do not know. I have a very difficult time conversing in public. I'm the oldest of 3 siblings and, strangely, the only one who is cripplingly shy in public. My brother is not going to win any socialite awards but he gets along more than passably well with other humans. My sister could win socialite of the century; she is chipper and witty and friendly. I seem to be the only one who did not inherrit any one-on-one communication skills! So when I get asked by friends and family, "Why don't you celebrate Halloween? It's just harmless fun, right?" I can't seem to express clearly what I'm trying to say. I have a whole speech ready the instant they are out of sight but when conversing one on one it's like I revert back to the vocabulary level of my 3 year old. That is one reason why I decided to write this blog series on Halloween. I am so much better at expressing myself in the written word when I have the time to do so. So now when I get disbelief, scorn, dirty looks, or questions or whatever I will be able to direct people to my blog to answer the burning question, Why don't we celebrate Halloween? The other reason I wrote this is because there are alot of dear friends with whom the subject has never come up. Like I said before, I believe it would be wrong of me to not present the origins of Halloween so that people know. If I believe God wants me to do something and I do not do it, it would be a sin. As for what other people do with it after I tell it... that is between them and GOD.

~*~*~*~*~
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. -James 4:17
~*~*~*~*~

What should I do on Halloween?
Well, you know, I just don't know. I will admit I'm still in prayer and pondering on this one. Should I hand out tracts and candy? That kind of makes me uneasy because then I'm opening the door of my home to 'monsters/ghosts/demons/witches' in front of my vulnerable children. Even if the babies are in bed, the whole symbolism of trying to evangelize kids dressed as scary evil things by playing along with something I believe is wrong seems to be contrary to scripture. Be ye IN the world but not OF it? But is hiding from them or avoiding them the right choice? I don't know. I really don't. If you have any thoughts on this dilemma I would love to read them and add them to my ponderings. ;) We have lived in town 4 years now. The first Halloween I think we went out to eat, the next year we handed out tracts and candy and the trick or treaters were almost all dressed as hellish things or chopped up murder victims and they scared the poor dog half out of her mind which led to barking which scared baby Chicklet half out of HER mind and the poor little boy dressed as a demon whom my 50-pound pit bull was barking at was scared about out of HIS mind too. The last two Halloweens we have just watched a movie with the lights out but the kids here are awfully rude and foolish and beat on the door anyway even with the porch light and inside lights out. Year before last they were throwing things at our house because we wouldn't answer the door. But if we go out to eat everyone is dressed up in the restaurant with gory dead body parts and skeletons hanging around the food. Not what I want my kids to be seeing, and not what I like to view with my dinner. *sigh* I really am not sure what we will do this year.

~*~*~*~*~

Respectful, calm comments, spoken with Christ's love, are welcome. Any comment that comes across as rude, disrespectful, evil, mean spirited, or playing 'devil's advocate' literally, will be deleted at my discretion. It's my blog and I reserve the right to delete as I see fit.

Mommy Moments Monday 9/28/09

~Mommy Moments Monday~
Lessons learned and memories made.

Do you ever start feeling discouraged? Wonder if you're really being the best parent you can be? Your child goes through a phase where they are constantly testing you and you begin to wonder if what you're doing works or if the anti-parenters have it right and we should all just let our kids raise themselves? My daughter has been going through a really rough stage. I have been just hanging in there, praying, trying to stay as consistent as humanly possible, trying to stay as calm as humanly possible... I thought I had the key by cutting out the television but it couldn't be that easy could it? TV was a part of the problem, yes. A large part I believe. She learned some of these behaviors from the television and stopping watching it is not going to undo what has already been done. It will help from here on out, but it can't undo the past. So I have alot of tantruming I'm dealing with and bad behaviors and some days I wonder if I'm getting through to her at all, and if the right things are getting through to her.
Last week I had a woven cotton blanket on her bed and she kept pulling the strings out one by one and then pulling so hard they ripped out. Literally destructively unravelling the blanket, ripping it up. Well needless to say she got in big trouble for that! At the time I wasn't sure if she had gotten the point of the disciplinary measure or if she was just using it as an excuse to pitch a fit.
Day before yesterday she was playing with her dolly Jane. She had made a nest of blankets on the couch and carefully tucked baby Jane in. Then she said to the doll sternly, "Baby Jane, no breaking the blanket!"
A minute later she agains told the doll, "Baby Jane! No breaking the blanket! Breaking is not nice!" and this time she picked the doll up gently with a sad look on her face and gave it two swats on the behind and then put it back down. Then she looked up at me and said, "Mama, Baby Jane is cryin'! Baby Jane is sad!" So I asked her, "What do you think you should do now?"
She turned back to the baby dolly, asked her so softly I could almost not hear, "You know breaking is naughty, right? Are you sorry for breaking?" ...picks up the doll and hugs it... "Awww! I love you baby Jane! I forgive you! No more breaking, okay?" Then she tucked the doll back in with a kiss and tiptoed over to me with a sweet smile.
And I had a tear in my eye because I realized she IS getting it. It is getting through. Even when I don't know if she's listening or paying attention or old enough to understand- she is. And it said to me, 'hang in there, the terrible twos don't last forever!'


~*~

Not too long ago, I was sitting on the floor playing with Chicklet (3) and Bug (13 months) came crawling over to me, pulled up to standing, turned around, and plopped his little tush down in my lap. A minute later he lurched off and took off to explore the toybox, then returned to again climb into my lap unassisted. I leaned down and kissed his hair and he basically ignored me except to lean back on me and get comfy, where he say and played for a while. And it made me think how precious babies and toddlers are, thinking particularly about how they don't have any insecurities or hinderances when they know they are loved. How my kids can just climb into my lap uninvited on a whim with 100% confidence that I'm going to receive them with a kiss and a snuggle, and they can leave with just as clear of a concience. Because just as much as they KNOW I love them and won't turn them away, they know that they love me too whether they're in my lap or across town and assume that I know that too. So precious and amazing! I think that is one of the reasons Jesus said that we must be like little children in our faith. Little ones know what they know and they don't overthink like adults do; 'what if I'm crawling into Daddy's lap and he misreads my intentions?' or 'What if I'm not good enough?' 'What if He doesn't love me?' 'What if He turns me away?' Little ones are so precious because they have to pomp, no facade, no mask. They are what they are. They love. It's what they do. Oh to be like a little child in my faith!


~*~

Toddler Tales Tuesday: The Shark, The Vacuum, and The Snacks

This afternoon I found an old pouch type carrier I crocheted and put Bug (13 months) in it. He is so heavy that it sags down and he is completely buried in it, but can see out between the stitches. I picked him up and down, slung the pouch over my shoulder like a purse, and pretended I didn't know where I misplaced my baby. He was meanwhile giggling so hard he kept nearly choking on giggles. I then took the bag off my shoulder and handed it to my husband who opened it and "surprise!" there was a baby in there. Bug got such a kick out of the game he was in hysterics laughing so hard!

Chicklet (3) informed me this morning that she needed m&m's for breakfast.

Chicklet is terrified of the vacuum cleaner. When I turn it on she cries and climbs on the table or couch to get away from it. The other day my husband was vacuuming in the hallway for me (isn't he a prince?) and Chicklet was perched on the back of the tallest couch. Bug was crawling around the living room and I heard Chicklet say, "Ack! A shark!" When Bug heard her voice he began crawling toward her at top speed and then stood up and tried to reach for her. She was screeching about the shark (I assume that would be Bug) trying to get on her boat (the couch?) and both kids were laughing and had forgotten all about the vacuum in the hallway.

The day after my dear husband vacuumed for me, I was draining some meat as I was cooking supper and Bug was in the walker. Chicklet reached up on the island and got Bug's can of puffs, telling me that Buggie needs a snack. Ummm... So I finished draining my meat, put water in my pot and set it on the stove, and looked up in time to see Chicklet replacing the container back on the island. I looked over at Bug, who was trying to get his walker back up into the kitchen (going backwards I might add- silly boy) from the living room (there is a 1/2 inch drop from the tile to the carpet), and saw Chicklet had given him just a few puffs:

-+-+-
If you have a sweet, cute, or funny Toddler (or kid) story, I'd love it if you'd share it here in the comments! :)
If you would like to post a Toddler Tales Tuesday on your blog, please just leave a link back to my blog in your post so people can see where you got the idea. You may leave a link to your post in my comments on the condition that you also post a comment! No link-and-runs please! ;) (I am still figuring out basic blogging so this will have to do until I am experienced enough to attempt a Mr. Linky or something.)

Mommy Moments Monday: Slimy Fresh Pumpkin Seeds

Tonight my husband brought home a pie pumpkin. Cutest little thing it was! We do not celebrate Halloween but my 3 year old Chicklet has seen puimpkins around in autumn displays and learned what they are called. The other day she came up to me and asked me, "Mama? Do we need to get a pumpkin?" I had to laugh. I don't know where she got the notion that we needed one. Probably just wanted to see a real one since she'd never seen a real one. So tonight my husband walks in with a little pie pumpkin and asks me to hand it to Chicklet for him while he puts down his armload of stuff. She grinned huge, took it, turned over and over, asked, "What is it?" and then looked up with an ah-ha look and exclaimed, "It's a pumpkin! Is it Daddy? Is it a pumpkin?" It was so cute! She then wanted to open it and eat it so after putting little Bug to bed, the three of us took that pumpkin apart. :) It was such a special time, with me slicing and peeling chunks of pumpkin, my husband washing them off and grating them, and Chicklet sitting in front of me with a huge grin and a pile of slimy pumpkin seeds in front of her, eating them. I tried to convince her to wait until they'd been washed, salted, and roasted before eating them because they would taste better. But she wouldn't have it, she just smiled sweetly and told me they were yummy as she stuck another slimy seed in her mouth. And of course I just smiled back and let her have her pumpkin seeds as she liked- what kind of mother would I be to dampen the spirits of a 3 year old helping to take apart her first pumpkin? ;) We are going to make yummy pumpkin bread out of it, maybe tomorrow or the next day, and she is going to love helping with that as much as she did the first stage I think. :) I just love these sweet family moments, these special memories!

To the Mothers of Boys, and of girls

This is a post that you really should read. We as mothers (and fathers) have an obligation to our sons to raise them up to be REAL men. Book learning and a few good manners are a wonderful start but they also need to have a good work ethic, integrity, and the willingness to FOLLOW THROUGH and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their actions! And not only our sons, but our daughters too! Do your kids know how to help around the house? do a thorough job? fess up and pay for it if they break or loose something? respect adults?

http://artschilipepper.blogspot.com/2009/09/where-are-men.html

To mothers of daughters, what kind of man do you want your sweet daughter to marry? Do you want her to marry someone like one of the boys in the linked post?
Do you want your sons to marry decent hardworking girls? If we aren't careful to make sure they don't turn out like the ones in the linked post then what decent sort of girl would have them?

My son is only 1 year old and my daughter only 3 so I really don't think long and often about dealing with their character as teens, but that post was a good wake up call. It reminded me again that these toddler years are so precious and valuable in character training and I should not put off thinking about their adult character until they are teens. Now, I do know this already that character training begins at birth, as I'm sure you already know too, but don't we just get so caught up in daily life sometimes that it's good to have a reminder to bring us back? Here was a post that served as a reminder to me to get my thinking back on track, so I wanted to share it with you dear mothers. Perhaps you needed the reminder today, and perhaps you did not. I hope you get something good out of it anyway. :)

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

I am a tad bit busy this afternoon and also a wee bit short on inspiration due to being up with kiddos all night and feeling quite tired. So I hope you will forgive me, instead of writing a new post right now I'm just going to refer you to a post from one of my other blogs for your daily dose of fresh reading material. ;)


Some believe that once you're 'saved' you're saved no matter what you do afterward. I just read a comment on another blog that said the person didn't get, "...how Jesus would allow someone who committed unthinkable crime and denied Him all their life, get into heaven JUST for saying a simple prayer when he was 8." Well I agree- that pretty much sums up why I don't believe the once-saved, always-saved philosophy. But on the opposite end of the spectrum I don't believe that God yanks your name out of the Book of Life every time you make a mistake and you have to say the sinners prayer again to get put back on the nice list. I also don't believe loss of salvation has anything to do with you getting snached away from God, but that you leave Him of your own accord. So here's what I get out of my Bible on the subject;
Saying a prayer in and of itself will not get you to heaven. Good works will not get you to heaven. For by FAITH through grace we are saved, not by WORKS lest any man should boast. That means just being a good person won't get you to heaven. Why? Because ALL people have sinned. Every one. The wages of sin is death - that means any sin - but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus. The wages of robbing a bank is death. The wages of murdering is death. The wage of thinking a lustful thought is death. The wage of sassing your mama is death. All sin is sin. Sin cannot enter heaven because God is holy and sin cannot be in heaven with the holy God. So if you sin, even an eensy weensie bit, you cannot go to heaven. And obviously everyone on this earth has sinned at some point whether they realize it or not. So the only way to heaven is to have Someone pay your way in for you, since the price of a ticket to Paradise is one pure and blameless, sinless human life. And there is only One who can pay that price for you - Jesus. So you have to believe that Jesus is who He says He is because if He's not, then He can't afford your ticket either.
And if you truely believe that Jesus is Who He says He is, then you will want to please Him. You will be thankful for him paying the price you could never pay so you could get into heaven.
Say you're waiting at the gates of the Superduperbowl, and the tickets are so expensive that there's only one man on the planet rich enough to buy tickets- the only son of the owner of the Superduperbowl arena. If you try to go through the gates without a ticket, you would be arrested. So say someone comes up to you and offers to pay for your ticket. He says he's the son, the only man on earth who can afford your ticket and he wants to pay for your way in. You won't accept the gift if you don't believe he is who he says he is, right? You would mock him and laugh and say, "Hey no way dude, I have a plan to sneak in or bribe or beg or whatever because you can't possibly be THE SON! Haha! You're probably just trying to make me look like a fool!" But if you DO believe he is who he says he is, you would feel so grateful that he would do this for you asking nothing in return that you would make conversation with him, try to get to know him, try to please him, try to express to him somehow how very grateful you are! You would want to tell everyone you met about how wonderful this son is! You would want your friends to get into the game with you! You would be so happy and excited! You would not leave his side and if you did, if you stumbled or forgot yourself and acted like an ingrate or were rude to him, you would apologize, ask forgiveness, and keep trying to do better, thankful all the way that he did not go back on his offer every time you messed up!
Now lets try a different hypothetical. Let's say you didn't really believe he was the one he said he was, but you pretended to. You might have even convinced yourself at the moment that he was the one, but then you got to doubting and overthinking it and decided to go your own way. Or you did believe at first but then decided that making nice was too much trouble, you'd rather go off with your friends and do what makes you feel good and hang out with people who like to bash the son with words and actions. If you are not with HIM at the gate because after accepting his offer you decided to go your own way, how can he pay for your ticket? He can't! You left him! Or what if someone tells you he can pay your way but they are not the son. Maybe they claim to be, maybe they claim to be someone else of power who can get you through the gate. Well no matter how much you believe in them, how good and nice you are, and how far you follow them, if they can't pay the price of one sinless, 100% pure human life for your ticket, then you're not getting in that gate.
Does that make sense? If you believe in Jesus, you will want to do what is right to please Him. If you fall he's not going to change His mind and leave you there alone of course. He'll hold out His hand to you to help you back up. But if you decide to stay on the ground and not get up, or go your own way, or follow someone who cannot pay the price, then you're not going to be able to get in that gate! The sinner's prayer isn't a wristband for the county fair. The event IS HEAVEN; the *journey* there isn't what we're buying a ticket for! The journey is for getting to know the One who is paying our way. Because if you don't know Him by the time you get to the gate, you won't have a ticket.

Footprints in the sand of my life...

A post over on Pixel Perfect gave me the inspiration to write this post. :)

Signposts along the path of my life which I have left as a rememberance of the Blessings and guidance God has given to me!

When I was just a little baby in my mother's womb, I was dying. When I was born they didn't know if I would live. My mom had had blood transfusions previously that did not match her blood. When she was pregnant with me (and 5.5 years later my brother as well), her blood was trying to kill me. Somehow though I did not die. I lived and thrived!

About 5 months before this, in a different state, a baby boy was born very prematurely. The doctors and parents didn't know if he would make it. He had a machine to breathe for him. It was a miracle that he did make it! And he lived and thrived.

I met that boy 13 years later and I soon knew that he was The One. It took him about 3 years longer to come to the same conclusion. ;) But that was 3 years I don't regret. While it was very difficult with all the doubt and rejection, it was 3 years I had to pray, to pour out my heart to God, and to sort out in my mind and heart what was important to me in life.

When I was 17 I was at youth group playing freeze tag in the church basement with the other youth and I tripped on something, likely my own feet, and fell into a window. My hand went through the glass, and then my head and shoulders. Time slowed down. I could hear the glas raining down around my ears. I was through the window to my waist and was about to fall all the way out when my right hand caught the wall at the edge of the window. This was a big window and I should not have been able to reach the edge of it, let alone push back with enough force to push myself back into the church. But somehow the wall was suddenly closer, I was suddenly stronger. And I pushed myself back into the room. I felt myself falling straight backwards. I was surrounded by a bright light, it was all I could see. This comforting glow all around me as I fell backward. I fought with everything in me to stay standing. I could not. I was too heavy. I was scared. Then I felt a giant warm hand on the back of my neck and shoulders, gently oh so gently. Someone said in my mind, more like a knowing than a hearing, "trust me." I paused in my fighting for a second, then as I realized I was still going backward I fought again. The calm voice said, "You are safe. Trust me! Trust me." So I let go. I totally let go. I stopped fighting. I let myself fall backward. Only I was no longer falling. I was being ever so gently layed down. So gently. I felt peaceful and safe. I felt the hand on the back of my neck and shoulders still there and it comforted me. Then I heard other voices. "Is she alive?" "She's not moving!" "I think she's unconcious!" "Somebody call 911! Call an ambulance NOW!" I began to mentally claw my way back and the light went out. The hand was gone. It was dark. I started trying to speak and it was a few eternity long seconds before I could. Finally I shouted, "NO AMBULANCE! No hospital, no ambulance. I'm fine!" But I was not fine... I couldn't see a thing. I pulled myself to sitting and I was blind. Everything was as if I had my eyes closed, only they were open. I hurt. My knee hurt. My left arm hurt. My head hurt. Everyone swarmed in on my all at once and I went nuts. I lost it. I yelled at them not to touch me and said I can't see. They ignored me and I freaked out and began lashing out with my fists at anyone nearby screaming to stop touching me. Finally after I punched my future husband's best friend in the stomach they got the picture and stopped crowding me. After a minute of being left alone, crouched on the floor like some wounded animal, I started regaining my vision. As soon as it came back I was calm. I looked down at my hurting leg and saw nothing, so I then looked at my arm and saw that my wrist was sliced open and bleeding, swelling around my watch. I calmly said, "Can somebody please help me get this watch off before it swells so much it cuts off my circulation?" The youth leader jumped into action and gently removed the watch while his mom got me a paper towel to catch the blood. I refused to go to the ER at first, but later, upon finding that my right knee was split open to the bone about 2 inches long I allowed myself to be taken to the ER. The phantom pains would torment me at night after that. In my knee it would feel like my leg was being sawed off. I would scream and my sister would wake up in the next room and bring me pain meds, bless her heart! A couple months later, after the stitches were out and I was able to walk on it more normally again, my sister and I were talking. I was feeling depressed and moody. Satan was whispering in my ear that God doesn't exist. He said that we are alone in this world. I had been wondering why years of prayer had not turned my man's heart to me yet, if I was imagining my strong feeling that he was The One. I thought maybe all my prayers were wasted. Maybe I'm crazy. I prayed silently, "Oh God! I'm doubting you! Please help me! Help my unbelief! Please don't strike me dead for this; Please show me that You are real!" This all happened during a conversation with my sister about something trivial like music. My mind turned to the accident and suddenly I remembered something I'd forgotten about completely until that moment. The Hand. The Voice. I asked my sister, "Hey, remember when I went through the window?" She said she remembered the horrible incident. I continued, "Well after I pulled back into the room somebody caught me and layed me down really gently. Who was it? I have completely forgotten it until now but whoever it was was a hero for thinking so fast to catch me! I really need to thank them!" She was silent for a moment and then said, "Uuuhhh... Um... There was nobody near you. I don't know what you think you remember but there was nobody near you. You bounced back into the room, bashed your head against the wall on the way, and then fell really hard, rolling."
It was then I knew without a doubt that God had not only not struck me dead for asking for a sign, but in His great mercy he had answered my question months before I asked. He had sent an angel to catch my falling soul gently while my physical body was injured. He took me out of that moment and whispered to me to TRUST HIM. And the echo of that came back to me when I asked Him if He is real. "You are safe. Trust me! Trust me." I KNOW God is real. I have felt His hands keeping me from harm and I have heard His voice whispering to me to trust Him. This has always been a great comfort to me when I feel Satan's lies pummeling me! When the evil one whispers in my ear that God is not real or does not care about individual people, I love when I remember the precious words God whispered into my soul that night.

At 18 years old, I was blessed by Mr. Right waking up to my existance! :) When I was 19 we married in May. We had both saved ourselves for marriage. Praise God! I walked down the aisle barefooted in a fairytale dress my mother made, in the spring by a lake outside. That will be 8 years ago this May... 8 wonderful blessed years!

We decided not to have children for a while at first. Then we decided due to the awfulness of the world we would not have children at all.

Then in January of 2006 I found out I was pregnant. And so on September 17th, 2006, a beautiful baby girl was miraculously born to two people who should not have survived from their own births and did not plan to have children at all.

In July of 2007 I had a miscarriage. It was a very dark time in my life. God sent me the support I needed to be able to finally greive and heal. And in November I conceived our dear Bug! The pregnancy was full of scares, so many times I thought something bad was happening, but it did not and he was born in August of 2008.

1 week before the birth of little Buggie, was the culmination of another miracle. The purchase of our first house!

So here I am, in a miracle house, living a miracle life with a miracle of a husband two miracle children. (And probably a miracle computer since it's tried to croak on me about 100 times already and somehow keeps hanging on.) I sometimes get discouraged, sometimes I despair. It's so hard to see the sun (Son) when you're in the dark valleys, isn't it? But He keeps bringing me up the mountains to see the beautiful view of the tapestry of my family's lives. If I just hang on a little longer through the valley, there's the mountain on the other side and at the top is the overwhelming peace of His presence. At the top, I can see the miracles behind me, a trail of them, like a patchwork ribbon of joys and sorrows, beautiful contrasts that I can only understand afterward- some on the mountains and some not until Mt. Zion.

~
Praise be to God on High! You oh Lord have faithfully brought me through the trials, even when I have drug my feet and resented You! Even when I have doubted! You have been ever patient with me and I thank you Lord from the depths of my soul! I want to be useable by You as You have used others to help me on my journey! Please use me, flawed though I am. Use me to show others Your amazing love and faithfulness to those who love You! Amen!
~

Sweet Motherhood

Mommy Moments Monday

Such a wonderful "job" we have, being mothers! I'm so thankful I can't even begin to express how much, that I am a mommy! I adore being a mom! Some people are worried about not having a life when they become parents but I feel like I didn't really LIVE before I had kids! Sure, before kids I went to the movies every weekend and spent lots of money pointlessly, and indulged in some amusing irresponsibility, but NOW... Now I teach geniuses, I frame precious artwork, I have the most fun exercise routine, I doctor precious ones with my magic kisses, I dance with angels, I am a famous chef and a princess, I get to play dress up all the time, and there's always someone there to cuddle with. ♥

PRE-Preschool; Teaching Your Child From Birth (Pt. 1 -verbal skills)

The first 3 years of a child's life are downright miraculous. Think about it, they can go from totally helpless and incompetent to being able to walk, run, climb, talk, sing, draw, play, act, exaggerate, converse, request, querry, and follow simple commands. Among other things. It's amazing how the newborn child is programmed to learn learn learn so very much in such a short time! Alot of parents just do the minumum and let their child teach themself in these precious and crucial first 3 years. Dare I say it? I think that the first 3 years are of key importance in teaching a child to love learning, teaching them HOW to learn, and teaching them things that will become more difficult for them to learn at an older age. And especially, teaching them behavioural skills! I only have 2 littles so far but I've been teaching PRE-pre-school for 3 years now as a mommy to my kids -here are some things I've learned and some ways to teach your child from birth.

VERBAL SKILLS
Narrate everything to your baby as you are doing it.
"I am opening the refrigerator! See Baby? Opened! Closed! Opened! Closed!"
"Let's get the mail! Open the door, look in the mailbox! See the mail in the mailbox? Can you grab it? Here, you can hold it while we go back inside. Good job! You helped get the mail!"
"Left foot in your left pant leg! Right foot in your right pant leg! Yay! Now lets puuuullll up your britches! Yay!  All pulled up! You are now dressed!"
This will teach them rights and lefts long before it becomes a chore to remember! I was 6 or older before I knew right from left. It was so hard for me to remember! But I've been narrating right and left every time we get my daughter dressed from the day of her birth and she knew right from left by 2 1/2 or sooner.
Narrate when you are kissing or tickling baby too. Say "Kissy kisses!" and then lean in to kiss those delicious cheeks. Wiggle your fingers in front of baby and get progressively closer, saying "tickle... tickle tickle... tickle tickle..." until your fingers touch baby and as you are frantically tickling also frantically say, "Tickle tickle!" repeatedly. Baby will associate the word "tickle" with being tickled and the word "Kiss" with being kissed.

Don't talk alot of babytalk. You know you wanna just pinch those cheeks and say coochie goo, but instead of training your baby that getting pinched cheeks means coochie goo (whatever that is!), try saying "Oh sweet cheekies!" instead. At least then baby is learning that those chubby soft sides of his face are called something like "sweet cheekies."

Folding laundry? Play peek a boo with the clothes before you fold each one! And don't forget to narrate! "Where is Mommy? Boo! There is Mommy! Mommy was hiding behind the sock!" Your child will learn that foot-shaped thing is called a sock, that Mommy will always come back, and that just because you can't see something doesn't mean it is not there!

Letters and numbers- point them out wherever you go! You are in McDonald's? "Look baby! An 'M'! Do you know what M says? M says mmmmm!" Just like you would do with farm animals, "Look baby, it's a cow! What does a cow say? Cow says MOOO!"

Speak clearly! Sing all the time. Kids learn so much from songs! This is a great way to start teaching BEFORE the child is even born! Sing to your unborn baby. She will learn the sound of your voice and learn to listen for it, to hang on your every word.

Watch what you say! If you don't want your kids to say certain words, set the example and don't use those words! Even as young as in the womb this is important! The child in your womb is connected to you because you are literally her entire world, and she can feel the negative emotions that are associated with saying words that you are ashamed to say, or that evoke anger or despair in you. And once the child is born they are learning, learning everything. Learning how you react to things. If you react with a curse to spilled milk, they are learning that is acceptable behavior. They can see, hear, smell you so be careful what you fill their little senses with. Watching violent or profane movies in the vicinity of your baby is not beneficial and could possibly have long term effects we don't know about yet. I have memories from before I could talk, and I was talking in sentences by 18 months old according to my Nana, so you never know what your little baby will remember. Plant good seeds. Speak clearly, speak often, speak encouragingly.

If you want your child to say please and thank you, don't start yelling at them or threatening to spank them if they don't mind their Ps and Qs! YOU set the example. I guarantee you that if the stay home parent says please and thank you to the child EVERY time, then the child will learn to do that as well! Of course the hope is that both parents will example this trait. Now I'm not saying that for an older child who used to say please that if he stops he should get away with it, no. I'm talking about the under 3 crowd who has not mastered the concept of saying "please" instead of "want it" just yet. If they do not use good manners consistently, then you cannot punish them when they are consistently inconsistent; You must be sure that they know what they know before you punish them for not acting upon it. Deliberate direct disobedience should be dealt with directly. Inconsistency or confusion however should be a message to you that the child needs more encouragement and more of your living example to get this concept to sink in. Again, I'm talking a little baby here, not an older child whom you know knows better! Willful disobedience should always be dealt with swiftly and concisely without anger on your part as the parent. But that's for another post.. ;)

These things encourage verbal skills. Word association is the first step to talking. Once baby knows that an item or action has a name, he will listen for that name when he sees/feels/hears/tastes/smells the object or action! And then he will try to speak it. It's amazing how much babies actually say that most people miss because they are not listening! I know a baby that stopped talking at 1 because nobody could understand him and did not begin talking again for over a year. Everyone wants to be understood, to really be heard, so trying to hear and understand your baby's babble as the wanna-be words they are will encourage him to speak more!

Baby's on the changing table making sounds. Do you ignore and hurriedly change the diaper? Or do you listen to the baby and then realize he's grabbing at his foot saying "ut?" Encourage him! Reply, "Yes! Foot! Foot!" then wait for him to say it again. He will get clearer each try. Alternate, you say it and then wait for him to mimic you. You are teaching him how to correctly pronounce foot. Make sure he can see your mouth when you speak so he can see how your lips form the word. He will smile proudly into your loving eyes, knowing he's saying something that you understand and that you are proud of him for it!

On a final note, keep in mind that every child learns differently, at a different pace, and this does not mean there is something "wrong" with your child, merely that you as a parent have a special challenge to find the child's key- that way or teaching them that will open up their little mind to learning. Children with learning 'disabilities' are just as SMART as other children, they just LEARN DIFFERENTLY or at a different pace! And this can pose a very difficult thing for the teaching parent to find the child's key because their key is different than the parent's key and the siblings' keys so it might take a lot of tries and thinking outside the box to find it. Just remember to do your best not to get frustrated in front of your child. If you are frustrated that you can't help them, they will take it to mean you are frustrated at them and they in turn will be discouraged and frustrated. Frustrated children are harder to teach.


Dear mothers, so many of whom have been mothers longer than I and must have so much wisdom to share, PLEASE I encourage you to add a comment here about how YOU encourage verbal skills in little babies! Please do enrich this post with your wisdom! :)
I know all of us, regardless of how long we've been a parent or how new to it, can learn something from one another. Let us lift one another up in raising Godly children, starting from birth! Be kind, be teachable, be willing to teach, and be respectful. God bless you!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This is part 1 of a series on ways to teach your tiny ones before school ever starts. I hope to write a part 2, etc. to go along with this post someday!

For more homeschool ideas and adventures by other bloggers, please check out

To enter my current giveaway, click HERE.

Bug is 13 months old!

Little Buggie is officially 13 months old! Awwww! He's getting a bit spoiled though... He woke up for a diaper change and I changed it and put him back to bed with a bottle of water. He was fine for a minute and then began crying again. I was in the kitchen making him a milk bottle. Well when I got in there with the milk bottle he had thrown the water across the room. When he saw the milk bottle in my hand his cries turned into a maniacal laugh that reminded me a little bit of Gollum off of LOTR! Mmmhmmm. I think I've been played. :-/

Toddler Tales Tuesday: E.T. Phone Home

Friday, September 4th:
Chicklet (almost 3) was changing her Carter's doll's diaper. She comes running over to my box of kleenex and grabs one and runs off with it. I look over and she's wiping her dolly's bum with it! Lol!
We named the dolly "Jane" but she can't say Jane for some reason and keeps pronouncing the N as an M so she's forever running around calling it "baby Jaym!" I correct her and she does say it right for a while, but then every morning and after quiet time she starts calling it Jaym again.
Later, she comes running over and gets another kleenex and tells me, "I hava boogie" and proceeds to wipe her nose on it. Then she reaches up and starts wiping my face with her used kleenex telling me, "You needa washa face! Washa face, washa face..." Eeew!
She has been particluarly needy today for some reason (hey could it be LACK OF SLEEP?!?!?!) and has had me draw her literally two dozen pictures to color. Well I am getting a bit tired of drawing the same picture over and over so I gave her a sucker, a special treat, and told her to go sit down and eat it. I immediately hear CRUNCH! I tell her, "Sweetie you're supposed to count how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie in the middle silly, dont bite it!" (Especially when it's a bribe to get you to stop asking me to draw pictures for a few minutes! Oh wait, did I just type that out loud?) No more than one minute later I see her run to the trash with the empty stick. Then she runs up to me and starts tugging on my skirt and arm with her sticky fingers. I said, "Lets go wash your hands and face! You're sticky!" To which she replied, "Yep! I'm a stick!" Ummmmmm...

Saturday, September 5th:
Chicklet asked Daddy for some "Juice please!"
Daddy- "Oh sweetie I don't think we have any juice! How about milk?"
Chicklet- "Juice please!"
Daddy- "Oh sweetie I really don't think there is any left, how about some nice milk?"
Chicklet- (With puppydog eyes) "Ohhhh! Juice..." (sadly)
Daddy- "I'll look but I don't think there is any..."
(goes and looks in fridge) "I'm sorry sweetie there's only milk."
Chicklet- (sadly, wistfully) "Oh juice!"
Daddy- "Okay sweetie I'll think of something..."
(Puts some water in a sippy cup, adds a dash of lemon juice and spoonful of sugar and mixes) "Here you go sweetie!"
Chicklet- (takes a sip, pauses) "What is it?"
Daddy- (looks insulted) "It's lemonade!"
Chicklet- (appeased and happily) "Oh! Yummy lemonade!" (Walks off drinking it)

Sometime last week:
It's been forever since Chicklet watched Superwhy... and I could count on one hand the number of times she's seen it. But apparently that was enough. The other day she took off with my highlighter and then stopped in front of me, held it up in the air and said, "Whylighter write!" Hahaha! I held out my hand and replied, "I think it's 'Whywriter, highlight!' but that's a Momwriter so you'd better give it back to Supermom."

Monday, September 7th:
Chicklet is currently supposed to be napping but I hear a song drifting out to my ears, "Lalala... Super readers... la la la ... super story answer la la SuperWhy... super readers... la la..."

Sometime Last Week:
I was changing Bug's(age 12 months) diaper and he was pointing at me asking, "Tsis?" Which for those who don't know, is 'What's this?' in BuggieBabble. Then he started fussing but his finger was still pointing. I turned to him and pointed my finger and touched the end of my finger to the end of his as he watched, enthralled. As the tips of our fingers were touching, I leaned in real close and said, "ET phone home!" and he had a fit of hysterical giggles. So now every time I change his diaper he holds out his finger with a grin, waiting for me to touch mine to it and do ET impressions. After which he laughs like it's the funniest thing in the whole world!

-+-+-
If you have a sweet, cute, or funny Toddler (or kid) story, I'd love it if you'd share it here in the comments! :)
If you would like to post a Toddler Tales Tuesday on your blog, please just leave a link back to my blog in your post so people can see where you got the idea. You may leave a link to your post in my comments on the condition that you also post a comment! No link-and-runs please! ;) (I am still figuring out basic blogging so this will have to do until I am experienced enough to attempt a Mr. Linky or something.)

Mommy Moments

Well sadly, after my first and only 2 "Not Me Monday's," I read somewhere that MckMama has announced that she's moving on to the next chapter in her life and Not Me Monday will not be happening anymore. Bummer! So instead I will be blogging about Mommy Moments on Mondays. ;) I figured I have lots of those and should be able to come up with something of the sort to write at least most Mondays, right? ;) I consider a Mommy Moment to be anything that speaks of what IS Motherhood. The good and the bad. The tough moments, sweet moments, bonding moments, oops moments, ah-ha moments, silly moments...

Sweet: Lately I have been dancing with the kids. I turn on the playlist I have on here and take turns with them, picking them up and twirling them around the house. They both adore it! Thier little eyes like up, heads tip back with laughter, and they beg for more. We wind up laughing like maniacs on the floor gasping for air and I love every precious minute of it!

Mommy-Brain: Some time last week, the exact day I do not remember, I had a Mommy-brain attack. I went to get Bug a bottle for nap and as I'm pouring it I snapped out of my tired daze to realize I was just beginning to fill his bottle with lemonade instead of milk. Hmmm... Yeah that would have gone over like a lead balloon!

Sweet: Yesterday I sewed myself a new skirt (more on that to come and a pic too) and had more cotton calico than I expected leftover. So I sewed Chicklet a matching skirt and I honestly was totally surprised at how delighted she was! I had no idea how much it would mean to her. She was watching me sew and when I cut the thread and held it up to her she clasped her hands together with a big grin, eyes squeezed almost shut with excitement, and did a happy stomp dance while giggling. I helped her put it on and she ran around the kitchen like a nut for a moment before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the living room to "show Daddy." She ran to him and jumped around in front of him giggling, "Lookit skirt!" Then she climbed up onto the couch saying to me, " Mama sit!" - she wanted me to sit beside her so she could enjoy how our skirts match when we're sitting as well as standing. She patted both skirts at the same time and then bounced to Daddy again. I got up and said, "Hey lets spin around in our new skirts! I'll bet they look pretty spinning!" And proceeded to spin around until I got dizzy as she joined in, giggling all the while. We collapsed onto the couch dizzy and laughing. And I thought to myself what a blessing it is to have a daughter! :)

Reminiscing Blessings

What a beautiful day it is today! Not too hot and not chilly! A lovely Sunday indeed. As I sit here thinking about my amazing God and the amazing things He's done for me, I am looking around at my miracle house. "A miracle house" you say? Why yes, a miracle house. :)
You see, it is not only miraculous that we were able to buy a house at all, but that we were able to buy such a nice house, with such a big yard, right when the economy was collapsing and banks were not wanting to give loans. It's miracle that the seller went down in price drastically for us when they had other offers. And it's a miracle that we were able to move into a bigger home JUST in time for baby Bug to be born. We literally moved in one week before he was born! :)
Here we are in the house, taking pictures to email to my parents to ask their opinion on putting an offer in:

I was so pregnant and roasting in the summer heat in that picture! And my little Chicklet was 1 3/4. It was only a little over a year ago and how time has flown! Yes, she is wearing socks under her sandals in the pic! ;) The yard needs alot of work, it's just dirt with thorns growing and no real grass. So I had her wear socks to protect her feet and so we could just take them off when we got back in the car to go home.

It's such a lovely house. All the open doorways are arched and the whole house is painted this light beige color inside. It's very open and bright with lots of windows. We had been looking for a house to buy since my husband got out of the military in 2005. Every time we found one we liked it was either too much or the offer was rejected. This one was way out of our league and we knew it. But after prayers and thoughts and discussions and advice... we offered. We had a set price that was the max we were able to afford and we were not going to stretch ourselves over that amount no matter what. It would be tempting if we thought we could get a house to go over our budget but that would wind up being horrible on us financially in the long run. I could just imagine us going bankrupt. So we agreed on our limit and promised each other and God that we were not going over it. We knew that God knew what we could afford and if the seller would not take it it was not for us. So the seller countered back higher, we countered back at our max price and they rejected. They expected a counter back again but we couldn't do it. That was all we had. Another dissappointment. Another fallthrough. BUT we were at peace because we knew if it had been God's will we would have gotten it. So my husband stopped by the real estate office on his way home from work to sign the rejection and end our involvement. And as he was pulling out of the parking lot, his phone rang. It was our agent. The seller had changed their mind!!!! They asked us to resubmit our last offer and they would accept it this time and that's how God worked to get us this house that was listed at $20,000 above our limit.
That can only be a God thing. There is so much more to the story, so many more little miracles along the way, but I don't have time to type them all up so I will just leave it at this, and go to bed with a smile tonight thinking of how God has provided this house for us and how VERY THANKFUL I am to Him for it! :)

Toddler Tales Tuesday: Lions don't like cucumbers

Sunday, August 30th:
I picked up my nephew JD(almost 5) from the birthing center where my sis was in labor and as we're driving home at almost midnight, he's peppering me with questions. I decided to make some sort of productive conversation to avoid having to think of toddler-comprehendable answers this late at night. So I started asking him what Bible stories he knows. I asked if he knows Daniel in the Lions' Den and he replied yes, so I started quizzing him on it. At one point I got to the following question...
Me; "So he got thrown into the lions' den right?"
JD; "Yep!"
Me; "Why did they put him in there?"
JD; "'Cuz him was prayin' and they didn't want him to?"
Me; "Wellll sort of. Basically. But the lions didn't eat him, right?"
JD; "RIGHT!"
Me; "Why didn't the lions eat him?"
JD; "Because lions don't like cucumbers! Blech! 'Bye guys! Thanks for the Pizza!'"
[I can only guess this must have been the result of too many Veggietales although I've never seen this one myself (My kids don't watch tv anymore, see topic "Project No TV") so not sure, But you have to admit it is kinda funny... "lions don't like cucumbers..."]


Tuesday, September 1st:
I'm putting Bug(1) down for a nap. As I change his diaper, Chicklet(almost 3) climbs into the crib (holding a green foam ball that actually belongs to Bug) and tells me, "I gonna takea nap!"
Me; "Umkaay... You are going to nap in the crib with Brother?"
Chicklet; "I gonna takea nap inna crib with Buggie."
Me, putting freshly-changed Bug in the crib with her; "Okay then here you go. Night Night!" and I left the room to make Bug a bottle since he was not in the mood to nurse before nap.
When I came back, Chicklet had given Bug his ball, layed down beside him, and covered both of them with Bug's blanket. It was too cute! I just hate that I had to spoil the fun. ;)


-+-+-
If you have a sweet, cute, or funny Toddler (or kid) story, I'd love it if you'd share it here in the comments! :)
If you would like to post a Toddler Tales Tuesday on your blog, please just leave a link back to my blog in your post so people can see where you got the idea. You may leave a link to your post in my comments on the condition that you also post a comment! No link-and-runs please! ;) (I am still figuring out basic blogging so this will have to do until I am experienced enough to attempt a Mr. Linky or something.)

Crochet Lace Pattern, Wiped-out Wednesday

Don't Forget to enter for a chance to win a pair of Babylegs!

I don't think I could possibly be any more tired today. I was up LATE (early? 2:30am) last night getting the picture of the Babylegs up for the giveaway and other such fun internet doings that are easier to do when everyone is in bed. Chicket decided to get up for the day at 3am and she sleeps in our room so she kept sitting up and poking me. "Mama! Mama! Mama, Daddy is SNORING!" No kidding. Lucky Daddy... *sigh* It's now almost 2:00 in the afternoon and she hasn't taken a nap yet. I'm hoping she will soon because I need one SO BAD! Bug however is snoozing away. He skipped morning nap so he's pooped. Poor wittle fellow! I am jealous though- wish I was snoozing away.
Okay I'll quit whining about my half hour of sleep now.

I was thinking of posting the crochet pattern for the 'lace' I used on the Babylegs. Any other crochet fanatics out there? The stand-alone basic pattern is actually super duper easy. You just need to know how to make a chain, double crochet, and single crochet. Picot is explained in the pattern.

Stand-alone Lace
Steel crochet hook size 7
A few yards of cotton crochet thread size 10 or 20 in your chice of color
(Picot- ch 3, sc in 3rd ch from hook. 1 picot made.)
Row 1: Chain a chain about 1/4 inch shorter than the length you need the finished lace to be. It will get a bit longer as you work. Turn, sc in each ch to the end. Turn.
Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), *work Picot, dc in next sc. Repeat from * to end of row. Tie off.
Finishing: Attach to project with tacky glue, or a stretchy sewing machine stitch like the zig-zag. Remember if you are applying it to a fabric that will be washed that cotton thread may shrink a bit in the wash, so you may wish to make the lace extra long and then gather it a bit as you sew it on so it won't pull the fabric if it shrinks in the wash.

Crocheted Into Knit Project
Steel crochet hook size 9 (crochet slightly loosely)
A few yards of cotton crochet thread size 10 or 20 in your chice of color

(Picot- ch 3, sc in 3rd ch from hook. 1 picot made.)
NOTE: The easiest fabric to crochet into is a knit fabric like the socks I used for the Babylegs. When crocheting into the edge of a fabric, it's best to zig-zag or hem the edges before adding the crochet so the edges to not unravel as you are working with them. Alternately, for knit fabrics, you may crochet into the loose loops to hold the edge from unravelling with your crochet work. You must make sure to catch every loop though or it will unravel. You may also go over the finished product where the lace is attached to the fabric using a decorative or zig-zag stitch to give the lace extra hold into the fabric and catch any loops you may have missed. These instructions are for crocheting into the raw edge of a knit fabric.

Row/Rnd 1: Tie a slip knot noose at the end of your thread. This will be your starting loop. Put hook through fabric where you want the first stitch to go. This should be a little ways into the fabric in a rib with a loose loop at the edge. Pull your slipknot loop back through the fabric and chain 3. Counts as first dc. *Work Picot, dc in next rib that has a loose loop. Repeat from * to the end and tie off and hide tails, OR repeat from * around and sl st in top of first ch 3 to join, tie off and hide tails.

Terrible-Twos (Project No-TV!!)

My Chicklet, who as you know by now is 2 years and 11 months old, has been going through one of those phases which most parents cringe at the mere mention of... The Terrible-Twos!! I always swore I would never be THAT mom with THAT child throwing a fit in WalMart. Well I'm sure you're sitting there snickering at that comment... Yes, I was THAT mom with my dear girl turned into a raving lunatic in the middle of a shopping expedition. And I cried too as soon as I got in the car.


My dear darling Chicklet has always been very strong willed. She can tantrum with the best of them! She has even tried beating her own head against the wall once or twice. We tried everything to stop the bad behavior. She was just getting worse and worse and nothing I was doing was helping. I remember a time when she was only like this when she was tired, but more recently it got to be a constant thing. It was horrible. I cried, where is my sweet girl who was always smiling? Always trying to help me? Always eager to learn and wanting to please me? Where did she go?! 

I started thinking back to when the behavior issues started. I mean, there were naughty episodes as young as when she was a tiny baby, but we dealt with it and moved on. When the real nastiness, the real stubborn willfullness came on, was I think when I was pregnant with Bug. I have terribly rough pregnancies. When I was pregnant with Bug I remember bawling and praying because I was unable to do anything but be miserable. I took good care of Chicklet physically, but I was so sick and in so much pain that I was not there for her in other ways. I didn't play with her. I had a hard time interacting with her if it required moving from my chair. I started having Dora DVD's on all the time so she wouldn't start crying when I would lurch out of my chair and stagger to the bathroom to empty my stomach. She learned alot of good stuff from Dora, but it wasn't a good substitute for mother-daughter time.
When Bug was born, it was a while before I felt more myself and was playing with the kids again. Actually with both kids it took until they were about 10 months old before I started being able to keep up with basic housework and do fun things with them again. Before that I was so dead on my feet exhausted I didn't do much beyond changing diapers and feeding them. I know it sounds horrible. I took good care of them physically, I just wasn't able to play with them or converse with them like they need.
As soon as I could I started playing with the kids again. Including them and narrating to them as I went on about my day. I was teaching them things and singing with them all the time. I started noticing that Chicklet's behavior problems changed. She was tantruming less. But it didn't stop. In fact after a while she started getting worse again. I was paying close attention and noticed something.
She was constantly quoting movie lines. ALL the time. She'd be playing with her toys and start going on, "Oh no Boots, we can't ride on the brown leaves! They're falling apart! We have to ride on the GREEN leaves! Say Verde!" She would be coloring and say, "This is your badness level... unlooloolee high for someone your size." She would zoom around the house yelling, "Abort! Abort! Disengage! There are children aboard! I repeat, there are children aboard!" She would be eating lunch and say, "I'm not happy, Bob. NOT HAPPY." One day in the car she was mumbling to herself and I was listening. I heard, "...mumblemumble...Nemo you get back here RIGHT now you hear me! I'm going to count...mumblemumble...ahhh! ahhh! Nemo! Nemo! No no! Has anyone seen a boat?!...mumblemumble...OOF! ...mumblemumble...A boat? I saw a boat! It passed by not too long ago. mumble...follow me!..mumblemumble...'Ello! My name's Bruce! ...mumblemumble...Doing? We're not doing anything. In fact we're not even here... mumblemumble... trust a shark...mumblemumble...a little get-together I'm having. Whaddaya say?..."

It was at this point I decided that letting her watch one thing a day was obviously too much television. When the child's mind is that good that she can see Finding Nemo all of 6 times over the coarse of 6 months and then quote half the movie off the top of her head, I need to be finding a better use for that amazing memory.

The real eye-opener came about a month ago though, when she started quoting to me when she was having a bad attitude. Instead of falling on the floor screaming and crying like before, now she would fall on the floor and viciously kick, hit, throw, and beat anything within reach. Then she would curl up and bawl, "Weemememememememememememeeeee!" It was so annoying! It was like babytalk while tantruming. And then it clicked. She was being Lilo having her tantrum and then mumbling incoherently while Nani was trying to talk to her. She was being Stitch destroying things. She was being Mr. Incredible throwing his boss through the wall. She was being Nemo doing what his dad said not to. She was being Marlin yelling and grouching. She was doing exactly what kids do; being what she saw.

I talked to my husband about my observations. We had already cut the kid tv down to 3 movies or Doras a week plus Saturday morning toons with Daddy, but it obviously wasn't enough. We decided to cut out all tv and movies.

I think the problems started when I was sooo tired from my pregnancy with Bug that I was not able to give Chicklet the quality interaction she needed. The TV became her friend to replace Mommy while Mommy was too busy hunched over the toilet throwing up. And as long as that TV-friend was still holding that place in her life, I was at war with it for her heart. So I decided a good start to winning back my place as her best friend was to get rid of the competition.

One week later it was like she was a different child. Instead of quoting Nemo, I caught her repeating things I'd told her. She asked me what does N say. I told her N says nnnnnn and the rest of the day she kept repeating in a singsong voice, "N say nnnnn!"

I continued to notice positive changes. Less tantrums. Shorter tantrums. BOTH kids were happier in general, calmer. She had been boycotting naps before but now she would take one once in a while.

Then I decided it was okay to let them watch DVDs that have no talking, like Baby Einstein. Chicklet's naps went out the window again. And worse, that little bit of give for Baby Einstein was enough to make Mama backslide. I slipped. I gave in. I let her watch a "real" movie - one with talking. And it all unravelled. Tantrums galore. Attitude in bulk. Speaking in movie quotes.

Mama messed up.

So I'm getting back on the horse as of about a week ago. Here's what I've noticed since I cut out the TV again:
Chicklet's taking naps again most of the time. Even when she does not take one she still seems more refreshed than back in TV days.
Again less and shorter tantrums from both kids.
Less movie quoting.

Ah but then today Daddy slipped up and let me sleep in while he watched a movie with the kids. Uh-oh...

Chicklet cried and screamed and acted out all day.

Tomorrow is a new day! Gotta get back off the TV wagon- again.


So there you have it. Part 1 of the no-tv project. I will keep you updated as to how it goes! :) So far I'm loving the results!

Update HERE.

Cheesy Broccoli Lentil Stew - YUM!

Last night for supper we had cheesy broccoli lentil stew. Oh I just LOVE this particular lentil stew! If you've never tried lentils you should. You really should. I've heard them compared to lima beans but EWWWW limas are so gross there's no way! If lentils were like limas I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. (Just don't tell my kids there's a veggie even Mama won't eat! Lol!) Miss Chicklet (almost 3) LOVES lentils. In fact, she's at the kitchen table right now eating cold leftover lentils and happily mumbling about "Yummy 'gumes!" My 1 year old had lentils for the first time last night and he scarfed them down like a starving person. My husband had never heard of lentils until he married me! He didn't want to try them at all. It took some blackmail er... convincing to get him to taste them. The verdict? He LOVES them! He ate 3 heaping bowlfulls last night! Lol!
Lentils are a legume. (Which I happened to call them last night at dinner, trying to be funny. Hence my daughter's ''gumes' comment.) Basically a bean for all practical purposes. They are about the size of a dried pea and are flat and brown, red or green. They are supposedly a good source of protein and complex carbohydrates. A real superfood. Unlike beans you don't have to soak them overnight, and unlike rice they are quick to cook. The key to tasty lentils is not OVERcooking them. If you boil them too long they get mushy like the dreaded lima bean and that for me is a big turn-off. I can't stand to eat anything that has that mushy-lima-bean texture. *shudders* Unless you're a fan of mooshy limas, you'll want your lentils cooked minimally. I mean, you should be able to chew them without breaking a tooth, of course, but once they are tender all the way through that's where I stop. Usually takes about 15 minutes once it's boiling for perfect lentil doneness.

Now, who wants my lentil stew recipe?


Cheesy Lentil Stew
1 pound ground beef
1 pound bag of dry lentils
about 1 pound of frozen broccoli florets (or cauliflower, or both)
salt
water
alot of grated cheese, sharp is best, maybe 3 or 4 cups? About half a small block grated up or more.

First wash and sort your lentils. Just put them in a strainer and run the faucet on them while you dig around a bit with your hand. I've never found a rock in my lentils but my mom has so it is possible and that's what you're checking for. No need to let your OCD get the better of you though, just dig around a bit and if you see something rocklike, remove it. When you've rinsed them and "sorted" them, put them into a big pot. Fill with water to about 1" above the lentil level. Now put it on HIGH to boil. You're gonna want to stir it often so the lentils don't stick to the bottom and burn. Unless you have a nonstick pot like I do- not healthy but it sure makes cooking easier. When it starts to boil start timing 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown your beef and drain it.
Back to our delicious legumes; You can add more water if it gets too low (you don't want it to boil dry) but the goal is to have the lentils be almost totally out of water by the time they're done. You see, all the nutrients boil out into the water and if you drain out the water there go the vitamins down the drain. So you want to just boil it down to where there's barely enough water to cover the lentils when you've removed the pot from the burner and things have settled. Except that you're not gonna remove it from the heat after all... You're going to taste a couple and if you think they need more cooking, boil them a bit longer and keep tasting until you are satisfied. When you're satisfied, like I said there should be hardly any liquid left. If there is too much you will have to remove some and pour those nutrients down the drain... *sniffle* bummer! But don't worry, it takes a little practice to know when to stop adding water to the lentils so that there is the perfect amount left when they're done. If you make this a couple times you'll have it down pat.
Now you add your frozen broccoli. Boil, stirring, until the broccoli is warm on the outside. Then turn down to a barely simmer and add the beef in and cover with a lid. Leave it, stirring once in a while, until the broccoli is warm clear through.
When the broccoli is warmed through, salt the stew to taste. Serve with generous amounts of grated cheese on top. Yummy!

*This recipe makes enough lentil stew for about 3 meals for my small family. It's actually kinda even better after it's been in the fridge overnight so I just leave it in the original pot and reheat it each night until it's gone. If I had more kids or company this recipe would be perfect for a nice large hearty meal!

For other bloggers' recipes to feed a crowd, go HERE!