Confessions From A Four And Three-Quarter Year Old That Will Get Me In BIG Trouble With My Mom!!!

Jacob's miniature math protégé has been doing math pages so he can earn 1 hour of iPad time.  I'm amazed by his enthusiasm as he goes through the problems... so unlike Krista at that age!!!

Michael's very first math page

 

Michael "graduated" to the computer generated math sheets Jacob made up for Krista years ago.

But this morning, Michael figured out how to do the math pages twice as fast.  I saw him doing two math sheets at the same time and was so impressed that I went over to check on his work.  Unfortunately, one page was the answer sheet (that he found on the table) and Michael was blissfully trying to copy the answers instead of figuring out the problems himself!!! CHEATER ALERT!!! We had a brief talk about what he was doing but then he lost interest in working towards his iPad time.  Ironically, the first three answers he had copied were problems with the answer "0"!

Michael has been asking for dessert after every meal.  We still have left over pumpkin pie and apple pie and he loves both!!! In fact, he's been declaring (to my chagrin) quite frequently, "I love sugar! Sugar is my best friend!!!" EEKS! If my mother hears that, she will have a cow and I will get another lecture from her about the evils of sugar particularly of the white variety!!!

On Sunday, we started on our Christmas decorations! Michael was over the moon about helping with the ornaments! He even put the entire Fisher-Price Little People Nativity Set all around the base of the tree skirt and added a few animals from his Noah's Ark set like the elephant!

In the evenings, I like turning off all the house lights and just keeping the lights on from the tree and from the lit up greenery on the fireplace mantel.  It's so peaceful and the image of the twinkling lights fill me with hope because I'm reminded again that Jesus is the light of the world. 

I love how John 8:12 (NLT) puts it, "Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

I'm thankful we can walk in the light with Jesus and when those dark days come, we can cling on to His hope that "He will never fail us or abandon us" (Heb. 13:5).  Amen!!!

"What Am I Thankful For? Krista! Because She's So Cute...That's Why!" Michael, age 4 3/4

We really tried to invite friends over but it was nearly impossible to coordinate so we're staying in our PJ's all day and just hanging out.  Krista and I are going to cook together.  We're making stuffed chicken breast wrapped in bacon, cheese bread, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, stir fry green beans and for Michael, petite peas and crumbled bacon.  It's a combination of our favorite foods all in one day to be eaten throughout the day :o)

Last night, after our church's Thanksgiving Eve Praise service, we stayed up til midnight playing card games.  Naturally, we put Michael down to bed first.  We had purchased The Game of LIFE Adventures card game and were eager to try it out.  Well, it was a dud.  The directions were unclear and after a while, making our story "bigger" than our opponent was rather boring.  We switched back to our old standby card game, Monopoly Deal and had a great time! It's addictive and so much fun!!! I can't wait until Michael is old enough to join us in the game, too!

Later this afternoon, we're going to play GIANT sized Dominoes---a game Michael will enjoy and understand easily.  And Uno.  You can't go wrong with Uno!!! Right now, Michael is trying to get Krista to tell him her password to her iTouch.  Yeah. Right.  I'm grateful that we enjoy each other's company! 

As I reflect back on the year so far, I'm really grateful for our Christian family, the body of Christ.  We received so much care, support and prayers when Michael had a febrile seizure.  Jacob was amazed by all our praying friends when his mom had heart surgery earlier in the year.  And now that Jacob lost his job, we're surrounded by loving friends who are praying us through this new season in our life.

Faith without being tested is not really faith.  It's easy to say we trust in God and have faith in Him when everything is going well, isn't it?!?  I see it as a daily choice --- believing and trusting God that He has a plan (Jer 29:11), believing in God that He will supply our needs (Phil. 4:18-20) and believing in God that all things work together for the good of those who love God...(Rom 8:28).

Personally, I feel that although Jacob lost his job, he's regained his life.  For the first time ever, he's been more plugged in at church through various men's groups and serving in different ministries at church! One of the first decisions he made after losing his job was choosing to get baptized (finally!) and encouraging Krista to join him.  Last Sunday, they were both baptized at the 8am service---a historic first for our church!

We're still trying to figure out the dynamics of family and how to be a family who serves together.  We're trying to come up with a purpose --- something that defines our family's vision...which we're still working on.  It requires re prioritizing our life and now we're contemplating a family missions trip serving in orphanages in Asia early in the new year.  We're trying to intentionally have meals together again.  We are still trying to figure out "us" and are slowly learning to communicate more effectively through discussions.   It's a growing time in our lives and we're all being stretched instead of merely "existing" in one house.

And more than ever, we're reminded over and over again that life is not about acquiring things (things on this earth won't last anyway --- they'll get lost, broken or stolen), status (status is so temporary and dependent on our pride and what others think about us which can change as fast as the wind blows anyway) or money (having lots of it doesn't guarantee the important things in life like genuine relationships, joy, peace, gratitude, health, etc.).  We want our lives to count for so much more.  The only things we'll ever be able to bring to Heaven with us are people --- people who have been impacted by the gospel of Christ because of our investment in their lives. 

So I leave you this verse from 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NLT)..."May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ."

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

"Mommy, Since You Ran Out Of Grace, Can I Have Mercy?" And Other Funny Things a Four and Three-Quarter-Year-Old Says

For the past week and a half, I've been making my beaded and Swarovski crystal ornaments, Baby Bling key rings and Charmed book marker hooks every free moment I had! I think I've made over 50 pieces and need a few more before I'll feel ready for the upcoming Christmas boutique on December 3rd.  I've never done this before and have no idea if my hobby can be help raise money for missions but I'm willing to give it a go!

My photographer Krista is helping me take pictures of the ornaments, book marker hooks and key rings.  It's a tedious process, but here are a few...

 Double Ring Cross ornament in red

Angelic ornament in aqua and cashmere

Angelic ornament in lavender and white satin

Angelic ornament in pink and cashmere

Baby Bling "Cutie" key ring

Baby Bling "Precious" key ring

Double Ring "Mommy" key ring

Charmed "Ice Cream Cone" book marker hook

Charmed "Sundae" book marker hook

Charmed "Pearly Purple" book marker hook

She's done a great job so far, hasn't she?!?  She may even have the time to finish taking the rest of the pics now that Thanksgiving break has started! WooHoo!!! 

Michael loves ALL things related to electronics technology.  Sigh.  When Jacob was working, Michael was only allowed weekend privileges on the iPad.  Now that Jacob is home, he's been allowed to play during the week.  But when the first thing that comes out of his mouth in the morning is... 

Michael:  Where's the iPad?  Is it done charging yet?

Me:  Michael, don't you mean, "Good Morning, Mommy?!?"

Michael:  Oh yeah.  Good Morning, Mommy! May I play with the... you know...iPad???

Sigh.  One day after dropping off Krista and the girls at school, I explained to Michael about reverting back to his original iPad playing schedule.  This is how our conversation went...

Me:  Michael, I'm concerned about your iPad playing addiction.

Michael:  Mommy, what does addiction mean?

Me:  It means that it's something that you want to do all the time and are thinking about all the time.  It's the last thing you're thinking about when it's time to go night night and it's the first thing you're thinking about when you wake up. 

Michael:  Oh.  Right.

Me:  Now do you understand why I'm concerned?

Michael:  Yes. I do.

Me:  I think we need to take a break from playing the iPad and only play on weekends again.

Michael:  Oh, but Mommy, can I have grace?

Me:  Michael, grace doesn't mean you get to do what you want all the time.  You've been given lots of grace but now you need to learn some self-control.

Michael:  Well, Mommy, since you ran out of grace, can I have mercy???  gulp.

You gotta love how his little brain works!!! After a time of me laughing like a hyena, Michael remarked, "Mommy, you always laugh at me!"  And I had to reply, "Michael, when grown-ups laugh at you, it's because you're funny and that's a compliment!"

It's easy to get addicted to things, isn't it?  If what you're consumed with getting, having or doing gets in the way of your relationship with God, be aware that the farther you move away from God Word and His truth, the harder it is to hear His still small voice.  It makes me think of the verse in Matthew 6:21 from the Amplified Bible, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Also, Prov. 4:23 is important to consider!  The Amplified Bible puts it this way, "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."

Guard your heart! Nothing is worth getting in between God and your heart.

"Daddy, That Was Mean Of You To Say That!"

It's a known fact.  Children love to eavesdrop.  Michael loves to add his two cents worth to our conversations or we'll hear it repeated later and wonder how he knew that or when he was listening to us!  Krista did the same thing when she was younger, too.  Though I think she still enjoys listening to adults conversing. 

We were on our way to Valencia the other day.  I think.  Krista commented that her nose still hurt from her dodge ball encounter a month ago.  Here's a sneak peak into the conversation...:

Jacob:  You probably have a micro fracture or something.

Michael:  Daddy, that was mean of you to say that!

Jacob:  What?!?  What did I say?  Meanwhile, we are all trying to mentally go through the conversation to figure out what was said!

Me:  Light bulb forming over head...OH! I think he heard you say "micro fracture" and it sounded like you said something Michael! Michael, daddy wasn't talking to you or about you.  We're talking about Krista's nose! Who knows what else his brain is thinking...!

Michael:  But it was still mean of daddy! Ummmm....okay now.  I'm thinking he's got some unresolved anger issues...!

Jacob:  Why do I always get blamed for things I didn't do by my children?!?  Duh.  You signed up for it when you became a parent!!! In the Parenting Handbook Section U R #1, it clearly states, "Parents, in particularly dads, will be blamed for any lost items, broken things or misplaced TV remotes with the sentence beginning with Daddy did it... whether they're in the vicinity or not!"

Your children are listening.  That was not intended to be a threat but a gentle reminder instead! My very wise friend Nancy B. told me how she underlined and put a symbol by all the verses in Proverbs pertaining to our mouths/words/lips and also on verses on women.  I loved the idea so much that I told Nancy she inspired me to do the same! I think I'm only on chapter 7 and I've been drawing little red lips by the verses about speaking, our lips, etc and I've been drawing the little scientific symbol for females on verses pertaining to women.  Those colored pencils for my Hebrews Precepts Bible Study are such getting a lot of use! I'm blown away by how many verses I've been marking up so far!

Words are important! As parents, our words have the power to lift up our children or tear them down.  Growing up, the words and phrases, "You're so stupid," "You can't find anything even though you have four eyes," "Mook tow (wooden head)," "choon dat (stupid one)," "choon jee (stupid pig)," "syl gwy tow (bad devil head)," etc. were used quite frequently in anger on a daily basis.  The ramifications on hearing those insults all the time were devastating to my fragile self esteem---especially as I was going through my "ugly" and awkward years.  Which I might add seemed to last forever! 

I'm thankful I grew up in that environment now because I understand and appreciate how our words can affect and effect our children and those around.  Those are definitely taboo words and phrases in our home and I pray that our children will grow up in an encouraging and insult-free environment!

In Proverbs 18:21, the NLT puts it this way, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

Use your words to bring life and healing from this day forward, okay?

Five Star Books & More by The Reading Mom Newsletter

I just finished posting the November issue of my newsletter here! Click on the link that says "Five Star Books and More Newsletter" or just click here http://fivestarbooksandmore.blogspot.com/p/fiction.html

I made my Monday deadline... Whew! That was a close one!

"Krista, I Change-ed My Mind!" * "I Can't Believe Michael Ate My Candy!!!": Sibling Issues

The weather has been flip-flopping a lot lately.  One morning, I put Michael's towel and clothes in the dryer so they would be all warm and toasty for him when he got out of the bathtub.  (It's a good motivating factor to get him out of the tub when I need him to hurry up and come out!) Then two days later, we were roasting at 91 degrees.  Michael and I were waiting for Krista to get out of choreography rehearsal and staying in the car to wait was not an option!

The extreme changes in weather pattern have been playing havoc on both kids and their asthma issues.  Michael is on breathing treatments every four hours and thankfully, he's really good about being cooperative.  Last night, our dear friends hosted their annual Reformation Party (did you know that on Oct. 31, Martin Luther started the Reformation when heposted the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Wittenburg?!?) and after historian Marshall Foster gave a brief talk on the Reformation and Revival (it was so inspiring and encouraging!) all the kids went out in the neighborhood to go trick or treating. 

Of course, Michael wanted to go out with his little friend Eva, but knowing his breathing issues, I was pretty determined to keep him in.  But, Jacob felt it would be okay for him to go to two houses.  Famous last words.  Thirty minutes or so later, Jacob came back with a very elated (and wheezing) little boy and his bag of candies and one SoyJoy (I mean, seriously?!?  I don't know what SoyJoy is supposed to be but I do know that it's NOT candy and it definitely is not a dessert!!!).  Thank you, God for Xopenex!!!

The other day, Michael and I were waiting for Krista to come out of class.  I brought my laptop so Michael could watch his DVD while I tried to finish reading A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher.  Once Krista came out, we headed home and Michael finally finished the DVD and wanted me to shut down the laptop.  Not a problem except I was driving! So I asked Krista to help him with it.  As she turned around and starting taking the computer, Michael exclaimed indignantly...

Michael: "Krista! I'm not ready yet!"

Krista:  "Well, Michael, you just asked mommy to take the computer so I'm trying to help you with it."

Michael:  "Krista, I change-ed my mind now because I'm playing a game!" Yes, "changed" was a two syllable word!

This afternoon, Krista came home from school exhausted.  She was laying on the couch when I went upstairs with Michael to nebulize him before his nap.  We were in the rocker while he was getting his breathing treatment when the door burst open.  It was Krista and she was no longer tired and definitely NOT a happy camper.  Apparently, Michael was helping himself to her candy (both bags were green so he wasn't keeping track of things!) and had eaten her Nerds; however, he had eaten some of them and then told me he wanted to "share them with Krista" and put them in her room.  Isn't that sweet?  Except that technically, it's not really sharing when you've stolen your sister's box of Nerds to begin with even if you didn't know it was hers...! And I'm still not sure if he was being generous or feeling guilty...

Parenting is definitely rewarding but it comes with challenges! It's great being at MOMSnext (for MOPS graduates from MOPS International) because we get to listen to speakers talk about parenting and share our experiences with each other.  My friend Dr. Mary Mantz Simon writes a blog that gives you the scoop on pop-culture parenting.  I remember interviewing her when she wrote, The Year Round Parent (which had incredible ideas for parents for every day of the year!)  and Trend-Savvy Parenting.  She has a ton of other books on parenting and her children's books are some of my favorites!!! I love Mary! She's creative, extremely intelligent and probably one of the most credible parenting experts today.  When she's not writing books or traveling on speaking engagements, she blogs.  Her blogs are concise, relevant and very interesting to read! Her latest post, Stand Up, Not Stand By is all about the cyberbully issue. 
Visit Mary's blog at http://marymanzsimon.wordpress.com/.

When Krista was in PreK, a new show on our PBS station caught her interest.  It was called Cyberchase and she got all the kids in her class excited about watching it, too.  As a parent, I liked it because the Cyber Squad (Digit, Matt, Jackie & Inez) were using math and problem-solving skills to combat the villain, Hacker and his two little helpers, Buzz and Delete.  It was a great way to reinforce math concepts for Krista and the stories were pretty entertaining and educational, too.  Recently, the Cyberchase website was upgraded (thank you, NSF!) with all-new features---videos, math games and hands-on activities in support of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning.  Come check it out at http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/math-games/!

Since I last blogged, I finished GodQuest by Sean McDowell and Stan Jantz.  It focuses on six sign posts that will help you understand God's truth and it is powerful!  Basically, it was like a condensed version of my Systematic Theology Bible class that I took as a freshman at BJU! I also finished Christmas in Sugarcreek by Shelley Shephard Gray, Dan Walsh's Remembering Christmas,  and The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson.  My downstairs book is Max Lucado's Christmas Stories and my upstairs reading book is Rite of Passage by Jim McBride.

Jacob and I have been humbled by the response and prayers for our friends as they find out about his recent job loss.  Actually, he may have lost his job (good riddance!) but he gained his life back! We're been talking about how we can serve more and be a blessing to others in need and the idea that we're just jars of clay in God's hands is pretty incredible.  Did you know that the Bible says, "we're like fragile clay jars?"  I love how the NLT puts 2 Cor. 4:7...

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."  So, let your light shine!!!