It is just now 9:30, and I feel like I have been awake for 24 hours! Today's been one of those days when I surprise myself with how productive I can be!
My house is clean! Well, aside from the mountain of toys in my living room, but that doesn't count. The kids are contently playing with those right now. One of my favorite things is looking into the living room from my desk and watching them giggle and play with each other!
I've got a yummy batch of whole wheat sandwich bread rising, and it is almost ready to shape into loaves and bake. I think we will have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch today! (Homemade jelly AND homemade bread!)
I'm finishing up another order today, also. Between my everyday duties as mom and wife, the daycare, the knitting, and the Girl Scout Cookie sales, I am feeling a little swamped. I'll be ready for the cookie sales to be over, for sure.
I'm excited that my in-laws are coming to visit this weekend! It will be a nice little break from the everyday. We don't get away very often, but having people visit us is just as good! The kids are always excited when Namaw and Tampaw come to visit, and this time, they are bringing some goodies! (I know I have a ton of canning jars coming! This summer, I will have plenty to store fresh veggies in!)
Today's post is going to be short. I've got so much to do still. I will share a verse with you today. It has been popping into my head since I woke up this morning:
Psalm 7:17 I will thank the Lord for his righteousness; I will sing about the name of Yahweh, the Most High."
Have a wonderful day today!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Teaching our Children to Pray
As a Christian, teaching my children to pray is of the utmost importance to me. To me, prayer is nothing more than having a conversation with someone I love. It isn't one-sided.
My children love to pray, and that makes my heart so happy. Flower recently told me that she had run out of people to pray for, so we went to the Bible to see what it had to say about prayer.
My children love to pray, and that makes my heart so happy. Flower recently told me that she had run out of people to pray for, so we went to the Bible to see what it had to say about prayer.
Who are we supposed to pray for? 1 Timothy 2:1-2 tells us "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, kings, and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." We are to pray for all people...even people we may not know!
When are we supposed to pray? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing." We should always have a prayer in our hearts and our tongues!
I looked on Pinterest, of course, for some fun craft ideas to help teach my kids to pray. I found a really neat "Prayer Stick" craft that used popsicle sticks. I didn't have any, and didn't want to go buy any, either. But, we do have three trees in the backyard!
So out went Flower, gathering up all the super small sticks she could find. If you want to make one with your kids, you'll want to find some relatively smooth sticks. It makes painting easier, as well as choosing the sticks!
We pulled out the paints again, and Flower painted each one.
It was a test of her patience!
After that, we sat and thought of all the people we could pray for. We listed out Daddy, Mama, Flower and Little Man, as well as Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Once Flower realized we could pray for anyone, she started coming up with some great ideas! We also wrote out our pastors, missionaries, friends at school, teachers, the daycare kids and their families, people who don't know who Jesus is, our Girl Scout friends, people in the military, our president, and our neighbors. I was so happy to see how excited she got, just thinking about who we were going to pray for!
While she was at school, I grabbed some of my index cards, and cut them into smaller pieces. On each one, I wrote a name from the list, then punched holes on either end. I threaded each name onto a stick.
I had a little decorative bucket I found at the dollar store, so we put them all into the bucket.
Each morning, we draw a stick to see who we will pray for! Our first prayer is together, when we are sitting eating breakfast and having our devotional before school. Each day I write a note to Flower to put in her lunchbox, and I remind her there who we are praying for that day.
There are other variations on this, too! If your kids can't read, try gluing photos of the people you want to pray for! Write names on flower shapes, and have a "prayer garden"!
This has been so fun to do with my kids! Its reminds us that if we "stick" to praying, God will hear us, and He will answer our prayers! It reminds that there is always someone who needs a little prayer.
We pulled out the paints again, and Flower painted each one.
It was a test of her patience!
After that, we sat and thought of all the people we could pray for. We listed out Daddy, Mama, Flower and Little Man, as well as Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Once Flower realized we could pray for anyone, she started coming up with some great ideas! We also wrote out our pastors, missionaries, friends at school, teachers, the daycare kids and their families, people who don't know who Jesus is, our Girl Scout friends, people in the military, our president, and our neighbors. I was so happy to see how excited she got, just thinking about who we were going to pray for!
While she was at school, I grabbed some of my index cards, and cut them into smaller pieces. On each one, I wrote a name from the list, then punched holes on either end. I threaded each name onto a stick.
I had a little decorative bucket I found at the dollar store, so we put them all into the bucket.
Each morning, we draw a stick to see who we will pray for! Our first prayer is together, when we are sitting eating breakfast and having our devotional before school. Each day I write a note to Flower to put in her lunchbox, and I remind her there who we are praying for that day.
There are other variations on this, too! If your kids can't read, try gluing photos of the people you want to pray for! Write names on flower shapes, and have a "prayer garden"!
This has been so fun to do with my kids! Its reminds us that if we "stick" to praying, God will hear us, and He will answer our prayers! It reminds that there is always someone who needs a little prayer.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Training Our Children and the Punishment Jar.
Flower is going through a phase. Its been a very long phase, but a phase none the less. She's got attitude. She's independent. She is a leader. She's a rule maker and enforcer. She's a boss in the making. When she is an adult, these attributes are going to serve her well. Unfortunately, she is only 8, the attitude she has is terrible, she is positive the rules do not apply to her in any way, and she forgets that Mama is still the boss.
Barb Wire Man and I have tried just about every punishment we can think of for her. We have spanked. We have grounded. We've tried time out. She takes her punishment, and by the next day, she has forgotten about it. We've yelled and we have been patient.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6 to train up our children in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. I take that very seriously. I don't want to cram Flower (or Little Man) into a mold which she will never fit. She is stubborn, a trait that I admit she got from me, and it will serve her well in the future. I don't want to break her of that, but I do need to train her as to when it is, and isn't, appropriate.
But the other verse that God always reminds me of is in Ephesians 6:4. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." So many times I have looked at her while disciplining her and I have seen anger. Anger at me, anger in herself, even anger in people who aren't even involved in the situation!
So, we are getting creative. I set out on a search to find creative ways to discipline our children. Things that will stick with them from now on. I want my kids to realize that their choices have caused them to get in trouble.
After church, Flower and I sat down at the kitchen table with an empty oatmeal container.
We pulled out the paints and went to town decorating the container.
On slips pf paper, I wrote some pretty creative, often gross, disciplinary actions. "Scrub the toilet." "Scoop dog poop." "Write the alphabet 50 times." Instead of me coming up with disciplines that rarely work, she gets to choose what happens. After all, she made the choice to disobey, right!?
I'll let you know how it goes, but by the look on her face when she saw the things she would have to do, I think it will go great! What types of creative discipline do you give your kids?
***Update***
So no sooner than I hit "save" on this post, Flower decided to cop an attitude about having to take her nightly shower. Mind you, she has taken a shower at the exact same time, every single night, since she started school. And it wasn't just an "oh man, I don't want to shower!" attitude. We're talking stomping off, slamming doors kind of attitude. I had her get the jar, and she drew out "write alphabet 50 times". By the time she had written it 15 times, she had cooled down. Her attitude was much better! She did say that if she had known it was going to be this bad to be surprised by the type of punishment she was getting, she never would have painted a sun or a flower on the jar!
Barb Wire Man and I have tried just about every punishment we can think of for her. We have spanked. We have grounded. We've tried time out. She takes her punishment, and by the next day, she has forgotten about it. We've yelled and we have been patient.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6 to train up our children in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it. I take that very seriously. I don't want to cram Flower (or Little Man) into a mold which she will never fit. She is stubborn, a trait that I admit she got from me, and it will serve her well in the future. I don't want to break her of that, but I do need to train her as to when it is, and isn't, appropriate.
But the other verse that God always reminds me of is in Ephesians 6:4. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." So many times I have looked at her while disciplining her and I have seen anger. Anger at me, anger in herself, even anger in people who aren't even involved in the situation!
So, we are getting creative. I set out on a search to find creative ways to discipline our children. Things that will stick with them from now on. I want my kids to realize that their choices have caused them to get in trouble.
After church, Flower and I sat down at the kitchen table with an empty oatmeal container.
We pulled out the paints and went to town decorating the container.
On slips pf paper, I wrote some pretty creative, often gross, disciplinary actions. "Scrub the toilet." "Scoop dog poop." "Write the alphabet 50 times." Instead of me coming up with disciplines that rarely work, she gets to choose what happens. After all, she made the choice to disobey, right!?
I'll let you know how it goes, but by the look on her face when she saw the things she would have to do, I think it will go great! What types of creative discipline do you give your kids?
***Update***
So no sooner than I hit "save" on this post, Flower decided to cop an attitude about having to take her nightly shower. Mind you, she has taken a shower at the exact same time, every single night, since she started school. And it wasn't just an "oh man, I don't want to shower!" attitude. We're talking stomping off, slamming doors kind of attitude. I had her get the jar, and she drew out "write alphabet 50 times". By the time she had written it 15 times, she had cooled down. Her attitude was much better! She did say that if she had known it was going to be this bad to be surprised by the type of punishment she was getting, she never would have painted a sun or a flower on the jar!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Pinterest and Glitter and Keys...OH MY!
So, here lately, I have found myself looking at all the awesome crafts on Pinterest that I want to do, instead of actually making the crafts. Actually, I've found myself on Pinterest more than anything, period. I love it.
I found the cool tutorial about putting glitter on your keys to help differentiate which keys go where. I'm not a huge glitter fan, but I do have a million different keys. Flower, on the other hand, would take a glitter bath every day if I let her, so I knew she would have fun with this craft!
We laid out a paper towel and took my plain jane key off my key chain.
Next, we swiped one side of the key with a generous amount of clear fingernail polish. I don't think you really need as much polish as we used, though. Flower was in charge of this part, and she still thinks more is better!
We sprinkled the wet nail polish with bright blue glitter. Flower really wanted me to use pink, but I drew the line. The glitter was for her, so we got to at least use my favorite color!
We repeated the steps on the other side, and wound up with this awesomely glittery key!
I will say, however, that now I tend to have a little bit of glitter on everything I own. It does rub off quite a bit, but this may be remedied by adding another coat of clear polish to seal it. I doubt I will do this, though. That would mean that I would 100% complete the craft, and I never do that! I can't ruin my streak!
What are some fun crafts you have done lately?
I found the cool tutorial about putting glitter on your keys to help differentiate which keys go where. I'm not a huge glitter fan, but I do have a million different keys. Flower, on the other hand, would take a glitter bath every day if I let her, so I knew she would have fun with this craft!
Next, we swiped one side of the key with a generous amount of clear fingernail polish. I don't think you really need as much polish as we used, though. Flower was in charge of this part, and she still thinks more is better!
I'm pretty sure that I will be able to tell which key I need, in a flash. There is no missing this thing.
What are some fun crafts you have done lately?
Friday, January 20, 2012
Real Food
I didn't make resolutions this year. None at all, because I know they wouldn't be kept. I did, however, decide to make some changes in my life and my family's lives. One of those was to eat healthier.
Now, we never ate a ton of junk food. I cooked supper almost every single night, and we very rarely ate out. We hardly ever ate any type of boxed meal, although occasionally, if I was running w-a-y behind, I'd make one. I did drink a lot of coke. I never really paid attention to the nutritional labels, as far as the ingredients of a product went. But, one day, I was making Barb Wire Man's typical pack lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chips. I was happy to see that the ingredients of my peanut butter were nothing more than "peanuts". The bread, on the other hand, was not so simple.
"Enriched Bleach Flour". (Wait, why not just leave it whole and not enrich it?)
"High Fructose Corn Syrup". (Honestly, I'm not one to worry too much about this. I'm an everything in moderation type of person. Unfortunately, HFCS is in everything, which basically tosses moderation out the window.)
"Dough Conditioners" (But nothing to tell me what those dough conditioners are. And, when I make bread, I don't need conditioners!)
I started doing some research on the computer, and am just flabbergasted at some of the things that are in our food these days. I don't want to feed my family maltoiamnotevensurehowtopronounce it, I want them to eat food. Like God intended.
So from now on, everything we eat is going to be food as close as possible to the way it started in nature. At least everything the kids and I eat. that is. I don't think I will ever pry Barb Wire Man away from his processed foods, so I will keep his diet the same. If I make mac and cheese with whole wheat noodles for us, I'll make a batch for him the way he likes it. I'd sure hate for him to eat healthy and take care of himself. Flower loves all the fresh food. I knew she would, because she is so much like me. There isn't much we won't eat. Little Man is getting used to it. He is just like his daddy when it comes to food: picky, and would choose Mrs. Baird's over a fresh baked loaf any day. (As long as he doesn't start making fun of me for my health choices, like his dad.)o
I can already tell a major difference, and it has only been 3 days. I'm not as tired as I usually am. I have a lot more energy. I am pretty sure my skin looks better, too. I know its going to take a little extra effort on my part. No more buying refrigerated rolls. Nope, I'll be making them from scratch, along with just about everything else.
How many of you are on real food only diets?
Check out other awesome blogs here!
Now, we never ate a ton of junk food. I cooked supper almost every single night, and we very rarely ate out. We hardly ever ate any type of boxed meal, although occasionally, if I was running w-a-y behind, I'd make one. I did drink a lot of coke. I never really paid attention to the nutritional labels, as far as the ingredients of a product went. But, one day, I was making Barb Wire Man's typical pack lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chips. I was happy to see that the ingredients of my peanut butter were nothing more than "peanuts". The bread, on the other hand, was not so simple.
"Enriched Bleach Flour". (Wait, why not just leave it whole and not enrich it?)
"High Fructose Corn Syrup". (Honestly, I'm not one to worry too much about this. I'm an everything in moderation type of person. Unfortunately, HFCS is in everything, which basically tosses moderation out the window.)
"Dough Conditioners" (But nothing to tell me what those dough conditioners are. And, when I make bread, I don't need conditioners!)
I started doing some research on the computer, and am just flabbergasted at some of the things that are in our food these days. I don't want to feed my family maltoiamnotevensurehowtopronounce it, I want them to eat food. Like God intended.
So from now on, everything we eat is going to be food as close as possible to the way it started in nature. At least everything the kids and I eat. that is. I don't think I will ever pry Barb Wire Man away from his processed foods, so I will keep his diet the same. If I make mac and cheese with whole wheat noodles for us, I'll make a batch for him the way he likes it. I'd sure hate for him to eat healthy and take care of himself. Flower loves all the fresh food. I knew she would, because she is so much like me. There isn't much we won't eat. Little Man is getting used to it. He is just like his daddy when it comes to food: picky, and would choose Mrs. Baird's over a fresh baked loaf any day. (As long as he doesn't start making fun of me for my health choices, like his dad.)o
I can already tell a major difference, and it has only been 3 days. I'm not as tired as I usually am. I have a lot more energy. I am pretty sure my skin looks better, too. I know its going to take a little extra effort on my part. No more buying refrigerated rolls. Nope, I'll be making them from scratch, along with just about everything else.
How many of you are on real food only diets?
Check out other awesome blogs here!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Patches and Sashes and Cookies...oh my!
My car is parked in my driveway, not in my garage. I'm frantically sewing patches onto a brown sash, so people will gasp when they see how many have been earned. I'm putting on my walking shoes so my feet don't kill me after walking door to door every day. That can only mean one thing: Girl Scout Cookies. There are literally over $4,000 worth of Girl Scout cookies in my garage.
Its insanity, my friends. I might actually lose my mind over it! Flower has big goals this year. Then again, she always does. Last year her goal was to sell 2,000 boxes of cookies, so she could win the highest prize. She fell short, but only by 1,700 boxes. This year her goal is 2,000, so she can win the Netbook. I'm almost positive that by the time we drive around town taking orders, delivering, and collecting money, I will have spent enough in gas money to have purchased the dang thing for her.
But, that isn't what Girl Scouts is about, is it?
Its showing her that she can do whatever she puts her mind to. Did she do it last year? No, but she learned that if she wants to do it this year, she has to work a little bit harder. Not everything comes easily.
I have 9 little girls in my troop, and I'm proud of them all! They all do so awesome during cookie time. I know they are going to do a great, nay, amazing job selling all 1, 116 boxes of cookies in my garage. I need them to sell, too. I hate parking outside....
Its insanity, my friends. I might actually lose my mind over it! Flower has big goals this year. Then again, she always does. Last year her goal was to sell 2,000 boxes of cookies, so she could win the highest prize. She fell short, but only by 1,700 boxes. This year her goal is 2,000, so she can win the Netbook. I'm almost positive that by the time we drive around town taking orders, delivering, and collecting money, I will have spent enough in gas money to have purchased the dang thing for her.
But, that isn't what Girl Scouts is about, is it?
Its showing her that she can do whatever she puts her mind to. Did she do it last year? No, but she learned that if she wants to do it this year, she has to work a little bit harder. Not everything comes easily.
I have 9 little girls in my troop, and I'm proud of them all! They all do so awesome during cookie time. I know they are going to do a great, nay, amazing job selling all 1, 116 boxes of cookies in my garage. I need them to sell, too. I hate parking outside....
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
In Support of The Strike
I'd like to say that I'm striking, along with so many other bloggers. But, its hard to go on strike when you so rarely write anyhow! lol! But, my voice can be heard along with so many others! We can put an end to Piracy, without putting an end to the internet freedoms we all have!
http://sopastrike.com/strike
http://sopastrike.com/strike
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)