Ang4him - A Moment in my Life

Austin's 1st Award in Public School

2011-03-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

** ** WARNING ** **

This is another post containing a tremendous amount of gushing from a very proud Momma!

Last month I wrote about my daughter receving her 1st award in public school (they just started attending in January). This month I am proud to say my son, Austin (1st Grade) has received a Citizen of the Month award as well! His comment regarding the award was, "Now I just have to get the student of the Month award next time."

As with Tyler's award, we were asked to attend an assembly where the award was presented to Austin. We were very proud to attend this on Friday morning. He received a certificate, a book and a bracelet in school colors that indicates he recieved the Citizenship Award.

His teacher wrote:

Austin is an awesome student. He has a great attitude and made friends quickly in my class. He takes his time with his work, doing the best he can and using neat handwriting. He is always kind to others, and follows our classroom and school rules. He is a great citizen and a good example for other students. He always has a hand up to volunteer and answers questions. I enjoy talking with him - he always has an interesting story to share! I am proud of his achievements!

I was tempted to ask about what kinds of stories he always tells, but to be honest I was kind of afraid to find out. I've heard his stories before!

Austin with his award and the book he chose (one full of riddles!)

Tyler's 1st Award in Public School

2011-02-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

** ** WARNING ** **

This post contains a tremendous amount of gushing from a very proud Momma!

Today my baby girl received her first award in public school. Shaun & I are so proud of her. After attending private school for 2 years and doing the homeschool/co-op thing for 2 1/2 years she was very nervous to start public school last month. But she has been doing wonderful. Within days she had made lots of friends and as I mentioned in my last post, she has even dealt with the "mean girl" thing.

On Tuesday I received a call from her teacher asking us to come to an assembly today where they were going to surprise Tyler with an award. It was the February Citizen of the Month award for February. After less than 2 months at the school, she has received her first award (can you tell this mommy is excited and proud of her little girl?!)

The commentary from the teacher said:

Tyler is a pure pleasure to have in class! She shows great citizenship and has a kind and respectful attitude towards her classmates and class work! She genuinely shows care and compassion for school! She is always on her best behavior and really shows pride in her school work!

Afterwards we spoke to her teacher briefly and she went on to affirm what she had written for the award and to tell us that academically Tyler is doing wonderful as well. She said report cards will be coming out next month and we'll see then how wonderful Tyler is doing.

They gave her a Certificate of Character which will of course go in her school book. They also allowed the children receiving rewards pick out a book that was supplied by the school PTO (she chose a book by Roald Dahl). She received a book placard to go inside the front cover that says the book was received by Tyler as a reward from the PTO for being a good citizen.

Okay - this mom is done gushing, at least for the moment!

Tyler displaying her Certificate of Character

Public School - Oh My!

2011-02-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

After two and half years of homeschooling (while working full-time) the Lord has put my family on a new path. It has been bittersweet for me as I really did love teaching my kids and wished I could do so full-time. And I had reasons I preferred homeschooling for my children, but God has other plans and I trust that He knows best.

While a part of me is disappointed (and I dare say at times feels like I have failed) there is another part of me that is relieved and enjoying this new period in our life. I had not realized how much I had been missing with the kids because I worked full-time and many of our schooling sessions outside fo the co-op were in the evenings and weekends. Now, they have homework I help them with 4 nights a week (and that is if there is anything left other than reading - since my dear husband usually does the other homework with them before I get home!) Fridays and weekends are now free of homework other than reading. I find I'm able to enjoy my children more now and they are enjoying spending time with me more.

Don't get me wrong - if I had a chance to homeschool again I would do it - but only if we are in a position where I can do it full-time during the day and not work another job at the same time.

We have run into some of the things I had feared already. In the past two months my daughter has run into the "mean girls". One girl was her friend and then was not because Tyler was not "girly" enough (she got dirty at recess because she does handstands and cartwheels in the grass - I guess in 4th grade that is not an activity that makes you "popular"). Then a couple days later she was Tyler's friend again and as of today she is not again.

But Tyler seems to have made a lot of friends and I found out that she has made a point to befriend and play with a girl that others were picking on. She did not understand at first why the other girls were mad at her for doing so, but we had a long talk about what it really means to be a friend. I think she will do just fine and I am very proud of her. I know the Lord is watching out for her and we have given her a good foundation to build upon.

Austin is doing well too. He has not made as many friends as I would have expected but he seems to really enjoy school and thrive. He is amazing when it comes to his schoolwork. He really does not struggle at all to grasp any of the concepts. His issue is focus - a math page that should take 10 mins and that he understands totally can take up to 30 minutes or more because after each problem he wants to talk about an example that is simlar to the problem, what the problem reminded him of and/or something totally unrelated.

Jesse of course is still in preschool with Cheri, but he constantly asks me how many more months it will be until August when he gets to start Kindergarten. He is so excited. He knows so much already and is definitely prepared. My only concern is still his speech. We did go through the school district to get him tested, however per their standards the sounds he struggles with are not fully developed at his age. I guess that gives me some comfort but I'm still not totally convinced. But I will take it one day at a time for now and keep a close eye on him. God will take care of him just like my other two precious children. After all, He loves them even more than I ever could. And that is alot!

I'll have another post/announcement soon. I just got a call from a teacher today with some news that I will share soon. It is a surprise so I don't want to spill the beans yet.

So I will leave you all with a Valentine's Kiss from Jesse. Enjoy!

Charlotte's Web Lapbook

2010-12-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

We've discovered lapbooks this year and love them! Tyler has done two for books she has read. Our first attempt was with "The Courage of Sarah Noble". I've included some pictures below. One of the ladies in our co-op found instructions online for this one along with the templates.


Tyler's Custom Cover for "The Courage of Sarah Noble"

The various sections inside included listing the members of the Noble and Robinson families in alphabetical order and coloring a map of the 13 colonies and tracing the route Sarah and her father took to their new home. On the other side they did a pocket on Measuring Fear. For various situations that Sarah found herself in throughout the story, the kids rated on a scale of 1 to 5 how scared they would have been. The looked up various vocabulary words in the story and wrote them out on the moccasin book. And they looked up various forest animals and plants that were mentioned through the story and wrote facts about each one.

Inside Tyler's 1st lapbook

Animal & Plant facts

Our second attempt which we just finished was a lapbook for "Charlotte's Web". One of the mother's in the co-op came up with the ideas of what to include and we came up with our own creative ways to showcase these elements. While looking for ideas I found a wonderful site with tons of templates.

Homeschool Share - Lapbook Templates

Below is a video I took of Tyler's lapbook for Charlotte's Web and each of the elements we added. I apologize as the video is a bit blurry, but it is good enough to show all the different items. It is sideways as well and I can't figure out how to turn it.

Pictures of the lapbook:

Our cover - we keep it closed with a small piece of velcro. Tyler can't stand it. She hates the sound of velcro!

The inside of our lapbook

Animal Facts - Pigs, Rats & Spiders. Tyler picked a picture and fact about how humans can catch and eat rats if necessary in an emergency. Ugh!

Our questions - this one is about whether Templeton was a villain or hero

Spider facts - these were some of Tyler's favorites that we looked up.

Similes - Tyler wrote down all the similes we found in the book. I was surprised we did not find more. The purple circle are the 10 characteristic Tyler thought were important in a friend.

Vocab Words - we had 20 words from the book that Tyler looked up and included on these cards. This book has a lot of very good vocab words for kids to learn.

Next Attempt? We are doing lapbooks for our Social Studies/History samples to be turned into our charter school at our next meeting. Tyler and Austin will both be doing one to showcase what we are learning over the four week learning period. I'll share those once they are completed.

Accountable Kids - Review

2010-06-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I did a post called Accountable Kids - The Journey Begins. We are now just a little over a month into the program - we have implemented 3 of the 4 phases.

I originally decided to try this program because I have friends who have raved about it. My children are not bad kids by any means, but to be honest - I was exhausted. They are so active (daughter just turned 9 and my boys are 5 1/2 and 4 years old). In addition, I was tired of repeating myself and feeling like no matter how much time I spent cleaning the house, I had little whirlwind messes following right behind me. I work full-time and homeschool two of my kids. My house usually takes a back seat because I often feel that I have to choose between keeping up the house and spending time with my family.

Our boards - painted in each child's favorite color - of course!

The Accountable Kids program helps parents to teach their children accountability and responsibility. And it empowers children because they learn that they are a productive part of the family - thereby developing a healthy self-esteem and confidence. And it helps to teach children to take pride in what they do and discourages attitudes of entitlement.

I've used chore charts and stickers with my daughter before but they never stuck with my family. This is different because it is about more than just doing some things around the house to earn a prize. And I don't have to go out of my way to buy special expensive prizes to give the kids.

The key to teaching your kids responsibility is consistency. I realized I lacked in this area in some ways. I've still not totally got it figured out, but this program is great because it helps me to be consistent with the kids.

Close up of Jesse's board - our 4 year old - extra chore of cleaning the bathroom is split between all three children, each has a section that they are responsible for completing.

There are four phases to the program:

The first step introduces the concept of core chores (daily chores expected of each child for which no payment is received). They are also introduced to tickets which can be earned by completing all chores on time. These tickets are used for things they've been doing in the past already (television, video games, etc) for which mom & dad want them to realize they are privileges, not things they are entitled to get. This was huge for my children. They are learning to manage their own television time now. The first night we did this my 4 year old actually spent almost 5 minutes really thinking about whether or not he wanted to give up one of his tickets to watch television before bed. I think he handed me his ticket and then took it back about 3 times before he finally decided he was willing to trade one of his precious tickets for television privileges.

A list of items that will cause a ticket to be lost is also created. These are things that will cause the child to lose an earned ticket immediately, no warning. For our family these include hitting, kicking, fighting, whining, and being disrespectful. It was a real eye-opener for the boys the first time they wanted to watch television but could not because they had lost their tickets and could not trade one in for t.v. privileges.

The best behavior card is also introduced in the first step which had become a coveted prize in my family. The kids are allowed to use it just like a ticket, but I've found for them it is more of a reward to just have it hanging on their board. They use it last and many times will bypass privileges just to be able to leave the best behavior card on their board.

The second phase introduces the privilege pass which helps parents to address specific bad habits that they want to replace with new behavior. Also the date card is introduced. I was a little leery of this one at first, because I did not want my kids thinking they had to "earn" time with Mommy & Daddy. But I've found we can still spend time alone with each of them as we used to - this is just an added extra special time that they can earn. And it does not have to be expensive either. My kids love to just go out back after dark with a blanket and look at the stars alone with one of us.

The third phase introduces extra chores which the children can earn bonus bucks for doing. These are turned in the end of each week for real money which they can spend as they see fit. Savings can also be introduced at this point. For our children half of what they earn during the week is going to their "savings" account which we track on sheets posted on our wall. At any time they can see what they have in their savings. The half that they get to keep really helps to develop confidence in them too. When we go somewhere now my kids are asking if they can buy something instead of asking me to buy it for them. And they are putting much more thought into what they ask for, even my 4 year old.

You also introduce the helping hand card. This makes the kids consciencely think of something nice to do for someone else during the day. My kids love each night sharing what they've done for their helping hand during the day. Many days they have more than one thing to share.

In the last step you introduce the family forum and quiet time. We've not gotten to this step yet with my family, although we do already kind of do the family forum since we meet briefly each week on Sunday to turn in bonus bucks and review the ticket lists posted on our refrigerator (list of items tickets can be traded in for and list of things that will cause the children to lose a ticket).

I think one of the main reasons I love this program is because it is so flexible. I've tailored it to fit each of my kids and as they get older some of their extra chores will become core chores. As I see what is and is not working with each child I can add and subtract things as necessary.

The key to this program and I think anything you do to teach your kids responsibility is consistency. I've still not got this totally figured out, but the boards are a visual reminder to me each day to be consistent, just as they are a reminder to the kids of what they need to do as a part of this family. I've seen a huge improvement in my daughter - she thrives on this. The boys also love the program.

Boys cleaning the table after eating

One big change has been mornings. Since we both work we have a certain amount of time to get us and the kids ready each morning. In the past I would find myself rushing and many times yelling and threatening the kids in order to get us all out the door on time. Now most mornings the kids are all ready way before I am. They get up and know exactly what to do and get it done. Every once in awhile we'll have a bad morning but they don't earn their ticket for morning chores if they are not done and/or if Mommy has to remind them of what needs to be done. I've found we never have two bad mornings in a row. Not earning their ticket is reminder enough to get them back to helping out as they should.

My middle child struggles the most with the program (he finally just earned his first Best Behavior card today!). He has trouble thinking ahead to consequences, but even though he struggles I have seen an improvement in him too. It is just coming a little slower. And part of it is consistency on my part. I've noticed when he starts getting difficult again, it is usually because I've become a bit slack in being consistent and sticking to my guns on certain things.

Overall, this program has been wonderful for my family and we've stuck with it for over a month now. That is big for us. I will be traveling to see family in August and I'm looking forward to taking this program with me and continuing it while we are away from home.

If you are struggling to teach your children responsibility and accountability, if they are getting to the point where they feel they are entitled to things or if you are just tired and frustrated - I would highly recommend Accountable Kids. There has been some times of testing where I've been discouraged, but I chose to stick with it and I'm seeing the improvements, sometimes little, sometimes big. I find myself repeating myself less and less (and if I do it is usually because I'm not being consistent with the program) and I'm finding it so much easier to get the kids to clean up after themselves and help keep the house clean. I'm actually able to spend time with my kids now and focus on them. In the past I was always thinking in the back of my mind about all the things I still needed to do. They have more confidence and I am less stressed and exhausted. And I'm seeing more cooperation between the kids. It is Amazing! A definite God-send for my family

Tyler vacuuming the front living room

To learn more about the program visit their website at Accountable Kids - watch both videos on the main page. They explain about the program and will answer many of your questions. And I definitely recommend getting the kit which includes the book. There are so many helpful ideas in it. I read it cover to cover before I started the program and I'm still constantly referring to it for ideas.

Note: By doing this post I'm taking advantage of another wonderful part of this program. Currently if you write a blog review of the program you can get a "rebate" on part of your original purchase price. I would be writing a review either way and in fact I had already posted about our initial experience last month here. How amazing is that?!

Spirit of Control in Raising Children

2010-06-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Below is a great article I found by Norm Wakefield regarding the Spirit of Control. This is the second of a three part series, but I'm referencing this one here because it deals with parent/child relationships. I found this article very enlightening. I will definitely be approaching the raising and disciplining of my children differently after this. Many of the things I do may not change but it really made me rethink where my trust lies during these times and my reasons for doing what I do.

Elijah Ministries - Chariot of Fire Newsletter
Spirit of Control - Part 2 by Norm Wakefield
August 2008

Austin's Favorite Person in History

2010-05-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

As their last History assignment this year (and our last sample to be turned into the charter school) I had each of the kids write about their favorite person in History from this year. Tyler had read a book about Helen Keller and absolutely fell in love with her. So of course her paper was on Helen Keller. She did quite good on it too.

Austin's favorite person was George Washington. His writing is pretty legible, but just in case you can't make it all out, it says the following:

My favorite person in history is George Washington. He is famous because he was our first President. I like him because he cut down a cherry tree.

Gardens & Ponds

2010-05-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Last year our garden met with catastrophe. The only thing that survived were Shaun's jalapeno peppers. We were invaded by mice. Shaun said it was like a flashback to the Secret of Nimh only with mice under a tomato plant rather than rats living under a rose bush. There were many evenings I would look out the back window to see Shaun with a shovel chasing a mouse across our back yard.

However, so far this year the garden if flourishing. I might even have some zucchini to grate up and freeze for bread. Last year I had some, but only due to the generosity of our daycare who grew some gigantic zucchini!

The garden is pretty much Shaun and Tyler's domain. Tyler loves to putter around in the garden. Partly because she takes after her grandma who has a green thumb and partly because her Daddy is out there with her. Personally, I did not inherit the green thumb - in fact I think I have a black one. I could kill a fake plant. Really! I have killed an aloe vera which I was told could survive anyone.

This is our broccoli - one of the few green vegetables I actually like.
But only when it is steamed with some garlic!

We have some strawberry plants here - and some more broccoli.
Shaun said we have 6 broccoli this year - I don't like it that much!!

A forest of carrots and some corn here - and something else that Shaun knows what it is.

Shaun and Tyler have also been working on the landscaping around the pool. The backside of the pool now has a variety of flowers and plants growing along the wall and they've revived the pond. We even have a new friend for the pond - two adorable little turtles.

Tyler admiring the newly revived pond.
Daddy still needs to hide some of the hoses but it is near being completed.

Our lovely Turtle family - the best kind, ones that don't have to be fed and won't waddle away!

Accountable Kids - The Journey Begins

2010-05-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have recently started something new with my kids called Accountable Kids. I'm usually pretty skeptical about programs that say they can "give you a new kid in days" but I have a friend who raved about this and after checking out their website and watching the videos I was impressed. It is a tool to help parents be consistent while teaching their kids about responsibility and accountability. It helps to discourage attitudes of entitlement and gives your children a sense of accomplishment as they become part of the family by helping out around the house and are allowed to make choices regarding how they spend their time. As you implement the different steps they also begin to learn about money and how to manage and make decisions about money they earn.

I decided I would start blogging about our journey in the hopes that someone else may find it helpful, if not at least amusing.

Our Accountable Kids wall. The top board (mini board) is where the extra tickets and Best Behavior cards hang. The kids call it "Mommy's board".

Close up of the kid's boards. Each of them of course chose theirfavorite colors. Right now for the 1st step we only use the first three pegs.

DAY 1:
(5/11/10) I finally ordered my stuff the Sunday before Mother's Day and had it by Thursday. I read the book that comes with it in less than 2 days. We painted our boards on Mother's Day and started the program this last Tuesday. I won't go into tons of details right now because if you are interested you can visit the website and watch the videos for an overview. Also, I will be doing a blog post review in the next few weeks. They have a deal that if you blog a review within 45 days you can get a 50% refund!!

Prior to the first day I had talked to all three kids about the first phase of the program (there are 4 steps that you phase in until you are doing the entire program). On Tuesday, I walked through each of the kids chores with them. We went over list of items that you could trade in tickets for and a list of items you can lose tickets for as well. The first day I did not take any tickets though. As they did something they were not supposed to I would just tell them "You would have lost a ticket for that."

The kids all loved being able to move their chore cards from the start peg to the finish peg and loved earning their tickets as they got each grouping of chores done. Jesse especially loved the tickets. That night when it came time for the boys to watch some television before bed he actually put a lot of thought into whether or not he really wanted to turn in a ticket for this privilege. I think he gave me his ticket and then took it back about 3 times before he decided he did want to watch television bad enough to trade in the ticket. At one point he asked me if he would get his ticket back after he was done watching television.

Before bed I warned the kids that the next day they had to do their chores on their own and we reviewed the rules for losing tickets so they would be ready for the next day.

DAY 2:
(5/12/10) This was our first day with the kids doing the chores on their own and actually having tickets lost. Usually in the mornings I'm running around the house like a crazy woman trying to get myself and the kids ready and have everyone out the door on time. This morning the kids each got up, finished each of their chores (making beds, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc) without me having to say anything to them. In fact they were done with about 15 minutes to spare and no fighting - they were actually helping each other! It was amazing! It was harder to get my dear husband up that morning than all the kids put together.

Jesse informed me today that he did not want to ever lose any tickets so he was going to be "good forever!"

Austin did end up losing three tickets this first day, two before I was even able to get him home after picking him up from the friend who watches him after school. That night he traded in the one ticket he still had for some time on the computer before bed. After that he realized his younger brother was still watching television in our room when he went to bed. He wanted to watch some too, but I reminded him he had to trade a ticket for it and he had no tickets left. We had a bit of a melt down at that time, but mommy stuck to her guns and made him go to bed.

DAY 3:
(5/13/10) Enjoyed a second peaceful morning of no raised voices or having to bother the kids to get ready for the day. In fact, as I was waking up Jesse, Austin got up and stumbled out of his room towards the kitchen. All of a sudden I heard his stumbling steps stop and then come scurrying back into the room where he proceeded to make his bed. Without saying a word he finished and headed back into the hallway to move his "make bed" card and then to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

Jesse lost his first ticket today and was devastated. At first when I asked him why he was having to give me a ticket he gave me a very sad and pathetic face and said "I just don't know." But we talked it through. Austin chose to use his tickets for some computer time and a back and foot rub from mommy. Tyler had been saving up her tickets and was able to watch a couple shows she likes on t.v. as well as spend some time on the computer today. All three kids are managing their time doing things such as watching television much better now that they have to earn the privilege and are limited on how much they can do it. And they love that they have choices.

DAY 4:
(5/14/10) The program warns that after awhile the novelty will wear off and they will begin to test their boundaries to see if mom and dad are going to be consistent and stick to the rules. I figured it might take a bit more time before this day would hit, but this morning it happened. The boys did their chores but I had to remind them to check their boards. They both lost tickets when I had to tell them a second time to not run in the house (one rule for losing tickets is if they have to be told something twice). We had a little pow wow at the boards and they both acknowledged they understood why they were losing a ticket.

Then it happened, even with warnings from mom about how their time was running short - Austin did not get all his chores done before it was time to go. I met all the kids at the boards and Austin still had his toothbrush and toothpaste in his hands. I hated to be such a stickler but I knew I had to stick to the rules. He did not have all his chores done in time so he did not earn his ticket this morning. And to make matters worse, I drove the point home by giving Tyler a "Best Behavior card" for not having to be told or reminded to get her chores done before she started playing and doing other things and because she actually helped her brother with one of his chores (finishing of packing his lunch). I think this made a pretty big impression on Austin.

We all discussed again how their chores are their responsibility and mommy should not have to tell them to do it - the board and cards are their reminders. We also discussed how they should be getting their chores done before they start playing so they make sure they are ready when it is time for everyone to leave.

I must say though, even with a little bit of testing and the set backs today, things are still so much better than just a week ago. I'm so amazed at how all three kids are responding to this and how it helps me to be consistent. The visual reminder of the boards and cards are great. On Sunday we will introduce the next step and the kids are already excited about that.

I'm curious to see how the weekend goes as this will be our first time having everyone home all day long. Could be interesting!

Happy Birthday Jesse

2010-05-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today is our youngest son's 4th birthday.

A couple of days ago Shaun asked Jesse what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. The response was, "Strawberries and blueberries and whipped cream and sprinkles! Oh . . . and Pears!"

Shaun tried to convince him that pears would not taste very good on his cake but each time Jesse would reply with, "I WANT PEARS!!!!"

When I came home that day (oblivious to the arguements that had been going on between these two) Shaun told Jesse to tell me what kind of cake he wanted. After he did I told him I did not think pears would taste very good on his cake. The response was "Ok, Mommy."

Shaun of course was ticked. "You argued with me all day and now when mommy tells you the same thing you just say 'Okay Mommy'!" Jesses just smiled.

Below are pictures of the cake, everything he wanted minus the pears.

Jesse's cake: the cake was chocolate and white cake swirled because he wanted "a little bit of white and a little bit of chocolate brown."

Jesse - very happy with his cake. He pretty much just ate the fruit off of it and left all the rest.

Close up so you can see that it does in fact have sprinkles - Orange Sprinkles - Jesse's favorite color

After we had cake we let him open his gifts. He had asked for coloring pages, crayons, pencils and math. We ended up getting him a giant Cars coloring book, some crayons and a remote control car. The controller is a laser that you point on the ground in front of the car and the car moves toward the laser light. When he opened it Jesses said, "Oh look. A gun and something else. Oh, it's a race car and a gun you can boom it with!" Because of this he doesn't quite understand yet to point the laser on the floor in front of the car instead of pointing it at the car. He'll get the hang of it eventually though, I hope!

Jesse's remote control car.

Jesse coloring - he does a pretty good job of staying in the lines - when he chooses to do so.

Jesse's GIANT coloring pages

Austin's Bug

2010-05-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Austin turned his Spiderman sandwich container into a bug catcher. He spent the day gathering grass, stick and other things for his bug's new home. I've not actually seen this bug but based on how much stuff he's put in this container - I'm sure there is more than one in that thing.

We've convinced him to leave the container outside, but if he had his choice he would check it every half hour. This morning before we left for his t-ball game he checked on it again. After his game we had a birthday party to go to and on the way we had the following conversation.

Austin: Mommy, I just called my bug and he's scared at home all by himself!

Me: What?

Austin: I called him and he answered me on his little tiny bitty phone and told me that he is scared.

Me: Oookay. Well, maybe you should call him back and tell him a story that will make him not scared because it is going to be a few hours before we head back home. We have a birthday party to go to, remember?

Austin: I don't have to call him back anymore. He has really really good ears and can hear stuff far away. He has amazing eyes too and can see very far.

I thought that was the end of the conversation. Apparently, I was wrong.

On the way home we had the following conversation.

Austin: I think I need to check on my poor bug again. I guess I'll call him again.

Me: I thought you did not need to call him anymore because he can hear too well.

Austin: No Mommy! I can tell him a story and he can hear me but I'm going to ask how he is and I can't hear that good. So I have to call him so I can hear his answer.

(Duh - why didn't I think of that!)

Later while talking to Shaun I found out he had told Shaun that he had loved the bug so much that the bug had run away. Then he explained to us that when he had called him on our way home he didn't actually get to talk to him because the bug wouldn't stop talking the WHOLE time. Shaun and I got a real kick out of that, considering that is one of our frustrations with Austin at times!

Our Recent Homeschool Projects

2010-04-13T22:36:00.000-07:00

This year we seem to be getting a better hang of this homeschool thing and getting more creative regarding different projects. Here are a few that we've been working on the past few months.

Weaving - I found a nice little bag at a book fair that comes to my work. For $15 I was able to get Tyler a small loom with yarn and everything else necessary to learn how to weave. Below are pictures of her first attempt. The boys want her to make them blankets now. I guess if she stuck to it she could do squares the size of the loom and then sew them together. Her weave is not real consistent yet, but for a first attempt I think she has done a wonderful job.

Pottery - a friend of mine from work makes pottery. Mostly vases and coffee mugs. She was kind enough to share a few hours on a Saturday with us to show Tyler how to use a pottery wheel. The wheel was a bit large for Tyler, but from what Jennifer said, she did a great job for it being her first time using one. I went out and got her a cheap kids version to practice with some and told her if she continues with it and shows me she is serious I would look into getting her a real wheel. She is already making plans to take over part of Shaun's shed and trying to figure out where she can sell her masterpieces and for how much. The boys even tagged along. They did not use the wheel, but they got to play with the clay too.

Austin's Masterpiece

Tyler getting instructions from Jennifer

Tyler's masterpiece

Jesse doing his thing

Solar System - Tyler and I have been spending a few weeks now on the solar system. We did one really fun experiment where I made a landscape in a box of tinfoil covered in clay. We then covered the box with a piece of paper with a graph and she used a small wooden dowel to measure the terrain using the graph. We used different colors to represent the different depths and she charted the colors on a duplicate graph So one color was the valleys and another was the mountains. Due to Venus being so covered in clouds of gas they've used a process similar to what they use to map the ocean floor to understand the terrain of Venus. It involves sonar and this project was to help Tyler understand that process a bit better. I was surprised at home much she enjoyed it. We just might do it again!

We also made a solar system. Not the traditional one that you usually see though. We did one to scale using modeling clay for the rock planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Pluto - I know, it is no longer a "planet") and paper to reprsent the gas planets. We did not do the sun because it would have been 11.5 feet in diameter if we'd done it to scale and I was just not up to doing that. Shaun actually agreed to Tyler's request to hang this in our front living room so if you happen to come over in the next few weeks you'll probably find it hanging there still. Here are some pictures. It was kind of fun to see how big the other planets are compared to each other.

The "rock" planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars to scale.
You can see a part of Jupiter the first gas planet too.
HUGE compared to the first four planets.

The "Gas" Planets and the non-planet Pluto.
It is the tiny little gray dot you see hanging to the right of the pink planet which is Neptune.

All the planets together to scale. Pretty cool to see the differences in sizes.
Pluto the non-planet is a little tiny gray dot just to the right of the pink planet (Neptune)

More Science - Plants: Our final current project at the moment is a Venus Flytrap. This was a request made by Austin, fulfilled by daddy and having to be upkept by mommy who has been known to kill an aloe vera plant (which I was told could not be killed!) So the poor things does not have much of a chance. But we did do some google searches on how to care for them and have made a little home for it which we hope will keep it humid and warm enough. Tyler caught herself an ant the other day and I'm sure if anyone had been watching they would have gotten a good laugh at us trying to feed the ant to the plant. I still don't think the plant got it and I have no idea where the ant ended up. Not sure I want to know either. The good news though is they apparently usually only eat once or twice a month. At first I was worried I was going to have to figure out a way to collect up insects every day for this thing. I'll keep you posted on how this little guy fares in the Smith household. It could be interesting.

A Birthday Note to My Daddy!

2010-04-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

My favorite picture of Daddy & Me
July 1975

April 7th is a special day. Why you may ask? Well, it is because today 55 years ago the Lord put a very special man on this earth. He was just a little wrinkly, squalling baby held in his mother's arms that day, but God knew the plans He had for that baby. Plans for him to become a wonderful, strong and smart man who would raise two children of his own.

Just over 35 years ago this little baby had become a man and held in his arms for the first time a little pink bundle which would change his life forever. That little bundle was me. Daddy was young and I'm sure pretty unsure of himself, but I also know he was excited. I've heard many times the story of him driving home in the early hours of the morning with his window rolled down, yelling at anyone who was awake that he had a little girl.

I was a huge daddy's girl growing up and I still am to this day. My daddy taught me from a young age that I could do anything if I was just willing to work at it. He taught me about hard-work, honesty, love and family. He was a rock in my life when things were rough. He was the one who took me fishing and hunting. He spent hours with me and my horse Liberty when I used to compete. He was at every event my brother or I ever had and he was always cheering us on - letting us know that he thought we were the best and that he was proud of us.

And now it is our turn to be proud of him. After working at the same company for almost 35 years, my father found himself out of a job when they shut down the sawmill. Due to injuries received on the job years ago, he is not able to stay in this line of work. So they are sending him back to school At the age of 55 my dad is going back to school. This is a whole new ballgame for him. Just like 35 years ago, I know he is pretty unsure of himself. But I also know that he will jump in and do the best he can do - and I know that his "best" is going to be awesome.

So Daddy, when you read this I just want you to know that I'm very proud of you. You read that essay to me that you wrote in class the other day, the one about me and how you thought I was smart, how you were proud of me and how I've never disappointed you. Well, it was easy to do daddy, because I had a great example to follow all these years. I am who I am today because I had a wonderful daddy who has always loved me and supported me. I've never had a reason to doubt that.

So Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you and I'm very very proud of you!

Resurrection Cookies - Smith House 2010

2010-04-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

I've made resurrection cookies 2 years ago with my daughter, but this year I decided to be brave and do so with all three kids. We made it through and they actually all paid attention quite well and really were excited about it. I must say I was a bit surprised when I asked what happened to Jesus before He was resurrected and my three year old popped up first to say "He died!" Now the same dear boy almost had his fingers taken off when he decided to sneak a taste from the bowl while the mixer was in it on high speed, but over all it was great.

Boys watching as I spoon out the "tombs"
(Photographer: Tyler)

One finished sheet of our resurrection cookies.
Ready to be sealed into the oven.

While dishing the mixture onto the cookie sheet to make the mounds representing the tomb Jesus was buried in my daughter informed us the biggest cookie was going to be for her. I replied by asking her if that is what Easter is all about.

Austin pops up with "I want the smallest one!"

I smile and said, "I guess Austin gets the whole the last will be first concept." I was actually kind of proud of him until...

"Yep, the last will be first, which is me! And that means the first will be last, that's you!" he actually cackled after saying this while pointing to Tyler.

But I still think they got the idea of the whole thing and really enjoyed it. I can't wait to see the expressions on their faces in the morning when they open the "tomb" they sealed tonight.

Putting the two sheets in the oven - to be left overnight.

The kids "sealing" the oven with tape until morning.

Lessons Learned

2010-03-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

When I picked up the boys from daycare today they were playing with a big plastic bat and ball. You know, one of those huge ones that look like a flimsy plastic caveman club from the Flinstones. As one of the older boys took the bat I warned Austin to back up so he did not get hit. Of course, my dear 5 year old doesn't think Mommy knows what she's talking about. So he happily stayed right where he was and in the next moment fell down holding his cheek screaming.

After some comforting and an ice pack on his red cheek we had a little talk about listening to Mommy and about not standing close to someone when they have a baseball bat in their hands. Imagine if it had been one of the t-ball bats they use for practice and games!

I told Austin to make sure in the future that he does not stand too close to anyone who is holding a bat. He agreed and I told him to listen to Mommy next time so he does not have to learn his lesson the hard way. It was quiet in the car for a few moments after this. Then I hear Austin speak up.

"You know what I decided Mommy? I think it is better to learn my lessons the easy way from now on!"

Now only if he would remember and live by this. Someone I have a feeling this conviction will not be long lived though.

Risk Taking according to Ang

2010-03-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day full of risks for me. Please don't judge me as being too pathetic.

Lunch at a non-drive-thru restaurant with the family: Yesterday was Opening Day for Pony Baseball. Our middle child is playing t-ball this year so we all piled into the Tahoe and headed over to the ball park in the morning for the Opening Day parade and Austin's first game. After over 2 hours at a crazy ball park packed full of people we all piled back into the Tahoe and decided to have a sit down lunch at IHOP. Now this may not seem like a big deal but for our family, it is. Since the boys were born we have rarely done this. When we eat out we either go through the drive-thru or choose take out. The kids actually did pretty well. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that they were giving out pictures of Sponge Bob Square Pants for the kids to color. Austin will be the first to tell you that they are not allowed to watch this so I think they thought it was pretty cool to get to color a picture of him. After the game we went home and laid the boys down. They both swore they were not tired, but I convinced them to lay in our bed to "rest" while watching a few cartoons. It was not long after this I walked in and was greeted to this picture.

Driving on E: After the game myself and three of my girlfriends had plans to go out and watch a movie and have some dinner. I rarely go out and do this. In fact, the last time I remember going out for dinner and a movie with a girlfriend was when I switched jobs three years ago! On my way to pick up one of them I realized my gas gauge was very near E. Growing up I had it put in my head that if you ever got down to half a tank it is time to gas up. I've grown out of that mentality now, probably not a good thing, but I have. Yesterday I was running a bit later than I wanted to so I decided to go for it. The good news is I made it home last night and this morning the car started no problem and I made it to a gas station.

No Fandango: I don't go to the movies very often anymore. I have a couple girlfriends from work who "kidnap" me from work for my birthday each year. But other than that the only movies I see are 2 or 3 times a year with my daughter. I always order my tickets ahead of time on Fandango and print them. I don't want to take a chance that the movie is sold out or that I have to stand in a long line and get a bad seat or worse - I might miss the previews! But my printer is dead right now. We can make copies with it but no luck printing anything from our computers. So I decided to risk it. We got to the theater less than 30 mins before the movie started. I got my tickets and we even made a quick trip to the snack bar for soda and popcorn. AND I did not miss any of the previews!

Sushi: I make many people cringe because of how raw I like to eat my red meat - but I am NOT a sushi person. When I worked in internal audit and traveled the group I worked with were sushi fanatics and they always drug me along with them. I got pretty good at finding other things on the menu that I liked. I was brave once and they fed me some sushi. It was eel and was disgusting. Afterwards they admited that the eel had smelled "a little funny". Nice to know after! But last night my friends talked me into giving sushi another try. It's been almost 10 years, maybe my tastes will have changed. I did order some seared tuna just in case as a fall back (red tuna of course!). But I must say - I loved what they had me try. I think I just might have to give sushi another try.

So - all in all - yesterday was a day of risks for me. But it was a wonderful day full of people who are very special to me. I really need to do this stuff more often.

Science Time - Volcano

2010-01-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

This week we learned about mountains for Science with Austin (Kindergarten). His favorite part was the volcano we built. We found a bottle and made a mountain out of modeling clay and he searched the yard for the perfect rocks to push into the clay before it dried.

Then once it was dried we mixed up the necessary ingredients and waited for it to erupt. We did not have to wait long! Austin and Jesse were both so excited to see that it actually worked. I think they were expecting something to explode into the air, but I had warned them that was not how it worked ahead of time. They were still pretty impressed.

Afterwards we dumped out everything the best we could and cleaned it up. When daddy and Tyler got home we were going to try it again, but with a twist. They were surpised when it erupted BLUE lava! Austin's choice of course. Jesse is still voting for orange and I'm sure Tyler's vote would be purple.

Austin also wrote up a paper about his project so we can turn it in when we have our monthly meeting with our Supervising Teacher.

Time at the Park

2010-01-16T23:51:00.000-08:00

Today we took a walk down to the park. It is pretty close and we should do it more often. The kids love it and it is a nice little bit of exercise. I forget how much I actually enjoy being out there walking and watching the kids run around.

Was a little chilly today but within 5 minutes Tyler had her jacket off. Jesse as usual climbed up things that I really believe a 3 1/2 year old has no business climbing. Austin then tries to follow suit and part way up decides he is in over his head and I have to come to the rescue. Maybe we'll go again tomorrow if it is nice!

Here are some pictures for my family and friends to enjoy. Especially those of you who don't get to see them very often. They are all growing up so fast!

Tyler trying to save Jesse from falling into the "Lava"

(we built a volcano today that we are going to set off on Monday if it is dry)

Oh NO! I think Jesse's toes may have gotten burned off by the "Lava"

Tyler being dramatic and cheesy

Another "Lava" rescue - Jesse looks really upset here but in reality it was all acting. He's pretty good!

Jesse climbing one of the things mommy thinks no 3 1/2 year old should be attempting. I'm not usually what you would consider an overprotective mom but I tend to stand close by when he insists on climbing this to get to the top of the slide. He's barley tall enough to reach from bar to bar!

Austin attempting to be brave like his little brother - he's a bit nervous here and Tyler is trying to help him. He wants help but doesn't seem to trust her enough to allow her to do it.

This is the point where mom comes to the rescue and Austin practices his death grip on the bars and then mom - usually around my neck!

Notice the single tear under his right eye (on our left) - he had fallen down pretty hard and scraped up his fingers. But here he is telling me it is all better - Mommy kisses heal anything!

Slide time - of course the only one Jesse will go down is the biggest one in the park.

Austin going down the slide - this was our second attempt. The first just got a very small part of his head - he slides down this thing pretty fast!

Tyler being dramatic again - there is no real fear here for her. She's been climbing this same thing making Mommy nervouse since she was about Jesse's age.

This was supposed to be a Smith Kid Train but Austin got a little impatient (and a tad bit scared) waiting for everyone to get lined up together.

Austin's Instructions for Making Milk

2010-01-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

At lunch today Austin instructed me in how to make milk. Here are the steps (in his words) in case you did not already know how it is done.

1. The farmer gets a bucket and puts it under the cow.
2. The cow squeezes the farmer
3. The farmer squeezes the cow really hard
4. The cow farts
5. The milk comes out
6. The farmer puts the milk in the carton
7. The farmer puts the milk on the shelf at the grocery store where it says 'MILK' in big letters

And that is how milk is made. All of a sudden milk is not quite as appetizing anymore after step 4.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Today was my birthday! Growing up birthdays were a big deal and one of the perks was no chores on your birthday. I've never outgrown that mentality of birthday's being a very special day.

So today, I turned 35. I don't feel 35 - at least not most days. And very rarely do I feel that age mentally :)

Today was special, not because of anything big that happened but just because I was able to spend the day with people I care about and love.

First stop was to see my dear friend, Pearl for a new do. She does an amazing job on my hair, the only bad thing is that I don't go see her as often as I should. Not only is she my hairdresser, she is a dear friend. I spent a lovely morning treating myself to a rare cut and color and visiting with her. While there, my cousin April popped in and I was able to spend some time visiting with her as well. I don't see her as often as I would like either!

Then I headed off to work where my boss and co-worker took me to lunch at Mongolian BBQ - one of my favorite restaurants. After I tried to go back to work, but she would have none of that and shoo'd me out of the building. So I decided to go see my friend Gina who was off work this week. She just got a new apartment and I spent a few hours visiting with her and another friend while helping her unpack. (I think I did more watching than actually helping, but we had fun visiting!)

I then spent some time at Starbucks sipping on a delicious peppermint white mocha and then went in search of a book for me to treat myself too. I ended up at a little used book store in the small town I live. I've been wanting to pop into this place for awhile now, but never found the opportunity. This place was absolutely wonderful. They served me pomegrante tea and gave me a tour. I ended up with a new Ted Dekker book!

Then at home I found that Shaun and Tyler had gone to Icing on the Cupcake to get cupcakes for my birthday, including red velvet with cream cheese frosting. Yummy! And of course Shaun had to stuff 35 candles on the cupcakes!

Now I'm off to take a nice warm bubble bath and start reading my new book. What a lovely day!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

Jesse with his Pillow Pet

This Christmas was very nice. It was just us and the kids. We had spent time in the weeks and days leading up to Christmas cleaning out toys and making room for things we knew were waiting under the tree for the kids. This is the first time we've done this and it is amazing how great it was.

Tyler showing off her Lego creation

Also, the kids did not get alot of junk this year. I don't feel like we have "stuff" all over the house like I have in past years. For the most part we had a lego Christmas and spent the morning building things with the Legos. Oh - and the motorcycle!

We expected Tyler our daughter to be the daredevil who would be out on the bike every chance she got. And we expected our son, Austin to be the one to avoid it. He doesn't even like to be in the garage when Shaun starts up his Harley. But we have been surprised. Tyler wants nothing to do with the bike at this time, but Austin can't get enough. He has even had a couple mishaps already which he has just brushed off with a laugh and kept going. So now we need to get some more gear with him to keep him safe (we have training wheels on the bike right now, a helmet and gloves). And we need to take him out somewhere to really let him practice riding and getting the hang of it all.

I'm very happy about this. Austin is our drama child and can be extremely whiny at times. However, when he is on this bike that all flies out the door. I think this is going to be an amazing opportunity for Shaun and Austin to bond as I have been wanting them to be able to spend more time together.

Jesse of course wants to ride the bike too but at this time we only allow him to be on it with Dad. The little guy can't even touch the foot pegs very well yet! I think he'll be counting the time until he gets to ride by himself.

Austin's favorite "toy"

I am amazed at all the blessings in our family. And I'm looking forward to see what God has in store for us in the New Year.

Austin's On-stage Debut

2009-12-26T23:52:00.000-08:00

Last week Austin had his on-stage debut. He was a penguin, a very adorable one at that. We've discussed for quite some time now how he will most likely end up on stage one day so this year we signed him up at the local theater to perform in their winter/Christmas performance.

His part was not big - just one of many penguins that waddled up on stage towards the end of the 2nd act and sang a single song. I must say though he was very adorable. He practiced his penguin waddle for weeks. And mom even made his costume! For those who know me very well, I'm sure you can imagine the look of panic in my eyes when they announced that we had to make our children's costumes. But made it I did and it turned out pretty good. Thank you Lord for velcro and staples!

While we still think he'll be on stage one day, I think I'll wait another year before we sign him up at the theater again. For the little ones they have them sit with you until their cue. So they sat with us for the 1st act and most of the 2nd act for three performances over a 2 day period. He was so cute onstage, but prior to that each performance I almost lost my patience (okay, I DID lose it!). He just does not have the ability to sit still and quiet that long when he is excited about getting up on the stage. And I refused to let him just run around and disrupt other parents and grandparents who were trying to watch their precious ones onstage. Each performance we ended up in the lobby for a period of time. Given, by the third performance he was getting better though.

The first performance though was my favorite. After the kids sang their song they were to sit while the big kids did one more song before they all took their bows. After the song was done Austin stood a tad bit longer than the other penguins so he could bestow a huge dimpled smile and big wave upon the audience. All my frustration wrestling with him through the performance just melted away at that point. There is a very good reason the Lord made this one so stinking cute and funny.

God's Little Blessings

2009-12-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

Grant me the patience to deal with my blessings!

This is a quote I saw for the first time a few years ago and I can so relate to it. I love my children dearly but at times I have had the urge to just run away to a cabin up in the woods with my Bible and journal for some peace and quiet.

My boys drive me crazy at times, but I know that if I was away from them for any period of time I would be missing them desparately. They make me laugh and down below all that obnoxiousness they are sweet and loving boys. I would miss Austin's sweet dimpled smile and the way he comes in at night just to give me a kiss and say he loves me (even if it is all a ploy to stay up a few minutes more!) and I would miss my "Jesse loving" - those sweet hugs and kisses that he so freely gives. And all the cuddling with my sweet little boys - I know it won't last forever and I need to cherish it now.

Today at house church Austin decorated an index card with stickers and then handed it to me and asked if I could send it to God for him. He said it was a birthday card for Jesus.

Then on the way home he asked me why nothing was new. He said that everything looked the way it had always looked and nothing was new. I was not sure at first what he was talking about but I think he must have heard something about God making all things new. His next words to me were:

"Mommy, I want things to be new cause I want to see Jesus face to face because I'm tired of not seeing him all the time!"

The dear little boy has such a big heart and has such good intentions. So - Lord, please grant me the patience to deal with my sweet, beautiful, exhausting blessings!

Help! I'm talking and I can't shut up!

2009-12-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I saw a shirt with this caption and immediately thought of Austin. When I told Shaun about the t-shirt he asked me why I did not buy it for him. I think I'm going to have to have one made up. Especially after today - the boy has talked non-stop and the thought actually crossed my mind at a few points to duct tape his mouth. I know bad mom - but I did not act on it! He seriously talks non-stop even in his sleep!

I think today he told me over a dozen times that he was going to be quiet and then barely took a breath before he was off talking about something else.

Tonight for dinner he was eating corn dogs, and it is NOT the first time he has eaten them. Not by a long shot.

"Mommy, something is freaking me out about this hot dog and bread mixing thing!"

This is after we had talked about having mac & cheese and hot dogs for dinner. But we realized we did not have hot dogs - Austin's solution was to pull the bread off the corn dog and then cut up the hot dogs to go in the mac & cheese. We settled with corn dogs though because he didn't want mac & cheese. (He informed me of this after his solution to the missing hot dog problem).

After this he tried to convince me that the corn dog had given him a brain freeze. But knowing him - I guess it could be possible.

For dessert he was allowed to have one piece of my homemade peppermint bark which he calls candy bark. I should have seen this one coming -

"Daddy, why do they call it candy bark when it does not actually even have real bark in it?" Good question, actually.

Wondering if I should hit the "publish" button yet - he is still awake after all - there may be more to write tonight.

Christmas Lights & Green Eyed Monsters

2009-12-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight after picking up my youngest from daycare I choose to take a bit longer route through the neighboring blocks so the kids could enjoy some of the Christmas lights. Jesse gets so excited when he sees the lights "Christmas Lights! Christmas Lights!" he says over and over.

As we passed one house I noticed a brand new Camaro sitting in the driveway. I made a comment about the car and Austin asked me what a Camaro was. I told him it was the very nice car that was sitting in the driveway - one that mommy would really like to have. I told him it was a "sweet" car.

"Do you know who's going to come now Mommy?" Austin asked me.

"No, who?" I asked.

"The Green-Eyed Monster is going to come now. And you know what he is going to tell you? He is going to tell you that you can ride any car you want and that you can steal that one. But you can't listen to him Mommy! Ok?"

Wise advice from a 5 year old.

Advent Wreaths & Calendars

2009-12-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

I must admit that December snuck up on me this year. I've wanted to do something special in our home to bring Jesus to the forefront of this holiday and Satruday night I realized I was not prepared at all!

So today, in between work, homeschooling and doctor appointments I struggled to find the supplies I needed to create an Advent wreath and calendar for our family.

This is our first year of doing an Advent wreath and we are obviously celebrating the first candle two days late, but all things considered I think it turned out pretty good and the kids participated quite well. We could not find a pink candle so we found the lightest red we could get for the 3rd Sunday candle. Tyler is really excited about doing the wreath this year. The boys are as well, but their attention span is pretty short. It was very nice to sit at our table to pray around it though and see all three kids with their heads bowed and hands clasped.

I was looking for three of those cheap cardboard advent calendars with the chocolate already in them - but no luck. I did stumble across the below item though and found that each day has just enough room to stuff in three chocolate kisses! Therefore, I now introduce you to the Smith Family Advent Calendar!

Being the youngest I let Jesse open the first door. You should have seen his little face light up when he pulled out three chocolate kisses. I asked him what he was going to do with them and his response was "Eat them!"

"Jesse we are celebrating Christmas though, what should you do with THREE chocolate kisses on Christmas? What do we do on Christmas?" I asked hoping to prompt the reponse "we share."

Instead Jesse looked at me with a huge smile and said "Eat them!" I then mentioned sharing them and he willingly handed one over to Tyler and one to Austin.

I'm hoping this is the beginning of two soon to be long standing Smith Christmas Traditions.

Today's Excitement: Angela, the crazy car people magnet!

2009-11-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight I think I need to take a warm bubble bath, maybe have my wonderful hubby make me one of those rare drinks I enjoy occassionally and just find a good book to read and forget about my day.

Why? Because today I was a magnet for crazy people on the road.

The day started out ordinary enough. I worked from home today as with every Tuesday. My daughter was with me as usual - doing her homeschool work. We actually made it through our items for the day in pretty good time today. Then about 2:30 we left the house for a meeting with our supervising teacher with the charter school. We were a bit late getting out the door because as I started to leave at 2:15, I had a last minute "fire" pop up that I needed to take care of for work. So I sent a text to our supervising teacher telling her I had gotten caught on the way out and might be a few minutes late.

A few minutes later found us sitting at stop sign just a couple miles from the house when all of a sudden we found ourselves pushed into the middle of the intersection. We had been rear-ended! They are so right when they say most accidents occur within just a few miles of your house. In the past three years I've been rear-ended twice now and both times it was within a couple miles of the house, both times I was at a complete stop when hit. The last time was in the Tahoe and a Mini-Cooper hit us. No contest - the Tahoe had some minor scratches and the Mini-Cooper was totalled.

Today though I was in our Accord and the culprit was a taxi cab. It actually took me a moment to realize what had happened and then I pulled off the side of the road. The cab driver tried to talk me out of trading information but I nicely told him that I would take his information and let my husband take a look at the car when he got home tonight. The damage does not appear to be much on the surface - a slight ring where one of the bolts from his license plate hit the bumper and next to it the bolt actually came out and got stuck in my bumper. Can't pull it out at all! At first actually he tried to tell me he did not think it was his bolt!

There is road construction going on near where this happened and at one point a truck driver stopped and asked if I needed any help. He said that he had seen the whole thing and would help if need be. How sweet! I really appreciated that.

So in the end I got all his information which I'm passing off to my hubby tonight and he'll take care of things from here. I've learned the hard way just because the surface appears fine does not mean there is not worse damage that needs to be addressed.

To the right you can see the indent (a bit of a hole on one side) where the one bolt from his license plate hit my bumper. On the left you can see the bolt that came out of his license plate and got stuck in my car. Will take pliers to get that thing out!

Here's a couple better close up pictures of the bolt. Stuck in there tight!

This would be enough to shake up my day - but it was not done yet! On the way home from the meeting, just as I was getting back into town and hitting traffic (it was just about 4:40 at this time) a sliver car full of young men came flying up behind me swerved around me and cut me off. Then they slammed on their brakes. Tires smoked and the back end of their car swung over to one side. I had to put on my brakes pretty quickly and swerve to the side to avoid hitting them. Talk about unnerving after being rear-ended myself just a few hours before!

I then watched as they began swerving in and out of traffic - once going from the far right lane all the way across to a left turn lane. At that point the car screeched to a halt again and three guys piled out of the car. At that point I noticed a small white BMW in front of them that put on its blinker, turned back into traffic and took off across the intersection. By this time I had already passed the silver car which the guys piled back into and it pulled back into traffic. Now myself and two or three other cars were stuck in what had now become a one lane road between these two cars. The BMW turned off the main road a little further up and once the road went back to two lanes the silver car took off in pursuit. I was thankful they had pulled off the main road. Then less than a mile up the road as I passed a side street I noticed the white BMW waiting to pull out. As I passed I saw the silver car pull up behind and the three guys piled out again. I could see the fear on the other guys face as he pulled out directly behind me.

My turn was coming up so I got into the left turn lane and then my heart dropped as I saw the BMW's blinker come on and pull into the lane behind me. But he went across the other lane into a fast food restaurant parking lot that was on the corner of the upcoming intersection. The silver car pulled across the lanes going into the parking lot as well, narrowly missing a head on collision with a truck coming from the other way. As I sat in the left turn lane I saw both cars come flying out the otherside of the parking lot onto the same street which I was waiting to turn into.

At this point I was able to find my bluetooth (which had been knocked onto the floor when I was rear-ended). I called 911 and found out that the dispatcher (I wonder if we only have on in our little town) was on another line with someone else who had reported the same thing. Not sure if the cops ever found them, but I am worried about the guy they were chasing.

Talk about a freaky weird day. Like I said - I was a magnet for crazy drivers today. I was praying for the guy in the white BMW. Traffic was very busy and the guys chasing him did not seem to care that others were around. I had the feeling if they were able to corner him they were going to drag him from that car and pummel him regardless of who was around.

So that was my crazy day. How was your day?

Photos of my blessings

2009-10-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours is going to be starting a photography business in the new year. Right now he is building up a portfolio. He is the reason why you now see a current picture of me on my proflie for Blogger instead of a 14 year old picture from my wedding day.

Here are some of the pictures he took of the kids that are my favorite. I have more on facebook if you are my friend there :)

Homeschool - Field Trip

2009-10-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, one of the moms from our homeschool co-op arranged a field trip. It was led by a group called Sequoia Ministries. This was Austin's first field trip. They both had a blast and had tons to tell Shaun and I about what they learned and about the nature walk they went on (unfortunately, due to timing of month end I was not able to attend this time.)

We are going to have more field trips with this group so I'm hoping to be able to join them next time. Amanda was kind enough to take my children and send me pictures that I get to share with all of you now.

Austin was very attentive and LOVED that the guide had dressed up.

Tyler & Austin - Daniel Academy Field Trip (9/30/09)

Pianos and Computers

2009-09-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

These last two weeks my 5 year old has been on a creative roll (actually this is really just normal Austin). Give him a piece of paper and a couple markers and he can make anything.

Last week, he drew himself a piano. He drew some piano keys on one side, some music above it and then letters down the other side which he told me was the words so he knew what to sing. We were driving and he sat in the back with the piece of paper on his lap "playing" the piano. A few minutes into his masterpiece I hear him say, "Uh oh. The batteries died. Mommy you can turn on the other music." (meaning the radio). I start to hear paper shuffling and then a few moments later I hear "Okay, Mommy. Turn off the other music. I found some batteries for my piano!" And the recital began again.

A couple days later he folded a piece of paper in half and made himself a laptop computer. As we were driving that day he asked me what type of music I liked then proceeded to type his "secret" code in his laptop. Not so secret anymore though, as he quite loudly announced each letter and number as he typed it in. Then his laptop began to play music for me. This consisted of him singing to the tune of the "Go to sleep" lullabye.

Halloween, halloween.
You must give us some candy
We dressed up,
It's Halloween
It's Halloweeeeennnnn timmmeeee!

When we got home he had to set up his laptop in his room to play music for all his stuffed animals while we did school. Every 15 minutes or so he would take a break from school to go change the music for his animals because he said "they like variety Mom!"

Homeschool News!

2009-08-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

We started homeschooling this week - this year we have two in school. My daughter is in 3rd grade (her 2nd year being homeschooled) and my eldest son is in Kindergarten. Monday was the first day of our co-op and they both did great and loved it (picture above was taken just before we left for the co-op). Today was our first day at home. We are going with a new curriculums this year and I really like them. And I'm much more organized this year, which helps too.

We are part of a homeschool co-op 3 days a week and then doing 2 days a week at home. This co-op has been such a blessing to us - so much support and such wonderful families. We are a group of 11 families that all are homeschooling our children and have similar beliefs in how we want to raise up our children. The "teachers" are all parents. The main focus for us is to raise our children to be like Daniel in the Bible - to excel in academics, to lead lifestyles of prayer and fasting and to run with excellent comrades.

I never would have imagined even a few years ago that I would be homeschooling my children or that I would enjoy it so much. It is alot of hard work and takes a bit of juggling for our family since I work, but it has been so rewarding in so many ways for the entire family!

To celebrate the new homeschool year I wanted to mention to everyone that The Homeschool Lounge is having a Homeschool Open House. Check it out!!!

If you homeschool or are thinking about homeschooling I recommend considering this site as a resource. I've found tons of great ideas here for us.

A Weekend with Austin

2009-08-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

I have two adorable little boys. They really are good kids, but they are exhausting! So here is a little peek into life with my middle child (my eldest son). He'll be 5 next month - a bright boy if I do say so myself (yeah, yeah - I'm a little partial) and full of drama! I just know he'll be on stage someday.

Saturday morning my three year old comes running into our room, crying and babbling. The only word I can make out is "Austin". Right behind him comes Austin, saying over and over again "I said I was sorry, Jesse!" This is my first clue that he did something that probably is not an accident. My daughter does the same thing when she does something to Austin and is trying to keep him from telling us.

I finally get Austin to tell us that he "accidently" knocked Jesse over. As he says this Jesse starts going crazy again. He has a ticked off look on his face as he says something over and over again. Once again all I understand it "Austin" but his gesture is clear. He looks like he is hitting himself in the neck with his arm. Jesse has a habit of tattling on his brother, but is usually so upset that he can't talk clearly. So he proceeds to demonstrate on himself what Austin did to him. I think he usually inflicts more harm upon himself with his demonstrations than Austin ever does.

I look at Austin - "So, you hit Jesse in the neck with your arm and knocked him down? And you say it was an accident?"

Austin looks at me for a moment and I see the wheels spinning in his head - how can he get himself out of this one. Finally he looks at me, sighs deeply and then turns around and walks out of our room. As he leaves I hear a dejected mutter, "Fine, I'll just go put myself in my room now then."

I wish they were always that easy to punish!

Then on Sunday we were in Target, shopping for school supplies when all of a suddent Austin very loudly announces - "Oh no Mommy! I have to go poop REALLY bad!"

In the past I would have been mortified, especially when I noticed the couple near me start giggling. But this is just pretty much normal for Austin. I tell people that he has no volume control, no on/off switch and no filter between his brain and mouth. We are working on installing these things but it is a very lengthy and arduous process.

Since I know he has a tendency toward dramatics as well, I calmly ask him if he really has to go right this instance or if it can wait until we get checked out.

He looks at me for a moment, rolls his eyes up like he is thinking and then says "Yes, I have to go right . . . oh wait a minute mommy." (pauses while reaching back and touching his bottom) "Yep, my poop went back in, we're all good to go now Mommy."

At this the couple beside me can no longer hold back and they both double over in laughter. I just smile and push my cart on to the next item on our list.

Then later that night (Warning: this might be TMI for those with a sensitive stomach!) he walks in and announces to my husband and I that he has finally learned to wipe his bottom all by himself.

"Great job Austin" we tell him.

"Yep, I only use three squares and then I use my finger to check to make sure I have it all."

I looked at him for a moment and then asked, "You use your finger to check your bottom?"

"Yep!"

"Okay, Austin. We're not going to do that anymore. Don't touch your bottom with your finger. Use another piece of toilet paper to check, okay?"

"Okay"

Then I had to ask - "Um, do you wash your hands after that?"

"Yep! Oh. . . um, I mean nope! I don't!" He smiles at me.

"Okay, so from now on please use four pieces of toilet paper, don't touch your bottom with your bare hands and please always wash your hands afterwards, ok?"

"Ok, mommy!"

Ughh! Boys!!!!!

Antagonizing?

2009-07-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

So, last night as I was finishing up some stuff for our homeschool co-op my eldest son (will be 5 in Sept) was sitting at my feet playing with some toys. I hear him say:

"Tommy, you must sit over here so you don't antagonize the others."

This boys concerns me at times. This is not the first time he has used a word that I consider over the head of a child his age. And he uses it correctly! And he pronounces it perfectly!

I'm a little worried that this child is a little too smart and my husband and I are in for some trouble in the future!

Night Terrors

2009-07-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

My eldest son (will be 5 in September) has started having night terrors on a regular basis. He'll start screaming for one of us during the middle of the night and it is very hard to calm him down and get him back to sleep. And then once we get back to bed and start to doze off again, he is screaming again. Most of the time I think it is hard to calm him down because he is not really even awake.

He is now convinced we have itchy bugs in our house and an itchy monster under his bed. The only description of his dreams that I can get is once he told us that he dreamed of monkeys itching his sister. Other than that he can never tell us what exactly his dreams are about.

I've been praying over him at night. Together before bed and then again once he is asleep. Someone told me this can be normal for boys his age and to try to keep the room cool because supposedly being overheated causes these to come on.

Anyone else ever had to deal with these? What worked for you? I'm going to keep up the prayer because to me that is the best solution but if there is any other wisdom the Lord can impart on me through others that would be wonderful.

Getting Ready for School!!!

2009-07-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

We got the last order of books that we are going to have to buy out of our pockets for next year. The rest should be covered by the Charter school.

I can't believe we'll have two in school this year. One in 3rd grade and one in Kindergarten. Look at all the books - and this is just Language Arts, Math and Music. I still have Science for both of them, Art and then we'll be doing Spanish and Typing again with Tyler.

Austin is so excited about school and I have to keep telling him the books are for next month when school starts. Tyler is very excited that she'll be doing cursive handwriting this year.

And I must admit, although I know it is going to tire me out - I'm really excited too! But I'm going to have to get a planner for sure this year to juggle their school, Daniel Academy, work and everything else! Thank goodness I have a week off to go visit family before the school year gets started!

4th of July

2009-07-08T22:47:00.001-07:00

We took a trip up to Oregon last weekend to visit my husband's grandparents. We've not seen them since Thanksgiving and it was great to spend a few days with them. The kids loved it and I think Grandma & Grandpa enjoyed having the kids around.

My hubby and Grandpa took the kids to the local parade on Saturday and then my hubby took my daughter to go see fireworks that evening. The boys were exhausted from playing in the dirt all day long and I just wanted to relax. It was a nice father/daughter time for them and she really had fun. They did see one house go up in flames across the lake though they said. Scary!!!

Here is a picture of my youngest. After this picture was taken Grandma offered to show them how to make mud pies. We passed on that!

On the way home Sunday my youngest was eating and accidently bit his cheek and started crying. My husband and I both had to fight to not laugh when we heard our 4 1/2 year old tell the 3 yr old in a very sweet voice - "It's okay, we all make mistakes sometimes. Right mommy?"

All in all it was a very nice and actually a relaxing trip. Even with two 5 hour drives during the weekend.

Imaginary Friend Tragedy - Part 2

2009-06-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

I recently followed up with my son to see how the dilemna with his imaginary friend was going. If you did not read my first post about this, read the post directly below this one first. Here is our conversation:

Me: So, is your imaginary friend talking to you yet?

A: No, he is at grandma's house.

Me: At grandma's house, why is he there?

A: Because he is in a time-out. He's in the bedroom in a time-out.

Me: Oh, okay. Did you find out why he was mad at you and no longer talking to you?

A: He was mad at me because I hit him.

Me: Oh, I see. Well, it is not very nice to hit. I can see why he'd be mad.

A: Yeah, but I hit him because he bit me. He bit me because I told him he could not have my lunch.

Me: Well, have you decided what you are going to do about this?

A: Well. . . I thought about making up a new imaginary friend, but then I figured he would just try to take my lunch and bite me too. So I decided it is just not worth it.

Since this conversation, I've not heard anything else about imaginary friends.

Tragedies of a 4 year old

2009-05-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

First of all - YEAH!!! We are back online. This blog was identified as a spam blog and disabled for a few days, but blogger has been awesome, checked it out and re-enabled me as they determined I am in fact NOT a spam blog. Whoohoo!

Now - on to the tragedy of the day - or I should say the week as I was going to blog about this the end of last week when I found out I was disabled.

My 4 1/2 year old informed us the other day that he was very sad. The whole puppy dog pathetic look and all. Why? Because his imaginary friend was not talking to him any longer. Apparently he did something to make his imaginary friend mad, though he knows not what and now the friend will no longer play with him or talk to him.

Two thoughts come to mind:

1. How pathetic is it when not even your imaginary friend will talk to you.
2. How do you be sympathetic and comforting when you are having to bite your cheeks from laughing?

On the Road to Success - Toilet 2, Underwear 1

2009-04-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

My youngest is going to be three next month. Three seems to be the average age for my children to finally get the "potty" thing. My youngest does not talk as well as my other two did at that time, so I've been a little worried about this. However, he has been showing an interest, his timing is just off. He'll come tell us after he's gone in his diaper and then he insists on sitting on the toilet for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour!

So today we decided to put him in a pair of his big brother's underwear and see how things went. I talked to him ahead of time and he was very excited about getting to wear underwear. I told him that if he did well this weekend and started using the toilet regularly I would take him to the store to pick out his own underwear. That really got him excited - he ran around the house telling everyone - although we could not quite make out what he was saying.

It is now nap-time and so far the score is Toilet 2 (one pee and one poo!) - Underwear 1 (pee). So, all in all I think we are off to a good start!!

END of DAY UPDATE:
Final count is Toilet 3, Underwear 1. And the lone poo of the day made it in the toilet. YEAH!!! We are definitely on our way!!

My Crazy Family

2009-04-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Just the kids and I having some fun today.

Resurrection Cookies

2009-04-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Looking for something fun to do with your kids this morning? Something that will point them to the real reason for Easter? Check out my post about Resurrection Cookies on my main page.

I did this last year with my daughter and will be doing it with all three children this year.

Happy Resurrection Day!!!!

Halloween Week in April?

2009-04-06T20:46:00.001-07:00

I've been disturbed lately with things on television and tend to be very aware of what my daughter (almost 8) watches on television. Disney channel is the "in" thing for most girls her age. I'm a bit leary about many of the shows - on the surface they may seem harmless but I see them as teaching values I don't want my daughter to grow up buying into. There seems to be a huge emphasis on material things. Of course that is just the world in general right now and I can't shelter her to that extent. All I can do it limit her exposure and make sure I discuss these things with her so she understands my concerns and reasons for them.

In addition, I've always been a bit disturbed about the shows that pop up around Halloween. As the years go by, Halloween is a holiday I would rather avoid and I don't care for the way many things associated with it are glamorized now. Disney even has a show about a wizard family on their normal line-up right now that makes it all seem okay. I've watched a couple episodes and found myself chuckling along with it at times. I'm concerned what we may be teaching our kids though, what we may be passing off as harmless that in reality is not so harmless. (I already posted awhile back about the vampire shirt I saw at Target)

Now I've found out that Disney is doing a Halloween in April week. It is to be this week (started yesterday). Beginning on Palm Sunday, through Passover and Good Friday - through Saturday, the day before Easter.

Maybe it is just a coincidence, but I find the timing disturbing. The older my children get the more sensitive I am becoming to things in this world and the way they subtlely influence our children. As I said I don't want to totally shelter them as they need to know how to function in this world. But I definitely want to equip them. What are your thoughts?

Correction: Halloween Week in April on Disney is actually starting on April 12th, Easter Day. I think this is just as bad if not worse than having it during the Holy Week which includes Passover. They are starting this on the day we are all celebrating our Savior's resurrection. Once again, I must wonder if this is just a coincidence or not.

Wisdom of a Child

2009-03-24T22:03:00.001-07:00

Tonight my 7 1/2 year old daughter was watching something on the television that referenced the White House. All of a sudden I hear the following from her:

"Mom, it would be cool to visit the White House and President Obama. . ."

I'm deciding whether I should say anything in response when she continues after a brief pause.

". . . and to tell him about Jesus."

At this I smile, my heart is warmed.

"The Bible tells us to do that, you know Mommy. We are supposed to tell others about God's News!"

I must say I'm so honored that the Lord has blessed me with the privilege of raising this child. At times I worry about whether I'm doing all I should to raise her in today's world to have a heart for God. Will she truly grow up to be a woman of God? But then moments like this come along and my worries are laid to rest. She has grown so much over the past year and I'm amazed at how clearly she is able to hear from God at times and the clarity and wisdom she has. I must say, at times I envy it - I think sometimes she "gets it" much more than I do!

Princess or Vampire?

2009-03-16T21:52:00.001-07:00

Just a few days ago I went to the local Target to get my 7 year old daughter some socks. While there I saw something that disturbed me a bit - is it just me? There were t-shirts there in my daughter's size (and she is a bit small for her age) which had a sparkly pink and purple tiar at the top of it. Underneath it said:

Forget the Princess, I want to be a Vampire

What is with that? I know there is a movie out right now that is making vampires "cool" again, however I was under the impression this was more directed towards the high school crowd. Now I'm seeing t-shirts like this in my daughter's size in a store like Target? What is next?

Sierra Rock

2009-03-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

Below is a picture of the rock that we had painted as a memorial for Sierra. Tyler loves it and put it out in our front yard by the rose bushes. I thought I was doing pretty good with the whole thing until I went to pick this up yesterday. I guess I've not totally dealt with it yet. :)

In Rememberance of Sierra

2009-02-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

This week we lost our beloved pet and friend, Sierra. My husband had given her to me in December 1997 as a birthday/Christmas/Graduation present. I still remember him putting her in my hand (that is not a typo, it is hand, not hands). She was just an adorable ball of fur that fit in one of my hands.

Last night we went through a bunch of old photos looking for one that we can use for a memorial. In the past years she has become totallly blind and has been having skin issues. I've heard this is something that is a bit normal for the breed. In the past month she had become senile as well. So, this was expected but was still really hard. We've had her for over 11 years, my kids have always had her in their lives. So it was nice to go through old photos and remember times when she was a healthy young dog.

My daughter took it the hardest as she is the one who remembers her before she started to have problems. They are all asking about getting another pet, but I think at this time we will be holding off for a bit.

So, this is in rememberance of our dear friend, a member of our family. She was a protector of our family. Not more than 10 pounds but she would have gone after anyone who tried to ever harm our family. I still remember her going after a Great Dane once when the dog made the mistake of barking in my direction.

I still find myself looking for her each day and think I hear her at night when the house gets quiet. I know it was time for her to go and it is what was best for her, but there is still a part of me that wonders if there was more we could have done for her. She was greatly loved and will be dearly missed.

Ambitions of a 4 year old

2009-02-18T22:45:00.000-08:00

Today on the way to daycare my 4 year old informed me of his future ambitions.

"Mommy, when I get big I want to be a Polar Express man!"

At first I thought he possibly meant he wanted to be a train engineer or something. But I quickly scrapped that idea.

"Then when I get even bigger I'm going to be Cat in the Hat. And then when I get really big I'm going to be the Grinch because the Grinch is really really big!"

I guess it could all come true though. I see a stage and bright lights in his future!

Cupcake Logic

2009-01-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

My daughter wanted to learn cooking this semester so my husband has stepped up to do the teaching for this subject (he is the best cook in our home after all!) So on the two days that she is not part of the co-op and is doing homeschooling at our home, he is teaching her to cook.

They started with desserts. He told her that one of my favorite cakes is angel food. So they made angel food cupcakes. That night after dinner we enjoyed them with fruit and whipped cream. Yummy!

However, prior to that the boys had to do some taste testing. When I got home from work my 4 year old started telling me about how good the cupcakes were and mentioned that the paper was the best part. My husband looked at him and said, "I told you not to eat the paper. Did you eat it?"

My 4 year old looked up at him, smiled and explained to his "clueless" daddy - that of course he ate the paper. That had all the brown parts of the cake which are the best part!

Now, I must agree the tops of the cake where it is brown is the best, but I don't think I like it enough to eat the paper just to get a bit more of it. However this child of mine is the one that licks the very last morsel of his food from his plate or bowl - so I guess it should not be a surprise that he would eat the cupcake paper since some of the yummy cake was attached. Can't let anything go to waste!!!

Choo Choo Train

2009-01-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

My husband worked today so I was home with the three kids. I ended up feeding them a snack of cheese, crackers and oranges. At one point my 4 year old says "Mommy, look! I made a choo-choo train!"

I started to scold him for playing with his food but then I looked over and saw his "train". I had to admit I was pretty impressed that he had come up with that all on his own. He is definitely my most creative child, always coming up with things that nobody else would ever think of!

So we took a picture, I told him how creative he was and how that was really good and then I encouraged him to demolish his train and eat it. We did have a picture now anyway!

So here is my son's choo choo train with cracker wheels, a cheese body and oranges for steam. (I guess this was a steam engine!)

Day at the Park

2009-01-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

Prior to the visit to the supermarket today I spent most of the day with all three kids. We picked up a $5 sub at Subway and headed for the park. I've not spent time at the park with the kids for quite some time now. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it and how much it wears out the kids which means better naps!

Here's some pics from our day!

Our Trip to the Supermarket

2009-01-10T21:48:00.000-08:00

Today, my daughter and I had an interesting trip to the local supermarket. We were just picking up a couple of items and so had three bags as we walked out. As we got to the door the woman in front of us stopped in the middle of the open door. I heard her mumbling under her breath and it appeared she had gotten her cart a bit sideways in the door and was now stuck.

As we watched someone came in the other door and she slipped out. I figured she was going to grab the front of her cart to get it unstuck and pull it through. However, once she was out she just started walking briskly away and never looked back. Her cart was still sitting in the middle of the doorway blocking it. By that time there were quite a few of us starting to pile up behind the cart. That is when we noticed that none of her groceries were bagged.

I knew that the supermarkets had carts which would lock up if they were taken out of the parking lot in order to keep people from stealing carts. Apparently they also lock up if you try to leave the grocery store without first passing through a checkout counter.

So, it was a bit of a weird trip today to the store, but it brought up some interesting conversation between my daughter and I today regarding the subject of stealing. And it is probably more excitement than we've had around here for awhile. Sad I know, but true!

Lying & Punishment

2009-01-06T21:09:00.001-08:00

Tonight I came home from work to find out my daughter had lied to my husband. Now, don't get me wrong, she is no angel and she has her faults, but lying is not usually one of them. She tends to feel really guilty and gives herself away pretty easily at even the smallest white lies.

Today, part of her schoolwork was to do her Typing Tutor. When my hubby got out of the shower she told him that she had done it while he was in there. He believed her but said he was going to look and see how well she had done. Apparently she did not realize we could check on her in this way and asked if he could really see that and he said yes. Even after that though she sat down right next to him and did not say a word as he checked the program and found out that she had not been on it at all!

When I came home tonight I was upset that she had lied, but even more upset that she had done so when it is so out of character for her. I asked my hubby if he had decided on a punishment yet and he said no. I think he was even more upset than me.

One thing I often worry about is how well I'm raising my kids. I want to keep certain things from them and avoid exposure to certain things. But at the same time I want them to not be so sheltered that it is a culture shock when they see what the "real" world is like. So while I do try to keep my kids from certain things I also try to explain to them why I want them to avoid those things that may be considered "okay" to the rest of the world. Now I was worried about some of the influences on my daughter since it seems she had flipped so fast.

I thought about it awhile and decided on a punishment for her. I sat down to speak with her about it. She admitted that she had lied and did seem really upset about it and sorry. She apologized to her dad. When I said something about punishments though, she looked at me and said, "I've already grounded myself Mom."

That stopped me short. So I asked her what the punishment was, thinking it was probably something like "no dessert tonight" or something else that was not very severe. But her answer surprised me. Her punishment was even harsher (but not too harsh) than what I had in mind. So I decided to let her punishment stand.

So while I am a bit dismayed and concerned at the ease of her lying today which is so out of character for her - I'm happy that she realized the seriousness of her actions and decided to handle things on her own. The rest of the evening was quite pleasant after that exchange and we actually got through quite a bit of her history and reading and we both had an enjoyable time!

My Birthday

2008-12-31T21:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my 34th birthday and it was wonderful. My kids most of all made the day amazing.

The day started off with me getting ready for work. My hubby and the kids were staying home for the day so I got up quietly and got ready to go. I was actually almost out the door without anyone waking up when my 4 year old came stumbling out of his room. He asked me where I was going and I told him I was heading to work. At this he started sobbing, "But its your BIRTHDAY, Mommy!!!" My hubby spoke up at that moment though and asked him if he wanted breakfast. Immediately the tears dried up, a smile lit his face and I was forgotten. He is only 4 and his stomach already rules that boy!

Work was pretty quiet as I had expected. I did not mind being there though as I'm working on documenting processes for the new hire that is starting next Monday so I can move on to a new and better position myself. At lunch I had two co-workers "kidnap" me and take me to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and then to a movie.

After this I went home and was greeted by my little angels. My youngest who usually greets me with a loud "Mommmmmyyyyy, Mommmyyyy!" and a hug, saw me come in through the garage. He immediately ran away from me yelling "Mommmyyyyy!" while pointing behind him. Obviously my 2 1/2 year old was the "lookout".

Then my 4 year old jumped out and yelled "Surprise!!!"

They had gone out during the day and picked out frosting, cake mix and ice cream. My daughter then made me her very first cake. My hubby said all he did was get out the ingredients and measuring cups for her. She did the rest. Then each of them signed their names in frosting on the cake. Even my youngest (if you look really hard you can make out the yellow frosting squiggles in the middle of the cake).

They had 34 candles on it so the first ones had melted quite a bit and were dripping wax by the time the last were lit. After they sang "Happy Birthday" and more wax had melted onto the cake, I had all three kids help me blow out the candles. It is a good thing there was not a smoke detector right above the kitchen table. It would have gone off for sure!

All in all, it was not a birthday with tons of material gifts, however, it was filled with the best gifts of all. Lots of love and joy. My friends and family made me feel like a Queen for the Day and made it one of the best birthdays I've ever had!

From the Mouth of Babes

2008-12-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

Jesus told us we needed to be as little children to know Him. I find it amazing how my children understand things so much better than I do at times. Today we were in the car and I was angry at someone for how they had been acting towards me. I know I need to let things go, but today I wanted to hang onto that anger. I wanted to wallow in it for a bit.

My four year old son asked me if we could sing. I told him Mommy did not feel like singing but he could if he wanted to. He started singing in his sweet voice a song I recently taught the kids that goes like this:

Be careful little eyes what you see,
Be careful little eyes what you see,
Cause the Father up above
Is looking down with love,
So be careful little eyes what you see.

He then started the following conversation:

A: Mommy, who is the Father up above?
Me: That is God.
A: Good Job Mommy! You are right. And who is his Holy Son?
Me: That would be Jesus.
A: You are right Mommy!! God our Father sent Jesus because He loves us! And they are always watching over us.

Then he began to sing again, and this is when I realized God was using my 4 year old to remind me of how much He loves me and has forgiven me and that He wants me to do the same -

Be careful little heart what you feel,
Be careful little heart what you feel
Cause the Father up above
Is looking down with love,
So be careful little heart what you feel.

The funny part is that I never taught him the heart verse,, he came up with that himself. We had sang verses about eyes, ears, mouths and even our mind - but never about our heart. That is what I needed right then though. I needed a reminder that what I let my heart dwell on, affects me spiritually. I need to stop wallowing in my anger and bitterness and start to let my heart feel God's love and forgiveness.

From the mouth of babes!

Link between Hiccups and Talking?

2008-12-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

My middle child (my eldest son) likes to talk. He talks all the time about whatever he can think to talk about. He even talks when he is sleeping. We've asked him on multiple occasions why he talks so much and his answer is always the same:

"Because I don't want to get the hiccups!"

He says this with a very serious look on his face and very matter of factly, as if this is the most obvious thing in the world. He is convinced that talking will keep the hiccups away and he definitely does not want to get the hiccups!

German Homeschooling family seeks asylum

2008-11-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

I've posted here once before about how homeschooling in Germany is under fire. Parents can be fined, jailed and even have their children taken away for homeschooling, so many do it in secret looking over their shoulders constantly. Recently in the news there has been a story regarding a family that has recently taken asylum in the US.

I'm also adding the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) to my sidebar under Homeschooling resources. I've just started exploring this site and it has some pretty interesting things on it.

Harvest Wreath

2008-11-17T21:08:00.000-08:00

Last week my daughter brought home a note telling us to start collecting items for a fall wreath they were going to be working on in Art class this week. We were told to collect small pine cones, leaves, seed pods and acorns.

I had mentioned a couple times to my daughter over the past week that she needed to start working on these things. She collected two "small" pinecones from a friend's house - small being about the size of my open hand!

I had planned this past weekend to take her to a local park so we could find some pinecones and possibly acorns. Maybe some large leaves as well in fall colors. However, things got busy and I completely forgot until last night on our way home from church. By then it was dark and she needed these things for this morning.

So last night about 8:30 she and I searched the backyard and the front yard with a flashlight. My hubby has one of those heavy duty flashlights - looks like ones the cops carry - long black handle, heavy and bright. I'm sure my neighbors must have wondered what in the world we were doing last night in our front yard with a flashlight pulling leaves and seed pods out of the trees.

But in the end I think the project turned out pretty good. What do you think? It is our fall version of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Maybe we'll go out this weekend and get some more stuff to fill it out a bit. Either way I'll keep it as long as it stays together! I think it will be fun to pull it out each year.

He's Brave

2008-11-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

Scene: Austin getting ready for bed tonight.

"I'm wearing nothing to bed tonight! Only underwear - cause I'm brave! I'm brave like God!"

Hmm, not sure how being brave like God means you should only wear underwear. I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure God does not run around in just underwear!

A Morning in My Life

2008-11-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

So here is how my morning went - in the past I would have been in a horrible mood by the time I got to work - but today I was able to just brush it off with a laugh (my thankful heart blog must be working!) So now I'm going to share it with you in the hopes that it might bring a snicker to someone else and brighten their day!

Normally I take our two boys to daycare in the morning and pick up my daycare's two grandsons and drop them off to school on my way to work. Today however, I needed to be at work by 8am in for a webconference. So my hubby did "kid duty" this morning and I got up early so I could be out the door by 7:30 at the latest. I wanted to hit Starbucks this morning because I had a hankering for a Peppermint White Mocha. I figured that would give me time to get through the drive-thru and then to work and logged in.

I actually got out the door a little before 7:30 and was congratulating myself on being so efficient this morning as I pulled out of the driveway. I was about a mile down the road when I looked over and realized I had grabbed my computer and my books but I had left my purse at home. So I flipped around and headed back home. I called my husband figuring I would have him bring my purse out to me and save a few precious minutes - I would still have time for my coffee!

So I called him (yes, I used a bluetooth) - no answer. I figured I would try again. I've learned this trick with him. Dial once, then dial again and he usually picks up. My daughter answered the phone. I told her what was going on and as I pulled up to the house the garage door opened and out she came with my purse. It was now exactly 7:30 - I was still on schedule!

I made the drive into town (about 7 miles to where I work) and pulled into the drive thru at the Starbucks just down the road from my work. The line was a little long but as I looked at the clock I noted it was 7:42 - the traffic had been light on the highway and I had hit no red lights on the way in. I had plenty of time still.

As I sat there I decided to pull out my debit card now so I would not have to do it later. Good thing I decided to do that because when I opened my wallet there looking back at me was an empty credit card slot. It was then that I remembered having slipped the card into my jeans pocket the day before. My debit card - my sole way of paying for my drink was in my jeans at home in the laundry!

In the meantime, a van had pulled into the drive-thru behind me. I put my car in reverse but she did not see my lights because we were so crammed into the drive thru. I tried to motion to her but my back window is tinted too dark. So I rolled down my window, motioned that I needed to back up and then backed out total embarrasment.

I did make it to work in time and did grab some coffee in the little kitchen at work. Not a peppermint white mocha, but it was caffiene. I am thankful that I was not further through the line or that I had not already ordered by the time I realized I did not have my card on me. Can you imagine getting up there and then explaining that you had forgetten your debit card at home! Ugh!! Welcome to a morning in my life! :)

Turning the table on telemarketers

2008-11-10T22:51:00.000-08:00

Daddy - this one is for you!

Our family is pretty much solely a cell phone family now. We do have a home phone line but I could not tell you what the number is and the ringer is never on. I'm not even sure if the phone is actually plugged into the wall. We basically have it because with it our internet service is a couple dollars less each month and we have one of those printer/copier/fax machine things. So it is convenient to have the line for faxes when necessary.

However growing up I remember getting all those telemarketer calls. My dad is a storyteller. Actually his whole family is pretty much a family of storytellers. If you get my dad, my uncle Verlon and my brother together - you are sure to have a sore stomach the next morning from all the laughing.

Dad has been known to turn things around on telemarketers. My mother sells Mary Kay and I remember the story of him trying to sell an unsuspecting telemarketer some Mary Kay products. He's always been extremely supportive of mom!

So, Daddy - this one is for you. Telemarketers call and control the conversation using a script. Now we have a tool to fight back - the CounterScript. I'm thinking I may plug in the phone and turn on the ringer just so I can try this one out! I wonder how long I can keep it up without laughing? I dare you Daddy - give it a try and let me know what happens! ;)

Fun Website

2008-11-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

1962

Look what I just found - it is called Yearbook Yourself, you can upload your picture and then choose different looks from different years. Here are some of mine. . .

1998
1996

1976

1974

1972

1968

1966

1964

Field Trip - State Capital

2008-11-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

California State Capital Building, Sacramento

Today we had our first homeschooling field trip. I took the day off from work and we went to the State Capital in Sacramento. I had never been there. I grew up in Washington State and have been to the capital building in Olympia, but have not been to this one.

It was an awesome mother-daughter day. We learned alot and had a blast doing it!

Our day started off with us stopping by my work. My daughter got to meet a few of my friends including my soon to be new manager (I'm transferring to a new position in January).

Then we headed to the Capital. We signed up for a free tour which took us through the capital building and went over California State history. Since I did not grow up in California I'm not very familiar with its history - so I found this very interesting. I grew up learning about Lewis & Clark, not California Missions.

We then got to go into the balcony above the Assembly. There are 80 members of the assembly. In one of my pictures you can see the board with all the Assemblymen names. When a new bill is introduced they have a green and red button at their desks that they use to vote. The screen on the wall shows their vote. The Assembly members are supposed to be closest to the people which is why the room is all done in green. It represents the earth and shows that they are closer to the people (I think I got that right!) They serve 2 year terms and can serve up to 3 terms.

Assembly Floor - note the list of names on the left side. The fuzzy portrait

at the top is of Abraham Lincoln.

Assembly floor - note all the green,
you can see the desks in this picture but can't

make out the button. We could see them though.

Then we were able to visit the Senate. There are only 40 of them and they vote by roll call. So no board with names or green/red buttons. Not sure of the meaning behind the red color. They serve 4 year terms if I remember correctly. Just like our president.

Senate floor - the columns are red with pink - kind of hard to tell here.

Note no board with names, they vote by roll-call. The portrait here

is of George Washington.

Our tour guide was impressed that Tyler recognized the paintings of Lincoln and Washington and was a bit surprised when she volunteered that Washington was our first president. He was really impressed when she told him that the president served 4 year terms and could only serve 2 terms.

Inside of the dome at the Capital. Makes you dizzy to look up like that - but it is beautiful.

We also got to see portraits of past California governors. I remember knowing in the past that Ronald Regan was governor of California (when I was born in fact!) but I had forgotten about that. When we got to the portrait of Gray Davis (the only governor of CA to be recalled and the governor in office when we moved to CA and Tyler was born) the tour guide asked Tyler about the flowers in the painting (Gray Davis is standing in a field of poppies). I don't think he expected an answer because he was really surprised when Tyler answered that it was the State flower of California. Those state books from the library and the state journal she has been doing is paying off! (And Mom's not biased or proud at all!!!)

Tyler in front of the Capital - technically on the side of the Capital I guess. I was using my phone camera and the lighting was not good to take it in front.

We ended the day with a trip to Starbucks (of course!) and a visit to the library to get some more state books.

We will definitely be going back for the tour again in a couple years when she is older and will get more out of the tour.

Tonight while confirming a few facts I learned today I came across this site for kids which I'll be showing my daughter. It walks them through the law making process in California. They are able to write up a new law themselves and then follow it through the entire process. Pretty cool. Check it out!

Your Idea Becomes a Law

Time for a Laugh

2008-11-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

After all the serious posts regarding recent poltical issues - I figured it was time for a few laughs. My brother sent this to me the other day and I thought it would do the trick!

New Blog - Thankful Heart

2008-11-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

I've started a new blog which I've added to my sidebar - below is my opening post, please consider joining me as I begin this new journey . . .

Thankful Heart

At the time that I'm starting this blog, I am part of an unequally yoked marriage. In the past I have used this as an excuse for playing the part of the "poor me" wife with a husband who does not understand me or love me the way that he should. I was wrong!

I had expectations for my poor husband that could not even have been lived up to by a man fully committed to following Christ, let alone one who does not have a relationship with Christ. I was focused on who my husband was not instead of focusing on all the wonderful things that he is. Even worse, I was putting myself up as a sort of martyr. It never crossed my mind that I might be failing him as much as I believed he was failing me.

This past year has been really rough on our marriage, but through all of this the Lord has started to show me what love is really all about. He has begun to instill deep within my heart true unconditional love. Along with that He has shown me some pretty ugly things about myself. I'm realizing that while I may have some very good reasons to be offended by my husband and his behavior at times, insisting on standing by these "rights" of mine will only lead to the destruction of my marriage.

For one, I'm not really any better and in some cases I'm worse. I've given my dear husband many reasons to be offended by me. And my hateful attitude towards him because of his behavior (regardless of how much I may be deserving to be upset) will not draw him closer to me or to the Lord.

My prayer in starting this blog is to begin to nuture a thankful heart within myself. I want to be a beautiful "young" bride for my husband who makes him feel respected, admired and loved unconditionally. I want to be lovely in his eyes again. I'm realizing by doing this not only will I win my husband's devotion and love, but I will be honoring the Lord as well.

It seems like everything I have been led to this year has pointed to one thing only, everything is about Love and Relationships -that is all that matters in the end. If we can figure this out, everything else will fall into place. So this blog is my journey to begin to live this out in my life and in my marriage.

In the News - Kids & Porn

2008-10-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

As I get older and I've had children of my own, one thing that concerns me more and more each year is the whole "sex sells" attitude that it seems you just can't escape any longer. Sometimes I feel in order to keep my children's innocence I need to lock them up with no television, radio or computer access.

I'm not going to this extreme, but I am seriously concerned not only about how prevalent this attitude is in our culture, but also how so many don't seem to give it even a second thought. The lack of concern regarding this by many parents concerns me just as much as the attitude itself.

Here is an article that you might find interesting, I think I might just be checking out the book as well...

The Pornification of a Generation

The idea for a book about porn culture came to the day his daughter decided she absolutely had to have a Bratz-doll pony. For months, the 5-year-old had begged him for a Bratz doll—clad in spike heels, fishnets and miniskirt, enormous puppy-dog eyes protruding from her oversized head. Her sexy look seemed a little too sexy for a preschooler, so he and his wife bought her a different doll, which she was happy with. Except that a few months later, Bratz came out with Bratz Babyz. "If Bratz had looked like Barbie hookers, these looked like baby hookers," Scott says. Again, he convinced his daughter that My Little Pony was just as cool—and for a moment, the conversation ended. Until, of course, the Bratz came out with Bratz Ponyz. And then, says Scott, an English professor at a small college in Georgia, "I realized porn culture and I were in a death match for my daughter's soul."

In a market that sells high heels for babies and thongs for tweens, it doesn't take a genius to see that sex, if not porn, has invaded our lives. Whether we welcome it or not, television brings it into our living rooms and the Web brings it into our bedrooms. Read more

My Daughter the Activist

2008-10-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

It started out as me informing my 7 year old daughter about the issues in the upcoming elections so she could pray for this nation and the elections during her Friday "Prayer for the Nations" class. Now I've created a monster (a good one though!)

I've posted here already regarding my discussions with her about these issues (focus has been on Prop8 and abortion). Since then I've had more than one adult approach me and tell me how amazed they are in how mature my daughter is in regards to her discussion about the issues. They said that my daughter who is normally a bit shy is very confident and mature and speaks the facts very clearly. They've told me that she has had discussion with other children and with adults and handled herself in a way that is more mature than most adults! That warms my heart so much and I just have to praise God that He has imparted this wisdom to her. I know it is Him as there is no way I could have given her that type of understanding on my own. In many ways she is taking a more firm stand for the Lord and His Ways than I am.

When I first explained to her about California law allowing for same sex marriages and what Prop8 was about she immediately told me that God had not created marriage to be anything but between a man and a woman. It was so clear to her and she could not understand how others did not see this. She immediately told my husband and I that she wanted to put a sign in our front yard, make signs to put up all over the neighborhood AND she wanted to go door to door to tell people about Prop8 and God's plan for marriage. Then she added that we also need to tell people though that we still need to love those who may not be obeying God, just like Mommy & Daddy still love us when we do bad. I was amazed.

Then last night I came home and noticed what you see in the picture above. Apparently she got her hands on this sign from the church where the homeschool co-op meets on Fridays. My husband told her that she could put it up if she wanted. He said as soon as they got home she took the sign and put it up. And she did not put it up next to the house where it would be "safe" from the vandals that have been stealing and destroying signs lately. No - she put it right up front where anyone driving by will be able to clearly see it.

I truly believe the Lord sent this precious angel to me as an encouragment and an example of how I should be standing for His Truths!

Prop 8 and Education

2008-10-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

Opponents of Prop 8 will tell you that the Supporters of Prop 8 are lying about the effect on education if this is not passed.

Many sites (including mine) have pointed out what has happened in Massachusetts where parents are being told they not only can't opt-out their children from homosexual and same sex marriage discussions/indoctrination, but that they have no right to have a say in what their children are taught. Opponents will tell you that California will not be like that because we have a right to opt-out in this state, supposedly Massachusetts did not have this.

So - how do you know who is telling the truth? You don't have to look far because what the Opponents of Prop8 say will not happen here, has in fact already begun.

Class Surprises Lesbian Teacher on Her Wedding Day
A class of 1st graders went on a field trip to their lesbian teacher's wedding. Now from what I've read, in this case the children were required to get permission slips, however in order to justify the field trip as being academically related it was deemed as a "teachable event".

"It really is what we call a teachable moment," Jaroflow said, noting the historic significance of same-sex marriage and related civil rights issues. "I think I'm well within the parameters."

So much for those who say homosexual lifestyles are not discussed in the school, especially at such a young age (opponents of Prop8 claim this as well as many blog commenters who insist on calling those of us who support Prop8 liars!)

However, even more disturbing is the following story:

School Holds Surprise Gay Day for Kindergartners
A "Coming Out Day" was held today at this school in California (not far from Sacramento). Other events include celebrating Gay and Lesbian History Month and observing "Ally Week" which usually targts high school students.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the school did not see the need to inform any of the parents of these events. They have confirmed the events are taking place, but they are not listed on the public calendar! How are parents supposed to "opt-out" as we keep being told we have the right to do in California if we are not being informed of what our children are being taught! Click on the link above and read the full article yourself!

Regardless of how you feel about same-sex marriage, this country has a freedom of religion right. As parents we have a right (and a God-given duty) to teach our children morals.

Even if for some reason you don't believe that I have a right to teach my children morals - it can not be denied that the claims of the Prop8 opponents that this will not affect our children's education are lies. It is already affecting our children's education and being pushed down our throats. In the words of San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom - "The door's wide open. It's going to happen whether you like it or not!" - Well Gavin, not if I can help it!

Obama and Abortion

2008-10-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I learned about a group called Bound4Life. They are a grassroots movement to save millions of baby's lives in America. They plan to do this through prayer and what is called Silent Sieges. I made the promise at that time to not vote for any candidate who is not Pro-Life.

I am finding it disturbing and saddening to hear that there are others who call themselves pro-life (and Christian in some cases) who are believing the claims that Obama is not a threat to the ProLife movement, and in some cases believing that he is actually good for the cause.

Others will tell you that abortion is really not that big of an issue in the election as the President does not really affect things like abortion laws. This is very wrong. The president may not interpret the laws but he does sign them or veto them. More importantly he appoints judges who do interpret the laws.

Regardless of where you stand please read this post - Abortion Reduction by The Freedom of Choice Act?

I had many concerns before regarding what will happen to this country if Obama became president, for more reasons than just abortion. This just increases these concerns more.

I pray the Lord will open eyes and hearts between now and November 4th to the Truth about abortion and the truth about what is in store for this country and thousands of innocent lives if we don't open our eyes to the Truth of abortion and take a stand (and more importantly if we don't repent and ask for mercy).

“Jesus, I plead your Blood over my sins and the sins of my nation.

God, end abortion and send revival to America.”

I've explained to my daughter what abortion is (not in graphic details, of course) and recently she watched video from when Saddleback Church interviewed both candidates. One of the questions asked was when a child's rights begin. The video of Obama was approx. 5 minutes long. He never actually answered the question, he did a lot of dancing around it. McCain came right out and said "at conception".

After the videos both played I asked my daughter what she thought (I had not told her anything yet as to where either of them stood on the issue) - even a 7 yr old could watch these videos and easily determine that Obama is not Pro-Life.

If you ask her right now what she thinks of the presidential candidates she will tell you "Obama is for killing babies in their mommy's tummies, McCain is not."

Explaining Prop 8 to your kids

2008-10-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I had mentioned that I've been talking to my daughter (she's 7 yrs old) about the upcoming elections. I was surprised at how interested she is in what is going on and how eager she is to be part of it and pray for the upcoming elections.

I prayed before I spoke to her because I wanted to explain the issue to her adequately but at a level that she would be able to understand. This is the same way I had approached the issue of abortion with her when she asked me one day why I wore a red Life bracelet.

I simply explained to her that some people believed it was okay for a boy to like a boy and a girl to like a girl the same way that Mommy and Daddy like each other, and that those people have tried to make it legal in our state for a boy to marry a boy or a girl to marry a girl. I explained that we had voted a few years ago and the state had decided that was not right but there were some judges that did not agree and had made it legal. I then explained that the State had a constitution just like the US did and that Prop8 was being voted on to add wording to our constitution that would say that marriage is only recognized between a man and a woman.

When I explained how marriage right now is legal between a girl and a girl or a boy and a boy, I was suprised to see the look on her face. It was a mixture of disgust and confusion. She looked at me and said,

"But Mommy, I don't think God would like that. He made Eve for Adam, he wants weddings to be for a boy and a girl. That is how He made it!"

It warmed my heart that she recognized that the highest authority in all of this is the Lord.

We then went on to talk about how how babies are made (at a very high level) because she asked if two boys or two girls could make a baby. This also got us on the topic of having babies when you are not married.

In the end we talked about how we all sin and even those who sin in these ways are still people that God loves dearly. We compared it to when she does something wrong. Mommy & Daddy don't like what she has done but we still love her. It is the same way with grown ups and God. We all sin and God hates that, but He loves us still. So even though we need to stand up for what is right and what is God's Truth, we still need to love the people who are doing those things. We would want the same thing if it was us doing the wrong thing.

Part of this conversation started because my daughter had noticed the Yes on Prop8 signs that are popping up in the lawns of our neighbors. After our discussion, she told me that we needed to let everyone know about this issue and we needed to get a sign for our yard. And then she said she wanted to make signs and put them up all over the neighborhood and knock on people's doors and let them know about this.

I encourage everyone once again to talk to their children. You may be surprised how much they understand and how excited they are to be included. Especially if this proposition does not pass. Just look at Massachusetts and you'll see where this state will be headed if this Proposition does not pass. No matter what they are saying now, we will end up on the same path. Same-sex marriage being taught in schools at a very young age without the parents being allowed to object. Being told what morals we must teach our children. Read this article if you don't believe that is where we are headed - Proposition 8 - Who's Really Lying?

A good friend of mine just told me a few months ago about a friend of hers who called her in a near panic. Her young daughter (just about my daughter's age) had come home and told her Mom that she was a lesbian. When her mom asked her why she thought that she replied that it was because she liked girls better than boys and some people who had come to talk to them told her it meant she was a lesbian (this was at a diversity day event). Of course a girl at that age likes girls better than boys, at that age boys have cooties! If we don't talk to our children, others will (even if Prop8 passes they will still hear about homosexuality). I for one want my children's morals to be shaped by me in line with God's Word, not by what is considered to be P.C. in this world of ours right now.

Homeschooling Update

2008-10-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

We are about halfway through the fall semester now and we are both still LOVING the homeschooling. We have a field trip planned for next month to the Capital Building in Sacramento. I know my daughter won't get as much out of the tour as she will in a few years, but she is very excited and will still get plenty out of the trip.

I received a note from her Math teacher last week from the co-op talking about how wonderful she is doing and then yesterday they gave out awards and Tyler received an Outstanding Student award for Math. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her. The teacher had mentioned about how she was very focused and quiet in class (my daughter!?). She said even so she had no problem speaking up in class and described her as having a "quiet strength". It is so wonderful to hear that from others about your daughter.

We are loving Science and have started getting more into History as well. Those are not covered at the co-op. We are making weekly trips to the library now. We've found some wonderful little state books. She picks out 2 or 3 each week, reads them and then journals about what she has learned about that State. We also have a map of the US on her bedroom wall where she is putting a sticker up for each state she learns about.

Another thing that excited me yesterday was to find out that in their Friday co-op class "Praying for the Nations" they will be concentrating on praying for the US and the upcoming elections beginning tomorrow and will continue to do so until after the elections. On my other blog one thing that has been very important to me and on my heart has been praying for our nation, leaders and the upcoming elections. I'm so excited that the kids will now be praying for this as well. I truly believe that the Lord listens even more intently to their prayers.

Her teacher has asked that as parents we discuss the election issues with our children. I've discussed abortion with her briefly in the past but we will be discussing that along with other items such as Prop 8 in the next weeks.

Regardless of the age of your children and whether or not you homeschool I think discussing the issues is a wonderful thing to do and then having them pray for our nation. Our nation definitely needs to be interceded for right now!

Breaking His Heart

2008-10-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

This morning as I walked into the kitchen to make myself some coffee, I noted the boys already at the table eating breakfast. Shaun had gotten them breakfast and in the process I had heard him get after Austin for not listening. This has been a big thing lately with Austin that we’ve been working on him regarding.

As I walked in the kitchen they both looked up at me and said “Good morning, mommy!” (Jesse’s is a bit more of a series of grunts that are vaguely recognizable with some hand waving involved.)

Then Austin’s big smile disappears off his face and he gives me the sad puppy dog look.

Austin: “Mommy, I’m soooo sad today.”

Me: “Oh, why is that? Because you got in trouble with Daddy for not listening?”

Austin: “Yes, he broke my heart, Mommy.”

Me: “Oh, really?”
(as I turn my back to him so he does not see my smile, he is definitely going to end up on a stage someday as an actor or a comedian!)

Austin: (big sigh) “Yes, he broke my heart.” (Big pause then another big sigh) “And he broke all my other shapes too. My circle, my square. . .”

Me: “Really?” (that is all I could manage at this point)

Austin: “Yes! And he hurt my feelings too!”

What do you say to that. I just kept my back turned until I could look at him without laughing. Then I had to go tell Shaun that he had broken his son's heart and all his other shapes too. Then I laughed again at the confused look on Shaun's face. All in all it's been an amusing morning!

Spitting Incident

2008-10-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

Last night I was relaxing when my 4 year old son came in and said something to me. He was obviously excited because as he said it he spit on himself. I mentioned something to him about his spitting on himself, to which he smiled and spit in my face.

Now, he is a challenging child at times. His goal in life is to make people laugh, even if that means he gets into trouble. He is only 4 years old so many times his idea of what may be funny can be questionable. This was obviously one of those times. It was obvious he was not being defiant, he just had it in his head that it was funny.

I proceeded to slap his mouth. Not hard, but enough to get his attention. While I do agree with spanking when needed, I usually don't agree with slapping a child on the face, but in some cases (biting, spitting, cursing) a light but firm "tap" on the lips gets their attention faster than anything else can. Especially with a child who believes something is funny. This got his attention and he realized that mommy was not fooling around.

After I had his attention I explained to him that spitting in someone's face was not funny. In fact it is rude and disrespectful. When I punish my children for something I've learned to talk to them immediately after to make sure they understand why they are in trouble. Then I have them apologize to whomever was affected and we all confirm we love one another - usually with kisses and hugs.

After I spoke to him about why he got into trouble, it was time for the apology. Obviously though the way I asked it this time, confused him a bit.

"Ok, so what do you say now?"

A little bit of a confused look passed over his face, then he smiled and says in a cheerful voice, "Thank you, Mommy!"

I started laughing, I could not help myself. I usually tell him to say he is sorry. He is obviously used to the above question being asked in different circumstances. He was a bit confused but eager to please! As I am trying to stop laughing he, smiles at me then his face scrunches up in a bit more confusion. A bit more tentatively this time he says, "Your welcome?"

"No, honey. Mommy means what do you say when you've done something you should not do?"

He is a bit dramatic at times so this time he really scrunches up his face, rolls his eyes up and put his finger to the side of his mouth. Obviously really putting some thought into this one. Then he looks back at me with a huge smile, that dipple of his coming to life.

"I know Mommy! I'm sorry!!!" With that he put his arms around me, gave me a big huge kiss on the cheek and ran off very pleased with himself.

I was left sitting there smiling to myself thinking about how much I love that little boy!

Nuttin But Stringz

2008-10-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Did any of you watch America's Got Talent this season? I did not really watch the series, but I did catch part of one show. In it, there was a brother group called Nuttin But Stringz which I really enjoyed. They have been playing the violin since they were 10 and mix it with hip-hop, rap and rock.

One of their songs Thunder my husband told me he had seen on TV. So I looked them up on YouTube. I found two videos for this song. One is definitely a more "adult" version, but the version below is the one I believe my husband has seen before. From the notes on YouTube I think it is on Noggin.

I really like their sound though and thought I would share this "kid" version of their song Thunder. Enjoy!

Breast Milk Ice Cream

2008-09-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a very interesting article I came across this morning. Apparently PETA has written a letter to Ben & Jerry's asking them to consider using breast milk instead of cow's milk to make their ice cream. They claim cow's milk is hazardous and it is cruel to milk cows.

Here is the link to the article - Mama's milk ice cream, anyone?

I admit, my first reaction was "EW!" But at the same time I did breast feed each of my three children for a short period and I know it has some very good qualities to it. However, it is just weird!

To be honest there are a couple groups that I tend to automatically discount any ideas that come from them. PETA being one of those groups (Planned Parenthood is another). Not that I have anything against treating animals humanely, but I do have some major issues with how extreme PETA is.

I'm also curious what this would mean for us. In the end wouldn't this create the same issue PETA is claiming for the cows, but with humans? My imagination is running wild with the implications of this for the women who are trying to produce the milk for the ice cream and the consequences that may follow in order to produce the necessary quanitities.

So, here is my question - what do you think of this? I'd be curious to hear the opinions of others regarding breast milk ice cream.

First Real Day of Homeschooling

2008-09-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

My daughter is part of a homeschool co-op Monday, Wednesday and Friday - but Tuesday/Thursday the co-op does not meet so she normally goes to work with her father because we both work full-time. We are determined that homeschooling and this co-op is what is best for her and are determined to make it work.

I put together a lesson plan and homework for her to do the night before and go over it with her and then she basically does an independent study those two days. My husband is there to help her with any questions but it is not the typical parent sitting with her the entire day. Each night I go over with her what she had done for the day (even the co-op days). I was a little worried at first about doing things this way since she is doing school basically all throughout the day, but she really loves it.

I've really enjoyed this as well. It is definitely more work than in previous years when she attended private school, especially since some subjects I do all the teaching as they are not part of the co-op (for example Science).

To be honest in previous years going through her homework each night and doing projects were often more of a pain/obligation than something we enjoyed doing together (myself or my daughter.) However, this year it is all so different. The extra work and stress is far outweighed by the enjoyment I am getting out of sitting with my daughter and teaching her. It is a joy in my life now!

Yesterday was the first day I've had off since school started for which she was not in the co-op. So when my husband got up and took the boys to preschool/daycare I got up and started doing our first full day of school. We got through quite a bit but more importantly we had a blast! We met with our Supervising Teacher from the public charter school she is enrolled through around lunchtime. I had put together a pretty aggressive schedule for the day and we were doing great by the time we had our meeting so we stopped by Starbucks on the way home as a treat. It was the best day I've had in a long time.

I never imagined how much homeschooling would bring me joy and bring me closer to my daughter. If I could quit my job and stay home full-time and homeschool, I think I really would enjoy it. In the past I always thought being a stay-at-home mom would drive me crazy - but now I think it would actually be an amazing blessing!

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-09-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today is my mother's birthday - so Happy Birthday Mom! from all of us down here in NCal. We are all sorry we can't be up there to give you hugs and kisses so I'm sending them to you virtually.

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking
Author Unknown

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer,
and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I felt you kiss me goodnight,
and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked. . .
and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn't looking.

Happy Birthday Mom - We all Love you!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

2008-09-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today my middle precious baby is turning 4! I've realized that I've been thinking of him as 4 for quite awhile now. Maybe it is because of how much he talks and some of the stuff he comes up with. I would not be surprised if he ends up on a stage entertaining people some day. His goal in life is to make others laugh.

Everytime I said "Happy Birthday" to him today he would respond with "Happy Birthday!!". He had been so excited for this day to come. Shaun has been marking off the days on the calendar since the beginning of the month. He's told me many times today that he has had a "very wonderful and fun birthday!"

I took him to get his very first Webkinz today because his sister has quite a few and he wanted one of his own. He picked out a snake which he decided to name "Snake". We got online today and adopted his Snake and his sister sent him a Webkinz mail already with a package for his birthday. He loved that!

One the way to church tonight he took his sister's little bible that she received when she was dedicated. He wanted to read to us so he opened it to the front and started "reading":

"First God made the world, and he made all the animals, and he made the plants grow. Then he put a rock over there and then he made the dirt and some streams. He put the sky up there and made the grass grow. He made everything and then he made ME! Happy Birthday!!!"

So Happy Birthday my dear boy. You have definitely brightened our life!

Tyler's Bible Reading

2008-09-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

Part of Tyler's language arts homeschooling each week is to read a story each day in the Beginner's Bible as well as reading a few chapters in the Bible with me each week. This week we read Genesis 1-3 and discussed them.

We talked about how God made the earth and about how when Adam and Eve disobeyed God they tried to point the finger at someone else. We talked about how no matter what other do to us, we are responsible for our actions.

You'll notice on my sidebar that I now have a Bible Share tracker for not only myself, but also for Tyler. We decided we were going to start tracking her Bible reading as well online so she has a visual of how much she has read during the year. Come back and see how we are doing!

First Day of School

2008-08-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my daughter's first day of 2nd grade. If you have been following my blogs you'll know that we took her out of the private Christian school she has been attending the last two years and we've enrolled her in a local public charter school which supports homeschooling parents. In addition, we have become part of a homeschool co-op, so three days a week she goes to the co-op which is taught by parents and two days a week she is doing more independent study (she goes to work with my hubby and does her work in the office).

The charter school officially started last week while I was on vacation visiting my family with the kids. We had some items for her to work on while we were there. The co-op though started yesterday. I was a bit worried because although she was excited about the co-op and being homeschooled she was also at times almost in tears because she had loved the private school she attended in prevous years. She had alot of friends there as well.

I called my husband yesterday after he dropped her off, wondering how it went. He said that she jumped out of the car and did not even stop to tell him goodbye. Then on her way home yesterday I talked to her on the phone. I asked her how her day was and she was so happy and excited!

Me: So, how was your first day at school?

T: It was fun! I don't ever want to go back to A (private school) and I don't ever want to go to public school. Homeschool is soooo much fun!!!

She even told me that she did not have any homework, but when I came home I realized she did have a packet of math work to finish before her next co-op day (Wednesday). She loved it so much that she did not even consider the packet of papers homework. She did some of it last night and then finished it today while she was at work with my hubby. And she started a typing program on the computer that we purchased for her along with some writing, reading and Science that I had arranged for her to work on today. She loves all of that as well.

I love to have things all planned out and this whole homeschool thing is very new to me. On top of that the co-op is just starting this year and we are still figuring out all the logistics. This is very stressful for me given I'm an accountant and like to have things planned out ahead of time. I can handle things not happening the way I planned, but I want at least a preliminary plan. These loose ends are driving me nuts.

But at the same time I am loving this and am so excited to be more active in what she is learning this year. This is going to be tough and different, it will definitely stretch us all. But I am so excited for this new journey and I'm so thankful that my daughter is enjoying it as well.

Bad Mom Moment?

2008-07-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

This summer my husband it working away from the home for a few hours each day of the week. He usually does the drop off and pickup for the kids. We have two daycares set up for the summer. One is a lovely Christian woman who has been watching my children since my daughter was only a few weeks old and does preschool with my boys. The other is a friend (another Christian) who my dear husband is working on her vehicles as a trade for babysitting.

Last week, my husband called me at work and asked if I could pick up the kids because he wanted to be able to stay at work a bit longer. I have the option of taking my laptop home at night and working from home, so this worked fine for me. I left work early and headed to the one daycare to pick up my children.

As I walked in the door and sat on the couch, this was our conversation.

C: Are you here visiting?

Me: My kids aren't here?
(At this point I wonder if my husband went ahead and left work and picked up the kids and did not bother to call me and let me know)

C: No, it is Wednesday. I don't watch the kids on Wednesdays. When I saw you come in I figured you either were coming to visit or you did not know where your kids were.
(she says this with a smile - she is obviously finding this humorous!)

Me: Oh my gosh! It's the later, I'm at the wrong house - I forgot where my kids were. Well, hello and goodbye! Nice to visit with you again!

Luckily, the two houses are only about 2 blocks from one another so I was still able to arrive by the time I needed to be there. That sure felt like a Bad Mom Moment though!

Austin's Prayer

2008-07-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

My eldest son, Austin has nightmares and wakes up crying quite often. I've gotten into the habit of praying with him each night and asking the Lord to watch over him each night and to protect his mind. Tonight as I was praying Austin wanted to pray as well.

It was very cute and adorable, but what really hit me was how sincere he was and how very trusting he was. He had no doubt that God was going to answer his prayers. We just spoke of this at church last night. I need to find that faith again, the faith of a child. They never question that we will take care of them or that God will take care of them.

Austin's Prayer:

"Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for everything.
Thank you letting us go everywhere like the store, and Cheri's and Krysta's.
Please watch over my blanket tonight and keep the bad dreams out of my blanket's head.
Amen!"

(I had already prayed for him and his dreams so he did not think it was necessary to go over that ground again. However, he had told me that his blanket has bad dreams too and that he wanted to pray for his blanket like I pray for him)

Homeschooling Resources

2008-07-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it much on my blog or not, but as of this fall we will be homeschooling our daughter. For the past two years (Kindergarten and 1st grade) she has attended a local Christian private school (this was my hubby's idea originally!).

We can no longer afford to have her attend this, especially considering in just another couple years the boys will be attending school as well.

Neither of us are thrilled about having our daughter attend public school, so it was in my opinion God's divine timing that a group of homeschooling parents in the area have decided to start a co-op. We are enrolling our daughter in a local public charter school which helps people homeschool their children. And as it is a public school, the curriculum is covered by public funding so our costs will be minimal compared to what we were dishing out for private school. Even better is they assign you a teaching assistant to help you put your homeschooling plan and assignments together. One of these teaching assistants is actually someone I do church with AND is taking the lead for this co-op that is starting. This truly is a blessing b/c other than this couple and my aunt and uncle who homeschool, I know NOTHING about homeschooling. But the more I learn the more excited I am. My hubby was a bit doubtful at first but has agreed to give this a try for at least a semester. I mean how bad can we mess her up in just one semester! :) However, I think he is coming around more and more to the idea every day.

So three days a week our daughter will be part of this co-op and they have asked me to be the "Treasurer" since they need one and that fits into my schedule better than actually teaching a class does (and I'm scared to death to try to teach these kids!). Two of the days are normal classes such as science, reading, math, etc and will be taught all by the parents. The curriculum for those days will be paid with the public funds from the charter school. Fridays are PE and bible study classes as well as some time spent in the weekly house of prayer. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she will be at home (we are still trying to work out the logistic of this, she may be going into the shop with my hubby) doing the homework she was assigned the other days of the week. We are also looking into other things we can set up for her those days through the charter school. For example, I think I'm going to try to purchase the Rosetta Stone Spanish program. They were teaching her Spanish in the private school and we would like her to continue with that.

So - this whole long post is to say that you may notice a new section in my sidebar. As I come across sites/resources regarding homeschooling that I find helpful I will be adding them to my blog. If you homeschool and have sites you recommend please let me know. So far I have come across one awesome site that is dedicated to homeschooling co-ops that I am already finding useful.

Homeschool CPA

I look over all these things and am so excited for my daughter (she is excited too!). I wish I had this opportunity growing up myself.

Land of Elyon Review

2008-06-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a Trilogy of books written for young adults by Patrick Carmen about a place called the Land of Elyon. Now I know that Elyon is one of the names of God, so I did some research on the author to see if he was considered a Christian author. I was curious as to whether these would be good books for me to read to my children and/or for them to read as they get older.

Based on what I could find about the author, I was not able to confirm that he is considered a Christian youg adult ficition writer or that he had/has any intention of tying God into these books. However, not long after I heard about them a neighbor was giving away some books and I noticed the first one in the series, so I grabbed it.

Book one is called - The Dark Hills Divide. I'm not going to give much away except to say that these books are worth taking a look at, and I would consider them along the lines of the Narnia series. Fantasy fiction. I decided they have some parts that might be a bit dark for my 7 year old daughter but I would be willing to read them to her and have her read them as she gets older. They would definitely be good conversation starters for us and Patrick Carmen is a very talented writer.

Whether he intends these to be books to teach our children about God or not, there are definitely underlying themes that as a parent you can use to talk to your children about the truths of God. The author definitely has some kind of religious Christian background and has drawn on that for these books.

After I read the first book I borrowed the next two from the library (Beyond the Valley of Thorns and The Tenth City). These had even more underlying themes that encouraged me. While looking for a picture to include with this post I noticed two more books regarding the Land of Elyon which Mr Carman has now written. One tells the tale of two of the characters in the other books, it is basically a prequel. The other is futher adventures of Alexa, the main character in the books.

So if you are looking for some good books that would be a quick read for you and/or a good read for your children, I recommend taking a look at these books.

Austin the Talker

2008-06-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

My middle child, Austin, talks alot. In fact, this past year each week my daughter had to write sentences using the current week's spelling words. Almost every week she would bring home her assignment and at least one sentence somehow incorporated how much Austin talks. A typical conversation with him sometimes goes like this. . .

Me: "Austin, can you please be quiet for a little bit for Mommy."

Austin: "Yes mommy. I can be quiet"

Less than 15 seconds later. . .

Austin: "Mommmeeee, I'm being quiet!"

Me: "Austin, you are talking right now. To be quiet you need to not talk."

Austin: "I know mommy. I can be quiet" (Now he begins his idea of a whisper which is only slightly quieter) "Mommy, see I can be quiet. I'm being quiet right now mommy! Aren't I being good and quiet mommy. I told you I could be quiet."

So you get the picture.

Tonight Austin wanted to me to read to him. We had read a couple Dr. Seuss books and I asked Tyler if she could bring me another book to read to Austin. She walks in with another book and very matter of factly says. . .

"Mom, here is one that Austin can learn something from." as she hands me the book. I look at the title, it is "Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now!"

Jesse - Speech Therapy?

2008-05-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

My youngest, Jesse turned two the beginning of this month. He is still not really talking. He has a few words that he says (Mamma, Dadda, uh oh) regularly and a few that he uses less frequently (Tyler, milk, more). In total he has maybe a dozen words that he says, some more clear than others.

The doctor said not to worry too much at this point. My other two talked much earlier, but so far Jesse has done everything slower than them (they walked at 10 1/2 and 11 months, he waited until 15 months). It may just be that he does not have a need to speak. Anything he wants the other two pretty much do or get for him. All he has to do is point and grunt. He does talk all day long, but it is not English. At least nothing we can understand. It is pretty much just "lalalala" with different tones. Sounds like he is talking and very serious at times, but we just have no idea what he is saying. It is clear that he understands us though.

Come to find out Shaun had to go for speach therapy when he was younger as well. Jesse is basically a minature Shaun personality wise. So it very well may come to that.

The doctor gave us a referral and told us to go ahead and make an appt so they could evaluate him, but for now he said not to worry too much.

So that is what I'm trying to do, not worry too much. In some ways it is a bit of a relief. Austin never stops talking, so he is basically doing enough for both of them!

The Latest in my Life

2008-05-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was a bit eventful. Shaun is on crutches right now as he had knee surgery a couple weeks ago. It was totally unplanned. An injury that happened about 10 years ago that keeps popping back up and he has just been putting a brace on his knee for a couple days each time until it gets better. However, this last time things were so bad that he could not straighten his leg to even get the brace on. So he ended up visiting the emergency room which led to an "emergency" knee surgery.

So now he has been "repaired" but is off his feet and on crutches for 2 months. Should be lots of fun considering he stays home with our boys (3 1/2 and 2 years) and year end is coming up for me at work (meaning lots of overtime and some weekend hours)!

So last night he stayed home with all three kids while I attended a meeting about a homeschooling co-op that is starting up here that I am feeling a leading from the Lord to be a part of. That is a whole other post though (which I will be posting about on my other blog - Ang4him - in the near future).

I got home last night about 8:30 to find out my boys had both been in bed since just after six. Apparently they decided the giant teddy bear in their room had very dry skin and smelled bad. They got their little grubby hands on two bottles of Baby Magic lotion and rubbed him down. I'm not sure about his skin condition, but he definitely smells like a baby's freshly bathed and powdered bottom now. At least I don't have to worry about the awful smell we are sometimes greeted with in the mornings when you first walk in the room.

A little later my oldest boy started crying and complaining that his lips hurt. Upon inspection my husband discovered he had gotten into his sister's fingernail polish. Apparently he mistook it for lip gloss and had light pink, sparkly lips!

It seems the boys understand that daddy is not able to get around quite as well anymore. He said everytime he turns around they are getting into something and making a mess. These next couple months could be a test of our patience for sure. It is one time I really wish we could afford a housekeeper! Or at least full time daycare while Shaun is recovering.

Introduction for MommyFest

2008-05-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

As part of the MommyFest and meeting other moms, I'm adding my name to a Mr Linky on the MommyFest blog party. As part of that, I'm supposed to introduce myself to all the new Mommies coming to meet little ole me! So here goes:

My name is Angela, I go by Ang4him online. I'm a Christian mother who is pursuing God and his purpose for my life to the best of my ability, with TONS of help from Him! I'm trying to raise my three children to also puruse the Lord. I have another blog that is dedicated to my journey with the Lord and what He is teaching me - Ang4him. This blog is more dedicated to my family. Sharing stories of what we are doing and usually what my boys are up to at the moment. It is a good way to keep in touch with my family back home as well.

I have been married to my high school sweetheart for almost 13 years. He is a wonderful man who is very compassionate (although he would never admit to it!) and is an amazing father, not to mention a great husband!

My daughter is almost 7 years old (how fast they grow up!) and my boys are 3 1/2 and 2! My hubby works from home for the most part and stays home with the boys three days a week. He is a automotive mechanic who has turned to working on Harleys. Mostly he just finds old ones, pulls them apart and sells the parts (and keeps a few parts for his Harley, of course!)

I work with a large software company, in their accounting department. For the most part I love what I do but I do wish I could spend more time with my family at home. Although the boys do drive us NUTS at times right now!

I love to read and write. Those are my passions. I would love to write for a living someday, but for now I get my "fix" by blogging and journaling.

I attend a small house church which is made up of about 6 families. We started meeting this way almost 3 years ago and it has definitely been of God. I've grown so much in the Lord in the past 3 years and these people have truly become part of my family.

Those are probably the most important things about me. If you want to get to know me more though, please feel free to explore this blog and my other one. That is probably the best way to get to know me.

God Bless and Happy Blogging!

Ang4him

MommyFest Begins!

2008-05-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Check out the Mommyfest Blog Party that is going on this week! You can meet tons of other online moms and have a chance to win lots of prizes. You can't pass up free stuff!

So here are some links to get started with this huge event (or just click the button above and start looking around!)

An overview of the blog party and how to participate can be found here

Meet other Online Moms here

See the most current events here

Schedule of Events can be found here

Contests can be found here

Free stuff can be found here

And there is tons more - so check it out!!!!

Before I was a Mom

2008-05-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

I've seen this before and absolutely love it. I'm not sure who wrote it, so if you know please tell me so I can give them credit.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mother & all the Moms out there who may be reading this!!!

A Whisper of Grace

2008-05-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

One of the ladies over at 1Peter3Living has started a blog for New Believers called A Whisper of Grace.

I'll let you read her testimony on her site, however I can tell you this site is definitely worth adding to your blogroll regardless of where you are in your walk with the Lord. She is very honest about where she is in her journey and the struggles she has faced. As she has come to know the Lord she has often been overwhelmed because she had no past experience with Christianity (was not raised in a Christian home). The purpose of her blog is to help other new believers find resources which compliment where they are currently in their walk without overwhelming, confusing or discouraging them.

However, even if you consider yourself a more "seasoned" Christian you will find this blog refreshing and relevant. Please take a look and drop Lizzie a note to encourage her. God's fingerprints are all over this blog!

Need another reason to check it out! She's a Mom, of three! Just like me!

Tyler's Catcher Experience

2008-05-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the season Tyler did not want to play catcher. She has trouble moving in all the equipment, she thought the position was boring and she could not see very well through the helmet.

However a recent game has changed all that. She plays t-ball where they are just teaching the basics. Therefore, they only play 2-3 innings and every child gets to bat each inning. Nobody is "out" although they do teach the kids how to get outs.

As the last child on the other team hit his Grand Slam (each child gets one base when they hit the ball, except the last player who gets a Grand Slam and everyone gets to run in.) They got the ball to her right away so she stood in front of the base to tag the runners coming in. In t-ball most of the kids usually run way out of the baseline to avoid the catcher. The last boy coming in was not the norm.

Tyler stood there with the ball in her mit, teeth gritted, waiting to tag the boy. He ran forward, straight at Tyler, determined to get to the base but not going around her. Tyler stood her ground and the boy ran into her and tried to slide. She jumped over the top of him and reached down and tagged him. Somehow she landed on her feet. Everyone went nuts cheering for her.

Later on the way home I was talking to her about it.

Me: "Tyler, that was really good today. You stood your ground and tagged him."

Tyler: "I know Mommy! I stood firm. It was like he was the devil and was trying to take me out!"

Me: "Oh. Did someone say that to you or did you come up with that yourself?"

We recently went through the Armor of God in Ephesians 6 and I was wondering if this was related to the shoes of peace that we put on to stand firm in the Lord

She rolls her eyes at me as she replies

"I didn't say he WAS the devil. I said that he was LIKE the devil!"

I really wonder where these kids get these things sometimes!

Praise Dance Mat Giveaway

2008-04-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm back. Things have been crazy but I have a few things to share to I'll be up and posting again for the next few days.

So my first Back to Blogging post is about a giveaway that BlogMommas is doing. Unfortunately I've been so out of it lately that I'm just now posting it on the last day of the giveaway (sorry!). But I'll try to do better in the future.

Check it out at Dance Praise - I think this is an awesome idea. Bonding time with my daughter, much needed exercise for me and praise music to worship the Lord! Yeah! You can't lose with this one.

Even if you don't make it over in time for this giveaway I recommend bookmarking the BlogMomma blog. She has tons of awesome stuff and it is a great way to get to know other Moms in the blog world.

Update: Ok, so I really apologize! I'm really behind. I just checked the main page and the giveaway has already been awarded. But check it out anyway. Becki did a review of the Dance Praise game that is worth reading. And as I mentioned, the site is just awesome.

Where does he come up with these?

2008-04-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

So as I've mentioned before, Austin is finally potty trained. This is such a wonderful thing for us. Now we only have one left in diapers!

However, we still put pull-ups on him at night. He is getting better about waking up during the night and going and/or staying dry. But we still have the pull-ups so an accident does not cause a set back.

Friday night at bedtime we had the following conversation:

Me: "Austin, go take off your underwear and put them in the dirty clothes. Then bring me a pull-up and we'll get you ready for bed."

Austin: "Okay Mommy!"

He runs off and a few minutes later comes back in the room. In one hand is a pull-up. The other hand is playing with himself. Now I know this is normal for boys, but I don't necessarily want him doing it in front of everyone.

Me: "Austin, honey. Don't be doing that in front of people, okay."

Austin (with a very serious look on his face): "But Mommy, it's my tail! It's my potty tail!"

Where in the world does he come up with these things! And what do you say to that? The best I could come up with was - "I know, honey. But don't play with your potty tail in front of other people, okay."

Horton Hears a Who

2008-03-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

If you are interested, I've done a post on my other blog regarding the movie Horton Hears a Who which came out today. I am planning to take my daughter to see the movie in the next week or so and will post what I think afterwards. However, I'm expecting it to be a very good movie.

If you are interested in my other post please visit it at Ang4him - Horton Hears a Who & Abortion. I also suggest visiting the Mercy Seat Blog - All Whos Who Have Blood that is Red.

Lunar Eclipse - A 3 yr old's perspective

2008-02-23T15:47:00.000-08:00

We had a very good view of the recent lunar eclipse from our house the other night. It was amazing to watch. Tyler was kind of excited to see it. I took Austin, our 3 1/2 yr old out to see it. He took one look at it, his eyes got really big and he said:

"Look Mommy! It's an apple juice moon!"

Looking at it I realized the part that was already in shadows was about the color of apple juice.

Music to My Ears - Potty Time

2008-02-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

Last night I heard something that is music to the ears of any mom with little ones. Tyler & Austin were playing in the other room when all of a sudden I heard Austin say

"Hold on, sissy! I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back!"

And off he went to the bathroom all by himself! I can't even begin to express how happy that made me. Less than a month ago we couldn't even get him to use the toilet (although he obviously understood the whole concept) and now he is taking time out of playing to make sure he gets to the toilet on time!

Two down - one more to go!

Jesse in a Box

2008-02-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the fuzziness. We can't find out memory card for the camera so I took these with my phone.

Update

2008-02-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

I know I've not been a social lately as I'd like to be, but I figured I would give you a quick update on some things.

1. My weight loss - I've met with the physical trainer that comes into our work and have been using the gym at work with two other co-workers. We are holding one another accountable for working out and for what we eat. I still "cheat" a bit sometimes but my eating habits and my exercise habits have most definitely improved in the past month. As of Wed (my weigh in date) - I have lost a total of 7.75 lbs for the month of January. I know my upcoming months will not be quite as much but this is so encouraging for me. I can feel a change in the way some of my clothes fit and I'm sleeping much better.

2. InBox Dollars - I told you I would update you on how I'm doing. I've not participated in very much for this but for what little I did in January I earned $13.85. I'll keep it up as I have a few moments to spare here and there and I'll let you know if I have trouble getting the money from them. For this one I think I need to have $30 before a check is cut. It won't be much but I figure it is something small I can use to treat myself once I loose some more weight!

Perspective

2008-01-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

This last weekend I had a very interesting experience. My daughter attends a private Christian school. My husband and I have decided that we will sacrfice elsewhere in order to be able to afford this for as long as we can. I won’t go into all the reasons right now, but my hubby is not a Believer, however he feels as strongly as I do about her attending this school.

So on Friday, they had a half day at school. I took a half-day at work to go pick her up and then a few of us moms took them to go see the Veggie Tales movie (mentioned in a previous post).

It was a bit weird for me to be sitting with all these other moms because they know each other pretty well. The school is actually associated with a large church in our area and these moms and their families attend this church. As I’ve mentioned before, I attend a house church. In addition, most of these moms are stay at home moms. I work full time (my hubby stays home with the boys and works from there).

As we were watching the movie, one of the moms mentioned that the water was so blue and she had not seen water like that for about a year. Then said she needed to go back soon. The other mom sitting next to me mentioned that Tahiti had water like that and they started discussing their vacation spots. I just sat there and realized we are the “poor” family in this school. My husband and I both work (he just works from home and keeps the kids with him because daycare is sooo expensive) and we don’t bring in half of what these single income families do. Our last vacation was when Shaun and I went to Vegas for our 10-year anniversary and came back with our third child on the way!

But, you know what? I really was not too upset about this as I realized it. I actually found it quite humorous. As they continued to talk I almost started giggling as I remember the scene less than an hour before as I was waiting to pick up my daughter at the school.

I drive a 2000 something (don’t remember the exact year) Honda Accord. Not a bad car by any means, and it is paid off! But it does have little things going wrong with it, such as the knob for my heater fan has broken off. So my hubby is getting me a new one on eBay (have I mentioned he is a wonderful bargain shopper!). In the meantime, I have a pair of pliers in the car that I use to turn the fan off and on. So there I sat in my cute, paid off car (with it’s share of dents & scratches) admist the other parents in their Cadillac Escalades, Lexus, BMWs & Mercedes – bopping out to Christian music quietly (my speakers crackle really bad if you turn it up higher than about 2!) – grabbing my pliers so I could turn up the heat.

I grew up having less money than others I went to school with, but I remember my parents always made sure we knew we were loved and spent time with us. Now my husband and I work hard and earn much more than my parents ever imagined when I was a kid. However, we are still in the same spot. And truthfully when I think about it – I don’t mind at all. Sure I would like to have some bills paid off, but I think we do just fine without all the extra stuff. As it is sometimes I think we still have too much stuff and our home is too cluttered. Funny how your perspective changes as you get older!

InboxDollars

2008-01-19T21:35:00.000-08:00

So I've been thinking about this whole blogging for money thing for awhile now. I love to write and blogging is a way for me to do so. But I figure, there are lots of people making money off of their sites too, so why not me? I don't want my blog to turn into a huge advertisement though.

Well, I've taken my first step. I've signed up with InboxDollars. This is not exactly getting paid to blog, but I am getting paid to take surveys, read emails and to buy things online that I would have anyway. It is not much, but it is something.

So far I've been signed up for only a few days but have made over $12.00 for just a little bit of my time, a majority of it doing things that I would be doing anyway.

If you are interested in checking it out click on the InboxDollars box on my sidebar or the one below in this post. (And yes, I do get a bit of money for referrals as well - and this month there is a sweepstakes for a Wii or a digital camera related to referrals!)

If you do this I would suggest setting up a separate email for these things. I have an email account with yahoo that I was never using before, so I set it up and that is the email I use for these things. It keeps my personal email from getting to cluttered.

As I continue with this and hopefully add some other ways of making a bit of extra cash online, I'll keep you updated on how I like it and how I'm doing.