Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts
Our First Home Birth ~ Rejoicing Over Logan Thomas
Our First Daughter ~ Alyssa Grace
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"No. It can't be. I don't know how to do girls. Check again."
Lead by Example
How many times I fall short of this. Oh, to be a momma and so desire to teach those which the Lord has given me to disciple, through nurturing, loving, educating, and protecting, yet I can cause them to stumble by my own sinful example! This gem of truth came in my email today {see below and visit here to sign up to receive daily email devotionals and truth in your inbox}. God's timing is always impectible! My prayer for grace and wisdom to set a right example; that Christ would abound and I would not.
Parents
(The life and letters of John Angell James)
If you are parents, let your profession lead you to instruct your children in the fear of God, especially by the impressive admonition of a good example. Be very attentive to the spiritual education of your children--let them neither hear nor see anything in you which would hinder true religion. Example is more powerful than precept. It is vain to teach them religion by your words--unless you show it to them by your actions.
Teach them to obey you.
Be firm, but mild.
Govern them in love.
Subdue them by kindness.
One quote I have written in the mini-quote collection book I compiled which I find most exhorting is:
"My darling precious children! For their sakes I am continually constrained to seek after an amended, a sanctified life; what I want them to become I must become myself." ~ Mrs. E. Prentiss, Stepping Heavenward
Mothers, will you join me in the call to be a godly example to our children; to show them real Christianity by our examples and in doing so, to ask forgiveness when we fall short? May the Lord's grace and wisdom be upon you {and I} as we seek to live as unto Him.
Blessings ~
Joining with others at:
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| "A Mother's Love" by Ron DiCianni |
Oh Lord, help me to lead by my example and not cause my children to stumble. Lord, You are such a loving and merciful God. That your love for me was so great that You laid your life down to pay the penalty of all my sins! I ask that You would give me wisdom to train the children you have given me according to your word and that your Spirit would rule me, instead of the sinful flesh. Lord, I pray for daily grace...even moment to moment grace to set a godly example for these impressionable ones. I am weak, yet you are strong. Lord, reign in me. Amen
Parents
(The life and letters of John Angell James)
If you are parents, let your profession lead you to instruct your children in the fear of God, especially by the impressive admonition of a good example. Be very attentive to the spiritual education of your children--let them neither hear nor see anything in you which would hinder true religion. Example is more powerful than precept. It is vain to teach them religion by your words--unless you show it to them by your actions.
Teach them to obey you.
Be firm, but mild.
Govern them in love.
Subdue them by kindness.
One quote I have written in the mini-quote collection book I compiled which I find most exhorting is:
"My darling precious children! For their sakes I am continually constrained to seek after an amended, a sanctified life; what I want them to become I must become myself." ~ Mrs. E. Prentiss, Stepping Heavenward
Mothers, will you join me in the call to be a godly example to our children; to show them real Christianity by our examples and in doing so, to ask forgiveness when we fall short? May the Lord's grace and wisdom be upon you {and I} as we seek to live as unto Him.
Blessings ~
Joining with others at:
Bread, Blessings & Breaks
Well, it's been a while since I last posted...in the midst of life, blogging takes a back seat. Partly because living leaves little time in this season to write and partly because I wonder if anyone is interested or even would be encouraged at the "living" taking place. Sometimes, I wonder if my practical, simple tips are worth writing about...so I don't, I just live it. Does anyone really want to read about in home hospitality or juggling school, helping with husband's business {administratively}, meal planning {or sometimes lack of}, grocery shopping with children, or settling sibling squabbles, or computer setbacks {like erasing everything from my desktop when uploading a new program...yikes}...I mean, really?
When lives gets hard, I really have to look for the blessings in it. Today, was a challenging day {really having a full house gives opportunity to having many challenging days...} and I had to step outside of the day to look for the blessings.
The blessing of having all the sweet children the Lord has given and being thankful that our home is
The blessing of children who can do things to help out on those days and enjoy to
The blessing of bread again after far too long of being inconsistent with baking...
The blessing of breaks together making memories and knitting hearts
I encourage you to look for the blessings this year and take opportunity to live each day as unto Him...
Blessings in Him ~
When lives gets hard, I really have to look for the blessings in it. Today, was a challenging day {really having a full house gives opportunity to having many challenging days...} and I had to step outside of the day to look for the blessings.
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| A rare sight to see Carolyne on the floor...she'll never learn to crawl if she isn't out of every one's arms... ;-) |
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| Playing on Dad & Mom's bed...almost a morning routine with laughter a result "A cheerful heart is good medicine..." |
- sometimes noisy {it's better than silence...it means living is going on}...
- sometimes messy {truly, I believe as much as having a house of little ones...and big ones...to remind and pick up after, that one day in the not so near future ;-) they'll be gone and I'll miss it (or so I'm told)...
- sometimes sad {thinking about missed opportunities and how short life truly is...when time of being still gives way to reflection which must be kept as a reminder to live as unto the Lord EVERYDAY...EVERY moment
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| Ending 2011 with thanksgiving for God's gift of "another day"...what man said would be less than a week, God has given over 2 years...thank you Lord. |
The blessing of children who can do things to help out on those days and enjoy to
- children who surprised me with little blessings they purchased (using their own money...how sweet) from the Cracker Barrel store...a sweet smelling votive and a chocolate bar {may the Lord keep their hearts soft and kind over the years to come...}
- making dinner last night {Austin grilled chicken, made mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and quick croissants...}
- baking cookies...everyday if allowed {Logan is quite comfortable making all kinds of cookies...his sweet tooth will never lack ;-) }
- playing with little ones {Alyssa is growing up...this past weekend she was a blessing to me in helping with Liz and Carolyne...Mark went out of town taking Graham & K to Logan's football tournament...the first time our family has been separated for a whole weekend like this.}
- a husband who even after a long day at work answers a call to help with Mom {a few bad days for her,too...but how gracious He is...} and then again this morning
- "Just because you are loved" labels everywhere this morning as "someone" kindly went around doing other's chores and getting our day off to a good start {Thanks Zach :-) }
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| The making of peanut butter blossoms a few weeks ago...a few days ago was cinnamon oatmeal...and several kinds in between...sweet delight! |
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| A "Just because you are loved" note on a straightened book cabinet... |
- putting to use a bread machine the family gave me for Christmas to make baking regularly easier
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| 2 hours 33 minutes until today's loaf is done... |
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| And the finished loaf...yum. A 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat Italian seasoned loaf... |
The blessing of breaks together making memories and knitting hearts
- having a precious friend spend a few days with us
- a field trip to Legoland {because of an unbelievably HUGE discount making it possible for our family to join other homeschoolers}
- seeing the beauty of God's creation
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| As close to New York City as we may get for a while... |
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| Liberty...how many have passed by this symbol of freedom and are part of this great country's foundation of new beginnings, leaving homelands with nothing and working hard in the US in pursuit of happiness? |
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| This Monarch emerging...wings drying before it begins its journey... |
- visiting with family from out-of-town recently
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| Great Uncle Tom & Great Aunt Kathe...such a blessing to visit with ~ looking forward to getting together again in the future as the Lord permits |
- football tournaments {although, we probably won't be doing this again unless we all can go...}
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| Log's team against a team from Washington D.C....it was a tight win, 13 vs. 12! |
- a lovely evening of music during the Youth Music Festival in which Austin played in
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| The conductor, Mrs. Umbarger, did a great job preparing the Harmony Orchestra for this performance and the students were a blessing to hear ~ how the sweet sounds soothe the soul |
- playing a game with the older boys...just putting all things aside to spend time together
- a trip to a National Park during their free admission offer and spending time with friends during lunch while there
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| Monopoly can get intense sometimes as bargins are being made...kinda like being on Wall Street...but the fun really is in the time spent together ~ it's been too long since the boys and I played a game. |
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| The children and I reading about some of the famous explorers in Florida history... |
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| Pippy? No, just our full of life girl...she's such a bundle of energy and her God given personality surely comes through in all she does! |
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| A little soccer...a little touch football...a lot of fun {and the less energetic ones enjoyed our picnic on the grounds basking in the warmth on this January day ~ another blessing...Florida weather. |
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| Our sweet little Liz |
I encourage you to look for the blessings this year and take opportunity to live each day as unto Him...
Blessings in Him ~
Training Young Children as They Attend Church Service
How can children learn to worship? To pray? To listen to the teaching? To follow along in their Bible? By observation…observing their parents. As for our family, we believe it is best to teach our children by having them with us. (Deuteronomy 11:19, Proverbs 22:6) I do not claim to be an authority on this subject, as there are far more qualified parents out there. I only desire to share what has been an ongoing process in our own family in hopes to encourage you and maybe provide an idea or two for those who are desiring to worship as a family in church, as we have gleaned from others over the years.
We do provide activities for our younger children to do during worship time. These activities are to encourage them and are ones we believe will help to grow them (even as young children) in learning about the Lord and Truth. They are Bible and Christ focused as you will read about some of the things we do below.
Here are some of the ways we are training our children to attend service with us:
- First, teaching them at home to sit during prayer times and family worship makes Sunday church not a once a week endeavor.
- Before service begins, I remind them what is expected… "remember to close your eyes and pray when it’s prayer time” or “when worship begins, remember to stand and sing along if you know the song” (try to practice the songs during the week at home so they will become familiar with the songs your church sings) or “remember when the pastor is at the pulpit, we are to sit still and listen – listen to God’s word”. Young children need reminders and it has been a good practice in our family to do so, BEFORE the service begins. Learning some basic sign language for words like “focus”, “sit”, “yes”, “no”, “read” have been valuable tools in our family to keep speaking to a minimum during teaching time. Another idea…make a run to the restroom BEFORE service, so that will be one less possible interruption during the teaching time. These reminders are ones we believe help teach the children that our time is to be focused on Christ and if they fidget, are turning Bible pages loudly, etc. it may distract those around them from focusing on Him.
During worship, we encourage them to sing, clap, stand when appropriate to stand, pray when prayer is done, etc. This is not done as a "ritual" but more to show our reverence to the Lord and courtesy to those worshipping around us.- For non-readers, we bring a small tablet and crayons (crayons are quiet) to allow them to color a picture about the sermon
- For non-readers, a picture Bible they can quietly look through during sermon
- Using the picture Bible, you can ask them to look for all the pictures of… (if possible, keeping it relevant to the day’s message)
- For non-readers and beginning writers, bring a small tablet of lined paper. I have written words relating to the day’s message for them to copy. I quietly read each word to them before sermon begins and they copy the words.
Beginning readers and writers can draw a picture about the message. They can also be trained to listen to the message, by having them listen for certain words and keep track of how many times the pastor says that word. This helps them develop good listening skills.- For more advanced beginning readers and writers, they can follow along as the pastor reads from the Bible. They can copy the passage he preaches from in their ‘special’ church notebook (small). They write down key words they hear during his message (i.e. who the message was written by, what the passage was addressing, etc.)
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| Notebooks my children used the beginning of last year. As you can see, for my beginning writer I wrote some sermon related words down for her to copy. In the other notebooks, our son wrote the Scripture passage, made notes and drew a picture about the sermon. |
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| This was the passage the pastor read during worship today that our 8 year old copied. |
The above items can be kept in a ‘special church purse’ if a girl or small ‘special church bag’ if a boy. This will allow all items to be readily accessible each worship day. {more on this in a moment}
After the service, take interest in what they have written or drawn. Ask questions about the sermon to see what they remembered, such as what book (book, chapter, and verse for older children) the pastor taught from. Challenge them to give a summary in their own words about the teaching.
For very young children, give non-verbal praise throughout the service for observed obedience and good developing habits (a smile, pat on the hand for affirmation of good church habits, verbal when appropriate…). For older children, praise at the conclusion… "encourage one another”…With consistency and God’s grace, we have been encouraged each week as our family worships together. As we learn together under the teaching of God’s word, it has been a blessing to see our children growing and developing good church habits from an early age.Last week was the first week Carolyne, Liz and I attended church since before she was born. My husband and I desire to keep our newborns home for 4-6 weeks after birth, in their own environment sheltered from too much exposure to germs and such. We have done this with all our children since our second child was born 15 years ago.
Well, with all outings and new babies, there is a transition period and last Sunday provided us some insight on how church would be with this newborn. Until Carolyne’s birth, my husband would hold our 2 year old and she would usually nap during sermon {after worship}. I would then have my 4 and 5 year olds sit on either side of me, with the older children following. Having the younger two next me allowed me to direct them as needed {little reminders…once again, simple sign language is useful in this area}.
With last Sunday being our first Sunday back to church as a family of now 10, our 2 year old stayed awake the entire service and the 4 year old wanted to talk/play with her…not a good thing, hence the separation. ;-) The last 15 minutes of service, it became necessary to take the 4 year old out with Carolyne and me. Although her voice was quiet, she became too fidgety {taking her shoes off, rustling her papers, etc.} and it concerned me she was distracting to those around us…not to mention possibly waking up Carolyne. The 5 year old did fairly well, with the exception that he had to share crayons with his older sister as his were left home…we were better prepared this week.
Today some minor changes took place. My husband still held our 2 year old, I held Carolyne {in the Maya Wrap} with our 4 year old next to me, then our 8 year old with the 5 year old in between his older brothers. My husband took the 2 year old out during worship {he just forgot to last week}, before greeting time to get her to sleep {that morning nap is still important in her schedule at this age} then came back in before service began. This Sunday went much smoother. The children were happy to have "new" church totes with "new" supplies and our 4 year old fell asleep 20 minutes before service ended...right before I stepped out with Carolyne, as she started to wake up in the Maya wrap.
The "new" totes I purchased are plastic handled boxes for the 4, 5 and 8 year olds. Inside I placed "new church” drawing pads, crayons {they are quieter}, markers for the 8 year old and a lined notebook for her as well. I will be making reduced sized photo copies of Bible coloring sheets for the 4 & 5 year olds as they relate to the messages for them to keep in their boxes to color during service when possible. These boxes are large enough to keep their Bibles in as well. This did provide incentive to do better this week in church.
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| Inside our 8 year old's church tote...her Bible, a doodle pad for drawing sermon related pictures, a lined notebook for writing Scripture and notes, crayons, mini sized markers, pencil and a Bible word find. |
The Lord provided affirmation today that even when they may not appear to be listening...they are listening. Our pastor had asked a question regarding who was in control of everything. This was not meant to be verbally responded to, but Graham {our 5 year old} piped up quickly and loud enough to be heard in the front that "God is!". I do not say this to boast, but only to show that small children do hear and can learn while attending church service. He continued drawing the picture the whole time the sermon was being preached as he understood and illustrated it as a child would.
Several years ago we read an article by John Piper on how he and his wife Noel approached children in church with their own family. It was an encouragement to us and one I believe will encourage you, as well as provide some practical suggestions on how to involve your children in church. The article is titled The Family: Together in God’s Presence. I am sure there are many moms out there who can name other ways they have found that work for their families…if you are one of them, please leave a comment about what you do in your family. If you are a mom looking for ideas, feel free to leave a question and maybe one of my readers can provide a suggestion or two.
Because of Him,
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The Home School Mother's Journal
In my life this past week…
each day was filled to the brim with living. We enjoyed the company of friends on several occasions this past week we haven’t seen in a while as well as visits with out-of-town family at the end of the week. We were excited to share our little Carolyne with them all. My mid-wife also came for a visit at the beginning of the week to redo Carolyne’s PKU, weigh her {can you believe she is still the same weight of 10 lbs 12 oz, but has grown just over an inch in 3+ weeks…the time of her visit?!} and it was so nice to just sit and talk for a while. {It’s kind of sad not to have our weekly visits anymore…one of the things I miss about being pregnant.} We ran into another friend twice this week when we were out doing errands which allowed for some catch-up time…so sweet seeing her! Mid-week I met a friend at the bookstore in the evening, enjoyed a cup of hot ginger-peach tea {decaf…praise the Lord!} and closed the place down with good conversation and encouraging words for one another.
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| Great visit...growing healthy and strong. |
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| Today proved to be a great double-header day...quarterbacking most of the time he played offense, pulling LOTS of flags when playing defense! Great games Logan! Nail-biter 1st game ~ so close to winning with a 12-13 score and an amazing 2nd game 30-0! |
What’s coming up this week…
the usual Orchestra practices, football practices and game, a home school mini-conference with sessions for dads, moms & children. Some of the sessions include practical time-management {a favorite of mine}, successful family devotions, dwelling together in unity, young men/women keeping their future on track…etc. We’ll also spend more time with our out-of-town family with dinner at our home one evening.
In our home school this past week…
Graham continues learning new letters, their sounds and blends with basic words being taught…the beginning of learning to read…how exciting! Alyssa spent quite a bit of time working through science with our mother’s helper. LLATL is still going well for Logan, as are the rest of our subjects…Apologia’s Astronomy probably being his favorite one right now. Austin continues to trudge along with a heavy school load {the older they get the more the load}…doing well with SOS American Lit. & Spanish 1, Saxon Algebra 2 and we love his Apologia LIVE classes each week {especially me, as it helps with one less subject to grade}!
Our tadpoles became tiny frogs this week which added some excitement to the home. Lots of cooking and baking together this week: meals and two new cookie recipes. The girls and I purchased some fabric for skirt making…Lord willing; we’ll be able to start some sewing soon.
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| Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies |
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| Chocolate Nut Acorns...fun and simple cookie recipe perfect for autumn! |
My favorite thing this week was…
Time spent in the kitchen with the children. I love teaching them to cook/bake and know what a blessing it will be as they get older, one day having their own kitchens. The memories made together are a joy. As they grow older and develop their skills more, they will not only be a future blessing to helping our family but one day will bless their spouses and children.
Things I’m working on…
More to-do lists have been made for each of us to provide vision and direction for what I desire to have done in the days ahead. The older boys have been working on the area behind the fence getting the horseshoe pits made, a fire pit area ready and simple planters so the space is more usable in the upcoming days. Our garden boxes are being cleaned out, relocating one of them and getting that area improved for future use…not sure what or when we will plant again. Some room rearranging took place with Graham’s toddler bed being taken down and him moving up to the twin bed…bunks separated. I worked on deep cleaning our bathroom cabinets, labeling each bin and assigning everything a place. The workings of managing a home is on going with things always needing to be maintained, adjusted, and revised to keep things running smoothly for our large family.
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| Love my P-Touch label maker! I use it for keeping order in every room |
I’m cooking…
Last week we made two different cookie recipes. Click here to read about our time together in the kitchen, see some pictures and get two great cookie recipes.
This week’s menu:
Sunday: Simple Sunday…sloppy Joe’s, chips, corn and a dessert {possibly}
Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus
Tuesday: Beef tips n’ gravy over egg noodles, steamed broccoli, whole wheat dinner rolls
Wednesday: Chicken broccoli water chestnut casserole, biscuits
Thursday: Baked ziti with chicken sausage, Texas toast {Also making a triple batch of basic muffins for Friday morning’s breakfast…whole wheat apple cinnamon, mini-chocolate chip cranberry and maybe a pumpkin one, too}
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| Millet muffins pictured on the left and mini-chocolate chip cranberry muffins pictured on the right |
Friday: Should be tortillas, but I will probably change it maybe cheeseburger soup
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| Homemade whole tortillas...homemade salsa...makes for a family Tortilla Night! |
Saturday: Smoked ham, homemade cheesy macaroni, green beans and whole wheat dinner rolls {our family dinner hosted at our home for our out-of-town family}…dessert…maybe another new cookie recipe {love my Taste of Home 2010 “Best Loved Cookies & Bars” magazine!}
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| Deliciously cheesy once the cheese melts and plenty to go around! |
I’m grateful for…
Opportunities to share our love for the Lord with others through hospitality, ministering in simple ways to the people He puts in our lives and daily through caring for my own family.
I’m praying for…
Our family, friends and neighbors daily…His continued provisions and wisdom in handling them, for the challenges of many of the young moms I have heard about and how the Lord would use me in that regard, for my own walk and witness…that He would continue to refine me {though it hurts} to make me more like the godly woman I desire to be.
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
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| One month already... |
Blessings ~
This week's post is linked up with:
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| Friday Favorite Finds |
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| Menu Plan Monday |
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| Feasting in Fellowship Fridays |
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| The Home School Mother's Journal |
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