Another Book (for adults this time)

Derrick got in from Kentucky last night. He took a short summer course. I thought about taking the kids and going with him but decided not to take the 10 hour drive with him. I wasn't sure if we'd get much time with him between being in class and doing homework so thought it would be best if we stayed here. It turns out Derrick thought Kentucky was fabulous and there was free time for him as well as lots of fun free stuff the kids and I could have done when he was in class. Rats! We will remember that next time. He brought back some really good kids books, a Greek t-shirt for me, and a book for me called,"Don't Make Me Count to Three!" A Mom's look at heart-oriented discipline. It is hilarious so far (I'm only to Chapter 2)! But, the best part about it is that it gives biblical and practical advice on how to reach your children's hearts rather than just dealing with their outward behavior. It is not going to take me long to get through this book. Something she said made me feel so much better or like I'm not the only one, ya know? She was describing her life before kids and said, "...I never found the milk in the pantry, and I never experienced the sheer panic of trying to remember whom I was calling before the voice at the other end said, "Hello?" Yesterday, I placed an order by phone. When the sales lady asked me for my address, I had to put her on hold. I absolutely could not recall my own address. It did finally come to me as I was reaching for the phone book to look it up." If you know me, it will not surprise you to know that I sometimes do that with the phone but I have yet to forget my address. I thought I was the only one that did stuff like that so it made me feel better to know someone who is actually "solid" does stuff like that too. ;) Adding Livi's birthday to my brain was a little bit challenging (more numbers to remember now) and it sometimes takes a minute for me to think of the correct birthday for a child at the doctor's office. She also told of an experience she had while she was in the process of writing the book. She said, "Recently, I actually waited in line at the bank drive-through, pulled up to the window, and stared blankly at the teller as I said, 'I have no idea why I'm here. I'm supposed to be going to the post office.' She looked very concerned as I drove off." There is something she shared that made me laugh the most but it is too embarrassing for me to even write it. Anyway, I strongly recommend it. Tedd Tripp (author of my favorite parenting book, Sheperding a Child's Heart) endorses it.

A Funny Book

The kids are doing the summer reading program through our library so we have been reading lots of books. One of my favorites is a Berenstain Bears book called, The Bike Lesson. It is hilarious! The kids and I got some good laughs and I made sure to do a deep voice for Papa Bear and a cute, high-pitched voice for small bear. It was fun sitting and laughing with them. We also got the Berenstain Bear book called The Honey Hunt and it is funny too.

Some Things on My Heart

I have had a few things that have been impressed upon my heart lately that I don't want to forget. I want to share them here and meditate on them as well.

The first one is from a one year devotional that my sister-in-law got for me. It's called, The One Year Devotions for Couples by David and Teresa Ferguson. I will summarize some of it.

"Giving freedom in marriage means I allow my spouse to be different from me, to be unique. Freedom means not dwelling on past hurts. It means not being fearful about the future, but being committed to living in the present. Freedom means learning to relax and enjoy life with one another. It means not fearing rejection or a withdrawal of love. Freedom means living in liberty in all that we share- physically, emotionally, and spiritually...True freedom means that I can live and love liberally and yet I am constrained by the love of Christ. What an awesome thought: Christianity isn't about what I can't do, but about all God has provided. A free man is under no obligation and is not motivated by fear. God's grace frees me from the bondage of performance, and security in Christ frees me from the fear of His judgment or rejection. Because of the gift of such love, I now have something to share with others, beginning with my spouse. I can share grace and acceptance, not fear and rejection."

Live as free men... live as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16

The second one is from a Bible study book I am doing on James. It is called, Growing in Wisdom & Faith by Elizabeth George. I will summarize the things that I really wish I could grasp and live out.

"He who teaches the Bible is never a scholar; he is always a student." I really need to remember this because I sometimes put pastors and certain people on pedestals.

"It's beens said by someone that 'there are two dangers which every teacher must avoid...He must have every care that he is teaching the truth, and not his own opinions or even his own predjudices. It is fatally easy for a teacher to distort the truth and to teach, not God's version, but his own. He must [also] have every care that he does not contradict his teaching by his life...'"

This because I teach my children (and also the co-op class of pre-k children this past year). The last sentence being the hardest for me yet. But, how I hope to push on toward the goal of "living it out" in front of my children. Have you ever, like me, been convicted when you have loudly yelled something to your children like, "Stop yelling at your brother!" I remember wondering where my kids learned to say, "Oh, great!" when they dropped something or something. I didn't say anthing to them about it but I just thought it sounded kind of negative. And then, one day I spilled something or something and said, "Oh, great!" just like them and I then I knew.

Here is something else from this study:

"If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:1-8

Oh, my tongue! I have much work needed in this area. I need to let my words be few. I get frustrated with myself because I get nervous and feel like I have to fill up space in a conversation so I just talk. Or I don't think before I speak. Or I speak when I should be listening...

And the last one is from a recent sermon.

He said we bring glory to God by the way we live. He said when he was 30 years old he realized that he was dead to himself and could live for Christ. That he didn't have to worry about his wants, needs, and desires anymore but that he was free to live for Christ. He said he has asked himself thousands of times since then, "What can I do for Christ today?"

How often I get tangled up in my own affairs and, much of the time, insignificant things instead of remembering to live for Christ instead of fulfilling my own desires.

Really Yummy (and really big) Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are not your average chocolate chip cookies. We enjoyed them so much around my house that I made them twice in one week and I really don't want to admit we had them the week before when someone brought them to us. I just had to have the recipe! The second time when my husband saw them he said, "What are you doing?!" I said, "Oh, those aren't for you!" and smiled. Meaning, "You don't have to eat those!" He said, "I guess I'll just have to have self-control." Did he though? No.

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
tsp salt
1 cup butter softened, unsalted (I used Land of Lakes)
1 cup sugar
3/4 DARK brown sugar (that is supposed to make them crispier)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 bag of chocolate chips (around 12 oz.)

Beat butter & sugars. Add eggs one at a time. Mix vanilla. Add flour, soda, and salt. Add to other mixture. Don't beat too much. Add chocolate chips. Drop by 1/4 cup 4 inches apart (I use 2-3 cookie sheets because these spread so big). Bake on 375 for 15-18 min. Leave on pan for a little bit to cool.

Our Lovely Little Livy

Oh,how I love her! She is living up to her middle name and bringing such "Joy" to our home.

An addition to the "New House Rules"

#11. Make sure all doors are latched securely before turning the alarm on at night.

Derrick was away and at 5:00 a.m. in the morning I was not awakened by the alarm blaring in my house but by a phone call. I remember thinking that I didn't know the number and I was sleeping anyway so I wasn't going to answer it. Then I heard the blaring alarm. Not a comfortable thing to hear at all. I decided that I WOULD answer the phone. If he would have said any other door than the interior garage was open I would have had him call the police immediately. But, I knew that Job (the cat) could open that door if it wasn't shut tightly. Turns out that is what happened but scary nonetheless. The kids slept through the whole thing!

* Also, I noticed there are some new followers and I have tried to check out your blogs but have had trouble getting to them so I haven't been able to. Maybe if you leave a me a message I will be able to. ;) Thanks!

The Err... Joys of Living in a New Home

Moving to a new home is a very wonderful and exciting experience but, I have found, along with it come the establishment of a whole NEW set of rules. Here are some of them:

1. We don't lock doors.
This one was made after Samantha locked my bedroom door and ran and told me she needed help opening my door. Puzzled, I wondered why she couldn't open it on her own. That was when I learned it was because she locked it. I was trying to get us girls ready to meet the boys who had already headed on to church and now I couldn't get into my bedroom. This was only our second morning in and I didn't know where a hanger was, much less where I would find clothes for us to wear. Not that we have any wire hangers anyway...I finally found a tool of Derrick's that was small enough to unlock the door. This rule was set more firmly in place after she locked her brother and others out of her room on purpose. Who puts a lock on a kids bedroom door?!!

2. We don't play with fans.
Bailey has a fan in his room now. Need I say more? NO, we don't throw marbles in a fan to watch where they go and we don't stick other things in it either.

3. No PURPLE grape juice.
We didn't have any water hooked up to the refrigerator before Derrick bought a part for it so I made some grape juice because it was much more appealing to drink than tap water one morning. Bailey reached for his cup and I didn't know it and I moved and it went tumbling down to the floor. It spilled all over the place in the white kitchen. It was running down the cabinet, inside of the cabinet under the sink, on the dishwasher, pantry door, floor, going into any crevice it could find. After I was sure I cleaned it thoroughly enough that ants wouldn't find a trace of it in the near future, Samantha spilled hers all over the floor and it splashed on the walls, baseboards, and window. So, no more grape juice for awhile...unless possibly it's white grape juice.

4. Always keep a tag on your animals with your information.
Job (our cat) sometimes gets his collar off and I hadn't put it back on him. It only had his rabies vac. tag on it at that. We knew we had to be really careful about getting Job established here before we let him outside as I thought he might run back to our old house which is less than 5 minutes away. We didn't let him out that we knew of but he was gone. We spent many hours of the day thinking we may never see him again and drove to the old house and looked for him. Later that night he emerged from Bailey's room somewhere (maybe his closet?). We were excited but promptly went to Petsmart the next day to make him a tag with our information. We let him out after we got it on him and he knows his new house well!

5. Stairs. Hmm... what are the stair rules?
I need to get with Derrick on this one. Do you let them roll down them? Slide down them? Throw things down them? Slip slowly down each one with their feet? Now, I know they should not roll their baby sister, Isabella, down them EVEN if she is laughing. Yes, this happened.

6. We don't go outside without permission.
Bella came running to me one morning while Derrick was home on a quick break from work. She was excitedly asking me something and I couldn't decipher her words. I said, "I don't know, Bella...?" Then she ran to Derrick squealing, "Ask Mama? Ask Mama?" After she repeated that about 5 times I didn't hear her voice anymore. Derrick came and said, "Where's Isabella? She was asking you if she could go outside." "I don't know I thought she was with you..." (turning and looking at our front door that was wide open.) He had been carrying stuff inside and the door was still open. I ran out there crying, "Isabella!" and found her in the driveway. I think I broke her little heart when I shrieked, "NO!" at her. That was scary.

7. Don't panic if you see a wasp in the house.
We are going to have to find that nest and get rid of the source! We randomly see one flying around in here.

8. We don't play with blinds.
We have a lot more windows around here.

9. Don't lounge in the tub all night when you should be in bed. (This is for the adults).
The master bathroom at the old house had a crack in it and we couldn't use it so we are really enjoying this one.

10. Don't potty on the carpet! (This one is for Molly).
We had all wood floors at the last house with only a rug or two. Now we have mostly carpet and only wood flooring in the kitchen.

I am sure there will be more rules added but, in the meantime, hopefully I will get some of this stuff unboxed and put away!