Tippy Tuesday: Therapeutic Tea

A while back, my lil' Sis told me she likes to put cough drops in her tea when she isn't feeling up to par.  I don't really prefer cough drops, so I tried what I do love: Ricola (original flavor).  Oh my goodness!

Not only does it make for a great tasting tea, but it soothes everything it touches.  And to breathe in the steam from a Ricola cup of tea is just amazing to my sinuses and well-being.  I've found that Lipton tea is a great backdrop, and I let the Ricola drop melt about half-way.  It's easy to adjust the flavor of both tea and Ricola by simply removing each when you desire.  Try it!

T.G.I.F.

During school one morning...
Me: You have a good memory, Elijah.
Elijah: That's because I eat Smarties.
Judah: He's so silly.
Elijah: Guess who else needs to eat Smarties?  The Mommy Miller so she can remember how to build a moth [paper airplane].  I know you taught her once.

The morning after a dinner date Hubz & I had...
Elijah: Did you have fun at your dinner last night?
Me: Yes.
Judah: What did you have for dinner last night?
Me, nervous laugh: Deer, squash soup...
Elijah: You had a killed deer??
Judah: Yes, they ate killed deer for dinner.  Mr. Nye must have bow an arrowed it.
Elijah: That would be yucky.  I don't like deers.  I like for them to be alive and not bow and arrowed.
Me, having trouble connecting the mental picture with what I ate: Ok, can we stop talking about this?

EDIT: Later, when I was telling Hubz about the deer conversation, the boys went crazy (as boys/men do).  "...bow and arrowed...with fuzz...and blood everywhere..."  Oh deer.  I mean...dear.

Tippy Tuesday: Baggings vs. Stockings

Stockings.  Tree Skirt.  Evergreen garland.  Outdoor lights.  There are a few things we still have never had in all our married Christmases.  Oh well.  Maybe someday.  Not this year -- budget won't allow!  And that's ok.  Christmas isn't all about fancy schmancy decor.  ;-)

So, what were we going to do this year?  We actually have a fireplace mantle!  But no stockings.  I could make them, but that requires time and fabric purchase.  We could get them the day after Christmas, and we might.  But that's after Christmas Day.  My Hubz and I talked about how we like the fun of stockings but not how big they are -- then you feel obligated to wrack your brain figuring out what all to put in it to fill the stocking up!  So, why not have smaller stockings (whether purchased or made) that only contain one or two small items each year?  Yes!  We love the idea!  But what about this year?

BAGGINGS!  From paper bags.  Not traditional.  Not the prettiest thing ever.  Disposable.  But cute and meaningful as we try to watch our finances and be good stewards.  One tradition we do have is that each person has their own wrapping paper.  So we came up with the idea to cut out the first initial of each person in their paper to glue onto the bag.  Then we decorated with markers and glitter glue to personalize the bags.  The boys have Cars characters on them because their combined gifts are different paper than their individual gifts (they really might as well be twins -- same size, same gifts...).  Again, not really elegant and they kind of get lost in all the brick, but they are sweet and will serve the purpose of this years one small gift for each bag.  :-)  And they're so cute we might just keep this tradition rather than getting stockings.  Though I might try to use nicer red/green bags next year and get some evergreen garland to help them stand out a little.  The other benefit is that people's wrapping paper and personalities change over time.  If you have an annual Christmas craft of making Baggings, then the bags match the wrapping paper and personalities every year rather than the same stockings year after year.  I dunno -- I might be sold!  Until my kids are old enough to land on a stocking style they will like long-term.  Maybe then we'll finally get stockings to hang from our mantle. :-)

Just trying to be resourceful but have some Christmasy fun, too!

T.G.I.F.

My poor son Judah.  He's only 5, and he already has a recurrent gray hair upon his head.  I'm his 29 year old mother, and I've only found one on my own head a few months back that has not returned (yet).  So this rogue hair on Judah baffles me.  Either he is stressed by our family, stressed by his own level of energy, or is showing a physical sign of early wisdom.  I hope it's the latter!  Anyway, today, I noticed it is getting quite long and stray compared to the rest of his hair; and I gave a little sigh as I touched it.  Judah pranced away down the hall singing, "I'm turning into a grandpa!"  Makes me giggle.  :-)

You know those moments as a mother when you realize someday or another you're going to have to bite the bullet and teach your kids how to do tasks, knowing they will be messy and fail a lot until you LET THEM practice enough?  Yeah.  Cracking eggs.  I don't know what the books say about the appropriate age to begin teaching children how to crack eggs, but Judah always asks.  Today, I gave in.  How on earth do you teach a child to not squeeze an egg but to poke his thumbs in the crack at the same time??  We parents take for granted how "easy" things are...until we have to actually explain it in words.  :-P  As Judah was trying his hand at cracking the eggs (oh my heavens), Elijah ran up and saw him.  "I wanna hatch a egg, too!!!!"  HA!  So cute.  Then Judah asked, "How does an egg get inside the shell?"  ::stunned::  Praise the Lord for the "God made it that way" answer.  Cuz I don't know how to explain the answer to that question other than referring to the Almighty Creator of chickens!

Tippy Tuesday: Reduce, REUSE, Recycle

I have a love hate relationship with where I live.  But one thing I love is how EASY it is to recycle!  We don't have to sort anything or even remove labels.  Just a quick rinse (to be kind to the workers) and toss it all in one provided recycle barrel.  Who WOULDN'T recycle with that set up?  I'm not a tree-hugger, but it does feel nice to be able to play my part in taking care of this beautiful earth God has allowed us to live in.

One of my favorite challenges in the process is figuring out ways to reuse containers rather than buying new (good for the planet and the budget).  Here are a few things I've done:

GROCERY BAGS:  Use for everything!  Small trash cans, carrying items up and down stairs when straightening your home, carrying small things when you have multiple things to give back to people (staple a paper label to each so you don't even have to go through it), double bag leftovers you have to throw out and tie it up to keep smell/liquids out of your trash....

DIAPER BOXES: Cut the flaps off for easy, sturdy bins.  I use them to collect clothing I plan to pass on, one for girl clothes and one for boy clothes.  Once it's full or the time has come, just give the whole box to your friend.  Much easier to tote around than flimsy (overstuffed) grocery bags.  Then they have a box to use or ditch!  I also recently used one to hold snacks and drinks on our road trip -- it fit perfectly on the van floor between seats!  A diaper box is also good for collecting garage sale or good will items.  Sure, some people get all fancy-nancy and cover them.  Looks cute -- but really adds extra cost and precious time.

SHOE BOXES:  Kid shoe boxes are amazing for organization, especially for crafting and sewing!  Paints, brushes, collecting similar fabrics in one place to create a "quilt kit" over time...  I love watching how shoe boxes fit so nicely together in small spaces.

CREAMER BOTTLES:  So I just discovered that using vinegar in laundry as a pre-wash (especially for towels) does wonders for turning out fresh clothes and linens!  You don't need much.  I pour about a quarter cup or so in the pre-wash section of my detergent loader along with detergent in the detergent section.  Gets smells out and really revives towels.  But the one issue is having to lug around a big bottle of vinegar!  I was contemplating what kind of container I was going to have to buy in order to have a manageable bottle of vinegar in the laundry room and leave the big one in the pantry.  I was rinsing out a creamer bottle to recycle, and bam!  Problem solved.  Peel that label off, wash, and fill with vinegar.  Beautiful!

SALON PUMP BOTTLES:  How lovely they are!  So quick and easy to pump out bathtime products rather than turn slippery bottles over and shake out what you can manage to get... all the while munchkins are squirming around in the tub.  Do you know how easy it is to peel labels off of your empty salon pump bottles?  Super easy!  When one of our Dove shampoo bottles was empty, I couldn't find the right size I wanted with a salon pump.  So rather than just throw it out, I peeled off the label and rinsed it out.  Then I took my kids' Suave coconut shampoo/conditioner and emptied that into the salon pump bottle.  Peeled off the Suave sticker and put it on the Dove bottle.  Viola!  Salon pump kids' hair wash...with the proper label!

ICE CREAM BUCKETS:  I wash out gallon buckets of ice cream and use them to store side walk chalk, bubble accessories, etc.  I also plan to use them to create the previously mentioned "quilt kits."  Now if only I could figure out a time to quilt again...

T.G.I.F.

As we passed by Toys R Us while running errands, Elijah yelled out, "Look, Mommy!  There's Toys For Us!"  Indeed, son.  Appropriately named.  :-)

On that same day, we went to the post office.  I've never left my kids in the car alone, so I was surprised when Elijah said he wanted to stay in the van.  I was quite hesitant.  But the more I thought about it, the more I saw that it would be ok.  It was a very small post office, and I would not be long at all.  Hesitation still remained a little, so I asked Elijah if he was sure.  "Are you really sure you want to stay here?  You have to stay in your seat and not touch anything."  He was sure.  "You REALLY wanna stay in the van?"  He said, "Yes, because I will disobey if I go in there."  ::heart melts::  My son, in his own way, was fleeing temptation!  'Nough said.  I let him stay in the van.  As I was paying for my stamps, it finally dawned on me that I heard a car alarm.  I looked out the door...sure enough.  It was my van.  I clicked the remote to make it stop (had to push a few buttons until I figured it out), and sweetly told the Postman that I had never heard my alarm before.  He said it was probably good then since I now know what it sounds like.  I smiled, thanked him, and went on my way... not informing him WHY the alarm had gone off.  Because I certainly knew why.  I'm just glad Elijah didn't freak out when it went off (because he had tried to open the door with his foot...and he thought HE had turned it off because apparently he touched the handle again when I clicked the remote).  ;-)

I was sitting with Elijah beginning at 3:30 am one morning as he started his round of the stomach bug that has rune its course through our house.  After 4 "session" and a brewing fever, he all of the sudden woke up at 4:53 and seemed in great spirits!  Still a fever, but very chipper.  He started talking about how he was done throwing-up so we could still go to Memaw's house but that he didn't want to get her sick.  I said, "Well, maybe she can help take care of all of us."  Elijah happily agreed, "Yeah, because she's a girl!"  Hmm, I guess he thinks that girls are the ones who take care of sick people.  :-)

T.G.I.F.

At dinner, we were all discussing our ages.  I asked the boys, "If I will be 30 on my birthday in January, what am I now?"  Without pause, Elijah firmly announced, "OLD."

Judah saw a picture of Newt Gingrich with hands outstretched.  He pretended to have a deep, manly voice and said, "I am the KING!"

The boys were commenting on a bird they saw sitting on the fence.  It was puffed up due to the cold weather, but they kept talking about how it must have babies in its tummy.  I explained to them the reason why "she" was all puffed up, that birds lay eggs rather than carry babies in their tummies.  Judah, smart kid that he is, asked, "But don't they carry the eggs in their tummies?"  Uh, actually, I don't know how that works, Judah!  "We could look it up online.  Computers know everything."  :-)

And here's a TGIF where I myself am the subject of the hilarity (read: embarrassment).  Several weeks ago, the kids and I went to a farm to do the traditional fall field trip of hayride and pumpkin patch.  It had rained the entire day before, so the ground was a bit soggy in places.  Another mom and her daughter arrived at the same time my friend Shannon and I did (with our 7 kids...brave, yes?).  So we parked all together in what I thought to be a stupendous spot compared to last year when we arrived AFTER busloads of kids rather than before.  We enjoyed our time for a couple hours and then got ready to leave.  Upon walking back to our vans, including the other mom and her daughter who finished at the same time, we discovered our spot was not as great as originally thought.  There was a big yellow bus parked right behind all three of us.  With two buses in front of it.  Just sitting there.  We waited a few minutes.  Still nothing.  So we asked Lady Busdriver if they were waiting to leave or waiting for their kids to get off.  She said they were waiting to unload but she wasn't sure what was going on that was preventing them from unloading.  Still longer we waited.  Finally, someone else found a way to drive around one particular farm building to get around the buses to the one exit road off the farm. Shannon was able to back up JUST enough to be able to pull forward and drive around the building.  Once she had moved, I had room to back up JUST enough to pull forward as well.  I put my van in reverse, slowly pressed the gas pedal, rolled back a little..... and then went nowhere.  I pressed a little harder on the gas, and my ears were met with spinning tire sound.  But if I pressed harder, what if I went too fast and hit the bus?  What to do, what to do.  I pressed gently again.  Spinning tires.  For real?

I was stuck in the muck.  I pressed the pedal even harder... and created an even louder spinning tire sound and felt the van sink just a touch.  Lost cause.  Shannon had stopped by that time, wondering why I wasn't following.  I looked to the lady in the van next to me and mouthed, "I'm stuck."  She gave an "oh no" with a pitying laugh and got out to help assess the situation.  I gunned the pedal again but to no avail.  They saw just how stuck I was.  Lady Busdriver was viewing the whole thing from her perch.  She attempted to direct me with which way to turn my wheel and to gun it, "HARDER!".  Still nothing.  I realized there was no one behind Lady Busdriver; and if she moved back, I could feel free to do whatever to get unstuck without hitting her bus.  I asked her if she could back up, and she said sure.  So with fiddle faddle in hand, she backed that thang up!  (Bus drivers sure do know their stuff!)  She went slowly so as not to hit the line of cars we were in.  Old Gentleman walked up and started helping her ease backwards.  She finally cleared the back of my van, so we tried again to press hard on the pedal and turn the van wheel correctly.  I was demonstrating the phrase "going nowhere fast" perfectly.  Older Gentleman decided he would try to push while I gunned; and by this time, Older Gentleman 2 had walked up to help.  So with two kind men behind me pushing and Lady Busdriver telling me how to operate my vehicle, we tried again. Nope.  Older Gentleman came to my window and told me to put my van in first gear and walked back to push again.  I looked down at my gear shifter... and there was no number 1 to indicate first gear.  All these years of knowing cars have different gears used for different situations, and I had no idea which number meant which gear!  Enter Phase 1 of embarrassment.  So I called out to him to ask which number was first gear.  "All the way to the bottom," he said.  So I looked down again and shifted to first gear (number 2, by the way... makes perfect sense, right?)  As I lifted my eyes back towards my windshield, a little red light on my dash caught my eye.

"Emergency Brake."

You know those moments in film when everything goes dark and the camera zooms in on a speechless, stunned actress as she realizes something monumental?  Yeah.  That happened to me.  Phase 2 of embarrassment.  I quietly and quickly turned off the emergency brake, and I tell you my van JUMPED forward with glee that its driver had finally gotten a clue.  Cheering ensued from my dear helpers -- and the audience that had grown -- as they had "succeeded" in freeing me from the muck.  I stuck my hand out the window with as regal a wave as I could muster and with a sparkling grin loudly thanked everyone as I drove off to skirt the building to the exit road.  I did NOT have the heart or courage to inform them all of my incredible oversight.  "Let them feel as though they've done a good deed... just slink away and let them believe... let them tell the legend of how they helped a poor mother stuck in the muck get free..."

(For the record, I never use my emergency brake.  I only used it that day because I knew I was parked on a slight incline that was a touch soggy.  Heaven forbid my van should slide backward while we were enjoying the farm.  Never used emergency brake means brain not used to checking if it's on or not...)   ;-)

T.G.I.F.

Elijah, in response to a toy ambulance that kept making sound: "That's drivin' me coconuts, Mom!"

I finished the last sip of my root beer float while holding Eden.  I put the cup on the kitchen counter and looked back at her hugely-grinning face.  That girl lunged forward, tongue sticking waaaay out, to LICK MY LIPS.  Naturally, I recoiled quickly saying "Eww!" with a smile.  Then I looked back at her.  She did it AGAIN.  This time, she was fast enough to really lick me!  Think she likes her sweets?  :-P

While driving in the car, I asked the boys if they wanted to listen to music or news (thinking they would of course say music).  "NEWS!" they both said.  Well, ok then.

Wordless Wednesday

Sometimes prayer and a handful is what gets you through the day.

Tippy Tuesday: Homeschool File System

Last week, I showed you my notebook system for keeping track of all the paper stuff homeschooling throws at you (which I'm sure I've only seen the tip of that iceberg...).  This week, I'll show you the beginning of what I hope is a filing system that will work for years to come.

As I took time to thank my Home Ec professors for instilling in me a love of (read: dependence upon) notebooks, I need to take time to thank the Engineering Department at Union University for the opportunity to learn what a good filing system looks like.  When you are the secretary of a department that is working towards accreditation, you work with files.  Lots of files.  Engineering had 13 areas in which it wanted to document achievement.  So each student had to have a file for each of the 13 areas in which various copies of their work could be stowed away for the people who were to come view the department for accreditation approval.  The entire back wall of my closet-office was file cabinets!  It was hard work to set that kind of a filing system up; but once it was finished, it ran seamlessly and served its purpose well.  The department received accreditation!

So, fast-forward from newlywed secretary to homeschool mom of three.  I have one big independent file box for homeschooling.  Thank you, Crayola, for providing colored markers -- because I'm a woman of color!  :-)  (See previous post...)

The first set of files are for adult purposes.  There is an unlabeled file in front to hold labels for notebook divider tabs and Sonlight's sticker label sheets (see previous post...).  Legal for things dealing with state requirements.  Hope Academy for our church's oversight group and Co-op information.  Sonlight to archive information, receipts, and such from them.  Archway Academy -- because that's the name Matt and I chose for our home school!  In each of these folders, I paperclip together all the information for one year and put a labeled post-it on the front.  Tips & Advice for random information I receive that will help us in our homeschooling endeavor.

Adult Files

Labeled post-its for each year, including which student was in which grade.

The second set of files are for archiving purposes.  I could easily be a pack rat when it comes to things my children do...if space allowed.  But then, I really don't like a lot of excess either.  Makes me feel cluttered.  So I've decided this is how it will work.  Throughout the year, each student's completed work will be kept in that year's notebook (again, see previous post...).  At the end of that year, Matt & I will go through the notebook with each student and choose several worksheets and projects that were favorites.  Those will then be placed in the "archive" file for that student in that grade.  Enter color!  Judah's favorite is red.  Elijah's blue.  Eden's purple (well, her mom's fav...).  So I used that color to label their files so it's more at-a-glance friendly.  I started with the Toddler folders because there are things I like to keep from the toddler years -- especially the first time they used a crayon, etc.

All this not to say "I will never change the system" or find ways it could be improved... But for our family, I really think this will work for many years!

Thursday TOPS

Things Only Parents Say


There's a stealth bomber in the living room corner.

Don't put my underwear on your head.

Those aren't sunbeams.  That's your spit.  (Now stop.)

Eww, don't lick the clock!

You like the taste of your muffin dipped in WATER?

The plane just crashed into my leg.

Tippy Tuesday: Homeschool Notebook System

I'm a newbie to homeschooling.  So what is contained herein may be ridiculously elementary to some of my more seasoned readers (pun intended).  But I truly believe that keeping organized when it comes to papers, records, and such is a HUGE help to a woman's stress level and enjoyment of whatever tasks are allotted to her.

I would like to first say thank you... a HUGE thank you... to all of my college Home Ec professors for instilling in their students the idea of "notebooks."  As grueling (and sometimes silly) as it seemed to put together notebook after notebook for every single class, some of them even being the final for the class, it was a priceless lesson in keeping information organized in a way that sets you up for smooth sailing and easy recall.  I still reference several of my Home Ec notebooks for various things in life, and it is so wonderful to just go to a shelf, immediately locate the subject I need, and then quickly turn to the information I want.  About as fast as a real-life Google machine!  ;-)

Some of...MANY

So for those who are not familiar with a "notebook" system or the curious who just want to see pictures of mine, here ya go.

1) Purchase a clear-view binder in the right size for all the areas you need.  For example, I am teaching two children this year in two grades.  I know I need a notebook for unfinished worksheets to pull from as we go through lessons.  I know I need a notebook for completed work.  I also need one for Judah's official co-op work as well as one for his attendance record since Kindergarten is official.

2) Create spine labels and title pages in Word (or whatever you use, Mac people).  I like to have the school, subject/contents, and the year.  It can be tailored to whatever you wish!

3) Print.  Carefully cut the spine labels and gently slip them in the spine.  It can be frustrating, but patience is key.  Then slip the title pages in the front cover.  Include labelled tab dividers for what you need.  Judah's "Completed Work" notebook has tabs for Handwriting and Math as those are the two subjects he has worksheets/papers for this year.  I also have the same dividers in his "Kindergarten Worksheets" notebook. When tearing out and hole-punching the worksheets (now I know why "Teacher Work Days" exist...), I like to also tear off the front cover and title pages of the workbook.  It makes the separation nice and also allows me to have the workbook information for whenever I want to reorder that book (for Elijah and then Eden in a few years).

 4) Admire your shelf of neatness and ease of use.  :-D

As an added tip, I've always been a woman of color.  I used it for high school research papers, undergraduate thesis, home decor, Bible marking, organizing, classification, you name it!  How lovely it was when I discovered that Sonlight knows how well color can help one organize!  With each core, they send a sheet of colored label paper so that you can mark each book if you choose.  So far, I've learned that preschool is orange, and Core A is pink.  Easy to tell at a glance which books go with which grade.  Especially once we retire the books to our family shelves until the next round of homeschool begins with Eden!

Next week, I'll show you my homeschool filing system...

Wordless Wednesday: Lotsa Learnin' Goin' On

Ps - Target has double sided WHITE BOARD tablet "paper."  For a buck each.  Unbelievable idea and price!

Monday Meditations: The Most Buying Power

Part of the wonder of the Bible and doctrines of the Christian faith is that there is always something new to learn, a new perspective to view.  You can read the same verse or hear the same principle over and over and yet hear it anew time after time.  It is impossible to exhaust the depths of Scripture and to know God wholly this side of heaven.  How awesome!  With that...

For years, I've believed that Christ died for my sins.  That He purchased me with His blood.  My sins are forgiven.  I'm part of His church.  He saved His own from eternal damnation.  Etc.  But Pastor Leake put two thoughts together and gave a fresh perspective on Christ's work on the cross.

"What did Christ do on the cross?  He purchased His church."


Seems like a simple question and answer.  But when you put deep thought into it, this perspective brings instant humility.  Here's the train of thought:

What did Christ do on the cross?  He purchased His church.
Purchased with what?  His very life.
Purchased from what?  Eternal damnation, separation from God, fiery punishment.
Who is the church?  A select group of people who believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him as Lord.
Who selects?  God the Father.
Based upon what?  Nothing that we have done.  It was His choice.
So then why on earth did He choose me to be a part of this select group that was purchased?  Uh....

Christ spilled His blood and endured the agony of the cross to purchase His church, a group of sinful human beings, from the eternal punishment we all deserve.  What He did removed His followers from the world and set them apart, righteous in God's eyes based upon nothing we have done but upon what Christ did.  Who am I to forget how AMAZING that is?  How precious salvation is!  How undeserving I am of God's grace and mercy -- and yet He still gives it!

With His death, Jesus Christ bought my soul from Satan's realm.  What an amazing perspective in which to present the work of the Cross.

Oh, victory in Jesus,
My Savior forever
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him

Wordless Wednesday: Let the 13+ year journey begin!

T.G.I.F.

One afternoon, I let the boys lay in my bed for nap time because it was thunderstorming. There was a spider web in our window with a spider in the middle. It had captured lunch and was tending to it. So we watched it as we lay there listening to the storm. After a little while, Elijah (who is pretty much paralized by thunder) softly asked Judah, "Should we pray to not be afraid?" Judah said he didn't know, so I said that one can pray anytime they need to. I asked Elijah if he'd like to pray, and he said he did. In the sweetest little boy voice, "Dear God, please help mommy and daddy. And please help me not to be afraid of the thunder and lightning. And please, Lord, help the spider and his food to be safe from the rain and thunder." It was just too cute with a sweet edge of compassion.

As I was making breakfast-for-dinner, I asked the boys if they enjoyed seeing the chickens some friends from church had. I asked them if they thought it was cool that our friends could just go out in their backyard and get fresh eggs.

Judah: To do what with them?

Me: To cook them and eat them, of course! So yummy!

Elijah: NO! Then they wouldn't be baby chickens!

Me: Aww, well, Elijah, those eggs are eggs to eat, not grow into baby chickens. You have to have a daddy chicken to have baby chickens.

Judah: Hmm, that's different. I know that mommy grown-ups have babies; but with chickens, it's the daddies that have the babies.

Me: (Oh dear.) Well, no, you have to have a daddy chicken and a mommy chicken to have baby chickens. Just like you have to have a mommy and a daddy to have a baby. (And we'll end it there for now!)

While eating Spanish rice with dinner, Judah asked, "Will it turn us to speaking Spanish?"

Monday Meditations: Young Marriage

I get daily emails from The Generous Wife with tips and ideas of how to bless my Hubby and our marriage. Every Saturday, the tip has something to do with the intimacy of marriage as well as a list of blog posts The Generous Wife found interesting that week. I read one that caught my eye and that led to another post that caught my eye. PLEASE read it - Young Marriage.

Simply astounding, huh? It bucks against so much that even those in my own tight circle might have learned and even hold to. I myself was memorably told by two adults when I was engaged that I was too young -- that I needed to "get out in the world" and "experience the world for myself" before I married. "Have a career, see what it's like." Really? I'm supposed to be separate from the world, and yet you want me to experience it before I marry?

I love each of the points the author brings out in his article. They all make perfect sense. One thing I wish he had noted is that marriages in Bible times were young -- maybe even younger than what the author is pushing for. Girls didn't get jobs first, travel abroad, and only then start desiring a husband. It was the men who got the jobs, worked hard to prepare a place for himself and a bride, and then married a young lady who was ready to be a wife and mother. Sounds like a fairy tale!

In this day and age, it is a fairy tale. There's one thing that flies in the face of the Young Marriage article. Did you perhaps think it while reading? Or did you even say it out loud because you were so shocked at the argument for young marriage among "kids these days"? Yeah, I thought it, too.

But most teens and young adults these days aren't ready for marriage! They are too immature and self-focused!

Indeed. Even I look back at who I was as a 22 year old bride, and wow. I was a baby! But why do I feel that way? Because I have 7 years, 5 moves, and 3 precious children under my belt (among a host of other smaller events). That'll do wonders to your maturity all around! It's exactly how we learn, grow, and flourish -- living life. Nice how God set it up that way, huh? :-) And if I compare my 18 year old self with my 22 year old self, I would say there is even MORE of a difference between those two people than my 22 year old and 29 year old self. My college years completely transformed who I was. I went in a bubbly, naive, boy-crazy (as in crazy looking for a godly husband), dramatic girl. I graduated a mellow, independent, life-loving engaged young woman. I admit, sometimes I miss the Anne-girl part of me. I know it's still deep inside. But at the same time, she doesn't really have a huge role in my life anymore. I mean, look at how much Anne changed through life experience from that fiery red-headed orphan to the poised young lady! From a Christian point of view, isn't that exactly what is promised in James 1:2-4?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

It is life itself that has the potential to mature the Christian. It's full of trials of varying degrees that can shape and hone various edges of who we are. How important it is to note that this happens throughout ALL of life. The shaping and honing happens to 5 year olds, 15 year olds, 25 year olds, 35 year olds, 45 year olds.... you get my point. So who is society - and many Christians - to say "You're too young to get married. You need to experience the world (aka be more mature and knowledgeable of how things work)." And don't even get me started on how young people should "work and save up money" before they marry. (Then you're saying money is more important than fulfilling God's command for us to marry and be fruitful. "But it's foolish to not prepare financially..." Sure, but blah blah blah. My hubby and I had $800 in our combined accounts when we got married and no official job for our first month of marriage. But God provided a timeline for our story that involved marriage before money... see, you got me started on the topic!)

What do I think the answer is? If I'm going to agree with the young marriage concept, how do I account for the immaturity of young adults these days? Well, I can only speak from the Christian perspective of a mother aiming to rear children who will honor the Lord with their lives. And that's the key! A great deal of why teens and young adults do not "seem" ready for marriage is because parents have failed to prepare them! Too many families are so busy -- both parents work, extracurricular activities consume family time, and the TV sucks up what time is left. God graciously set up life so that it matures us as we move through it -- and as a Christian parent, it is my privilege and responsibility to guide and support each of my children as they move through their lives. To help them process each trial that comes their way so that it does produce maturity rather than hardness or flippancy. Children left to themselves will be raised by their flesh -- and those children are the ones who will never be ready for the self-sacrificing, other-focused act of marriage. Children who are lovingly led through life and constantly directed towards the Savior as their ultimate Guide will be raised by the Spirit -- and those children are the ones who WILL be ready for marriage regardless of their age. Sure, there might be some flaws here and there. But you, my reader... are YOU perfectly responsible in your marriage? Are YOU perfectly responsible with your money? Do YOU always make the right decisions? And how old are you? How long have you been married? Yeah, that's what I thought. ;-)

It's a vicious cycle Satan has created. He's been quite clever at tearing the family apart, as noted in Young Marriage. As he gets parents to leave the picture, kids raise themselves. Then parents see their kids are too immature to marry and make them wait. Kids do wait and open themselves up to "experiencing the world" -- ending up with all kinds of baggage that they bring to marriage (not all sexual, either). Which leads to tough marriages and often divorce. Which means the kids of that marriage have a higher chance of being left to raise themselves and have not-so-good examples to follow... and it goes on and on.

I may have been "young" at 22. But I felt that I was perfectly ready for marriage. And I suppose my parents did, too. And obviously God, too, since it happened! ;-) And there has been NOTHING more joyous than to experience the world and life with my husband. Both he and I arrived in marriage with very little baggage. We have an incredibly strong, loving, growing, passionate relationship. Praise GOD! And we're just living life together -- always with a best friend and lover by our side to help us through whatever comes, good or bad. To me, that seems WAY better than voluntarily experiencing the world and life alone until I'm 30. Which is kind of a scary thought to me, actually. (What if God plans a late marriage? Note the emphasis on "voluntarily"... then hold your horses until the last paragraph of my post.)

So if you are a Christian parent, commit to raising your children to be godly and mature. Talk with them. Be involved in what life throws at them and help them process Biblically. Always remind them that their lives are to be lived for God's glory, not for self. If our focus is to point them to Christ, then we can trust Him to bring them to the level of maturity needed for young marriage, if the Lord wills. How wonderful to see our children get to live more years with someone they love AND be saved from a host of baggage that can come with late marriage!

And remember for yourself... God has written each person's love story. If your child's love story begins at 19, trust Him. If your other child's love story begins at 30, trust Him. Either way, be there for your children, pray often, and enjoy being a character in God's script for them!

T.O.P.S.

No, you can't change your birthday to a different day.

T.G.I.F.

I was drying my hair and putting on very light make-up one afternoon before my Hubz got home. Judah was watching me and asking why I was doing it. I said that I wanted to look a little nicer for Daddy. "Why?" Because I love him. :-) When I was finished, I turned to Judah and fluffed my hair. I smiled and asked him if I looked a little nicer. "Sure." ::pause:: "And with a smile on your face, you look even more nicer." Ah, Lord, let him always remember that principle when dealing with women. :-)

While I was cleaning up for breakfast one morning, Judah asked "Mommy, can I cut my heart out?" LOL No worries. He meant that he wanted to draw me a red heart and cut it out -- he saw a boy do it in a book we read the night before. But it sure was weird to hear my 5 year old innocently ask that question!

Tippy Tuesday: Life Saver... literally.

Each minute we spend is life right? Well, thanks to my sweet friend, I now have many minutes of life saved for other things!!!

She came over a couple weeks ago to do some cleaning because my back was ka-put. One of her generous ideas was to let me borrow her Swiffer Vac until my back feels better because, let's face it, sweeping with a broom does involve the back quite a bit.

Oh. my. HEAVENS!

The Swiffer Vac has done two amazing things for me:

1) DRASTICALLY cut down on time spent sweeping my downstairs. There is no carpet in any room, so dirt and debris adds up faster than my daughter bites a cookie. If I use the broom to sweep my downstairs, it can take about a half hour. Swiffer Vac = 5 minutes MAX. That's not to say I will never use a broom again. As my friend noted, it won't get every last bit a broom can. But that's not what bothers me. It's the bigger bits you can feel and see, not the dust particles. (A good broom sweep and mop every week or two should suffice.)

2) DRASTICALLY cut down on the annoyance I get with my hard floors. Don't get me wrong. I love having hard floors downstairs! But uuuuuugh... I can't believe how jaded we are into thinking vacuuming our carpets gets them clean. If you saw what piles up daily on my hard floors.... But with the Swiffer Vac, I can pop that puppy out after EVERY meal without dreading the chore and have non-crunchy floors in a couple minutes.

BONUS: I finally found what I've been looking for -- the little simple swiffer cloths my mom used to give me to dust our home. Guess which 5 and 4 year olds are about to take over the dusting chore...

So today's tip if you have sizable hard floors in your home: BUY A SWIFFER VAC!

I gotta get me a coupon so my sweet friend can have hers back... ;-)

Wordless Wednesday: The Latest Craze

Yes, two of those are stealth bomber paper airplanes. And the odd square-ish one is the type that holds the world record for longest flight -- and I believe it! Check it out: 10paperairplanes

Tippy Tuesday: Sweet Taste of Independence

I would like to share with my readers what is now a new family tradition for us -- a real flag cake! I'm not just talking about the typical strawberries and blueberries used to decorate a cake as a flag. I found the idea here. Props to this young lady for having a practical passion and pursuing it -- she's even been featured on the news! Seemed simple enough and very unique, so I had to try it! And as an added bonus, I'm breaking down and giving you all my secret to souping up boxed cake mix to be an incredibly moist, tender cake. Non-readers might be sorry! ;-)

2 boxes white cake mix

2-3 cans cream cheese frosting

1 tube red food coloring gel

1 tube blue food coloring gel

6 eggs

2 cups buttermilk*

1 cup vegetable oil

Parchment paper

Butter

*If you don't have buttermilk (who does?), use 2 tablespoons lemon juice and add enough milk to make 2 cups. It's a 1 Tbs to 1 cup ratio. Let sit 5 minutes.

Line the bottoms of 2-3 round cake pans with parchment paper. Using a paper towel, lightly coat the paper with butter. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 (adjust to 325 for dark pans). Combine the cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, and oil in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium 2 minutes. Use a 1 cup measure to evenly divide the batter into three separate bowls, being careful to get it as exact as you can. In one bowl, thoroughly mix in all of the red gel. In another bowl, thoroughly mix in all of the blue gel. Leave the remaining bowl white. Pour each batter into a cake pan. Bake as directed on box, about 30 minutes. Remove to wire rack; cool for 10 minutes. Turn out of pan onto extra sheets of parchment paper; cool completely. Gently peel off parchment circle.

Level tops of cakes to make each layer the same height. (Here I rabbit trail -- I "splurged" on one of those cake leveler things. If I had known years ago it was only $4 at Michaels, I would have been lovin' cake baking a lot more over the years! It makes QUICK and easy work of leveling tops of cakes and splitting layers! GET ONE! End rabbit trail.) Then, split ONLY the red and white layers evenly into two layers each.

ASSEMBLY:

1) Spread some icing on one white half, top with one red half. Place on center of cake plate.

2) Spread some icing on the remaining white half, top with remaining red half.

3) Find a small bowl or coffee cup that, when placed in center of cake layer, will leave about a 2 inch ring. Use either a serrated knife to cut around the object or if the dish has no handle, gently press the object down into the cake to cut a circle. Do this for both the blue layer and one red/white layer.

4) Spread some icing on the red/white layer on cake plate. Place the blue ring on top. Do your best to gently ice the inside of the blue ring (ha! that was the hardest and most-failed part of making this cake). Gently push the small red/white circle into center of blue ring.

Use remaining icing to finish off the cake! I EEKED out using 2 cans. Three would have been much less nail-biting. :-) I used a toothpick dipped in icing to gently drag in towards the center to create the firework effect.

The thing I love about this cake is that it looks so simple on the outside, unobtrusive and not so special. But then when you cut into it... HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, AMERICA!

T.G.I.F.

My aunt and uncle were here visiting this past week. It seemed that Mandy's short comments to Elijah would produce adorable responses. One morning at breakfast, something happened that made Mandy say "Mommys are smart!" Without a beat, Elijah said, "And beautiful!" Later, we said something about my mom, and Mandy commented, "Nini is the best!" Again, without a beat, Elijah said, "And the cutest!" :-)

At dinner one night, we were talking about what we wanted to do that evening with my aunt and uncle. Judah repeatedly brought up the "Fish Mall," the mall near us that has a huge Bass Pro Shop containing a big aquarium of catfish, etc. Over and over and OVER the boy kept asking if we could go there. Matt finally turned to Judah and made a box motion with his hands: "Judah, this is a box. We're going to put the Fish Mall in a box and not talk about it anymore." We moved on to several other conversations. Then out of the blue, Judah turned to Matt. "Daddy, let's pretend the Fish Mall is in a box. And then we open the box." I think all of our jaws hit the table and then we gufawed in laughter! Smart kid. Or is that smart aleck kid? (We did end up visiting the Fish Mall!)

T.O.P.S.

No, we don't eat eyeballs for Christmas.

Well, there seems to have been a lag in Things Only Parents Say... because I haven't had to say very many odd things recently. :-) So to extend today's post, I will give a small update on Eden as well as an exciting venture I wish to undertake.

Eden... Oh my, how cute she is! She's 14 months now. Walk instead of crawls. Loves to climb into little chairs and up the stairs. Lights up at the sight of her brothers. Squeals both in delight and anger. Can cop quite the attitude or throw quite the tantrum (can we say GIRL?). She knows where her eyes and teeth are. Loves doggies. She LOVES her Da-da. Her first discernable babble-words are "uh-oh," "dah-doo" (thank you), and I think "dah-dee" (doggie). She has a great capacity for facial expression that can melt you or make you roll on the floor laughing. And probably the latest skill mastery that has kind of shocked us is that she can mostly feed herself. Just this morning, she had a bowl of oatmeal with VERY little assistance. She does such a great job!! It's nice to see that I'll soon get to eat my own food without doing the "bite for you, bite for me" method. But it also feels too early to say goodbye to that stage! She's just over one! ::sigh:: I love my baby girl. Thank you, Lord, for doing YOUR will and not mine. I always said I never really wanted a girl. He knows best!

As for this new venture... For a long time, I've always wanted to impact teen girls in the area of purity. If there was any reason I ever wanted to be involved in a youth group somewhere, it was that reason. Well, that hasn't really worked out due to moving so much and now to current life stage. But I had an inspiration this last week and realized on Sunday -- I should write a book. If I can't be directly involved en mass with youth girls right now, maybe I can work on putting down on paper what I want to invest in their lives. So, here's the working title:

The Virgin Heart

I know. Kinda makes me nervous to use such a blunt word. But it catches you, doesn't it? There are lots of great books out there on sexual purity, and that is a passion of mine as well. But, praise be to God, I did not have a huge struggle staying pure sexually for my future husband. The area I struggled in was purity of heart -- maintaining a Virgin Heart. It is completely possible to give your heart away, whether you intend to or not, without even being touched by a guy. For this book, I would like to infuse Scripture and the principles we can draw from it concerning purity of heart with the four foundational stories of my Heart's life. Two are guys I gave my heart to, one intentional and one non-intentional. One is a guy that forever holds my heart and body (Love you, Hun!). And the last is the One who eternally holds my heart and soul and deserves all glory for what I've learned from these relationships. Please pray for me to have wisdom as I try to write this book. I hope it comes together and is not another one of those "oo, that's a good idea" that fizzles out. Might take a while since I do have lots of other responsibilities. And if it never gets out there, then the Lord had it as an exercise in my meditating on His wonderful creation of our hearts and giving us the capacity to love Him and others.

Life is but a vapor.

When I got the call from my sister that her mother-in-law had passed away, I immediately felt the tears come. But there was something else deep down inside that began welling up. I don't think I've ever sobbed so hard so quickly. I'm not sure my heart knew what to do -- it was beating at a very rapid, odd pace. Judah happened to be with Matt and I, so he got a clear picture of fresh grief which Matt had to explain. After a while, I was able to regain composure... then the more sober processing began.

What must it be like for Rich, Marta's husband, to lose the love of his life? What was it like for Autumn to have to wake her husband up to tell him his mother was gone from this earth? What is it like for Andy, Emily, and Ben to no longer have their momma to call or be with? For Erik, Hailey, and Noah to not get to see Grandma anymore?

She's free from pain and tears. And we are left with pain and tears -- grief. I'm thankful for the emotion. I'm thankful God gave us tears. Grief and tears help us humans process. And I'm also thankful that the grief over losing Marta is not life shattering. It seems to be a very thoughtful, sweet grief as we remember the woman she was. So full of joy, friendliness, passion for Jesus.

Tonight, as we were going through many photos of Marta's life -- from childhood to present day -- I was struck with a fresh understanding of two Scriptural principles. Life is but a vapor, and the Lord has numbered our days. Staring at the flirtatious young redhead, the 80's dressed pregnant mom, the mother of the bride, Grandma with her kiddos... Only the Lord knew that all of her days were adding up to this past Sunday when she met Him face to face. She was moving through her life. All around her were moving through life. Not one of us knowing when she would step into eternity. Sixty-one years. Seems like a long time, but I know that for many who love her, including myself, it seems all too short now. Especially Rich. But according to the Lord, it was the perfect amount of earthly life for Marta Bruckman.

Let this serve as a motivation for us to make the most of each moment. Cherish your spouse. Take time for your children. Speak kindly to all. Enjoy the life God has given you. Do your work heartily as unto the Lord. Help when you can. Make it all count as much as possible. Love God with all of who you are. Give your Creator glory with all that you can muster.

Your days are numbered.

T.G.I.F.

While watching Little Einsteins in which the instrument of the episode was a French horn, Judah logically asked, "Are French horns for people who speak French?"

As we were sitting at the table eating breakfast, Elijah was being pretty silly. He was waving his arms around then all of the sudden stopped mid-air. "I'm paused!" Did you just say "I'm PAUSED!"? "Yes." Gone are the days of "I'm freezed/frozen/froze." It's been modernized.

To get some background, listen to this clip from Brian Regan (and disregard the lame graphics). This week, I received my first moment referenced in this little sketch. The boys were playing outside. Judah comes tearing through the front door into the kitchen where I am. "Hey, Mommy!!!" (pause) During the pause, he raised his hands in front of his body as if to calm me down. "Don't worry." (pause) Uuhhhh....you better start talking, son! I don't even remember what happened, but it wasn't serious. Thankfully!

We discovered Elijah calls bookmarks "nookmarks." Ironically, that exists, too.

Judah was pretending to be Superman, complete with blanket cape hanging down his back. He "flew" to the doorway of the kitchen and in a deep voice declared, "I'm Superman!" I played along. I went over to him and put my arms on his shoulders and cried, "Superman, save me!!" He held up his hands and said (still in a deep voice), "Uh, hold on. I have to go save someone." ::speechless:: What am I, chopped liver?? I'm your MOTHER! :-)

Monday Meditation: Family, Builders, & Termites... Oh my!

Life motto ad nauseam: "Life is an adventure." That's what I always say. And I generally have stories to prove it.

Take the past couple days for instance. This week was going to be a pretty calm week in a sense that there was not much going on at all out of the norm. Just a fun lunch with Grandma Robin on Wednesday. All of the sudden this is what my week holds and the stories behind how this week's schedule came to be:

FAMILY

Finalization of tickets for my grandmother and little sister to arrive here tomorrow. Sudden but oh so fun! Nonie is coming to care for her mom (my great grandmother) as she has been having some heart trouble this past week. Nonie will come back to stay a night next week before returning to her home. Hope is coming just to spend two weeks with our family -- so fun and so helpful to us as we keep trying to get settled!

BUILDERS

The work on our home seems to have been dragging out longer than we expected. Sounds normal, though. :-) We haven't seen Bob the Builders for a while, most likely due to the rain we've gotten lately. I found out this morning that gutters will be done tomorrow morning and garage doors mid-day. Woo hoo! And speaking of garage doors...

TERMITES

I knew Terminix would be coming today to do a routine pest spray because we have a small ant problem and a weird rolly polly problem (they used to be cute until I started sweeping up about 15-20 per day...and can I say I am SOOOO thankful none of my children like to pick up small things and put them in their mouths!). So I wasn't alarmed at the knock on my door between 1:00 - 3:00. Expecting a man, I was a little surprised to see a woman. You don't really ever see a bug woman, just the "bug man." What surprised me even more was when she said, "Hi, I'm Dawn Marie with Terminix." I'm sorry, what did you say? "Uh, I'm Dawn Marie with Terminix, here to do your free termite inspection." I'm sorry, did you say your name was Dawn Marie? "Yeees?" As in d.a.w.n. m.a.r.i.e.? "Yeeees?" She was pretty hesitant at this point. Is Marie your middle or last name? "Middle. ??" I finally explained (and apologized) that I was quite shocked... because that's my exact name, too. We had a good laugh, and I tried to become un-awkwardified so as to move on with the appointment. And became clear that she was not here to spray but to give the free termite inspection that comes with any Terminix service (who knew?). But that's not all. The next surprise came when she found evidence of active termites in the garage door frames (which are being ripped out tomorrow, perhaps Providence?). May I educate my readers and say that in order to purchase this foreclosed home, it had to pass termite inspection -- and it did. So someone fouled up. (Please submit the following days to prayer as we try to sort through this and hopefully not get docked a sum of money for treatment. The Lord's will be done, though.) Hence, add termite treatment to Wednesday. **ADDENDUM** The "bug man" was just here. Not only did he ask if I was tired and point out the dark circles under my eyes, he also complimented me on my laptop and giggled throughout his time here as he remembered the new term "rolly polly." He said his vocabulary is ever increasing. I said "rolly polly" is more quaint than "pill bug." Despite the ick in this world, sometimes it can be so fun to interact with strangers! It's refreshing when you find a few who are a pleasure to meet!

3) Hubz is bringing home three co-worker friends for lunch on Friday -- I'm looking forward to it! He works with some great guys, and one of them I haven't met yet... the one who gets to share a cubicle with my Love!

Add to that small group and band, normal duties of wife and mommy, 3 nursing covers, house management... We're full up, Sweetcheeks.

But I'm gonna roll with it. Because God is in control. He has written each page of my story. I've been through crazier weeks (like the one before our big move!). And I'm alive, well, happy, and growing. Shoot -- I even got up early and did yoga this morning! Started the day with an answer to prayer, that I would start meeting a new goal!

Oh yeah. The HVAC guy is supposed to be here in 30 minutes. I need to figure out dinner. And the prospect of me being able to read for small group tonight is looking VERY slim now.

Keep focused on what is of supreme importance, and life with be an overall joyous adventure!

But seek first HIS KINGDOM and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:33-34

T.G.I.F.

Whew... it's been a while thanks to the move!

While sitting at lunch, Judah randomly asked me what my favorite kind of lobster is. Lobster? What on earth, son. "I don't like any kind of lobster." To which he replied, "Red lobster is my favorite." Elijah piped up, "BLUE lobster is my favorite!" Judah asked why lobsters are red. Uh, well, I think they turn red when they are cooked. Do you mean red lobster or the restaurant red lobster? "There's a restaurant called red lobster??" Yes, they have really good cheddar biscuits. Elijah, "Cheddar CHEESE biscuits??" They're called cheddar bay biscuits. "Cheddar biscuits with CHEESE in them?" ... A pointless, random, confusing conversation ensued. But funny. :-)

I was playing with the boys on their bedroom floor before their bed time. And by "playing," I mean laying there while they put cars under my splayed-out hair to pretend it was a "car wash" for the cars. Hey, it's relaxing to have your hair lightly tugged and stroked! All parties were benefiting. ;-) After a while, I popped my head up and all my hair was hanging in front of my face. Elijah started using both of his hands to get the hair out of my face and finally matter-of-factly stated, "Mommy, you so HAIRY!" Hmm. Thanks, 'Lij. :-P

T.G.I.F.

We were driving home from Target with the windows down since it was so nice out. As we were going slowly through the neighborhood, we could hear the evening songbirds. I asked the boys if they could hear them. "Yes!" Judah suggested that maybe they were looking for their family. I said maybe they were looking for dinner. Elijah? "Yeah, they're having chicken nuggets for dinner!"

There's something about picturing a songbird dining on chicken nuggets that just seems...wrong.

Thursday TOPS

I would never feed us poop.

Tippy Tuesday: Pockets 'n Pants

Could someone please explain to me why infant (or even young toddler) pants have real pockets? Really...what infant is going to stick their hands in their pockets while they lay around? All the pockets do is bunch up and get in the way. So I decided to remedy this non-necessity on Eden's jeans. It's very simple to do and can be done with or without a sewing machine!

First, turn the jeans inside out. Smooth the denim and pocket as best you can and pin through the layers to make sure it will stay flat on the right side when you are finished. Snip the pocket away from the side seam, but do NOT cut through the manufactured curved line of stitching that attaches the pocket to the denim.

Next, whether by hand or machine, sew a curved line ONLY through the two pocket layers and below the manufactured curved stitching. If you sew through the denim, you will see the stitching on the right side of the jeans. Cut off the excess pocket fabric (pinking sheers help with fraying).

Repeat on the other pocket. When you turn the jeans right side out, you will have nice, smooth FAKE pockets. Now when I put Eden's jeans on her, there's no digging down inside tiny pockets to smooth them down her legs. No bunching -- just quick cuteness!

T.G.I.F.

Judah, from the living room, "Are these Eden's socks? No, these are her kankee pants." Then he walked into the room holding the "kankee pants" mid-air by the toe. They were tights. I have no idea where he got "kankee pants" out of tights.

Elijah to Nurse Elaina, "Do I get a shot today?" He really wanted a lollipop. "No, no shot today. Do you WANT one?" Elijah nodded his head yes and had a very thoughtful look on his face. "In my bones. Because they are tight and won't hurt. My knees are bones. But I don't want a shot in my knee. I want one here." as he pointed to the front of his shin. Uh, I think a shot in your bone would hurt MUCH worse than in your muscle! But Elaina affirmed his thought process as creative. :-)

I told Judah to go upstairs and get dressed while I finished feeding Eden her breakfast. He called down from the top of the stairs, "Mommy, I don't think I can wear this guinea pig shirt. It's too small." My mind raced through his wardrobe, wondering what on earth he meant by guinea pig. I asked him to clarify. "I can't wear this guinea pig shirt because I think it's too small." I told him I couldn't think of any shirt that had a guinea pig on it. Maybe he meant size? We did watch G-Force a while back. Maybe he was trying to be cute saying a guinea pig sized shirt would be too small for him. Then it hit me and made me chuckle. "OH! You mean your Razorback shirt?" He said yeah, and I assured him it would fit. That's for all you Arkansans! Woooooo, guinea pigs!

Thursday TOPS

Remember, TOPS stands for Things Only Parents Say.

Please pull your underwear up so your wee-wee is covered.

Don't lick the packing paper.

Get your legs out of the cereal box.

Oops...I just stepped on the cheeseburger. (on the bathroom floor)

Stop laying on that shelf. (I should have finished with "You are not a Zelf!" Anyone know the reference?) ;-)

Wordless Wednesday: The Latest Style in Decor

Monday Meditations: Thoughts of Home

As our move gets closer, I'm starting to see various emotions quietly rising within myself. I'm thankful that they are not strong enough to appear outwardly but are more for my personal reflection and dealing. Sometimes it's nice to have private moments with my heart as I process this huge transition in my family's life.

And here I am sharing those private moments. :-) I feel that I've kept them to myself for a sufficient time.

Things I will miss that I never thought I would miss this much...

-Seeing bunny rabbits and all kinds of birds (with an occasional groundhog or deer) romping through the backyard. It has been so sweet to be so close to God's creation in this way. Especially those bunnies in the spring. I don't think I would ever tire of seeing them!

-The neighborhood kids, though even if we stayed here, I think others are moving soon anyway.

-The neighborhood adults. This is the first place we've lived where we've gotten to know our neighbors. Not on a hugely personal level, but I could tell you about the families in 10 homes around us. (Maybe I'll profile them in a future post for posterity.) One of our prayers when we moved here was that God would give us opportunity to get to know even just our next door neighbors. He answered...and exceeded. (Please pray with us for the same to happen in our new neighborhood!)

-I must give a special shout out to missing my Home Boy Jamie -- a fellow stay-at-home (dad) Arkansan across from our house. He and his family have been fun to know and good for our boys to play with for the exposure to inter-racial friendship as well as interacting with someone who has a speech impediment. They sure do love 10 yr old Dante and have not a care in the world that he is hard to understand. If only we all could learn from children and their ability to overlook differences. ::tries to stay off soapbox and keep focused::

-The quietness.

-All the trees.

-Easy access to walking trails and "our" park.

Things I never thought I was missing that I realize are going to be wonderful...

-A garage. I have NEVER lived in a house with a garage (that I remember anyway). Won't ever have to bring groceries or kids inside through the rain or snow. Bikes will no longer be in my entryway. No more clearing snow, ice, or pollen off the cars. Which leads to...

-A driveway. We've never had a driveway in our married life. We get to wash our cars in our own driveway! WOW! A place for my kids to ride in circles or play games without being in other people's way on the sidewalk.

-A pool. Seriously...the pool is a mystery to me. I STILL have random moments when I say to myself, "Oh yeah. I forgot. It has a pool. Really??" I'm thankful for those moments because it shows me that the pool was not the selling point for me. But really? I have no idea what it's going to be like to have a pool in MY backyard (or the cost of maintenance for that matter...). I'm so glad I have "lifeguard" under my job belt! At least I'm not totally in the dark about pools. :-)

-A porch. A nice place to sit while my kids play in the fenced in front yard. No more sitting on random railroad ties or standing around.

-A guest suite. I'm still so humbled that the Lord would allow us to have a home that has a guest suite in it. No more moving cribs or beds around to fit an air mattress or telling people they can either sleep on the couch, get a hotel, or stay with our friends.

-Our own mailbox. First time in our marriage to not have one blocked with other people's.

-Non-creaky stairs.

-A laundry room UPSTAIRS. Oh my word. Is it really going to happen??? My Hubz has always been dead set against it for liability reasons. But a couple weeks ago, he all of the sudden asked, "What would you think about moving the laundry upstairs to the small room?" ::picks self up off floor:: He was serious. And tonight he even called our plumber friend from church to talk about the process and when it will happen. ::stunned:: For REAL? No more hauling hampers up and down stairs? Are we really about to mostly remedy the chore that seems to be the number one enemy of my back?? Which leads to...

-New MATTRESS!!!!!! After 7 years of sleeping on a $50 king sized pillow top mattress that the Lord seriously blessed us with by way of a second hand store, He is allowing us to get a new mattress. Are we really about to maybe completely remedy another enemy to my back?? (And, thanks to the Lord's timing, we were able to get a free queen mattress for the guest suite!)

Things I had no idea would cause so much mental strain...

-Choosing a washer and dryer. HAS to be the HARDEST decision in this whole process. Maybe even harder than the house itself. Dumb, right? :-P But really, when you think about it, the washer and dryer are probably my most used and needed electronic servants. So to be the one choosing to spend the money on the two machines I will spend A LOT of time with for hopefully many years...daunting and overwhelming. Especially with the myriad of reviews out there on brand, front loader vs. top loader, drum size, noise level, reliability, etc. etc. ETC. It seriously could drive one's self insane.

-Um, I really think the washer/dryer has been the biggest point of stress for me. Get back to me in a few weeks after we've gone through contracting work at the house as well as the actual move. ;-)

This Monday meditation is meant to be a picture of how we are to give thanks in ALL things. How God cares for the big things AND the small things in our lives. If He cares for every sparrow and lily, how much more does He care for His children? I mean, really, a mailbox? Who cares about a mailbox? But it's just proof that we can and should take delight in the small things just as much as the big things. All that we have is from Him. He has given us an abundant life. We would be remiss if we took advantage of it and did not ponder just how incredible His detailed care is.

Am I scared of moving into this house? Yes. Why? Because this is a HUGE step for our family, especially financially and from a home management perspective. But need I be afraid? No. Why? Because we have prayed for wisdom and guidance time and time again throughout this process and have kept open hands and hearts as best we can tell. And God has promised to give wisdom when we seek it and has promised to guide our steps if we seek His will. His fingerprint is all over this purchase and move. ALL the glory is due to Him. The people involved, the exact timing of every phone call, the babysitters, each home we chose to see...He orchestrated it all. I pray we never forget how much we learned of our Great & Good Provider during this time. And I pray that we will have many years of thanking Him and giving back by way of hospitality to many!

Starting with our out-of-town families in just two weeks! :-D

T.G.I.F.

I overheard Judah and Elijah getting dressed one morning. Often times, they consider things a race with each other. Judah chanted, "I'm the champion!" Elijah, loud and angry, responded, "NO YOU NOT! GOD is the CHAMPION!!" Judah simply said, "No, He's not." Elijah - "YES HE IIIIS!!!" Made me have a little chuckle before addressing each son's issue. :-P

We had cantaloupe with dinner the other night. I think it must be the first time I've purchased one in the boys' "grown-up" life. They enjoyed it, 'Lij more than Judah. Towards the end of dinner, Elijah ever-so-sweetly asked for more "neb-uh-loaf." Still later, he called it meatloaf. SO cute!

Thursday TOPS

Brian Regan has a funny act where he talks about how there are some things that only a parent can say. Hence, I will occasionally have "Thursday Things Only Parents Say" (Thursday TOPS). Same concept as my TGIF's, only this will be a collection of those sentences throughout my week that I can't believe I had to say to my children. They may not seem so funny at first glance, but if you REALLY thing about it... you'll realize that only a parent is blessed enough to say them. :-) I've also realized that TOPS will be comprised of negative statements -- just shows that TOPS occur solely because kids will be curious kids!

Stop playing with the toilet handle. It's not a toy.

Stop banging on the washer. I don't care if it sounds like thunder. Don't do it!

It's probably not a good idea to stand on that balloon (could also read "car carrier").

Don't vroom your cars into your little sister.

Would you please stop dancing around naked?

It's rude to sniff other people's bottoms.

Take that diaper off your head.

You may only bring cars that don't fit under the oven into the kitchen.