In our schooling, we are on letter E this week. Our lessons have included information about estimating, EMT's, eyes, ears, elephants, Ezra, and eggs.
Today painted eggs. It was so much fun for both of us, but definately a lesson in following directions and being patient for her.
It was one of those activities where she thought she knew exactly what to do (because we have decorated eggs before), but I wanted her to follow the instructions that I was giving her for setting up the different color dyes.
Then, once the decorating began I let her loose as far as how to decorate the eggs, but I wanted her to do one at a time...she wanted to paint them all at the same time. :)
She is definately the little artist and she made some beautiful eggs.
The other day we had an unusual bought with Lilly's imagination. My daughter is very creative and has imaginary sisters, brothers, places, etc.
It started off with her saying that Lilly had left and gotten on an airplane. The airplane had gone into a scary storm and she didn't know when Lilly would return. I replied with, "Who are you, then?" She said, "I'm Flamingo, not Lilly." This comment was heard many times throughout the day. I said we needed to go and find Lilly because I wanted my Lilly back. Flamingo offered to come and help me search for her. So, we went on a walk through the trails around our house and we called out for Lilly, but no Lilly.
Then, dinner time came and Flamingo didn't want to pray before she ate. My husband said, "I don't know what you do in your house, Flamingo, but in this house we thank God for our food" Flamingo didn't want to do a lot of the things that Lilly does. When we called Nana that day, she even told her that she wasn't Lilly she was Flamingo.
After dinner, Flamingo decided she would go on another search for Lilly. I allowed her to go outside to look for her, thinking that she would just stay in the yard, come back and our Lilly would be home. No such luck, she went out and started walking down the street toward the trails to look for Lilly. I had to stop her and that is when the "game" had to end. She cried and cried.
I hate to squash my child's imagination, but sometimes the fun has to end. This time is was because of safety reasons and also for the sanity of her parents.
I
do things that God says are wrong - we all do, they are called sins. God created us and God sets the rules.
I can say I don't like them
or I can try to justify that the reason I do this sin makes it okay
or I can say society says it is okay so that makes it okay...
The fact is, it is still wrong by God's standards and His are the only ones that matter.
I don't like to make God sad by doing things that are wrong, but there are some reasons why I am glad that I am a sinner:
*It reminds me why I need Jesus, if I didn't fall down then I wouldn't need Him to pick me up. Each time I do something I know I shouldn't - I call on Him for forgiveness and I call on Jesus to help me get back on track because I can do nothing without Him.
* It reminds me why we can never, ever judge somebody else's heart and think we know where they stand or where they are going. Some sins are more obvious and we see them and think that person must not love Jesus if they can do that - let us be reminded of all the sins that aren't so out and open and let us be reminded that we ALL fall short of the glory of God (if you think you don't, then you need to pray for God to reveal your faults to you).
*It reminds me that Jesus came to save the lost - if I can't get it right then I am still lost and I need Him to save me each and every day!
Thank you, Jesus!
This post is mainly for the grandparents and relatives:
Lilly is growing into a very independent young girl. Here are the things she has done in the last few days that have brought her "growing up" to my attention:
*she poured her own drink (got out the cup and the juice from the refrigerator by herself)
* poured cereal into her own bowl
* she spread peanut butter and jelly on her bread and made herself a sandwich
* came downstairs 2 mornings in a row all dressed with her hair brushed and in her opinion - fixed!
* and today she was supposed to be having quiet time in her room - she decided that she was tired and needed to take a nap instead of play, so she put on a pull-up (we're still not potty trained while sleeping) and a t-shirt and put herself to sleep.
All this to say - she is growing up and I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about that.
My daughter's likes and dislikes intrigue me sometimes.
For example, she loves clowns but I showed her a picture of me dressed up (before my convictions about Halloween came about) with black and white paint on my face and she is scared to death of it. She made me hide it so she wouldn't have to ever look at it again.
She loves all things medicinal - she loves going to the doctor and the dentist. She wasn't afraid when she had to have an x-ray of her chest taken one time, she just asked questions about it. Playing doctor or dentist is an ongoing thing around our house. :) We've gone to visit people we know in the hospital before and she asks all kinds of questions, doesn't bother her one bit to watch them take blood or whatever - she doesn't get this from me. But, when I was put in the hospital one time for an upset stomach it made her very nervous and she didn't like that I was hooked up to the IV.
She loves her Uncle BenBen, but just recently we took him to have his wisdom teeth removed. I told her that after his surgery he would probably act a little funny because of the medicine. We talked about this upcoming surgery for about a week and what was going to happen to her beloved uncle. Here are 2 pictures of her right before the surgery - playing and happy as could be to be next to him (like usual).
After the surgery, she would hardly look at him because he had the gauze in his mouth and he looked a little funny. He wanted her to give him a hug and she looked like she was going to run.
For as long as I can remember she hasn't liked men with beards. When she was just barely 2, I remember a friendly man in the grocery store waving to her and saying how beautiful she was. The man had a long, white beard and she huddled next to me and would not even look at him. A few summers back we went to a family reunion in SC and my brother and my dad both had beards. She would cry every time they got close. My brother ended up shaving his off that week to appease her.
Now, I'm not one to make my child feel uncomfortable. I know sometimes you get an uneasy feeling about people, a feeling like it isn't safe, but we have had an ongoing conversation about how you can't judge somebody by the way they look. Now that she is a little older, she loves my brother and she enjoys my dad's company when he is around.
So, she knows that just because they have beards doesn't mean they are scary. However, she still says she thinks men with beards are scary - oh well - I guess the conversation will keep on going and one day (prayerfully) she will get it. :)
Today is the day my wonderful, hardworking husband comes home after us being apart for 40 days. Yes, that is right, 40 days -same number of days it rained when God flooded the earth. It isn't the longest we have been apart from each other, but it is the longest my daughter has been away from her daddy.
I know many people whose husbands are away alot for work - either military or other. From what I hear from everybody, we all go through the same things - you miss having them around, you get nervous about how things will change when they get home, you have to prepare your children for the changes (them going or coming home), and some days it is just plain hard.
Thankfully, with lots of help from our Lord and Savior, we have made it to the end of this time apart.
Here are some of the things we have done during his time away:
1) We made a chain link of the # of days until his homecoming and each morning we have torn off one link and counted the ones left.
2) We have talked to him every other day or so on Skype - so thankful for this technology where you can see the person and hear their voice and it is FREE! :)
3) We made a journal and have written in it about the important events of each day - Lilly tells me what to write and she draws a picture to go with the words. This has been part of her school work each day.
Here are some of the things we have done to make his homecoming more special:
1) We made little signs telling him how special we thought he was and we hid them all around the house - garage, on shirts, on his pillow, etc.
2) We got dressed up this morning and straightened our hair, put on good smelling perfume, etc.
3) We are planning a special meal of brisket, corn on the cob and potatoes for his dinner.
We are so excited to meet him at the airport and smother him with kisses and hugs (and tickles - from Lilly). :)
For the past 3 weeks now, I have been doing "school time" with Lilly for about an hour a day. I have gotten ideas from various websites and books and she seems to be really enjoying this time each day. In this post, I will share with you some of the websites I use and our schedule.
Right now we are doing a letter a week, so everything we study in each of the subjects begins with the letter we are learning about. For example, this week has been the letter C so we talked about courageous Queen Esther when we did our Bible story, compared groups of objects to decide which had more or less, counted objects, looked at the calendar, and created pictures. Also, we read books about counting and cats.
Schedule:
Bible story and memory verses
Journal to Daddy when he is away - she tells me what to write and then she adds a picture to go with the words
Calendar - date, days of the week, months of year, weather, seasons
Monday - talk about letter of the week, sound it makes, what it looks like, what things begin with the letter, finding things that start with the letter, finding the letter in the house, etc
Learn a nursery rhyme - we've been checking various books out with lots of nursery rhymes in them and so we try to learn one a week. We have also been reading a fable or fairy tale a week.
Tuesday - math day, numbers, practice recognition of them, couting, one-to-one correspondance, patterns, adding, sorting, etc
Wednesday - Science day, experiements, observations, reading books on various topics
Thursday - S.S. day, reading books on various topics and library day
Friday - We usually have one day where we go out in the morning so we don't get to our school work - Friday is our day to "catch up"
Here are some sites I have been using:
https://docs.google.com/View?docID=dwstdgn_447mphsmf8&revision=_latest&pli=1
http://www.letteroftheweek.com/index.html
http://www.workboxsystem.com/
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/
http://www.first-school.ws/INDEX.HTM
http://cullensabcs.com/
http://simplycharlottemason.com/
For memory verses, I have been using this system from the Charlotte Mason site:
http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/
If you know me even a little bit, you know that I am a schedule-oriented person. You also know that I usually do things the same way every time. I have a certain way I go through the grocery store, a certain way I drive to church, and certain days I like to do certain chores. Needless to say I have a schedule and it might not be posted but it is in my head.
Wake up
Breakfast
Clean-up - lately I have been setting out oven timer for 1 hour and Lilly and I get to cleaning:
Mon - wash clothes and general straighten up from the weekend (Lilly sorts clothes and is my gopher girl running things back to the room they belong in)
Tues - bathrooms (Lilly "stirs" the toilets and wipes the mirrors) and collecting all the trash to go out
Wed - dusting, wiping down (we do this together) This is also the day we usually have play dates or outings so I don't stress if the dusting doesn't get done
Thurs - light laundry, floors (one day I will get a smaller mop so Lil can help me with this)
Fri - general straighten up and any outside general clean-up like cleaning out cars or sweeping the sidewalk, etc.
School Time - I'll post more on this later
Planned Playtime w/ Mommy - pool, play doh, park, making a craft, cooking, etc
Lunch
Rest Time - some days we have a nap and some days not, but on the no nap days, Lilly has to play quietly in her room for an hour
Organizing or finish cleaning/ Lil has "free" play time
Prepare dinner
Dinner
Family time - games, movie, play, etc
Bedtime routine for Lil - bath, books, prayers, songs, sleep
Evening time varies depending on whether my husband is home or away
This is the schedule I use for Mon - Fri. Weekends are a little different, but usually there is a "schedule" of some sort in my head before they day begins. What I need to remember to do is to let God lead the day and not stress if something doesn't get done or if something "interrupts" the routine. I'm getting better at this, but only by His help. :)
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what I will do when Lilly is "school" age. I am very seriously considering homeschooling her and I have already started a preschool schedule with her - which she loves. There are many reasons for this decision, here are a few:
1) I really only have 18 years to be an influence in my daughter's life and if she goes to school for 6-8 hours a day, then I lose a lot of that and her teachers and peers become more of an influence.
2) I don't want to "protect" her in a sense that I don't want her to hear about certain topics, but I want her to hear about those topics from me - evolution, sex, etc.
3) I have realized that she is a kinesthetic learner and she likes to figure things out on her own (if at all possible), so sitting in a classroom having to be quiet and doing worksheets may not be the best way for her to learn.
4) In real life, we do not only interact with people our own age. I think my daughter needs to learn how to treat others all the way around - older and younger.
5) In real life, we do not go from spelling to math to reading, etc. I think learning in themes where everything is related makes much more sense to me. Yes, some things probably need to be taught in isolation, but not to the extent they are in schools.
6) I have the training and I don't necessarily want to go back into the classroom, so why not use the knowledge and skills God has allowed me to have in bringing up and educating my own daughter - the most precious gift the Lord has given me.
I know there have already been a few people to say, "Well, what about socialization?" I know Lilly is an only child, but she interacts with others quite often. In fact, for a while we were going so many places that we had a take a step back and reevaluate which ones were really important. She goes to various church programs about 3 times a week where she interacts with others around her same age, she has play dates with friends about once a week, and she always finds a buddy to play with when we go to the park, pool, or wherever.
Like I said, it isn't definite decision yet but it is one that my husband and I are very strongly considering.
We went to a nearby park to feed ducks today. I mostly chose this outing because I have been saving the last little bits of bread for months now and it was starting to take over my freezer. So, out we went to experience God's creation.
On the way, I needed to stop and get gas. I say to my daughter, "I sure hope there is a gas station on the way because we really need gas." She responds with, "Well, there might not be one for your car, but there might be one for your body." "What do you mean, one for your body?" I ask. She says, "You know your tummy has gas too." lol
While feeding the ducks, she wants all the ducks to have equal shares. When we are finished handing out all the bread, she notices a duck that didn't get any. "Get in the water, Duck, then you can have some bread. See, get in over there where the bread is..go on." These are her comments to the little duck that wants some bread, but he doesn't seem to listen. :)
Lilly remembers this park from previous trips and recalls that there is a gazebo there, so she asks to go over to it. When we get to the gazebo, we notice a grandfather and his grandson fishing. What a wonderful thing for her to see - she was enthralled by all of it - the fish, the worms, the action of the grandfather catching the fish and letting her touch them, the action of the little boy falling into the water while trying to put water in a container, the fish flopping on the gazebo floor because he escaped from the water, and the little boy being scared to touch any of the fish. It was all very entertaining for her and she didn't want to leave.
Memories were made and things were learned just by a simple little outing that was meant only to empty some space in my freezer. This was definitely what they call a "teachable moment" and I'm glad I took advantage of it.
My family belongs to a great baptist church here in Texas. I would say it is a medium sized church - not too big, but not really small either. We live about 30 minutes away from the church which makes it a little difficult when it comes to being involved. Being a stay at home makes me a minority at my church - there aren't a lot of them.
Because of its size, our distance from the church and the lack of stay at home moms there aren't a lot of programs at our church that are geared towards me, so for the past year or so I have been attending programs at a bigger, closer church. They have a Tuesday morning women's Bible study class which I have been looking forward to all summer long. The past 2 studies I have been a part of have been wonderful - I have learned a lot and plus they have a great class for my daughter to go to while I'm in the study. Also, they have a program once a quarter where moms of older children (mentor moms) get together with moms or younger children and discuss things that are going on. It is great to get advice from wiser moms, but also to hear that I am not alone in my struggles.
My "problem" with attending these things at another church is that I feel like I am cheating on my church. I don't hear of other people at my church going to other programs hosted by another church and I feel as though I have to keep in quiet. My motives aren't wrong in going to these things because I am growing and getting fed and getting together with other ladies, so why do I feel as though I am doing something wrong?
Here in Texas, we haven't gotten much rain in the last 6 or 7 months. People around here get excited when just a sprinkle comes down. I read in the paper the other day that we may have to go into phase 2 of the water conservation plan which would allow us to only water our yards on certain days and between certain times. Makes sense...I appreciate that there are people out there who calculate this stuff and let us know when it is time to take some serious measures.
In the paper this morning, I read about a drought in Somalia where people were evacuating to other areas because the lack of water was so bad. The article told about one mom who made the decision to leave her young son behind to die - she tried to get help from other travelers passing by, but nobody was willing. Can you imagine? Having to choose between waiting there with your son and most likely your whole family perishes or leaving him behind? Talk about heart breaking.
I guess it gives a whole new meaning to the word drought and what we are experiencing here in Texas.
For the next week, we are taking care of our neighbor's pets and house while they are away on vacation. They have 2 boys so as you can probably imagine their toys are a little different than ours - lots of cars, trucks, balls, etc. Today we went over there to let the dog out and do our duties, I go about seeing that everything gets done and I don't see or hear my duaghter. When I finally venture upstairs to their playroom, I realize she is sitting there at the pretend tool bench with all the tools out and she is fixing "something". "Are you ready to go home?" I ask her. She says, "Not yet, I"m still fixing this." So, I wait. About 20 minutes goes by and finally she says, "Okay, I'm finished, we can go."
Her daddy would be so proud! :)
Recently, my daughter has learned that God is everywhere. As we are driving in the car, she asks, "Is God the road?" or "Is God that sign?" To which I reply, "He isn't everything, He is everywhere!" So, now she asks, as she is pointing in the air, "Is God there and there and there?" I reply, "yes, God is everywhere, always!"
The other day we were reading about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the book of Daniel. We were talking about how King Nebachadnezzer wanted people to bow down and worship a golden statue and the 3 men wouldn't because God is the only True God! Lilly says, with a big smile, "That is so silly, God isn't that statue" Then, she thinks about it some more and laughs, "That statue can't help you!"
I smile and thank God for allowing her to understand this concept.
My mom started it, when we went to visit her in January, we had a tea party. She really went all out. It was a wonderful event with special teas and decorated cupcakes.
Then, on our visit in July, it happened again. Another tea party, this one more fancy than the last. :) We had name plates and honey sticks.
When we got home, I wanted to have one with Lilly and her friends. I wanted to make use of the tea set that our neighbor had given us after Lilly was born - I think she thought it was plastic, but it was porcelain. Also, I wanted to practice manners and putting others before yourself. So, today we had a tea party and Lilly invited one of her friends over. Before her friend arrived, we talked about how we would offer everything to our guest first before taking anything for ourself.
There were several things I need to do before my tea parties will match up to my mom's beautiful events - practice making the butter cream frosting for the cupcakes fluffy instead of soupy and getting a tea set that is actually functional instead of for show and lastly making name plates and other beautiful decorations. All in all it was a great little party and I think the girls had a great time.
FYI - The cupcakes were a recipe my cousin taught us - you use a small package of instant pudding mix and make it like the directions say. Then, add a box cake mix. Stir and bake as the cake box says. They turn out really moist and yummy!
So, I did it. I deleted the account, I feel like I just lost a friend. However, I felt this same way whenever we moved to Houston and decided not to pay for TV channels. It is a time of withdrawal and just like any other addiction, it will take time for me to get over it, but I will get over it.
One of my friends was concerned because she wouldn't be able to see updates on Lilly or pictures anymore and so I plan to start using my blog as a way to share those things. Those of you who read my blog will be able to see the pictures and the updates. :)
Now, what to do with all this free time I'm going to have? I thought the same thing about getting rid of TV - what will I do with all my time - it is amazing how I have filled the days. I can't even imagine having time to watch it even if we had it now. :)
Arggggghhhh! I have a problem with the amount of time I spend on fb. For some reason, I can't seem to control it. I can limit myself to only signing on once a day, but even still it is a constant battle for me to stay away - it calls my name. In the past, I have fasted from it and it was great, but as soon as the set time was over for the fast, I was right back to it. I had to catch up and see what I had missed. It is literally like a soap opera for me - I can find out who is pregnant, who is getting married, who just had a baby, who bought a new house, who is taking a vacation, who is sick or in trouble...
Now, I do love that most of my friends from all over the world are on FB. It is a great way to keep in touch with them. Also, I use it to add people to my prayer list. Until recently, I had an on-line accountability group on FB - we would send messages to each other about what we had read during our quiet times. It was a wonderful group, but I felt I was using it as my excuse to get on FB. I would say to myself, "I need to sign on and tell the group what I read" So, I told them I would no longer be posting because I don't want to use the group as an excuse to feed into my addiction. I know that is what it is - an addiction.
What is the cure? I don't know...like I said, I have tried fasting and limiting myself, but I have little "self-control" in the area. My next thought is to stick a post-it on my computer screen asking myself if there is a better way I could be spending my time - quiet time w/ God, cleaning something, spending time with my family, etc. If that doesn't work, I'm afraid I might have to delete my account - I fear this option the most (reminds me of the scene in Fireproof where he demolishes the computer with a bat).
Do you have any suggestions or things that help you?
I am so thankful to have the husband that I have!
He is a wonderful, godly man with many talents. His talents have saved us many $s in repairs because he was able to fix the a/c in my car, install a 3 prong plug for our dryer, fix the circuit breaker for our dryer, and replace the break pads in my car - just to name a few.
Ever since I met him, he's always had a strong sense of work ethic - he goes to work when he's supposed to and does what he is supposed to do. My husband has always made it a priority to provide for his family, even when it meant sacrificing things for himself. For example, he loves to work on cars and his dream has always been to open his own performance shop and make cars go fast. When we moved to TX, he was going to attend UTI and pursue that dream, but since our daughter had just arrived into this world and I was nervous about putting her in daycare so I could work - he chose to take up a career working for the oil industry.
Recently, he has changed positions for his company and now has a rotating position. It's funny that he is away more now than he was when he was in the US Navy. :) It stinks when he is away, but the benefits of the position out weigh the cons. I love that despite his 12 hour days, he still makes it point to talk with his "girls" via Skype and find out what is going on at home. He loves me and he loves his daughter - there is no doubt about that.
I know a lot of people who say they couldn't handle having their husband be away so much, but my question to them would be, "Well, what would you do?" I love my husband. I married him and I am committed to loving him (as our vows said) in good times and bad. The times away might not be fun, but the time he is home is cherished.
Like I said, I am so thankful that God gave me a wonderful, loving, hard-working, and handsome husband.
I love you, Babe!
