I'm not a very creative person, usually, but I thought this one up all on my own - no pinterest, no blog, just my own head. :)
We have been collecting toilet paper tubes, recently. Not for any reason, just to have them in case we wanted to make something with them. Well, today I thought of that "something" we could make.
First, we covered the tubes with construction paper.
Next, we printed off pictures of Mary, Joseph, wise men, and shepherds from the internet. The Mary image we printed out had her holding Jesus in her arms, but Lilly didn't like that. She wanted Jesus lying in the manger. So, we made our own Mary and our own Jesus.
Then, we glued the print-outs to the tubes.
Voila - a cute little homemade nativity set! :)
I have been a military wife and now am the wife of an oil industry worker - same man, just he changed professions. Both fields require that my husband travel quite a bit. Here are some things our family does to make the situation work for our family:
1) My daughter and I always take Daddy to the airport and we always pick him up. It is nice to be able to give him a final kiss and hug before he goes into the airport. When he comes home, Lilly and I always get dressed up and have a small present waiting for him.
2) While my husband is away, Lilly and I keep a journal of all the things we are doing. This is actually part of our school work and so it helps with letter writing skills, remembering what we have done recently, and drawing a picture to fit the words. It is nice for my husband to read this when he gets home.
3) My husband and I try to chat once a day while he is gone, but sometimes it is less. This keeps him up to date with what is going on at home. I know some wives who don't tell their husbands some things because they don't want to stress them out, but I don't usually hold back. I let him know everything that is going on so we can make decisions together.
4) If we know the exact day he is coming home, my daughter and I will make a chain with links for the # of days until he arrives home. Each day we take one off and count how many days until we will see him.
5) We pray for God to keep him safe while he's away and to use him as a light to those around him.
6) We plan things for while he is home - things we can look forward to like Mommy/Daddy dates, Daddy/Daughter dates, family outings/trips, Daddy "me time" day where he can relax, etc
I know a lot of people say they couldn't do it, but when you are married to a man with a profession that requires he travel a lot - you make do. It isn't like I enjoy being separated from him, but I try to focus on our time together rather than the time apart.
1) I knew the person I voted for wasn't going to win, but in my heart of hearts I could not vote for either of the two top dogs on the ballot.
2) I knew that we are only on this earth for a short time and the time that whoever is president is only for a tiny fraction of that. "This too shall pass"
3) I knew (and know) that God is in control and now that the decision has been made, my plan is to act like I know that by trusting that God has got this and by not complaining or being a burden to our president.
4) I learned that when it comes to government officials, I am more affected by those closer to home - mayor, school superintendent, etc. than I am by the president. Sadly, I was too focused on who was running for president to really pay attention to any other office or items on the ballot. My goal is to be more informed before the next election and to not leave most of my ballot empty.
5) I learned that prayer for our country is needed by all Christians no matter who is in charge because the Bible tells us things are going to get worse not better, so let us be prepared.
Recently, I went to my family physician to get a check up and I told him it had been almost 4 years that we have been trying to have another child. I was totally shocked by his response for 2 reasons.
1) I had never been told that before
2) He wasn't my ob/gyn, so (in my mind) he wasn't supposed to comment on stuff like that.
He told me I was infertile and that I should talk with my ob/gyn about it.
Umm..thank you very much. I think I have kind of known this for a while, but I just had not had it said to me outright before. Plus, I was hoping that there would be a reason for the infertility - to me that would make it easier to hear the news.
In some ways, this was relieving for me to hear. It has helped me close the door to that desire of naturally having another child. I know there are other options I could persue - drugs, procedures, etc but I don't believe that is the path God wants for my family. Don't get me wrong - I totally believe and know that God is quite capable of opening that door at anytime, but I think he has used my doctor and his comment to nudge us to where He wants us to be - on the road to adoption.
I think I am a decent mom, I really try to do what is best for my daughter in each situation; however, I do think there are 3 ways I have hindered a little bit:
1 - I have narrowed her pallet by catering to her tastes. All our meals consist of things I know she will eat. My husband even says, "Why don't you make _____ anymore?" and I respond with, "because Lilly won't eat that." When she was younger that was our biggest battle as parents - meal times. I see now that she is very unwilling to try new things and she automatically gets it in her head that she doesn't like something even before trying it.
2 - I do for her what she can do herself. She knows how to dress herself, but a lot of times I end up dressing her just to get it done faster. Because I do this so much, whenever I ask her to get dressed she always asks for help.
3 - I am sarcastic with her a lot! Her dad and I are constantly teasing her, we will say things like, "You don't have to go to gymnastics today, we can go to the potato farm" - knowing full well that she loves gymnastics and hates potatoes. It gets her upset and I know we shouldn't "exasperate our child," we really need to work on that. The way I think this has hindered her is that she thinks we are joking all the time and doesn't really get the difference between my teasing her and my being serious with her.
There may be other ways, but I believe God is revealing these to me so that I can be more intentional about the way I am raising her.
