Thanksgiving 2007

Kiddie Korner

I am now writing the "Kiddie Korner" articles for an online magazine starting in the December 2007 issue. I am excited about this new venture. If you would like to check it out, please go to http://www.heartbeatthemagazine.com/ or see My Favorite Links and click on the HeartBeat Magazine link. Let me know what you think!

Not a Morning Person!

My daughter, Rachel, is NOT a morning person. It doesn't matter what time I wake her up or how I wake her up, unless she just wakes up herself, she is not ready so I have to decide whether it's worth it before waking her. She didn't use to be like this. When she was younger, you could wake her up however and whenever you wanted and she was always smiling. What happened? Sometimes I think we have skipped over childhood and gone directly to teenage years (as I stated in an earlier post).

Benjamin, my son, on the other hand, is as cheerful in the morning as he could be! It's freaky friday at my house everyday when morning comes around because my son used to be the opposite! He was the one who was grumpy and nothing could go right. *Sigh*

Anyway, I was dressing Rachel this morning. This is something that she knows how to do and usually does, but I woke her up and she was, "Too tired right now!" Everything I did was wrong and she was rubber baby which made it very hard to dress her. She wanted to be held but then I accidentally pulled her hair, setting her "off". It should have set her "on" because she was already "off" to begin with, but what do I know?!

I was trying to hurry and still have patience (hard for me!) at the same time. I finished dressing her and then dealt with her hair for a moment. I HATE that part in the morning (no pun intended)! She was crying and fussing and flopping down on the bed, so I thought I'd try to calm her down by holding her. I held her in my arms and looked down into her little face which had stopped crying. She was just looking at me with a slight scowl on her face as I talked quietly to her, telling her the things we were going to do today when all of the sudden she asked a question, "What color is your nose?"

WHAT?!!! How do you respond to that question? And not to mention that it completely breaks your train of thought! So I asked her, "What do you mean, what color is my nose?"

She heaved a big sigh, still scowling, "I mean, what color is your nose?" as she poked me on the tip of my nose with her little finger.

Puzzled, I replied, "Skin color."

"Oh."

And with that, she got up, smiled and went upstairs happily. Do you think that's her way of distracting me so I'll stop talking? Hmmmm...

November 2007 - Fall Family Fun

We took a trip just down the road to the Cardome Center yesterday. We did this last year about this time and got some really nice pictures of the kids. This year was the same and I thought I'd share some of the pictures with you all.

I entitled this one "Best Friends".

This next one I just love! Joel had knelt down to fix Benjamin's jacket and I got the picture of them once he was done - giving Benjamin a hug. I just love seeing Benjamin's little eye peeking from Joel's arm. You can see he has a smile on his face.

I got a couple of cute pictures of Rachel and Benjamin walking and running together down a path to the trail where we went walking.

We also went into the Japanese Garden area of the park and got some cute pictures there.

They had so much fun playing the rock garden and walking past the water fall. They enjoyed just running along the path. Kids are so easily amused sometimes. Although, put a camera in my hand and give me some time with my kids and I'm amused and just lovin' it!

Hope you've enjoyed seeing some of our Fall Fun!

Christ our Mercy Seat

Many of you know that I am going to a women's Bible study entitled A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place. It's written by Beth Moore. If you have not done any of her Bible studies, I urge you to get involved in one. God has truly gifted her and no matter which one you do, you will indeed be blessed!

We are coming to the close of this Bible study and I'm going to be sad to stop studying the Tabernacle and its earthly representation to us of a heavenly reality. It is incredible what I have learned about the Tabernacle of the Old Testament and its representation for us of Christ's atonement of our sin. I feel so blessed, awed and humbled to have God reveal to me this Truth. How God loves us!!!

It amazes me the order and detail in which He creates everything. Picture this with me: God watching the Tabernacle moving in the wilderness after the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. The different tribes were set up around the Tabernacle so that as He would have looked down upon it, He would have seen the image of the cross. Then, as we move forward in time, picture with me Christ being our veil, a covering for us. And on the day of crucifiction as the veil in the Tabernacle was torn, Christ's body was also torn. For me, for all of us! How heartbreakingly beautiful that God loves us that much!

My Preschool Teenager

My 4-year-old daughter acts like a little teenager. She is always telling us what we should and should not do, what makes her happy and unhappy, and is starting to slam doors for emphasis. She has learned recently that slamming doors will not be tolerated and she will have to close any door she slams quietly 5 times for emphasis. Ha! But then she is sure to tell me that she is "very not happy with me!". *Sigh*

I wasn't really prepared for a teenager so quickly in my life. We spend our children's first years trying to get them to say words and express themselves and then, WHAM!, they start smarting off. Ugh!

Rachel has also learned that smarting off can get her a mouthful of soap. She also expresses that she is "very not happy" with me after she spits the soap out and stops crying enough to tell me. It's pitiful, I know, but necessary. This, I seem to explain to her often through our days.

You know, when I was a child, I can remember thinking how glad I would be to have kids so that I could discipline them instead of having to be the one being disciplined. As an adult and a mother, I now realize how silly this notion was. It's often exasperating and exhausting to discipline my children. I hate having to tell them over and over the same things. I know they can't forget that quickly. And I can't help thinking to myself, "Is this what God feels when I do the same sins over and over again? Does He feel like He's banging His head against a brick wall?" Of course not, I know, but it does make me realize my need for a Savior and for my Heavenly Father. I just hope that I can get that realization through to my children as they get older.

The Ballerina and Superman

Last night was Trick-or-Treat. We had such fun!

Rachel decided that she would be a ballerina WITHOUT wings. She had wings last year and would have nothing to do with them this year. And being a girly girl, she always wants make-up. It's, in her opinion, one of the best things about playing dress up. I agree. I messed up some of her eye make-up though and it smeared a little, so I painted on a red lipstick heart with glitter right under her right eye to cover the spot I couldn't seem to correct.

Benjamin has been waiting to be Superman for a very long time. He is fully convinced that he can fly (it's more like jumping, but we're not supposed to notice that) as long as he has that suit on. He has built up his endurance and pain tolerance by running around the house watching his cape flying behind him and running into walls, door jams, etc.

We saw kids with a variety of costumes, of course, and Rachel, being the social butterfly that she is, would call out to them and say, "Hi, _____!" We met Cinderella, Jasmine, Thomas the Train, Kitty Cat, Scary Boy, Super Lady, Monster Thing and Sparkly Girl, among others.

Benjamin thought it would be fun to blow out candles wherever it was applicable. Why is it that wherever we go, there are always apologies on my part necessary?

We also went over to our friends, Greg and Deanna's, house. Their dog, RJ, was dressed up as a spider. A very relaxed spider. A glow-in-the-dark very relaxed spider.

By the time we started for home, Rachel and Benjamin were moving like zombies. They were weaving about with a glazed look in their eyes and tripping over their own feet. I have to admit that I was pretty tired myself. But they perked up once they got a bath and then crashed once we snuggled on our bed to watch a show. So Joel carried our ballerina and I carried our superman and we put them soundly in their beds.