It's January, So It's Still the New Year!

Wow, I can't believe January is almost over and I haven't updated the blog! I had great intentions of sitting quietly and praying about what goals God would like me to achieve this year and then blogging about all my good intentions. But in our house, sitting quietly doesn't happen all that often. And when it does I usually would rather read a book. Or take a quick nap. Which I read yesterday in my issue of Southern Living is good for you.

I have spent a little bit of time thinking about what I want to change this year. Mainly this time was when I was getting ready in the mornings, so my thought processes were interrupted by thoughts about whether I had moisturized or not and which leg I had just shaved.

The good thing about waiting until January is that I can give an update of my progress in my goal areas. (And maybe not mention any areas of complete failure!) This year I knew I needed to be more consistent in teaching Faith and Hope science and history. The fall was more hit-and-miss than I would have liked. And we have really done good this month! I even learned how to use the interlibrary loan system so we can have an expanded pool of books to use for history!

I also NEED to become more organized. I have several areas of my home that REALLY need work, so I came up with a mental schedule of which area to work on which month (with a month or two of catch-up or rest built in). January I wanted to organize the linen closet by the girls' bathroom. I just have the top shelf left! I also organized my MANY e-mails, either deleting or archiving the old ones.

I wanted to cook more and eat out less, and we have done pretty well here as well. The times we have eaten out have been planned times and not just because I didn't have a plan for supper. I have also been getting back in the habit of using coupons. If I were organized I would know how much I have saved so far, but I know I have saved close to ten dollars in addition to using a fifteen dollars in gift cards that came as bonuses from prior purchases. And everything I used coupons for was stuff I regularly use. So not too bad.

The thing I've struggled most on is actually the most important thing! My Bible study and prayer time has been sporadic lately, and I NEED to be consistent in spending time with my Father. Sadly, I haven't seen much change here. But I know God is faithful and He will enable to do this. Since I'm not a part of a group Bible study at church, this requires more self-motivation on my part than I needed in the fall. But my relationship with God should be motivation enough!

Now I'm off to read God's Word before reading a story (which I got through an interlibrary loan) to my girls!

Christmas Memories

Here are some things I'll remember about this Christmas:

Best tradition: Our Advent wreath. We would light it each night at supper and I would read a prophecy from the Old Testament and its fulfillment in the New Testament. Then one of the girls would blow out the candle.

Best performance: The children's Christmas musical. Hope had a role in the drama portion, Faith read a small piece during one of the songs, and Joy & Grace were angels in the Nativity portion. All four did a great job and were really cute! Joy & Grace were particularly entertaining as they moved to the music when they sang!

Best gift that I gave: American Girl dolls to each of my girls and the Creative Memories storybook I made for Paul.

Best gift that I received: Prints of the family pictures we took. We won a sitting at the best photographer in town, and the pictures look great. (Unfortunately, although the sitting was free, the prints were not!) This is the first time we've had pictures made someplace other than the portrait studio of a department store, so these are special. I also received a very sweet story my girls wrote.

Funniest gift: A can of possum (at least that's what it says on the label). Paul and I bought this at a gift shop years ago. Then a few Christmases ago we gave it as a gag gift to my sister & her husband. We've been passing it back & forth ever since. This year was our turn to get it.

Best meal: Stopping at my favorite Mexican restaurant on the way home from visiting family. Mexican food may not be traditional Christmas fare, but I think it should be!

Best reunion: My sister and her family (including her new baby) came to the states from their station overseas. I got to meet my nephew for the first time!

Worst reunion: Between 2 sisters who hadn't seen each other in over two years. One invaded the other's personal space and a cat fight broke out. Literally. The feud was between our cat and her sister, who is owned by our friends. Our friends picked our cat up from boarding and kept her for a couple of hours until we got home. All our children's dreams of a sweet reunion were dashed very quickly!

Returns & exchanges: We only have to exchange a Barbie that's supposed to sing but doesn't and an American Girl doll necklace that doesn't work.

Seven Things You Might Not Know About Me

TC over at Fish in My Hair tagged me for "7 Things About Me," so here goes:

1. For a recent Special Occasion, I made an this Italian Cream Cake with this frosting. From scratch. (But minus the coconut - I'm allergic). It was fabulous, and I may have to invent another Special Occasion so I can make it again.

2. I recently made Hope a dress-up dress that was supposed to resemble the American Girl Elizabeth. I think it turned out pretty good. And Hope really liked it!

3. "Cinderella" by Stephen Curtis Chapman makes me cry! Every time I hear it!

4. I bought my girls the Little People Mayflower to help them learn about the first Thanksgiving. It's very cute, and they are having a fabulous time playing with it!

5. I credit much of my Christian walk and even more of my worship practice to the years I spent attending an incredible weekly worship time/Bible study that Louie Giglio did during my young adult years. Sometimes I still refer to my notes.

6. I don't like coffee. Not even the cool, expensive stuff they sell at MegaBucks. (But I do miss the drinkable chocolate they used to sell! I'm sure I'll be drinking it again in Heaven.)

7. I am an avid and voracious reader! This is evidenced by the SIX bookshelves FULL of books in my home. (And I think we're about ready for another shelf!)

Since this has been around a while, I tag Paul and anyone else who wants to join in.

Cords of Kindness

I am in the midst of Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself Bible study. This week is on kindness and goodness. Yesterday, I read about God's loving kindness to His people Israel and to us and how He so often expresses that kindness in terms of a loving parent. It's a beautiful picture that inspires me to be a more aware of God's Fatherhood and to be a better parent to my girls.

In the back of my mind the verse about the kindness of God leading us toward repentance kept playing in my head. I looked up the verse and it says, "Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Rom. 2:4 (ESV) God does not force us to repent. He doesn't shame us to repentance (although He most definitely does convict!). He doesn't nag us to repent. He gently draws us to a place of heart change through kindness.

And I thought about my parenting. Am I trying to bring about heart change in my children using methods that can only change their behavior but not their hearts? Nagging, threatening, yelling, and punishing might bring about the behavior I'm hoping for, but my children's hearts won't be more tender toward God or more obedient to me because I do those things. I realize that I need to use kindness to motivate my children to want to obey. I need to use kindness to draw their hearts to me and to God. This doesn't let me off the hook when it comes to discipline. Leniency is not kindness!

So I'm asking God to give me creative ways to show godly kindness to my girls. It will reap rewards in all our lives.

Carpe Diem

This week a hint of fall came to our neck of the woods. It wasn't full-blown fall, and I know it's only temporary, but it was a welcome change nonetheless. The girls noticed and wanted to spend much of their days playing in the lovely weather. And I let them. Which means I let some of their chores be postponed. So our house needs a little work.

I had planned for Friday and Saturday to be our catch-up days. We had no other obligations those days so I knew we would have time to both get caught up on our housework and enjoy the beautiful days. Until the stomach virus hit.

Joy had actually had a touch of it on Tuesday. Friday Grace came down with it. Saturday began with me feeling awful. Then Hope got sick. And then Faith. We were a rather pathetic bunch! And so the house remains cluttered. But I am so glad that the girls played outside earlier in the week. We can clean house any time. Such great weather isn't likely to be around for long.

I opted for the girls to have fun memories of playing stick horses in the back yard, eating a picnic lunch in the playhouse, and picking beautiful bouquets of flowers for me. One day I hope to figure out how to structure our time so we can have the memories and the tidy house. But for now I'll choose the memories.

Smile!

No matter how much I wish my girls would stay little, they keep on growing up! Over the past couple of months my youngest two have reached several milestones. They began to do "kindergarten" with me at home. They moved from the Pre-school department to the Children's department at church, so Cubbies has been replaced by SPARKS. And each one lost her first tooth.

I expected most of those achievements for months now, but the lost teeth took me by surprise! One day they each had a slightly loose tooth, and before I knew it they each had a tooth that was ready to come out. I was excited, but a little sad at the same time. My babies are growing up!

I had always wondered whether they would lose their teeth at the same time. They are so identical that I suspected they might. And I was right. They lost their first teeth a day apart. Since I'm a bit squeamish about pulling teeth, Paul did the pulling. (The teeth needed to come out and were ready to come out, but the girls couldn't get a good hold of them.) They could have lost their teeth the same day, but Joy said she wanted to have her own day for losing her tooth, so she chose to wait a day to have hers pulled.

The baby smile is no more, replaced by a reminder that little girls will grow up, and that I need to cherish these days while I still have them.

In Memory of Li"l Blankie

Today we remember Li'l Blankie. Li'l Blankie was born at Target and was brought into our home in 2002, just before Joy and Grace were born. She began her tenure with us as a useful servant, being used to swaddle Grace, and, later, to cover her at night to keep her warm. She soon grew into a trusted friend, faithful confidant, and ever-present companion to Grace.

Grace christened her "Li'l Blankie" during her second year. (We think she was trying to say Yellow Blankie, even though Li'l Blankie was pink!) But the name stuck, and she remained Li'l Blankie all her life. In addition to sleeping with Grace, Li'l Blankie went practically everywhere with her: friends' houses, church, stores, doctors' offices, dance class. Grace loved Li'l Blankie even when her pink color turned dingy and she developed larger and larger holes. In fact, I think those things may have made Grace love her even more.

Li'l Blankie accompanied us to Family Camp this year. Sadly, during play time with her friends, Grace set Li'l Blankie down and forgot to pick her back up. By the time Paul and I realized she was missing, it was too late. We prayed, searched the camp, asked the staff, announced our loss to our fellow Family Campers, and prayed some more to no avail. Li'l Blankie was gone! We believe someone unacquainted with the ways of young children threw her away, believing her to be a rag, rather than a beloved friend.

Li'l Blankie is survived by her beloved Grace, by her sister blankies, Grace's Yellow Blankie, and Joy's Yellow Blankie, and an assortment of cousin blankies.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests all parents to carefully guard their children's comfort items, lest they befall the same fate.

Of course, Grace mourned for her lost friend. I think we all did. Her sisters rose to the occasion, offering to let Grace have their blankies either temporarily or, in one case, permanently. Grace was consoled by the addition of a new blankie purchased from Gymboree on our way home from Family Camp. In fact, Grace hasn't cried about Li'l Blankie once since she got her new blankie, which she has named Squirrelly because of the squirrels printed on her. God has graciously allowed Squirrelly to take Li'l Blankie's place in Grace's affections.