Cookbooks

I'm in the middle of reading a book called The Table Comes First. It's the history of food and why we eat the way we eat. So far it's been about how the idea of a restaurant came about and why recipes exist. I can't wait to read the rest of it. I'm more of a fiction girl but this book is pretty good.

The recipe didn't even come on the scene until the late 19th century because before that cooking was a skill that was passed down from parent to child or from cook to apprentice. I've been thinking a lot lately about how to pass down some family traditions on to my kids. This book is inspiring me to collect recipes that are a part of our family life. I'm hoping that by the time they leave home I will have had time to write stories to go along with these recipes so they know why they are so important. This seems to be a good way to chronicle our family history since most of our memories seem to center around food. Tim and I cooked a lot when we were dating. I craved different things with each baby. Each boy has different favorite foods that they like best.

I'm back

After a four month hiatus, I'm back! My baby J is now 4 months old! Thank God for a quick and safe delivery. He was 9 lbs 7oz when he was born and now he is over 16 lbs. Lets just say he is a very healthy baby.

This baby has given me so much joy. I can't tell you how much he has added to our family. He wakes up in the morning smiling. Though he is serious like his daddy, he is also pretty easy going. He loves his brothers and wants to be with them all the time. I have a feeling he's going to learn to walk and crawl much faster than the others because he wants to keep up.

Adjusting to three kids has been a trial, but it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I think adjusting to a second child was much harder. We are all getting used to a new rhythm of life.

And now we wait...

Well, the baby was breech until sometime Monday night. He finally decided to flip at 38 and a half weeks! So now we just wait for him to come out on his own. I'm so relieved that I don't have a c-section looming over my head.

memory verse

I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

- Ecclesiastes 3:14

Suffering

This week a friend of mine prayed for my soon to be born third son to be a Joseph. She spoke of how he was a leader to his brothers. He was also a Godly man who helped lead Egypt in a time of crisis. He knew how to forgive, he was full of wisdom, he loved his own sons...there are just so many great qualities about him. As she prayed, I eagerly yearned for those same things for my little guy.

The thing that made Joseph so great was that he knew how to suffer. Throughout his life he had many horrible things happen to him. Without these things he never would have risen to a position that was just below the Pharaoh. God's hand was on him from the beginning through all of those hardships and misunderstandings. Not once does the Bible say that Joseph threw up his hands in anger yelling at God about how unfair life was. He just suffered through it.

This story drives home for me the importance of teaching my boys how to suffer. Life is not fair and there is always going to be some suffering. I want them to learn that it's okay to suffer, that good comes from suffering and they will grow from it. I want for them to run to God when suffering comes and not away from Him. I also want them to know how to suffer with others when they are going through tough times.

This is a hard thing for me to want for my boys, but the fruit that will come from it will be worth it in the end.

The two phrases I hear the most...

"I need a nose blow!" and "Look at me, Mommy!" are the two phrases I hear the most during the day. The first may seem a little strange to an outsider, but S uses this phrase a lot when he's in trouble or upset about something. I think he does it to be reassured that we still love him enough to take care of him even though he did something wrong. While it is frustrating to be interrupted when I have goal in mind to get something done, I have to remember that I didn't become a stay at mom so that I could keep a clean house. Now I treasure those moments when they are calling for my attention.

Nurturing my boys has been a learning process for me. I did not start out a kid person to begin with, but God has definitely given me everything I've needed to care for you family. I've held a few jobs outside the home before my kids were born, but nothing has me depending on God as much as being a mommy. Whether its needing more patience, worry, or just strength to get through another day, He has always been there.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Summer Time

Today was R's last day of music class. Soon we'll be in full swing summer mode where each week is different and there won't be much of a schedule until school starts in the fall. This summer will be especially crazy with the new baby boy coming at the end of June.

As much as it's going to be chaotic, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm getting to that point in my pregnancy where I really don't want to be busy and summer lends itself to staying home. My boys love their backyard and walks in the neighborhood (which really won't happen until the end of the summer). I also am excited about all the visits from family we have coming up.

I have a feeling that even though we don't have anything huge planned this summer is going to go by fast and we're going to enjoy every minute of it.

New Memory Verse - Jude 20-21

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."

The Alabama Tornadoes

I have to admit that I've been silent for the past two weeks because I really don't know what to say. I live in Northern Alabama so for the last week and a half I've been focusing on the tornadoes that hit our area. I thank God that our family was only affected by the power outages. We didn't lose our house and all of us are safe. Tim has been off work since that day because there is no power at his office. In a way it has been nice to have over a week of family time.

It has been hard watching the new lately because Alabama's devastation has already been wiped away by news of Bin Laden's death and the royal wedding. We still have lots of work to do to clear up the mess that the many tornadoes left behind.

Here is a link to how you can comfort kids who have been victims of the storms on 4/27. If you are in the Huntsville area contact me before Wednesday, May 11 and I will get the boxes to where they need to go.

Help Bring a Little Girl Home to Her Family

About six months ago, World Magazine did an entire issue on the concept of Calling. They had a wide variety of articles on people who have been called by God to certain vocations or to start a charitable foundation that helps a poor section of a community. Besides these kinds of pieces, they also did some on a Christian's calling to help those less fortunate.

The one that stood out to me the most was about the Rosenow family who were called by God to adopt 14 disabled children of various nationalities and ages. They lead a life that is very demanding financially, physically, and emotionally. The thing that stood out the most for me was how there was no way this family could have adopted this way of life unless the church community around them also felt called to support them in their lifestyle. To give you and idea, four churches have families that provide a meal a month which saves them $400 a month. Each of their adoptions were also paid for mostly by the Christian community that surrounds them.

This article really shifted my thinking about adoption. I always assumed that if a family is called to adopt it was their family business. Now I've come to realize that one of the ways for the Christian Church to practice "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless...to look after orphans..." (James 1:27) is to support families who are called to adopt. This means that not only should the adopting family sacrifice to provide a home for their orphan child, but the Christian community around them is also called to sacrifice their time, money, etc to help that family take care of their new child.

With all this in mind, a family in my Church, the Houser Family, came forward to announce they intended on adopting a little girl from the Ukraine. This family is called to bring an orphan into their family so now we need to help support them in it. She is four years old and in danger of being sent to a mental institution if she isn't adopted soon. They need your help. The family still has to raise about 20,000 dollars before they can get her. If you can donate Delta Skymiles, that will go a long way to reducing the costs of their travel. Also, they will be holding a yard sale on May 14th so if anyone in Huntsville has anything to donate, it would be much appreciated.

For information on how to help the Houser Family adopt their little girl please visit this website.

Good Friday

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns Thine only crown:
How pale Thou art with anguish, With sore abuse and scorn,
How does that visage languish, Which once was bright as morn!

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered Was all for sinners' gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression, But thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior: 'Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, Assist me with Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow To thank thee, dearest Friend,
For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never Outlive my love to Thee. Amen.

Boys will be boys, part 2

Boys will be boys, part 2

That boy needs a strong hand--boys will be boys!

Here's a great article about raising boys. It's part one of two---That boy needs a strong hand--boys will be boys!

Things I like about having boys.

Here is a short list of things I'm enjoying about having boys right now.

1. Fresh flowers every day (today I have some small yellow flowers)
2. If it's pink I know it's mine
3. Discussions about Tornadoes
4. Turning every task into a competition (to avoid fighting and increase efficiency I have had to create a 2 year old bracket and 4 year old bracket so they both win)
5. Stuffed animals that double as tackling dummies
6. Giggling over words that sound similar to potty words but haven't crossed the line (ex: belly button)
7. A sandbox full of carefully built roads and buildings
8. Quick cuddles and quiet words of comfort when rough play gets out of hand.
9. Matching means wearing everything that's the same color.
10. Favorite bible stories - Crucifixion, Jesus calms the storm, Jonah getting eaten by a whale

5 years ago...

Five years ago today was the last day I worked outside the home. I was 7 months pregnant with R. A lot has changed since then. Now I have two boys and one on the way. I have always wanted to stay at home with my kids because that's what my mom did. It was important to my parents that my mom stay home with us and because of this they sacrificed to make it happen. I understand that it's not possible for every mother to stay home with her kids, but I do think God has created all mothers to nurture and raise their children in a certain way and we are encouraged in our endeavors through His Word.

" But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us." 1 Thess. 2:7-8

This verse is a great description of what Biblical motherhood is. It describes a mother who loves her child so much that she not only shares her faith, but her whole self. She allows her kids to see her for who she really is and lets them take part in her life. The beauty of this type of mothering is that the openness fosters a deep relationship that can withstand rough times. It also gives the child the opportunity to emulate the mother. Like Romans 8:30 exhorts believers, we, as mothers, are being "conformed to the likeness of His Son." If this is true then our children will also be like Jesus.

When we take care of our children with that kind of openness, we need to be bold. Jesus' mother, Mary, was a good example of a mother who has trust and confidence in God. She was told that she would be a mother before she was even married and her response was "Behold I am the servant of The Lord, let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). This is how we should be when it comes to our mothering. We should trust The Lord and have confidence that his plan for our children and us is perfect.

God also gives us many promises throughout scripture to encourage us in our calling.

"But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments" (Psalm 103:17-18). It is a blessing to know that God loves us so much that his love and righteousness will be passed on to our children.

"Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death." (Proverbs 19-18) What an encouraging verse! It helps us to put our discipline in perspective. We love our kids so we discipline.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " (1 John 1:9) This is a great promise to end on. We can stand confidently in our calling as mothers because God will be there when we make a mistake to forgive us and cleanse us!

Harry Potter Revisited

One of my goals for this pregnancy was to read completely through the Harry Potter Series. I figured this is a good time to relive this adventure since I am at a place where I prefer comfortable familiarity to something new and different. Really I think the hormones cloud my mind and I can't think straight until way after the baby comes and I am done nursing. Either way, it was also a good time to read completely straight through all seven books. I had not done this before. I started reading the series when there were only four books so there were long periods of time between each successive book. I assumed that it would take me about 9 months to read them since I have kids now and I can't sit for hours a day lost in a book. It only took me about 5 months. So here I am with two and a half months to go (my husband says three but he's in denial) and I have read every last word. Let me tell you: it was even better the second time around. Here are some thoughts put in no particular order.

1. I loved how certain character traits are valued. Some of the big ones that come to mind are loyalty, courage, bravery...I could go on. In the end it is obvious that Harry beats Voldemort because he possesses these traits which his opponent lacks. Many of these traits lead to love, friendship, things like that which are also considered essential to success.

2. I was amazed at how well everything from beginning to end fit together. She has some chiasmic (that's a new word derived from chiasm ) elements to the books that make it even more amazing. What I mean is book one and seven are very similar as well as two and six, three and five, and then book four stands alone. So Harry faces Voldemort by himself in the first and seventh books. The second and sixth deal with horcruxes. Then the last pairing deals with side characters that have special meaning to the plot and shapes Harry's perspective on things. Book four has to obviously stand alone because it deals with Voldemort coming back.

3. I also have to admit that liked seeing all the little hints along the way that I missed the first time around. An example is the mention in book six of the tiara in the room of requirement. I know there were things in the earlier book, but it's too late right now to come up with them.

I'm starting to lose steam so I should probably go to bed (it is 11:20pm here). This whole reading has me excited for the last movie to come out in July.

Scripture Memory Verse #3

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." Romans 8:39-30

This is one of the verses referenced by Chip Ingram in his book Effective Parenting in a Defective World. He uses as a goal for what we want to acheive in raising our kids. We want them to be "conformed to the likeness of His son."

Memory Verse

My memory verse for the last half of this month Psalm 103 17-19

"But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all."

I've been reading Mary's Magnificat in Luke and she refers to these verses either directly or indirectly through out the passage. Mary's reaction to the angel when she was told she would have a baby was one of acceptance that the Lord is sovereign and he knew what he was doing. I also like the part about how the Lord's love is everlasting through the children because of the parent's faith.

When I think about the Lord...

When S was between 18 months to 2 years we started going to the pool at the YMCA. He loved the water and watching R play around him. One of his favorite things to do was to slowly walk in from the shallow end and step into deeper and deeper. It was so much fun to watch him discover how the water moved and how his body responded to it. There was only one problem with this "game": He didn't know the water was dangerous when it was deeper than he was. At some point I would have to pick him up and put him back in the shallow end.

This picture came to mind this morning when we sang the song "When I think about the Lord" at the part that went "...When I Think about the Lord, how He picked me up and turned me around, how He placed my feet on solid ground ..."

Saint George and the Dragon

I came home with a picture book for the boys about Saint George. The pictures are beautiful and they love to look at them even when I'm not reading it to them. At the end of the story the dragon is dead and Saint George gets to marry Princess Una. I do find it a bit funny that they only care about the dragon and how it died. They don't care a bit for the last page that shows them living happily ever after. I guess two and four year old boys just want to see a good battle and that is satisfying enough.

Boys will be boys

R is my four and a half year old who is all boy. He needs a good run before I can get any sort of productivity out of him. The other day he managed to knock his teeth backwards when he hit his mouth on his daddy's knee while they were on the trampoline. It was a bloody mess.

Though at the time it seemed so traumatic, we all made it through okay. He just has crooked front teeth until his permanents come a few years from now. I'm sure this is the first of many injuries to come. It's hard to see your kid get hurt, I just have to remember that it's all a part of growing up.

Poor little OCD S

So S is my second child who is only two and a half. Over the past few months he has refused to cooperate when we ask him to do just about anything. This has been quite frustrating for us. At first I was convinced that he is fighting to be top dog in the house, but that may not be so true. My good friend, who watched the boys last week, said that she noticed he seemed to get upset and throw fits over the way things are presented to him. For instance, she gave him four grapes and he was happy. Then she noticed that whole grapes could be a choking hazard so she cut them in half. When she gave them back to him, poor little S just burst into tears. Now, I don't think he would be clinically diagnosed as OCD, but he does seem to have these tendencies.

I think I'm going to have to change the way I respond to him. Though I shouldn't cater to his every whim, it makes sense to me that I should have a little grace for him and let him have some things his way. Who cares if he is determined to have his laundry basket in the same place always or if his books aren't arranged the way I would like them. Maybe by cutting him a little slack it will be easier to guide and direct him when it matters.