Wordy Wednesday

It's been a while since I've posted much, so what better way to attempt to get back into the swing of things than with a retelling of the clever (well, maybe that's not the right word...) things my kiddos have said this past week!

Poor Wes has been having a tough time with self control at school lately. Honestly, he appears to be so bored with his lessons that he starts disrupting others. While at the dinner table last night, the following conversation took place:

Kevin: Wes, your mommy tells me that you are still misbehaving during graduation practice. Is this true?

Wes: Yes, Daddy.

Kevin: What do you think Daddy needs to do to help you remember to behave?

Wes: Maybe you could just hug me.

Kevin: Well, we've tried hugging Wes, but it just doesn't seem to be working.

Wes: Maybe 100 hugs would work!

Note to self: maybe asking the kids to name their own punishment is NOT the best method of discipline...

  
Another strategy we've had to incorporate in our house is the concept of "Toy Jail."

Toys that are left in places where they don't belong are "arrested" and placed in "jail." When the kids consistently and properly care for their belongings, they can "bail out" a toy. As a side note, we are hoping that the opportunity to bail out extra toys might be an incentive for Wes to start behaving in graduation practice. So when it was time to pick up toys yesterday, Jilly, who is having a hard time with the whole concept of cleaning, announced to me, "Mommy, I don't want to clean this up. Can you just put it in Toy Jail?"

That's not quite what we had in mind...

What He Must Be...

...if he wants to marry her

For parents, that can be a thought that keeps you up all night thinking...and worrying. When we were at the 20-week ultrasound for Jilly, Kevin froze in terror when the radiology tech told us, "It's a girl!" He later told me that he had images of prom and wedding flash before his eyes at the sound of the word girl. Nearly four years later, the word wedding doesn't bother me near as much as the word husband. Will she be a blessed as I am with a spouse? Will we raise her to be a Proverbs 31 wife? As parents, will we put her in the proper places to meet a worthy husband?  Yes, I know full well that God is in control and that He already knows the answers to these questions, but a little heads up would be nice!

With all of these questions to worry--I mean, pray--about, a blog written about this subject immediately caught my attention.

Jasmine at Joyfully at Home is promoting her dad's new book/study What He Must Be (If He Wants to Marry My Daughter). As part of the promotion, she is hosting a drawing for the What He Must Be Conference DVD. Jasmine is the daughter of evangelist Voddie Baucham. If you have never heard his teaching, I highly encourage you to do so. Kevin and I were blessed with the opportunity to hear his powerful teaching as a guest speaker when we attended First Baptist Houston many years ago. Jasmine is an exceptionally gifted writer and utilizes her gift to encourage young women to pursue a more godly lifestyle. While she gears most of her writing to young, single Christian women, her messages often span all ages and stages of life.

I know that my Jilly is only just about to turn four (WOW, where does the time go?!), but it is never too early to be in prayer for the future spouses of our children. It is certainly never too early to begin cultivating godly qualities in our children so that they will be one of those "worthy" spouses.

So head on over to Jasmine's blog and check out her give-away!

Baby Steps

My friend Aleesa so gently hinted to me that my blog is in need of updating. My last post was before Christmas, so I guess she might be right...

My husband so gently hinted to me that it has been a while since I have shined my sink. The last time I shined my sink was probably around this time, so I guess he might be right...

My parents, in-laws, and siblings so gently hinted that I haven't been so diligent in keeping their picture frames updated. My memory cards are full and my Photoshop skills rusty, so I guess they might be right...

My scale so gently hinted that it has been a while since I've paid attention to my health. Since my treadmill is covered in potential garage sale items and my water bottle is at the top of the cabinet way in the back, I guess it might be right...

My Heavenly Father so gently hinted to me that it has been a while since I have had more than a "hit and run" quiet time. The last time I remember doing that was right before Spring Break, so I guess He might be right...

It has been easy lately for me to beat myself up over the things I haven't been doing or to even air a laundry list of excuses for not doing these things. But instead of beating myself up, I am going to tackle this FlyLady-style: Baby Steps. That involves doing just a little bit of each task each day and taking full advantage of a trusty little thing called a timer!

So here's to finally creating a blog post, shining my sink, drinking more water, opening up Photoshop, and diving deeper into the Word. And all in one week!

Oh, I can't forget a photo of my kiddos. They have grown quite a bit since Christmas!

Not My Child! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well, Wesley has NOT had a such a strange week that I am NOT going to substitute "Not Me!" Monday post with a "Not My Child!" Monday.

Here goes:

My child DOES NOT have paranoia issues. He NEVER believes that people in photos are staring at him. Furthermore, we NEVER catch him changing in his closet so that various family members hanging on his wall "won't see" him. Because he DOES NOT have this problem, he CERTAINLY WOULD NEVER turn a snowman soap dispenser and Santa figurine around so that they couldn't "see" him while visiting the bathroom!

NOT MY CHILD!

While on a "date" with my son to a Christmas concert by the Annie Moses Band, he MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT pass gas not once, but multiple times during the concert.  Even if it were my child (which it WASN'T) it WOULD NOT be so gut-wrenchingly hideous as to burn the inside of my nose leaving me with the desire to apologize to all the people around us who pretended not to notice.

NOT MY CHILD!

Okay, so I will admit that my son does in fact have an obsession with Indiana Jones. However, his obsession DOES NOT go so far as to include swiping a chocolate-flavored chapstick and smearing it all over his face in the hopes of obtaining that five-o'clock shadow that Harrison Ford sported so well in the movies.

NOT MY CHILD!

Being that we have a very empathetic, sometimes too gentle and kind child, Wesley would NEVER reinact the famous scene from A Christmas Story in which Ralphie, being fed up with the school bully, shoves him to the ground and starts wailing on him. To make matters worse (if this actually did happen--WHICH IT DIDN'T) it certainly WOULD NOT have happened at church! You see, Wes is NOT such a neurotic great friend that he can't bear to see someone else sit next to his "very best friend." If anyone dared to sit next to said best friend, he MOST CERTAINLY WOULD NOT take matters into his own hands and make sure that his seat was not "stolen" by another kid.

NOT MY CHILD!


And lastly, my precious son would NEVER EVER bust out in spontaneous prayer while watching an ambulance pull into the parking lot of a local restaurant. It certainly WOULDN'T go anything like this: "Dear God, please help the people not be too hurt. And God, make them better and get well soon."

 

NOT MY CHILD!

Awesome Giveaway!

Okay, so it's not ME giving away anything, rather, me trying to win a giveaway. MckMama is giving away a HP Touchsmart to one amazingly blessed person on Christmas Eve. To gain multiple entries, I have to comment on her blog post, Facebook about the contest, and finally, blog about the contest. Entries one and two are complete, so here is my blog post about the contest, granting me a third entry. Check out this amazing computer at the HP website and the chance for the drawing at MckMama's website.

Just don't enter...I want to win!!!

Calling all Facebook users!

Does your life seem to revovle around status updates and increasing your Farkle score?! It's okay to admit it, we're all friends here. I have a solution to ease your FB guilt: become a fan of Chase Community Giving and help us deluge them with votes for the following organizations: Emma's Hugs and Batten Disease Support and Research Association. There is a precious family in our church who's daughter, Emma, suffers from this devastating disease. With their steadfast faith in our Great Physician and their candid blog on daily life with Batten Disease, they are a personal inspiration to our family and the focus of many a prayer!


Put that clicking finger to good use and neglect your farm or flair wall for just a few minutes and click on the following links that will take you straight to the voting pages for these two organizations.


Emma's Hugs



Batten Disease Support and Research Association



Better yet, update your status, send out notifications, and spread the word about Emma and Batten Disease.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Who would've thought I'd be excited about a Monday?! But I am in need of some serious Not Me! Monday therapy. If you don't mind, I'd like to stretch out on your cyber couch and spill my guts. Not about how I blame all my problems on my mom (which, even if I did have problems, I certainly wouldn't blame them on my sweet Mama!), but rather to fess up to all the horrible mommy moments I've had lately! It's been a while, so this may be a lengthy session! Start the session timer...


You would NEVER find me resorting to "refreshing" my son's underwear in the dryer after my frantic search for clean clothes proved unfruitful! I mean really, who would ever do such a thing?! NOT ME!

NEVER would I carelessly forget to remove my MOPS car magnet before entering the automatic car wash at the gas station. If I would happen to have done such a thing (which I DIDN'T), it certainly WOULDN'T take me all of a week to figure it out!

Christmas was NOT almost cancelled at our house after a minor disagreement with WGH over the placement of the furniture to accomodate our Christmas tree. Furthermore, said disagreement would NEVER include a debate over my wanting to remove WGH's beloved recliner from the livingroom to make a place for the tree. If this incident did occur at our house, it would NOT end by me declaring that WGH would be responsible for finding new homes for the furnitre and putting up the tree, followed by my tweeking his furniture rearranging abilities while he was bathing our kids. I would NEVER behave so childishly! NOPE, NOT ME!

Since our children are our top priority and we NEVER lose sight of caring for their every need, I would NEVER neglect my son's dental hygiene at the expense of his getting NOT one, but four cavities! Even if I would've been guilty of such a travesty, I assuredly would NEVER feel worse if my sweet son had said, "Mommy I forgive you for letting me get cavities!"

When I mentioned I needed the therapy of Not Me! Monday, it was NOT an excuse to avoid cleaning house. Moveover, it was NOT a much needed distraction from the lockdown imposed on my kiddos' preschool and sister's college due to a manhunt for an escaped convict. If this was a scenario from our lives, it would CERTAINLY end with us all back home safe and sound (albeit, anxiously waiting for the capture of the convict)!

Ahhhhhh! I feel better! Thank you for letting me vent on your couch! If you feel the need to charge me for this session, just drop an invoice in the mail. Hopefully it will be covered by my insurance, because who would pay it? NOT ME!!