Prayer Idea

I got this idea from my grandmother-in-law who got it from my mother-in-law. Get a basket, pencil and some strips of paper. Write down on each piece the name of someone you want to pray for on a daily or regular basis. Pull out a name throughout the day or at your family or personal devotion time. Nana uses two baskets- she draws one out and prays; then places that name in the other basket. This way she works through her entire list throughout the day.

I have started this with our children. We each pull out a name to pray specifically for at our nightly devotions and prayer time. It encourages them to get out of rote praying (reciting the same prayer every night). I let them help me think of people we should add in our basket. We do not get through it on a daily basis but it's a start. My daughter even picks up the basket during the day and goes off by herself to pull names out and pray. What a great idea to encourage your children to pray for other people.

Thanks Mom and Nana- we will try to continue your legacy of prayer. Thanks for praying for us and know that we are praying for you, too.

When I'm An Old Lady

I got this as a forward. I don't know the author and I am sure some have seen it before but I got a good laugh especially with the kinda day I've had today. Hope you enjoy!

WHEN I'M AN OLD LADY

When I'm an old lady, I'll live with each kid,

And bring so much happiness ... just as they did.

I want to pay back all the joy they've provided.

Returning each deed! Oh, they'll be so excited!

When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.

I'll write on the walls with reds, whites and blues,

And I'll bounce on the furniture. wearing my shoes.

I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out.

I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, how they'll shout!

When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.

When they're on the phone and just out of reach,

I'll get into things like sugar and bleach.

Oh, they'll snap their fingers and then shake their head,

When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.

When they cook dinner and call me to eat,

I'll not eat my green beans or salad or meat,

I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table,

And when they get angry... I'll run ... if I'm able!

When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.

I'll sit close to the TV, through the channels

I'll click,I'll cross both eyes just to see if they stick.

I'll take off my socks and throw one away,

And play in the mud until the end of the day!

When I'm an old lady and live with my kids.

And later in bed, I'll lay back and sigh,

I'll thank God in prayer and then close my eyes.

My kids will look down with a smile slowly creeping,

And say with a groan, "She's so sweet when she's sleeping!"

I know if my mom has just finished reading this, she is hysterically laughing with tears rolling down her face. Hope you have a good day Mom!

Been busy playing

I have been reading this book "mom... and lovin' it". It is awesome by the way. Well, it is about contentment in being a wife, mother and just with life in general. In one chapter it talked about Gary Chapman's Love Languages. If you are not familiar with that, it says that children speak at least one of 5 love languages. I had heard of this but never thought much about it. It goes on to say that the key to our child's heart is learning to speak our children's "love language." I won't go into all of them but the two that apply mostly to my children. My daughter is "quality time" which means that she feels most loved when we are spending time doing something together. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it is together. I knew she always wants to be with us even as a toddler but never thought of it as a "love thing". I have started trying to be more intentional with spending uninterrupted time with her on a daily basis. The above pictures are some things we have been doing. Note the happy face on my daughter.

My son on the other hand, is a love and affection boy. He loves being hugged and held. Any time we are sitting watching a video, he has to be on someone's lap. He has a hard time getting up in the morning sometimes, so instead of just telling him to get up which he does very crankily- I have taken the advice of the book and went it to rub his back to wake him up. It really seems to make the difference.

Learning to speak our child's language can only help us love them better and draw us closer together as parents and children. Try finding out your child's language. It will make the world of difference.

Love in the Home

This is an anonymous poem taken from the book "mom ....and loving it!" by Lauri Hilliard and Sharon Autry.

"Love in the Home"

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
But have not love, I am a housekeeper-not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
But have not love, my children learn cleanliness-not godliness.
Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh .
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toy.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child,
Then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.
Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart.
Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.
Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.
As a mother, there is much I must teach my child,
But the greatest of these is love.
-Author unknown

Lord, help us to remember to show Your love to our children. Help us to raise them to put You first. Give us wisdom and the strength to keep our priorities in order. Let our children be more important than appearances. May we model a godly home to our children by actively instructing them in Your ways.

Amen

Mother's Day

Granny with the kids

Uncle John and Aunt Christy

This weekend we surprised my mom by making a quick trip home for Mother's Day. We stayed at my brother's house and ate dinner with my family. Then we attended church together on Sunday followed by lunch. It was a very short trip but was very nice. My brother fed us like princes with a fish fry and then the most delicious roast I've eaten in a very long time. The only bad thing about the trip was that my 2 year old nephew has pneumonia and the pink eye, so we did not get to see him. He stayed with his other grandparents so he wouldn't give it to our kids. We really missed him and if you can say a prayer for him because he is still really sick with the pneumonia.

A Little Poetry

I saw this idea on another blog - Half Pint House and I thought I would try it out.
Our Family in Poetry. I started with my kids and maybe if I am adventurous I’ll try my husband and myself next week.

Truly wonderful little girl
Effervescent
Real Life
Angel
















Dare-devil
Adventurer
Never slowing down
Inventing
Exciting times being
Lost in his imagination

I have a loose tooth- a wiggly jiggly loose tooth

My daughter finally after months and months of sporadic wiggling worked out her first baby tooth. She is just so cute (I guess you could say I was biased.)

We put the tooth in a small sheer drawstring pouch with a note to the tooth fairy that reads:

Dear Tooth Fairy-

Could I please have this tooth back? It is my first one and I would like a keepsake.

Thanks,

Tera

We have one of those My First Tooth glass encased keepsake things. Tera asked me as I was putting it under her pillow. "Mommy tell me the truth- Is there really a tooth fairy, or does Mommy and Daddy sneak in here after I fall asleep?" What could I say. I replied "That's classified information- 3-18-99." She said "OK, Lester". There is some background here. We listen to Adventures in Odyssey and there is an episode called No Way In, No Way Out that has a guy in it named Lester. Anytime he is asked a question, he doesn't want to answer or anytime he is scared- he shouts out 3-18-99 to avoid the situation. Tera got this joke and went to bed laughing hysterically.

My favorite plant. I wore these in my hair the day I was married!

God is good even when life is hard

If you have checked out our other blog Emerging from Scratch, you will have read about my problem with ants. Well, they have migrated to my daughter's room on the ceiling where I might add there is no food. Anyway I have had a hard time dealing with this. We are hiring someone to come and spray because frankly I cannot take the stress of dealing with them everyday. I try to be frugal in most areas of our lives because we live on one income but this is not something I can be frugal with.

Our family has been having a hard time adjusting after this move. We have been here one month today. It has been hard taking a step down in our living arrangements. We are renting a mobile home. Let's just say although its sorta nice, it is older and not the same as living in a house like we are used to. My husband's job is more scheduled than we are used to and it feels like we are running the entire time he is home. We know God called us to our present location and even to this specific place we are living, but I personally am struggling with all the changes.
I have to remind myself of the goodness of God. He loves us. We are His children and He knows what is best for us.

My life verse is this and I do not remember its truth as much as I should.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope." Our future is in God's hands, a God who loves us and cares for us so much.

Ten Things About Me

1. I am the oldest child.

2. I cry everytime I see Little House on the Prairie.

3. My hobbies include making homemade soap-(the melt and pour kind) and I hope to learn how to make other kind in the future. I also like to scrapbook but do not get around to it very much. I started learning calligraphy but found I did not have the patience at this point in my life.

4. My family watches Andy Griffith on DVD every Sunday night after church while we eat pizza.

5. Chocolate Chip Cookies without the chocolate chips are my favorite. (I'm not sure they should be called chocolate chip though, maybe Brown Sugar Cookies?)

6. My husband and I have been married 13 years and we both still love each other.

7. I hate dirty fingernails.

8. I love getting a good deal on something but refuse to haggle.

9. When I was a kid my nickname was Neemee. (don't ask me how my brothers turn Christy into that)

10. I am a Christian mom who wants to raise her children to love God and see His power at work in their lives on a daily basis.

Catching Up

In our recent move, we chronicled our experiences in our joint blog-Just click on Emerging from Scratch under Places I like to Visit, if you are interested in finding out what's been happening on our end.

Here We Go

Well, we are officially moved and about as settled in as we can get. So this blog has officially begun. I will try and ramble everyday about what's going on in my life. Sometimes it will be about what things I am learning about my self or it could be a cool recipe or trick I just learned. I hope you enjoy and come back to see me often.