fourth of july
silly smiles,
mini golf mayhem,
crisp corn-on-the-cob,
sweet strawberry tart,
and fireworks fun.
What could be better?
i love the NLT
The New Living Translation. That’s the Bible translation I’m reading this year.
Love it.
Came across the following verse recently and made a mental note to try to memorize it.
Psalm 142:3 “When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.”
Even though I haven’t been feeling too overwhelmed lately, I know the day will come soon when I’ll need this verse and it will be useful to have memorized it.
In other news, summer is in full swing and we have been busy with strawberries (shortcake, jam, bread), cherries (pie, cobbler, jam), an overnight at Covenant Acres, and the pool. My house is kind of a disaster. When the kids are home from school, it doesn’t take long to make it look like a hurricane hit!
Speaking of kids… I should go find out what they’re up to! Have a great day!
TTAH Tuesday – Save on Eating Out
I’ve got to make this one quick… the kids are begging to go in the pool!!
A friend told me about the following website…
You can go there and buy restaurant gift certificates for cheap (for example, a $25 gift certificate for ten or twelve dollars). So cool! We love to eat out, so I think I’ll be using this website a lot.
Check it out!
Happy Father’s Day, Dad
My Dad was the best. He was the kind of Dad that paid attention. That called me “love”. That would make me milkshakes when I was sick.
I sure do miss him. It’s hard to believe he’s been gone 9 years.
In honor of Father’s Day tomorrow, I’m linking back to an earlier post… a poem I wrote about my Dad.
TTAH Tuesday – Buy Two
Each of my children has had a favorite “thing” that they carry around, cuddle with, and generally can’t go to sleep without. For L it was a stuffed kitty. For D a blanket with a taggie that he loved to rub. And for A it’s a crocheted blanket from my mom.
If you are just in the beginning stages of your parenting journey, this tip is for you. Whatever you find that your child is “attached” to, buy two of them. That way you’ve always got a back-up!
I didn’t do this on purpose with L. Just by coincidence, she got two of the exact same kitty when she was born. This saved us countless troubles… because I could wash one and she was able to use the other. And if we misplaced one, there was always the other one to love. So when D came along, and I found that his security item was a blanket, I went to Target and bought a second one. Again, a lifesaver.
A is going to be more difficult because her favorite item is a handmade blanket. So far she has been able to get along with a substitute crocheted blankie in a pinch. But God forbid we ever lose her favorite! That might just be the end of the world. 
So be prepared, new mommies, and buy two!
TTAH Tuesday – Emphasize the Positive
If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know sometimes my oldest daughter can be very defiant. But she can also be extremely sweet and helpful. Sometimes you never know what you’re going to get.
I have been trying very hard to emphasize positive behavior rather than make a big deal out of negative behavior. Yes, she still gets some sort of discipline when she breaks a rule, but I don’t make a big emotional deal out of it. This approach has really helped with her.
Lately she’s been acting up when I discipline her, and I just came up with an idea that’s working brilliantly. She typically gets 5 minutes of time out in her room when she breaks a rule (usually for her it’s yelling at her brother or speaking disrespectfully to me). The acting up lately has been that she starts arguing with me or acting defiant when I give her a time out (i.e., not going to her room). So my idea was that if she went to her room WITHOUT acting negatively, then her time out would be reduced to 3 minutes.
In other words, I’m recognizing and rewarding positive behavior in the midst of a discipline. I know it sounds simple, but it’s really working! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before! In fact, in the past I’d tried increasing the length of time out for defiant behavior, but it never worked – the bad behavior just seemed to increase.
So if you have a child who defies you for time out, try lessening the time if he/she behaves appropriately while going to time out. You might be surprised at the results!!
I am a champion pee cleaner-upper.
(Can I put that on my resume??)
First, the dog. The dog is a champion too. At peeing. And at night (not every night, but a few times now), instead of coming and waking me up to go outside, he wanders around and finds something in the house to pee on. (Why did I want another dog?)
And secondly, the boy. (I’ll preface this by saying he is a very deep sleeper and he often gets up to go to the bathroom, and I’m convinced that although his eyes are open, he is still asleep. Sometimes he makes it to the toilet. Frequently not.)
But last week he did a crazy thing. He peed in our computer chair. I think he thought it was the toilet.
I was shocked. But I’ve since learned that this isn’t uncommon for boys. I’ve heard stories about peeing in closets and dresser drawers while asleep. Amazing. A peeing sleepwalker. And of course when we asked him about it, he had no idea what we were talking about.
So, any suggestions?
How do you get an adult dog to learn to let you know when he’s got to go out?
and How do you get a sleeping pee-er to pee in the toilet?
And can I win any contests by being a champion pee cleaner-upper?
TTAH Tuesday – Consider Camp
With summer coming and the end of the school year quickly approaching, my tip for today is to consider summer camp this year.
A Christian summer camp. More specifically, Covenant Acres Camp.
I went to Covenant Acres camp as a middle-schooler a couple of times. I loved it. I still remember a “good morning” song that we sang at the flagpole and sometimes sing it to my kids when they wake up.
It is a fun place for kids that can have an eternal impact – helping them to get to know God and helping them see the importance of a close relationship with Jesus.
(By the way, I can’t believe I have kids old enough to participate in summer camps!!)
Covenant Acres has a pre-school – grade 2 camp where the kids can come just during the day, or they can stay overnight 1 or 2 nights with mom or dad. I’m going to go with my oldest daughter this summer. I am really excited about it.
Check it out and you may want to think about going with one of your younger kids or sending an older child to camp this year!
What a privilege…
I know, I know, I missed my Tuesday tip. Oh well. I had more important things going on!
Last night was our last MOPS meeting of the year and it was so great. I am so grateful to my steering team, who are so dedicated and who put so much work into making everything look fabulous and go smoothly. I am grateful to our mentors who faithfully pray for all the moms, and also for me and our steering team. I am grateful for our moppets volunteers who faithfully give of their time to watch children, so that “every” mom has the opportunity to come to MOPS.
Last night I shared with the moms about my own ups and downs in the adventure of mothering. What a privilege to be a MOPS coordinator! I feel like I have a front-row seat to see how God is working in these mom’s lives. He nudged me several months ago and let me know that I needed to share my story. He gave me the words. I feel privileged and blessed to have been used by Him. Maybe I’ll even post at some point a (shorter) version of what I shared with the moms.
But right now, I just want to be praising Him for His presence, His provision, and the work He is doing in all of our MOPS moms.
Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me – your love, Oh Lord, endures forever.”
Introducing…
Sammy!
A sweet and lovable 5 year old cocker spaniel, adopted recently from a MOPS friend. The kids love him and he (seems to) enjoy them. He’s adjusting really well!
