awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

butt in Such's pool

Suffering

"Suffering either gives me to myself or or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people." -Oswald Chambers

Micah can't find his shoes (again)

I tried to fix Micah's (Jordan's) Cat bike yesterday so he could ride with no training wheels for the first time but the handlebar main stem bolt was loose and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I came home today and it was fixed. By Jordan. So today we wanted to fix the hole in the tube but after patching the tube the stem leaked. Then we pumped up Anika's old bike tires but then Micah couldn't find his shoes, which is nothing new. Then Mommy said "well it's bedtime now!" Boo hooo!

On Becoming Preteen Wise, By Ezzo and Bucknam

Grandma just bought us a book on raising "tweens". I have read so many books that claim to turn your life around when it comes to parenting, but I seem to forget everything and revert back to the my old way (probably wrong). So here's some notes from this book that I can refer back to and others can scan to see if it might help them.

In the pre-teen years Parents must transition from authority to influence. Kids must move from obedience to responsibility. Submission to a principle over a person. They must learn to finish a task on their own without nagging. Repeating instructions and redrawing lines in the sand will not work. Constantly reminding robs child of motivation to follow through. Teach accountability. Repeating instructions is the most ineffective parenting method there is. Be like a meter maid, just issue the ticket, no yelling, no anger. By arguing and explaining what he did wrong, you are taking the monkey back onto your back. Leave it on his/hers.

Monkeys on your back and reflective sit time:

"Where are you going?" "Outside." "Did you clean your room like I asked?" "Did you pick up your Legos?" "Did you put the Wii away?" "Do you have shoes on?" "When will you be back?"

The monkey is on your back.

"Do you have the freedom to go out right now?"

This question, hopefully results in reflection on right and wrong and principles, as opposed to obedience. They should ponder what they did wrong and how they can make it right.

"Can I have some lemonade?"

"Do you have the freedom to have lemonade?"

"Please may I have some?" (For a tween they need a little time to process this, so instruct them to come back a little later and ask again".

to be continued...

 

This baby really worked hard today!

 

These two worked for their money today.

Costco in a panic

 

The Costco in King of Prussia was terrorized today by two toddlers.

Ellery Faith comes home

Ellery came home yesterday and is doing really well.