Will Work For Food

What do you do when you see someone holding that sign?

My daddy, a preacher, always offered to buy them something to eat, sharing the gospel while they ate, if they accepted. I remember standing in a San Antonio square on vacation with my mom and six younger siblings one time while he carried this out. He also picked up hitchhikers when he was alone. To him the captive audience was more than worth the risk.

But what about me, a mom in a minivan?

Usually we have bottled water in the van to offer from the window. We've also gone through a drive-thru to come back with food. It never feels like enough. I always feel unprepared.

Now I know that it could be a racket. That they could be a criminal. But what if they aren't? What if they just have no where to go and no one who loves them? Either way, don't they just need Jesus?

I saw a woman with a sign today. I didn't see her until I was passing her. She was facing the other way. The kids didn't see her, they would have insisted that I help. I wanted to help. But I was supposed to be at choir rehearsal soon and didn't have much to offer. I wished I could really get out of the car and find out what her story was and really help her. Would that be safe? Are we always called to do what's safe?

This idea is at least a step in the right direction. Blessings bags pre-filled with food and toiletries. Kept in the car for such a time as this. And I'm going to be sure to include the gospel as well. Because even if I can't find out everything that they need, I can give them what they need most of all.

^{Matthew 5:42} Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

My Sound of Music Moment

Yesterday, out of the blue, I looked at my kids and said, "do, re, mi, fa, sol, and so on are only the tools we use to build the song. Once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million different tunes, by mixing them up, like this: so, do, la, fa, mi, do, re. Can you do that?" And my kids did!! Then I sang, "sol, do, la, ti, do, re, do." They sang that too. I told them that I had been waiting for this moment my whole life. They thought I was weird. I don't mind.

The best thing for stings

As we're planning an at home vacation week soon that includes lots of outdoor adventures, and because it seems like yellow jackets get crankier as the season wears on, I've restocked my favorite bee sting remedy. These little swabs have a relatively strong plastic case that peals off in the back so that you can remove a tube of benzocaine gel that is the best at relieving the pain of a sting. My grandfather used these when I got stung as a little girl. Children can rub the gel on themselves, which seems to be less traumatic to them, and it numbs the area quickly.

They're hard to find, though. I get mine at Walmart, but they're out of stock frequently, and I have to pick them up at the pharmacy counter these days.

By the way, they fit in those bandage boo boo boxes. (Which they apparently don't make anymore, sorry. They were hard boxes the kids bandages, band-aids, I think, came in one year, they opened like a case.) I use them as portable first aid kids with a variety of band-aids, especially knee sized ones, sealed medicine tablets, a small tube of antibiotic ointment, and a couple Sting-Kill swabs.

The One Parenting Habit that Changes Everything

If you've never read this post by Ann before, go right now and do it. :^)

Calling All Tag Lovers

Does your baby love tags? Then he or she will probably adore these. Bella's love of tags has already manifested itself and she was thrilled when I pulled a couple of these out for her.

Don't Miss This Homeschool Post (Even If You Don't Homeschool)

Anne at Holy Experience has shared "A Day in the Life of Homeschooling: 7 Rungs". Don't miss this. If it was a book, I'd give it 5 stars and tell you to buy it - so go read the article that will only take you a few minutes, okay? Then tell me if it doesn't renew your vision.

My Quote of the Day

"I'm thinking of at least one job for which I may be the least qualified person in the world. If we could give an aptitude test for this skill, I believe I would fall in dead last. Everyone else on the entire planet, I believe, is better equipped than I am to raise a servant of the state. I'm not the guy to do that job. I am, however, equipped to raise servants of the King."

~ R.C. Sproul, Jr., When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling

A New Name

Okay, I couldn't convince him that Jane Claire was perfect, but we had a name pow-wow tonight again, and (can this be real??), he really loves the name I've been hoarding at the top of my list since before I had kids, but we've never used - Maria. What made the difference in changing it from a name he liked to a name we both love? The perfect middle name, of course. Eirinn. The oldest way of spelling Ireland.

So all you who loved (or hated and just didn't comment) Laurie Jane, what do you think of...

Maria Eirinn?

(Write it in script, it's even prettier)

*

I'm grinning from ear to ear. I like it much better than Laurie Jane, Jane Claire, and any other name I've pretty much ever come up with. I mean, you really can't beat a name that comes with a soundtrack.

*

"How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?"

*

"Maria Maria She reminds me of a west side story"

*

"My Maria Don't you know I've come a long, long way I've been longin' to see her when she's around she takes my blues away"

*

and best of all:

*

"The most beautiful sound I ever heard:

Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria.

All the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word:

Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria.

*

Maria, I've just met a girl named Maria,

and suddenly the name will never be the same to me.

Maria! I've just kissed a girl named Maria..."

*

Yeah, I'm really hoping this one is the keeper.

A True Definition of Irony

After informing my children that they are not eating lunch until their rooms are cleaned up, they are, of course, spending far more energy complaining of how hungry they are, then they are cleaning. The climax comes as one stands outside the bathroom door watching me lose everything that I have eaten for breakfast and continues complaining of how hungry she is instead of cleaning up. Was she really anticipating my sympathy??

It's a girl!

And we were pretty sure it was a boy.

After we caught our breath, we went into a flurry of name searching, since we'd been concentrating on boy names. Even the kids were writing name lists.

Ethan, Anna, and I love "Ruby", but apparently Kenny Rogers forever ruined that name for Brian (I may have to send him some hate mail - is he still alive?). It was so cute to watch the kids work on their lists - and see how they spelled the names. Rosie just said that she like Genevieve. I said, "Oh, we could call her Genny or Genna", "Vieve" she replied. No compromising with that one. :^)

But by the end of the evening an unexpected name had come out of nowhere and captured us - Laurie Jane. We have a few others from our combined name list that we both like, but this on is really burrowing in. Not 100% official yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the keeper. What do you think?

For Mothers in need of encouragement

These two articles will touch you and spur you on.

From Ann, at Holy Experience, A Mother's Work, once again she finds the sacred in the mundane

And from someone I've never read before, Sarah, at Three Little Monkeys, Growing Parents, an article to encourage moms of one, two, or three, that see all of these super-moms of seven in the blogosphere and wonder why they can't even accomplish that much...it's all a matter of experience - and older children :^)

What I'm most thankful for this year

This is baby at 12 weeks - we're at 17 weeks now and still waiting for the all-day sickness to go away, but still very thankful.

New Websites

It's always fun to find new kids websites. Angelina Ballerina has a new website! My girls, especially Rose, are big fans. That site led me to:

PBS Kids Sprout - they have the cutest website. Rosie just came down with a fever of nearly 102, and fell asleep watching Noddy video clips.

There are lots of healthy kids recipes, with names and designs based on favorite characters:

• Freeze Dance Pops
• Barney's Purple Hummus Dip
• Brussel's Mini-Quiches
• Jay Jay's Chicken Salad Plane
• Banjo's Banana Splits

And after you've tried them out, you can upload a picture of your kids making or eating them. My kids are gonna love that! You can also upload photos for various parts of the Gallery. And there are pages of video clips of sign language words from The Good-Night Show.

There are also pages of simple (and I mean really simple) crafts. No, you might not think they're beautiful, and they might not make good Mother's Day gifts, but they'll keep your kids occupied with simple household materials and lots of creativity. Some favorites:

• Bottle Cap Ladybugs
• Sponge Sailboat
• String Telephone
• Picture Puzzle

• Name Art

And finally back at those creative, veggie loaded, kid-friendly recipes, I clicked a link to:

KidsHealth where there are even more great recipes with sections of recipes for kids with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, celiac disease, and that are vegetarian. as well as educational games and experiments, information on childhood illnesses and accidents from kids' or parents' perspectives, a whole sections of "How the Body Works" videos that Ethan might totally love (though the one I watched seemed a bit slow-moving) The teens section of the site has some good stuff, but also lots of information you would expect from a public school type setting in regard to private matters. There's also a "Growing Up" section that you may want your kids to avoid before turning them loose on the site, on the other hand, it could be helpful if you are needing to discuss puberty and related issues.

Have fun exploring these new sites or just enjoying the links that I found. See you later!

Trustee Family

Brian e-mailed me this fantastic article, "Turning the Tables on Family." It resonates with a vision of faith and family for future generations that is sometimes lost in the muddle of daily living. This is purposeful connecting and instructing with an eye toward our children's chidren's children. Sometimes we think too small.

A while back, Brian also shared this from from Al Sanders' Crisis in Morality:

"Max Jukes, the atheist, lived a godless life. He married an ungodly girl, and from the union there were 310 who died as paupers, 150 were criminals, 7 were murderers, 100 were drunkards, and more than half of the women were prostitutes. His 540 descendants cost the State one and a quarter million dollars.

"But, praise the Lord, it works both ways! There is a record of a great American man of God, Jonathan Edwards. He lived at the same time as Max Jukes, but he married a godly girl. An investigation was made of 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards of which 13 became college presidents, 65 college professors, 3 United States senators, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and navy officers, 100 preachers and missionaries, 60 authors of prominence, one a vice-president of the United States, 80 became public officials in other capacities, 295 college graduates, among whom were governors of states and ministers to foreign countries. His descendants did not cost the state a single penny. 'The memory of the just is blessed' (Prov. 10:7)."

Preschool DVDs

For her Opinion Saturday this week Mary at Owlhaven asked what DVD’s and children’s shows you feel are worthwhile for preschoolers. Here is my response. You can add yours here. Let me know if you leave her a response so that I can read it too!

My children LOVE Miss Pattycake DVDs from Integrity Music. She is a perky lady with a bright green jumper and funky hats that loves to sing songs and share the gospel in a way that toddlers adore and understand. When my firstborn was just 27 months old he could explain the true meaning of Easter thanks to this lady's explanation of it in "Egg-Strava-Ganza!" Anyone who can accomplish that in such an engaging way has my thanks. We got to see her live last September and my 5, 3, and 1 year old were all thrilled. My fourteen month old refused to leave her lap during picture time! She woke up every morning asking for "Pat." Check out her website http://www.misspattycake.com/.

We also enjoy Praise Baby for young toddlers and Cedarmont Kids music videos for older toddlers and preschoolers, as well as the Beginners Bible video series. no list would be complete without Steve Green's Hide 'Em In Your Heart and my kids also love the Donut Man. There you have it. My list of preschool gems.

Today's proverb

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. Proverbs 25:26

The children are quick and eager to learn proverbs set to music. I am eager to teach them as many as they can hold. The new mission: to determine how many tunes I can make up, and they can memorize, in one week. One a week? One a day?...

Potty Song

This is Rosie's new favorite song. We've even made motions, which I think boosted its appeal.


G C E F EE D
1-2-3- Let's hear some pee (Hold one, then two, then three fingers up, then cup your hand behind you ear)

G B D EE D C
1-2-3- In the pot-ty (Hold one, then two, then three fingers up, then point down in the potty)

G C E F EE D
1-2-3- Let's hear some pee (Hold one, then two, then three fingers up, then cup your hand behind your ear)

G B D EE D C
Flush it down in the pot-ty (Make a flushing motion, then point down in the potty)


I'm pretty sure I made this one up from scratch, but if you've seen it somewhere before let me know.
Copyright 2007

Best of the blogs

My husband Brian at Growing Vertical has a great post on Christian marriage in response to a question from a coworker.

Kelly at A Spacious Place had an article on pornography with some shocking statistics that are a must-read for every wife and mother.

Funniest reads of the week go to Kim's Day at the Zoo and Lindsey's bathtub story.

And how could I end this list without a beautiful read from Ann at The Holy Experience of Listening.

Out of the mouth of the babe

I wrote this down right after it happened, but then I lost the note. So this is my best reconstruction...

Brian and I were discussing the fact that God is not bound by a time-line like humans. He transcends time. I commented that "he even rewound death" at times, bringing the dead back to life. About this time, Anna Kate starts chiming in from the background, " I know what rewind means." Certain that she is about to explain the workings of a VCR, we continued our conversation. But she was not deterred, and again insisted, "I know what rewind means." So I gave in, and said, "what does it mean, Anna?" And then I got a surprise.

"To rewind death means to take it away. And it not be there anymore. And we don't go there. And that's what Jesus did."

I was speechless.

Of course, not everything she says is that profound.

Last evening's devotions were the story of Mara, and the children of Israel's repeated search for good water. Brian read how they found a place with good water...Anna Kate enthusiatically took over,"and they had a picnic, and they roasted marshmallows, didn't they? And they made smores. I think they made smores!"

You never know what that girl's gonna say.