Cultivating Childhood

I love carting around my little leather journal around with me so that I can record my gifts as I go.  Then, I get the enjoy them all over again when I type them out every week.  It's such a blessing to see how faithful God has been in the last week. 68. A precious 45 minutes alone  in the house to straighten up 69. Having a clean house, 70. Reading for pleasure, 71. And still  getting to bed early 72. Getting a book in the mail 73. Lipstick lips on Button's cheek 74. Little Buddy learning to express his emotions in a positive way 75. A successful potty trip 76. Ghiradelli chocolate 77. My husband's 2-year anniversary at his job 78. Waking up to the birds singing 79. Button singing in his crib when he wakes up for the day 80. Reading poetry 81. And actually enjoying it 82. Little Buddy finally showing readiness for potty-training 83. The Good Friday service at church 84. Little Buddy's face lighting up when they played Nothing But the Blood of Jesus...

Have you ever noticed that having agendas with toddlers and preschoolers doesn't work?  You plan on a quick trip to the grocery store, but your preschooler doesn't want to go.  Finally, you get there and the toddler whines that he wants to walk with his big brother instead of riding in the cart (which you know means trying to keep them both contained and not pulling a bunch of food off the shelves).  If you have a set plan in mind and it doesn't happen, it can be extremely stressful. Sometimes, agendas are necessary. Moms need to go to the grocery store.  You need to go to the doctor's appointments.  And more often than not, you have to bring along the young'uns.  The agenda must be completed despite the obstacles that get in your way.  This is where good discipline and training is important to keep sanity. Other times, agendas are not  necessary. I've been finding this to be particularly true during our nature walks.   I want to take ...

I totally want to make  these cookies  with Little Buddy on Saturday night.  I've never heard about Resurrection Cookies until this year, but they sound like so much fun.  Thanks to the ladies over at GirlTalk for the recipe! Resurrection Cookies 1 cup pecans (halves or whole) 3 egg whites 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vinegar pinch of salt wooden spoon Ziploc bag Bible Tape (Packing tape works best) 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place pecans in Ziploc bag and let children beat them with the wooden spoon until broken into small pieces.  Read John 19:1-3 and remind them that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.    2. Let each child smell (or taste) the vinegar.  Pour 1 tsp into the mixing bowl.  Read John 19:28-30 and explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. 3. Add the egg whites to the vinegar.  Eggs represent life. Read John 10:10-11 Explain that Jesus gave...

This one is mostly for the grandparents.  =)

Still working on my 1,000 gifts! 49. Taking my MOPS kids on the playground because the weather was nice. 50.  Watching Button run to the window shouting "Dada" as Phil comes home. 51. Having a husband whose love for his kids is extremely evident. 52. Getting to go on a date with said husband 53. Library book sales 54. Buying "too many" books 55. A surprise bald eagle sighting 56. Short stroll along Lake Washington 57. A great babysitter 58. Naps for mommy 59. A husband who does the dishes 60. Wearing my favorite fleece that I got at a garage sale last summer 61. Clean sheets 62. Planting sunflowers 63. Watching my tomatoes grow 64. Organizing my recipes 65. A steak dinner prepared by my husband 66. Playing in the dandelions at Discovery Park 67. Yellow toes!

Last week, we finished reading through our Jesus Storybook Bible during our "Tea Time" in the afternoon.  Since we finished, I've been struggling trying to find something to do with Little Buddy and Button for our devotional time.  I feel this is especially important as we are leading up to the Holy Week and Easter. Then I remembered a favorite memory of mine from when I was a little girl.  My mom made Resurrection Eggs that we could open up that would tell the Easter Story.  We used to do them all in Sunday School, but I thought it would be fun to make them like an advent calendar and open a couple each day throughout the Holy Week. I followed the directions from here , but this blog has some amazing ideas as well.  Here is our set... I found eggs at the Dollar Tree, and then took the directions from here and put them in a document that I could cut and place into each egg.  Then, I just found all the items in and around my home to put in the eggs...

Today, Button is the same age that Little Buddy was when Button was born - five days shy of 20 months.  I can't believe how big he is now! August 2009 Today