How does God want you to respond to the things He shows you?

When Jakob eats, he doesn’t like to take breaks to drink.  He pitches a fit when the continuous food supply is paused for a sip of water.  But because I’m the momma and know all things (sarcasm anyone?) I stop feeding him, give him his sippy cup and then he’s happy.  “Trust me Jakob, you need this water!”

Gratuitous picture of Jakob with his sippy cup...so cute!!

I feel like God must feel the same way about me sometimes.  “Would you just listen to Me?  I have something you need to know!”  That happened to me today.   

The Bible study we are currently going through is Beth Moore's "Breaking Free".  I was doing my Bible study homework and when I got to the end of the lesson for today, I was asked “How does God want you to respond to what He showed you today?”  My answer surprised me a little bit; but then again not really, considering God often shows me things at seemingly weird times.  The lesson was about taking the earthly heroes in our lives off of the thrones we put them on so that there is only room for God. [The example from Scripture being Isaiah’s immediate and obedient response to God after King Uzziah died].  I’m assuming that’s the genre of epiphany Ms. Moore was looking for.  Don’t get me wrong, that is a very valuable lesson but where I am in my life right now, God showed me something different.  I’ve always liked Matthew 12:34b “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Beth put a new spin on it.  Referring to Isaiah’s cleansed lips followed by the beautiful words he wrote in his book, she said “For indeed, out of the overflow of a changed heart the mouth most beautifully speaks”.   

So, how will I respond to what God showed me in my homework today?  Have a changed heart and speak beautiful things to the Hubs and kiddos.  Easier said than done, I’m certain, but I’m sure going to try. 

Fall Leaves Craft

I'm not the kind of person that decorates for holidays.  Christmas is one thing but for all of the others, our house pretty much looks the same (ie: toys everywhere, dishes in the sink, laundry in various stages of doneness, etc).  I do LOVE crafts though so when I saw this one, I knew I had to try it with Kaleb.  It was so easy and I'm thrilled with the results!

In the original post, it was labeled as a "no mess" finger painting craft.  However, that did not turn out to be the case with my wee one, as nothing can be mess free.  It wasn't too bad though.  The best thing about this craft is that pretty much any age can do it.  If they can bang on the table, they can do this.  If I didn't think Jakob would pick up the wax paper and eat it along with the paint that's on it, I might try it with him.  Give him another month and we'll revisit it.

Step 1 - Lay a piece of wax paper on the table and then put a piece of construction paper or cardstock on top.  

  I seriously can't believe he's smiling for the camera all on his own - no bribery!

 

Step 2 - Then drop some blobs of paint on the paper.

 I went a little heavy on the paint blobs but they still came out good.  

Also, Kaleb got excited with the rolling pin and started rolling 

prematurely, but you get the idea.

Step 3 - Place another piece of wax paper on top and start rolling!

 The original post said to use your hands to move the paint around but Kaleb 

quickly (as in, didn't want to do it at all) got bored of that.  But when I broke out my big rolling pin, he thought that was pretty cool and wanted to do many more.  It's like it's a power tool or something!

 

 This is Kaleb complaining about getting paint on his shirt. Seriously child?  Did you not see yourself after the shaving cream craft?

This is the result if you shmush the paint with your hands.  

And this is what it looks like if you use a rolling pin.  

Step 4 - Cut out some leaves and hang them wherever you need some festive fall-ness :)

Now I'm just trying to think of something else that would look good with this same color blending effect. 

Music

I love music.  I always have.  Not in a way that suggests that I know anything about how it works; I sing on our worship team at church and most of the time, I have no idea what the real musicians are talking about.  No, that's not the way I love music.  I love music for the way that the lyrics speak to my heart like nothing else can.

Tonight at worship practice we sang a new song called "Lord, I Need you".  I can't stop listening to it!  Here's a link to Chris Tomlin's version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0bSTs2KnAs

The whole song is so great but my favorite part is the bridge.

"So teach my song to rise to You
when temptation comes my way. 
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on you;
Jesus You're my hope and stay."

I have absolutely no issue with recognizing that I need God.  My issue comes with the practical application part of it.  I beat myself up daily for the fact that turning to God isn't always my first response.  Honestly, I'm glad someone else put this sentiment into words.  Teach me to turn to You.  It's not a natural response; it's something that has to be learned. 

Kaleb's Birthday Eve

"Mommy needs to snuggle you extra long because this is the last night you're going to be two."  That's what I said to Kaleb as he went to bed tonight.  Three?  Really?  Was it really three years ago that I was brought into the hospital for high blood pressure and ended up being rushed into an emergency C-Section at 36 weeks?  It certainly doesn't feel like it!  Tomorrow we'll have a super cool Transformers party with our family but in the midst of it all, I'm sure I'll be thinking about the tiny 5lb 11oz baby that we met that day.  He changed my world and I'm so grateful to have him in my life.  

8-7-08

First Birthday Party, 2009

Second Birthday Party, 2010

Birthday Eve Bowling, 2011

Shaving Cream Marbled Paper

I LOVE to do crafts with my kids.  Right now, it’s mainly Kaleb (for obvious reasons) but soon enough Jakob will be joining in on the fun.  Any morning we are free, there is paint, glue, glitter and, in this case, shaving cream scattered all over our kitchen. 

This is one of my favorites we’ve done so far.  It’s a throwback to elementary school that's super easy with pretty cool results.  We did it in the kitchen but next time, I’m totally doing it outside so I can hose him off when we’re done. To say we made a HUGE mess is a HUGE understatement! 

Step 1 - Squirt shaving cream all over a cookie sheet.

Step 2 - Dot the shaving cream with food coloring.  I'm sure you could use however many colors you'd like, but we just did two.  

Step 3 - Swirl with a toothpick.  In my opinion, when it comes to the swirling, less is more because the colors are much more vivid.  You can see from some of the final product pictures which way you like it better.

 {And yes, the wee one likes to do crafts (and many other things) in just his undies.  Wouldn't you if you looked that cute?}

Step 4 - Place paper (cardstock works best since it’s a little thicker) on top of the shaving cream and press it in, making sure all the corners are covered.  

Step 5 - Take the paper out of the shaving cream and use a spatula to scrape the paper clean.  See how the color stays behind? 

Step 6 - After you have scraped most of the shaving cream off, use a paper towel or washcloth to wipe it completely clean.  Then set it aside to dry. 

They come out so pretty!  We used cardstock and also blank note cards so we could write letters and mail them to people we love. 

Here’s some of our finished products:

 

Step 7 - Carry your child directly from the kitchen to the tub!  Kaleb was a hot mess! 

Meet the Men in My Life

This is Dave, my husband.

{Us on vacation in St. Thomas last year.  So beautiful!  It was our second trip there and I ‘m pretty sure it was even more gorgeous than the first time.}

The Hubs works from home and we LOVE it.  We get to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together everyday and that means so much to all of us, especially our 3-year-old daddy’s boy.  Dave is my rock, the one I depend on more than any other person.  I can’t believe how much I love him.  

This is Kaleb, the aforementioned daddy’s boy.  

For two and a half years, he was my sole “employer”.  I loved that time we got to spend together and I’m so thankful for the kid he is.    I was very nervous welcoming his little brother into the family but I couldn’t be more proud of the big brother he’s turning out to be.  He talks all the time about the things he’s going to teach Jakob and the things he wants to play with him when he gets bigger.  He is going to do great things for the Lord, I just know it!  I can’t believe how much I love him.

This is Jakob, my beautiful baby boy who spits up on everything and everyone that he comes in contact with.   

I’m certainly not rushing his growing up years but when he’s off formula in a few months, my washer and dryer will get a much needed break!  Jakob is a momma’s boy and I have to admit, I totally love it!  Believe it or not, he thinks I’m funny!  He giggles when I sing the Transformer’s theme song, even though I don’t know the words.  He’s 5 months in to what will hopefully be a very long life and I can’t wait to see who and what he will become.  I can’t believe how much I love him. 

So, that’s my fam.  I’m the only girl in a house full of boys (even the dog’s a boy!) and, if you ask me, it's pretty perfect!  In case you didn’t pick up on it, I love my family!

You're a blogger, now what?

So, I guess I'm a blogger!  Blogging seems to be the latest and greatest thing but it feels a little overwhelming for this stay-at-home mom.  In the past when I thought about starting a blog, I wondered "what in the world would I write about?!?"  Then I realized that my kids are a total GOLD MINE!!  I understand that not too many people will care to read all the details of my wee one's days but hopefully there's at least something that someone will find somewhat interesting!

I was super inspired/challenged by this article:  

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-as-a-mission-field

When the little boy in John 6 gave his small lunch to the frantic disciple running around trying to figure out how to feed the multitude, I don't think he figured it would be used the way it was.  Five loaves and two fish certainly doesn't seem like much, but when it was placed in the Master's hands, there was a miracle on the mountainside. 

My proverbial loaves and fishes are the seemingly menial tasks I do everyday.  I stay home with my boys so I spend my days cleaning my bathrooms, folding TONS of laundry from my super spitty (but oh so adorable!) baby, washing dishes and all of the other household chores that go along with being a wife and mom.  Do I always consider those chores to be a furtherance (yes, that's really a word) of the Kingdom?  No.  But I'm working on it.  That's what I'm hoping this blog will be. . .my daily journey of teaching and playing with my kids and making my time with them count.