OCEAN - Our Aug/Sept Unit!

One of the wonderful things about doing preschool at home is that we can work it to fit our schedule!  Our original plan was to discuss the Ocean in August, but the month was so busy that we just extended our lessons into September.  And it was perfect since we visited the beach the last week of the month!  Can you say perfect ending to the unit?  :)

Our monthly plans tend to be a list of dates with a short description of what I hope to do - just enough to remind me.  And if we don't get to the plan that day, it just shifts to another day!  With a 3 and 1 year old we only plan one activity per day and use teaching moments to go over other important information as it comes up.  Here are just a few of our favorite ocean activities:

We used toilet paper rolls to make "baby octopuses!"  Just cue strips on one end to make 8 legs and set the kids free with the paints!  I was really impressed with how much time and attention my 1 year old gave to this project!

Cheap target dollar section stickers for the win!  I drew the ocean line and set the kids loose with stickers and crayons to create their very own ocean scene.  To add a little extra challenge for the 3 year old, I had him practice with his scissors to cut out the ocean line.  Just added a next level of learning without much hassle!  I also looked up ocean coloring pages on Google since they both love coloring.

Another tip I'm so glad I ran across - journals!!  I bought both kids a notebook and put their names on it.  At the start of each unit we make an intro page in their notebook.  This time it was just a hand drawn ocean scene they colored.  I also write the unit title in capital letters and have my 3 year old practice identifying those letters throughout our unit.  We can also do fun things like - which animal lives in the ocean and which on land?

Last thing, I try to buy one or two books related to the topic that we can keep.  This time around we got an Under the Sea Sticker book (with reusable stickers!!) and a fun fold-out book called Big Book of Big Sea Creatures.  It has giant pictures of fun sea animals full of neat facts - mommy learned quite a bit too!  :)  And a trip to the beach to pick up sea shells was a great end to the month!

Let me know what you're studying this month . . . and if you've found any fun ways to teach it to your kids!  Always looking for some new ideas!!

Lessons from 30!

Today I enter a new decade!  Leading up to today I've been thinking about the many things I've learned up to this point and all the things I'd like to do better in this coming year.  Here are a list of my top ten:

1. Just ask.  When I was younger I'd rather walk out of a store without something than have to ask for help.  Now?  Who has time for that?  I'm the person who you'll likely find talking to the greeter before I even look for something myself!  Don't be afraid to ask for help or clarification.  It saves time and, often enough, saves anxiety as well!

2. Worry less about what others think.  This is an area I've improved on a lot, but hope to continue growing in.  I have spent too much time putting effort into things that don't matter to me in order to "impress" someone else.  Why?  If it's not something I'm passionate about or care about, why waste time on that when I can do something that make my heart light up?!

3. Wear it.  You know the thing.  That outfit just popped into your mind, the one you want to wear, but worry what others will think.  Maybe it's something super fancy or perhaps it's your most comfy pair of sweat pants.  Go for it!  Not sure?  See number 2.

4. Find ways to love your everyday!  Don't wait for vacation or that special trip to enjoy yourself!  Find some special little things to brighten your days.  Maybe it's baking a cake with your kids just because, taking a walk, sitting in silence with a perfect cup of coffee, jumping through the hose in your yard, whatever it is, take the time and DO IT! 

5. Take a moment each day to be grateful. I recently heard someone speak on how gratitude is the fastest way to happiness.  Take a moment each day to consider what you are thankful for.  Write it down, tell somebody, but make sure you recognize life's little blessings.

6.  Accept the change of plans with grace.  This is still an area I need major improvements in.  Life, especially life with kids, can change course very quickly and without warning.  Try not to waste time being upset or frustrated by those changes.  Instead embrace them with grace and move forward.

7. Find what you love and do it!  Discover that thing that makes you smile, gives you life, fuels your fire, and then make time to do it. 

8. Get a smaller planner!  Haha!  This may be specific to me or other Type A's out there, but seriously, get the smaller planner.  Don't schedule a week's worth of chores in one day and be upset when you can't finish it.  You don't, in fact, have super powers!  Try schedule ONE thing to do each day that must get done and then leave it at that. 

9. Find community.  This life is not meant to be lived alone.  Find your people.

10. Take care of yourself - mind, body, and soul.  Ok, here's the major one.  Practice good self-care.  Take time daily to be with God.  He will renew your spirit, give you peace, and guide your days.  And take steps to care for your body.  Don't get me wrong, still eat that cake and love it, but maybe in moderation.  ;)

So there it is.  My top 10 thoughts as I enter this new decade.  There are many more that come to mind as I consider all the areas I feel I've grown in the past several years, but these are my favorites!  :)

Change of Plans

Can I be real with you?  Like really, really real?  The last couple months have been rough.  Crazy work schedules, quick trips, crazy two year old behavior, a clingy, fussy baby, many nights of broken sleep, illnesses, doctor visits, prescriptions, missed events, and the list seems to go on.  After talking with a bunch of people I know that I'm not alone and, in the grand scheme of things, my difficulties have been exceptionally minor.  But that doesn't mean it hasn't been hard. 

This past weekend we had three Christmas parties to attend!  THREE!  One each night of the weekend.  While it was a bit overwhelming, especially since Lucas had to work this weekend, I was also really excited at the chance to get away from the house and celebrate the season with friends.  Cue Friday night's work party where the snow gave me the slight question of whether we should drive all the way in to the city to pick up our children's amazing aunt who would be watching them for us.  Lucas made it there and back without any difficulty and the night was a fun break from the normal.  We did lose power for a few hours overnight, but all in all things went surprisingly well.

Then came Saturday.  About halfway through the day I got a text from Lucas which included a picture of his near swollen shut eye with a note saying he would be headed to an urgent care as soon as he was off because he was pretty certain he had pink eye.  Without getting into ALL the crazy details, we missed our party.  One that we had all been so excited to attend.  Instead we wandered through Sam's Club, had Chic-fil-a drive thru, watched a short Christmas movie, and went off to bed trying not to admit just how upset we were.  The next morning we began to watch Caleb for pink eye thinking he would certainly get it.  That night we were to have another Christmas party with some wonderful friends and, again, we were all so excited (including the kids) until the possibility was raised that maybe we shouldn't go for fear of passing along pink eye.  I literally held back tears as we discussed the possibility.  I know it might seem silly, but after the crazy month we had experienced and the excitement over the party (not to mention all the cookies we had baked!) I just couldn't handle the thought of missing something else.  I'm pretty sure my words and attitude were simple, "I give up."

As I drove Ruth and I to church so the boys could stay home and not potentially share any germs, I felt so incredibly defeated. My opportunity for a fun-filled weekend was once again disappearing and I just wanted a break from it all.  During the last worship song that morning, my attitude was changed.  Not completely, not entirely, but my perspective was shifted as we sang these words:

By Your Spirit I will rise,

From the Ashes of Defeat.

The resurrected King is resurrecting me!

Your Name, Your Name is VICTORY!

It felt as though God was speaking directly to me in that moment.  I had a choice to make.  I could remain upset and disappointed, looking at our weekend and this day as a wasted opportunity for fun or I could find a way to make the best of what we had left of the day.  So I formulated a plan as I drove home to mix up a batch of gingerbread dough (despite the 6 batches of cookies already strewn about the kitchen) and we would put together a gingerbread house as a family that night instead of getting to go to the party.  I was still disappointed, but my new plan gave me something to look forward to and something different to get excited about.  Turns out we were able to attend the party and our gingerbread house waited until the following night to be constructed!

Very often I have a strict plan or schedule in my mind and I can get pretty excited about the things in store for us, but when plans fall apart I discover that I'm not as flexible as I'd like to think.  I freeze.  I keep thinking about what I'm missing instead of what God could be doing.  

Lord, help me to trust You when my plans fall through.  Cause me to look to You for the new plan.  To not get frustrated and disappointed, but to get excited about what You have in store for us.  Amen

For The Weary Mama

In a season of feeling stressed and overwhelmed with two little ones, a new (to me) ministry, and a small business (not to mention typical household chores), I have truly recognized my need to get back into the Word regularly to gain clarity, strength, and wisdom.  After my daughter was born in mid-February, it was a steep learning curve figuring out how to accomplish anything with two under two in the house.  I had to figure out what worked so I could make dinner, fold laundry, get through the grocery store (!), and, not surprisingly, how to do it with limited sleep!  I'm sure many of you can relate.  So here's me trying to get in a better rhythm.

My plan of action is to focus on the book of John (I just needed somewhere to start without something else to think about each time I sat down!).  I'm probably a week into this idea of reading a chapter a day and just finished John 4!  But my tired, weary, anxious mind got a lot of encouragement today as I read these familiar stories.  Things I never noticed before seemed to stand out.

Let's start here, " . . . tired as [Jesus] was from the journey . . . " (John 4:6b).  Did you catch that? Jesus understands how it feels to be tired!  He can relate to me!  It may seem small and I've rushed past it many times, but when you get so stressed you feel as though you're failing daily, there's encouragement in knowing Jesus knows how tired I am and what that feels like!  Phew!

Here's some more encouragement for the weary mama - just a few verses later, Jesus says to the woman at the well, ". . . the water I give him will become in him like a spring of water . . . "  (John 4:14b).  It renews and refreshes itself.  And we have this spring (the Holy Spirit) within us!  How often I forget that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives within me (Romans 6)!  I have become very aware of a little mantra that runs through my mind (and out of my mouth) when things get tough.  You might recognize it, it goes like this, "I can't!  I can't!  I just can't!"  The truth is, He can!  While there is some truth in that - in and of myself I can't - it's not the whole truth.  Enter God! I can't, but He can and His power is at work within me.  This gives me hope.  Will I remember this truth every time I get overwhelmed?  No.  But the more I remind myself, the more quickly this truth will come when the moments become too much.

It's not much, but hopefully these passages encouraged you as they did me.  And remember, mama, you're doing GREAT!

Encourage One Another

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Over the past couple of weeks I have seen so many posts, articles, comments, etc. of moms very aggressively sharing their views on mothering.  While sharing these opinions in and of themselves is not wrong, the manner in which I have seen it is. I read verses like the one above and weep a little.  We are called to encourage one another and build each other up . . . but is that "just as in fact [we] are doing?"  When I read a post, especially one between Christian mothers, that leaves my stomach turning, not because of the advice or opinions, but because of the tone, words, and anger behind them, it hurts my heart.  I'm not the first to say all of this and I'm sure I won't be the last.  Being a mom is hard work!  We have so much to decide on - sleeping, eating, playtime, outdoor playing, screen time, music, education, even diapers for goodness sakes!  And each one of us will make those decisions.  We'll have opinions of why our choice is best and maybe are so convinced at how great our decision was that we want to share it with others.  No matter what decision we make, one thing is the same.  We want the best for our child.  We want them to feel loved, to succeed, to know the Lord, to see His work in our lives, to be healthy, to be encouraged . . . and the list goes on.

I don't know the perfect answer to all of these decisions for every mama in the world, but what I do know is this.  God gave me my son.  And He gave me to him.  I know him better than any other person on this planet.  I know my family better than any other person on this planet.  And God trusted me with them.  He gave me the ability to think and make decisions.  He taught me to trust Him and turn to Him when those decisions are hard.  He taught me to listen to Him and stand firm in obedience even when it didn't make sense to others (or even myself).  How God has led me to raise my children may not be the same as He led you, but know that it doesn't change my opinion of you and it will not change my support of you.  

Being a mama is hard, but you are doing a great job!  How do I know?  Because if you are following the Lord and calling on Him to help raise your child, you are making the best decisions (even the hard ones) and are leaning on the best Father there ever was or will be to give you wisdom.  He knows you and your child intimately, after all He formed your child in your womb (Psalm 139)!  He has plans for you and your child and His plans are good and are never thwarted (Jeremiah 29:11, Job 42:2).

My purpose in this post is to encourage mamas to remember how hard it is and rather than make those decisions harder for other mamas, encourage them.  Offer advice if it's asked for, but encourage whatever decision they make.  If you think they've made the wrong decision, pray that the Lord would lead them to a different decision, but ultimately trust that God will lead them in what is best for their child.  

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25

May the Name of the Lord be Praised!

Boy has it been a rough couple of weeks!  For those of you who don't know, we closed on our first home at the end of March and moved in April 1.  Let me preface all of this by saying we love our home.  The space inside, the beautiful yard, quiet neighborhood, and nice neighbors.  We prayed and prayed and prayed that God would lead us to the home He has for us in the area He desired us to be and we truly believe He did just that.  Then we moved in.  Within our first 2 weeks here I had three different plumbers out here trying to figure out why everything was backing up into our downstairs toilet.  They seemed to get it all straight and the next week we found a water spot on the ceiling just below the master bathroom . . . another plumber out to fix it.  Then we could breathe . . . for about 2 days before everything started backing up into the downstairs bathroom again.  Some more plumbers, digging up the yard, problem fixed.  In the meantime my computer died and took all of my files with it (sorry I don't have the Venezuelan Lasagna recipe for you - it was good), my car battery died in a parking garage after church one Sunday, and my phone got left of the back bumper of my car to be thrown out into the street in the middle of downtown to be returned later.  Phew!  It was a chaotic time around here and I was not reacting well.

We had a speaker a couple weeks ago at church that said something that stuck with me because I realized it's how I had been thinking.  He said some of us think God has forgotten our name and lost our address.  Just after hearing this my car battery died and my phone was lost.  I joked that I thought I had left a forwarding address for God when we moved, but it must have gotten lost.  It sounds funny, but at a deeper level that is what I was struggling with.  I started questioning if we had heard God correctly.  Had I done something wrong and was being punished?  Every day seemed to bring a new set up frustrations and I was not handling it well.  Finally I decided I needed some perspective so I turned to Job.  In the first chapter Job loses his livestock, servants, and all ten of his children.  Not only that but he is told back to back to back without a break between blows.  I experienced this on a very minuscule scale and my reaction was frustration, anger, and displacing those emotions on others.  So how did Job respond?

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.  Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

'Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;

may the name of the Lord be praised.'

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

~Job 1:20-22

Rather than get angry, yell, and curse God, Job recognized God's immense power.  He didn't question why all of this happened, but trusted that God had a plan.  And he worshipped!  Later on in chapter 2 Job's own wife tells him to curse God and die (Job 2:9) and Job again refuses, choosing to trust God's plan and sovereignty. 

Reading this brought a lot of conviction.  I was not handling these situations well and certainly was not trusting God's plan.  I repented and asked God to help me react to each situation in a way that would glorify Him.  In that moment I realized how much He had already stepped in with each problem and I hadn't thanked him.  With all of the plumbing issues we only had to pay the initial plumber to come out because the company that sold us the house decided to fix all of the issues at no charge to us - that almost never happens!  They didn't have any obligation to help, but they did.  When my computer died we were able to find another one at a very reasonable price the same day.  When my car battery died my parents just happened to be in town to help and there just happened to be a guy in the parking garage with jumper cables who was willing to let us hold him up to borrow them.  And when my phone flew off into the street downtown, someone picked up it, answered it, and waited for us to come pick it up.  Every one of those situations could have turned out very differently, but God did not forget my name.  He never lost my address.  He knew exactly where I was the entire time and was working on my behalf through it all.  It was me who lost sight of Him.  My perspective and focus became too much on the problem in front of me and not the Problem-Solver.  May I remember this lesson the next time we face difficulty and trust that He is in complete control.