To Read Or Not To Read

One of my sons absolutely loves books. The other one only reads the first day home from the library or for Book-it. The non-reader gets sOOO frustrated at the reader for always having his nose in a book. Well, he came by it honestly. My husband and I are both readers. I remember whiling away the hours at home with reading. I was always sneaking in a chapter here or there, especially after lunch in the bathroom, when the dishes needed to be done. Leon remembers his just-younger-than-him brother getting so annoyed at him reading so much. Today that brother is a pilot and mechanic, while Leon excels in farming and dirt work. Neither one turned out to be a 'loser'. ;0

I hear so many moms say that they wish they could get their children to read. I have the 'other' problem.

I love to see my children read. But like anything else, it needs to have a balance. Our one son, an avid reader, is often told to do something many times, while his nose is in a book, only to have him say later he never heard you even once. I am almost convinced the house could fall down around his ears without him finding out. The other son skip reads, picks out random chapters, and calls a book 'done'. The reader remembers everything he reads and spouts off all that information at the strangest times, whether you wanted to hear it or not.

This morning we had yet another discussion with the non-reader chastising the reader because of an episode at Grandma's house yesterday in which Grandma repeatedly asked the reader to do something; but his nose was in a book and he never heard her. The reader admitted that it was especially wrong because Grandma deserves more respect.

I told the boys that neither of them is right or wrong. The non-reader has other passions and interests that consume a lot of his time, too much sometimes. We are all different. One of the best things about a family is that God puts the most unusual combinations together and you have to learn to get along...or die trying.;) I am learning that to be the right Mom to each unique personality is a job way bigger than me, and I often mess up. God does give me strength and many times after administering some kind of creative consequence, I think to myself, "Now where did I come up with that?" And I know it was inspiration from God. He likes mothers a lot I think.

I'm learning to make my reader put his book down and look me in the eye when I have something to say. I'm also learning that sometimes it's okay to make him put his book down and go outside and play football with his brother. It's also okay to tell my non-reader that the next hour is quiet time and you may spend it however you like. If your brother wants to read the whole time instead of playing Leogs with you, it's okay. I tell my non-reader in the Book-it season, that while the prize for reaching the goal is just a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut, the things we learn from pushing ourselves and reaching for a goal are very important.

Speaking of pushing ourselves and reaching for a goal, the ironing pile and messy office are enough to get me off my seat and get motivated. Even if there isn't even as much as a personal pan pizza for my reward.

Another Birthday Girl

6 years ago I became the mother of a little girl....mother/daughter relationships are unique, and I was thrilled to get the chance to 'mother' a little girl. I thought she would grow up to be like me, with similar interests and hobbies. She's only 6, but it has been so much fun to watch her develop her own unique personality. We have our similarities-we both 'fly off the handle' when our brother's tease us, (although hopefully I'm past that stage!), we love books, and cooking and keeping house. She's much more creative than me, and much more adventurous. She begs for a pink BB gun and loves to hold worms, which is very different from me. She is more reserved in a crowd and can actually be called shy at times. Somehow, that term never applied to me. She is a delight. A sweet little princess all wrapped up with lots of tears and giggles and drama and spunk. She's learning to read this year- almost effortlessly. What a blessing she is to our family!

Happy 6th birthday, Annika!

Breakfast in bed:



Birthday Party:

She planned the party. She invited her cousins Autumn and Alicia, their family, and her grandparents. She ordered spaghetti, breadsticks, peas, garden tea, chocolate cake, and ice cream.

Life is never boring with this little lady-in-the-making around!

Birthday Girl

She's my sunshine, she's my hugger, she's the one we all laugh at right now. She loves books, and dolls, and her sister, and simple clothing and hair-do's. She loves candy, sweet tea, and strawberries, and ice cream. She loves pink, and carousel rides, and her new pink scooter. She loves Daddy, cooking with Mommy, and watching Gigi movies. She's my baby, and she just turned 4.

She loved her breakfast in bed!

Her birthday menu of choice was:

broccoli soup

hotdogs

strawberry shortcake

sweet tea

Happy 4th birthday, Brooke!

We love you so much!

Sitting By or Sitting Under?

Criticism- it causes a wide variety of emotions to surface. I have been at the brunt of it, I've also been mixed up in it many times. How can I get a handle on this destructive habit?

In Luke 5:17, the Pharisees and the doctors were sitting by listening to Jesus teaching. How many times have I sat by the teaching of the Word, instead of sat under?

Matthew Henry wrote, " How many are there in the midst of our assemblies, where the Gospel is preached, that do not sit under the Word, but sit by! It is to them as a tale that is told them, not as a message that is sent them; they are willing that we should preach before them, but not that we should preach to them."

Criticism is tricky, deceitful and self-seeking. The Pharisees were sitting by, watching for a chance to criticize Jesus for something. They were totally missing the point of His message. They didn't hear Him at all.

How many times have I totally missed what someone was saying because I was drawing my critical conclusions in my mind?

This morning, my devotional by Beth Moore, Jesus, 90 Days With the One and Only, was so powerful! She said that the most merciful people are the ones who have been sitting under the faucet of God's mercy instead of sitting by with a critical eye.

Sometimes we are convicted best just after we've been criticized. In fact, being on the end of it where people readily find fault with you, opens your eyes to your own damaging judgements of others.

Francis Frangipane wrote," To inoculate me from the praise of man, He baptized me in the criticism of man, until I died to the control of man."

We go to town, take one look at someone, and figure they're on food stamps, because they certainly look too lazy to work.

We go to church, hear someone share a testimony, but discount it because of a glaring fault in their life.

We see the young teen, tattooed and pierced, and move to another aisle at the grocery store.

We hear about some one's call from God, but completely reject it, because they aren't in the right church denomination.

We see someone make changes in dress, and hear them talk about what God is doing in their life, and we figure it can't be the same God we serve.

She shares in Sunday School class, but she has so many issues, that we just feel sorry for her instead of challenged by what God is doing in her life.

And on and on it goes.

So help, me, God. I pray that I would care enough about people to give them the gift of understanding, mercy, and love. I pray that Jesus would be so real in my life that I could be Jesus with 'skin' on to those I come in contact with. I pray that I would hear first, love next, and always care.

Blameless people are rarely those who cast blame. (Beth Moore)

So what will I do? Will I sit by Jesus teaching or will I sit under His teaching, and allow it to change me?

Oh, The Things They Say

Aren't children just such a treat to be around? they say the funniest things sometimes. Today I'm doing a post with random funnies from our house.

Brooke: (after shrieking loudly) "Did I blow your earballs out?"
*************************************************

Brooke: "Dad, last one up has to make the bed."
Dad: "No, I don't think so."
Brooke: "Yes, that's the way it is."
Dad: "Not for Daddy and Mommy."
Brooke: "Yes, it is."
Dad: "That's shocking."
Brooke: "Shocking? It'll shock you if you don't."
*************************************************

Jamison, while watching Mom wash a big kettle.: "I thought that was supposed to be stainless steel."
Mom: "It is stainless steel."
Jamison: "No, it isn't. Look, there's a big stain on the bottom.:"
************************************************
Annika, during Bible School: "Are we the children of Israel? Are we going to build up the Twin Towers?"

************************************************
Logan, referring to a concession stand, called it a 'consolation stand'.

************************************************

I was telling Brooklyn about the activities we had planned. After each event, she would say, "And then what?" So I would tell her the next thing on the agenda. When I got to the end, she said, "And then what?" I said, "That's all." She looked at me and said, "And then we'll be dead?"
*************************************************
Brooke: "Mom, you might've not knowed this, but when Annika was born, I was still up in Heaven and God was making me."
*************************************************
Jamison: "Peter Piper pickled a pickle on his hot pepper plantation."
*************************************************
Brooke: "My tummy is getting full, but I can still put jelly bread in my mind."
*************************************************

As you can tell, the three year old is the funny one around here. I think I should just follow her around for a whole day and write down every thing she says. And her prayers, oh my. There are the cutest/funniest ever. I bet God loves to hear three year olds pray.

And a few sweet pictures....

Jamison raised this watermelon in his own garden this year. I think it was the best watermelon I ever tasted. He was so proud of it!

These little ladies can spend hours in imaginative play. They filled many buckets with 'water' this particular day, from our old broken pump.

The actors in a Robin Hood play the children did for us recently.

Life with kids. What a treat!