Apr 30

Wishing Away My Days? Enjoying This Phase of Life

Wishing Away My Days? Enjoying this Phase of Life

Most of my friends with children are all out of the diaper, potty training, naptime troubles, sleepless phase. Most of their kids are older and are much more independent. At 2, 4 and 8, my boys need a lot of attention and help. I sometimes find myself wishing away these crazy times when I focus on the negative. Days when I am so tired, but there is no sleep or rest to be had. Days when it seems impossible to be patient and calm. Days when there is so much whining and crying that I want to just join in! Waa-ahh! But then… I look to my God for the right focus and He shows me the abundant joys I have right before my eyes! So often He is the last place I look to for help, when He should always be the first!

Wishing Away my Days? Enjoying this Phase of Life 1

Those nights when I am awakened by a sleepy little munchkin for whatever reason; THOSE are precious moments I may never see again. When I am snuggled up in my 2 year old’s bed at 2:00 a.m.trying to calm him or get him back to sleep and he rolls over and says, “Isn’t this fun, Mama?” or “Wanna snuggle, Mama?” I may not think the loss of sleep is so fun, but sweet, cuddly moments like that are slipping away even as they occur! Oh, to take a mental picture and breathe in the loveliness of those moments!

Wishing Away My Days? Enjoying this Phase of Life 2

A couple of weeks ago as we drove down the road, my 4-year-old read a billboard sign to me! What? Who taught him how to read? :-) Sure enough, we came home and pulled out some of our beginning readers and he could slowly but surely sound them out and read several sentences to me! We had not yet begun to formally teach him reading, but okay! I guess it was time? :-) To witness those moments of discovery and joy; to cuddle up on the couch and dive into stories of adventure; to watch him experience them for the first time, in wide-eyed wonder…Oh, what wonderful moments!

Wishing Away My Days? Enjoying this Phase of Life 3

I think of my 8 year old…in another eight years he will be sixteen!! These first 8 years have flown by! The days may often seem slow, but those years, HOW THEY FLY! If he moved out at 18, my time with him would be almost half over now. OH! That thought makes my heart sink! He has so many thoughts and questions and ideas to share. If I wish my time away now and do not listen to the cares of his heart…I will never get a second chance. I need to be here for my children today, whatever phase they are in, whatever frustration or joy I am dealing with…the time is now. I cannot plan the future or live in the future! God gives us each new day to enjoy…not to wish or plan away! TODAY I can enjoy these beautiful moments. For tomorrow has enough trouble of it’s own…

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own. (Matthew 6:34)

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Mar 27

Come Back to Reality…Over and Over Again!

Psalm 4-8

I was sitting in my younger boy’s room tonight, just listening to the sound of them breathing. In and out, softly, peacefully…with the occasional snort of a snore. So calming, so lovely, so comfortable, such a gift.

Somehow, all the cares of the day drift slowly away…all the craziness is forgiven and forgotten…and nothing is left but LOVE. Of course, the love is always there, it’s just harder to notice sometimes in the madness of a house-ful of boys.

How sad it would be to miss these moments! How easy it is to miss these moments. How quickly they will be gone. How quickly I get sucked into the frustrations of the day. Never quickly to get back out.

Slow…breathe…enjoy…savor. Come back to reality, come back to truth. Don’t be deceived by the lies of this world. They are constantly fighting for your attention and they will devour you once they have it.

Your Source of Peace is God alone…you will find it nowhere else, your endless search will never satisfy. Start with HIM, end with HIM.

Breathe in His life to truly enjoy this life. So calming, so lovely, so comfortable, such a gift…your soul will find rest in Him alone. ~Kelly

Psalm 62 1-2

Mar 24

Simple Easter Crafts for Kids

As requested by my sister …I have six simple Easter crafts for you today! My boys were busy last week and over the weekend!

Painting With Plastic Eggs:

Painting With Plastic Eggs

Choose your favorite Easter colors and paint with plastic egg halves on cardstock egg shapes.

Painting With Plastic Eggs

Washi Tape Wooden Eggs:

Washi Tape Wooden Eggs

Use the back of small wooden plaques. Layer stripes of patterned tape to cover the wood. Paint with a coat of Mod Podge to finish.

Washi Tape Wooden Eggs 1

Paper Mache Glitter Eggs:

Paper Mache Glitter Eggs

Paint paper mache eggs (mine were pre-made), cover the entire egg. While still wet, roll around in a box of glitter.

Paper Mache Glitter Eggs 1

Baby Chick Sock Puppets:

Baby Chick Sock Puppets

Glue google eyes, beak and feathers onto a yellow sock. My boys goofed and chased each other around with these for quite a while!

Chick Sock Puppets

Tissue Paper Chicks:

Tissue Paper Chicks

Cover a cardstock circle with Mod Podge or school glue. Wrinkle up small squares of yellow tissue paper and cover the entire circle. Glue on the paper beak and eyes.

Tissue Paper Chicks 1

And perhaps the most simple of all…

Thumbprint Chicks:

Use a yellow stamp pad to make thumbprints on paper. Use a black marker for the legs and eyes and an orange marker for the beak.

Thumbprint Chicks

Happy Easter crafting everyone! ~Kelly

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Mar 17

Treasure Baskets and Penny Hunt!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Did you do anything fun today? Did you wear green so you wouldn’t get pinched? I sure did! My boys take it pretty seriously! Ouch!

One of our traditions each year on St. Patrick’s day is to talk a little about the missionary life of St. Patrick, his dream to tell the people of Ireland about the love of Christ and the many difficulties he endured to fulfill this calling.

We have a treasure hunt of pennies, “gold” coins and clovers. A couple of years ago we even painted a treasure box to fill with our finds. This year we made little baskets to use on our hunt!

Treasure Basket and Penny Hunt 4

Supplies: Green and White Perler beads, pipe cleaners, oven safe bowls, non-stick spray

Treasure Baskets Supplies

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray the bowls with non-stick spray, then fill the bowl about half way with the Perler beads.

Treasure Basket and Penny Hunt

Press the beads into a single layer in the bottom of the bowl and as you do this, the beads will climb up the sides of the bowl. Add more, if you need, until the beads cover the entire bowl. Place on a cookie sheet in the oven for about 20 minutes until the beads melt.

Treasure Bowls And Penny Hunt 1

When they are nicely melted, take the bowls out of the oven and let sit for a few minutes. After slightly cooled, flip the bowls out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Treasure Basket and Penny Hunt 2

When the bowls are cooled, wash off the non-stick spray, add a pipe cleaner handle through the bead holes and you are ready to hunt for treasure!

Treasure Basket and Penny Hunt 4

The boys love the hunt and the gold coins are their favorite!

Treasure Basket and Penny Hunt Collage

After the hunt, we read a few Bible verses with the boys. This year we read:

Proverbs 2:1-6

Isaiah 33:6

Matthew 6:20,21

Matthew 19:21

I Timothy 6:18-20

I challenge you to store up your treasures in heaven! ~Kelly

stpats

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Mar 13

You’re Sure Lucky You’re Cute!

You're So Lucky You're Cute Collage 1

“You’re sure lucky you’re cute!” Anyone else ever say this to their children? I love my children so much, I tell you what though…they do the craziest things sometimes, I just wonder what ON EARTH are they thinking??

Like the time my four-year old ripped open the screen to his window and threw all his toys, clothes and pretty much anything he could lift out the window while I THOUGHT he was napping. He did it really quietly too, I walked in the room and said, “Oh Wow! You cleaned up your room…UH, wait a minute! WHAT???”

Or when my two-year old pushed the screen out the second story window right when the maintenance man was working below…just missed him! The window only opens a few inches, how did he manage that?

Or when my then 5-year-old would ask me every morning, “Are we going anywhere that I have to wear underwear today?” Ummm…yes, underwear is usually a good idea…

Or when we brought our third child home from the hospital and my second child kept saying, “Put IT down, Mom” ”It” was his new brother.

Or when my two and four-year old won’t stop biting each other.

Or when they think it’s a good idea to stuff half a roll (or MORE) of toilet paper down the commode.

Or when they are running and for some reason turn their head back and then, of course, run smack into a wall.

And the list goes on and on! And then, there are all the more experienced mothers telling me to ENJOY IT! HA! I am too exhausted to enjoy it! But I don’t want to miss it, because I know they are right. This precious time will be over before I know it and for some crazy reason, I will miss it when it’s gone!

You're So Lucky You're Cute Collage 2

I also think God gave us children to help us understand HIM more. How many, many, many times can we see so clearly what is best for our children, but they just keep running into that wall! I know I do the same thing. How many times will I have to run into the wall before I learn that lesson God has for me? I pray often for wisdom and guidance and I try to simplify my life. Simplify, so I can see more clearly what truth God has for me and my family; and simplify so I can enjoy as much as possible this CRAZY season of life.

You're Sure Lucky You're Cute Collage 3