Wednesday, December 13, 2006


* Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie*

We finished this book last night. The book was SO much better than the Disney movie or the old broadway movie we have. We've not seen the more recent Peter Pan with actors....the children are asking that I see if we can get it from Netflix.

Not sure what we will be reading next....several ideas are currently being floated.....We'll see.
Christmas Shopping

The inevitable was bound to happen....I must deal with the whole Christmas shopping thing. ::snort::

It's been our tradition for years for me to take each child out for a day of shopping. We would get either breakfast or lunch and they'd get all their shopping done. This actually is quicker....I had 7 days of shopping instead of who knows how many....I also avoided store security who suspected a group of kids with strange lumps under their shirts and such...

Last year, we noted it was harder to pull this off with a new baby and the girls not at home. We managed. Mike watched the baby and littles on his days off. This year, I have been trying to do shopping all together. We've reached a point....even though we tried.... where I'm going to have to take each child out alone....and I think Josiah is going to have to take them all out if I hope to have a gift. LOL

I had a couple of spare hours today and headed out with Arielle. Stacia was sleeping. Iwas assured they could handle it. We had just finished dinner, when I got the "call". Stacia needed me home - she needed her diaper changed. ::snort:: Guess we'd forgotten about that. Arielle had finished her shopping and we were heading home anyway.

We finished a week of TOG by yesterday.....so instead of trying to do another, I think we will go shopping tomorrow...maybe I can even take one child in the a.m. and one child in the p.m.?????

Now THIS is interesting. Arielle wanted to eat at Burger King. The lady in there LOVES us and was so excited to see us again - though she wanted to know what I did with the other children. She wanted to know where Chaplain has been too. LOL They have an AAFES radio station that plays on base...there we were eating when "Blue Christmas" came on. I was doing so good and feeling so proud of myself for actually going SHOPPING!!!! Then THAT! It was followed by "I'll be home for Christmas".....now don't you think they would KNOW better than playing those songs on base when so many are deployed???? I teared up, but at least I was in a spot where everyone KNEW what the problem was....::snort:: Arielle said, "Is blue a bad color, Mom?" ::snort:: I explained to her and then we got the "call"; all in all it was fairly funny.
Sharing a Computer

with the little ones is an adventure! LOL I came home to discover that I have HUGE letters on my screen....in all programs and applications.....Maybe the comptuers are getting in on the revolt of the appliances..... ::snort::
The March of the Appliances....

The bosch blender (for smoothies) isn't working...the bread bowl works...the blender races and doesn't engage..... How do they KNOW that Mike is gone??????

Grabbing the manual right now...
VULNERABILITY ALERT

Truthfully, I think that having the girls coming home is sort of what put me in a funk yesterday. If you've not gone through this, you may think I'm psychotic.

I'm THRILLED they are coming home. It makes me smile and tear up to think that they will be here in 9 short days. However, I can't stop the thought "it's only for 9 days and then they'll be gone again for at least 9 months" from quickly following. I'm not alone....when told the girls are coming home, Zander's reply is "I don't want them to leave". So you see.....it's another bitter sweet joy. Incredibly sweet....but hard to separate from the fact that they have grown and are not HERE.

I'm certainly taking the thoughts captive. I'm choosing joy. I'm choosing to fully live each hour of the 9 days they are home...but my mother heart KNOWS a goodbye will quickly follow the time they are home....and those goodbyes are still very difficult for our family. Ah, but the hellos....BreAnne is the most excitable girly girl I've met. ::Snort:: She runs, squeals, hugs us tightly....we love the hellos...Krista is a bit more refined. LOL
Parenting/discipline in Proverbs - Ch 29

29:8 "Scorners set a city aflame, but wise men turn away anger."

~I have a bit of a sarcastic flair about me. Anyone surprised? I have learned that I have to really watch this or my children (as well as others) interpret it as scorn. Have you seen a parent who continually scorns their children? It's sad and devastating for the child.

29:11 "A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back."

~I always have a choice! I do not HAVE to loose a temper. I CAN choose joy in every situation. Some days (like yesterday) require more of a conscious choice. LOL

~A wise woman will hold her temper BACK....children have a hard time being truly discipled when we are approaching them with an out of control temper.

~Walk by the spirit in this issue...if you have an anger/temper problem - I've been there - daily bring that to the Lord and allow His Holy Spirit to speak loudly to you in this area. You're children, your husband, you and GOD deserve better than this from you.

29:15 "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother."

~Again - hit parenting and scroll down to October to fully see what I think about "rod".

~brief word studies (I'll study them deeper and share if I find anything in reproof or shame to add)
rod - 7626 shevet - symbol of authority, family connections, protection

reproof - #8433 - towkechah and towkachath (Strongs) - correction, proof, reasoning, discipline

child - 5288 - naar - youth 16 - marriage (see parenting/Oct for full study)
shame - 954 - buwah - (strongs) to pale, disappointed or delayed

~Please understand that what I'm about to say is NOT meant to be judgmental. Children make their OWN choices and some learn the hard way......but...

~I've often observed children who grew up with the rod (as commonly understood to be an instrument with which to spank) consistently applied who in the end bring shame to their Moms....

~ I think the verse/study has cleared this up for me. IF I believe that this means I must physically spank a young child and I will be guaranteed a wise child...I've missed what Proverbs and the Bible have to say about parenting. First - remember that Proverbs are NOT meant to be absolute doctrine or promises. Second, spanking should never be the ONLY tool a parent uses or the MAIN tool a parent uses. AND as far as I've found these rod verses all apply to YOUTH and not young children anyway.

~Putting the meaning back into the verse: "Authority, family life, parental protection and reasoning, mentoring, oral instruction brings wisdom, but a youth who gets his own way makes a Mom pale and causes delay (in joy?) and disappointment. " - I think this accurately describes the heart ache some of my friends have had to walk THROUGH - but often this is not a fault of the parent....the youth has made rebellious choices and has turned around....

~Note that a youth/child is not to get his own way regardless of how you interpret "rod".

~We are to be actively involved with our children. Discipline - mentor, train, teach their hearts.....this is certainly not letting a child go his own way.

~I guess what I'm saying is there seems to be a misconception, in some circles, that if you don't spank you are simply letting your child "do what he wants" or being "permissive". Letting a child raise himself is NOT Biblical. The Bible clearly has a more rounded view of parenting than some authors who focus on one aspect of child-raising - whatever their chosen aspect may be.

29:17 "Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul."

~Correct, be involved, don't overlook character issues....know well your flock....stay engaged...can you think of another way to say this?

29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law".

~Transfer your family vision to your children, transfer the vision of the gospel to your children

29:20 "Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

~Whoa. Slow down.

29:23 "A man's pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor."

~Beware of exhibiting pride in your parenting. {G} Actually we studied this a bit in I John. We decided that it is o.k. to have a sense of accomplishment in a job well done...but that this should NOT come from comparing our accomplishment with others. In other words I can take pleasure and joy in children who love the Lord....but that should be from a sense of having faithfully raised MY child...not because I think I've done a better job than Gertrude. Beware.

29:25 "The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted."

~Is my parenting based on fear of what others will think? If so - I'm heading for a snare. I must obey God's leading and walk by the Spirit in every area of my life....even if I'm marching alone or out of step with dear Christian friends.