Our Spinning Plates

A month to give thanks

2011-11-07T07:01:00.003-06:00

Before this month began, I decided to celebrate a new gratitude with God each day. As a mom, it is so easy-- too easy-- to get caught up in the mundane day-to-day trials that life brings and completely overlook the joys God blesses us with on those very same days.

So far this month, I have thanked God for many blessings. From my previous post, on the first day of November, I thanked Him for the blessing of my son, who He blessed us with 4 years ago. Henry has never been what someone could consider an "easy" child, but I truly feel that our bond is stronger because of his very strong personality.

Throughout last week, I was also able to witness God's amazing hand at work in all areas of my life. Specifically on November 2, I was thankful for a God who can. A few months back, we had a message series titled "God Can," with the entire message that on our own, we can't, but when we trust God, He can. And, He has!

On one of my busiest work days, when I had focus on my various courses and different groups of students, and their individual needs, I was thankful for my job. I have always know I wanted to be a teacher, and to be a teacher of future teachers at our local university is truly a joy.

The end of the week brought immense gratitude for a full refrigerator and money left in our wallet. Not long ago, Jim and I set out to become entirely debt free, paying for our purchases solely with cash. While we aren't quite debt free yet, we are making amazing stride, and by the grace of God (and some help from couponing websites), our grocery budget has decreased significantly, leaving some "extra"money at the end of each month!

My weekend gratitude was for a wonderful celebration of Henry's fourth birthday. We had a gorgeous day outside, shared with our family and a close friend, delicious food and yummy cake.

What are you thanking God for today?

Vet Med Open House

2011-10-03T19:23:00.001-05:00

One of the things I love about our community is how close we are to all the resources the U of I provides. This weekend, while Olivia was having a girl scout activity, we took Henry to visit the Vet Med Open House. It was adorable as he suited up for surgery, looked at x-rays to figure out what was wrong with his patient, and then performed surgery to remove a bottle cap from the stomach of a dog. I guess Peyton is in good hands now.

Looking for the bottle cap. . . .

Got it!

Life Has Been Happening

2011-10-01T14:25:00.000-05:00

The last few months have been full of memory making moments . . .

We watched two Monarch caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies. . .

We visited the zoo . . .

Olivia started second grade. . .

She was thrilled that one of her best buds is in her class. . .

Henry started the 3's room at pre-school . . . (yes, he's only 3)

Olivia participated in her DAWG-Walk at school . . .

And we enjoyed the Illinois Homecoming Parade.

We can't wait to see what the next few months bring!

Little Swimmer

2011-07-15T17:14:00.000-05:00

We know that Olivia is completely comfortable in the water, but we weren't 100% sure how Henry would take to swim lessons. Apparently, he is going to love the water as much as his sister. His first session of lessons went amazingly well, and by the end he was swimming with big swimming arms, face in, blowing bubbles on his own. Woo-hoo! He now likes being under the water just as much as (if not more than) being above it!

Doing the Superman glide:

Superman glide back to the side:

Big swimmer arms:

A Taste of Summer

2011-07-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

Apparently we can grow our own food! Our first cucumber of the season:

It looks good- we'll see how it tastes at dinner tonight!

Summer!

2011-06-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

Summer is in full swing, and we are taking advantage of every minute! Last night we enjoyed Cars 2 at the drive-in, complete with popcorn, way too much candy and not enough sleep. This morning, since I knew Olivia would be no good in a pool after going to bed at midnight, we went berry picking instead and came home with 2 pounds of blueberries. And as if that wasn't enough, we also tried our hand at making homemade ice cream- delicious!

Buckets o' blueberries:

Homemade ice cream recipe from Family Fun magazine
Follow this link, or read on . . .

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup salt (The bigger the granules, the better. Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt is fine.)

Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full)
1 pint-size ziplock bag
1 gallon-size ziplock bag

Instructions

Combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal it tightly.
Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5 minutes). Feel the small bag to determine when it's done.
Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the bag. Easy cleanup too! Serves 1.

Shake it until it turns into ice cream:

Eating homemade ice cream right from the bag!

Marco Island Part 2

2011-06-27T06:33:00.001-05:00

More pictures of Marco, as promised!

Henry, burying daddy in the sand:

One of the sandcastles of the week:

The final sandcastle (or should I say sand-kingdom!) Olivia was ready to sell her sand-castle-building services by this time!

Enjoying the view

Playing at the beach all day is hard work!

Going parasiling!

Being dipped on the way back to the boat:

Marco sunrise:

Enjoying the waves:

Great time, great trip!

Marco Island 2011

2011-06-23T14:09:00.000-05:00

I feel like I am becoming a seasoned traveler. Disney, Arizon, Minnesota, Marco- whew! I think this is it for a while!

We had a great timeon the beach, found some exciting activities, some relaxing activites and ate way too much food that was not good for us. Coming home was a shock to our systems, and we are still trying to catch up on our sleep.

Enjoy this recap!

Building sand castle number 1. By the end of the week, they were much better and Olivia wanted to put up a sign to offer her sand castle building services for sale.

Enjoying Kirlin's Ice Cream in Naples after dinner:

Muscles!

Posing pretty

By the end of this trip, he told us he was ready to join the Sholem Sharks swim team. . . hmmmm. . .

Getting ready to go dolphin-spotting:

Just a few of the dolphins we saw:

More pictures to come soon!

Arizona

2011-06-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

Our trip in pictures:

The mountains when we arrived- Wow!

Our poolside friend

Relaxing in the pool

Playing with Auntie Kate

Being turned into a princess on the day of the wedding

Almost done, just a little more hairspray

Ta-da!

The flower girl

The flower girl and her great-grandparents-

yes, Olivia is as tall as her great-grandma!

The view from the wedding chairs- WOW!

The flower girl at work

Breathtaking

So excited to be a part of the wedding party

The happy couple- beautiful and so in love

The expressions on their faces say it all--

the wedding was beautiful, the reception as a blast!

Dancing with the bride!

"Baby you're a firework!"

Weather

2011-05-25T06:11:00.004-05:00

Olivia and I are heading to Arizona tomorrow. Thought I'd check on the weather . . .

I'm not so impressed with the temperatures, or even with all the little gold circles-- apparently those are suns. I just can't believe the precipitation chances are 0%! I think I just might like the desert!

Mayo Update

2011-05-24T06:09:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a quick update on our recent Mayo trip, since I know many of you have been keeping us in your thoughts and prayers-- thank you!

We went up north last Tuesday afternoon, with our tests scheduled to begin Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. This appointment was intended to be a follow up on the liver disease our doc discovered the last time we were there in December, with a quick discussion of the UC symptoms and recent biopsies.

I had blood work and an abdominal ultrasound Wednesday morning. I won't bore you with the details of our days (talking (uninterrupted!), shopping, sitting, eating . . .). The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to just be able to talk to one another without anyone else needing our attention! I'm sure all of you parents completely understand!

Anyway, the good news from the appointment: At my last appointment in December, all of my liver enzymes were significantly higher than normal; specifically, one was 450, while it should not have been above 100. This time, the blood work showed that is has come down to 178. Still high, but much closer to normal! The other blood work looked closer to normal as well, and all of the liver function tests look great. This is a sign that although my liver knows something isn't right, it is still functioning the way it should be.

The questionable news (not horrible, but not really celebratory): There is definitely UC, which will require constant medication (I have learned my lesson to not take myself off of my meds.) The good news is that is controllable with medication and the biopsies and images from my last scope showed that I did respond well to the medication. I can gradually lower my dosage under my doctor's guidance in a few months.

The abdominal ultrasound showed a "bright spot" near my pancreas. After the year I've had, the word "pancreas" just kind of throws me into a tizzy, especially when a doctor is talking to me about mine. So, she wanted to do a CT scan, but insisted that it was not anything worth losing sleep over. We did the CT scan Thursday morning before we left for home. We still don't have those results back yet (as of Monday evening).

Finally, we were able to ask all of our questions about the liver disease. When we got the diagnosis of small duct PSC, my mind was focused on feeling better, not really what the long term implications of this disease were. Now that I am feeling back to normal, I feel like I can finally start to understand exactly what is going on and where we are heading. The doctor reminded us of a few things: Small duct PSC is less threatening than large duct PSC. This disease causes the small ducts in my liver to become inflamed and build scarring in my liver. This is not alcohol related and there is nothing we can do to stop or slow down the scarring. Right now, it is a relatively new and rare disease, so not much research has been done with this disease.

When I asked how I got it, she told us that it is just one of those things. It is an autoimmune disorder, and typically goes hand in hand with UC (they have found that a majority of patients with PSC also have UC, but not necessarily the other way around). After the scarring continues to build, the liver will start to shut down and we will eventually move to the stage of a liver transplant. Going into this appointment, I was thinking we would be talking transplant 30 years from now (if ever!). However, since my scarring is at stage 2-3, with cirrhosis being stage 4, she seems to think that I have had this for quite some time. So, my 30 year transplant timeline was cut down to 5-15 years from now. There is nothing we can do before then, and my prayer right now is that they will discover a cure or treatment for this disease so a transplant can be avoided altogether! Although, presumably, I would be in better physical shape 5-15 years from now than I would in 30! In any case, there is nothing we can do, so it's all in God's hands right now.

The CT scan on Thursday morning was adventurous, to say the least. The nurse who was getting me prepped had a hard time starting my IV- twice- and passing out and throwing up were on the top of my to-do list. Thankfully, neither one happened- I was able to keep it together, but barely. It was quite a sight. So, 2 hours after I went into the back room, I had to go back out to the waiting room and explain to Jim that we hadn't even started yet. As a disclaimer, I have never had that happen, and have some of the best veins nurses have even seen-- I even donate blood, for crying out loud! So, there was definitely something funny going on in there! Must have been that Minnesota elevation.

We made it home safe and sound Thursday night, in time to get everything together for Olivia's birthday weekend! Thank you for your continued prayers- we covet them!

Grocery costs

2011-05-16T14:03:00.000-05:00

Meijer's Sunday ad had a big promotion about mid-way through that showed ways to get dinner for five nights for under $50. As I looked, I noticed that there were really only a few things that our family can/ will eat on those pages. It made me wonder if the only way to get major cost savings is to feed your family food that is not as healthy or substantial as other foods.
In certain cases, I think that is true. For example, I could buy five pounds of white flour for about 5 times less than what I pay for almond flour. That is a cost that I am glad to endure, though, because almond flour is higher in protein and much more natural (and nutritional) than processed, refined white flour, which is stripped of nearly every ounce of nutritional value. However, when I consider snack foods, our natural or healthier snack foods are actually less expensive than what they sell in the stores. For instance, we use our food dehydrator to make our own fruit roll ups out of natural, no sugar added applesauce instead of buying sugar filled fruit chewy snacks (a cost of only a few cents per roll up, and added value because we aren't putting unhealthy foods into our kids bodies).

For us, though, our major cost savings come in what I call the "drugstore" items-- shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper-- those items that you need, but don't like to spend money on. I am hardly a "super couponer" as portrayed by the media. I haven't seen the super-couponing show on TLC that many people have talked about (we don't have cable-- trying to use our money wisely!), however, I get the impression that these people are way more extreme than I ever could be.

That being said, I do like to find some good deals! Today's big bargain for me is below--

What I have above is: 2 bottles of Head and Shoulders (15 oz), a large tube of Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste, a 3 pack of Ivory Soap, a 3 pack of Venus razors and a 12 inch supreme Tombstone pizza.

The total cost of what I would have paid had I paid Wal-Mart's shelf prices for those items is right around $22. However, after price matching and couponing, I paid $7.39. I think I probably could have done a little better-- the razors weren't quite as low as I would have liked, but I need them, and they were better than paying $7 for the package. So, here's how my costs break down:

Head and Shoulders-- price match at $3.99/ bottle; had a buy one get one free coupon, so now it's 2 bottles for $3.99, and then I had a $2 off of 1 coupon, so it brought it down to 2 bottles for $1.99 (around $1 per bottle).

Toothpaste was a price match for $1.99 and I had a $1/1 coupon, so toothpaste: $0.99.

Three pack of Ivory soap was $0.97 shelf price at Wal Mart. I had a $1/1 coupon, so free, plus a three cent overage, which Wal-Mart policy states that they apply to your purchase. They actually paid me to buy this soap!

Three pack of razors were $6.44 price match, and I had a $2/1 coupon, which brought them down to $4.44 (higher than I would have liked, but I'll take it).

The tombstone pizza was $3.84 shelf price, and I had a free Tombstone pizza coupon from purchasing the travel connect four game (which I also had a coupon for and paid around $2 for that game before Easter). So, the pizza was free.

I did not figure out how to do all of this on my own! I have been following a few different coupon sites for a couple months and get updates from them about what great deals are where. I have, however, been price matching for a long time, so I am used to looking through ads to find the best price out there. The catch to super couponing is that you cannot be brand-loyal. For example, we prefer Crest toothpaste, but I can't get a large tube of Crest for $0.99 like I did with the Aquafresh.

If you are interested in learning how to do some of this, some sites to follow are:

Money Saving Mom

Family Frugal Fun

Meijer Madness

Some coupon sites I use are:

Coupon Network (this has coupons, as well as tells you about what are called "catalina deals", where if you buy something, you will get a coupon from the register toward your next purchase).

Coupons.com

And, since I also have a Swagbucks account, I get coupons from there as well (they are essentially the same as you would find on coupons.com, but the benefit is that after you redeem the ones from swagbucks, they will credit your swagbucks account so you can earn more points from them). If you are interested in swagbucks, see this post.

I hear people say all the time that if they had more time they would do this. I have to agree that this does take a lot of time, and I am willing to invest that time so I don't have to work full-time outside of our home. To me, being a wife and a stay at home mom is my full time job, and saving my family money is one part of that job. If I had a full-time outside the home job, I wouldn't be so worried about saving pennies (since I would be getting paid!), and probably wouldn't spend nearly as much time on it as I do.

Let me know if you have found any great deals or if you follow any great money-saving sites! I would love to add more to my resources!

Leaving a Leagacy

2011-05-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

It was a little over a year ago that I found out my dad was sick. By the time we realized how sick he actually was, he was really starting to look it--he was yellow and starting cancer treatments, which left him thin and just downright sickly. After his funeral, we looked for pictures of him, healthy and vibrant, preferably with the kids, and I realized those pictures just didn't really exist. We didn't take advantage of the time before he became so ill to take pictures of every day, mundane activities. That's why, this Mother's Day, as a gift to our moms, we decided to give them the gift of some professional pictures, capturing the love their grandchildren have for them.

I cannot say enough good things about our photographer. I wish I could say that I am completely objective in this praise, but really, I'm not. Allyson, from Sweet Pea Photography, is a good friend of mine, who has walked with me through several life struggles. However, I will say I knew her as a photographer before I knew her as a friend, if that makes my praise any more objective! She's just awesome!

The pictures we arranged for our moms are now viewable, so if you are interested you are welcome to look at our proofs for a limited time. Just go to this link and click on the top, where it says "clients." The album name is mcmurry. Then, just sit back and enjoy the slide show!

I know Allyson's summer schedule is open, so if you are interested in booking a session with her, just email her or check her website for available dates. You won't regret it!

Reflecting on Easter

2011-05-06T06:50:00.001-05:00

I feel like our Easter was a little more God-focused, and not so Bunny- focused this year. Granted we did do some of the more typical Easter things:

We attended the mad chaos Chambana likes to call “Eggstravaganza” at West Side Park. Reminder to self: Never go to this again. As our kids were following the instructions, standing back from the eggs, going out to look for eggs completely independently from us, the other parents were ready to trample other three year olds to get more candy for their kids. The irony of the whole thing, though, was that even though Henry ended up with only three eggs in his basket, one of them contained a four pack of tickets to see Thomas and Friends at Assembly Hall. Good things do come to those who wait.

We also did the Easter baskets from the bunny. He graciously left an empty egg shell as proof that he ate the egg the kids left out for him, and responded to their letter.

However, what I loved the most this year was our focus on the real “reason for the season” This year, as part of our egg hunt, we used Resurrection Eggs—they were numbered 1-12, so after we found them, we put them into the right order and opened them during breakfast. Our breakfast consisted of Resurrection Rolls—we made these on Easter Eve, and the kids were excited to open them, since they knew they were symbolic of the tomb. Just as planned, they were empty. And, they were also quite yummy—not good for you at all, but really yummy! As we ate our rolls and read our scriptures from the eggs, I felt like this was what had been missing. It is my job to help my kids focus on the purpose behind the celebration, and this time, I felt like I was on the right track.

We have definitely found some life-long traditions for our Easter celebration!

Shameless Sales Post- 08 Buick Enclave CX

2011-04-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

Veering off the reflective track today-- wanting to get the word out as far and wide as we can about our car. We are selling our 2008 Buick Enclave, so we can pay off that loan and find a less expensive car, so we can start our debt-free life. The Enclave is a great car, just not a great car for us. So, with that said, all the info is below. If you are interested, or know of someone who is, we would be so appreciative if you would get in touch with us!

2008 Buick Enclave CX 7 Passenger SUV

Mileage: 60,000
Engine: V6, 3.6 Liter
Transmission: Automatic, 6-Spd w/Overdrive
Drivetrain: FWD

Features:

Remote Ignition

Rear Electronic Parking Sensors

Second Row Captain Chairs

Third Row 60/40 Split Bench

Exterior Temperature Gauge

Tire Pressure Monitor

Voice Activated Controls For Phone

Maintenance Interval Indicator For Oil Quality

Cruise Control

Trip Computer

Steering Wheel Mounted Controls For Audio and Cruise Control

Oil Gauge

Analog Clock

Compass

8000-RPM Tachometer

Third Row Floor Mats

Front Floor Mats

Carpet Located In Passenger Cabin and Cargo Area

Second Row Floor Mats

Mahogany Wood and Leather Steering Wheel

Mahogany Genuine Wood Trim Located On Steering Wheel and Dash

3-Function Universal Garage Door Opener

L A T C H

Driver Airbag With Dual Stage Deployment

Rollover Sensor

Passenger Airbag With Dual Stage Deployment

Front Pretensioners

Seat Mounted Front Side Airbags With Head Protection

Second and Third Row Side Head Curtain Airbags Located In Roof

Crash Sensor Sends GPS Signal

Front Seatbelt Height Adjusters

Side Guard Door Beams

Passenger Airbag Cutoff Sensor

Front, Second Row and Third Row Outboard 3-Point Seatbelts With Third Row Center Lap Belt

Cloth Seats

Front Passenger Power Seat Adjusts 2 Ways Total

Front Dual Manual Lumbar Support

Front Dual Reclining Bucket Seats With Driver Adjustable Seat Height and Adjustable Headrests

Third Row 60/40 Split Folding Bench Seat With Outboard Headrests

Driver Power Seat Adjusts 6 Ways Total

Second Row Dual Reclining Folding Bucket Seats With Adjustable Headrests and Fold-Down Armrests

Smart Slide Second Row Easy Entry Seat

Tilt Steering Column

MPG: 19/24

Clean, accident free CARFAX report- available upon test drive

Offered at: $23,000
*Below Kelly Blue Book Suggested Retail Value of $25,000
For a test drive or for more information, call Jim (217)493-5982.

Little Ways to Save and Earn

2011-04-27T21:30:00.001-05:00

It's no secret by now that I am on a new mission to save money (and maybe even earn a little) anywhere I can. So, I wanted to share a couple of pretty cool "tricks" with you, in case you want to get in on the action!

The first website I got hooked into is called Swagbucks, and you can connect to that through my referral link here. Swagbucks is a site that allows you to earn points (aka swagbucks) by doing any number of things-- bringing in referrals (I will earn points through any of my referrals who join who also earn points), or even using their search bar, where every so often they reward you with swagbucks while you search. Then, you can redeem these points for a wide variety of prizes. Right now, I have $15 worth of Amazon gift cards waiting for me to use them-- on this site, it takes 450 points for a $5 gift card. I am hoping to keep saving them (yes, you can build them up until you are ready to spend!), and either splurge on a Kindle or a Nook, or something else I really want for myself, but would never spend the money on!

There are several other things you can do if you are interested in racking points up quickly. A great run down of all your options and the rules can be found on one of my favorite new blogs: Money Saving Mom. This Money Saving Mom blog is also the one I subscribe to in order to get great shopping tips, coupon match up deals, and lists of freebies and samples.

The second one is fairly new to me, but I keep seeing it in multiple coupon blogs, so I thought I would try it out. It is called Recycle Bank, and you can sign up for it here. The gist of this site is pretty simple. Commit to various activities and strategies to help our earth (like planting a tree or turning the water off as you brush you teeth), and they will give you points as rewards. Then, cash those points in for high value coupons or other prizes like gift cards! Along the way, you will also have the chance to enter for various prizes. The website is clean, and well-organized, and very easy to navigate. You can find different ways to earn points, by clicking on the earn points button.

Who doesn't like free gift cards? Especially gift cards that can get you some pretty nice stuff! Let me know how it goes for you!

Buzz Goes the Bumblebee

2011-04-20T08:56:00.000-05:00

Henry and I had a great time on Monday at Lake of the Wood's preschool program about bees. It has been a while since we last went to any of their pre-school programs, and I think the teacher we had is newer-- she was really great with the kids! I was incredibly impressed! Henry and I were the first ones there, and she played alongside him teaching him how to suck "nectar" out of "flowers" to feed the baby bees and the queen bee. She also encouraged him to use some puppets and interacted so well with him, it was like she had known him for a while. He responded incredibly well to this one on one attention, and had a fun time.

After learning about the body parts of bees, looking through bee eyes, hearing about their hives, learning how they work to make honey, and looking at a real one, we went outside to become bees. Henry had a great time buzzing around, gathering nectar from the nearby flowers (the spring beauties have an ultraviolet stripe that we can barely see that actually guides the bees to the nectar). He was having so much fun that leaving brought tears-- he didn't want to go. So it looks like we will be heading back in May for their gardening class!

Taking a Breath after OWB

2011-04-14T11:10:00.000-05:00

The past week has been a whirlwind for me. Last Thursday was the start of one of my favorite events- One Week Boutique. It is a children's consignment sale that takes place twice a year in Champaign-- in spring/summer and again in fall/winter. When OWB comes to town, I am there as much as I am physically able. Thankfully, my mom, mother-in-law and husband pitch in to help the family side of my life run smoothly for a week, while I am out surrounded by tons of other moms, working hard, but having a great time!

I love so many things about this sale, but I narrowed it down to just a few. In no particular order, here are some of the things I love about One Week Boutique:

Number 1: I can clean out my house, garage and kids' closets and get paid to do it. I end up with more space and money in my pocket-- win-win-win!

Number 2: I meet all kinds of great people. The sale runs smoothly because of the help of amazing volunteers. Many of those volunteers come back sale after sale, and after spending several days in one week with the same people, you get to know them pretty well. As a matter of fact, just this morning, I exchanged numbers with a mom who recently moved to my town who I met through OWB. We're planning to grab coffee and set up a play date for our kids!

Number 3: I can watch my money grow-- everything I choose to sell is entered into the system online. After each day of the sale, the sold items are uploaded and I can see what has sold and what hasn't.

Number 4: I find great deals for my kids. A majority of their clothing comes from OWB. We find name brand items in excellent shape for considerably less than what I would pay in stores.

How about you? I know many of you were shopping or consigning this sale-- what is your favorite part?

One Week Boutique

2011-04-08T08:02:00.001-05:00

'Tis the season for deals galore!

One Week Boutique starts today with drop off! This time around I don't have too much stuff to try to sell, but enough to make a little bit of money (and every little bit helps, right?). And, then, the shopping begins this weekend, where I will hopefully find everything on my to-buy list (and hopefully, my spending won't exceed what I bring in during the sale).

For those of you who are new to this whole thing, you can find more info about One Week Boutique here: http://www.oneweekboutique.com/

Basically it is an ENORMOUS children's consignment sale. It is too late at this point to register as a consignor, but you can absolutely come to shop. The sale has everything imaginable- from strollers to sippy cups, bouncy chairs to bathtubs, tricycles to trampolines and clothes and shoes in all sizes for boys and girls. All the items are priced by the consignors themselves, and many of them just want to get rid of their stuff so they prices are low, low, low! It's nicer than a garage sale-- all clothing is inspected before it is put out on the racks, so you don't have to worry as much about stains, holes or outdated items (although it is always a good idea to double check). And, many years, I have found great deals on clothing that still has the tags attached, from Gap, Gymboree or Hanna Andersson!

I will be there all weekend. If you come by, stop by and say hello!

Free Kindle (well, kind of . . . )

2011-04-07T06:39:00.000-05:00

Money to buy a Kindle is not in the budget right now. Will it ever be? Hmm, well, let's just say that by the time it is, there will something new out, even better than Kindle.

However, I was excited to learn that Amazon had a free download that allows you to read Kindle books on your PC. While a laptop is not quite as travel friendly as a Kindle, I was excited about this option for a few reasons. First, there are some Kindle books that are not available as print copy books. Second, Kindle books typically cost less than purchasing a print copy (and there are even some FREE books out there!). Third, with Kindle downloadable books, you don't have to wait to read it- just download and go!

If you think you want to try it, I found the information on Amazon, and linked to it here.

What book will you download first?

Here Comes Summer!

2011-04-06T06:56:00.001-05:00

Hello friends!

Yesterday I uploaded my last set of notes for my students this semester! I can hardly believe how short this semester is-- our last day is April 28! As I look ahead to that date, all I can think about is summer . . and I get so excited about the possibilities that await. I am looking forward to spending our days at the pool, watching Olivia in her swim meets, having picnic lunches outside with my kids, cooking dinner on the grill, riding bikes, taking walks. . . you name it, I'll be there!

Today, I have a challenge for all of you faithful readers. (I know who you are. . . ). I have installed a new application to leave comments on the blog. You do not have to have any kind of blogging account to leave a comment- you can just fill out the form under the comments section, and let me know what you think. So, here is your challenge today:

Tell me the ONE thing you are most looking forward to this summer!

Let the comments begin . . .

When I Was Your Age

2011-04-04T19:34:00.001-05:00

This weekend, we had the fun of attending a friend's 40th birthday party. It was a "dress like the 80's" party, so it took some thought and pre-planning to decide what we were going to wear.

In discussions, my husband, who is 6 years older than I, asked me what I wore in the 80's. My response: "I don't know, I was 6. I just remember playing with Cabbage Patch Kids."

This led to a little trip down memory lane, and, lo and behold, what do you know. . . Olivia is the same age I was in the 80s. In April of 1984 I was a little younger than Olivia (she'll be 7 in May, and I wouldn't be 7 until September), but oh, what comparisons I could make. . .

In 1984 . . .
I was just finishing first grade in Chicago Ridge, IL.
Now . . .
Olivia is getting ready to finish first grade in central Illinois.

In 1984 . . .
I loved jelly shoes, even though they gave me blisters.
Now. . .
She loves her pink crocs- and they're comfy!

In 1984 . . .
I had every color of jelly bracelet imaginable.
Now . . .
Olivia has every kind of silly bandz ever made.

In 1984 . . .
I had a silver Michael Jackson glove
Now. . .
Olivia has green, blue and purple Hannah Montana eye shadow.

In 1984 . . .
I played with my one Cabbage Patch Kid, and begged for more. I remember her name was Adrienne, which I don’t think I could even pronounce when I was six.
Now . . .
Olivia spends all her time with her American Girl Doll, Lanie and her Bitty Baby, Jaklyn.

In 1984 . . .
I remember begging for more Cabbage Patch Kids, but never got one because they were “so expensive.” They retailed for around $30.
Now . . .
Olivia begged for another American Girl Doll, until we told her that they are “too expenive” and that if she wants one she’ll need to save her money. She has $27 so far. She could have bought a Cabbage Patch Kid.

In 1984 . . .
Some of my other favorite toys were Rainbow Bright, Pound Puppies and Strawberry Shortcake.
Now. . .

A few of Olivia’s other favorites are Littlest Pet Shop (Ugh!), her pillow pet and anything American Girl-related.

In 1984 . . .
I loved playing school, and would line up my animals as my students.
Now. . .
Olivia loves playing school, and subjects her brother to her teaching.

In 1984 . . .
Saturday morning cartoons were a treat- I would wake up, get a box of cereal and turn on the tv while my parents slept in.
Now. . .
There are very few tv shows on in our house, Saturday morning or not. We usually spend our Saturday mornings hanging out as a family or running errands. But, oh, how I'd love if my kids would let us sleep late on Saturdays.

In 1984 . . .
If I wanted to do anything special, I just had to cross the street to my friend Carrie’s house, where I would find cable TV (hello Fraggle Rock), a Beta and VHS player and . . . Atari!
Now. . .
If Olivia wants to play video games, it is a Wii at her aunt and uncle’s house. No cable tv here, but. . . we DO have a VHS player!

I LOVE saving money!

2011-03-31T13:08:00.001-05:00

I posted on facebook the other ay that through God's provision, I was able to buy our family's groceries for the week for under $40. However, I was just as excited about the deal I got today at Meijer. Check this out:

I came home with 7 packages of Oscar Mayer nitrate free hot dogs and 2 packages of Hormel Natural Choice lunch meat for $4.28. Here's how--

Meijer is running a sale this week of buy 7 mix and match items and get $7 off. The hot dogs were part of this sale. They were $1.99 each, so that came to $14 for 7 packages minus $7 automatically off because of the Meijer deal.

That's $7 for 7 packages of hot dogs. However, the hot dogs had $1 off coupons attached to the front of the packages (I could only find 5 left on the shelves), so I used those coupons as well. This made my 7 packages of hot dogs cost $2. Rock on!

Then, the Hormel deal was this: They cost $2.50 each, and I had two $.50 off coupons from coupons.com, which brought them down to $2 each, and then a $.75 off of 2 coupon from Meijer mealbox, which brought them down to $1.63 each. Not as low as I would have liked, but hey, I'll take it! We have lunch meat for next week and we also have enough hot dogs for Olivia's birthday party (and more!)

Launching a New Blog

2011-03-30T13:04:00.002-05:00

Stay tuned-- this blog will soon have some minor updates, and a new, more faith-focused blog will be kicking off!

Smell my Kids

2011-03-29T06:53:00.000-05:00

I love the way my kids smell. Not necessarily first thing in the morning when they are hugging all over me with hot stinky morning breath. Primarily at night when I go in to kiss them one last time before I head off to bed myself.

I love the slightly sweet, sticky, sweaty smell that no matter how clean Henry is, he still carries with him. I don't know if it's a boy thing, but the child seems to sweat even on the coldest day in January. I love leaning over his pillow and breathing in the scent of him, and even getting a whiff of his teddy bear along with him. His bear smells just like him- a mix of sweat, dirt and pure sweetness, even directly from the washing machine.

Olivia's smell is a little different, but soul-filling, nonetheless. Her sweet smelling hair, mimicking the scent from my own shampoo, with hidden scents of coconut. Her skin still holds on to the outside fresh air from recess at school, and reminds me that she going to be a little girl for only a short while longer.

Even more than that first mowed lawn in spring after a cold, hard winter of brown grass and heavy snow, or the freshly brewed coffee after a sleepless night filled with ear infections and teething, the smell of my kids fills me up. It is soul-filling, refreshing and gently reminds me of the joys of being a mom.

Boast in My Weakness

2011-03-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

We had an incredibly fun week last week traveling for spring break with some friends, who all have kids covering a wide age range. One night, while the dads played cards and the kids watched movies, we moms chatted about being moms and all the challenges we face on a daily basis. We all have a goal to raise our kids in Christian homes-- to help our kids see God as their go-to guy, to know they are loved unconditionally by a God who sent his son to die for us. Despite our intentions, we are human, and our kids are human, and our walk is not all roses.

I shared a story with them about some ingratitude I am struggling with that is taking hold in the heart of my daughter. I shared what happened, what her consequences have been, and the positive changes we've seen. Then I shared the truth . . .

I was, and am, completely embarrassed by her behavior.

Right after it all happened, I started to blog about it. It is still sitting in my file, ready to edit and publish. But as I wrote, I just felt like I couldn't publish it. Why? Because I blog about parenting, and using God's grace to be a good parent to raise God-loving children, which clearly is not happening in my own house. I felt like a hypocrite. How could I possibly write a blog about mothering when I have a child that is selfish and disrespectful? What authority do I have?

The truth is, I don't have any authority. I'm just a mom, who loves Jesus, who wants to raise her kids to love Jesus and love others. And, to keep me humble, and help me remember that I cannot do this whole "mommy-ing" thing on my own, God threw me a curve ball from my typically obedient, laid-back, fun-loving daughter. Just when I was starting to think I was getting this whole "Mothering by Faith" thing down, and feeling secure in my stories that I shared, God presented me with a "thorn in my side."

While I can hardly call my children thorns in my side, their behavior certainly can be. It is God's way of showing my that I do not have all the answers, and I will not have all the answers, and that I need to turn to him for strength and guidance. And, while I would love to say that I realized this all on my own, I really didn't. God hammered home his point, as he tends to do, with repeatedly exposing me to the same scripture over a very short period of time.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Sunday morning, during my quiet prayer time, I caught up on Jon Acuff's blog- Stuff Christians Like. You can see the post he wrote about this scripture here. And, while I love his thoughts on blog posts, I really love his thoughts on hypocrisy, and it started stirring that word around in my mind-- hypocritical mom, hypocritical mom . . raising kids to love Jesus, who end up selfish. . . hypocritical, conceited mom. And, then comes our morning at church, where our worship leader Jeremiah shared his love of that same verse from a different perspective- the perspective I needed to hear: God's grace is sufficient- I can't do this alone- I can boast in my weakness, because when I am weak, I am strong. That's when God can use me the most.

So I started rethinking the blog, and really struggled with my goals-- do I want to present myself as a mom who has it all together and consistently receives God's grace to bless others, or do I want to be real and raw, sharing both the uplifting moments of parenting as well as the down and dirty?

I want to be a real mom, not a hypocrite, not conceited, acknowledging that the only parenting savvy I have comes from God alone. I want to show my weaknesses, and how God uses those to strengthen me, and others around me. I want other moms to know they aren't alone in this parenting journey. Mothering is hard, but God is good, and His grace is sufficient for us.

Great Wolf Lodge

2011-03-28T13:34:00.000-05:00

Heading north for spring break went against every grain in my body that wanted to get to someplace warm and sunny. But, ultimately, we did end up someplace warm, although there was snow on the ground-- Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells. The temperature inside the waterpark was a balmy 84 degrees, and since we never left the resort, we lived in our own little fantasy world that it was warm outside as well. We had an awesome time together as a family, and bonded with friends who also went. In all, there were eight families, with something like 20 kids total.

Because Henry is such a tall kid, we were able to let him ride nearly every slide, except the Tornado, which he probably wouldn't have wanted to ride anyway! His favorite was by far the mat racing slides, where you lay on your tummy and ride through a tunnel down some pretty big slopes to see who will reach the bottom first. He thought it was fantastic! The biggest change (or challenge?) for us was the fact that Olivia had friends her age, and size, and really didn't need us at all. She even recruited other daredevil dads to join her on the Tornado if her own dad wasn't around. She isn't afraid of anything having to do with water or rollercoasters, so this trip was ideal for her!

All in all, though, late nights + early mornings + lots of waterslides= the desire for a vacation to recover from our vacation!

Day One

Henry in one of the children's play areas:

Flat Stanley also joined us on our trip. Does he count as one of the kids? Olivia and Flat Stanley in front of the mat racing slides:

Jim and Henry on the mat racing slides (the two middle slides). Henry didn't want to leave these slides-- these were his favorite!

Olivia crossing the Frog Bog

Dinner, with wolf ears and Flat Stanley

The lobby:

Day Two:

Jim and Henry on one of the tube slides:

Olivia on her own:

Riding on the lazy river:

Violet, one of the characters, who read a bedtime story and taught the kids to howl (as though they needed lessons?)

Day Three:

Our last day- Henry is back at it on the mat races:

Enjoying the wave pool with Daddy:

Liv and A with Flat Stanley near the base of a couple more waterslides!

Family Expectations

2011-03-22T06:42:00.000-05:00

The foundations I build with my children will be built upon. The morals, values and spiritual disciplines I teach will shape and mold my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and others I won't even meet. (TerKuerst, 12)

I recently came across a mommy book that I had tucked away after receiving it as a gift from my husband-- apparently the first time I started reading it wasn't the right time in my life for the truths it contains to really have an impact. It's called The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained. At the time, if I remember correctly, we only had Olivia, the most compliant, angel child in the universe. While I did feel occasionally exhausted, and sometimes under appreciated, it was nothing compared to how I feel today, 6 and a half years after she was born and a little over three years after God gave us Henry.

Mothering is a tough job, and it is so easy to lose sight of your focus, especially when your kids are little. I know for me, I tend to focus on that 5:30 time on the clock, when Jim will be home, and I can relax! My focus is to make it through the day, without whining or complaining or yelling, and I tend to forget the greater impact that my day-to-day interactions with my kids are having. What we do everyday, the standards we hold them to consistently, shapes their little beings into the people God has created them to be.

Because I did have a moment of clarity not too long ago, we set up our Family Expectations. At a family meeting one afternoon (these are held on Sundays, after church, usually), we worked together to create a list of standards that our family will abide by. Now, before you start to think, "Oh, that's a great idea- how smart!", it really was more out of necessity. We were starting to see behaviors in our children that we didn't like, that were taking hold in their hearts, and no matter how many times we told them the same things, nothing seemed to stick. So, because I am a list kind of girl, the idea of creating a list of Family Expectations appealed to me. They are posted near out kitchen, and they are also posted on the door leading out to the garage, where we go out every day so we can remember them, even when we aren't at home. They are concrete, never changing, and it makes discipline much easier-- remember our family expectation to be nice? Are you doing that right now?
Here they are:

1. Be nice.

2. Help others.

3. Practice _____ daily. (The blank is filled in as needed by each family member-- Olivia: piano, Henry: compliance, Me: restraint- especially if there is anything sweet in the house!)

4. Clean up after yourself.

5. Have a positive attitude.

In all honesty, the last two could really be lumped in with the first two, but because we have to specifically say those often, we listed them out.

Long term, do I think this will matter? Yes, I absolutley do- holding our kids to high standards and consistent expecations impacts who they will become. In order for them to have the qualities I hope they have when they grow up, we need to start expecting them now.

Laminin

2011-03-18T12:29:00.000-05:00

I think you know from my previous posts that I am fascinated with the human body. And, when there is obvious evidence of God's presence in our bodies, I get even more fascinated by it. So, when I saw this video this morning, I knew I had to share it with everyone I could . . .

Thankful for Strong Legs

2011-03-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

I have been playing around with my blog a little bit and found that it has this "stats" tool that shows me all kinds of fun information about the blog-- how many readers each day, where they are from, how they got to the blog, etc. And, thorough these stats, I realized that some people are finding their way here by googling "Lipoblastoma" or "MRI images of lipoblastoma." This made me remember the reason I was initially blogging-- to keep my family informed of Henry's medical progress.

I looked back at those initial blogs of that whole experience, and I am just reminded of how thankful I am. Today, even though my little man is sick with a nasty cold, we made it outside to ride bikes for a few minutes. And, as he rode, I just sent up a quick "thank you God" for Henry's strong legs. He pedals away on his training wheel bike like no one's business. I can't imagine how different our lives would be if that tumor was malignant, or if something more had happened with his leg. How blessed we are for strong legs!

Life Lessons from a Three Year Old

2011-03-17T06:26:00.000-05:00

The weather today was gorgeous, and tomorrow is supposed to be even nicer. Before our usual library story time this morning, Henry and I made our way outside to enjoy ourselves. And, as we walked, he taught me many little lessons that are applicable to this great big world of ours. I thought I'd share them with you.

Number 1: Don't be afraid to ask for help.
As we started out on our journey, Henry looked down and noticed his shoe was untied. He looked up at me and told me about it. I leaned over and tied his shoe for him.

It's hard to get anywhere in life without the right support network. You cannot do everything. Surround yourself with people who can help you through your weak spots.

Number 2: Keep your focus on the path in front of you.
Part of our journey was a "race" between me and Henry. I use the term "race" loosely. It involved Henry running, zig-zagging to cut me off, and me walking at a slow enough pace to stay behind him, without making it look like I was trying to be slow. However, because he wanted to know how far ahead he was, the majority of his running was done with his head turned over his left shoulder. When he tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, it was hard to feel sorry for him.

How often do we focus on the door that just shut, instead of looking for the one that God is trying to open? If you don't watch where you're going, or where you are meant to go, you will end up in the wrong place, or possibly, just flat on your face.

Number 3: Encouragement produces better results than criticism.
As we rounded the corner, Henry was beginning to tire out, and I passed him by. He stood still, wailing, as I told him to hurry up and catch me. "You are going too slow," I told him. I stopped and waited and let him pass me by. As he did, I said, "Wow! Look at you run! You are SO fast!" And, wouldn't you know it, he actually got faster as he ran.

I know for me, my natural inclination is to lean toward criticism instead of praise. Instead of noticing what my kids are doing right (which is often quite a bit), I tend to only point out what went wrong. How much more would they accomplish if I consistently, genuinely praised what they did well?

Number 4: If you want to hear God's voice, you need to stop whining about what you didn't get long enough to hear what He wants to give you.
After our run, our bike ride and our walk, it was finally time to get inside so we could get ready to get to story time (one of Henry's all time favorite activities). However, breaking the news to him that we needed to go inside to get ready was just as torturous as telling him he could never have ice cream again. He was once again wailing at the top of his lungs that he didn't want to go inside. All I could say was, "Just listen." No matter how many times I said it, or how loud I said it, the crying continued,and I couldn't get any information through.

So many times, I spend my "quiet" time with God running through my list of requests. Of course, I start with the praises-- thanking Him for all the great things going on, but then I start in with the list of needs-- my needs, other's needs. I should probably take a breath now and then to find out if God has something to tell me about those requests. Stop whining, start listening.

Number 5: Sometimes the next thing God has in store is even better than the fun you are having right now.

Once Henry quieted down long enough to hear my voice, he found out that not only were we going to story time, but he could also watch Sesame Street while I got cleaned up and ready to go. And, really, what kid doesn't love Sesame Street? It really was going to be okay to come inside for a little bit.

No, I don't have a crystal ball, and no I cannot tell what God has in store for me (or for anyone else, for that matter). But I do know that we serve a loving God who takes great joy in seeing our joy, and great happiness in making us happy. God has great things in store for us. We just need to let Him led us to where He wants us to go.

A Boring Conversion Story

2011-03-15T06:35:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning at Quest was an amazing Sunday that demonstrated the depths of God's love- it was Baptism Sunday. On these Sundays, we are blessed to hear the stories of Quest attendees before they either accept baptism for the first time, or publicly renew their baptismal vows to share their recommitment to God. The two men who renewed their baptismal vows shared stories so powerful that nearly the entire congregation was near tears. Their stories of God's love and mercy were so engaging and dramatic that it was hard to contain the emotions that poured out of their words. And, I thought to myself, my story is so boring!

That night I joined a few other women in our women's group meeting, and we had the opportunity to share our own moments of redemption-- the moment we accepted Christ as our Savior. And, truth be told, our stories were all kind of "boring." There were no angels singing, no light pouring from heaven, no immediate gratification of all the desires of our hearts. For a couple of us, there was an "Oh, no. What did I just do?" kind of feeling. For others, there was excitement and giddiness. And for others, there was a sense of peace. But, it all led to the same place-- rest in knowing that God sent His only Son to die for our sins because He loves us so much.

We decided that our stories aren't really boring after all- they are blessed. God poured out His blessings on us as children and young adults to protect us from what could have been, and instead laid out a specific path just for us, not full of grief and sorrow as some people have had, but a path created with our own personalities and weaknesses in mind. That's isn't to say that we haven't had our share of grief or sorrow, but just that God allowed us to be born into families that already knew Him. What a gift!

Blessed

2011-03-09T06:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a crappy day, in the most literal sense of the word. I don't know what was going on with Henry, but he had two accidents in his pants, one of them involving messy poop. Add to this two other urgent poopy trips to the bathroom, car shopping, financial decisions and a frustrating experience with dance class, and I ended up with a headache and a heavy feeling in my gut.

I woke up this morning, wanted to feel refreshed and renewed, expectant, especially since today is Ash Wednesday. Instead I woke up to the sound of the dog throwing up a pair of Henry's socks in the laundry room. After starting the coffee, I made my way to the sunroom to start my morning prayer time, and as I journaled about stresses of this life, this scripture from Matthew came into my head: "Don't worry about tomorrow- tomorrow will worry about itself." And, of course, "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry."

Then, to pound it into my head, so that maybe it will make its way to my heart (and gut), where all the anxiety seems to be taking hold, this was the scripture that I landed on today in my online bible study from Matthew 6:33 (The Message):

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

And, to round it all out, just to show me how blessed I am, regardless of poop, puke or financial decisions, this poem was on my heart to share. I wanted to share it yesterday in my post, but because of the not so great day, a post was not happening. I now think I need it more today than I did yesterday.

YOU ARE BLESSED

~ by Anonymous

If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness,
you are more blessed than the
million who won't survive the week.

If you have never experienced
the danger of battle,
the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture or
the pangs of starvation,
you are ahead of 20 million people
around the world.

If you attend a church meeting
without fear of harassment,
arrest, torture, or death,
you are more blessed than almost
three billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator,
clothes on your back, a roof over
your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank,
in your wallet, and spare change
in a dish someplace, you are among
the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you hold up your head with a smile
on your face and are truly thankful,
you are blessed because the majority can,
but most do not.

If you can read this message,
you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world
that cannot read anything at all.

You are so blessed in ways
you may never even know.

I am blessed, and so are many of us. Use today as a day to draw closer to God, and be aware of all the blessings He pours out.

The Season of Lent

2011-03-07T06:57:00.000-06:00

I grew up Catholic. I suppose that in itself may be enough of an explanation for some people. However, because of my religion growing up, I never felt a closeness with God. As a child, God was portrayed to me as a big man in the sky who would punish me for my sin, and watched every move I made, looking for any mistake. Church for me was a bit torturous-- it was the same routine every Sunday, stand, sit, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, sit. I marked the progress of the service by the recitation prayers, and always knew we were close to done when communion began. I remember the frustration of having to hold my hands in a certain praying position (with fingers straight up, not folded over) when I was kneeling for my first communion, and being more engaged with the announcements in the bulletin than the priest's sermon. As a child, we didn't read the bible-- we were told that was left for the priest. He would read it, and tell us what we were supposed to learn from it. Money always came up during mass, with our priest making an announcement about how much money we should be giving, not necessarily in a thankful way, more in a demanding sense. A relationship with God was never stressed, and "the fear of God" followed me in many situations. I suppose that at some points, this was good, but all this experience ultimately led to was my questioning of my faith, and my place in a church where I disagreed with their fundamental practices.

I didn't get to pray my own prayers-- I needed to pray the prayers I had memorized for mass. I couldn't read from my own bible and talk it over with the priest-- he was there as my go-between to tell me what God was trying to say, and how dare I question that interpretation. Enter in the seasons of Christmas and Lent. Christmas to me meant presents (and family, and joy), and to a small extent, the birth of Jesus. Easter to me meant chocolate candy bunnies, and certainly not the resurrection of Christ. What did that even mean anyway??

As I navigated my way through life, I didn't truly start to feel a pull toward a different church until I was in college. Then, it wasn't until after college that I started attending a Methodist church. It was pretty traditional, as far as today's churches go, but it was radically different from what I grew up with. They stressed having an actual relationship with God-- seeing Him as someone who loves us, not as one who is waiting for us to mess up. What a change!

Knowing my history and the path God took me down to find Him, I have always wanted to make it easier for my children. From the time Olivia was born, we were sharing God's love with her daily. Christmas for us has always focused on Jesus' birth first-- before we do any kind of presents, we sing happy birthday to Jesus over the cupcakes we make for him. We read the story of his birth and we talk about the true reason for the season. Easter has always been a little harder. Understanding the resurrection is difficult, even for adults! In the past, we have just told the kids that Easter is our celebration of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, and then coming back to life, to live forever in our hearts with us. We tried that again this week at our family meeting, as we talked about preparing for the start of Lent this week. It didn't go over so well with a certain very questioning six-year-old and three-year-old.

"So the bad guys killed him?" asked Henry.
Um, well, kind of. They were bad, but they didn't realize they were bad. See, there was this man, who was kind of like a king, who gave the people a choice of who they would rather have killed-- Jesus or this other man who had done a lot of bad things, and the people picked Jesus. They were mad at him because he said he was the son of God, and they didn't believe him.
Blank stares.

Start again: God sent Jesus to die for us, so that we can always be close to Him, and we don't have to worry about our sin getting in the way of talking to him.
"Because Jesus is always with us in our hearts," Henry says.
Yes, and on Easter, we celebrate that. So, we are going to start celebrating the days leading up to Easter with a season called Lent. During Lent, we are going to give up something that we have a hard time saying no to-- I am going to give up Diet Coke. Do you guys have anything you want to give up?
Blank stares.

Maybe dessert or candy or chocolate? Maybe you could give up chocolate?
"Does that include chocolate milk?" asks Olivia.
Yes.
"No thanks."
What about candy?
"Will Lent be during the time we go on our Spring Break trip?"
Yes.
"No thanks."
Do you think the hotel is going to have piles of candy for you to indulge in when we get there?
Blank stares.

Clearly, we did not have a successful Lenten discussion. So, I turned to the internet this morning, and found a resource I am going to share with my kids. http://www.imby.net/easter/

If I find more, I will share them. If you have any other ideas, I'll take them!

Playing the Waiting (and Believing) Game

2011-03-03T09:32:00.000-06:00

I am fascinated by the human body. I am completely enthralled with the way our bodies function, from the way our body responds to a foreign invader when we're sick, but doesn't respond to a foreign invader when we are carrying a child. There is something completely miraculous about how we are created. Kind of like God had a plan, huh?

In my recent days, I have devoted more time to understanding my body and health in general than I ever have in my entire life. I think if I had a chance to rewind my years and start again, I would go into medicine--or, actually, more nutrition, than "medicine" per se. I have come to realize, over the last few months, just how our bodies are meant to be cared for, and just how out of kilter our choices are making them. The things we are putting into our bodies are killing us-- there is a reason that we are seeing an increase in diabetes, obesity, heart disease. We are eating things that are not meant to be consumed! Our bodies are not made to utilize the-- forgive the bluntness-- crap we are ingesting!

I will now step off the soap box and share a little bit of what got me on there to begin with. On Monday, I had my most recent scope. I was awake and able to view the whole thing. Now, please reread my first sentence-- I am fascinated by the human body. If I have a chance to see what is going on inside of me, I'm jumping at it. It really didn't hurt- I would say if it did. And, it was completely fascinating.

Going into this scope, I had all the negative thoughts from my previous doctor going through my head-- during his scope, he found a colon that was "completely abnormal." He found spots, bleeding, lots of issues. He left us with a tight feeling in our chests, wondering if I had colon cancer. He diagnosed pancolitis-- a severe form of ulcerative colitis-- and wanted me to start on medication for UC immediately. He recommended no dietary changes, as (according to him-- a doctor!) diet doesn't have anything to do with UC. He also threw out the idea that I might also be dealing with autoimmune hepatitis, which he literally never again followed up on.

Enter the truth-- I was actually suffering from a very severe infection of C.Diff. He was seeing the effects of a two and a half month bought of a severe, untreated intestinal infection. All that was needed was a round of very strong medication to get the infection out of my system. I also changed my diet to one that it anti-inflammatory, seeing as UC is an inflammation of the colon.

New scope on Monday: fascinating (how many more times can I say fascinating?). I actually saw my colon-- hope you aren't eating right now. There was one area of very mild inflammation. That's all! The rest of my colon looked completely normal. I even saw the shadow of my spleen through my colon wall. How cool is that? There were no ulcers, no bleeding, no spots, no issues. The doctor did take biopsies, which showed inflammation-- not a surprise, since we actually saw some inflammation with the naked eye. However, the question remains as to what was causing the inflammation-- I believe that it is still remnants of the infection that I had that lasted for so long, caused me to lose significant weight, and dehydrate me. With an infection taking over your body for 2.5 months, I feel the body needs at least that much time to completely recover. I am waiting to hear back about any more details the biopsies might have provided-- primarily if the inflammation is consistent with IBD inflammation, or i it is consistent with infectious inflammation. To be honest, the only true test is going to be time.

I have lowered my doasge of prescription medication for UC. I continue to take multiple supplements a day to attack any inflammation in my body. We will continue to eat an anti-inflammatory, gluten-free, processed food free diet. I have an appointment on May 18 at Mayo to look again at the liver disease and the level of scarring in the liver. For now, I consider my health to be excellent. I feel good-- I am in no pain, and my body is healing. Who could ask for more?

Our God is Healer

2011-02-27T14:53:00.000-06:00

I am an emotional mess today. I was awake at a ridiculous hour this morning, so instead of lying in bed and torturing myself with everything that is on my mind, I got out of bed and started my prayer time.

Tomorrow is the day I will find out if I truly do have pancolitis, or if the local doctor was wrong in his original diagnosis. While I know the chances of being misdiagnosed with something that was so obvious to that doctor are slim, I am holding onto hope. When we conferred with the doctor up at Mayo, she felt that because I was clearly infected with C.Diff during the last scope, these is a chance that the doctor was seeing the effects of that, rather than the chronic illness of colitis. Our Springfield doctor confirmed this suspicion, and is performing another scope tomorrow.

My prayer all along has been that this upcoming scope would reveal completely normal, healthy, non-inflamed tissue, and the biopsies would also come back completely healthy and show no signs of inflammation. That would completely remove the ulcerative colitis diagnosis and would eliminate one of the chronic diseases. This would have no bearing on the liver disease, but it would ease my worries, since I would only be dealing with one disease instead of two!

So, this morning, when I woke up, this issue was heavy on my heart, along with some other issues Jim and I have been working through lately with God's help. Some of my morning prayer time is spent on the book we are reading in my mom's bible study, but other days, like today, I use a program online called youversion. You can find it here. It allows you to chose a reading plan based on how long you want to commit to the plan, and what theme you want to focus on. My scripture from today, when I opened it up with this:

Matthew 8:3
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

And, then, in the area with additional comments area these thoughts on the scripture passage:
Do you know that it is God's will for you to be healed? In fact, Jesus always healed the sick who came to Him. The blind, lame, maimed, mute, deaf and demon-possessed - He healed them all! (Matthew 8:16)

God does not dole out diseases or illnesses-- he is our healer. I don't know why He allows illness or disease to happen, but He certainly doesn't cause them to happen. That goes against everything I know of God's character. It is His character to heal diseases, and He takes great joy in doing so.

It was the exact reminder I needed at the exact right time-- how ironic-- not really. God proceeded to follow this reminder with moving, uplifting, inspiring worship at Quest this morning. With a song like this by Chris Tomlin, it was yet another reminder that our God is healer. I am putting all of my eggs in one basket and praying that tomorrow's test will reveal complete healing!

Sledding, Snowmen and Hot Chocolate-- Oh, my!

2011-02-25T10:11:00.000-06:00

For as much as I was dreading this "storm" that was heading our way, I am utterly thankful for it today. It dawned on me recently that this winter, despite all the snow we've had, that we haven't gone sledding or made snowmen! So, today was our day!

Henry and I made our way to the sledding hill at Lake of the Woods around 8:00 this morning. After sledding for about 45 minutes, we took a walk through the woods to discover animal tracks and make up stories about what the animals were doing. This child can come up with some whoppers (like the day we drove to the library and he told me that when he and Grandma were there, they saw a cat stranded at the top of the flagpole and the firemen had to work to get it down). Thankfully, today's stories were much milder.

After a few more slides down the hill, we made our way home to build a snowman-- the snow today is perfect snowman snow! It didn't take long at all.

And, to round out our morning, we made our way inside for some hot chocolate with marshmallows.

What a day! And, it is only 10:00 a.m.!

What did you say?

2011-02-25T06:35:00.001-06:00

Proverbs 18:21 (MSG):

21 Words kill, words give life;
they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

What did that mean to you? For me, it was a simple reminder that today, no matter who I speak to, my words will give life, be uplifting, and be void of criticism.

Hyper-Parenting

2011-02-24T13:56:00.000-06:00

Hi. My name is Sunny and I am a hyper-mom.

Boy, God has a way of convicting us of these things, and yesterday He hit me square in the face. As I was thinking forward to our plans for the coming seasons, my thoughts turned to music lessons for Henry. You see, Olivia started playing the violin at age 4. It was at age 4 that we gave her the choice of taking piano lessons or violin lessons. She opted for violin, which was quite an experience for us. After a year and a half or so, she switched to piano, and now takes piano lessons. For me, music lessons are a non-negotiable. This was something that I did not have as a child that I feel is incredibly valuable in creating a well-rounded person, and I want to give my kids this opportunity. So, knowing that Henry will be 4 in November, I was thinking about whether to start piano for him this fall. Technically, he would still be three, but oh, so close to four. And then God spoke to me. Well, I wish I could say that he gave me a call on the phone, but He didn't. Instead, He sent Jill Savage as His messenger when her blog came through to my inbox. And here is the first section of her blog post:

Parents often ask me, as a former piano teacher, when they should begin their child in piano lessons. When I recommend no earlier than second grade, they are amazed.

Part of my answer comes from my experience teaching young children and finding that second grade is the earliest most children have the ability to sit still to practice and have the reading abilities that allow them to read music.

The other reason I suggest second grade comes from what I’ve learned as a parent and the tendency we have to want to get our child involved in organized activities much earlier than they need to be.

Bam!

Did you hear it? That was my body hitting the ground in shock. Not only because of the whole piano thing, but because in the rest of her post, she describes me! DOH! I am a hyper-parent! And, what gets me is that it totally snuck up on me!! I thought I was doing SO great in this arena-- we had intentionally said no to many "extras" last summer and fall to make more room for kid and family time. And, life was good.

But, then Christmas hit, and in my quest for not spoiling my children with material goods, we asked for activities to build memories. Well, the grandparents gladly obliged, and just a few weeks ago our schedule looked like this:
Sunday- Church
Monday- free!
Tuesday: Cheerleading followed by tumbling (for O); Soccer for H-- all back to back
Wednesday: Swimming for O, followed by swimming for H
Thursday: Ice skating for both simultaneously, which Daddy handles while I teach
Friday: Piano lessons for O
Saturday: Basketball for O

Not to mention that Henry has different activities during the day-- music class, library story time, pre-school and Olivia has play dates with friends on random days. . .

What is wrong with me?!

I will tell you exactly what it is-- it stems from my not-so-secret-type-A personality, and my desire to give my kids every opportunity in the world. It is sincerely good-intentioned, and I truly never looked at it as stressful or overwhelming for them. That is, until I saw it for what it was-- hyper-parenting. Thankfully I am primarily a stay-at-home mom, so we do have additional "down time" when they are just kids, but clearly not enough.

I have a book I obviously need to re-read-- Living with Less, So Your Family Has More-- and I need to learn how to say that two-letter-word to both myself and my kids: No. I need to be a more intentional parent and realize that it isn't how many races Olivia wins in her swim meets or how many songs she can play on the piano that makes her a good person; it is her love for God and her love for others. I need to remember that I am not going to be home with them indefinitely, and when I look back on these years at home, I want to remember some time actually spent being with them, instead of just driving them places!

Because parenting is a journey and I could use as much advice as I can get, I was also really excited to find the following link on Jill Savage's blog today:

http://www.parentingsummit.com/

This is a free online parenting summit that is offering various sessions from parenting experts around the country. You can watch the clips on your own time, but it is only for the week of March 1-8. I have already signed up, and I have a feeling that God is going to point me to exactly which sessions I need to hear. If you decide to also sign up, let me know, and we can compare notes!

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

2011-02-22T06:44:00.000-06:00

Have you ever known something was coming that you just had to do, to go through, but you dreaded every possible thought of it? Something that would be completely life-changing, and would take you down a path you had never walked before? A path that you can't even see the beginning of, let alone where it leads? Have you ever had to completely and utterly trust in God, and God alone, to provide what you need on this journey, because there is absolutely no way we could ever provide everything we need ourselves-- or even count on any other human to provide it for us? That's where our family is right now. And, boy, am I having a hard time surrendering control and stepping onto that unknown path.

I know this is the path God wants us to walk down-- first of all, He put it on my heart in prayer over the last few days, and I have been just talking it over with Him, pretty continuously. But, my resistance is there-- my logic and rationale are outweighing the nudging of God right now. I am reminded of Beth Moore, and my recent post, of how in touch with God she was, and how disciplined she was to listen. And then I look at myself and think, "Am I seriously going to ignore God on this?" Because reason number two that I know we have to walk down this path is that it is directly stated in God's law, the Bible. Scripture doesn't fudge any part of this path, and as a matter of fact is pretty darn clear on what we need to do in this situation. Shoot.

So, in looking for another way out (yes! I was looking for a way out of God's word-- a way to figure out how it might not apply to us!), I turned to both our pastor and some Christian websites for guidance. And, you know, they said the same thing that I knew they would. They are all aligning with God's word. Step out in faith, even though you don't know the path, and God will provide everything you need. And, yet, I am still arguing with God. Why?!?

I will tell you why . . . I'm arguing with God because, right now, all I can see is this world. I am having a hard time living in a me-first, keeping up with the Jones' society when this step clearly will not be keeping us up with the Jones'. We will be living against the "get as much stuff as you can" culture with this step of faith.

I'm arguing with God because I can see every curve and bend of the path we are currently on. I can see into the distance. On this new path, I can't even see the beginning, let alone the first bend in the path, or the first rock where we'll stumble. The only thing I can see on this path is the ultimate outcome-- the peak of the mountain, where we want to be.

I'm arguing with God because I think I know what is best for me and for our family. I think I know what's best even more than God does, and I think I love my family more than He does. Logically, I know I'm wrong. But, the argument is there, and it's taking hold against the first step on the path.

I'm arguing with God because this is a complete step of faith-- I have absolutely no control over helping our family navigate this path successfully. There is nothing humanly possible to make this path make sense. The entire journey on this path rests completely in God's hands.

I know in my heart of hearts what path God wants us on, and that He will provide every support along the journey. I just need to step out in faith.

Loving Well

2011-02-20T16:27:00.000-06:00

What a blessing Beth Moore is to Christian women. This weekend, I had a chance to go on a weekend retreat (for ladies only) to a Bed and Breakfast in Arcola, to fellowship with other women from Quest, as well as spend time in God's word through the teachings of Beth Moore. A few key ideas from the weekend:

We can love others because God first loved us.

God IS love.

When you feel like you may not be loving well, you need to dip back into the Loving Well (Jesus).

One of the best visuals that Beth shared regards the second point-- God is love. Love for God is not an emotion and can't be changed based on how he feels that day, or if he had his coffee that morning. God is love, just as we are women. No mood I'm in, food I eat or experience I have will change that fact- I am a woman. Nothing will change the fact that God is love-- it is who He is, not what He feels. What a great reassurance, especially since we so often want to project human qualities onto a supernatural God. Our loving feelings may change; His never will.

Beth also shared a story about loving someone who was a stranger to her. I cannot do justice to her storytelling of the way it all played out. However, here's the short version: while sitting in a small waiting area in a small airport, Beth felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit. Initially, she thought it was to minister to a thin, incredibly aged man in a wheelchair, and share the good news of Christ. She had an inner battle with God about this call, until finally God spoke loud and clear to her heart that she was not meant to minister to him about the gospel, but rather to brush this man's hair. Beth then went on to describe the inner argument she had with God about this call-- she was in a small airport, everyone would stare at her; she wasn't properly equipped, she had no hairbrush; she was in the process of memorizing John chapter 1, that had to be more important. But, she says, God kept nudging, and she finally had to obey. She walked over to the gentleman, and asked (louder each time) if she could have the pleasure of brushing his hair. He agreed, and what Beth found was long hair, completely matted and knotted. His hair was clean, but clearly not taken care of. She began the tedious work of unknotting his hair, starting at the bottom and working gently through until it was silky smooth. As she worked, she felt the love of God just pouring out of her soul. Finally, as she finished, she walked around to the front of this man, got down on her knees, rested her hands on his thin bony hands and asked him, "Sir, do you know Jesus?" He responded, "Yes, young lady, I do know Jesus." She commented internally to God, "That's why you wanted me to brush his hair-- he didn't need me to minister to him-- he's already saved!" It turned out that this man had been a Christ-follower his entire married life, and he was currently on his way back to see his bride. He had left to go to a different health care facility because of some heart problems, and his wife was too ill to go with. He was now back, and healthy, but worried about what his wife would think when she saw how he looked.

She then went on to share that God wants us to love those who are far from us, those that are not even on our radar screens. We need to help meet their basic needs for food, clothing, warmth. It won't be until their basic needs are met that they will even be ready to hear the good news of the gospel; until then, they will only be able to focus on how cold or hungry they are.

This was very convicting for me. I came home and shared this with Jim, and we remembered the time we handed out burgers to homeless people on one of our vacations out to San Diego. We had taken a trip out there, just the two of us, and spent the evening walking around various areas of San Diego. One area was close to the water, and as we walked, we noticed a park-like shelter. As we walked through the shelter, we found several homeless people sleeping in corners, covered with thin blankets or their jackets. As we got back into our rental car, Jim asked what we should do next. We decided to drive through a nearby fast food restaurant and order a bunch of burgers. We made our way back to the same area, and handed out burgers to everyone there. As we left, I had an indescribable amount of love just pouring from my soul. I want to know that feeling on a regular basis by loving people far from me. I don't know if our kids are old enough to participate in a soup kitchen kind of serving opportunity, but that is now a goal of mine.

Another piece of Beth's story that really struck a chord with me that we proceeded to talk about in our small group discussion was how in-tune Beth was to God's true purpose for her right there in that moment. She initially thought she was called to minister to this man. But, then she realized she was asked to brush his hair. How many times have I felt a nudge in my soul to do something, only to rationalize why I shouldn't. I then walk away from that opportunity, leaving behind a chance to serve God and love others, because that nudging just didn't make sense to me. After this weekend, I have a renewed desire to really be in-tune with God. I want to hear His voice as clearly as Beth did. I want to follow through on those nudges, no matter how insane or irrational they may seem to be.

God truly had a purpose for me to be on this retreat this weekend. Not only did I get to know some wonderful women and start some lasting friendships with them, but God reminded me of how important a friendship is with Him. Just as earthly relationships need time and attention, so does my relationship with God. I am looking forward to the good things He is going to do in my life in the coming months!

Orchestrating Events

2011-02-17T06:57:00.000-06:00

There have been a few times in my life that God has orchestrated certain events to really hit home a point. This week, I was able to experience one of them. I had a grace-releasing, heart-calming moment that didn't really hit home until after everything had happened, and I was able to reflect on it in prayer.

This semester in my mom's bible study group, we are working through the book Growing Grateful Kids by Susie Larson. I have read this book before, and while I thought it was okay, it didn't really have much to draw me in. I just wasn't crazy about it, like other books we've read. However, since we're reading it for our group, I needed to pick it up a second time, and start from the beginning. What a blessing this has been. I admit, it was initially hard for me to put aside my feelings of, "I didn't really enjoy this book the first time; the second time around is going to be awful!" But through prayer that I would be able to put my Negative Nancy feelings aside, I dove back in.

In the book, the author shares about a time that she desperately wanted a Twinkie that her brother was taunting her with. The short story is that she wanted it so badly that she reached out to grab the delectable treat from him, at the precise moment he was reaching his hand forward to give it to her to enjoy. The end result was a gooey mess that resembled nothing of a Twinkie, but just a sticky, inedible glob. If she would have just waited two more seconds, she would have been blessed by this treat. But, since she had to have it NOW, she ended up with nothing. She equated that to the times in our life when God wants to hand out His blessings to us, and we are more interested in grabbing right now, than just sitting back and letting God do His work in His time. I kind of rolled my eyes at that story the first time I read it. But, now that I have had my own "Twinkie" moment, I get it.

Ever since early December. . . well, I guess technically earlier than that . . . I have been dealing with some chronic health issues. I want more than anything in the world to get better and be healthy permanently, and preferably without the help of any medications. I know this can happen-- the power of prayer is amazing. But, every day I still think about it. I wouldn't say I worry about it, since I know that worrying can't solve anything, and the bible specifically tells us not to worry. But, I do think about it . . . often.

The other day, as Henry was looking for an afternoon snack, he asked for raisins. I took out our container of raisins and then went fishing in the cabinet for a bowl. "No," he told me. "I don't want a bowl. I just want you to put them right here in my hand." I obliged, knowing that he would get far less in his sweet little three year old hand than he would in a snack bowl. He went on his way, enjoying his raisins, and that was the end of that.

But, not really, because the next day, I was presented with this scripture:

Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

or The Message version:
You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.

Followed by this:
Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Or the version in The Message translation:
As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

And, it hit home. God does want me to heal, and heal completely. He delights in my joy, just as I delight in the joy of my children. And, He wants to give me more than I could even dream-- more than my thirty-three -year-old hands can hold. He wants to pour His blessing out-- in a snack bowl, or otherwise! Who am I to limit His greatness or His blessings. All I need to do is bring these things to Him in prayer, and lay them at His feet. He will meet all my needs, and not only that, He will take joy on pouring out blessing after blessing.

As I thought about these scriptures, the vision of Henry came into my mind. Was he content with his handful of raisins? Yes. But he didn't realize there was another option. He didn't realize that if he let me take control, his raisins would have been multiplied greatly. In order to receive those same blessings from God, we need to surrender control, and realize that He has far better plans for us than we could ever imagine. The same holds true for me. I need to stop thinking so much about my health and what the future holds, and trust that God would take joy in healing me. And, that His idea of blessings far exceeds anything my human brain can conjure up. Thank goodness for God's goodness.

Gardening with a Black Thumb

2011-02-14T08:12:00.000-06:00

I am not afraid to admit that I failed the parenting test. You know, the test that everyone tells you to do before you actually have children-- first get a plant. If you can keep that alive, get a pet. If that stays alive, you might be ready for children. I never should have moved on to the pet. I cannot keep plants alive if it's the last thing I do. I over water, I under water, I give too much sun, I give not enough sun. I just cannot get it right. I think that's why Jim nearly laughed out loud when I told him that I wanted to try to grow a vegetable garden this summer.

I have clear logic in planting a garden this summer-- it will be cheaper than buying all of our produce. And, with the foods we are eating now, we are eating a whole lot more fruits and vegetables. So, in my mind, it makes sense to grow them ourselves-- we know where they come from, that there have been no pesticides sprayed on them, and when we want some, we just have to walk outside. Sounds great. The problem is getting to the point of actually having food growing in our yard.

I don't even know where to begin. Well, I guess that isn't entirely true. I know I would like a garden box, instead of digging into our soil. And, I know the kinds of vegetables we would like to grow-- cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, green peppers, carrots. But, that's about all we know. I got online to see what I could learn, and I felt a little bit like I was planning our Disney trip all over again-- I had no idea where to even begin getting seeds, or what kinds of seeds to get-- do we get the 5 inch cucumbers or the 7 inch cucumbers? What does it mean if it's burpless? Less gas? Do we start the seeds now, so they are sprouts when we plant them, or do we plant the seeds right into the garden? Is is okay to plant the carrots near the peppers, or will the peppers' roots interfere with the carrots? I have no idea!

So, the vegetable gardening experiment begins. . . I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. If my history is any predictor of the future, don't expect any veggies from our house this summer. And, if you have any advice, I'll take it!

Christmas Gifts

2011-02-12T12:29:00.000-06:00

Christmas gifts are coming to fruition in our house! Each year, we share our desire with our family to not overload our children with tangible gifts that will end up piled on the closet floor, but instead gift them memories and experiences. This Christmas, that happened quite a bit. One of the gifts that Olivia received this year was a chance to cheer with the Illini cheerleaders at a cheer clinic, and then to perform at the Assembly Hall during halftime of a women’s basketball game. She had a blast, and we had a great time watching her. Thanks for your gift Nini!

Tiger Mothering Part II

2011-02-11T06:51:00.001-06:00

The other day, I wrote a quick post/reflection on Amy Chua's style of parenting-- a woman who seems to be taking the nation by storm in her "traditional Chinese" parenting style which is full of rigidity and high expectations. Seeing as a majority of my friends are women, and many of them are moms (or will soon become moms), lots of people had something to say. Even my husband had some thoughts on the subject that night after reading the tiger mom post. This lead to some nice conversation, and the ability for me to talk through my thoughts and clarify what I actually like about Amy Chua's style of parenting, or as she calls it, the Chinese Parenting Style.

I have not yet read Chua's new book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I intend to, as soon as I either buy it or it makes it to my spot (number 46) on the hold list at the library. However, I have read many other parenting books, educational books, and life-guiding books. Holding three degrees in educational areas from the University of Illinois has given me a bit of an opportunity to do a little reading on the subject of child development, early learning, self-esteem and discipline. Mind you, I was looking at all of these things through a teacher's point of view, but much of it has also served me well in my parenting. Yet, even though I spent many years learning about the roles of adults in children's lives, I think two different forces are at work when I parent: one that is natural for me to turn to, and one that I continually remind myself to turn to.

The first natural fallback for me was how I was raised. I think this is pretty common for nearly everyone-- you often hear about child abusers repeating the offenses on their own children, not because the necessarily want to, but because that was how they were raised themselves (not an excuse, in my opinion!). In my case, I was raised in a household of very high expectations, with a very little bit of leniency. I often share the story with high-schoolers/ college-students that the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I had a 10:30 p.m. curfew. While I was away at school, I was just going out at 10:30! However, because both of my parents worked, and because they needed to be up for work at 5:30 in the morning, they didn't want to worry about me until all hours of the night, and then get up and try to function the next day. I understand this, but even now, as an adult, I think that was a bit rigid and extreme. I don't think I will hold my own children to that rule, but there are some other rules that my children do have to follow-- some that others find outdated or too strict. For example, my kids are required to write thank you letters. When they get something from someone, they write a thank you letter. It seems obvious for birthdays and holidays, but it also holds true for anything-- Olivia recently sent out an email for Girl Scout cookie orders. As we recorded each order on the sheet, she sat on the computer and typed out a quick thank you note to the orderer. And, speaking of selling cookies, we are not the kind of parents to leave the order form in the break room. If Olivia wants people to buy cookies from her, she needs to ask each person face to face (or over the phone, if they're far away). Our parents never did our selling for us, and we refuse to do any selling for our kids. Our children refer to adults as Mr. or Ms., followed by their last name. There are times that we will let them call an adult by their first name, but always preceded by Mr. or Ms. And, we don't take (or make) excuses for poor behavior or lack of participation. I understand that new situations can be intimidating, or even downright scary, but they will face new situations for the rest of their lives, and making excuses for their lack of participation is just enabling them to get out of it in the future. These are things that were instilled in me as a child, and I will instill the into my children.

However, there is another place to turn for parenting advice; one that I often have to remind myself to check-- the bible. I spent my morning prayer time the other day just searching through it for scripture related directly to parenting. Here are some I came across:
Ephesians 6 gives it to us straight (emphasis is mine):
^1-3 Children, do what your parents tell you. This is only right. "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely, "so you will live well and have a long life." ⁴Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.

Boy, that is pretty cut and dry, isn't it?

How about this one:
Colossians 3:20
²⁰Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.

I suppose we could say that if our children aways did what we told them, we would have no need to come down hard on them.

However, the scripture immediately following tells us this:
Colossians 3:21
21Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits.

See, God knew that our children would not always do what we say, and that they would need direction from us on a consistent basis. But, it's pretty clear what we are not supposed to do-- come down too hard, and thereby crush their spirits.

So, does this mean we shouldn't discipline our children or hold them to high expectations? No, absolutely not:

Poverbs 29:15
15 Wise discipline imparts wisdom;

spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents.

Wise discipline-- discipline guided by God's love for us and through us-- will enable us to shape our children into the beings God has created them to be. It is our job to discipline wisely as parents. This will help them to not be "spoiled adolescents" who "embarrass their parents".

So, I give a big thank you to Amy Chua for helping me think through, evaluate and reevaluate where I stand(and need to stand) on the issue of raising kids in today's me-first culture. I will continue to hold my children to the highest standards, because I know that is who God created them to be. I will lovingly encourage them, and lovingly discipline them. And, I will lovingly love them, even when the day comes that they are an embarassing adolescent.

Mr. Golden Sun

2011-02-10T14:32:00.000-06:00

I am so thankful for the sunshine. The temperatures this week have been so frigidly cold that any amount of sun is welcome. But, add to the cold temps all the gray, snowy days we have been having, and it makes for one stressed out, dreary, grumpy winter.

I know I am not the only one who gets affected by the gray, cloudy days. There is even a disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder ("SAD") that makes people feel, well, sad, during the fall and winter months. Thankfully, it tends to lessen or disappear completely with the change of the seasons into the warmer months.

I know for me, the dreary days aren't that extreme, but they sure do put everyone in our house in a bad mood. It is just amazing to me how much power just a little bit of light has. Feeling that warmth come in through the windows seems to renew my hope-- in the world, in our circumstances, in warmer days that are to come! As the sun shone on me this morning, I couldn't help but feel incredibly blessed and thankful for my life-- what an amazing life I have-- and thankful that God has put me right where He wanted me all along (although I didn't realize it while He was making it all happen). All of that from just a little sun (or should I say "Son"). Today, remember to enjoy your time in it!

I Hate Snow Days

2011-02-03T13:28:00.000-06:00

There. I said it. I hate snow days-- and I don't even allow the "h" word to be said in our house, since it is such a strongly negative word. But, after three days of phone calls canceling school, this is how strongly I feel.

Here is what I cannot figure out-- people (teacher friends, other parents, etc) say they LOVE snow days because it gives them time with their kids to play games, make crafts, hang out, whatever. I get that, but these are not free days. We have to send our kids to school in June in order for them to make up for these missed days. And, to be completely honest, wouldn't you much rather spend your days with your kids in June, when the weather is nice enough to take them to the pool or the park, where they can get their energy out?!? I absolutely would!

Of the last three snow days we've had (just this week), I would consider one of them legitimate. It was Wednesday, when the snow was still coming down, and the wind was blowing ferociously. However, the "storm" didn't even start until Tuesday afternoon, which means we could have gotten at least half a day in, with early release. Every parent is prepared for the early release option, and if they know that it's a possibility, they plan for it, especially in our very-parent-involved school district. Or, they opt to keep their kid home from school that day.

And, when I found out that there was no school today, I nearly called our superintendent at home, and paraphrased the Pennsylvania governor:

"We've become a district of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off school? People would have been marching down to the schools, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down."

Seriously! The roads are clear, the winds are calm, and our kids need to be in school! How is it that a district 10 miles from us is in session, but we cannot be? They must have had a lot less snow (or be experiencing a heat wave) in Champaign. When I started my teaching career in this community, it was under the direction of a much stricter superintendent-- the understanding was that if Champaign didn't cancel, we didn't cancel. And, the understanding was that Champaign never canceled. We have alternate bus routes for country roads that may be snowed over-- why can't we use them?

When I was a kid, I walked to school every day, no matter what the weather (yes, up hill both ways, with no shoes). Just ask my friend Carrie who walked with me. Sure, my nose hairs were frozen by the time we got there, but we walked every day. If our parents were really worried about us, they would have driven us, or found us a ride. Logical, sensible acts. Instead, we are calling of school because it's cold, and it snowed three feet in a city that is 2.5 hours north of us!

While I am completely supportive of the safety and well-being of our students and staff, I am not supportive of the district wasting my warm days (when the classrooms are 90 degrees, and the kids aren't learning anything anyway) to make up for their poor snow day calls. Our kids need to be in school, where they can learn, be with their friends, and get out of the house.

And, lest you think that I am a snow-day scrooge, whose kids aren't allowed any fun during days off school, I have included some pictures below. Like I said, legitimate snow days are fine. It's the ridiculous ones I have an issue with.

We started our day building a fort, where the kids spent much of the morning-- reading, playing games, and eating lunch.

"Take a picture of me, now, Mommy."

We then decided to watch Knufflebunny, so Olivia and Henry made tickets for all of us (including the American Girl Doll and the Bitty Baby) to watch the show.

Peyton even got in on the fun. Truthfully, I think she was hoping to snag some popcorn, but she still looks sweet lying next to the kids.

Later in the day, we made crackers and read a zillion books (yes, I actually counted).

Yesterday's snow day involved Jim, since his bank was closed (see, I do understand legitimate snow days). Our day involved more books, a family viewing of Toy Story 2, and creating a big snow hill in the backyard to sled down, where they played for quite a while, followed by some hot chocolate and a new recipe for dinner (Salmon cakes- thanks, Allyson!).

While our days have been fun and productive, we are ready for school to be back in full swing. And, ready for the groundhog to be right-- no more snow, please.

Tiger Mother or Type A?

2011-01-25T14:38:00.000-06:00

Recently, Amy Chua has made headlines with her new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I haven't read the book yet, but have read quite a bit of commentary, including this Wall Street Journal article, and the most recent edition of Time magazine. The general theory of Chua's book (which is a memoir, not a parenting advice book) is that Chinese mothers are superior because of their strict, unbendable parenting styles. She shares stories of making her daughters practice their instruments (violin and piano) for hours on end, not allowing sleepovers or playdates, and not accepting a grade lower than an A. She discusses how we "Westerners" are too soft in our parenting, worrying more about our children's self esteem than their abilities to work hard at something until they succeed. As much as this may make me hard-nosed, I wholeheartedly agree. However, until now, I have just called it type A parenting. Apparently, there is now a name for it-- Tiger Mothering.

The main difference I can notice between Chua and myself is the severe intensity with which she disciplines her two daughters. She shares comments she has made to her daughters (primarily her younger daughter) that would be taken as abusive in our culture. However, she justifies that her comments are made in the context of love. One of the main points she makes, that I completely agree with, is that we let our kids give up too easily. We let them try one thing or another, and if they don't like it, or don't do well, we cuddle them, and console them, and then tell them they can give up. We are in the habit of rewarding mediocre performance in order to nurture self-esteem. We worry that if we tell our children they are wrong, or they they need to get better at something, they will be damaged for life. We worry about pushing them too hard, and not letting them "be kids." But, at what point will that mentality end? At what point will a parent decide that they aren't kids anymore, and may need some higher expectations? By that point, it's too late-- you've let them get away with what they want to do, and they know they don't have to work hard to get by-- mom and dad will do it for them. Just look at how many parents of college students are actually calling their college-aged child's instructors to find out why their kid got a B? At what point will we stop making excuses, saying "Oh, he's only 7. He doesn't need to sit still in class/ keep his hands to himself/ know his math facts/ treat others with respect/ whatever"?

I have a daughter who picks up things fairly easily. At age 4, she started playing the violin. The violin was not easy for her, and I was immensely glad. I was glad to see her struggle, and have to work in order to get her fingers to do what they were supposed to do. She wanted to give up. She talked about how much she didn't like it. I had everyone in my family telling me to let her try something different-- that it wasn't worth it to fight her on this. In my mind, it absolutely was worth it. This was something she actually had to work at. Until this point, she didn't have to work hard for anything-- the typical stuff that kids sometimes need to actually work to understand like reading, writing, numbers, tying shoes all came easily to her. She didn't know what it meant to have to think through something and persevere at a difficult task. This is exactly what the violin was-- a difficult task.

Now, fast forward to once she learned her songs, and stood up in front of a room of people to perform them-- beautifully, nonetheless-- she loved it. She couldn't get enough violin. It was at this point that I offered her the option-- after 2 years of violin lessons, would she like to continue, or would she like to switch to the piano, knowing full-well that we would not be switching back? She chose the piano, and is still taking lessons. She will continue taking lessons-- this is a non-negotiable. But, it wasn't a decision made in the heat of frustration. It was made after a strong moment of success, when she felt good about accomplishing her task at hand.

This is how I approach all of my parenting battles. If Olivia or Henry ask to sign up for an activity or sport, they are expected complete it, and invest their energy into it-- not half-way, but completely. When we are in a class, they are expected to follow the directions of the adult (this even goes for library story time). They don't get an allowance for chores, they have household expectations that come with being part of a family. If work comes home from school that looks rushed, or has silly mistakes, Olivia redoes it. Sometimes we send it back, sometimes we don't. But, she redoes it regardless. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do-- it's called life. It's my job to get my children prepared for "life" so they are successful and independent when they leave our house. If this is what makes a Tiger Mother, then I guess that's what I am.

Roar.

Go Ahead, Take my Heart

2011-01-20T13:43:00.000-06:00

There were quite a few eye-catching articles in the News-Gazette today, but only a couple of them caused me to respond, "Great idea!" One of them had a headline that read, Coloradans would be organ donors by default. How logical. And, yet, lawmakers in our own state of Illinois have defeated a similar approach, "because of concerns that donation programs seem coercive if they require residents to say no." Seriously? This is an act that can save lives, and not hurt anyone in the process. When you die, you don't need your organs. They die too. Unless, of course, you agree to donate your organs, in which case, your organs will live on in someone else. What an amazing act of selflessness in a person's dying moments.

I have always known that I would donate my organs. I have never doubted it, and everyone close to me knows my wishes. The back of my driver's license is signed to say that I will donate, and I have made it clear in every form I have filled out. However, I have never had to think about receiving an organ in order to continue my life. Hopefully, I will never have to, but with this liver disease, it is a possibility. And, with the number of people needing organ transplants, and the low number of organ donors by comparison, it is likely that people who need those transplants will die because someone wanted their organs buried with them.

So, until we begin to think like Colorado, everyone here needs to offer consent in order to donate their organs. If you haven't consented, I am urging you to consider being an organ donor.

Bye Bye Resolutions

2011-01-15T08:26:00.000-06:00

I find it a bit amusing that Girl Scout cookie sales started yesterday-- just two weeks into the new year. People make a point of resolving to be fit and eat healthier, and along come some little girls selling boxes of irresistible cookies. Even the form you fill out encourages you to buy more for a later date: "Our cookies freeze well!" it says. And, they do, as I know from experience. I used to absolutely love pulling a new box of thin mints from the freezer-- the crisp, chocolatey-mint taste melting in my mouth. I think over time my tastes have changed. I now really enjoy the shortbread-- that smooth buttery taste- yum! I also tasted the Lemonades for the first time last week, at the cookie kick off party, and those are pretty good too. I am not usually a fan of strong lemon flavors, but this cookie has a pretty subtle lemon flavor, with a thin layer of lemon glaze on the bottom. It makes for good treat, and would be perfect in the spring when the weather warms up.

However, I will say that I have had some very resolved friends support Olivia this year without letting a box of girl scout cookies even enter their homes. Girl Scouts has an option for you to send cookies to the troops, if you would like to buy cookies, but not deal with the calories. I have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of the people who have already ordered. The number of boxes going to the troop is relatively close to those that are going home with people.

If you are interested in ordering, Olivia would be delighted to take your order. For a list of the cookies she is selling, just click here, and scroll down to see which cookies are for sale. Remember that if you are dead set on keeping your resolutions, you can send cookies to the troops. However, if eating girl scout cookies is part of your resolution, Olivia is more than happy to help! Just email us or send us a FB message with your order!

Feeling Hopeful

2011-01-13T09:00:00.038-06:00

We were able to head to Springfield on Wednesday to meet with another doctor, who was recommended by my doctor at Mayo. He is a liver specialist, has trained at Mayo, and a U of I grad. That in itself sealed the deal for us.

During the consult, Jim and I both felt that this doctor was much friendlier, and much more interested in what we were telling him. He asked a lot of questions, and we found him to be right in line with our Mayo doctor. The recommendations and comments he made were nearly identical to what Dr. Watt had told us while we were up in Rochester.

For now, we will stay the course. I will continue the medication for the colitis, as well as the various vitamins and supplements I am taking. However, he gave us a sense of hope regarding the colitis. He feels that there is a chance that I may not actually have colitis, and that the colitis that appeared during the biopsies was actually there because of an underlying infection that I was treated for up at Mayo. Dr. Watt suggested the same thing, but this was disregarded by the Carle doctor, who started me on the colitis medication. In order to find out if there really is colitis, we will repeat the biopsies in 6-8 weeks. My prayer right now is that there will be nothing but healthy tissue on those slides.

While this is awesome news for my GI issues, it doesn't really have any impact on my liver. The liver scarring is at stage 2-3, and there is never a reversal of scarring. There is also nothing we can really do to slow it down. Because of the PSC, the scarring will continue to build, until we get to stage 4, and talk more about transplants. This is many, many years from now. Until then, I need to be very careful about doing anything that could potentially damage my liver. My occasional glass of wine with friends needs to now become a couple of sips of wine at a wedding once a year, and tylenol is out. Thankfully these aren't too life altering. We will also stick with the dietary changes we have started to implement, and pray that those positively affect my liver. We are so lucky to have found a doctor close by that seems to understand current research, and is in agreement with our Mayo doctor, whom we trust completely.

The Draw of Disney

2011-01-12T12:00:00.000-06:00

The other day, I got another outstanding email offer from Disney. With this offer, we would be able to stay at a value resort for a week, for less than $500 for the week. The dates that we had to use it were perfect-- right during the week of Jim's birthday-- what a way to celebrate!

We did some calculations, including tickets, food, transportation, etc, and it just isn't do-able, but what a temptation. I don't know what it is about Disney that just causes me to get excited at the possibility of going back. We took the kids for the first time this past September. The trip was absolutely amazing, and I think that is what is mostly clouding my judgment. We (well, I) planned that trip for over a year before it finally happened, and everything went off without a hitch. It was the best vacation I have ever been on in my life. Logically, I realize that if we were to do Disney again, it will never be that same trip, and therefore, never be quite as perfect. I know that when we go back, I don't want to have to worry about the cost of it. I want to be able to just relax and have fun.

So, while we won't be heading to Disney again anytime soon, I will certainly keep dreaming about it!

A New Way of Eating

2011-01-11T12:00:00.066-06:00

Being diagnosed with a liver disease that has no treatment, no cure, and could lead to a liver transplant has led me to reexamine pretty much everything I am doing. Add to the liver disease another disease that is treatable, but seems to work against the liver disease, and my confusion starts to build. Once I had all of my basic questions answered after the diagnosis(well, mostly), I started to focus my attention on what I am putting in my body to sustain myself. While the colitis is flaring, it is a situation that requires me to eat very bland, very "white" foods-- saltines, white bread, no whole grains, nuts, berries, etc. However, now that it seems to be coming under control with medication, I have now turned my attention to eating the best way for my liver.

It is pretty much common knowledge that filling up with carbs (like saltines and white bread) is just not healthy for your body. However, in my research, I have found that certain foods are more inflammatory than others, possibly leading to Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), as well as other autoimmune disorders. Knowing that inflammation is causing a lot of my symptoms, and also knowing that once the inflammation is under control, my liver may begin to return to "normal", I have decided to start eliminating them from our family's diet. I hate the word "diet" because it sounds like this is a temporary thing that we are doing to lose some weight. It's not. For me, it's a new way of life that will hopefully help me retain some nutrients, while getting my body back to optimal health.

So, in my quest for better health, I solicited the opinions and expertise of my friend Allyson, whose family has converted to a "paleo" way of eating. They are not following a strict paleo diet, as they still use sweeteners such as agave and honey (which are both natural, but against the true paleo diet), but they have completely cut out starches and sugars. This is where we are heading.

My initial hesitation is that I am a carb-addict. I guess that's a sign that it's time to let go-- once you become addicted, it controls you, rather than the other way around. I love my cookies, my little pieces of chocolate, muffins, banana bread, butter braids-- yum! But, I realized I love my health more. And, if this is what it takes to get my body back to the way it is meant to be, then here we go.

Our breakfasts have started to include more omelets and fruit, less cereal and granola bars. Lunch for Henry today was a piece of ham rolled up, sunflower seeds, blueberries and organic whole fruit snacks from Trader Joe's (which we desperately need around here, in case anyone is looking to open a store!). Olivia's lunch at school was egg salad, a clementine, organic go-gurt (yep, sugar in there, I know), and organic whole fruit snacks. My lunch was egg salad, sunflower seeds, and some strawberries. This afternoon, I made some banana walnut muffins, with almond flour. I found the recipe on Elana's Pantry, which you can find here. I added the walnuts, and baked them as muffins for 25 minutes on 350, if you want to try. We haven't had any yet-- they just came out of the oven, but they look and smell delicious. And, I am excited to report that I also bought a food dehydrator yesterday to make our own fruit roll ups.

The general idea is that we are trying to get back to the way our ancestors ate (yes, I realize they didn't have dehydrators). We did not start adding all of these processed foods until relatively recently in our past, and our bodies are not created to digest these kinds of foods in the amounts in which we consume them! Obviously, not everyone will agree with this thought, but for me, this is something worth trying. My hope is that through some relatively simple changes, my health can be restored, and the notion of a liver transplant or chronic pain can be completely eliminated from the list of possibilities for my future!

A Boy with a Broken Arm

2011-01-10T14:26:00.000-06:00

"Boys will be boys." Yes, evidently, they will. Last Monday, while we were at a friend's house for a short visit, Henry decided to stand on the couch. We aren't really sure what happened from there, and the story continues to change, but best I can tell, he fell off and tried to stop his fall with his right arm. When it happened, he cried, and was a little clingy, but seemed fine once he calmed down. The kids came upstairs with us, and he proceeded to play with play-doh for a little bit. The rest of the day was uneventful.

On Tuesday, he went back to pre-school, which I expected to be a little tough, since he had just had two weeks off of school. When I came to pick him up, he was sitting outside the circle at a table, instead of on the carpet, with no coat on, while the rest of the kids looked like they had just come in from outside, and were playing a little game on the carpet. I asked him if everything was okay, and he told me it was-- just that he didn't feel like going outside. We went home, ate lunch, and he took a little nap. After his nap, it was time to get Olivia from school-- he wouldn't let me put his coat or mittens on, and started crying about his arm hurting. Ugh. Off to convenient care. . .

He did great with the x-rays once he realized that there were no "needles" involved. As a side note, he still remembers exactly where they draw blood, and the last time he had that done, he was around 18 months old. He's had some pretty traumatic doctor visits. This time, he was great. Once the x-rays were done, we went back to wait while the doctor looked them over. Thankfully, she needed a second opinion because there wasn't a huge, obvious fracture. But, there was definitely a fracture.

We finally got in to see the orthopedic doctor two days later. He was able to pull up the x-rays and show us the fracture-- right below his growth plate, so that wasn't affected, all the way across one bone and into the other. However, it was a very tiny fracture, so the doctor is hopeful that it will heal quickly. As he cast Henry's arm, he commented, "You know, I wouldn't feel guilty about not bringing him in right away." Well, thanks, doc, because I wasn't feeling guilty until you just said that. Henry picked out a bright orange cast, and his only concern was whether he could still play hockey. For Christmas, both kids got skating lessons. Since his arm is broken, he can't do his first week of skating lessons. However, his cast will be off in time for the rest of the lessons, and assuming it has healed well, he will be able to skate. This was a big relief for all of us.

So, now we have this adventure to check off our lists. There is always excitement in our lives!

Parenting 101

2011-01-05T15:00:00.000-06:00

I have a dear, dear friend who is contemplating her life as "maybe" a mommy. She has a wonderful, analytical, incredibly intelligent husband, and she herself is an all-around amazing person. They would make fantastic parents (this is based on the years of direct resarch I have done in the field of "What makes a good parent"). What I wish for her is that she could give parenting a test-drive. About a year ago, we were in the market for a new car-- a bigger car that had a third row of seats, but was NOT a mini-van, thank you very much. Our friend Bob Simpson let us test drive several vehicles (mini-van included), just so we could get a feel of exactly what we were looking for. We put the whole family in, we drove, we parked it in the garage, we took it to a t-ball game. We tried it in multiple situations. We figured out what we liked, and what we didn't. We researched prices, warranties, safety ratings. And, from that we made a decision on the kind of car that was right for us.

Unfortunately, parenting isn't like that. There is no one-size-fits-all kid. There is not enough research in the world. And there is no situation that you can exactly plan for when it comes to parenting. When we had Olivia, it was the end of May. I had the summer off from teaching. My world pretty much stopped, and I basked in the glory of mommy-ness. My husband was home for two weeks. My parents came to stay with us from Nashville, TN for a couple weeks. I slept when she slept, my mom cleaned, Jim cooked. It was glorious! Olivia did cry, but not much. She slept through the night at eight weeks, she napped like a champ, she ate like a champ-- she was an angel baby. Or, as someone once called her-- a sucker baby. The one who sucks you into thinking you have this parenting thing down, and if this is so easy, I can easily handle another one! I figured with my multiple education degrees, I must just know more about this parenting thing than those other parents who seem to struggle so much! I was a natural mom.

And, then came Henry.

Nothing I have ever done, or ever will do, can adequately prepare me to parent my son. Henry is the child God sent me to show me that I cannot parent alone. I need to turn to God when I have no idea what to do next with this child. Henry was a very difficult newborn. He still doesn't sleep through the night (at three!), with at least two wake ups per night, on average. Napping is hit or miss these days. Eating is usually a challenge, since he is so texture oriented. Thankfully, he has made amazing strides in his sensory issues, which makes him a little easier to handle. But, he came from the same parents as angel-baby Olivia. Granted, I did eat more Mexican food with Henry than with Olivia, but I don't think that was the breaking point. Henry was just made completely differently. No research I could have done before he came would have prepared me for who he was and is. There is no way to prepare for the child God will give you.

So, to my "maybe" mommy friend, you are a beautiful person, inside and out. You would be an amazing mommy, and D would be an amazing Dad. But, you need to listen to your hearts and each other on this one. There is no book or formula that will tell you what to do. If you do decide to go for it, just hold on-- it's bound to be the ride of a lifetime!

Ages and Stages

2011-01-04T21:03:00.000-06:00

I am a self-proclaimed baby-person. I love, love, love the newborn stage. I love the noises they make, the way they smell, how cuddly they are. I will say I loved Olivia's newborn stage more than Henry's, but time is helping to erase some of those more torturous memories. As both of my kids have grown beyond that stage, I have longed for them to be cuddly and tiny again (well, I guess not tiny, since that was never actually true, but at least baby-sized). Many times I have looked back longingly, instead of looked straight ahead, gratefully. Recently, I was brought back to the joy of Olivia's present stage-- no more longing for her little years. I am truly enjoying who she is right now!

It is such a joy to watch your child grow and start to become who you have hoped she would be. At six and a half, she is so thoughtful and compassionate, it amazes me. Don't get me wrong, she has her self-serving moments as well, but it's like interacting with a little grown up around here. I think one of the absolute coolest things about this stage right now is that we can have a family game night, that lasts for hours, and laugh and talk, like we've been doing it forever. Recently, we've been into Monopoly. We started easy, just trying to get around the board and buy some land. Last night, we upped the anty and said that buying houses for the land was now a possibility. The joy that came from Olivia once she realized that she had both brown properties and could buy houses was fantastic. Putting those two little green houses on her property gave her such a sense of accomplishment! Never mind the fact that she had spent her way into bankruptcy-- she had houses on her land! It was quite an event.

It's hard as they grow up, because those big milestones come fewer and further between. It seemed like her first three years were filled with first after first after first-- First smile, first tooth, first steps. Now, the accomplishments are bigger-- first grown up tooth, first house in Monopoly-- and don't get quite as much attention as those initial firsts did. It's easy to forget how special each stage really is. So, here's hoping that I can look forward gratefully from now on, instead of longing for those baby days.

Truly Valuable Mom-Time

2011-01-01T07:00:00.004-06:00

The break-out sessions have been chosen, the registration from filled out and the money sent in. Now, I just wait for March 11, when I will enjoy the day being refreshed as a mom and a wife. Want to join me? If your new year's resolution was to be a more intentional mother, this is where you need to be. . .

Every year, I look forward to the Hearts at Home national conference in Bloomington. I was first invited several years ago by my dear friend Laurie. It was a life-changing event, and I have continued to take part in it every year (even when I was working, I would take the Friday off just to go to the conference!). I don't think I can adequately describe the feeling you walk away with. Each year, I come to the conference with a different challenge on my heart-- some years it is more challenging to be a mom; other years, more challenging to be a wife; and sometimes, it's challenging to be both, plus a God-loving Christian woman on top of it. And, it seems, no matter where I am in life, God meets me right there during this conference, and shows me where to aim. I walk away with the incredible knowledge that I can love my children and my husband because God first loves me-- unconditionally, wholly, and completely.

Every year, I walk away with practical parenting advice, new energy for my family, and a deeper understanding of what makes my children tick. It was at last year's conference that I affirmed my belief that Olivia is SO much more like Jim, and Henry is much more like me, in terms of personality, through one of the parenting seminars. Knowing this helped my rethink my interactions with each of them.

Truthfully, I am looking for anyone else who wants to join me. I have already heard from a couple moms in my moms group, but my car can fit a lot more people! So, if you want to join us, please do-- this may be exactly what God want you to do as a mom, wife and woman right now.

Technologically UN-Savvy

2010-12-31T09:20:00.001-06:00

We don't have a gaming system in our house.

We have a traditional box television, no HD, no flat screen. And, just one in our entire house.

Our television channel selection consists of the 14 channels we can get with our converter box. We have no cable, DirecTV or Dish.

We have DVD player and a VCR. We use both. We don't have Blue-Ray.

We have a land line telephone so our children can call 911 should they need to. Our children do not have their own cell phones, nor will they anytime in the foreseeable future. And, if our land line rings when we are in the middle of dinner or a family activity, we don't answer it.

The cell phones Jim and I have are basic flip phones that dial numbers so we can talk to the person on the other end. We don't have a texting plan, we don't have iphones, and we cannot (and refuse to) access email through our phones.

We listen to music on the radio, specifically WBGL, or on CDs. We have no ipods, or subscriptions to XM.

The one technological indulgence we do have is high-speed internet. With the amount of pictures I take and upload, we switched from dial up just a couple years ago. This high speed internet has also allowed us to catch shows that we may not otherwise be able to watch (like the sporting events we sometimes miss).

This is how we choose to live. We choose to live with less. Every day we are inundated with technology that we "MUST" have. Whether it's the new gaming system, movie player, iphone, ipod, ipad, idon'tknow, society wants us to believe that our lives will be worthless if we don't indulge in this gadget. They want us to think that once we have this gadget, our lives will improve dramatically-- how much easier everything will be for us-- We don't have to worry about finding time to sit down at home and answer emails, just do it on my phone while I wait in line at the grocery store!

But, that is exactly why we don't have these indulgences. When I am in line at the grocery store, I generally have at least one child with me. If I decide to respond to emails, what is that saying to Henry? "Sorry honey, I'd love to talk to you right now, since we have to wait in line, but someone else just emailed me, and I need to respond." The message to Henry? That other person is more important than you. Absolutely not true.

On Christmas, we had a great time playing a dance game on the Wii with Jim's family. We laughed, we "danced", we egged each other on. Even Olivia and Henry got in on the fun. But that is not meant for our house. The interactions we had playing a dance game, where one person faces a screen, and the others are behind them clapping and encouraging, are minimal compared to the interactions we get during family game times after dinner at night. Playing Monopoly at the dinner table as a family for an hour brings about healthier family relationships than playing a dance game on the television.

How many people today are getting lost in their technology and not lost in their relationships with others? Sometimes technology does help to enhance relationships, but not when it is replacing the time you would spend one on one with someone, talking, visiting, laughing. I am all for emails and facebook, but when something monumental is happening in your life, doesn't it feel good to get a phone call from someone just wanting to find out how you are doing? Or, even better yet, when they stop by to give you a hug (or some cookies)?

It is so easy today to get lost in the mentality the technology is going to make our lives easier. Easier needs to be defined-- does easier mean better? For me, that answer is a resounding no. Sure, I could get an iphone, with access to all kinds of internet capabilities. But, how will that impact my time with my children and my husband? We could purchase a gaming system for our kids, with all kinds of fun "get fit" family games. But, what would happen to our Monopoly or Yahtzee nights? I have a feeling that life would feel a lot less meaningful, and our relationships would begin to show this. That isn't a chance I am willing to take, just to make, as society would claim, my life a little easier.

More Intentional Mothering

2010-12-23T13:50:00.000-06:00

As I was looking back through my prayer journal over the past year, one prayer remained consistent-- I continually ask God to help be the mom He created me to be-- the one who slows down to cherish time with her kids, the one who can put off the vacuuming and swiffering in order to go play outside, the one who doesn't get bothered by the piles of laundry, but instead embraces the mud puddles with the glee of a child. I'm still working on that last one, but God certainly has answered prayers, albeit in an unexpected way.

This Christmas season, our pastor at Quest has been talking about a Simple Christmas. Taking the stress out and putting the peace back in. I am a natural-born, type-A Christmas-loving person. When I do something, I put my heart and soul into it. Add in the joy of finding just the right gift, and I can easily go overboard. I am that person who likes to bake 15 dozen Christmas cookies, buy fancy wrapping paper and wired ribbon to make bows, and have my Christmas cards out before December 1. That's who I am, and I have embraced it. Until this year. Being sick sucks every ounce of energy out, until you can't even fathom walking from the couch to the bathroom. So, my priorities needed to shift, along with my health. This year, I can say God answered my prayers for a simple Christmas, and to be a more intentional mom in the most unexpected way-- through these illnesses.

After a day of hitting a few different stores, we made our way home, where I noticed the sink piled with dishes, days-old newspapers scattered on the coffee table, and muddy footprints from the garage into the laundry room. It was 4:00, and I knew I would need to start making dinner in about an hour. I am proud to say that I didn't even calculate how much I could possibly get done in an hour. Instead, I walked out to the sunroom with the kids, pulled out another piece of paper and started coloring with them. We colored for an hour-- all kinds of Christmas pictures and drawings. We made posters announcing that "Christmas rocks!", adorned with Christmas trees, penguins and angels. I knew physically I couldn't handle much more than what I had already done that day, and the best thing I could have done for my body was to sit down and relax. It turns out that it was a great thing to do for my relationship with my kids too.

I have wanted to be "that mom" for so long. It took God intervening on my behalf to show me how. So, while I am ready to start feeling better soon, I feel blessed that God opened my eyes to the kind of mom I can be if I slow down, not just at Christmas, but every day.

No More Naps?

2010-12-20T08:55:00.000-06:00

Well, if there is ever a time during the year that kids would hate to miss out on anything, it would be this time of the year. Henry is that kid these days. He has never really been a great sleeper, especially at night, so we have always counted on him making up for lost night time sleep during his naps. But, these days, naps are coming fewer and further between. Over the weekend, naps didn't happen (not by our choice!), so we thought we would end up with some great sleep at night. Not so much. He still woke up at his usual 3 am, and added a couple more wakeups at different times. Add in lack of naps, and we have one cranky kid on our hands.

It is pretty common knowledge among many of my mom friends that three is worse than two-- sorry moms of two year olds, it's going to get worse before it gets better. When we get together to talk and share our exasperation with our children, we find ourselves reciting the same refrain, "He's three." Now, I get to add, "and no longer napping."

If you see me out and about over the next few weeks, trying to control a three year old with a lack of sleep, just let everyone else who is staring at us know that he's three and no longer napping. Every mom will understand.

Be Your Own Medical Advocate

2010-12-18T20:00:00.000-06:00

I have debated for days about posting these thoughts about medical care, but I feel like people need a wake up call. I will also say that in this post, I am not looking for sympathy or well-wishes, but rather for you to walk away with the knowledge that you know yourself best.

Recently, I received a health diagnosis that is not life-threatening, but certainly life-altering. I found out that I have several autoimmune disorders that are working against my internal organs. I have been diagnosed with pancolitis, which is a form of ulcerative colitis. In addition, I have also been diagnosed with an incurable, untreatable liver disease called small-duct PSC, currently with stage 2 scarring of my liver. Many times this PSC comes in conjunction with colitis. I will soon being treatment for colitis, will monitor my liver regularly, and life will hopefully begin to return to some semblance of normalcy. Unfortunately, for as clean and clear cut as the diagnosis was, it was no easy road to get there, because I have been raised to respect my elders and to give the medical profession the respect they are due (because they have gone to how many years of medical school to be able to tell me what is wrong with me, right?).

Wrong. The medical community-- no matter what doctor you talk to-- does not know your body better than you do. You have lived with this body for how many years of your life. You know when something doesn't feel right and when something needs to be checked out. Unfortunately, when those issues don't come across as "rip-snorting" obvious (to quote my doctor at Mayo), they get dismissed. Doctors chalk it up to a virus (or neurotic patients, or stress, or poor diet . . .), and life goes on. Until you find yourself back in the doctor's office with the same complaint, only intensified. Cut out the stress, stop eating spicy food, exercise more, you'll feel better.

At this point, you want to reach across the table and smack the doctor upside the head, but you don't, because you have been told that doctors sit to the right hand of God, and they certainly can't be wrong. So you trust them. You change your diet, you exercise more, you try to cut out stress. And things start to get better-- a little bit at least.

Until finally, you realize that you really aren't getting better, and in fact, you feel worse than you have in your entire life. This was about the point I was at. I had every reason in the world to believe stress was causing my issues-- if you have any idea what the last nine months have been like, you would agree that stress may have played a role. But, after two months of testing and dead ends with a local medical facility, I was beginning to get frustrated with the medical community. I was feeling like a neurotic patient because I was being treated like a neurotic patient. The proverbial straw was when my doctor randomly threw out a diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis before he knocked me out to do some scopes, in response to my questioning about my continually climbing liver enzymes.

His follow up care was anything but caring, and far from the complete diagnosis that needed to be addressed. I took matters into my own hands and called Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Through luck, or God's grace, or both, I was able to get an immediate appointment with an amazing liver doctor. After a mere two days, we were able to go from hopeless to hopeful. I shared where I had been, what my symptoms were, and she was able to put the pieces together. After some more testing, she found the confirmation. And, after some research, I found out that the liver disease I have is very closely tied to patients who have UC. It wasn't that big of a mystery after all. But, if I were to have stayed with my local doctor, it may have been another 4 months of testing before we actually found an answer, if he ever found one at all, other than the initial misdiagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis.

Don't rest if you know there is something going on with your body. You are your only advocate. Doctors have hundreds of patients and hundreds of cases. It is your job to make sure that you get the treatment that you need based on what is going on specifically with you. Don't be afraid to ask questions, or even go to a different doctor! Doctors are human, they will make mistakes. You don't have to be afraid of looking elsewhere for better care when the care you receive in your own community does not meet high standards. Be your own advocate!

Santa and Snow

2010-12-04T14:12:00.000-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . .

SNOW! We woke up to a winter wonderland, but had to wait to go out to play, because. . .

This morning also brought Breakfast with Sana at Silvercreek in Urbana. The food this year was much better than last, and the kids had a ton of fun visiting with Santa, decorating cookies and petting the rabbits. It's always fun to hear what comes out of their mouths when they talk to the big guy in red, especially Henry.

So, Henry, what would you like for Christmas?

"A waterslide."

Olivia, what are you hoping to get?

"Another American Girl Doll- Kit, a pillow pal, and an easy bake oven." (She has this whole list thing down).

Returning home brought a chance to play in the snow-- it was a perfect day for it-- not too cold or windy.

We had a great day!

I'm not perfect, but my Christmas card says I am

2010-12-03T15:10:00.000-06:00

'Tis the season for Christmas trees, holiday lights, delicious cookies, and exaggeration. I love getting Christmas cards-- I love seeing how kids grow and change, how families change, and just receiving those holiday greetings, knowing someone was thinking of us this year. But, I am always hesitant of the "Christmas letter." Several years ago, I wrote one, just to keep people posted on what was going on in our lives. But, then a thought occurred to me-- a majority of the people on my Christmas card list not only knew what was going on in our lives, but could probably have written the letter for me. And, those people who didn't know our day-to-day lives didn't want to listen to me brag about my family and myself, which is, essentially, all the Christmas letter really is-- a chance to brag about ourselves, our accomplishments, no matter how big or small, our vacations, our home (or homes in some cases)-- all in all, putting off the appearance of a perfect family living the perfect life.

Today, during my mom's Bible study, we discussed the idea of perfection, and how no one, ever, will be perfect. That was why Jesus was sent-- to cleanse us of our sins. So, why do we feel we need to convey a perfect family, perfect life, perfect home, especially at this time of the year?

What if we were to be honest in those letters? I mean, really be honest. Sure, we all have things to be proud of-- to brag about. Being a parent gives you that chance to really show off the talents and achievements of your children-- those awards they won, the swim ribbons that adorn their wall (speaking from experience here- brag, brag). It's also great to hear about new babies, new jobs, new homes. Those are celebrations worth sharing. But, when did it become a time for us to tell each other about our fabulous trip to that exotic location, the raise that we got when we changed jobs, the new 4000 square foot vacation home we bought in the Keys? It shouldn't be. What would happen if we actually opened up to the people we send those letters to? Would it be too much of a downer? "Yep, school has been rough for my little one this year-- not going as smoothly as we'd like." To me, that's a chance for honesty, and a chance for others to provide love and support, even from a distance. A chance for them to reach out in love, in prayer, and give us the support we are so longing for.

This year, we actually did include a letter of sorts in our Christmas card-- first time in about 6 years. However, it wasn't a "here's what's up" kind of letter. It was simply a collection of funny comments, conversations and remarks from Olivia and Henry-- a chance to share some of the laughter we have enjoyed over the past twelve months. But, if I were to write an honest letter to include, it might go something like this:

Merry Christmas! Life in the McMurry home has been typical-- well, as typical as you can get, with a daughter who is 6 going on 16, and a just-turned-three year old who has been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder.

Olivia started first grade in the fall, and is Little Miss Social. She is a true chatterbox, both with her friends and at home. She loves school and everything about it-- the homework, the "specials", hot lunch! She is one smart cookie and we couldn't be any more proud of how she is doing academically. She is a little fashionista, which I really don't mind, because I love dressing up a girl. (Okay, done bragging.) We've had to have some serious heart-to-heart conversations this year, though, about loving others the way Jesus loves us, and following through on promises. At home, we've already started to see the eye rolls, get "the sigh", and have said, "Do not talk back," more times than we can count. If this is six, sixteen should be lots of fun.

Henry, on the other hand, did not transition to school quite so easily as his older sister. "And then came Henry" has become my mantra. Olivia was such an easy baby . . . "and then came Henry." I really thought I had this whole parenting thing down, with three educational degrees from the University of Illinois . . . "and then came Henry." Henry is our challenge, our puzzle, and truthfully, an absolute joy. His passion about anything comes right through--for the good and the bad. When it's bad, it's usually a full blown screaming fit, no matter where we are or what we're doing. Interrupt his schedule, change his plan, not discuss what is coming next, look out. But, the opposite also holds true-- we bought new sheets for his bed. He greeted this with a loud and excited, "THANK YOU MOMMY!!!" The joy and excitement couldn't be contained-- over sheets. He is incredibly loving, and wants to be held much of the time (most often by me). While this is a bit exhausting, I also can't get enough of it-- my baby is becoming a big boy, and pretty soon, he may want nothing to do with me.

Jim and I are fine. I love teaching at the U of I to get my professional outlet, and it helps to not have to listen to someone call my name four million times each day. Teaching one class each semester is a perfect solution to being at home and being away from home. I can't say that I miss teaching full time, and I certainly don't miss administration. Volunteering in Olivia's class this year reminds me just how exhausting and all-consuming teaching is. I'm not quite ready for that, and don't know when I will be ready for it again. College-aged kids are perfect for me right now! Jim is still very happy with his job. It is such a family friendly bank, and his colleagues are wonderful. In his free time, he has taken up running 5Ks, which apparently requires some training-- if I ran, I might know what all that involves. He has been a fantastic husband and father these past several months while I have been dealing with health issues. We don't know what all is going on yet, but after two months of testing, vials and vials of blood drawn, and tubes inserted in various orifices, we hope to have some more answers soon. Prayers for that would be much appreciated! We will be celebrating our eight year anniversary in a few weeks. In a typical Christmas letter, I'd say that marriage is wonderful, and we can't get enough of each other. But, the truth is, marriage is a commitment, and hard work, and it takes both people working equally hard to make it good. It has only taken us eight years to learn this, but I think we finally have it down.

Our dog is insane, and cannot keep herself from running under our fence, and into our neighbor's yard. Really, quite embarrassing. So, if you would like to take on a 9 year old lab with majorly stinky ears and toots, let me know. She's yours, free of charge.

And, because a Christmas letter would not be complete without the picture of the perfect children in their perfect Christmas attire, I have included one below. Unfortunately, I don't have a full family shot, otherwise I would include that as well, standing together, smiling beautifully, and conveying that "perfect family, perfect life" image. But, now that you know the truth, why would I want to ruin it? How about you-- what would your "truthfully tell it like it is" letter include?

Elf on the Shelf? SOLD!

2010-11-29T19:12:00.000-06:00

So, last year, I finally bought into this growing tradition known as "Elf on the Shelf." Being the bargain hunter I am, I waited until after Christmas and found one for 50% off at one of the bookstores in Champaign. We brought it home, opened it up, read the accompanying book, and named our Elf. (It's Ben, in case you're wondering). We then left him on our fireplace, where he left in the middle of the night to fly home to the North Pole for the off- season. Ben has returned, and boy, do I like this guy.

This morning, Ben appeared on our Christmas tree. Ever since the appearance if this little doll in red, Olivia has turned into the sweetest angel on the face of the earth. I know what you're saying-- isn't she always sweet? Well, sure, but this sweetness is beyond expectation. Take today, for example. Henry was in the sunroom crying because he didn't want to pick up his cars (Ben has had a much lesser effect on him . . . ). Olivia walked into the kitchen and said, "Why is Henry crying?" After I explained it, she said, "Oh, well, can I go help him?" Um . . . sure, and when you get done, you can send my real daughter home. In all seriousness, the elf seems to be bringing out the absolute best in her. We'll see how long it lasts.

Now, Henry, on the other hand, he's a different story. He will stop his tantrum momentarily when we remind him that Ben is watching all of this. But, then it's right back to whatever he was complaining about. Maybe a morning with Ben holding a shiny piece of coal with Henry's name on it would do the trick . . .

50/50 Raffle Tickets!

2010-11-11T17:22:00.000-06:00

Are you feeling lucky?

Would you like to win some Christmas shopping money, maybe around $10,000?

50/50 Raffle Tickets are now available to purchase online!

Please support the Junior League of Champaign Urbana and purchase a 50/50 Raffle ticket !

The Junior League runs a number of programs to help our children, schools and teachers!!

Tickets are $10 each. The drawing will be held Novmber 21st at 3:30pm. Winner need not be present.

We hope to sell at least 2,000 tickets, which would make the prize at least $10,000!

To purchase tickets please click here!

Thank you in advance!!

2010-11-08T09:58:00.000-06:00

2010 Festival Of Trees

ONLY 6 DAYS LEFT!

FOT Tickets are available for purchase on-line.
You have until Saturday, November 13th
to purchase your FOT Party tickets.

Thursday, November 18th:
Girls' Night Out Preview Party - $10 per person

Friday, November 19th:
Ladies' Luncheon - $25 per person
Daddy Daughter Tea Party Dance - $25 per person

Saturday, November 20th:
Mommy Son SuperHero Breakfast - $15 per person
Red Carpet Gala - $75 per person

To purchase tickets, simply click here for a direct link .

Don't miss out on the event of the season!

The Writing is on the Wall . . .

2010-10-24T16:30:00.001-05:00

. . . Literally. . .

Yes, that is “Hen” . . . on the wall . . .

Dear Son,

Let me introduce you to this new invention we like to call “paper.” On this thin, white sheet, you can record all your thoughts, ideas, and drawings and not see mommy’s angry face. You can even write your name as many times as you like! By the way, your letter formation is really coming along. Good job! But, I would be much happier if, next time, you would use paper.

Love,
Mommy

Day 7- Magic Kingdom again!

2010-10-24T16:27:00.000-05:00

Spending another day at Magic Kingdom allowed us to see the park at a more leisurely pace, and catch all the parades and shows we missed the first time though. Of course, we also had to hit our favorite rides again!

Since we weren't in a hurry to get to any certain ride, we were able to watch the welcome show as Mickey officially opened the park:

Olivia and I went on Space Mountain, since she went on with Jim the first time we were at Magic Kingdom. I will say that Space Mountain was my least favorite roller coaster. It jerks you around so much that I believe your organs may be in different spots in your body when you get off.

We also stood in an insanely long line to see the fairies-- they were the only autographs we wanted to get that we hadn't gotten yet. The line was 45 minutes long, and was a HUGE time waster. The only advantage was that we were able to stand in air conditioning during a very hot and muggy day. However, the kids absolutely loved seeing Tinkerbell and Vidia (I had no idea who she was!). Before we went in, we had to shrink to "fairy size."

And, Olivia was decked out in her "Think Tink" shirt, with her fairy autograph book!

We were also to catch the afternoon parades and street parties-- what a blast!

Check out those dance moves!

Riding on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin:

Whew! Can you tell how hot we all are!

Since the crowds were so small, we were able to get front row seats for nearly every parade!

Ariel remember Henry! (At least that was what we told him! I mean, look at that reaction!)

Oh, the beloved Barnstormer. I think this is ride number ten, or eleven, or maybe forty-two.

Woo-hoo! Front car! Olivia is in the second row.

The castle at night, just before the Spectro-magic parade.

The floats during the spector-magic parade were huge, and all lit up! What a fun parade to watch!

This picture pretty much sums up our day:

Satisfyingly exhausting!

Day 6- Blizzard Beach

2010-10-18T18:24:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? This is going to be a completely picture-less post!

Our sixth day at Disney was a day for us to enjoy their water parks. We opted for Blizzard Beach (they also have Typhoon Lagoon). The photographs in the Disney books that we looked through appealed more to the kids, so that was the park we chose.

We got to the water park right before opening and were able to get chairs in the shade in the little kid play area (not that we ever sat in them, but at least we had them in case we wanted to!). While Henry and I took in the little kid slides, Jim and Olivia made their way toward Summit Plummet. Yes, it's a steep and scary-looking as it sounds.

Henry did great going down "his" waterslides with no help, and lots of smiles and laughter. At one point, he was the only one going down the tube slide, where the one lifeguard helped him at the top, and another caught him at the bottom. After about 10 slides, I think they may have been getting a little sick of him!

When Olivia and Jim returned from the big slides, we made our way to the wave pool, which was full of inner tubes and constant waves. I think I could have stayed there even longer, and just been lulled to sleep.

We took in the lazy river, and eventually made our way to the top of the park, where we went on the family tube ride-- we sat four to a tube, and it took us down the "mountain" at a relaxed, yet exciting, pace.

I think the favorite slide of the day (at least for me anyway) was the toboggan racing slides. Each person laid belly down on a mat, and we were each in our own divided lanes. When the race started, we all pushed off, and raced to the bottom. After watching a few races, Henry was even ready to get in on the fun! So, the four of us would race against each other-- it was a blast!

The day ended pretty uneventfully (Henry fell asleep on my lap on the bus), and we went back to the hotel for a snooze.

Dinner that night was at our hotel at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. We started out with bottomless handmade shakes to drink-- that turned into our meal! We also order the skillets, which were filled with ribs, potatoes, and tons of other sides. The atmosphere of Whispering Canyon was far from "whispering". At one point, they had the kids get up and ride stick ponies all around the restaurant. And, if you need ketchup with your dinner, look out. Everyone in the restaurant will be sure to know. It was a great place for the kids!

Day 5- Epcot

2010-10-18T15:41:00.001-05:00

Day Five was our first day at Epcot. For those who may not know, Epcot is divided into two areas-- the front, where the giant gold ball is, is known as Future World, and the back part of the park, which is around the edge of the lake is known as World Showcase. Our plan was to hit as many rides as possible in the front of the park, have a quick lunch and head back to the hotel for a nap, before coming back for Illuminations. However, the lines were so short and the crowds were so thin that we saw nearly everything we wanted to see before we even thought about lunch!

Curse that Florida humidity! As soon as I took my lens cap off, my lens immediately fogged. I know, I know, very bad for the camera! (And for the picture clarity!)

While Jim went to get fast passes for Soarin', Olivia, Henry and I made our way over to Test Track. The crowds were unbelievably light, so we were able to walk right onto this ride. Jim and Henry had the front, while Olivia and I took the back.

After Test Track, we made our way back to Soarin'. I had heard so many wonderful things about this ride, but to be completely honest I was a bit terrified. Ever since I have had children (well, Henry, anyway), I have an extreme (and rational, if you know Henry) fear of heights with my children. When we took them on the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier, I had a full blown panic attack in the little cart as we sailed high above the city. When you have a boy who cannot sit still, I cannot put my faith into a seat belt or flimsy little door to keep him where he belongs. So, while the reviews of Saorin' were great, I just couldn't help but think of taking my child up into the air, where he could fall out of his seat by squirming himself lose. I will now admit that I was fearful for no reason at all. He was so enthralled with the whole experience that he didn't want to move, in case he might miss something. It was a very cool ride. The only thing I would recommend, if you can somehow manage it, would be to get into the highest row of seats-- the goal is for you to feel like you're soaring, and that's hard to do when you look up and see people's feet above your head.

We also took in The Seas with Nemo and Friends. A cute ride, but the best part followed-- Turtle Talk with Crush. Jim and I surmise that there is an actual person behind the screen interacting with the audience with Crush's voice and accent. However they do it, it is one of the best parts of Epcot. We liked it so much that we actually made a point of going again when we came back in the evening.

We were one family of two on the Figment ride in Epcot. We had the whole thing to ourselves. We truly could not believe how empty it all was! After the ride, they have some fun interactive areas that focus on the five senses. We played in there for a while before moving on.

We ate a quick lunch at a newly opened Mexican restaurant in the Mexico area of World Showcase. It was delicious! Then, we made our way into "Mexico."

In case you can't tell from the look on Henry's face, this was where the fun ended. Henry was hot and tired, and ready for a nap. We squeezed in a few more things, and then made our way back to the hotel for a nap.

So, there were two things we did that I would classify as the biggest wastes of time-- below is one of them. We are Disney Visa cardholders, and therefore get a private meet and greet with the characters in Epcot. When we got there, the line was outrageous and they couldn't tell us the characters because it was a surprise.

Cute picture, but absolutely NOT worth the 40 minute wait-- especially when we didn't have to wait in line for nearly anything else!

After a nap at the hotel, and a yummy dinner back at Epcot, we stayed late for Illuminations. We had a front row seat and crossed off my one to-do on my list: Enjoy Mickey ice cream bars. Sure, they were melted before we could even really dig in, but totally worth every melted drop!

Day 4- Animal Kingdom and Hoop De Doo!

2010-10-11T10:06:00.000-05:00

Because we had such a full day yesterday, I knew we needed to hit an "easier" park on this day. So, day four was our day at Animal Kingdom. We started the day off with Donald's Safari Breakfast-- Henry's one thing on his "must do" list. Until recently Donald was his favorite Disney character. He still may be, but if Buzz and Woody are anywhere around, Donald moves on down the priority list.

Because we had a 9 am reservation, and the restaurant is in the park, we actually were able to get into the park before it opened. We used this chance to casually look around, get some good pictures, and determine our plan of attack for the day. The breakfast was right by the fastpass line for the Safari, so while we waited for our time, Jim went over to get some fastpasses, so after breakfast we could just hop on that!

The breakfast was delicious and a lot of fun. The characters were dressed in safari attire and had a blast with the kids-- they had a musical parade through the restaurant, came around for autographs and stopped for pictures.

After breakfast, we headed over to Kilamanjaro Safaris with our fast passes. The animals were still a bit sleepy, even though it was fairly early in the morning. We were able to see some cool animals and get some good pictures of them as well. For example, we got a great shot of these two monkeys. . .

A giraffe. . .

And a rhino . . .

After the safari, we walked around the park and had to stop to play the drums--

Knowing how much of a roller coaster fan Olivia is, we knew we had to do Expedition Everest. I will say that this roller coaster was a great ride! Very smooth and lots of fun! She went on with Jim first (again with a fast pass), and then she and I hopped in line with the rider swap pass. Disney has a great system that allows parents of younger kids to bypass the regular line the second time on the ride-- for example, Olivia wanted to ride the roller coaster, as did both Jim and I. However, Henry was too small. So, we got a rider swap pass from the cast member near the entrance. Olivia and Jim rode the roller coaster while I waited in the gift shop with Henry and then when they were done, Jim stayed in the gift shop while Olivia and I went through the fast pass lane with our rider swap pass. It was great!

I think I have said this before, but it is worth saying again-- Disney has some of the most amazing shows and performers! While we were at Animal Kingdom, we say the Finding Nemo show and the Lion King show-- both were AWESOME! I think the Nemo show was my favorite show of the whole week!

At the Lion King Show, we were seated in sections that corresponded to a jungle animal-- we were in the giraffe section.

Olivia also was able to go down and play instruments in the show.

That night, after a quick nap, we made our way over to Hoop De Doo Review. I was a little unsure about this whole experience when I booked it. I had read rave reviews about it, but the tickets were a bit pricey. So, we book "Category 3" seating, which means you are in the back of the room. I didn't want to spend a fortune on tickets for a show that we may not even like! It turned out that our seating was perfect! This whole experience was one of the highlights of our trip. So, I can now add my review to all the others that RAVE about this show. I don't think we laughed so hard during our entire trip as we did that night. And, I would be scolded by my husband if I didn't also mention for all the parents out there that refills on beer and sangria are complementary. Hmmm, maybe that was why we laughed so hard. . . .

The show consisted of 6 performers (3 men and 3 women) was sang and danced tons of fun tunes. And, there was quite a bit of audience participation. They spent about as much time on the floor interacting with the crowd as part of the show, as they did performing on stage. Dinner was family style-- ribs, chicken, beans, corn bread, veggies. Yum!

The kids got into it with clapping and laughing. Henry even joined in with his drink lid and straw as his violin.

At the end of the show, the severs all handed out washboards, so we could make music!

Another well-spent day in Disney!

Magic Kingdom Part 2

2010-10-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

So, technically, this picture should have been in the previous post, pre-afternoon break. But, I was having a hard time getting it to load! We couldn't talk about our Magic Kingdom day without also talking about Splash Mountain! The kids watched the boats splash down, and knew they wanted to ride. Since I knew we were heading back to the hotel mid-day, I figured this would be a perfect time-- it was hot, and if we were going to get wet, I'd rather get wet knowing we had a change of clothes coming to us soon.

The ride was a classic-- we got completely soaked in the last two rows by some splash explosions before we even officially started the ride. The people in the first two rows thought they were safe. I just had to laugh as we splashed down and they ended up completely soaked. Goes to show that it doesn't matter where you sit, you are bound to get wet. Henry though the coolest part of the whole experience was that when we got back to the hotel, he got to nap in his underwear. What a boy.

The evening was a wonderful experience overall. After Olivia's princess debut, we got pictures in front of the castle. The people behind us were doing some kind of news cast about Disney news that broke that day-- I cannot remember what it was! Obviously it doesn't affect me.

We followed pictures with dinner in Cinderella's Castle. When we sat down as a family to plan the one thing we each wanted to do in Disney, this was Olivia's main request-- she just wanted to eat with the princesses. After hearing how hard it is to get reservations at the castle, I was a little stressed about getting in. I will admit that I woke up at 4:45 in the morning 180 days out from our arrival date just to log on to the computer to make reservations online at 5 am. Obviously it worked. I don't know how necessary it was, but I didn't want to take the chance.

Cindy is looking a little scary below, but she really was very nice.

Throughout dinner (which was quite tasty, by the way), each princess was introduced and then came over to our table to meet the kids, sign autographs and take pictures. Below is Aurora:

Belle was next-- while Belle is one of Henry's favorites, he was afraid Beast was also coming, and didn't want to be too close.

However, Henry was quite smitten for Ariel. He must have a thing for redheads. As soon as she came over, he was up out of his chair to greet her. She left him a little souvenir. . .

. . . a kiss on the cheek-- what a ham!

Snow White also came over.

Before all the Halloween festivities, Olivia and Henry waited to meet Tiana and Naveen. Olivia was dressed as Princess Tiana, and Henry was dressed as Peter Pan.

Finally! Pricesses Tiana and Prince Naveen.

We saw lots of villains out and about during the party-- Henry would not have anything to do with Captain Hook, but when he saw Mr. Smee, he challenged him to a duel. . .

. . . I think Henry won.

We found a perfect spot to watch the Halloween parade, complete with rainbow lollipops (purchased at the Dollar Store before we came).

The "Boo to You" Halloween Parade.

After the parade, we took in a few more rides, including the Speedway. Surprisingly Olivia was a worse driver than Henry. Beware in ten years.

Shortly after this picture, Henry crashed in his stroller, and Olivia was not far behind. The excitement of the day officially caught up to them and wore them out! We had a great day from start to finish!

Disney Day 3- Magic Kingdom

2010-10-08T07:26:00.000-05:00

It was hard to top our day at Hollywood Studios, but I had high hopes for this day. Magic Kingdom is what usually comes to mind when people picture Disney-- all the classic images of Mickey Mouse, Cinderella's Castle and the amazing fireworks. To top off our day to MK, we had a reservation at Bibbity Boppity Boutique for Olivia, followed by dinner at Cinderella's Castle, all topped off by the Not So Scary Halloween Party. What a day!

Before we left for Disney, we talked with the kids at length about the rides and attractions we would see at each park, so they wouldn't be overwhelmed by it all. At Magic Kingdom, they knew the rides they wanted to ride and the sights they wanted to see. Henry was insistent on seeing "Cinderella's House." Olivia was just excited about the overall day.

After a bit of a rough start, we finally got back on track-- as I mentioned before, we stayed at Wilderness Lodge, which has boat transportation to several areas, including the Magic Kingdom. So, we started our morning by waiting for the boat. Henry couldn't quite understand why the moon was up while we waited-- We were taking advantage of the Early Magic Hours at MK that day, so we were up and at 'em early.

Good morning moon!

However, the boat to MK wasn't "awake" yet, so we figured we would just boat over to the Contemporary and take the monorail. Good plan, until we found out that the monorail had been delayed at least 30 minutes. So, off we go to walk to the park on the Contemporary's walkway to the Magic Kingdom. Thankfully, just as we got downstairs to begin our early morning trek, a bus pulled up, asked us where we were headed, and took us right to the gates. Ahhh, back to being a good day!

As soon as we got there, we beelined for Dumbo-- of course. The classic ride that pleases the young and the young at heart! From there, we could not pass the Carousel without getting a ride. I will say that before we went, I studied touring plans from the books The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. These were a great help during times that were a bit more crowded, and as a way to help us plan our day. However, in September, especially during the extra hours, there were very few people in the parks, and we could deviate from these plans quite a bit. So, while these plans had us backtracking through the park to avoid waits at the popular rides, we didn't necessarily have to do that on this day.

We took in most of the classics-- while Jim and Olivia rode Space Mountain (have you figured out yet that my girl is a roller coaster fanatic??), Henry and I visited with the robot outside Astro Orbiter.

Of course, we also took in the classic tea cups. Blech . . . er, I mean, what fun!

We met a ton of fun characters-- Mary Poppins and Bert were signing autographs near the carousel, and the kids had a ton of fun chatting with them. Olivia's question to Bert, "Can you spell Suercalifragilisticexpialadocious?" His response, "Can you? If you can't, then how do you know if I am spelling it right?" Hmm, good point.

The park was decorated for Halloween with pumpkins everywhere!

Ahh, Henry's favorite ride in the whole park-- Goofy's Barnstormer. He may have set a record for number of consecutive rides for a two year old. Throughout our days at MK, Henry rode this kiddi-coaster at least ten times.

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin were similar to Dumbo, except with the added bonus of a spitting camel. Didn't expect to get wet on this ride, but did!

After a full morning at the park, we headed back to our resort to rest up for the night's activities. We took naps, changed into our costumes and freshened up.

Then we were off the Bibbity Boppity Boutique, where Olivia was transformed from a six year old girl, to a lovely princess. The whole experiences was magical!

How much happier can she get?

Magic Kingdom, part two is to follow!

Disney Day 2- Hollywood Studios

2010-10-02T12:33:00.000-05:00

Day two started with breakfast in the room, and of course, our personally decorated tip envelope for "Mousekeeping." We were greeted every day on our return with adorably crafted towel animals! So fun!

Our first official day in the parks was at Hollywood Studios. We liked that this park didn't seem too big, and it looked like a park we could cover in one day. The park opened at nine, which meant that we were in line to get in a little before 8:30. We really lucked out on this day-- as we walked in to the waiting area near the turnstiles, all of the lines were pretty long, except for one. This line had just one family standing in it. So, being who I am, I walked up to them, started chatting, asked them if there was a reason why no one else was in line behind them, and found out that there really wasn't any reason. So, we jumped in that line, and made some new friends! It turned out that their little girl was also in first grade, and they were also staying at Wilderness Lodge. They were Disney veterans, and had tons of tips for us for the day. Lesson learned-- don't ever be afraid to ask questions!

We started out the day with the pack of crazy people heading to Toy Story Mania! Apparently, this is the ride of all rides-- making our way there, a woman commented that it seemed as though someone was giving away a million dollars with the way were all acting. However, when we got there, we literally walked onto the ride with no wait at all. And, it was completely worth it! This was the first of four times that we rode it. I think it was our family's overall favorite ride.

We then toured the rest of the park, which was a blast! We met both Woody and Buzz. They were very fun and interactive. Woody made a point of reading Olivia's entry from the day before and even wrote her a note of encouragement before he signed his autograph. Even though they couldn't talk, Woody and Buzz communicated very well. Henry's reactions to them were awesome-- one of the few times I had wished for my video camera. He stood in front of them and shouted their names: "Woody! Woody! Woody!" "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!" Check out his smiles in the pictures with them.

"They call me 'Stinky Pete.'"

"Ooooh . . . the claw!"

Olivia joined Jim on Rockin' Roller Coaster. Henry and I hung out in the gift shop, where he found a guitar bag to "play" while we waited. After Olivia got off, we used the rider swap pass, so I could go on it with her. It was a great roller coaster!

We met Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc. Monsters, Inc tops my list of favorite Disney movies, and Sully is my favorite character.

We also met Lightning and 'Mater from CARS. Henry was a little more hesitant about these guys because Lightning made engine noises.

The afternoon Block Party Bash was a big hit for the kids. We happened upon the party on our way to another ride, and got a front row view. The kids also each took home a ball from the Bash.

We loved the Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage show-- the performers were amazing!

We rode Tower of Terror. Olivia and Jim liked it a little more that Henry and I did. At one point, I thought Henry was going to cry, but as he looked over at me, I gave him a big smile, and he let out a weak little laugh. After we got off, he told us, "That was fun." When we asked if he wanted to go again, he responded very quickly, "No."

Of course, for lunch, we had to continue with the Toy Story theme of the day, and ate at Toy Story Pizza Planet. Yum! The pizza was great, and came with a ton of food. I wish we would have realized earlier on in the trip that when using counter service credits from Disney's dining plan, they don't keep track of kid vs. adult meals. So, we could have ordered an adult meal for the kids to share, instead of ordering the smaller kid version. We figured this out about halfway through the trip, and took advantage of it.

Dinner that night was at 50's Prime Time Cafe. Another yummy choice! Again, they had huge portions, which were easy to share, and delicious desserts. Our waitress was a lot of fun, and the kids had a nice time.

Being at Disney for 8 days gave us a little bit of flexibility with our schedule. Our final day was open for whichever park we wanted to see more of. It turned out that everyone wanted to come back to Hollywood Studios, so I'll have more pictures and stories from that day as well!

Disney Day 1- The Beginning

2010-09-30T19:01:00.000-05:00

Our magical journey to Disney started in the early morning hours of September 21. We woke around 4 am in order to get ready and get to the airport in time to catch our 6:45 flight. We ordered our Mickey ears beforehand, so it was pretty evident to everyone where we were headed!

Our flight couldn't have been any better. The kids were occupied with all kinds of fun Disney activities on the way there. When we landed in Orlando, we made our way to the Magical Express line, where we literally walked past tons of people in line to get on our bus to take us the Wilderness Lodge. I don't know how we got so lucky, but right from the get-go, everything went better than I could have imagined. When we arrived at Wilderness Lodge, our room wasn't quite ready yet, so we headed off to the pool. There were fun activities going on, as well as a water slide, so we were pretty happy just hanging out for a couple of hours.

When we got word that our room was ready, we found our way upstairs to what we consider one of the best room in the whole place-- we had a "Woods View" room on the sixth floor. Completely quiet and isolated, and facing Magic Kingdom. At night, we had a great view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. If you are thinking of staying at Wilderness Lodge, make a room request when you book your reservations-- we requested a room in the north wing, on a high floor, facing Magic Kingdom-- it was exactly what we got! We enjoyed walking out onto our balcony to relax while the kids napped each day, and watching the fireworks over the tops of the trees at night. Awesome!

Henry crashed when we finally got to our room. Thankfully he was well-rested for the night of fun we had planned.

One of the smartest things we did was go to a character meal on the first night of our trip. We headed to Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. It eased the kids into seeing the characters, so they weren't so scared of them. It also took care of getting autographs from the main characters, so we weren't so focused on that once we got to the parks.

A Truly Magical Journey

2010-09-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

We arrived home in the wee hours of the morning from the best vacation I think I have ever been on (I would even put it higher than my honeymoon). A full year's worth of planning created a truly amazing eight day trip in Disney World. As I sort through the pictures, I will be sure to share them, so you can share in some of the joy and excitement of this magical journey!