First Birthday Ideas

My baby girl will be one in about a month. I can hardly believe it!  Time is going by so quickly and I'm cherishing these days.  I love giving our kids birthday parties and am thinking about hers already.  Here are some of the party and gift ideas that I've used with our other children and plan on using with her:

We bought her a lovely new doll as she really seems to enjoy them so much!

I made her a quilt and also made a small matching one for her new doll.  Each of my other children have a special quilt that I made for them when they were small.

Meredith helped me sew a pillow from some quilt scraps, also for her new doll.

I'm giving her small, spiral bound notebook that I'll use to record special memories and things she says.  Both of my other children also have books like these, as their baby books seem to get full so fast. 

She got a new pair of shoes for when she starts to walk.

I've decided on a party theme and am thinking of cake ideas and decorations.

Check out this link for recipes of healthy baby's cake. 

I'm thinking of possibly coming up with some sort of party outfit so I take some special photos of her. I've never done this before though and am not sure what I'll come up with. 

I've heard of some families making photo books of baby's first year and thought this was a good idea. 

Do you have any other good one year party ideas to share?  I'd love to get some other ideas! 

Baby Doll Before and After

Actually, this the title of this post should be just "Baby Doll After" because I don't have a good before photo!  Sorry!  However, having two girls I have come to realize that there are actually some pretty tacky baby dolls out there!  And, if I'm going to have my sweet little girls carrying them around, I'd like the dolls to be equally sweet.  My husband says I can't leave anything "uncrafted" and this doll (named Baby Nora) is no exception.  Before she had a huge cargo pocket on her pants, a Hello Kitty logo on her shirt and a hot pink decoration on her hat that was supposed to be a bow, though it didn't resemble one.  I thought about making a totally new outfit for her, but it would have taken a bit of time that I didn't have.  So, I opted for a quick makeover instead.  I took some scrap fabric, cut it into a heart shape and appliqued it over the Hello Kitty face, made a new bow out of matching fabric and replaced the one on her hat and simply cut off the cargo pocket.  In about 10 minutes, Baby Nora was decked out in new duds.  What do you think?  Do your kids have any toys that need makeovers?

Crockpot Rice

I love crockpot meals and use them quite a bit.  It is so nice to have the freedom to take a walk after naptime or go to the park instead of being stuck in the kitchen preparing an involved dinner.  I frequently have some sort of chicken dish, or a large pot of peans cooking.  We often like to have rice with our meals and although it can be cooked in the crock as well, I like to serve it on the side and not have it all mixed in.  I also didn't want to have to use a separate pan and come home early just to cook rice.   A few months ago I came up with a solution that worked great - boil in bag rice!  I use the wholegrain rice and simply submerge two bags into the crock right along with the other ingredients that are already mostly finished cooking.  Add some water if there isn't already enough cooking liquid in the crock.  Replace the crock lid and allow it to cook for an hour or so.  Voila!  Perfectly done rice that is nicely flavored by the cooking liquid and is contained in its own little bag so it can be served separately. 



Margaret's Week

It is my turn this week and I'll be sharing just a few quick tips that have been helpful (and fun) for me lately.  First, let me reintroduce myself.  I turned 30 last month and have been married to my wonderful husband, Ben for eight years.  We have three children.  Meredith is 4, Jonathan is 3 and Lydia is nearly 1.  We currently live in the UK, where my husband is studying New Testament.  Here are all of my loves on a recent trip.

The first tip I wanted to share is regarding haircuts!  My mother in law had always cut my husband's hair and it never dawned on me that this would someday be my domain.  That is, until we had been married about a month and my husband informed me that he needed a haircut!  I had never done this before, but we went out and purchased a hair clipper set and I got busy.  (Any one from Walmart will probably do fine, we purchased a Wahl HomePro.)  It was actually easier than I thought it would be and I've been cutting everyone's hair ever since (with the exception of my own, though I have done that too a few times). We've saved tons of money over these past eight years and although I sometimes cut it too close on one side and it isn't always salon perfect, I try to keep in mind our Grandpa Laird's sound wisdom, "The difference between a good and a bad haircut is three days."  

Swim Lessons

My little L just started swim lessons this month at 4.5 years old. Like I said before, she's fearless, and we experienced that the first time we went to the beach with her at around 18 - 20 months. She would run headstrong into the ocean.



L at around 19 months.



However, I've heard from the swim instructor on a few occasions this month that L sinks like a deadweight in the water. She said she's never seen anything like it. L will even sink with her floaty thing strapped around her waist. She really is a pretty muscular little girl with zero body fat. I know she'll get the hang of it eventually, but I hope sooner than later, with summer around the corner.



That's my L with the braids sticking out.




I didn't even know I captured this sad picture until it was already taken. She had just gone under the water so quickly and sucked in the water, even with her floaty device on. This Mama's heart was so sad to see this from behind the glass wall from where I was watching the lesson. I kept telling myself that I had to trust the instructor, but you better BELIEVE I was still watching and ready to dive if L went down when the instructor ever turned her back. :)




But she recovered so quickly, as she always does, and was smiling ear to ear again.

 Our YMCA started giving free swim lessons for children five years and older this Spring due to so many children drowning as of late.  I don't know about you, but that grips my heart like nothing else, because these deaths could possibly have been prevented through swim lessons.  I did a little research on aquatic safety and drowning statistics and thought I'd share what I found from the CDC, Poseidon , National Drowning Statistics , and Drowning Prevention websites. Here are just a few, so please check out those links above to raise your awareness:

- In 2004, of all children 1-4 years old who died, 26% died from drowning (CDC 2006). Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years (CDC 2005)

-19% of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with certified lifeguards present.
(Drowning Prevention Foundation)

-In 2004, there were 3,308 unintentional drownings in the United States, an average of nine people per day.(CDC 2006)

-An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to unintentional drowning-related incidents each year; 15 percent die in the hospital and as many as 20 percent suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. (National Safety Council)

-Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less.(Orange County, CA, Fire Authority)

-Children under five and adolescents between the ages of 15-24 have the highest drowning rates.
(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Do those stats not make you GASP and your blood pressure rise? How about a terrible pit in your stomach?Whew. I just can't believe the reality of those stats, but they ARE true. Swim safety has got to be one area where I'm always having to be super attentive to the kids while at the beach or a local pool. No relaxing or reading for this Mama! And this is one area where I am hesitant to drop the kids off at a person's house who has even a blow up pool out back.  In an instant, drownings can happen.

When L was around 18 months or so, we would go up the the Southeastern Seminary Campus for her to run around. She LOVED going to the fountain to see the water shoot out. Watch this little clip so you can see what I'm talking about before I proceed with my story.

One day, she leaned forward, lost her balance and went in face first into about 4" deep water, head wedged in a little gap/corner, with her feet sticking up in the air. FOUR INCHES people. Not a lot of water we're talking about here. Completely helpless. You saw how much taller she was than the edge and one would think that she wouldn't get herself in that kind of situation, but it happened so fast. I was RIGHT beside her thankfully, not talking on the phone, not digging for my camera from the stroller, not talking to another Mama, but RIGHT there and snatched her up faster than you can even blink. Her whole face was under water.  I had to take a breather once I calmed her down and knew she was okay. I kept asking myself, what if I had been a few feet away with my back to her? What if I had been tending to another child just around the shrub that surrounded the fountain? Even when talking about a few inches of water, you cannot for one second walk away from children who are playing near water.

Now, I have a few questions for you:

-Have you had any frightening experiences concerning water and your children?

-When did your child first take swim lessons?

-Where do you take your swim lessons?

-Given your child's love of water and trust in the instructor in teaching her to swim, how quickly did your child progress from one swim class to the next? (For example, at the YMCA the beginner class is called Perfect Pikes, the next class is called Eels, etc..)

Safe swimming to all this Summer!

Got a Kidney Stone?

I was told recently that I had kidney stone and was then advised to do a kidney flush that will flush the stone out before it causes me any pain. I am always for preventative measures, so I was all for it. Here's the information I was given from HCMI (Health Care Ministry International) to pass a kidney stone naturally and pain-free:

"Most kidney stones can pass through the urinary system on their own. Drinking plenty of water (2 to 3 quarts a day) helps move a stone through the urinary system more quickly. You may need to stay home during this process, taking pain medication as needed. Urologists usually ask their patients to save passed stone(s) for testing. The testing helps discover the chemical make-up of the stone and other information needed to decide how to prevent recurrence (stop more stones from forming). You can catch the stone in a cup or tea strainer used only for catching urine samples.

Home-made Kidney Stone Remedy

Reported to work 80% of the time. . . It’s not Coke and rum, it’s Coke and asparagus. The phosphoric acid in Coke helps break down the stones and the asparagus acts as a diuretic to flush out the tiny crystals. The pH change produced by the Coke causes increased hydrogen ion secretion in the nephons of the kidney.

Required Ingredients:

• 6-pack of Coca-Cola, or a 2-liter bottle of Coke ( I used a 2-liter of Decaf Coke). Pepsi would probably work, too—but, we have not established proof of its effectiveness yet. Note: The original Kidney Stone Removal Remedy calls for Classic Coke™. However, we have learned that Diet and Caffeine-Free versions also work! Both have phosphoric acid—this is one of the main catalysts for dissolving your kidney stones. In addition, due to its high phosphoric acid content, Dr. Pepper would likely work as well.

• 6–8 oz. of asparagus. Canned or frozen generally works, but fresh is best.

• A high-speed blender.

• One gallon of Distilled water. (Must be distilled, not tap.)

Procedure:

1. Over the course of 2 hours, drink the 72 ounces of Coke. Drink it warm or hot, it does not matter. Try to wait as long as is humanly possible before you urinate. The longer you wait, the longer the Coke has the opportunity to dissolve your kidney stones. (After I did this, I never wanted to see a bottle of coke again.)

2. Steam or quickly boil the asparagus. Process in the blender until well-puréed (liquid-no more chunks). (I used canned asparagus because time was limited.)

3. Within 5 minutes from drinking the last 12 ounces, eat the asparagus purée. Rather than simply gulping it down, try to mix the purée well with your saliva.

The remedy begins working immediately and, within a few hours, you’ll begin to pass the stones through your urine as sand-like particles. If you are not getting relief in a matter of hours, feel free to tray again, or try some of the other suggestions below.

Keys to Success:

• The remedy works best if done on an empty stomach.

• Time of day does not dictate results, but morning may be best so you are not drinking all that caffeine before you try to sleep.

• Continue to drink a large quantity of distilled water immediately after taking the asparagus. The water will serve to re-hydrate your body. The qualities of Coke will begin to dehydrate you, so the water helps to prevent this from happening. ( I drank so much water afterward and was still so thirsty the rest of the day.)

• Although you can resume your normal diet immediately after you finish this remedy, it is best to wait between one and two hours before eating to allow the remedy to achieve the best results.

• If the kidney stones are not all passed the first day, repeat the process within 3 days. If you have a scheduled surgery, repeat the next day!

• Coke is not a preventative for stones. Actually, any soda pop with caffeine will dehydrate the body and lead to a higher potential of stones. For the remedy, the coke is used for its chemical properties and interaction with the asparagus. "
 
 
Can you believe that of all things, "Coke" was suggested?! The person who taught me how to do this flush would never have suggested that I consume a whole 2-liter of coke if it really didn't work.  There was a lady who heard her kidney stone hit the toilet with a little *ding*! Had she not heard it, she wouldn't have known she passed one, because there was no pain. She was a teacher and kept her stone to take in to show her students. :) 
 
Google it for yourself and give it a try! What could it hurt?

Fabric Organization

We made our big move from North Carolina the end of July 2010, and I'm STILL in the organization mode because I want to organize my house the RIGHT way, down to every little corner. There shouldn't be lots of storage tubs in the garage, since we don't plan to move anytime soon. If it's not being used somewhere, or kept for a specific purpose, it needs to go, right? Most things should be used frequently if I'm going to keep it.  This is where my mind has been camping since we moved into our house. Having two small children makes this task a very drawn out task, and I often find myself frustrated, because I want to be done with this. I've heard it said before that it takes a year to get settled, so my goal is to be done by our one year anniversary in our house. That's do-able, right?

Now, let's head to one area that desperately needed an organizational plan: my fabric stash. If you are a crafter, you can understand the need to hold onto every little ribbon,button or scrap piece of your favorite fabric for there's so much potential that could be done with that little piece. But something's gotta give. I either have to find a way I can easily FIND these fabrics and craft items so I remember to use them, or toss them. 

I came across a tutorial about how to make your own fabric bolts and organize your fabrics like Joann's! (I wish I could remember where it was, so I could reference it.) I KNEW I had to make that happen. I was tired of digging into my deep storage tubs to find that one piece of fabric and then find it all caddywompus-like. Not ideal.

Supplies:
Scissors, rotary blade fabric cutter, or box cutter
Straight pins (I like to use the kind with the colored pearl on the end.)
Pen or pencil
Tape measure
Foam board


1.) Measure and cut your foam board into eight  rectangles per foam board. Mine rectangles are around 7 1/4" x 10".

2.) Wrap your fabric around each piece of foam, securing them with straight pins.
3.) Slide them onto a bookshelf, storage tub or dresser drawer.

Is this a fresh breath of air or what?

*Sigh*

Happy Tuesday!

Hollie's Week

Hey POHers! This week is my week to elaborate what's going on our lives, as well as anything else I'd like to elaborate on. 

For starters, let me refresh you on the dynamics of our family:

I'm married to this handsome fella, Hugh. We've been married for seven years, and are presently serving on staff at Renewal Church. Hugh is the discipleship pastor, and a good one at that too.



L is my firstborn at a whopping 4 years old. She's my active, athletic, daring, social, fearless, little jumping bean!



 

M is my youngest at 20.5 months. She's my super-sweet empathetic, caring, cuddly, happy bear.

Working on obeying while playing in the cul-de-sac. :)

Hollie: Stay-at-home Mommy, plans to try out homeschooling our little girl come Fall, loves to create, read, exercise, sew(when I can find a few minutes to myself, which doesn't happen too much in this phase of my life).

Mother's Day 2011

 

And here's our dog Daisy, who is 7 years old. She's the best dog any family could ask for. We love her!

The girls love hanging out with our neighbors:

And this is what we do to our guests who come over for dinner:

I look forward to spending the week with you! Happy Monday!

Much love to all our readers

I just wanted to send a note of love and thanks to all of our readers. I was doing a little blog-stalking just now - you know, hopping from one blog to another through people's blog rolls. And I was surprised by quite a few people I saw had Prayer of Hannah listed on "Blogs I read". Some of them were people I've never heard of before, either by meeting them face to face or reading a comment they've written. So I just wanted to send some love out to all of you who read our blog but may have never left a comment. And a little love to those of you who comment as well! It is so great to have a community where we can share our thoughts, struggles, and ideas with each other. I pray that POH is a blessing to you on your mom journey. Knowing a lot of you, or having read some of your blogs, I know that there are many of you going through difficult times, facing difficult decisions, walking a tough road. I pray that you are not lonely on that journey that God has laid out for you. If you would ever like to share your story here on POH, please contact me and let me know. We'd love to show how God is working in your life and be able to pray with you along your journey. Have a wonderful day ladies!

How our kiddos sleep

This is how our kiddos sleep these days. The bed is only a double size but, since they all wanted to sleep together, we turned them sideways. A few months ago the boys, Luke first and then James about a month later, just decided they were big boys and didn't want their cribs any longer. When Luke started sleeping in the big boy bed, Lydia decided she wanted to sleep with him. I thought that would last about a night (or less!) but it worked out fine (and I was shocked!). I think this is what prompted James to want to sleep in the big boy bed as well. Now, they all look forward to sleeping together. It works fine (usually) when they go to sleep but the problem has been in the mornings. Luke is my "morning man" and wakes early. If you remember, he's also my talker. So, he wakes up his siblings long before they would probably wake on their own. I'm not sure what to do about that, but I do love to go in their room at night and see them sleeping together!

One Thousand Gifts - Book Review

I am reading (almost finished) with One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Have you read this book? It is excellent! I mean, really, really good. Even for those who don't have time to read, this book is worthy of finding time. If you're like me, then when I tell you this book is about finding joy and thankfulness in the living of life, you might think you are already joyful and don't need a book to encourage this. But, it really is much, much more. Yes, it's a book about thankfulness and joy but it is challenging and convicting and encouraging and grace-filling and more. Voskamp's writing style is, at times, a stream of consciousness and nearly every paragraph has a statement that will make you think. I could read this book a few pages at a time, ponder them, and then pick it back up - it's that meaty. Yet, it's not a textbook and it's not a hard read. It's just a mom of six kids, living on a farm, doing the mundane, everyday, sharing life, and learning to passionately love and live in His grace in every moment.

" 'When one is thirsty one quenches one's thirst by drinking, not by reading books which treat of this condition.' If we are dying of thirst, passively reading books about water quenches little; the only way to quench the parched mouth is to close the book and dip the hand into water and bring it to the lips. If we thirst, we'll have to drink.

I would have to do something.

But I hadn't known at all the day I laid aside the books about eucharisteo [giving thanks] and picked up a pen to begin that list that I was really taking down, swallowing, the first real drink and how I'd transform. Or that the transformation would be so visible." -p. 44.

From this Voskamp sets out to write a list of 1000 things she is thankful for. The naming of gifts transforms her and what God showed her - is showing her - she shares in raw, beautiful, heart-felt words that have challenged me in my walk.

Later she writes the following: "A hunter trying to capture. And none of the shots are close enough, wide enough, radiant enough for the hunter. What is this that I feel sitting here, coursing through me relentless, hot, ardent? I have to seek God beauty. Because isn't my internal circuitry wired to seek out something worthy of worship? Every moment I live, I live bowed to something. And if I don't see God, I'll bow down before something else. . .

I know it here kneeling, the twilight so still: nature is not God but God revealing the weight of Himself, all His glory, through the looking glass of nature. I had told it once to a questioning son that theology is but that born of theos and logy - God and study - and theology is to study God. I had always thought of the hefty concordances on the high shelf in the study, but isn't this, too, the deep study of the Spirit God? The revelation of God over the farm?" - p.110

Well, that's just a tidbit of Voskamp's writing style and the depth of the topic of giving thanks. If you can get your hands on this book, I can't recommend it highly enough!

Teaching Reading

Though I am a trained teacher, I never taught my students how to read. I taught 4th grade and they came to me already reading. So, having the priviledge of teaching Lydia how to read is not something I've ever done before. (Oh, but it is so amazing to watch my own child learn - and especially learn how to read!!)

In November I started working with Lydia out of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We got to lesson 19 and it became obvious it was not working. She would cry, stall, fidget, turn around in her seat, and a 15 minute lesson would easily take us 45 minutes to an hour! Though she had shown many readiness signs for reading (pretending to read, asking to read, asking how to spell words, making words out of letter beads, and so on) she was not ready for this step yet. One thing I am learning about Lydia is that, if she perceives something as hard or challenging, she would rather not do it at all than potentially not succeed. It was like this when she was learning to write her name. She really wanted to learn, but as soon as we started she got stuck on "y" (which I found out later is a hard letter for preschoolers!) and didn't want to continue. Later, we started again and I made a chart with stickers and everytime she wrote a letter in her name she got a sticker. She skipped "y" learned the other letters in one setting, and then became totally motivated to learn "y" so she could complete her sticker chart. (Though we had promised her a toy when the chart was full, we found the motivation for her was in filling the chart, not the prize when it was complete.)

Looking back to this time beginning TYCTR, it was filled with transitions - arriving in a new country and moving three times over a 2 month period. Not the best timing to start reading lessons as well! A little before Christmas we put the book aside and didn't pick it back up until April. I just matter-of-factly told her we were going to start lessons again and we got started. Though there was, and sometimes is, a little grumbling, it is an overall different experience this time. Partly, I think, it is because we are more settled (we did move to yet another country after Christmas so this is a whole new place than before) and partly because she had six more months to mature. Though she still doesn't love her reading lesson, she does love being able to pick up a book and read it.

I've also learned that simply using TYCTR is not enough for Lydia (though I know many children it has been plenty sufficient for). It is an excellent curriculum that I am very impressed with it, but, for Lydia, it has been incredibly helpful to supplement it with flashcards I've made and Bob Books. For flash cards, I've done things like "at" then all the letters can I put in front to make words on other cards: bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat. This reinforces the lesson and then she gets a big personal reward when she can then pick up a book (Bob book) and read the whole thing all by herself. She now asks to read, and, yesterday, even asked to do a reading lesson!

Are you teaching your child to read? Would you share how?

Homeschooling in Kindergarten

What I've hoped to do with my children and school is something I've thought about since before ever having a baby! And my husband and I have had an ongoing discussion about schooling Lydia for the last couple of years. We are going to evaluate what is best for our children each year, and certainly are not committing to homeschooling K-12, but I am excited about this upcoming year and look forward to diving into the curriculum we finally decided on.

Our reasons for homeschooling are based primarily on the following: a) wanting our five year old to be most greatly influenced by us, learning values from us rather than other five year olds, and b) due to the transition (aka moving) phase of our lives right now wanting to give her stability in learning to read and with the overal transition moving is. And, I'd also add, if we were in the states and were going to put her in school, we would wait another year so she could be an "older" rather than "younger" in her class (she has an August 29th) birthday.

After researching MANY options, I've decided to go with Sonlight for her K year. We've purchased Core A, Readers 1, Singapore Math, A Reason for Handwriting, and Sonlight Bible and Science. I decided on Sonlight because I believe strongly in reading lots and lots of books and I love the book selection Sonlight uses. I like that the Lesson Plans are made - I can modify, adapt, and change as I like, but I don't have to create from scratch. I am impressed that it's a Christian homeschool program but readers introduce children to a variety of literature from all over the world. And it was easy to order everything from them.

What Math program to use was, surprisingly to me, the toughest decision. I went back and forth between several: Math U See, Saxon, Right Start, and Singapore. After reading everything I could about each of them, talking to lots and lots of homeschooling families, praying, and talking with Josh we settled on Singapore. I feel good about that decision and can't wait for the curriculum to arrive so I can look at it with my own hands.

As for reading level, I went with Level 1 (1st grade) because I am working with Lydia out of another program currently. (I will post about this tomorrow.) After finishing what we are currently doing, we will pick up with Sonlight reading.

If we continue to homeschool in first grade, which I think we will, there are a couple things I may do differently - namely using NOEO Science rather than Sonlight, and Story of the World (with Mystery of History added in for the Christian events) for history. I thoroughly enjoyed The Well Trained Mind and might consider following it more closely in first. Right now, I'm going to see how we like Sonlight and modify (or not) according to how this year goes.

Tomorrow I'll post about what we are doing currently for preschool and, specifically, about teaching Lydia how to read.

If you are homeschooling, or thinking about it, would you share what curriculum(s) you've chosen and why?

Traditions

Coming up on the heals of Easter, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect traditions in our homes. I read Noel Piper's Treasuring God in our Traditions a few years ago and it was such a timely book in the life of our family. The kids were babies and I was thinking about what traditions I wanted to instill. Holidays are fun times and I'm sure we all have sweet childhood memories wrapped around them. Christian holidays, even more than others, are more than just making traditions, but about remembering. God has given us holidays to remember what He's done and to worship him. We, just as the Israelites wandering in the desert immediately after being delivered from Pharoah in Egypt, are quick to forget all that God has done for us. Holidays are a special time set aside to remember!

So, as we think about how we want to teach our children about these special events, we desperately want to develop traditions that point our children to Him. It continues to amaze me just how. secular. our world makes Christian holidays. Living in a totally atheist, pagan society currently, everything is closed Easter weekend. Schools are on "Easter Holiday." Yet, all that most know here about Easter is vacation time from work/school, cute little chocolate bunnies, and egg hunting. In the states, it can be even more unbelieveable. There was a city-wide event in Greenville, SC where a helicopter hovered over a stadium and dropped 50,000 eggs, a few having grand-prizes of new tvs, etc. Wow. Maybe this will sound quite radical to some, but, while egg-hunting alone could be a good, wholesome kids' activity it is the fact that they've taken a religious holiday and totally secularized it to the point where non-believers think Easter is just about eggs, candy, bunnies, etc., etc. And what would that teach my children? We're called to be in the world, not of the world. So, I ask myself, "What traditions can I instill that will teach my children to remember God and all he has done? That will point them to God? And, will set us apart from the world as passionate, God-followers?"

This Easter, there were a couple things we did. First, I highly recommend Focus on the Family's website for ideas of how to celebrate Easter. They are age-appropriate and show how to take some of the secular things - egg hunts, bunnies, etc. - and tie it back into our faith.

We held a "Good News Club" Easter Egg hunt for the neighborhood children. We colored eggs, read The Parable of the Lily, hunted eggs - including Resurrection Eggs, and then sat together in a circle and opened the Resurrection Eggs and told the story of Jesus and the meaning of Easter. Some of the children (and one mom) at the event had never heard this story before. As for my children, we talked about the event and prepared well in advance. My kids got to be involved in sharing their faith and having a God-centered meaning behind something as fun as eggs and candy.

The next big tradition we started this year was making the mountain Jesus died on and tomb for his burial. We started on Palm Sunday with a kleenex box. We wadded newspaper and taped it on until it was a shape we liked. We used the lid of a plastic container for the stone. Then we paper-mached paper towels all over the tomb. After it dried, we did this step another time. After it dried completely, we painted it.

Lydia loved painting it!

On Good Friday the kids woke to find Jesus and the two criminals beside him dying on crosses.

Later that morning, we took Jesus off the cross and wrapped his body in burial cloths (toilet paper) and put his body in the tomb.

The stone was securely put on and Roman soldiers (shepherds from our Nativity set) guarded the tomb all day Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday the kids awoke to find the stone rolled away, the burial clothes empty, and two angels at the tomb. All throughout the steps of the week we read from The Jesus Storybook Bible (which I highly recommend for preschool age children).

The kids had a great time being involved in these activities and I loved creating these special memories, hopefully that through the years will lead them to not only accept Jesus as their personal Savior and long to make him known to the lost, but allow them to have special memories of holidays as they grow into adults and think of traditions with their own children one day.

What about you? What are some traditions you are creating in your family?

Third Culture Kids Book Review

One of the books I am currently reading is Third Culture Kids by Pollock and Reken. It's research-based and, at times, reads more like a textbook than novel, but it is full of thought-provoking stories of Adult TCKs (ATCKs) and the benefits and challenges of growing up as TCKs. For reference, a TCK is a child who is from one country (passport country) and lives overseas in a host country during his formative years (birth - 18). While he is still growing and figuring out the world, he is heavily influenced by a mix of these two cultures, and, therefore, has become known as a Third Culture Kid. A TCK can be a TCK for a variety of reasons - perhaps his parents are in the military, business, or missions to name a few. As adults,they are often most comfortable around other TCKs - even if they have had totally different experiences in completely different countries. The basic characteristics of a TCK lifestyle are what unite them and create this third culture in their lives.

While it's always in the back of my mind that my children are growing up as TCKs, I guess I've thought, too, that since they are still so young this is not something I need to give great thought to now. However, after diving into this book, I'm seeing how, even now, my kids are impacted by us living overseas. Not that these impacts are negative - but I do need to be realistic and know that there are struggles and challenges unique to TCKs and how I help and respond to my children in these situations is crucial.

The two biggest things that help define life for a TCK are cross-cultural living and high mobility (not just for them, but others coming and going in their lives too). TCKs tend to identify more with people than with a place. Yet, because they are always saying goodbye's to people there can be guilt and grief that should not be left unresolved. My children, aged 2, 2, and 4 currently, have already had more worldwide travel experiences than their grandparents, aunts, and uncles have ever had. In the past year alone, they have had six homes, lived in four countries, and been immersed in three languages. As such, I want to do everything I can to help them not only survive, but thrive, in the lives we live. Listening, listening, listening is so important. Taking cues from them as to how they are feeling and trying to talk about relationships and potential issues before they become problems is crucial. Ultimately, I want my children to know they are loved, valued, and cherished by their parents and we are always, no matter what, there for them to support, listen, and help. When they grieve in the goodbyes - both in their traveling as well as others moving away from them - I want them to run to us and know we are there to listen and not "preach." This was one of biggest things I'm taking away from this book - they will face hardships and grief; it is how I allow them to process it that could either point them closer to Him or further away. Sharing a higher cause for why we go is not always the most appropriate response in the goodbyes.

Ultimately, my goal is for them to know and love our Lord and Savior and long to make Him known to the lost. It is my prayer that our lives would point them toward Him and not away one day in an act of rebellion to their TCK upbringing. I know many of our readers with TCKs also long for this. . . and I would encourage you to read this book in this journey. It brings up good ideas to think through as we travel together on this road of raising children overseas.

Krista's Week

Hey POH Readers! It's my turn to share a little of what is going on in our lives. I'm going to post on a wide assortment - book reviews, home school, holiday traditions, and just update you on our lives in general. I have posts lined up for each day so please check in often! I hope you'll enjoy this week and also share and comment so we can have a lively discussion to challenge and spur each of us on in this daily walk we live together.

Finally we were able to get a picture with all the kids smiling and looking at the camera. . . and I just LOVE this picture!! We took it Easter morning. From left to right - Luke, Lydia, James.

Luke: our always laughing, very lively, talkative, spirited, determined little boy. He is smart as a whip and doesn't miss a thing. Currently, he loves to say the sounds of the alphabet and count - he is always talking. He is also very focused and enjoys playing alone at times while James and Lydia run around carefree playing. Luke is happy coloring a picture or building train tracks or Legos. He's also our good eater - no matter what I make I can always count on Luke to like it. His favorites are soup, vegetables, and meat. Gotta love it! And, he is always, always smiling - that priceless, award-winning grin. Though he's always on the go, there are times he will come up to me and say, "Mommy, I want to hold you" and then just collapse his whole body into mine. Wow. Those are some of the most amazing moments. . .

Lydia: our first-born, independent, leader-teacher, vibrant, energetic, princess who absolutely adores her brothers. She loves reading and crafts and is very into the Daisy Meadows fairy books. I think we have seriously read 50 or more of these! She loves to dress up and even sleeps in princess gowns - very unlike me who, I'm told, was a total tom-boy growing up :). I absolutely love that she is all princess and loved that we were able to watch the Royal Wedding a couple weeks ago. She was in awe of Kate's (ahem Catherine's) dress and the boys went back and forth deciding if they were princes or kings - absolutely precious. She is a tremendous helper to me with the boys and, though she is very independent, she is also very maternal and even asks, almost daily, to pray that she will be a good mommy one day. Melt a mama's heart!!

James: oh, my sweet baby James! our cuddler (I seriously didn't know babies came like this!), finger-sucker, quiet and reserved, fun-loving, incredibly kind-hearted helper who doesn't miss a thing. Luke and Lydia are so much more out-going it's easy to think James just misses a concept - but then he will say something out of the blue and I'll realize he didn't miss a single thing. He is care-free and asks daily to go to the "duck park" where he loves to feed and chase the ducks and birds. I could watch him do it forever! He just runs and runs chasing the ducks and laughing these full-belly laughs because he is just so care-free and into the moment. I watch him and think about joy, thankfulness, and God. . . well I'll save that for my book review on One Thousand Gifts. . . He is also my pickiest eater. . . which I think is interesting how very different each child is. And, though I refuse to make separate meals or give in to junk food, he will just look a meal, and, if he doesn't want it, quietly suck his fingers and wait until the next time we eat!

Well, that's a little update on our kiddos. I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into daily life with the Gray house.

Practicing Hospitality

I asked my husband if he had any suggestions for what to write about this week on POH, and he suggested I write about practicing hospitality. This is something the Holy Spirit has gifted me with and something I learned a lot about from having it modeled to me through my parents and through another couple who led Ed to the Lord and discipled him early in his Christian life.

Practicing hospitality in our family happens in a variety of ways. I want to share these different ways with you and encourage you to take a step of faith and maybe open up your home or your life in a way you haven't before.

1. Have people over. This is probably the easiest thing to do, but I think sometimes people shy away from it. I know some who fear the hassle, or think their home is too small or too messy or too whatever. We do not have the most ideal home for having people over for a meal. We have a small table that only seats four. And our house isn't always the neatest. But we like to have people over to our home - for dinner, for a playdate, for games. Our house is always open and always available. Some ideas to help in this area: 1) Eat in shifts. If we have another family over, we feed the kids first and then let them go play so that the adults can sit down to eat. 2) Have a leftovers get together. Sometimes we will ask friends to come over with their leftovers, we will pull out our leftovers, and we will share together. I may not want to eat that lasagna for the third night in a row, but it's brand new to my friends!

2. Host guests from church. We have a Japanese Language Congregation at our church and each summer they have a group of students come from Japan to visit. They ask for a host family for each student so they can see what American home life is like. We were able to have a really sweet girl from Japan stay with us for a week last summer. To say my boys loved it is an understatement. We spent the next month learning all we could about Japan from the library and talking to our Japanese friends at church. After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Samuel and Joel wanted to know everything that was happening. Hosting this friend helped open up the world a little bit more to my boys.

3. Have a student/young person live with you. This is probably the biggest test of hospitality, but one that can be a real blessing to someone else. We just said goodbye to our third student this past week after 1.5 years. Ed and I have always wanted our home to be a blessing to someone else. When we purchased our current house 3 years ago, we knew we wanted to open up one of our bedrooms to someone who needed help getting through a transition period. Our first student was someone we met at church. Mary was a graduate student who was planning on getting married in a few months and needed somewhere to stay until then. She stayed with us for about 2 months. Shortly thereafter, a college friend of Ed's had a sister who was moving back to the US after spending some time abroad. Janet was relocating to the Chicago area and hoping to get an internship in the city. She didn't know anyone here and didn't have a job yet. She was able to stay with us for about 6 months while she found work, figured her way around the city, and decided where she would move next. Our third student, Jonathan, was another friend from church. He was in his last year of a PhD program and had been renting a room from a family who was trying to sell their house. Ed told him he should take the $500/month he was paying in rent and buy himself a car and come live with us. Jonathan planned on staying from September 2009 to June 2010, but when June came he wasn't done with his program and had just broke up with his girlfriend. We encouraged him to stay on longer and finish his program before moving out. He finished in March 2011, got a full time job at a great hospital downtown and signed a lease last week. Our extra bedroom is sitting empty now, but we are getting together someone next week who needs somewhere to stay this summer. The man who disciples Ed has a college aged daughter and one of her friends needs somewhere to live for the summer while she works in the area and goes to soccer practice. Having someone live with you can be a real challenge. You are opening up your life and your home to someone that may not always be easy to love (hey, I'm sure there are many times when I'm not so loveable either!). But it can be a way to love someone and support them through a transition in their life. And it can be a living example to your children of how to love someone and serve them in a practical way.

Practicing hospitality in our home is one way we hope to put hands and feet to the gospel and to love others around us. I hope you are encouraged to step out in faith and give it a try.

Leah P's Homeschool Plan

I shared yesterday that we will be doing one year of homeschooling next year to try it out. I thought I would share with you today about what materials I plan on using and how I plan on spending our day. Samuel will be 5 in August and Joel will be 3.5. We plan on "doing school" Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays will be our adventure days with Daddy - things like visiting the library, parks, zoos, etc. On Thursdays we will go to Bible Study Fellowship. If you don't know about this program, I would highly recommend it. It is a great Bible study for you and a great children's program for your kids. My boys have learned a lot over the past two years and they look forward to going to class.

For our "school days", we will be using a workbox system. Do you know about these? I stumbled upon the idea while researching homeschool ideas. I found this Squidoo article very helpful and informative. It has a lot of additional links in it for more ideas and help. Basically you put something in each box for your child to do and they work their way through the boxes each day. I like the idea because Sam & Joel will be able to see what they've done each day and what they have left to do. Plus it breaks the activities of the day into units that should only take 10 or 15 minutes each to complete. With Joel, since he's younger, I'm not going to stress out if he doesn't get all the way through his boxes each day. But at least they will be there and he can feel like he's doing school along with us. Here's an idea of what a typical days boxes might be filled with:

Samuel's Boxes:
1. The Bible (for family devotions).
2. A non-fiction book (to read together).
3. A puzzle.
4. Handwriting Without Tears workbook.
5. 3 storybooks (to read together).
6. Kumon cutting book worksheet.
7. The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading (to do a reading lesson).
8. Beans and an egg carton for a sorting and counting game (math skills).
9. Bingo cards to practice Spanish vocab.
10. A recipe to make a snack together.

Joel's Boxes:
1. Set of Little People (that correspond to our family devotion for the day).
2. A coloring page.
3. 3 storybooks (to read together).
4. A "go play trucks with daddy for 15 minutes" card.
5. Playdoh.
6. A non-fiction book (to read together).
7. A Kumon cutting book worksheet.
8. A sorting game (math skills).
9. Matching game to play with Samuel.
10. AWANA book to practice verse.

Each evening I would pack up the next day's boxes. I think this will be good for me because it will help me to visually see what I have planned for the next day and make sure that I have everything I need to do the activities I have planned. I'll plan out ahead of time what I hope to accomplish each week, so it's not like each night I have to come up with the whole plan.

I read two really great books to help me prepare for homeschooling. One is The Well Trained Mind and the other is 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. I was able to check out both from our library system. They really helped me think about the bigger picture and what I hope to accomplish. Granted, we will be sending Samuel to public school next year, but I am going in to this year trying to fully embrace the homeschool philosophy. After reading The Well Trained Mind, even if we send Samuel to public school, there is probably a lot out of that book that I will do with him outside of school.

As far as books I'll follow this coming year, I plan on using:
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise
Handwriting Without Tears - Get Set for School
Kumon Amazing Mazes, Cutting, Uppercase Alphabet, Lowercase Alphabet workbooks
What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know edited by E.D. Hirsch (I highly recommend this book for lots of really great ideas. I plan on working my way through this book for ALL of the subject areas).
What Your Preschooler Needs to Know edited by E.D. Hirsch (ditto above).

I also plan on working our way through the 1000 Good Books List. This is a list of real books that is used by many Classical Christian Home Educators.

Finally, I plan on teaching a lot of our science and history through reading books, both fiction and non-fiction. I plan on letting the boys lead a little more in these areas according to their interests.

My main goals with Samuel for the year are to get him reading and writing. For Joel, I hope to encourage him to draw, color, and cut and love to be read to. I am really excited for our year and I hope it is a success.

The Education Experiment

(first, thank you to Christina for posting for me yesterday. I was at Disney with my mom and Samuel and typed up my whole post by phone to e-mail to her!)

Christina introduced the topic of Schooling Decisions a few weeks ago and shared a little blurb from each of the POH authors about what we would be doing with our kiddos next year. My blurb read:

Samuel will turn 5 in late August. The cutoff for school in the Chicago area is Sept 1, so I could enroll him in kindergarten if I wanted. We have decided to keep Samuel at home for two reasons: 1) We feel he isn't ready to enter the school setting because of his age, and 2) we are pretty sure we'd like to homeschool him and we thought this would be a good year to give it a try. We plan on attending a homeschool co-op in the area on Mondays, Bible Study Fellowship on Thursdays and a couple hours of "school" at home the other days. I plan on doing things with both Joel (3.5) and Samuel(5).

My husband and I have talked about our schooling options a lot and have come up with a sort of Education Experiment. We plan on keeping Samuel home for one more year and following the plan I outlined above. Then the next year, when Samuel will have just turned 6, we plan on enrolling him in kindergarten at our local K-8 school to give him one year in public school to see how it goes. We have committed to waiting to make a decision about which direction to go until after he finishes out that year (well, unless it is going horrible and we decide to pull him out early). Here is a sort of run-down of what we see in each choice:

Why would we homeschool? I really like the flexibility and individualization that is available with homeschooling. It just makes sense to me that a child would be able to excel academically when they can move at their own pace and with their own interests. After having read A Well Trained Mind I was really encouraged to think of all we might be learning in our home. The academic side of the equation is a big draw for me. Second, I see the days we spend together to be a time of character building and training. With the boys home with me and around me all day, I have plenty of opportunity to teach them things I want them to know that they may not see modeled and taught in a traditional school setting. I can be a side-by-side guide to a lot of character training. Third, the unity of the family is a strong draw. Instead of splintering the family for 8 hours a day, with each of us going to our respective "jobs", we remain a more complete unit that share experiences and responsibilities together.

Why would we go to public school? I really like the school that our boys would attend. It is a short walk from our house (just across the street from our little neighborhood). It is a small K-8 school in a single school district (meaning all the tax dollars from our district go to this school instead of being spread around many schools). Second, I see the enrichments and specials that a school setting is able to offer my boys that would be difficult to duplicate in a home setting (art, gym, group activities, etc). I know these could be done at home but not in the same way, with the same dynamics. Also, if Samuel and Joel were both attending school, I could (hopefully) get a job at the school (if we don't have any more children; see last post!). Finally, there is an intangible factor of growing up "going to school" and the good and the bad that come with it that can build character.

Our experiment is our way of giving ourselves time to experience both options and also to have two years to pray that God would help us to make a good decision. I'm nervous to try both and not just be decided in what we are going to do. But I think this will help all of us (me, Ed, and Samuel) decide what we want. We'll see!

Waiting on another baby

I just saw this pop up in my reader and thought I should clarify that this post is written by Leah P! I (Christina) just posted it for her while she is in Disney World! 


As you all know, I am the proud mom of two little boys. Our first, Samuel, was conceived during the first month of "trying." we thought we'd like to have a baby around the time Ed was finishing seminary and we knew it may take a few months to conceive. We were SO shocked to find out I was pregnant right away. We had gone to a ski resort for a weekend getaway before spring semester started and I was a little curious that I was so late getting my period and that I was super exhausted. I decided to take a pregnancy test just to see before we spent the day skiing. Lo and behold it was positive! We spent the weekend laying around the room adjusting to the idea that we were soon to be parents.


After Samuel was born we prevented coception for a few months but then decided to just see what would happen. I got my period back when Samuel was 9 months old and got pregnant the next month. Our boys are 19 months apart. Joel was born and things were going so well that we decided not to prevent at all after he was born and again see what would happen. That was 3 years and 2 months ago.

I trust in God and his plan through all of this. As Joel turned 1 and for the few months after, I began to get pretty discouraged that I wasn't getting pregnant. It was at that time that I got so sick and ended up in the hospital with severe ulcerative colitis. If I would have been pregnant at that time, it would have been a terrible situation. I was losing so much weight at that point that I don't know if my body could have carried the baby. And I wouldn't have been able to have my surgery if I were pregnant. I see now why God had shut my womb. 


We went back to preventing pregnancy during my surgeries and for 9 months after. But in Oct 2010 my doctors gave me the go ahead to try again for a baby. That means we are in our 8th month of trying. I am continuing to trust God with the timing and even with the possibility if we will have any more children. The big struggle for me is wanting to know if I am looking at my complete family or if God has more children for us. I don't know how I feel about being okay with not having more children. I just always thought we would. I know that women who have had my surgeries have 30% higher instances of infertility. I don't think that bothers me too much. I know I was so terribly sick towards the end that I needed that surgery. But I wished so badly at the time that I could have been at the hospital havig a baby instead. Will I be there some day? I just don't know.

Loving and Accepting Your Child

Today's topic centers around my relationship with my 4.5 year old son Samuel. He started out as a beautiful baby and is turning into a handsome young man. Check out this baby!:

Samuel was a really good baby. He was very happy and very friendly. He is a quick learner - he could do a lot of baby signing before he could talk, he potty trained in a day at 2, he knew all his letters and sounds around the same time. He amazed me with how quickly he could pick things up. And he was so much fun to be around and to play with.

Something has changed within the past year; something that my husband and I are not able to put our finger on. Even now as I try to explain it, I'm not quite sure how to put it to words. He's reluctant to try new things. He gets frustrated very easily. He wants to be babied instead of independent. This is a rough outline of what I'm talking about. The point isn't so much the behavior, but what God is trying to do with me through my relationship with Samuel.

I've spent the past year fixated on what is wrong with Samuel and how am I going to fix it. I've thought and re-thought my training with him and where I've gone wrong or what I need to do differently. I've stressed about how his behavior is holding him back from learning so much and enjoying so much.

All of the worry and stress as caused such a strain on our relationship. I'm short with him and have very little compassion. I get annoyed easily when he is in his baby mode. I yell at him when he refuses to dress himself or do something else for himself that I know he can do. Overall, I do not enjoy my relationship with him.

This finally hit me about a month ago. I don't enjoy my relationship with him. And that's just not right. That's not how it should be. It's not fun for me and it's not fun for him. I can see that he perceives the stress in our relationship as well. God allowed me to step back and see the bigger picture: I need to love my son. And accept him. I need to accept him and love him and enjoy him.

I find it really hard to balance this love/acceptance with my hard-nosed way of training/disciplining my children. I have this idea of what I want my children to be, how I expect them to behave. And so I lay down the law with them and make them tow the line. I still stand by that. I still think my boys need to know what's expected of them and that they are expected to rise to the occasion. BUT, I see how in all of that, I was resenting Samuel and allowing my disappointment to shade our relationship.

How does God deal with me as his child? He definitely has expectations of me and definitely wants me to rise to the occasion. But all the while, he loves me. He loves me with tenderness and compassion. He desires sweet fellowship with me. He tenderly leads me along like a shepherd with his sheep.

I continue to struggle through my feelings in my relationship with Samuel. I am still looking for ways that I can enjoy him. One way has been to take him somewhere alone that I know he enjoys (i.e. the library). I also try to make plenty of time in the day to snuggle and read with him, his favorite activity. I've given him a job to do - set the table - that he has really latched on to and enjoys. I'm trying to celebrate the little successes as they come and not get frustrated at all of the times he pushes back. I want to love him with tenderness and compassion. I am trying my best to love him and accept him so that I can enjoy him.

Leah P's Week

Hello ladies! It's my week to host the conversation and I have the biggest hodge-podge of topics to unroll on you all! :) Please feel free to jump in and comment on any of the topics as they come up. I plan on posting about the various things that are currently happening at our house and in my life.

To catch you up to speed on my family, I thought I'd jog everyone's memories.

I am married to this guy...

From Our Payneful Memories

I have a 4.5 year old son named Samuel...

From Our Payneful Memories

And a 3 year old son named Joel...

From Our Payneful Memories

We live in this house in Chicago, IL...

From Our Payneful Memories

And this is me...

From Our Payneful Memories

Here's to a good week!