Knox's Quilt is finished

If you remember my friend Kiersten and I pieced together a quilt top from Knox's clothes. My friend Cathe quilted and bound it. She did a fabulous job on a not so easy job. Different fabrics, pockets, overalls, and appliques made it a difficult job and she did a great job of keeping its feel and quiltling it. I love it.

A Jack Funny

He has been really into reading license plates lately and seeing how many different states he can find. We pulled in the post office parking lot the other day and he hollers,"Hey! I saw an 'R.' I bet it was Russia!"

Lowering the Boom

One of the tough parenting jobs is when you have to "lower the boom." You know theadage about discipline "this hurts me more than it hurts you" really can be true. It is hard because as parents we want our kids to be happy and to enjoy life, but unlike them, it is easier for us to see beyond the here and now. Our kids live in the moment where as we look ahead to the future with a plan and a goal: to raise Godly children into Godly adults.
We had one of those incidences this week where one child was a bit too innerfocused and was trying to play the pity card, to ignore the blessings of life and focus on what he/she saw as the hardships of life. One of the poems our children learn is one that starts "Work while you work. Play while you play. This is the way to be happy each day." This is sort of how we function and we do a lot work and play! We strive to be cheerful in what we do as well. Said child was warned about his/her selfish behaviors and reminded that we are to be cheerful and obedient about the things we are called to do and that if we aren't we do not get to play(and play was huge this week!)
At this point, the parent really hopes that the child takes heed and the boom does not have to be lowered. We dont' want to take things away. We want activities to be enjoyed and fun memories made, but (and this is a big but) more important than that is our desire that we raise children that become adults and not just grown children. We want them to grow up to be industrious, focused, and diligent. We want them to enjoy their work and cherish a job well done. We want them to grow up thinking of others, serving others, seeing the blessings of God for what they are ratherthan ignoring them and thinking life isn't fair.
Having this as our goal, helps us to make the necessary choices. When that behavior rears its ugly head once again, the boom must be lowered and consequence followed through. Even when it is painful, for both the parent and the child. Because we aren't so worried about whether the child will have fun today as we are about their character tomorrow.

New Favorite Song

This has been the kid's new favorite song over the last several weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6LTfueFPpM

I just...

dumped chili powder instead of cinnamon in the granola I was making... YES!

My new mental and spiritual exercise

I learned a new "trick" from a friend. It is a way to "give thanks in all things." When something happens like a kid spills their milk or better yet you spill something(which happens almost daily if you are me), you pump you fist and exclaim "YES!" You don't actually have to physically do this. You can just do it in your mind. The purpose is to not let little trivial things bring you down,affect your mood, and keep you from glorifying God but to remember to instead give thanks. Instead of "everyone left their dirty dishes sitting on the table yet again" it is "YES! We just ate a good meal. YES! We have lovely dishes to eat on. YES! I have a beautiful family to share it with. YES! The Lord has blessed me." Give it a try!

Creed's new game

Creed was sitting on the floor playing with his toys yesterday while I read aloud to the kids. He picked up a mitten(no clue why a mitten in June?????) and put it in his mouth; he started bouncing up and down which made the kids all laugh at him. That is all it took. He kept doing it over and over agin to make them laugh. He laughed so hard himself that he snorted.
I took a video of his little game. Notice how he starts thinking of other things to make everyone laugh. He starts his eye blinking thing he does and waving his arms around.