Christmas with Grammy and friends

My mom came over in the afternoon and we had much fun giving to our family.
My mom and Mark and sisters had much fun giving to the children. Here are just a few photos of our time together.






Abrianna is a climber! She sees an obstacle as a challenge and heads for it. She saw boxes in front of me and booked it over to tackle the challenge. She is so funny.


Grammy gave to the kids a TeePee Maze Craze. A great gift for them, not for mom. :) They absolutely love it!



Sarah still not feeling well watched her siblings and laughed. She got into it too, but just not as much if she were feeling well.



It was bed time and the kids did not want to stop playing in the tent so we moved it to the bed room and they had more fun in there. Dad got flash lights out and they had a great time. Hannah came out to sleep on our bed (as she does some nights) and the two others fell asleep in the tents.



What a wonderful day of celebrating Jesus! The reason we give = Jesus gave to us. The reason we receive = God receives us.

Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas!
We had a great morning giving to our children.

Stockings first!




Stockings are so much fun! I love to fill it with fun things for the kids. All the girls really liked the beads. They love beads! Caleb got Meader and Lighting McQueen cars from the movie Cars. You'd thought he got a real car. He held onto those two cars while opening his other presents. (The funny thing is, they were about $3 and they are his fav. toys)




Sarah had a bit of a fevor in the morning and she just wasn't feeling well. She layed around wearing those beads. :)


I got Hannah and Sarah 'dolls with hair.' Hannah was excited about it. She got a 'wedding doll,' and Sarah got one with a purple dress. Both dolls had a princess crown. Hannah saw Sarah's and wanted her's b/c it was purple. Talk about ungreatful! For a 4yr old. :) It was so funny b/c I would tell her that I got the wedding doll spiceal for her b/c she had dark hair and Hannah talks about marraige a lot lately. It didn't really work. :) It's funny that the 'sibling trading' comes at such an early age.


Caleb got bed sheets of the movie Cars too. He was just in car paridice. I've never seen him smile so much. :)


We had a great morning. We were very blessed by a couple that gave us some toys to give to our children. And then were given an unexpected gift certificate and we were able to get one thing for each child too. God is truly the provider. He provided for us in financial needs this year and so long ago he provided His son to come into the world as a baby and selfishly die for us to live eternity with HIM.

Merry Christmas to you all.

What did you give?

7th Heaven: 7

27wks: The baby’s higher brain functions are becoming more sophisticated. The eyelids and nostrils have opened and the baby is able to perceive light, smell, and taste.

28wks (7m): Baby is about 14” and weighs about 2 ¼ pounds.

Still deciding on a name.
Simon
Solomon
Elijah
Josiah
Judah
These are the ones that Joshua and I both agree on. Just letting you in on the naming game.

Art Corner: 5

Hannah has been busy drawing and coloring, her favorite thing to do lately.
This one is what she drew for Caleb. A spaceship. She wrote his name. She has been writing everyone's name. She has all our names spelling memorized. I am so impressed with the memorization skills of a young child.



This is one that Hannah made for Sarah. She is so funny. She'll make these pictures and then want to give them away. Sarah just looks at her and is like, what do I do with this?



Hannah made this one for Daddy. She is into making abstract drawings and then filling in the spaces with color. It's pretty neat I think thou I am her mother and think that she is next rising artistic star! :)



This is one of Caleb's latest. Not much going on with his drawings... still, worthy of blogging!

Mommy and Hannah's Chritmas fun

Hannah and I had an evening of fun. We went to the NRH's Holiday Night of Magic, just the cities way of lighting the big tree and fun for the family. They have a big tent where there are lots of kid activities. We went last year and Hannah made a button and then we left b/c Caleb did not want to stay with us. So this year just Hannah and I went. Here are some pictures of our night.

Sticker decorating card. What fun! Hannah thought so.


Another button this year. We have her button from last year on the tree and we'll do the same with this one. What a neat tradition we could have if we stay in this area and NRH's continues to have this event. Hannah really enjoyed making it and wanted it on right away.


Making a bracelet. She liked this one too! She choose purple and pink beads.


The last activity (or first, depending on what direction you went.) was getting a reindeer hat and your nose painted red. I was surprised that Hannah wanted her nose painted. She thought it was so funny.


There were other activities that we didn't take pictures at. One that was neat as well was a candy making station. They had different flavored powder and small candy bits that you put into a small tube. We made one for Caleb too.

There were several people that decorated a seine for your viewing pleasure. We took pictures at most of them. Here is a couple for your viewing pleasure! :) The Angel one was Hannah's favorite.


The lady that made this scene took our picture. We had a fun night together. It is so nice to spend individual time with the kids. Caleb has been saying to me, "Want to go on a date?" I don't know where he got that phrase from... but when I ask him where he'd like to take me he says, "To the store." We'll have to go out together on a date and blog that. :)

Kevin Leman Shoot

Sampson Resources were Joshua now works, makes DVD Bible Studies. They do the shoot and put the package together for church’s or whoever to purchase. They are working on a new study by Dr. Kevin Leman and, as with all their shoots, they need a studio audience. We were asked if we'd like to be apart of it. They put you up in a hotel for the night. I said YES! It was neat. We got to be apart of making a DVD series and have the night for ourselves. I liked it! Mr. Leman was funny. At the end of it all we got our picture taken with Mr. Leman.



Leman's new study, Value-Packed Parenting, had some great practical tools for parenting. I'd like to share some of the major points that we got out of the lesson:

Train up a child in the way he should go = God's way.
Start with the end in mind.
Treat children the way you expect them to act.
Don't overdo the rules, overdo the relationship.
Discipline = consistency. Keep your word.
The 10 best things you can give your children:
1) Safety and security 2) Attention/time 3) Love 4) Space to grow 5) An example/live an authentic lifestyle 6) Direction, Psalm 32:8 7) Responsibility 8) Boundaries Jude 21
9) Discipline, maximize teaching and minimize punishment 10) Biblical instruction.

Communication:
Talk to your kids a lot.
Have fun, not fight.
There is a difference in responses and reactions.
The tone of your voice is the reflection of your attitude.
Use non-threatening tones verses threatening tones.
Speak in statements rather than questions.
Have a "yes" face.
Exchange ideas and observations, ask their opinions, help them think and reason.
Project attitude that is open.
Grant in fantasy what they can not have in reality.
Admit your mistakes.

Discipline:
Don't say no so much, be more positive. Do more removing from the object/place, for under 2yrs of age.
Treat them as you would like to be treated.
Encourage more than praise.
Don't let them feel as if they are in the way.
No one member of the family is more important than the family.
Discipline is a privilege, not a chore.
Talk about your kids positively in front of other often.
Use discipline to enable not disable, and for correction. Heb. 12:11, Prov. 29:17
Keep highest form of discipline in mind, self-discipline.

Improve Childs Self-discipline:
Bless them – let them see in your eyes that you believe in them.
Give them opportunity to contribute to the family – chores.
Teach them to think and to reason – ask questions, thou you know the answer.
Be available for them – spend time together.
Value their opinions – you may not agree, but be interested.
Talk to them - be interested in what they are interested in.
Teach them to achieve goals and be responsible.
Help them understand that God has a purpose for their life.
Make sure they know you enjoy having them around.
Make sure they know you love your spouse.
Believe in them.
Beware of false praise.

Warning Signs to anger:
James 1:19
Respond rather than react.
Anger is natural. Eph. 4:26
James 4:1-2
Anger is a choice – a mental choice in your head.
Give yourself a self-examination. Evaluate what sets you off.
Learn to express your anger.
Kids get angry too. Eph. 6:4
Replace anger with an act of love.
Express anger at the act not the actor.

Birth Order:
Psalm 139:13-14
In a nut shell; 1st born = movers/shakers, leaders 2nd born = march to the beat of a different drum 3rd born = motivators, sales men
With the 1st born = needs specifics. Don’t say ‘should,’ and don’t put too much responsibility. Variable to the 1st born is a critical eye.
With the 2nd born = need 2 on 1 time (alone with mom and dad), let them make some of the decisions, watch out for over correcting.
**There is so much more to this. I suggest getting his book, The Birth Order Book.

Standing up to the new Goliath – internet:
Be informed and know what is out there.
Probe your children in a non-threatening way.
Set some ground rules.
Have the computer out in the open.
Talk about the internet with your children.
Warning signs: too much time spent on the internet at night, turns computer screen off when you enter the room.
** Do not only be aware of the intrent but about all typs of media that your children see/read.
**Some wonderful web sites to check out are:
Bsafe.com, familywatchdog.com, screenit.com, netsmatz.com, thesafeside.com, spywarehub.com, cybersecurityspy.com
Look up safty on line on google.com for yourself. Find answers to whatever you are dealing with.
I have a lot more thoughts on this subject. Maybe I’ll blog on that sometime.