I HEART STAR CHARTS!

 In an effort to change our behavior in the month of February...we are employing some wonderful STAR charts....

 We are working on OBEYING RIGHT AWAY....aka. delay is NOT obedience...

 ...NO YELLING...aka.  gentle answers and instruction from MomE and DadE...

 I love that magnet strip stuff that comes in a roll...so handy!

 To hear more of my thoughts behind this goal...

...head over to where I'm Blogging Along!

Back to the Future...

She's still a lefty...

...he's still cute and QUIET when he sleeps!

Have you gone through your old pictures lately??

Mama's Heart: Skittles of Scripture!

A rainbow of positive Skittles...may they rain plentifully upon my parenting today. 

It's funny that although I find positive reinforcement to be highly effective...I don't discipline myself to use it all the time.  Why?  Well, because it requires just that discipline...forethought, planning, energy!

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."  Proverbs 12:1

How can I teach my children to be disciplined in their character if I myself am not disciplined.  AND...loving knowledge, also applying it! 


But...this goes much deeper...much greater in importance.  Beyond just flat out being a command...

"Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death."  
Prov. 19:18



....yes, beyond the command...Hebrews 12:7 says, "It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" This tells me that my discipline of myself and my children teaches a much more important lesson.   

The lesson of God the Father's love for His own.  

"If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."  verses 8-11, emphasis mine!


That's really what I want to teach my children...yes, using Skittles, positive reinforcement, love, kindness...I want to teach them that my love for them is a picture (and sadly poor at best) of God's love for the world...and for them!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

 

Mama's Heart

Smiling now!

If your Loverbrains calls to tell you he IS coming home on time...and you burst into tears...cuz your day's been SO NOT wonderful...

....he might bring you flowers!  What's so cute...is that he said he'd already picked up these flowers at lunchtime...way before he knew I was having such an adventurous MomE day!

And today...they're being so good...maybe he threatened them in private..."Be nice to MomE!"

Look at that face..."Be nice to MomE!"

Fun Lunches are BACK!

Playdates, Prayer & Your Pastor's Wife...

Yesterday, amid yet another noreaster blizzard...my Pastor's wife and her littlest came over to "play."  We both grew up in snowy climates and are determined to not let a little snow bother us!

The Sweet Boobahs played (aka...took out EVERY toy they own)...

....and we planned our first March Women's Day...

...and as I made lattes and chatted with her...I was reminded that I need to be praying for her...ALOT more than I do...I just loved the guide at C h r y s a l i s...that e-Mom included in her October post.  She reminded us all during that October PASTOR's month...that he has a wife who is just as vitally needing prayer!!

Sand Castle?

The kids thought my pretty bundt cake looked like a sand castle....humph!  Sure tasted good though....

Awww...down memory lane...

My Twirly Girl and Truck-lovin' Boy!

Really, where is the fun in having a flowergirl dress if can't use it for dress up!?

Library day...ensures that while his sister twirls...Lubby will read TRUCK books in contented silence!

Drawings...

DadE is working on a big project for work.  So, although some will think I'm crazy...

...I encourage him to come home and eat dinner with us...And then...to go ahead and work here at home.  He says that it's often more effective....because no one is coming into his office to interrupt him.   

Depends on your perspective, I guess.  Funny...those two Sweet Boobahs sort of look like interruptions sometimes.

Emmer-bean decided to do a lot of drawing of her own.  I actually colored for a good, solid hour last night...It was very calming! 

My heart is heavy with prayers for Joanne....HERE!  One of my first favorite bloggers...The Simple Wife is in a fight for her life...after a sudden massive stroke!  We are all praying she will wake up soon!

God is our refuge and strength,  an ever-present help in trouble.  Psalm 46:1

Popsicles, Play-doh & Puzzles!

Oddly enough...when temperatures plunge into the single digits...my Sweet Boobahs have strong desires for POPSICLES and using the sprinkler and pool...OUTSIDE!  Yes, they keep asking...huh?

I guess it's sort of like grown-ups thinking a trip to the beach would be nice right about now!  HA!

So, instead...we made playdoh "cakes"...mmmm...yummy! 

They have these playdoh "frosting" extruders...and they call it "toothpaste"...it's hilarious!

Emmer's really into cake toppers!  Hehehe!

Then...after we washed all the playdoh from our sticky fingers and helped MomE clean up the mess...we broke out the puzzles.  These are the easy ones...when we accelerated to the harder ones I put my camera away...so I could concentrate.

I think they are better at puzzles than me!  It's a part of the brain I don't use much...

It's interesting to me...although Lubby wants to be doing everything she does...he's just not there developmentally.  He's finally found a way to be okay with this...It's what I call "the same, but different."  She jumped to the jigsaw puzzles...but he's much more comfortable with these...as long as he's still doing puzzles too!  

The same, but different!

PS...In case you notice the kids wearing the same clothes day after day...I do wash their clothes but am trying to cut back on washing what's not dirty...especially with rapid clothes changers (ahem, Emma)...so...that's what's going on.  I don't live to do laundry...and washing clean clothes is annoying.

Dinosaurs, Corneas, & Grilled Cheese...OH MY!

I just had to share a picture of the cutest roaring dinosaur in our house!

 

See his scratched cornea healing?...(DadE's finger and Lubby's eye accidentally connected a few days ago...he's doing MUCH better)...

My Emmer-bean loves grilled cheese sandwiches.  She's growing A LOT...she eats ALL THE TIME.  She's grown almost two inches since Thanksgiving...her pants are very short...*sigh* AND, she has graduated to TIE up shoes!  *sniff, sniff...my baby!

For Ca-lubby...Mr. No raw Dairy...Ham and Bread sandwich...oooo!

Fortitude for the Journey

Once again I have a renewed resolution to un-plug my children after 9AM...every.day.  And, oh...how the imaginations abound....

...True, true...so does the clutter of toys and noise....

...but the explorations are SO interesting.  I hope I have fortitude for this journey...

Honestly, I have good intentions...but it's part necessity (migraine relief) and part laziness (easier) that allows TV to creep back into our lives.  My appt. is today...and hopefully some true migraine solutions are on their way.  Please pray!