My baby got bit

It's often hard when out in public to know how to react to an injury caused by another child. I'm sure all of us at some point have been in the position where our child was the one getting shoved down the slide or hit in the head for no apparent reason. To the same degree, I'm sure that all of us have been the mother of the offender and tried to apologize profusely for our own child's actions to only receive a cold glare or snide comment.

Let's face it. It's hard to know quite what to say or do in those situations.

Possibly the best response I've ever received was by a very humble mother and father at a McDonald's many years ago. For some reason their son had it out for Elizabeth and more than once chased her down to the ground. Mind you, I tend to be an observing kind of mom that doesn't jump up out of her seat every time someone cries. (Those who know me, I can hear you giggling right now.) But this time I actually left my Diet Coke and saved her life. Realizing what had happened, the parents together put on the child's shoes walked up to my table and said, "We are so sorry that our son has hurt your little girl. We are working on this and praying for him everyday. "

The parents didn't whine or make excuses or defend what had happened or force a half hearted apology. It was a simple statement that spoke volumes to me about how much these parents loved their son and the grace that we need to give eachother as fellow moms and dads.

Today at the library John was bitten by another two year old when their game got too rough. It wasn't a personal attack. It wasn't lack of parental supervision. It just happened. And rather than calling the police (as someone suggested), I pray that this mom was given the grace and encouragement she needs to keep on doing the good work of raising her son.

Frugal Bedroom Makeover Part 1

Well, it's finally done. After about three months of planning, frugal shopping, and some previously untapped creativity the girls' bedroom is now officially made over. The goal was to spend around $50 to transform their bright, girlish bedroom into one that reflected their changing tastes. We were committed to using the existing furniture and enhancing what we already own.

We started with the colors. The girls chose creme, brown, light blue and light aqua. And from there the plans were formed.

The first thing that had to change was the furniture. Both of these dressers are older than myself and have been passed down and painted several times before.

With about three coats of dark brown paint,Pumpernickel, and new knobs the dressers were transformed.



It took two quarts of paint at $18 and 14 silver knobs for $14. As you can probably guess, we went way over budget redoing this room, but I think that the changes were well worth it.

While the dressers were drying the painting of the walls and sewing the duvet covers began....

Giving Gifts

A friend and I were discussing this week the meaning of gifts and their significance in the lives of our children. Living in a society of wealth and convenience tends to lead our hearts toward material things and away from people. Gratitude and contentment are the marks of God's own, yet the pull of the world is strong and seemingly irresistible.

Today our family met and my parents delighted to give gifts to their grandchildren. First, we went to Half Priced Books where the children were given a chance to browse and choose books. It was interesting to see the range of topics that were selected. Each child is so unique.



Later my parents gave each one of the kids a piece of construction paper. They were to tear out the shape of a pig, a cow, a bee or a rabbit. Then they each displayed their work and we all guessed what they had made.

We were then told that each of these animals were given in the childrens' names to another family on the other side of the world. The gift of these animals would provide the income and food that is needed. My mother spoke in tears of a local homeless shelter that also received a gift on behalf of the children. This winter some families will sleep in a warm bed because of this gift.


We pray that our children will grow in their understanding of the gift they were witness to today.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." -Philippians 2:2-3

Taking a Break

I'm not going to be around much for a few weeks in terms of blogging. There are some things I need to attend to before the end of the year. But more than that, I'm in need of a time of "fasting" from this blog. I'm seeking some perspective as to where it should fit into my life. It's become quite a hobby for me and I fear it is taking priority over the relationships within my own home. And as all things go with me, it is becoming a place of comparison. So that being said, I need to step away for a while. But for those few readers of mine, I'll be back. See ya then.

The Crunch

I normally work 4-12 hours a week as a nurse at a nearby hospital. I've been there for almost nine years. Not only do I enjoy it, but it's nice to add a little cushion to the budget as well. Well, it appears that the recession has even hit the medical industry. Due to being grossly over budget on our unit, prn employees, like myself, are no longer being guaranteed the hours that are scheduled. For me this has translated into working only 4 hours in the last two weeks.

When I got the 4:30am call that my 12 hour shift had been canceled I had a bit of trouble going back to sleep. I found myself praying for those heads of households that are no longer working and the frustration they must feel. I thought of the people all over our country who are waiting for the phone to ring with news of a job opportunity. I was praying that God would use these hard times to draw people to Him, to know a Peace that is not circumstantial.

Once I did arise I set my mind to letting Sean work as undisturbed as possible on his freelance writing and purposed to "earn money" for my family in a different way. I took stock of the pantry (thankful for the leftover turkey) and printed off a few coupons for shopping.

With a trip to Kroger and Target I walked away with all of this for $34.67 and a savings of $52.48. Most of the money was saved with $1 off broccoli/cauliflower Target coupons making those $.33 a piece. Almost all the Kroger items were damaged/dented making them half off.


When I examined my receipt and discovered I had been charged $4.00 more than the advertised store tags, I debated about going back in. But since I had no kids in tow and my mission was to save money, I took the receipt to the customer service desk and received a 100% refund. I was just expecting to be refunded the difference.

And if that weren't enough, I learned that I earn 20 minutes on my cell phone for every $100 spent! Could I love this store any more?!

I spent the rest of the day steaming the vegetables and and making meals for the freezer. Whew! In the near future we'll be eating these meals:
(I'll have to space these out lest my family learn to despise turkey.)

Wild rice and turkey soup
Turkey and stuffing casserole
Italian chicken and white rice
Turkey Tetrazinni
Easy turkey pot pie
Banana Chocolate Chip muffins
Pumpkin rolls

I'll be posting some of these recipes this week on The Full Table if you are interested in what you might make from your leftover turkey.

It's a Bird...It's a plane... It's....

...our very own Math Hero!!

Sean just received news of an award naming him as one of Raytheon's Math Heroes.

We had such a fun time breaking the good news to him. We only had about half an hour, but the kids were so excited and creative to pull something special together.

First there was the practice....



Then there was the grand announcement....




after which much dancing ensued....



along with some general superhero revelry.




A few years ago Sean sported a Mr. Incredible getup for spirit day at school. I couldn't find the picture, but I did find a related email from 2005:

Subject: Dear Mr. Incredible... You are my hero. You are such a strong man who can carry two children on your legs and one on your back all in a single bound!! You ride your bike faster than a car sitting in rush hour traffic. The only man who can contain 8 oz of water in his mouth before swallowing. A superbrain who teaches physics and math in his sleep. You are MR. INCREDIBLE!!!!

Be a Reader

As you can see, I've changed the look of my blog. However, in the process I dispensed unknowingly of my sidebar. All that information is gone. I'll be working on my blog roll soon, but thought some of you might like to meet each other by joining the reader's list to the left.