Wordless Wednesday: My Superheroes

A little sugar for the cookies . . . a little sugar for Elle!

This was taken just before he left for his first soccer practice. He chose to wear the shirt with the #17 - which was his Daddy's soccer # in high school and college. And the adidas bag by his feet was the soccer bag his Daddy carried . . . he was prouder than proud to use his Daddy's bag!Talk about melting a momma's heart!!

Down and Dirty

(If you are looking for The S. Files, I hope to publish it later this week).

I asked for it.

I asked for God to show me the places where I need to really get down and dirty with the housecleaning of my soul.

And, boy. It's ugly.

But God is good. And He led me to a parenting seminar this past weekend by Family Matters and Dr Tim Kimmel. I feel like I have some good cleaning agents in my bucket now. And last weekend, He started the preparation in me with a women's retreat at our own church regarding spiritual gifts. It was at the first retreat where I came across the housekeeping poem in last week's post. Both conferences gave me much needed support, guidance and information that needs to be processed now.

He's prepared me with the right cleaning tools and I'm just need to get started ...
... all the while knowing, it really doesn't take that long to get dirty again, but I have the tools, and it should be easier to maintain the cleaning - as long as I continue to tackle it with the right gear and strive for daily upkeep.

So, I'll be scrubbing down the walls of my heart, wiping the inside of my soul, scraping away the "layer of should haves, creeping guilt, shouldn't have said thats" and preparing for my heart to a welcome place for God to meet me.

Spring Cleaning for the Soul by The Young Clergy Women Project is a great post and a must read if you are looking for ideas how to do a little spring cleaning in your soul.

Friday's (top) Five

1 - I'm reading a book this week, by Alton Brown (host of several shows on the Food Network) while at the same time, watching the Food Network.  Addicted? Hmmmm....

2 - Earlier this week I finished, "Who Stole my Church?"  I really enjoyed this book.  It is a fictional account of a church struggling to "move into the 21st century."  A concerned group of members meet with the pastor and it turns into a series of meetings in which everyone grows, well, rather than trying to explain, see if you can pick up a copy from the library!!

3 - I really enjoyed the above book so much that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to read next ... hence the lite reading material mentioned in item #1!

4 - We are all excited to see Daddy very soon.  He's had a busy week away and you can see what he was up to here.  I very much appreciated Shirley's pictures, as they provided a much needed daily dose of daddy for our house!

5 - My baby has shown an interest in the pot.ty this week - could it be?  No more diapers?  Whatever will I do? ;-P

Wordless Wednesday

A tiara-wearin'-gun-totin'-tot!

Good Housekeeping

Lord, it is not the dirt and clutter in plain sight that nag at me.
It's that hidden . . . You know,
behind the refrigerator, in the closets, under the bed dirt that no one sees
or knows about but me.

It's the same way with my life, God.
It's those hidden sins that I can't keep up with . . .
those petty little grievances, the grudges, the resentments,
the unspoken harsh feelings, the superior attitudes;
thoughts and feelings that no one else knows about but me . . .  and You, God.

Help me, Father, to clean my heart as I would my home.
Take away all dust and cobwebs of pride, ill feelings and prejudice.
The dirt behind my refrigerator will never hurt anyone.
The dirt in my heart will.

~Source Unknown

Some time back, as I was cleaning my shower and wiping the dirt along the top edge of the shower (where I can't even see it, but I know it is there), a similar thought occurred to me.  I'm spending time cleaning areas that maybe only a giant can see, but I know the dirt is there.  When was the last time I spent time removing some of the dirt hidden inside me . . . those sins "that I can't keep up with."  And, those hidden sins, that I can't see - but I bet a mouse can. 

I mean, I'm sure there are obvious signs in my life, outward things, which my friends and family see in me as a result of those sins.  I clean my shower even though my husband and I can't see the dirt up there, but I haven't worked at removing the dirt - the sin - that is hidden inside me doing so much more damage to others and myself and yet, I spend more time making sure the top of my shower is clean; and honestly, I don't clean the top of my shower that often.

This makes me sad.  It is a sad realization of how I'm not letting the Lord work in me and therefore, I'm not functioning as the Lord would have me to for my friends, my family . . . my loved ones. 

I want a cleansing, Lord, that can only come from You.

Saturday School Files

The S. Files, 3rd edition

(Click to see 1st edition and 2nd edition)

Monday: We searched the playroom for some purple objects. After we had our little collection, I explained that purple is the color of Lent. It symbolizes the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It's also the color of royalty and symbolizes the kingship of Jesus in our lives. Colin wanted his picture with the purple end of a dart. Elle liked her purple paper with her name on it. And Quintin liked this purple sash. We then decided that we'd all wear something purple on Tuesday.

Tuesday: We made homemade pretzels (recipe here). These originated as a Lenten treat, their twisted shape suggesting arms crossed in prayer.

My helpers in purple (the boys are wearing maroon!)

Our finished product - which was Oh So YUMMY!!!!

Wednesday: The activity selected for this day actually didn't get accomplished until Saturday. We pulled a slip of paper suggesting to sing, "O for a Thousand Tongues." I used the wonderful book, Hymns for a Child's Heart, Vol 1, which has a story telling about the song writer and reasons why he chose to write songs in the style that he did. My cd wasn't working, so we went here, to sing along.

Thursday: We chose to select some toys from the playroom to donate. It was difficult for them at first to part with some toys, but they did, in the end, see the benefit of passing on some unused toys to children in need of them.

Friday: We baked cookies to send along to Alabama for the men who will be working to help John and Shirley! Read more, here.

Saturday's activity focused on sand. Sand is also a Lenten symbol. We talked about how God let the people journey in the desert and how Jesus faced temptation during the 40 days in the desert. We visited the sandbox to gather some sand to display on our bookshelves and to remind us that the desert can be a place free from distractions.

We also did a little sand craft - each child chose a piece of construction paper and a word that related to Easter.

We wrote the words on and then wrote over each letter with glue. We headed out to the sandbox and here are our results:

While this week didn't go exactly as planned with the timing of our activities, I am assured that they will remember these lessons. As soon as we finished our "sand projects" tonight, Quintin came inside and got started on his journal. (click on the picture to enlarge it)

Until next week,

In the eye of the beholder...

Where man sees but withered leaves,

God sees sweet flowers growing.

~Albert Laighton

Wordless Wednesday

When: Last week

Where: 2 feet outside of the garage

Chicken Blobs

While yes, I realize that may not sound like the most appealing name for a main course, it is a nickname we've grown to love for these:

Pill.sbury calls them "Crescent Chicken Squares." When I first tried my hand at making these, when in my teens and dating T, I couldn't seem to come up with a square shape, so my mom and I changed the name to blobs. Sounds so appetizing, doesn't it?

They are a great way to use some leftover chicken (I used some grilled chicken from the weekend) - and I just posted the recipe, here. Along with a homemade crouton to put on top, found here.

My good friend, Just Mom, also had chicken and crescent rolls for supper last night - you can check her recipe on her cooking blog, here.

Yesterday was a day to celebrate chicken and crescent roll goodness!! MMMmmmm!! MMMmmmmmm!!!

A little LA

When I posted last Monday, with this picture...

...many remarked how much my kids look like T.

My parents gave me the following picture over the weekend - I think it is safe to say my children get some of their good looks from my side of the family. I just wish one of them would have gotten my blue eyes. :(

That look on my face in this picture looks so much like Colin...oh boy!!!!

My brother is 8 years older than me, my sister is 4 years older than me, and the bunny is no longer with us! ;)

Saturday School Files

The S. Files, 2nd edition

Another fun week of meaningful activities as we continue to observe the season of Lent.

Monday - I pulled a slip in the early morning because I knew that day's plans would fit well with one of the suggested activities. I selected 'sacrifice something nice for someone in the family.' We were celebrating T's birthday this past Monday and the kids and I sacrificed our afternoon play time to make supper and a cake for him. The kids were more than thrilled to do this for their dad and it was a great way to share about God's ultimate sacrifice - the sacrifice of His One and Only Son.

On Tuesday, we randomly chose the activity to talk about and help the children to understand why Jesus was called "The lamb of God." We followed a short talk with a lamb craft.

Wednesday - The slip that was chosen told us to sing "Jesus loves me" - a favorite in our house.

Thursday - Using the word "RESURRECTION," we were to make as many words as we could. This was definitely just an activity for Quintin and I and we made a pretty good list. Some of our words being: sin, rise, sun, son, rest, cross, secret, section, curse, notes, site and sure.

Friday - We had a fun day having pulled out the slip suggesting to act out the "parade" of Palm Sunday. We found a template for palm branches, here, and took turns playing all the parts!

Saturday - This morning, with T home, we talked just a little about how the Jewish people sacrificed lambs and other "clean" animals as an acknowledgement of their sin. We shared with the kids how God doesn't want us to do that anymore and that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice by shedding his blood for our sin - as our lamb. Then we looked at our lambs from Tuesday.

Have a blessed weekend!!

Friday's Five

This week's Top Five:

1 - If you want a good birthday cake, buy one. I have yet to find a cake and icing recipe I like. Any suggestions?

2 - Cinnamon and sugar toast was the breakfast of choice this week!

3 - My son believes the 'council meeting' at church next Wednesday will involve members of the (star wars) Jedi council.

4 - Naps! Naps are wonderful - those nice little one hour ones this week were just what I needed to get through the rest of the day. And if the kids are sleeping at the same time - it's all the better!

5 - My baby girl (I say baby knowing she is almost 4 1/2) has joined us at the school table and is loving it. I didn't want to admit that she was ready for some sit down learning - call it selfishness for not wanting to plan school for two children - but she is loving it and I think this one is going to move quickly through phonics. Having the older 2 at the table has quietly invited the littlest one to sit at the table. His skills? His cat-like reflexes allow him to take a pencil from his unknowing siblings and be across the house with it before they realize it is gone. I guess a few sprints in the morning are good for my non-cat-like reflexes.

Word-filled Wednesday ;-)

Vincent Van Gogh - September 1889

"The Starry Night"

Quintin, 6 1/2, February 2009

"His Mommy's Favorite"

Do you think he's enjoying the art class offered at co-op this semester?

His inspiration? A Van Gogh book I had picked up on a $1 pile a few years ago.

A birthday and a "mega storm"

This weekend, the kids and I helped the wonderful man, pictured above, celebrate his 35th birthday! With a busy day on his actual birthday, Sunday, our plans are to make him a special dinner tonight. While T would protest anything extra about him even in honor of his birthday, he knows the kids love to make a fuss over him. So, fuss we will!! LOL!!

We are in the midst of more snow - the weather channel is calling it a "mega storm" - but we'll see how much we get. It looks like they'll get more to the north.

I just hope I remembered everything when I went to the store Saturday - because as I'm looking out the window at the snow blowing horizontally, I'm not in the mood to go, with 3 kids!!