Wednesday, March 25, 2009

A Little Goes a Long Way

Sometimes I drive myself crazy wondering if any of our homeschooling lessons are actually going to stick. Will my kids really remember the scientific method or this history lesson by the time next week rolls around? Will they even remember any of it tomorrow?!



Please follow me to HOTM to read the rest of my post! Oh and leave a comment over there, I lerve me some comments! :)

Friday, March 13, 2009

Finding treasures that I didn't even know were lost

Earlier this week, the boys' bedroom received a fresh coat of paint and some furniture rearranging. As I was cleaning out their toy box (because they didn't do a good job of it themselves), I was surprised to run across several of Christian's Treasures... waaaaay down at the bottom of the toy box. I thought I had already put away most of his things, but wouldn't you know it? There they were just waiting for me... and waiting for just the right time to be discovered! In fact, I didn't even realize these things were lost. I guess I had forgotten about them or thought they were tossed long ago.

The first thing I found was...



...Christian's birthday frog! It's squishy and rubbery and feels gross when you hold it-- all the things he loved most about it! This was perched atop his 3rd birthday cake and I remember him laughing and squealing with delight when he first saw it. He also enjoyed showing it off to his friends when they would visit.

The next treasure I discovered was this...



...Christian's once upon a time it was clean stuffed elephant. I think we acquired this when he was a baby-- perhaps a baby shower gift? I honestly don't remember. But I do remember Elephant keeping him company in his pack and play (ummm... we just didn't do a real crib this time around). And as Christian got older, this little guy was soft and worn and dirtied up just like his buddy Blankie. Except I just know Elephant was quite jealous of Blankie-- he just couldn't compete!

And as if that weren't enough blessings bestowed upon this mommy in one evening, God had this very last little guy waiting for me...



... Christian's bear! Yup, it's one of those cheap, tiny, and useless Happy Meal toys. (Please excuse Bear's nekkidness-- he used to own a little red shirt and only be half nekkid. I hope he's not embarrassed.) Some of our IRL friends and family might remember Bear. Christian carried him everywhere!!! I couldn't believe how attached he was to Bear. Maybe he liked it so much because of its small size and the ability to shove him in a pocket. Bear... wow, I wish I could adequately express the adoration that Christian had for him. It just really was his favorite buddy, y'all!

So where are they now?

Well, Elephant can be found lounging around my desk in the living room. Bear has endeared himself to David and imagines a life of travel to some exotic (and not so exotic) locales.

And frog? He sits on the kitchen windowsill just taking it all in and helping to remind me of one very real and important thing...




Monday, March 9, 2009

Drawing the line at cow tongue

I have picky eaters in this house. They get it from their daddy. I have decided that each week, we will try to learn to like something new. This week, we are learning to like celery.



How did the boys respond to this today?

THEY LOVED IT, Y'ALL!!!

That was much easier than I anticipated. Now to think of what we'll work on for next week. Perhaps broccoflower might be pushing it... at least for now (and especially since I don't even know if *I* will like it!).

Did your parents make you learn to like certain foods when you were growing up? While my dad didn't exactly make us learn to like cow tongue when we were little, he did force us to try it! Blech!!! Although I do believe that my sister Lele threw a fit or maybe ran away or something to avoid having to eat it. She was always smart like that. There are definite drawbacks when grandma and grandpa have a farm and cows.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Nothing shall be impossible unto you

Are you discouraged? Are you in the midst of an intense struggle from which you just can't seem to find a way out? Or perhaps your head knows that you should give your burden to God, but your heart just wants to hang onto it for a while?

Sometimes we have to bridge the gap between our head and our heart by just following God's Word

Matthew 17:20 says: Nothing shall be impossible unto you.

From Streams in the Desert, H.C.G. Moule had the following to say:

"It is possible, for those who really are willing to reckon on the power of the Lord for keeping and victory, to lead a life in which His promises are taken as they stand and are found to be true.

It is possible to cast all or care upon Him daily and to enjoy deep peace in doing it.

It is possible to have the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts purified, in the deepest meaning of the word.

It is possible to see the will of God in everything, and to receive it, not with sighing,
but with singing.

It is possible
by taking complete refuge in divine power to become strong through and through; and, where previously our greatest weakness lay, to find that things which formely upset all our resolves to be patient, or pure, or humble, furnish today an opportunity-- through Him who loved us, and works in us an agreement with His will and a blessed sense of His presence and His power-- to make sin powerless over us.

These things are DIVINE POSSIBILITIES, and because they are His work, the true experience of them will always cause us to bow lower at His feet and to learn to thirst and long for more.

We cannot possibly be satisified with anything less-- each day, each hour, each moment, in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit-- than to WALK WITH GOD."


I am still a work in progress (boy, is that an understatement), I really have learned that through God, nothing is impossible! His promises are true, you can have a deep peace that passes understanding, you can find reason to sing in the middle of the tears, His grace IS sufficient, and He is faithful to give it right when you need it.

"We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure
chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted
into the bullion vault of a bank, and told to help himself, and comes out with
one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor? Whose fault is it that Christian
people generally have such scanty portions of the free riches of God?"

I am definitely not one of those hokey prosperity-pep-rally-preaching people. But God does keep His promises to us and He does offer to carry our burdens. He promises to never forsake us. He promises to be our friend, our example, our guide. He promises to love and forgive us.

He is not going to force these things upon us.

He offers them to us as a GIFT... we just have to be willing to receive them.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Interview with the Boys

I saw this over at Darcy's blawg and thought I'd give it a go. I'm sure I was sent this on Facebook but well, I never quite get around to the tags and notes from there. One day I will, but not today.

Without further ado, here is an interview about mommy with my boys Austin (Dash) and Noah (Tank). To keep them from influencing each other's answers, I took them aside individually and asked them these questions.

FROM AUSTIN (9.5 yo)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Uhhh… what do you mean? I don’t know. That’s a tough one.

2. What makes mom happy?
Flowers. (said in a whisper)

3. What makes mom sad?
Thinking about Christian. (I love my boys. They are so sweet.)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tells funny jokes.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Laughs and says “I don’t know! I don’t remember what your picture looked like.”(I explain, not what did I look like as a child, but what WAS I like?) “A servant?” (yah, I felt like that sometimes too! Hehehe)

6. How old is your mom?
Uhhhh… 33?

7. How tall is your mom?
Uhhhh… 6 feet 2 inches?

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Chat with popcorn? (Amy, he's talking about you!)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Get on the computer.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
A famous cook. In our family, you are!

11. What is your mom really good at?
Kicking daddy’s butt in Scrabble and cooking.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
WordTwist. True!

13. What does your mom do for a job?
The Grocery Game and Heart of the Matter

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Kimchi

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Her cooking. I’m always hungry.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Goldilocks? Wait, no… that’s a fairy tale. Hmmm… that’s really tough. I’m trying to think but I’m more good at fairy tales.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Go shopping and cook.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
I can’t think of one for that.

19. How are you and your mom different?
You’re fully Korean and I’m only part Korean. I remind him that I am also only part Korean. He says “Ohhh… then erase that.”

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she’s nice.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He’s bald.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Suzanne’s house. Am I free now?

FROM NOAH (7.5 yo)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
I love you.

2. What makes mom happy?
Me laughing!

3. What makes mom sad?
Really nothing except for when Christian died. (I love my boys. They are so sweet.)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickles!!! Aggghhh!!!

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don’t know! I never looked at a picture of you. I’d just say weird.

6. How old is your mom?
Easy. 30!
(Let’s ignore the fact that he’s the only one that goes to the eye doctor on a regular basis).

7. How tall is your mom?
I don’t know. 10 feet tall? Okay, let’s just say 5.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
On the computer!

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
On the computer! On the computer!

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
I don’t know. Money! M-O-N-E-Y. It’s all about the M-O-N-E-Y, isn’t that right?

11. What is your mom really good at?
Scrabble. I mean, Pathwords!

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Playing with our dog Snowball.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
That’s easy. The Grocery Game. Oh, I meant shop! For groceries!

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Spaghetti.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I love her. What else?

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
I don’t know.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Sit around.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We’re not the same!

19. How are you and your mom different?
We each do different stuff. And we each have a different hobby. Yours is on the computer hobby and mine and Austin’s is on the xbox hobby.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She always says it.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
I have no idea.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Kroger? Okay, I’m done. Oh, I meant Starbucks!