Balance

In the daily grind and the busyness of life, we can tend to miss the joy and fun in each day and even miss actually "being" with our kids.  It struck me today, that I focus so much on school with my 12 year old, health issues, behavior issues and my desire to "train him up" well, that I am really missing out on getting to know him.

Today I had the opportunity to take my son on a field trip, just the two of us.  I enjoyed time to talk to him without any interruptions.  It was fun to see his extreme joy when he saw the "Google" logo on the building as we were approaching.  Then I heard him say, "Oh, I have always wanted to see this place".  He had a blast and he participated well.

It changed my perspective and caused me to reconsider what is truly important.  There needs to be "balance" in our lives or we can miss out on so many of the special moments with those who are closest to us, especially if we are so busy or focused on the detail  that we miss what is in front of us. 

After today, I am determined to stop more often and enjoy this sweet boy who is in my life and spend some time one on one doing things that are fun and just getting to know each other more. This could be just what he and I need so that our learning becomes more enjoyable.  After all, he is my miracle from God and an answer to a deep longing that I had over 14 years ago to be a Mom.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord and He WILL give you the desires of your heart. 

Commit your way to the Lord.

Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. 

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. 

Psalm 37:3-7a

Oh Mr. Sun...

I heard something utterly delightful this afternoon that truly blessed me!  While I was clearing the table of all the school books,computers, markers and clutter leftover from the school day, to get ready for my child to start setting the table, I hear the most beautiful music.  It was my sweet little 5 year old singing "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun please shine down on me" as he sweetly sauntered around the house.  Oh, how that warmed my heart!

To some, this may not be a big deal, but if you knew where this boy was a year and four months ago (not talking, not able to communicate, had severe meltdowns, seizure episodes, just to name a few) you would be amazed and understand my delight at hearing him sing freely as he played.

When he saw how delighted I was, he kept singing it and laughing and we had a good old time singing about Mr. Sun.  It was so fun to be enjoying our silly time together and making memories.  Oh, how different that life can look when we stop and find joy in something, right where we are in our life. 

Free Give Away-check it out!

 

http://thecraftyclassroom.com/blog/2011/03/28/toy-boxes-more-giveaway/

 

 

Check out this website and enter for a FREE giveaway at the link I have included above.  They have some great wooden toys.  I saw some great things for pretend play and building vocabulary or working on speech for those with little ones who may be delayed.  I was thinking my little guy would love the rocket ship and the people they have.

 

 

R-R-Rejoice!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;

 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

My little guy came home tonight with this cute little craft that he made in his Royal Rangers group.  I couldn't help but take this picture to capture the joy in his face and he sure looked CUTE!   It caused me think about the joy that this little guy brings to us. 

We have had challenging issues with him over the last 3 years; delayed speech, test after test and evaluation after evaluation, behavior issues, potty training, seizure episodes and changing to a gluten free, casein free, soy free diet.  However, he is such a sweet gift from God.  Through this experience we are learning to:

REJOICE ALWAYS: on days when things are difficult and even overwhelming, when we are exhausted and feel like we can't go on.

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING: because we can't do it without the strength of the Lord.  He can heal our child, He knows our children better than we and has a plan for their lives.

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS: even when he has written all over the walls, plugged up the toilet, hit his sibling for the tenth time today, and has melted down one to many times.

FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS! Amen..we are the parents that He has chosen and the Lord doesn't make mistakes.  He will guide us and give us what we need to raise this child.  He doesn't promise it will be easy, but we can be sure that He will be with us and guide us in all our decisions...we just need to ask Him for help.

R-R-Rejoice!

Doorposts for your House

http://www.doorposts.com/

Last night, my pre-teen boy decided to stay home from church with me.  We began a study of Proverbs together.  This study is part of the biblical character-based training from the book Plants Grown Up Published by Doorposts.  It is a great tool to guide us in giving our sons the spiritual and biblical training that they need to be godly men. It gives bible studies, activities, discussions and projects to work on over the years to train our boys in different character qualities.

It was a joy to spend one on one time with him, reading the word and studying it together.  So blessed to be a Mom and so blessed that there are godly families like the Forster Family that the Lord has used to be an example and share the joy of living for Him.

I hope you will take some time and browse their website, I know you will be blessed.

I Can't-Part 2

"To persevere or not to persevere that is the question"

Our family is in a place where we have had to persevere in many areas of our own personal lives and as a family.  This time of testing is what our Heavenly Father says will happen so He can mold us and make us into what he wants us to be.  It doesn't feel good and it can cause us to be fearful and discouraged when things don't work out, when things are hard and feel impossible, or when we feel like we just don't have the energy to go on.  The situation can be as big as unemployment and as small as a 6th grade math problem.  No matter what the situation we can choose to persevere despite the obstacles in our way.

What does persevere mean anyway? (According to the Websters Dictionary)
"to persist in a state, enterprise or undertaking in spite of counter influences, opposition or discouragement."

What does it mean to persist?
"to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition; to remain unchanged or fixed in a specified character, condition, or position"

So if I am feeling discouraged or that my situation is too overwhelming, I can choose to give up or I can choose to "resolutely or stubbornly remain fixed, on what lies ahead or on the other side, of this situation in spite of the opposition, counter influences or discouragement that I may be experiencing." 

As a believer (in Jesus Christ the Son of God) I have a hope, and I have His Word that He will be with me and will never forsake me.  He has given me examples of other men and women that have had faith in Him and have persevered through various situations or trials so that I know I am not alone and that I CAN persevere through faith in Him. 

If you also know Him, you have the same hope and can rejoice in the fact that you CAN also persevere through faith in Him.  If you don't know Jesus, you can know Him and have this same hope.  First, you can meet Him by reading through the book of John in the Bible, and then making a decision to turn from your ways and follow Him. It will be the best thing you will ever do!

Blessings to you as you persevere through the situations that you are going through today!

Schedules

During the last week and a half, we have tried a new schedule and strategy with our 6th grader, in an effort to train him to be more responsible with his school day,  and work to become more organized and able to work independently.  Out of all the schedules we have done for him over the years, this is by far the best one.  It has worked out so well!  

Several things that I discovered this time is that the size of the font and color are very important to my son.  He is a visual learner, so I should have figured this out sooner.  He says that the color is just more fun, but I believe that the words stand out more and make it easier for him to distinguish on the page.  We coordinated the color of each subject title on his daily schedule with his weekly assignment sheet that details each subject and all the items that need to be completed in that subject on each given day.

When creating the schedule, we evaluated the following:

• pre-scheduled events for the day 
• topics that my son can work on independently
• times when I need to teach a topic or assist older son with his work
• times when I need to be available to work with my younger son.

Taking all this into account, we came up with his schedule and it is wonderful.  It helped this week when I was sick and my husband had to step in to help out.  My son was able to accomplish all the tasks that he needed to do so we do not have anything we need to catch up on.  That in itself is a true "delight" for me!

I have attended many seminars and read many more articles on the topic of "scheduling the school day", but until this point nothing had worked as smoothly.  I'm glad we finally found something that is working for now.

Parenting Resource

I wanted to share this resource with all the parents that read my blog.  The mother who created this Child Training Bible was in a Bible Study with me and she is such a godly woman and has used the gift that God has given her to help other parents in training up their children in the ways of the Lord.  I hope you will look at her site and share it with your friends.

childtrainingbible.com

Recipe:Chicken Stock

Well, I have been dealing with some sort of cold since Saturday morning.  It has gone through the various stages; sore throat, stuffy head, headache, congestion, runny nose, coughing.  Anytime someone in our family is sick, we usually have them eat chicken soup made with homemade stock and or drink the stock.  It really helps and I always feel like I have gotten a boost.  The chicken stock recipe we modified is from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  It is a great resource for healthy recipes, however, they are not all gluten free or casein free.

I began making my own stock after my husband experience serious health issues and was required to reduce his sodium intake.  At first I thought making stock was an all day process, but I was pleasantly surprised that it really doesn't take much time at all to prepare, and the results are many times better than anything that you can buy in the store and much better for you.  Anytime we have a whole chicken for dinner, we make the stock dinner and then we can freeze for use in other recipes or when someone is sick and needs some healthy broth.  It really is easy!

Chicken Stock
Yield: 6-10- servings

1 whole chicken (free range, pastured, or organic chicken)
3 to 4 quarts cold water (preferably filtered)
1T. apple cider vinegar
4 medium-sized onions, coarsely chopped
8 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2 to 4 zucchinis (optional)
5 garlic cloves
2-4 T. sea salt (I omit this)
1 bunch of parsley*

Place whole chicken or chicken carcass in a pot with cut up vegetables.  Cover with filtered water and add the apple cider vinegar.  Let it sit for an hour.  After the hour, bring the pot of water with chicken carcass, and vegetable to a boil.  After it comes to a boil, reduce to low and let it simmer for 12-24 hours.  The longer you let it simmer the more rich your broth will be.  We do this overnight.  During the last 10 minutes place in a bunch of parsley.  After the 10 minutes, remove the parsley and discard, then continue to let the broth cool a little in pan.  Strain broth into a bowl, put a lid on it and place in the refrigerator until the fat solidifies on the top. Remove the fat and then you can use in recipes, freeze in containers for later use.  I freeze ice cube trays of them on occasion, so I have a little bit of broth when recipes call for small amounts (1 Tbsp. etc..). 

*Note: I don't always have this available, but I make the stock and omit this step.  The broth will still be great!

Rejoice!

"This is the day that the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it"

Psalm 118:24

I woke up not feeling well.  I must have caught a germ from my sweet son who has been sick this last week.  I could be depressed and discouraged because I missed seeing relatives from out of town.  However, I am choosing to rejoice because:

• I have another day with my family.
• I don't have a terminal illness.
• I have a loving husband.
• I have been given the joy of being a Mommy.
• Being a Mommy gives me the opportunity to snuggle my kids even when they are sick.
• I got to sing praise songs with my 5 year old today and dance around being silly.

Choosing to find "delight" in my day is turning out to be healing to my soul.  Have a blessed day!

Scribbles to Showpiece

What to do with a child who is angrily scribbling on all the paper at his table?  That appeared to be my dilemma with my 5 year old.  I told myself, "don't get angry and tell him not to do that".  Then I remembered something I did as a child and set forth to enlighten him about how he can scribble. This is how it went:

I told him to get a piece of paper and then I used "hand over hand" and helped him to scribble slowly all over on his paper. He was intent to find out what to do next.  Then I instructed him to watch as I colored in one of the spaces.  He was delighted to see the result.  I finished by telling him, "now you need to color in each of the other spaces and you will see a beautiful picture".  He was determined to work on the project, and best of all he stopped scribbling angrily on all the paper at the table.

The end result was this beautiful masterpiece! 

My son's masterpiece embellished with patriotic stickers. I think it looks like a hen.

I love Crafts!!

I love to do crafts!  Having a PreK child gives you plenty of opportunity to do a little crafting throughout the day.  I often use crafts to keep my 5 year old’s hands busy.  He gets practice using his fine motor skills by cutting, drawing, coloring and even some writing.  However, you can’t leave him alone or he will cut the curtains, linens and anything the scissors will cut.

Today, my son had to miss pre-school due to illness, so I capitalized on the opportunity to work on various fine motor and cognitive skills.  You can see the shamrock project that he completed.  This was a last minute craft I printed from Enchanted Learning to have him work on while I worked on another subject with my 12 year old.   First my son completed the dot-to-dot; working on drawing straight lines from one dot to dot another, and following the sequence of numbers from 1 to 42.  After he completed that, I thought he could work on building the muscles in his hand by coloring it in and I reminded him to try and stay in the lines. While he was so diligently coloring, I remembered we had glitter glue that I had bought for him to use, because he loves any type of media.  He was so excited to use something new!  I made sure to work on sensory issues by having him move the glue around with his index finger.  We also made this cute little green hat which gave him a chance to practice his cutting skills.

While all this was helpful to my sons development and fun for all of us, reviewing the life of St Patrick was the most important lesson today.   He was not Irish.  He was kidnapped by Irish pirates and forced to live as a slave in Ireland.  Later, he went back to Ireland to minister to the people of the country that held him captive.  He used the (three leafed) Shamrock as way to explain the three persons of the Godhead. His heart was full of love and forgiveness for the people of Ireland.  He was an example for us of a servant of God who walked out the “great commission” that Jesus gave before he ascended back to his seat at the right hand of the Father.  So today, it isn’t about the luck of the Irish for our family, but the faith of one man who was obedient to the Lord and a great example of one who truly did love and forgive like Jesus. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!          

CInnamon Rolls-YUM!

At the request of my boys, I made cinnamon rolls this morning.  They are gluten free, casein free and soy free (GFCFSF), but they are yummy!  This was a sweet "delight" today.

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, so I can not properly site it, but whoever it is ought to be given an award for making such yummy cinnamon rolls possible on the GFCFSF diet.  They are so easy to make, and you make them the night ahead and can pop them in the oven in the morning and you will have breakfast in 30 minutes and your family will be so blessed!

Cinnamon Rolls
Serves-4-5 (original says 8-9)

Ingredients
4 Tbsp. softened Earth Balance (soy free) spread (divided)
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup of milk (room temperature)
1 packet of yeast (about 1 Tbsp)
1 egg
1/4 cup grapeseed oil (can use canola)
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup corn starch
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp sugar for sprinkling on plastic wrap

Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon (I use cinnamon plus from Pampered Chef) (probably use a lot more than this I just sprinkl it on).

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (by Frontier-alcohol free)
dairy free milk to thicken (Imagine vanilla rice milk is what I use, but coconut  or almond are also great choices)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a bowl combine the dry mix together and set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. shortening and sugar.  Mix well.  Measure warm milk and add yeast to milk.  Whisk well to fully dissolve.

Add milk/yeast mixture to sugar mixture to combine.  Add egg, oil, vanilla and continue to mix.  Add the dry ingredients and mix very well being sure to remove all lumps.  Dough will be very soft. (using a stand up mixer make life easier)

Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it on a pastry mat or cutting board.  Sprinkle sugar on the wrap.  Lay ball of dough on top of the plastic wrap sprinkled with sugar.  Put another sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough.  Pat down the dough and the roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inches or so (not to thin).  I don't really worry about the size, but it is usually about 13 inches by 12 inches. 

Remove top wrap and spread on 2 Tbsp of Earth Balance (Soy Free spread), sprinkle on some cinnamon and the sugar and then I sprinkle on more cinnamon.  This should be spread evenly.  Leave the bottom piece of wrap on, to lift the edges of the dough and start rolling to form a long cylinder. I roll it up covered with the wrap and press down the seam  on the rolls gently to seal.  Unwrap and cut into 9 slices.  Place rolls in a greased round glass pie pan.  (I use oil on the bottom spread with a paper towel instead of sprays, because they all contain soy. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.  (sometime I let them get a more medium colored brown, because the rolls in the middle seem to not be done all the way.  It probably depends on your oven.

Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make the glaze.  The amount of milk you use will depend on how think you want your glaze to be.  I do it so I can drizzle it over the top.  I usually do this when there is 5 minutes left. Drizzle glaze over your rolls. If you do while they are really hot, it melts into the cinnamon roll, and if you wait until they have cooled a bit it will sit on top more like frosting.  Either way, the rolls are YUMMMY! Enjoy!

Encouraging

What a "delight" it was today to receive a special call from a friend in my home school group who oversees and assists me with writing an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for my son.  She called to check in on me, because she knew I was struggling.  Hearing her voice and her encouraging words were so precious, and just what I needed.  Besides giving me ideas of how to handle certain situations that I was dealing with in homeschooling my son, she told me "you can do it", and she reminded me that God has a plan and He will help me in this season of our homeschooling life.


It is so important to not isolate yourself when you are struggling, but to fellowship with those who can build you up and encourage you on in the things you are going through.  God calls us as the body of Christ to encourage one another. 

"Therefore, encourage each other and build one another up, just as you also are doing"

1Thessalonians 5:11

"I Can’t!" – Part 1

This morning while my son was working on an assignment in science, he started whining and saying “I can’t do this, it is too hard”! I sat down with him and asked him to put down his pencil, turn around, and take a deep breath.  He cooperated, but not with the attitude that I had hoped for.  I had to continue to direct him to do this about 2 more times until he was calm and could focus.  (It helped me to remain calm also)

Once I had his attention, I made sure that he was looking at my eyes and I began to explain “why” he was doing this assignment.  I told him that the assignment was mainly to help him learn how to teach himself to learn new information.  I gave him the steps to follow, which I have done on many previous occasions.  This time I reiterated it calmly. (I can’t say that I have done that much in the past). 

How many times have I said “I can’t do this”?  Have I stopped what I’m doing (or what I’m thinking), turned around (from the situation or feeling), and taken a deep breath (break/timeout perhaps)?  And focused?  Unfortunately, I can’t say that I have exercised this very often.

After today, when I feel like crying “I can’t”, I plan to do my best to remember to stop, turn around, take a deep breath and refocus on “why” I’m doing this (whatever the "this" is). 

Finally, my son was able to accomplish the assignment before him once he followed the steps he was given, and I did not hear him saying “I can’t” anymore today.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Phil. 4:13

Weeds and Winning

 

Today, I pulled weeds in the yard with my 5 year old.  The experience was full of spiritual analogies.  There was one that I thought was worth sharing. 

I started pulling weeds and I realized that it seemed so much harder since the last time I pulled them about 6 months ago.  (I know, I should pull them out more regularly)  As I continued to work, I realized that the ground was so much harder because we have not had much rain lately and I don't know how often the sprinklers are going on.  The lack of water created this hard soil and it was difficult to get the tools in under the weed so that I could get it out.  This required so much more muscle and the process was so much slower than the last time. 

As I continued pulling weeds, I kept thinking about how the weed represents sin or bad habits that hinder our walk.  Sometimes we allow the weed to grow for a long time and don't have the time to stop and pull out the weeds that have sprung up.  We may say "oh I know I really need to do that, but I'll do it tomorrow".  I thought about how the water represents a combination of the Holy Spirit and the Word, and how when we are not walking in the Spirit or reading the Word regularly, we are not getting watered enough and our hearts can become harder and harder and harder.  The more we put off pulling out these weeds and not getting watered, the weeds in our life become larger and the process of removing them is harder and takes more effort.

So this week I will be watering more so that I can remove the weeds that have grown and I'm sure when I get a closer look, I may see some  smaller weeds to pull out before they become large and are harder to get to the root so they can be removed.  Happy Weeding!

Winning....

Here is my son who won First Place in the Pinewood Derby Car Race that his Royal Ranger Troop participated in today.  He was so excited.  Way to go buddy!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Phil. 4:13

Whatever...

Raising two special kids can be a challenge, especially when one is “pre-teen” and the other is "pre-K”.  Some days I’m so exhausted; I don’t want to repeat myself one more time, I feel like a piece of taffy being pulled this way and that,   I notice my ASD child’s behavior is showing signs that he has had a food “infraction” and I don't feel I have the energy to deal with the situation, my FAS child has misplaced his multiplication chart and continues to walk around complaining, “I don’t want to do school”, etc…  I could continue on and on, and there are other Moms of special needs kiddo’s that may have experienced some of the same frustrations and feelings of giving up.  When other things in your life are tough too, it is recipe for disaster!

  This season I’m in has been very difficult and this week all hope seemed lost.  I was ready to give up homeschooling, but knew in my heart that it wasn’t the answer.  “But it is so hard and he is fighting me at every turn” I whine.  “I just yell all day and I’m miserable and so unhappy”.  I could go on and on, but how will that help the situation?  It won’t!  I am blessed to have friends, family and seasoned homeschool parents that were there for prayer and to help me to refocus on that which has “eternal” value.

Thoughts and scriptures circled about in my head, and I committed to several people, including my husband, that I was not going to yell anymore.  If my son began to whine and carry on and my blood pressure starts to escalate, I would just walk away and regroup.  One of the words I kept hearing in my head was “whatever” followed by “things are true, whatever things are lovely”  and a light bulb went off in my head (not like I hadn’t been told this before). I am focusing on the negative and being dragged down by the circumstances in my life.  Then I looked up the scripture and read “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, and whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.”(Phil.4:8)

            So the last two days I have worked to think on the praiseworthy things in my sons, and there are so many things that are praiseworthy, first of all because they were created by God for His purpose and that in itself is enough. However, through the day, I find myself thinking “whatever” when I start getting frustrated.  The last two days have been so much better, and my circumstances have not changed, and my children are the same, but what has changed is what I am setting my mind on.  The Lord created these boys and my sons are creative, funny, sweet, loving, they love to sing, and read the Word together, they are smart and see things that I often overlook, they love people and I could go on and on.  I’m thanking the Lord for them more and realizing what great kids they are and what a privilege it is to be their Mom. So if you are feeling like there is no hope and you want to give up, just remember to tell yourself “whatever” and think on those things.

Something New!

I am embarking on a new adventure into the blog-o-sphere!

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness, Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Ps.37:3-5)

 On this journey, I will blog about my life, my family, our homeschooling experience, and my life as a mom to two "special" boys.  Daily journaling about the "Delight" in that day. My hope is that others will be encouraged, and blessed when they visit.

Blessings,
Denise