I have just recently finished "The Mark of the Lion" series by Francine Rivers, and it was amazing!
It's a love story, a little bit of history, and all written by a Christian author so it challenges how you live your life.
There are three books and you can read the descriptions here, but I'll give you a brief one.
The first book took place a little after Christ was crucified. There was a terrible war going on and Hadassah lost her entire family. She was shipped to Rome where she became a slave for a very wealthy family and their daughter Julia. Hadassah can't release her true identity and belief in Christ, so she just tries to be a good servant to Julia (while being a servant to Christ). She falls in love with Julia's older brother Marcus, but struggles in the family. In the meantime, it tells of a man named Atretes who is captured in his home country of Germania to be a gladiator in Rome.
The second book is a continuation of the first. Hadassah struggles all the more to keep her identity a secret from Marcus, while Julia has decided to rebel against family and all morality. Julia falls in love with the gladiator Atretes, but Atretes is struggling as well. Hadassah strikes up a friendship with Atretes, but loves Marcus too. Will he fall in love with her?
The third book focuses solely on Atretes and his journey back to Germania with the child he and Julia had. Will he come to accept Christ and what kind of a difference will that make to his family who worships the idol Tiwaz??
I loved these books so much! They are easy to read and kept me on the edge of my seat:) If you loved her book "Redeeming Love", you'll love these!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
14 Months (2 weeks late!)
My dear sweet Lucas,
Oh my goodness how this last month has flown by?! You're getting to be so much fun. I mean, you've always been fun, but this is my absolute favorite stage so far! You make me laugh everyday and you are just learning and learning and growing and growing!
You had your second Valentine's day this month! You have so much love surrounding you all the time...hope you know that! You are starting to love playing with cars at the sitter with the big boys, so we got you a Lightning McQueen car and the movie "Cars" for Valentine's Day. You love it! You push your little car around and say "vroom vroom". It's so cute! We put in the movie in the car on the way to Memphis (for your first vacation!) and you grabbed your car and were in a trance through the whole thing:) You were smiling and waving your car around the whole time. It was hilarious:) It's so fun to watch you start to play with "big boy toys". Can't believe it!!
We finally made it to your 12-month check-up; we had to reschedule twice because your doctor wa sick. You are definitely taller (grew 2 in; which puts you at 68% in height), but only gained a pound (21.7 lbs; 33% in weight)! You did great at the appointment, until they had to give you 6 shots:( It was so sad! Afterward, they gave you a sucker and you wouldn't even open your mouth for me to take it out! You loved it:) They also gave you a sticker and you had fun moving it from one hand to another. You couldn't quite figure out how it would stick to your fingers:) You just had fun chewing it later:)
You did so good, though, I went and got a chocolate shake for us to share. You absolutely loved it! You've had frozen yogurt with me a few times since then and you just love it! It's so cute:) As soon as we left your doctor's appointment, we went to Daddy's baseball game and you took 14 steps! It was so exciting:) Daddy caught the last little bit of it:) You took almost 50 the day of your 14-month birthday, so I know you're getting close!!
*Edit* A few weeks after his 14-month birthday, he became a full-time walker! Yippee:)
We've been to a lot of Daddy's baseball games and your favorite thing to do is have Mommy take you up and down the steps on the bleachers. I don't think Mommy has been able to enjoy one full inning:) Except when you sit in your stroller, have a snack, and enjoy Mommy's Diet Cherry Limeade!!
You are still in 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers, you are eating everything we eat, and you are still sleeping 7:30p-7:00a. You are still taking two naps a day (morning is usually about an hour and afternoon is about an hour and a half!). You have stopped liking green beans this month and your new favorite is peas (which Daddy and I don't really like!).
You absolutely love your chair and sit in it all the time. That's the place we can consistently get you to walk toward:) You're really good at turning and sitting properly and you're really good at getting out!
You are so good at stacking blocks now and you are so good at putting your shapes in the correct places in all your puzzles! You absolutely love books still and you are so good and gentle with them. You even have a pop-up book that we can let you look at on your own. You haven't even tried to tear it! *Knock on wood:)
You have mastered the sippy cup this month, you know where Daddy and I's noses are and you know where your belly button is:) If you happen to have a onesie on, you try to pull up your pant leg to show us! You can't figure out why sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not!!
I can't believe how fast these months are going, baby boy! I can't even offically call you that anymore (even though I will continue to do so). You are a toddler now and it's so fun to watch! You are absolutely the light of my life and make my world so much fuller and happier! I can't get enough of your love, babe!
We are so proud of you and all the things you're accomplishing! We are starting a whole new chapter with you walking and it's going to be a great adventure! We are just thrilled! We love you so much and are so pround to be your parents:)
All our love,
Mommy and Daddy
Oh my goodness how this last month has flown by?! You're getting to be so much fun. I mean, you've always been fun, but this is my absolute favorite stage so far! You make me laugh everyday and you are just learning and learning and growing and growing!
You had your second Valentine's day this month! You have so much love surrounding you all the time...hope you know that! You are starting to love playing with cars at the sitter with the big boys, so we got you a Lightning McQueen car and the movie "Cars" for Valentine's Day. You love it! You push your little car around and say "vroom vroom". It's so cute! We put in the movie in the car on the way to Memphis (for your first vacation!) and you grabbed your car and were in a trance through the whole thing:) You were smiling and waving your car around the whole time. It was hilarious:) It's so fun to watch you start to play with "big boy toys". Can't believe it!!
We finally made it to your 12-month check-up; we had to reschedule twice because your doctor wa sick. You are definitely taller (grew 2 in; which puts you at 68% in height), but only gained a pound (21.7 lbs; 33% in weight)! You did great at the appointment, until they had to give you 6 shots:( It was so sad! Afterward, they gave you a sucker and you wouldn't even open your mouth for me to take it out! You loved it:) They also gave you a sticker and you had fun moving it from one hand to another. You couldn't quite figure out how it would stick to your fingers:) You just had fun chewing it later:)
You did so good, though, I went and got a chocolate shake for us to share. You absolutely loved it! You've had frozen yogurt with me a few times since then and you just love it! It's so cute:) As soon as we left your doctor's appointment, we went to Daddy's baseball game and you took 14 steps! It was so exciting:) Daddy caught the last little bit of it:) You took almost 50 the day of your 14-month birthday, so I know you're getting close!!
*Edit* A few weeks after his 14-month birthday, he became a full-time walker! Yippee:)
We've been to a lot of Daddy's baseball games and your favorite thing to do is have Mommy take you up and down the steps on the bleachers. I don't think Mommy has been able to enjoy one full inning:) Except when you sit in your stroller, have a snack, and enjoy Mommy's Diet Cherry Limeade!!
You are still in 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers, you are eating everything we eat, and you are still sleeping 7:30p-7:00a. You are still taking two naps a day (morning is usually about an hour and afternoon is about an hour and a half!). You have stopped liking green beans this month and your new favorite is peas (which Daddy and I don't really like!).
You absolutely love your chair and sit in it all the time. That's the place we can consistently get you to walk toward:) You're really good at turning and sitting properly and you're really good at getting out!
You are so good at stacking blocks now and you are so good at putting your shapes in the correct places in all your puzzles! You absolutely love books still and you are so good and gentle with them. You even have a pop-up book that we can let you look at on your own. You haven't even tried to tear it! *Knock on wood:)
You have mastered the sippy cup this month, you know where Daddy and I's noses are and you know where your belly button is:) If you happen to have a onesie on, you try to pull up your pant leg to show us! You can't figure out why sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not!!
I can't believe how fast these months are going, baby boy! I can't even offically call you that anymore (even though I will continue to do so). You are a toddler now and it's so fun to watch! You are absolutely the light of my life and make my world so much fuller and happier! I can't get enough of your love, babe!
We are so proud of you and all the things you're accomplishing! We are starting a whole new chapter with you walking and it's going to be a great adventure! We are just thrilled! We love you so much and are so pround to be your parents:)
All our love,
Mommy and Daddy
Monday, March 26, 2012
Updates to Come
I know it's been entirely too long since I have posted on here and I'm terribly late with his 14 month letter, his one-year check up, his one-year pictures, Spring Break and all that brings...
That last week of school before Spring Break was crazy, Nick and I had a mini vaca, and then when we got back home our computer crashed and we lost all our pictures/videos from the last 3+ years *tear tear
Between that and the Blog Press not working on my phone, I've not been able to update!
All that to say, it's coming soon! I'm putting the finishing touches on his 14-month letter (2 weeks late) and getting all the other posts lined out, so that means I'll post every day this week!
Woo hoo!!!
That last week of school before Spring Break was crazy, Nick and I had a mini vaca, and then when we got back home our computer crashed and we lost all our pictures/videos from the last 3+ years *tear tear
Between that and the Blog Press not working on my phone, I've not been able to update!
All that to say, it's coming soon! I'm putting the finishing touches on his 14-month letter (2 weeks late) and getting all the other posts lined out, so that means I'll post every day this week!
Woo hoo!!!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Kool-Aid Playdough
Every 2-3 weeks in my class, we make playdough. It's so fun and they love it, so I thought I'd share the recipe. Super easy!
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1 teaspoon alum
2 pkgs unsweetened Kool-Aid
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups water, boiling
Combine flour, salt, alum, and Kool-Aid in a bowl. Add oil and water to dry ingredients and watch color explode. Stir until cooled (just a little) and knead on floured board.
You will probably have to add more flour. I always do:)
Store in sealed container. Do not refrigerate.
I keep mine in a Ziploc baggie. It makes a lot. Enough for each of my 15 kids to have their own ball. It lasts forever. And it's so soft! I used green this week for St. Patty's Day!!
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1 teaspoon alum
2 pkgs unsweetened Kool-Aid
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups water, boiling
Combine flour, salt, alum, and Kool-Aid in a bowl. Add oil and water to dry ingredients and watch color explode. Stir until cooled (just a little) and knead on floured board.
You will probably have to add more flour. I always do:)
Store in sealed container. Do not refrigerate.
I keep mine in a Ziploc baggie. It makes a lot. Enough for each of my 15 kids to have their own ball. It lasts forever. And it's so soft! I used green this week for St. Patty's Day!!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wednesday Love
Lucas in a Hat:)
These were taken the day of the 1st baseball game!! Daddy thinks he needs a Cardinals hat or OSU or Miami Wardogs, but Uncle Cal and Aunt Cassie got this one for him and I absolutely love it:)
I just love a boy in a hat!!!
These were taken the day of the 1st baseball game!! Daddy thinks he needs a Cardinals hat or OSU or Miami Wardogs, but Uncle Cal and Aunt Cassie got this one for him and I absolutely love it:)
I just love a boy in a hat!!!
Monday, March 5, 2012
What We as Children Never Knew about Our Parents
We had a rough evening yesterday...
Lucas had his one year check-up on Thursday, which means he had 6 shots! I figured he'd have side effects, but he was wonderful Thursday night. Even took 14 steps!! Friday at daycare, he just got worse and worse all day. He didn't hardly eat or drink anything and maybe slept 30 minutes total!! Not a good day...he did okay that evening and went to bed fairly early. He woke up at 6:30a on Saturday and did wonderful all day! He had his normal naps, ate fine (not as much as normal, but fine), and went to sleep great Saturday night. Sunday was the same way; everything was normal until dinner...
We usually do something quick and easy Sunday night, so we had a frozen pizza in the oven. We fed him some squash while it was cooking and looking back on it, that should've been it until the pizza was done. But, Nick gave him some goldfish crackers to munch on while he waited. So, by the time the pizza was ready, he wasn't all that hungry. He ate about half of it, then started playing with it. We told him "no", but he still kept doing it, then started to throw the rest of it on the ground. So, he got a firm "no" again and a little slap on the hand. Well, this hurt his feelings, but also made him mad, so he slapped his high chair. We told him "no no" again, he slapped the high chair again and then he started throwing a little fit. He started kind of screaming and making himself cry. It was nuts! First of all, usually when he gets "in trouble", he starts crying because his feelings are hurt and that's it. We comfort him, tell him we love him, remind him what he got in trouble for, and it's over. Not this time!
He continued to throw a fit. We put him down and he started grunting like he was going to the bathroom, which he hadn't done all day. I checked him and he hadn't gone, so I figured he might have been constipated. So, I held him and tried to give him a little juice; he slapped his cup! Oh my goodness! I don't know where he learned to slap?! This continued a little while longer with him grunting, us checking him and he hadn't gone, trying to give him juice, and him slapping his cup. We finally gave him some gas drops while getting him to stop throwing a fit, and he calmed down.
This whole thing lasted about 10-15 minutes and by the end, I was so mad at him! I got more and more mad the more he slapped! This brings me to the title of my post...
After he went to bed and Nick and I were discussing the situation, I started to cry. I was so upset that I had gotten so mad at him. He didn't really know how mad I was because you can't show it to your child, especially when they're one, but I just hated that I was mad at him in my head. This is the part we as children never saw with our parents...how upset they were when they had to get onto us. It just killed me. It's really true that it hurts the parents way more than it hurts the child. Whether that be spanking or just disciplining. It was awful:(
It's gonna be a long, hard road discipling our children and I'm sure there will be plenty more times that one or all of us are going to be very frustrated, but I hope they understand how much I love them and how much it hurts me. I never saw that until I became a parent myself.
Lucas had his one year check-up on Thursday, which means he had 6 shots! I figured he'd have side effects, but he was wonderful Thursday night. Even took 14 steps!! Friday at daycare, he just got worse and worse all day. He didn't hardly eat or drink anything and maybe slept 30 minutes total!! Not a good day...he did okay that evening and went to bed fairly early. He woke up at 6:30a on Saturday and did wonderful all day! He had his normal naps, ate fine (not as much as normal, but fine), and went to sleep great Saturday night. Sunday was the same way; everything was normal until dinner...
We usually do something quick and easy Sunday night, so we had a frozen pizza in the oven. We fed him some squash while it was cooking and looking back on it, that should've been it until the pizza was done. But, Nick gave him some goldfish crackers to munch on while he waited. So, by the time the pizza was ready, he wasn't all that hungry. He ate about half of it, then started playing with it. We told him "no", but he still kept doing it, then started to throw the rest of it on the ground. So, he got a firm "no" again and a little slap on the hand. Well, this hurt his feelings, but also made him mad, so he slapped his high chair. We told him "no no" again, he slapped the high chair again and then he started throwing a little fit. He started kind of screaming and making himself cry. It was nuts! First of all, usually when he gets "in trouble", he starts crying because his feelings are hurt and that's it. We comfort him, tell him we love him, remind him what he got in trouble for, and it's over. Not this time!
He continued to throw a fit. We put him down and he started grunting like he was going to the bathroom, which he hadn't done all day. I checked him and he hadn't gone, so I figured he might have been constipated. So, I held him and tried to give him a little juice; he slapped his cup! Oh my goodness! I don't know where he learned to slap?! This continued a little while longer with him grunting, us checking him and he hadn't gone, trying to give him juice, and him slapping his cup. We finally gave him some gas drops while getting him to stop throwing a fit, and he calmed down.
This whole thing lasted about 10-15 minutes and by the end, I was so mad at him! I got more and more mad the more he slapped! This brings me to the title of my post...
After he went to bed and Nick and I were discussing the situation, I started to cry. I was so upset that I had gotten so mad at him. He didn't really know how mad I was because you can't show it to your child, especially when they're one, but I just hated that I was mad at him in my head. This is the part we as children never saw with our parents...how upset they were when they had to get onto us. It just killed me. It's really true that it hurts the parents way more than it hurts the child. Whether that be spanking or just disciplining. It was awful:(
It's gonna be a long, hard road discipling our children and I'm sure there will be plenty more times that one or all of us are going to be very frustrated, but I hope they understand how much I love them and how much it hurts me. I never saw that until I became a parent myself.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Walkin' in Memphis (Part 2)
Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast at the hotel again. It was an amazing breakfast. They cooked eggs any way you like them (I chose the veggie omelette; amazing!), pancakes, bacon, sausage, fruit, yogurt, french toast, all different kinds of breads and juice...delicious! Lucas loved the french toast and the scrambled eggs. Then, when I would leave to get more juice, he would grab things off my plate, as well:) So funny!
After that, the boys played while we got our stuff packed and loaded. They just loved each other by this time...so wish they could see each more often so we don't have that "transition" period of getting to know each other every time! I'm sure it will get easier and easier, though:)
When we left the hotel, we stopped at Starbucks and then Gibson's Doughnuts (a local favorite)! Both were so yummy:) I know, we did all this not 30 minutes after eating an amazing breakfast at the hotel, but we were on vacation, right??? :)
Our final stop of the trip was The Peabody Hotel to see the ducks:) You can read about it here:) Basically, every day at 11a and 5p, 5 ducks get on the elevator on the roof of the hotel, go down to the lobby, walk on a red carpet, and climb into the lobby fountain! It is a big deal:) Since the boys had so much fun at the zoo the day before, we knew they'd love some more animal time. Boy, did they?! It was so cute:)
There was a huge crowd of people, but since we had the babies, we were able to sneak right down in the front!
Lucas and Colt just stood at the fountain and watched them swim around:)
They were particularly feisty this day and were splashing like crazy. The first time Lucas got splashed, he didn't particularly care for it, but then he got used it and absolutely loved it:) He and I both got soaked!
The place was gorgeous and so much fun, but we had to say goodbye at some point:( It was sad to leave, but we had so much fun:) We will probably have to make this a yearly trip! We loved Memphis and can't wait to go back!
After that, the boys played while we got our stuff packed and loaded. They just loved each other by this time...so wish they could see each more often so we don't have that "transition" period of getting to know each other every time! I'm sure it will get easier and easier, though:)
When we left the hotel, we stopped at Starbucks and then Gibson's Doughnuts (a local favorite)! Both were so yummy:) I know, we did all this not 30 minutes after eating an amazing breakfast at the hotel, but we were on vacation, right??? :)
Our final stop of the trip was The Peabody Hotel to see the ducks:) You can read about it here:) Basically, every day at 11a and 5p, 5 ducks get on the elevator on the roof of the hotel, go down to the lobby, walk on a red carpet, and climb into the lobby fountain! It is a big deal:) Since the boys had so much fun at the zoo the day before, we knew they'd love some more animal time. Boy, did they?! It was so cute:)
There was a huge crowd of people, but since we had the babies, we were able to sneak right down in the front!
Lucas and Colt just stood at the fountain and watched them swim around:)
They were particularly feisty this day and were splashing like crazy. The first time Lucas got splashed, he didn't particularly care for it, but then he got used it and absolutely loved it:) He and I both got soaked!
The place was gorgeous and so much fun, but we had to say goodbye at some point:( It was sad to leave, but we had so much fun:) We will probably have to make this a yearly trip! We loved Memphis and can't wait to go back!
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